Hey everyone!

I'm in Las Vegas at the 2006 AVN Adult Entertainment Expo (AEE)!  It's the largest annual trade show for the adult industry.  Industry people and fans can attend.  This convention runs concurrently with the gigantic CES show (Consumer Electronics Show).

I am posting photos from the show on my Flickr site.  Here's a few to spark your interest.  I am also posting field reports updates on my discussion forum.  You can find these threads here (general) and here (asian supplement).

Tia Takana

Eva Angelina

Unknown Starlet performs bondage demonstration

JAV idol Rei Himekawa - hot!

Woohooo I purchased a new SLR digital camera on Sunday.  It's the Minolta Maxxum 7D.  It shoots at 6 megapixels, can use all the existing Maxxum system of lens, incorporates a sophisticated auto-focus feature and has a full range of automatic and manual settings. 

But, the coolest feature, and one of the main reasons I wanted this particular camera was, it has an anti-shake feature built into the body.  This will eliminate many out of focus pictures and allow me to shoot more easily using available light, especially with a fast lens.  A few other camera makers offer anti-shake such as Canon and Nikon, but it is built into the lens, not the camera itself, and they are all very expensive.  With this camera, the feature works with regular lens and this will save me a lot of money over the long run.

I really didn't plan on purchasing it right away, but Good Guys is closing all their stores in California and liquidating all inventory.  I got the camera with 28-100 lens at 25% off.  On top of that, Minolta is offering a $200 rebate right now!  Soooooo, assuming I get the rebate, the final price will be nearly half price!

This is the first Minolta camera I have ever purchased.  When I used to really be into photography, I purchased all Pentax gear.  This was back around the time when the ME Super and ME Super Program were popular.  The Pentax line always served me well, but their digital offerings are still rather sparse at present.  I'm not even sure they offer anti-shake on any of their cameras!

If anyone uses this camera and has any suggestions on good lens or other accessories for it, I'd love to hear them.  I don't have any Minolta glass, so I'm starting from scratch!

Earlier this year, I decided to donate 10% of the sales commissions earned on Snowman's Raincoat Reviews and my related discussion forum to charity.  Each month I pick a different charity to support.  In September, a donation was made to the Red Cross to assist victims of Hurricane Katrina.  In October, a donation was made to UNICEF to help needy children around the world. 

This month's charity is The Trust For Public Lands.  I read about some of their efforts and was impressed.  Here's some information on this worthy organization:

The Trust for Public Land (TPL) is a national, nonprofit, land conservation organization that conserves land for people to enjoy as parks, community gardens, historic sites, rural lands, and other natural places, ensuring livable communities for generations to come.

TPL's Conservation Initiatives

• Parks for People: Working in cities and suburbs across America to ensure that everyone in particular, every child—enjoys close-to-home access to a park, playground, or natural area.
• Working Lands: Protecting the farms, ranches, and forests that support land-based livelihoods and rural ways of life.
• Natural Lands: Conserving wilderness, wildlife habitat, and places of natural beauty for our children's children to explore.
• Heritage Lands: Safeguarding places of historical and cultural importance that keep us in touch with the past and who we are as a people.
• Land & Water: Preserving land to ensure clean drinking water and to protect the natural beauty of our coasts and waterways.

TPL's Conservation Services

• Conservation Vision: TPL helps agencies and communities define conservation priorities, identify lands to be protected, and plan networks of conserved land that meet public need.
• Conservation Finance: TPL helps agencies and communities identify and raise funds for conservation from federal, state, local, and philanthropic sources.
• Conservation Transactions: TPL helps structure, negotiate, and complete land transactions that create parks, playgrounds, and protected natural areas.
• Research & Education: TPL acquires and shares knowledge of conservation issues and techniques to improve the practice of conservation and promote its public benefits.

Since 1972, TPL has worked with willing landowners, community groups, and national, state, and local agencies to complete more than 2,700 land conservation projects in 46 states, protecting nearly 2 million acres. TPL has helped states and communities craft and pass 192 ballot measures, generating over $35 billion in new conservation-related funding.
###

As noted above, 10% of the commissions earned on this site in November will be donated to TPL. And, because two very generous TPL donors have pledged $500,000 as a matching gift (through 12/31), the donation will be matched dollar for dollar. So, a $25 gift will turn into a $50 one.  Smartmoney.com rated this charity #01 in the conservation category and Charity Navigator rates it four stars.

Please use the shopping links and banners here! Thanks!

-- Snowman

QUICKIE REVIEW

Ass 2 Mouth #03 - "Every good slut loves the taste of ass juice ..."

Platinum-X Pictures, D. John Strong, 2005, 170 minutes + bonus material, featuring:  Jasmine Byrne (covergirl), Mary Anne, Sintia Stone, Janet Alfano, Brooke Haven, Sandra Romain

Clocking in at over three hours, Ass 2 Mouth #03 is a nasty, heavy duty all anal flick aimed at squarely at serious raincoaters.  Director Strong pushes these girls to the limit, stretching their assholes in many positions in extended scenes that last about 35-40 minutes.  In addition, he fully delivers on the promise of plenty of "ass to mouth" oral action in every scene, and sometimes "ass to other girl's mouth" in the scenes with two starlets. 

Every girl here turned in an impressive performance, but two stood out.  The first is Mary Anne.  Mary appears in the first scene and is pared with Sandra Romain and John Strong.  I don't normally get too excited about blondes, but something about this girl turned me on.  She's fairly tall with straight hair and perky, small natural breasts. Mary has a cute, fresh looking face with nice dsl (highlighted here nicely with red lipstick).  It's an appealing "girl next door" look that contrasts well with images of her ass being pumped without mercy or when she enthusiastically sucks Sanda's ass juice off of Strong's hard cock.  Don't miss the hot doggy anal action featuring both girls toward the end of the scene -- great a2m and gape footage!

Sexy Latina sensation Jasmine Byrne is the other starlet that caught my eye.  Jasmine usually delivers hot performances, and her dirty scene here is no exception.  After a brief, but hot poolside tease, she takes on Strong and Michael Stefano -- enduring a furious butt boning (and dp) that lasts nearly twenty-five minutes.  Again, the doggy anal sequence on the floor is sure to please raincoaters with great a2m, gapes and facial expressions from Jazzy.  The mish anal on the sofa was also outstanding.  In the end, she receives a dual open mouth facial and gargles the spunk before swallowing it down.  My only complaint was that Jasimine is looking a little bit thick here.  Lay off those taquitos with sour cream my Mexican princess!

Even with the long running time, there are some extras on this disc.  There is a eighteen minute behind the scenes segment and about eleven minutes of "bonus footage".  Wow, given the long running time, I'm surprised anything was cut at all from this flick!  Technical quality of the disc -- videography, lighting and sound -- are all good.

I believe most raincoaters will thoroughly enjoy this disc.  With Ass 2 Mouth 3, John Strong has produced another winning endurance test style anal video.  How or why these girls are willing to do these dirty deeds boggles the mind!

Disc Rating:  B+

Shopping links to help support SRR & APH:

  [Adult DVD Universe]  [Action-DVD]  [Gamelink] or watch this movie right now on your computer!  [WMP Streaming at Gamelink]

P.S. -- Thanks to Platinum-X for a screener of this disc!

For more reviews, check out my website!  For more information about Jasmine Byrne, take a look at this thread on my discussion board.

I attempted to upgrade the discussion forum on the SRR website today to vBulletin 3.5.  Unfortunately, the upgrade process did not go smoothly and I ran into a few snags.  The discussion forum will return ASAP.

I also lost functionality of the chat now too.  Grrrrrr.

-- Snowman

One lucky person who participates in tomorrow's chat on Snowman's Raincoat Reviews will win a DVD of their choice from Adult Video Universe that features Leanni Lei.

I haven't quite decided how to award the prize. I may just give it to a random person by drawing, or I may decide to give it to the person who contributes the best. I'll have to see how it goes!

If Leanni is willing, I'll try to get it autographed.  Be there or be square!

[Leanni Lei in Junior College Hardcore Schoolgirls #12, 1999]

-- Snowman

:::  good vibrations :::

Ladies ... did you ever wish you could discreetly carry a vibrator with you at all times?  Blissbox's "Vibi" may be the answer!  Vibi lets you turn your Nokia cell phone into vibrator!  It's a mobile application that works by letting you control the vibrating battery.  Currently there are three settings for your pleasure -- wave, tease or pulse.  You can also create your own custom "naughty sensations".

Think about how useful Vibi would be while traveling!  The last thing you want is to go through airport security and have your secret stash of traditional sex toys discovered by some security gorilla!  Imagine the embarrassment as they "test" each one to make sure it is not really an explosive device.  I heard about this product on Dr. Dean Edell's weekly radio program on health issues (of all places!).

Although they don't sell Vibi (yet), a good source in the USA for adult toys is Sensual Universe.

:::  investing in sin :::

Ever hear the phrase "Sex sells"?  Well, it's true.  The adult industry is estimated to generate between $2 and $10 billion dollars annually in the US alone.  But sex isn't the only "sin" industry that sells -- so does alcohol, tobacco and gambling.  Short of starting your own porn company or opening a new glitzy casino on the Vegas strip, how can you get in on the action? 

One easy way is to invest in the VICE fund!  The VICE fund is a no-load mutual fund that was established in August 2002 and limits it's holdings to these "sin" industries plus equally un "pc" military stocks.  Many financial experts feel that companies in these sectors are recession proof.  In other words, even in hard economic times, they do well (or better?).  Folks do not stop drinking, smoking or hoping for Lady Luck when the bottom falls out. 

The VICE fund is sort of the polar opposite of "socially responsible" investing (SRI).  In SRI  investors screen out companies that sell objectionable products or engage in "bad" acts.  Although the idea has proven popular, from a financial standpoint most of these funds have proved disappointing.

As of the end of July, Vice Fund's top ten holdings were:

 4.4% - Anheuser-Busch Companies
4.3% - Altria Group
3.9% - British American Tobacco
3.7% - International Game Technology
3.5% - L-3 Communications Holdings
3.5% - Diageo PLC
3.2% - Fortune Brands Inc
3.1% - Harrah's Entertainment
2.9% - MGM Mirage
2.7% - Shuffle Master Inc.

Where are the porn companies?  Unfortunately, most porn companies are privately held and as such, the VICE fund cannot directly purchase stock in them.  However, it is possible to invest in related industries such as cable companies and channels that air lucrative adult programming. 

So far, performance has been impressive.  In 2003, the fund sported a total return of 34% and 24% last year.  This year, the VICE fund is up 7.2%.  All in all, since it's inception, that's a return that exceeds 19%, much higher than the market as a whole.  These numbers are good enough to rank the fund in the top 10 (for one year performance) by Lipper as of 07.31.05.   Now that the fund is three years old, it will be including on Morningstar and Lipper's three year rankings as well.  Minimum investment is $2500. 

Now there's a companion book too -- Investing in Vice:  The Recession-Proof Portfolio of Booze, Bets, Bombs, and Butts.  The book touts itself as the "ultimate defense in these troubled economic times.

If this blog entry inspires you go out and "invest in sin" and you do really, really well, please don't forget me in your will!  =)

-- Snowman

Sources and further reading:

Jack Sirod Column, "Vice Pays Nicely For This Fund", Sacramento Bee, 08.07.05.
Caslon Analytics Profile: Adult Content Industries, 11.04
VICE Fund Facts & Returns webpage, 08.10.05