It seems there's been a lapse in Salon Blog Tours lately due to various other endeavors and the holidays so I thought I'd give a quick run-through of the SRO Low Down for the benefit of my readers.

As always, The Reverse Cowgirl offers a Mega-Meal of groovin' graphics and witty comments. Is it porn? Who cares?

Tales of Drudgery and Boredom is written in another language and I think it's Swedish. It may be full of fascinating stories and whatnot but I have no idea.

Real Live Preacher continues his heart-wrenching tale of a man's internal struggle with the forces of good and evil. Minus the Elves and the CGI but definately Tom Hanks material.

Filchyboy has two blogs on Salon, both named Filchyboy which can be confusing, but he's cute and clever and in this world that goes a long way.

Miss Feva of Commentary By Miss Feva does not shave her legs, is a NPR Groupie and only drives Stick. Oh, and she's not a Dyke. Regardless, she's guaranteed to give you the Straight Shit.

The Julie/Julia Project is a Food Blog relating the heart-wrenching tale of a woman's internal struggle with the forces of Gouda and Chervil. Just kidding. She cooks with a vengeance and does wrestle with her conscience over the killing of Lobsters. Guess who wins?

Mark Hoback of Fried Green al-Qaedas is apparently in the midst of an Artistic Maelstrom where he's creating something fictional. Get Ringside Seats and watch Art beat the shit out of Sloth.

Well, there ya go. This was actually kind of fun. There are others I read as well (CJ's Bullhorn, Paulapalooza) but I won't talk about them because they're my little secrets. As for the rest, you're on your own. Good luck.

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10:18:49 AM    sro home /

There's a current article in Salon where Charles Taylor waxes eloquent over the implied eroticism of current Louis Vuitton ads staged on a train. It's amusing and slightly embarassing to hear how he gushes over the supposed seduction of the images and the imagined scenario they imply. While his effusion is predictable in a horny school-boy kind of way, in terms of the lure of advertising, he misses the point and the ads are mediocore at best.

The major downfall of the campaign is the banality of the product. An old-school LV baguette bag as shown is hardly a coveted item, more like something you'd grab at a Duty Free Shop in a Tokyo airport. As I mentioned in my review of the December Vanity Fair which included this picture series, while LV has dibs on the Monogram Market, the Sprouse bags were the collector's items which truely exuded the Must Have Vibe so important to the world of fashion. The bag in the train photos seems plucked fresh out of plastic and thrust as a last thought into the sultry ambiance created around the model.

If you really want to see sexy ads that imply a seductive story, look at this Versace ad shot last year by Steven Meisel. Yes, the nudity is part of the erotic appeal but there's more than that. In fact, the idea at first glance seems hackneyed - Bruce Weber did it in the early nineties in his "Rio" book in black and white. Here, however, color saturates the shot as Donatella Versace's clothes and persona saturate the dynasty she oversees. Unlike the LV ads, the product becomes a part of the story, not merely a prop around which the story revolves. Our center of attention alights on the stern Emma Peel-ish girl sitting casually on the beach chair, daring us to derail her mission of style. Note the thin cut of the arms and the long hem of the pants. Amidst the non-chalant nakedness of those around her, her exhibitionistic denial implies complete control. Her shoes are not Glamazon spikes but practical yet undeniably chic sneakers fit for jumping from four-star hotel balconies to a waiting helicopter.

The photos were taken in Los Angeles yet both the casual nudity and the vibrant color speak of other Jet Set Locals - Rio or the South of France perhaps - and as such, the preferred demographic (and qualified clientel) inhabit resorts where money is no object and morals are slippery whims of the rich.

It's James Bond for the non-plussed, it's escapist fantasy for the bored nouveau riche and as far as sensuality goes, it's the new millenium's take on power as the ultimate aphrodisiac. If you want to get a woody from both fashion and the dream created, here's a great place to blow your wad.

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