Off Twitter, on the blogs

I’ve been taking a break from Twitter for the past few days – listening, in part, to some of the advice in comments made on my rather personal, downbeat post here last week about that site and my life more generally.

It’s been good to take a breather from the aspects of the site that were adding to my stress levels.  One other unexpected advantage of my Twitter-break has been to encourage me to spend time catching up with blogs. And, you know, despite my concerns for its well-being, the spankosphere is alive and well. Here, to give you a flavour, is what I might have missed had I not spent a little time catching up on the past week’s blogs…

An utterly beautiful letter about love by The Girl, at Defer & Submit (“you wrapped your arms around me and I feel as though you have never let me go”).

NotAnOdalisque discussing her hunt for play partners: “Extremely experienced semi-professionals. Must be willing to give lectures on the history and uses of the cane before scenes and have an aesthetic more appreciative of straw boaters than leather and studs.”

News of potential UK government legislation to further control access to porn – with a link to the relevant Ofcom report (“Sexually Explicit Material and Video On Demand Services”), which I’ve downloaded and filed away to read on some future train journey.

A book review that made me realised that Gloria Brame’s new book – “The Truth About Sex” – was now available, and the discovery via her site of CARAS, a fascinating body supporting academic research into kink, BDSM and poly issues.

A wonderful piece on “Waiting” for punishment, by Ashley J – “The waiting period can be an effective disciplinary tool all by itself” – that any good top should study!

An evocative and delightfully-illustrated study of “The Birch and its Domestic Use” on “The Voice in the Corner”:

One governess handbook suggested “for the older girl who thinks herself a woman, a public scolding then an open announcement of the chastisement to follow may be quite beneficial in bringing a spirited girl down a peg or two. However, one should on no account thrash an older girl before others. Better to send her to her room to await the rod.”

That one set me off on my own kinky imaginings – an Edwardian father sat at the dinner table with his daughter, telling her: “Your governess has asked permission to birch you tomorrow for your display of temper earlier. I have granted her request. You are to come to my study afterwards, to tell me what you have learnt from your punishment.” “Yes, papa. I’m sorry, sir.”

Oh, and then there’s the most evocative photo (NSFW) on Lil Girl Gone Wild’s Tumblr pages. A bound, near-naked woman lies on her back, legs parted; a gentleman in a suit stands at the end of the bed, unbuckling his belt; “She had waited this way for what seemed an eternity … and could barely stand it when she heard him enter the room.”

…never mind other also not entirely safe for work content: photos here – and from Romantic Perversions  here and here –  and the cutest little hand-spanking video from “Little Miss Spanky Pants” here (one of a number of very hot short home-made videos on their site).

And least – and certainly not least – a lovely, upbeat post about Twitter by Loki Renard, which reminded me why I want to re-embrace the site once I’ve had a little more chance to breathe. (“I’ve met so many amazing people and spanking bloggers through Twitter that I would otherwise never have known existed, and even if I had known they existed, I certainly never would have had the chance to swap witty ripostes with them in real time.”)

Now, I know others bemoan their lack of time to read blogs these days – and I’m as guilty of that as any; typical comments run along the lines of “unless someone tweets a link to a post, I won’t get to read it.”

Here’s my personal resolution, therefore. One day a week, rather than signing onto Twitter first thing, I’m going catch up instead with what’s been going on on the blogs I follow. I rather suspect that others who used to get so much from the blogosphere might be surprised by how much great stuff there still is out there if they were to do the same – and their renewed interest might, in turn, encourage bloggers like me not to hang up our quills. (‘Quills’? Well the thought of hanging up a keyboard just seems too odd, doesn’t it?!).