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Monday, June 25th, 2001

What The World Needs Now Is Scat, Sweet Scat

Concerned writes: Reading Gene's site it seems that Extreme Associates are getting more into golden showers and scat. Does it seem like Rob Black is hell-bent on getting an obscenity conviction? Does he fantasize about becoming a Larry Flynt style martyr? He better watch it or John Ashcroft is going to turn Mr. Black into Hustler's newest "Jail Babe."

Vince Voyeur's New Girlfriend

Raptor writes: I recently watched a scene of Vince Voyeur with Cheyenne O'Donnell, Nice Rack ... I think it was #6. Anyways, they mentioned Vince has a 19 year old girl friend. Who is she? I can't find news on this anywhere. I'd appreciate your help Luke!

Patrick Riley Denies Racism

Crjms writes Luke: what is your problem with people of other races? in the review for "Little White Chicks....Big Black Monster Dicks" you say that the movie is for people who feel slighted that they have to make due with black women. Why all the hostility towards black women? just because you don't like a movie and aren't attracted to black women doesn't mean that everybody sees black women as "second rate". i thought you would realize that there are white men who are onyl attracted to black women...but obviously,those white guys are just confused right. you bad talk the black guys alot,and as a black man i'm used to it,go on.but that just bugs me that you have to talk about black women like that. I think black women are gorgeous,as well as every other race of women.stop trying to be so provocative with your reviews of movies that strike a nerve and just stay to the review.stop knocking black women.

Luke says: I don't write any reviews. I think what you refer to was written by Pat Riley.

From Patrick Riley: I was about to question which of the "Little White Chicks..." movies crjms (obviously a product of the NYC educational system) was referring to but reading the part about "you say that the movie is for people who feel slighted that they have to make due with black women" I guess he's talking about #1. Unless there's a part of your website unknown to me in which you re-publish all my reviews of the past, this can only come from the printed volume VIII of the Guide. He's really confused. Or maybe he thinks Patrick Riley is a pseudonym for Luke F-rd? I don't know whether I should be insulted (or maybe you should be?).

Anyway the actual wording is:

"This is obviously catering to the black audience who feel slighted that they have to make do with black women. There's even a disclaimer up front to tell you that everything is fiction and the author (Jake Steed) doesn't mean to attack any racial group. Bulls---!..."

This is not hostility towards black women but you could perhaps make a case that it is hostility towards black males who see black women as inferior to their white sisters. Despite Dr. Pierce's view most white girls reject black males, hence the hostility shown in this series. Little White Chicks... also caters to the typical white raincoater who is unable to seduce any "good" white girl so he wants them punished and what greater punishment than to be raped by the scum de la scum, a black male.

As to my personal hostility to black women, you have it all wrong. Fat pigs are fat pigs whether they be white or black so you'll find plenty of hostility to the Oprah type but the cute, firm bodied cutie pies such as Crave, Lacey Duvall, Karizzma, and Monica (black) receive nothing but praise. I even drooled over a pregnant Chocolate in a recent Ready To Drop volume.

While I have you on the phone, so to speak, Luke, what's with Ed Powers and condoms these days? Ed went through a short period at the time of the Marc Wallice problems of using condoms as part of his contribution to political correctness, however like the rest of the industry he soon returned to bareback. Then in about MDD #190 (released 5/30/01) he suddenly starts wearing them again. Has there been another HIV scare that you haven't reported? Has Ed personally picked up something nasty? Has Ed been "caught" by some shameless hussy into supporting their love child and doesn't want to repeat the experience? Or, seeing that Ed has changed his S2257 address, has he been acquired by one of the more cautious companies in the business?

Enquiring minds want to know.

Jack writes: L-- Regarding the post about Ed Powers and condoms, I bet it would be a hoot to somehow send an e-mail to him and say, gee, I'm a former dirty debutant, and I'm pregnant, and you must marry me immediately (or support our love child). It might be more effective to get some female to telephone old Ed. (Actually, I wonder whether that has ever happend to him. I also wonder how he'd react.) It might be more interesting to send him three e-mails (or phone calls) from ostensibly three different females. Another variation might be to send him something purporting to be a letter from an attorney concerning a paternity suit. Whatcha think? I wonder how he'd react?

Luke says: He's familiar with this rap. He's fathered several kids through his work. I'm sure he has lawyers and he knows just what to do.

Jack replies: You're kidding? Does he wind up getting nailed for child support? That could be a bit expensive. Any other male porn stars wind up getting nailed for child support arising out of their work? Does Ed care about what happens to his offspring, or does he just forget about it after they come to some financial settlement? What's the scoop? Boy, how would you like to find out that you were conceived in a "Dirty Debutante" video? Could you imagine watching a video of you being conceived, and find out that Ed Powers is your Dad? Yech!!!

Luke says: Ed Powers is an honorable man. Yes he pays child support. He's in contact, I believe, with some of his kids. This is a sore subject with him. I'm sure there are many male porn stars who get nailed for child support as a result of their work. This kind of moral delinquency grows inevitably out of accepting Natural Law rather than God's Law as the source for ethics.

Vivid Details

So I finally got my hands on the June issue of Details which profiles Vivid. And there's not much new information here.

The cover shouts: "The making of porn's first billionaires." That's ridiculous. And Vivid ain't going public in the next four years.

Overall, his piece, with the photos, is another glossy glamorous look at porn's biggest producer ("particular brand of creative expression") owned by Steve Hirsch, 39, and David James, 59. The underlying subtext is that because Vivid grosses so much money, it and its owners are cool and interesting. Vivid will probably gross about $100 million in 2001, up from $90 million in the 2000, $70 million in 1999, and $35 milllion in 1998.

Like Frank Rich, Salkin claims: "Vivid offers a full-frontal view of an industry on the cusp of corporate legitimacy, primed to join the legal, billion-dollar vices of booze and cigarettes. This is, indeed, an only-in-America, rags-to-filthy riches story."

Salkin writes: "David James has spent fourteen years with his current girlfriend, Mary Jo, 49. She heads Vivid's international-sales department. The couple live on a Topanga Canyon hillside; their house has a sweeping view of the valley... He drives a Mercedes S600, sails a $750,000 yacht, and buys $350 bottles of Chateau Margaux. Hirsch, meanwhile, lives on the edge of the Santa Susanna Mountains, about ten miles from James, in a new, $1.6 million mansion with his girlfriend of two years... A muscular five-foot-eight, he dresses in spotless jeans and collarless short-sleeve shirts that show off his toned arms. His unlined face has a perpetual tan.

"The six-bedroom, 8,000-square-foot Spanish villa in gated Indian Springs Estates sits on more than two rolling acres dotted with oak trees and sandstone boulders."

Regarding Vivid's much talked about IPO: "But analysts say they may be fantasizing. "The biggest problem they're going to have is institutional investors not wanting to be associated with that type of company," says Derek Blaine, senior analyst with Kagan World Media. Other, less credentialed critics make sharper attacks. "This is as sleazy a hard-core porno organization as any other," says Luke F-rd, the Matt Drudge of the porn industry. "It's just that they're better at putting a good face on it." He does allow that Vivid treats its stars better than any other company. "Women are not spat on in their productions," he says."

Bordello Confidential

I just looked through Dennis Hof's new magazine "Bordello Confidential" online at www.BordelloConfidential.com. It seems another professional smut publication with more than 200 porn photos. And some interesting interviews.

Screw magazine publisher Al Goldstein writes: "Every red-blooded American male has fantasies of being a big-timepimp. Of having his own harem of big-titted bimbos at his beck and call, slobbering all over his dick whenever they get a break from putting money in his pocket. Usually this fantasy is a crock, because most pimps are in the business of debasing women, ensuring their slavish dependence through threats of violence and withholding drugs from their strugn-out whores.

"Dennis Hof, however, is different. He is a true big-time pimp, who truly loves and respects women. Dennis is what we in the Jew-infested porn industry call a "mentsch" - a straight up, honorable guy who won't s--- on his friends. This is true despite the fact that he is a big-shlonged Goy, unfettered by the handicap of a small cock - which is what led most of us into a business that comes with free, uncritical pussy."

Hof says: "The Bunnyranch has 250 house girls, with 140 porn stars, including magazine centerfolds, who've come through these doors. And I always have the pick of the litter. I'm the guy. If a girl comes into the Bunnyranch...and she's fresh and young and fine and just turned 18, and is the most beautiful creature in the world, guess who gets to party with her?

"Celebrities, athletes, rock stars - they all come here for several reasons. One, nobody is going to call the National Enquirer. Two, nobody is getting pregnant. Three, nobody is calling up these same celebrities and bugging them the next day. Four, they're not going to get any sexually transmitted diseases.

"Ruby's totally hot. I love her tits and ass, and she does the best reverse strip around. It's outrageous. Mila is the Queen of Nasty. What I like about Mila is that she can ejaculate nearly six feet and she also does things with vegetables that nobody's ever thought of.

"It was Larry Flynt's idea to get porn girls out here. So I started working with our mutual friend Ron Jeremy on it, and finally Sunset Thomas decided to come up and work for us. She was the first, and she set the tone. A man cannot die before having sex with Sunset Thomas. This is a very serious piece of ass. We had a virgin come up to the Bunny Ranch to have sex with Sunset and I thought to myself, "Now where does this guy go next?" It's all downhill after that.

"We don't have to recruit these porn stars, they usually come to us. It's more than just about money for most of them. They just love to f--- their fans.

"When I got into this business, I thought I was a pretty wild guy. I'd hung out in Third World countries, and did all the fun, kinky stuff. But after you're in this business for a while, you find out that you're really not that kinky because there are other guys who are really way out there! I think that in the 21st Century, sex is more about fantasy and role-playing rather than simply penetration."

Ron Jeremy says: Al Goldstein introduced me to Dennis Hof over dinner at Spagos in Beverly Hills. I remember Dennis talking about how he wanted to bring porn stars to his Bunnyranch bordello. I was polite and offered my assistance, but essentially told him his idea would never fly.

At that time there were a few XXX actresses doing the escort scene and a few were even working for the Hollywood Madam, Heidi Fleiss, but it was all very hush-hush and private - certainly nothing that was being promoted or talked about openly.

Nonetheless, I introduced Dennis to Rayne and a few other gals from the industry. They worked the ranch but I was still not optimistic. It wasn't until I hooked him up with Sunset Thomas at the Free Speech Dinner Dance in the Universal Hilton that I realized the guy was magic.

Silver tongued, I'm telling you. The guy gives good talk. From that point on I was convinced Dennis could do no wrong. I remember one time, a bunch of us were out on the town and Dennis started pitching my date. Now, that girl had only slept with five men in her whole life. She was like the good girl I always dreamed of and I'm ready to make book on his proposition tanking big-time. But what happens? The tootsie ends up working for Dennis the very next day!

I believe there's two compelling reasons for the Bunny Ranch's success. The first is the collapse of communism and the Berlin Wall. The influx of incredibly beautiful girls coming from eastern block nations has glutted the porn industry.

In the Ginger Lynn, Traci Lords era, a great looking girl could work non-stop for a few years. These girls would work hard, horde their dough and sit it out. At the same time, all the gorgeous strip-club dancers had holier-than-thou attitudes. They snubbed the porn girls until the porn girls started dancing and got feature dancer status on account of their on-screen fame. Hell, they were making more in a weekend than the house dancers were making in a month.

Suddenly everyone wants to do porn - suck a little dick, do a few movies and make big bucks as a feature dancer.

Lili Marlene Update

Loser writes: I was in LAX once four or five years ago. She was in a Delta uniform and was working at a gate counter/computer that was vacant/no flight. She's tall and just as skanky in person. I felt sorry for her, so I did not want to say anything to her. I think she saw me staring at her, and as a result, she had some goofy snaggle-toothed grin thing going on. Nice rack, tho.

The World Of Goddess

l-keford.com and MikeSouth.com contributor Goddess has opened her own web site.

She writes: "it ain't much, but it's all i got........btw, did you notice your interview was the front page of BNI this month? that's only the second time in YEARS i've been the lead story and I've know Richard for EONS....it MUST all be about you, Lukey baby <g>."

On her web site, Goddess writes about her major crushes, Luke F-rd not being one of them:

MAJOR CRUSH #3 Porn actor John Leslie. Sigh. THIS was some serious crushing, baby. It lasted almost 15 years and I still heart John. He was the best porn actor ever, and in my book, will always be the best porn actor. He was sexy, the classic tall, dark and handsome man, and damn, could he talk dirty! There's something about an elegant gentleman, who talks trash in bed that makes me sooooo wet. The only thing that would have made John even more handsome, would have been facial hair.

MAJOR CRUSH #4 Former Adult Video News executive editor, Gene Ross. I think Gene is the only crush I've ever had that hasn't been dark haired/dark eyed. I was taken in by Gene's whipcord thighs, steely blue eyes and bulging biceps. Plus, he's intelligent, has a great sarcastic wit AND he's a writer. How could I not like that winning combination? This crush lasted about five years. Damn, I'm faithful even in my crushes.

MAJOR CRUSH #5 Porn actor Mike South. This is the only crush I've ever had that has toasted my husband's nuts. He totally doesn't like Mike and I don't know why. I can remember the first time I saw one of Mike's videos, my husband and I were watching together. At the exact moment I thought, "Wow, does this guy ever have charisma!" my husband turned to me and said, "Gawd, this is terrible. This guy has no charisma whatsoever." Of course, my nervous giggle totally gave me away. Mike is (again!) tall, dark, handsome and funny. (Mostly in the head, but that's another story.)

Goddess writes Luke: I read today that the Catholic Church is not allowing people to make their confession over the Internet. If they did allow Instant Messaging confessions, Mike South's would sound something like this:

"Forgive me, Father, for I....hold that thought, Padre. BRB. phone." A few minutes later, "Okay, now where was I? Oh, yeah, Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned. It has been...BRB. Phone." And of course, this would continue for hours and hours

Luke F-rd's confessions, on the other hand, would just consist of smiley faces.

Gary Horn Profile

I talked to internet pornographer Gary Horn Friday. He's been disabled since a 1977 car accident. A drunk driver ran into him and broke his back. He's had 26 surgeries since then.

Gary left law school in 1991 to pursue publishing. At the time, the magazine business was terrible. Paper was expensive and advertising was down. So he investigated electronic publishing. In 1992, he was one of the adult content providers to CompuServe.

In 1993 out of South Florida, Horn started one of the first major adult web sites called AdultAmerica. Seth Warshavsky was just entering the business with his Candyland. Gary's partner helped Danni Ashe learn HTML.

Horn did a deal with Harry Mohney and IGallery to build their video facility. Gary brought IGallery the money partner and built the studios and staffed them.

Horn became a senior VP at Brian Shuster's Xpics, his first real job in 20 years, until leaving July 30, 1998. He had a relationship with porn star Shawna Edwards that ended in late 1998 when she returned to her abusive husband.

Gary formed a company called "The New Event Group." It was set up to serve Xpics. Attorney Greg Picconelli set it up as the most thorough record keeping 2257 organization to make sure porn libraries complied with the law.

"In 1997 this was unheard of," says Horn. "Everybody was being cowboys and we were doing it by the book. The New Event Group had three fulltime employees and all they did was obtain and polish content and keep records of it all. It was a nice machine until [Brian] Shuster decided to stop paying his bills. It was one of those things where they love your work, love your work, and all of a sudden you don't hear from them. Next thing you know they hate your work and they won't pay you.

"After Shuster stopped paying, I kept the company going for another six months but none of the other players were that interested in [federal law] 2257 yet. It's got everybody's attention now."

Gary retired to his yacht in Marina Del Rey, played in a band, and visited with his grandchildren.

When Norm Wilson ran into trouble April 20th, Horn stepped up and put him on his feet again. Gary brought together the people who are putting Wilson's new company together.

"I probably wouldn't have come out of retirement for myself," says Horn, "but to help a friend... That's what a mentch does. And Norm's one of the good guys. I won't say the guy never bounced a check in his life but he always made good.

"Norm had partners, he couldn't pick better enemies. They all sabotaged him. I don't know anybody he's ever ripped off. He's been the salt of the earth. I've built a company for him where he's got partners and a support staff so there aren't going to be those kind of problems that happened in the past. He started a business that was terribly under-capitalized and that's why when he left, he had less than $100 in his pocket.

"He put every dime he made back into his business. This is a guy who drives around a ten-year old Ford van. His wardrobe seems to consist entirely of stuff he got at the trade shows. It's not unusual to see him with a Cybererotica T-shirt on even though Cybererotica wasn't a client of his in the past. But if the handful of big players come through, he'll be ok after the show."

Luke: "Have you found that the business has changed much since you left?"

Gary: "I've kept tabs on it. There's a lot of younger, new blood. Wicked guys like Warshavsky and Shuster eventually get theirs. I've still got some litigation pending with the Xpics boys. Because they stuck it to me before I left for a couple of hundred gran. I think Xpics is still running, barely crawling. At one point, they were the top dog. Shuster was never a people person and he made a couple of bad business decisions that I advised him against and eventually I had to leave. I couldn't work with the guy."

Naked Hollywood

Here are some more notes from my Thursday on the set of the Toni English series "Naked Hollywood."

Dee: "How was this country founded? By a bunch of riffraff lunatics, ex-cons, cons, coming to the United States to get away from that [oppression]. And all of a sudden, what we fought so hard to get away from, we're doing all over again."

Dee entered the porn industry in 1997 with Katie Gold, Shay Sweet, Inari Vachs, India and Gwen Summers.

Dee: "There's a market for snuff, for peeing, for everything and anything. But there's a fine line between putting that product out where you're humiliating someone, putting them down and making them feel bad. And not taking the responsibility for doing that.

"And no one has the nerve to stand up and say - You want to put that product out? That's fine. But don't cross that line and make someone feel that it is their fault. Just because a girl walks down the street in a short little dress looking like a hooker, doesn't give you the right to rape her and tell her that it is your fault because you dress like a hooker. Or that it is your fault because you do porn and you get f---ed on camera. That's not right."

Luke: "What do you think of rape scenes in porno?"

Dee: "It's a fantasy that everyone wants to see. There's a fine line in shooting it. There's that fine line of someone getting hurt. There are plenty of companies I know where they script it out without the girl getting hurt. Everyone knows what they're doing. The girl knows why she's there. She's gonna act it out and script it out. She knows she's been hired to do a rape scene.

"She's not walking in [unsuspecting] and, oh, let's get the shock on her face while she's being raped. No, the guys are all sat down and told, you're going to do this to her but don't hurt her, don't mark her, don't do this or that... Yeah, so long as it is all set up, yeah, there's a market for it.

"There are girls who don't mind that happening to them. Use those girls. Don't use a beautiful, innocent young girl and then scare the s--- out of her and scar her for life.

"Here's a beautiful young lady. She's feeling good. She goes in to do a scene and all of a sudden she has all this happen to her and now she's going to go, 'My fault. I blame myself.' That's not fair. Now, if she's some wild, freaky little chick who happens to look hot and sexy and she wants it, fine."

Bisexual Jason Sechrest tells me: "Luke, how come every time I see you on a set, it has some bisexual theme?"

Today's set is full of men dressed as women for a transvestite fashion show.

I walk in on Toni English directing a three way sex scene of Keri Windsor, T.J. Hart and Lee Stone. When I first met Toni five years ago, she was shy about sex and would not use explicit language. Now she's turned into a hardcore cheerleader, urging the performers on to nastier acts.

Toni encourages Keri to stick her own foot in her mouth, spit on it and then give her foot to Lee to suck on while he pumps away inside Hart.

Toni: "Go Keri, you freak! Do it again. That's great girl! You're nasty Keri. Now spit on it.

"That looks great. Now give me a little C light in there."

About 25 people watch the sex.

I wander outside and talk to the quirky Anthony Crane who entered porn with his wife Nicole London in 1990. After a couple of years, he quit performing because he saw more money to be made in art direction of porno. Then, after twelve years of marriage, he divorced in 1998 and returned to sex on camera.

Luke: "Anthony rode the back of Nicole London into the industry..."

Anthony: "Oh, you f---er... Why you gotta be like that man?"

Luke: "I can't help it."

Anthony: "Please mention that I carried her suitcases often."

Luke: "And would you rush to her side during sex scenes with a cold drink?"

Anthony: "Immediately."

Luke: "And wipe another man's seed off her face?"

Anthony: "Absolutely not. No, here's the truth. When we got out here, I did go with her to do her first scene. I didn't know anything about the business. I didn't know if arriving on set there'd be axe wielding murderers, people with chainsaws or roofies. I got there and saw that everybody was normal. Just before her scene I left and for the next eight years, I never went back to see another scene of hers. I was not a suitcase pimp. I flat out refused.

"I immediately went to work [in 1990] doing scenes. Plus I worked at a place called Springboard Studios, which is shut down now. And a guy named Barry Wood got me doing set work. Soon I was just building sets."

Luke: "And why did you want to get your wife into the industry?"

Anthony: "She wanted to do it. She met Trinity Loren while dancing. Nicole came up to me [they lived in New Jersey] and said, 'This is cool. I want to go out to California and do some [porn] movies.' I said, 'Fine.' We were very open minded and swingers, the whole f---ing bulls--- thing that I no longer do. And it was cool.

"So she came out to California and made a bundle of money. Came back. I quit my job and moved out here. And I've been stuck here eversince."

Luke: "So what did you guys spend all your money on?"

Anthony: "Drugs and alcohol. We were frivolous. It was a bunch of money and we were young, stupid and impetuous and blew money left and right. After we separated, she decided, like I did, to become a responsible adult. Now we live like paupers and sock everything away. I just bought two pieces of property and I've got CDs [Certificates of Deposit]."

Luke: "Did pornography dissolve your marriage?"

Anthony: "No, we mutually dissolved our marriage. We're still best friends. She lives in the same duplex as I do. She lives downstairs and I live upstairs."

Luke: "Has she remarried?"

Anthony: "No, and has no plans to do so."

Luke: "Is that your child that she's carrying?"

Anthony: "No, that is not mine. It belongs to a guy who's a real s--- head asshole who bailed on her. I had a daughter with her who's five years old. We have 50-50 custody. She goes up and down the stairs as she pleases. We get along fabulous, better than when we were married. She's phenomenally good at what she does now as a producer."

Luke: "How did you feel about your wife doing interracial scenes?"

Anthony: "Didn't faze me at all. It was all work, man. It was just work.

"A lot of the directors who became friends and knew me as an art director, said, 'I can't hire you as talent. I can't see you f---ing.' I replied, 'If I invite you over to my house and seat you on my couch and f--- a girl in front of you, that's f---ing in front of you. But if I'm on a set, I'm just working, babe.

"I've won Best Actor [for Double Feature from AVN] and Best Art Direction [Jekyl and Hyde]. I'm good at what I do. If I'm able to get my dick up and f--- a girl, and get a pay check, who cares?"

I talk to Lee Stone, a tall 33-year old whose every muscle group seems buffed and toned. He has a low key and gentle manner, and unlike many of his peers, has never gotten into a fight on a porn set. Stone's done about 300 scenes in his 14 months in porn. He reads my site every night.

Lee: "My ex-wife was a dancer as well. We started doing live internet shows. In 1999, she got invited to go to CES to sign for the video company booth and I met people there. When we got back, we both got out of the adult industry. Then, after a year and a half, our relationship fell apart. Then I made phone calls to people I'd met and I finally got my first scene with Odyssey Group Video."

Luke: "What's the most number of scenes you've done in one day?"

Lee: "Four. It was one of those shoots where we got a base pay. There were five guys and three girls and you could do as many scenes as you wanted. And it was fun. You went on a trip and hooked up with whoever you wanted to hook up with. If you did a scene, they filmed it. We were just having fun. It wasn't really work."

Luke: "What were your biggest surprises with the industry?"

Lee: "I haven't had a lot of surprises. Before I got into the industry, I did a lot of research. I also knew Kim Chambers and Scott Styles."

Luke: "Have you ever done gay porn?"

Lee: "Never."

Luke: "Ever been tempted?"

Lee: "Never. I am completely heterosexual."

Luke: "Do you do gangbangs?"

Lee: "No. I decided when I got into the business that I would only do stuff that excited me when I watched porn. I didn't like the shock videos, the gangbangs or the bukkakes... I also worked for a company that did gangbangs and half the time the guys are just standing around... I love my job and the women I work with. When I go to a set, I want to have sex. I don't want to stand around."

Luke: "What do you see yourself doing in five years?"

Lee: "I don't look that far in advance. Right now I'm just trying to get my name built up and then after that I've thought about directing and producing my own line. In five years I might be completely out of the industry somewhere. I take things as they come and have short-term goals. I have a college degree in finance. I've done business. So, my options are limitless."

Luke: "Does your family know about your new career?"

Lee: "No, they don't know about it."

Luke: "How would they react?"

Lee: "I think my mother would be going, 'Oh my God, where did I go wrong?' And my father would probably go, 'That's my boy.'"

Luke: "How about your friends?"

Lee: "I have just a few close friends and they support me... Of course there are the typical people who go, 'Oh, you're so lucky, you've got it made.' They don't know about the hard part of the industry - having sex in 120 degrees on odd pieces of plastic."

Stone says he doesn't use Viagra.

Luke: "I thought bodybuilding negatively affected the size of one's penis?"

Lee: "It does. You should've seen it before. Heehee. I guess that's a common myth. I danced completely nude in Atlanta. But when I came out in clothes, the women would automatically whispher under their breath and then, when I got naked..."

I met Lauren Montgomery three years ago around her 30th birthday. It was the beginning of her three month affair with a 20-year old porn producer who'd fallen in love with her upon seeing her picture. He asked that she be cast as the lead role in his next movie so that he could meet her.

I go to snap a picture of Chris Cannon with Anthony Crane but Chris gets up and walks off. I don't know why he's upset at me.

While I disagree with Frank Rich's description of the porn industry as quintessentially American, the ethos of America pervades porn. American porners repeatedly say that each individual should be free to do what he wants, so long as he doesn't hurt anyone. And Americans are just so damn nice and friendly and tolerant.

One thing that changed over my years of covering porn is that the sex act has lost interest for me. I no longer want to watch it. Now it frequently nauseates me. And there are few porn girls that I meet that I want to see naked.

I feel comfortable on set and comfortable with almost everyone there and nothing happens on set that surprises me. Not even the drag queens. I often wonder, after an hour or two on a set, why am I here? Nothing's going to happen that will surprise me. Nobody's going to tell me anything I haven't heard before. But then I think, if I was Tom Wolfe or John Updike, I'd be able to observe more keenly and interpret events in a more interesting manner for my readers. There are no boring stories - only boring reporters.

While I regard both pornography and cross dressing as damaging, I don't necessarily regard those who do such things as immoral. Pronouncing judgement on someone's overall morality is fraught with peril, though of course I do judge. We all judge. We have to decide how close we want to get to people, and the key determinant for that for me is determining someone's moral level.

Anyway, I experience again on Thursday that even men dressed as women can be the nicest, most tolerant and understanding and empathic and caring people around.

Though I regard Judaism as morally superior to pornography, I can't say that the people in church or synagogue are any more nice than those in porn. Though I would suspect that the average moral level of someone who participates regularly in an organized religion is higher than porners. Yet I choose to spend more time dealing with porn than with religion. I justify it by noting that it is easier for me to make a living writing about porn than religion.

Nina Hartley says that she's never regretted her choice to enter porn though she does wish that she'd divorced earlier and taken better care of her money. Nina plans to stay on camera until the day she dies. She wishes to do her sex scenes and porn movies with dignity.

When PR man Brian Gross first encountered me, I was in the midst of a wildly irrational anti-Vivid burst. Vivid's been through about six PR directors during my six years around porn - David Kastens, Susan Yanetti, David Schlesinger, Brian Gross, a New York agency (still retained) and now Bradley Hirsch.

Red Velvet won't permit me to take any pictures of me because she doesn't want them to hurt her mainstream dreams.

On sets, I get into hours of conversations with porners that I don't tape record. They trust me enough to distinguish, without specific instructions, what things we talk about I can write on my site from memory, and what things are not for attribution or publication. I have a similar relationship with my best sources in porn - they normally don't need to tell which things are not for publication or attribution. I simply intuit and follow the Golden Rule.

As I drive over Laurel Canyon, I'm behind a car with the bumper sticker "Couples For Christ," and I immediately suspect that this driver will be more courteous and law abiding because he will want to reflect a Christlike image. Walk the talk. I think most of us suspect that people who are religious will behave better.

El Zorro writes Luke: Regarding Dee. First somebody should clarify to dee that being Puerto Rican is not an ethnic or racial background but a nationality, that is, there all kind of ethnicities in Puerto Rico: white, blonde, mulatos, blacks, reheads, etc. By just looking at her she is evidently of black african background. She should be proud of being both Puertorican and black.

As with her husband pimp,how quickly she contradicts herself.After denying the case she confesses that 1-he used to send sexy pictures of her to his friend in jail. 2- he then used the pictures to get her a job with Jim South. Come on! But this hypocrisy seemms to be a constant with them. I once saw a pseudo-gonzo picture of her titled Essentially Dee in which she did a masterpiece of sanctimonious hypocrisy:there is a scene in which her husband Rob is, for a change, f---ing some Hungarian chick in Budapest, Dee is watching with Julie Ashton, and after a while she starts breaking down because she can't take watching her husband f--- another porno chick! Come on! This from a woman who does f---ing fron a living and takes her husband to porno sets to watch her f---ing! Please! And then she rationalizes her career choice as a great opportunity for learning, managing, producing and travelling. What do we have here the futre Spielberger of porn. Good luck!

Truths Guardian replies: El Zoro sounds like he may need some help with his definitions with race and other associated terminology. This from " The American HeritageŽ Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000" Here are definitions for:

1. Nationality - The status of belonging to a particular nation by origin, birth, or naturalization.

2. A people having common origins or traditions and often constituting a nation....

3.. Ethnic- ...national, religious, linguistic, or cultural heritage. b. Being a member of a particular ethnic group, especially belonging to a national group by heritage or culture...

So back to his views on Dee and her background. I have seen Dee on many occasions relay that she is "Black" and explains that her being Puerto Rican has her as a black female also. She is Puerto Rican (Black and Indian). As for her being proud, well if you ever see her off camera, she illustrates her Puerto Rican pride by what she wears. So there is no doubt of her pride. If you ever go to New York or some other areas where there are Puerto Rican, they all have this pride in there genes or something.

About her "husband pimp" as EL ZORRO put it, well ...... besides the fact he is a good business person, he has a pretty extensive background in sales and lets call it "social order". He is actually a manager in the business who manages and has managed various entertainers in the business. If he is a pimp, he is a pimp that has a very straight head that does not induldge in controlled substances or alcohol and actually attempts to do the right things. Read in an article in Hustler that he started the business because Dee and he came in for the fun (as in Lukes interview with Dee) but noone told them anything about the business, such as rates, what not to do, how do develope a career, or anything. After certain producer and companies took advantage of their ignorance and they learnedthe business. They decided to form a business to provide some type of guidance within the adult business. I have seen some of their clients on MTV, VH1, even Cinemax/HBO (Besides Real Sex) doing segments. So my hats off for them trying to do something good. My hats off to them for hanging in this business so long as a couple with all the bull that the business has in itself and hecklers contribute who are not business people within the industry at all, and only fans with opinions that are way off base. I would to add more but I am sure Luke has more valuable information to post than a response to a EL ZORO input. That is the truth.

Looking For Nilli Willis

Adi Alia writes: Dear Mr. Ford, I'm a journalist from Israel covering the sex industry (and visiting your site regularly). Currently I'm working on a story about a big boobs queen called Nilli Willis, suposedly an israeli girl who went back to the jewish religion after a few years of work in England. I'm trying to find out what her real name is. Can you help?

BTW -I wrote about your site a while ago. sorry - It's in hebrew - but you can find it at: http://www.goleshet.com/210-sex.html

Heather Barron Witnesses Her First Drug Deal

Heather writes: Dear Luke, Today I witnessed my very first drug deal sighting and it was everything I hoped it would be and then some.

Okay, so it was a mundane day of gettting the mail, booking some flights, getting my nails done...then heading off for din din at Bob's Big Boy in Burbank. The place was busy and they tried to push me to take a counter seat but I hate those because everyone sits too close together. They might as well be mating. My persistence for a table for 1 eventually landed me a small table set way in the back, very cramped, but out of vision from the hub at entranceville, the perfect anti-social snacking ground. I order the Salmon Filet dinner with baked potato, vegies and biscuit. Comes with a salad. A pleasant young lad, not the least bit jaded by the restaurant scene perkily brings me my salad and I sit looking out the window past a family of cows consuming grain and papas fritas. I see a black man (well dressed, handsome with cell phone) sitting at a table outside completely out of vision from most since it is sandwiched between the takeout window and the side of the restaurant....he has with him a dog, (not a pit bull or a rott, just a lab, no cell phone on the dog). The guy is just sitting there with his dog, a dad relaxing waiting for his wife and son to finish eating or maybe just having finished a burger. 10 minutes pass. The perky high school boy has brought my fish delicately flavored with lemon with cardboard vegetables and a baked potato with all the fixins. The family of cows departs and I am well into my fish by now. I'm still watching the guy outside and what do I see approaching? A rock star/movie star type with a bandana around his head and a pair of black sunglasses, jeans, tshirt...he walks up to the black guy, pets the dog, takes a small bag, spots him a couple 100's bent and out of vision. Happened real fast. Holy s---, I said. That was a drug deal. There is no question in my mind.

This is all just one big blur. What is wrong and what is right? Are there really drug dealers in my city? Are they doing business while ordering Combo platters? Couldn't they, at least have picked a place that didn't sell Tshirts? While driving back, I saw 5 cop cars within a 6 block radius of the restaurant. I'm sorry, but where the heck are our tax dollars going?

Heather Barron

PS. My car got egged last night so I guess I'm getting more successful in this town.

Dino, Mark Kernes Seek Personal Gratification In Their Work

Director James DiGiorgio writes: lukey...i just checked out the pics from that naked hollywood thing and guess what, that dino guy is the same guy the the freakin prick who threw us off his boat last week tossed onto the back platform of the boat when we were like twelve miles out. anyway, that's not what i'm writing for. i think there's more than meets the eye with this dino guy and kernes. why, you say? cuz they both have those cameras that shoot the 3-D stuff. now bear in mind you cant do anything with that 3-D stuff but look at it thru this 3-D viewer thing. so these guys are going onto sets and half the shots they're taking are just for personal gratification cuz that all ya can do with that 3-D crap. personal gratification, luke....we're all workin hard and they're just using there press credentials to get some personal gratification s--- (i.e, jerkin-off material). it dont seem right.

Chasey Lain Intervention

Rappid writes: Taylor Hayes participating on a drug intervention?

Isn't that just a little bit akin to Bill Clinton giving advice on the importance of honesty? Or Liz Taylor lecturing on the sanctity of marriage?

Taylor's been in-and-out of 12-step programs with such frequency that some recovery groups have installed revolving doors just for her personal use. Maybe she'll be able to persuade Chasey to try Taylor's marijuana-maintenance program (and give her a few tips as to how to fool your toddlers into thinking that the pipes and other drug paraphernalia are toys from the Mystical Magical Kingdom game collection).

Dave writes: Dear Mr Ford I hope these stories being posted up about Chasey Lain aren't true because if they are I really feel sad for her. Look at her not as a porno star but as mother and human being who doesn't deserve go through this. Right now for her son's sake let this be her turning point because this former alcoholic-addict thinks she's still worth saving.

From jeff in NYC: I find the chasey situation a tragedy and I have always felt that most pornstars should see psychiatrists on a regular basis-This is largely due to the fact that they seem much more likely to do drugs, drink to excess and have histories of childhood trauma than any other group of workers. Chasey is a girl who really could and should have gone far in life with her beauty-I really feel bad for her son because he will almost certainly be spending much of his life on a therapist's couch.

Mike writes: I read your story about the fall of Chasey Lain, and I have to say I'm surprised. Yeah, I know nothing should be surprising in this business, but Chasey always kind of seemed like she had her act together. I guess the worst part is that Vivid shot her a few weeks ago while she was in the depths of addiction. Is Vivid going to release the footage? I'm surprised, actually, that some gonzo guy(Zupko et al) didn't throw a bunch of money at her. Can you imagine how many copies Extreme could sell with Chasey on the box cover?

Gregory writes: Luke, Is the story you posted about Chasey true? It seems so tragic. I wonder if Vivid ever releases the movie they shot of her while so consumed by drugs? It would be a sad commentary on how far a company will go to profit from talent. How sad.

Luke says: To Vivid's credit, they've tried to get Chasey into rehab.

Luke's Liberation - Does The Slave Miss His Master?

Chaim Amalek writes: Now that the jews whose respect you seek have given up on you, have you given up on them (which a real man would)? How did you spend this past shabbas? What will you wrap about your arms, now that the jews have turned indian giver, and taken back their "gift" to you? How secure is your "conservative" (?) conversion to judaism? Might not it too be rescinded? Are such conversions valid in the first place? Does Luke F-rd still regard himself as jewish, as opposed to being a Noahidic gentile?

Luke says: Of course I still identify as a Jew. My conversion is secure and irrevocable though some Orthodox Jews may not accept it. That is their privilege. I don't depend on them for my identity and self worth.

I spent my Sabbath as I usually do - with friends in shul and in private homes. Except today I got up and left the house two hours later.

I ran into a young man from Israel on the corner and I took him to a different shul. Then, at 11:45, I walked over to the shul that ejected me. I felt like a stalker, coming around a place where I wasn't welcome. I only came because a week ago I accepted an invitation to lunch from a member of the shul.

I stood 20 feet outside the shul. Inside my friends enjoyed kiddish (sanctified eating and drinking). I waited awkwardly 15 minutes for my host to emerge with his kids. Then we walked to his home and enjoyed lunch with another family from the shul. It was quickly obvious that they had not heard of my expulsion. Religious Jews are strictly enjoined from gossip, and unlike James DiGiorgio's claims Friday on my site, the word had not gotten around. The rabbis protected my dignity.

Goddess writes: Tsk, Tsk, Lukey. Jesus never would have judged you and given you the boot like that. On the upside, does this mean you'll be posting on Saturdays now?

JMT writes Luke: "My therapist starts crying." Was the shrink able to compose herself to the point that she could discuss with you the psychological implications of yearning to belong to a sect with very well-defined standards of behavior, while at the same time very publicly and willfully transgressing those standards? Or did she just weep until it was time to say, "I'm sorry, our time is up for today," and collect your check?

"Someone outed me, I think, to the rabbi "

Gimme a break, you outed yourself. Face it, you've been setting yourself up for this for months. You've done everything but show up at the synagogue with a rolled-up copy of AVN stuck in your back pocket. Figuring out *why* you would act in this manner ["any and all attention paid to me is good," perchance?] is of greater consequence to your continued existence and happiness than getting up at 6:00 a.m. to go study the teachings of the Rabbi Yeeechtuey or whatever the hell they do at the shul. JMT

P.S. You may, for the next few days, be troubled with nightmares populated by Davina Hardman, Ron Jeremy, Cumisha Amado, Rob Black, Mila Shegol, and others, who surround you and commence chanting "One of us . . . one of us . . . one of us." Don't worry; this will pass.

Jaded Jewish Girl writes: Luke - Sorry to hear about your shul trouble. What a bunch of hypocrites, scared to death of their own sexuality! When I was in Israel, I spent time with some hassidim in Tzfat (I know your shulmates were Orthadox, but hey, just for comparison...) and no matter how long the women talked about how respected for their minds they felt in the wigs (after marriage) and long skirts and sleeves they are ordered to wear, the fact remains that the women were forced to take responsibility for the men possibly looking at them in an innapropriate way. Like these guys who wear long black clothing in 90 degree weather and must say brachot anytime they eat anything and pray constantly don't have discipline on their own! Why are religious Jews so frightened of sex? Any ideas? Interestingly enough, during my brief stint as a prostitute in Israel, the customer that was the most degrading to me turned out to be an Orthadox rabbi. Go figure, huh? Apparently, religious Jewish men visit prostitutes all the time. In New York, a friend and I went to see the documentary "Fetishes" and saw a Hassidic Jew in full garb emerging from the show before ours.

Lewis writes: Luke: _organized_ religion is always constructed to fit the biases and the power trips of those who run it. The important thing is what is in your heart and how you relate to God.

Jane writes: Luke... I'm tempted to say you were playing with fire and I'm sure I'm not the first one to point out that, in order to uncover your avocation, someone must have been wading in those waters themselves. However, let me give you one piece of very hard earned knowledge. Faith and religion are not always compatible. And losing one does not necessarily foretell the loss of the other.

Jason Stoner writes: Luke, That JimmyD is brilliant. Start your own Temple Beth Porno! In fact, start your own Judaic sect. First there was Orthodox Judaism, then Conservative, then Reform......and now Porno Judaism. You should start the new Porno Judaic sect and make yourself the Chief Pharisee and Rabbi. Hell, you might even be the Messiah that's been prophesized!

Lush writes: I'm sorry for your expulsion from shul. It's not derech ha'ertez. I read the postings on your website, I'm surprised so many people call a synagogue a "Jewish church." Now, that's a good laugh.

Luke, carry on in your Judaism, your growth, your self-enlightenment and find an ortho/traditional community more suited to you. Personally, I don't believe the rabbi handled it properly... Chabad would have never handed it that way. Have you considered a more Hassidic branch rather than all these Litvish shuls? Anyhow, "gum zu le'tova" (this is also for the best). P.S. Saw you on E's Linda Lovelace special tonight; poor woman. That Chuck Traynor should be hanged. He's a hideous specimen.

Max writes: Luke- I just heard you were thrown out of your shul. I dont understand why? what you do is your own business. As far as I'm concerned lawyers are worse than porn producers/directors. I'm sure your temple has got a lot of Orthodox J-lawyers. Here in the tri-state area (New York, Connecticut, New Jersey) you see everything. There are tons of crooks in Orthodoxy here, all over the place. In fact in all facets of Judaism. I would have thought that being California, a more "liberal state" that you wouldnt have a problem with being a porn journalist and an Orthodox Jew. Funny isnt?--Offer your rabbi a generous donation and all will be forgotten.

Ashley Kennedy writes: Luke, with your rasta yamika (Sp?), and your insatiable attraction to your own, and society's dark side, I knew... you will walk your own path. Jewish, pagan, Baptist, it does not matter to God. There is one God, and he wears many different faces for many different people. But he is not confined to some building or group of people. He is all of us, inside of us, everything around us, and so much more. Look inside yourself, honey. Your personal relationship with God is what is crucial here, Luke, and I certainly hope you realize this, and see your expulsion from the shul as part of his will. You see things linearally, but the creator does not. There is a blessing here, and it may not become evident for some time to you, but God knows best. And you are a spiritual person, albeit torn at times, on many issues. your Judaism.... eh.... not important. Your heart? The way you treat others? Being the change you want to see in the world? Your faith in the fact that God will always give you what you need, and often what you want.... these are the things, Luke, that matter. If you need to talk, or you need a hug, or someone to vent to because you feel down on yourself, or angry, or lonely.... call me, OK? I mean it... I'm here for you if this whole expulsion from the narrow-minded shul thing gets you down. And your spiritual journey has not ended... it is merely taking a twist in a bend. Peace dude.... blessed be...

Gregory Bowman writes: Luke Im sorry for your misadventures of Friday past; did this question prey on your mind to the point of being self evident in front of your Rabbi? I would like to know what you are feeling right now.

"Luke, Thank you for your explanation. I guess the most logical question would then be; how do you, a practicing Orthodox Jew, deal the issue of being involved in pornography? Mind you, Im not being critcal, you do a great job, but it would give me better insight."

Luke says: I view my primary Jewish obligation to my work is to do it well. Journalism is an honorable profession. I'm a journalist who writes on pornography. I no more endorse pornography than journalists who write on the Mafia endorse the Mafia. Yes, my web site is sponsored by porn companies. So yes, I do make money from porn. That is very troubling from a Jewish perspective. I have no answer to that. A third party does operate all the ads on my site, and I receive a regular weekly check. The third party can sell the ads to whoever will pay.

Lynne L-patin: I've been with the secular humanists all day...lecture by Michael Shermer at 1 until picnic at 6:30
Lynne L-patin: Darklady is a member in good standing of secular humanists of Portland. Am going to their regular Sunday meeting in the morning before Jewish singles at 11
Lynne L-patin: These people are all "quality" people -- teachers, scientists and engineers -- intellectual, though dogmatic, who worship pornographers for busting the religious status quo (because they don't know how stupid most of them are...) Who would fall to their knees before YOU (a Prometheus author!)
Lynne L-patin: The Society for Humanistic Judaism of Portland is gonna send me stuff so i can attend High Holidays with them.

JRob writes: Regarding your recent expulsion from your chosen Orthadox Temple, was it Groucho Marx who said, "I wouldn't want to be part of any club who would want me as a member?"

Conversely, if they DON'T want you, then f--- 'em. Who the hell do they think they are? As if their s--- doesn't stink! Human nature being what it is, I'll bet that at least 50% of the Rabbis who wanted you out have a scabby, boney skeleton in their respective closets.

Perhaps the time has come to be the most conservative member of a moderate temple. You can try to lead them all to greater orthodoxy! Bringing paying converts to your ex-shul would go a long way toward acceptance from those who expelled you. Remember, jewish, christian, buddhist, moslem, hindu, or other, the main goal in any religion is profitability. The church, temple, or mosque is, first and foremost, a going concern. Regardless of public doctrine, nothing means more than economic gain to any organized religion. So, if you become influential as a conservative jew in the moderate jewish community, and bring the cash over to the orthodox, you will be accepted back into the fold.

Luke Goes To A Reform Temple

I went to a Reform temple today, the most liberal branch of Judaism. Within five minutes of getting there, and telling my story of woe, I heard my former Orthodox shul castigated for being narrow minded and intolerant ... Five minutes later, a married man asked me if about a mutual blonde friend of ours would be interested in having an affair with him... A few minutes later, I heard a masturbation joke. A few minutes later, the rabbi said one should never marry without living with someone first. You have to get to know them - whether you can live with their bathroom habits, etc... These moral laxities are why I prefer Orthodoxy... Not that I can live up to it.

A Dialogue On Faith, Philosophy And Pornography

Cerberus writes Luke: I e-mailed you before and didn't get a response. But here goes again, I'm curios to know more about Lexus Locklear, her past her present, why she left porn, what she's like, whats she doing in the future. As much as you can tell me. Plus, I know your always on this huge Jewish bender, so I'll recomend you a book that might help reconcile your faith and porn, it talks about Jewish ethics and practice so as not isolate the secular, It's called "How to get more out of being Jewish even if"...By: Gil mann. It's very basic yet very informative.Pick it up.

Luke writes: i dunno about lexus buddy

Cerberus replies: Whoa, short, concise..to the point. Good enough, but more importantly, what about that book? I'm curois to know if your knowledge of Judaism is so vast as to take interest in the wisdom and sensibility of the great Jewish thinkers. Are you familiar with Martin Buber? Louis Wirth? Franz Kafka? The Rambam et al.?

As a young Jew myself I am coping with the reality that our faith is under seige by those who don't care anymore and those who are so dogmatic that they believe Judaism is but a rigid set of rules and ethics. I am going to Israel amidst its bitter days to show support and to learn more about my self and my people. Write back to me, I'm curios as to your thoughts.

Luke replies: I have not read Gill Mann... I am a big fan of Louis Jacobs, Dennis Prager, Rabbi Daniel Lapin...I go to Daf Yomi every day... Good for you for going to Israel...Stay in touch...

Cerberus replies: I'm not sure I have heard of those you mentioned, but you must pick up Martin Buber, he is one of the most famous Chasidim (of which i am not) and he helped changed my life his book I and Thou is a must read for everyone, ask your Rabbis if they have heard of him. Also, though I am sure you've heard of him, read Franz Kafka's the Trial, tho it is fiction, it definatley changed my life. Also, Im curios if you read any philosophy, Nietzsche, Kierkegaard, Kant et al. I am heavy into this stuff and I'm sure if you gave it a chance it would help you better than most hardcore religion would. Then again I'm only 20 and am not as dogmatic as those older folks who have their minds already made up.

Luke replies: Buddy, I am very familiar of Martin Buber... He is not remotely chasidic, he was very liberal...and non=halakhic...Read Yoram Hazony's book THE STRUGGLE FOR ISRAEL'S SOUL for the scoop on Buber. Of course i've read that kafka novel...and i am well aware of Franz Rosensweig, frankly i am not at all keen on these German thinkers... They were anti-Zionists.

Cerberus replies: Buber was not Chasidic? WHAT??? Whoa dude, I could have sworn he was, I thought I was told that. Either way, I and Thou was amazing. And Kafka...I puzzled over that book for half a year and it is now my favorite book ever. Why don't you like Nietzsche and Kant and those guys? Your probably the first person I've ever heard diss the greats..Now I'm really curios as to why.

Luke replies: Because Kant and co don't make much difference to how you lead your day, your life. They don't help you when your sick or your parents die.

Cerberus replies: Of course they do, their work is all about morality and being. Ways to behave, ways to examine your finitude etc... Have you read their work in detail? And if you are as well read as you seem, I would assume you would abhor those in porn. I know I do, of course I can't hep but watch (one of those funny little paradoxes I guess) Dont you find that their behavior exhibits nothing but the most basic of human nature? It is diametrically different from the high state of being attained by most of the thinkers we mentioned.

Thats why I love these thinkers so much. I think they capture what man realy needs. A rational and mystical appraoch to morality and life without all the dogmatism and irrational non-logic.

Luke replies: Imagine if God is truly behind the Talmud, then it's every word is infinitely more precious than Kant or Buber or Nietzsche or Kirkegaard..

Cerberus replies: But rationally I can't believe God is behind the Talmud or Torah or any of it. I feel God is greater than people and paper. I take a more Taoist/Buddhist/Kabbalist/Mystic approach to God. i can't rationally accept that idea that God is a little man in the sky telling moses and Abraham to go and do things. It doesnt make sense. But then again I havent read the Talmud so I may be a little remiss in talking of it.

Dude, I dunno if you remeber the principles of Kafka's "the Trial" but the whole concept of porn is very similar to the "die like a dog" logic exemplified by Joseph K. I struggle with this every day because I can't help but think about the plight of humanity (pretty deep huh.) and get pissed off at those who don't strive for a higher more productive purpose. I should probably smoke more dope. Kill some brain cells.

Either you dont talk much or your REALLY busy.... but isnt porn too non-thinking and too debase of spritual value to even associate with? (Of course a watch a ton of it but still)

JRob writes Luke: You've read, analyzed, and UNDERSTOOD Critique of Pure Reason? Good for you!! You've better staying power than I do. I gave it my best shot, and realized that I was not quite as bright as I thought. But, if you have a thorough understanding of Immanuel Kant's writings, have applied and compared them to Jewish religious philosophy, and have achieved a synthesis of thought and motivation resulting in a reasoned rejection of Kant's philosophy in favor of the Talmud (and haven't just rejected anything other than the Talmud because you've been told it is "bad"), then I applaud you as one in a million capable of even attempting it, let alone succeeding.

Luke replies: No, I am not that accomplished. I just don't know any ordinary people for whom Kant matters a damn. It doesn't affect how ordinary people conduct their lives. It is just an intellectual exercise.

Luke Gets Mail

Gina writes: Luke, Look, Virginia, there may not be a Santa Claus but there IS couples porn and the female half of the couple wants to hear about John Decker. You teased his name on the Wednesday set report but not a word about him when you returned on Thursday. Did he not show or did he join that increasingly populous group that chooses to treat you like a virus?

Jordan writes: Luke, I notice that alot of the men in adult films have thier pubic areas shaved or almost completely void of hair. Do they wax? Do the women in the business prefer it that way? Is there a reaon for this? Are the men encouraged or required to do so? Just wondering?

Egghead writes: Without naming names,who exactly are your``sources``for news,like XXX? Are they all in the porn biz(producers,directors,actors,etc.) Just wondering after reading about Chasey Lain`s problems and wanted to confirm the validity of the story and source.

Luke says: XXX is the name I give to sources within the sex industry who wish to remain anonymous.

Nyqster writes: I wondered if any body knew of the whereabouts or activities of Lea Stevenson and Michela Adkins, two mid-to-late 90's graduates of Max Steiner's world?

Arradici writes: Dear Mr.Ford, I've been loofing in the net for Faith Turner and Lorrie Lovett, but I understand there are no web sites about them (official or not), so i couldn't find any information. I saw Faith Turner acting with Fifi Bardot in "The working girls" ( directed by Duck Dumont in 1989 ) and she was fantastic. I know she was also in "Wet Pink" ( 1992) with Bardot too. I saw Lorrie Lovett in only one movie, a compilation titled "Come in my mouth" in an episode with Peter North ( a hot scene), and I know she played in "Empire of Sins" and "Taboo #5 " by Kirdy Stevens.

AVN's Mark Kernes writes Luke: You wrote: "Even Mark Kernes, my AVN nemesis, is kind today. He once trips over my foot and apologizes. He never snarls or spits. I never overhear him warning anyone to not talk to me."

Politeness is simply my default behavior mode, even to people like you. And on the off-chance that you think you can make some sort of social capital out of my not alerting people to the sociopathy that lies below your friendly public persona, rest assured, my opinion hasn't changed; you're still scum.

Bob writes: Luke, I have always been a fan of Amber Woods (with the cat eyes tatoo on her lower back). Rumor has it that she has returned to adult films. Is this true? I noticed there is an "Amber Woods" pictured on AdultStarFantasy.com, which is NOT the Amber Woods I am asking about. Why would someone else use an existing stage name??!!

Peter writes: Hi Luke! Is Larry Caye still alive? His late 70's work had some of the slinkiest, loveliest, all natural models ever (Jennifer Wright!!!, Cassie Wells, Linda Gordon etc.) Latent Image (his mail order company ) still exists, but there's no web site. If you know them, ask them to start a web site featuring late 70's photo sets!

Please Help With Paul Norman

Thegirlstandingup@hotmail.com writes: Dear Luke F-rd, In reading current and archived information on your website I note that you assigned director/editor Paul Norman "0" stars on one of the porn industry ethics lists you compiled. I would infer from this that there are those in the adult business community who have had less than ideal relationships/interactions with Paul Norman and that in your opinion his general reputation is poor. I would assume these generalities are based in some fact or in the direct experiences of those who have dealt with Paul Norman.

Unfortunately, I now am involved in the difficult task of establishing and verifying this type of information regarding Paul Norman in a crucial and potentially life-altering court case involving my son. I truly believe the outcome could either save or potentially destroy his life and everything I and my husband have worked for in his life over the last five years. I am asking for specific help. I know your column has extensive exposure in the business and there are many people with helpful information out there. What are others direct experiences that would support Paul Norman's low rating on this site?

I have made significant progress answering and "pinning down" these elusive facts through private investigation, and as the trial date approaches I am asking anyone wishing to help me, or vindicate themselves by commenting further on their experiences with Paul Norman, to please contact me now with their comments at thegirlstandingup@hotmail.com. The difficulty faced by any party in establishing what may be known generally or is commented on commonly regarding any person, is when the party in question responds in effect "yeah, prove it". My only desire is that the truth in this case and with regards to Paul Norman, and myself, be honestly revealed and accountability answered. I believe there are those out there who will help. In responding, your privacy will absolutely be respected. Further details will be discussed confidentially. Information in any small way adds up and helps answer the questions we are challenged to prove. I hope you will contact me, don't you have something to add? I believe that I have always been honest and tried to do the right thing by others and hope that, too, might lead you to help. Any reply would be gratefully appreciated. Thank you Luke for giving me the opportunity to use this space, I hope you can print this letter on your site. Sincerely, thegirlstandingup@hotmail.com

Another John writes: "Thegirlstandingup" is a joke. Celeste left the industry and developed a case of amnesia. She made many adult flix with first hubby "Woody" before ever hooking up with Paul Norman. They have a son together, and she kidnapped the boy and ran away. She has swung full circle to now be a Christian anti porn crusader. Talk about damaging a boys life, take his father away from him. Lie to him about his mothers past. Yea, these are healthy things to do to the boy. Paul Norman is one of the most dedicated fathers a son could want. He deserves to have his third son in his life.

Luke says: I received several emails and phone calls today from members of the adult industry testifying to Norman's good character.

Gary Horn says: "That letter from thegirlstandingup@hotmail.com was filled with untruths. I haven't seen you take a stand. I've worked with Paul over the years and I only know him to be a great father and a great guy. He's a top editor. I know what is going on in this case and the psycho bitch that wrote you is Celeste. She doesn't want the world to ever know that she ever did porn. She's kidnapped and taken Norman's son away."

Roger Pipe writes: I've always known Paul Norman to be a man of his word and a fantastic father. If someone is trying to say otherwise, then they are reaching. If it is 'Celeste' I can say that I've met her once, at a non industry party. I was not introduced as a porn critic and was with my wife. (About as un-porn a woman as you can find.) Celeste was...shall we say chilly? That would be giving her way too much credit. It was a VERY unpleasant evening.

Ms Gloria Leonard's Future Books Titles

VKluj writes: On June 20th Gloria Leonard mentioned she had written a book. I've got the skinney on future works.

(1) "Lox, Stocks, Cocks, And Rocks" or "Three Cheers For Debeers". Gloria chronicles her experiences as a waitress (LOX), stock broker (Stocks), and adult film starlett (COCKS). Then briefly mentions the wealth its brought her (ROCKS).

(2) "The Complete Idiots Guide To Celebrity Name-Dropping" It's length is said to rival only "War and Peace". If she teaches it in Hawaii the clean-shaven freshmen boys beards will be so long they can tour with ZZ Top after the final is turned in.

(3) "To Hate Men Or Love Them" or "Misogny Or Message-On-Your-Knee That Is The Question" Gloria gives her feminist insights on how to spot a woman hater from as far as fifty paces. She offers this tip on how to marry a jewish doctor and live the "lifestyle of the rich and famous". She suggests putting arrows above each knee-cap, and writting on one,'You're not moving up there". On the other you write," Unless your Kosher (Ko-Share).

(4) I"M O.K., You're Just Oy Vey". Gloria again tells us about all the celebrities she has "been down with-and she means down" and about all her travels around the globe. All the while making it painfully obvious that we will never attain such heights because we're just common folks.

(5)"Star Is A Four Letter Word -Effete Snob Is A Six Letter Word Followed By A Four Letter Word" Needs no explanation. A must read!!!! Had me on there edge of my chair ! A Spell-binder of the highest order!!!!!!

Luke, you have some interesting summer reading ahead, I'll let you go, so you can get to the bookstore and reserve your copies.

Gloria Leonard responds: To the VKlug schmuck (a name that equates with the sound of hocking a lugie) and who seemingly thinks he knows so many details about my life, having obviously read EVERY morsel ever published about me, I found his demeaning humor grossly hypocritical. Actually, the only book I'm presently working on will be titled, "How to Avoid Ignorant Internet Idiots." So far as his sensibilities go about an air of superiority I may project, he's right. I have had the good fortune to have travelled the world, hung with celebrities of every stripe, etc. because I am intelligent, nay, sophisticated enough to know how to fit in anywhere, including with drunks, drug addicts, welfare recipients, thieves (remember, this IS porn) and all stops in between. This industry gave me a forum in which I could freely espouse my passion for the rights bestowed upon us all, particularly those of the First Amendment. Sorry you're such a jealous fool. See you at Brentano's!

Vkluj writes: Tell Gloria she is cute when she's angry. Liked her lugie comment too. I must admit she has great legs too !

As Rickey Ricardo used to say I think the "Old Battleaxe" (Gloria ) is warming up to me. Nothing Quite beats a pissed-off feminist. "Hell Hath No Fury Like A Woman Porned"

Nina Hartley On Ageism

Gramma from MaturePorn.com writes: I read with interest Gerrie Lym's 'conversation' with Nina Hartley on Ageism. "Nina Hartley Charges "Ageism" Rampant Throughout Pornography. The Internet very MUCH promotes the 'mature' sexuality aspect. I was among the first to promote this starting back in early 1997. I'd love to offer Nina a chance to speak about this to a whole lot of people who agree with her by asking her to be on the cover of my mature online ezine "Vintage" (www.readvintage.com) As you also stated, her website is still hacked, so I wasn't sure how to contact her, perhaps you'd be good enough to forward this email to her and if she's interested we can get together on this.

El Zorro writes: Shame on Nina Hartley's reluctance to let go of porno. Sad that after so many years she has not found anything else in life to do. Her ridiculous complaints about "ageism" in porno shows how out of touch she is even with the reality of the porno audience: it is the fifty year olders who recoiling fron the sight offered by their own mirrors,want desperately to see budding young bimbos being banged on the screen. The last thing in their minds is to see a shrivelling Nina Hartley, who not even in her best years amounted to much of a pleasant sight. How about setting up a retirement home for recalcitrant old pporno performers?

Ken the Heretic writes: Dear Luke: Don't know if you saw this, but Vivid has a video out (compilation tape) called "The Burning Bush" starring all of the available to Vivid Jewish porn starlets.

Also have to comment that it is interesting that now that her porn career seems to be winding down, due to age, Nina Hartley seems to be taking a renewed interest in her faith. This is especially interesting after all of her disparaging remarks about Jews. (i.e. her "ex-husband" couldn't stand Jews talking too much)

When One Door Closes, Another Opens

Chaim Amalek writes Luke: Good morning! No doubt you are spending this day the way most other (i.e., gentile) Americans are: stopping off at the local McDonalds for some bacon and sausages, driving hither and yon, watching a bit of television, and otherwise being a man. Sure, you still feel a bit of the sting from yesterday's expulsion from the world of the jews, but you always knew that day would come, and so no you no longer have to dread it. Yesterday's news. Time to move on.

And what better way to do that, to acknowledge that the "shabbas queen" was just a chimera, than by carefully studying the White Man's Portion of the Week [Natvan.com], in which is identified the "Bill Gates of e-porn". You see, he is beginning to converge onto your space, Luke, as you are destined to use your specialized and painfully obtained knowledge to assist the White Race in its struggle against Jewish power. You see Luke, Dr. Pierce is an old man. He is in need of a successor, and who better to follow in his footsteps than a gentile who spent years living amongst the Juden as one of them, to the greatest extent possible? It may even be possible for you to attenuate some of the more exterminationist impulses of the movement to make it more palatable for the multitudes. (You could be the man who finally sends all the Juden of LA and Long Island and Postville to Israel, in fulfillment of the Zionist Dream.) The time for you to get involved is NOW, Luke.

Remember, whenever one door closes, another door opens.

Name That Syndrome

Is there a name for a syndrome where you only love those things you can not have or achieve? Where you only love the impossible?

Helpful writes: L-patinism?

Fred suggests: Unrequited Character Personality Disorder. To be found on p 832 in Sebastian's Book of Mental Abberations

Sacred and Profane

David writes: Dear Luke: I've read your web site on and off since the early days, like 1995, when the Internet and AOL were the same thing to me. I've been especially interested in your frank discussions of religion, your relationships with your father and Dennis Prager, etc.

I was raised without any reference to God or any kind of spirituality. I was pretty much raised by television and the Texas public school system. My father in particular was averse to any belief in God and felt that science and "logic" held all the answers. My parents divorced when I was 6, and since I spent a lot of time in day care and home alone, I longed for a real family without being really conscious of that desire. I considered myself very self-reliant and well-educated, and believed that my parents' divorce had left no deep emotional scars.

I became a Christian in college after breaking up with a girlfriend at age 19. This woman was everything I longed for, especially after meeting her parents who were strong Baptists and loved each other very affectionately even at age 40. My girlfriend told me the story of how when she was 10 her parents' marriage was on the verge of collapse, with lots of fighting. She began pulling the family Bible off the shelf and readin aloud to her mother. At that time her mother wanted nothing to do with God and threw her daughter out of the house in a rage. But she quickly realized the wrong she had done, and brought her daughter back and gave her life to Christ. Soon the father followed suit and their marriage was healed. I was amazed because even the couples I knew who stayed together more than 10 years seemed to have joyless marriages, and yet here was one that was clearly vibrant. I decided that the difference must be contained in that Bible.

I bought my own Bible and started reading and attempted to live to please my girlfriend, but no matter what I did my words always seemed to hurt her and those around me. I realized that my own efforts were not enough to bring the change I knew I needed. I gave up alcohol but it was my heart that needed changing. It amazed me also that my girlfriend's family always treated me with respect and love even when they knew I had done some thing to hurt their daughter. I went to the length of going 24 hours without speaking, thinking that as long as I didn't open my mouth, I couldn't insult anyone or cause any more hurt. Obviously my own efforts were in vain.

Then when I got back to school, suddenly my academic skills no longer allowed me to coast through classes. I failed a midterm exam miserably and felt that the one thing I was good at, learning, wasn't going to save me either. I finally pulled out the New Testament and gave my life to Jesus.

Life since then has been up and down for me. I've always had a deep sense of guilt over sexual sins. Frequently when I have made attempts to give up porn and masturbation, memories of past sins will spring up in my mind and make me think, it's useless to try to live a life of purity since I have already failed. And then to assuage those guilty feelings, I go back to the fantasy life to escape reality. A vicious cycle for sure.

It got to the point in '95 where that shadow of guilt really overtook me, and my connection with God seemed severed or at least clouded. I embarked on a rebellious period and using AOL I started meeting women and dating and having sex. I had given up meeting another "perfect" woman and thought if I couldn't be married and be a father then I would give up pursuing purity as well. I left my church and ignored all the phone calls and letters from Christian friends.

At first I felt liberated because I no longer felt that the people around me were judging me. I could be myself, etc. But as I look back I realize that the tolerant attitude was really an expression of a lack of love. I bounced around AOL parties and had sex with any woman who would do it with me. Not to mention strippers and prostitutes.

I remember one night in particular when the sex was over, I felt an intense desire to hug and kiss and pet afterwards. The woman was someone I had known a while and I had a sincere affection for her. Yet my partner just rolled over and fell asleep. I lay awake in bed all night feeling profoundly rejected, and went home early in the morning without saying goodbye.

I kept at it, having sex with married women and women much younger than me. But gradually I began to realize that the love and fulfillment I longed for wasn't coming. And it wasn't going to get better, no matter how physically beautiful the girls were. I was right on the verge of sinking to the next level of despair.

I think I am very much like you, in that my heart is not satisfied in a neo-religious liberal community where there seem to be no absolute moral standards. And yet I find it so difficult to live a life that meets the standards of orthodoxy.

Then I met my wife and everything changed. We both had run from God, and as we got to know each other we realized if our relationship was going to have any chance we needed to get back to church. I went back to my pastor and of course his graciousness to me was immediate. I've been married for 5 years now, and have a son. Few days go by where I am not overwhelmed by the love and blessings God has given me. Our wedding rings are engraved with the words, "God's Gift". Of course it's not always bliss, but the worst day is better than the best days out there on my own, alone, running from all of God's commands.

Yes Luke there is a kind of orthodoxy that is cold and legalistic. But it is easy for us who are hurting and feel that our connection to sinful habits and lifestyles cannot be broken, to see all orthodox people as controlling and merely power-hungry. Note that I am only referring to Judeo-Christian values here. But we miss the truth that the one true God who created heaven and earth is both totally loving, and totally righteous. The same God who loves us tenderly and receives us is the God who cannot tolerate the slightest hint of rebellion or impurity. It's a paradox. So God's divine character is a "hot" orthodoxy: perfectly righteous but also perfect and passionate in His love for us. His law is designed to make us the best we can be, in fellowship with Him, not to crush us into spiritual slavery.

The world cannot accept this -- they cannot perceive that God can have both attributes of love and holiness. They think it's either one or the other. Either he loves us unconditionally and doesn't care how we behave, or he is an angry tyrant who wants to throw us in hell at the first sin.

Intellectually, this is why Christianity satisfies me so much. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob loves every member of humanity wholeheartedly. But he cannot accept the rebellious and impure into eternal life -- his justice demands retribution. So in his infinite love his Son offered himself as a substitutionary atonement for us. Because of that sacrifice in our place, God's justice is satisfied. All we have to do is receive that gift. The just shall live by faith.

So then righteousness becomes not something we do to earn eternal life. Our righteousness is as filthy rags -- the things do to try and earn salvation mean absolutely nothing. We can only accept God's free gift, purchased through Christ. Once accepted, God can work in us to produce righteousness. We begin to obey Him out of thankfulness and love, instead of out of fear and obligation.

Now I'm beginning to grasp these truths in my heart and really appropriate them, instead of just reading and grasping intellectually.

Luke, you can be "ingrafted" into the people of Israel, God's people. But it doesn't happen by trying to become Jewish culturally or even trying to live up to the righteous demands of the law. We become grafted onto the Vine when we accept Christ's sacrifice for our sins. As Paul says, true circumcision is of the heart, not a physical thing. An empty practice of religious duties, whether Christian or Jewish or Hindu or Animist, counts for nothing -- God wants our hearts. God bless you as you search for the one true God. But don't hold onto your chosen career so tightly that you miss out on hearing His call on your life. God called Abraham to leave Ur, to leave his father's household. He may well be calling you to leave journalism, and trust Him to provide a new career.

"Whoever comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him."

"I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you."

Rumdar writes: This guy was raised by the Texas school system. Yikes!! Where did her learn to read then, Mr. Roger's Neighborhood? The man is obviously in deep s---. I wonder who he is? Perhaps a relative of Lord Peter Christian Luther OBE.....Why don't you make him the official Luke F-rd.com Chaplain? My advice to this person is to resume masturbating as soon as possible and do not (I repeat never) give it up again.....amen!

Chaim Amalek writes: I know that you expect some really sarcastic response from me, full of irony and scorn, but you won't get it. I am impressed by the comfort Christian Believers get from their faith in Christianity. I NEVER see anything similar going on in judaism, no matter the branch. And Christians really live their lives fully, with their faith informing their actions. Reading your site one encounters lots of jews who insist that they can be good jews and still be in porn, but almost never a Christian who dares make a similar argument. I think part of this is because Judaism is so caught up in hair-splitting legalisms that are utterly divorced from reality that it becomes difficult to separate what is trivial (don't wear linnen and wool!) from the important (don't spit on a woman's face and videotape her while doing it). Under Judaism, the moral landscape flattens out to a mind-numbing set of strictures and rules, most of which make no sense even to orthodox jews. Christianity, in keeping its focus on the big issues, thus has more moral authority in the lives of its believers. Before you mock this man, consider where he was and where he is in his new-found faith in Christ. Then compare that to where you stand.

Helpful writes: "I knew that you'd be as touched as I by the following.." I "touched" myself when I read about all the sluts from AOL chat rooms that he banged. Where are they?????????

Chaim writes: Please ask this guy to pass on WITH SPECIFICITY the EXACT locations on AOL where he hooked up, and the EXACT rap he used. Your readers want to know.

Fred writes: Tell him we need to go there to try to convert fallen sinners. It's an emergency.

Rumdar writes: I may be able to help a bit . Love@AOL.com is one of my favorite fishing spots. The rap I find most successful is the same one most use, i.e., lie like hell and worry about explaining yourself after you hook something. Always submit a picture that is at least ten years out of date (your high school yearbook for instance) Inflate everything including your penis size. Graduated from college? Tell em' you have a Ph.D.. Certain key phrases always work....Childless, Financially Secure, Over Six Feet Tall (get lifts for the shoes), Looking for Long Term Relationship/Marriage, Like Fine Dining, Love the Opera and the number one lie which always works for me GENEROUS!

Fred writes Luke: Three things.

1. If this guy has found God, why is he cruising a porn-related site like l-keford.com.

2. I agree with Rum that he should begin masturbating immediately and not stop until we give him permission.

3. It seems to me, sir, that you strive to cling to the orthodox because you seek a sense of community and belonging. I think that is also the reason people join cults (or for that matter, gangs). Are you really theologically motivated, or do you seek the companionship of fellow cult-members?

Curious asks: Also does the return of the Hale Bop comet pose any special significance to you?

Luke replies: I find that the Orthodox are the finest people I know, and I love great huge hunks of Orthodox life - particularly the learning and the beauty and innocence of their children. And the modesty of their women.