Image by Captive Girls, @.

I haven’t done one of these in a while; let me distract you for a bit….

* Fun stuff: Mind Fetish Bedding Company is introducing a huge new line of high-quality leather and rubber housewares to their inventory, so customers can better integrate fetish into their homes — as if a visit to the wooden spoon section of Bed Bath and Beyond or a trip to Design Within Reach wasn’t enough to make some of us want to play house… “Russell said he plans to expand his company to offer a full line of fetish and kinky housewares, but for now is focusing on what he calls two of the most overlooked rooms in most men’s houses: the bathroom and bedroom.” Link to Xbiz article/press release, link to Mind Fetish.

* In case you missed it, the DC Madam’s phone list is now a searchable index. Look for your favorite politicians and Fox News pundits.

* A lube to prevent HIV? Yeah, I’ve heard that song before and it didn’t sound good at all. Good luck trying to pass off that you’ll market it to South(ern) Africa, where sexual customs hold wet sex in disgust and disdain, and women dry out their vaginas with chemicals to be desirable. Pay attention! Update: I wrote “South” when I meant to write “Southern”, though I linked to correct information in this post (and I also misspelled “heard”, 3am notwithstanding). But my mistake was offensive to at least one South Africa resident who wrote, “While it’s possible that there are isolated communities in South Africa that practice the custom, and it’s possible that the huge influx of refugees from Zimbabwe into South Africa have had some influence on local custom, I’m not aware of any studies or news reports supporting this. In the absence of further evidence to the contrary, I think that in this instance you are giving South Africa a bad, and probably undeserved rap.” My apologies. Still, read more about dry sex in Southern Africa and the problems it creates for HIV prevention in this old but good piece in the Village Voice.

* Speaking of sexual customs:Vegansexuals — not just what’s for dinner. A piece about vegans who avoid sex with meat eaters — who really tastes better, anyway? (via sweet Viviane)

* Don’t miss one of my favorite Sex Blog Roundups at Fleshbot to date: my sex blogger friend Jefferson put together Business As Usual, six great recent blog posts by a variety of sex workers writing about their — jobs. Yay for lap dancers, porn store clerks, and peepshow girls!

* Gay, lesbian, straight… there’s one straight male porn performer everyone seems to agree is super-hot, and that’s Mr. Marcus. Eros Zine has a great interview with Mr. Marcus up right now, which makes me like him more than ever. He talks about his first porn experiences, HIV in the industry, race and more.