I am not sure exactly how this happened by my whole immediate family somehow all relocated from New York to California. It’s not like there are a lot of Italians here, like the neighborhood I grew up in, mostly Italian and of course the heart of which was the local parish. But at the time I do believe it was fairly common. I used to joke that there were no native Californians, everyone I met came from someplace else.

So while living it up in Sunny Southern California my father was sick and needed surgery. I was starting my own business at the time so my siblings took up a collection and I was selected to go to New York to be with our father. When I got to the hospital my mother was there and my father was still in surgery.

It seemed like it took forever but I think I was there for about 4 hours and the surgeon came to talk to us. It was like a scene from M.A.S.H. without stopping to change or even clean up at all we talked to the doctor, he looked more like a butcher well decorated with lots of blood and his mask still around his neck. He described the procedure that was designed to save my dad’s life. This procedure is called a Colostomy because the colon is removed and the opening that they connect the end of the colon to is called a stoma. Since my father would be in recovery for the rest of the night we would return the next day.

The next day I saw my dad, the first time in several years, he was standing up in his hospital room leaning heavily on an IV stand. I was shocked there was the tough old man looking like an escaped inmate from a concentration camp. Well he recovered completely and having foolishly outlived most of his friends and family decided to do what most other New Yorkers do; Inhabitants of the Big Apple who survive don’t pass away, they move, mostly to Florida.

I did inherit some great things from my father a cleft in my chin and I like to think a strong jaw line. He also had very large appetites and like him I have always wanted to squeeze the most out of life. I did get his rotten plumbing. My dad started having digestive issues just before he turned 70, I was 35. I have read about people being diagnosed with UC or Crohn’s  while still children so I was kind of lucky.  To be Continued…

CS

This phrase has been running through my head for a few days now. If I don’t promote my self, who will? After all there are some simple ways to determine if you are having any success in attracting readers and drawing them to your site. Sometime today my total pages count on Word Press will pass the 500,000 mark for Crankyspanker.com. Feels like a lot to me although by internet standards I imagine it is not. The number is also an intangible from average visitors of 100 per day in the first months to over 1000 every day. I get much more satisfaction from a comment from a single reader than all those numbers, I need all the positive reinforcement that I can get.

My first knee jerk response to Shameless self promotion is quite belligerent, just what the fuck do I need to be ashamed about. I’m not sure if I have any shame left anyway. Too many years of hiding and denial have used it all up. Besides just exactly what is it that I should be ashamed of, just how much more time should I waste worrying about what people may think. If you have a problem with who I am and what I like, it is really your problem.

However since I am a needy attention hound, just how do I find that “kindness of strangers”. See me, Feel me, touch me, like me, love me, oh just fuck me! Yes it is all about me, I am stuck with this guy 24/7 and except for answering the phone is the one I talk to most of the time.

It seems like social media sites have taken over. If you are going to have a presence on the internet at all one site alone is not enough. So in a burst of manic energy I decided it was time to branch out. My Face is booked, I Tweet, Tumble and Link. All that is left is Yahoo! and Google this (flipping off my monitor).

One last thing. I went to the Vet yesterday to pick up some low fat dog food. It seems that my dog shares my digestive problems. The new girl behind the counter gets this bag of food, smiles sweetly at me and asks if she can carry the bag out to my car for me. I returned home with my tail between my legs.

CS

Erica Scott author of Late Bloomer the book featured on my site has posted a number communications from potential playmates on her blog Erica Scott: Life, Love & Spanking. She probably gets tired of hearing this but I think that she is incredible, intelligent and very brave with lots of attitude. She would probably admit that her it is her mouth that most often what lands her butt in hot water.

These messages are so badly put together that I find them pretty pathetic, but who am I to evaluate these messages? After all I have dreamed about finding and spanking the right partner for many years and been unable to even do that. From my younger years my single friends would often tell me that if you want to meet women you have to put yourself out there. If you try to talk to as many women you find attractive as possible you might find someone willing to talk or more. It is the same principle as spam; the great majority on recipients will delete you without a second thought, but some might respond. Just for the record I am a Nigerian Oil Ministry official and I have the privilege to request your assistance to transfer the sum of $47,500,000.00 (forty seven million, five hundred thousand United States dollars) into your accounts.

So in this age of social networking it should be so simple to make a connection. Despite being in the minority some of the bloggers listed here have been successful finding partners who want the same things that they do. I have to admit being a little envious, after all nobody said that life would be easy, but it is also encouraging that it can be done and couples can play and love and even be married without losing desire, even enhancing spanking play.

As usual being somewhat clueless I have to wonder where to begin, it is really tempting to be simple and direct.  “Me Tarzan, you Jane, bend over now!” This might be effective for someone like Brendan Fraser, just look at him.

Maybe something more formal.

All that is missing is nice paper.

My best quality is my humor but it is hard to joke about something that is quite serious to me. “I really like live theatre would you like to accompany me to the opera, something light, less Luciano Pavarotti more Grouch Marx.”

Perhaps a short résumé:

Position Desired: Top

Some experience but eager and willing to learn

Salary very negotiable.

You may have noticed if you are still reading that I am really terrible at this. I have found it difficult enough to broach this subject with women I have already slept with. Honey, come over here. I need to spank you and I think you will enjoy it as much as I will.

From my own perspective I think it would be nice to meet first and talk over a cup of coffee or glass of iced tea. I would like to know more about you and you could get an impression of what I am really like. We can both talk about what we like and don’t like. I think that the cafes in Europe with the tables on the sidewalk are the perfect place to meet for the first time, very public and a safe way to meet.

Still optimistic

CS

I can not believe it this is my 200th post.

For the longest time I thought that for a spanking toy to be effective it had to be large and heavy. I was quite impressed with Ipe or ironwood, a beautiful hardwood that is so dense that it is virtually impervious to anything nature can throw at it, naturally resists wear, rot, splintering, termites, fire, chemicals, marine borers and virtually every other threat imaginable. So naturally I thought it would make an incredible paddle.

Ironwood for decking. This sample piece is beautiful. The grooves along the sides are for inserts that make it easier to install. The Sample is 5” by 6” and about 1” thick; it weighs 18 ounces, over a pound or 510 grams.

A lumber company sent a sample piece and this wood was as advertised. I had to try to make a paddle out of it. I cut off a length of plank and fashioned a crude handle with a saw. It was too heavy; I could not wield it with one hand. So I shortened it and just trying to swing the thing wore me out. Don’t get the wrong idea, this paddle was all thud and just a few sample swats convinced me that I had to reconsider my assumptions. Some paddles are just to much work to use.

I am a big fan of the wooden hairbrush and it larger cousin the bath brush. There are many suitable brushes that you can buy at specialty stores or online. I was wandering around at Target, I forget what I was looking for and I came across this plastic back scrubber. I was convinced that this was too small and light to make a good toy. I was wrong.

Maybe not this pink but the results were impressive.

Since it was lighter than my other brushes it was easier to swing and I found that if used briskly it stung quite a bit and yielded a nice pink butt too!

Suitable paddle materials

• plastic
• leather
• rubber
• wood
• rattan

Unsuitable paddle materials

• brick
• steel
• cement
• marble
• ceramic tile

So I am still looking for the perfect toy.

CS

I have been looking for new topics to post about for some time now. I penned this short essay ” In Praise Of The Hairbrush” for WellRed weekly some time ago. Hopefully I can find some inspiration for new postings. I think that it has been long enough for me to post the entire piece on my blog and hopefully get some positive feedback.

In Praise of the Hairbrush

As a lifelong spankophile and amateur blogger all things spanking arouse me. But this most exciting phrase: “Get over my knee I am going to spank your bare behind with my hairbrush” seems to strike home in all the right ways. Hairbrush spankings were common here and in Great Britain, and a favorite implement for domestic discipline. It is my favorite implement to read about and see in pictures and drawings. One recent find was a spanking threat from Petticoat Junction. I was amused by the wording. Uncle Joe claimed he was going to bend Bettie Jo over his knee and whomp her with a hairbrush.

History
Hairbrushes have been around since the time of primitive man. William Kent started manufacturing hair brushes in 1777 and is one of the oldest companies in the United Kingdom. I have wandered around many antique stores and one item I found intriguing were these silver or ivory brush and comb sets. I have read that these were often given to brides for the obvious reason but a frequent use of these formidable silver creations was for the back of the brush to be applied briskly to the backside of a misbehaving bride. I also seem to remember that sets of these were also exchanged between newlywed couples for the same reason. These brushes are beautifully textured and I can imagine they must be very effective. A later development was to place the bristles of the brush in a membrane of rubber instead of just inserting the bristles into holes drilled into the brush surface. Originally developed in 1885 by Mason Pearson this allowed the bristles to flex with the hair making untangling easier.

Spanking Implement

As long as hairbrushes have been around for brushing hair, I am fairly certain that they have been used for both domestic discipline and for the erotic type of spanking. The nice thing about a hairbrush is its innocence. A hairbrush on a nightstand or dressing table is just a tool for grooming, until its alternate use is put into play. It is much more subtle than a riding crop hanging on a hook.

Hairbrushes and the larger bath brush can be made of many materials. Plastic with nylon bristles being common and inexpensive. These can be used to spank a naughty behind but I have a definite preference for brushes made from hard woods with boar bristles. The round or paddle types with a flat back seem to be a natural tool for spanking. I have seen hairbrushes for men with grooves cut into the back, although I have never used one of these I would imagine that they would leave little parallel lines on a reddened bottom. The best spanking hairbrush I have found used to be made by Pacific Force. It is almost 12″ long with the striking face being oval 2.5″ by 5″. It has a fitted handle for a comfortable grip.

Intensity
Please, not with the hairbrush! A brisk hairbrush spanking can be very intense but if used with some restraint can range from a gentle and erotic sensation all the way to heavy burning and sting. In any case starting slow and easy is a good practice. The membrane type of brush has the added benefit of amplifying the noise of wood on flesh so a mild spanking will make it sound like a heavy pounding. The brush with the bristles drilled into the wood makes less noise.

If discretion is a major concern any kind of hairbrush spanking does tend to make a very distinctive sound. Over clothes or on bare skin the distinctive sound of a hard spanking travels and if your spankee is vocal you can make quite a racket. In these days of thin apartment walls it is something you should be aware of. Playing music or TV loudly may help to mask the sounds but it is difficult. I think this explains the traditional trip to the woodshed.

Technique
When you spank someone with your hand you get the immediate feedback of the stinging of your hand to let you know just how much pain you are causing. When you use a hairbrush or any spanking implement, just like any other kind of tool there is no need to force it, you just let the tool do the work. Spanking someone with a hairbrush is nothing like driving a nail into a block of 2×4; to start slowly you can let gravity take control and simply drop the brush onto its intended target, raising it higher and higher to increase the force of the blows. To increase the intensity just strike the buttocks with a slight snap of the wrist. You can even administer a punishment spanking that will hurt with no more force than that. Spacing out the spanks is said to allow the full amount of sting to be felt. I have found that many spanks quickly placed will increase the heat and sting considerably.

Results
A good hairbrush spanking can have a full range of results, from a backside slightly pink and tender, to one that’s very red and stinging. An extreme spanking can leave a bottom with a kind of leathery texture. The benefit of that leathery texture is a numbing so that you can continue playing. Getting a sound spanking with my favorite implement has left me aroused for as long as my ass was tender. Sitting down was just a reminder of the experience.

The Experts
To add to my opinion and reading I e-mailed a few of my favorite bloggers and sought their views:

Hermione (Hermione’s Heart)

“We have a large arsenal of spanking implements, including several hairbrushes. There’s an oval ivory one, a large black one, and a rectangular one that has, instead of bristles, a set of stiff metal pins with smooth red plastic tips. They are all ouchy, but I love being spanked with the rectangular brush. After several hard swats with the smooth wooden side, my husband turns the brush over and paddles me with the pointy side, and sometimes he rubs the points across my reddened bottom. I can’t decide which side I like better.”

DJ Black (A Voice In The Corner)

“I can tell you that it is very effective although my girl doesn’t like it. It has the tendency to leave bruises that last beyond all others; especially if you use it bristle side down for a spell.”

Erica Scott (Life, Love & Spanking)

“I have a love/hate relationship with the hairbrush. Mostly hate! It hurts like hell, but as far as OTK spanking implements are concerned, it’s a classic. The love part? Breaking it.”

Bonnie (My Bottom Smarts)

“The hairbrush is often the implement of choice at our house. Some love it, others hate it, but to me, a good brush might be the ideal spanking tool.”

Zelle (No Domme Blonde)

“Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature in his pictures… I would prefer every spanko Top look into MY soul, and realize I do not want him to paint on my canvas with brushes, I much prefer he finger paint!”

Dioneo (Ecce Spanko).

“Hmm…the hairbrush. It’s my favorite implement (not counting hands).  It’s mainly about the contrasts.  Think about it. She’s sitting there in front of a mirror, the image of delicacy.  In her hands, that brush makes only a whisper as she slowly draws it through her hair. It’s a thing of comfort for her.  She’s lost in her routine and barely notices you behind her.  When she sees you in the reflection, she smiles in an innocent way.  But the smile you return is far more devilish. After a moment of puzzlement, she catches on and starts to blush. She knows all to well that the brush doesn’t always whisper.”

Wrapping up
Yes I love the hairbrush and being a switch from both sides, but I understand that love/hate feeling that Erica talks about. After all my reading I may just have to go and buy another good brush, for my hair, after all I brush my teeth and I still have all of them, maybe a brush will help me keep what hair that I have left.

I am looking for more inspiration and hope that I will post some new stuff very soon!

CS

Here are few color drawings from my archives of old newsgroup files. They are by a variety of artists and from a few sources. One of the things I forgot to mention, all of these and quite a few others are labeled spill and a number. I don’t know the meaning but I thought I would mention it.

CS