Yesterday, I should have blogged the news about California Supreme Court’s decision to legalize same-sex marriage (at least until November, when our huge socially conservative voting contingent could surge forward and squelch it).

Why the California Supreme Court Did More Than Legalize Gay Marriage

I of course see the huge importance of ’social media’ in this decision, even before we called it social media. So many ways to connect activists with the groups they represent, to share news and contacts instantly, to encourage people to come out of the closet in a low-pressure environment online and then follow up offline … well, it’s obvious to Sex Drive readers all the ways in which Technology Made This Happen.

But.

I had my day job all day. I am in the midst of grueling Relationship Discussions and have been for more than a year, and yesterday was intense. Jedi’s blood work follow-up showed that not only did his elevated enzymes not go down, they went up just a little — he’s at 303% of the highest end of normal/healthy, which means his liver is under a lot of stress. Next step is a urine sample (you should see how tiny the vials are that they gave me to collect it in!) And then in the evening when I put the day job to bed and called up the blog window, I had one of those IF I DON’T GET OFF THE INTERNET RIGHT NOW I’M GOING TO DIE moments.

So I went to the barn, where I discovered that Rockstar’s eyes were running like a toddler’s nose, thanks to the construction next door and all the irritants and allergens it kicks up.

In other words, it was a typical day. But I trusted that you saw the news about the California same-sex marriage unbanning elsewhere and weren’t relying on me as your primary source.

And how y’all keep up with day jobs, families, sex writing and blogging … hats off to you. LOL!

Until they make the solar panel removable, this is just an excuse to parade models around in underwear. Not that there’s anything wrong with that — parading around in underwear is a lot of fun.

A model (C) displays lingerie maker Triumph International Japan’s “Photovoltaic-Powered Bra” during an unveiling in Tokyo May 14, 2008. The camisole bra, which the company calls it as “earth and human friendly”, features a solar panel which can display messages on the removable small electric board when the cell generates electricity. The bra is also equipped with pads designed to hold beverages so that the usage of cans and plastic bottles can be reduced, the company said.

The bra can also power a mobile device, says Reuters.

I talked about this on my Playboy Radio Sex in the News segment yesterday. I haven’t had time to pull the show notes together yet but I loved this article so I wanted to highlight it here.

It’s a feature in a swinger magazine about using video games to get the group going. He mentions the Wii, the Playstation and the Xbox, and I’ll admit: I learned a thing or two myself.

Video Games: The New Social Lubricant
ne of the lifestyle’s many challenges is the same as any other social activity – getting to know and becoming comfortable with other other people. Add to this the fact that your end goal is often to get them naked and horizontal before the night is over, and the whole process can seem downright daunting.

Over the years, lifestylers have found many ways to facilitate some “bed shaking”, such as dancing and alcohol consumption. But as more of us from the “Nintendo Generation” have grown up and entered the lifestyle, another great option has presented itself: the video game.

Hardly just for kids any more (with the average gamer being 35 years old, according to the Entertainment Software Association), today’s new gaming consoles provide many fun new ways to warm things up and get people “playing” in the more interactive sense. Even the names of today’s gaming consoles seem like they were geared towards swingers…

How’d you like to come back to my “Playstation” so I can put my “Wii” into your “Xbox”?

A few games in particular stand out as being practically designed for lifestyle use.

Continued….

Life will find a way? Online Dating Insider notes (Saudi Singles Resort to BlueTooth Belts) that young Islamic people are coming up with ways to sneak their phone numbers to one another, to share texts and pictures. The NY Times has a feature (Love on Girls’ Side of the Saudi Divide) about what it’s like from the girl’s point of view — and how the young women are cross-dressing as men to enter male-only spaces and take pictures of themselves doing so, to show other girls. How young men are holding their phone numbers up toward cars they believe contain women, and broadcasting their numbres over Bluetooth. And what happens when a woman switches on her Bluetooth:

A woman can’t switch her phone’s Bluetooth feature on in a public place without receiving a barrage of the love poems and photos of flowers and small children which many Saudi men keep stored on their phones for purposes of flirtation. And last year, Al Arabiya television reported that some young Saudis have started buying special “electronic belts,” which use Bluetooth technology to discreetly beam the wearer’s cellphone number and e-mail address at passing members of the opposite sex

It has very, very recently become acceptable in some families for a woman to talk on the phone with her fiancee before the wedding. Young women are also debating whether it’s ok to have male friends on Facebook.

Naturally most of the young women won’t admit to doing any of these things, and claim they don’t know any other women who do. Wouldn’t want anyone to get in trouble, especially considering just how real that trouble would be for them. At the same time, this infiltration of technology and the ingenuity of young people is bound to crack the rigid structure. I catch my breath thinking about what these youth risk — but also at what they can change, one clandestine text message at a time.

From blog comment to friends-with-benefits to love, Amber Rhea celebrates her third anniversary with Rusty in this tribute to sex-tech.

Happy anniversary you guys!

Kevin has promised me that next time we’re in the same city at the same time, he’ll bring the suit and let me strap one on in the name of science.

Motion-Capture Suits Will Spice Up Virtual Sex
No matter how beautiful the sex animations are in your favorite virtual playground, they can’t compete with the movement of your own body.

How soon will we be slipping gracefully into motion-capture suits or using 3-D cameras to capture those uniquely natural moves and engage our entire bodies in online sexual adventures, rather than limping along with keyboard and mouse? Sooner than you might think.

Kevin Alderman, who’s already infamous for the sex animations his company Strokerz Toyz creates for Second Life, is developing a wireless, consumer-level motion-capture suit that’s expected to hit shelves in 2009.

Continued @ Wired…

From the archives

Sex Trumps Game

The Myth of Cybersexual Losers

Stroker Serpentine, Second Life’s Porn Mogul, Speaks (Q&A with Kevin Alderman)

Cory, the Sexuality Guide at About.com and one of the most highly respected sex educators in North America, reviewed Sexier Sex and included a Q&A with me:
Regina Lynn Offers Lessons from the Brave New Sexual Frontier

I really liked this part of our interview:

How did your writing change?

My Wired News editors get nervous if I start talking about ‘relationships,’ but I can say ’social networking’ or ’social media’ or ‘web 2.0′ to mean the same thing. But in the book, why, I could accept that people (including men!) have relationships, I could write about the full range of what sex means, from playful romp to Deep Meaningful Affirmation of Love and Commitment. No matter where you identify yourself genderwise, those are universal themes — but a tech-culture publication like Wired.com doesn’t want to stray too far into ‘women’s magazine’ territory. It’s all semantics, and rather hilarious when you think about it.

Thank you, Cory. I feel tremendously validated.

On today’s Sex in the News segment of Playboy Radio’s Afternoon Advice with Tiffany Granath, we discussed:

Woman breaks into prison to have sex with husband. They caught her on her way out and moved the husband to a higher security facility. But no one tattled while she was in his cell!

Police officer fired for appearing in an adult film about dominatrix cop while in uniform. She’s okay with it though, noting that several producers have contacted her with other roles now that they’ve seen her acting debut.

Man moons speed camera. It’s not a criminal offense, but he might be charged with not wearing his seatbelt.

Ace called in to say that he loves the sex news (w00t!) and to relate a story about a woman giving him a little show while he was driving his truck outside of Atlanta. Let’s hear it for black dresses and white panties.

Tiffany mentioned my t-shirt so I got to plug savethetatas.com.

You don’t have to live in a big city and attend a Masturbate-a-Thon in person in order to celebrate masturbation month and raise funds for good, sex-positive causes. The Center for Sex and Culture has a home-based aspect as well. (Darklady will be on the show later this month to talk about her world-famous Burlesque-a-thon Masturbate-a-thon, but you can get a head start here. Portland, you are so lucky!)

Tiffany mentioned a panty run for charity on a college campus, I think in Arizona, where all the athletes started out fully dressed but flung their clothing off as they went and crossed the finish line in undies. All clothing was gathered and presumably laundered before being donated to charity.

The U.K. reports a rise in middle-aged men not being interested in sex — but where normal people would say “sex” they say “sex with their partners.” Does this imply they’re into solo sex? Why not just say “sex” if they mean diminished libido?

In New Jersey, a guy stripped to socks and cell phone headset last year and jacked off in a parking lot. Now a woman is suing him for inflicting emotional distress on her, because she witnessed this activity. And, you know, was forced, at gunpoint, to witness it, because she had no other choice, like walking away, or averting her eyes, or shouting “hey you, put that thing away before somebody gets hurt!”

Rich called to talk to us and ask what the woman hopes to gain from the lawsuit. It’s a good point — if the man can’t afford clothes but has a headset for his cell phone, what are we to think?

Heather Mills turns down 100,000 (GBP) offer to be the spokesmodel for a chain of English sex shops. The story is mildly interesting, but it taught me that Tiffany Granath detests Heather Mills. And I admitted to having a Judgment of my own, which is that people who use Stuff just to punish other people (such as in a divorce settlement) are not people I want to be around, at all, for any reason.

One of the show producers, “Dirty Marie,” admitted on air to using a vibrator in her car to prevent road rage.

And finally, a sad, disturbing tale from France: a woman took advantage of her lover’s unconsciousness and castrated him — then blamed it on the dog. She’s in jail, he’s in psychiatric care, and no one seems to know what the dog is doing.

Oh please let this be a sign of things changing for the better. (What did Mr. Jones say about the tabloids? Best investigative reporting on the planet?)

‘Sex’ tutor Sarah Green in job win

A teacher suspended from a private school after pupils spotted her in a raunchy video is to get her job back.

Sarah Green was sent home in January after the clip was put on internet site YouTube.

The advert for labourers’ clothes saw her simulate sex with a workman and about to give oral sex to another.

It was made while the 25-year-old was a student before she started work as an English teacher at Stockport Grammar School in Manchester in 2006.

Head Andrew Chicken said a disciplinary panel recommended she return. He added: “It’s been a difficult matter.”

What gets me is that it was a clothing commercial, which presumably ran on television. Somehow that gives a different slant to the story than a homemade sex tape. Not that I think we should be fired for our homemade sex tapes. What if another teacher were in an advertisement or a tv show smoking and drinking? Would they be fired for being a bad example? At least sex is good for you.

Shameless Self Promotion

Sex and Nudity Aren’t Good Reasons to Fire Someone

Teachers Should Blog, Tweet and Flirt Online Like the Rest of Us

Protect the Children From Porn

(See, I’ve noticed that I have an archive of 250ish columns, and many of them have pretty much gone invisible unless you know exactly what to search for. I thought perhaps it would make sense to link to them when I blog, in case you want to read them. My feelings aren’t hurt if you don’t want to, though. )