Wed, 17 June1998

_________________________________

      Good evening (and if I sent this to you at an odd hour, Good Morning and Good Afternoon -- sorry, bad Truman Show ref.). It's some ridiculous hour in the a.m. and I have a ton of things to report since last time. Just personally returned from a truly AMAZING weekend down in Los Angeles for the Fetish Ball and I don't think my circuits have quite recovered from the almost continuous party I experienced down there. Nonetheless I have plenty for you this issue and I'm determined. If I get sleepy I'll just have to have a cup of Arcane's Famous Coffee (designed to make you want to run a few miles -- ask Arcane's friends who've had a cup; they'll say, "he's obsessed, he drives 150 miles to buy his coffee beans!" Sad but true). ;-)
      In short, since the last issue we had a GREAT Iniquity party at the Power Exchange, Dressed To Thrill & The Los Angeles Fetish Ball came and went, the name INIQUITY now carries weight when shopping (heh -- can't wait to tell you about that one), and we received a tale of Pervery in the Real World (shudder -- no relation to MTV, who's characters wished they did the things we do), along with other news from around the Fetish World.
      I have also been happily surprised by the number of sign-ups INIQUITY NEWS has received, from places all over the U.S. All of these people had Iniquity News forwarded to them and liked what they read. Now and always, INIQUITY NEWS will be public domain -- forward it, pass it around, cut and paste it, etc, so long as no money is received for this Newsbitmap or parts of it (i.e. please do not paste any portions of this inside a pay-site). If you know someone somewhere who you think would like to be on the e-mail list, by all means zap 'em a copy. :)
      The first piece of coolness to report is that Past Issues of INIQUITY NEWS are now being archived on this website. This is a sort of "second step" as INIQUITY becomes more than just a name for a group, a newsbitmap, a concept, a club......er, ok, so INIQUITY is already becoming the name of a number of things. Well consider this a further step into the Internet as INIQUITY gets its own homepage. Next should come a kind of online forum/BBS for INIQUITY readers, HQ'd at the same homepage, as well as a Links list catering specifically to our tastes. Just to let you know, there are no links from the homepage Yet......my webslave is working overtime already. ;-)

We got a lot of stuff in this ol' Newsbitmap, so lets get goin.....
     Nonetheless, if you have a particularly cool URL and/or homepage that has ANYTHING to do specifically with Fetish Fashion & S/M, feel free to send me the URL. If I like it and think it's relevant, I'll gladly put it on the Links link. I will be subdividing the links into categories like SHOPPING, OTHER NEWS, FASHION, PARTIES, S&M, etc.

     Oh yeah: feel free to paste INIQUITY's new URL on your webpage if ya wanna. :-)

     One other item: REVIEWS! Need 'em, want 'em, love 'em. Anyone out there attend Europerve? Lets hear it, from scathing to embracing. Any review is better than no review, ya know? I also have a perpetual invite for ideas from y'all -- what do you want to hear about? What do you want to see? The only criteria is that anything appearing in INIQUITY should be about BOTH Fetish Fashion AND S&M. For example, the main Dressed To Thrill review you'll read this issue is written from a player's perspective and although she loved the fashion show, everyone at DTT noted the absence of S&M activity (q.v. the article). Thus it's a critique from INIQUITY's perspective on what DTT needs to become even better. The point is that if an article contains both INIQUITY's elements, even if critiquing one or the other, we'd still love to hear about it.

     NEXT PARTY: Date not yet set. There is a slight possibility that with Your help, we just might be out of the Power Exchange and into our own venue!!! Read on for details!
     Well, that's this issue's intro. If you've read INIQUITY before, you can skip the next bit which describes INIQUITY's purpose, focus, goal, and proactive empowerment factor (did I hit any bingo buzzwords?). ;-)

     INIQUITY NEWS

is a semi-whenever newsbitmap (no paper) which is written to fill a gap and distributed freely over the Internet. The gap INIQUITY is dedicated to focusing it's attention on is where Fetish Fashion and Good S&M meet. Anyone can join the INIQUITY mailing list, and you should feel free to forward INIQUITY on to anyone who you think would enjoy it. I do not make a dime from this and it is my everlasting intention that INIQUITY will remain free. You may reproduce any portion of INIQUITY so long as A) proper credit is given to whoever wrote the portion copied, and B) no one makes any money from said reproduction, the transgression of which will cause me to invoke a Cthulu-esque Fractal Demon into your breakfast cereal. In other words, no cutting INIQUITY into portions reproduced into a Pay-Site or the like. On the flip-side, got a Free Site? Go for it! Or better yet, save webspace and just paste INIQUITY's new URL on your page. :-)
     INIQUITY NEWS is produced both by writing about relevant items in the Fetish Fashion/S&M world going on, AND ESPECIALLY by piecing together articles, thoughts and ideas sent in from YOU. Example: two articles in the last issue were spawned merely from poignant e-mails I received; another reader expressed an interest in interviewing Icons from the global Scene. Still another article came from a gentleman in England who just felt like sharing his thoughts on Scene events over there. We are especially interested in events and whatnot going on around the world, across the U.S., etc. INIQUITY comes out about once a month and sometimes more when I get enough stuff to put an issue together.
     Occasionally INIQUITY continues the great Shakespearean/Heinleinian trend by making up words for stuff that Webster's Dictionary is dragging it's feet on (Shakespeare made up words when he felt like it, and Heinlein's "Grok" is now in some dictionaries). You have heard about "newsbitmaps," and occasionally you might catch a reference to GISCs, which means "Guys (or Gals) In Street Clothes," etc. I promise to at least explain any words I make up. :-)
      That's about it. So, without further ado.......

______________________________________________

INIQUITY's 2nd Attempt at the Power Exchange:
Night & Day

      WHAT A DIFFERENCE! Much better connecting overall, great energy all around, much more cohesive, great scenes, and more. The original plan to meet in the King Arthur Room met with an odd diversion. When I personally arrived at the Power Exchange at about 9:05 pm, five minutes after opening, the room was already "occupied" by the a few members of the "other group" we were supposed to share the room with. Now when I say occupied I do not mean occupied as in "filling up that position in mathematical Time-Space." What I mean by occupied is more along the lines of Hitler's "occupied France." Apparently the "other group" has a reputation for taking over the King Arthur Room and claiming it as their personal room even though I had explicit directions from Mike, the owner, very much to the contrary. Well, I tried a little diplomacy and after seeing the uphill climb conveying concepts like "sharing" was going to be, I left things on a "we'll just see how it goes" note. The front door man offered to intervene and put those people, the "Power Exchange Regulars," in their place (i.e. sorry folks you do not own this room), but I declined the offer as I didn't want INIQUITY associated with any irritation on Mike's part since he is basically giving us something for nothing (our continued half-price admissions merely for showing up in Fetish Attire and dropping the INIQUITY password).
      This led to an odd, funny, and particularly useful discovery, namely The "Laundry" Room. The Laundry Room is in fact another play space for people who have fantasies about doing naughty things in public places. At first glance it looks just like a miniature Laundromat (albeit with a set of legs sticking out from one dryer). Further observation yields the discovery of several very comfortable couches and chairs in the lounge-like back of the room -- more comfortable and more spacious than the King Arthur Room. The utter beauty of this room is that no one uses it! We not only had no competition for this room, which did indeed become our surrogate meeting place, we had the whole room to ourselves without even trying! Soon we had the word out that INIQUITY was meeting in The Laundry Room and had a perfectly enjoyable beginning to the evening from thereon.
      Around midnight, almost everyone headed down to the main dungeon. The front desk man agreed to inform anyone using the INIQUITY password that we'd relocated downstairs as well (another good reason to use the password even if you get in for free). Continuing the round of introductions that occurred upstairs, the dungeon area became a serious free-for-all of good scenes, good conversations, and LOADS of introductions. I am very happy to report that people seriously took the ball and ran with it as far as walking up to anyone dressed particularly well and giving the inquiry, "Iniquity?" Worked like a charm, and I think everyone attending this last event would agree that there was a much more "cohesive" feel to the INIQUITY group overall. As usual we played, spanked, talked, whipped, commanded, obeyed, writhed, stroked and in general had a great deal of fun until the wee hour of about 4 a.m.
     In short, even though we do not have the Power Exchange as our own club, IF we have to meet there again, we have locked into a very good formula here. We were ubiquitously the best-dressed at the PE that night, and Most of the hot scenes were by the hands and whips of INIQUITY's readers. According to the door man, our numbers were higher than last time. There were many new faces and there was simply a ton of good energy. No doubt we will continue this much more cohesive formula if we visit the PE again. :-)

__________________

INIQUITY: a Word of Power

      According to Webster's New World Dictionary, 3rd College Edition, the word INIQUITY (as we use it) means, "wickedness." Well now the word INIQUITY has another meaning: DISCOUNTS. Yep. Sparked from an e-mail from one of you, I inquired and have started the ball rolling on what I hope will be a continuing trend.
      The name of the first stop on this tour is LEATHER ETC., located on the corner of 8th & Folsom in San Francisco, entrance on Folsom. The owners have graciously agreed that readers of INIQUITY NEWS have merely to use our favorite password ("Iniquity") at the register to receive a 10% discount on any and all Fetish-related items (clothing, S&M toys, etc) in the shop!!!
     For those of you who have never been to Leather Etc., I personally consider it one of THEE best shops in San Francisco, especially for the budget minded Pervert.Whenever I have friends from out of town come visit for Fetish fun, Leather Etc. is a definite stop on the tour. Their prices are usually the Lowest In Town on anything that you might also find in a competing shop. Yes, your 10% Iniquity discount is ON TOP OF these already low prices! Pretty cool, huh? :-)
      The owner's of Leather Etc. have asked nothing in return. As far as they are concerned they are simply happy to have you come into their shop, which by the way also has pretty much thee best PVC clothing selection in the City. They also stock a huge selection of leather restraints and collars and will do custom work as well, still at excellent prices. You just have to go in and rummage around; they have cool stuff scattered all over the place. For those of you who have never been, their hours are until 7pm most days, a little earlier on weekends (open Sunday). They aren't pushy about sales and gladly assist you. Note that they have a permanent iron-grate door that you have to push a buzzer at to be let inside; seeing this door closed does not mean the shop is closed. The owner and manger also ask that you please be sure to drop the INIQUITY password before they ring up your purchase.
      Leather Etc., is located at 1201 Folsom at 8th. Phone: 415-864-7558

Note: If you or anyone you know would like to join this trend and offer a discount for INIQUITY readers, just let me know and I'll gladly print it up. :-)

__________________

REVIEW:
The Los Angeles Fetish Ball at the Variety Arts Center

      Yow!
      Is it from the zillions of cool costumes and Fetish enthusiasts I saw? Is it from the energy in the overall Perv Scene which was thick in the air all weekend long, with numerous people coming from out of town for this event? Was it the fabulous venue with FOUR FLOORS of Fetish Frolicking? The Vendor Area with tons of free give-aways? The TWO dance areas? The incredibly sexy crowd?
      Gee, I don't know.....you tell me. ;-) I had been to an L.A. Fetish Ball years ago when it was at some venue next to the La Brea Tar Pits in some dangerous part of L.A. I came, I saw, I left medium-rare on the impressed list. Not so this time.....not so by a long shot!
     My slave and I arrived in L.A. late Thursday night. Even at the all night diner where we stopped for a light meal, I could feel an electric edge of anticipation and excitement in my friends and I for the coming weekend. By Friday night the Perv community was alight with pre-parties, quality S&M in dungeons here and there, and a great deal of teasing as members of the global Perv community flashed their #2 outfit, saving their best for the Fetish Ball itself the following evening. It seemed common amongst almost everyone I talked to down there that very little sleep was had going into Saturday. ;-)
     Saturday itself was the final day of shopping for Pervs desperately in need of "that one last item" to make their outfit for the Ball complete. All week long shops like Retail Slut and Syren were clearing out their stock as this city of 18 million residents blossomed forth with it's shadow-dwellers of the Fetish Fringe (and guests). At last the day of the Ball was at hand, and many of us struggled to juggle our Fetish Finery Fantasies with a suspicious need for just a few more hours sleep. In general the clothing won.
     9pm the Variety Arts Center, located in a pleasant portion of downtown Los Angeles, opened it's doors. We arrived around 10pm to the exceedingly pleasant surprise of a front door well run. What does that mean? Well for an event of this size it meant utter astonishment at being inside the venue in minutes! Security, the ticket vendors, and the ticket takers all moved in a smooth and efficient clockwork.
     So Much To See! So Many Utterly Cool Costumes! Where to start??? The top floor of the venue had the greatest occupancy of dancers gyrating away to a trancey-techno-ish mix all night long, spun by guest DJ Alan from The Torture Garden in England. Those with patience and/or aching feet in high heels who were aghast at the concept of four flights of stairs were treated to the elevator with a continuous, albeit slow, operator at all times. For those of alternate tastes, the 2nd dance floor played an alternative/industrial mix throughout the evening.
     Various shops displayed their wares on one whole floor where you could grab a stack of pricey Fetish magazines for free and have the cover models autograph them if you were so inclined (we asked her to sign her own butt). Throughout the evening this room became the quieter place to meet friends. Later on it also became an impromptu play area as L.A.'s famous Master Aryn from Sin-a-matic stopped the traffic with a display of his distinct and magnificent whipping style upon his erotically writhing and ecstatic slave.
     The main performance hall was graced by the presence of the beautiful Sabrina Belladonna as mistress of ceremonies, accompanied by two of the cutest (and most versatile) fem-toys around. At least 5 fabulous costume changes were noted by this author as Sabrina and her girls spiced up the evening between acts. San Francisco's own So Hip It Hurts provided an excellent fashion show. Another of our locals, the Mystic Midway (aka Scott Levkoff and Co.) introduced a spectacular new show to the audience seated in both the main floor and extensive balcony, centered around an Oriental Fantasy theme complete with firework-spitting umbrellas as weapons. Of course there was also a contest for best dressed, etc, etc, of whom I have no idea who won.
     Somehow, with a full building, there was no wait for a drink, almost no wait for the toilet, and almost no wait for the coat check. Simply superbly run in a superb venue, that's all I can say (ok, I can be a bit more verbose than that). After the ridiculously early closing of 2 a.m. (my one and only gripe) any number of after parties sprang up in the surrounding hotels. An awful lot of us saw Sunday's sunrise. An awful lot of us had an amazing weekend. :-)

__________________

Our Club Approaches.....

      We are SOOOOOOO close folks!!!! As of this issue, we have plenty of dungeon furniture & plenty of interested people. All we need now is THE VENUE. Based on a tally of your responses to the "East Bay vs. West Bay" issue, it came down just barely in favor of staying in San Francisco. HOWEVER, almost everyone said they'd be more than happy to drive to the East Bay if the club was really happening!!! Thus, we are pretty much open to ANYWHERE. Things we are looking for:
      At least one dance floor, a real dance floor with a good sound system, etc; two dance floors are better but not critical if the cost is prohibitive. At least one large room that can be turned into a full-on dungeon; does not necessarily need to be separated from the dance floor by a full wall, but that doesn't hurt either. Many small areas to be mini-dungeon/play-spaces is very cool too. A space/venue that we do NOT share with any other group/club/clientele. At least a 300 person capacity. Relatively easy parking.

      If you know any venue that fits this description in the East or West San Francisco Bay Area, please let me know ASAP. If you have any connections to the venue (know the owners or managers), Even Better. If not, don't worry -- I'll talk to them myself. When sending me info, please do me a favor and find out as much about the venue, phone numbers, and/or who to talk to as you can.
      On behalf of the now over-500-person readership of INIQUITY NEWS, we Very Much Thank You for any and all help. :-)

     That's the latest. Get a venue, we have our club! Need we say more? :-)