Fear and Blogging in UB

Mormon Porn February 27, 2006

This article first appeared in this blog
Throughout this class we have addressed the idea of banning of censoring pornography. BYU, located in Utah, is a predominantly Mormon college, located in a highly Mormon area. Throughout their lives they have been very sheltered from pornographic material. It is not surprising to me to see that so many people grow into pornography addictions or obsessions once it becomes available to them.

The article really doesn’t make it clear as to the range of the statistics they are addressing. I find it hard to believe that the level of addiction is consistent through the country. This site, a PDF file put out by the National Center of Missing and Exploited Children, examines the type of people that are arrested for crimes involving child pornography. Almost all criminals were white males with images of prepubescent children, usually including penetration.

It doesn’t address religion in the PDF, but I do see how a repression of something could lead to an obsession in the future.

Revision of “Professor at BYU arrested” February 27, 2006

I will be revising this post from Laura’s Views on the World…
Upon reading this news story, I was in a state of shock. It would have been one thing if this had occurred at another university (even UB!), but this happened at a Mormon institution. A 63-year-old professor was found to be viewing images of naked 14-year-old girls on his office computer. The worst part of it is that he actually filmed the videos. Problems like this are becoming more and more common. Didn’t we have a problem a couple of years ago involving a UB professor and two students who were arrested for possession of illegal narcotics in the Caribbean?

What was interesting about the BYU case was a comment by Provo Police Capt. Rick Healey. He said that pornography is a major factor in a large majority of sexual abuse or assault crimes, and that the three detectives who work in the department’s sex crimes unit have been “completely overwhelmed” by the volume of the investigations. Healey also noted that the pornography addiction problem affects many people in high political, financial, or religious positions. “We deal with them every day,” he commented. Here in Western New York, there have been several similar cases in recent years involving the arrests of teachers, high school principals, and even priests who kept child pornography on their office computers – and were subsequently arrested. So perhaps the Brigham Young University case resonates with Western New York residents.

Hardcore Porn on television? February 20, 2006

Adelphia is making the only logical move by their acceptance of pornography into their lineup. At this point in the class it’s clear that the porn industry is a profitable one, no one can argue that. It is then a question of values to decide whether hardcore pornography should be aired on television.

I did not grow up with Adelphia as my cable provider, but I have only heard good things about it. I feel that airing this footage as on demand content, with proper parental controls integrated, is perfectly fine. It is one of the few forums these days that parents actually can control what their children see. Because of the on demand service, the parent would simply be able to block the entire channel. This eliminates confusion of airing the pornography on a channel with other mixed content, such as the premium movie channels.

As a company, Adelphia would be foolish to not pursue this big money industry. They are doing nothing immoral or wrong by making it available as long as the user is able to control what is viewed on their personal box.

Response to “Let’s Chat” February 20, 2006

After reading this post I must comment with something that I have wondered about for a long time. It is astonishing that AOL still has as much of a user base as they do after offering the AOL Instant Messenger service for free. Basically everyone I know uses AIM, and it is rare to see someone even access the AOL program.

AOL was great during the days of dial-up internet connections. They were probably the best of the service providers because they did offer those chat capabilities. Now AOL still occasionally works as a service provider, but one of many choices.

The only perk, which way2much definitely points out, are the chatrooms. Chats are available widely throughout the internet, but AOL provides a simple and easy venue for it. I remember being a little kid going into the chatrooms on my AOL 3.0 and getting a kick out of it with my friends, lying whenever we would be asked A/S/L.

AOL is still clearly making tons of money and didn’t put themselves under by offering this free service, but I really don’t understand how releasing Instant Messenger could have done much good for the company.

Frontline February 13, 2006

The Frontline: American Porn special was quite interesting and revealing. I had for some reason never really thought of the pornography industry as a true corporate business before watching the clips. However, millions upon millions are being made and the businesses are just getting smarter. For example, the video speaks of a shoot being filmed from numerous angles in order to allow the movie to be marketed to numerous audiences. The porn will be released as both a televised soft core video as well as sold at abnormally high prices as a harder, more revealing porn. They are allowing a number of audiences to view the product.

The video talks about how the Clinton era was a great time for the industry, because they tended to lay off. Honestly, the government at that time had their priorities in order. While there should be a limited amount of regulation, it should not be a major concern as it has once again become with the Bush administration.

Hef on life February 13, 2006

Hugh Hefner, in this article, is referenced as a 76 year old philosopher king in this collection of a number of his life philosophies. Some of them are extremely interesting and well thought out. Here are a few of my favorites…

“There’s a real hypocrisy about people who pursue fame for the first half of their lives and then pretend to resent it afterward.”

I have always found it odd that many celebrities will completely shun the media, while the fact is the media is the only reason they are famous. I guess I understand that everyone needs some privacy and such, but I feel that it is a work related flaw that is well worth it compared to the positives.

“I wake up every day and go to bed every night knowing I’m the luckiest guy on the fucking planet.”

I mean I don’t really need to say much abut this one. Ask just about any guy and they will agree with this statement. He is a lucky, lucky man… enough said.

“In the 1950s and ’60s, there were still states that outlawed birth control, so I started funding court cases to challenge that. At the same time, I helped sponsor the lower-court cases that eventually led to Roe v. Wade. We were the amicus curiae in Roe v. Wade. I was a feminist before there was such a thing as feminism. That’s a part of history very few people know.”

Many people think of Hefner as someone who takes advantage of women is horrible for feminism. This quote shows one of the many reasons why this idea is completely false.

“Everybody, if they’ve got their head on straight, wants to be a sexual object, among other things. They want to be attractive. Otherwise, what a sad and pathetic life. To really live a worthwhile life is to be attracted to and attractive to other people.”

While I don’t totally agree with this, it is interesting to see that a man in such a position feels this way. I don’t think unattractive people live a sad and pathetic life, but in the end being attractive will get you farther on many fronts.

February 13, 2006

Response to “future of pornography” February 6, 2006

Pearlsabianaax brings up a good point in the post on the future of pornography. At this point it is widely available as it has ever been and seems to be getting more widespread every day. I do see a future for pornography as the technology will advance as it always has. One way that it will evolve will be through interactivity. Many DVD’s are being released which allow the viewer to control what goes on, through DVD menu controls. The Virtual Sex series, for example, already has had major stars such as Jenna Jameson staring in films.

Eventually I see interactivity reaching a whole new level, through advances in virtual reality and new interfaces. Pornography has been at the forefront of technological advances in filmmaking, and that is not something that is going to change. It has become extremely widespread, which logically makes it more accepted. It is a normal part of life for many and this number is growing rapidly.

October 2003 – Porn Star runs for Governor of California February 6, 2006

In 2003 Porn Star Mary Carey ran against numerous opponents, including Arnold Schwarzenegger, for Governor of California. She based her platform around a 10 point plan, addressing issues such as Legalizing same sex marriage, addressing AIDS, and forcing those receiving unemployment checks to do jury duty. However her candidacy was not serious, as shown in some of her other points, including rigging the Governors mansion with webcams and taxing lap dances. She wound up placing 10^th out of 135 candidates. Although she didn’t win, her presence put pornography in a new spotlight than it had been before. She has had a number of attempts in politics since, all unsuccessful. However, by putting herself in the public eye and gaining as much media attention as she has, her endeavors probably would be considered quite successful. She hopes to one day one for president as well.

Wikipedia – Mary Carey

Response to “Free Condoms” January 30, 2006

In “Free Condoms,” the issue of UB distributing condoms to the students was addressed, and I feel that it is a realistic and proactive action. Kids have sex no matter where you go, its common knowledge at this point. For schools to ignore it as an issue is ridiculous. While I don’t feel that every school should be handing out condoms to their students, I can’t help but think that maybe condoms should simply be free to the public. It could potentially cure the world of many STD’s, unwanted pregnancies, as well as other problems. In the end though the economy wins and the condom industry is one that profits greatly.

It is hard to criticize D’Youville College for their views on the issue, because as a private catholic college those students knew the deal. I just think it’s laughable that religion still has yet to accept and address one of the species most primitive acts. Despite this, it is good that people, such as Mike in his response, are able to seek and find their own information despite such boundaries.