THERE GOES THE NEIGHBOURHOOD---

With the rise in 3D movies, I was joking with somebody a while back that it was only a matter of time before the porn industry got in on the action. Well, it looks like that's in the works. Once that takes place, there's some people who will never leave the house. I guess there will be clients for Dr. Drew's show purporting to be addicts of some sort.
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At least in the l950's people had to work a little harder. It probably burned calories. First of all, somebody had to have the ingenuity to know where to get a projector and then how to thread the stupid thing. Maybe that's why those audio visual geeks volunteered their services; it provided a connection to those idiots on the football team. After all, they were the mainline to the goods. They'd sneak out the projector so that they could watch some purloined stag film in the locker room after the game. Besides, those goons wouldn't have the intellect to hit the switch without the help of the much maligned A.V. geeks; thus they'd be spared a beating. They therefore had their purpose in the world.
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It would have been hard to hide a fondness for watching porn back in those days. With the length of time it took to set the equipment up, the little woman was bound to be home from the market by the time it was all set to go. By then, the feeling might have passed anyways. There was always the risk of the film burning also. Explain that smell. "Honey, did you let the pot boil over?"
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In the l960's, the jukebox morphed into the peep-show. A person could step into a booth and fire quarters into a machine that would play an endless array of film. These, in the industry, were known as "loops." The machine would require more quarters at the vital last minute---the so called money shot. Heaven help the guy who didn't have enough change. Also, a person wouldn't want to have a look at those booths in the daylight.
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Now, these things lasted until a few years ago. I was once talked into making a forray into a shop to pick up an inflatable sheep as a gag gift for a coworker who was transferring elsewhere. I became curious about these booths and after a Guns N Roses concert and the consumption of a fair amount of Wild Turkey, I talked a male friend into a "Walk on the Wild Side." Enquiring minds wanted to find out. The man at the counter looked at us as we headed to the back and said "Only one per booth." We both nodded, oh so innocently and gangled our bag of quarters. It was pitch black back there (a good thing I am sure). Each booth was miniscule, and featured a small bench (on which we did not sit). The screen itself was tiny, and there were many film selections featured. It didn't seem to matter, as whatever you pushed didn't correspond to what came up. I doubt the clientele really cared about the plotline anyways. We were trying not to laugh, as this was surely serious business for the others on site.
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But, I've gotten ahead of myself. It became hip in the l970's to go out as a couple and check out indie art films with nudity. These were usually made by guys with bad facial hair who had done one semester at film school. They were auteurs and their medium was the body. It was in the late l970's that a twelve year old Brooke Shields starred as a child prostitute in a New Orleans brothel in the film "Pretty Baby." As an offshoot, photos were taken of her in a bathtub, fully disrobed, for a magazine that actually displayed prepubescent girls. Such were the times.
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In the l980's, the pendulum swung and the moral majority began to picket venues that displayed too much skin. The introduction of the Betamax (a big old box like thing) allowed people to buy or rent videos for home usage. There was still the dreaded walk of shame to the back of the video store, to the area behind the swinging doors. Then there was the walk back to the counter, with the huge boxes of lurid smut. There would be no point in trying to hide it under ones coat, as then the guy would only look like he was trying to shop-lift the goods.
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The internet changed everything. Now, it's the most commonly sought out thing in cyber-space. For all the talk of looking at the Louvre online, it's not Picasso's nudes that are being googled or oogled.
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With the introduction of 3D porn, I forsee a rise in sick-leave usage. I have to feel some pity for those poor male porn stars. Before, camera angles and lighting could help cover any deficites that they might have. With 3D, as with HD television, the camera doesn't lie. I wonder how many older guys will misuse their Viagra and flatline as a result? I recall the case a few years ago when there was a spate of kids in Japan having seizures over one animated television show. This one should be interesting. What's that adage: It's all fun and games until someone loses an eye.