Lazy Friday, I think I'll go play some pool.

Enjoy the new podcast.

“Vintage Monk”

Emma’s comment yesterday about liking the leaner, meaner version of me reminded me that I had been promising Nerdy and Alex proof that I, like David Haselhoff, am huge in Germany.

Ok, well I’m not huge but from the photo my hair sure was.

This was me, circa 1999 at the height of the dot com boom. A German tech magazine came to Microsoft and spent the day with several of us. For whatever reason, they really liked me and kept snapping photos of me in my office. By office I mean a server room that housed the largest data repository of declassified KGB satellite imagery outside of Moscow. Back in those days I was the brier rabbit. Toss me into a room full of hardware and terabytes of data and ask me to make it all play nice together and I was in my element.

I was also 265 pounds and had the beginnings of a pretty healthy drug and alcohol problem. It would be another year before they diagnosed me with skyrocketing blood pressure and I would require medical treatment for stress.

It would be another 2 years before I left it all behind and took up the rope business.

Life is a funny thing some days, no? I think I’m probably under more stress now that I have ever been. The constant production push, the commitments made to my employees, that constant personal drive to be more than just some guy who sells rope… to be someone who made a difference.

Yet I'm healthier and happier than I have ever been.

OK, enough navel glazing for one day. I got rope to make and a date tonight!

Re-runs

I'm crunching away getting ready for the big show in Chicago next month. (10,000 feet down, another 10 to go!)

Based on the massive popularity of the new videos on youtube, 15,000 viewings in 10 days! I thought I might re-post some of the older videos there as well as some other new, non-educational ones that we have in the works. I'm still trying to figure out just how to organize the content, perhaps an instructional only channel and as well as an "entertainment" channel? However I slice it up, I'm going to be re-posting some stuff that some of you may have already seen. If not? Enjoy, this is a demo I did about 18 months ago?


Funny to watch it now, my rope style and confidence have changed drastically dramatically since this was shot. Of course there is the obvious stuff, this is not a scene, the demo bottom is a first timer and I'm going really slow and safe for her first time. Still, just the way the rope flows through my hands... it seems less, fluid. Like I'm still working with just my hands and brain, not using my whole body like I do now.

PS: If any of you know how I might be able to better intagrate my youtube channel listings into this blog so that folks could come to one place and see this blog AND a listing of current vids too, please ping me offline. Thanks!

It was seconds after midnight when I unclipped her wilting form from the suspension ring.

I should have taken my time and untied her from the rigging, extended the already long scene out a bit longer, but it was obvious that exhaustion was beginning to set in, fast. What started out at a “hey your cute, wanna get tied up” play date had turned into a sweaty, dungeon stopping clash of wills. This hyper-flexible gender queer girl took every ounce of sadism and inch of rope I had in my bag and greedily asked for me. Pushing her harder than I think she was ever pushed before, I in turn was pushed as well.

This was to become habit forming.

In a move that was part a show of macho bravado and a preview of what would become a common theme for us, I scoop her tiny frame up in my arms, her face pressed into the spread of my chest, and release the safety lines. Laying her down amongst the piles of rope and the shredded remains of her clothes, I can’t help but be amazed by this girl. More than just a well toned masochist, but rather there was something more about her. Something I could not quite put my finger on at the time, but now after a year I think I got it. She inspired me, more than just inspiring a response in my trousers, no this kid was something special.

Afterwards, as we sat together enjoying a moment of calm amongst the cacophony around us, I stroked her head and asked her what she needed for post care and she said to me. “I don’t really do aftercare, Sir”
“Thats ok,” I respond, “I don’t really do D/s. Say, I need to call a rope supplier in Germany tonight. I can give you a ride home or if you like you can come hang out at my shop while I do it?”
“Will there be coffee?”
“Most definitely”

And that, dear readers, was one year ago today.

Oh my what a strange and wonderful adventure it has been. Happy anniversary to my boy, Alex. While we have a relationship that does not fit into any of the standard “check boxes” and we are hard pressed to define just what it is we have to even ourselves, know this. Your Daddy loves and adores you. I’ve never been prouder of or more protective of another human that I of you.

I see in you the seeds of greatness, and I’m humbled that I can watch them grow.

Monk’s, yet to be named, Hot Pink Rope.



Here it is folks, done and ready for sale. Hot Pink. Pink as in pink like that little Japanese kitty that we can’t mention here due to fears of legal action. It took 4 years to perfect the recipe and it was worth the wait. This new dye process produces a vibrant color with out reducing the rope’s legendary fiber strength.

We do however still need to name the rope. Due to said legal issues, I can't just outright call it "Hello Kitty Pink" and since we have a long history of naming our ropes with catchy names I need to come up with something good. The perverts, or should I say "pro-verts" since they are all paid well, at the Abbey came up with a number of good ideas.


While we don't yet have a name, we do have plenty of rope in stock. So here it is folks, come get it.

Shibaricon Presale Begins 4/20/07! Pre-order your rope now, save 20% and enter to win 2 passes to Shibaricon 2008!

The time has come again, the annual gathering of rope fanatics that is Shibaricon is almost here. As usual, your friends (and proud event sponsors) TwistedMonk.Com will be there with lots and lots of rope! Now if you have been to the event in previous years you know, no matter how much rope we seem to bring we always run out of it! Don’t miss out on getting the rope you want for the event and save yourself a bundle.

Here is how it works: for 2 weeks, starting on Friday April 20, we will be accepting Shibaricon pre-orders. Call the Abbey at 206-938-7527 or email your shopping list to pre-orders@twistedmonk.com We will contact you with your discounted total and you are all set! Everyone who places a pre-order is automatically entered to win 2 full event passes to next year’s Shibaricon.

The Sticky Details:

Discount does not apply to Exotics, Clothing, DVD or book stock.

A 20% deposit is required at the time of order with the remainder due at delivery.

2 passes to Shibaricon 2008 will be given away via random drawing and announced at the event. Limit one entry per household.

Pre-sale begins at 9am on Friday 4/20/07 and ends at 6pm Friday 5/4/07

All preorders will be ready for pickup Friday 5/25/07 when the vendor space opens.

“isn’t there one damn song that can make me, breakdown and cry.”

Dear Monk,
I read your blog and love it, especially when you write about music. We are roughly the same age and I really identify with the songs you choose to write about. I’m curious however, you write about songs you to play to or work to. What song(s) make you want to cry?

Yours truly,
-R***

Music to bawl too? (As opposed to music to ball to, I guess? Yeah, bad joke I know but I had to take it.) Hmm, good question. I’ll confess that while I tend to gravitate towards more aggressive, driven music as opposed to say more introspective songs I do have quite a few tracks from artists like The Magnetic Fields and others. So I’m not all agro-fist pumping rock all the time. Just that is more where my tastes tend to lie.

That said, yeah there are a few songs that can pull a tear from my eye. One of them I just heard on the radio on the way home from an all too short date with my other partner, Matisse. “Starlight” from Muse. While a very up-tempo and amazingly composed song, the chorus gets me every time. That sorrow filled call of “I just wanted to hold, you in my arms…” is so filled with longing. It just seems to grab me, deep.

See, the one aspect of being poly and having multiple, committed relationships is that there is just never enough time. Never enough time to share with the ones you love. Add the small matter of my little rope company demanding a massive amount of my time and attention and I’m always left feeling this lingering guilt that I’m short changing them. Not giving those I love all the time and attention that they deserve. Sure they can tell me this is not the case, but when you love someone, I mean really love someone, there is just never enough hours in the day or enough ways to tell them that you care.

So when I hear the chorus, that sad longing in his voice is my longing, tugging at me. The longing to hold, protect, laugh with, make love to, or just share the same air as they do for just a wee bit longer and knowing that you just can’t … it just kills me everytime.

The only other song that consistently gets me is “Behind Blue Eyes” but The Who.

In other music related news, can anyone help me find 2 songs that I can’t seem to track down via the usual sources? The first one is “Time in a Bottle” by Jim Croce and the other is “Love Roller Coaster” as covered by the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

I'm long overdue for a real post.

Tending to too many fires on the homefront right now. In the meantime enjoy not one, not two but ten.. thats right TEN instructional videos. That we recently completed. Based on the huge popularity of the first three, we took the liberty to post them directly to youtube so you can link and re-post them if you like.

Enjoy!

Random Notes on a Thursday

The new hoodies are here and while being extra cool, perhaps it is not the wisest move to wear one while decked out in knee high Doc Martins and Black BDU pants tucked into said boots. Well at least not when going to the bank. Makes them a bit nervous.

I need to write more about the new hand made silk rope we have in stock. The supply on this is limited, so jump now. I will NOT be taking this rope to Shibaricon.

Personal to BRjr and PS, I got your e-mail but your mail host is rejecting my response. Long story short, thank you! I am humbled and honored. I will have a small hook on hold for you.

Speaking of Shibaricon, the annual pre-sale will be starting soon so keep an eye out for that. Also, I’m trying to work my magic and bring not only all my regular stock, but also 2 brand new, never before seen exotics. Wish me luck and hope that customs does not raises a fuss.

Lastly, I loved all the comments about “you know you are an adult when…” I think the common thread of them all was "you can make fun of yourself”

This one is for Nerdy and Alex.

While both Nerdy and Alex are very intelligent, capable and mature individuals, I tend to give them a fair amount of good-natured ribbing about them not quite yet being “adults”. Sure, they are both over the age of 18, but there are certain… things. Rites of passage perhaps that we all must pass in order to obtain the coveted mantle of “adulthood”

And so, with tongue planted firmly in cheek, I give you Monks list of:
You know you are an “adult” when…
You use “product” on your hair.
Taking naps is a good thing to do.
Getting something in the mail is no longer an exiting thing.
When going to concerts you look around the place to make sure that you are not the oldest one there.
The music you once held near and dear as an anthem of your rebellious youth is now being used to sell something. Something expensive.

Care to add to the list?

Back in the saddle and already behind schedule


Well I'm back from taking a few days off, ahh that was nice too. When folks ask me what I did, I smile and tell them "I slept for 15 hours today!"

decadence, pure and simple.

Of course I'm back at work and scrambling. Big week, ya know? The obvious one is tax day, that looming deadline that sends even the most stoic of souls into a panic.

Another deadline that is coming up is the Shibaricon registration deadline. After April 15th the cost for this event jumps to so if you happen to still be on the fence about going, don't drag your feet for much longer! We will be starting our annual Shibaricon pre-sale sale too here real soon. Stay tuned for that.

Closer to home, if you are in Seattle and are curious about some of the topics I talk about, Babeland (Seattle’s premiere sex toy store and educational resource) will be hosting one of their excellent "SM 101" classes this weekend. Here is the info:

S/M 101
Sunday, April 15th, 7:30-9:30pm, $30
Do you find yourself wishing your lover's soft caress would turn into a
spank? Would you like to share fantasies with your lover that are kinky or taboo? Come discuss the pleasures of S/M with Babeland Sex Educators in an open and supportive environment. We will introduce common S/M vocabulary, teach basic safety and take a tour of our S/M toy collection. We'll also get a chance to sample some safe, sane, and consensual sensation play.

Stop by Babeland at 707 E. Pike St. on Capitol Hill, call 206-328-2914 or visit www.babeland.com/events to reserve workshop tickets.
Singles and couples of every gender and sexual orientation are invited to attend our workshops and events (18+ only). Buy workshop tickets in advance and get a $5 coupon to use on purchases the night of the workshop. ASL interpretation available upon request. Sliding scale available.

Small world moment #1, Tambo and I took a similar class at Babeland about 8 years ago when we were first discovering our kink.

Small world moment #2, the individual who is teaching the class, not only works for Babeland but also works for me at the Abbey part time too.

When it comes to photography, I’m a huge fan of Michele Serchuk’s work. Besides having the gift of making me look like a bad-ass rope top, her gifts lie not in the posing and framing of the shot. Rather, she sits back and lets the image unfold. Capturing the interplay between those in the shot, focusing on their connetion and chemistry. When she photographed Tambo and I last year, she managed to capture the addictive sound of Tambo's laughter and display it as an image. She is one of the few photographers that I have a "any time, any place, any where" agreement with.

After seeing alex and I play recently in Boston she was rather exited to photograph us, calling our play “inspirational”

See alex and I have a unique bond, a dynamic chemistry that is near impossible to explain. If I posted every day for a month on the subject, I don’t think I would quite get it right. In fact, I’ve sat at this keyboard for the last 20 minutes trying to start the next sentence, to try to frame what you are about to see next. Fuck it. Let the photos speak for themselves.

to say our play is "intense" would be an understatment.

my alex, the way he trusts me is like a drug.

To be honest, this one scared me the first time I saw it. The best way to describe this would be, "I'm Daddy, endanger what I love and you will answer to me"


These were just the sample shots, teasers she sent to keep us at bay. If these are the teasers, I’m eagerly waiting to see what else she captured.

Day off

Nerdy stole my keys.

Not all of them mind you, just the important ones. The keys to the Abbey were missing, in their place, a note “If you contact me more than once today regarding anything work related I will speak in pig Latin and sing made up songs about rainbows”.

Today, after what has felt like months, I am taking time off. Not just a day, no a whole block of days. See, I’ve been trying to not talk about the death march, that constant push to get it all done, the long days (and nights) that are required to keep the dream called TwistedMonk.Com moving forward. Ever forward, days on end with few breaks and always the constant push to do more.

I don’t know about the rest of you, but I get pretty bored of me always complaining about all the work that needs to be done! Needless to say, the last 6 odd weeks have been flat out murder both physically and mentally and I can hear the drums of the Shibaricon march just over the horizon.

This year’s push will be legendary, even for me.

Now, now is the perfect time to stop, breath and take a much-needed break. I’m not sure just what I will do with 4 whole days off, but so far I’ve laughed, smiled, been kissed, comforted, been comforted, flirted in the afternoon sun, spent hours just sipping coffee and surfing for new music, relived a childhood joy (played with baby goats), drank whiskey, worked my muscles till they shook in protest, read a book and landed a huge order (really, I didn’t work they just sent it to me!) Wanna know the really awesome part?

The day is far, far from over.

"so how does the new color look against skin?"

You tell me.

I'm pretty fair skinned and like the way it looks, the rope will look AMAZING against darker skin or mixed with black clothing. I'm also sporting the the new 2007 merit badge tank top. This will be avaliable for sale on the site (along with the hoodie and new silk rope) this weeked.

Get it while it is hot, the new Color of the Month is here!

It would be impossible to stock all the unique colors that folks ask for on a regular basis. So instead we now offer a new and unique color every month.

Spring has finally come to Seattle. The long days of rain have given way to sunny afternoons and even in the gritty industrial wasteland where the Abbey is located, wild flowers are popping up in between the railroad tracks that run along side the building. To celebrate I wanted to make something golden yellow, a rich buttery color that would look good on skin with our being too harsh or bright.

“Buttery” is a great one word description for this color, of course we wanted to avoid the obvious “Last Tango in Paris” joke, so instead we opted to call this one.


“Spreads Like Butter”



This is a limited, one time color run. Once the color has been sold out, it is sold out for good.

Somedays the world is just too cool for words.

Have you seen the photo that MM posted on her blog?

Yeah, wow. Just call me the "luckiest secondary partner ever"

Whatever I did in my past life to deserve a lover like this must have been pretty impressive. I'll write something with a bit more "weight" later, really I will.

I always thought that if I were to have a super power, it would be the power to always find an open parking spot.