The initial trailer is ready for Cianna P. Stewart’s new documentary It’s Not Porn: Behind the doors of a modern pin-up company. As a reminder, the basic treatment is as follows:
In the world of erotic photography, sexy women are objects whose pictures garner huge profits for other people. A handful of young entrepreneurs have decided to upset this system, putting control into the hands of the models & photographers, challenging who defines “sexy,” and creating a new revenue model for the next wave of the internet. Will they succeed? And what happens when regular women become known as online pin-up stars?
Cianna is still looking for investors to help complete the film, which she hopes to premiere at the SXSW Film Festival in March 2010; so if you happen to know anyone willing to buy shares, head over to Thumbnail Productions and get in touch.
The company being profiled, Zivity has been garnering a fair amount of attention in the press lately, and the quality of the photoshoots are outstanding. If you think you’ve got something to offer, then head on over and apply to be in the beta … it’s currently free, but when the site comes out of public beta early next year, it will be subscription-based; probably around $10.00/month.
I’ve got ten invites to give out, and I’ve been hoarding them … but if you want one, let me know (and why).
Morning Edition, June 16, 2008 · As gay couples in California head to the courthouse starting Monday to get legally married, there are signs of a coming storm. Two titanic legal principles are crashing on the steps of the church, synagogue and mosque: equal treatment for same-sex couples on the one hand, and the freedom to exercise religious beliefs on the other.
The collision that will play out over the next few years will be filled with pathos on both sides.
As many of my regular readers know, before I moved to Utah, I lived in San Francisco for many, many years, and Santa Cruz prior to that. Needless to say, having spent nearly 2 decades in Northern California, the issue of gay rights has had a lot of visibility in my life … so to me, the recent California Supreme Court decision overturning the state’s ban on same-sex marriage prompted thoughts of “It’s about freakin’ time!”
I’ve always felt that it was just plain wrong to deny gay couples involved in a committed long-term and loving relationship the same basic rights that a violent, abusive husband has simply by virtue that his wife hasn’t yet filed for divorce.
And seriously, how does Adam & Steve getting married have a negative impact on Adam & Eve’s marriage?
Lesbian rights activists Del Martin, 87, and Phyllis Lyon, 84, were the first same-sex couple to receive a marriage license in San Francisco on Monday, with Mayor Gavin Newsom presiding over their wedding ceremony.
“This is an extraordinary moment in history,” Newsom told a cheering, standing-room-only crowd at City Hall. “I think today, marriage as an institution has been strengthened.”
But this morning, I listened to the above linked (and excerpted) story on NPR’s Morning Edition … and it got me thinking about some of the other involved issues tied to gay marriage … and religious freedom.
In the story, a lesbian couple wished to have their (New Jersey) civil union ceremony performed in a Pavilion owned by a Methodist retreat center, formally known as the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association. The Methodist group gave them permission to have their ceremony anywhere on the property except those areas used for religious purposes by the group.
The couple filed an anti-discrimination suit. The NPR story continues:
The Methodist organization responded that it was their property, and the First Amendment protects their right to practice their faith without government intrusion. But Lustberg countered that the pavilion is open to everyone — and therefore the group could no more refuse to accommodate the lesbians than a restaurant owner could refuse to serve a black man. That argument carried the day. The state revoked the organization’s tax exemption for the pavilion area. Hoffman figures they will lose $20,000.
Now, with the help of the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), a Christian legal firm, Hoffman is appealing the case to state court. He says religious freedom itself is in jeopardy.
“And that potentially affects every religious organization in America, not just Christian organizations, but every religious organization. And I get calls from Jewish rabbis who are equally concerned — people from across the spectrum who think it’s a battle worth fighting. And we agree,” Hoffman says.
Now, I am hardly the most religious person in the world, but I do believe that any person should be able to practice the religion of their choice … and in this particular case, I happen to agree with Reverend Hoffman; especially since the group didn’t tell the couple they couldn’t have their ceremony on the property at all, just not within structures used for religious purposes by the group.
A case like this, carried to its extreme, could mean that the the Catholic Church and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (and everyone else) could be forced to allow gay couples to hold their civil ceremonies (and/or marriages, in those states which currently or will ultimately allow them) on, and within Church property.
While part of me finds the idea of the Mormons being forced to allow gay weddings amusing, not only on Temple Square but within the Temple itself, a far bigger part of me feels that the members of a church should be allowed to worship as they please, and that churches should be able to disallow activity on their property that goes against their core beliefs.
I don’t equate a church refusing to allow a gay couple to “marry” on church property because it’s against their religious beliefs, with a restaurant owner refusing to serve a person simply based on the color of their skin … primarily because owning a business isn’t protected as free speech or freedom of religion, as guaranteed by the First Amendment.
Elsewhere in the overall piece is a story about a wedding photographer who was sued for discrimination because his business indicated that they would not photograph same-sex marriages because it goes against the owners’ religious beliefs.
This is a little closer to the restaurant analogy … but it’s still an iffy situation.
I’m afraid that these kinds of legal battles may lead to a backlash against the gay and lesbian community; that groups like the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association will close up their property to everyone, and only allow it to be used for religious purposes. I’m afraid that more states; less enlightened states, will put amendments banning gay marriage into their constitutions.
I’m afraid that society, while making making some huge steps forward right now, will get pushed back even further …
Got my copy of merkley???’s (that’s lowercase merkley followed by three question marks) new book 111??? today …
111??? is a large, heavy coffee table book, limited to 1111 copies, featuring 111 photos of 111 women posing nude in their 222 favorite shoes on 111 sofas flanked by 222 lamps in San Francisco; and it’s one of the most amazing collections I’ve seen in a long time …
One of the photos is of pal-of-pal Cyan, co-founder of Zivity.com, who is pal of pal Cianna, who are collectively two of the Sexiest Geeks Alive.
I’ve got copy #600 …
A taste (reprinted without permission, but it’s also the cover of the book, so I feel justified):
You know what sucks the most about not being married anymore, aside from not being able to see what was (and may still be) my best friend everyday?
Going to bed alone.
Not because of sex, but just having someone there … it’s very comforting. I don’t think I’ve had a really good night’s sleep since August or September 2006; at least not one that wasn’t drug-induced.
An old friend of mine in San Francisco, Cianna Stewart (one of the Sexiest Geeks Alive), is becoming quite a prolific independent filmmaker … her latest project, just going into production, will be a documentary about Zivity.com, a new online social network for connoisseurs of pin-up photography.
Cianna’s basic treatment of the film is as follows:
It’s Not Porn: Behind the doors of a modern pin-up company
In the world of erotic photography, sexy women are objects whose pictures garner huge profits for other people. A handful of young entrepreneurs have decided to upset this system, putting control into the hands of the models & photographers, challenging who defines “sexy,” and creating a new revenue model for the next wave of the internet. Will they succeed? And what happens when regular women become known as online pin-up stars?
Now if I can just figure out a way to get an invite to the beta.
Cianna is looking for investors to help finance the film; so if you happen to know anyone willing to buy shares, head over to Thumbnail Productions and get in touch. For those that want to support, but can’t afford to the extent of investing, donations will also be accepted, with a thank you to be determined (I’ve suggested a private premiere screening, or a copy on DVD) …
… I need to take a page from Big Jonny’s book over at DrunkCyclist.com, and start posting porn on my blog. Either that or celebrity sex stuff.
Already the posts which gets the most traffic are a post from this past November indicating that curvier women are smarter (and my attraction to same) which features a vintage photo of a woman’s naked behind, and my celebrity sex list, with a nice photo of a fully clothed Cate Blanchett.
Then, earlier this week, I posted a video from the New Pornographers, and boom … another traffic spike. I still haven’t figured out what search words people are using to find these pages either, because even entering very specific search terms like “Cate Blanchett celebrity sex list” puts me well down the second page of results. I mean, my site is hardly search engine optimized for celebrity porn.
But such is life. It brings me some traffic, and perhaps some of the people who hit the site like it enough to keep coming back and my readership slowly grows. And that can’t be a bad thing.
(CBS) A Utah retailer of family-friendly tapes and DVDs - Hollywood films with the “dirty parts” cut out of them - has been arrested for trading sex with two 14-year-old girls.
Orem police say Flix Club owner Daniel Dean Thompson, 31, and Issac Lifferth, 24, were booked into the Utah County jail on charges of sexual abuse and unlawful sexual activity with a 14-year-old.
CBS Station KUTV in Salt Lake City reports that the shocking discovery came when a mother found a $20 bill in her daughter’s room last week and questioned her about where the money came from.
The girl confessed that she and a friend had been paid for sexual favors by an older male.
I’m not sure what I find more scary … that morality peddlers get busted on morals charges, or that the girls were willing to give it up for only $20.00 (unless they already spent the rest). Even as sheltered as people can be in Utah County, you’d think that they’d have a bit more of a sense of self-worth than to sell themselves for that little.
Perhaps it’s because they ARE so sheltered … no exposure to the real world means that they’re more likely to be taken advantage of …
Lesbian rights activists Del Martin, 87, and Phyllis Lyon, 84, were the first same-sex couple to receive a marriage license in San Francisco on Monday, with Mayor Gavin Newsom presiding over their wedding ceremony.
Cianna’s basic treatment of the film is as follows:
