Being Amber Rhea

Thursday night was Sex, Wine and Chocolate 2008. It was AMAZING. Already I’m looking forward to Sex, Wine and Chocolate 2009!

It was at the Park Tavern this year, which, if you’ve never been, is a beautiful venue. And the place was packed. I got there at around ten after seven, thinking I’d get there early and beat the crowds. Silly me.

I took a few photos but they didn’t really turn out; my camera doesn’t do well in low light. Here are the ones that are decent enough to post:

My camera’s video function does surprisingly well in low light, though, and I saved the day (okay, maybe “saved the day” is an exaggeration; but we like delusions of grandeur, right?) by taking video of the PoleLaTeaz performance when their camera wouldn’t turn on. I’m going to put the video on a DVD and give it to Angela Monday night at class, and whenever she posts it on YouTube, I’ll embed the video.

Speaking of PoleLaTeaz, they brought down the house just like last year. I can’t even convey to you how much they rocked. Every time I see them perform, I feel myself almost bursting with joy, cheesy as that might sound. And I was thinking, “I wish all those people who talk shit about pole dancing could be here to see this.” Because if you could be there and see that performance and feel that energy, and still try to tell me that’s NOT feminist, there’s just something wrong with you, and that’s all I have to say about that.

The Entanglement Circus performance was also amazing. I stood with a few of the PoleLaTeaz gals while the EC lady was performing, and we just kept saying, “Wow. Wow. Wow.” I think we have an extra appreciation of just how amazing her performance was, because it’s like doing everything we do on the pole but on silks - so no hard, sturdy support. She was doing things like climbing to the top of the silks, wrapping them around her ankles, and hanging. And then doing three flying eagles in a row, simultaneously climbing backwards.

All of this was so much better than watching the VP debate!

My one complaint would be that people who aren’t sitting and watching need to lower their voices when the performers are on. Even if you’re in the back of the room at the bar and not watching the performers, even if it’s something that doesn’t interest you - be respectful. These are people who have worked hard and are donating their time and talent to make this event a reality. Do not talk over them.

SWC 2008 was a huge success, and I can hardly wait for next year. The atmosphere there just felt so right. The whole time, I was thinking, “This is what sex-positive means.” As I said to Mia in an email: I wish every day could be Sex, Wine and Chocolate!

Which shirt should I wear to Sex, Wine and Chocolate?

• Sex nerds know how to do it (official Waking Vixen Productions shirt!)*
• I support sex workers’ rights (designed by Ren!)
• Strippers are feminists too
• I -heart- Obama (get your own here)

Too bad I don’t have this shirt anymore.

Input please.

* Can’t see the shirt as well in this photo, but I like it better because of the sign I’m standing next to (to which…).

FEATURING: LAKARA FOSTER

PERFORMANCES BY: POLELATEAZ * BLAKKAUFI * MS. VAGINA JENKINS * YOLO AKILI * KEN J MARTIN * DJ MARK ANGEL * MS. STEWART * ENTANGLEMENT CIRCUS * N2 PASSION * DJ CHA CHA JONES * MILLICENT M. JOHNNIE * ESHE SAKURA * JENNY BUNNS YOUNG * KERESTEN BOOKER

Join us for a sensual night free of sexual oppression for all of us fighting for the freedom of our bodies everyday. Celebrate your authentic self at our Anti-Masquerade Ball with live performances, delectable desserts, fabulous prizes, a live auction and more!

October 2, 2008 at The Park Tavern, 500 10th Street NE, Atlanta, GA 30309 (on MARTA Route 45!)
Doors open at 7pm. Show begins at 8pm.

Advance Tickets - Suggested Donation: $20
Tickets at the Door - Suggested Donation: $25
**No one will be turned away for lack of funds; sliding scale tickets only accepted at the door.

RAFFLE:

• GRAND PRIZE: 3 Day - 2 Night Cruise for 2 to the Bahamas or Mexico–your choice! ~ Meghan Elliott, travel consultant for World Ventures.
• Two $100 Gas Cards.

LIVE AUCTION:

• Self-Love Date: Enjoy a night in with the Bunny Love Kit. Courtesy of Babeland.
• PoleLaTeaz Dates: 3 free classes for the winner and a friend at the PoleLaTeaz studio, plus an extra $100 gift certificate! Courtesy of PoleLaTeaz.
• Chocolate Pink Gift Certificate
• Sutra Lounge VIP Lounge for 30, worth $1,500.

All proceeds benefit SPARK and Project South. Can’t make it? Donate a ticket, buy some raffle tickets or make a general donation to support SPARK & Project South’s work!

Contact mia@sparkrj.org or call 404-532-0022 for more information and check our Evite for the latest updates! You do not have to be present to win prizes!

Buy your tickets here.

• This Wednesday night, I’ll be on the Cult of Gracie radio show on XXBN. The show will be streaming live at either 9:00 or 10:00 - I’m waiting to hear back from Gracie on which it is, because her blog says one thing and the BlogTalkRadio page says another. I’ll update this post when I know. Update: It’s at 10:00 p.m. Eastern Time! You can call in during the show… and I’d love for some people to call in, so I don’t feel like I’m just listening to myself bloviate the entire time.
• This Saturday, I’ll be at BlogOrlando, a social media unconference organized by Josh Hallett and now in its third year. I’ll be leading a session called Professionalism 2.0. I posted the description a few days ago, but here it is again:
  

  What does “professionalism” mean in the context of blogging? Is it a matter of the topics you write about, the language you use, the amount of research you put into a typical post - or all or none of the above? Social media tools offer us the opportunity to express our full humanity instead of compartmentalizing aspects of who we are. To what degree do we need to adjust our pre-conceived notions about what’s professional and what isn’t?

  I’m interested to see what direction the discussion takes.

• Sex, Wine and Chocolate 2008 is coming up on October 2, at the Park Tavern! Buy your tickets now (it’s only $20 this time around). And yes, the PoleLaTeaz ladies will be performing again!

…that Sex, Wine and Chocolate was a huge success!!

Apparently the emcee took her top off, but Rusty and I had already left by that point.

I loved watching people throw money on stage for the burlesque troupe and the pole dancers. Heh. And it all helped us reach our goal, which meant everyone got the free panties we worked so hard to iron for y’all.

We’ll be doing it again next year!

“I Volunteered at Sex, Wine and Chocolate!”

That’s what you’ll be able to say when the night is done!

We’ll need all kinds of volunteers for this event! From set-up starting at 5pm to clean-up at 11:30pm and everything in between. It doesn’t matter if you love people or would rather work behind the scenes, there’s something for every one.

We’ll need volunteers for 2 hour shifts and you’ll receive free admission (that means more money for prize drawing tickets!) and we will give you all the information you’ll need.

Volunteer Shifts for SWC (Thursday, October 18):

• 5pm - 7pm — Set-Up
• 7pm - 9pm — 1st Shift
• 9pm - 11pm — 2nd Shift
• 11pm - 1am — Clean-Up

If you’re interested, contact Mia at miamingus@gmail.com and we will get you hooked up with a job in no time!

Can’t make it to SWC? Join us for an early Volunteer Night from 3-7pm, Wednesday, October 17.

We will be stuffing goodie bags, assembling programs and more for Sex, Wine and Chocolate the next night. RSVP for food and drinks–walk-ins welcome, too.

Contact Mia at miamingus@gmail.com or 404-532-0022 to RSVP!

Prizes, Prizes, Prizes!

Here is a sampling of some of the prizes you can win at Sex, Wine and Chocolate:

• Grand Prize: three-night stay at Sand Castle on the Beach Hotel & Resort, St. Croix, US Virgin Islands
• ONLY for prize-drawing tickets bought in advance: iPod Video Nano
• Classes from PoleLaTeaz
• Themis Personal Organizing gift certificate
• Smart Glass Jewelry by Kathleen Plate
• One-hour health consultation from Sustainable Wellness
• Jewelry by Shirin Style
• Two tickets to Sex 2.0
• Additional prizes from Dr. Sketchy’s Atlanta, Aphroditie’s Toy Box and more!

Buy your tickets now!

(Fellow ATL bloggers… please re-post!)

October is always my favorite month. I can’t put my finger on exactly why (I swear it’s not just because my birthday is at the end of it), but the weather plays a huge part. October weather in Georgia is just perfect to me. The air gets a certain autumny smell that makes me feel refreshed and generally optimistic.

A lot of shit has gone down over the past month and a half, and a lot of it has been (and currently remains) un-bloggable. It’s certainly not going away with the advent of October, but things are feeling so much better overall. We’re in our new apartment in Decatur, which feels way more like home than the old place ever did, even with furniture positioned haphazardly and boxes still stacked everywhere. Our plan is to stay here for a year, and then buy a place. This is going to be a good year.

And October is going to be a good month! It’ll be a busy month, but busy with good, fun, life-affirming stuff.

Upcoming awesomeness for October:

• Oct. 5: North Fulton Drama Club’s production of Merry Wives of Windsor.
• Oct. 6: Harvest ‘07 Erotic Art Show
• Oct. 12-13: BarCamp Atlanta
• Oct. 14: PoleLaTeaz student showcase - I’m performing!!! :D More details to follow.
• Oct. 18: Sex, Wine and Chocolate. (If you’re planning to come, buy your tickets now; space is limited.)
• Oct. 19-20: ConvergeSouth - I’m leading a session entitled “Podcasting and Beyond.” (Hmm, gotta make some PowerPoint slides this week… but only a few, I promise!)
• Oct. 21: After we leave Greensboro we’ll be visiting the Carolina Raptor Center, and then moseying back toward Atlanta, stopping along the way to photograph various small towns and Southern oddities.
• Oct. 22: Day off work for continued moseying if necessary, or sleep and whatever else.
• Oct. 26: Club 2Risqué new facility opening party.
• Oct. 28: Recording a new episode of the GA Politics Podcast at Manuel’s. (This is the part where I sit around and sip tea while other people talk about politics).
• Oct. 30: My birthday a.k.a. 28 Years of Amber Rhea.

Somewhere in there I’ve gotta find time to do mundane things like renew my driver’s license and upgrade the blog to WordPress 2.3, but that hardly warrants placement on the List of Awesomeness. Oh, and Jenny… are you still coming to visit? :)

Jenny observed today that it seems like I haven’t been blogging as much, and asked if something was going on. The short answer is, yes, something is going on. (That makes it sound like somebody’s in the hospital, or in jail, or breaking up, or something like that - none of those are the case.) Even though my bloggin’ fingers are itching to write about all of it, I know the prudent* thing to do is to wait.

However, I will say that we’re moving back to Decatur tomorrow. We’ll be living camp-out style for about a week, and then some actual movers are coming on the 22nd to bring over all the furniture and heavy boxes. We’re supposed to have internet access as of Monday; keep your fingers crossed that Comcast doesn’t screw it up.

So, yes, blogging has been and will be light. I’ve also been busy with Sex, Wine and Chocolate planning, Sex 2.0 planning, getting back at Platinum Stages for sucking, and my actual 9-to-5 job. But I kind of hate “blogging will be light” posts and “OMG I’m so busy” posts, so I’ll leave it at that.

In the meantime, there’s a new episode of Mostly ITP. Also, Ren breaks down solutions for dealing with prostitution that actually make sense. To me this seems like common sense and it boggles my mind (and irritates the hell out of me) when people don’t get it. Here’s part of what I said over there:

I didn’t mean the issue was simple as in, “Oh, just flip a switch, and that’s that.” I meant it should be a pretty basic concept that, hello, regardless of one’s job, they should be treated as a human being. And, too, that even if one has a longterm goal of abolishing something, or creating some sweeping revolution, or completely overthrowing the power structure, or whatever… well, the reality is, that goal may be admirable, but it’s not going to happen tomorrow, and grandiose plans are not going to do any good to the people who are affected TODAY.

* I can’t use that word without thinking of Dana Carvey’s impressions of George Bush on SNL in the early 90s.

If you don’t have plans for Oct. 18, be sure to mark your calendar and come to the Georgians for Choice/Generation Five Sex, Wine and Chocolate fundraiser. Hell, if you do have plans, cancel them and come to this instead, because it’s likely to be a lot more fun than whatever you’ve got scheduled.

There will be burlesque performances, spoken word, a drag show, Dr. Sketchy’s Anti-Art School, all manner of tasty desserts, a chocolate fountain, plenty of booze, awesome prizes such as a trip to St. Croix, and, of course, more.

I’m really excited about this because too often, it seems like nonprofit activist type gatherings are so somber and boring - which always struck me as a terrible way to raise money for a cause. Instead, why not have a big party that says, “This is the good stuff our organization is working for in the world!”

So come to Decatur on Oct. 18 and get yourself some sex, wine, and chocolate - or at least one of the three.

(Major props to Mel for creating the bad-ass logo. It makes me salivate.)