Tues, 18
Aug 1998
_________________________________
Hello Once Again from the Depths of Deliciously Indubitable
Depravity (say that 5 times fast). The seasons change, San Francisco
actually had a few days of warm weather, and even I am attempting
the unusual -- I am composing INIQUITY NEWS #5 in the Mid-Afternoon.
Strange, this thing called "sunlight." Kind of interesting
to work without the ever-present incandescent glow of a light bulb.
Instead I have the late-afternoon sunlight trickling through my window.....Egads!
I am starting to sound like an Anne Rice novel; next thing you know
I'll spend 40 pages describing the growth of the bougainvillea vines
upon the wrought iron fences (no offense to Anne actually -- her Beauty
series is legendary amongst "our kind," and "Lestat"
ranks as one of my all time favorites. Just wish she had a few less
lace curtain and bougainvillea descriptions....).
Regardless, although I feel as if I should be
wearing Sunblock 2000 while writing at this hour, I am amply prepared
with my usual cup of rocket fuel, er...coffee (which recently caused
genuine reports of nightmares in several friends who quaffed a cup).
In this issue of INIQUITY NEWS we have a bunch of announcements regarding
upcoming events, many of which are right here in the San Francisco
Bay Area, a handful of reviews, and something new -- several announcements
regarding job (read: cash) opportunities for the artistic amongst
you!
So read on Denizens of Deviance, and discover
the delights that await you.......
The Table
O' Contents:
- Review
-- One Wild Weekend
- Club
BOUND Slowly Expanding It's Devotees......
- Local
Events Coming Up
- Avengers
-- A Fetish Review
- Fetish
Job Opportunities
- Out-Of-Area
Events Coming Up
- Review
-- Europerve in Amsterdam
- Wrap
Up
INIQUITY:
A Definition
Howdy y'all (I have a guest from North Carolina
staying at my house -- can you tell? So why the Texas drawl, you ask?).
INIQUITY NEWS is a semi-whenever newsbitmap (no paper) which centers
around the very specific area where FETISH FASHION and Good S&M
meet. There are plenty of places to find purely S&M stuff, and
an equally a good selection of places to find Fashion items of a Fetish
nature. There are far too few in America, IMO, which deal with BOTH
as an Ideal and a Reality towards which we can strive for a classier
Fetish and S&M Scene overall. The Core Idea for INIQUITY came
from several years I spent in Europe during which I ate Fetish, I
drank Fetish, I lived Fetish and I breathed Fetish.
INIQUITY is a Concept, a monthly Club, a Newsletter,
and a Group which anyone can join. Our focus is clear, and everything
we talk about, write about, and celebrate about is all linked to this
central theme. INIQUITY is also a "password" for those of
you wondering what our "sacred password" is (q.v. the website
and discounts, etc).
INIQUITY NEWS comes out when I get enough stuff
to put out an issue out, roughly monthly, sometimes more often. It's
a SOURCE to find out what's going on and how to get involved for like-minded
Pervs who want to see some Style with their S&M. Anyone can contribute
to INIQUITY NEWS, and I LOVE to get Reviews, Articles and Stories
from any and all of you out there. Please use my Contact Form for all correspondence
Any part of INIQUITY NEWS may be reprinted and
posted elsewhere as long as A) proper credit is given to the author
of the portion copied, and B) no money is made from said copying (i.e.
no posting portions of INIQUITY NEWS in a Pay-Site. Free Sites are
A-OK).
I write INIQUITY NEWS in my spare time because
I enjoy it. I don't make a dime from this. There is a gap in the Fetish
Fashion & S/M world that I hope to help fill because I find a
tremendous amount of beauty in that world. This is my motivation.
I hope you enjoy the results.
Sincerely,
Arcane
______________________________________________
INIQUITY
HQ -- Check Out new features of The INIQUITY Website!
Our
most recent addition to the site is our Perv Roommate Referral page.
After all the times (and it was a lot) I had friends and associates
ask me if I knew of a room available in an all-Perv household, or
the times I had Pro-Perv household friends let me know they had a
room available, I decided the world (or at least our community) could
use a FREE place to go and seek those they were looking for. It's
the REAL THING -- this isn't some personals page, it isn't a solicitation,
and I am happy to say that like the entire INIQUITY Website it is
100% BANNER-FREE. It's a straight forward place to help members of
our community find and form Perv-Friendly places to live. Period.
:-)
BTW, for those of you who are wondering, the
term "Perv" is a catch-all for our community. It refers
to anyone's Fetish, whether it's light S&M, hardcore S&M,
Fetish Fashion, D&S, or whatever your personal perversion may
be (with the exception of anything involving underage personae of
course, which INIQUITY cannot condone). The term is European in origin,
and it is not uncommon to hear a variety of European citizens refer
to one another as "such a lovely Perv." Like the term "queer,"
once derogatory now made light for that community, the term "Perv"
makes fun of the word Pervert as a kind of statement that we are more
than happy about who we are and what we do regardless of how the outside
world may have viewed us in ages past.
__________________
I
am very happy to say that the INIQUITY parties only keep getting better!
Saturday, August 8th saw the 4th INIQUITY event at the Power Exchange.
Talk about starting off SLOOOWWWWW! By 11pm there were so few of our
people I was considering going to visit a friend and coming back in
an hour. Man, am I glad I didn't! As if on cue, suddenly INIQUITY
folks started streaming through the door, and by midnight we were
in and around the King Arthur Room at the biggest INIQUITY gathering
yet. I personally got somewhat wrapped up doing three consecutive
scenes, and so from the corner of my eye it looked as if our numbers
were as large as the last event. However, quite a few people came
up to me in the latter half of the evening to comment on how this
event was unquestionably the best turn out so far. Standing vastly
outnumbered, I finally took a better look around and had to agree
with them.
Without a doubt, INIQUITY now stands as probably
the most impressive crowd to attend Power Exchange as a whole. Having
now been to PE on various other nights, I can safely say that INIQUITY
events become transformative evenings for the PE. Our S&M usually
comprises the best scenes of the evening, our crowd stands out in
all its Fetish Fashion glory, and our presence in the King Arthur
Room most definitely transforms at least that portion of the PE into
a sensuously focused, subtle-yet-powerful, post-modern, tribal/ritual
space. I know of no other evening at the PE which can claim these
effects, and this comes from several Power Exchange regulars informing
me of this. :-)
Coming Soon: A PERV-ONLY Roommate Referral Page!!!
A place to post living space needed or available strictly for Perv
households GLOBALLY! Note that this will NOT be a place to post "personals,"
but will fill a genuine need for the many people in the BDSM community
who often either have a room for rent in their house or are looking
for a room to rent in an effort to live with like-minded people. The
page will also be open for people who are in need of / offering accommodation
for short visits to an area, not just permanent living situations.
:-)
Want to find out more? Come Join Us at INIQUITY's
Monthly Full Moon POWER EXCHANGE Events!
THE NEXT
INIQUITY EVENT AT THE POWER EXCHANGE WILL BE SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 5TH
(The usual rules apply. Look for an update in the coming weeks.)
(Ed. -- for those of you
who may feel that I am co-opting the Full Moon party idea from Masquerade,
please be aware that the original concept of doing a Full-Moon Fetish
gathering when I first founded Mass-Charade came from Your Truly.
A Full Moon can be a high-energy evening, and INIQUITY now provides
a place for those who's blood boils on these nights to come and engage
in More Serious BDSM play in addition to creating a gathering for
our Fetish-Fashion-oriented community.)
Sunday, August 9th was a whole other extravaganza
of Fetish activity. Many of us got very little sleep as we departed
the Power Exchange sometime around 4 a.m. and tried to make it to
the Fetish Flea Market at #50 Oak Street by 2pm, hopefully at least
faking a refreshed look. The venue was crowded by the time I arrived
at 2:30 pm, half an hour after the Flea Market opened.
As usual for this seasonal gathering of the greater
Bay Area BDSM community, we were tantalized by tons of toys for our
twisted tastes. Whips, floggers, cuffs, S&M furniture, knives,
chainmail and more surrounded us amongst the many vendors attending.
Probably the hottest new item (for some; word has it these guys have
been around for a while) were floggers made from rabbit fur by Passionsfire.
It is sort of a truism that when you've been doing BDSM for a while
and your toy bag has filled out, you only gravitate towards the truly
unique item or toy that shows up in the occasional BDSM festival or
fair. Well at the Fetish Flea Market that day, I'd have to say that
empirically speaking BDSM veterans were flashing their newly-purchased
Passionsfire fur whips more than any other item. Needless to say Passionsfire's
stock rapidly dwindled.
After the Flea Market, various factions of the
BDSM community headed off for meals of differing magnitudes -- from
Italian restaurant take-overs (with many in modest Fetish attire mind
you) to mad scramblings for a Turkish coffee fix. Shortly thereafter,
a party group called FANDANGO topped off the weekend with yet ANOTHER
BDSM PARTY. Held at the infamous 14th Street Play Space ("play
space" -- euphemism for DUNGEON.......MUAhahahahahah....), this
final party of the weekend was definitely well attended by many members
of the greater BDSM community although not many INIQUITY folk were
in attendance, perhaps due to the lack of a dress code.
__________________
Now
more or less officially one month old, Club BOUND at the DNA exhibited
an ever-expanding albeit still small gathering of the well-dressed
and sadomasochistically inclined at it's weekly Wednesday event. Over
the course of the entire evening, BOUND undoubtedly saw it's greatest
numbers yet. They apparently had a fire performance of some kind which
I missed due to being back in the Dungeon/Play Area. The music was
as danceable as ever with it's mix of primarily Gothic, 80's, and
"Electronica."
REMEMBER: INIQUITY folks get TWO possible kinds
of discounts at BOUND. If you arrive before 10pm in Fetish Attire
and use the INIQUITY password, you get in FREE with a one-drink minimum.
After 10pm, for the remainder of the night (good
for we late people), ONLY INIQUITY folks can get in for $5 if, and
only if, you come in Fetish Attire AND you use the INIQUITY password.
Note that even though someone may say they "are with INIQUITY,"
they may be asked, "what is the password then?" The password
is of course, "Iniquity." Be prepared to give this answer
or you may be refused the discount.
Club
BOUND
held every WEDNESDAY at the DNA Lounge
on 11th Street near Harrison in San Francisco.
On last count they had 5 Distinct Play Stations
(i.e. S&M furniture) in their very relaxed, virtually gawker-free
dungeon (80% of the attendance was in some form of Fetish or Gothic
attire!!!). So bring your toy bag and your favorite play partner!
;-)
__________________
(special thanks to Vampire
Tech, Lunatic & Deviant for this info)
21 Aug. (THIS FRIDAY!)
-- Zavtone / Blue Line Records / MTV Party, 10pm-10am!!!
Not a Fetish Party per se', but INIQUITY's friends at Vampire Technology
will be the Grand Finale of the Fashion Show. Might be a bit on the
rave-y side of things, which could still be fun. Estimated 3000 people
at this 3rd Street movie sound-stage venue in San Francisco.
The tickets are being sold at "Virgin69" & "Housewares"on
Haight, and at Web Design Group at 351 9th, 3rd floor.
More info: (415)436-9419 or Zavtone at (415)436-9381
"....some art, three fashion designers (street/club
wear & Vamp Tech); Vamp Tech doing a Vampire theme -- really dramatically
different designers all in one show....also some computer projection
imager....and the whole thing will be live on the internet along with
some fashion event in Japan....."
Arcane says: MTV meets Vampire Tech?!?!?!?!?
THAT should be interesting. Maybe we could show up in hardcore Fetish
Attire with slaves on collar and leash, do a bit of flogging and blow
their minds. If anyone wants to coordinate a group effort to do something
like that, I'll be sure to let INIQUITY readers know. ;-)
29 Aug. (Saturday) -
1st Bay Area Adult Expo
At the Concourse (http://www.secretsimmcity.com).
Arcane says: Sounds like it could be interesting
at least. Anyone out there got more info on this puppy?
26 Sep. (Saturday) -
"Fetish and Fantasy Ball"
At 177 Townsend, the night before the Folsom Street Fair. br>
Arcane says: absolutely no idea. Anyone know who's throwing
this event? Hopefully NOT the "Un-Exotic, Un-Erotic Ball"
people. More info Please!
27 Sep. (Sunday) - 15th
Annual Folsom St. Fair. 11am-6pm.
Arcane says: Drop Everything and cancel everything
else -- do not miss this annual event! This is the largest BDSM Street
Festival IN THE WORLD. Last year someone said it had 30,000 perverts,
er, I mean visitors! One seriously hella-fun day. :-)
09 Oct. (Friday) - Stormy
Leather 15th Anniversary Celebration.
9pm-2am. Club Townsend, 177 Townsend & 3rd. 21+. $15 advance,
$20 door.
Arcane says: this is the first event like this
that they've thrown. Could be good, probably won't suck. Most likely
it'll have an emphasis on Fetish Fashion (one would hope). No guarantee
of other BDSM elements however. Anyone got more info???
11 Oct. (Sunday) - SLICK
Fetish Ball.
Price: probably $15 in advance, $20 at the door. At the SOUND FACTORY,
on Harrison near 1st.
Keep an eye on http://www.sirius.com/~calyn/slick.html (currently
only has details about the last one in January).
Arcane says: Another DO NOT MISS event for INIQUITY
folks!!! The proprietor of SLICK, Random, has a strong appreciation
of the INIQUITY aesthetic, and so his magnificent event, which draws
800 or so well dressed Fetishists, has all the elements: Fetish Fashion,
a Fetish Dress Code, a good Dungeon, etc.
13 Dec. (Sunday) - Bizarre
Flea Market,
#50 Oak St. (near Van Ness & Market), 2-5pm. $5 admission. 510-339-6960
or Philderby@hotmail.com.
Arcane says: read the review above of the Fetish
Flea Market; same event. The Fandango after-party will most likely
be scheduled the same as well.
__________________
Did
you know that somewhere there is an authorized book on the TV series,
"The Avengers" where the creators openly admit that the
original series was intentionally loaded with Fetish elements? "Bondage,
leather, etc., were all parts of The Avengers formula," [sic].
Well it would have been nice if the makers of the recent movie of
the same name had read that quote.
First a word on cinematography before I return
to this review through the eyes of a Perv. One word: PACING. Normally
pacing in an action movie builds like a right-skewed curve, with a
peak around the 5/6's point and then a resolution. The Avengers is
paced like a sine wave: peak, trough, peak, trough, peak, trough....throughout
the film. Suffice it to say it had some nice special effects but it
still caused two of the three people I went with to nod off, literally.
Back to the Pervs-Eye review: We all previewed
an image of the red-head Uma in a skin tight leather catsuit supposedly
playing the brunette Emma Peel. Enjoy that image, because that's about
as Fetishy as their fashion gets. Yes, they made a vein attempt at
a foot worship sequence as Fienne's passable Steed zips Emma's new
boots on ever-so-slowly, and a seriously pathetic attempt at a bondage
sequence where Emma is held in a nifty head cage which for some reason
we are expected to believe prevents the movement of every other part
of her body despite the utter lack of visible restraints elsewhere.
We are not talking "suspension of disbelief" here, we are
talking "acceptance of the ludicrous."
I am sorry to say that even by a stretch this
movie gets a C+ at best in the Fetish Fashion department, and that
credit is given ONLY because of the now infamously delicious leather
catsuit, which we do get to see Uma traipse around in for a good several
minutes. Minus points came for suiting up a similar character (don't
want to give the plot away for those who will still go see it) in
a cool looking black snakeskin catsuit yet only letting us look at
if for a few seconds at a time -- damn their uninitiated eyes! I mean
why pay Gaultier a zillion $$$ to design outfits you are only going
to see for a few seconds??? We are talking seriously clueless in the
Fetish realm here (and no, Gaultier did not design the outfits --
that was a metaphor. However, If you DO want to see some seriously
cool cinema Fetishy costumes designed by Mr. Gaultier, paste your
eyes on the full plate delivered in "The 5th Element").
I think my biggest "Erk" (Erk -- simultaneous mocking laugh
and choking in disgust) was when Uma/Emma shows up in a red cotton
catsuit reminiscent of cowboy long-johns, with the final blow delivered
by a pair of leather short-shorts over that. I was instantly reminded
of the jock aesthetic that went around in the 80's where it suddenly
became fashionable to wear your gym shorts on the outside of your
sweatpants.
On top of this there was not a stiletto heel in
the film for Emma to do one of her famous "Boot To The Head"
kicks while balancing precariously. They tried to be clever by having
the original John Steed (can't remember his name) do a cameo as an
Invisible Man, but they really lost all credibility when they did
That Which Must Never Happen -- they had Steed and Peel KISS!!!!!
Hahahaha! Sound prude do I? Well, if anyone recalls the sexually unfulfilled
tension between Steed and Peel in the TV series, that was a part of
their most basic characterization -- so close yet so far apart, and
no matter how tempting it was, they were always utterly British and
"proper" in their avoidance of such improprieties. The moment
Steed and Peel kissed was the moment AVENGERS Television fans became
utterly aware they were watching a vague, modern Hollywood facsimile
of the TV show.
A lot of people, both Fetish and Vanilla, had
high hopes for this movie. Suffice it to say that I went and saw it
with a few Vanilla friends who's taste is usually diametrically opposed
to mine. We all left the theatre saying, "OK; now we REALLY need
to go see a Good Movie." One just gets the feeling that the movie
was released before it was really ready and too many budget cuts were
made. Oh yeah, one last note: Sean Connery, even in one of the dopier
roles he has played, is still a god. ;-)
YES,
there's more!!
Click here to go to Part II
of Iniquity Newsletter #5
