Etta James died yesterday. She was part of the soundtrack of our lives, and of our life together. We are grateful for her music. As Gwendolyn Thompkins noted in her beautiful tribute to Etta James on NPR this morning, Etta James kept love going through good times and bad.

We think of our friends and family during the holidays–people scattered around the world, tied together with e-mails and tweets and blog posts and Facebook posts and actual, real Christmas cards, which we too send out.

This Christmas we’re staying in, here in our place in New Mexico, enjoying this winter wonderland that has arrived over the past week courtesy of two major snowstorms. Cozy! Steaming tamales add to the more traditional fare, and with apple cider steaming with cinnamon sticks on the stove, it feels like Christmas for sure.

And as Darlene Love sings: “Christmas is the time to say I love you.’”

We couldn’t have said it any better!

In case you missed the lovely, one-of-a-kind Darlene Love on David Letterman on Friday night, here’s the video. Turn it up loud and enjoy!

Darlene Love on David Letterman Christmas 2011

Merry Christmas!

Love,

Christi & Nan

P.S. We decided to extend the free shipping (half-price outside the U.S.) through January 15, 2012. So if for any reason Santa leaves you wanting this year, you can always treat yourself.

We were in Minneapolis a couple weeks ago, when the Minneapolis SlutWalk took place, on October 1st, 2011.

The Minneapolis SlutWalk video, courtesy of Mill City Times, shows a typical cross-section of relatively young, relatively white Minneapolis, a city that with its sister city of St. Paul has a population of approximately three-quarters of a million people. That’s where Nan went to college, too, at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.

SlutWalk Minneapolis was bound to be tamer than SlutWalk London, which was held in June, or SlutWalk New York, which was also held on October 1, 2011.

More men, it seemed, were in attendance at the Minneapolis protest, than at other protests. One was shirtless. The state was breaking autumn heat wave records, and it has turned out to be the hottest stretch in 132 years. In the 80s every day, ugh.

SlutWalks originated last spring 2011 in Toronto, when, according to a CBC report, a Toronto police constable in January told a York University personal security class that “women should avoid dressing like sluts in order not to be victimized.”

The antiviolence SlutWalk protests are sex-positive, unlike the mostly anti-porn Take Back the Night marches of the 1970s and 1980s, before women reclaimed their right to be sexual beings.

In response, and an historic turning point, On Our Backs was born, the brainchild of Deborah Sundahl, Nan Kinney, Myrna Elena and Susie Bright.

Women and lesbians began celebrating sex and sexuality in a way they hadn’t before. Women’s desires were shown in all their glory in On Our Backs magazine and those first Fatale videos.

For a perfect example of a now-classic lesbian video, don’t miss Fatale Media’s Clips. Nan and Deb star, and there is one scene in there from Deborah that is still our favorite.

Yours in good love and sex,

Nan & Christi
nan@fatalemedia.com
christi@fatalemedia.com

We were saddened when Steve Jobs died. We knew that Deborah Sundahl was an early proponent of Apple, Steve Jobs and all subsequent products.

Susie Bright wrote a very funny tribute to those early days at On Our Backs, when Deborah would ponder dilemmas with “What would Steve Jobs do?”

“Steve Jobs and the Lesbian Erotic Revolution” is a worthwhile read. Get ready for some laughs. We urge you to subscribe to Susie’s blog too.

It’s National Coming Out Day, and we’re celebrating all those brave individuals who took a stand and still take a stand to come out. And while it’s easier today in some parts of the world to come out, it’s still a dangerous proposition in many parts of the world, including some right in the U.S.

We welcome all those who have the courage to come out!

Susie Bright and Honey Lee Cottrell. Credit: Mariette Pathy Allen

Imagine our surprise to learn that Honey Lee Cottrell was being evicted from the apartment she’s had since the early days of On Our Backs.

On Our Backs was the seminal lesbian porn magazine first published by Deborah Sundahl and Myrna Elena. Nan Kinney became publisher not long after that first issue came out, and Susie Bright became editor.

Susie and Honey Lee shared that apartment back in the early days of OOB. Many of the magazine’s sexy shoots took place in it or nearby.

Susie’s piece is an amazing chronicle of the OOB shoots and that apartment on Bessie Street in San Francisco.

There are fabulous pictures in this piece. One in particular, The Voyeur shoot at the York Theater, with Susie, Honey Lee and Nan, brought a big smile to our faces. Nan’s hair!

Read Susie’s piece here:
Annals of Bessie Street: From Revolution to Eviction

<Snip>This Friday I am losing my long-standing home in San Francisco: 25A Bessie Street. My first books Herotica and Susie Sexpert’s Lesbian Sex World were written inside this little nest. I grew up as a young woman in this apartment, my daughter grew up here from infancy to adulthood. The… <snip> Read more.

Here are two good articles about On Our Backs, should you want to know more:

Susie Bright’s remembrance of On Our Backs:
http://susiebright.blogs.com/History_of_OOB.pdf

The Wikipedia article about On Our Backs:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_Our_Backs

Thank you, Susie, for this important piece. We’ve been thinking of you and Honey Lee and that Bessie Street apartment.

Yours in good love and sex,

Christi and Nan
nan@fatalemedia.com
christi@fatalemedia.com

P.S. Check out all Fatale Media’s sexy DVDs.

It’s official. Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, the Clinton-era compromise on gays in the military, is done, gone, repealed as of midnight last night.

A piece on NPR, “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell is Done; Now What?,” about the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell repeal, has some good quotes. One of our faves, from Stacy Vasquez: “I like to say I’m a government-certified homosexual.”

We thank Grethe Cammermeyer for drawing our attention to this issue many years ago. We hope she, like so many of her compatriots, is celebrating a long-awaited victory today.

As the weather finally cool down a bit, we’re happy to be snuggling up inside. For some reason, this has been a long, long summer. We’re ready to say enjoy some romantic, cozy days.

We like Deborah Sundahl’s recommendation for parents and couples so busy they can’t find time to enjoy each other’s company. Her new “Ask Fanny” column addresses the issues: “Finding Time for Romance.”

The New York Times had a piece earlier this week—front page, no less—on bullying in Minnesota. It happens everywhere, not just in Minnesota, and we’re glad to see attention brought to this issue of bullying gay kids.

Here is the link to the article:
“In Suburb, Battle Goes Public on Bullying of Gay Students” by Erik Eckholm.

The link is posted on Fatale’s Facebook page, too, if that’s easier. For sure the article is worth reading.

Yours in good love and sex,

Nan & Christi
nan@fatalemedia.com
christi@fatalemedia.com

P.S. For a really sexy September, check out Fatale Media sexy DVDs.

P.P.S. Don’t forget to like FataleMedia on Facebook!

Another letter from a friend surprised us when it arrived last week. What about “talking dirty?” he wanted to know.

Surprise! Talk to Me Baby is a DVD from S.I.R. Video that is the crème de la crème for talking dirty. Director and dirty-talk expert Shar Rednour, the “Diva of Dirty Talk,” offers:

–Tips on how to use dirty talk to seduce a lover
–Pillow talk as a prelude to passion
–Sex fantasies played out in scorching detail.

Smut Magazine wrote: “Shar Rednour is, as always, the perfect hostess. She’s her usual vampy, campy and out of control self. What I love about this video is that anyone can get something out of it.”

What gives even more spice to dirty talking is a little added fetish. Our friend writes: “I also like the fetish ( I adore sucking women’s toes) before talking to a woman. I look to her toes, and hands…”

For all the talk of Representative Anthony Weiner—and we do not believe he should resign—and his “dirty tweets,” actual dirty talk is sexier than any tweet or posting.

The tenor of the voice, the smooth soft lure of a honeyed sexy voice… The greatest writers, even those who write great tweets, can’t match the thrill that sparks up and down the spine when the seductive dirty talk starts.

What do you think?

Yours in good love and sex,

Nan & Christi
nan@fatalemedia.com
christi@fatalemedia.com

P.S. Check out Talk to Me Baby. Just so you know, the couples who illustrate the dirty talk here about both straight and lesbian.

P.P.S. Fatale Media’s Gay Pride Special is on through June, 2011. Ten percent off everything plus free shipping in the U.S.

Spring is here. At last. The tulips are everywhere, as are the daffodils. Trees that may or may not be crabapple trees are blooming with white flowers. The cherry tree next door has got an aura of pink about it.

We cleaned out the closets this weekend, with the sole purpose of donating Christi’s much-loved but now too small cocktail dresses to a high-school prom dress “auction.” It works like this: people donate old prom dresses, cocktail dresses, bridesmaid dresses and the like—old tuxes are welcome too. The local group that organizes this “promwear recycling” then holds an auction. The money raised goes to charity.

More news: We’re still looking for help with Wikipedia, if you or someone you know has experience in this realm. This is not a volunteer request, by the way. Please contact Christi (christi@fatalemedia.com) if you have a suggestion or referral.

Enjoy the springtime!

Till next time, yours in good love and sex,

Nan & Christi
nan@fatalemedia.com
christi@fatalemedia.com

P.S. Check out The Crash Pad Series Volume 6.

P.P.S. Check out  Fatale’s best lesbian videos.