‘Marie Antoinette’ by Antonia Fraser…a sympathetic nod to a naughty princess!

(This is a repost from my other blog: Conchita’s OPEN Book…I do hope you don’t mind…it seemed relevant)

Last week…in my OTHER blog, MY LIFE AS A NYMPHOBRAINIAC…I wrote about Sophia Coppola‘s 2006 film, Marie Antoinette, staring Kirsten Dunst…an indulgent piece detailing the exploits of its oft misunderstood main character, the film is a beautiful work to behold…visually…it is as sumptuous and sensual as we imagine life at Versailles to be!

Honestly, it feels like a guilty pleasure to watch…

And I enjoy it as much as I do a fluffy, sugary, delicate…piece of…CAKE!

Upon doing a bit more research on the film recently I discovered that it is in fact based on a novel by the historian/fiction writer, Antonia Fraser…

Of course I snatched a copy as quick as I could locate one and after finishing the first 30 pages of this rather lengthy tome (600+ pages in total)…I find a slightly different Marie Antoinette emerging… certainly one who is much more complex…layered…and overall a sympathetic being. A child who who’s future was determined by royal birth and who’s unfortunate downfall appeared to be her destiny. Spoiled…yes…indulgent…yes…and yet she was also innocent and naive to many of the political determinism of her day…and no…she never said,

Let them eat cake!

That unfortunate attribution was actually uttered by a royal 200 years before Marie Antoinette became Queen of France! In fact this queen was quite the humanitarian it seems… Mis-attributions aside…I very much look forward to getting into THIS ONE!

As`always…I will keep you updated along my read! xxx c

Love is the cure,
for your pain will keep giving birth to more pain
until your eyes constantly exhale love
as effortlessly as your body yields its scent.

Rumi…on his 800th Birthday…a poet that truly gave words to feelings…thank you…xxx c

I Just Picked-Up: ‘Marie Antoinette’ by Antonia Fraser…a sympathetic nod to a naughty princess!

Last week…in my OTHER blog, MY LIFE AS A NYMPHOBRAINIAC…I wrote about Sophia Coppola’s 2006 film, Marie Antoinette, staring Kirsten Dunst…an indulgent piece detailing the exploits of its oft misunderstood main character, the film is a beautiful work to behold…visually…it is as sumptuous and sensual as we imagine life at Versailles to be!

Honestly, it feels like a guilty pleasure to watch…

And I enjoy it as much as I do a fluffy, sugary, delicate…piece of…CAKE!

Upon doing a bit more research on the film recently I discovered that it is in fact based on a novel by the historian/fiction writer, Antonia Fraser…

Of course I snatched a copy as quick as I could locate one and after finishing the first 30 pages of this rather lengthy tome (600+ pages in total)…I find a slightly different Marie Antoinette emerging… certainly one who is much more complex…layered…and overall a sympathetic being. A child who who’s future was determined by royal birth and who’s unfortunate downfall appeared to be her destiny. Spoiled…yes…indulgent…yes…and yet she was also innocent and naive to many of the political determinism of her day…and no…she never said,

Let them eat cake!

That unfortunate attribution was actually uttered by a royal 200 years before Marie Antoinette became Queen of France! In fact this queen was quite the humanitarian it seems… Mis-attributions aside…I very much look forward to getting into THIS ONE!

As`always…I will keep you updated along my read! xxx c

danae – egon schiele (via SPACE IN TEXT)…Twisted & Tortured Beauty.

Egon Schiele was an Austrian painter and a protégé, as well as would be successor of Gustav Klimt (“The Kiss“…a personal favorite). He came into his own in the art world in the early 20th century. Schiele’s moody work is noted for its intensity, and the many self-portraits the artist produced. The twisted body shapes and the expressive line that characterize Schiele’s paintings and drawings mark his work as expressionistic.

While I am no art-historian or even technically knowledgeable…his work has ALWAYS touched me. I was first introduced to his paintings in an undergraduate class that focused on several prominent artists and their psychology. Schiele was, by far, the most compelling personality we focused on. He had a particularly strained relationship with his mother and an incestuous one with his sister, primary attachments which clearly influenced his art and depiction of both himself and his “mother” in his work.

He was a psychologically tortured man…who expressed that pain, touchingly…often disturbingly…in his art…his work whispers to the twisted and yet vividly plain…confusion in us all…which makes it truly powerful.

Hope you look up and enjoy his work as much as I…I will post a few more today…xxx c.

. . … Read More

via SPACE IN TEXT

I am a huge comic book nerd and share that love with my boyfriend and as such…will be attending NYC Comic Con Next weekend…I hope all you nerds can make it too! New York Comic Con is the East Coast’s biggest and most exciting popular culture convention. Our show floor plays host to the latest and greatest in comics, graphic novels, anime, manga, video games, toys, movies, and television. Our panels and autograph sessions give fans a chance to interact with their favorite creators. Our screening rooms feature sneak peeks at films and television shows months before they hit either big or small screens. And with dedicated professional hours, New York Comic Con is a market place, bringing together the major players in the entertainment industry. New York Comic Con is the second largest pop culture convention in America and the only one that takes place in the comic book, publishing, media, and licensing capital of the world — Gotham City. (NYC Comic Con) No…I will not be dressing up…lol…xxx c

Because Comics Are Books TOO!…Next Week Comic Con NYC

Sex Toy Tuesday (#6): Don’t you just LOVE a good TICKLE?

Who doesn’t like a little tickle?

Okay…truly sometimes tickles can turn quickly to torture when the tickler gets a tad sadistic…but here…I am referring to a DIFFERENT type of tickling…one that focuses on…the female erogenous zone:

THE FRENCH TICKLER!

These cartoon-like little creatures…admittedly look super silly…like a sea anemone

except for their distinctive quality as a SEX TOY!

While the origin of the French Tickler appears to be shrouded in mystery…their purpose is clear:

A French tickler is a latex condom that is designed with additional protrusions, for enhancing the sexual pleasure of the user.

A typical French Tickler uses a number of bumps, crests and falls in the lining of the latex ostensibly to make sexual intercourse more enjoyable or pleasurable for the recipient. They may also have hair-like protrusions.-Wikipedia

These little creatures are available at most erotic boutiques and even the most…exotic looking (and they do get quite elaborate) can be acquired for less than $4…making this week’s edition quite a nice bargain! An inexpensive nocturnal foray with your partner into “Fantasy Penis Land”…if you will! Heehee!

All jokes aside…this is a useful and fun adult-toy. I have personally enjoyed various french tickler incarnations on more than one occasion and can vouch for their highly titillating qualities! They can be used both externally and internally…and always merit multiple giggles of pleasure!

So next time you are out and about…shopping for something for some naughty fun…pick a couple up! Give it a try…because nothing is better than a good…satisfying tickle!

…oh and they double as a wicked fashion statement as well:

Hee hee…enjoy! xxx c.

GREAT BARGAIN ALERT FOR E-READERS!

My fellow bibliophiles…with e-readers…all the major e-reader distributers are running a special on the first book is this highly-acclaimed best-selling series:

New York Times bestselling author Christine Feehan presents the story of Sarah, the eldest of the extraordinary-and magical-Drake sisters, now rewritten and expanded, in this very special collector’s edition. 

“Sarah Drake has come home.” Ever since Damon Wilder sought refuge in Sea Haven, he’s heard the same breathless rumor pass the lips of nearly every local in the sleepy coastal town. Even the wind seems to whisper her name-a reverie so powerfully suggestive that it carries the curious Damon to Sarah’s cliff-top home, and seeks to shelter him there. But Damon has not arrived alone. A killer has tracked him to Sea Haven, and into the shadows of Drake House. But Sarah has her own secrets, and danger-as well as a desire more urgent than either has ever known-is just a whisper away…(Amazon)

At $1.99…I am giving it a shot and will certainly keep you informed as to how this NEW BARGAIN pans out!

Happy reading…xxx c

A Friend Who Cares

(Henri Nouwen)

When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives
mean the most to us,
we often find that it is those who,
instead of giving advice, solutions, or cures,
have chosen rather to share our pain
and touch our wounds with a warm and tender hand.
The friend who can be silent with us
in a moment of despair or confusion,
who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement,
who can tolerate not knowing, not curing, not healing
and face with us the reality of our powerlessness,
that is a friend who cares.

Thinking About: Spanking…then & NOW!

On the eve before the Sexxymofo Naughty School Girlz Party I find myself reflecting on

SPANKING!

As a child I HATED getting spanked (yes, back in my day children were still spanked, today it is considered “child abuse”)…my mother would reprimand me and then sentence me to a later punishment, mentally torturing me all day with:

“What until you father gets home!”

And indeed when he did I would get a “beatin”…still he was firm and quick, much better than my mother who was emotional and erratic with her spanking-style…grabbing whatever was in her area and usually breaking it at some point!

I laugh NOW…and laughed a couple times then…(which I immediately regretted as the ensuing reaction was double the original punishment)…but as an adult I find that spanking is still a part of my life…although not in a disciplinary manner…

Rather spanking and being spanked as an adult has taken on erotic purpose…fulfilling (I am sure) some psychological need tangled in a universal desire to be both dominant and submissive…the difference, as an adult, being:

Control.

A mechanism which seems to make all the difference in the world! Making a merely painful and emotionally degrading childhood experience (still) that…and also so much more:

Erotic…sensual…and satisfying…

If done properly…with attention to pressure and ending with a nice kiss. It is quite intriguing how such a common and negative childhood memory can develop into fulfilling sensual play. Or perhaps Freud was right and our seeds of sexual pleasure are all based on that all impressionable latent phase in childhood which influences all of our adult…erotic fancies…and in fact nothing is new about our adult sexual desires…fantasies…fetishes.

Could be…or perhaps…Spanking is just HOT!

And the opportunity to engage in such an erotic and playful activity with someone you love and respect is…FUN!

I will try not to deconstruct this notion today…and just get my plaid skirt and ruler ready for the spankies at tomrrow’s event!

have a wonderful weekend,

xxx c.

For Those Who Love FEM Fantasy/Horror…P. Briggs just doesn’t sink her teeth in!

In this first of five (soon to be 6) in the Mercy Tompson Series by Patricia Briggs we meet our heroine, the tough and talented Mercy…a shape-shifter with a nose for trouble and a knack for perseverance. She is as hard and nasty as she is loyal and idealistic. She fights for what is right and as a reader, we love it…we love her! The novel is woven in modern times when mythes, monsters and legends (e.g. vampires, werewolves, goblins) roam freely, some “outed” and some not. We, follow Mercy as she negotiates the trials and politics of the wolfpack that raised her. The story is solid, easy to follow. There is a hint of mystery and intrigue…but there is also something missing in this premiere of the series…

BITE!

Briggs stops short of pushing the development between her characters. We enjoy then…we fell for them…but I could never quite get a sense of how they felt for one another.

The novel reads a lot like a wonder menagerie of fantastical figures..waiting to meet one another!

I can only hope…that in the next installment Briggs gives her characters the introduction they so badly deserve!

xxx c.