Hogtied Hottie and Microwave Madness

Ever notice that almost everything in the world uses a different kind of light bulb? I have. Ever notice that the things that you use almost all of the time have the type of bulbs you just can't go to the store and grab? I have. I ran into this with my strobes a bit back. They modeling lamps look like regular bulbs but no, they have a wacky wattage that required me to special order them. I ran into this with my television recently. I couldn't even order the bulb for that. Well I could, but I couldn't get the retailer/repair pricing which doubled the price. As such the television has been sitting at the repair shop for weeks. Now the microwave bulb goes out. How hard can that be to replace? I mean, it's just tiny, 3-way bulb. Hell, that's the worst of the bunch. The bulb needs to be ordered from the manufacturer.

That's why I decided to work on a clip based on the idea of someone getting their just desserts rather than misfortune falling on them. I released a story called Date with Welded Elbows a bit back. It's actually the second part of a series where two Sisters are set to inherit some money. One wants it all though and hires a goon to keep her Sister occupied during the reading of the will, thereby forfeiting her claim to half of a fortune. The sinister scheme backfires though when she has the audacity to question the ability of her hired man to get the job done. He shows her he's up to the task with tight ropes and welded elbows.

It was the first time I'd worked with Victoria and the first time she ended up in a jacked hogtie precariously balanced on a chair. I'll give it to her though. She drooled like hell and never broke character as the strands flew everywhere. See Victoria Ashley's first shoot appearance with me and discover how Date with Welded Elbows came to be in He Crushed My Elbows Because I Wanted Proof.V

All Tied Elbows Are Not Equal

I know that everyone has a liking for different ties, and I myself like a large variety of restraints. I don't mind if someone's elbows don't touch as long as it looks tight. You can see when someone has them back there as much as they'll go, the shoulder shape and the slight color change always give things away. I do have to admit though that I find nothing cooler than when elbows touch. From an artistic standpoint there is a symmetry that is visually appealing. From a rat bastard point of view there is just utter helplessness there. When the elbows are tied touching you lose so much mobility. You can't twist your arms, bending is severely limited and the hands can only do so much. Love it!

All elbows are not equal though even when they do touch. Some people have great flexibly which allows their elbows to touch. Every so often you run into someone who's elbows just plain touch and by this I mean no tugging, no cinching of the rope or any external force is necessary. What does a rigger do in this case. You crush them of course. I'm not talking pain or damage or being an irresponsible ass. I'm talking about arms so close together there are no gaps and no spacing; skin touches skins from wrist to elbow. Holy crap it's a nice thing to work with I'll tell you.

I had the pleasure of working with Victoria Ashely on a video I called Date With Welded Elbows now up on my store. I plan on putting up several screen shots at www.tedmichaels.com very soon! The first shoot almost didn't happen because she got lost, but I drove out to lead her to the shoot when she got twisted around. I told her to put her arms behind her back when the first set was going and to my amazement they just touched. No ropes, no help from me ... just two unbound arms side by side. I couldn't believe it.

We did two shoots over the next two weeks and those elbows were welded 90% of the time!