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November 2/06: Thoughts
on the 2006 PRA Nominations
October is the month
the Porn Reviewers
Association announces their annual nominations for the Best Porn on
the Internet. As a voting member, I have some input into the selection
of the finalists. But not all my picks make it. Here are some thoughts
on this year's list.
(1) All of the sites that are part of the Best Video
Network are a good deal, but damn it's hard to beat VideoBox.
Nevertheless, there are options. I like seeing Suze Video and ZToD on
the list. Good to see something aside from the straight DVD-download
sites being recognized. But still . . . damn it's hard to beat VideoBox. (2)
Probably the category I have the most difficulty choosing for every year
is the Best Reality Porn Site. They all seem so much the same. And
what am I judging these sites on? The concept? Or the quality of the
content? Both, I'm sure, but in either case why does Mike's
Apartment keep getting nominated? (3)
A real shocker, at least for me, in the Best Performer Site category.
Where's Extreme
Holly? She won both Best Performer and Best New Site last year. And
since then her site has really improved! They kicked the video up a
notch and maintained a great update schedule. And even though this isn't
strictly part of my consideration, they also added a lot more quality
exclusive content to the network her site anchors (including Extreme
Alex and Extreme
Sophia). And yet this year she didn't make the cut. Maybe
people figured she won too much last year. And I can't say I'm really
upset with the sites that were nominated. They're all pretty solid. Kelly,
Rachel,
and Sammy
are all veterans. Classic sites. And Alison and Eve
Angel (no relation) are stunning newcomers. Of
course, no surprise that there are no professional "porn
stars." Though I have to say there is reason to have hope in this
direction. In the past year I know I reviewed at least a couple of
official porn star sites that were pretty damn good: Lanni
Barbie (or however you spell it) and Enter
Belladonna. But the same issues with regard to the lack of personal
involvement keep coming up. I'm not sure the pros will ever be as good
as the amateurs. In part that's because "professional" in this
regard means studio girl and "amateur" means the Internet is
all they do. (4) Femdom never seems to do
that well when it comes time to nominate for Best Fetish site. Don't
know why. Do the male voters (only a bare majority) feel threatened by a
woman with a whip or a strap-on? I would have liked to see The
English Mansion get a nod. That's real fetish. (5)
Why didn't The
Rubber Clinic get nominated for Best New Site! Was there a better? (6)
The Best Network doesn't have to mean Best Reality Porn Network. But
unfortunately that's the way it usually works out. And I'm not knocking
the all-you-can-eat buffet at All
Sites Access, OxPass/Bang
Bros. Network, or Meat Members. But there are smaller networks that
I think deserve more consideration here. Like Twisted
Pass, Private
Members Area, and (if you really like amateurs) Swingerville. (7)
I remember the first year of these awards saying that Best
Photography/Studio Site was the toughest category. That has continued.
Just look at what's missing! Where's Explicite?
Where's Simonscans?
Where's Pure
Beauty Mag? Where's Suze.net and One Girl a Day? If
you really want to see how tough this category is, just look at the list
of nominees for Best Site (Overall). Three of the five finalists come
from the Photography category. Makes it kind of hard to pick a winner. Anyway,
those are my snap judgments. I won't try and predict any winners. I'm
sure we'll all be surprised when those are announced.
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