Monday, April 24, 2000
Boteach vs Flynt
I saw Mark Kernes from AVN at tonight's debate between Rabbi Shmuley Boteach and Hustler publisher Larry Flynt, along with Debbie and Bernie Oakley and Dr. Susan Block. Her hubby Max was at Home Depot buying tools and wood. Lots of media at the debate and it played to a full house of about 600 persons.
Rabbi Boteach delivered about 25 words for everyone from Flynt. Roseanne Barr was also on the platform and gave her views. Despite his outrageous schtick, Rabbi Boteach still endorses and lives within Jewish Law. He doesn't make up his Judaism. He's not like the Kabbalah Center on Robertston Blvd in LA.
Scheduled for 7:30PM, the program began at about 8:15PM. Robert Scheer, Los Angeles Times columnist and USC journalism professor Robert Scheer, served as moderator.
Rabbi Boteach gave a 30-minute opening sermon of his usual schtick - repeating jokes that I've now heard him tell five times in the past six weeks. He closed by asking Larry Flynt to publish a magazine with him called "Soulmates," about how people can improve their marriages.
Larry looks and sounds like the stereotypical pornographer. He's grossly fat, with jowls of fat riding over his shirt collar. His speech is painfully slow and slurred and barely understandable. Flynt claimed that 25% of Hustler's readership is women, a ludicrous claim.
Scheer said that Flynt was a First Amendment hero which gained loud applause.
Roseanne, a fat 48-year old TV star who's been married several times, said that with Larry's money, she's going to make the first feminist porn movie, using men who don't look like drug addicts. She's obviously way behind the times, and has never heard of Candida Royalle.
Rabbi Boteach's career got a large boost about a year ago when he appeared on Roseanne's TV show with three men from Oxford University who he was setting up with Roseanne's daughters.
Rabbi Boteach said that if he thought Larry Flynt was a bad person, he wouldn't be on the platform with him. I wonder how much Rabbi Boteach knows about Flynt? Rabbi Boteach must be willfully naive.
Rabbi says he's appalled how religious people have treated Flynt. Calling him a sinner and a wretch headed for hell.
Roseanne: "I am a fat woman and I look fabulous naked."
Rabbi: "I remember when Hustler first came out and everyone passed it around my day school."
In its April issue, Moment magazine reviews Rabbi Boteach's latest book 'Dating Secrets of the Ten Commandments.' "The author of Kosher Sex is at it again, this time with a grab-bag of dating tips. At times, Shmuley Boteach's attempt to impart serious dating advice based on the Ten Commandments is a stretch. ("Thou shalt not murder" is an imperative not to judge your date ---- "Judging someone is killing them.") But you'll also find some bold suggestions. For starters, couples should not rush into sex before marriage. They don't need to test sexual compatibility: If they care deeply enough, the sex will be great. And women shouldn't indulge the "male fantasy" that he's "not ready" for marriage. "If a man is ready to have sex, to allow a woman to become emotionally dependent on him, and if he is financially stable and not criminally insane, then he is ready to get married." I'm not sure how many of my dating peers, male or female, would take that advice to heart."
More Important Than Any Porno Pissing Match
Chaim Amalek writes: Two articles in the day's papers have caught my eye. Are we headed back to the bad old days of the 80's, when our cities were turned into shooting galleries? The first story is the headline in today's Daily News: "8th Driver Murdered: Livery cabbie shot dead in Bronx". Remember all the media noise and national attention that followed the failure of one Danny Glover, a millionaire black actor, to hail a cab in Manhattan? That got a lot more national attention than the current slaughter of black cabbies by black thugs here in New York. Just another sign of how disconnected the national media is from life as most people live it.
The second story, which I include, is about a shooting at the National Zoo in Washington, DC (no racial jokes please). Read it carefully. And finally, just to show that not all is grim in the world, scroll past the story about the stolen corpse and check out the story in the Daily News about porn queen Marylin Star: "70G for 'Independent' thinking'". Pretty funny.
From the April 26 Washington Post: The shootings marred a tradition that has lasted more than a century, the celebration of Easter Monday by African American families at the National Zoo. This year's event began with promise, sunshine and moderate temperatures. Squealing children searched for eggs hidden under straw, families cheered storytellers and animal trainers, and visitors swayed to jazz and gospel tunes in a light spring breeze.
But hours before dusk, the scene at the zoo had darkened. Police helicopters hovered in the sky as teenagers searched the crowd below for missing younger siblings. Detectives collected shell casings from the sidewalk, and the D.C. police chief spoke of possible gang activity. Across the street, little children sat crying in the Animal Crackers Cafe.
Average Life Expectancy of Porn Stars
AJB writes on RAME: I bumped into a site at http://northwesternmutual.com/games/longevity/ where you can calculate life expectancy. I input what I estimated to be the answers of typical porn starlets according to prevailing stereotypes. This is what I put in:
Age = 20;
Gender = Female
Blood Pressure = High blood pressure & smoke { all those DPs have
gotta boost blood pressure }
Height & Weight = 110 pounds, 5 feet, 5 inches { most of the girls
are thin but some are chunky and 5'5" seems about right } Family History
= Don't know mine { aren't most porn girls orphans or something? Or
at least they've blocked out their memory of Daddy. }
Exercise = Somewhat active { a few of the girls really work out a
lot, but most just seem to coast along on youth I think } Stress =
Stress often uses me { no brainer on this... don't you spell stress
"S-U-I-T-C-A-S-E P-I-M-P"? }
Driving = Convicted of DWI more than once in past 5 years { Houston
has a great driving record. Other pornstars have died in car accidents,
haven't they? }
Seatbelt = Don't wear { They're too busy giving head to movie producers
to be wearing seatbelts. }
Smoking = less than 1 pack per day { obvious }
Drinking = 3 drinks 3 times a week { think about: these girls go on
the strip club tour, we fans liquor 'em up, they pick our wallets,
etc. }
Drugs = use illicit { Crystal Meth anyone? }
Diet = average user of saturated fats { I'm sure some of the girls
nibble like birds but most of them eat their fill at the porn shoot
caterings. }
Having input these not-too-outrageous facts, I got an average porn starlet life expectancy of 51 years. Shocking. Perhaps I should have been more generous about the blood pressure estimate... that would have added several years I'm sure. Now if only I could come up with a average porn starlet industry shelf life expectancy. Probably most "pro" girls stay in the industry about 9 months. If they sign a Vivid contract, probably that adds 2 years. If they do a scene with TT Boy or Rocco Siffredi that will probably reduce both their industry shelf life and life expectancy due to internal injuries. Doing their own website probably adds 5 lingering, boring years to their "career". Each dodged cum-shot shaves about 2 weeks off of shelf life. Bolt-on tit job reduces popularity among fanatic porn stars but probably increases shelf life by about 4 months for each cup size up. Carefully following the detailed advice of RAMErs probably adds 4 years to shelf life, subtracts 2 years from life expectancy.
Nick Adams: Back in the bad old days, I remember noticing one girl had imbibed 23 Seven and Sevens one night (all bought by patrons). When I mentioned to her that I was in awe of her tolerance, she gave me a sip of pure Seven Up. She didn't have to lift wallets. Her cut of all the drinks guys bought her over the weekend was more than I made in a week.
Welcome to America - Here is Your Leaf Blower
Kendra Jade has a new boy friend - Josh, who entered the industry as James DiGiorgio's PA. She's about to go on the road (Sacramento) for a week.
Kendra, Rob Spallone, James DiGiorgio and other porners went to see Herschel Savage perform improv comedy with the Groundlings in Hollywood Monday night.
I called Rodger Jacobs this afternoon to give him Nic Cramer's number. I heard a loud buzzing in the background. I thought it was his wife's vibrator but no, it was the mowing crew next door.
Rodger: "It's the Mexicans across the street with a leaf blower. I think they hand them out at the border. 'Welcome to America, here is your leaf blower.'"
Jacobs has just finished the script for Video Team's No Man's Land 31, the 20th No Mans collaboration between Jacobs and director Wesley Emerson.
Next Rodger will write the final installment of Wicked's Double Feature series 'Son of the Double Feature.'
Luke returns to psycho-therapy with Rabbi Rabinowitz this afternoon, after a nine month break.
Anonymous: Does anyone know what happened to Missy? She just sort of disappeared and no one has said a word. Anything on her whereabouts and when and why she left the business? Just as these girls think "they're all that", they disappear without a trace and become nobody. A warning to those women in the business and think they're such superstars...
Luke: She's retired and left porno. Good for her.
Kianna Bradley vs Earl Slate
Kianna Bradley and Earl Slate (Anthony Stearns) go to court Tuesday morning. Earl will be arraigned on charges that he beat Kianna on Thursday, April 13.
I talked to Kianna by phone Monday morning. She needs a criminal lawyer. Email her at kiannabradley1@aol.com.
Kianna: "He called me yesterday and was all f---ed up."
Luke: "Is he still in jail?"
Kianna: "No, he's out. He's getting loaded again. My friend called to say that he was at his boat, getting f---ed up and smoking crack. Here, listen to how f---ed up he is."
I listed to Earl's message on Kianna's answering service.
Earl: "Hey Kitty. This is Tony. Boy, I don't even know why I am calling. I am calling to let you know that I really hope you stop doing what you're doing. I really hope you get help. I really hope you get into rehab and detox and all that s---. You know, after all the things you've done to me, and costs for my movies, costs for my money... I don't even know why I care but you know, I still do care about you. So. Don't bother calling back but I just want to let you know that I hope you get straight and get your life in order because you're killing yourself, you're hurting yourself, and I know you're not happy. This isn't a threatening call. This isn't a call to tell you what to do. I'm just telling you to get your s--- together because I know that you're a good person on the inside. You owe it to yourself and to a lot of other people to be a good person. Ok?"
Kianna: "Hang on, I've got some more messages... I guess he thought he was calling my friend."
I hear Earl's voice on another message.
Earl: "Hey Pipes, this is Earl. Give me a call..."
Another message:
Earl: "Hey Pipes, how are you doing brother? This is Earl. Call me... It is imperative... And we'll sort through these issues..."
Kianna: "That was our drug dealer."
Giggle.
Luke: "Who's Pipes?"
Kianna: "Our drug dealer. He called my phone thinking it was his phone. He sounds very f---ed up, doesn't he?"
Luke: "Yes."
Kianna: "And he's going to court. I don't understand him."
Luke: "How did he get out? How did he post so much bail?"
Kianna: "His bail got reduced from $50,000 to $2,000. I'm thinking he's got to be ratting people out. That's the only way."
Luke: "Yeah, strange."
Kianna: "It is, isn't it?"
Luke: "Have you called him back?"
Kianna: "No."
Luke: "How are you healing from your beating?"
Kianna: "Pretty good. I still have a couple of bruises here and there but other than that I am doing much better.
"I freaked out when I heard he had gotten out. They called me and said he was out. Oh s---, how did that happen?
"And my friend called that gives him drugs, or used to... He called and wanted $200 worth of s---, blah, blah, blah... And then he's on the boat with a couple of people getting f---ed up. Since he's been out."
Luke: "It doesn't sound like he's cleaned up his act any."
Kianna: "Not at all. He sounds much worse. I've never heard him sound this f---ed up before, even when I knew he was f---ed up."
I talked to Earl at 11AM.
Luke: "I heard you're going to court tomorrow?"
Earl: "Who did you hear that from?"
Luke: "Kianna."
Earl: "Well, why don't you? Because there's going to be stuff that I really don't want to say publicly but if you're going to be there, you can hear it. Hopefully she won't be there, because I don't want to fight with her there.
"Things have happened since I was in jail. My truck was stolen. My Mercedes was shipped to Alabama. She shipped it to Alabama after we broke up. Also, $3000 worth of checks were forged by guess who out of my account. All of this stuff that I am bringing up tomorrow to prove that she is a liar and a thief and not a credible witness to say that she and I had an assault...
"What really happened is that she hit me, I did not hit her. She'd broken onto my boat by cutting the lock... It's hideous."
Luke: "How did she get bruised? Did she fall?"
Earl: "She has been high for about two months straight without sleeping and she falls down frequently. There have been several people that have said that they've seen her falling down on boats. She was staying on another boat, not mine. I don't want to talk about this stuff. That's not my game. But if you hear it in court, that's a different deal."
Kianna replies: "We sent his Mercedes to Alabama to get if fixed because he totalled it because he was too f---ed up to drive. His truck is in the garage where he parked it. He must be too cracked out to remember that it was there. If he really thought it was stolen, why didn't he make a police report?
"The prosecuting attorney is Mindy Page... I guess it is going to be a pre-trial thing..."
Luke: A few months ago, Kianna wrote this: O.K. Emmett. I suppose that Luke will love this because he has not written anything about Earl and my Breakup out of respect for my feelings (thank you Luke) Here is the scoop, (I will probably get massacred by Earl after this) I have nothing bad really to say about Mr. Slate. The reason we are broken up is because he claims that he has a very bad drug problem because of me. Which humors me because we don't do the same drugs? Hehe lol :) (not that I do any drugs or support the use of drugs in any way) hehe haha lol :) I was extremely in love with Mr. Slate. (WAS being the operative WORD) He was so Self involved it was taking away from our relationship. I was so into this image of what he thought he was, it didn't allow me to be myself. After some very horrid emotional experiences through out our relationship, we found it best to part ways. I have found it impossible to be friends with Mr. Slate or to my best interest to be in the same zip code as him. He has a lot to learn about treating a woman. (especially one that cared about him) I have recovered this harsh break up and am happy I have many friends and love around me daily. I'd like to say, thank you very much to Luke for checking up on me, to Greg for cuddling me, to Mc Cormic for making me laugh (and putting up with my s---) Mike Adam for making me see the light and keeping me busy and working to keep my mind off of it and for being a awesome friend and my very bestest friend Phyllisha Anne.(see emmett, I have put all these people through hell) by the way Anabolic was there for me the entire time. If you really knew me you would understand what a basketcase i am right now and it takes a good person to deal with me. So, I hope that answers you question about the break up and it also may shed some light on why I am so f---ed up. I am just too nice for somebody to be mean to. (to Earl it didn't matter) Love Ya, Kianna.
Get Me to a Nunnery
Rewritten from Reuters: ROME, April 12 - One of Italy's most famous pornstars says had had enough of the hard life and was taking a spiritual retreat in a convent.
``I'm tired of this life and I've been thinking of leaving the hard porn scene for a while,'' 30-year-old Luana Borgia said. ``I don't regret anything about my past, but...I want to do something else, perhaps cinema and television,'' she added.
Borgia, whose real surname is Pardon, plans to take a three-week break in a convent in the southern town of Cosenza at the invitation of its prior, Father Fedele. The Capuchin monk met Borgia, the star of some 30 sex movies, four years ago when she donated an ambulance for the order's missions in Africa.
RAME vs AVN
AVN writer Mark Kernes writes on GeneRoss.com: "It's clear that Gene's site is far more informative, in a factual way, than Luke's, and it's equally clear that Gene does not indulge in anywhere near the amount of rumor-mongering (not to mention veiled and not-so-veiled hatred of the industry) that Luke does or that rame does, for that matter. So I (at least) see a vast difference. But that having been said, I reiterate that I do not respect gossip, and I wish AVN did not operate this site. But that's not my decision to make."
Red Man writes on RAME: I just thought of this. If they were to make a major hollywood movie based on Traci Lord's life around the mid 80's when she was doing her illegal activity would you pay money to see it on big screen? I kinda thought they could make a movie cause it did create a scandal ,people went to jail,movies were pulled off shelves,her movies were dubbed the very scary word "child pornography" etc. It has all the makings of a good story. The movie can be like the 1997 release "Boogie Nights" extravaganza major actors etc. They can also explore the Greg Dark features since they at that time were considered different and ahead of it's time also Traci Lords starred in a few. I just think it could work but then again people will say who gives a s--- about Traci Lords all she does is B movies and she is a wash up,well I agree but I was way too young at the time to hear about the scandal and to find information about it now is kinda hard since nobody cares about the subject.I just think it could work. What do you think...would you pay money to see Traci Lords porn memoirs in a big budget film?
Mr Facts: Nothing can be as well done as the 60 minute "E! True Hollywood Story: Traci Lords" documentary, which I have seen at least 10 times. As for the 120 minute "E! True Hollywood Story: Savannah" documentary which I have seen twice, it is a must that you watch "Little Girl Lost: The Savannah Story" from Sin City Films right afterwards.
Believe it or not, Cocaine was so popular in the 1980's that it was almost legal in some places. There were people who lived and worked in Manhattan NYC, who would go as long as 4 months with absolutely no sleep. 24 / 7 without even a 5 minute nap. They would work from 9 am to 5 pm, and then party from 10 pm to 6 am in Palladium or Studio 54, which both used to be open 6 days a week (Monday thru Saturday). Former NYC 1980's porno actor Bobby Spector said that "Manhattan was a floating Roman orgy". And I am sure that in California (where Traci made her movies) it was probably just as wild. She claimed that she got the scare of her life when she OD'ed.
Internet Porn
Rockman writes on YNOTnetwork.com: Looking for a mentor to provide productive info, to help a struggling webmaster. My pay site is www.babe-a-saurus.com and my free site is www.sex-a-saurus.com. I generate about 25,000 page hits of which about 10% are uniques clicks. My memberships sold are next to nothing.
John Copeland, porn content provider at www.bestadultcontent.com, responds: Hey "Rock", You got license for ANY of your content? I doubt it...
http://www.babe-a-saurus.com/freepics/9.html
This is one of MY shots (the girl not the lizard) and I want it removed immediately. I'm willing to bet you don't have a license to anything on your site.
I'm not going to pull any punches with you. ...or waste anytime telling you how to improve your site. It is pay sites like yours that cause the entire industry problems. Feel happy you don't get many signups. Unless you have 25,000 pics and tons of other content your members would not be very happy. Even if you have the 25,000 pics and they aren't licensed, it is only a matter of time before you get closed down - leaving a recurring membership without a product. Having legal content is a prerequisite for starting a paysite. Now anyone can consider putting unlicensed content on a paysite these days is hard to fathom. After everything the guys at CCBill told me about how "they only process quality sites", I see that they did accept you. I think they just lost me. You are a perfect example of someone who should NOT be running a paysite. You are what Buttlord's story in the YNOT news is all about. You got some fun graphics and it looks like you have some good graphic design skills but you are obviously not ready to compete in today's adult paysite marketplace.
George: I am an affiliate for several gay/porn sites. So far April/2000 is turning out to be one of my worst months for revenue. Hits are stable but sign ups are down by about 50% This is the case for ALL my accounts using various billing companies. I know there was a shake up with the darn credit card companies and am wondering if their credit card approvals have been tightened. Or is April just a soft month.
David from Nightcharm.com writes on YNOT: Go get 'im John. We'll just call ya "T-Rex" from now on ;-)
George: Yeah, hands down April has been the worst month I've ever experienced in this biz. Just sucking the big one royally...And I'm surprised more folks aren't talking about it -- and I'm wondering if no one wants to broach the subject because they're just hoping it all goes away soon. (Unlikely though, with summer looming and the slow down that entails).
And, too, I noticed the sharp drop in revenue right after the whole credit card debacle started two months ago.
I saw this coming though -- knowing full well that there would be repercussions in the biz due to all the bulls--- billing procedures some of the big membership sites were employing (are STILL employing...go take a gander at some of the Terms of Agreement pages still in place; you'll find a good percentage of sites make NO MENTION of how much the trial membership converts over to, etc).
For newbies trying to make a go of it right now there is a "sins of the father" phenomena happening. Meaning, they are paying the price for all the crap that went down in the biz during the last couple of years. Starting with X-Pics and the hideous precedent they set. The good news (well, to me it's good news) is that with the CC crackdown, and the free hosts cleaning up their act, and the content providers going after thieves, the business will start to thin out some. The word will spread that it's NOT an easy way to make a quick buck, which means eventually my f---ing traffic won't be so diluted with all the dreck that started clogging the pipelines during the "boom" of '99 when every nebish with a copy of Photoshop and GoLive decided they'd purchase a new Lexus by "getting into online porn."
Final advice. Tighten up your site(s), get your traffic up and then try to move your sponsors to a flat rate advertising situation. That's what I've been doing, and it's working pretty good. Frankly I'm tired of all the reseller/proggy s---. Running banners that suck bandwidth, don't convert well, and not making anything to show for it. I come from a magazine and newspaper publishing background, and never ever would a publisher PAY for the space of running someone's advertising -- with the hope that the reader was piqued enough to go and purchase that advertisers product or service. It's up to the advertiser to design an ad and offer a product that is strong and will engage the reader/viewer enough to make a purchase.
All these $40, $50, $60 signup rates that sponsors are promising folks now are going down the toliet soon. There's no way they can keep that sort of stuff up anymore without ripping someone, somewhere off. (The customer or the webmaster). And the stringent new charge back percentages, etc. are the first of several punitive measures Visa and MC have set in place to counteract the bulls---. I'm sure there's more to come.
Smart webmasters will pay attention to posts like yours and start sussing out what their next move should be to accomidate the oldest Zen law in the book. "The only constant is change." And it's time for a big one in this biz.
Shmuley vs Flynt on Dennis Prager
Shmuley Boteach debated Larry Flynt Monday morning on the nationally syndicated Dennis Prager show on KABC, 790 AM in Los Angeles. Flynt listens often to Prager. And he even autographed Prager a copy of his autobiography. "Think pink."
Shannon made the following post to alt.radio.talk. "I heard a highly reliable insider rumor a couple of days ago that struggling rant radio stalwarts KABC have been studiously discussing a multi-lingual format mixing Spanish and English programming with the addition of several hours of Mexican music. Apparently some of the boardroom types at the station uncomfortably aware of their job insecurity have been seriously assesing the idea of replacing 2 hours worth of the plumeting John & Ken Show and all of in-the-doldrums Dennis Prager with a Spanish speaking DJ spinning traditional Mexican folk tunes. Larry Elder's show meanwhile will undergo a revamp in which he will be joined by an ideologically disimilar Latino co-host who will take calls in Spanish from listeners alternating with Larry's English speaking callers. Good news for Al Rantel fans: His show remains unchanged by the new Spanglish format, though oddly Al would seem well suited to the new style due to his speaking Spanish fluently. Anyway, sounds like the guys at KABC are becoming imaginative and inovative in the quest to boost ratings. I'm sure Drew and the crew will point this wayward ship in the right direction in no time flat with these new changes."
Rabbi Boteach: "Dennis you are one of the main influences on my life... You subscribe to Playboy. How does your wife feel?"
Prager: "My wife bought me the Sports Illustrated bathing suit issue. My wife loves me for being a man as I love her for being a woman... My woman is not in competition for Miss February. That's preposterous."
Rabbi Boteach claimed that a study showed that 84% of American men fantasize about other women while having sex with their wife.
Prager responded that if the statistic is true, that it also holds for Iran, where women go around in chadors.
Prager to Larry: "Are you a pornographer?"
Larry: "Yes, unlike my competitors, I don't claim my product is art."
Prager and the rabbi commended Larry for his honesty.
Prager said to Flynt that he suspected that many of the women who pose for him and other pornographers come from troubled backgrounds.
Larry: "I remember when I first started Hustler in the mid '70s. This 18-year old model came in from Toledo, as cute as she could be. And every girl, I ask 'Why do you want to pose for us?' She said 'I come from a very religious background. My father is a pastor and he's kept me extremely repressed all my life and I want out.' So the person is not necessarily coming from a dysfunctional background."
Rabbi: "She did come from a dysfunctional background. Repression is a dysfunction. Kosher Sex is not about dysfunction."
Prager called Flynt and Boteach eloquent spokesmen for their positions. I find Flynt painful to listen to and difficult to understand. He slurs his words.
Dennis: "What is happening on the internet because of the ease of access. I have my laptop with me and I was just checking on my mail. 90% of the mail I got on one account is spam...and much of it is for sexually explicit material. You can click on the link and see images that when I was growing up you could only get in a brown paper bag."
Larry: "There are a dozen browers out there, like Net Nanny, that will block access to children to these websites... We can't limit material to what is appropriate to children... I think the government should take action on this, there is material on the internet that is not acceptable."
Shmuley: "The problem is not just children, it is adults getting access to this... We are creating a nation of voyeurs, who prefer to download porn than make love to their wives."
Rabbi Boteach speaks about twice as much as Flynt, and because he speaks three times as fast, he's getting in about six times as many comments.
Larry: "I don't want to idealize the pre-porn past... Some of my relatives did not sleep together in 30 years..."
Rabbi: "I want to quote from Larry's autobiography... I want to out him tonight as a closet romantic..."
Larry: "I was able to discover early in life the difference between sex and love. When you're a young man, it's easy to get taken in... Love is built on a solid foundation...
"There are two types of people regarding pornography. Those who don't know what they're talking about and those who don't know what they're missing."
Rabbi: "I guess I would fall into both camps."
Larry: "Nobody in America will disagree that sex is unbelievably great if you happen to be in love with the person... But it is not an ideal world."
Caller: "I want more sex than my wife. She's just not interested."
Rabbi: "You have to learn how to light her fire. Masturbation is an empty experience."
Caller: "I have. I've read Mars and Venus and all that... She's just not interested."
Larry: "You can't argue that a woman's appetite is going to be like a man..."
Rabbi: "I think men and women are sexually compatible. Women love sex. The Bible says that women have a stronger drive than men. Look at women's magazines, they are obsessed with sex."
Smuooly Boteach
Chaim Amalek writes: Luke, I understand that you are going to that punch and judy show between Boteach and Flynt this evening. (Damn I wish I could go! Too bad my cardiologist won't let me take such long trips.) IF you get to ask either of them any questions, please pop them with these:
For Boteach: Ads have been appearing in the New York Times asserting that the dead Menachem Schneerson of Lubavitch is the Melech Moshiach, merely waiting for the people to accept his reign to make that all important public appearance on Letterman to give us all the good news. Tell me Reb Boteach, you were Lubavitch yourself - IS The Rebbe the Moshiach? (Note - such an ad appears in today's New York edition, placed by a group calling itself "YeChi Ha Melech.)
For Flynt: Why do your daughters say you had incest with them? Are they telling the truth? Also, is it not true that you have written hateful letters to your underlings in porn regarding the power of jewish homosexuals in Hollywood?
Finally, here is an idea for winning more acceptance from Jews. Have your name legally changed to Levi Praeger. After all, is not Dennis your spiritual father?
Larry Flynt vs Shmuley Boteach
NEW YORK, April 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Beliefnet.com, the premiere online destination for spirituality, morality and religion, will broadcast the full audio and text of the first-ever public debate, between Hustler Magazine publisher Larry Flynt and Beliefnet contributor Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, author of the popular book, "Kosher Sex."
These two highly opinionated thinkers will square off in a no-holds-barred showdown, dubbed "Pornography, Sexuality and the Internet" before a live audience at the Wilshire Theater in Los Angeles at 7:30 p.m. on Monday April 24, 2000. For those who cannot attend what is sure to be a clash between Flynt and Boteach, audio and text transcripts of the debate will be accessible exclusively at http://www.beliefnet.com on Wednesday, May 3rd.
"Many Americans are profoundly concerned about the easy accessibility of pornography on the Internet," says Beliefnet.com co-founder Steve Waldman." This debate seemed like a natural way of exploring, in an in-depth manner, the ethical and spiritual dimension of the controversy."
Los Angeles Times columnist Robert Scheer will moderate the event. Scheer is best known for his famous interview with Jimmy Carter in which the former President admitted to having "lust in his heart." Scheer also teaches Media and Society at the University of Southern California and is editor of the On- Line Journalism Review for USC.
During and immediately following the broadcast of this important debate, visitors to http://www.beliefnet.com will be able to offer their personal views on pornography, join chat room discussions and cast their votes in an online poll on the issue.
One of the nation's foremost spiritual voices, Rabbi Boteach has penned 10 books, including the highly acclaimed "Kosher Sex" and "Dating Secrets of the Ten Commandments." He is also a frequent guest on such programs as the Today Show, Politically Incorrect, and The View. Unlike most religious leaders, Rabbi Boteach doesn't make a case against pornography based primarily on the moral argument that it is sinful, "evil," or degrading to women. Rather, he lays out a practical, cogent and well-reasoned analysis as to pornography's ill effects.
Larry Flynt is perhaps the country's best-known advocate for pornography, which he forcefully argues is protected under the First Amendment. He has been at the center of several legal skirmishes and other battles over pornography as a form of free speech. Flynt's life, as well as his career as publisher of Hustler since 1974, was dramatized in the Oliver Stone movie The People vs. Larry Flynt.
Hawaiin Love Nest
Luke: After reading Mark Kernes condemn gossip on GeneRoss.com today, I decided to rerun a piece I had on my site for an hour a week ago, then took off.
I'm hearing reports about an adulterous affair between prominent members of the trade magazine Adult Video News who are shacking up together in Hawaii [they are now back in LA].
AVN Vice President Darren Roberts is reportedly boffing the pretty blonde Lisa Love, assistant to publisher Paul Fishbein.
Darren has a wife back in Los Angeles, talent manager Allison Roberts, who's got her hands full raising three kids, one just four months old.
Luke: "Is it causing havoc at AVN?"
XXX reports: "No, this is the standard for those people. He is not the only married man there having an affair. They are having no ill effects from what is such a normal thing to all of them."
Last Thursday, Luke received this email: "Did you know that Darren Roberts is having an affair with Lisa, Paul Fishbein's assistant. She split his family up, started the affair while his wife was 5 months pregnant, and got him out when the baby was only 6 weeks old? Darren is now sellng out and checking out but staying with Lisa in Hawaii all for the love of AVN."
Then later, I got this: "I forgot to say that he was caught night of the gayVN awards in a hotel room with her. Which she had been riding on a few female laps just hours before. Normally a lesbian, Lisa has formed quite a reputation for herself. Oh, and their marriage was 9 years long."
Luke: Are you sure of this?
XXX: "So sure that you can't even imagine. Don't worry, this will probably be a first to have facts right from the get go. Go to print! Did you catch the part about her normal sexual behaviors? Quite interesting considering who he was married to. Might say something for ex industry girls. Or maybe it says something about Darren being to much like the first husband, Walter. Seems if I recall that marriage ended the same way."
Luke: I emailed the parties involved but received no comment.
Brandy: "What is that crap? HE split his family up. How come you always blame the woman? She may be of loose moral fiber for f---ing a married man, but it's the married man who f---s her, in a complete disregard for his vows, commitments and promises, on top of having loose moral fiber. Place blame where it belongs. I hope he has to pay LOTS and LOTS of alimony for his choices."
Luke: Yes, it appears he's tearing up an entire family.
Brick writes: Hello. I am a straight man, aged 20 years old and I happen to be a big porn fan. I hope you post this statment on your website even though you have probably heard this bulls--- before. I got a question. What's up with all these porn stars with gay pasts and gay side jobs still insising that they are straight. I do not care that much but how the f--- does a guy get a hard on to f--- and suck off another guy quite a few times. I have heard that gay porn sets are even more difficult and the production takes a heck of a lot longer than on a straight set. Do these guys mean to tell me that they are not bi or gay if they are going to have a hardon for hours, around and close to other gay men by choice or voluntarily. I do not think so? I could understand if they somehow did it like once or twice if they were hard-up for cash. But then you got Frank Towers/Mark Slade and Peter North/Matt Ramsey saying they are not bi when they have starred in a handful or more of gay flicks. Or you got Mr. Marcus saying that he is straight because he claims that he pitches, not catches. I do not give a f--- but I think you make a jerk out of yourself when you cannot even be true to yourself. Peace!
!Q2 writes on RAME: i was watching one of tommie's [Byron's] whack attack tapes this weekend. he was doing someone hot like jessica darling. she is beautiful for sure. they were in the 69 position. next thing you know they show tommie with his legs spead and feet up in the air like a bitch taking it in the ass and poor jessica was tossing his salad. is there a more disturbing site in all of porn? seeing a beautiful woman like that licking tommie's shaved anus and shriveled nutsack is too much. tommie looks like he's taken it up the ass before the way he spreads his legs and all. hee hee
Nick: Actually, yes. I was watching a *Vivid* flick featuring the goddess NJ de Bahia. It was typical Vivid sex scene until Sergio came on NJ's tits. Sergio then licked up his own cum and spit it back out into NJ's mouth. I was traumatized for days.
Lynne writes: This letter is especially for Luke: You seem to be very productive and centered since your return. Happy? Maybe?
Hope this new journey into therapy leads in healing directions. I assume that this rabbi offers you something in the way of loving, stable paternalesque guidance. And doesn't accuse you of fornicating when you experiment. Your sadness brings tears to all the fluffy little clouds, and spring is the time for sunshine, so happiness is out there for the looking! But I take effexor and have for years. (But then didn't I have the kind of stress Praeger said was "difficult" to handle without a theistic worldview? Maybe something I do works?) Is this bout of therapy going to be public fodder or have you decided that you, too, deserve sacred space? You have seen the kind of hurt that comes when one puts the sacred on display. However you want to define "sacred."
Speaking of marriage, and not telling the truth: Men don't stray during a woman's pregnancy unless there's a good reason, usually involving the woman and the pregnancy. It's a time of extreme stress, whether the pregnancy is wanted or not. Having an affair with the boss's secretary is such a stereotypical mid-life crisis. A real piss on the picket fence, there, in marriage talk.
One of the reasons you and I don't work for AVN is because we don't
condone those kinds of games. Extramarital sex isn't always an "affair,"
but the porno industry is NEVER an excuse for cheating on one's spouse.
Bruce was almost always with me when I did scenes or I asked his permission
to have sex with someone before I did it. Bruce Walker was hardly
a suitcase pimp: he just thought it was saver, and liked watching
his wife get f---ed when he knew how horny she was and couldn't do
the job himself. But if, as you say, cheating on one's significant
other is a lifestyle over at AVN, for both men and the few women,
no wonder they don't like us! We don't approve of that s---!