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Pole Position: Sedusa Studios coordinates in-home pole installations for holiday, ah, festivities.


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2004 Gift Guide
Gifts for the festive film lover
Holiday gifts for the Paris Hilton wannabe
Musical cure-alls for the difficult giftee in your life
Clutterless gifts
My big fat art books guide
Scandalous gifts for the lusty angel in your life
Expert gift recommendations for your favorite workplace prankster
Holiday happenings

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Rated Xmas

Scandalous gifts for the lusty angel in your life

By Sarah Quelland

WHAT undoubtedly started with a few too many cocktails at a flirty coed table in an L.A. nightclub quickly escalated into an unexpected pinup collection of sorts for a friend of mine. Before he knew it, his camera phone was full of captures of women striking a variety of voluptuous PG-13 poses. Being a natural extrovert himself, he tended to share his image gallery and, to his surprise, found that nearly every member of the fairer sex demanded that he add them to his collection.

The fact that so many women weren't just willing, but insistent, that he point and shoot their chests is proof positive that most women have a lurking hot streak of exhibitionism just waiting to flaunt itself. Whether your sweetie is mild or wild, here's a handy list of Xmas ideas for the closet exhibitionist.

Leather Masters may have a hard-on for serious fetish gear, but it has its playful side too. Sexy red patent leather faux fur lined cuffs, lingerie sets, leather rocket skirts, paddles, videos and an array of adult toys and novelty items are suitable for a kinky night of passion with or without the pain. The store is well organized with professional sales people equipped to answer all sorts of questions. They can do special orders and even have a seamstress on-hand for custom jobs. Leather Masters, 969 Park Ave., San Jose; 408.293.7660; www.leathermasters.com.

As the name suggests, Mr. Tees specializes in custom-printed T-shirts, but the company can print any image or text on anything a person can wear and has a catalog with pages of different styles of customizable undies. The biggest demand for the thong and panty service is by bands who strategically put their logos in exotic places to promote their music. But no order is too small. Your own imagination and way with words are your only limitations. There's a $20 setup fee and each panty is $6. Mr. Tees, 671 Aldo Ave., Suite 6, Santa Clara; 408.970.9230.

Despite Outkast's resonating call to "shake it like a Polaroid picture," digital cameras corner the market on instant photos and have become the Polaroids of the new millennium. With the image quality and multiple features available today, they're good for so much more than the hubba-hubba shots you'd just as soon not share with the creepy clerk at the neighborhood photo hut. Fry's Electronics has a huge selection of digital cameras with a wide range of brands, sizes and prices. Fry's Electronics, 600 E. Hamilton Ave., Campbell, 408.364.3700; 340 Portage Ave., Palo Alto, 650.496.6000; 550 E. Brokaw Rd., San Jose, 408.487.1000; 1077 E. Arques Ave., 408.617.1300; www.frys.com.

Kissing potions, flavored lip gloss, Listerine PocketPaks, Altoids gum--there's no shortage of ways to leave a sweet taste. True Romance's Alabama Worley is said to taste like a peach and the cowgirls in Tom Robbins' Even Cowgirls Get the Blues suck on butterscotch and cloves. America's most popular ditz, Jessica Simpson, takes the concept one step further with her dessert line of Bath and Beauty Products. With names like Taste, Dreamy, Creamy and Juicy, the scents boast fragrance and flavor notes like chocolate and coconut, vanilla and caramel, and sun-ripened strawberries and raspberries. Dessert's menu includes body shakes, whipped cream with candy sprinkles and body gloss, all designed to make the wearer smell and taste good enough to eat. Sephora offers the line at its three South Bay stores: Sephora, Valley Fair Westfield Shopping Town, 2855 Stevens Creek Blvd, Suite 1061, Santa Clara, 401.248.7095; 355 Stanford Shopping Center, Palo Alto, 650.327.5180; 1205 Burlingame Ave., Burlingame, 650.347.6700; www.sephora.com.

Was it Pamela Anderson, Carmen Electra or a gal's simple desire to be the model of the male fantasy from time to time? Whatever sparked the interest, the stripper pole has migrated from strip clubs to suburban bedrooms, and with it, a boom in legitimate pole dancing lessons. Sedusa Studios leads classes designed to teach any woman how to move like a sex goddess and get fit in the process. They can also help coordinate in-home pole installations. Sedusa Studios, 408.867.2224; www.sedusastudios.com.

For the single woman looking for some noncommittal nookie, Alexa Joy Sherman and Nicole Tocantins' witty and well-researched manual, The Happy Hook-Up: A Single Girl's Guide to Casual Sex, offers a crash course in the art of the one-night stand. Full of handy tips, safe-sex information, personal anecdotes and men's insight, this empowering book comes with everything but a box of condoms. It's available through Ten Speed Press, P.O. Box 7123, Berkeley CA 94707; www.tenspeed.com.


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From the November 17-23, 2004 issue of Metro, Silicon Valley's Weekly Newspaper.

Copyright © Metro Publishing Inc. Metroactive is affiliated with the Boulevards Network.

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