In The Event That…You Need Some Summer Booty

By Annamarya Scaccia

Libertine Ball 2008: Pervy Pirates — Kink on the High Seas Sat., July 12, 9 p.m.-2 a.m., $35-$100, Shampoo, 417 N. Eighth St., 215-829-4986, libertineball.com

If Jack Sparrow and his naughty mates (oh, we’re talking about you, Orlando Bloom) get your breeches wet, then Passional’s Libertine Ball is your treasure chest.

Titled “Pervy Pirates — Kink on the High Seas,” the 10th annual bash will feature four decks of fun: the Forecastle, blasting beats by Octo-Pussy and Johanna Constantine; the outdoor rum-filled Pirates Cove; the Treasure Chest vendor area; and the Hold, which includes St. Andrew’s crosses, suspension frames, flogging stations, spanking benches, tickling and bondage booths. Nudity, however, is prohibited, as is penetration and oral stimulation of any sort, says Libertine Ball creator and Passional proprietrix Kali Morgan, who’s attending as Captain Morgan. (Costumes are mandatory for everyone on deck.) Passional, Delicious Corsets and BabyLoves Latex will also put on fashions shows throughout the evening.

In addition to the ball, mateys can check out a weekend’s worth of other Libertine events. The fetish festivities include a gallery reception for Florida-based bondage artist Chainsaw Chuck at Passional’s Aphrodite Gallery and a South Street Pirates Pub Crawl on Friday night.

Agenda Lead…Touching Base

By Annamarya Scaccia

Ever watch old clips of Bob Hope TV specials, where he and his flock of stunning Hollywood starlets would visit the troops and entertain them endlessly? Ever notice the look of bliss on the soldiers’ faces?

Frank Monahan has. It’s part of why the president of Rocket Science Productions — a Virginia-based production and talent management company — has organized the first-ever National Burlesque Festival for the Troops.

A series of burlesque performances taking place through July 10 by groups across the country, the festival will help raise money to ship For the Boys: Pinups for the Troops and For the Girls: Men Standing Strong to soldiers in need of a morale boost.

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Produced by the 54-year-old Monahan and his art director, Meredith Hancock, For the Boys is a glossy, full-color tome of saucy female pinups submitted by more than 16 photographers. The live-model shots are re-creations of illustrations by famed American pinup artist Gil Elvgren, each of which was chosen by Monahan. And female troops — who make up almost 15 percent of today’s armed forces — will get to enjoy a bounty of deliciously ripped (and mostly shirtless) men in For the Girls. (Don’t ask, don’t tell: Pick up whatever turns you on at forthetroopsonline.com or during the festival.) So far, more than 3,000 copies have been sent to veterans hospitals and bases around the world, including the U.S., Germany, Japan, Iraq and Afghanistan.

Acts holding shows within the nine-day fest include the Pontani Sisters of New York, the Boston Babydolls, L.A.’s Lola LaBelle and Theatre d’Amour, the D.C. Gurly Show and Philly’s own Peek-A-Boo Revue, who will perform July 5 at Johnny Brenda’s.

But why exactly bring pinup art back? “There are plenty of people and organizations putting all kinds of care packages together for the troops,” says Monahan. “We recognized the need for a smile, for something unique and fun to look at.”

“I think it is a nice way to say, ‘We’re thinking of you,’” says Peek-A-Boo Revue director Lulu Lollipop (pictured). “We can’t be there in person, but we can send a little piece of ourselves in memory and respect of the days gone by where the troops had the full support of the American public.”

The festival also hopes to raise awareness of the continuing and evolving burlesque resurgence across the U.S. “I’m constantly amazed at the sense of empowerment that burlesque performers have and their passion to keep this art form alive is contagious,” says Monahan.

Adds Lollipop, “Burlesque is back, absolutely. Now it is time to educate people not only about the art form, but reintroduce them to sex and sexuality in a fun way.”

As for the future, Monahan hopes to make the National Burlesque Festival for the Troops an annual event because, as he puts it, men and women will always be stationed away from home whether or not a war is raging. “They will always need to get the feeling that folks at home support them,” he says, “and to take a short break from their tough existence to smile and appreciate beauty.”

Peek-A-Boo Revue and Rocket Science Productions Present: For the Troops | Sat., July 5, 10 p.m., $15 ($10 if wearing USO or pinup costume), Johnny Brenda’s, 1201 Frankford Ave., 215-739-9684, burlesquetroupes-fortroops.com

Book Quartely: Review…The Encyclopedia Shatnerica: Millennium Edition By Robert Schnakenberg

Quirk, 288 pp., $16.95

If you want to know every dirty little detail about William Shatner’s brazen life, Shatnerica is all you need. The witty and well-researched trivia book, originally published in 1998, is a revised and expanded cornucopia of everything the 77-year-old actor extraordinaire has to offer — from TV appearances, series work, film roles and Web-accessible video clips to book and album releases (a toupee rating system is used to prioritize your Shat Man consumption). Schnakenberg even includes all those people, places, things and words that the Great One has touched, stepped foot in, experienced or uttered in his more-than-50-year career. There’s Eva Marie Friedrick, Shatner’s former personal assistant who filed a $2 million palimony suit against him back in ‘89, and Jeff Truskolaski, America’s premier Shatner impersonator. Bolded keywords serve as a cross-reference to other entries in the book and random sidebars find their way through the pages — like “Star Trek Sings: Collect All Seven,” about less-than-worthy releases by other Star Trek crew members. (Leonard Nimoy, please destroy your microphone.)

—Annamarya Scaccia