So, what am I going to write about here? In good philosophical fashion, I will not address the issue directly. Instead, I will launch into an extended monologue on a seemingly unrelated subject and give you the answer at the very end (by which time most readers have forgotten the original query). There is actually some merit to this. Often, the key to getting a good answer lies in simply asking the right question. Which is, in the present case, how did this blog get started?
I've been surfing the internet for almost ten years (barely left the house since – I mean, what for, except groceries?). Naturally, I also searched out a lot of erotic spanking material. It's a fascination I've had since childhood - even though, or maybe because, I was never spanked as a kid. But that is another story. On the net, I not only found a lot of masturbatory fun, but also a virtual spanking community that was interesting and thought-provoking and inspiring on a purely human level.
Over the past decade, I watched this subculture grow from a handful of galleries and story collections to the myriad of video producers, high-content paysites, forums and blogs we have today. I also progressed from being a mere voyeur and became an active disciple, starting to meet people and gathering my own spanking experiences, both dominant and submissive (I had always been a switch in my fantasies, too).
I don't think I would have become active without the internet community, the advice and self-exploration I got there – at least, I would probably have made the step much later. I still watch a lot of spanking movies and read the forums and blogs regularly. And I've made some great online friends, some of whom I got to meet in real life. I feel very fortunate and thankful for that. It's no surprise that I eventually developed the desire to contribute more and give something back.
I first got the idea of doing some kind of website well over a year ago. But being the German academic type, I don't rush into anything – I ponder and deliberate and vacillate and come up with all sorts of schemes that I knock down again the next week. That's a big thing with us Europeans, the "pre-planning" stage. It's a great work avoidance tactic (and a nonsense word, by the way – what is it supposed to mean, to plan something before you plan it?). Americans, on the other hand, are much more prone to rushing in head-first without a clue as to what the hell they are doing. But at least they get the damn thing off the ground. Naturally, none of the approaches is really better than the other. History shows that the European and the American way are equally adept at messing things up real good.
My main problem was that I didn't really know what I could contribute. I write pretty well and I like spanking movies. So the first thought was to do a site like Spreview.net, maybe in German. I'd actually done some reviews there under another nickname. But the realization that I had neither the time nor the inclination to learn the necessary webdesigning skills, for the quality I wanted, came quickly. I rationalized my failure by telling myself that a pure review site would have been too limiting for my vast writing prowess, anyway.
So that is where the idea for a blog came in. It's easy to set up and allows more variety of topics, in a diary sort of way. I could still write movie reviews, but also stuff about myself, my friends in the community, and philosophical musings on BDSM and erotic spanking in general. It's a more personal, open-ended format. More importantly, it encourages a certain exhibitionism and feeding of my intellectual vanity (two very valid and necessary motives).
Verbose self-indulgence aside, I do aim to keep you readers entertained. That is, of course, the only responsibility shared by all bloggers: thou shalt not be boring. Besides, I have to work against the terrible misconception that we krauts don't have a sense of humour. As Germans go, mine is great (there are more than five documented occasions when I've even laughed in a public building).
Actually, humour (the black comedy, politically incorrect, hopefully non-lame kind) will be one of the main themes here. If BDSM isn't fun and a little tongue-in-cheek, something is wrong. Mind you, I take our kink awfully seriously – it's dark, obsessive, edgy and highly erotic. But at the same time, all these delightful fantasies of ours (the sassy schoolgirls, military tribunals and damsels in distress) are also ripe for some good affectionate lampooning. So I hope to add my own contribution to that.
It will offset the lengthy theoretical ramblings somewhat, which I also aim to provide. To me, spanking goes beyond the mere immediate turn-on, it is utterly fascinating on a psychological and philosophical level. And it leads to all kinds of tantalizing questions about us as human beings, individuals and members of society. There is a danger for these explorations to get all analytical and lose sight of the eroticism. Avoiding that, though, and keeping it in balance, they can be just as much of a kick.
Above all, BDSM and erotic corporal punishment is an artform to me. Both the "performance" itself and the "artifacts" we make, the films, images and stories. I've always been particularly intrigued by movies because they are a sort of hybrid - "slice of life" and yet a "permanent item". Naturally, being a film buff makes me a spanking film buff as well. Notwithstanding the fact that the genre as a whole is inherently goofy (as it should be), I view the good spanking movies as genuine works of art. So that will be the third theme of the blog, reviews and armchair criticism.
If I can get a harmonious (and at times interestingly dissonant) chord going with those three, I'll be content. So much for the planning stage, time to do some work.
