Two 6′ tall sculptures by Takashi Murakami — at left is “My Lonesome Cowboy”. Images via Jean Claude Bourdais.
* All the “Sex and the City” movie hype makes me want to ralf. Like, yay: a movie made from a 10-year-old TV series about women being sexual in a way that seemed ten years old to the rest of us BACK THEN. I just don’t see how “Sex and the City” still matters. And like, one pair of their disposable shoes cost as much as rent on my apartment — and sorry to burst the fantasy bubble, but I don’t know any sex columnists who are easily making rent on all our *crazy* freelance income. Sorry, but shopping (and dining) like them means losing my flat. Know what I mean? Who can relate to these chicks? Ohhhh — I know who. Marketing flacks. To wit: “Sex and the City” film a marketing dream (Reuters). Sex sells, indeed.
* Not sex related, but utterly compelling: “private eye to the stars” Anthony Pellicano was found guilty last week of 76 counts of illegal activity, including unauthorized wiretapping, intimidation and bribing police. “The case was a culmination of a six-year investigation into Pellicano’s practices by the FBI that began in 2002 when a reporter for the Los Angeles Times found a dead fish on the bonnet of her car, the windscreen smashed and a note saying “STOP”. The FBI linked the threat to the fact that the reporter, Anita Busch, had been writing unfavourable pieces about Michael Ovitz, a powerful Hollywood agent and former co-president of Walt Disney.”
* Found on Fleshbot, that other place I blog: Scientific American has a long, four-page article about research on the science of the orgasmic mind. It’s fascinating, though I do take issue with the biological imperative assumptions about sexual pleasure in the beginning. But it includes some foundational research I’ve used in my oral sex books in regard to explaining how mind and body (and chemicals and fantasy) work in concert to turn us on and get us off. Neat.
* I really wanted to see the Takashi Murakami exhibit at the Brooklyn Art Museum when I was in New York last month — but I don’t think he’ll be missing my $10 much, since according to Sotheby’s website his life sized Hentai action figure My Lonesome Cowboy sold for $15,161,000. Wow. (Thanks, Praemedia!)
* Guardian UK has a fun sunday article Bring On The Bond Girls, about novelist Sebastian Faulks’ upcoming modern 007 book, the next Bond film on the horizon, and seven female responses to Bond girls, homo-Bond, and Bond sexuality.
* Born-again christian, former porn stard Shelly Lubben is at it again with all that unfounded, sex-negative, anti-porn rhetoric. Except rather than pester Google (and then drop out from giving her lecture when she had to come up with data to back her statements), she’s got the ear of — gah! — California assembly, trying to pass a “porn tax” bill. Send help. (Yes, “stard” is my new word. It is a combination of “star” and “retard” and it’s about time it was invented.)
* Didja see my Fleshbot post about Chuck Palahniuk’s new book? He’s going where no man has gone before — with gangbangs, viral video and a truly Divine-inspired washed-up porn star character. It’s too hard to explain without enough Absinthe and Vicodin in my bloodstream right now: read and watch “Chitty Chitty Gang Bang”: Chuck Palahniuk Goes Deeper Into Cassie Wright.
* The MySpace cyberbullying case is sad and tragic. But as long as rights don’t get trampled, I would love to see laws on cyberstalking get tougher as they now have in Missouri as a result of the case. Personally, I’ve been surprised at how serious and responsive the SFPD has been about my problems, but it’s even better to know that it’s being taken seriously across the board. Being cyberstalked and harassed online is truly hellish.
i am a huge murakami fan and it striked me as something really funny when i went to see the exhibition here. many fellow gallery viewers obviously had no idea of all the japanese words that sometimes are scribbled on his huge paintings, and i wish the musuem had bothered to get them translated because it would have made such a big difference. they were less obvious and sexual than his sculptures that had names like “milk” (which i thought was hilarious, but one american woman was so offended.)
i was translating the words on some of his paintings to my friends, that it was basically about cum and vomit, etc, and apparently i became almost like a musuem guide, and some people were listening in. however, one man asked if i was making it up, and i was so offended and told him not to eavesdrop then. ugh. it was a great exhibition! you should definitely go and see it if you come back into the city!
I couldn’t agree with you more about Sex and the City. I was over it then and I am SO over it now.
Their shallow lives are so completely unreal on so many levels I simply want to vomit.
Not only do their shoes cost more than your flat rent, try one tiny little hand bags they carry in an episode for 3 seconds.
And the sex they have is ridiculous. It’s all so fake it’s simply stupido!
The only reason it came out so late is because they were all fighting over how much money they would make.
Wow!!! Huge surprise there.
“Sex in the City” is widely credited with ruining the city.
It’s just one sentence, where a character asks if it’s actually possible for Cassie to die during the porn shoot, and another character says (I’m paraphrasing), yeah, she could have an embolism, and “if you need facts and figures, see The Ultimate Guide To Cunnilingus By Violet Blue”. That same character mentions various pro and anti-porn women writers at different points, she talks about Ariel Levy, Naomi Wolf, Andrea Dworkin, etc etc.
I can track it down and transcribe ya the exact quote if you want. Or better, get Chuck’s People to send you a copy right quick.
bookyloo: are you kidding me? I’m IN it? I had no idea. fuck, that scares me. you know, I’ve been back-and-forthing with Palahniuk’s people and I was wondering how they got my private email address in the first place. this is weird. no, I haven’t read the book. I kinda figured it would be sex-negative because all novels about porn are, and yes I agree, that’s how mainstream porn is about sex in general. (case in point about porn and novels: Irvine Welsh’s Porno, which actually made me decide to never read another Welsh book even though The Acid House shaped me greatly as a writer). but I’m a Palahniuk fan, so we’ll see… bookyloo, thank you so much for telling me all this. my life is seriously turning into a telenovela.
hey Violet:
have you actually had a chance to *read* that Chuck Palahniuk book yet?
It’s not out yet, but advance copies are floating about. I have a galley. It’s pretty sex-negative and ridiculous and totally gross, but also kinda funny. I guess that could also describe most mainstream porn.
If you haven’t read it:
Did you know you’re mentioned in it?? Very briefly, but mentioned nonetheless.
It’s nice to know I’m not the only one with no time for Sex and the City. :)