Wow, there are lots of “out” transgender people in the news lately. It’s not all good news, as the last story shows, but it’s good to see people being visible and making themselves heard.

Old Mike, New Christine

Transgender Candidate on Prom King Ballot

This one has been in the news for a while, about the City Commissioner who was fired for “incompetance,” even though the year before he got a raise and good reviews.

Transgender Florida City Manager Loses Job

Here’s an article that immediately caught my eye when I saw it in a random unrelated Google search. What an awful way to die (then again, maybe it was the ultimate thrill for him – though we’ll never know). And what a nightmare for his girlfriend. Another good lesson, don’t try this at home, and don’t rely on a dull knife.

Don’t you also love the way they use the word “pervert” in the headline? The word has such a connotation of, “Ah, what the hell, he was just a pervert anyway…” Like, why even bother giving the guy the time of day? Of course, I guess it did catch my attention. Not to tempt the gods, but if I ever ended up in a bad bondage mishap, I can only guess what the headline would be – though they’d use the word “transvestite” too, which I rather like.

A TV from Japan recently sent me the link to her blog, which has some nice pictures of herself wearing a stewardess’s uniform, and revealing a Japanese-style harness tied underneath her clothes. Scroll down the page to see all the pics. Alas, it’s in Japanese so I can’t read it, but the pictures are quite nice.

It seems that those Captivity Billboards just won’t go away. I’ve had emails from USA Today, Ms. Magazine, and the Globe and Mail in Toronto asking to re-print a couple of the shots I took. Pretty neat. So if anyone needs the full-sized images (2592 x 1944), just leave a comment or drop me an email from the Trannies site.

It appears that Lisa Nowak, the troubled astronaut with the diapers, also had a floppy disk in her possession with 16 bondage photos on it. Hmm, any chance of actually seeing the photos? If they turn up online drop me an email or comment.

CNN: Arrested astronaut had bondage photos

So I was out of town over the weekend seeing my friend K. in Las Vegas. I’ve been there more times than I can count and usually enjoy it, but always with a strange mixture of pleasure and disdain. Really, it’s the person (or people) that I’m travelling with that makes it fun (or not). The town itself can be pretty dreadful. I always have that sense when I go that there has to be more to life than this, but I keep going back for more.

I drove from L.A., and I always enjoy the drive through the desert. I was just in “Robert” mode for the trip but still had a great time. We stayed at a friend’s timeshare, and did the usual stuff – lots of walking through the casinos, people watching, eating too much, and soaking in the hot tub. I’m not much of a gambler so I only played the slots for maybe fifteen minutes tops.

I always feel sad when I say goodbye to K., and this time was no different. But it’s great to see her, and breaking up the usual routine always helps. Back to work now.

Somewhere in beautiful Barstow, CA.

I was in boy mode driving through this parking lot the other evening around dusk and saw a lonely looking homeless woman over by the sidewalk with a cardboard sign. I sometimes give my spare change to the homeless (there are so many of them in L.A.) It’s not that I’m especially compassionate or religious or anything but I get this voice in my head saying, well, what if it was Jesus? I’d be the first to admit I probably do it because it makes me feel like I’m a “nice” person.

So anyway, I pulled over and she said, “Thank you, Ma’am.” Then immediately caught herself and seemed really embarrassed and said, “I’m sorry…Sir.” I smiled and said, “That’s Okay!” and drove off. I love when that happens – It really made my day.

This is about as trivial as it gets, but it’s amazing how tasty the .99 cent double cheeseburger is at McDonalds. How can something so cheap taste so good? I try not to eat them very often because they’re total crap but whenever I do, it’s like slipping into a warm bath, and nearly as good as an orgasm. The whole world just disappears around me. The good side of me wants to eat salads and go running. And the devil side wants to eat cheeseburgers and chocolate shakes till I suffer a heart attack or stroke.

I just wanted to re-post some information on what sounds like an exciting series of workshops with Charly B, who’s a master at doing suspension bondage. The workshops will be held at Passive Arts Studios close to LAX. I probably will only be able to attend a couple of these Sundays but I’m sure it’ll be a good class. Charly’s a really nice guy and extremely talented. Highly recommended.

For more information, check out the SoCalSMEvents Yahoo Group and look for the post titled “Learn Rope Bondage from an Expert.”

ROPE BONDAGE WORKSHOPS BY CHARLY B

STARTS SUNDAY, MARCH 25TH FROM 3 TO 6 PM

PASSIVE ARTS STUDIOS
10914 SO. LA CIENEGA BLVD
Los Angeles, CA 90304
(310) 410-1144

MARCH 25: BASICS:
Characteristics of hemp and safety.

APRIL 8: BEDROOM BONDAGE:
Cuffs and full access tie downs

APRIL 15: PARTIAL SUSPENSION 1:
Couples play

APRIL 22: PARTIAL SUSPENSION 2:
Predicament bondage

APRIL 29: BASIC SUSPENSION:
Theory

MAY 6: ADVANCED SUSPENSION TECHNIQUES:

COST PER WEEK: $ 25.00 SINGLE $ 40.00 COUPLE

I had a really good time with the Rope Bondage Workshop earlier today. Some days I’ll find myself feeling awkward and clumsy, but today I was really in the zone and things seemed to flow very well. I did a presentation on decorative bondage, specifically the Japanese-style “tortoise shell harness” that makes those pretty diamond shapes, and also the rope corset and some artsy macrame things you can do with it. It was a nice change, not the style of bondage that I normally do, but it felt good, and people seemed engaged. I think there were about twelve or so people there, including quite a few new faces.