Posted Oct 26th, 2010 09:10 AM

VAN NUYS, Calif.—It's official: Digital Playground contract star Stoya has the most popular Fleshlight.

Since launching in July, Stoya is the biggest selling Fleshlight Girl. With her light green eyes, silky dark hair and milky white complexion, Stoya’s a tall, lean, all-natural girl that radiates sex from every orifice. That’s why Fleshlight and Digital Playground are proud to offer Stoya every way you want her.

“Stoya has been our consistent best-selling Fleshlight Girl since her launch,” said Fleshlight CEO Steve Shubin. “It is only fitting that one of our most consistent online reviewers, Gizmodo.com, would review Stoya's.”

Fleshlight Girls provides the most erotic, fantasy-driven experience of any premium sex toys. With soft, tight masturbation sleeves custom-molded from today's hottest adult stars, the combination of visual and sensual fantasy on FleshlightGirls.com is unmatched. The Fleshlight Girls exclusive Lotus texture further enhances your experience of the most realistic vaginal intercourse sensation.

For more information, visit Fleshlight.com.

Posted Oct 25th, 2010 04:59 PM

LONDON—Luxury sex toy innovator JeJoue has released its third product, Ami, a unique three-step set of pubococcygeus (aka PC) muscle exercisers designed to enhance personal pleasure and fortify female function in three simple steps.

Taking cues from the best medical and pleasure products on the market, JeJoue created a unique PC workout program using three different “tools,” each designed for a different level of vaginal fitness:

Ami 1: A large, soft and lightweight single ball great for beginners.

Ami 2: A medium-sized double ball that’s soft yet slightly heavier.

Ami 3: A small, hard and heavy double ball—this is the most advanced Ami for experienced users.

“When a woman squeezes and clenches her PC muscles during intercourse, she enhances sensation not only for her but also her partner,” said Alicia Relles, JeJoue’s North America sales and marketing manager. “Sensitivity is enhanced exponentially while orgasms become more intense and easier to achieve. Each move also prepares the vagina for natural physiological changes, but the best part? Ami balls feel so good inside; she can leave them inserted all day long. She’ll never think of it as exercise.”

Ami weights are coated in smooth soft 100 percent body-safe silicone and made of ABS plastic, featuring strong yet flexible removal cords and a smooth and squeezable surface, ideal for the exercise techniques responsible for strengthening the PC muscles. Stronger PCs lead to more powerful orgasms, a tighter vagina, more concentrated control over incontinence, and even faster recovery following childbirth.

“Ami is JeJoue’s unique ‘tease while you tone’ PC muscle exercise system that lets the user set her own pace with three different steps,” Relles said.

Ami is available in JeJoue’s signature Purple silicone and packaged in a black, ribbon-tied gift box. Orders will be shipped today, and the final product available through the best of North America’s sex-positive and couples-focused retailers later this week.

At an MSRP of just $39, Ami is as affordable as it is attractive.

Ami 1 weighs 1.65 ounces with a 1.41-inch diameter. Ami 2 weighs in at 2.75 ounces with a diameter of 1.25 inches, while Ami 3 boasts 3.73 ounces and just 1.1 inches around.

For sales and product details, email Relles at usasales@JeJoue.com.

JeJoue designs, produces and distributes some of the finest products in the industry. Ergonomic, beautiful and intimately innovative, JeJoue’s sex toys are made to inspire individuals and partners looking to discover new sensual experiences. Founded in 2008 with the SaSi, a toy created to offer the closest sensation to that of the tip of the tongue, JeJoue next released the G-Ki G-spot stimulator featuring bendable joints for customizable vibration. The products’ luxurious construction and design details offer one-of-a-kind personalized products made with the highest quality, safest materials used with style, form and function in mind.

For more information, visit JeJoue.com.

Posted Oct 25th, 2010 04:33 PM

LOS ANGELES—The Screaming O’s telltale red-and-white packaged toys played a supporting role on the latest episode of FX’s Sons of Anarchy, a drama following an outlaw motorcycle gang that has recently become the cable network’s highest-rated series, attracting up to 4.9 million viewers each week.

The Screaming O made its FX debut when the show’s leading men entered an adult shop and perused the shelves lackadaisically until one character paused at the main counter, where the sex toy powerhouse’s signature point-of-purchase spinner rack stood tall and stocked with goodies.

The collection of vibrating rings, bullets and cock rings caught his attention long enough to visibly display The Screaming O’s recognizable label as he fingered the selection, showing the world that real men and tough motorcycle gangs alike love to vibrate in the bedroom. Or in this case on the bike, in the motel room … and wherever else spontaneous sex might find them.

The full episode can be viewed at Hulu.com.

This season of “Sons of Anarchy,” its third, attracts millions of viewers—adults 18-49, the exact demographic The Screaming O buzzes for—each week. Its ratings have surpassed the FX network’s other noteworthy hits, including The Shield, Nip/Tuck and Rescue Me. The series has been picked up for a fourth season.

For more information about FX’s “Sons of Anarchy,” visit FXNetworks.com/shows/originals/soa/.

For more information about The Screaming O, visit TheScreamingO.com.

Posted Oct 25th, 2010 04:25 PM

OAKLAND, Calif.—Free Speech Coalition (FSC) Executive Director Diane Duke today attended the Cal/OSHA Advisory Meeting on bloodborne pathogen regulation for the adult industry. The meeting was held in Oakland.

The meeting agenda included a presentation from the San Francisco County Department of Public Health, followed by a report from the previous Cal/OSHA Medical Issues Subcommittee meeting that took place in September, in Oakland.

At today’s meeting, FSC also made a presentation to the Cal/OSHA Board on behalf of adult industry stakeholders.

HIV nonprofit activist organization AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) presented the Cal/OSHA Board with a petition in further efforts to demand mandatory condom regulations for adult industry productions. The organization was represented by its legal counsel.

Industry attorney Paul Cambria, who attended the meeting, said, “The position advocated by AHF will place adult industry workers in a far less protected environment than they are in now [and is] sure to drive production to locations where there are no protections. Under current procedures the incidence of STDs in the adult industry is significantly less than it is in the population as a whole.”

“The meeting started on a productive note with a constructive and proactive discussion,” added FSC’s Duke. “Unfortunately it went south rapidly when AHF came to the front of the room and aggrandized its political agenda. Health for performers is the goal for the industry—we will continue sound industry health practices in spite of AHF’s political posturing.”

FSC also has issued the following general statement regarding the current situation in developing industry-appropriate regulations for adult productions, as well as the need for further discussion between industry stakeholders and officials at Cal/OSHA. It also addresses the detrimental influence AHF has had the proceedings with Cal/OSHA.

 “The current CalOSHA regulations have been imposed devoid of any dialogue with adult film professionals whatsoever. Regulations developed for medical clinics in the early 1990s have been arbitrarily imposed upon the adult industry. In no other industry would this kind of regulation be tolerated. Moreover, Cal/OSHA has taken a zero-risk approach to the adult film community—a standard no other industry is required to meet.

“AHF, LA County [Department of Public Health] and CalOSHA are taking the approach that any and all incidents of STIs happened at work. With patient Zeta, and patient Zero in 2009, that was not the case. A percentage of all sexually active individuals will contract an STI and/or HIV—that is a statistical fact. One would be naïve to believe that those statistics don’t apply to adult-industry professionals as well. Still worse, the adult community must spend a great deal of time addressing false claims and wrong assumptions.

“The adult entertainment industry has come to the table to work with CalOSHA, in an attempt to develop industry appropriate regulations. It is a shame that AHF is politicizing and undermining the effort with ridiculous attempts to go around the process—asking LA City Council and LA County Commissioners to regulate something they know nothing about and have no authority to regulate, and filing frivolous lawsuits. AHF is demonstrating nothing but contempt for our industry, utter disregard for the process that CalOSHA has defined, and complete disrespect for those tasked and trusted by the Standards Board.   

“These are important, complex issues that require thoughtful dialogue and research to understand fully. Such dialogue and research underlie the regulation of all other California industries. If CalOSHA is truly concerned about workplace safety, then it will take the necessary steps it needs, not only to provide adult entertainment businesses and professionals with the opportunity to provide feedback, but also allow for a thorough and in-depth study of adult industry-related data.”

For more information, visit www.freespeechcoalition.com.

CYBERSPACE—As reported in September, Google Instant launched with certain adult-related terms censored from the instant results. They could be accessed manually, but not without proactive action. Apparently, Google has now also imposed a similar restriction on Google Images searches, blocking search terms that suggest sexual images from appearing in the drop down.

It wasn’t always this way. Up until last week, search results in Images would return all sorts of suggestive suggestions. Typing in a “g,” for instance, would result in returns offering “girls without dresses,” “girls breast feeding each other” or “girls in bathrooms,” as Search Engine Land reported last week.

What a difference a week makes.

According to a Huffington Post article today, “Google Images' X-rated alphabet appears to have been tweaked up in the days since then. In the slideshow below, we've included screenshots of the suggestions offered by Google Images on October 19, versus those displayed on October 25. The ones taken at a later date are far more mundane, with search suggestions like ‘Zac Efron nasty pictures’ or ‘Shakira no clothes’ nowhere to be found.”

A Google spokesperson sent the following comment to the Huffington Post following initial posting of the story.

"We take an algorithmic approach to exclude a narrow class of search queries related to pornography, violence and hate speech,” s/he said. “This system is neither perfect nor instantaneous, and we continue to make updates and improvements."

While one assumes that Google is working hard to maintain a balance between excluding suggestions that promote porn and making sexy but non-pornographic images all but invisible to search queries, not everyone will see the new change as an improvement, and it remains to be seen whether Google’s users are served by the changes. Time will definitely tell with this one.

In the meantime, people who use Google Images to help market their adult-related photos, websites and products will no longer have their images suggested during search queries, and that’s kind of a bummer.  

Posted Oct 24th, 2010 11:28 AM

When Apple released the iPad, few expected the level of response and number of sales that came so quickly. With millions sold, it’s safe to say that the iPad isn’t merely a fad or a cool geek gadget. Tablets are here, and the moment you get your hands on one you’ll know why people are raving about them and why they’re likely to become the next “must have” tech device.

Initially much of the adult industry scoffed at the idea that the iPad was the next big thing. But it just might be, and the number of companies boasting about their iPad-optimized paysites supports the claim.

To some the reasons are as obvious as they are abundant. First, the iPad is portable. It’s sleek, it’s lightweight and it’s flat. You can carry it with one hand, and tuck it under your arm or in a book bag. It’s not cumbersome like a laptop and requires no space to operate. You can hold it or set it on any flat surface. As a bonus, it doesn’t need to boot up each time you use it. Simply scroll the touch screen’s unlock slider, and you’re ready to go.

For porn the biggest draw may be that the iPad is private. It’s difficult to hide a laptop or put it away gracefully if someone interrupts your personal time. The iPad can be put away quickly, and there’s no screen to flip down or close. One touch of a button closes the window, and browsing history can be cleared quickly.

The days of men being relegated to secret late-night jerk sessions after the wife and kids are asleep may be coming to an end. It’s ideal for travel and makes it easy for a guy to enjoy his porn without worrying about his wife or girlfriend catching him. The device is small enough to be concealed in a newspaper or magazine. It’s quite possible for your significant other to never even know you have one, let alone what you’re doing with it.

The device also offers easy connectivity. Its use of wi-fi means it can connect to any wireless network, be it your home, hotel or a remote location. The 3G model makes connecting even easier; it can access the web from anywhere without needing a dedicated internet connection. There’s no knowing how many have already been seeking solace and taking care of their business in the bathroom stalls of their favorite coffee joint. And it’s all thanks to their iPad.

Even better, there are free programs that will convert the videos in your existing porn collection to MP4 format so you can transfer them to your iPad. You can watch your movies without an internet connection. This means entire porn collections, all those years’ worth of downloaded videos stored on a hard drive, can be converted and loaded up on the iPad to be enjoyed at any time.

Our Elevated X paysite CMS product is among the first commercial software products to let paysite owners instantly convert their existing videos and their paysites to be iPad compatible. It also uses HTML5 and offers iPad compatibility so surfers can watch embedded videos and not have to download them first. Given the success of the iPad and the tablet market, more software companies are sure to follow.

As a bonus, the iPad also offers apps and a contact manager, calendar and email management. But for the purpose of this article, we’re only concerned with spankability ... and the iPad gets two thumbs up. The price is still high, but as it comes down and as more smart companies catch on and start to advertise iPad versions of their sites, you can expect to see the market explode.

The co-founder and CEO of Elevated X, Hall has played a big part in the growth of many of adult’s largest companies. Elevated X offers site automation and content management system solutions for paysites, all-access-pass networks and mobile paysites. For details, visit ElevatedX.com, or call (800) 690-9277.

This article originally ran in the October 2010 issue of AVN.

Posted Oct 23rd, 2010 03:32 PM

Before Earl Miller became Penthouse magazine's most published photographer, he worked as an actor from 1962 until about 1967, when he bought his first camera and taught himself to shoot; the connection between man and camera was electric and immediate. He started shooting fellow actors' composites and head shots, and in 1969 became the official photographer for the Sonny and Cher Show, where he stayed for 3 and a 1/2 years. Other mainstream work soon followed, in advertising, shooting ad campaigns for Bugle Boy, Cavaricci and others, as well as big ad campaigns with Edward G. Robinson and Joan Collins, but also shooting Bob Hope's only album cover. "I loved the creative and financial empowerment that the camera gave me," he told AVN. "It was easy to promote and market myself to get work as opposed to waiting for the phone to ring as an actor." In 1972, he saw his first copy of Penthouse and was blown away. He submitted a shoot that was bought by Bob Guccione, and in short order a very close creative relationship developed between the two men, one that lasted more than thirty years, and, as Miller told us, "profoundly changed my life."

On the sad occasion of the Bob Guccione's passing Wednesday, following a long battle with lung cancer, Earl Miller wrote the following reminiscence of his time at Penthouse, and the seminal role that Guccione played in his life, and in the country's life.

I remember thanking Bob for giving me “a sandbox to play in.” He was a unique creative genius, as well as a marvelously generous and gentle man. He gave open and unqualified support to the creativity of those who were fortunate enough to work “under” him, or as he would have preferred to say, “with” him. Such was his generous spirit. Rather than force his creative people to shoot in a particular style, he encouraged photographers to find their own vision and reach their own level of artistry. He told me that he firmly believed the magazine was a richer experience for the reader if it presented a wider range of visual artistry. I was truly blessed to know him. He gave me the space to become the most published photographer in the history of Penthouse magazine. From the beginning to the end of his stewardship of Penthouse, he personally selected every image of every photo set in every issue. I was always moved by the desire to keep giving him one-of-a-kind and first-of-a-kind photo sets. I took it as a wonderful challenge to ‘surprise’ him with unique sets that may have helped make his editing hours entertaining, and help keep Penthouse at the cutting edge of erotic art.

I remember Bob saying at the very beginning of our creatively rich relationship, back in 1972, “The whole secret to publishing a successful men’s magazine is to reach the most discerning reader without losing the average slob.” Wow, so simply and eloquently put. As creative and unique as Bob’s visual genius was, he was also gifted with verbal eloquence. His statements were cryptically excellent. I remember them word for word to this day. Here are just a few more.

“The only thing that will distract a guy’s attention from a beautiful girl is the next beautiful girl.”

“The reason for the success of men’s magazines is that as a general rule (of course there are always exceptions to general rules) men are voyeurs and women are exhibitionists.”

Bob’s creative generosity was matched by his personal generosity. There was a time in the early eighties that I had some medical issues that laid me up for a bit. Shortly after, while sitting with him in his mansion, I told him of my situation and of my plans to expand a guest house on my property into a studio. He wrote me check for $10,000 on the spot, as a start for my studio. He said there would be no need to pay him back.

Another time, I was staying in his mansion while he hosted a party to celebrate the launch of the Japanese edition of Omni magazine. My brother, his wife and a business associate were in New York at the time. Bob had okayed inviting them to the party, and early on I introduced them to him. Two hours later they needed to leave. I looked over to see Bob surrounded by half a dozen people in active conversation and decided not to disturb him. As I escorted my brother and his group to the door, however, Bob noticed us and came over to say good night. He thanked each of them individually, and remembered each of their names. That level of caring blew me away. He hade met, greeted and chatted with at least 200 or more people between meeting them two hours earlier and saying goodbye.

Bob was a unique original artist and man who gave me and others the opportunity to develop and grow creatively. Despite achieving great wealth and power, he never lost his generous warmth and humility. I believe that is the main force that allowed me to thrive as an artist. His love of the creative process and his deep sense of empathy were bigger than his ego. I remember when I had sent in a photo shoot I did with Pet of the Year Andi Sue Irwin and some lions and tigers of my friend Randy Miller, the best trainer of big cats for movies. The set was published in December 1996 and contained some breathtaking shots of Andi Sue dangerously close to the big predators. I had sent Bob 300 8X10 black and white prints. He took the time to call me when he was editing the shoot to tell me that his only regret was that he couldn’t use all 300.

Bob’s courage was another defining characteristic of the man. He took on powerful people like Jerry Falwell and Jimmy Swaggert, who he took down with that powerful piece in the magazine on the hooker he was caught with. He kept pushing the limits of sexual expression, which was something I was really proud to be a part of. In my view, society and the institutions of society use what I call the Unholy Trinity—guilt, fear and repression—to maintain control. He fought against that and broke new ground with a powerful mainstream magazine by publishing the first hardcore layout in a meaningful publication. It was after that that everyone else followed suit.

But Bob was very overtly political, too. He published investigative journalism of the highest level, with Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists writing pieces on the CIA and the Mossad; he actually busted La Costa Country Club for being run by the mob. They sued him, in fact, and at the time it was the biggest libel suit in the country at $50 million. They thought they could get away with it because Penthouse was a 'skin magazine,' but he beat them in court.

I think a key piece of my story with Bob is the extent to which he encouraged me to develop my own web presence and build my own library. I have been able to take the skills and artistry he empowered in me to develop them and carry forward on my website,  EarlMiller.com. My whole approach to sexual expression, which I developed and honed shooting for Penthouse, is to celebrate the joy and the fantasy of sex. Rather than try to own and control me, he allowed me to thrive and succeed on my own. Were it not for his generosity of spirit and his genuine concern for me, my site would not exist. People who discovered and appreciated me through Penthouse can find that same approach to sexual expression in my site. People who are looking for a fresh joyous approach to sex can find that on my site. One thing I shared with Bob is an absolute love for the magic and mystique of women. It isn't simply that he gave me the freedom to express myself. It is that we both revere and respect women.

Here is what Bob said about my work: “Miller has not only mastered but transcended his medium. His best work celebrates the complex and enduring quality of a woman’s beauty. His vision is both elegant and sympathetic".

I add this quote because I believe it reveals the profound sensitivity with which Bob saw women. I also believe this is his most important legacy, and I hope that in my own small way I am carrying forward that legacy on earlmiller.com. 

I will miss Bob Guccione, but the magic of his free spirit thrives in all the people whose lives he genuinely touched.

Posted Oct 23rd, 2010 10:53 AM

VAN NUYS, Calif.—In an industry where early adoption is often the key to  success, Pink Visual is once again ahead of the market—this time readying its Google TV-optimized site for launch directly following the release of the first Google TV units to hit shelves the United States.

PinkVisual.tv, the newest entry in Pink Visual’s extensive product portfolio, will launch on Oct 25, the day after Sony’s Internet TV arrives at Best Buy stores in the U.S. The near-simultaneous release of Pink Visual’s new site follows a pattern the company established with the launch of its iPad-optimized  site, which actually launched several days before the iPad was available in  the U.S.

“We’ve established that there’s real value in being first-to-market when new  technologies hit and we move quickly to ensure that we’re part of that first  wave of adult companies to target the latest consumer technologies,” said Liam Colins, Director of Business Development for Pink Visual. “We also believe  that Google TV is extremely well positioned to be a major player in the web-enabled  television space, making it all the more important that we are prepared to  serve up Google TV-friendly content from day one.”

PinkVisual.tv is uniquely designed to work with large screen technology and will allow users to easily navigate the site using their Internet TV remote control. Access to the site is $24.95 per month or $39.95 for a 90 day subscription. Consumers also have the option of purchasing a 1-day preview for $1.

Colins said that Pink Visual is anticipating a rapid expansion of the Internet-capable TV market, and is keeping a close eye on the competition that looms for Google’s new service.

“Just as the popularity of the iPhone has driven the development of the smartphone market and inspired many competitors to develop advanced mobile devices, we  expect Google TV to spawn competition in the Internet TV space in the months  ahead,” Colins said. “The great part for us is that we don’t have to pick the  winners of the tech market share competition; we just prepare to deliver content as effectively as possible to every device, and let the chips fall where they may.”

For more information on Google TV, visit www.google.com/tv/.

Speaking about Middle Men, his recent movie about the early years of the online porn industry, producer Christopher Mallick admits, “I think that it’s based on a true story, but that doesn’t mean it’s all true.” He should know. The main character—Jack Harris, portrayed by the ever-grimacing Luke Wilson—is based on him.

Mallick in real life and Harris on screen both founded Paycom Billing Services, an Internet company that processes payments for porn sites. Money used to grow on trees, then it popped out of banks’ brick walls, and now it’s busy floating around in cyberspace.

Until 1995, you weren’t able to purchase anything online. But thanks to a software code enabling secure transactions, Harris brags, “We could take a credit card from anywhere in the world and deliver a product to anywhere in the world. We can make a profit on every transaction. We’re just the middle men.” And now it’s been estimated that porn is featured on nearly 40 percent of all websites.

In his cameo role as a powerful politician, Kelsey Grammer confronts Harris: “You peddle porn over the internet.”

“Well, Senator,” Harris replies, holding up a sheet of paper, “this is your billing record: Naughty Secretary …”

The senator smirks as Harris continues to read other titles and then says, “You realize you’ve just attempted to blackmail a publicly elected state official—and it worked. Can I count on your vote next year?”

“You got it.”

That scene is not so far-fetched, either. In his book Family of Secrets, investigative journalist Russ Baker writes that there are powers behind the elected or selected calling a lot of the shots, and that presidents have much less power and independence than he had assumed: “Initiating reforms or standing up to powerful interests can invite retribution of a kind I had not imagined. Presidents are subject not only to pressure but also to entrapment, blackmail, and even, in one way or another, removal.”

Standup comic Kevin Pollak plays the part of an agent for the FBI’s Organized Crime Task Force in Middle Men. He persuades Harris to cooperate in the war on terror. It seems that, among the millions of consumers logging in to those porn sites for which Harris is a middle man, many happen to be Arab terrorists. Simply because, in the words of that FBI agent, “They’re men,” technology makes it possible to exploit their horniness, so the moment they click on to one of those sites, the United States military can pinpoint and terminate them.

Back in real life, immediately after 9/11, CNN ran a list of the hijackers and people who had tickets and were suspected of being hijackers. “Back then,” says Mallick, “we recorded it and I took it in to one of my partners and said, ‘Let’s run these names through our database.’ He said, ‘You’re crazy.’ ‘Let’s just see what happens.’ We had a hit and it was a guy that subsequently was arrested. One of the hijackers who went down with the plane had bought a membership to a site with an online check.

“We traced the check to a bank in San Diego, called the FBI, who was down the hall from us, and said, ‘We have a hit.’ These guys are apparently sitting in an apartment, ordering pizza and porn on their way to meet Allah. Anyhow, they found the check, went the apartment, found the phone record, found the cell phone number that one of these guys was using. One of the would-be bombers in Chicago was holed up in the Hyatt in downtown Chicago and the FBI raided it, on CNN, and arrested this guy.”

In Middle Men, there was an incident that was deleted from the big orgy party scene. It was removed because of concerns that the MPAA would give the flick an NC-17 rating instead of an R rating. In a scene that lasts for two minutes, Harris wanders around a huge mansion, passing by naked men and women drinking and dancing, but what would be omitted was when he opens a door, only to find a couple of women performing oral sex on a man. It was posted on a website but soon taken down. Ironically, remaining on that clip is a commercial for the film itself.

Ultimately, then, Middle Men was intended for the eyes of Middle America. Mallick points out, “The same guy who’s going to Toy Story 3 is also going to come to Middle Men.” Well, at least there’s one thing that those two films have in common. The moving force in each one is a Woody.

Paul Krassner is the author of Who’s to Say What’s Obscene? His column appears bimonthly in AVN. This article originally ran in the October 2011 issue of AVN.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.—History repeats itself in Albuquerque as Pornotopia once again battles the city for a venue in which to hold its annual erotic film festival. This year, however, the city fathers have inched closer to their desired ends not to have the festival take place at all. 

Pornotopia, which is scheduled for Nov. 5-7, is no longer welcome at its previous home, the Guild Theater in Nob Hill. The site is not zoned for adult entertainment, the organizers have been told. Similar zoning issues threatened the festival during its inaugural year in 2007, until the ACLU intervened. Similar saber-rattling kept its doors open in 2008 and 2009, but this year the tide of reactionary conservatism sweeping the nation seems to have turned against the harmless little festival.

Still, its ultimate status remains unclear despite a notice on the Pornotopia website that reads, “We regret to announce that this year’s celebration of erotic film is being postponed indefinitely. The City of Albuquerque's highly restrictive zoning regulations have effectively banned the festival from all potential venues, despite all efforts by the planning committee to find a suitable location within city limits.

“We are not giving up on finding a home for Pornotopia 2010 and a home for free speech. We will not let these erotic films be censored.”

Pornotopia Co-Director Molly Adler has intimated that a “censored” version of the show may take place next month at the Sunshine Theater, featuring comedy sketches, burlesque and more. In the meantime, the organizers will be looking for a venue outside city limits at which to hold the real Pornotopia.

"No one gets fully naked," Adler said of the revised version, but there will be "much dirty language. Heck, if we have some free speech, let's use it."

According to the Albuquerque Journal, “Matthew Conrad, Albuquerque's code-enforcement manager, said the city is investigating whether the planned Sunshine Theater event is legal.”

There also is a press conference planned for this Saturday at the Guild Cinema on Central Avenue, where a planned screening of The People vs. Larry Flynt also is scheduled for immediately after the 2 pm conference, and on Sunday.

Clearly incensed that films protected by the First Amendment cannot be screened in Albuquerque theaters not located in industrial zones—as if!—Adler commented Friday, “We’re talking about a free-speech issue. How can you actually exercise your free speech if there's no where in town that we can legally have the festival?”

Maybe they should have planned a tea party instead.

CYBERSPACE—So much for riding on the fortunes of face. Faceporn, an X-rated social network, has been sued by Facebook for blatantly copying “the Facebook logo, site and Wall trademark." The site is currently offline even though the case is ongoing.  

The lawsuit, Facebook v. Pederson, was filed Oct. 15 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. According to court documents the parties are scheduled to appear Jan. 21, 2011, in a San Francisco courtroom for a case management hearing.

Facebook wants the court to order Faceporn owner Thomas Pederson to relinquish the domain and all revenue derived from it.

"We don't believe Faceporn should be able to trade on our name and dilute and tarnish our brand while doing so," spokesman Simon Axten told Computerworld Friday. "Where there is brand tarnishment, dilution, or confusion as there is with Faceporn and Facebook, we must enforce our rights to protect the integrity of our trademark."

This is hardly new litigation territory for Facebook. According to the Computerworld article, “In August, the company sued a startup called TeachBook, claiming that its use of the word ‘book’ violated Facebook's trademark. Teachbook doesn't look much like Facebook, but it does give teachers a way to network online.”

The site may be down, but Faceporn vows to return. A message on a landing page reads, “Due to unforeseen circumstances, faceporn is down until further notice. We are doing our best to come back better than ever. We're currently working to launch a completely new version of the site, and it will be the best porn site the world has ever seen.”

They probably shouldn’t rename it Bookporn, though.

LOS ANGELES—Vivid Entertainment has announced that it will be producing Sister Wives XXX: A Porn Parody at the end of the November, directed by B. Skow.

The popular TLC reality TV series Sister Wives is about the relationship dynamics of a modern-day Utah-based polygamist family, including salesman-husband Kody Brown and his four wives—Meri, Janelle, Christine and the recently added Robyn.

To assist in casting the movie Vivid is holding an open casting call for adult performers who want to audition to play the role of Kody or any of his wives. Agents should contact producer Shylar Cobi at shylar@vividcorp.com.

“I’m a big fan of this show and I feel the possibilities for parody are practically endless,” Skow said. “We’ll have fun spoofing the characters and taking that extra behind-the-scenes step inside their bedrooms to understand their erotic sides.”

Sister Wives has been a monster hit for TLC; its series finale this week drew 2.7 million viewers. The show hasn’t been without controversy, though. Brown currently is under investigation in his home state for felony bigamy.

Posted Oct 22nd, 2010 03:21 PM by Buzz Killington

CHATSWORTH, Calif.—Exclusive Score model Christy Marks finally makes her hardcore DVD debut with the release of Teen Tit Dream.

Marks first graced the pages of Score magazine in 2008 when she was voted Newcomer of the Year and performed in her first-ever solo scene. With the fans clamoring for more, Marks did her first triple-X performance, which is now available for the first time on DVD.

“I get off knowing they are getting off,” Marks said. “I’d say I like to be the good girl, but when it comes to sex, I’m the naughty one with whips and chains and nipple clamps.”

Marks was 18 years old when she debuted in the November 2007 issue of Score magazine. The 36H-cup discovery from Pennsylvania is 5-foot-2 and 110 pounds and was named Score magazine’s Model of the Decade earlier this year.

Marks mentions that she’s eager to try anal and threesomes, and would rather give head than receive it. She loves to watch lesbian porn, and being so flexible, her favorite position is pile-driver.

Score DVDs are distributed by Pure Play Media. For ordering information, email sales@pureplaymedia.com.

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif.—As promised, the pro-pirate group Anonymous initiated a denial-of-service attack against Hustler.com today, with intermittent success at first. The attack is part of Operation Payback, undertaken in response to lawsuits served against illegal downloaders of copyrighted content. Hustler recently sued 5,000 such people as part of a “John Doe” campaign.

As reported yesterday, Hustler.com was the secondary target this week after the group called off its planned attack against a French organization in charge of regulating internet access and enforcing copyright law.

The attack today was planned to begin at 8 p.m. GMT, and apparently did so right on time. Hustler.com seemed to be holding its own at first, but then went down, and then back up, in a sustained effort to fight off the DDoS attacks.

Currently, shortly after 3 p.m. PDT, the site is up and appears to have stabilized. A call was just made to NationalNet, Hustler’s hosting company, but the staff was too busy to comment. Hustler was contacted yesterday for comment on the impending attack, but has yet to respond.

In addition to the attack on Hustler.com today, it’s also possible that retaliatory measures were attempted against an Anonymous website that contains information people can use to join in the DDoS attack against Hustler and others. It went down also today, shortly after the attack against Hustler.com commences. It is back up now, too.

Thus the cat-and-mouse game continues between the hit-and-run Anonymous group and content producers and supporting law firms and organizations.

To be continued…

Posted Oct 22nd, 2010 12:51 PM

SAN FRANCISCO—The Exotic Erotic Ball and Expo has announced that the event, which was scheduled to run today (Expo) and tomorrow (BALL) at the Craneway Pavilion in the Richmond Marina district, with the San Francisco Belle as the VIP area, has been cancelled.

The organizers want to make clear: there will be no event this weekend at the Craneway Pavilion and no event this weekend on San Francisco Belle.

The producers cite a drop in ticket sales during the pivotal final days leading up to the event, plus unexpected cost overruns and operational issues as the causes for the cancellation.

Ticket holders are encouraged to file their refund claims by following the appropriate bank card procedure.

The producers said in the announcement that they would like to extend their heartfelt thanks and gratitude to the contractors, and entertainers who worked so hard to try and make this year’s Ball an extraordinary experience.  In addition, they deeply regret causing any disappointment to those fans who have enjoyed attending the Ball as a source of entertainment and celebration of personal freedom for the past 30-years.

Organizers report that more details will be forthcoming shortly.

Visit www.exoticeroticball.com for more information.

Posted Oct 22nd, 2010 12:27 PM

LOS ANGELES—The Association of Sites Advocating Child Protection (ASACP) has announced that Sextronix has become its newest Corporate Sponsor.

Sextronix has been creating high quality adult websites since 1996 and offers a variety of affiliate programs for webmasters.

“We have been looking for a great solution to help protect kids from accessing any of our adult sites,” said a Sextronix spokesperson. “After doing research we came across ASACP and liked what the association has done in the past, and are now doing today to protect kids from accessing adult websites, while fighting against those that show CP.

“Once we saw all that ASACP does to protect children from accessing porn, we decided to become a Corporate Sponsor in the cause of fighting CP and making the Internet a safer place for kids,” the spokesperson added. “Sextronix and ASACP is a perfect match.”

“We are thrilled to welcome Sextronix as our newest corporate sponsor. We had a meeting in Amsterdam and they moved very quickly through the process,” stated ASACP CEO Joan Irvine. “We are grateful for Sextronix commitment to child protection by not only their ASACP financial support, but by following our best practices. ASACP has been focused on expansion into Europe and Sextronix is the first new European sponsor since the two tradeshows last month. Their support demonstrates that international companies understand the benefits of ASACP and RTA.”

For more information, visit www.asacp.org.

PLANO, Texas—Bob Guccione, the legendary founder and publisher of Penthouse magazine, who fell on hard times in later years and eventually had to sell his beloved empire, has died. He was 79 years old, and passed after fighting a long battle with lung cancer at Plano Specialty Hospital in Plano, Texas.

His wife, April Dawn Warren Guccione, was at his side at the time of his passing today along with two of his children, Bob Jr. and Tonina.

Guccione married for the first time before he turned 20 and had his first child, Tonina, but left his wife to spend many years as a painter in Europe before founding Penthouse magazine in 1965 in England while working as the manager of a chain of self-service laundries and as a cartoonist for The London American.

While in Europe he befriended and painted with Picasso and Matisse. He traveled widely, and became friends with William S. Burroughs and other expatriate American writers. After marrying again he had four more children: Bob Jr., Nina, Tony and Nick.

Guccione brought the magazine to the United States in 1969. In the years that followed, he built Penthouse into one of the great media brands in the world.

In the magazine’s early days, Guccione photographed most of the models himself, creating the diffused, soft-focus look that became a Penthouse trademark. His plan was to make Penthouse profitable enough so he could pursue his first love—art.

Penthouse provided men with an alternative to Hugh Hefner's high-minded Playboy. Guccione's magazine featured more sensationalistic editorial with stories of government conspiracies, cover-ups and celebrity scandals.

The magazine's pictorials of nude models offered more sexually explicit content too, and got progressively harder as the decades passed. From showing pubic hair in the 1960s to facials in the 1990s, Penthouse changed with the times.

Eventually Guccione relocated to Manhattan, where he bought a mansion on the city’s Upper East Side that was said to be the borough’s largest private residence. He lived in the 30-room, 22,000-square-foot home with his second wife, Kathy Keeton, who passed away in 1997.

The mansion also housed Guccione’s art studio, where he eventually resumed painting again, some 32 years after he stopped. He created oil-on-canvas works that were shown in critically acclaimed exhibitions at the Butler Institute of American Art in Ohio, the Nassau County Museum of Art and in many galleries across the country.

He continued to exercise his love for art by amassing a world-class collection that included works by Modigliani, Picasso, Botticelli, El Greco, Dürer, Chagall, Dali and Degas. The Guccione art collection was sold by Sotheby's in November 2002.

Guccione also found success in Hollywood, where he produced or financed such classics as Caligula (1979), with Malcolm McDowell, Helen Mirren, John Gielgud and Peter O’Toole; Chinatown (1974), directed by Roman Polanski and starring Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway and John Huston; and The Longest Yard (1974), directed by Robert Aldrich and starring Burt Reynolds, Eddie Albert, Ed Lauter and Michael Conrad.

In more recent years, Guccione encountered hard times after several unsuccessful investments, including losing more than $160 million in a failed Penthouse-branded casino venture. In 2003, General Media, Penthouse's publishing company, declared bankruptcy and Guccione resigned as CEO and chairman-of-the-board of Penthouse International, Inc.

Guccione married his third wife in 2006; in 2009, they moved from the New Jersey to Texas, where he battled lung cancer.

“My cancer was only a tiny tumor about the size of an almond at the base of my tongue,” he told New York magazine’s Anthony Haden Guest in 2004. “The cure is probably every bit as bad as the disease. It’s affected my ability to swallow … the mobility of my tongue … it makes it very difficult for me to talk.”

Robert Charles Joseph Edward Sabatini "Bob" Guccione was born in Brooklyn, New York, on Dec. 17, 1930, into a large Sicilian family. He was raised in Bergenfield, N.J., and attended the Blair Academy preparatory school.

Funeral services for Guccione will be private.

MEMPHIS—Jacqueline McKee, an adult internet model who works under the name Foxy Jacky, has filed a lawsuit with her husband and sometime co-performer, Justin McKee, against Meltech, Inc., a company run by Melissa Harrington, another internet-based performer, who performs under the name Melissa Midwest and also runs the Melissa Money affiliate program.

The allegations contained in the seven page complaint, filed Oct. 13 in district court in Memphis, are that winnings from a contest put on by Melissa Midwest and won by McKee in 2008 were not delivered her; that Justin McKee was never compensated for content published to FoxyJacky.com and other work he did for the site; that the defendant continues to profit from Justin McKee’s images, even after the contract with his wife was terminated in 2009; and that Justin McKee never signed a waiver or release authorizing the use of his images on the FoxyJacky.com website in the first place.

According to an Aug. 26, 2008 article on AVN.com, “Solo-girl Foxy Jacky recently launched her own site under the Melissa Money affiliate program and has since filled her Internet portal with salacious and revealing content.”  The story has to do with a photo shoot featuring Foxy Jacky at a Memphis playground that drew criticism from locals.

The contest referred to in the complaint is still apparently underway, if the Melissa Midwest website is to be believed. Contest rules on the site read, in part (and please forgive the caps):

“WINNER OF THIS CONTEST WILL GET HER VERY OWN WEBSITE, A 13 MONTH CONTRACT, AND BE PAID $100,000 OVER THOSE 13 MONTHS THE FIRST $10,000 IS PAID WHEN WINNER MOVES TO LINCOLN! YES YOU ARE GOING TO BE MOVING TO LINCOLN NEBRASKA FOR 13 MONTHS BUT TRUST ME I WILL MAKE SURE WE HAVE SOME FUN WHEN WE ARE NOT WORKING. THE REST OF THE MONEY IS PAID OVER A 13 MONTH PERIOD WITH $10,000 BEING PAID OUT EVERY 3 MONTHS UNTILL THE LAST PAYMENT WHICH WILL BE THE FINAL $60,000!

“THAT’S NOT ALL! IN ADDITION TO THE $100,000 YOU WILL BE GIVEN A BRAND NEW CAR TO DRIVE AND YOU WILL HAVE YOUR OWN FULL FURNISHED APARTMENT ALL PAID FOR BY ME FOR THE ENTIRE 13 MONTHS YOU ARE HERE! I WILL SET YOU UP WITH EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO DO YOUR SITE RIGHT FROM YOUR APARTMENT. I AM TALKING A COMPUTER, CAMERA, WEBCAM, VIDEO CAMERA--WHATEVER! I WILL TEACH YOU EVERYTHING I KNOW ABOUT THE BUSINESS SO YOU CAN BE AS SUCCESSFUL AS POSSIBLE.”

FoxyJacky.com also is still live and being promoted on MelissaMoney.com, Harrington’s affiliate program. The site’s tour contains scenes with Foxy Jacky and a male partner who is consistently referred to in the first person as “my man,” a possible reference to Justin McKee.

The site also contains a link to a 2257 federal labeling and record keeping requirement statement that includes contact information for the site’s custodian of records, the unavoidable presumption being that records for all models appearing on the site, including Justin Mckee, are being kept by the custodian. An email address on the 2257 page where people can address questions belongs to Melissa Midwest.

The plaintiffs are seeking a combined amount of $700,000 in compensatory damages and additional punitive/exemplary damages to be determined during a jury trial.

The complaint can be read here.

CYBERSPACE—A new chapter in the years-long saga of sex.com is about to begin. The storied website has reportedly been sold for $13 million to Clover Holdings Ltd., a company the Register labels “a bit of a mystery.”

Clover, apparently based on the Caribbean island of Saint Vincent, beat out 11 other bidders, according to bankruptcy court documents. The paper says the sale by bankrupt Escom LLC includes all trademarks related to the domain.

“The deal is subject to bankruptcy court approval,” the Register reports. “Escom sought a hearing on an accelerated timetable, which was granted yesterday. The hearing will be held next Wednesday, 27 October.”

If the sale price is accurate, it is in the same ballpark that Escom bought the domain for in 2006. Though the actual price was never publicly revealed, it was generally thought to be in the range of from $12 to $14 million.

Domain broker Sedo handled the auction and sale of sex.com and will get a percentage of the sale price.

According to the Register article, Clover Holdings’ “email address listed in court documents is @hushmail.com, the privacy-conscious webmail service,” a fact that will likely fuel a raft of rumors regarding who now owns “one of the most expensive domains of all time.”

What, for instance, if Stephen Cohen—the man who squired the domain away from Gary Kremen in the mid-’90s by forging a letter to Network Solutions, only to be caught later and convicted of the crime—was behind the purchase? He was released from prison in 2006; does anyone know where the man who made sex.com infamous currently is?

Just a crazy thought.

MARINA DEL REY, Calif.—Majorly buzzed about up-and-comer Chanel Preston has been invited by retail website AdultDVDEmpire.com to become its first ever guest blogger.

Hot on the heels of winning Best New Starlet at the recent NightMoves Awards in Tampa, Fla., Preston will be providing a personal glimpse into her experiences in the industry on the six-time AVN Award winner for Best Retail Site, including commentary on all her movies available on the site, such as Wicked Pictures’ Speed and X-Play’s Not M*A*S*H XXX.

"We are completely smitten with Chanel Preston in general, and really couldn’t be more excited to have her as a contributor to our blog," said Adult DVD Empire director of marketing Courtney Arthur. "Our customers are already excited with what Chanel has put out on DVD so far, and once they get more acquainted with her through her posts, we expect her popularity to grow even more on AdultDVDEmpire.com."

Preston’s introductory blog is posted on the site now; to read it click here.

Offered Preston herself, "Blogging for AdultDVDEmpire.com puts me in direct contact with thousands of people who purchase my movies. It’s an incredible privilege to be the first guest blogger for the huge e-tail site. I’m looking forward to the opportunity to share my life with the AdultDVDEmpire.com visitors, as well as give some behind-the-scenes insight on my featured movies."

Preston’s performances have received some rave reviews from top industry critics. In his writeup of the Chris Streams/Jules Jordan release Fashion Fucks, XCritic.com's Don Houston remarked, "A near flawless figure. What set [Chanel] apart from some of the other ladies here, all of them far more experienced in terms of making movies at this writing, was her sex-positive attitude that jumped through the camera … A ‘must have’ thanks in part to the performances by gals like Chanel." Houston also called Preson "clearly a sexual highlight" in his review of Not M*A*S*H XXX. 

On top of her roles in these high-profile releases, Preston recently shot for the cover of France’s Hot Video magazine and will be featured on upcoming covers for Genesis, High Society and Cheri. In addition, she graces the box fronts of Juicy Entertainment's Porn Fidelity 23 and Third Degree Films' Bikini Land and the soon-to-be-released Nylons 8.

To pre-order Nylons 8 click here. For more on Chanel Preston, visit www.ChanelPreston.com.

PASCO COUNTY, Fla.—Apparently censorious Polk County's nearest neighbor will be the "proving ground" for the newest idea in reality TV shows: Nudity.

It's called The Nak'd Truth, probably to avoid getting blocked by religio-conservative search engines and ISPs, and its creator, Harris Salomon, has a proven track record in show biz, having produced successful shows for such diverse venues as Comedy Central and the Travel Channel. But this time, he wants to explore the connections between clothing, social status and interpersonal relationships.

"Clothing is something that often defines who we are and how we act," Salomon told the Tampa Tribune. "It's going to be fascinating to see how people react when they no longer have it."

Of course, the perfect setting for such an exploration would be a nudist colony—and Pasco has one of the more famous ones: Caliente, a 120-acre Caribbean-style resort about 20 miles north of Tampa (remember the Max hardcore trial?) in Land O' Lakes, which we're sure is overflowing with tanning butter.

According to the Tribune article, Caliente—which also hosted an episode of the Paris Hilton/Nicole Richie reality show The Simple Life 2: Road Trip—is all in favor of being invaded by yet another film crew.

"We are the largest and most luxurious clothing-optional resort for young people in America and probably the only place where this series could be filmed," said Debbie Bowen, Caliente's VP of marketing, in a news release.

The qualifications to appear in the show are modest: They're looking for under-35s with "good character and strong personalities" who have no experience with nudism. Once selected, participants will spend just one clothed night at the resort before taking the nudist plunge and performing jobs such as lifeguard or social director. However, since this will be for broadcast TV, camera operators will only film them from the side or from the chest up—and all "private parts" (if such things exist in a nudist colony) will be blurred.

Those who wish to audition for these prize roles may send a short bio and recent photo (nudity not required) to the casting director at casting@calienteresorts.com, together with a few sentences on why they want to appear on the show.

Okay, porn stars: Man (or woman) your computers!

LOS ANGELES—In addition to his previously announced XXX parody of beloved musical Grease, director Axel Braun has hatched plans for 2011 releases spoofing music legends Elvis Presley, The Beatles and The Rat Pack, all to be distributed by Vivid Entertainment.

"The first one up is Elvis XXX: A Porn Parody, which we'll shoot in November so we can have it in stores by January 8th, which is Elvis' birthday," Braun said. "I'm a huge Elvis fan. Elvis had a great sense of humor, so I'd like to think he would actually have plenty of fun watching my movie spoof."

The King will be played by comeback king Dale DaBone, who happens to share Elvis' January 8 birthday. DaBone will perform two songs as part of the role. Priscilla Presley is to be played by Andy San Dimas, and Tyler Knight has been cast as Muhammad Ali. Marilyn Monroe and James Dean will be pornified in the movie as well, though the actors for those parts have yet to be announced.

The Beatles XXX and The Rat Pack XXX will shoot in early 2011, the former to track the Fab Four throughout their career via fictitious interviews with family and friends, and the latter to be presented as a series of reminiscences between Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr. and Dean Martin over a late night poker game. Rat Pack entourage members also slated to be portrayed include Ava Gardner, Mia Farrow, Jerry Lewis and Kim Novak.

"Axel has a true gift for parody and we are delighted to be working with him on distribution of his movies," Vivid co-chairman Steven Hirsch said. "Because he is also a fan, he makes sure that his movies are of the highest quality."

Coming off a win for Best Director at the annual Nightmoves Awards Show, Braun adds the parodies above to a tremendously ambitious production slate for late 2010 through 2011 in partnership with Vivid. Other titles in the works are The Godfather XXX, Star Wars XXX, A Clockwork Orange XXX and spoofs of the TV shows Law & Order, Starsky & Hutch and The Addams Family.

Braun's Batman XXX: A Porn Parody, also distributed by Vivid, has been at the top of the charts since its May release, and won the Best Parody awards at the 18th annual NightMoves Awards and at the fifth Annual F.A.M.E. (Fans of Adult Media & Entertainment) Awards.

Posted Oct 20th, 2010 08:55 AM

PENNSAUKEN, N.J.—Williams Trading Co. has acquired several new lines and added a number of products to its inventory.

Risqué Wigs, a line of sexy, flirty wigs by Estetica Designs Inc., is the latest acquisition to the Williams Trading Co. inventory. This line of wigs comes in many styles and in a spectrum of colors from trend-setting to strikingly bold.

"Our company has been in business since 1979, manufacturing wigs for our primary market, which are wig shops,” sid Robert Levin, sales manager of Estetica Designs. “Seeing a need for a more fun, sexy line of wigs, we introduced this collection at the lingerie show in April. We have gotten an amazing response."

The Risqué collection is different than other competitors' wigs because Risqué Wigs are made on a pure stretch cap for a lighter feel and better fit. Ten of the 15 colors used are a synthetic fiber called Futura, which is a heat-resistant fiber that can stand up to the application of a curling iron or flat iron without being damaged.

"Williams Trading decided to pick up this line because it is unique, fun and right on trend for Halloween or anytime you want to play dress up," said Kelly Szwed, marketing and promotions coordinator at Williams Trading Co. "We had so many requests for wigs, and this is a sexy way to add some adventure to your day or night."

On by Sensuva is an all-natural arousal oil for her. Williams Trading Co. picked up the product approximately one month ago, and the response has been very positive. A powerful proprietary blend of organic essential oils and botanicals, the oil is designed to create an electrifying sensation. Just one or two drops generates a warm, tingling sensation followed by an almost electric buzzing stimulation that will induce natural lubrication lasting up to one-hour. It can be reactivated with water.

Sunsuva’s On is organic, containing no harsh preservatives, parabens, perfumes or artificial flavoring, which means it is completely safe to consume. It has a pleasant taste of cinnamon and ginger and is menthol-free.

For sales inquiries, call Williams Trading Co. at (800) 423-8587 or email sales@williamstradingco.com.

SHERMAN OAKS, Calif.—AIM Healthcare Foundation. which today turned in its final report to the L.A. County Department of Public Health on the adult performer who initially tested HIV positive last week, insists that it has abided by the mandated timeframe to submit such results required by law. 

While it has been reported that Patient Zero tested positive on Oct. 9, using AIM’s standard PCR-DNA test, AIM has stated that the county only accepts confirmatory Western Blot test results, a more specific test administered after an initial positive result.  

“Under law, reporting to Los Angeles County HIV Epidemiology Program can only occur upon the return of a Western Blot test,” AIM counsel Jeffrey J. Douglas said. “Los Angeles County does not, and cannot under law, accept any other test results.”

With today’s confirmation and submission of the positive Western Blot test report to the county, Patient Zero had to have returned a positive result via this method within the past seven days. Thus, AIM has complied with the county’s report requirement, according to Douglas.

Douglas also stressed to AVN that reports or claims of AIM not complying with the county’s reporting requirements are false. And, specifically, that any claim by any public health official outside the Los Angeles County HIV Epidemiology Program, which receives the results and cannot share them with any other department within the County Department of Public Health, is improper.

“The timing of when the report comes in is based solely upon when the confirmatory test comes back, because as far as the county health department is concerned, any test other than a Western Blot doesn’t exist,” Douglas said. “That is the one and only test that they accept.”

This means, according to Douglas, that the timeline to report a positive test to the county starts when the results of the Western Blot test are received, and not at any time before.

Los Angeles County Public Health Director Jonathan Fielding, however, today disputed AIM’s contention that the Western Blot test is required to report an HIV+ patient to the county.

"They want to do a Western Blot test to confirm it. We would prefer to have it earlier because obviously there's a lot of transmission that could occur," Fielding said. "We need a high level of cooperation to prevent the spread of HIV."

What Fielding conveniently left out is that upon the positive PCR-DNA result, AIM immediately moved to identify, contact and test first and second generation exposures. 

The crux of the debate is over what the county is legally required to accept as a positive test result, what Fielding claims they can accept, and what AIM says it is required to report.

So what, explicitly, does the law state?

California Health and Safety Code Section 121023 states, in part,"...each clinical laboratory, as defined in Section 1206 of the Business and Professions Code, shall report all CD4+ T-Cell test results to the local health officer for the local health jurisdiction where the health care provider facility is located within seven days of the completion of the CD4+ T-Cell test"

The CD4+ T-Cell test is a seemingly different test than the Western Blot, but AVN could not confirm this at press time. 

CYBERSPACE—If you thought the freeways were getting crowded, get ready for the next internet milestone. By the end of 2010, the number of people online is expected to surpass 2 billion, or one-third of the world’s population.

The presumably good news is courtesy of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), a United Nations agency for information and communication technology (ICT) issues. But the 2 billion person benchmark is just one of the remarkable internet-related milestones and achievements realized over the past few years.

“ITU’s latest statistics published today in The World in 2010: ICT facts and figures reveal that the number of Internet users worldwide doubled in the past five years and will surpass the two billion mark in 2010,” ITU said in an announcement issued today. “The number of people having access to the Internet at home has increased from 1.4 billion in 2009 to almost 1.6 billion in 2010. The new data were released on the eve of World Statistics Day, which will be celebrated worldwide on 20 October 2010.”

The announcement continues, “162 million of the 226 million new Internet users in 2010 will be from developing countries, where Internet users grow at a higher rate. By the end of 2010, 71 percent of the population in developed countries will be online compared to 21 percent of the population in developing countries. While in developed countries 65 percent of people have access to the Internet at home, this is the case for only 13.5 percent of people in developing countries where Internet access in schools, at work and public locations is critical. Regional differences are significant: 65 percent of Europeans are on the Internet, compared to only 9.6 percent of Africans.”

While access to the internet is certainly increasing, there remain obstacles preventing widespread adoption in poorer countries.

“Overall, the price of ICT services is falling, but high-speed Internet access remains prohibitively expensive, especially in low-income developing countries,” reported ITU. “In 2009, an entry-level fixed (wired) broadband connection cost on average 190 PPP$ (Purchasing power parity in USD) per month in developing countries, compared to only 28 PPP$ in developed countries.”

Mobile services are more affordable, however, “with an average monthly cost of 15 PPP$ in developing countries compared to around 18 PPP$ in developed countries.”

 “Mobile phone penetration in developing countries now stands at 68 percent—higher than any other technology before,” said Sami Al Basheer, director of ITU’s Telecommunication Development Bureau. “These countries have been innovative in adapting mobile technology to their particular needs and will be able to draw even greater benefits from broadband once adequate and affordable access is available.”

More information about the ITU report can be found here.

BEVERLY HILLS—Judge David O. Carter of the U.S. District Court Central District of California today granted a temporary restraining order in the case of LFP IP v. Midway Venture in a trademark dispute over a San Diego club that has been operating without permission as Larry Flynt’s Hustler Club.

The ruling orders that the defendants are restrained from using the trademarks “Larry Flynt,” “Hustler” or “Hustler Clubs” in the operation of the club, which they purchased from Pacers, Inc. in September. Pacers had entered into an agreement with LFP Publishing Group in 2006 to operate and market an adult night club as a Hustler Club at a specified location in San Diego.

Pacers filed for bankruptcy in 2009, and in June of 2010 the Bankruptcy Court approved the sale of certain Pacer assets, including the club. Pursuant to the purchase agreement agreed to by the court, however, the transfer of the Hustler marks was expressly forbidden.

According to the plaintiffs’ complaint, the new operators continued to operate the club as the Larry Flynt’s Hustler Club, despite receiving two cease and desist letters in September and October asking for an immediate halt to the use of the name.

“Midway ignored these demands,” said Huslter in an announcement issued today.  “Flynt’s lawyers filed suit on his behalf on Oct. 13, alleging, among other things, trademark infringement against Midway and the other named defendants. Midway and the other defendants have denied the allegations being made by Flynt and his companies.”

Judge Carter ruled today that the Flynt parties demonstrated a likelihood of success on the merits and would suffer irreparable harm if Midway were allowed to continue to operate the business as a Larry Flynt’s Hustler Club. A temporary restraining order was issued and the parties have been ordered to appear in court on Oct. 29 to argue the plaintiffs’ pending motion for a preliminary injunction. 

"We are extremely pleased," said Michael Klein, president of LFP. "We applaud the court’s commitment to enforcing our trademark laws, and look forward to permanently enjoining this type of conduct. This decision is a win not only for Hustler and Larry Flynt, but for all companies burdened by trademark infringement." 

Jonathan Brown, one of Flynt's attorneys, said, "It is always upsetting to a client when someone else is using your name or trademark without permission. This dispute is not over, but we are happy that we could quickly obtain an Order from Court enjoining the Defendants from further deceptive use of the famous Larry Flynt and Hustler trademarks."

Judge Carter’s order granting the ex parte TRO can be read here.

Posted Oct 15th, 2010 02:55 PM by Iris Blocks

NEW YORK—Taboo Productions Inc., parent company of Exxxtacy Events—which produced July’s Exxxtacy show in Chicago—has announced the Exxxtacy Road Trip 2011. The nationwide tour, conducted over six months, will begin in November with the first of four two-week segments. Each segment will focus on a defined region of the United States, with stops at nightclubs, gentlemen’s clubs, and novelty, video and book retail stores.

Several adult entertainers are already booked on the first leg of the tour, including Lexi Love, Angelina Armani, Sea J Raw, and Brooklyn Jade. In addition, Devon James—of Tiger Woods sex scandal fame—will join the tour as a featured guest.

A key component of the Exxxtacy Road Trip 2011 is the involvement of adult entertainment social media powerhouse PornStarTweet.com and the entire Naughty Tweet Network. PornStarTweet.com will post up information and photos from the road, making the tour both tangible and virtual at the same time. A-List Feature Management has signed on to book the tour.

“After the success of Exxxtacy’s Chicago 2010 show, PornStarTweet and I started talking about how to develop a “mini” convention that could reach consumers in small towns with more frequency than any traditional show could achieve,” said Mike Wittenberg, CEO of Taboo Productions. “It took us months to develop the right plan, find the right companies to sponsor and the right talent to participate—but the Exxxtacy Road Trip 2011 will be one for the history books.”

Said Pete Housley of Naughty Tweet, “The general idea seems pretty straightforward: Get an RV, load it with porn stars—wham! You’ve got a tour. The reality is that there is much, much more to the concept in this day and age.

“We’re mixing in social media like never before,” Housley continued. “Twitter will play a huge role in the promotion and marketing of this tour. We won’t stop there. We’re going to have live cams and shows from every venue, integrating social media and technology like no other tour in or out of the adult industry has ever attempted.”

“When Mike and Pete called me about this concept, I could barely wrap my mind around the huge idea,” said Dave Michaels of A-List Features. “The idea of a porn star tour isn’t new, but their slant on it has gentlemen’s clubs, nightclubs and all types of venues lining up to participate.”

The first leg of the tour is scheduled to begin in early November in the northeastern United States. For specific schedule details, stay tuned to exxxtacyroadtrip.com or on Twitter @ExxxtacyTrip. Sponsorship opportunities are still available. For more information, contact Mike Wittenberg at mike@exxxtacyshow.com or (877) EXXXTACY.