We Now Return to Our Regularly Scheduled Program…thrall interview is live.

December 6, 2008

If you’re anything like me, you’re getting tired of all my excuses for not updating things here more often. Everyone’s busy, I just don’t handle it as well as most people I guess. Having said that I have been quietly working behind the scenes trying to keep things moving forward. To that end, one of the updates I’ve had in the making for several months is now online.

I’m very pleased to announce that a brand new interview with seminal mc author thrall is now live in the interview gallery. An influential force in erotic mc fiction by any standard of measure, thrall is smart, funny, and delightfully honest about her kinks. So grab a cup of your favorite winter-time beverage and settle in for an entertaining and insightful talk with this marvelously talented lady.

Click here to read my interview with thrall.

Speaking of gracious and talented ladies, I would be remiss not thank another of mc erotica’s finest talents and that is my dear friend Sara Castle. In addition to wowing all of us with her own spicy blend of mc fiction, Sara shares my love for the interview and has her own chat with thrall posted at MC Garden.

In our many correspondence, Sara and I have established that we share more than one or two favorite authors. So, its no surprise that we find ourselves sitting down to talk with many of the same people. What I do find surprising is how closely our line of questioning matches sometimes. While we have never shared notes on our interviews and I kept myself from reading her talk with thrall until after my own interview was concluded, I’m now laughing myself silly that we’ve managed to ask almost identical questions in several instances.

In any case, I want to thank Sara for being so gracious and allowing me to “share” interview subjects with her. 😉

Thanks everyone for the continued support and encouragement through my long, dry spells. I don’t get to post here nearly as much as I’d like to but I do have some tasty things in the works and am eager to share…soon I hope.

Until next time.

Royal Audience – A Tale of The Witch-Queen

September 8, 2008
blog_wq_tWell, as you may have heard, Iago, Tabico, and I have been working on a little something. There’s been hints, there’s been prologue, there’s been mystery. Today though, we’re finally ready to pull back the curtain and show you what we’ve been cooking up all this time. It’s been a long road birthing this project and its almost as epic a tale as the story we’re unveiling today. But there will be time for all that later. For now, lets just get down to business.

Ladies and Gentlemen, on behalf of my good friends and colleagues, I’m honored to present Royal Audience. We do hope you enjoy it.

-Callidus

…And Then There Were Three

September 5, 2008

Hello again everyone and for those of you keeping score, the final puzzle piece has been put into place. The identity of our third member is…well, I’ll let her tell you in her own words. Check out one of the threads in the MC Forum, the Garden, or the Collective. It’s well worth your time, as she does reveal the release date for our forthcoming manip series. Who knows she might even have a preview image to tease you with.

Not long now.

Publius Enigma

August 26, 2008

enigma

So it’s like this…A couple months ago my life got turned upside down. Shooting my latest short film, rekindling an old writing partnership, a new gig writing for a gaming blog, and a slightly flooded apartment all conspired to keep me out of the loop for a little while. Unfortunately, I’ve also been neglecting the site here a little and haven’t really had any updates to speak of in the way of spicy mc photo-manips.

That, however, is about to change.

If you’ve been staying on top of the forums, you might have seen a recent post from Iago either on the Collective or the Garden. Something about a secretive manip project, a collaboration between three artists from the mc community, with more info to be revealed. I am now able to confirm that I am one of the contributers to this endeavor and I’m here to pull back the curtain a bit more on our little project.

Sometime quite soon, we will be unveiling an epic photo-manip series (both here and at the Collective). I say epic not to boast, but epic because the series is set in the Middle Urth fantasy realm created by Iago. For all the fans of conquered sword maidens, corrupted noble-women, and the dark, defiling pleasures of Surdor’s Dark Mistress: keep a watchful eye. Early next week the final piece will be revealed. I think you’re all really going to like this one.

What 3D Illusion? All I See is a Sailboat.

June 12, 2008
paradise2

Fetishes are funny things. And for the record, I don’t mean tickling fetishes (though I hear that’s popular). I mean once you’re kinked, there’s no going “straight”. The world just looks different to mind-control fetishists. An extreme close-up of a woman’s eyes (no matter the context) gets our attention in a way that might be awkward to explain. Those “Submit” buttons strewn across the internet have a whole different connotation for us. And, for me at least, these pictures of…whatever-the-hell-that-thing-is look far more sinister that they probably should.

This distinctive chair, with its built-in sound-system and unique approach to blocking out the stresses of the world, promises to introduce an immediate and deep state of relaxation. And I promise you that no one who is intentionally reading this blog has any doubt what sort of diabolical uses this thing has in the collective imagination of the mc community. The manufacturer, an Italian company called Exar, has a whole line of brainwashing relaxation chairs available. But none quite so borne directly from the id of a mind-control fetishist as this one. As a matter of fact, I’ll never again be able to read Tabico and thrall’s Salvation without picturing this thing in my head.

paradise3paradise1


For those skeptics out there who just see an Apple-designed piece of furniture, allow me to make my case:

  • This thing’s sound system is capable of generating low frequency binaural beats, which they refer to as “psychoacoustic stimulation”. Try searching for that phrase on the EMCSA, you’ll get a phone book worth of hits.
  • The interior space is “well protected”. Don’t kid yourself, “well protected” is Italian for Houdini-class restraint system. No one can escape the relaxation.
  • Notice how the only exposed portion of the body is the feet and lower legs. This is obviously so the relaxation victim can be fitted for a pair of those ridiculous heels that all brain-smoothed ladies end up wearing.
  • It has “Brainwashing Pod #8” written on the side in Italian. Trust me on this. No I don’t speak the language, but my wife is Italian so I know these things (via osmosis).

Satisfied? Even the name spells it out. Paradise? Please. That’s what every evil-brainwasher wants you to think “Oh you’ll be so much happier once you’re my willing thrall, it’s like being on vacation every day! Could you hand me those headphones?” Ever wonder how the “Paradise Relaxation Spa” can afford to give away all those free weekend spa treatments (for ladies only of course)? Two words: widespread-mind-control-consipracy. Kay that’s like three or four words, but you get the idea.

Try walking in and telling them you’re a talent agent for the Czech Republic Lingerie Models Consortium. The next question you’ll be asked will go something like “Boy we sure like Czech lingerie models around here! Say, when was the last time you sat in a piece of nice, relaxing post-modern Italian brainwashing furniture?” Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they aren’t out to get you…and all your Czech-lingerie-model friends. Protect yourself, purchase my in-depth brochure explaining how to avoid sitting in a egg-shaped mind control chair.

Hmm…Y’know, as I look at that thing again, with the lady’s feet sticking out, it just occurred to me that I could be wrong about all this. Maybe its the tickling fetish after all.

Have a great weekend everybody.

Photo Manipping as Old as Photography

June 8, 2008

loupe_tAs I’m sure many of my fellow manip artists can attest, once you’ve done a little tweaking in Photoshop, you start picking out manip work everywhere you look. As much as news agencies would like you to believe otherwise, virtually no photograph today is published without first spending a little time benefiting from some artist’s attention. Whether helping our all-important celebrities shed a few unwanted pounds or just blatantly rewriting history, pretty much everything we see in print (and increasingly in video) is just slightly south of kosher.

However, don’t believe for a second that this trend is anything new. As it turns out, photo-alteration is nearly as old as the medium itself, as this excellent Scientific American article illustrates. Of particular interest is the reoccurring examples of totalitarian leaders photo-deleting individuals who had fallen out of favor with them or their administrations. But the truly laugh-out-loud moment is the before and after of Mussolini on horseback where the animal handler had to be removed so Il Duce could feel more safe heroic. A companion article discusses the increasing problem of digital-forgery for news organizations and examines a number of recent high-profile examples.

I find this all rather interesting. One can see just from thumbing through magazines at the dentist office how much of what we see has been altered, most of it for “harmless” reasons. But we must be vigilant for those situations when removing blemishes and performing non-surgical liposuction give way to blatant attempts to manipulate and mislead us. In an already heated election year that promises to only get uglier and more divisive, its a good time to start developing a critical eye.

Your Bookmarks Shall Know no Mercy

June 8, 2008
bookmark_iconRC is one of the most revered and prolific authors in the mc community. His catalog is, what we in the industry refer to as, “large and in charge”. Posting his initial work to the alt.sex.stories newsgroup (remember newsgroups?), RC has the distinction of being one of the early authors in the mc scene, though fans of a.s.f.r. are plenty familiar with him as well (as a matter of fact the very first mc-story I ever read was RC’s Mandy). This is his personal website, filled with his wonderful work, thoughts, and musings: and well worth your time.

Blankserena’s blog has been getting a fair amount of attention lately and for good reason: her entries are some of the hottest mc-erotica to be found anywhere. I don’t know how much of her adventures are actual experiences and what’s simply first-person fantasy (she states its 98% real), but ultimately it doesn’t really matter. Her tales are exciting, a bit dangerous, and very hot.

However, there is more than just mc-thrills to be found in her posts. Blankserena’s words are an honest portrait of a woman who is as preoccupied with the mind-control fetish as any of us. And just as with any biographical account, just as with any life, she is not merely one thing. Rather, she is the sum, and greater, of all her disparate parts: a mosaic of the human experience that she has graciously allowed the rest of us to peek in on. As with any story, the point is not the vicarious thrill (though that part is very enjoyable) but rather what these things teach us of ourselves.

Pick O’ the Week | June ’08 #1

June 4, 2008
Weekly Pick

benmbedlam posted his first set of manips to the Collective at the beginning of May and has been steadily adding to his catalog ever since. His work is fanciful, sometimes playful, always erotic, always unique. He’s an artist that definitely knows his way around Photoshop and it shows his work. However, he’s also an artist who understands subtlety, indeed his wonderful piece Away with the Fairys will actively have you searching for the manipulation he’s so carefully layered in. Yet another promising new talent among the ranks of the Collective’s already accomplished roster.

Jasmine recently updated her already considerable catalog with five molten-hot new manips. Jasmine selects the most wonderful source images for her work: full of eroticism and innuendo. Expect to find yourself feeling tingly before you even start reading her amazing captions. But whatever you do, make sure you do read them for Jasmine is a true story teller, accomplishing in a few hundred words what many authors only wish they could do in several thousand. Her manips are tantalizing, erotic, and most of all hot-hot-hot-hot-hot. Mind control fetish fun at its finest (three times fast).

Hypme posted a big update at the end of May as well as a couple of new pieces this week. Normally, it wouldn’t bother me that she’s so productive, but the fact that her manips are so damn good in addition to the fact that she’s one of the most prolific manip artists around…well I suppose if you’re going to be jealous of anyone you couldn’t do much better than Hypme. Truly one of the greats in our community.

Video Tutorial: Layer Masks and Non-Destructive Editing in Photoshop

June 4, 2008
Tutorials

For all the photo manip artists out there, aspiring and established, I thought I’d put together a series of video tutorials delving into Photoshop. This is not meant to be a comprehensive guide, but more a sort of video essay covering the various things that I like about this amazing piece of software.

For the maiden voyage I focus on masking techniques using the very powerful but often overlooked layer masks. Layer masks allow you to hide and reveal various parts of a layer using the paint brush tool without doing any actual erasing. This in turn, works into a brief discussion about non-destructive editing and how these techniques can benefit your workflow and ultimately the quality of your work.

Tutorial 01 – Layer Masks is available now in the Tutorials Gallery.