March 09 - Wasted
We are looking hard at ourselves this month – what are we doing to each other when we go on-line and what are we doing to ourselves when we (if this is to your taste) get tied up and have all kinds of crap beaten out of us? Are we respecting each other and ourselves? Have our sexual standards become unacceptably ‘pornographised’? Are we acting out earlier trauma OR have we simply liberated our fantasies? I don’t know the answers to any of these questions, but I do think they’re ones that need to be asked. To quote Patrick Strudwick’s SM article: “Any group that refuses to question its own behaviour weakens itself.” Quite.
I’m delighted that we’ve met a real icon this month, Marianne Faithful – chanteuse, survivor and hard-as-nails softie. She has a beautiful album coming out –featuring GT favourites Antony Hegarty and Rufus Wainwright. Personally, I’m very excited about it. It’s a thing of rare and extraordinary beauty.
Elsewhere, I want to draw your attention to the Readers’ Confessions Text column. It’s next to Jonesy’s ever-hilarious True Confessions. Texts cost no more than 25p (less than a stamp, so not a great revenue-raiser!), and it will give you a chance at some sort of public absolution.
Speaking of revenue (did you see what I did there? Seamless segueing, eh? Oh, never mind…), when I asked Bob, one of our staff writers, what I should talk about in my letter this month, he said, “Anything, as long as it’s not the sodding credit crunch.” So, I won’t mention it – except in this bit here. I hope everyone is warm and safe and steeled. Just remember, this storm will pass and it’s not your fault. Probably.
Have a great month
Joseph Galliano