Monday, November 30, 2009
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Redemption
Hmmm...just got word of a new Canadian rubber retailer, Redemption Latex, however their site is down at the moment. Anyone know anything about them?
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
On The Skids
Participating in downhill winter sports certainly calls for nerve and experience and so does photographing them competitively. These images from Wolfgang Rattay, a veteran of the slippery slope, freeze the action at the Men’s Luge World Cup event in Winterberg, Germany and even permit close examination of the expressions on the faces of the competitors. It is hard to escape the conclusion, at least from this evidence, that having his eyes open was perhaps what gave the winner his edge.
If individual luge looks scary, Wolfgang make luge with two-up look positively relaxed, although it really can’t be much fun for the occupant of the back seat.
Frankly I’m not sure which is braver, hurtling down a mountain feet first at high speed or having the confidence to wear lycra in freezing conditions in the certain knowledge of the inevitability of being photographed from this angle.
Source
My intention over the next couple of months will hopefully be to track athletes qualifiers for the upcoming Vancouver/Whistler Winter Olympics in February, including lots of gratuitous images to perv over, overviews of the Olympic facilities and lots of local stories during the Games that an international audience might not get to read.
Of course, this will only apply to the sports where skintight outfits are mandatory on the men...speedskating, the sliding events, the skiing events. As a result, I will only post on men's figure skating as warranted! LOL
If individual luge looks scary, Wolfgang make luge with two-up look positively relaxed, although it really can’t be much fun for the occupant of the back seat.
Frankly I’m not sure which is braver, hurtling down a mountain feet first at high speed or having the confidence to wear lycra in freezing conditions in the certain knowledge of the inevitability of being photographed from this angle.
Source
My intention over the next couple of months will hopefully be to track athletes qualifiers for the upcoming Vancouver/Whistler Winter Olympics in February, including lots of gratuitous images to perv over, overviews of the Olympic facilities and lots of local stories during the Games that an international audience might not get to read.
Of course, this will only apply to the sports where skintight outfits are mandatory on the men...speedskating, the sliding events, the skiing events. As a result, I will only post on men's figure skating as warranted! LOL
Lapse
Apologies for not posting much recently...I just started a new position working permanently from the office, so obviously I'm no longer working from home. Gosh -- commutes and early mornings again...I forgot how much I hate these things! I've been spending most of my nights at M's therefore I haven't had a lot of time to peruse the Interwebs for relevant rubbery content. Hopefully this will change in the near future! :) Hugs
Monday, November 23, 2009
Friday, November 20, 2009
Shaved
M took me to the barber on Tuesday for full beard and head shave. First time I'd ever done the single blade; it was tender on Tuesday but looks good now. Beard and hair are all gone! Some people say there's no advantage to porting a beard or not, but ask M how his ass felt after an hour of jabbing it with coarse beard hair! That will no longer be a problem. The beard experiment is over, for this year anyways.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
MIR 2010
Finally, here's my review of the crazy antics that sum up the Mister International Rubber 2010 weekend in Chicago, November 6-8, 2009.
This year's event was bigger and better than ever. There were some initial hesitations from some long-time attendees about moving the event from the local Chicago bars to the Center on Halsted, but all that was quickly forgotten once it was obvious the venue would provide more space to compete, socialize, and perv out on gear for everyone.
It was so wonderful to see so many old friends, familiar faces and getting the opportunity to get to know many new rubberfiends that were in attendance.
M and I made it into O'Hare late Friday afternoon where we met up with our roommates for the weekend at the host hotel. We made the trip to the Days Inn on Diversey as quickly as we could, and began the task of unloading our gear from our luggage and getting ready for Friday evenings events. Despite our haste, we still didn't make it in time to the Center for the initial Meet and Greet at 8pm. We ran into a flock of rubbermen waiting for the shuttle bus to the Center when we arrived at the hotel; obviously we were already quite certain that we weren't going to make it for the beginning of the events.
We did eventually make it, showing up at the Center around 9:30pm just as the intermission for the Friday night competition portion was finishing. The guys serving at the bar in the hospitality room were very generous in their pourings of vodka which lead to some trouble later on in the evening (American hard-liquor freepouring is a good thing but potentially has some pretty nasty consequences!). We were able to watch the second half of the 'Rubber Image' portion of the competition and catch a glimpse of all seven rubbermen that were competing in this year's contest. I was able to reconnect with a lot of guys that I knew from last year in addition to many new guys that were able to attend this year for the first time. M had no problems making lots of new friends; he is a lot more outgoing than I am and was having a lot of fun getting involved in the goings-on at the Center.
After the competition everyone headed to the CellBlock across the street for some post-event drinks. We hung out there until the wee hours of the morning. Many guys headed to Steamworks for the first of several unofficial MIR parties of the weekend, however a few of us didn't make it into Steamworks for reasons I won't go into here!
We headed back to the hotel and crashed early after a long day of travelling, little food or sleep and lots of vodka. In the morning, M and I started playing around in the hotel room while the others got ready and headed to the Center again to take in the Vendor Market. J came back mid-afternoon just as M and I were getting ready to head to the market but decided to stay behind once we were ready to go.
The market was great. I'm sure the vendors were appreciative that this year they didn't have to build up and tear down their displays on a daily basis since there was dedicated space for all of them in the Center's gymnasium. We got to visit with a lot of friends, check out a lot of new gear and rubber clothing, buy a few things from some of the vendors and check out all the great deals in the gear swap sponsored by the Chicago Rubbermen. Kudos go out to all the guys that organized such a great time!
The highlight of the vendor market was definitely the demo space in the center of the room being managed by Kinkrubber. The setup was quite complex with piping all around the perimeter of the space allowing for multiple vacuum and bondage items to be blown up or sucked out simultaneously. There were up to six demos being put on at any one time. If I hadn't been so hungover from Friday as well as focusing on getting M some new gear and keeping an eye out for some gear for myself, I would've gladly been a willing victim for some of the demos. Now that we know how everything is set up this will be a definite must for next year. I think I said the same thing last year, but logistics were a bit different and more complicated this year than last.
We went back to the hotel around 6pm to clean up, check out our new gear, disco nap and get ready for the Contest finale at the Center. We actually made it to the Center in time to watch the entire contest, partake in the hospitality room during the intermissions and check out the hijinks going on in the Center bathrooms on the third floor.
The judges selected Chicago's own Junya, Mr. Midwest Rubber 2009 as the 2nd Runner Up, and Skin Rubber Boy from Puerto Rico as the 1st Runner Up. It was finally revealed that Fenn, Mr. Toronto Rubber 2009 is the new Mr International Rubber for 2010. Triple play for the Canucks - 2008, 2009, and 2010! Whoot!
Immediately after the contest, everyone headed to the Victory Party at Jackhammer/The Hole and Touche. We stayed there until 3pm or so and were really enjoying ourselves until abruptly being sent home on the bus back to the hotel around 3:30 (another story I won't get into here). Apparently things went on until much later but in a way it was a relief we went home when we did.
Sunday brought another beautiful day to take in some of the sights of the Windy City. M, Rubberchris and I went downtown, took in some of the architectural marvels of Chicago in addition to Millenium Park and other downtown attractions. We never made it to the Vendor Market on Sunday although M was lamenting we never got to check out any of the Carrera chastity equipment that he had his eyes on!
After a bit of a rest and dinner on Diversey, we headed to the unofficial Official MIR weekend wrapup night at Sidetrack. This year's event was more muted than last year, mostly due to the fact official events wrapped up the night before, however we still had a lot of fun and got to visit with a lot of people (particularly the Chicago Rubbermen guys who were so busy on the weekend who now had some time to unwind and relax). We headed back to the hotel relatively early. Rubberchris' flight back to L.A. was early on Monday morning and M and I wanted to get a full day of sightseeing in.
We headed back downtown, had dinner at the rooftop restaurant (aptly named "Roof") of the Wit Hotel and shopped on the Magnificent Mile before heading up to Andersonville to grab some grub at Big Chicks with ChicagoPissBoy and a jazz performance at the Blue Mill. We ended up at Hydrate on Halsted for some late night dancing.
Tuesday we did a quick shopping stint at Akira and then were off to O'Hare to catch our flight back to Vancouver.
The weekend went by so quickly but it was another memorable MIR. The organizers were very happy with the attendance and the improvement the facilities at the Center on Halsted allowed them for scheduling and space. It was a great change for the event and I can only hope the organizers will build on the great time that was had by all at the 2010 event!
This year's event was bigger and better than ever. There were some initial hesitations from some long-time attendees about moving the event from the local Chicago bars to the Center on Halsted, but all that was quickly forgotten once it was obvious the venue would provide more space to compete, socialize, and perv out on gear for everyone.
It was so wonderful to see so many old friends, familiar faces and getting the opportunity to get to know many new rubberfiends that were in attendance.
M and I made it into O'Hare late Friday afternoon where we met up with our roommates for the weekend at the host hotel. We made the trip to the Days Inn on Diversey as quickly as we could, and began the task of unloading our gear from our luggage and getting ready for Friday evenings events. Despite our haste, we still didn't make it in time to the Center for the initial Meet and Greet at 8pm. We ran into a flock of rubbermen waiting for the shuttle bus to the Center when we arrived at the hotel; obviously we were already quite certain that we weren't going to make it for the beginning of the events.
We did eventually make it, showing up at the Center around 9:30pm just as the intermission for the Friday night competition portion was finishing. The guys serving at the bar in the hospitality room were very generous in their pourings of vodka which lead to some trouble later on in the evening (American hard-liquor freepouring is a good thing but potentially has some pretty nasty consequences!). We were able to watch the second half of the 'Rubber Image' portion of the competition and catch a glimpse of all seven rubbermen that were competing in this year's contest. I was able to reconnect with a lot of guys that I knew from last year in addition to many new guys that were able to attend this year for the first time. M had no problems making lots of new friends; he is a lot more outgoing than I am and was having a lot of fun getting involved in the goings-on at the Center.
After the competition everyone headed to the CellBlock across the street for some post-event drinks. We hung out there until the wee hours of the morning. Many guys headed to Steamworks for the first of several unofficial MIR parties of the weekend, however a few of us didn't make it into Steamworks for reasons I won't go into here!
We headed back to the hotel and crashed early after a long day of travelling, little food or sleep and lots of vodka. In the morning, M and I started playing around in the hotel room while the others got ready and headed to the Center again to take in the Vendor Market. J came back mid-afternoon just as M and I were getting ready to head to the market but decided to stay behind once we were ready to go.
The market was great. I'm sure the vendors were appreciative that this year they didn't have to build up and tear down their displays on a daily basis since there was dedicated space for all of them in the Center's gymnasium. We got to visit with a lot of friends, check out a lot of new gear and rubber clothing, buy a few things from some of the vendors and check out all the great deals in the gear swap sponsored by the Chicago Rubbermen. Kudos go out to all the guys that organized such a great time!
The highlight of the vendor market was definitely the demo space in the center of the room being managed by Kinkrubber. The setup was quite complex with piping all around the perimeter of the space allowing for multiple vacuum and bondage items to be blown up or sucked out simultaneously. There were up to six demos being put on at any one time. If I hadn't been so hungover from Friday as well as focusing on getting M some new gear and keeping an eye out for some gear for myself, I would've gladly been a willing victim for some of the demos. Now that we know how everything is set up this will be a definite must for next year. I think I said the same thing last year, but logistics were a bit different and more complicated this year than last.
We went back to the hotel around 6pm to clean up, check out our new gear, disco nap and get ready for the Contest finale at the Center. We actually made it to the Center in time to watch the entire contest, partake in the hospitality room during the intermissions and check out the hijinks going on in the Center bathrooms on the third floor.
The judges selected Chicago's own Junya, Mr. Midwest Rubber 2009 as the 2nd Runner Up, and Skin Rubber Boy from Puerto Rico as the 1st Runner Up. It was finally revealed that Fenn, Mr. Toronto Rubber 2009 is the new Mr International Rubber for 2010. Triple play for the Canucks - 2008, 2009, and 2010! Whoot!
Immediately after the contest, everyone headed to the Victory Party at Jackhammer/The Hole and Touche. We stayed there until 3pm or so and were really enjoying ourselves until abruptly being sent home on the bus back to the hotel around 3:30 (another story I won't get into here). Apparently things went on until much later but in a way it was a relief we went home when we did.
Sunday brought another beautiful day to take in some of the sights of the Windy City. M, Rubberchris and I went downtown, took in some of the architectural marvels of Chicago in addition to Millenium Park and other downtown attractions. We never made it to the Vendor Market on Sunday although M was lamenting we never got to check out any of the Carrera chastity equipment that he had his eyes on!
After a bit of a rest and dinner on Diversey, we headed to the unofficial Official MIR weekend wrapup night at Sidetrack. This year's event was more muted than last year, mostly due to the fact official events wrapped up the night before, however we still had a lot of fun and got to visit with a lot of people (particularly the Chicago Rubbermen guys who were so busy on the weekend who now had some time to unwind and relax). We headed back to the hotel relatively early. Rubberchris' flight back to L.A. was early on Monday morning and M and I wanted to get a full day of sightseeing in.
We headed back downtown, had dinner at the rooftop restaurant (aptly named "Roof") of the Wit Hotel and shopped on the Magnificent Mile before heading up to Andersonville to grab some grub at Big Chicks with ChicagoPissBoy and a jazz performance at the Blue Mill. We ended up at Hydrate on Halsted for some late night dancing.
Tuesday we did a quick shopping stint at Akira and then were off to O'Hare to catch our flight back to Vancouver.
The weekend went by so quickly but it was another memorable MIR. The organizers were very happy with the attendance and the improvement the facilities at the Center on Halsted allowed them for scheduling and space. It was a great change for the event and I can only hope the organizers will build on the great time that was had by all at the 2010 event!
Monday, November 16, 2009
Home
I just made it back to Vancouver this morning from a whirlwind week of rubbermen, reunions with rubber and non-rubber friends and family Christmas dinners. I'm so relieved to finally be home with no intendion to go anywhere for the rest of the year.
It is raining, raining, raining here in Vancouver...I am so tempted just to put on a catsuit and head out into Stanley Park for a walk. It's been almost a week since I had rubber on; I'm truly feeling the need for some encapsulation!
MIR story and pics coming soon....
It is raining, raining, raining here in Vancouver...I am so tempted just to put on a catsuit and head out into Stanley Park for a walk. It's been almost a week since I had rubber on; I'm truly feeling the need for some encapsulation!
MIR story and pics coming soon....
Friday, November 13, 2009
Space Activity Suit
I think most of us rubber pervs have dreamed of space suits that are skintight and latexy, with cool bubble helmets or close-fitting helmets. NASA did some research in the 1970s looking for more flexible suits with greater mobility. There were research papers on the subject posted (Wikipedia: Space Activity Suit). There are a few literary depictions of skintight space gear. In Efremov's "The Hour of the Bull", Earth astronauts use skin-tight spacesuits which feature a panty-shaped "waste destructor" (basically, a diaper with unlimited capacity), which allows for suit wear for weeks.
Sergei Pavlov's "Moon Rainbow" series features in later installments the "spacesuit" that is literally secreted from the body, turning the wearer into a Chrome Champion. It's actually a layer of a symbiotic living nanomachines that could be psychically controlled by their host.
Peter F. Hamilton's "Night's Dawn" trilogy includes space-suits that are made of programmable silicon or somesuch - they hang around as a black blob until activated, at which point they spread over the body of the user (tightly enough to avoid decompression in hard vacuum).
Nice stuff! Still no great depictions of such on celluloid...on the male form. Is it possible the cinema version of Splinter Cell might show Sam Fisher in skintight latex? Time will tell.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
MIR Review
Chicago was a fantastic trip with lots of adventures to talk about. I am currently working off-site and doing family Christmas this weekend. I will post a full review of the weekend next week when I get back to Vancouver. Rubber love! :)
You can read about the weekend on L8xdad and L8xboy's blog, Leatherati.com.
You can read about the weekend on L8xdad and L8xboy's blog, Leatherati.com.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Thursday, November 5, 2009
WTF?!?!
How many 'incorrect facts' about inflatables/rubber fetishism can you spot in this video? WTF?
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
More MIR Coverage
Mr. International Rubber gears up for kinky weekend in Chicago
by Joseph Erbentraut
EDGE Boston
EDGE Great Lakes Regional Editor
Wednesday Nov 4, 2009
If size is the sort of thing that matters to you, this year’s Mr. International Rubber (MIR) this weekend in the Windy City is sure to live up to even the loftiest of expectations.
The organizers of Mr. International Rubber 2010, the 13th annual gathering of hundreds of rubber and latex enthusiasts, have traded the contest’s previous haunt, Cell Block, for the bigger (though perhaps not badder) Center on Halsted. The change of venue has allowed for a larger vendor market that will feature up to 40 different retailers, and an increased spectator capacity in addition to a larger-than-ever prize purse - $10,000 for the winner.
Organizer William Schendel said the expansion of this year’s contest has been a long time coming, owing to overwhelming vendor and spectator interest. With only days to go before the action will begin, he said he is looking forward to a successful "family reunion" for fellow fetishists.
"This is an opportunity, once a year, for rubber guys to get together, hang out, catch up and meet new friends," Schendel said. "Sure, lots of guys will have great sex over the weekend, but the event exists as an opportunity for like-minded guys to get together."
That direction has come a long way from the contest’s original roots that date back to 1992’s Mr. Vulcan in Boston. When the event fell by the wayside, Ryan Johnson, the then-reigning champion from Chicago, came up with the idea to bring the event to his hometown. He renamed it MIR in 1997. And the event has since nestled into the Chicago scene as a kinky sister of sorts to the annual International Mr. Leather competition.
Though Schendel acknowledged MIR’s leather equivalent has been a sound resource in building its following in Chicago, he was quick to dispel long-standing misunderstandings the two contests are associated and the communities interchangeable.
"The distinction between leather and rubber comes down to the materials themselves," Schendel shared. "Leather has a hypermasculinity to it, while rubber itself is not as focused on that. Rubber has a more sensual nature. While leather is thick and tough, rubber transmits temperature easily and is more tactical in that regard, allowing you to taste, to smell."
And rubber has slowly grown in popularity among gay American men. While it garners a large following among heterosexual women - reportedly the most frequent consumers of latex - and in Europe, the trend lacks the ubiquity of leather daddy iconography. But it is certainly catching on, with the prospects looking good for the contest’s future.
"We maxed out the vendor market years ago, and this year’s space will allow us to expand on that more than ever," Schendel continued. "This is a year of possibilities for us, and we’re looking forward to showing people the direction we’re headed."
Log onto www.mirubber.com for more information.
Joseph covers news, arts and entertainment and lives in Chicago.
by Joseph Erbentraut
EDGE Boston
EDGE Great Lakes Regional Editor
Wednesday Nov 4, 2009
If size is the sort of thing that matters to you, this year’s Mr. International Rubber (MIR) this weekend in the Windy City is sure to live up to even the loftiest of expectations.
The organizers of Mr. International Rubber 2010, the 13th annual gathering of hundreds of rubber and latex enthusiasts, have traded the contest’s previous haunt, Cell Block, for the bigger (though perhaps not badder) Center on Halsted. The change of venue has allowed for a larger vendor market that will feature up to 40 different retailers, and an increased spectator capacity in addition to a larger-than-ever prize purse - $10,000 for the winner.
Organizer William Schendel said the expansion of this year’s contest has been a long time coming, owing to overwhelming vendor and spectator interest. With only days to go before the action will begin, he said he is looking forward to a successful "family reunion" for fellow fetishists.
"This is an opportunity, once a year, for rubber guys to get together, hang out, catch up and meet new friends," Schendel said. "Sure, lots of guys will have great sex over the weekend, but the event exists as an opportunity for like-minded guys to get together."
That direction has come a long way from the contest’s original roots that date back to 1992’s Mr. Vulcan in Boston. When the event fell by the wayside, Ryan Johnson, the then-reigning champion from Chicago, came up with the idea to bring the event to his hometown. He renamed it MIR in 1997. And the event has since nestled into the Chicago scene as a kinky sister of sorts to the annual International Mr. Leather competition.
Though Schendel acknowledged MIR’s leather equivalent has been a sound resource in building its following in Chicago, he was quick to dispel long-standing misunderstandings the two contests are associated and the communities interchangeable.
"The distinction between leather and rubber comes down to the materials themselves," Schendel shared. "Leather has a hypermasculinity to it, while rubber itself is not as focused on that. Rubber has a more sensual nature. While leather is thick and tough, rubber transmits temperature easily and is more tactical in that regard, allowing you to taste, to smell."
And rubber has slowly grown in popularity among gay American men. While it garners a large following among heterosexual women - reportedly the most frequent consumers of latex - and in Europe, the trend lacks the ubiquity of leather daddy iconography. But it is certainly catching on, with the prospects looking good for the contest’s future.
"We maxed out the vendor market years ago, and this year’s space will allow us to expand on that more than ever," Schendel continued. "This is a year of possibilities for us, and we’re looking forward to showing people the direction we’re headed."
Log onto www.mirubber.com for more information.
Joseph covers news, arts and entertainment and lives in Chicago.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Chicago
Three days! M and I are starting the packing challenge tonight. It's going to be interesting how much stuff we will want to bring for a four-day play trip as opposed to how much we'll actually be able to fit. Checking out the MIR website often, it is awesome to see the number of vendors and official and unofficial weekend events continuing to grow. It's going to be so awesome to see the tribe again! In addition, going to Chi-town with a bunch of first timers (both to Chicago and to MIR) will be fun too.
Monday, November 2, 2009
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