Archives for February 25th, 2005

This blog now has an autographed postcard from a German porn star.

[A word of warning: Some of the links in today’s post lead to nudity and/or stuff that is NSFW. If in doubt, don’t click on anything.]

Ljubljana is usually described as the political, economic, commercial, industrial, governmental, and cultural capital of Slovenia. But all that changed a few days ago, when German adult-film star Vivian Schmitt snubbed the foggy capital in favor of a visit to Slovenia’s second city, Maribor.

You may remember Vivian Schmitt from such films as "Excessive Weekend," "Pure Pleasure," and "Animal Heat." She came to Maribor to promote these movies, and to sign some autographs and get nekkid on a stage. I don’t know what it says about my circle of friends that I got an invitation to this event. And I don’t want to know what it says about me that I actually went.

I have to say, first of all, that I was surprised by the many women in the audience. You can’t see it in these pictures, because once the stripping started the men surged forward to claim the best vantage points. But females were there; as were some other local notables, including the Mladina writer Max Modic. (His story is here: 48 ur z Vivian Schmitt.)

I’m afraid you won’t find my face in the leering audience. I mulled around in the back during the show, and then left early. Of course, if I was about 15 years younger it would have been a completely different story. I’d probably still be there right now, picking cigarettes up off the floor to keep as mementos. When you’re 13 and operating under the influence of hormones, a female breast is — to paraphrase St. Anselm — "something than which nothing greater can be imagined." Even catching a brief glimpse of one can be an unforgettable moment.

But maybe this was because I was raised in the United States, which has a decidedly Victorian attitude towards nudity. (Many people say "Puritan attitude," but that’s not as correct. Puritans were rigidly moral, but it was the Victorians who were hyper-sensitive to the very idea of the human body. For them, it was indecent to say words like "cockroach" or "leg" or to even mention anything related to your physical form. Like many present-day Americans, they would also have been traumatized by Janet Jackson’s wardrobe malfunction at the Super Bowl.)

Slovenes, on the other hand, seem to have a very relaxed attitude — something that took me a while to get used to. And I guess I still find it strange that mainstream newspapers and magazines will sometimes show naked bodies. Then again, they used to air hardcore pornography on public television at night. When I first arrived here, that completely shocked my sense and sensibilities.

But maybe if I was born in Slovenia, none of it would. If we can reincarnate, maybe that’s what I’ll do. I’ll return, as Miha ManÅ¡iÄ?, and find out how different things really are…