more spanko startles

today was filled with spanko startles. there are the two mentioned in my last post, and then w and i were wandering around kmart and found these paddle ball games on sale... sans balls. bratz "hittin' pretty paddle balls." i don't know why we didn't buy them, since they were on clearance for $2.99, and seemed really sturdy.

then we were at an ostensibly vanilla shoe store, and w noticed a rather startling mural on the wall behind the checkout counter, featuring a woman caning a man--bare bottom, lots of cross-hatching. we weren't quite brave enough to get a picture, particularly since it was somewhat obscured by the cashier and some shoe boxes.

and then i came home and took a quiz on facebook, and the first question was this:



i wonder what the universe is telling me? :)

startles galore

Well, ok, only two. But still.

The first one was in the New York Times Crossword for today. 40 down: Old schoolmasters' sticks. Answer: ferule

(Thanks to Project Gutenberg and Google Images for the picture!)


Then I was flipping through the latest offering from the Science Fiction Book Club, repeating the necessary mantra "Even if it's five books for $1, the last thing this house needs is more books!" when what to my wondering eyes should appear except this:



Only with more pictures, making it clear that the book is basically a bunch of pictures of a Superman-esque guy getting tied up and whipped by a Wonder Woman-esque woman. (The title below was a collection of photographs for afficionadoes of furries. The ad copy reads "Birds do it, bees do it, but no one does it like furries do it! Now you can join the fun as furries... display their hilariously kinky side in this playful and plush board-book.")