Volume I, Issue 47
April 27 - May 4, 1998

I love it when bars have "sadomasochism nights." It's like attending a screening of "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" without the boring movie part. The crowd freaks out, the theatrics get embarrassing, it's great! Sure beats (if you'll pardon the pun) standing around watching bland rock-and-roll. I especially enjoy seeing the bar owners cringe for the future of their liquor license with every whip-lashing. The only part I can't stand is when the S&M becomes too "lite," too Disney-fied. Could there be there anything more ridiculous than a half-hearted dominatrix?

Who knows what the future might hold. Fifty years ago, even bringing up the idea of a sitcom about a lesbian would get you fired. Now people barely bat a lash (again with the puns!) at such things. Even the taboo sex in "Two Girls and a Guy," which you can read about in the Film section, seems tame. Where will the mainstream flow to in 50 more years? Will nipple clamps and golden showers become blasé? Will Sesame Street muppets drip hot wax on each other? The mind boggles.

Personally, I side with horses. According to this article, horses respond much better to straightforward, spirit-building types of activity than to whips or heavy discipline or anything else extreme. The story focuses on horse trainer Monty Roberts, whose methods have proven so successful that he's even become the subject of a new movie, "The Horse Whisperer." You know you're doing something right when they cast Robert Redford in your life story.

One story with whips, one without. Other than a faster Internet with which to make your selection, what more could you possibly want?

Now What?
A gallery of captivating links to keep your imagination churning while the paint dries. [12]