Cross Post Thursday: Multiplayer Rescue

Posted on Thursday, May 2, 2013 by namelesschaos

I’ve after neglecting it for a year have gone back to posting on my other blog. The Post: Multiplayer Rescue where I discusses harassment in games.

One of the most bizarre things about gamer culture is the casual tolerance of open harassment in games… As discerning consumers, this attitude makes no sense.  There is no other product or service where those who consider themselves connoisseurs openly tolerate harassment.

Most people aren’t going to stay where they’re harassed they are going to go someplace else and leave the undesirables to their holes. This is what we let gamer culture become when we tolerate harassment a pit of undesirables. It hard to fight the stereotype of gamers being immature basement dwellers and man-children, if we allow what is in essence a self-selection system for basement dwellers and man-children. Games and gamer culture is so much more than a just  a virtual “creep bar”; we can be the avant-garde of artistic expression and entertainment but to reach this potential we need to have the guts to tell creeps and harassers they aren’t welcome in this establishment

Click for the full post.

Share
Posted in Feminism | Tagged | Leave a comment

My Blog is Not a Civil Rights Violation: A Response to Emily Nagoski’s “catharine mackinnon and media obfuscation”

Posted on Thursday, May 2, 2013 by namelesschaos

I just read this post by Emily Nagoski “catharine mackinnon and media obfuscation” whose writing I normally enjoy and this is the first time a passionately disagreed with her to the point that I decided to stop lurking and become a commenter and then is to post my response here after realizing I was going into wall of text territory.  

I have to be blunt here and say to me Dr. Nagoski is falling into the same trap she is trying to avoid. My contempt for MacKinnon is not based on any form of ignorance or media manipulation, (I had the commencement ceremony for my second bachelor’s in women’s studies Tuesday btw) it based on actually researching and studying her. The media didn’t make sit down and read about the Antipornography Civil Rights Ordinance.

I can and do have contempt for her because of fundamental lack of both “intellectual and moral integrity.” She may have done much good in her career, but the Antipornography Civil Rights Ordinance alone, is more than enough to justify my statement. I can praise the good with out losing sight of the fact that she was still a truly contemptible enemy of free speech rights. Let take a deeper look. Her proposed law is a form of censorship; it is censorship of political views, abhorrent at time political views, but non-the-less political viewpoints (her own argument for the law explicitly reinforces that fact that they are political views).

“who clearly have a vested interest in lambasting and sidelining any argument against them.”

This could easily apply to MacKinnon only she didn’t just want to sideline the argument she disagreed with she wanted them censored legally to be censored with the force of the government behind them. It is downright hypocritical to me to feel such anger at the media obfuscation, yet praise someone who tried and succeeded at passing laws that would make the other side’s view actionable civil right violations.  She succeed in getting a law passed that would force people to compile with views Dr. Nagoski herself says she disagreed with.How on earth is that not deserving of equal if not greater anger? How is that…

“intellectual and moral integrity”?

a.   Censorship is not a form of intellectual integrity. It is not intellectual discourse. It is hiding behind the power of the state (and giving it unprecedented power just so you can do so).

b.  As lawyer MacKinnon had to have known the many, may legal pitfalls of her proposed law for a legal scholar to propose a law like that is a form of gross intellectual dishonesty, the amount of legal precedent, basic legal theory, and scholarship that one has to ignore to pen that legislation can be called nothing less. 

To reduce, as Dr. Nagoski post does MacKinnon, to the idea of sexual harassment as a civil rights violation ignores the Antipornography Civil Rights Ordinance. It ignores how it attempted to define representation in words or imagines of certain political views (again, this is what porn and all the non-porn that would be declared porn inevitable is following the perimeters of her own law) as a civil right violation. I consider any discussion that attempts to defend MacKinnon in anyway that does not explicitly address this to either be completely completely inadequate and irrelevant or intellectually dishonest. If you want to convince me of her intellectual integrity, convince of the intellectual integrity of this notion.

“she was a major force in creating the legal paradigm that informs a major portion of my job.”

Here is what I mean by saying Dr. Nagoski is falling into the trap she is trying to avoid. It easy for her now to see that role but she is not seeing how easily her work could have destroyed that framework. Dr. Nagoski  enjoys freedom of speech in her work as a scholar and as a citizen because of a legal paradigm that the Antipornography Civil Rights Ordinance spits in the face of, again the amount of legal precedent regarding freedom of speech that would have to be changed is massive. For one it implied that the government has the ability to declare truth in regards to political speech and that it should do so because a free exchange of ideas is insufficient (again please read the thing if you haven’t it is the stuff of nightmares).

I have contempt for her because laws like hers are a threat to free speech. Dr. Nagoski may not be able to publish her works had it passed; I may not have been able to run this blog which partially paid for the class in which I read Catharine MacKinnon if Catharine MacKinnon law had passed. The professor may not have been able to show us the art work she did in class if Catharine MacKinnon’s law had passed(1). There are plenty of book in my office and Dr. Nagoski’s right now that would be actionable as civil right violations had that law passed. I’m not exaggerating the law really was that broad in scope read it.

You may counter that I’m putting this ahead of everything else she did in her career. My answers is yes because it deserve to be put ahead I literally may not be able to speak to any other problems if it is not. The power it would have given the state, the damage it could have done merits it be put at the front of any discussion of her career.

Which leads to my finally point I’ve seen many defense of MacKinnon online they always either don’t address the ordinance at all or have their facts objectively wrong (i.e. saying it didn’t pass went it did multiple times). You know how Dr. Nagoski feels about media right now that how I feel about every post I’ve seen try to defend MacKinnon. I cannot talk about MacKinnon without addressing this, I’ve tried. No really, I had a response paper on readings that included her work but didn’t included a discussion of the ordinance and I simply couldn’t limit my discussion to the class readings. I practice what I preach and I simply could not do an analysis I myself called inadequate to dishonest above even if it could have dropped my grade(2).

The Antipornography Civil Rights Ordinance is utterly opposed to the freedom that allowed me to have two degrees to my name, to the freedom that for all the thing wrong with this country make me proud to be an American. This is the unforgivable sin of Catharine MacKinnon and the media had nothing to do with it. The media still sucks if they did their jobs we wouldn’t be having such glowing posts written towards one so hostile to freedom of speech. We would still hate MacKinnon but for the right reasons.(3)

In fighting one MacKinnon myth Dr. Nagoski created another, in fighting one form of obfuscation she engaged in another, the one where MacKinnon didn’t get passed a law that if not challenged and defeated in court would have make it this blog and thousands of others an actionable civil rights violation (I know I already said but this is not hyperbole! Bad Law was Bad!).

  1. she seemed agreed on this point btw [↩]
  2. it didn’t by the way but the point still stands [↩]
  3. So in the end both me and Dr. Nagoski are fucking everything to hell just for different reasons. We can agree on a destination at least. [↩]
Share
Posted in Feminism, Rad-fem | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Gayle Rubin Meets a Succubus: Lost Girl & Sex Positivity (part 1)

Posted on Saturday, April 27, 2013 by namelesschaos

Last week, I did a presentation on Lost Girl  and how it represents sex positivity and thought, I’d share it with you (on that note sorry for the long hiatus, that will stop now).  The premise of Lost Girl is that a bisexual succubus named Bo who was raised by human (sex negative society in my analysis) discovers she is part of a supernatural world called the Fea (a sex positive society). I picked this show because it is one of the few shows where it was a goal of it creator “to create and put out into the world a sex positive universe”.

But what is a “sex positive universe? To answer that I used Gayle Rubin’s seminal work Thinking Sex where she goes into detail regarding how negative and panic-ridden our society is about sex and compared each of the five main points she raised about how our society deals with sex to how the show handles sex. Today I’ll post the good, next post the bad about how Lost Girl Handles sexuality. Enjoy.

Lost Girl. Showcase Canada, SycFi channel USA.

Lost Girl. Showcase Canada, SycFi channel USA.

1) Sex Negativity

The first issue that Rubin discuses is the issue of sex negativity, which is in our society “sex is presumed guilty until proven innocent” (Rubin 1984); that sex is always in some way extremely dangerous. The traditional image of a succubus is definitely a part of this sex negative worldview as it paints sex as dark, mysterious, and deadly. It also reflects a misogynistic tradition; although the concept of an incubus exists, it is the succubus that is a common to our cultural thought (and tellingly the incubus is often referred to simply as “the male succubus”). Thus demonstrating that female sexuality is seen as especially dangerous. At the show’s very beginning, when Bo is still part of the sex negative human world, sex does equal death. As she has no understanding of her true nature, sex results in death for all her lovers, including her first lover which resulted in her being thrown on to the street by her conservative Christian parents for being a “devil child…a slut, a whore”.

Succubus taking a Life circa: Really Long Time Ago

Succubus taking a Life circa: Really Long Time Ago

However, after she discovers she is part of the sex-positive Fae world Lost Girl flips the succubus trope on its head. After she is allowed to understand, embrace, and control her sexuality, sex is no longer a source of suffering and death but a positive, pleasurable, empowering and life giving force. She is able to safely feed off the sexual energy of both humans and Fae something that is shown as pleasurable for both parties. Her lovers willing open their mouths to allow Bo to feed off their sexual energies, as Bo’s eyes turn blue as she feeds in ecstasy off this gift her lovers present to her.

Even though she retains the ability to kill via sex even this is not seen as inherently negative, it is useful for self-defense if need be and in one episode she uses it as a humane form of euthanasia. This alone sends a positive message; Bo’s sexuality was only dangerous so long as she remained in a state of sexual ignorance. However, Lost Girl takes this reimaging of the succubus myth one-step further. Bo’s once sexually educated can not only feed off sexual energy but also give sexual energy and their healing properties on to others. During the series, she has been able to bring individuals back from the brink of death and on at least one occasion has been able to resuscitate the recently deceased by imparting sexual energy on to them. Transforming the myth of the succubus and the female sexuality it represents from one of a life ending force to a lifesaving one.

Succubus saving a Life Circa: 2013

Succubus saving a Life Circa: 2013

2) Fallacy of Misplaced Scale

The second key characteristic of sex negativity is the fallacy of misplaced scale. “Sex acts are burdened with an excess of significance” to the point where minor differences are “experienced as cosmic threats” (Rubin 1984). Example: Gay sex will somehow lead to the corruption and downfall of society. Although sex is explicitly present throughout the show and is literally a life and death matter for Bo, it still manages not to give sex excess significance. Unlike many “coming out” type stories which place sexuality at the center of the narrative ,which necessary and important for their own reasons can feed the misplaced scale, Lost Girl takes the approach of “I’m here, I’m queer, and it’s no big deal” (Rosenberg 2012) according to its creator, Michelle Lovretta. Loveretta has also said that the first internal rule she developed for the show’s portrayal of sex is “sexual orientation is not discussed, and never an issue” and has expressed pride in creating a work where “a person’s sexual orientation is unapologetically present and yet neither defines them as a character, nor the show as a whole” (Rosenberg 2012).

3) Domino Effect of Sexual Peril

The third element discussed by Rubin is the domino effect of sexual peril, which is in the idea that if you deviant from the “normal”, “good” sex it will lead to a domino effect leading you into greater and greater sexual peril. Thus, a good person can easily become sick, sinful, evil, and perverted just by engaging in non-normative sexuality. Lost Girl seeks to avoid such a representation with its creator saying “Bo has lots of sex, with men, women, humans, Fae, threesomes… and she’s still our hero, still a good person worthy (and capable) of love” (Rosenberg 2012). Not only does the show avoid this sexual peril, it portrays sexual exploration as an empowering force and a major part of how this “Lost Girl” discovers herself and her place in the world. Early in the series for example Bo engages in what is implied to her first (although it won’t be her last) threesome and this sexual adventurousness is portrayed as admirable even enviable, with Peaches’ Boys Wanna Be Her and its chorus “the boys wanna be her, the girls wanna be her” playing in the background.

4) Lack of a Concept of Benign Sexual Variation

The fourth element of Rubin’s analysis is the lack of a concept of benign sexual variation, which is the belief that “sexuality is supposed to conform to a single standard…there is one best way to do it” (Rubin 1984). On Lost Girl however, there is no one best way, sexual diversity is present and accepted. One way this show demonstrates sexual diversity is by doing sexual plays on mythological creatures, one scene involves Bo checking out people at a Fae bar which includes Fae who have taken 1000-year vows of chastity and this shows version of the Hydra myth, where the nine heads are of genital not cranial variety. This scene is played as a normal scene of women looking for potential dates at a bar and the high degree of sexual variation seen at the bar is treated as perfectly normal and benign.

He's Hydra, nine heads. I see only one. Not those kinds of heads.

Sexual variation on Lost Girl, Nine Heads a-ok.

5) Hierarchal Evaluation of Sex Acts

The Hierarchy of Sex Acts according to Rubin. Click to enlarge.

The Hierarchy of Sex Acts according to Rubin. (click to enlarge)

Lastly, Rubin discussed the hierarchal evaluation of sex acts, which as its name implies mean sex acts are placed in hierarchy. Heterosexual sex acts are seen as superior to homosexual sex acts; sex acts done in pairs are seen as superior to sex acts performed in groups; sex in committed relationships is superior to promiscuous sex, etc. Lost Girl attempts to break down some of these hierarchies; Bo’s heterosexual sex is seen as being equally valid as her homosexual sex, which is seen as being equal to her group sex experiences. All these different forms of sex are filmed in the same style and feature Bo happy engaging in each of them; none is filmed through a different lens nor is Bo shown having any short of guilty or reluctance regarding one act or the other.

In part 2 I’ll go over where Lost Girl falls short a s a sex positive portrayal.

Works Cited

Rosenberg, Alyssa. Think Progress, “‘Lost Girl’ Creator Michelle Lovretta On Rules for Sex-Positive TV.” Last modified 05 30, 2012. Accessed April 20, 2013. http://thinkprogress.org/alyssa/2012/05/30/492328/lost-girl-creator-michelle-lovretta-on-rules-for-sex-positive-tv/.

Rubin, Gayle. Thinking Sex: Notes for a Radical Theory of the Politics of Sexuality. Pleasure and Danger. Edited by Carole Vance. Routledge & Kegan, Paul, 1984

Share
Posted in Feminism, Sex, Sexuality and Exploration | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Review: Jenna Haze Forbidden Fleshlight

Posted on Friday, August 31, 2012 by namelesschaos

Jenna Haze Forbidden Fleshlight by Fleshlight

The Jenna Haze Forbidden is part of Fleshlight’s Fleshlight Girls line which, are masturbators modeled off of porn stars private parts in this case obviously Jenna Haze. The internal texture ,named forbidden, is designed to stimulate anal sex so the model is obviously of her butthole. Overall the Forbidden fruit (Fleshlight) is well worth biting (fucking).

The Jenna Haze Forbidden Fleshlight

Materials

This internal sleeve is made out of Fleshlight patented Superskin material, which as its name implies is a realistic flesh-like material. Superskin is porous so do not share the toy (If you must share for some reason, use a condom with it each time) and be sure to clean the toy properly after use. It is free of phthalates and latex.

To clean the sleeve wash it out with warm water and then let air dry in a well-ventilated place. Do not use soap, as it will degrade the material over time. If you want to perform a more through cleaning on the toy use some isopropyl alcohol.  This cleaning and air-drying is simple enough but inconvenient if you have privacy issues or for any other reasons don’t want to have a disembodied porn star orifice lying around air drying. Use only water based lubes with this toy as oil or silicone lubes, like the already mentioned soap, will degraded the material over time. If the sleeve starts to become tacky, dust it with cornstarch to restore the sleeve.

The case is made out of plastic that you can clean with just soap and water.

Design and Dimensions

This toy like all, Fleshlights, consists of a case and a removable sleeve.

The Case

The case is 10 inches long the rear portion of the toy is about 2 2/3 in diameter, the larger front portion measuring about 3 3/4 in diameter. The case has three parts to it, a rear cap that is meant to adjust the level of suction, the main body of the toy and a front cap that will cover the entrance of the toy. The main portion of the case has five ridges designed to improve the grip, however there is no texture on either the front or back cap. This is a con especially on the back cap, as it makes it hard to manipulate if your hand is slick with lube. This designed is that same for all the full sized Fleshlight what makes the Fleshlight Girls line cases unique is the color, which is pearl white.

The Internal Texture

The toy starts with a tight smooth open molded after Jenna Haze’s butt. The smoothness will continue for an inch before you hit 1.75 inches worth of ribs. After these ribs, the canal widens and changes to a wavy texture which will continue till the end of the sleeve. The internal texture is designed to stimulate anal sex.

The Fleshlight Forbidden Texture.

As I said this is parts of the Fleshlight Girls line which included many other porn stars including: Stoya, Riley Steele,  Jesse Jane, Lisa Ann, Misty Stone, Tera Patrick, Teagan Presley, Asa Akira, Tori Black and more. In addition to the Forbidden texture, the Fleshlight Girls also come in the blowjob simulating swallow texture, the line’s signature lotus texture, as well as a signature texture designed around the specific model example the Jesse Jane gauntlet.  Jenna Haze specifically is available in all options (this forbidden texture, the lotus, the swallow, and a signature texture called the Maze). Lastly, thier is also a line of Fleshlight Girls  based around the stars of the porn film Pirates II: Stagnetti’s Revenge (Riley Steele, Jesse Jane, Stoya)

The Jenna Haze Forbidden Fleshlight is faithfully modeled from her actual orifice.

Besides the girls line they are also several other full sized Fleshlights available, such as, the original Fleshlight, the Fleshlight Pure, the Blue Fleshlight Alien, The Fleshlight STU, the vibrating Fleshlight vibro, several transparent options (lady, butt mouth), and more. Lastly, Fleshlight also makes smaller version of the Fleshlight including the sex in a can line (Sukit draft, Succu dry, O’doyle’s stout , etc) the Fleshlight Blade and the Fleshlight Flight.

Plesure and Use

First off some basics in case you have never used a Fleshlight before. The Superskin material is flesh-like, realistic, and highly pleasurable. If you heat the sleeve in a warm water bath, it will feel even more lifelike. (Personally, I find that to be a bit of work and prefer to use some warming lube to make it feel warmer). As I said above it is a bit annoying to clean and is porous. If you want something less porous and easier to clean up I recommend looking at some of the Tenga toys such as the various Flipholes (white, black, red, sliver) or the artistic 3D line (example 3D Pile). If hygiene is your concern above all else I’d recommend the Tantus stroker line which is one of the few pure silicone masturbation sleeves available. As I’ve said above the case is designed so the rear cap can provide suction. Leave the cap on and you will not get any suction, tighten the cap and you’ll get some light suction. However, the suction is not that great if you want heavy suction I’d recommend the Fleshlight Flight which provides the best suction performance I’ve seen.

With the general points out of the way on to the specifics of this model, I’ll start by evaluating the Jenna Haze mold. After comparing the toy to pictures and videos of the real thing, the mold is an accurate replicate. This isn’t a big deal for me but if you looking to pick this up to live out a Jenna Haze fantasy you’ll be happy to know you’re new toy is true to form. Moving on to the texture, as explained above this sleeves internal texture is designed to stimulate anal sex. The tighter ribbed entrance that transitions into the wide wavy canal does a good job of stimulating the penetration of anal sex. When thrusting deep this design gives you a tighter feeling around the base of the penis that contrasts with the more open inner canal. The wavy texture after the ribbed entrance provides a simple but highly effective sensation. The waves provide an alternating stimulation to your penis and fit the anal them well. Overall, this texture is high on my list of favorite texture I still say I prefer to swallow by a hair but this is the best at stimulating anal sensations so it will see plenty of use in the rotation.

Using it in a Mount.

In addition to using it by hand, Fleshlight makes several mounts that you place the Fleshlight in and can then thrust away into hands free. As I have two, I usually use my Fleshlight this way. If you don’t have a Fleshlight mount there are some ways to use it hands free if you want. The first is the shoe method, which is placing it in a shoe and thrust into it missionary style the other is placing it between your mattress and your bed-frame and thrusting into it while on your knees.

Comparison to Other Fleshlights

As I said above this is high on my list of best full sized Fleshlights. This is of course highly subjective but to give you an idea of what my preferences are so you can compare them to your own. I tend to like Fleshlights with more than one texture through their length. Sleeves with a single texture throughout being much lower on my list and completely smooth sleeves being the lowest on my list. I also prefer if there is a clear logical progression to the texture design. Some of the Fleshlight texture although varied feel like a random mash-up of different textures they still work, like picking all your favorites out of a buffet, however they work even better if they is some logic to it, like a well crafted tasting menu at a fine restaurant. This sleeve meets these preference as it is varied and all the elements logically fit the anal stimulating design of the toy.

Now Fleshlight also makes some smaller models. These full sized ones in my opinion have the best textures this one included. However, the smaller designs do have some benefits of their own. The blade has a unique squeezable case that mask a bit of  a midpoint between the canister style Fleshlight and more hand manipulated sleeves. The Sex in a Can is the Fleshlight product I least enjoined, too tight and hard to grip. Although I should note if you think you’ll enjoy that type of super tightness the O’doyle’s stout Sex in a Can has a mini version of the Forbidden texture. Lastly the Fleshlight Flight, is what the Sex in a Can should have been it is much easier to manipulate, tighter but not too tight and has the best suction preference I have experienced, if you want suction I’d go with the Flight.

Packaging

This toy comes in a cardboard packaging. The front has picture of Jenna Haze on it. The back a paragraph about the toy, personal statistics about Jenna Haze, along with another picture of Jenna, a picture of the toy’s internal texture and its opening. It also has a QR code and a barcode which is cute as it is inside of a Fleshlight outline. One side has a plastic window so you can see the toy inside the box and the other has another picture of Jenna. It comes with a instruction pamphlet and a trial packet of water based Fleshlube.

The Fleshlight Jenna Haze Forbidden Packaging

Closing Thoughts

If you want a Fleshlight that stimulates anal, (or that has a just plain good texture) or are a Jenna Haze fan the Jenna Haze Forbidden will take you to paradise (and unlike that pesky forbidden fruit there is no expelled, “great pain in child birth”, yadda, yadda clause attached).

product picture
Masturbator by Fleshlight
Material: Superskin®
Safety:
Share
Posted in Reviews, Sex toys | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Wordless Review Wednesday: Fleshlight Flight

Posted on Wednesday, August 22, 2012 by namelesschaos

Click here for the full text review.

Share
Posted in Reviews, Video Reviews | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Lauren Faust’s My Little Pony, Better Women than Sorkin’s The Newsroom (pt.2)

Posted on Tuesday, August 21, 2012 by namelesschaos

Hello and welcome to the ongoing battle between the women of The Newsroom and the mares of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. Who’s women are better written!? However, before we beginning I’d like you all to rise for out opening song.

“My Little Sorkin” sung to the tune of “My Little Pony theme”

[Backup singer]

My little Sorkin, My little Sorkin

Ahh, ahh, ahh, ahhh…

 

[Namelesschaos]

(My little Sorkin)

I didn’t know what pretension could be

(My little Sorkin)

Till The Newsroom shared its magic with me

 

[Journalists]

Condescension

[“Internet Girls”]

Tons of smug

 

[Liberals]

An egotistical snob

[Conservatives]

Pompous and wrong

 

[TV Critics]

Patronizing writing

[Feminists]

It’s an easy feat

And sexism makes it all complete

 

You have my little Sorkin.

Do you know his is very Great White Maaaaaaaaaaaaan!

 

And now for our first fight.

Mackenzie Vs. Twilight Sparklle

… Fight!

Twilight Sparkle is the element of magic unlike other magic users who have a signature spell her special power is magic itself. We see her using a wider variety of magics then the other magic users, are shown her copying other unicorns magic and as a child, she displays unprecedented raw power. Organization expert. Hand selected by the world’s divine Monarch to be her pupil. Defeats the embedment of chaos.

Mackenzie is the Executive Producer of Newsnight unlike other Executive Producers who can choose not to cover Casey Anthony and keep their viewers her special power is pretentiousness and viewer loss. We see her having a wider variety of incompetence compared to other Executive Producer including lack of pretension ability, lack of tech savvy, inability to chew gum and walk have hair at the same time, and needing fingers to count. Expert klutz. As an Executive Producer, she demonstrates an unprecedented ability to lose viewers. God apparently hates her and enjoys toying with her emotions see “He gave us a miracle” *God undoes miracle* “Son of Bitch!” Gets defeated by Casey Anthony coverage.

Winner: Twilight Sparkle

When she leads a team #@!? gets done!

 

Ok…but how about if we compare Mac to another magic user who is not the best. So lets move on to Mackenzie’s finally round. Why would she volunteer to do three rounds in row? Remember when she accepted a debate to do economics without knowing economics? Same thing here… Mac: “this is just like when I cheated on”… NO MAC! No body/pony give a flying fuck/feather!

Round 3: Mackenzie vs. Rarity

…One woman, one mare enter! One women or mare leaves!

Let go back to our old friends Show vs. Tell…

Told: Rarity is the other unicorn and magic user in the group she is a clothing designer and business owner she aspires to be a famous fashion designer. She is not considered “the best in the business” but she is clearly a talented designer with a business that keep her busy and could one day be the best.

Shown: We actually see her designing clothes, digging to get gems for them, many of her plots revolve around or mention her job and her signature spell allow her to locate gems underground that see later integrates into outfits. She struggles to balance family with her work and work friendships with business connections.

…and add to them a new friend, Know things about how reality works.

Known (Page 1): It is easy to like the glorious side of fashion but it is a lot harder to like the hard work and long hour’s aspect. MLP shows both sides of this, instead of just having rarity be a shopping addict.

Known (Page 2): Pervious MLP properties would never have a fashion type also be portrayed as business owner that has to, like it or not, occasionally dig in the dirt to do her job. This rare for a kid’s show marketed to girls and reflects bold direction for the MLP franchise which lead to an unprecedented periphery demographic.

Know (Just bugs me Page): I wonder how the economics of Rarity’s fashion business work in word of nudists, who use clothes mainly for special events or work related practicality. This preceding thought represents more time then Mac has spent thinking about the state of the any economic matters.

Now let us take our new friends to Mac’s place:

Told: Mac is an Executive Producer and ex-girlfriend of Will she aspires to make Newsnight “the best form of the argument”.

Shown: Accepts invitation to debate economics, did I mention she still counts with her fingers? Pick economic reporter based on best legs. Approves story on internet trolls because yes trolls are what the American public needs to know in the voting booth. Promotes Maggie, Maggie is not the best form of an associate producer …but I’m getting ahead of myself Maggie will get her turn.

Know (Page 1): It is easy to show the best form of the argument you like but it is a lot hard part is shown the best form of the other side. The Newsroom does not show the best form of the other side…or his own side… instead he is just a sanctimony addict.

Know (Page 2): Not covering Casey Anthony is not as bold or original as Sorokin thinks it is. It was 9:00 pm MSNBC. Too bad Sorkin get all his info from 1940 ad MEN. Mac not only fails to do what real women in the real world did she creates an unprecedented failure in the process.

Know (Just bugs me Page): This is the Newsnight desk note how it is a big opaque thing. How on Earth do Sloan’s legs matter when reporting behind that thing, Mac? She could have the lower body of squid and none of the viewers would be able to tell. If you’re going to try to spike rating with body parts wouldn’t you pick one that is at least visible?

Winner: Rarity may melodramatically declare everything The WORSE POSSIBLE THING! Mac actually is THE WORST POSSIBLE EP!

(pictured) Rarity, can sell clothes while naked. (Not pictured) Mac, can’t understand her Blackberry.

Well anyway since we mentioned legs be sure to tune in next time for our epic match between two women known for their legs: Applejack and Sloan Sabbith!

 

Share
Posted in Feminism, Reviews | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Lauren Faust’s My Little Pony Does Women Better than Aaron Sorkin’s The Newsroom (pt.1)

Posted on Saturday, August 18, 2012 by namelesschaos

Aaron Sorkin show The Newsroom has a woman problem. How bad is it? It is so bad that it fails what I call “The Brony Test”, which is to say My Little Pony a show for 9 year-olds does women better.

“The Brony Test” began as a joke a brony friend of mine and me had a while back when the internet was ablaze about the horrible original ending to Mass Effect 3. He described the ending as being so bad that the entire cast of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic could show up and that would still be a better ending. This was true, yes the original ending was that bad. However the most damning thing about this observation is that part of why the ending failed is that it in the last ten minutes of a game abandoned its themes of racial unity instead and gives us an ending about tech. singularity theory. Thus the simplistic Aesops of Friendship is Magic would actually fit the first 99 hours and 50 minutes of the trilogy better than the original ending. With that in mind let us look at how My Little Pony not only does women better than The Newsroom but how some scenes would actually be improved by substituting a my little pony character.

Round 1: Mackenzie Mchale vs. Rainbow Dash (aka Banana peels vs. Competence)

…Begin!

The problem with the Newroom’s women can be summed up in the old axiom “Show don’t tell”. We are told that Mackenzie is the best in the business but we are never show any actual display of hyper-competence as the newsroom EP instead we are given a stream of amazingly incompetent moments.

She starts ok enough her flash cards in the first episode did rattle Will as intended but she goes downhill fast from there. Nation security analysis is E-mailing her and her team Mac concludes he must be hitting on everyone! Only hours to find out what the upcoming White House announcement is about: Get me a Christmas entertainment program!  Needs fingers to do basic math. Gets gum stuck in her hair on a recurring bias. Is the best EP in the business, can’t properly work her E-mail. Gets played by her boyfriend and I could go on and on and on and on.

Sorkin own description of his writing process makes the characters getting more incompetent inevitable he says after you establish them “you can have them slip on as many banana peels as you want.” Only, no you can’t! Competence is not some title that once given is conferred for life. You must in the real world or fiction continue to show competence if a character starts slipping on banana peels all the time I’m going to say this character used to be competent now she just slips on banana peels.

Now to compare, Rainbow Dash claims she is the fastest flyer in the world and they actually show us instead of just telling us. She is the only know Pegasus ever to perform a “Sonic Rainboom” (like it sounds a sonic boom with added rainbows). However, unlike Sorkin, Lauren Faust and the My Little Pony writers, in a show for 8 years old that is deliberately designed so you could watch it out of order, show a progression of Rainbow Dash’s abilities. Competence as continual process instead of a prelude for banana peels.

The first time Rainbow she does a Rainboom is inadvertently during a race. The second is after years of speed training when pushing herself as hard as she can to save a friend’s life. By the third time we see it, she can do it at will. The fourth time she can do it on command flying upward against gravity. Lauren Faust realizes even a child wouldn’t find a women competent if she had her slip on all the banana peel Sorkin wants, which as far as I can tell is a number that exceeds the total number of bananas currently in existence.

We are told of Rainbow’s abilities, shown her abilities and subtly show her getting better at it as the series progresses. We are told of Mac’s abilities and then shown her acting like a 50’s sitcom character and getting more ridiculous and inept as the series progresses. At this point, the banana peels are slipping on banana peels.

Winner: Rainbow Dash

It is a battle so epic it can’t be contained in one post so here is a preview of our upcoming fight card:

Tomorrow Night:

Round 2: Mackenzie vs. Twilight Sparkle &

Round 3: Mackenzie vs. Rarity

To be Announced:

Sloan Sabbath vs. Apple Jack (aka Over Propelled Pegasus vs. Inflammable Treasury Security); Luna/ Nightmare Moon vs. TMI Lady/Sorkin’s tabloid hate hard-on. Maggie vs. Flutter Shy. Maggie vs. Pinkie Pie. Filly Twilight Sparkles subconscious vs. Adult Sloan Sabbath psychotic breaks; Sloan’s Butt vs. Cutie marks and more!

Share
Posted in Feminism, Reviews | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Review: Icicles No. 13

Posted on Tuesday, August 14, 2012 by namelesschaos

Icicles No. 13 by Pipedream

The Icicles No. 13 is a glass prostate massager with a highly effective internal portion and a unique perpendicularly placed ring handle. Although it falls sort in some areas (retention, can’t sit on it, it shifts), its effective head and the possibilities opened up by the unique handle earns it 5 stars.

The Icicles No. 13 by Pipedream

 

Materials: Cleaning and Safety Concerns

This toy is made out of borosilicate glass; glass is nonporous, hypoallergenic, free of phthalates or latex and is compatible with all lubes. To clean just use some hot soap and water. For a more thorough cleaning, put it in your dishwasher on the top rack sans soap, clean it with a ten percent bleach solution, or boil it for 5 minutes. For the most through home cleaning put the toy in a pressure cooker for twenty minutes. Be careful however, when subjecting this to heat methods of cleaning. Make sure the temperature is raised and lowered gradually otherwise, the rapid temperature change could weaken the toy or even cause it to shatter. If it were to shatter, it would break it to large chucks and not into tiny shards.

Design and Dimensions

The toy has an insertable portion that starts with a small tip, which leads to one bulge followed by a second bulge finally ending in a finger-hole handle that is perpendicular to the insertable potion of the toy. The toy measures about 6 3/8 inches in total length about 4.5 inches of which is insertable. It starts with a tip about 3/4 of an inch in diameter which expands to form the toys first bulge which is about an inch in diameter. It narrows to about 2/3 of an inch before expanding to form the toy’s second budge, which is about 1 ½ in diameter. It then narrows to its neck that is ¾ of an inch at its narrowest. From there it forms its ring handle which has an internal diameter of 1.15 and a total diameter of 2.10, making the ring .475” in thickness. The toy weighs 6.30 ounces.

The Icicles No. 13’s insertable portion.

Aesthetic Beauty

The toy is made out of clear glass (this was my first completely clear toy in fact). The clear glass combined with the bulges of the toy and the perpendicular handle make for a simple but very pleasing visual appearance.

This is part of Pipedream’s icicles line, which in addition to this toy includes: Other butt plugs/prostrate massagers: Icicles No. 14, Icicles No. 25, Icicles No. 26. Many different styles of dildos and probes: Icicles No. 1, Icicles No. 2, Icicles No. 8, Icicles No. 11, Icicles No. 12, Icicles No. 17, Icicles No. 18, Icicles No. 21, Icicles No. 22, Icicles No. 24, Icicles No. 28, Icicles No. 29, Icicles No.30, Icicles No. 31, Icicles No. 32, Icicles No. 37. and several glass vibrators: Icicles No. 4, Icicles No.16, Icicles No. 34, Icicles No. 35

Pleasure and Use

I am going to start with the insertable portion, although the overall diameter may be too much for a beginner the tip helps with insertion and the smaller first bump helps you work your way up to its max diameter. The slickness of glass and the ability to use any lube you like also helps. Once inserted the head provides excellent prostrate pressure and can easily lead you to prostate induce/enhanced orgasm. You can activate it using just your PC muscles however, a big benefit of this toy is it ability to activate it manually. This leads me to this toy’s unique feature its large perpendicular ring-hole handle.

The Icicles No. 13’s handle.

 

While there are a fair amount of toys with finger holes placed parallel to the body of the toy –Examples include: The Njoy line (small, medium, large, extra-large 2.0, & Pfun plug), the LELO Bob and it’s rarefied cousin the Earl, the Metal Worx Luv plug, The Love pacifier beginner and advanced, The Lux LX-2, and the Icicles’ line own Icicles No. 14, etc.–this is the only one I know of that places the ring perpendicular to the rest of the toy. This creates some cons but overall opens up many more possibilities.

First off it makes this toy very easy and effective to activate manually. The perpendicular placement of the handle gives you better leverage when using it. The large size of the finger hole means you can use it no matter how big your fingers are and if you have slender fingers you can insert two into the hole as opposed to the typical hole, which can only fit one. This large hole combined with the placement means you can use your finger to stimulate your perineum as you are rocking the toy manually. If you like the simultaneous internal/external stimulation provided by toys like the Aneros line, but feel your own fingers could do a better job of stimulating the perineum this would be an excellent choice.  The large size of the hole allows you to insert other things through it as well, for example, you can place a vibrator through and angle it towards your perineum to combine vibrations, perineum stimulation, and internal prostate stimulation. Another option is to place a rope or restraint through the hole and using it in a kinky or BDSM style way. For example, I tested this by looping my Sex and Mischief adjustable handcuffs through the hole and activating the toy by struggling against the restraints.

Demonstrating the possibilities of The Icicles No. 13’s large perpendicular finger-hole handle.

Temperature Play

One final benefit of the toy is that glass retains temperature very well. Using a water bath, you can heat the toy for a warmer more relaxed insertion. You can also cool the toy to add an invigorating zing; however remember that cold can make the anus close up so I would only recommend that for advanced users. Personally, I tend to save cold temp. play for smaller toys.  Also test the temperature of the toy on the back of your hand to ensure it is not too hot or cold for use on delicate tissues.

However, this toy also has some cons. The first is that it has less than prefect retention, it does stay in place when on my back but it slowly slides out if in another position. Because of this, this is not a prostate massager that you can also use during intercourse. I’d recommend the Aneros line, the Zini Janus or a butt plug prostate massager hybrid like Lux LX3, Lux LX2, or the Romp if you want something that will stay in place during intercourse. A second con is that the large handle makes it so I can’t sit on it, so this fails as a butt plug. Lastly, this toy have a tendency to shift when using it hands free and become turned to its side when using it hands free. This isn’t a very large problem for me because like I said this toy works best when using some form of manual stimulation.

Packaging & Storage

This toy comes in a very lovely packaging with a black and white color scheme. The front of the box has a large picture of the toy on it; this part of the box is a flap when you pull on the little tab on the side it will open up revealing the inside flaps. This inside flap will have a few lines about the toy including use and cleaning tips as well as a close up of the tip on one side and a plastic window allowing you to see the toy inside the box on the other side. The back has another close up of the toy’s tip as well more lines about the toy. When you open the box, the toy will be nestled in white Styrofoam. You can easily use this box for storage. If you decided not use this for storage make sure to store it somewhere that it won’t bang up against anything hard that may damage the toy.

The Icicles No. 13’s packaging.


Closing Thoughts

Normally the cons I listed above, retention, shifting, cannot sit on it would knock at least a star off the toy’s final score but the possibilities opened up by the perpendicular ring and the highly effective head earns this toy a full five stars.

product picture
Probe by Pipedream
Material: Borosilicate glass
Safety:
Share
Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Wordless Review Wednesday: Lux LX-3 male stimulator

Posted on Wednesday, August 8, 2012 by namelesschaos

Read full text review here.

Share
Posted in Reviews, Video Reviews | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Review: Tantus Advanced C-ring

Posted on Tuesday, August 7, 2012 by namelesschaos

Advanced C-ring by Tantus

The advanced c-ring is a pure silicone cock ring designed to be used behind the balls. Overall it works very well. Its wideness makes it comfortable as well as pushing the balls forward notably further enhancing the experience. Read ahead for all the details.

The Tantus Advanced c-ring

 

Materials: Design and Dimensions

This ring is made of 100% premium silicone. This makes it nonporous, odorless, tasteless, and free of phthalates or latex. To clean it just use hot soap and water. For a more through cleaning you can boil it for 5 minutes, clean it with a 10% bleach solution, or put it on the top rack of your dishwasher sans soap. For the most through home cleaning put it in a pressure cooker for 20 minutes.

The one thing you have to be aware of is that silicone lubricants can have a bonding reaction with silicone lubes so don’t use them with this toy.

Design and Dimensions

The ring measures 1.75 in internal diameter and 2.5 inches in total diameter, with the ring being .375 inches thick and .75 inches wide. If you look at the ring very closely you can see a seam down the middle of the ring but it is completely smoothed out so you will not feel anything. It is available in red or black.

This part of Tantus Cock ring line which included this toy (duh!), the intermediate (1 7/8 diameter) and beginner ( 2” diameter) versions of this ring, two perineum stimulating cock slings: standard and beginner; a vibrating cock ring, and my personal favorite the super soft c-ring.

Pleasure and Use

I’m going to start by going over the basics of a cock ring. In short the ring when placed on your (or your partners) penis will constrict blood flow resulting in a harder, firmer erection and in the case of a wide ring like this they will also push the balls forwards a bit. Do not use a cock ring for more than 20 minutes at a time and remember to take them off after use. This particular cock ring is designed to be used behind the testicles (Below is a picture of it on my VixSkin Goodfella to illustrate.); other cock rings like the super soft c ring can be used in front of the balls or on the testicles as a ball stretcher however, this ring was too big for me to use effectively in those positions. In order to put the ring on, lube it a bit then slide one testicle in then the other and then finally slide your penis through. You should do this while the penis is flaccid as it would be hard to put it on erect. The silicone does have some stretch that will help you put it on but not much, you’ll have to pull on it pretty hard for it to stretch. It also means you should measure the penis you instead to use it on to make sure you buy a size that will fit you right.  On that note, one benefit of silicone is that if you are in a worst case scenario where the ring won’t come off or it prevents ejaculation silicone is relatively easily to cut so you should be able to remove it with a pair of scissors.

The Tantus advanced c-ring on the VixSkin Goodfella

 

Ok with all that out of the way how does it work? Very well. First off the constriction does provide a nice, firmer erection. That the ring is wide means that you won’t get the rubber band on your dick feel that many thin cock rings can have. It also reduces the chance any damage could come to delicate blood vessels.  That this ring is wide leads me to the second benefit of this toy the way it pushes your balls forward when in use.

This is beneficial in two ways; first with the balls pushed up they will smack more against whatever is on the other end of your thrusts when going deep. If you like, the feeling of your balls slapping against your partner this will be good for you. The second is that by pushing the balls up the ring ends up serving the same basic function as a ball stretcher. Arousal, orgasm, and ejaculation all pull the testicles up and closer to the body, if you keep them distended however, it will lengthen and enhance orgasm and ejaculation. This keeps the balls pushed up far enough from their typical position that it will serve the roles of both a cock ring and a ball stretcher at once.

Comparison to other Tantus c-rings

Lastly, I own one other Tantus cock ring the Tantus super soft c-ring. Here is a quick comparison. The super soft c-ring is much stretcher then this ring, this makes the super soft the easiest cock ring to put on I have ever used. The super soft c-ring is also much more versatile you can use it behind the balls, in front of the balls, or on the balls as a ball stretcher. However, the super soft ring is not as wide so you won’t get the same balls pushed forward effect you get with this ring. This ring also has more intense constriction.

Comparing the stretchiness of the Tantus Super Soft c-ring vs. the Tantus Advanced c-ring.

 

Overall, the super soft remains my favorite overall ring and is the one I recommend for almost most everyone. Specifically, people new to cock rings or those looking for an easy to put on cock ring should start with the super soft. However, this ring is better at its niche, wide behind the balls ring, if you already have some cock ring experience and you know that is what you are looking for and don’t mind this ring being harder to part on, go with the advanced c-ring.

Packaging

The toy comes in a very classy easy to open clamshell packaging, the front is clear plastic that displays the ring and has the name of the toy, a sticker stating the diameter of the toy, and on the bottom it says, “Stay harder longer and enhance your orgasm”. It obviously not very discreet but it is tastefully done. The back has two paragraphs explaining the benefits of the toy and Tantus silicone as well as three step illustrated instruction for put on the ring plus all the expected legal stuff. The packaging is not designed for storage but the clamshell snaps back together easily so you could use it for storage if you wished.

Tantus advanced c-ring packaging.

 

Closing Thoughts

Overall, the ring does what it set out to do without any real noteworthy flaws. As I said the best overall remains versatile super soft c-ring but this is the best at its niche. 5 stars.

Share
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 1 Comment