The Pleasure Chest is celebrating sex in our city by giving 25 percent off on in-store purchases to buyers who come with a Sex and the City 2 ticket stub.

What’s the connection? If you were a fan of the show, surely you recall that episode where Charlotte discovered the pleasures of the Rabbit. That store she got the vibrator was the Pleasure Chest. Of course, that was the store on 156 7th Avenue in New York. But, hey, 7733 Santa Monica Boulevard isn’t too shabby.

Offer ends on the first of July!

Via WeHo Daily.

Last weekend I found myself in a room of eager submissives and Doms attending a workshop on pain management. This was part of DomCon LA — a four-day series of events that is the biggest and most well-organized annual BDSM convention in Los Angeles. The overall event is geared to Dominants, both pros and lifestylers. But it’s a feast for submissives like myself, who melt into a puddle of bliss relinquishing power to a Dom. I’m a sucker for the type of man who will slam you down, pin your arms behind you and use you like a piece of meat — and this convention had plenty of them!

DomCon includes educational presentations, demos, hands-on technique training, a couture show, a gay wedding, a fabulous array of BDSM fashion, toys and lifestyle accessories for sale, play parties, a Mistresses’ tea, and the Fetish Ball. The event is produced by legendary male-to-female pro-Domme Mistress Cyan. Mistress Cyan was the 2009 Pantheon of Leather Woman of the Year, she runs a production company and a professional dungeon; and she is a successful bondage and fetish model and actress. Kinksters come from all over to attend DomCon so it’s a huge social event, great for people-watching and a lot of fun.

The scene in the pain management class: A “baby girl” (actually a twenty-something) sitting on the floor leaning on the thigh of her mommy Mistress, wearing a ruffled short dress. Her blonde hair was swept up and held in place with big pink bows.

A guy in full black latex suit with lace-up arm gloves, boots, police hat and cop sunglasses sat next to a heavyset Latina.

A handful of men and women seemed of ambiguous orientation but with most others, it was fairly obvious from their body language: straight or gay, Dom or sub.

A Domme, with hair pulled back neatly in a slick bun, sat behind the presenter, her presence intimidating. She wore a waist-cincher severely tightened to emphasize her enormous (and probably fake) breasts. I had no trouble avoiding eye contact with her — it was hard not to stare at those breasts, ready to pop out of her tight white blouse.

The presenter, an alluringly feminine blonde submissive, struggled to give her talking points, as her Domme repeatedly interrupted her to add information. The power struggle was comical but the Domme eventually took her seat and let her sub be in charge to present the material. She covered many of the same points I covered in my last article on processing pain, but added some colorful examples and encouraged attendees to share their own methods and experiences.

Outside in the convention hall, goth babes in tight, shiny latex dresses and all manner of piercings in their faces strolled alongside lanky pale men with dyed black locks. Many had floggers tucked in their pant pockets. In one booth, a man had a girl bent over a spanking bench and was spanking her vigorously. Yummy smacking sounds rang out but the girl hardly made a whimper. He had her positioned so her red ass faced out to the aisle where people could best see her.

Vendors sold leather paddles, whips, collars, jewelry, DVDs, dungeon furniture and fetish wear. I tried on a waist-cincher and the lovely girl manning the booth tied it up tightly on me. I saw we’d drawn a crowd of men — and realized I needed to own that waist-cincher!

I ran into friends and got to meet several people I knew from social networking sites but hadn’t yet met in person, including another writer for Sex and the 405. So much fun!

That night I met up with Sir M and Mistress L at the DomCon play party. It was a fetish dress up affair — meaning that half the people there weren’t really kinksters; they were club kids who liked to appropriate the fashion. Sir M grumbled about this. Case in point: an attractive trendy girl wearing a cocked fedora and super cute latex dress walked through the dance floor with a guy in tow — on his hands and knees crawling right behind her. I assumed she was a Domme but then noticed she was wearing a collar. In this lifestyle collars are reserved for submissives to display that they are owned by their Dom. I imagined the BDSM fashion police chasing her down, hog-tying her and spanking her for this transgression.

We peeked in one of the play rooms and saw a crowd watching Mistress Cyan at work with her single-tail whip, playing with a female sub. Her skills with the whip are legendary and it was a beautiful sight to watch as she concentrated on placing each crack of the whip in exactly the right spot with the proper intensity. Undoubtedly she could easily split someone in two with that whip if she wanted to.

Sir M had me strip naked and restrained me to a giant spider web made of chain. I tried my best to use some of the pain management techniques I’d learned earlier that day as he whacked me harshly with his leather paddle. My breath was quick and shallow and I tried to consciously control it. Once my breathing got slower and deeper I was able to deflect the pain more effectively.

He saw me responding well, and switched over to flogging me. Adrenaline flowed through and heightened the sensation of each blow as it landed on me. Several couples patiently waited their turn to use the web in this crowded room.

We moved over to a leather bench and I laid on my back, anxious and excited. Sir M was going to do one of his famous bonfires on my body. A large crowd gathered to watch because the effect is quite dramatic. Just as the flames danced down my torso we were told by club management “no fires!” — sorry, too late!

The next day was the most crowded at the convention. I greeted Sir M as usual by kissing his feet, then did my best to shadow him and stay on his left side.

We attended David Farrah’s excellent workshop on how to attract a play partner. Farrah examined universal theories of attraction and punctuated each point with humor and audience interaction.

He noted that facial expressions can add to or detract from attractiveness, so he advised us:

“Be happy, it’s attractive! Carry a joke with you, laugh!”

To demonstrate this theory, he had Mr. L.A. Leather Bear 2010 read a piece of paper. Mr Bear is a burly, brooding bruiser. As he read it silently, his face lit up and he smirked because he knew he was being made to laugh. It was a silly joke but it proved Farrah’s point.

(The joke was: “A guy walks into a bar and the bartender says to the man, ‘Hey guy, you’ve got a steering wheel down your pants.’ The guy replies ‘Yeah I know. Its driving me nuts!’”)

DomCon made me smile, made me scream, made me laugh, made me cry. It was very, very good.

Daisy TraLaLA (@daisytralala) is a saucy Angelino kinkster who glides with ease between the worlds of tech, art, cuisine, electronica and dungeon parties. Check back every week for posts from her journey to the most divine surrender. First three images by Daisy, last two by Gerry Koehler.

Last night was the ceremony for the second annual Streamy Awards, which, for all of you non-geeks out there, is an award show for web shows. Think about it like an Emmys for the internet (and if you don’t know what the Emmys are, well, geez, we can’t help you). We’re not in web video, but we sent out our editrix (who’s a renown geekarizer and fancies herself a member of Los Angeles’ tech set, the poor thing) to feel out the event and come back with some juicy gossip.

She didn’t. Nevertheless, the L.A. web cognoscenti are on fire in various social networks today in regard to the award show.

Apparently, while our editrix was enjoying a tryst in the ladies’ lavatory — the award show was collapsing into a festival of vulgarity.

Here’s what everyone is upset about:

Lisa Nova and Chris Hardwick were molested onstage by other members of the webvid glitterati:

Streamy-veteran Felicia Day was accosted by David Faustino in nothing but his underwear while retrieving her award. Screengrab below from Web Series Today, via NewTeeVee:

When technical difficulties ensued, two men ran through the crowd naked, stopping only to high-five Kevin Pereira, host of G4’s Attack of the Show. They remain unidentified. Screengrab from @Kiddsock:

According to Garrett Garese, founder of Spytap Industries, the ceremony also involved a fake porn producer receiving “a ‘lifetime achievement award’ and repeatedly uttering variations on the phrase ‘oceans of semen.’”

Mathieas at Web Series Today makes mention of more of the shenanigans, including “numerous masturbation jokes” during the opening as well as a “five minute bit about vaginal reconstruction.”

Many in the industry are issuing apologies to their viewers today, for asking them to tune in to the event on Ustream. We like director Blake Calhoun’s take on the whole thing: “I liken this misstep to Kevin Smith’s early movie career. He made Clerks. Was a big hit. Went out and made Mallrats next. Was a huge flop. But then he made Chasing Amy… Let’s hope next year’s Streamy Awards is our Chasing Amy (without all the dick jokes of course).”

We’re into those dick-jokes, of course, and hope the event won’t be entirely sanitized. But there’s a place and time and proper method of execution for everything, creatures. Don’t ever forget that.

Anyway, here’s Hollywood saying “fuck you” right back: “Technical difficulties plagued the second annual Streamy Awards on Sunday night, somewhat fitting for a ceremony that honors web series.” And so the web’s battle to be taken seriously marches on.

PS: we’re kidding about the tryst. Our editrix was charging her iPhone. Hey, have a laugh, we all survived the Streamys and a little glitch is not going to stop the web’s content creators from doing what they do best: keep on rocking.

Photo of Orpheum Theater in the banner montage by Billy Jensen. Screengrabs and videos are linked to their source within the post.

The line circled around the block to get into the Music Box Friday night in anticipation of Devil’s Playground’s sold out Star Warz, an evening of burlesque and cabaret. The popularity of the first performance prompted Producer Courtney Cruz to find a larger venue for the encore. Using the Fonda allowed Creative Director Carlos Flores to develop a more robust production with a new set, revamped costumes for the original acts, from new characters (Death Star striptease?) down to Jawa stagehands to immerse the audience into George Lucas’ beloved space opera.

Han Solo’s inner monologue (Mathew McCullum) while suspended in carbonite acted as the night’s MC, introducing each act. I’ve always wondered what Han was thinking frozen in his captive state, and I was more than eager to see the girls bare all for a very eager audience.

First up was the Sith Lord Darth Vader (Charlotte La Belle). She spun her cape and stripped down to disco with light saber in hand, followed by doing the Charleston to the Mos Eisley Cantina theme. There was no doubt the Dark Lord knows how to handle her light saber and was not shy to show what she can do with it.

A shadowy figure then emerged from the audience and it was none other than Han Solo’s captor, Boba Fett (Audrey DeLuxe) who surveyed the scene before shimmying her jet pack off — much to the audience’s delight. As more was revealed of the bounty hunter, I couldn’t help but wish I had a bounty on my head.

Back on stage, the silhouette of a familiar figure behind a scrim appeared and C3PO (Lucy Fur) emerged. I’m sure I’d lift any droid ban in my bar after seeing 3PO’s clever cable corset that was quickly thrown off and while never breaking the droid’s robotic movements as she gyrated fringe and tassels all over the stage to Kraftwerk. I was never too fond of the protocol droid, but her extended tassel twisting certainly got my panties in a twist.

Immediately after 3PO’s exit, the motionless R2D2 (Sin Fisted) sprang to life when the front panel of Star Wars’ beloved droid broke free from her confining shell. She went wild, stripping herself from her cable confines and contorting herself, confusing limb from lines. It didn’t take her long to make it to the pole to and spin to the music, alternately contorting and climbing to take more spins around the pole.

After a brief intermission, we were taken to Jabba the Hutt’s lair as a cloaked figure lurked amongst audience members. Scarlet O’Gasm put any doubts of a sexy Hutt to rest as she seductively writhed and wriggled within a cocoon of balloons before emerging with several balloons attached all over her body. She then proceeded to teasingly pop them one by one, with help a Gorg to reveal a barely there chain bikini.

The cloaked figure soon emerged to grab hold of the chain around Jabba’s neck, and proceeded to drag the stripped down gangster away. As this was happening, I became giddier by the minute at the thought witnessing the ultimate role reversal of master and slave as the cloaked figure revealed herself as Slave Leia (Olivia Bellafontaine). No longer the only Star Wars fantasy figure, the bikini-clad rebel had her work cut out for her and proved to us there was even more to be lusted over in this Alderaan princess as she rocked her hairography and showed off her flexibility to Sweet Tooth by Marilyn Manson.

New to the Star Warz show, Daisy Meadows developed her Chewy routine after seeing the original performance at Bordello, and incorporated bathing in a claw foot tub, reminiscent of burlesque routines of old. It was difficult to imagine a Chewbacca routine that wouldn’t involve Wookiee shaving, and we got just that — our favorite Wookiee sharing an intimate moment as she bathed and shaved all that fur away… while never taking off the mask.

It was useless for me to even attempt at keeping with the storyline at this point of the show as it came time to what everyone was waiting for: the emergence of the show’s mascot Courtney Cruz as an Imperial Stormtrooper. The crowd went wild, as this clone was unlike any other as she slowly and removed one piece of armor at a time before ending her routine with a bang of her glitter cannon into the audience.

Not to be upstaged by her predecessor, the Death Star appeared from the back of the stage. The battle station then sprouted long, sexy legs as it floated and spun through space until it exploded to reveal an Imperial Guard (Miss Mia Vixen). The use of an umbrella to represent the Death Star blew my mind – using the underside of the umbrella to reveal the explosion of the Death Star as well as the burlesque dancer.

It was more than apparent the Fonda was filled with devout fans of the Star Wars franchise, as evidenced by audience members dressing in character for the show. It was also clear the women on the stage had a love and appreciation for the series as well, as it showed in the attention they put to their costumes and mannerisms (C3PO still moving in her awkward, jerky motion well after curtain call), something that made the evening that much more enjoyable.

If the ladies of Devil’s Playground are as big comic book nerds as they are Star Wars nerds (and it seemed like they do with their teaser glimpse of Catwoman on the alcove), we’ll all be in for a treat when they present Comic Book Vixens on June 20.

Corazon Rios (@lessthan3isme) has lived in the L.A. area for most of her life. She’s a self-described overexcitable fangirl of life trying to follow her bliss. A connoisseur of the fabulous in town and geek in her own right, we recruited her on Twitter to cover the Star Warz burlesque show on our behalf.

Image from Courtney Cruz.

Everyone has been asking whether anyone from Sex and the 405 is representing in Austin right now. Sorry to disappoint! We aren’t–we’re stuck here making the magic you love!

Our editrix did make a funny infographic that we thought was worthwhile sharing:

If that’s how it is, maybe we’re glad we’re missing out. We miss you, though! Come home soon and don’t get arrested!

Sketch image used in infographic by Mike Rohde.

Palihouse knows it’s not just sweet nothings we want. To satisfy as many tastes as possible their couples package ($570 without dinner, $745 with) for Valentine’s comes equipped with either of the following choices: a love box or a pain box.

Love Box:

Pain Box:

Take a closer look here.

Can’t afford it? Make your own!

Tip via UrbanDaddy.

Shopping, eating, dishing about relationships (the good, the bad, the ugly), swag and professional advice — instead of ignoring Valentine’s Day if you’re single and have no plans, you can run straight into it and gorge yourself on all kinds of treats and giggles.

Julie Spira, author of The Perils of Cyber-Dating will be talking about how to create a profile on dating sites that gets responses; Pat Allen, author of Getting to “I Do” will be talking about getting the relationship you want; Lucia, the cougar dating expert will be talking about dating younger; and a man panel will feature a handful of different men to shed some insight into the perplexing male mind.

In short, it’s a veritable feast of fine entertainment.

There’s also a boutique, a raffle of a “Cyber Love Basket” filled with goodies like a bottle of Vueve Clicquot bubbly and tantra lessons gift certificate, and a book signing.

Hey, if you can’t beat them, join them, right?

Tickets are $70 and available here. For more information, see the event Facebook page.

Got your own event in Los Angeles? Tell us!

Heads up, book sluts! Thousands of slightly damaged and display copies from the delightfully raunchy Taschen are on sale this weekend at super low prices–some as low as 75 percent. OMG! Instant orgasm!

Taschen Beverly Hills: 354 N. Beverly Drive, Beverly Hills, CA 90210
Saturday, January 23rd, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Sunday, January 24th, 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Taschen Hollywood: Farmers Market, 6333 W. 3rd Street, CT-10, Los Angeles, CA 90036
Saturday, January 23rd, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Sunday, January 24th, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

This event is worldwide! Looking for other cities? Check out Taschen.com!

This is a blog about sex, but we like to focus on everything that leads to and follows after sex, too. To not do so would be an abrogation of our responsibilities to you, dear readers, and that just won’t do.

One of the things we set out to do when we first launched Sex and the 405–other than inform you about sex and relationships and inspire you to give and get some often and well–is to bring a little charm back to living. So it should come as no surprise that we’re now pimping I See Rude People: One woman’s battle to beat some manners into impolite society by Amy Alkon.

The Los Angeles Press Club is throwing her a soiree at World Café in Santa Monica next Wednesday, January 27.

WHEN: Wednesday, January 27, from 6:30 to 9:30PM
6:30 – 7:30PM: complimentary wine and hors d’oeuvres
7:30: reading, followed by open bar and more hors d’oeuvres

WHERE: World Café, Santa Monica
2820 Main Street (at Ashland Way)
Santa Monica, CA 90405
310.392.1661

To RSVP, go here.

I don’t know about you, but it could be a charming little date on top of being, you know, a book by a brilliant, absolutely hilarious woman.