Porntifications

Posted by mikezillion at June 29th, 2008

It’s true. I may be a big, burly, bearish guy, but there’s something about hundreds and thousands of people joining together to celebrate pride in what was so recently “the love that dare not speak its name” that really gets to me. Especially when I see the PFLAG group march past, or the happy faces on the gay families with adopted children.

Of course, this year is particularly moving. It’s barely been a month since the California Supreme Court decided that it was just plain silly to prevent loving couples from marrying, just because their plumbing wasn’t in the conventional locations for married couples. San Francisco Pride was brimming with gold leaf lettering against white backgrounds, and it seemed as if everyone was either wearing a bridal veil or applauding someone who was.

And it just makes me well up with tears thinking about it. How far we’ve come. How optimistic we can be about the upcoming elections in November. How likely it is that the people of California will side with their Supreme Court judges and say no to a proposed ban on recognition of gay marriage. Not to mention all the other good changes that could be coming in Washington.

San Francisco is just an isolated bubble of sanity in a swirling sea of confusion today. I didn’t see any protestors, and I didn’t think to look for them. I saw gay and straight people of all ages gathering together to celebrate our pride in being ourselves, whatever the social and practical costs. In the end, what else do we have but who we are?

As a gay man, I take pride in my identity, and in the enhanced perspective it has created in my life. As a bear, I also take pride in allowing myself to be big, to be furry, to be comfortable in my own body, the way God made it, and the way Nature has sculpted it. 

Blessings of the day to everyone out there. Find your Pride, and own it. Woof!

Posted by mikezillion at March 3rd, 2008

Have I mentioned recently how much I love Seth Godin? He’s the marketing guru who’s fond of pointing out that the best way to build a market is to make something that people will either love or hate, and ignore products aimed at the middle.

His latest gem came in the briefest of blog entries:

the products and services that succeed wildly are the ones that everyone expected would fail

He followed this up with some examples, including The Beatles, in a later blog posting.

It seems to me that the barrier to success used to be access to the tools to make and publish your dream. Now, it’s just the genuine passion you feel about what you do, and the stubbornness to believe that you are right in the face of your first seven or so market failures. Seven is an arbitrary number, but the idea is that you put enough examples out there until your unique slice of the planet discovers you and recognizes that you’re the only one giving them exactly what they are looking for.

Posted by mikezillion at December 24th, 2007

Folks seem to be getting all upset about Larry Flynt’s recent comment in Vanity Fair: “I don’t hate gays. But I don’t want to live in an apartment full of
them. They’ll bitch and cry and all. That doesn’t bother Giuliani. It
doesn’t bother Giuliani to put a dress on to do ‘Saturday Night Live.’
I don’t trust him.”

Seriously, the man is making political statements, not social ones. He’s pandering to the right wing extremists who will be put off by associations between Giuliani and those tired stereotypes of homosexuality that resonate so clearly. Flynt is not a stupid man. He has shown time and time again that he is not a homophobe. He just doesn’t want Rudy Giuliani in the white house. I don’t either.

Rock on!

Posted by mikezillion at December 13th, 2007

Seth Godin’s postings always entertain, and sometimes point out useful resources, but this one surprised me. There’s no question that the adult entertainment industry is in the throes of violent upheaval. My inclination has been to go with my strengths and produce original and unique content that feeds the interests of my preferred niche. That’s based on seeing my agenda as a producer with known connections and a solid audience. But Seth’s right; opportunity comes when times change. Now I have to ruminate about the actual implications of these changes in the industry, and how best to leverage them. (Humph!)

Technorati Tags: media, chaos, publishing, adult entertainment

Posted by mikezillion at August 27th, 2007

One of my new favorite blogs is Behind Kink, published by the good folks who run Kink.com out of the beautiful San Francisco Armory Building. They’ve been doing for video blogging what “Got Milk” did for television commercials. For example, a recent posting includes a great behind-the-scenes video about how they evaluate straight male talent for their productions. (Sometimes I’m really glad I’m gay!)

Posted by mikezillion at August 20th, 2007

Can you imagine the thinking behind the proposal that the Department of Justice compile a list of every porn star in America? The Adam Walsh Child Safety and Protection Act has implications beyond the 2257 record-keeping requirements. The proposal will, of course, be challenged…

Posted by mikezillion at July 23rd, 2007

My partner Ken Slater received an email from Ali, one of his performers, this past week. Apparently, a friend in Maryland saw Ali in a clip from “Feed the Bears,” a copyrighted adult CyberBears DVD, on Late Night with Conan O’Brien. The clip wasn’t credited, and was misrepresented as a scene from a recent popular movie. A staff writer at The Late Show even blogged about how he researched and obtained the clip, so clearly the source was known to the producers of the show. I guess adult companies don’t get the same copyright protection as other media producers…

Posted by mikezillion at July 12th, 2007

I am not kidding you. This was actually handed to me on the corner of 17th and Castro St. in the heart of San Francisco’s gay district this afternoon, by a group of folks soliciting contributions to support the impeachment of Dick Cheney. (Note: The telephone numbers are for Nancy Pelosi. The intent was to encourage folks to call her office and support the impeachment.)

When I objected that giving people condoms with staple holes through the middle was irresponsible, they said nobody would be foolish enough to use one. I pointed out that it was foolish to provide them in the first place, and they asked me whether I was generally uncomfortable with sexual humor. I told them I run a porn studio, and that this was a public health issue. They replied that they were here about political issues, not public health, and asked again for a donation–or at least for a few hundred replacement condoms if I was really that serious about getting them to stop what they were doing. It went on like that for a few minutes. They continued to hand these out while we talked.

I finally left, and went two blocks down Market Street to the offices of the Stop AIDS Project. They immediately dispatched a volunteer with a box of 800 condoms to explain the situation to these irresponsible solicitors. I ran into the volunteer an hour later, and he told me that he had succeeded where I had failed. I guess 800 condoms are a good bargaining edge.

How can folks think this is ok? Sheesh!

Posted by mikezillion at May 20th, 2007

I don’t mean to be insensitive. I think it’s a shame that the most representative memories I have of Jerry Falwell are his losing lawsuit against Larry Flynt and the First Amendment, and his outing of Tinky Winky. I’m sure he was a great man and a fine leader to his community. I believe he was sincere in his faith. I just have trouble reconciling the images.

I blame myself.

Posted by mikezillion at April 19th, 2007

It’s always nice to get a little publicity. This week we discovered that our attendance at the GayVN Adult Summit in San Francisco had been recorded for posterity, when this picture of my partner Ken and me at the GayVN Awards after party showed up in GayVN Magazine. As usual, the photographer asked Ken to take his shirt off. In a room full of porn stars wearing little more than their imaginative poses, leave it to Ken to be the center of attention. And do I look like I mind?