Eros Unbound

Squirrel hoards acorns...

Maple leaves in shades of red

Quilt the forest floor.

In other words, I would like to announce that I have started a photo blog on Tumblr, entitled Eros Unbound.  My initial aim with Eros Unbound was merely to have an easy way to tag photos that I could eventually use here. I still see that as its primary role. Tumblr is a very convenient platform for catching photos that I intend use for one purpose or another (er...or yet another).  I didn't even intend to publicize Eros Unbound at first.  However, as I accumulate more photos there than I will ever be able to use for Ecce Spanko, and as I have gained a real appreciation for Tumblr-style blogging, I decided to tell you all about it.

I don't want this announcement to be seen as a move away from Ecce Spanko or anything like that.  I realize my frequency of posting here waxes and wanes.  But I remain committed to Ecce Spanko, at least for the time being.

Let me explain my initial objection to Tumblr and my coming around.  On the seedier side of Poetry, there is the cluttered neighborhood of Flarf, a shanty-town with little rhyme or reason in its composition.  When I first arrived at Tumblr, it reminded me of Flarf, only with many more brightly colored walls.  Neighbors pillaged neighbors.  Very little original construction seemed to go on.  But, unlike Flarf, Tumblr was pretty, the way the soulless sprawl of a McMansion-ville is still pleasing to the eye.  So I stayed awhile and roamed the streets.

On my walks, I sometimes came upon works of true architecture, and the streets from these often led to other beauties.  Soon I began to see that Tumblr, just as its neighbors Blogspot and Wordpress, has scattered among the sprawl quite a few masterpieces.  In an Erotic Garden, I found a florist who mixes original seedlings with flowers and bushes, light and dark, replanted from elsewhere.  I always look forward to strolling through her garden to see what has blossomed, even if I at times have a prickly reaction to the phallic cacti.  From there, the road led me to the playful Aphrodite, who has constructed a marvelous multimedia manor.  From there, I toured the concept art and porn of Art or Porn.  And then there are the boldly visual estates of Erotic Guru and Simple Wishes, after which I have modeled my own home.  There are other gems, of course, you need only patience and a good pair of walking shoes to find them.

I'll break the metaphor here.  In principle, Tumblr blogs need not be any different from Blogspot or Wordpress blogs.  However, design affects usage patterns, and Tumblr's design encourages the reblogging (and reblogging and reblogging) of images.  But there's art here, or at least expression.  Whenever I come across a new Tumblr blog, I immediately go to the archives page.  Even if there is not a convenient "Archive" link on the blog's main page, you can almost always get there by sticking "/archive" at the end of the blog's main URL.  What you see is often a stunning montage of the blogger's travels, a patchwork quilt of three-click reactions as he scrolled through his dashboard feed.  I invite you to take a look at my archive to see my reactions--and attractions.  Nature, red, water, booze, skin, woman, cheeks, smiles.  Oh yeah, and spanking.

I am sad to say that, since I first drafted this post, Chocolate Puss has closed her Erotic Garden.  This is quite a loss for all of us.  I wish her well in whatever pursuits she is undertaking.

As for Ecce Spanko, I hope to have some more posts ready soon.  On Thursday, I will be participating for the first time in Love Our Lurkers.  My next canto of the Ecce Spanko poem is almost finished and I should have another Ekphrassis post soon as well.  For now, please check out Eros Unbound.