We like our readers to know that we pay attention to their emails and tips. So allow me to jump in here for a moment with a quick, laugh-to-keep-from-crying update on that strange New York Times story the other day about the sex shop next door to the Orthodox Jewish synagogue on the Venice Beach boardwalk out in greater Los Angeles. Click here to read the original post on that fascinating free speech conflict.
Anyway, a reader named EV looked up the actual website for the sexy clothing shop and, frankly, it's a bit more edgy than the newspaper story let on. Well, different faiths for different people, I guess.
As is so often the case, the Sexetera shop's home page contains a kind of mission statement about why it is where it is. Since we can't really run any of the photos, and the site's TV ad isn't really GetReligion friendly either, let's just run the testimony from the owners:
This is how it all happened, TRUE STORY:
Myriam and I were walking on the Venice Boardwalk, 10 days prior to Valentines day 2004. Not looking for something in particular, all of the sudden we saw this place, which was also the only space available at that time on the entire boardwalk, for lease.
Myriam, as if she was dreaming of this all her life, turns to me and says: "Ruly, wouldn't this be a great place for a lingerie store?"
The following evening we secured the lease of the space. The next day we contacted our architect and we opened, as planned, in 9 days on Valentines day 2004, what a perfect day to open! To say the least, this was also a dream come true for me! We hope to serve you with our unique designs, quality and prices for a long time to come.
Have a sexy day and see you soon!
Myriam and Ruly.
Indeed, what a perfect location for a lingerie shop -- on a beach. But the interesting point for the journalists covering the story was the flip side of that. What a perfect place for a lingerie shop -- next door to a famous Orthodox Jewish synagogue. That's an interesting statement, in and of itself. It's hard to say that the conflict was not built in.
But I have another more basic and, yes, picky journalistic question for the Times team. What is the name of the store?
If you look at the photo that ran with the story, the front of the store contains a non-neon sign that says its name is, as described in the story, "UNRULY." Yet if you click back to the store's website, or look at the neon-sign picture with this post (no sign of a copyright on that picture, by the way) you find that the name of the store is the much pushier "Sexetera."
Did the store change its name and sign in the midst of this wrestling match with the Orthodox Jews next door? That would be an interesting fact to know.
UPDATE: Hey, the plot thickens. The reader EV is back with new information. There is also another website out there that supports the name "Unruly." Check it out. But before you decide that this settles the matter, try to click through some of the buttons on the left sidebar of that site. Sort of thin on the info, don't you think? Meanwhile, the "Sexetera" site, everything seems in order. The natural question: Did the store change its name because of the controversy? To have a milder image for the New York Times coverage?