Friday, November 27, 2009

Return of the King

Right, I'm finally back from being missing in action. Or non-action, I should say, because spanking and kink have been pretty low on my radar these last four weeks. There is no need to worry, though (thanks, Arjuna): I'm not suffering from autumn depression, and neither is Kaelah. Actually, autumn is probably my favourite season of the year, because it is so well-suited to a nerdy indoor lifestyle like mine. You just sit around reading books while the leaves are dancing in the cold breeze outside, and no one is bothering you about skiing trips yet...

No, I simply needed a break from blogging, that's all. I didn't plan for it (otherwise, I would have let you know about it in advance), it just turned out that way. There was work to be done, and I also had a slight cold that kept me down for a few days. Most of all, however, I was simply lacking the proper inspiration to write anything. It's interesting - I've had phases before when I was busy and / or ill, but I still managed to keep the blog going at full speed. This time, I didn't. I believe that, when these lapses happen, it's a question of inspiration more than anything else.

My least productive month so far was May 2009, when I only made three posts. I had a tough workload, computer problems, a case of food poisoning... But again, I think there was more to it than that. With hindsight, I now notice that it came fairly close after I finished my massive behind-the-scenes report about my first spanking movie shoot. That report took a lot out of me, more than I realised at the time. Fast forward to the recent past: in September, I do the behind-the-scenes report about my second movie shoot, another epic in four parts. And again, after a month's delay, perhaps a little over a month, I run out of steam for the time being and I need an extended break. I'd say there is a pattern here, wouldn't you?

It certainly isn't too far-fetched. Not only do these extended pieces burn up a lot of "creative energy", after which one's batteries need recharging. They also set a pretty high benchmark in terms of quality, and for a while, it can be daunting to sit down and blog again. You wonder, what am I going to do now? How will it compare? That's the downside of having produced something you are truly, unreservedly happy with. Fortunately, it doesn't happen to me very often!

Anyway, I do feel recharged now, so without further ado... One by one, I'm going to answer your emails that have been piling up in my inbox for the past few weeks. I pride myself on the fact that I answer every single mail (except for spam, obviously), so you always get a reply, even though it may take a while. I'll also look at the comments to my posts, so if you left one recently, you might get a belated reply to that, too. And in December, it will be back to a normal posting schedule.

Lastly, here is something where I can use your input: over the winter, I plan to overhaul some of the features of the blog. For instance, instead of the little "About Me" paragraph you can see on the right, I'll create an "About Us" section on a separate page, with mini-biographies that introduce both Kaelah and me to new readers. In another step, I'll revamp and update my link list. I might make some changes to the categories / post tags. And so forth.

So, if you have any suggestions for the blog, now is a good time to speak up. Maybe there is a feature you would like to see, or a link to some interesting new spanking website that you'd like me to add (I can't possibly keep track of everything out there myself, so links are something you can always help with). Whatever it is, just leave a comment or send me an email, and I will consider it. If I like an idea, and if it is doable, I'll include it in my winter overhaul for Rohrstock-Palast Mark 2. Out with the old, in with the new!

7 comments:

SPANKEDHORTIC said...

Hi, as for suggestions for links, the international nature of blogging does raise curiosity about what is going on in the blogger that you are reading's part of the world. So a few links to interesting sites about what's going on in Bavaria and/or Germany would be interesting.

Having said that, I just realized that I have very few links of that kind for Belgium. Maybe a case of "Doctor heal thyself". Thanks for getting the thought processes going.

Prefectdt

Peter8862 said...

Hi Ludwig, I suggest:
1. Some re-working of much earlier blogs.
2. In-depth looks at such aspects as the expert handling of different size canes, best postures for bottoms, specialised furniture you have used, suitable clothing and its removal, etc
3. Recreational CP in Germany these days, as Spankedhortic has suggested.
4. CP in mainstream films (vide e-mail).
5. The essence of eroticism in CP, such as the Freudian symbolism of the whip and the authority it expresses.
6. The purpose, justification and redeeming features of recreational cp.

Hope some of this helps. Your and Kaelah's views could be very useful.

Peter

Arjuna said...

Ludwig,

no suggestions for improvements, updates and overhauls. Just two things:

1. Good you took a break when you needed one - proves that, despite your usual machine-like patterns, you are, after all, human. ^^

2. Good to have you back.

Cheers,
Arjuna

Anonymous said...

Would be interested in hearing how you are incorporating S&M, violence and pain into your new 'loving' relationship.
It would seem there should be a contradiction there, no?

Ludwig said...

@ Prefectdt: I like the general idea, but the problem is that there aren't many (good) sites to begin with. We do, of course, have a large and lively kinky scene in Germany. However, there isn't much of a "pure" spanking / CP scene like in the UK. So the number of spanking-related websites, blogs and forums is pretty small, and the ones that exist are often of mediocre quality.

Moreover, most of these sites are written in German, obviously, so only a small percentage of my readers here (the native German speakers, and the ones who are fairly fluent in German as a foreign language) could actually make full use of them.

All that said, I agree that the international nature of blogging is one of the things that make it truly intriguing. It would be nice to have a bit more info about the local spanking scene (which I am not an expert on, mind you, because most of my personal friends are from the UK, the US, the Czech Republic...). I'll search around for some interesting links, maybe there are more now since the last time I looked.

@ Peter: Thank you, these are some good suggestions - not for blog features, but for post subjects. I will add them to my big "idea list", the one where I write down all my ideas about potentially interestring topics (and Kaelah's ideas, and reader ideas, and so on...).

The one thing where I disagree is your point number 1, "Some re-working of much earlier blogs". It is one of my general principles that I do not alter posts after I have published them. I correct spelling mistakes and such, if I find any that slipped through the initial check. But I do not change the text as such - the text remains as it was originally posted.

The reason for this is that, in my view, the blog is also supposed to be a historical document of sorts - I think this is one of the things that make blogs exciting. You can go back through the archives and see: "What did this author do one or two years ago? How did he write? Have his opinions on something changed? Has his writing style changed?" It's interesting to look at someone's development (I frequently do that when I look at other people's blogs), and it constitutes an important part of getting to know someone through a blog. Therefore, I've decided never to re-work earlier blog entries. I'm keeping them in their original form - warts and all.

@ Anonymous: There is no need for scare quotes - Kaelah and I do indeed share a loving relationship. And no, we don't think that there is any contradiction at all between having a loving relationship and being into S&M and pain (I don't care much for the term "violence", because it implies non-consensuality - S&M and violence are fundamentally different things in my view).

It surprises me that you think there should be a contradiction - frankly, that would seem to require a pretty shallow view of what S&M is about. Take a look around the Scene, visit a party, read the various blogs and forums out there: you will find plenty of people who practice spanking, CP and other kinky activities, with their partner, in a loving and happy relationship. They all manage it just fine!

That said, I agree with you that it is interesting to see how people live out their kinky desires and fantasies in a relationship. So you can be sure that the subject will keep coming up from time to time, both in Kaelah's writing and in mine.

Unknown said...

I think Peter has already suggested all the (admittedly very few) thoughts that came to mind. I can't really suggest any blog features as I don't know much about blogs, honestly, and this one seems perfectly functional.

On topics, I do particularly enjoy your mini-essays on history, motivation or 'philosophical ramblings'. If you have time and motivation, it would be interesting to see one every few months. Any more than that would be greedy, I do recall you stating in a comment somewhere that they were rather draining and intensive pieces. Understandable given their length...

Ludwig said...

@ Morgrim: I enjoy the mini-essays on history and the "philosophical ramblings" as well. I would like to do more of them - after all, when I first started the blog, I envisioned that these two themes would become regular features of mine, because you don't find them on too many other kinky blogs, and because it's my field which I'm familiar with.

This year, though, I had to neglect history and philosophy because of Kaelah and me getting together, and because of the movie projects. Not that I'm complaining, mind you! But yeah, I do look forward to writing the occasional "scholarly" mini-essay again. I just did one on a regional German tradition from the North Sea Coast island of Borkum, which involves spanking:

The Klaasohm Festival

The philosophical ramblings are even more work-intensive than the history stuff. Not so much because of the sheer length, really (the historical pieces are often just as long). But because I really have to think hard about what I'm saying there. Sure, when I write a piece like the one about the Klassohm Festival, I do my research and I try to get the facts right - this is understood. But when you are dealing with a philosophical question, like "What is the difference between pornography and erotic art? Is there a difference in the first place?", I really have to develop my position and my words carefully - comparing different arguments and points of view, finding my own position among them, demonstrating why the "pro" arguments for my position are stronger than the "contra" arguments, and so forth.

In other words, when I do a philosophical mini-essay, I want to do it *properly*, and this takes time. Which is why I've done so few of them so far - fewer than I would like.