THE DAILY BLADE: Porn Stars Don’t Look So Hot In High-Def
The porn industry adapts to new technologies faster than the "actors" shed their clothes – videocassettes, the Internet, avatars, Wii – but there’s one new innovation that might show too much skin. As porn studios are releasing their flicks on Blu-ray and other high-def DVD formats, they are finding that every wrinkle, blemish, stretch mark, spider vein and spot of cellulite is magnified. The actors are not ready for their close-ups and are resorting to plastic surgery, directors are experimenting with lighting and using different angles to shoot the action and there’s now more emphasis on post-production work to digitally smooth away physical imperfections.
Suit Tests How Far You Can Go To Avoid Renting To The Roommate From Hell
The New York Times tells the story of Gene Kavenoki, who wanted to rent out a spare bedroom in his West Hollywood apartment and placed an ad on Roommates.com that stated his specific requirements: "I am not looking for freaks, geeks, prostitutes (male or female), druggies, pet cobras, drama, black Muslims or mortgage brokers."
These and other postings on the online roommate-matching service that explicitly state people’s preferences – pro and con – on race, gender and religion have sparked a lawsuit contending that they violate fair housing laws. But the law is not clear when it comes to online classified ads – and there may be free speech and free association considerations as well, explains the paper.
The Fair Housing Act of 1968 permits the owner of a residence to apply whatever exclusionary criteria (s)he wants in choosing who will live there – as long as the basis on which the choice is made is not published in the local paper. But the 1996 Communications Decency Act immunizes online companies against lawsuits over user-created content that they merely transmit, which means that Roommates.com should be exempt from the provisions of the Fair Housing Act.
As The New York Times notes, "Roommate ads are more like personal dating ads, where discrimination is rampant and accepted, as opposed to real estate ads, where discrimination is properly forbidden."
Editorial Note: The Stiletto’s roommate from hell would be an obese, nearsighted, half-Swedish cigar-smoking cat owner who swills vodka like water and has appalling table manners. No one fitting this description better come knocking at her door.
The State Of The Union Is Same Old, Same Old
Last night, The Stiletto had the pleasure of watching the SOTU speech at the Young Republican Club on Manhattan’s Upper East Side with a crowd of right-thinking Americans. It was a solid – and stolid – speech running down a mostly familiar laundry list. But did you notice Pelosi blinking her eyes very rapidly and frequently for several minutes about halfway through? The Stiletto’s working theory is that she was giving orders to her army of winged monkeys in Morse code.
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