So how did it stack up? Our thoughts (and a preview clip) after the jump.

. . .

While hot porn that also educates may be Tristan's signature style, it seems it's not the hallmark of all Vivid-Ed releases. Though there's a lot of good about this release, it falls a little flat when it comes to sheer hotness—ultimately registering as a little more ed than sexy. The performers are hot, and the information is good, but unlike Tristan's previous Expert Guides to blowjobs or anal sex it never quite feels like the kind of educational porn flick you'd want to jack off to. As the information rolls by, there's too much to absorb and take in; it's a little hard to just lie back and get into it when so much is being thrown at you.

But if you're more interested in a video that will guide you through various positions than some hot porn that will happen to teach you a little something along the way, then "Positions" may just be what you're looking for. With short scenes on 18 different positions, and detailed information about the benefits and shortcomings of each, "Positions" leaves no stone untouched. Have a long, thin penis, or a partner who likes shallow penetration? Try the Pancake. Want a girl-on-top position that's easy on the knees? Go with the Froggie.

Though this release wasn't quite what we'd hoped for, we're still happy to see Vivid-Ed working hard to make sex education sexy, or at least provide some helpful information through porn. For a lot of people, porn is already an important (if not their only) source of sex education, so it's good to know that Vivid-Ed is making sure they get some solid information along with their titillation. Now if they'd just put out the "Expert Guide To Gape Rimming," we'd be totally set.

· Vivid-Ed (vivid-ed.com)

· Buy "The Expert Guide To Positions" (adult.dvdempire.com)

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Previously: Tristan Taormino Gets Up Close And Personal With The G-Spot (Really!), Tristan Taormino Explains It All For You: "Expert Guide to Oral Sex Part 2", DVD: Tristan Taormino's "Expert Guide To Anal Sex"

As with all her Vivid-Ed releases, Tristan begins this installment of "The Expert Guide to the G-Spot" with a brief lecture. With the help of Princess Donna and Sarah Blake, who provide a live action demo, Tristan educates the viewer (and an audience of porn stars) on the finer points of female anatomy and g-spot stimulation. Turns out you don't need a fancy ultrasound machine to find a woman's special area: fingers or toys will do the trick just fine. And (spoiler alert!) every woman has a g-spot, even if every woman's g-spot isn't equally sensitive.

Once Tristan's imparted her wisdom, the action segues from the classroom to the bedroom. In three hot scenes, we're shown the basics — and not-so-basics — of g-spot stimulation: using fingers, toys, and a variety of fancy positions, the cast of "The Expert Guide to the G-Spot" shows us exactly how it's done, and, in the last scene, how "it" can lead to the wonder that is female ejaculation (a bonus girl-girl scene, illustrating the basics of strap-on sex, is also included on the disc). Tristan stays on as a voiceover, offering insight on the different tactics and techniques being demonstrated, with occasional assistance from some colorful, pop-up video style notes.

(Bonus tip: Want to enjoy the hot sex without the pressure of having to learn something? The scenes are also available without the voiceovers.)

Instructional porn is a notoriously tricky genre. Though it seems only logical to have porn stars - who are, after all, sex professionals - teaching us regular folk about sex, in practice, it can get a little complicated. Education (which requires a brain full of blood) is pitted against titillation (which... doesn't), and it can be hard to find a balance between the two. Judging from her entries in the Vivid-Ed line so far, Tristan been quite successful with making porn that's as smart as it is sexy. We can't wait to see what she comes out with next—we'll happily learn whatever she's willing to teach us.

· Order "The Expert Guide to the G-Spot" (adult.dvdempire.com)
· Vivid-Ed (vivid-ed.com)

Florida's Nightmoves Magazine, a respected stripper publication, and performer Courtney Cummz are teaming up with Tampa lawyer Brandon Kolb for the first-ever seminar, which promises to address the casting couch as well as "the legalities from experienced adult entertainment Attorneys."

Participants will actually shoot a porn scene with Cummz' guidance by the end of the seminar. Talent will be provided by a local casting agency, TandA Management.

We were concerned that no one from the number listed on the website answered our calls during business hours and that there was no mention of what the seminar would cost, but we reassured ourselves that porn really is about promise rather than delivery.

In any case, it's got to be better than Kate Capshaw's "SpaceCamp."

· Porn Camp Seminars (porncampseminars.com)
· Courtney Cummz (courtneycummz.com)

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Previously: "Breaking Into Porn": You Think It's Easy Banging Hot Chicks For A Living?

Join us as we run down an abbreviated list of orgy Dos and Don'ts after the gap.

Hartley and Ireland emphasize that the "orgy of your preference" will not look like some "Hollywood producer's perverted fantasy". But remember, with Kylie and Nina's access to Porn Valley's Tastiest (such as Lorelei Lee, Adrianna Nicole, and Annette Schwarz), they've got a bit of an advantage as well. And what does "perverted" mean, anyway?

Kylie asks, just for the sake of argument, why a person would want to throw an orgy in the first place.

Nina explains the appeals of variety, exhibitionism, and voyeurism, and that sex as a couple with other couples can be a nutritious part of a delicious relationship. But both women stress that attending orgies for revenge or to "spice up" a failing relationship often hasten the breakup.

Already, there is more dialogue in the first fifteen minutes of this movie than most gonzo catalogues. Luckily Ireland and Hartley are dressed in comfortable clothes. Though it is very pleasant to look at Ireland and Hartley, the movie suffers from Talking Headism. A split-screen with Powerpoint slides would have been helpful for people skipping through, until the first mini-orgy, or "orgiette", takes place a ways into the movie.

Hartley explains that Orgies Are Fun.

"And if there's one thing nobody wants in an orgy," Hartley says, "it is a miserable, squabbling couple; one who wants to be there and the other who is just going along."

Still, Ireland outlines the three most important things to bring to any orgy (other than a nice gift for the host):

· Good Manners
· An Open Mind
· Impeccable Hygiene

A well-researched How To, "The Perfect Orgy" details who makes the rules, what voyeurs should do ("maintain the snack table"), why movie or drinking buddies might not be ideal guests, and why couples should check out other orgies before throwing their own. That, and the spectre of jealousy.

Hartley and Ireland emphasize that the first time anyone has sex can be unpredictable, so an orgy equals magnified unpredictability. For people with open minds (and good manners and impeccable hygiene), unpredictability can be fun.

· Adam & Eve (adameve.com)

While there are any number of ways one can learn everything there is to know about anal sex, trial and error probably isn't the best way to go about it: at best there's the prospect of a certain degree of discomfort, and at the worst there's the possibility of injury and ... well, let's not think of what else can happen if you don't know what you're doing. So we should all be grateful to Tristan Taormino for helming Vivid's newly minted Vivid Ed division and sharing her considerable expertise in her "Expert Guide To Anal Sex", which comes out later this week and which is sort of like having Tiger Woods teach you how to putt like a pro or Warren Buffet giving you personal investment advice ...

Only, you know, involving a different kind of hole and a different method of deposits: "The movie features a workshop taught by Taormino with demonstrations by two co-hosts followed by two scenes where enthusiastic couples show specific techniques, positions and sex toys. The scenes are narrated by Taormino and feature dynamic on- screen graphics that highlight creative tips and tricks to help guide the viewer in the learning experience." If you're still having problems getting in the back door after watching it all, you'll have only yourself to blame.

· Tristan Taormino's "Expert Guide To Anal Sex" Gallery
· Tristan Taormino's "Expert Guide To Anal Sex" Trailer: QuickTime | Windows Media (vivid.com)
· Vivid Ed (vivid-ed.com)

Previously: Exclusive: Tristan Taormino's "Chemistry 2" Gallery, Flesh Flicks: It's Crisco Time!, Deep Inside Katsumi, DVD Review: "Assraelis"

In case you've forgotten how to do a Single Limb Cuff knot from your scouting days, Seattle-based BDSM player and professional rope-making fiend Twisted Monk is now offering informative how-to rope tying videos on his site in which he demonstrates different wrist ties and a chest harness on his wife. And if you're a total neophyte to this whole bondage business, Monk also makes a few suggestions about things you might tie your bound buddy to—and from that sparkle in his eyes, you can tell he's done his homework. There's no nudity (for that kind of instruction, you might want to check out some of porn legend Nina Hartley's videos on the same subject), but it's still very educational—after all, you just never know when a Two Column Tie will come in handy.- AR

· Twisted Monk: Instructional Videos (twistedmonk.com)

Previously: Lord Morpheous' Bondage Girls, David Lawrence: Shibari Art Photography, DeLano Bound, A Kinbaku Freak, Art Bondage, Kirinawa, French Shibari, Tied Up Fantasies

We're still a little slack-jawed over the prospect of all those suburban soccer moms sweating their way to tighter buns via strip aerobics classes in major gym chains, but we guess that the mainstreaming of stripper moves can only be a good thing for everyone involved: more exercise for the masses and more ogling for the rest of us. While Seattle-based Pole for the Soul holds private classes, they've done us all the favor of posting photos and videos showing what exactly goes on in a room with three poles. Things might be a little awkward in those beginning and intermediate classes, but no one ever said those moves were easy ... and besides, practice makes perfect.-AR

· Pole for the Soul (poleforthesoul.com)
· Pole for the Soul Videos @ YouTube (youtube.com)

Previously: Pole Tricks, The Gallery: Online Strip Club, The Tampa Show, Strippers of London, Stripped Daily

Plan on getting tied up in San Francisco on business anytime soon? You might want to stop in for a lesson with the Knotty Boys to get schooled in the ways of the rope. This dynamic duo holds performances and workshops to help you fine tune your bondage and erotic knot tying skills—and their website has some good visuals to help you along if you can't make it to one of their classes in person. Because after all—nothing says love like a perfect double hitch.
- A. Tolesco

· Two Knotty Boys (knottyboys.com)

Previously: Rope Fashions, Rope Magic, Immortal Shibari, Kirinawa, Crucifixion Porno Chic, Sadistik Virgin, Alchimie SM, Aire Libertine, French Shibari, Chanta Rose: Bondage Expert

Pretty much everyone agrees that many of us Americans need to do two things: have more sex and lose more weight. And what better way to do both—as well as cater to our national obsession for multitasking—than through some body-toning sexercises? There's no need to pay for a personal trainer who won't even put out when you and a partner can burn off those calories from chowing down on too many pairs of edible panties with these positions practiced in the comfort of your own home—sure, they may look like the usual sort of instructional photos from a marital aid sex position guide, but your hamstrings will know the difference.
- J. West

·: Sexercise (sexinfo101.com, via Sexoteric)

Previously: Sex Toy of the Week: Venus Pillow, Sex Toy of the Week: The Bodybouncer, Sexercise Bike Mod

If there's anyone who's qualified to dispense advice on making your dirty pictures look their dirtiest, it's former Hollywood producer Michael Gross, who's had the opportunity to practice his craft extensively in the twenty years since switching careers from being responsible for films like "Ghostbusters" and "Kindergarten Cop" to running his own most original porn site. Among his many tips—which range from lighting techniques to capturing the perfect facial expression—we especially like his enthusiasm for Polaroids, a medium which seems to have fallen by the wayside since the advent of cheap digital photography; to us, nothing says "nasty" like a good stiff print and a two inch white border. Now let's start seeing some of these tips put into action, folks!

· "How to Take Better Dirty Pictures" (mikeyandmandy.com)

Previously: David Mecey's FotoFantasyCamp™, DIY Porn Camp, No More Crappy Porn!