Wow. I’m pleasantly surprised…

SM ‘normal and acceptable’: judge

In a potentially precedent-setting case, a Vancouver judge ruled last month that SM videos seized by police two years ago are not obscene–and that SM itself is a “normal and acceptable” form of human sexuality.

SM players and queer anti-censorship activists are hailing the decision as a groundbreaking victory. […]

The case dates back to 2002, when the Vancouver Police Department (VPD) raided Sweet Entertainment, a local manufacturer of SM porn videos for the Internet. In March 2002, and again in November 2002, police raided the company’s Downtown Eastside studio and seized 11 videos and several computers. The Crown later charged the company’s president, Randy Price, with 20 counts of making, possessing and distributing 11 obscene videos.

Last month, provincial court Judge Raymond Low acquitted Price on all 20 charges.

The full story is here.

Some thoughts on happiness, life, and such

Lessons learned from Shrek 2:

If I marry a queen and become king of a great kingdom, but only with the help of a scheming fairy godmother who has something she can hold over me or blackmail me with, I will, upon ascention to the throne, immediately have the royal assassins put her to death. Or, I will cast her into my deepest, darkest dungeon.

And there will be royal assassins, oh yes.

The secret to happiness, in two steps:

Step 1: Decide what kind of person you want to be, and what kind of life you want to live.

Step 2: Every time you make a choice or embark on a course of action, ask yourself: “Does this take me closer to the person I want to be?”

Random wisdom from The Book of Leadership and Strategy (a translation from a Chinese Taoist book Huainanzi), which happend to be sitting on the couch at a friend’s house:

There is no harm greater than killing innocent people and supporting unjust rulers. There is no calamity worse than exhausting the world’s resources to provide for the desires of an individual.

Whew! After an excessive amount of work…

…the new Xero Web site is finally online.

Xero’s last issue was published in October of 2001. For a number of personal reasons, the cofounder of Xero has decided to pursue other obligations, so I’m planning a relaunch of Xero, with a tighter focus and edgier theme, at the end of this year.

I’m now seeking contributions of original fiction, nonfiction, art, and photography, with an edgy, BDSM/psycho-sexual/cyberpunk feel. If this means you (or someone you know), please feel free to take a look at the new site and pass the URL around.

The new Xero will have to be advertiser-supported, which was not the case with the old Xero, so anyone who might be interested in reaching Xero’s population should give the site a check as well.

Firedancing on the Beach

Last night, a group of friends invited us out to Clearwater Beach to meet some friends of theirs who were planning to do some firedancing. The evening was nothing short of perfect, so we ended up hanging out with them at the beach for several hours.

One of the disappointments of last year’s trip to San Francisco was that Shelly and I were unable to go out with altenra to see some firedancing in San Francisco; it’s stunningly beautiful to watch.

Hokay, so, here we are…

…in Boston, having driven a U-Haul trailer full of stuff to stash in ladytabitha‘s basement, because it seemed so empty and all.

This afternoon: Apartment-hunting!
This evening: Sushi
Tomorrow morning: With luck, an interview with starkaudio‘s company, assuming they’ll actually schedule it…
After that is still up in the air.

Things we have learned this trip:

– A one-ton-plus trailer kills one’s fuel economy.
– Boston residents can’t give driving directions worth a damn.
– Boston apartments are expensive.
– Stress makes Shelly cranky.
– Franklin needs a new cell-phone battery.

That is all.

I’ve posted this before…

…but in light of the recent murder of Nick Berg for the crime of being born in a particular country, it bears repeating:

“Atrocity is recognized as such by victim and predator alike, by all who learn about it at whatever remove. Atrocity has no excuses, no mitigating argument. Atrocity never balances or rectifies the past. Atrocity merely arms the future for more atrocity. It is self-perpetuating upon itself–a barbarous form of incest. Whoever commits atrocity also commits those future atrocities thus bred.”
–Frank Herbert