Bullshit!

The sixth season of Penn & Teller: Bullshit! kicks off tonight with the "The War on Porn," described thusly:

"Radical feminists claim porn leads to violence; rabid right-wingers claim it leads to addiction; and even former boy toy Donna Rice claims it’s hurting the children. None of these groups have any proof to back up their claims, but they’ve convinced the government to waste your money and invade your privacy while going after something that should be perfectly legal."



The episode debuts tonight at 10 pm, with multiple repeats.

(via Thomas Roche via XBiz)

Action Alert! Contact CBS and support Swingtown

Conservative media watch-groups and religious political extremists are already hard at work trying to get Swingtown pulled from the air. While we don't necessarily like to send them traffic, from the America Family Association there's this and from the Parents Television Council we have this little gem.

To counter the form letter complaints that are right now making their way into the FCC folders of various local CBS affiliates, now would be a good time to send a brief note of your support of the show. As a former programming director for a small-town station in a largely conservative market, we can assure you that your positive input will be most welcome!

See below for the how-to particulars and feel free to spread this info widely:

***
NCSF Entertainment Media Update for "Swingtown"

Show Title: Swingtown
Episode Title: "Pilot"
Original airdate: June 5, 2008
Series continues: Thursday, 10 pm
Network: CBS
Produced by: CBS Paramount Television
Executive Producers: Michael Kelley, Allen Poul and Carol Barbee

Description:
From the program's website - "SWINGTOWN, from the director of 'Big Love' and 'Rome,' traces two generations of friends and neighbors as they forge intimate connections and explore new freedoms during the culturally transformative decade of the 1970s. It portrays the ever-shifting "swing" of the pendulum that reflected the change in America's collective value system -- morally, politically and socially. After moving to an upscale lakeside Chicago suburb in July of 1976, Susan and Bruce Miller must confront temptation in the form of their provocative new neighbors, Tom and Trina Decker, while not abandoning their old friends Janet and Roger Thompson. As the adult couples evaluate whether to embrace or avoid newfound personal freedoms, the curious Miller and Thompson children begin to discover and assert their own morality and sexual identities as they come of age in a world on the precipice of change. In a shifting social climate -- defined by its music, fashion and style -- everyone in SWINGTOWN is confronted with personal choices, experimentation and varying attitudes."

More info, including clips and the most recent episode of the show, can be found at:
http://www.cbs.com/primetime/swingtown/


NCSF Reviewer's Note:
Originally intended for a cable network outlet, "Swingtown" has obviously been retooled to meet broadcast standards and withstand certain scrutiny from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Nonetheless, while it shies away from nudity and direct depictions, the show still manages to take a refreshingly positive approach to sexual exploration and freedom. The most adventurous couple of the three featured, the Deckers, is presented as sharing a mutual enjoyment of their open marriage and seem to have a healthy, affectionate relationship. Similarly the Millers, introduced to the swing lifestyle in the first episode, are shown to be in love, but just seeking a little something to rev up their sex life.

It's a little difficult to predict where the series will go over the course of its initial 13-episode run, but given how quickly the Millers jump into the action - counter to what most swingers themselves would counsel - there are sure to be complications ahead. While there are likely some consequences to be faced down the line, hopefully the show will maintain the sex-positive tone it exhibited in its premiere episode.

In light of complaints already being registered from media watch groups and religious political extremists, the CBS network and its local affiliates deserve commendation for airing "Swingtown" and should be encouraged to continue its broadcast. (Reviewed by Lisa Vandever, NCSF Media Committee)


CRITICAL ACTION - GIVE FEEDBACK ON SWINGTOWN TO YOUR LOCAL CBS AFFILIATE:

Find your station here:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/07/31/utility/main517034.shtml

(Hard copy letters are generally more effective, but sending an email is better than nothing.)


ADDITIONAL ACTION - GIVE FEEDBACK ON SWINGTOWN TO THE CBS NETWORK:

CBS Television Network
51 West 52nd Street
New York, NY 10019

(While hard copy letters are generally more effective, you can also send a direct email to the network via a form on their website - http://www.cbs.com/info/user_services/fb_global_form.shtml.)


YOU CAN ALSO LEAVE INPUT VIA THE "SWINGTOWN" COMMUNITY MESSAGE BOARD:
http://www.cbs.com/primetime/swingtown/community/
(requires email registration)


HOW TO WRITE VIEWER FEEDBACK
Viewer letters are an effective way to convey a positive image of alternate sexual practices such as SM, swinging or polyamory. Your feedback can help to correct negative social myths and misconceptions about these types of practices, and may influence the future decisions of programmers and producers about the entertainment they provide. These letters help achieve the advocacy goals of the NCSF.

For more information and suggestions of points to include in your letter, see:
http://www.ncsfreedom.org/index.php?option=com_keyword&id=182

Please alert us to positive, negative or neutral stories about SM, swinging and polyamory at media@ncsfreedom.org

***
A joint Project of NCSF and ITCR: The Foundation of NCSF

The National Coalition for Sexual Freedom is a national organization committed to creating a political, legal, and social environment in the United States that advances equal rights of consenting adults who practice forms of alternative sexual expression. NCSF is primarily focused on the rights of consenting adults in the SM-leather-fetish, swing, and polyamory communities, who often face discrimination because of their sexual expression.

National Coalition for Sexual Freedom
822 Guilford Avenue, Box 127
Baltimore, MD 21202-3707
410-539-4824
media@ncsfreedom.org
www.ncsfreedom.org

In case you missed it...

Here's the pilot episode of Swingtown, which premiered Thursday night on CBS.

The recap from the network: As American celebrates the bicentennial, Susan and Bruce Miller move their family to an affluent Chicago suburb. They are not only welcomed to the chick (sic) neighborhood, but also the social and sexual revolution prevailing throughout the decade. They find out that their neighbors share more than a view of Lake Michigan. Initially bewildered by their new surroundings, Susan and Bruce come to realize that their promiscuous neighbors present a tantalizing offer that may provide the excitement their marriage craves.

Indeed. There's nothing that spices things up like a few promiscuous neighbors, so take a gander - and then discuss!

Countdown to Swingtown!

Back in the summer of 1976, we were mostly looking forward to finally getting rid of our braces and putting the horrors of eighth grade far behind us, but even as we lurked around the edges of trouble, we always suspected we were missing out on something.

Tonight we get further confirmation of exactly that, as a new CBS series, Swingtown, pulls back the curtains on the shenanigans of one fictional suburban couple of the decade, the Deckers, and the friends and acquaintances that come into the swath of their open marriage.



Created by writer Mike Kelley and inspired by his upbringing in the suburban enclaves of 1970s Chicago, the series was originally designed with a berth on HBO or Showtime in mind, but found an unlikely home at CBS instead. While the show did require some retooling for a network broadcast appearance and likely FCC scrutiny, according to an article in the Baltimore Sun, Swingtown has acquired a helpful advocate in CBS entertainment president Nina Tassler - who, it turns out, is related to George and Nena O'Neill, authors of the definitive 1970s classic on the topic, Open Marriage. In addition to programing the show with a presumably strong CSI lead-in, the network has also been putting some heavy promotions into the series. "If we had abandoned or buried Swingtown, I would never have been able to live with myself," Tassler continues in the article. "This is a labor of love."

The love, as they say, kicks off tonight and continues Wednesdays at 10pm throughout the summer.

Meet you in the basement with a couple of Schlitz Malt Liquors?

So gay!

Or, to be more politic, so same-sex!

We're slightly chagrined to admit, but our first thought upon learning that the California State Supreme Court had struck down laws limiting same-sex marriage was of the wedding invitations that would soon be winging their way to our mailbox. We do love a good party!

And ever since we endured the sweet tortures of planning our own wedding a few years back, one of our secret indulgences continues to be wedding porn, with a sordid, lingering taste for the occasional Whose Wedding is it Anyway? marathon.

So, while we're of course enraptured by the right-minded arguments of equality and fairness that surrounds this crucial advance, and there are many videos that might bring us to the edge of sincere choked-upped-ness, given that afterall, this is all really about the basic and simple ability to be publicly and legally joined with the a person you love, we'd also like to say, with this clip from the gay wedding episode of Party, Party - welcome to the freak show!

The revolution will not be televised, but can be seen on various cable outlets.

A sprawling, four-part documentary, Sex: The Revolution, takes on just that when it airs on VH1 this week.

We missed the first episode ourselves, but as with all things VH1, repeats are a-plenty and there's still time to set your dvr! Or, if you're feeling a little more highbrow, catch the encores when they're broadcast on the Sundance Channel next week.

Starting with the sexual repression of the 1950s and moving into the AIDS crisis of the 1980s, the series promises to "... explore a time in American history that challenged centuries of traditional morality about sex. A time that eradicated people's fear, loathing and ignorance about sex. A time that promoted unprecedented sexual honesty and expression. And in the end, a time when laws were changed and rulings made to end censorship and legal retribution for people's private sexual behavior."

How much of a back-sliding we've experienced since then we'll try not to contemplate. And turn our attention instead to this clip from the series about Barbarella and the sexual trends that the movie exemplified:


video.vh1.com

Holy seemingly gratuitous YouTube post, Batman!

We're still feeling a little jet-laggy and discombulated from our trip west and subsequent weather flip-flops. But our recent time back at home sorting through the family archives (aka clutter in the basement) triggered the recollection that one of our very first television idols was Batman. And for a time, we even had his picture tacked to the wall above our bed.

What this might mean in terms of early fetish imprints, we can only begin to speculate - see also The Sound of Music - but the thought did provide impetus to spend a good chunk of a rainy Monday morning procrastinating amongst the nostalgic offerings on YouTube.

Herewith, our early girl-crush, Batgirl, in her introduction to the series - along with the bemused wondering why our childhood Halloween rendition of her didn't somehow incorporate purple latex.

That, in itself, might explain a few things!

That and a stiff upper lip!

Snagged from Viviane's Sex Carnival, a jolly and forthright presentation on the benefits and how-to of regularly checking for testicular cancer, as demonstrated by the host of the UK programme Embarrasing Illnesses and a freshly scrubbed rugby team. (Yes, there are naughty bits!)

And this, recently forwarded by CineKinkster's mum, just one selection from an email entitled "What's Under Those Kilts?"



Color us anglophilic!

A proud bisexual first...

Because it's not enough that bisexuals are frequently regarded with bewildered awe by straights, wary suspicion by gays and lesbians and outright revulsion by Dan Savage, now we get our very own reality dating series:



Tila Tequila... reinforcing cultural stereotypes one elimination at a time!

O-O-Oprah...

The talk show maven who regularly bashed the viewing of pornography and seemed perplexed by the purpose of various sex toys seems to be turning over a new, er, leaf. Last year she welcomed swingers into her midst. Lately she's been sporting a whole new cheerful moniker for referrring to her genitalia. And this week's show, Let's Talk About Sex, did just that, opening the gates to the consideration of sex for older women, the possible enjoyment of pornography erotica by women in general and, truly mixing it up, a look at committed, open relationships.

A computer programmer and a stay-at-home mother, the couple profiled for the show, Greg and Hollie, appear to be - bless the producers! - aggressively "normal:"

Hollie enjoys reading, playing violin and knitting. Gregg's hobbies include reading, hiking, camping and fencing. They love their two children, and their marriage, they say, has never been better. But there's one thing about Hollie and Gregg's life together that's a little more unconventional.

Like 7 percent of women and 14 percent of men who answered a poll on Oprah.com, Hollie and Gregg say they have an open marriage.

Starting with lots of talking and a bit of outside dating, the discussion of how their particular arrangement transpired is continued on the show's website. Along with pages and pages of viewer comments - many of them, presumably, from the percentile of Oprah's audience not in an open relationship. Not yet, anyway.

Talk dirty to me.

Oddly enough, we've forgotten all about tawdry, anonymous sex in a men's room stall, but can't stop thinking about Mr. Clinton. Just how nasty do you mean?!?

(Hat-tip jwirenius)

Californicating?

Still running mind loops on just a few of the many pleasurable moments of our recent little tryst, we have to ponder one question: sex addiction... reality or media-made mythology?

But an even deeper, darker secret lurks. Too cheap to spring for Showtime, we've not as yet had the chance to give Californication, in which David Duchovny stars as a sex-addiction befuddled novelist, the fair and full once over. So, judging from the trailer alone, while it's a little hard to suss how positive a portrayal of sex the show presents, we're hardly pressed to say that there sure does seem to be a lot of it!



Okay, maybe not so positive. And maybe the producers could take our notes on "what to say to a nice girl." But possibly bears actually watching?

Catching up with the furries.

We're not sure what it is, but lately we've been feeling several steps behind in catching up with just about everything. Hopefully we're getting a handle on that. One day... taxes nailed! The next... we're clawing through the episodes that have been stockpiling for our eventual viewing pleasure osmosis.

So, with many thanks to the wonders of digital video, we recently caught up with Entourage's "The Day F*ckers," in which assumed comic relief side-kicks, Turtle and Drama, encounter still more wacky, sexual hijinks in the wilds of Hollywood. This time, barely recovered from their humilating ordeal of sex with old chicks, Turtle comes across a hot blonde who has very specific notions of what she wants from him.



It's put a bit less delicately in the actual dialogue, but sex still being sex for one of them, no matter the trappings, herein is the storyline's, er, denouement:

This just in...

Evan Shapiro of IFC, home to such bold programming as Indie Sex and This Film is Not Yet Rated, is - how shall we put it? - "...very interested in sex."

Perhaps even obsessed.

Pinch hitting for The Reeler, he explains:

What I am obsessed with are the myriad sexual hang-ups ingrained in American society and how they continue to affect and constrain our culture. I don't mean private penchants or fetishes practiced behind closed doors by everyday consenting citizens. I mean the sexual neuroses of those in positions of authority who constantly tell us that our own predilections are not "normal" or "acceptable." These hang-ups are both interesting and important, because they who possess them often seem hellbent on inflicting them on the rest of us. Fact is, America is far more obsessed with sex than I am. By exploring sexuality, and exposing society's sexual hang-ups, we've tried -- in our way -- to de-stigmatize sex in all its forms, and help treat America's collective phobia.

This refreshingly straight-forward, activist-minded stance obviously make its presence known in much of IFC's programming. And it carries through the rest of Shapiro's post, ranging from the production of the Indie Sex series to the relevance of R Kelly's Trapped in the Closest to challenging sexual stereotypes. (WTF? Just read it.)

Four nights of great sex?!

If that's the case, looks like we actually have a bit of catching up to do. Somehow in our July torpor we missed the announcement that the documentary series, Indie Sex, began airing this week on IFC.

Fortunately, it's cable, so last night's missed episode will be back around shortly (and again and again). But we'll be watching closely to see if any of the footage the crew shot at last year's CineKink kick-off gala with the fabulous Wet Spots made it past network censors and into the final production.

And, if we're not lying somewhere on the cutting-room floor, would we be more likely considered the "Taboos" type - episode #2, airing tonight! - or a bit more an "Extremes" sort of girl?

Tune in and find out...

Men in suits alert!

How lucky are we to have a secret fetish that's actually not not safe for work? (Though, come to think of it, such fetish can sometimes make the actual practice of work a little dangerous.)

Tonight's the premiere of Mad Men on AMC. In addition to the previously noted men in suits - as this trailer promises, "...reliable... confident ... and hiding something" - the distance of its early 60s setting will also permit lots of glamourous smoking, drinking and carousing, along with the type of hot, retro lingerie that looks so much better than it generally feels.

As to the retro (or, er, not) rampant bad boy sexism depicted? Let's just try that on as a little winking roleplay and, safeword on the ready - we'll give it a go!

Breaking out our San Francisco values

Now that the Dems have sorta climbed kinda back on top in the national power exchange - and in advance of our pending trip to the left coast for CineKink SF - we thought it high time we check in with Speaker of the House!!! Nancy Pelosi, for a brief overview of customary San Francisco values:



Oh, crap. What was that again?!? Palisades? Um, Palermo?

Hope to see you there!