The Erotic Literary Salon: Online

Philosopher Alain De Botton ‘Better Porn’ – accomplished at the Erotic Literary Salon

panasusana — Mon, 21 May 2012 17:25:14 +0000

My comment to article in Huffington Post (see below) on ‘Better Porn.’ At the Erotic Literary Salon I try to steer clear of the terminologies porn and erotica. Yes, it is the name, since the public library wouldn’t place my flyers in the lobby if sex or porn were on the front. But at the live Salon, nothing is censored and no judgement is conferred upon piece with words such as pornography or erotica. Sensexual, the combining of sensual and sexual leave it up to the reader to decide. Then there is good and bad writing, which are not impacted by whether it is porn or erotica, but how well the author writes.

Philosopher Alain De Botton Hopes To Revolutionise Sex Lives With ‘Better Porn’

Huffington Post UK | By Felicity Morse Posted: 18/05/2012 17:38 Updated: 18/05/2012 17:38

A philosopher is setting out to conquer ‘brutish stupid’ porn by launching a website featuring ‘nobler’ erotica.

Despite the popularity of books such asFifty Shades Of Grey, philosopher Alain de Botton wants to differentiate his ‘new kind of porn’ from ‘elusive’ erotica.

But he also wants to maintain the X-rated physicality of current porn for his website, named “Better Porn.”

“Erotica realises there is a problem with porn and locates the issue in explicitness. If only porn were less explicit – the argument seems to run – then it would be OK. Better Porn starts from a different point of view”, De Botton argues. read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/05/18/philosphical-porn-alain-de-botton-school-of-life_n_1527623.html?show_comment_id=155962753#comment_155962753

Sex in Bed – Not with Memory Foam – Tempur Pedic

panasusana — Sun, 20 May 2012 17:32:37 +0000

A sex bed revolution may be in the future. According to an article on memory foam mattresses, people are more interested in sleeping than sex. I suggest purchasing furniture specifically designed for sex (soon to be listed in the adult product section of this website), and think about other areas of your home or outdoors to enjoy a romp in the hay – perhaps literally.

Excerpt from: Sex or Sleep?

Sales of memory-foam mattresses have skyrocketed to almost 20% of the mattress market. They induce a blissful snooze but make sex a challenge.

…The idea of sex versus sleep has sparked some spirited marketing in the mattress industry. Sealy (ZZ), the largest maker of traditional mattresses, launched a sexy new ad campaign during last year’s Super Bowl. The 30-second spot features a series of couples between the sheets with satiated looks on their glowing faces. And lest you miss the point, the lyrics, “Just a little lovin’, early in the morning,” play in the background. The commercial, which has garnered more than two million views on YouTube, closes with the slogan, “Whatever you do in bed, Sealy supports it.”

The clear target of the ads is Tempur-Pedic (TPX), which makes the majority of memory-foam mattresses. Since issuing shares to the public in 2003, Tempur-Pedic’s stock price has soared 274%. Sales have risen to $1.4 billion, topping all other mattress makers. But Tempur-Pedic’s rise has gotten bumpier in recent years as traditional-mattress makers have begun offering memory foam….

We zeroed in on the $3,000 Cloud Supreme from Tempur-Pedic, and lay down on it. The surface seemed to melt away as the mattress began to conform to our particular shape. It seemed very NASA-like, putting us in mind of floating inside a space shuttle. At one point, the salesman put his keys down on the mattress and asked us to lay back down on top of them. The keys initially felt like a lump, then melted away into the mattress, becoming virtually unnoticeable. With memory foam, the princess never would have found that pea.

Then we got to that more delicate matter. “Is it difficult to have, ahem, ‘relations’ on one of these?” we asked.

The salesman blushed slightly, tripped over a few words, and then provided something of an answer. It isn’t so much that it is difficult, he said. “It’s just that coils give you bounce, which you don’t get on memory foam. It’s a lot more physically intense because you’re not getting any help from the bed.”

Physically intense? You’ll find less flattering descriptions in a just a few minutes of Googling “memory foam.” It’s like “shagging on a ball of clay,” suggested “Rusty M.” on the review site Yelp. “Clinton K.” complains of “losing a pretty good rhythm.”

Nick Robinson, the editor and publisher of the mattress-review site SleepLikeTheDead.com, analyzed as many comments about memory foam as he could find on the Web and concluded that about 40% of owners say that sex is less than ideal. Still, Robinson says, some 80% of memory-foam owners are satisfied with their beds — the highest rate of any mattress variety on the market. The implications of the math are clear: Many people don’t really care if the sex is lousy as long as the sleep is good. Read more:

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/sex-or-sleep-.html?page=all

“Cornish Cream,” by Steve Geoffreys – Blog Tour

panasusana — Sat, 19 May 2012 16:09:00 +0000

Prepare yourself for an erotic roller-coaster of a read from the very first chapter in the novel Cornish Cream by Steve Geoffreys. In the story a lottery winning couple, Jeff and Sarah Stevenson rent a cottage in Cornwall, England for their first anniversary and to act out their own top ten sex fantasies on each other. But, when they arrive back home in London after their debauched week away a nasty surprise drops through their letterbox. The owner of the cottage, Lord Smedley has sent them a rather large bill that will rock their perfect world if they don’t pay up. It opens a can of worms and during the drama that ensues, surprises and revelations surface that bring on a final twist.

Review of book to follow in a few weeks.

Press Release – June 19th – Magic Erotica

panasusana — Thu, 17 May 2012 03:42:54 +0000

Philadelphia’s Erotic Literary Salon, Featuring-Magic Erotica and Frances (95 years young) Reading “Go the Fok to Sleep,” Along with Salon Erotic Readings from Attendees, Tuesday, June 19.

Thursday, May 16, 2012

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Susana Mayer, Ph.D., Salonnière, pcSalons@gmail.com

Sign-up to read starting 7:30PM, detailed guidelines at website.

www.PhiladelphiaCulturalSalons.com – blog sex news, Salon notices, erotica, and guidelines.

The Erotic Literary Salon will be held Tuesday, June 19th. Mark will be the featured presenter; he is an accomplished stand-up comedian and regular opening reader at the Salon. Mark will performing a novel act, using illusions to tell erotic stories.

The Salon has been given permission by the author Adam Mansbach. to video tape Frances reading from his best selling book, Go the Fok to Sleep. This is a repeat reading, the summer attendees who had the privilege to hear her first reading laughed until tears ran out of their eyes. Not to be missed.

PHILADELPHIA: The Erotic Literary Salon, unique in the English-speaking world has launched a growing movement mainstreaming erotica. Salons attract a supportive audience of 70 or more individuals. Approximately 20 participate as writers, readers, storytellers, spoken word performers of original works/words of others, the rest just come to listen, enjoy and applaud. Frances, our resident nonagenarian (95 years young) often recites her original erotica.

Salons gather the 3rd Tuesday of every month at TIME (The Bohemian Absinthe Lounge), 1315 Sansom Street, Center City, Philadelphia. Doors open at 7:30 p.m. (limited seating), for cocktails, food and conversation. The event begins promptly at 8:00 p.m. Admission is $10, discounted for students, and seniors (65+) to $8. Salon attendees must be 21.

Creator of this event, Dr. Susana, is Philadelphia’s best-known sexologist. She lends her voice to the Salon by offering relevant information to support the discussions that arise in the Salon and blog.

“…surprisingly comfortable….Salon devotees praise her for the space she has created….”

“I think Susana is doing a very brave thing.”

Philadelphia Inquirer, February 10, 2010

“There are laughter and tears along with the hot rush of blood – to the face.

Daily News, March 15, 2010

“I never knew such a life of honesty could exist. I finally found a home I can be comfortable in…this event changed my life.

Warren Katz, first time reading attendee

###

Last Night – Amazing Erotic Literary Salon Evening

panasusana — Wed, 16 May 2012 15:34:29 +0000

Tongue and cheek story about Frances’ seduction of John, one of the attendees at the Salon, closed the evening’s readings with laughter till it hurt. He warned the Salon men to stay clear of this 95 year old seductress. His story was magnificent and Frances truly enjoyed, along with the rest of the audience.

So many fabulous readings I could spend all morning writing about them, instead, I suggest you attend the next Salon and experience a fabulous evening of shared erotica. Perhaps you will come away with similar feelings expressed by one of the ‘virgin’ readers, “ I never knew such a life of honesty could exist. I finally found a home I can be comfortable in…Thank you all so very much…. Not to be overly dramatic, but this event changed my life. I hope I can someday share with you how much. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you.” Words shared by Warren Katz, who has given me permission to post his name.

Save the date: June 19 for the next Erotic Literary Salon

TODAY – The Erotic Literary Salon, Can Porn be Feminist?

panasusana — Tue, 15 May 2012 18:42:21 +0000

Tuesday, May 15th, IJ Miller, erotic author will be our featured presenter and Frances (95 years young) is back to read first-person sex story…and the night is just beginning. Jackie 142857 will read, “Rubber Tits” story, along with 15+ attendees offering their erotica (from simmering to sizzling).

Can Porn Be Feminist?

Filmmakers gathered in Toronto this week for the annual Feminist Porn Awards. Maura Kelly reports on the films, the followers—and the critics.

by Maura Kelly

To kick off the annual Feminist Porn Awards on Wednesday night, adult filmmaker Buck Angel screened his documentary Sexing the Transman XXX to a cheering crowd at a University of Toronto lecture hall. In the movie, Angel talks to female-to-male transsexuals, like himself, about their sex-change experiences. Then he films them masturbating, with and without dildos.

goodforher.com

Welcome to feminist pornography, a genre of sex films designed to appeal to people who feel put off by mainstream porn. In the world of feminist porn, women come in all shapes, sizes, and sexual orientations. The actresses don’t necessarily conform to the typical big-boobed, tiny-waisted ideal; some sport armpit hair. They look more like the average woman walking down the street or standing in line at Whole Foods than “porn stars.”

Angel’s documentary is one of 41 films from eight countries being celebrated at the annual awards event, which features several days of screenings and presentations, includingan awards ceremony, held last night. Award categories include “Hottest Lesbian Feature Film,” “Sexiest Straight Movie,” and “Smutty Schoolteacher Award for Sex Education.”

Some feminist porn movies look like art-house movies—and meander, plotwise, like them too. Take Emile, for instance, one of this year’s contenders. Made by Canadian director N. Maxwell Lander, the movie features a zaftig woman in a silky robe getting herself off, and doing a lot of sexy cigarette smoking, too. There’s more of a narrative in Erika Lust’s Cabaret Desire, another nominated film, about a bohemian gathering spot where people go to hear erotic tales. Lust’s plot-heavy films typically appeal to straight women and couples.

In contrast, director Nenna Joiner’s oeuvre—including her latest work, Hella Brown—attracts and features gay women of color. Sex-ed students, meanwhile, might appreciateGush: The Official Guide to the G-Spot and Female Ejaculation, also a nominee, a film produced by Good Vibrations, a San Francisco-based company that sells adult toys and educational materials.

The Feminist Porn Awards, now in their seventh year, are the brainchild of Carlyle Jansen, owner of Toronto adult toy store Good for Her. Filmmakers submit their movies for consideration; winners are chosen by a jury. This year’s jurists include Eden Baylee, a writer of literary erotica; Lorraine Hewitt, a burlesque performer known as CoCo La Creme; and Sheila Cavanagh, a gender and sexuality-studies professor at York University in Toronto, and the author of Queering Bathrooms: Gender, Sexuality and the Hygienic Imagination.

Jansen says the awards are a way to “acknowledge, celebrate, and endorse films and filmmakers that are redefining what porn can be.” For a film to qualify, a woman must have played a significant role in the making of the movie—in the production, writing, or directing. The film must also challenge stereotypes found in mainstream porn about what’s beautiful or sexy, and depict women or transsexuals experiencing genuine sexual pleasure.

Feminist porn has been around since the 1980s, when pioneers such as Annie Sprinkle and Nina Hartley began making it. Sprinkle, for her part, had been a stripper before becoming a pornographer. As she puts it, “I was tired of simply exploring other people’s fantasies, or performing other people’s fantasies, and wanted to explore my own.”

In the last few decades, the number of feminist pornographers has multiplied; their creations are now widely available online and at adult toy stores that attract female customers—Good Vibrations in San Francisco, Toys in Babeland in New York City, Good for Her in Toronto. “Feminist porn is still a small but growing segment of a huge porn industry,” says Jansen. She says the mainstream porn industry has been hurt by the Internet, because there’s so much free porn, but that the Internet has actually helped feminist porn. Why? For the small companies that make feminist porn, it’s easier to reach viewers through their computers than to produce and distribute large quantities of their films, she says.

If feminist porn sounds relatively wholesome to you—if you’re picturing sex that might be graphic but is also gentle and romantic, the kind of lovemaking that might have occurred on that beach in From Here to Eternity if the camera never cut away from Deborah Kerr and Burt Lancaster to the waves—you might be getting the wrong idea. Some porn that’s considered feminist depicts women who are hog-tied while having sex that looks painful, or women who are suspended from the ceiling while men penetrate them. That’s feminist?

Yes, proponents say. What makes these films “feminist” isn’t just that they feature performers who are more diverse in shape, size, sexual orientation, age, and race than in mainstream pornographic movies, but that the performers engage in sexual behaviors they enjoy. The directors and producers often “ask the actors what they like to do,” says Jansen. In mainstream porn, the performers don’t have any say in the matter.

“Some women are turned on by being submissive,” Jansen explains. “We need to respect that their choice for themselves is not degrading or sexist.” She adds, “There is so much shame and negativity around sex already. People need to feel positive about their desires.”

Tomorrow-Tuesday-The Erotic Literary Salon, Polyamory, Sex Geek,

panasusana — Mon, 14 May 2012 14:37:13 +0000

May 15, 4th Anniversary of the Erotic Literary Salon.

Polyamory, finally discussion among traditional psychologists.

According to Charlie Glickman (great guy) I’m a sex geek. Always knew I didn’t fit the norm, but a geek!?! Thought that had something to do with technological nerds.

Experts in Philly describe mysteries of polyamory: When one lover isn’t enough

Stacey Burling

You think a romantic relationship between two people is hard? Try polyamory.

A panel of experts at the American Psychiatric Association meeting in Philadelphia last week said that open relationships between more than two people can work, but it requires a lot of talk about rules, boundaries, and time spent with various lovers.

William Slaughter, a psychiatrist in Cambridge, Mass., who has been treating polyamorous patients for about five years, said they need to have very good communication skills and be especially good at “mentalizing” or understanding others’ emotional reactions. He and Richard Sprott, a psychologist at California State University East Bay, and Elisabeth Sheff, a sociologist who recently left Georgia State University, talked about what to expect from polyamorous patients. Such patients often complain that they have to spend too much time educating their therapists, Slaughter said. Read more:

http://www.philly.com/philly/health/20120514_Experts_in_Philly_describe_mysteries_of_polyamory__When_one_lover_isn_rsquo_t_enough.html?c=r

What Makes a Sex Geek?

Charlie Glickman

Excerpt:

Interest in sex

First off (and unsurprisingly), people said that a big part of being a sex geek is being really interested in sexuality. Some of them were academic scholars who had spent a lot of money on university degrees, while others had gone for a less formal approach. Wherever they fell on that spectrum, several of them spoke about having gathered amazing collections of books, research articles, and bookmarked websites. Others mentioned the tendency to connect whatever news or current events they hear about to sexuality, sexual politics, or other related topics. And one person specifically mentioned getting daily google news alerts for “masturbation”, “orgasm”, “sex education” and “erotic.”

More: http://www.charlieglickman.com/2012/05/what-makes-a-sex-geek/

The Erotic Literary Salon – 4th Anniversary, Libraries ban 50 Shades of Grey, Porn Cities, Clap – the disease,

panasusana — Sat, 12 May 2012 18:39:33 +0000

This Tuesday the Erotic Literary Salon celebrates its 4th anniversary with some wonderful steamy words to be shared.

Many libraries ban, “Fifty Shades of Grey.” Curious if they have Lolita on their shelves? Are public tax funded libraries meant to dictate or satisfy the tastes of its patrons?

Excerpt:

“Librarians in at least four Florida counties have declined to buy the book – even though hundreds of people have requested it. Reasons range from not having the money to poor reviews.

“It doesn’t suit our community standards,” said Cay Hohmeister, director of libraries for Leon County – where Florida’s capital, Tallahassee, is located.”

The Smuttiest Cities in America: I’m wondering if the standards used to compile these figures are actually ones that could best describe the most sexually repressed cities? I’m also noticing a Florida trend with banning of erotic books.

Excerpt:

“Not only were Orlando folks the randiest residents, but Florida was also the most salacious state.”

Read more at Men’s Health: http://www.menshealth.com/health/smut-census#ixzz1ugKImG5f

Return of the Clap: Beware, this is not just a San Francisco epidemic.

Excerpt:

“The threat of untreatable gonorrhea is emerging rapidly,” the editorial warned.

“That threat is troubling for two reasons. First, gonorrhea is abundant: it is the second-most reported infectious disease in the U.S., with more than 600,000 new cases a year. Second, if untreated, it can cause widespread organ damage, pelvic inflammatory disease and infertility. Making matter worse, our current methods for tracking and controlling gonorrhea are actually contributing to the spread of resistant disease.

A Slow But Steady Spread
Gonorrhea is the first of the major sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) to tiptoe to the threshold of untreatability.”

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=return-of-the-clap&print=true

“Handle With Care,” by Josephine Myles, Blog Tour

panasusana — Thu, 10 May 2012 17:57:44 +0000

Blog Tour: Handle with Care by Josephine Myles

Released by Samhain Publishing: 24^th April 2012

Blurb:

The best things in life aren’t free…they’re freely given.

Ben Lethbridge doesn’t have many vices left. After raising his little sister to adulthood, he wasted no time making up for the youth he lost to responsible parenting. Two years of partying it up—and ignoring his diabetes—has left him tethered to a home dialysis regimen.

He can do his job from his flat, fortunately, but most of his favourite things are forbidden. Except for DVD porn…and fantasizing over Ollie, the gorgeous, purple-haired skateboarder who delivers it.

Their banter is the highlight of Ben’s lonely day, but his illness-ravaged body is the cruel reality that prevents him from believing they’ll do anything more than flirt. Not to mention the age gap. Still, Ben figures there’s no harm in sprucing himself up a bit.

Then one day, a package accidentally splits open, revealing Ben’s dirty little secret…and an unexpected connection that leaves him wondering if he’s been reading Ollie wrong all this time. There’s only one way to find out: risk showing Ollie every last scar. And hope “far from perfect” is good enough for a chance at love.

Warning: Contains superhero porn comics and a cute, accident-prone delivery guy with colour-changing hair. Readers may experience coffee cravings, an unexpected liking for bad mullets, and the urge to wrap Ollie up and take him home.

Buy links:

Kindle US | Kindle UK | Samhain

Excerpt:

“Hey there,” Ollie said when I opened the door, that million-watt grin lighting up his face again. “Like the hair. Got another one of these for you.”

“Thanks.” I tried to kick-start my mouth into saying something interesting, but it refused to cooperate and decided it wanted to dry out instead. I suppose it was slightly less embarrassing than drooling over him. In an effort not to stare, I forced my gaze away and fixed it on the front garden next door. There was only a low, brick wall separating my spartan, gravel driveway with Mrs. Felpersham’s garden, but it was like another world over there. She’d crammed it full of blowsy pink flowers, a wooden wishing well and more garden gnomes than you could shake a stick at. Those gnomes always gave me the heebie-jeebies, but at least there were plenty to keep my eyes occupied at times like this.

“Oh, sweet! I’ve got that exact same T-shirt! ’Course, mine’s a bit smaller.” Ollie started bouncing up and down on his heels, and I wanted to lick him all over, he looked so appealing. At that thought, despite being full of dialysate, I felt my cock starting to stir. It’s a good thing I was in the XXX-Large version of the Wolverine shirt. Still, I leant forward a little just to make sure nothing showed.

My mind got stuck on the idea of how much I wanted to see him in that T-shirt and then out of it. I started to worry that I was going to blurt it out by accident, so I kept my mouth firmly shut. I must have looked like a right stuck-up twat. Didn’t seem to bother Ollie, though.

“I should bring some of those comics round for you to read. It would be good to have someone to chat about them with. Most of my other friends think I’m nuts, you know?”

What? Other friends? Did that mean he considered me a friend? We’d only known each other for a few weeks. I realised I needed to speak, and fast, if I wasn’t to make a terrible impression and get struck off that friends list.

“Yeah, uh, great. I mean, I’d like that, if you don’t mind lending your stuff to a stranger.” Great. Now I’d called myself a stranger when he was trying to be friendly.

“Nah, it’s cool. I know where you live, after all.” He gave me another huge grin that made his cheeks dimple. It really wasn’t fair. No one should be allowed to be that cute.

Author Bio:

English through and through, Josephine Myles is addicted to tea and busy cultivating a reputation for eccentricity. She writes gay erotica and romance, but finds the erotica keeps cuddling up to the romance, and the romance keeps corrupting the erotica. Jo blames her rebellious muse but he never listens to her anyway, no matter how much she threatens him with a big stick. She’s beginning to suspect he enjoys it.

Jo’s website: http://josephinemyles.com/
Email: josephine_myles@yahoo.co.uk
Blog: http://josephinemyles.com/blog/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/josephine.myles
Twitter: @JosephineMyles

Brookstone’s – Mall Shopping – Sex Toys

panasusana — Mon, 07 May 2012 14:19:41 +0000

Sex Toys Go Mainstream: While mall shopping with my son in Florida we visited one of our favorite shops – Brookstones. We’re always interested in noting the newest gadgets, since we both have inventors minds. Always creating products while brainstorming, perhaps someday to actually produce one of them.

What I did notice was the addition of personal massagers, out in the open, towards the front of the store, well displayed for all to view. Overpriced, as most of their products are, but top of the line. I was totally impressed.

In the next few weeks, I too shall be offering these products and more. Top of the line, discounted prices.