A couple of days ago, Taschen sent me a review copy of the new trade edition of their infamous 2007 publication, Vanessa Del Rio: Fifty Years of Slightly Slutty Behavior, an autobiography cum coffetable art book dedicated to the life and career of the legendarily nasty 70s porn star, and edited by Taschen’s “sex editor” Dian Hanson.
Vanessa Del Rio: Fifty Years of Slightly Slutty Behavior is one of the most extraordinary pop culture products that I have ever beheld. It’s also one of the filthiest things I’ve ever seen. At once, it’s a gorgeous and glossy volume, a high class, high end, object and just the nastiest and most prurient porn you can possibly imagine. That’s a neat trick and no mean feat to pull off. The 1970s vintage of most of the photographs is probably what allows this enterprise to (just barely) be categorized as “acceptable,” because there was zero attempt made to censor any of it, I can assure you.
The book is a heavy, oversized 12” by 12”, full-color, 328 page paean to the pussy power of one of the most sex-crazed super sluts who has ever lived. Let me rephrase that, Vanessa Del Rio is a self-created sex-crazed super slut, someone who foresaw her future slut-dom whilst still in her early teens. She became who who wanted to be, that much can’t be argued. The exploits documented here (street-walking in Times Square, bondage films, steroid abuse, jail time) would see a sailor blush, and yet, in Del Rio’s voice (captured well here), her mis-adventures command respect. The woman is hardcore! Say what you want, this hot and spicy Latina chica from the Bronx sucked in what life had to offer her and she swallowed every last drop.
It would be tempting to call Vanessa Del Rio: Fifty Years of Slightly Slutty Behavior a “survivor’s tale,” but it’s not anything of the sort. It’s the story of one of life’s winners and in Del Rio’s case, she’s beat the game on her own terms and no else else’s. Her tale is a fascinating one and now it’s been set down for posterity in this wild, wild book. It’s not for everybody, certainly not, but if you suspect this book might be for you, then it probably is!
The deluxe edition of Vanessa Del Rio: Fifty Years of Slightly Slutty Behavior consists of 200 copies, which sell for a whopping $1500. Each comes in a special box, is signed by Del Rio and contains a lithograph of her drawn and signed by Robert Crumb. It also comes with a DVD, which includes several of her most notable sex scenes and anecdotes about some of her wildest sexual experiences. There are additionally 1300 copies that sell for $700 each. These are signed by Del Rio, but lack the Crumb litho. In one of these 1500 copies there lurks a gold lottery ticket ala Charlie and the Chocolate Factory whereby the winner gets an all-expenses-paid night “out on the town” (read into that what you will) with Vanessa Del Rio, to be captured on film by a noted photographer (probably noted pervy photographer Terry Richardson, who took photos in 2005 of Del Rio as she sucked his dick). As of today, the winning ticket remains unclaimed. The trade version is a bargain at $59.95, but no gold ticket, sorry.
That she can take images that were once sold from under the counter in Times Square smut shops and denounced by the Meese Commission and somehow recontextualize them as art or anthropology and as something palatable enough to be sold in respectable bookstores is a testament to Dian Hanson’s editorial genius. And that he entrusts and supports Hanson to do such work is a tribute, too, to Benedikt Taschen’s prowess and creativity as a businessman. To turn this it doesn’t get any filthier 70s smut into a $1500 coffeetable book is an alchemical transmutation of considerable brilliance.
Dear Brion, The money you sent has arrived. Many thanks. I read in people (People magazine, ed.) that Keith Richards has a manse in upstate NY, a flat in Paris, elegant homes in London and Jamaica, and a 17th century castle in Chichester. And here I am buying my clothes at the Salvation Army.”
This note from William Burroughs to Brion Gysin from 1977 is part of an archive of hundreds of pages of unpublished manuscripts, letters and notes, written by William Burroughs between 1950 and 1980. They’re for sale here. It’s an amazing collection for anyone interested in Burroughs. You could spend hours just window shopping.
Amusing conversation from The Today Show between Katie Couric and Bryant Gumbel discussing “What is the Internet?” back in 1994. Their faces look so perplexed and confused. Where the FOK was Al Gore?
Egypt can turn off the Internet but it can’t stop satellite TV, Twitter or ham radio operators.
Al Jazeera is reporting that state security is trying to enter the building where their Cairo bureau is located. NPR’s Andy Carvin tweeted, “Al Jazeera streaming live video from their office window; police are banging on the door trying to get them to stop.” Followed by a quote from Al Jazeera, “We’ve been streaming live for 5 hrs and the police are clearly not happy about it.” The Raw Story reports that the station may be shut down, but the live feed from Al Jazeera English is still streaming, with reporters breaking the news from Egyptian state media that Mubarak has ordered police reinforcement for the curfew set from 6 p.m. local time, now in place, through to 7 a.m. on Saturday. “It’s not having any effect.”
Here’s raw video that was posted on Youtube five hours ago. It gives you a sense of just how massive the protests in Cairo are. It was shot by Mohamed Ibrahim Elmasry, “a professor emeritus of computer science at a Canadian university who is in Cairo.”
Riot police are firing off tear gas canisters but it’s not stopping the protesters. The will of the people is awe inspiring.
While Mortals Sleep is the newest anthology of the late Kurt Vonnegut’s unpublished short fiction. Think of it as the eagerly-awaited third volume of his worthwhile ephemera, sitting alongside of 2008’s Armageddon in Retrospect and 2009’s Look at the Birdie. The new book collects work from the great author and satirist’s youth that were never published and material either rejected by magazines or else never submitted in the first place.
The 16 previously unpublished short stories of this collection, taken from the beginning of Vonnegut’s career, show a young author already grappling with themes and ideas that would define his work for decades to come. “Girl Pool” features typist Amy Lou Little, employee of the Kafkaesque Montezuma Forge and Foundry Company, who is tasked with transcribing a plea for help she receives on her Dictaphone from an escaped, dying murderer hiding somewhere in the works of the company’s cavernous factory. The tale reveals Vonnegut investigating one of his recurring themes: the isolation brought by technology and the necessity for basic humanity in the workplace. The title story melds a sentimental meditation on the true meaning of Christmas with elements of the mystery genre as a hard-nosed reporter stalks the story of stolen nativity scene characters. While these early stories show an author still testing the boundaries of his craft and obsessions, Vonnegut’s acute moral sense and knack for compelling prose are very much on display. In the foreword, Dave Eggers calls Vonnegut “a hippie Mark Twain,” which perfectly captures an essential truth about this esteemed author.
Below, Vonnegut “grades” his own novels, with Charlie Rose.
To celebrate the engagement of Prince William of Wales to Ms. Catherine Elizabeth Middleton, Crown Jewels Condoms of Distinction has commissioned a unique heritage edition Royal Wedding Souvenir boîte de capotes.
Combining the strength of a Prince with the yielding sensitivity of a Princess-to-be, Crown Jewels condoms promise a royal union of pleasure. Truly a King amongst Condoms.
Includes a collectable portrait of the Royal Couple as they might appear on their wedding day – exclusively created for Crown Jewels.
One pack (3 condoms) goes for £5.00 and a three pack (9 condoms) is £13.50.
Sasquatch Birth Journal 2 shows never before seen footage of a female Sasquatch giving birth in the wild. Cameras have rarely gotten this close to the creatures.
Estimated Weight of Pregnant Female: 275lb/125kg/62flbn*
*Flibbon(flbn) has been theorized as a rudimentary unit of weight developed within Sasquatch culture.
Estimated Foot Size: 1.5ft/1.48168Pc
Estimated Weight of Infant: 15.4lb/7kg/3.27flbn
Estimated Area of Sasquatch Vagina in Hectares: .000025hec
Gestation Period: approximately fourteen months
The North American Sasquatch is a megafaunal bipedal hominoid, also known as “Bigfoot”, “Nuk-luk” or “Woolybooger”. The male Sasquatch unceremoniously abandons the female immediately upon impregnation. This leaves the female to fend for herself during the intense seventy-two hour labor period. The standard birthing posture is upright, scientifically referred to as “Inverted Supine” or “Gravity-Fed Style”. Traditionally a tree serves as the midwife; seizing it by its trunk, the female is provided with ample protection, leverage, and stability. Once the female’s water breaks(approx. six gallons in volume) she seeks out a secluded deciduous tree, its trunk an average of three feet in diameter, thick enough to support the expecting mother and her firm embrace. Typically the female Sasquatch tends to avoid trees of the coniferous variety when making her choice. There are two theories behind this: One, is that the sap/tar secretions are a nuisance during the already complicated birthing process, and two, is in order to avoid exposure to pine nuts, which are considered toxic to the Sasquatch newborn.
Sasquatch Birth Journal 2 was recently screened at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival.
I grew up in Tunisia. For me, like I’m sure each country is for every kid, it was the center of the universe. I truly believed that everything revolved around Tunisia. People from all over the world literally did pilgrimage to it, whether for religious reasons (during Lag Ba’omer, a Jewish holiday that takes place after the celebration of Passover, Jews from all over the world come in masses to Ghriba synagogue, home of the world’s oldest Sefer Torah), or more commonly for touristic reasons during the summer when Tunisia becomes a Mecca for beach-goers and sun-lovers.
As I got older I realized it wasn’t really the center of the universe. I discovered we were categorized as a Third World country, and since both my parents are revolutionary syndicated journalists (my father was jailed during the 1978 manifestations), I learned pretty quickly that we were living in a dictatorship, that the media is censored and freedom of speech is virtually non-existent. Sure we ranked highly among African and Arab countries, and women enjoyed a freedom unheard of in the neighboring countries, and for decades that was the thread of dignity we, people of Tunisia, hung onto. But that wasn’t enough, not if we wanted our kids to be proud of being Tunisians.
It took long enough, but Tunisians rid themselves of their fears—fears of the government, but most importantly fears of leaving their comfort-zone and the apparent safety and security our country was famous for. And they marched into the streets simultaneously, first to express their anger and discontent, then to ask for reforms and, well…jobs! Then, finally, to demand and ultimately impose a radical change—a historic one, too. For the first time in history, an Arab people has ousted its president and dictator without foreign help or the use of force.
And on that Friday, the 14th of January, the eyes of the whole world were on Tunisia. On that historic day, Tunisia was and forever will remain an idol and an inspiration for the tired and the poor, the weak and the oppressed, anyone who has ever dreamt about liberty while living under dictatorship. On that historic day, Tunisia WAS the center of the universe. I couldn’t help remembering all those revolutionary rap songs I wrote, all those cliched phrases that even I was starting to get tired of: “Power to the people,” “We can change our destiny,” etc.—and smile. Finally it was relevant, finally it made sense.
The battle is far from won, but we know the challenges awaiting us, and we will work them out as a united free people in a democratic way. Because now that we tried the taste of freedom, we are never giving it up again.
Thank you people of Tunisia for making her once again the center of the universe.
Here’s the video for Firas’s recently released tune, “Tunisian Revolution,” with a translation from the Arabic below:
Tunisian Revolution
CHORUS
[The chorus is sampled from “Homma Min Wehna Min” (“Who are They and Who are We”), a song by revolutionary Egyptian composer Sheikh Imam.]
1st verse:
If the people one day decided to live*
then it’s as if they decided to walk on water.
Hands are cuffed, my “masters”’s needle has sewn our lips
nothing left but the weaponized pencil
and my fist.
The night they arrested my heartbeat…**
Long live my country
he who betrayed it will live in it
and he who isn’t among its wealthiest won’t.
The people have been subdued, robbed,
heroes been put down, burnt down,
riches have been accumulated and disappeared.
Underneath us the fire is burning,
and above us the wealthy are living,
and we’re stuck in the middle.
If the people one day decided to live,
start digging graves and preparing burial shrouds.
Blood is screaming inside our veins,
we die and they live, dear country.
If the people one day decided to live,
then destiny has to obey
and the shackles have to be broken
and the dark night has to end.
- CHORUS -
2nd verse:
Who are they?
U won’t see them but u will feel their shackles
Who are they?
The ones that deafened hearing people
and muted the talkative until we became like statues,
steered like a herd.
Who are they?
They’re the ones who dried the ink out of our pens,
imprisoned speech.
Who are they?
They’re the ones that made the flag cry.
Who are they
and who are we?
Where are they?
In fortified castles.
Where are we?
In destroyed shacks.
Their sons enjoy our misfortune,
our sons get beaten in universities,
get burnt.
Their sons get the highest positions,
our sons hang from coffee shop to coffee shop, from bar to bar
are unemployed, with diplomas…
*A take on Tunisian national anthem by Abul-Qasem Alchebbi:
“If the people one day decided to live
then destiny has to obey
and the shackles has to be broken
and the dark night has to end”
**Refers to the famous 1984 Egyptian TV film The Night They Arrested Fatma, a drama about a young woman who became radicalized during the Egyptian Revolution of 1952.
After the jump: the video (with English subtitles) that helped get Tunisian rapper The General arrested…
“Horizontal Ascension” is an early recording by Television from a 1974 rehearsal, when Richard Hell was in the band. It appears on the bootleg Poor Circulation.The title “Horizontal Ascension” was ” ...lifted from an Elevators album’s esoteric notes,” and as Richard Hell recalled:
“I was in the band for a year…But the peak of my participation in it probably came at about three or four months…It sounds more like what the Neon Boys sounded like than like Marquee Moon-era Television. As great as the guitar playing is on Marquee Moon, the original band was more to the point. It’s more like…it came at a time when music was really…boring, you know? It was a return to the values of the Kingsmen and the Sonics and Them and the Velvet Underground. It still had this really beautiful guitar talent — ecstatic, explosive guitar — going on as well as this lyrical quality, but it was more driving and crazed.”
is the newest anthology of the late Kurt Vonnegut’s unpublished short fiction. Think of it as the eagerly-awaited third volume of his worthwhile ephemera, sitting alongside of 2008’s Armageddon in Retrospect and 2009’s Look at the Birdie. The new book collects work from the great author and satirist’s youth that were never published and material either rejected by magazines or else never submitted in the first place.
To celebrate the engagement of Prince William of Wales to Ms. Catherine Elizabeth Middleton, 
