The lesbians' Judy Garland and other celebrities

You might or might not have noticed, but I've been on a huge Muse kick lately. I'd heard a few of the band's songs before and liked them (sometimes without knowing it was them), but I didn't realize just how phenomenal they were until I downloaded a few of their albums and saw a few of their videos on YouTube. I didn't realize how phenomenal Matt freaking Bellamy was. So now I've got my beloved totally hooked, and I've found out through conversations that Lady K and another real-life lesbian friend are also fans. And even though my slash-loving friend likes show tunes rather than rock, she at least appreciates Bellamy's talent.

All this has led to some interesting conversations. For instance, I told Slash-Friend about Beloved's joke that we should have Matt come dance around our bed, and I added that it probably wouldn't take Matt long to jump on the pile. So Slash-Friend asked if that would make us jump out, and I said only Beloved would leave. I'd stay; I'd just be careful about what I let Matt put where. ;-P It was at this point that Slash-Friend suggested Matt Bellamy might be the lesbians' Judy Garland.

On a (barely) related note, Lady K and I have also been discussing the pro's and con's of not-quite-out celebrities staying not-quite-out rather than making a formal announcement of their orientation. We talked about newsman Anderson Cooper in particular, but the same would naturally apply to Jodie Foster. They never pretend to date people of the opposite sex, and Cooper is frequently photographed with his partner. So why don't they just come on out and admit it? It would do so much good for the LGBT community, especially for young people who need healthy role models.

On the other hand, it took Johnny Weir ages to make his formal announcement, but was there ever even a shred of doubt about him? I don't think there's much doubt about the other two, either. So maybe, just maybe, they feel as if they don't need to make a formal announcement. Maybe they're making a different kind of statement by not making a statement. Suppose they're saying, "My orientation doesn't define me; it's just a part of who I am. I want to be respected as a person, not a spokesperson." In an ideal world, we all would be respected as people, regardless of orientation - or race, or gender, or any of a thousand other unimportant characteristics. That might be what Cooper and Foster are aiming for. Or I could be totally off the mark. *shrug*

Do we really need every single famous GLBT to make a formal announcement? I'm not sure. Part of me says yes, that we have to make our presence known in order to get the rights we deserve. But another part of me says there's more than one way to make our presence known. I think about the Civil Rights movement of the '60's, when Martin Luther King, Jr., promoted peaceful reform and Malcolm X called for change at any cost. Then there were all the other famous and not-so-famous figures of that time who worked for reform in their own ways. Some marched, some donated, some took or refused particular bus seats, and so on. Is there really only one way to bring about change? Does everyone have to do exactly the same thing?

I have to believe there are as many different ways to promote GLBT rights are there are ways to be GLBT. I do see Anderson Cooper and Jodie Foster as role models, just as I see Ellen Degeneres and Neil Patrick Harris as role models. Furthermore, I pity the celebrities who don't come out because they're not famous enough to get away with it, and I applaud the celebrities who almost come out even though they're not famous enough to get away with it (Queen Latifah and Zachary Quinto, I'm talking to you).

I still wrestle with the issue, but in the end, the only famous GLBT's I condemn are those who preach hate against their own. I could name several prominent politicians and religious figures at this point, but I don't want to make this a "gripe" post. It's more of a "musing" post, with a bit of fun thrown into the mix. Not that I have any real knowledge of Matt's Bellamy's feelings on GLBT rights, but I hope you enjoy the image of him dancing around my bed. I certainly do!

And yes, I'd totally give Matt a blow job.

These are a few of my favorite things: eggs and pods

What is it about women being stored in and/or hatching from eggs and pods? They're pretty much a staple of mind control erotica, and the doubly-talented William Lee provides one excellent example at left here. But plenty of (as far as I know) non-EMC-fetishists take up the subject themselves. I don't see what they get out of it, unless it's just the alienness. *shrug* Whatever it is, I don't mind a bit. Let me show you a few of my favorites.

First, a bit of artwork. Here's a stuntkid piece flanked by two Boris Vallejo paintings.

And now, just to prove it can be done (well, sort of), here are two photos of Kumi Monster taken by Chris Young (left) and Fetish Live (right), an Angela Ryan shot by Stephen McClure, and below them a couple of pics from the Hart-Worx website.

Yes, I featured the Hart-Worx images once before, but you don't really mind seeing them again, do you? ;-P

Sparklewren

I really love corsets - and not just the latex ones, either. The girly side of me appreciates the silk and the rich colors and the intricate patterns of - what would you call them? Arthouse corsets? I don't know, but I know what I like.

I discovered Sparklewren through Ivory Flame's blog. They have some incredibly beautiful pieces - and some fetishy ones, too, for those of you who don't like anything too "pretty." ;-) I almost used the picture at right in my recent steampunk post, but I'm not sure this outfit entirely qualifies as steampunk; and anyway, I wanted to do a post about Ivory Flame and Sparklewren all by themselves.

I'm not going to post as many pictures as I usually do because I know corsets like these aren't necessarily to fetishists' tastes. But perhaps you can imagine an MC element in the pictures below. Ivory Flame says on her blog that wearing this outfit made her feel like a "spoilt madam," but IMO, she doesn't have the forcefulness of personality to be a real madam. She's just too soft, too essentially passive. So, looking at these pictures, I like to imagine that she thinks she's the madam, but she's really just a mind-controlled puppet, expanding her Mistress's harem. Then the harem girls seduce more of New Orleans' leading citizens (This has to be New Orleans, right?), who seduce more and more themselves, and eventually the entire city falls under the control of Ivory's hidden Mistress.

All pictures by Sean Elliott.

So...about China Mieville's The Scar

Back in December I reviewed Perdido Street Station, the first book by China Miéville that I'd read, and the first of three he's written so far about an imaginary world called Bas-Lag. Even if you didn't read my PSS review, you'd know I enjoyed it since I bought another Miéville book; but the question is, how did this one stack up against that one? Well, I'm happy to report I'm already on to the third Bas-Lag novel, Iron Council, and I plan to buy Kraken when it comes out in paperback this March.

Until then, here's a bit more about The Scar, just enough to get you interested in it without spoiling anything important.

Bellis, by Trabbold

The protagonist is Bellis Coldwine, a woman mentioned just once in passing in PSS (None of the characters from that novel appear in this one). Bellis has been forced to flee New Crobuzon even though she wasn't involved in the events of PSS, just because of her connection to someone who was involved. You know how the militia can be. ;-/ Bellis books passage on a ship carrying a few other free travelers and a hold full of "Remade" criminals whose bodies have been warped by science and magic and who are now destined for a life of slavery in the foreign land of Nova Esperium. One of these Remade is a man by the name of Tanner Sack. We never learn what his crime was, but he seems like a nice guy; and whatever he did, it surely wasn't enough to deserve having a pair of tentacles grafted to his chest.

Tanner, by AgarthanGuide

Anyway, it's no spoiler to tell you the ship never reaches Nova Esperium. It's commandeered by pirates; and Bellis, Tanner and all most of the rest are pressganged into joining Armada, a giant (no, really, a giant) floating city made up of thousands of roped-together vessels which has apparently been drifting around the ocean for almost as many years as it has ships.

For Bellis, being shanghaied is a disaster; she loves New Crobuzon and hoped to return one day after the furor died down. For Tanner, it's the best thing that ever happened to him. He's free in Armada, a full citizen with just as much respect and opportunity as anyone else. He even finds a way to make his Remaking work for him instead of against him.

Standoffish and self-controlled as Bellis appears to be, she still longs for companionship and a conspirator as she tries to escape. This brings her into contact with a number of decent and not-so-decent individuals. Then there's the mysterious letter she writes in secret, recounting all the events that happen to her in the course of her journey. I sympathized very deeply with Bellis throughout the novel, and what happened when she finally revealed the letter's recipient was the most poignant moment of the whole story for me. When you read The Scar, if you read it, notice what the revelation says about Bellis herself. Then imagine how she must feel at the response of the person she reveals it to, especially after she offers to let this person read the letter. Miéville really underplayed this scene, but I got it. I could see myself doing just the same as Bellis, and I knew how I'd react if I got that response.

There are other important characters in The Scar besides Bellis and Tanner, but I wasn't able to find satisfying pictures of most of them. There's Silas Fennec, a  charming spy; Uther Doul, the warrior-philosopher who'd kill you as soon as look at you; Shekel, the cabin boy befriended by Tanner Sack; the Brucolac, the leading vampire of Armada; and the Lovers who run the whole thing. I found a good picture of the Lovers, at least. As you can see, their faces are scarred in mirror image, and Miéville teases you for a good long while before revealing their origin. I won't steal his thunder. ;-)

You might notice that while I've taken a lot of time to describe the main players of The Scar, I've hardly said a word about the plot. There's a reason for that. Trust me, you don't want to be spoiled too much before you read this novel, because there are so many occasions where you think you finally understand what it's all about, only to discover you've climbed a single step up a staircase that spirals out of sight. When the staircase finally ends, though, you might find yourself where you never expected to be, considering all that had gone before. I was certainly surprised, and I say this as someone who figured Yagharek's crime the moment he first hinted about it in Perdido Street Station.

Beyond that, I'll just say that I was pleased with The Scar. Very pleased. ;-)

Neil Gaiman encounters an undead Ulorin Vex

I'll post another entry tonight or tomorrow when I have more time, but meanwhile, I've finally figured out what's been bugging me about this pic from Ulorin Vex's blog. It's not just that she's too pale; it's that she looks positively undead. I don't know whether she's a zombie or a vampire or a lich, but she's clearly about to take a bite out of poor Neil unless her lips have been sewn shut (I've been reading more China Mieville, you see. That's what my next blog entry will be about).

Steampunk Sexpots

I always have a nagging feeling that steampunk is merely a phase, and that once it passes its prime it'll be every bit as uncool as poodle skirts. But for the moment it's still hot, and I'm very happy it is hot. After all, how else could I find so many badass beauties in leather, belts, and various kinds of cinchers, all in a single place? Sometimes the beauties even carry exotic weapons. ;-P

At right is Kato, model and proprietor of Steampunk Couture, where you can find all kinds of cogwheel-driven loveliness. And here are a few more pictures of her, for your pleasure and for mine. The middle pic was taken by Root of Silence; unfortunately, I don't know who shot the other two. But Kato is wearing her own designs in all three pictures.

Next up are three ladies you might or might not be familiar with: Evan Evan, Nicotine Desire, and Bad Charlotte (a.k.a. Vampire Leniore, although I hate to call her that because she can't even spell the damn thing correctly. Still, if you want to find her on Deviant Art, that's the name to look for). Evan was photographed by Allan Amato, Nicotine by Scott Church, and Bad Charlotte by Tina Dolin.

A couple of interesting notes about Nicotine: 1) She swears that's her real waist in the picture above. I remain unconvinced. 2) She sells steampunk sex toys on Lady Clankington's Cabinet of Carnal Curiosities.

And now onward to three shots of Zoetica Ebb, who will no doubt be the first person on the planet to realize when steampunk has become uncool and abandon it. So far she has not. The first and third shots are by Allan Amato (who has a thing for steampunk, himself); I don't know who took the middle one.

Lastly, here are three shots of Ulorin Vex...again. Yes, she does steampunk, too...even if she does it in latex in the first picture. ;-P But it's my blog, and it's my favorite picture of her ever, so in it goes! That one's by Amato again, the second is by Grace Elkin, and the third is from a shoot Ulorin did for Kato's Steampunk Couture (Once again, I don't know the photographer).

As always, models not otherwise noted can be found on Deviant Art and/or Model Mayhem.

A little something for everyone

Here's another case of my planning to post one thing and then running across something else so enticing that I had to feature it instead. I've just discovered the apparently endless Deviant Art gallery of one Scott Church, a photographer who shoots everything from X-rated fetish scenes to babies to pregnant women to cow skulls. Like I said, a little something for everybody...even the ones who like truly terrifying gigantic fake boobs the size of a woman's head. :-/

Here are a few of the most EMC-friendly shots I found, in no particular order. I'm pretty sure trilby else wrote a story about those naked women lying in the middle of the road. ;-)

Ack

It's Sunday evening, and I've just realized that I never got around to updating my blog this weekend, even though I kept reminding myself about it. I've never done that before; I always try so hard to be so damn...responsible. :-/

But I'm due a break, not least from my own sense of perfection! Besides, I've been battling a stomach virus, and I'm at the point now where I'm starting to get loopy from lack of proper meals. I think I've turned the corner, though, and I feel sure I'll have something new to share with you by Wednesday. Stay tuned!

Someone had a *very* fetishy New Year's Eve!

Let's check in with Io. I haven't blogged about her in ages, but believe you me, I've kept up with her! She's had a very up-and-down year, as detailed in her blog, but at least she got to visit some fun places - and to enjoy one hell of a New Year's Eve. She partied in Miami with fellow model Dylan Monroe (lead contender for World's Prettiest Man and owner of an exquisite pair of thigh-high boots) and a bunch of other clothed-and-otherwise friends. Check it out. I'm not usually one for candid shots, but I must say, this set really pushes my buttons. My only complaint is that I wish there was a better closeup of Io in her lace mask. That thing is gorgeous.