May 18, 2012

A Spanker in King Henry’s Court

We know him today as Ian the London Tanner, unparalleled creator of leather CP implements. But in swinging 1960s London, he was a dashing young model and actor performing in theater, commercials and even the occasional feature film.

Here’s Ian (on the right) hobnobbing with the legendary Richard Burton in the Oscar-winning film Anne of the Thousand Days, which chronicles the rise and fall of Anne Boleyn.

Perhaps Ian will reprise his role when he and the Shamrock Spanking Society occupy an historic venue for their November party. Or maybe he’ll take a page from Richard Burton and portray Henry VIII. After all, it is good to be the king.

Miss Chris: Memories of the Coach’s Paddle

My friend and fellow spanko Miss Chris recently shared some of her history and insights in a new interview for the website Spanking Starlets.

Here’s a juicy anecdote that didn’t appear in the published article. It involves Miss Chris’s days as a Catholic schoolgirl and her male Phys-Ed teacher who liked to brandish a fraternity paddle in class.

Memories of the Coach’s Paddle:

One day the coach lined us up in the auditorium and was inspecting our uniforms, walking up and down the rows of students. Being very tall, I was always at the back of the line.

I must have had this grin on my face when he finally got to me, because he stopped and said, “Why are you smiling? Do you think this is entertaining? Is the prospect of getting this paddle funny to you?”

I was stunned speechless. First of all, I didn’t know I was grinning! I was also horrified at the thought at being paddled.

I never did get paddled in school, but I listened very closely when the other students were paddled. The coach would take them by the ear or the upper arm and lead them to the back of the auditorium where his office was. We couldn’t see what was going on back there, but we could hear it.

We would hear some muffled voices at first, and I could tell the coach was scolding in a very low, calm voice. Then we would hear sort of a higher-pitched pleading and begging coming from the naughty student and then suddenly it was quiet – and then we heard the paddle hitting the bottom!

Usually it was over the uniform, plus the athletic tape wound around the paddle muffled the sound. But we would hear three or four big whacks and then usually the student would start to cry and eventually the coach would lead the sobbing, contrite student out of the office and put him back in the ranks. The student would be sniffling, smearing away tears and rubbing his backside.

And I didn’t understand why it was so stimulating! – Miss Chris

Spanking References in Pop Culture

Here are a few excerpts (below) from the album jacket text of National Lampoon’s 1978 comedy LP entitled Sex, Drugs, Rock ‘n’ Roll and the End of the World.

I believe this was my first exposure to the term “bad girl brush,” which certainly piqued my spanko module back in high school, especially when coupled with album’s provocative PG-rated cover.

Unfortunately, there are no spanking references on the record itself, just short skits with titles like My Bod Is for God, Sushi Riot and Mr. Reagan’s Neighborhood.

Too bad. An audio track of the cover model getting spanked would have been fetish gold.

About the Album:

“My name is Dawn. I’m the girl on the cover. When I met the National Lampoon producers at a party a few months ago, they said they could definitely use me on their next record, and I was really excited about it until I found out that what they actually wanted me for was to pose nude…

“…as far as I’m concerned the producers are nothing but a bunch of immature children, except for Mike Griffin, who I’m living with until my check from National Lampoon finally clears…

“Well, I have to go now. Mike likes his dinner ready when he gets home from the office, and I’d better make sure it is, or else it’ll be the bad girl brush for me.”

Class and Skill

Dedication is an exceptional attribute. I’ve always respected people who excelled at their jobs, whether they were waiting tables, working leather or resetting my dislocated joints in the emergency room.

So even though I’ve never met her – outside of her approving my MySpace friend request years ago — I hold professional disciplinarian and spanking video star Cassie Hunter in very high regard.

Ms. Hunter is certainly a poised and beautiful young woman, but her videos demonstrate that she’s also extremely proficient with the strap, hairbrush and cane. Plus she can accurately administer running strokes – something almost nobody else does.

Cassie recently launched a new website entitled Captured by the Huntress. As you might expect, the photography is spectacular. It’s definitely worth a visit if you enjoy fine fetish imagery and the disciplinary work of this fierce and elegant lady.

Nu-West Spanking Comics

For the sake of posterity and historical perspective, here’s some pre-Internet spanking nostalgia for you. (Click on the thumbnails to see larger images.)

The time was the glorious 1980s, when my computer was a Commodore 64, the compact disc was the cutting-edge media format challenging the vinyl LP record, and the country’s biggest fear was the threat of thermonuclear war with the mighty Soviet Union.

Out in California, a pioneering spanking content company named Nu-West/Leda was producing gritty, realistic spanking videos and publications, including a series of adult comics “for the connoisseur of corporal punishment and home discipline.”

The Nu-West Comics were primarily 16-page, black-and-white publications with cardstock covers, and many featured illustrations from talented spanking artist Stephanie Burke, whose work has always seemed particularly authentic to me.

Back before the days of free blogging and Internet image searches, these comics were quite unique. A CP enthusiast might find the occasional adult spanking drawing in a book or magazine, but complete illustrated stories were a rarity.

I asked Ed Lee over at Nu-West/Leda if I could post a few of these old comic covers for you. Here are a couple of historical factoids he shared with me:

“Some of the comics have stories behind them and some don’t. The House in Virginia was based on a real situation except the real house was in Michigan. Many of the comics were drawn by an artist who did a lot of work for Marvel.”

I believe that some of these publications may still be available for purchase on the Nu-West/Leda website, in case you’d like a piece of classic spanking memorabilia for your personal collection.

Q&A with Fetish Model Venus O’Hara

Photo by Andrew O'Hara

 

Last month I posted the short film Love Me Like You Hate Me, directed by Swedish filmmaker Erika Lust and staring fetish model Venus O’Hara in seven different kinky roles – including strict teacher with a ruler and a lazy student in French class.  

As luck would have it, the website Spanking Starlets has just published an original interview with Venus that showcases some of her fun fetish photography and presents her juicy insights on spanking, modeling and BDSM play.  

It’s not your typical spanking interview, but I think you’ll enjoy it. Venus has both a way with words and an extremely spankable bottom. (And she likes to play the schoolgirl.)  

Kink. Art. Advertising.

Erotic imagery is used to market everything from beer to boner medication, so it’s no surprise that the liberated folks at The Stockroom feature some racy photos in their gigantic online catalog of fetish gear and “sexual technology.”

What is a little unexpected is how remarkably tasteful, artistic and sexy the product photos are. They’re sort of a mash-up of fetish porn, fine art and commercial photography. Like what you might get if Helmut Newton seized total artistic control over the old Sears Roebuck catalog.

I will say, even with the wonders of Photoshop, the Stockroom models must pretty comfortable in their tanned and flawless skins to accept this gig. I can just imagine the job description:

“The wardrobe consists of a spanking paddle and a pair of high heels. Some hair pulling may be involved. You don’t mind working with women, do you?”

Now if they’d just post some instructional product video to go along with the still photography.

Announcer: Electra will now demonstrate the effectiveness of The Stockroom’s 18″ Black Paddle, available with or without holes. Look how it makes poor little Katie jump…