. . .

· This Empty Love (youtube.com)

(P.S. - According to this Ultragrrrl person, Stoya is also "even starring in this huge production porn that's a remake of Pirates of the Carribean" [sic]. Wow, can't wait to see what that's going to be like!)

* * * * *

Fleshbot: Back in 2005 we named you one of our Top Ten Hotties of the year. Has your life changed much in the years since we honored you—and if so, what's changed?
Aprella: Yes you did, and I'd like to take the time here to say "Thank You!"

My life is always changing and evolving. In the past three years I've worked all over the world from doing runway shows in France and screaming backup vocals in Italy to doing Fashion Week in LA and swinging high on aerial swing in my home town NYC. I like to keep my career and life moving. In 2007 I worked at least one week of every month out of the country. I love life on the go.

FB: You've been an artist's model, a nude model, a dancer, a singer, an actress, an activist, and probably even more things that we forgot to list. How do you make time for it all?
A: I just follow my heart and try to make the best choices I can for myself. Unfortunately I don't get enough sleep. The usual is 4 hrs or less a night.

FB: Where did you get your start as a model? Did you start as photographer's model and branch out into other areas, or did you follow a different path?
A: I was always interested in the art of photography. While snooping about camera equipment one day a photographer asked to take a test shoot of me. He then turned it over to an agency and it turned out that I was a look they needed. I was then booked for fashion runway shows and fashion editorial shoots. As I got more involved I discovered the world of couture high fashion and have since been hooked.

FB: How did you decide to model nude? Is the experience of nude modeling substantially different from modeling with your clothes on?
A: I strive to create more artistic looks with my work. I wouldn't call myself a nude model having almost never done a fully nude shoot. When I have done fully nude I am almost always covered with body painting giving the illusion that I am clothed.

With my modelling work I'm trying to create images that cause an inspired reaction be they nude and covered in body paint or beautiful high fashion. If I look at a photo and see nudity before I see creativity it's a nothing photo for me. I'm far more turned on by art clothed or not.

FB: Do you have any favorite stories from your years of modeling? Any photographers you love working with?
A: One of the funniest moments I've had as a model has to be when I was working with Gene Simmons of Kiss fame. Gene and I were in Times Square on top of The Hard Rock Café to do press for his show "Gene Simmons and The Family Jewels" Gene out of nowhere took my hand and made me grab his ass while he looked all coy with his finger over his lips for the cameras. Then the next day it was all over the celebrity gossip television show "EXTRA."

Every photo shoot and runway show carries its bag of fun memories for me. I love the people I work with and I have to mention one of my best friends, photographer River Clark as being my favorite person to do a photo shoot with.

FB: If you had to choose just one of the many areas you work in to focus on, what would it be?
A: I really wish I could pick just one thing to focus on. I'm always so jealous of those that have that one thing they love to do and they stick to it. Like my partner David Stoupakis. He's good at everything he attempts in the art world but he's known since he was a kid that he wants to be a painter and that's what he focuses on every day. For me it's just not that easy; in fact I'd say it's impossible for me to pick one area to focus on. So I guess I just focus on following my heart for a living.

FB: Do you have any upcoming projects Fleshbot readers should know about?
A: Zillions! I'll be home in NYC this Summer doing art sittings for Dr. Sketchy's and Runway shows with some local NYC lines. This autumn I'll be back on the road and am doing a ton of touring all around the world in 2008. You can keep up with me via my Events Calendar at aprella.com. See you guys soon!

· Aprella (aprella.com)

· Sequoia Redd (sequoiaredd.net, via Naked City)
· Sequoia Redd TV (justin.tv)

· Mandy Morbid Vs. Crazy Tentacle Sex Monster (free QuickTime video @ mandymorbid.com)

· Dirty Angels (dirtyangels.net, via afuckaday.blogspot.com)
· Thumbnail photo by Elanor Etoile @ dirtyangels.net

Yeah, we didn't believe it either ... until we saw the attachments they had included, which were exactly what they described. And since it's not every day we receive an intergalactic futurist dada vaginal view secretary photoset starring Stoya, we're sharing it with you below. If only every day in the Fleshbot Central break room was so magical.

. . .

· Photos by Lazerbunny (lazerbunny.com)

See which Fleshbot faves were honored with their own anal pleasure devices after the jump.

. . .

Smutty Schoolteacher of the Year (Educational Title): Tristan Taormino's Expert Guide to Oral Sex Part 1 Cunnilingus and Part 2 Fellatio | Tristan Taormino; Vivid Ed

Boundary Breaker of the Year: Buck Angel

Hottest Dyke Film: Crash Pad Series Volume 1 | Shine Louise Houston; Pink and White Productions Blowfish Video

Golden Beaver Award for Canadian Content: Bren Ryder | www.gooddykeporn.com

Best Bi Scene: Female Fantasies | Petra Joy; Strawberry Seductress Productions

Most Tantalizing Trans Film: Trans Entities: The Nasty Love of Papi' and Wil | Morty Diamond; Morty Diamond Productions

Deliciously Diverse Cast: Trans Entities: The Nasty Love of Papi' and Wil | Morty Diamond; Morty Diamond Productions

Movie of the Year: Five Hot Stories for Her | Erika Lust; Lust Films

· Feminist Porn Awards (goodforher.com)
· Good For Her's Feminist Porn Awards (nakedcity.com)

. . .

Like many of its predecessors, Kiss My Bliss features photos of both male and female models—and in some cases, both at the same time. The photos have an innocent, girl- or boy-next-door feel; the vibe is not unlike that of fellow Aussie site, Abby Winters. Fake tits and Lucite stilettos are nowhere to be seen. And yes, there is pubic hair.

The site is largely, if not exclusively, softcore, with an artistic bent. Though there are shots of couples, we didn't see any hardcore action (or even anything close: hard cocks are few and far between on this site).

There are still some kinks that need to be worked out; most frustrating: the site's navigation is unintuitive and cumbersome. But since Kiss My Bliss is new to the market, we'll give it the benefit of the doubt. It's exciting to see some a new entry into the catalogue of progressive online porn—here's hoping that the Australian version of altporn fares better than its American cousin.

· Kiss My Bliss (kissmybliss.net)

As a veteran of altporn, this makes me cringe; but as a veteran of altporn, I also know she's right.

When I was a wide eyed nineteen year old with a digital camera and a dream, it was a different story: someone like me could (and did) start a porn site — one that, free from the pressures of the corporate world, could explore different territory from mainstream porn. But the dream is dead, kids. If you want to be in the online porn scene these days, you've got to have cash — and as a result, "indie" porn ain't so indie anymore.

So what changed?

· The Visa/MC crackdown. A decade or so ago, starting a porn site was easy: you got some web space, you took some naked pix, you found a billing agent to process your membership fees ... and then you sat back and waited for the money to roll in. But in fall of 2002, Visa and Mastercard decided to end the party. Declaring adult sites to be a high risk for chargebacks, they started requiring a registration fee to process payments for adult sites: $750 up front and $375 annually after that. While that's not big money for a large company, it's a substantial hit (and deterrent) for a small startup. (Bonus fact: The Visa/MC processing fees are the reason why you can't use PayPal to sell adult-themed products. So when PayPal cancels your account after it finds out you're selling used panties ... well, at least now you'll know why.)

· Stricter 2257 regulations. If you want to pose naked on the internet, you need to be 18 or older — and if you want to post naked pictures of other people on the internet, you need proof that all the people you're posting pictures of are at least 18. This used to be a relatively simple matter of getting an ID and a release form from everyone who modeled for you. Then the government decided to step in and make things a little more complex: claiming that they were fighting the evil menace of child porn, they started requiring vastly more complete (and complicated) records for online models. If you're a small company running a multi-model site, 2257 record keeping requirements (which require publishing a physical address online where those records can be inspected and keeping regular office hours so the DOJ can show up on your doorstep whenever they want to) can be brutal.

· That big bully, SG. You've heard about the lawsuits, you've heard about the exclusivity contracts, you've heard about how they basically "own" a big chunk of the altporn market. Even though they didn't invent the genre — there were lots of folks getting naked on the internet altstyle long before they launched, including me — they basically dominate the scene now: and they don't appreciate it when other companies try to take them on. And most of the time, their intimidation tactics work.

· In many ways, "Alt" isn't really alternative anymore. When I started taking it off online, it had yet to become a hipster pastime — it wasn't considered cool, and I didn't gain cred (at least not with anyone I knew in person) for doing it. Flash forward to 2004: SuicideGirls is mainstream, emo girls aspire to be porn stars when they hit 18, and a whole lot of people are looking to cash in on the next new thing in porn. Hence Hustler bankrolling a Burning Angel movie and Vivid launching Vivid Alt. Tattoos and piercings in porn used to signify a product that was female-friendly, feminist, and (dare we say it) empowering; now it's just another wrapper for the same old product.

This isn't to say that any broke kid with dreams of becoming a porn mogul can, if given the chance, launch a progressive porn site even a radical feminist could love. But as more and more barriers to entry get put up — economic, legal, or otherwise — fewer people are able to enter the market; and those that do are unlikely to risk their bankroll trying to create and promote a different kind of porn. Which, at the end of the day, may be the reason why the most progressive porn site I've seen in recent years comes to us from Australia.

· "Working For The Boy Instead of the Man" (eyeweekly.com)

· The Porn Project (myspace.com)
· "The Porn Project Makes Calls for Submissions" (avn.com)