Oh my.... Cocodorm

Been quite busy but had to share this in case you haven't seen it....



Local gay Internet site believed linked to the spread of HIV/STDs
By Gary Barlow
Staff writer
pulled from http://www.chicagofreepress.com

At the urging of Chicago Department of Public Health officials, the City of Chicago slapped a cease-and-desist order on the Lakeview home of an online gay porn site April 20 after concerns were raised about cases of HIV and other STDs tied to the site’s models.

Christopher Brown, assistant commissioner for HIV/AIDS/STD programs at CDPH, said health officials acted after uncovering “credible” evidence that models at FlavaWorks.com, which also operated CocoBoyz Dorm Room online, were HIV-positive, were engaging in unsafe sex practices and were spreading HIV, syphilis and gonorrhea through contact with individuals outside the business.

Brown said CDPH’s initial involvement came in late December after HIV service providers called CDPH to express “concerns that some of their clients could be seen on the website engaging in unsafe sex.”

“We also became aware of cases of HIV linked to some of the models,” Brown said.

The business allowed members to go online and view models engaging in sex in a “dorm room” setting that was staged in an apartment at 933 W. Irving Park Road. The models were predominately black and Latino. Members could also pay more to have the models perform specific sex acts.

Chicago’s Department of Business Affairs and Licensing issued the cease-and-desist order prohibiting the business from operating at the Irving Park Road location. Brown said CDPH Comm. Terry Moore also plans to issue a cease-and-desist order.

Brown said the business owner had been “less than cooperative” with city officials’ efforts to stop the spread of HIV and other diseases and get CocoBoyz models in for counseling, treatment and testing.

“Our main concern was the dorm,” Brown said. “Our goal is to immediately look at the models, screen them and address their needs.”

By the time city officials and police showed up the morning of April 20, CocoBoyz had already cleared out of the apartment. A man who identified himself as Jackson Robinson, manager of the business, said he and the owner closed it because they knew the city planned to shut it down. Robinson denied the city’s charges in a phone interview.

“There’s no one HIV-positive in our dorm, so that’s untrue,” Robinson said. “The models also engage in safe sexual practices.”

He said he felt the primary reason the city moved against the porn business was that it didn’t have the proper license. He said he’d repeatedly been turned down for a license.

Brown scoffed at Robinson’s denials.

“We had evidence and reports from what I would consider credible sources that there was HIV and STDs among the models at CocoBoyz dorm room, and unsafe sex could be viewed right there on the website,” Brown said.

Brown stopped short of saying the porn models engaged in prostitution with customers, but said, “Yes, through our conversations, there were individuals who became infected through contact with the models.”

There are also allegations that the business used unusual labor contracts with its models, which, according to one source, “at least bordered on illegal servitude.” The 30-day contracts allegedly required the models to perform a certain number of sexual acts in exchange for a stipend. But, when the models tried to collect the stipends, they were told they were being charged for such things as food and bed linens, leaving them, in some cases, in debt rather than collecting money. They were then pressured to sign new contracts.

Robinson said the business, which dates back to 1999, is looking for a new home outside Chicago and will reopen “whenever we can be licensed and incorporated somewhere else.”

And I am Back...




Let me just say that it has been one hell of a week. While I don't want to go into details right now let's just say the move to Atlanta was not as smooth as I had hoped. But at last I am here and still standing.

My birthday was this past Tuesday. Several old and new friends came over to not only welcome me back to Atlanta but to celebrate yet another year. My friend Damian who helped me drive down, unpack and begin to get settled left Wednesday morning... and that afternoon is when reality set in that I am not in DC anymore. I am already a little home sick and missing my friends... no IM or Vonage can make up for the distance that is now there.

Anyway I am off to wash my truck.... stay up and stay tuned.

Dem Questions

Valentino made me do it....


If you were to be the opposite sex for one day, what would you do?
Give birth... no it sounds painful but its truly the one thing a man can't do.

If you had to name the most difficult thing about being a teenager today, what would you say?
Have to agree with Valentino on the lack of individualism.... if I see one more group of kids all wearing them long white night shirts and blue jeans I may loose my mind.


If you had to name the most embarrassing moment of your life, when was it?
Janet Jackson concert at Lakewood Amphitheater years ago... as I was walking to my 3rd row seat as Usher was performing I slipped and nearly fell in front of everyone.


If you had to name the one personality trait that you have tried the hardest to change in yourself, what would you say?
My temper... let me stop lyin I ain't changing that for nobody.


If you could go back for one minute to the Garden of Eden and give Adam advice, what would you say?
If you didn't pick it don't eat it!!


If you were Madonna, what would you do for your next publicity stunt?
Set one of those Kabala churches on fire.

If you could have a lifetime 50 percent discount in any single store at your local mall, which store would it be in?
umm Saks of course

If you could have God perform one miracle today, what would you want it to be?
Once again Valentino hit this one on the head... take HIV/AIDS away as if it never existed.

If you could spend next New Year’s Eve doing anything, what would you do, and with whom?
Candlelight dinner on the veranda of an Italian Villa overlooking the Mediterranean Sea with Mr. Valentino

If you were to set your country’s immigration policy, what would it be?
All illegals would have to go back and come back in the right way. We have to protect our country and letting anyone just come across a border is not the way. I would make it easier for them to come across the border by offering guest work visas.

If you were given the power to settle the issue of gays in the military, what policy would you set?
If any homo wants to go over and fight a war for a country that won't even let them have all rights... more power have fun

If you could have one person you have lost touch with call you up tonight and invite you to dinner, who would you want it to be?
Cruz Torres.... a friend from elementary school in Houston

If you could change one thing about your love life, what would it be?
I would know all life lessons I have learned so far 10 years ago.

If you could have prevented one book from ever having been written, which book would it be?
J.L. King's last 2 books of nonsense

If you could have one thing made out of pure gold, what would you choose?
Pure gold ... not really a fan so I dont know what I would want.

If God were to whisper one thing in your ear, what would you like Him to say?
you made it in...


BooBooRed Countdown: 2 Days

Surprise and Goodbye

My last weekend as a DC resident has come and gone and it definitely was a great weekend. I flew back from LA on Friday evening so the rest of that day was spent sleeping and packing.

Saturday began with brunch with my good good friend and sometimes my personal attorney, Cynthia. Good food, several drinks and a couple hours were all I needed to send me away for the afternoon in tears. She has really been a great friend and probably the best supervisor I ever had. Left there and went shopping with 3 of my friends... Macy's was having a sale on Calvins and somehow I still managed to spend $75 on underwear.

However the highlight of the weekend was a surprise going away party that my friend Damian and bestfriend Rey hosted at his new house. Over the course of the evening which began at 9 and didn't end until about 3something ( I was too drunk to remember)... about 75 people strolled through partied, laughed, cried, drank and ate. Here are a few pictures of the 100 I have:















My friend Wayne decides to take an impromptu
collection for gas.








My bestfriend and host, Rey and his partner Matt.




Why is this fool licking my head?!?!? The dangers of alcohol


My brother-in-law shares the story of how we hated each
other for years but have become great friends now.


In tears once again, as my bestfriend Rey shares some words.

10 days to go...

well actually 9 but 10 makes a better headline than 9. And I won't be there till the night of the 14th and this time zone change out here in Cali is really taking its toll on me but anyway ....

Being in California this week has prevented me from being able to spend as much time as possible with my friends in DC. But I wanted to share the ten things (in no particular order) that I will miss about DC....

1. My friends. Some I see once a week others I see every day... but they have been the definitely been the family that I didn't have.


2. One of my favorite new lunch time restaurants. Matchbox in the new Chinatown area serves vintage bistro pizza and great miniburgers.


3. National, BWI, and Dulles Airports made the rising airline costs somewhat manageable by having more outbound flights than Hartsfield.

4. Metro ain't got nothing on the subway of NYC but MARTA definitely has nothing on Metro.


5. NJ Turnpike.... 3.5 hours on a good day and I could be in NYC from DC. Another 40 minutes I could be shopping at Woodbury Commons... the ease of getting to NYC and Philly will definitely be missed.

6. Georgetown... outdoor shopping... lunch at the new Ritz Carlton... a late afternoon movie... and a walk along the Potomac... a great way to spend a Saturday in the Spring.

7. Metropolitan Baptist Church... Dr. H Beecher Hicks... and Minister of Music Nolan Williams... have guided my fellowship with God for the past 5 years. I actually shed a tear last Sunday as I was sitting in my pew watching Richard Smallwood play the piano. But I will definitely be back Spring of 2007 for the first service in the new edifice.


8. The house parties... on any given Saturday there are at least 2 house parties somewhere in DC.. over the past few years I have found myself at more house parties than clubs and I will definitely miss that.

9. Dr. Strong.... oooo weee Dr. Strong.... lawd my doctor is fine as hell and my favorite dentist Dr. Ebbs but I will continue to see him on my trips to DC.

10. Did I mention my friends... yeah most of all that is what I will miss.

Weekend Wrapup

This weekend was definitely a mixed bag... it started off on Friday with a miniflood in my apartment. I had just put one load of clothes in the dryer and started another in the washer. I decided to run into the rental office to turn in my "Bitch Im out of this Joint" form letting them know this would be my last month here... when I get back to my apartment after shooting the breeze with the Leasing Specialists (why is it everyone is a specialist or account executive) eating up their Otis Spunkmeyer cookies... i find my hallway, bathroom and part of my bedroom is flooded.


After dealing with that and my foreign neighbor that came knocking on my door at least 3 times telling me that his ceiling has fallen into his bed... mind you I told him on the first time I wasn't a carpenter and that he needed to call the leasing office... so by time the third knock came around, the unchristianlike me had to let a few words go.... the rest of Friday was quite uneventful, just dinner and sleep.

Saturday night we had a small dinner party to celebrate my good good friend Donnie's birthday and new job.







Fun times but lord knows I will be happy when Lent is over... I was the only person not drinking. Usually I have a drink every evening after work and on the weekends but I must say not having one for the past 32 days has given me comfort to know that I am not dependent. But all I can say is at my Going Away Dinner this weekend.... I will make up for lost time!!!

Anyway tomorrow morning I am off to Anaheim for the official first week of the new job. The schedule seems to be quite filled so I won't have much time to realize how much I dislike California...

In the background: Desperate Housewives