(This info is courtesy of one of my readers, Mark, who sent me this email over the weekend while I was out of town - I wanted to let you all know about it, and ask you to check it out and consider sending an email or two and let Billy Bush & NBC know your thoughts)

Access Hollywood, a syndicated entertainment news program produced by NBC Universal, aired a piece last weekend on Oscar award nominee Mo’Nique’s open marriage to Lee Daniel. The segment focused on how the “debate” was playing out in the media, but afterwards Billy Bush, the host, takes it upon himself to begin preaching about marriage and quotes Hebrews 13:4, saying “Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.”

See for yourself! Take a look at the Mo’nique segment, and the commentary/preaching afterwards.

Please contact them!

On Twitter:

Host Billy Bush http://www.twitter.com/billybush

Executive Producer - Rob K. Silverstein http://www.twitter.com/robsilverstein

Via email:
Senior Press Manager - Mandy Ellis Mandy.Ellis@nbcuni.com
NBC Feedback feedback@nbcuni.com

Recently, Ann Andriani posted a review of Opening Up over at All Sex Reviews, and she had fantastic things to say about the book!

“I said it before and I’ll say it again, “Opening Up” is THE resource for creating a nontraditional relationship that works for you and your partner(s). It offers advice, stories, guidance, ideas and thoughtful passages from how relationships become open to opening up, creating rules, communicating feelings/fears/jealousy/joys to ironing out the rough spots. You hear from couples that it works for and others that ran into difficulties and challenges and had to close things up. It’s not a fantasy book, it doesn’t promise or even hint at success without work. It’s that kind of honesty that always tickles me and I truly appreciate it.”

Feel free to check out the entire review at the website!

Join with other attendees for an enriching and educational weekend at Loving More’s 2009 National Polyamory conference and retreat. The annual National Conference is held at the beautiful Easton Mountain Retreat Center in upstate New York. Enjoy hiking on 175 acres, soak in the hot tub, relax in the sauna, and enjoy the wonderful food and hospitality of the Easton Mountain Staff.

This is a chance to immerse yourself in polyamorous community, connect with wonderful poly people from the US and overseas and make new friends. Have fun sharing knowledge and support. Escape to a magical place called Loving More.

Each conference and retreat is different and offers unique opportunities to learn, grow and meet others of like mind. This is the perfect place to learn for people who are polyamorous, new to poly, poly-curious, or just exploring relationships of any kind.

Want more information or to register? Please visit their website!

Happy May! Wow, the spring has been very busy for me with lots of travel, college appearances, and other events. In the past few months, I’ve been to the University of Washington in Bothell, Washington D.C., Baltimore, Amherst, Los Angeles, Wesleyan University, Providence, Brown University, Boston, University of Vermont, Milwaukee, and University of Wisconsin in Madison. I also managed to go to the LGBT Equality & Justice Day Rally and Lobby Day in Albany and even made the cover of Headquest Magazine, a trade magazine for head shops (ironic, since I don’t even smoke!)

I’ve got lots of exciting things to announce. My new book for Quiver, The Anal Sex Position Guide, is now available online and in boo kstores. Fleshbot did a cool story about it along with some photos for you to check out! I’m thrilled with how the book turned out: it really is the anal sex coffee table book of my dreams. The latest Vivid-Ed movie, Penny Flame’s Expert Guide to Rough Sex, was released in March and has gotten lots of good buzz. And, my Expert Guide to Anal Pleasure for Men will be out at the end of this month (look for a link to pre-order it coming soon on puckerup.com)! Plus, I re-teamed with Vixen Creations to create the Special Anniversary Edition of the Tristan Butt Plug; it’s a gorgeous toy and it’s available exclusively at Babeland . Check out this fantastic review!

I am getting ready to travel to Chicago, where two of my friends are getting married. Then, I head to LA, where I’ll be shooting three new movies for Vivid and working on editing the first volume of my new video series, Rough Sex. After a brief stop in Seattle to see family, I’ll be back in New York for nearly the entire summer. I’m looking forward to being home, catching up with friends, and taking a break from my insane work and travel schedule!

with lube + affection,
Tristan

P.S. I’m still in love with Twitter, please come follow me: http://www.twitter.com/tristantaormino

Dear Amazon.com:

It has come to my attention that there is no longer a sale ranking for any of my books on your site, as there has been in the past. In addition, when I search for my name, “Tristan Taormino,” in the homepage’s search box, none of my books—except those that are currently out of print and unavailable—come up in the results; ironically, perhaps, an explicit sex ed video of mine does. According to the buzz on the internet today, this same thing has happened to many other authors, who all have something in common: our books are on sexuality, erotica, and gender, as well as gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender issues.

In response to one author who brought this to your attention already, a representative wrote the following email which is being circulated on the web:

“In consideration of our entire customer base, we exclude “adult” material from appearing in some searches and best seller lists. Since these lists are generated using sales ranks, adult materials must also be excluded from that feature.”

As the largest bookseller on the Web and a company which has profited nicely from my writing according to the now-disappeared sales ranks, you set an example for others. Your willingness to drop certain titles and authors from your search engine and ranking based on so-called adult content while you freely sell (and, again, profit from) pornography, sex toys, and other “adult” material is incredibly problematic and smacks of double standards.

I hope this issue will be resolved and I look forward to hearing back from you.

Tristan Taormino

To my readers:

Want background on what’s happened?

http://katebornstein.typepad.com/kate_bornsteins_blog/2009/04/disappeared-sex-positive-gender-bent-books-on-amazoncom.html

http://melissagira.com/sexerati/2009/04/12/amazon-removes-sales-rank-from-sexuality-queer-titles/

http://dearauthor.com/wordpress/2009/04/12/amazon-rank/

Or log on to Twitter and search for #amazonfail

Want to complain to Amazon about this debacle? Here’s a great resource: http://tinyurl.com/cbst9c. Please make your voice heard!

November 3, 8:30-9:45 pm EST/ 5:30-7:35 pm PST
POLY-CURIOUS 101 - Special Call-in Series!
Curious about this new “lovestyle” you’re hearing a lot about called polyamory? With articulate and generous Relationship Specialists, LiYana Silver and Reid Mihalko, and special quest, poly experts like Tristan Taormino, you’ll learn all you ever wanted to know (and probably a little bit more) about Polyamory! • Learn definitions and different ways to construct non-monogamous relationships • Discover the elements that make Polyamory workable - and the common pitfalls that don’t • Walk away with resources, books, and tools to proceed into the world of responsible non-monogamy at whatever your preferred pace or interest level. You will be able to ask your questions live on the call, and you’ll leave with some simple action steps to try out in the laboratory of your life. I’ll be the special guest on the first call, Polyamory 101! There will also be two additional calls in the series on November 10th & 17th discussing Starting a Polyamorous Relationship & Opening Up Your Current Relationship. Men and women of all orientations and experience levels welcome.
Info / Registration: http://reidmihalko.com/advice/polycurious-101/

Chris from STL Poly Community was kind enough to send an email and follow up with me after my reading, and now here is the revised, updated list of polyamory resources in St. Louis and Missouri:

Bi State Poly List (Yahoo Group)

St. Louis Poly Community (Yahoo Group)
note: this a restricted-access group, but anyone who mentions coming from openingup.net will be granted
immediate access.

St. Louis Regional Polyamory (SLURP)

These three groups also meet together offline/in real life: there is a Poly Munch the 2nd Saturday of each month from 2:00-4:00 pm at Cici’s Pizza, 9745 Manchester Avenue.

PoDGE stL (Yahoo Group)

PoDGE St. Louis meets the 3rd Tuesday of each month and the location varies. However, the next meeting is Tuesday, June 24 at 7:30 pm at Gelateria del Leone, 3197 South Grand Avenue.

And:

CoMo Poly Yahoo Group (Columbia, MO)

St. Louis Polyamory on LiveJournal

St. Louis Gay Poly Triads

Thanks, Chris!

So much to say about St. Louis and Left Bank Books, but I am off to do some touristy things on my first day off in a while…So, stay tuned, come back, and I’ll post the lowdown shortly.