Monday, August 23, 2004

Email Luke Archives Photos Stars XXX-Communicated The Producers A History of X Search Luke Is Back.comAug 20

Phoenix Ray Quitting Porn

Going into the Army.

I Want To Write A New Book

* Struggling desperate ambitious young hot actresses who haven't made it yet. Off the bus girls 18-25.

* The Assistants. Assistants to producers, directors, stars, agents.

* The UCLA Economics department. I studied there and for a few years of my life, I wanted to be an economist.

* TA: The Inside Dope On The Hottest Teacher's Assistants At UCLA

* The Men Who Clean Toilets: The Inside Story On The Men And Women Who Clean The Restrooms At UCLA's Economics Department. Never before have these persons been interviewed until now. They tell all. What astringents to the porcelain to make it shine so. Which chemical solvents. How they protect prosperous PhDs in economics from rectal infection as can be transmitted by toilet seats. A story of pus and cleanliness, their hopes, their dreams, their hatreds, and the secret influence they exert over our intellectual leaders.

* I'm starting the Luke Book Club. If you pre-order these books, you are guaranteed a first edition signed by me. Send in your $20 checks (per copy) now.

The uniting theme in all my books is that I am looking at underdogs, people who are ignored by the mainstream media. Hookers, producers forgotten by time, Jewish journalists, janitors...

TGP/MGP Submissions -- Some Quick Tips

The TGP/MGP submission game is getting more and more competitive. It is fairly easy to use Arles thumbnail page composition tool and/or Photoshop along with Dreamweaver or Notepad to come up with a gallery. Besides the obvious considerations of a) using fresh/unsaturated content and b) using a layout that guides surfers to clicking on your sponsor links, many webmasters neglect to pay proper attention to small fine tuned processes or elements in the submission process. Unfortunately, these 'small' things may make the difference between acceptance and rejection.

Here are a few fine tuning tips gathered from WebmasterLabor.Com's experience submitting hundreds of galleries for clients:

1) Thumb quality is EXTREMELY important when submitting to Thumb TGP/MGPs: Many thumbnail TGPs/MGPs trade their traffic in order to grow their volume. Your gallery is a key factor in their ability to grow. Hence, their quality review team zero in on your thumb selection. They are looking for bright/crisp thumbs that are correctly sized to their database and site layout. They are looking for thumbs that are selected and cropped to convey both the theme of their site and a taste of the action in your gallery. Solution: Take some time looking at the theme of the thumb TGP/MGP you are submitting to and find the corresponding thumb in your gallery.

Solution 2: Crop the thumb in such a way that it focuses on the action. Put yourself in the position of the surfer. If you are looking for a particular niche--what angle, what composition of the thumb would YOU be interested in?

Use this information in your thumb selection and cropping.

2) A process- and theory-driven picture selection and thumbnail cropping increases your income: It is not enough to select (randomly) a bunch of pics and thumb them, add your recips, and submit. You should take some time to

1) understand your niche

2) understand the content package you plan to use and

3) understand the niche surfer you plan to appeal to with your gallery.

Understanding your niche: What is the focus of your niche? What type of action is desired by your niche? For example: She-males. What part of the anatomy of a she-male is desired by the end user? What types of situations in a pictorial will a she-male afficionado be interested in?

Using this information, select the pictures that convey the 'story flow' of the content package you are using. Pay attention to answering the niche questions above. A picture story should emerge that appeals to the surfer's interest. Plus, remember to use the standard story format of BEGINNING-MIDDLE-END. There should be an INTRO to the ACTION, THE ACTION, and THE CONCLUSION. Of course, you will have to select the pictures in such a way that it does not give everything away. Don't focus so much on the action and giving the end user everything he wants. If you do this, you've given them a free and FULL show and the likelihood of a sale is greatly diminished.

Cropping the pictures: Now that your pictures are arranged in a chronological, teasing, and user taste-centered manner, you will need to crop them so that they further TEASE the surfer.

You need to crop the pictures so they 1) conform to the phase of the story of the gallery 2) focus on the niche user's requirements 3) avoid giving away too much.

Cropping the face or a wide crop to show the 'meeting' or 'introduction' of the models is a good way to satisfy part 1). Part 2) can be satisfied by focusing the crop on the part of the physiology that the user is interested in for that niche.

Example: Big tits niche focuses on the size of the breasts. Teen niche focuses on the youth of the model. She-male niche tend to focus on how female-like the model is and the mix of male/female features. etc. The balancing act and the hardest part of the cropping phase is to satisfy part 2 while NOT giving away a completely free show. This is where your discretion comes in. You should have a written record of a ratio of non action to action shots with every submission. Correlate the number of clicks to your sponsor to each ratio. After several weeks, a clear picture should emerge regarding the proper ratio that goes best with your niche, your content, and your layout.

3) Pay attention to your descriptions. Many webmasters make the mistake that as long as your description is ACCURATE for the gallery you are submitting that the TGP/MGP will list you. Once again, the TGP/MGP you are submitting to USUALLY (not all the time) trades traffic to increase their traffic volume. This requires that their surfers click on the text links. Users aren't going to click on text links that are boring or generic. Which would you rather click: Female f---ed by guy OR Eager little slut getting her tight holes punished by throbbing cock

Some tips on descriptions: Use action words. Similar to a resume, surfers aren't looking for passive words or words that denote past action. They want something that is going on NOW and DIRECTLY. Use nouns that denote the 'dirty' or 'intense' personal quality of the models. Don't use generic nouns like "guy" "chick" etc. Expand on the action. All hardcore galleries 'f---' -- use words that GRAB the surfer. Use variations like banging / thumping etc. Use words that carry an EMOTIONAL PUNCH.

Bottomline: Wether or not you have a partner account, you are as much a "partner" of the TGP/MGP you are submitting to in their long term success. Take a little extra time in building your gallery in such a way that you become an asset to the people you are submitting to and you may be rewarded with more traffic.

Final note: Your success is determined by your traffic volume which in turn is determined by who lists you and their confidence in your content/text/layout. No one has full control over all the variables. No traffic is guaranteed. However, with fine attention to the details you will have an edge over those that don't pay such attention.

An Interview With Hustler Cartoonist's Dwaine Tinsley's Widow

John Billette writes:

I happened upon Adult Beat and read the interview with Ellen T. It was poignant for me hearing a couple of the old stories again. Methinks Dwaine didnt tell Ellen the really juicy adventures. I really got D.B.T. hooked on golf and when we both lived in CA we played 2-3 times a week. It was excellent therapy for a very demanding job (Mr. Flynt is difficult to please), plus we tossed around cartoon ideas, made thousands of bad shots, occasional brilliant accidental ones, and somehow found a way to get into trouble without getting arrested countless times.

Our backgrounds were so incredibly different. I was the white bread WASP mid-west kid with the early discovered ability to draw. Good family, 2 sisters, loving parents. Vietnam vet, Navy Corpsman, scholarship at the Chicago Academy of Fine Art, in the Who's Who of College Students, was married, 4 college educated daughters. Dwaine, well, we know his background....but there was an immediate connection- an instant male soul-mate thing. I still think of him every day. Drawing was always easy for me, cartooning is.

I admired Dwaine's passion for the Art of Cartooning and how he was completely self-taught. Our sense's of humor was somehow wired together, more sophisticated than one would imagine. We made each other laugh.

Larry Flynt held a memorial service for Dwaine in a spanish chapel in Beverly Hills. I sat in the front row next to Ellen, she chrushed my hand during the service. The poor pastor had no idea what he was in for. After his standard religious b.s., folks from the packed chapel came forward to say a few words. Larry Flynt was wheeled to the front, maybe 4 feet from Ellen and he sobbed, could barely speak. It was emotional. Later, a sort of wake with friends was held later. Lots of stories, laughter, lots of release, a fitting good-bye to an amazing artist. I miss him.

Hayley Rivers' Porn Adventures

My very first video (oh, how precious!) is being released by Legend on Monday: "Bang My White Tight Ass #15." I loved doing that scene with LT (Ron Sullivan shot it) but was too shy to be really vocal during the filming. I was like a total virgin compared to my performance in the other video coming out on Monday, "Army of Ass #5," where I had to shout at a new recruit, "Don't be a pussy and f--- my pussy, be a real man and f--- me up the ass!" NelsonX and Anthony Malice were on the set. I like to think NelsonX had a hard-on watching me f--- the brains out of my recruit.

Meanwhile, old school pornstars Julien and Dave Hardman (Hardwood?) shared me in "Assbusters #8" on a Dave Christoper set. Those guys really know how to play off eachother, one getting rougher than the next until I can hardly breathe for all the cock down my throat. And wouldn't you know it...we succumbed to the cheesiest line ever: "Who you gonna call?" I cooed with as straight a face as I could manage. "Assbusters!" yelled Dave with a satisfied grin. His directorial input had succeeded!

Details Magazine Hooker Article Disappointing

Gene Ross reports.

Mari Possa Interview

Cindy Loftus from Xcitement magazine writes:

Mari Possa means butterfly in Spanish, but in English it means hot young Latina porn star! Mari, Seymore Butts' former receptionist sure added to her job description when she climbed the corporate ladder up to personal assistant and then to his newest "Tushy Girl" Mari has a new job, new boobs, and is the new anal queen! She did her first ever interview in March 2003 with top-notch reporter Rog Pipe. Today she did her most recent interview with me. Read on for both-

Rog: I am holding in my hands a copy of your first movie, is that right?
Mari: Yes, Seymore Butts' Strictly Business. I have a masturbation scene in this one. It's just an introduction to what I can do. I've already shot two other scenes, both with anal.
R: How did you get into the business?
M: I've been working for Seymore for three years now. I have always wanted to be in the movies and I thought it was time to do it.
R: What were you like growing up?
M: I was a normal child, a little loud actually. I was outgoing. On all of my report cards, they always said that I talked too much.
R: Do you think the people you went to school with would be surprised?
M: Not at all. I was actually voted most likely to end up working at Bob's Classy Lady in high school.
R: How did you end up with a title like that?
M: I was a big flirt in school.
R: So no stripping on school lunch tables or anything?
M: No, nothing like that.
R: How did you end up as a receptionist for Seymore?
M: I found the ad in a paper and I went in for the interview. I had seen porn before, but nothing quite so hardcore. When I first went into the warehouse I was in shock. I had never seen a gaping asshole. Now here I am gaping myself.
R: What you are doing now is very real and very hard-core.
M: Yes it is. It's a really big step, especially the anal.
R: In this first movie, you have a solo scene and then one scene in each of the next two movies. Who are those scenes with?
M: The first one was with Nacho and Flower. I didn't do anal with Nacho because his cock is just way too big. There is an anal with Seymore in the other movie.
R: So Seymore got your on-screen butt cherry?
M: Yes he did.
R: What about the scene with Nacho?
M: I met him right before the scene and he made himself so available to me and was so friendly that it wasn't awkward at all. It was great sex and I loved it.
R: Nacho is a very high energy guy.
M: It's a very passionate scene.
R: And you're about two inches taller than his dick is long so that must have been interesting.
M: I was hanging from it, doing gymnastics moves.
R: Is he biggest guy you've ever seen? No, I've seen bigger. I've had bigger.
R: Do you want to work with Nacho again?
M: Oh yeah. I like big dicks.
R: How big? Nacho is big, I don't know if I could take any bigger.
R: But smaller than that is ok?
M: Why, you got something to show me?
R: No you said that bigger than Nacho is too big.
M: (She laughs) For you I'll make an exception.
R: You said that you had never seen a gaping asshole before Seymore, but that he already has you gaping?
M: That's right. They taught me on the set.
R: What were you doing before you went to work for Seymore?
M: I was working as a legal secretary actually. That was real fun. (She's rolling her eyes.) It was boring as hell.
R: What are your measurements?
M: 34-24-33
R: I'll just say tiny. You are very petite. Did Nacho just pick you up and spin you around?
M: Pretty much.
R: Nice natural breasts. How do you feel about keeping them that way?
M: I want fake breasts. I want big boobs.
R: When did this start?
M: When I was fifteen.
R: So this isn't just a porn thing.
M: No, it's an "I want big boobs thing."
R: You and Avy Scott are the newest Tushy Girls. You are following in the footsteps of a long line of very hot women, Shane, Taylor Hayes, Alisha Klass, Samantha Style and McKayla Matthews to name a few. Do you feel any pressure to live up to that.
M: Yes, the pressure is on. It's a good kind of pressure though. They are great performers and I want to live up the expectations.
R: But you're better than all of them right?
M: (She laughs) Yeah, better than all of them.
R: What kind of guy to you like?
M: I like sweet guys.
R: Sweet guys with big dicks.
M: That's right.
R: Is there anything you won't do on camera?
M: I won't be fisting myself on camera.
R: If you could have a scene with anyone in the world, who would it be?
M: Enrique Iglesias. He is my dream man and I hear he has a really big dick.
R: Having never taking a dick, big or otherwise, I will just take your word for it. Do you watch a lot of porn?
M: I think I do yeah.
R: What kind of stuff do you like?
M: I am not into the really dirty stuff. To me, if the girl is really getting off then I like it.
R: Have you done two guys on camera?
M: (She laughs) I haven't yet.
R: But you have off camera?
M: Only once.
R: I have to ask this. Seymore is generally linked romantically to his Tushy Girls. Is there anything going on between you two beyond just friends and business?
M: Just friends, nothing else.
R: Do you have any fetishes, other than big dicks?
M: I like having my toes sucked.
R: You said that you wanted to get breasts. Have you felt any pressure to do so since entering the business?
M: Actually there has been a pressure to stay natural. It's an automatic response from people when I tell them. I think I look too much like a little girl.
R: No you don't. Are you a one man kind of woman?
M: No. It's not just anyone who comes along, but I don't like to be tied down to one guy for right now.
R: What is your favorite part about sex?
M: Sucking cock. I would rather do that than have a guy go down on me.
R: That is probably the perfect way to end this. Can you think of anything else? You've already asked me more than I could imagine being asked.
R: How many interviews have you done? This is my first one.
R: I've scared you away forever. Not at all, this was fun!
Xcitement: Did you have the butterfly tattoo on your ass before you picked your porn name?
Mari: Actually I did. I love butterflies. It used to be a turtle, I had it turned into a butterfly. I got it when I was twenty-one.
X: You don't look twenty-one now!
M: I know, but I am old.
X: It wasn't weird to f--- your boss?
M: It wasn't that weird because I always thought he was sexy.
X: He is, I think so too.
M: The relationship that we have is very friendly. So he is gonna hate me for saying this, but I have never really seen him as a boss. So it wasn't that weird. But I came back home and told my friends that I was practicing my anal scene with Seymore, they were like, Oh my God!
X: Well you are becoming quite the celebrity here. Showtime, adult movies. TV star, porn star.
M: I couldn't take it anymore. I needed something fun to do with my life. I always wanted to do it, but I always had that " what are my parents going to say." It took me about a year to get over that. And it's funny because a lot of people think that that scene was totally staged and it wasn't. When I went up to Seymore ( and told him she wanted to be in his hardcore movies) he said, Are you sure? I was like dude I have been thinking about this for years.
X: Do you still talk to your parents?
M: Yes I do. I've always been the rebel of the family. At first they though it was a fluke, I was trying something new. I would get bored and move on to the next thing. But now they are like, oh this is really what she wants to do. My Mom says be safe, don't get caught up in the hype, just be yourself. That's the advice she gives me. She doesn't say Hurray, you did a scene. She'll say are your working today, and if I am not, she's happy actually. If I am she says okay, call me tomorrow.
X: So they have never seen any of your scenes.
M: Well my Dad was flipping through the channels and came across the first thing that I ever did nude on the Playboy channel. Then he came across the Family Business episode where I explained that I wanted to be a tushy girl. He said Playboy is one thing, but doing the videos is completely different.
X: Is he over it?
M: No, he's still mad. He's very mad. I can understand. If I put myself in his shoes and I truly understand.
X: I guess nobody really wants their daughter to do porn.
M: Yep. But it's what I want to do.
X: Did you get a boob job?
M: Yes I did.
X: Why? M: I've always wanted boobs. I am like a guy when it comes to boobs. I am fascinated by boobs. I love breasts. I just think they are sexy.
X: So you were a natural B-cup, to what now?
M: To a C.
X: So you didn't go crazy.
M: No I didn't. I wanted to, but no body would let me. Not even my doctor. He told me that if I wanted bigger then C I would have to find another doctor. Because with my tiny frame he guaranteed I'd have back problems. And I felt it, once I started walking around with them, I was like these things do hurt your back.
X: When did you get them done?
M: In October last year. They are almost a year old. They feel like they are completely mine now.
X: So does size matter?
M: My tops look way better and I am loving wearing bathing suits.
X: What about penis size, does size matter?
M: Yes it does! I was a virgin until I was almost twenty. I had always heard around school that sex sucked and it wasn't what they expected. And I did not want to have the same story. So I waited. I want the rose petals in my bed and blah blah blah. So I am saving myself. And then I decide to finally have sex with a guy from Hawaii and he had a very small penis. And so afterward I called my friend and I said I think I just had sex. I said it didn't feel like anything out of this world. I really didn't feel much. For about a month I was having sex with him and it was like nothing. So then I came across an ex-boyfriend who is half black and half white and he has a huge penis. After I had sex with him I called my friend and said, oh oh, I know exactly what sex is all about now. It was completely different.
X: Do you get recognized often?
M: I've had a lot of people recognize me. The weirdest thing is when they come up and say my real name, Mirna. I say hi, who are you? It don't know if I know them or not. In Vegas this guys says Hi Mirna what's up. I say, I'm sorry do I know you? And he says oh no girl, I just know you from the show.

Skepticism within the pornworld

Erotic Servant Alan writes:

I have been conversing with some people about some of the views of performers skepticism towards the industry like not wanting to go to the expos anymore and here are some responses:

Ynot Bob - well... if these "stars" feel they are too "bothered" to see some Webmaster fans at InterNext or CyberNet, or wherever...then f--- them... pretentious asses I say if they feel this way. they also need to be reminded that if they have a website, most of these people eager to see them at our Webmaster gatherings, are also affiliates sending them traffic...

Hammer, Ynot assistant: There are plenty of smart people in this business, but if a porn star expects some fans to fawn all over them they best find some fan expo to show up at and not a webmaster convention. It takes zero intelligence and skill to take your clothes off and f--- in front of a camera. I'm impressed by doctors who spend years going to school to learn how to save peoples lives. I'd gladly have my picture taken with a fireman that has saved someone's home or life or a doctor that sewed some poor little child's finger back on, but a chick that was lucky enough to be born with a nice body and is willing to f--- some guy while other people watch? C'mon.

MH:Patron They are in this for money, if one coast pays more, more power to them. If they make enough with out having to do the expos, again, more power to them. If they can make more doing their own self promo, without wasting money on agents, brokers, and other assorted hangers-on, they should do that as well. I would just promote myself through a website and avoid the whole expos altogether if it was a pain and not as lucrative. But then again I wouldnt pay to see any porn star, and really have no desire to see them even if its free, but thats just how I am. And what I say: I do recognize the smart ones and talk with them too But I keep running into many "flakes" if you will

People who don't make their word their bond, people who lie, people who act ignorant, people who throw insults, etc. The want type people who don't put out an equal effort Why shouldn't they go to both? The fans are still there

Like I said, theres not many of these things going on in the country to promote and some promotion is better than none and you can't obviously rely just on web promotion all your life. Especially with the spam laws getting more intense because of the industry idiots that think that everyone wants their s---. If you're in sales you'd understand that there is still a lot of skepticism out there and there are still a lot of people that don't want to use their credit card or charge their debit acct or get a charge on their phone. But most performers or even industry businesses do not diversify their marketing towards the masses. Only towards each other and online. You don't see any ads in newspapers or many magazines. You don't hear pornstars and industry businesses promoting on the radio or television for that matter. EXCEPT maybe like Jenna Jameson and Ginger Lynn and Ron Jeremy and Brittany Andrews.. So these people aren't taking advantage of the other opportunities that ARE available to them.

Remember - it only costs $10 a year for a url and $20-$50 avg per month to host a site $1000-$3000 to create a decent site So for a pornstar who makes 100 grand or a gonzo girl that makes 20 grand Maintaining a site is not much of a big deal - financialwise Yes, it doesn't take much brains to take off your clothes and f--- someone I'll agree with that Other than knowing who to deal with As many have complained about dealing with Mr Shady producer or Miss Shady webmistress or Mr Shady agent.. And this is why skepticism within the industry with performers is growing and that can be bad for business. As both have to work together to cultivate this industry..

Some of these girls weren't born with hot bodies though. There's a big portion out there, mainly in gonzo that I wouldn't bone because of their looks and personality. But many had to and still have to sculpt it every day at the gym and the kitchen as they endure many hrs in the studios and touring and getting little sleep.

But that attitude of Hammer's I've seen in a lot of other people in the past that have been in this industry for decades. All I know is that there needs to be a lot of changes in this industry for it to be complete. People need to support each other better People need to quit putting each other down People need to quit lying, cheating and scheming and hyping things up But I don't see enough supporters Of course their in it for the money Just like with anything Sex You do it over an over again and it gets boring or you don't feel that strong true enthusiasm you once did when you started with someone you're not in love with. So you just "fake" it and go with the flow and put on a fascade. Because of burnout ? As if you're in sales you'd understand that enthusiasm is the #1 reason why people buy something from a salesperson.

But for Ron Jeremy to say that this business is 90% work and 10% fun is wrong and gives a false impression on people inside and outside the industry that it's all about money. Even though that is somewhat true with most performers and industry businesses. And if you've studied successful entrepreneurs like I had you'll understand that money is never the main motivator of most successful or wealthy entrepreneurs. The only self promo I see are online in the clubs or boards and b2b sites and feature dancing. That's not using your full potential You don't waste your money on the RIGHT agents, managers, pr people, brokers, pimps, webmasters, etc. That's what this whole business is about is seeing the pornstars have sex isn't it? This is what I mean about how some people contradict themselves You're either for it or you're not Don't beat around the bush and do it half ass Or Asscroft will keep winning more battles

Not In Porn Anymore

"Chaim" writes: I told my model girlfriend that I am not in porn anymore. I've spent two days trying to convince her. That I am a marketing and publicist guy. As I am laying in bed with her yesterday, who calls me but Houston.

She says, who are you talking to?

Houston.

Houston the porn star?

Umm, no, Houston the rapper.

Such bad timing.

JOHN L. SMITH: Crazy Horse Too shift manager's luxurious spread likely to intrigue IRS

John L. Smith writes:

The Brooklyn native [Vinny Faraci] is a registered felon with a 1985 mail fraud conviction. An incident in which he was named but not prosecuted in 1985 involved the alleged ball bat beating of a Crazy Horse Too customer.

In New York, Faraci's father is a feared Bonanno crime family loan shark known as "Johnny Green." With a reported $500,000 on the street and a reputation for a quick temper, until he ran into legal trouble Johnny Green was no one to mess with.

New York and Las Vegas law enforcement insiders call Vinny Faraci a Bonanno soldier. Others claim he holds a lieutenant's rank.

One alleged violent act was a September 2001 incident involving Kansas tourist Kirk Henry, whose neck was broken after a $66 bar dispute. Club attorney Tony Sgro asserts Henry was injured after a drunken fall. Henry's attorney Don Campbell counters that his client, now a quadriplegic, was nearly killed by a man identified as shift manager and Faraci associate Bobby D'Apice.

I hear Vinny's also wired into the Chicago family, and that this week, the leader of the Chicago family, Joe Lafardo, turned. He disappeared. He'd be the biggest Chicago defector ever. They have only family for the whole city.

Evan Horowitz Has His Microsoft Lawsuit Under Control

Xpays Evan seems to have his lawsuit from Microsoft under control. I hear he did not turn over all his affiliate information to Microsoft as they demanded, but rather asked selected spamming affiliates to do the right thing.

Hooper, meanwhile, has reportedly turned over his affiliate webmasters information to Microsoft to get out from under a lawsuit. Hooper has a lot of angry webmasters after him.

HerbalO's Scott Schalin Marries His Life Partner

Honeymoon in Cape Cod or Key West?

Hollywood Hookers

In the Details magazine with Adrian Brody on the cover, is a three-page story called "The New Hollywood Hookers," with a big scoop on Nici of Nicisgirls.com. She's now plying her trade out of Florida.

Her site nicisgirls.com went down for a week or so. She put it up for sale. Now she's back working again, calling girls, booking girls.

Mike from Adult Star Fantasy remains in Las Vegas. Contrary to my earlier report, he did not flee to Mexico. He's in Vegas working under his brother's ID.

I'm expecting a big telecommunications company, a long distance phone company, to merge with Jill Kelly Productions. Are the Marino brothers (of the Crescent scam) behind this phone company?

Exotica 2000 is chugging along, full of girls from the porn business.

Jimmy in the Lion's Den

By Tyler Cash

It was shortly before ten in the morning when the black, Music Express limo glided up to the V.I.P. entrance of Pacific Television Studios in Century City, California. The V.I.P. (Very Irritable Pornographer) aboard the limo was my grumpy-but-often-funny business partner, porn director, shooter, photographer, blogger and porn pundit, and sometimes Adult Industry Spokesman, James "JimmyD" DiGiorgio.

Jimmy had been whisked from his home in Santa Clarita to the high-tech studio in Century City to participate in a heavy weight fight: Christians vs. Pornographers! (Little did the bible-thumpers know it was going to be a modern-day television retelling of 'Daniel and the Lions' with Jesus' faithful cast as the lions.)

Challenging DiGiorgio on the set of "Faith Under Fire," a PAX TV program that will debut in this fall, was award-winning, former Chicago Tribune legal editor, Lee Strobel. Lee is a best-selling author and one-time atheist who found the Lord. Strobel, who now enjoys being one of the most sought-after speakers and commentators on spiritual issues in the country, was awarded the State of Illinois' highest honors for both investigative reporting and public service journalism (by United Press International). He earned a Journalism Degree from the University of Missouri, a Master of Studies in Law Degree from Yale Law School, and has taught First Amendment Law at Roosevelt University.

But even with all Strobel's experience and training for matches such as this, the referees ruled that--I suppose due to a difference in weight--Strobel would be joined in his corner with co-fighter and church pastor, Craig Gross, of XXXChurch.com notoriety. Also, the two holy men would be joined by an ex-Playboy centerfold and long-time Playboy Inc. employee who later found Jesus, renounced Playboy and the Playboy lifestyle, and founded her own ministry.

Alone under the harsh lights, Jimmy sat quietly in his corner waiting for the bell to ring and the satellite feed to go live. The constant chatter of the engineers' voices in his ear piece told him he was nearing the bell. He later said that my last words to him--before going on the show--rang in his head before the bell did: "No mercy, Jimmy. You come out swinging. You take them down!"

The bell rang!

Strobel, in an aggressive first move, rushed across the mat and threw a wild left hook: "70% of American Children have been exposed to porn on the internet! How can you look yourself in the mirror knowing that? Knowing you and others like you are responsible for that?"

Jimmy remained seated on his stool. He looked at Strobel and non-chalantly threw a counter-jab: "Where did you get *that* statistic from, Lee? I think its a little inflated, don't you? I don't think 70% of American households even have a computer and internet access. Where are these kids watching porn? Iin their classrooms? What's your source for that statistic, Lee?"

Strobel took it on the chin, backpedaling to his corner and mumbling something about producing the source of his statistic after the show. He seemed a bit shaken, his legs rubbery, as he tagged his co-fighter, Pastor Gross.

Pastor Craig Gross looked like he had eyes the size of 7-11 Big Gulp cups! The anti-porn crusader crouched low, shielding himself behind the fortified left breast of the ex-Playboy bunny,mouthing some verse in the bible that's supposedly anti-porn and against "lust in men's eyes."

"Well, I guess we're all guilty of that sin, Pastor. Maybe even you and your other ministers. You're a father, aren't you? How'd that happen?"

"Sex is appropriate in marriage," Gross countered.

"I thought you guys believe what the bible says about man being made in God's image?" Jimmy asked. "If something sexy makes us lustful, in or out of a marriage, what's that? A design flaw? I thought God is perfect? How could he make a mistake like that? Maybe it's not a flaw? Since we're made in his image, maybe God's got a little kink going too?"

Suddenly, the ex-centerfold rushed at Jimmy, her arms swinging wildly as she screeched, "Playboy took advantage of me! Some guy met me in Santa Monica and offered me a lot of money to pose. I was weak and I agreed. They shattered my innocence, destroyed my life, and ruined my marriage!"

DiGiorgio, who's Dad always taught him to never strike a woman, simply quoted from the ex-Bunny's bio: "Wait a minute! You worked for Playboy for 18 years, right? At what point, in all that time, did they take advantage of you and destroy your life? Was it AFTER you were divorced and AFTER you were no longer employed by Playboy that you came to that conclusion?"

Later, DiGiorgio confided he wanted to add a little jab to his last statement with a "Nigger, please," but instead, he decided to respect the religious decorum of the show.

Stunned, the ex-Bunny put her furry little tail between her legs and hopped back to God's corner screaming something about never being able to have a normal life because, she said, "What man would possibly want to be with a sex kitten whose naked body was published in a magazine like Playboy for everyone to see?"

"Uhhh. most men. probably." Jimmy calmly stated, suddenly hearing the snickering and laughs of the engineers in his earpiece.

Pastor Gross, unable to hide any longer, rushed to the middle of the ring, again quoting some sex-related verses from scripture! But suddenly, he fell down flat on his face. Later, he claimed the Blessed Mother Mary suddenly appeared and cold-cocked him on the chin.

It went on like this for round after round. Strobel kept resorting to statistics-from-heaven (they must have been from heaven since you'd never find them here on Earth.) and then he pulled out and used one of the greatest and most-used weapons in the Christian arsenal: Guilt.

"Do you think God is on your side, Jimmy?" he righteously asked DiGiorgio.

"No," Jimmy calmly answered. "If there is a God, I think he's on everyone's side. Don't you guys believe in forgiveness? God loves everyone, right? Isn't that what forgiveness is all about?"

Strobel quickly countered: "You think you can just spend your life doing wrong and it's okay because you can ask God for forgiveness later?"

"No," DiGiorgio answered. "I don't. But that IS what you guys believe. Personally, I don't think that works real well. Besides, I don't believe I'm doing anything wrong. It's only "wrong" by your standards and beliefs. not mine. Who says you're right? You?"

It seemed as if as quickly as it began, the fight was over. The black limo raced like the wind back up the 405 freeway carrying its porn cargo back to Santa Clarita.

Once home, DiGiorgio received a phone call from the show's producer. After the show, he explained to Jimmy, the ex-Bunny became enraged and demanded she be allowed back on the air again with him (DiGiorgio) to straighten Jimmy out. When told it wasn't possible, she flushed out some tears... real Bunny tears! The producer also apologized for the show's host, admitting he did not remain impartial and unbiased as DiGiorgio was promised he would remain. Jimmy only wanted to know if Strobel had found the source of his statistics--as promised-and would he be providing them to him.

"I don't know where he came up with those statistics," the producer told DiGiorgio. "The A.D. (Assistant Director) and I kept looking at each other wondering where he was getting all that stuff. It wasn't in any of the questions or notes we provided him. and I know that because I'm the one who prepared the notes and questions."

The day was a small victory for adult entertainment against an old enemy that refuses to quit.

JimmyD says it was just another day in the life of a porn Carnie. But he says he's ready for other challengers. "Bring it on Falwell!" He said. "What's the matter? No Balls?"

LA Press Club Party For Me

For days leading up to Thursday night's affair, I felt excited. I wouldn't play basketball for fear I'd throw out my back or sprain an ankle. Thursday evening I couldn't eat a proper dinner, just a few peanuts and soy milk.

I arrived at 6:25 p.m. and valet parked, something I normally hate to do (both out of concern for what immigrant drivers might do to my van and because I don't like to waste money when I can walk a mile and park for free).

I lug my boxes of books to the rooftop. It's hard to decide how many to bring. It will be embarrassing to lug them back. It will mean that few have sold. (I ended up selling about $500 worth, more than half to manager/producer Jay, who also gave Producer books to Jeffrey and Nelson. I think a few people may have stolen books.

Raquel Devine. Jessica Jewel (has a law degree, I met her in 1998). Ron Sullivan. Devan Sapphire. Tod Hunter. Adella from Digital Playground. Dean Sussman. Gretchen Gallen, Alex Helmy from Xbiz.com.

My straight friends worried that my outlaw friends would misbehave. But I know and love my outlaws and they were impeccable in dress and decorum. I could've taken them to shul.

Friend: "I was however, very disappointed that there were no wild and crazy chicks there. I was hoping for some loose limbed women to disrobe and dance on the tables then jump in the Jacuzzi. Sigh, Hollywood is never wild when I'm around. The turnout was wonderful and it really shows that you have gained acceptance in the mainstream."

It was a frightening mixture of my opposing worlds. Normally I like to keep things separated. Thursday night, all my friends, outlaws and frumies, mixed together. It was a success, thank God. The strain made me dizzy. I wanted all my guests to feel welcome. I tried to introduce myself to everyone and make them feel comfortable. I tried to connect people. I tried to remember names and things people might have in common. I tried to express my appreciation to those who have so enriched my life over the past few years.

My Chronic Fatigue Syndrome kicked in around 10 p.m. and I was not fully coherent thereafter. I hung out in the bar till 1:30 a.m. Went to bed before 3 a.m. Fell asleep an hour later. Awoke at 6 a.m. Drank two cups of coffee. ..........

Giving my speech (Photo by Emmanuelle Richard)

Luke, Adella (photo by Dawn A.)

Emmanuelle and her friend Charles (photo by Dawn)

Here are my prepared notes, from which I deviated significantly. I usually find it boring when authors read aloud from their books, or talk for more than five minutes (most writers are not good public speakers), so I just made some off-the-cuff remarks and took questions, chiefly about blogging and sex and the lack of relation between the two (thank God my religious values do not permit me to participate in this degradation):

When I committed to a life of chastity, poverty and humility, I expected that I would be rewarded in the world to come. How was I know that I would also be rewarded on this fallen earth?

One plug for my books. There's a certain inherent drama in reading the work of a mentally ill man. People expect a high degree of mental instability and needless conflict in any L-ke F-ord work, and I've tried to live up to that. I didn't have to try very hard.

I checked Amazon.com this morning.

. 1 person recommended Surviving Schizophrenia: A Manual for Families, Consumers, and Providers (4th Edition) in addition to XXX-Communicated : A Rebel Without A Shul

. 1 person recommended Radically Gay : Gay Liberation in the Words of Its Founder instead of XXX-Communicated : A Rebel Without A Shul

. 1 person recommended How to sh-t in the Woods: An Environmentally Sound Approach to a Lost Art in addition to The Producers : Profiles in Frustration

One famous movie producer and manager called me this week. He was disturbed by the press release for my party. He had only known me as a nice young man. But all this talk about: "a bottom feeder" (Village Voice), "He has elevated moral and spiritual schizophrenia to surreal proportions" (Salon).

Why would I talk about myself that way? Look, I'm only a vessel for my words. I have no choice. I was born this way. God made me the way I am.

Ever since I've been writing in depth on obscure topics on the Net and elsewhere, my subjects have been telling me exactly the same thing: "I don't know who is going to want to read this." It's interesting that no matter where I go and what I write on, my subjects keep telling me:

* I don't understand what you're doing.

* How are you going to market this?

* Do you make any money doing this?

I'd like to thank Emmanuelle, Amy and Cathy for enabling my mental illnesses and moral pathologies for the past few years and promoting them into the august Los Angeles Press Club and this swanky hotel.

New Destiny Responds

New Destiny (Homegrown Video) attorny David Olson writes:

My brief response to Mr. Rothken's interview comments: An injunction is a ruling on the merits. It is not a final determination of New Destiny's claims, but it is a ruling on the merits that the defendants fought bitterly and unsuccessfully to avoid.

The fact that there is a mediation scheduled is not privileged. What is discussed there is. New Destiny will not comment on anything discussed at the mediation.

Defendants at the outset of this case sought to "try this case in the press." Go back and you will see that Mr. Levi called the case "preposterous" and Mr. Rothken said it does not pass "the smell test."

New Destiny has only commented on judicial and arbitration rulings. Now, in light of those rulings, New Destiny is accused of trying the case in the press. New Destiny has never alleged that there is "no contract." This is defendants' latest spin on the case. Of course there is a contract.

Defendants are still making monies on the contract. Our contention is simply that defendants breached that contract, significantly underpaid New Destiny under the contract, and have infringed New Destiny's intellectual property rights.

Interview With Voice Media/CE Cash Attorney Ira Rothken

JBM thread GFY thread

I am an equal opportunity idiot in reporting this case. I have misspelled the names of both CE's and New Destiny's attorneys. It is Ira Rothken (CE) and Dave Olson (ND).

I just wanted to fill you with confidence in my abilities before I continued.

Ira is from the San Francisco law firm that recently sued sex.com, yahoo.com and other biggies for taking gambling ads.

Rothken returns my call 8/19 about the New Destiny vs Voice Media lawsuit. Here's the legal history on the case.

"What's your reaction to this week's ruling?"

"That ruling was a motion that the CE Cash defendants brought for the court to give it guidance on what it should do with the revenue share arising out of the contract between CE Cash and New Destiny [Homegrown Video]. The court said that it didn't think it was necessary for the defendants [Voice Media, Ron Levi, et al] to deposit the money with JAMS [the abitrator]. That it could make its own election on what it wants to do with the monies."

"So it wasn't a devastating setback for your side?"

"It was a benign ruling that maintained the status quo. We were trying to be creative because we wanted to show good faith. Normally in a case like this one, where the plaintiff (New Destiny) is claiming there is no contract, it's rather unusual for them to walk into court and argue that they want to be paid under a contract. We were asking the arbitrator for some guidance and he gave us the guidance. He didn't think setting up a fund was necessary. There was no time when we wanted to keep monies from New Destiny. We were dealing with a moving target and we were seeking guidance from the arbitrator."

"Where are you in this case?"

"New Destiny filed suit. They were claiming to the federal court that there was no contract. Fortunately, the federal court ordered the case to arbitration, persuant to a contract.

"Then New Destiny came in with this theory that CE Cash was infringing on their copyrights with the Homegrown Video tour join pages. Yet New Destiny does not explain how it is it could be a copyright infringement when the tour and join pages were located on a domain name tour.homegrownvideo.com that was under the exclusive control of New Destiny. We're still trying to figure out if there's any there there.

"New Destiny keeps running to the industry press and trying to spin it in a way that's embarrassing to the defendants, even though there has been no ruling on the merits of this case whatsoever."

"Wasn't there an injunction granted against Trade News (CE Cash) using New Destiny's copyrighted tour?"

"That was not a ruling on the merits. New Destiny wanted to terminate its relationship with CE Cash. In an effort to wind down the thing New Destiny wanted, CE Cash started winding down relations and removing links without any orders. CE was acting consistent with what New Destiny wanted.

"When it came time for a hearing on a motion for interim relief (not a preliminary injunction even though it is couched in those words), the argument made by CE Cash was a simple one. We said the issue is moot. We have honored their request and removed everything. The arbitrator in essence said that if you've removed everything, it wouldn't be any kind of burden on you to agree to this interim order because there was a single manifestation multiple levels deep that occurred.

"The arbitrator was careful when he made his order. There's no ruling on the merits."

"Don't you have a reconciliation meeting next week to work this thing out?"

"Until it was mentioned to you by the plaintiff, it was supposed to be a confidential session. Apparently they are trying to use you and possibly other media as a conduit to us. We're going to keep saying bad things about you in the press unless you pay us money. I don't think that is a healthy way to resolve this disagreement.

"CECash always discouraged, when it has a conflict with any of its business partners, they are particularly upset about this conflict because CECash believes it has done nothing wrong and that the statements being made in the press are absolutely disproportional to the level of any possible disagreements they have."

"When I read the New Destiny application for a TRO (temporary restraining order), I thought, holy cow, this is horrific. I don't have a dog in this fight, but I read that application for a TRO, and I thought, CE and Voice Media have been doing horrible things."

"Did you read the opposition?"

"No."

"Right. Every single thing that was mentioned in their TRO application was refuted. There are two sides to every coin. If you only read the Plaintiff's side, then the Plaintiff is going to win every case.

"We also have a cross-complaint against the plaintiff.

"If you want to raise any issue right now, I could tell you in two seconds the defendant's position on it because in every single instance it is refuted. They're going to complain there were customer service problems... When the complaints were analyzed, one realizes that there were many complaints from few people. The vast majority of them were not legitimate. They were from people who had been terminated for failing to pay. They were people who were terminated because their credit cards no longer worked. There were a few complaints that were legitimate but within the bounds of commercial reasonability. And those concerns were addressed.

"In any kind of commercial field, one cannot have perfection in the way one handles customer service. But one shouldn't elevate the lack of perfection into being something evil and bad. In our view, that's what is happening here.

"The most eye-catching part of the TRO request, which was denied, was the allegation that the CECash was violating its agreement with the FTC."

"False. Those were refuted. If you look at our declarations made under the penalty of perjury, it was stated under oath why those allegations were wrong and how CECash was in absolute compliance. The mechanism criticized by the plaintiffs was the one endorsed by the FTC. That's in the declaration in opposition."

"I'd like to see that."

"We could get you the PDF files, but we don't want them published. We don't want to try this case in the press. The main reason I spoke to you was after reading what was on your site, there was such a lack of symetry, that the only way to fight words was with words. The last thing we want to do is to have postings of all the pleadings and to have links to them all over the Internet. We're trying to resolve the dispute, not to create a legacy of the dispute propagated virally all over the Internet.

"If they had a serious dispute, they should try to settle it in arbitration, rather than go over the most minute motions and run to people in the industry, sites like yours and others, to try to get public relations. They would handle the case on the merits. It seems to me that they are more interested in getting ill will towards CE Cash and to Ron Levi than to actually work on the case before the arbitrator or to try to resolve the case amicably. It makes one wonder about the wisdom of CE Cash getting into business with New Destiny in the first instance.

"Even if one has a good faith controversy, one should exercise restraint before going to the media over what appears to be nothing more than a contract dispute."

"Are we likely to find out from this dispute who owns Trade News? I'm sure you know but I don't know. [I think it is David van der Pool of Python.]"

"That's probably public information. The shareholders of Trade News own Trade News just like the shareholders of any other dotcom own the dotcom. Whether those shareholders indicate how many shares they have and who they are can wait another day."

"I'm curious who owns Trade News and what percentage, if any, Ron Levi owns."

"Why?"

"Because I'm a journalist."

"What I hold at Charles Schwab, why would that be interesting? I see that as being more of a privacy intrusion than anything else when a company is not publicly traded. What is more interesting is who the officers might be and is Trade News doing a good job for their customers."

"Trade News is definitely number one or close to it at what they do. [Meaning that they are about the biggest and pay out more money than almost any other webmaster program.]"

"That's what is so disheartening about this whole thing. We're having this information from the plaintiffs spewed out on these various journalist sites on the Industry and people are making the assumption that just because someone moves for a TRO, they're right. Just because someone obtains a preliminary injunction, the game is over. Therefore, they win.

"There hasn't been one sworn witness yet. There hasn't been any finding on the merits. The preliminary injunction is nothing more than a label."

"How long till we get a resolution?"

"If it is by settlement, who knows when that will occur, especially after reading in the press that the plaintiff suggested they were ripped off by $10 million. That is false, but they said it anyway, hoping people will believe it.

"We apparently have a date for the second quarter of 2005 for a hearing on the merits with sworn testimony. That will be the equivalent of a trial date. Until then, unless there's a settlement, it's likely that nothing matters that anyone says. My hopes are that everybody will avoid passing judgments.

"It does not pass the giggle test to say there was no contract when, even after alleging there was no contract, New Destiny continued to maintain the integrity of the traffic to tour.homegrownvideo.com. If they thought there was copyright infringement going on on pages that manifested on that domain name, they could've sent [that traffic] anywhere else in the entire world including their own tour and join pages. They didn't do that."