Special Note: While the gender bender in me wants to say “Man and Wife?” what’s up with that?! Shouldn’t it be “Man and Woman” or “Husband and Wife”… you know… it references “I now join you, man and wife… you may kiss the bride…” Man owns his woman as property marriage vow from way back in the day… eh, straight cisexual people, go figure. I’ll let it drop because I really do love how OPEN they are about talking about sex and sharing it with their audience.

Turns out that on September 29th, MTV is going to premier the show, bringing pretty explicit sexual health topic, as well as information and resources, yey, to the ginormous mass of MTV viewers. The demographic is perfect; particularly as I imagine the show to combate some of the more dumbed-down representation of sexual relationships that youth see in music videos. Shanda is also an HIV/AIDS counselor.

Here’s the trailer:

• Man and Wife
• MTV Shows

New York, NY (September 12, 2008) – As federal marshal Harry Pfarrer in the new Focus Features film, Burn After Reading, George Clooney is a kinky lothario, bedding several characters in the film including Linda Litzke (Frances McDormand) and Katie Cox (Tilda Swinton). Not content simply to create his own special sex chair, Harry carries with him a purple microfiber Ramp from Liberator Bedroom Adventure Gear, designed to further spice up his sex life.

“We were thrilled to learn that our Ramp, one of the company’s best-sellers, would be featured in the film, Burn After Reading,” said Louis Friedman, Director and CEO, Liberator. “We have always advocated the use of Liberator products for people of all shapes and sizes and inclusion in a major Hollywood film truly gives us that added mainstream appeal. As happened when Liberator products were featured in Meet the Fockers in 2004, we anticipate great interest as a result of the film.”

Featured three times in the film, the Liberator Ramp is first seen as Harry and Katie enter her Georgetown home, followed by a scene in Katie’s bedroom in which Chad Feldheimer (Brad Pitt) hides from George Clooney in the closet, spying the Liberator Ramp on the bed. In the third scene, Harry storms out of Katie’s house after a fight, but not before returning for his Liberator Ramp, which he stuffs in the trunk of his car.

A completely new category of intimacy gear, Liberator shapes and furniture transform ordinary beds and bedrooms into creative sex terrains by employing angles, elevations, curves, textures, environments and motion. The Liberator Ramp offers support with a deep slope elevation which strategically lifts your lover’s hips to an altitude of 12 inches, offering access at critical angles that accentuate sensitivity.

A dark spy comedy from Academy Award winners Joel and Ethan Coen (No Country for Old Men, Fargo, The Big Lebowski), Burn After Reading is the story of what happens when an ousted CIA official’s memoir accidentally falls into the hands of two unwise gym employees intent on exploiting their find.

Being a fan of anything theatrical I can’t wait to take in the newest Coen Brothers movie as it does star some of my favorite actors… and even better that it also stars one of my favorite pieces of bedroom furniture…

Kudos to the Coen Brothers for such an educated pick!

I’m completely smitten with WALL•E, this summer’s Pixar/Disney offering. But the last thing I expected to see in my friendly, heterosexual upper east side Manhattan neighborhood movie theater was a feature length cartoon about a pair of lesbian robots who fall madly in love with each other. WALL•E is nothing short of hot, dyke Sci Fi action romance, some seven hundred years in the future! Woo-hoo!

Isn’t that what you saw?
No? What movie were you watching?

Leave it to Kate Bornstein to sum it up so clearly. And I think the point is a good one. In fact, I had a similar thought when I was watching it. It’s really not a stretch to view it that way, especially since they included the clear queer signifier of Hello Dolly. But since I lacked the get-up-and-go to actually follow through on that thought, go read her awesome post. And it goes without saying that you should see WALL•E, if you have not yet done so. (It’s worth checking out the comments, too, where Kate responds to some objections readers have to her theory.)

via Feministing

Small Favors: Girly Porno Comic Collection and Small Favors 2 at gooodvibes.com

Other folks from Good Vibrations had a great Pride weekend as well. Here’s a quick shout out from Jack, and our own bloggers Misty and smartyboots:

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From Misty:
“My sweetie and I had the pleasure of being guests at the wedding of two former GV staffers. City Hall was opened up special so they, and two other couples, could be married. This ceremony was extra special as it was presided over by former GV Board Member Margaret Cho. She’s shooting a new show and who better to star in an episode than people she’s already worked with!

The brides were both decked in 80s-style back and white and with only a few days to throw it all together – it went off smashingly.

It was a short ceremony but totally gorgeous with the nuptials occurring on the sweeping staircase right in the center of City Hall.

Usually I spend my Pink Saturday lounging it the park – and I look forward to running into old friends. But this, truly, was worth missing all of that. I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.”

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From Jack: How I Spent My Pride Sunday, or Who Wore What

“I got up early on Sunday so that I could help my friend John Burnside get ready for the Pride parade. John is 91, the widow of Harry Hay and was one of organizers of the first Radical Faerie gathering in 1979. He rode in a car with Joey Cain who was one of the Grand Marshals of the parade.

Joey is a community organizer, a past president of the Pride Board and works at the Haight-Ashbury Free Clinic. John wore puss-print jacket and a hat with orange flowers. Joey was in gold lame wearing a purple feather hat.

Since both John and Joey are Radical Faeries, Joey was able to place his grand marshal car right in front of the Radical Faerie contingent, which is where I marched with my friend Clayton, who was much photographed in his rainbow dress that was seven and a half feet wide.

At the end of the parade we hung out at Faerie Village, a fenced-off grassy area in the Pride Celebration at Civic Center. It turns out that Clayton’s dress could seat four or more Faeries. I wore a turquoise dress with the Hindu god Ganesh on the front and a turquoise feather wig.

I was not able to see Theresa Sparks, Good Vibrations CEO in her grand marshal car riding with Violet Blue and Margaret Cho, but I was able to snag a photo from the Internet.”

(here’s another image that is copy written so we couldn’t post it here: http://flickr.com/photos/mrdodgy/2623931626/)

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From smartyboots: Dyke March and No Pride

“When the little woman got home from work we bundled up in our winter coats (it being summer in San Francisco) to catch what we could of the Dyke March. I’ve never watched it from the sidelines before and I have to say, it’s definitely better people watching there than when you’re actually in the parade. Standing on Valencia we got a great view of the drummers and the gay boys hanging from the fire escape across the street and the OH GOOD LORD WHY AREN’T THEY WEARING SHIRTS AREN’T THEY COLD?!??? I have never exactly understood how marching down the street topless is empowering, but let’s all just blame that on my conservative heartland upbringing and move on, shall we? Afterward we stopped at the Valencia GV store to say hi to folks, have a free beer and check out the dancers. The dj kicked ass and the store was packed. Afterwards we proceeded to have some not-especially-gay sushi. Sunday we were even less gay and went to the Alameda County Fair instead of Pride. We saw a pig sitting on another pig’s head, so, while it wasn’t gay, it was a little queer.”

I always thought that Mr. Sulu was one of the most underutlizied character on the show. Capt. Kirk got most of the kisses, McCoy got plenty of drama and Spock got some great lines. But who else got oiled up and ran through a starship with a sword? Mr. Sulu, that’s who.

So I was thrilled to read that George Takei, the actor who played Sulu, plans to marry Brad Altman, his partner of over 21 years. In his blog post announcing their plans (linked above), Takei drew a comparison between the internment of Japanese-Americans after Pearl Harbor (he grew up in the camps) and the laws against same-sex marriage. Here’s an excerpt:

“With time, I know the opposition to same sex marriage, too, will be seen as an antique and discreditable part of our history. As U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy remarked on same sex marriage, “Times can blind us to certain truths and later generations can see that laws once thought necessary and proper, in fact, serve only to oppress.”

So here’s a shout out to their upcoming wedding. Go get yourself a bottle of Saurian Brandy and toast the happy couple. Mazel tov!

There’s an event at the end of May that I think is going to fall under “fun” but could also be totally informational… depending on the information you seek… Here’s the info. I hope you all will mark your calendar, make a mental note or enter into your fancy phone… cause I have a feeling it’s going to be a good time!!!!

Hope you’ll all show up to our store on May 31^st for some afternoon delightfulness!!!

Peanut butter & jelly. Cheese & wine. Oil & vinegar. Jeremy Fish and vibrators? The unthinkable has happened, as Jeremy Fish (www.sillypinkbunnies.com) has joined forces with Upper Playground to create the world’s first* (tighty-whitey wearing) vibrating beaver. Barry The Beaver will be making his debut at Good Vibrations this month and to celebrate, Upper Playground and Good Vibrations are throwing an old fashioned party/beaver signing, with Mr. Fish himself. On Saturday, May 31st, come down to Good Vibrations ( @ 17th St.) for food, DJ’s and Jeremy Fish.

Barry The Beaver will be for sale at Good Vibrations (stores and website) as of 5/5/08, so you’ll be able to pick one up on the day of the event. Good Vibrations will also have the ultra rare Black Barry The Beaver, but they will be gone fast (on the endangered species list…only 200 pieces, worldwide), so pick yours up IMMEDIATELY.

This will all be going down from 3-5 pm, so bring your appetite and something for Jeremy to sign (preferably your beaver).
See ya there…

*May or may not be true.

You know what I like about this clip? Even though the joke is supposed to be “heh heh horny old ladies”, Bea Arthur, Charlotte Rae and Katherine Helmond totally OWN that tired premise and make it awesome. (The less said of Sally Struthers the better – what is she even doing in this skit, anyway? Why didn’t they get Angela Lansbury?) Yes, yes, Ms. Arthur looks like Baby Jane, but that’s such a hideous wig I doubt that Sarah Jessica Parker herself would do any better in it. These three ladies may be most familiar as 80’s sitcom stars, but they’re all respected, Tony award winning stage actresses. When they make their way past that velvet rope they look like they expect and deserve it, and when they get bored with their dingbat arm candy – well, who can blame them?

I don’t think it’s an overstatement to say that our culture is a wee bit negative about older women and sex. I mean, sure, not too many folks are begging Abe Vigoda to get naked, but it’s far more accepted for a man to marry a woman much younger than himself – and of course he has to do that if he is to be able to have sex with someone, right? Because otherwise there would be only old women to have sex with – eeeeuwww! (It goes without saying that I’m speaking solely I’m speaking of heterosexuals right now. Queers would never be ageist, right? Right? ) On top of that, ladies, if you are over the age of 25 you sure as heck better not look it, or you’re going right into MILF territory – if you’re lucky. If you’re not found sexually attractive by the staff of the US Weekly (who seem to think that Demi Moore is a wizened old crone, so good luck with that) then you are not allowed to be sexual. If you are, you are a gross pervert who makes us think terrible thoughts about naked, frolicking old ladies.

I’ll be the first to admit that I get squicked out by the thought of my mom having sex. But that doesn’t mean she doesn’t have a right to it, doggone it! And there’s no reason you should get squicked out by the thought of my mom having sex, at least not any more than you do by the thought of anyone else having sex. In the immortal words of George Michael “Sex is natural, sex is fun!” (Okay, I’m pretty sure I added the exclamation point myself. But he should have put it in originally. Consider it a correction.) Now that I think about it, we live in a constant bath of sex and sexual images (if you’re not in America don’t get too excited, it’s not as awesome as it sounds) – denying the older folks their sexuality is a bit like taking your mother out to dinner at a fancy-shmancy restaurant and then telling her she can only have Kraft Mac & Cheese because at her age she shouldn’t be thinking about things like delicious steak and baby greens with heirloom tomatoes and goat cheese, and cheesecake and… where was I?

Oh yes, older women. They’re not dead yet, folks! Let’s not try to make them act like they are, okay? Doubt me? Check out this video of Bea Arthur and tell me that’s not hot.

If you’re interested in what an actual knowledgeable person has to say on the matter, check out Better Than I Ever Expected by Joan Price. Or you can read the introduction here.

No, seriously, you need this. If you haven’t been around trans folks it will keep you from putting your foot in your mouth, and if you are around them and already know how to behave, it will prepare you for the inevitable day when someone who you thought knew better asks one of these questions and you have to give them the smackdown educate them as to what constitutes an appropriate topic of conversation. I could say more, but I feel that Ms. Addams has all the bases covered. Except for that one about drinking. I’d like for her to get back to me on that one.

FYI, the “real name” question goes for everyone else, too. When I say “Hello, my name is Smartyboots”, that’s because that’s my name. It’s what everyone calls me, and that’s what you’re gonna call me too. Unless you’re behind the desk at the DMV, don’t ask for my “real” name, and I won’t ask you which barn you were born in.

Now that I think of it, you’re probably safe never asking any of these bad questions of anyone who you don’t know, or who hasn’t given you express permission. You wouldn’t think it would need to be stated, but it’s never appropriate to ask a stranger about the contents of their pants, or even their cullottes (feel free to ask them why they’re wearing cullottes, though. I’d like to know.). It doesn’t take Miss Manners to figure that one out. And this is a pet peeve of mine – one may not use the pronouns associated with a person’s previous gender just because you know they are a trans person – do you want people to talk baby talk to you because they know you were once an infant? I didn’t think so. Of course, you’re reading this fine blog publication, so you probably won’t do these things, but don’t let your friends do them either, m’kay? Also don’t let them wear cullottes – don’t ask me how I know, I just know.

Yes, the L Word. Despite what you like or don’t like about Jenny… or the series in general… there are millions of L Word fans. Including my straight roommates who ADORE the show for its drama. (And occasional sex scenes!)

One of such scenes featured the very hot, very sexy Outlaw’s Annie-O Harness (GV sells it in black!). Strap ons! How exciting — the acute g-spot dildo, and this is even more exciting — LUBE! Jenny didn’t forget the lube! (I couldn’t catch what brand it was… can you tell?)

Nikki and Jenny Sex Scene

By the way, Jenny’s “Lez Girls” is not to be confused with Katuko Kanai’s “Le Girls“… ; )