XXBN's Election Night & Prop K Coverage

You are invited to attend XXBN's Election Night Coverage.

When: November 4th, from 10 p.m. to Midnight (Eastern)

Where: On XXBN ~ listen live, talk in the chat room, & even be on-air!

Why: There's this little thing called a presidential election, as well as lots of local elections going on that night and we'll be bringing you the news, results and (fingers-crossed!) the laughs and sighs of relief. (If not we'll be crying, ranting, barfing... possibly renting U-Hauls to cross a border...)

Who: Along with you, of course, Gracie Passette & Jill Brenneman will play host to the always fabulous Nina Hartley, Jessie Daniels, and Prop K Proponent, Maxine Doogan ~ as well as a slew of other sex positive & liberal folks.

What: We'll be talking politics, propositions, and elections ~ on national and local levels.

Please join us ~ no need to RSVP, just be there.

Have something to say, pray, or, if you're really on a rant, spray? You can even join the show by calling in at 646.200.3136.

If you're looking for more info on Prop K, check out Amber Rhea's list of coverage & resources.

Image credits: Sadie Lune I Want You Poster Prop K Poster, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art

Dr. Jane Vargas Returns To The Cult To Talk About Cross Dressing

Dr. Jane Vargas was my very first Cult of Gracie guest and she rejoins The Cult this week Wednesday, October 29 (from 9-10 pm, central time).

Jane and I will be discussing cross dressing: what it means, the distinctions between lingerie fetishists and cross dressers, how men who cross dress cope with self-image ~ and women's responses to cross dressing.

You can listen live to the cross dressing show here, as well as ask questions in chat. If you have questions or just want to join the show live, you are invited to call-in during the show at 646.200.3136.

The same link can be used to listen/download a podcast of the show if you miss the live broadcast.

UPDATE: Our apologies for the technical difficulties with tonight's (10/28/08) Cult of Gracie show with Dr. Jane Vargas. The show started late and I know that many of you were not able to get through on the air.

We will continue the cross dressing discussion with Jane next Wednesday, 11/05/08, a half hour earlier to try to accommodate you all. The show will begin at 8:30 pm central (9:30 pm eastern).

In attempts to alleviate any potential problems, please listen to the show, sign into chat, and await the announcement that the lines are open before calling in.

Again, we are very sorry for the issues with the show and hope you'll return next week to listen to & speak with Jane & I.

With much affection,
Gracie

The Art (Of Writing) For Art's Sake?

On last week's Cult of Gracie, part of the discussion returned to the issue of the value of writing, especially of adult writing on human sexuality. The lovely Rebecca sent a follow-up email about the talk:

Thanks for having me on the show last night and letting me stay and chat. That was so awesome. Pete listened to it as well, and here are some of our thoughts on writing for creativity vs writing to eat.

In no way am I a writer, so lets get that's straight. But I do consider myself an artist, and I live with an artist, so that's the perspective I am coming from.

Writing is an art form itself and is a creative field. And like most artistic ventures, the people that can support themselves strictly on their artistic vision is .5%. That means that 99.5% of people in that field make no money or not enough money to support themselves.

I think it has more to do with this, than it does the fact that it is the sex industry. Even in mainstream, the majority of writers, poets and painters cannot survive on their vision. And of the .5% that do, most of those people are financially able to carry themselves, but are in no way wealthy.

There are many people that tackle this by writing for commission, and leaving free time to write their passion. For those people, it can work great. Taking the financial stress off the table then allows them to write with clarity, not having to worry about paying the bills and having that interfere with their vision. They may not love the commission work, but it gets them by and relieves the pressure.

For those that choose the road of creating just their vision find that it is easier said than done. Sooner or later, life creeps in, and you find yourself creating for the market and losing the vision you originally set out to explore. How can this not happen? The artist who paints still lifes finds his still lifes with cats are a big hit. Being excited that people respond, he/she creates more paintings with cats. How soon until he loses site of his still lifes and finds himself just painting cats? The odd thing is that once he goes down that road, the cat paintings stop selling. He began to create for the marketplace, and his work lost the honesty and feeling behind it that people were connecting with.

This happens more often when financial milsetones are the road you are following. Money has a great way of pushing our heads in a different direction. To stay on the "honest" path, the milestones can't be financial, but "Is my message being heard?". You then have to trust that
financial gain will follow.

Remember too, that most great works of art were commissions, created within the confines of someone else. Michealangelo did not want to paint the Sistine Chapel. It wasn't his vision, but he needed to create it in order to get the jobs that were to come after. Within the confines of the commission, he was still able to use his talents and create a masterpiece. That I think is the realistic balance. Creating a masterpiece wherever you may be.

And the struggle itself is beautiful and is what I think keeps you honest. Without the struggle, you lose your passion.

I do think that much of the work I see from writers such as yourselves, as well as some erotic photographers is beginning to create new genres of intelligent erotica, intelligent porn and smarter content. I know people have been talking about it and working towards it, and I think it is beginning to grab hold.

Will it happen soon enough for everyone to capitalize on it? Maybe not, but that's the chance (and reward) you take when you attempt to break new ground. At the very least, instead of walking the beaten path, you are walking where there is no path, and leaving a trail.

Rebecca & Pete

I think there are more than a few solid gold points in here about supply & demand, art, and purpose. Add this to my talk about the value of writing (especially on the Internet) and then hit us with your thoughts!

Cult Of Gracie Radio: Marketing Edition

Both Callie Simms & I (wearing my Marketing Whore hat) will be back on Cult of Gracie Radio tonight, from 9-10 PM (Central), discussing mainstream & mature marketing from more of a 'how to' aspect. Tonight's agenda includes the following discussion:

* SEO: application tips (how) & definitions of purpose (why)

* The purpose behind & use of blogs (when to use, what they are for; when blogging doesn't make sense)

* Content: What is, and isn't, content with a purpose, and the issue of "giving it away for free". (somewhat related to both of the above)

* Ethics & 'feelings' about blogging & online user IDs. (When using a pen name feels icky, but is necessary; are there situations to 'out' yourself?)

(Of course, I'm sure we'll still have plenty of lively debate as we defend our reasoning!)

You can join the conversation by calling 646.200.3136

It's Not A Race To The Bottom Everywhere

The latest edition of Carnival of the Liberals is out at Clashing Culture, focusing on "the best ten posts of the 38 submitted this fortnight past, written by people who are trying to apply the brakes as we slide towards the bottom." Go read it.

I'd like to thank Mike, aka Tangled Up In Blue Guy, for including my post at Sex-Kitten.net, titled What does the economic crisis mean for prostitutes?. Mike included it, saying, "she makes a great point of the effects of the economic downturn on the people we don’t want to admit make money from sex. The ones that make a lot of money from sex may be the ones that do well, but in a society that hides sex work because of morality, well, people get hurt."

I'm thrilled to see issues of sex work included in mainstream discussion of the economy and other realities of our time. It gives me hope that not all of us are in a race to the bottom, that some of us are looking at the issues. Thanks, Mike!

The Feminist Carnival of Sexual Freedom and Autonomy #10

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Cult of Gracie Radio With Callie Simms

Wednesday, October 8th, Gracie and guest Callie Simms dish mainstream and adult marketing ~ which, naturally, will hit upon all sorts of goodies (and badies) in our culture, like politics, blogging, and gender.

Callie holds a Masters degree in marketing with a concentration in writing from Northwestern University & owns CS Entertainment, an adult industry writing services firm. Her written works have appeared in Spread and Slate Magazines; film and television credits include head writer for an erotic film studio as well as writing for mainstream television.

Join us on Cult of Gracie Radio from 9-10 PM (Central) on October 8th.