High-Five Fridays #7

Look, I was trying not to be lazy this week. I actually posted something in my blog other than links. So don't call me late with this!

1. Frozen Silence. I discovered this "Minimalistic classical new-age project" while looking for music for my Plaything trailer. The songs are beautiful and quite a few of them are free from the website.

2. Last.fm. I know I'm behind a few other people. I'm too lazy to create a profile just yet (that may change), but it's a great site to stream (and sometimes download) music for free, and not just from artists you've never heard of, though you'll find plenty if that's what you're looking for. You can create playlists, join groups, etc. Ideal for the true music addict.

3. Obama fanatics can be so creative. LOL I hope they're paying attention to the issues too. (No, I don't know where you can buy them.)

4. For the lazy blogger in all of us: Draft.blogger.com. Why am I highlighting this (since I'm posting on blogger and, presumably, so are most of the people who would respond to this)? 1. Because Google doesn't feel it necessary to tell people about things they're changing/working on in relation to the site and 2. when signed in through this version of the site, it allows for bloggers to schedule posts. What does that mean? If you set a post to appear at a future time/date, instead of automatically posting it when you hit publish, the software will save the post until the time you've set. So, if you're like me (someone who doesn't post for a month and then suddenly gets ideas for 6 blog entries in one day), or if you go on vacation, you can make it appear as if your blog is getting updated regularly. This might come in handy for certain Blushing Ladies or a disappearing Whore of the Marketing variety. ;-) That is, if it'll work on their respective sites.

5. Nudeography is getting all hot and bothered about a gold-dipped Angelina in Beowulf. Maybe the movie doesn't suck either. I don't know if anyone's noticed just yet.



Find out how to give your High-Five Fridays here!

The purpose of this meme is to give high-fives to 5 people, posts, blogs and/or websites you've admired during the week. I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 5 high-fives on Friday. Trackbacks, pings, linky widgets, comment links accepted!

Visiting fellow High-Fivers is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your High-Fives in others comments (please note if NWS).

Find more High-Five Friday folks here!

Incentive to Pay Attention

If you find yourself looking for an incentive to pay attention to this year's election and vote, find something about the election that'll keep you awake through every debate. Perhaps picturing the candidates every time you think about the issues that are important to you? If you use this picture for your visual aid, no one will be offended if you mentally block out some of it. Matter of fact, I'd recommend it. LOL

Girls Gone Wild? Oh please no.

A sad, sad day is coming. Okay, maybe it's not sad for some people. I, on the other hand, get weary of boring (tiny) boobie flashing, so I don't feel excited about the news. Ready? As of April 15th, Girls Gone Wild will become a magazine. That means you can get all your unexciting flashing (and maybe even some words and DVD ads) for $9.99 twice a month.

Yay?

Again, I am not excited. Maybe it's because I spent (wasted) a few hours in December downloading a few of their videos trying to figure out what the excitement was. After sitting through some Spring Break flashing, some Mardi Gras flashing, and some random club flashing, I determined that I could see more watching HBO on a Saturday night or even attending a local St. Patrick's Day celebration. (Don't knock the green day, people get plenty wild here.)

After watching a few videos, I am convinced two videos for $9.99 is blatant overcharging. I don't think a print version of the same thing, in addition to ads for several DVDs is going to be all that earth-shattering. But maybe I'm underestimating the company's founder and the people who'll be running this genius operation. Maybe the magazine will have more content than just barely A-cup boobs and a lot of girls screaming "Woohoo!" Wait, the magazine won't even have the pointless drunk screaming, will it? Won't we all miss it?

Perhaps the magazine will make up for the relative boringness of the videos with riveting articles and interviews. I mean, that's why people really buy Playboy, right? For the articles? I, for one, have never missed one of Stephen King's interviews between it's pages.

The term "lifestyle magazine" does promise more than just boobies and commercials. I guess we'll see if it delivers.

From Advertising Age and 23/6.

The Blog Abandonment Excuse List

This will be extended as necessary.

Why have I not been posting lately? Easy to answer:

1. I've been working on a parody/drama/semi-erotic bit of craziness (that Sequin reference under my blogger profile) and haven't been able to pull myself away to do much else. No, really. I've been working on it even though I haven't been posting that either. I will so be updating sometime this year.

2. I'm working on a romance novel. I actually made decent progress on this one once I figured out what sucked about the original 6 1/2 chapters. It shall progress to something publishable one day. Probably.

3. I'm rewriting The Pleasure Palace. Yes, even with that review, the book is not up to my standards. For one, it'll be about twice as long. And maybe not quite as graphic. Don't panic! It'll still be all sexy and fun and stuff, but I want to focus more on the storyline and less on the different positions my characters are in. Yes, I intend to use that as a selling point.

4. I'm still attemping to finish my lovely NaNoWriMo mainstream fiction masterpiece. Something about a character who's crying over his dead wife has made it a little difficult to finish, but I will get to it. I think it contains my best writing to date. VERY excited about finishing this one.

5. I'm working on a Harry Potter fanfic. Yeah, I know. Sexy, right? The story is a good distraction project when my brain wants to explode from the other things I'm writing on. Besides, magic is fun. Speaking of magic...

6. I'm working on a my own (original character/setting) fantasy novel. Not sexual fantasy, but magic and witches and dragon fantasy. Woo. Hoo. I'm a bit ashamed that the HP story has passed it in wordcount, but I can fix that by finishing the current chapter and starting the next. Assuming I get around to that one day.

7. I'm a little upset with myself for not stealing Angie from Brad when I thought about it. Apparently, he saw her in those leather pants and thought the same thing I did. Only he did something about it. Now I gotta wait till she has yet another kid before stealing her. Damn it. Nobody blames you Brad. I suppose I can start another book to distract myself in the meantime.

8. I only have one idea for a post topic. No, this was not it.

High-Five Fridays #5

1. The perversion of candy. Yes, I like that sweet, sticky, melt-in-your-mouth-sinful goodness as much as the next person, but must we turn it into something dirty? Perhaps this ad with Green M&M wrapping her legs around a tree while handcuffed is supposed to represent a tree hugger, but it just screams candy porn to me. Is that a new genre? Fetish? What would you even call that?

2. Hey look, free books! You know I'm a sucker for a good read. And they come with reviews.

3. I came across this a few weeks back and I want to highlight it. For those unaware, I have this kind of writer's worship thing with Stephen King. The article he wrote on What Ails the Short Story for the New York Times was akin to him reaching out from my computer, shaking my shoulders and telling me to get it together! Writing for editors/publishers rather than readers does not a good story make. I think more writers should take their craft seriously, in spite of the financial windfalls of just throwing any set of cliches together and taking people's money. Then again, I'm not all that productive lately, am I? Well, quality occasionally takes time. ;-)

4. Last Friday I went to a show (headlined by legend Roberta Flack, who politely declined to be photographed/videotaped) and shot some great video of former American Idol contestant Stephanie Edwards. I have two great videos of her on YouTube now, one of her singing, How Come You Don't Call Me? which you may remember as her first live performance on Idol and the first ever live performance of Moving On, an original composition from her upcoming album. I did inform her I would be posting both. ;-) Both videos are available for download at the link. Due to the file size requirements from YouTube, the download available has higher picture and sound quality than the viewable online version. Hope you enjoy.

5. Lookin' Good For Jesus Cosmetics. There. Are. No. Words. I'm not especially religous, but I don't want anything with Jesus on the bottle on my bits and pieces. Maybe that's just me. IMO, BlueQ tried to be funny/cute and fell short.





Find out how to give your High-Five Fridays here!

The purpose of this meme is to give high-fives to 5 people, posts, blogs and/or websites you've admired during the week. I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 5 high-fives on Friday. Trackbacks, pings, linky widgets, comment links accepted!

Visiting fellow High-Fivers is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your High-Fives in others comments (please note if NWS).

Find more High-Five Friday folks here!

writers in hiding on myspace

Don't look so shocked. On occassion, I actually blog about writing and writer's issues...or blog period. I stole this from my often neglected myspace blog. If you're a writer with a profile there, feel free to pass this advice on to anyone you know who may need it.



Just a quick note for writers who indicate on their profiles that they are at myspace for "networking" or to meet potential fans/customers. If you set your profile to private, only allow people who know your (real) last name or private email to add you as a friend, don't have any indication of your name on your page so you can be added or otherwise make yourself impossible to contact or for someone browsing to see your page, you're defeating the purpose of having a myspace page for promotion.

If you're worried about your privacy, set up a page for your "real" friends and family to contact you, and a separate page for your work. Hiding from potential readers by setting up too many roadblocks to your page is just getting in your own way. I can't tell you how many writers' pages I've visited where I looked everywhere for their surname, their pseudonym, a hint of their email or anything of that nature. Never mind that a lot of writers are too busy to respond, not everyone who wishes to add you will sit down and pen you a personal note when they're ready to add to their friends list. Some people (myself included) are just flat out lazy and will consider your lack of availability a sign that you do not wish to reach out to the community at large.

By the way, the above applies even more strongly for people who request to or consent to their pages being added to a link list or directory of writers on myspace. You can't expect to get a lot of new friends if you make it impossible for people to add you, even when they know where your page is.

The New MILF Generation

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High-Five Fridays #4

You know, I figured I'd come up with a theme and do this thing every week, but I'm starting to think I won't be able to keep it up. LOL I'm not even sure I can have all the links in keeping with the theme of my blog. Sad, I know. You'd think, writing erotica, I'd have all kinds of kinky things on my bookmarks and all sorts of lovely tidbits I'd be bursting to share by the end of the week. Well, being celibate, and therefore boring, I spend more time avoiding sexual stuff than indulging in it. Wait, that was too much info, wasn't it? Oh well. At least my handful of readers know why I'm not updating my personal bookstore more often. Speaking of links...


1. My fiction@Lulu.com I swear I'll be adding more stories - novel-length, novella, and shorts - when my brain slows down enough to let me focus on one thing at a time. I'm currently working on 6(?) novels. It's a wonder I remember I have blogs. Anyway, you'll find 3 masterpieces from me, one of which is memorialized in a steamy (within TOS boundaries) YouTube video. The two shorts stories on the page are free, but beware erotica readers: one of those stories is a SPIRITUAL, NON-EROTIC story. Don't open it expecting it to be something it's not. LOL

2. My photography@Lulu.com Self-explanatory. Pick up a calendar or a nice print. Frame choices available.

3. Loving the Love Scene by Ashlyn Chase A look at how we writers (smutters? erotiers? gods/goddesses of the senses and imagination?) put together those steamy scenes that have fans dog-earring our novels and attaching scandalous post-its to their partner's expense reports. A good read with an incentive.

From Ash on myspace: If you feel inclined to leave a comment you'll be entered into 2 drawings!

1) for a copy of my paperback, Heaving Bosoms.

2) for a Versace designer inspired purse! See my website for details.

*Due to high International postage, I'll give a download of your
choice if you're on another continent.

Go to it people!

4. I must pay tribute to Christina Aguilera's new mommy boobies. Congratulations. On the healthy baby too. I wonder if she feels like she wasted money buying the plastic ones. See, having a baby is a cheaper way of getting boobs! It's totally on my to-do list to hit a C cup before I'm 30. BTW, she's got a new live CD and DVD out as well.

5. Angelina (yes again). She makes being a UN Ambassador hot. Oh, and she's talking about important subjects as well. Only a few (hundred) more steps and she'll earn her walking-on-water merit badge.


Find out how to give your High-Five Fridays here!

The purpose of this meme is to give high-fives to 5 people, posts, blogs and/or websites you've admired during the week. I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 5 high-fives on Friday. Trackbacks, pings, linky widgets, comment links accepted!

Visiting fellow High-Fivers is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your High-Fives in others comments (please note if NWS).

Find more High-Five Friday folks here!

It's stupid and I'm not having it

Okay, this is it. I know I'm not the most popular blogger in the world (cue the laughter and snorting in the back), but I can notice a difference in my traffic. So, if Google wants adult bloggers to self-identify to keep the kiddies away, THEY need to change that little warning so it doesn't drive away potential visitors. Or maybe they're just redirecting people. I can't even see where traffic is coming from. It's annoying as hell. I've gotten probably a quarter of the hits I would normally get over the past several days and I'll be damned if I'm going to put that useless warning back on my blog without a good reason to do so.






02/08 edit - The reason I made this complaint in the first place: the warning was actually blocking the script from Feedburner, so I could only see traffic from the warning page and not from whatever sites had linked to me. Couldn't see search engine results at all. Couldn't even tell if search engines were linking to me. The geniuses blocking their own search engines from linking to adult sites? Wouldn't put it past Google. All of this in addition to a dramatic drop in my (minimal) traffic. Good riddance!

High-Five Fridays #3

And it's still Friday! Ha! My theme this week: hot people! Okay LOL, I know that's not original, but I've hardly been looking at anything erotic where I could recommend 5 every week. You know, maybe I'll just stick to Angelina this week.


1. One of Angelina's more interesting scenes from Gia. Mm. People who've seen this movie have to know that bland Aniston chick never really had a chance. (Ignore the ignorant jackass's comment below the video link.)

2. In spite of the description of this video, it's not quite that graphic. But, watching Angelina in Original Sin made me a fan for life. Yes, fan is the word I'm going to use. :-p In spite of what I just linked to, I like all the scenes where she's fully dressed too. It's a great movie.

3. Beowulf. No, it's not a sex scene, but Angelina is probably the only person who could make gold paint and a tail hot.

4. Taking Lives. Crazy as it sounds, the sex scene is not the best part of the movie. Yes, it is totally possible to admire Angelina's acting as well as her...assets.

5. Blood and guns and sex in Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Not all that graphic, but these two can make a violent bloody scene breathtaking just by unleashing all their raw sensuality. Don't believe me? Check out Brad in Fight Club or Interview With the Vampire or any other movie with him and blood. He makes it sexy.




Find out how to give your High-Five Fridays here!

The purpose of this meme is to give high-fives to 5 people, posts, blogs and/or websites you've admired during the week. I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 5 high-fives on Friday. Trackbacks, pings, linky widgets, comment links accepted!

Visiting fellow High-Fivers is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your High-Fives in others comments (please note if NWS).

Find more High-Five Friday folks here!