"Sinner transgressed by seeing evil." Category Archive
July 3, 2008
You Know You're Into Kink When...
There's a new sort of reality series called "Surviving History." It's a cross between, say, Mythbusters and an educational documentary. Basically there's a room full of guys from a special effects shop who, based on historical accounts, plan and build various devices from the past.
The episode I watched most recently included a sort of helmet that was designed to impede (but not prevent) vision, hearing, speech and to induce shame in the wearer.
On some levels, that's hot.
Allegedly, this was designed to silence a nag and to be worn in public. Also? It was tool (the least horrific on the show dating from the same era in British history) to enforce Christian morality.
Right.
You couldn't make something more to order for a sadist or a masochist if you tried.
[+] Posted by Sinner at 4:35 PM :: Submit. [+]
April 14, 2008
The "Glory Box"
A review of the beta FyreTV unit I received last week.
I heard about FyreTV about the time of the Adult Entertainment Expo. I believe I saw it first on Gizmodo, which mentioned the service was now in beta and accepting testers. What was I to do but to sign up? I figured, worst case, I would have to wait until it was a commercial product.
Two weeks ago I received an email asking me to confirm some personal information on the FyreTV web site. Once that was done, more communications confirmed my "Master-Beta" beta tester status. Another email announced a tracking number. Yay!
Last Monday I received the unit but it wasn't until Wednesday night that I had the time to devote to the installation.
Geek/Tech Part:
The box is quite small and light. Other than the labeling on the back for the various jacks it is all black. I would say it's roughly a third as wide as a traditional stereo or video component, and about half as tall. All that is visible on the smooth front is a red power light and an activity light. No logos. No names.
Set up was no more or less difficult than installing a DVD player, if your DVD player required an Ethernet connection. So, in my case, that necessitated some quick drilling to run some an extra network cable. My TV had available inputs so it was then only a matter of finding cables, of which I also fortunately had spares. There were some cables in the package for HDMI and left and right audio, but my TV was built before HDMI so I had to go with component video.The FyreTV unit also supports DVI output, but my one DVI input was already taken by my cable box. Definitely very nice to have options. S-video is the fourth alternative.
Also nice is that FyreTV supports wide screens. My TV has a 16:9 aspect ratio screen and I was able to select that on setup. This can be changed on-the-fly.
The one set-up "gotcha" for me was that the PIN number for the beta is not the PIN number for your personal account. I did not notice mention of that in any email communication or while I was creating my account at the FyreTV web site, but did I find the solution in their support forums.
Using the FyreTV:
It's in beta (as I may have mentioned) and even in the few days I have operated the device there has already been an update to the system. Everything is still subject to change.
As of this writing, there are about 175 movies on tap. During the beta period viewing those movies is effectively free and unlimited. They have promised a significant number of movies by launch, so I anticipate this should change dramatically.
You can search by title, studio, genre, actor/actress, and probably other ways I'm not remembering. The search is designed such that you can search across all titles, or you can add criteria to keep narrowing the focus. With 175 titles from 4 studios, today, this might not be as big of an issue. But if, as they promise, they increase selection to 20,000 titles, this will be paramount.
You can also browse through the covers of the videos as though they were DVDs. That interface is reminiscent of cover-flow on the Mac or in iTunes, but it's not as fluid. While there aren't detailed descriptions of each title, I think the cover art and title tell you as much as you really need to know. Once a title has been selected, you can choose to play from the beginning or you can select chapters from a thumbnail view.
I can tell you that we-who-are-kinky have not been ignored. While their breadth of title selection is not there yet, the categories already in place show there will be content that covers my various interests and pushes my hot buttons.
Also? This is not Cinemax. This is not R-Rated, NC-17, or unrated. It's explicit porn. Streamed to you over your broadband connection.
The picture quality and the response of the device is really damned good. Honestly I was surprised that the setup went so smoothly and that once I had my PIN number entered, the porn was streaming right away.
You can choose the video quality in a sort of a "good, better, best" arrangement. They equate the best to "DVD quality." While this is in principle true, my internet connection won't stream that much data that fast without artifacts and hiccoughs, but "Near DVD" looks really very good. I would say it looks much better than the highest quality recording on my Series2 TiVo. To date, my experience has been that once the video starts, it keeps playing.
The remote is OK. It seems that there is probably a better way to group the keys by function, but it does the job. Batteries were included, by the way.
The menus aren't as intuitive as an iPod or a TiVo, but again the service is in beta, so I doubt what I'm seeing today will be the final product. The issue I have is knowing which botton will take me back or up a level at which time. But I'm learning.
Features I haven't explored yet are the playlists and favorites. My understanding from the forums is that these are not "sticky" yet and still in development, so I am going to wait before I comment on those.
I'm happy to answer any questions, but if you are interested at all in the service then the web site is the place to go: FyreTV.com See also: Fyre TV FAQ
[+] Posted by Sinner at 7:07 PM :: Submit. [+]
February 3, 2008
Mistress Mandy
Do you guys get the commercials about the cable company parental-control tools? Where the concerned parents say they enjoy the "compelling" TV but that they can't let their kids see it so they're going to block the characters?
The one I'm talking about (Mistress Mandy Gets Blocked) features a fictional dominatrix named Mistress Mandy. She is dressed in a lovely black vinyl catsuit and stiletto boots. She's holding a whip.
What I dislike a lot is the moment when she angrily shouts "Mistress Mandy wants to punish you!"
Nope. Off by a mile. In a scene, it is always all about what the Domme or top wants anyway. This is implicit and would never need to be stated. Next, I don't think she would betray anger or even that her subject wielded sufficient leverage to affect her emotionally. So the writers got this really wrong, or, more likely, the suits didn't (wouldn't?) get it.
I think she she would have calmly stated they would be punished. Or, she would simply and suddenly strike with the whip, because it pleased her. Then she would laugh at the pain.
It is cute at the end of the commercial when the wife comments that she thinks Mistress Mandy's boots are lovely.
[+] Posted by Sinner at 12:46 PM :: 2 Submissives [+]
January 14, 2008
Celebrity Rehab
No.
Nope.
I will not watch that.
[+] Posted by Sinner at 10:42 AM :: 1 Submissive [+]
November 13, 2007
Real Sploshing, Again, or: Wishing for New Episodes
I want to really love Real Sex, but after my long, long love-affair with teh pr0n, there's not all that much new under the sun.
The good news is that there are still some episodes I haven't seen before. I do try to catch Real Sex when I can.
The bad news is that when I watch re-runs, somehow I manage to catch one or more of the following: sploshing, pony play, or that session on the blow-job instruction.
Am I wrong?
Now I do consider myself educated after being exposed to a lot of what they show, and I have seen some stuff that opened my eyes, all I'm saying is that some episodes seem to be in more frequent rotation.
I just wish there was more coverage of the BDSM spectrum, beyond the popular fetishization of vinyl clothing and objects used.
[+] Posted by Sinner at 12:18 AM :: 2 Submissives [+]
October 2, 2007
Keep Your Penis in Your Genus
I watched the new show Caveman tonight. My expectations were low, but I laughed out loud several times. The title of this post was one of the best one-liners.
Yes, I'm a fan of the Geico caveman commercials. And the "Messin' with Sasquatch" commercials.
...
Fortunately, Flower is in my Genus.
Mmm. Genus.
[+] Posted by Sinner at 9:24 PM :: 1 Submissive [+]
July 21, 2007
The Notorious Betty Page
I watched The Notorious Betty Page on cable tonight.
What I liked is that it was stylish, but reasonably accurate in its portrayal of the time period. Liked the portrayal of Betty in her sessions, and the hints of the shock and alarm that straight (vanilla) society had and still has concerning BDSM.
I admit that I didn't care for the uplifting ending. Though the movie ends with Betty saying that she was not ashamed, that statement comes while she's holding a bible in her hands preaching on the street.
Seems like it was the socially expedient course of action.
Of course I can't comment on her spirituality, or what she found, but that didn't do anything for me.
I still adore Betty's cheesecake.
[+] Posted by Sinner at 1:56 AM :: Submit. [+]
July 20, 2007
Are They Mocking You?
I'm not kidding.
I just saw a commercial for pads. The pad was on a roller coaster track.
This was *not* an ad approved by women.
[+] Posted by Sinner at 9:29 PM :: Submit. [+]
June 29, 2007
"I Just Dropped In…"
"To see what condition my condition was in."
Can you believe that is a Kenny Rogers song?
It's been on my mind a bunch. I keep catching reruns of The Big Lebowski on cable.
It may be my favorite movie, evar.
My favorite edited (TV Friendly) line?
"This is what happens when you find a neighbor in the alps!"
[+] Posted by Sinner at 10:11 AM :: Submit. [+]
May 9, 2007
Mmm. Late Night Digital Cable.
When I watch Three Sheets, Zane Lamprey is my hero. He's funny and he gets blasted on camera. He gets to travel the world to sample local drinks and to partake in local drinking customs. I want his job.
When I watch Cat House, Dennis Hof is my hero. Not that I want to be him or like him, per se. What I love is that he unabashedly loves sex and owns a brothel. On a personal level, as a fan of decriminalizing consensual acts, this is huge to me.
Would you believe my other favorite shows are Miami Ink and American Chopper?
Sometimes, I'm such a guy.
[+] Posted by Sinner at 11:31 PM :: Submit. [+]
January 30, 2007
Six Feet Under
It's the first TV series I have really liked in a long time.
Granted, I'm seeing it in re-runs. When it was originally being filmed I wasn't getting the premium cable channels.
Lately, Bravo has been airing three episodes in a row every Monday night. Three. In a row.
Last night I watched them all. Three straight hours.
There is a lot of gravity. And the way they tell the story jibes a lot with my experience of reality.
Have I said this before?
Last night, after putting myself through all three episodes, I cried. The last scene I watched has Nate burying his the remains of his wife Lisa in the middle of nowhere, without the benefit of any embalming. It was his last tribute to her wishes. I wondered if the character was motivated by his own sense of duty or by his feeling that somehow carrying out her wishes would be a message to her.
He had a very difficult time breaking the ground for her grave. When he laid her to rest he wretched in revulsion at the state of her remains, and presumably at the stench. He clamored quickly to get out of the grave and away. As the sun rose over the scene, he was kicking at the dirt to disguise the grave site, having finally filled it in.
He began kicking at the ground with more and more fury and then began screaming, wordlessly.
That was where the episode ended.
I immediately thought "impotent rage." I know that feeling. I could identify.
I wept. It was just a story—but I could imagine myself in that place and I wept.
What did it really amount to—the effort he put into the grave? It was an expression of love—yet an absolutely final one. An end. At the same time, it was dawn. The comforting cover of dark was removed. Life goes on. The cycles continue.
No rest for the wicked.
[+] Posted by Sinner at 11:26 PM :: Submit. [+]
January 16, 2007
Minnesota
We did *not* reprazent.
Our future involves not singing.
[+] Posted by Sinner at 8:36 PM :: 1 Submissive [+]
December 2, 2005
Aeon Flux
I just got back from seeing Aeon Flux. I was told that it was true to the animated series, though it couldn't be as in depth in 90 minutes so much story was not told.
I liked the story. I like that it works on multiple levels, as does the cinematography. It was artfully done.
In some cases, I thought the artfulness was intrusive—which is to say I noticed it and it took me out of the movie.
The other issue I had was that I got strong gaydar from the male lead, and that made part of the storyline hard to swallow. (heh) This is not to say that the acting didn't rise above the terse dialog. I did care about the characters and found parts of the movie to be quite moving.
Without knowing much about the original animated series, I felt the movie told a single story well and gave it some closure without necessarily closing the door on future tales.
I would rate the film a "B" or "B-." It was more profound than I expected, which is good.
That being said, a collection of DVDs
[+] Posted by Sinner at 10:54 PM :: 2 Submissives [+]
November 20, 2005
Goblet of Fire
Yes, I did see Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire this weekend.
In short, I think it's the best movie of the four. No, I haven't read the books yet. I'm sure I will one day, but not as yet.
A highlight of the film is Hermione at the ball. She's so fucking adorable I can't stand it. It's really too bad Harry and Ron are such typical boys. Coulda, shoulda, woulda. But too bad for them.
The special effects these days are getting better. While you know a lot of stuff is computer generated, the effects don't get in the way. I was glad for that.
I also liked that this story wasn't all neat and tidy. While you get reasonable resolution, it's also clear that not everything is right in the world. There were also a few glimpses into the back stories of some of the other characters which was nice and clearly leaves room to be explored in the future.
The Dark Arts curriculum and the pool of suitable instructors seem to be very problematic.
[+] Posted by Sinner at 10:09 PM :: Submit. [+]
September 25, 2005
"Saucy Daguerreotypes…?"
I just watched The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and I loved the anachronistic accusation that saucy daguerreotypes might be held against you.
Speaking of which: I've obtained a vintage view-master viewer recently. Not one of the plastic ones, but one made of metal and coated wich a shiny black enamel. What I want to find for it are… not reels that you would let your children see. Stag reels or gentlemen's entertainment, if you will.
I have been made aware, however, that there are still working cameras of the type used to produce viewmaster reels available on eBay. They use 35mm film which itself is becoming something of an anachronism as we speak.
Which leads me to think about creating my own sauciness.
And wondering if there would be a market for such things.
And while we're evoking another era, I'm in the market for a hookah.
:: waiting for The Diamond Age
[+] Posted by Sinner at 2:15 AM :: Submit. [+]
April 16, 2005
OMG OMG OMG
I *heart* I Heart Huckabees!
[+] Posted by Sinner at 11:02 PM :: 4 Submissives [+]
June 16, 2004
Helmut Newton
«HELMUT NEWTON est mort le 23 janvier 2004.
«PHOTO lui rend hommage en lui consacrant son numéro d’avril.»
His images are edgy and sexy and compelling. Speaking as a man who has spent a lifetime consuming imagery, I still find his work to be among the most masterful and exciting I've ever seen.
No one does it like he did.
April 2004 issue of Photo, if you can find it.
Also:
Autoerotic
Florence
Staley+Wise
The Helmut Newton Report
Moscow House of Photography
Blow Up
International Center of Photography
Entre Vues: Frank Horvat
fan site
[+] Posted by Sinner at 1:09 AM :: 1 Submissive [+]
April 4, 2004
Beautiful Full Moon in the Sky
Happy Moon Day!
[+] Posted by Sinner at 6:13 AM :: 2 Submissives [+]
February 20, 2004
Yes!
OMG!
Yes. You were right. They *did* have good masturbation video!
=:o
[+] Posted by Sinner at 2:42 AM :: 2 Submissives [+]
January 2, 2004
Creepy
Just watched a taped show with Patricia Cornwell analyzing a stalker who attempted to kill Björk.
The guy had no friends and talked into his video camera presumably as though he was talking to her.
Another analyst talked about obsessive thinking and stalkers increasingly losing grip with reality.
I was like, "Shut up! I like it here."
Hrmm.
I am just a sampler platter of issues.
[+] Posted by Sinner at 7:57 PM :: Submit. [+]
November 8, 2003
The Moon Is Red
Seriously.
Go look outside.
[+] Posted by Sinner at 8:05 PM :: Submit. [+]
November 7, 2003
Feeling the Love
Did anyone else catch the lyric Cartman sang tonight about getting on his knees and feeling Jesus' love all over his face?
[+] Posted by Sinner at 1:28 AM :: Submit. [+]
October 7, 2003
Mulholland Dr.
Non-linear story. Inter-twined dreaming, reality, spirit world. Sexy. Beautiful.
It has to be one of the most memorable movie experiences I've had in a long while. I would recommend it highly.
It is hands down my favorite David Lynch movie, although I still haven't seen The Straight Story or Lost Highway...
[+] Posted by Sinner at 1:47 PM :: Submit. [+]
September 7, 2003
Shadow of a Doubt
Watched Shadow of a Doubt last night. Quite a good Hitchcock flick. I recommend it highly.
[+] Posted by Sinner at 3:20 PM :: Submit. [+]
August 31, 2003
The Secretary
Updated:
The Secretary
I didn't know a spanking could be so sexy. That was a very sexually charged scene for me.
If not for long sexy and funny conversations, I would not have found this movie nearly as sexy or funny as I did. I got the jokes. I undestood why it worked. It was a sweet movie.
In one of the last scenes, when he was not answering any questions, that was me. What he was doing is what I feel compelled to do with you.
My one complaint is that I did not get to see the woman bend over wearing seamed stockings—as the box for the videotape suggested. That's just mean-spirited.
But I would watch that movie again anytime.
[+] Posted by Sinner at 7:47 PM :: 2 Submissives [+]
July 21, 2003
Family Guy Is My Favorite, by Far.
"I need an adult!"
But I will always hold a special place in my heart for the co-dependent adventures of Ren and Stimpy—but only the really disturbing early shows before Kricfalusy was ousted.
I will never, ever forget the Stay-Put hat and raincoat, or the Happy Helmet.
"See how I *love* to clean feeelthy cat boxes..."
[+] Posted by Sinner at 6:42 PM :: Submit. [+]
July 3, 2003
That's Never Been Lost on Me...
At some point early on I saw a crappy movie that featured Nazi bad guys.
In one scene, there were some women cornered that a couple of soldiers thought they could, uh, use.
So one guy forces a woman to her knees and then forces her to perform fellatio.
She does this for a while, until she deep-throats him one last time and bites it off at the base.
Stupid fuck had it coming as far as I'm concerned.
And seeing that has made me mindful.
Vagina Dentata.
[+] Posted by Sinner at 12:57 PM :: Submit. [+]
May 26, 2003
Sandra Dee #2 is hot.
[+] Posted by Sinner at 9:26 PM :: Submit. [+]
May 15, 2003
The Graduate
Mrs. Robinson: "Is this your first time?"
Benjamin: "Is this what?"
Mrs. Robinson: "It is, isnt it? It is your first time."
[+] Posted by Sinner at 12:16 AM :: Submit. [+]
