Dan Baxter made a new nightlife video. This time it is a mix of footage from Trash at Webster Hall. A lot of this footage is from the makeshift shoot I did with the Trash go-gos and burlesque dancers last week. There is several shots of me in it including some footage at the end of me shooting Alex Magentic, who is featured prominently in the video. Frankly I hate seeing myself on film because I realize how bad my posture is and it makes me want to stop going out in public… but what can you do? Check out Dan’s new video below.

I am always finding videos I want to blog about and most of the time I just Twitter them or something but some times I get a nice batch of videos and they are worth a full post. So yeah, here are three videos that caught my attention recently.

Let’s start with the new episode of Creepy Touch from Mishka and my friend Nick Gazin AKA the Toilet Cobra. Nick is joined in this by his father who is amazing. They go to a horror convention and talk to Tom Savini and got to join in a sing with Hershel Gordon Lewis. I am just going to assume you guys know who those people are, but if you don’t you need to get to googling. Nick’s dad once saw a few of my titty photos and determined that they were some how important works of art. He does not have such praise for the horror convention and lambasts it with vengeance. Also Gwar and Toxie show up which is always fucking awesome.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iP6BMmJttI[/youtube]

Next up we have a new Onion News Network episode which I was going to post anyway, but I found out that it was the last ONN episode my brother turned in before he started his new job. I was going to post the episode because it is hilarious and speaks to a number of issues of the day. I just like the idea of protesting PETA really. When I lived in VA I knew several people who worked at their headquarters and quit because of some of the horrible shit they were doing. This girl told me she used to go to old folks homes and convince the old people that PETA could take better care of the pets than the seniors could. Then as soon as they got to their van they would suffocate the animal because they believed that the animals were better dead than as pets. The video below is all about a women’s rights group protesting the harmful treatment of models. It is pretty great.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2z2lTUR5Ao[/youtube]

Lastly we have this Wale video I ran into on Lylas that featured Lady Gaga. Now while I am not as into the song as I am really excited about the video. Half the video is shot at Ben’s Chili Bowl which is pretty much my favorite place to eat on Earth (sorry Popeyes…). I feel like I have blogged about Ben’s before but here is a refresher. Ben’s is a chili spot in DC that is straight up legendary. It survived the MLK riots, Crack Cocaine and a Metro stop being built on their street which killed off all traffic and pretty much every business on the block. The only reason they stayed open was because the construction workers building the subway ate their lunch at Ben’s every day. In 1995 I started going to a Reggae club across the streets from Ben’s every week because they would rent out their bar to punk kids for $150. That neighborhood was horrible then and we would pretty much have to run to catch the train at night, but the bar let 14 year old kids drink, the Jamaican dudes who hung out there would sell us weed and Ben’s Chili Bowl was across the street. On a Saturday night the place would be packed with all the locals and then a bunch of white kids from the suburbs with mohawks. On the street the locals would threaten us and tell us to get out of their neighborhood, but we never got any of that at Ben’s. Just amazing Chili Fries and the best damn milkshakes I have ever tasted. Today, nearly 15 years after I saw a kid get beaten to death in the middle of 12th St, that neighborhood is thriving. It is a totally different place with a Starbucks and a 7-11 on each corner. Ben’s is now a hot spot for DC politicians looking for some street cred for having photos of them with Ben on the wall. The walls are filled with photos of African American civil rights leaders, football players, actors, musicians, comedians and several US Presidents. Last time I was in there they had a sign up that said “The only people who eat for free are the Obama’s” or something to that extent. So getting back to the video, presumably Wale is from DC and it has plenty of shots from places where I spent a lot of time growing up. Also if you look carefully you can see a shot of Anwan Glover from the Wire & the Backyard Band. I am a big Wire fan and as a DC native I have to like GoGo plus I met him at Le Royale so that gives this video extra points. Plus I slept in Lady GaGa’s hotel room in Miami once so I can’t hate on her, no matter how much I want to…
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbNyqtl99R0[/youtube]

Somewhat Hasty first solo video from my boy Teddy Blanks. It was directed by friend and former Party Rock 3 member Christian Schultz. While consistently maintaining a retro synth pop feel in all his music this has to be the most 80’s thing he has done yet. My first thought was he was a pair of leg warmers away from Flashdance but a friend of mine compared it to a Billy Squier video. I think he has a point.

Also Teddy has just redone his website with a lot more music up as well as an archive of flyers and a header that quotes a different line from a song every time you refresh the page. He also has a show this Thursday. You should check that out. In the mean time, dig the video, I think it’s pretty great.  Also, download a free Mp3 of Somewhat Hasty here.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nj8fBtGywCI[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fR0j7sModCI[/youtube]

You guys probably know by now that I am a huge geek for the Miami Dolphins. While I was at the beach the Phins released a version of their theme song recorded by T-Pain. I am part of a Miami Dolphins NYC fan club and I wanted to get it out to our peoples there was no video on YouTube. When I was looking for footage for this nightlife video project I am working on I found some random footage of some friends of mine dancing at a Dolphins game I went to in Miami last year. So when I heard the song and saw it didn’t have a video I just threw up the footage with the song, posted it on YouTube and called it a day. I didn’t think anything of it until people started sending me links. First it was just the local media links… then Sports Illustrated and then my intern sent me the link after seeing it on TMZ. This is completely weird. I guess I should have realized that this might be seen outside of Dolphins fans since it involved T-Pain, but this is a bit crazy.

I’ll keep you updated if there are any other weird links… I just hope people be kind to my dancing friends…

UPDATE:

This video clip from an Orlando news station is super awkward and they show a lot of my footage…

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGuGdbrQKag[/youtube]

Probably my biggest musical regret in life was the brief period in high school when I listened to the Insane Clown Posse. Now while it is pretty clear to most humans why this band is absolutely terrible, I do have to say that the two shows I went to were super fun, and their third album, The Riddle Box, is still pretty enjoyable. The thing about ICP is that some of their songs are like little horror mini horror movies via song. Their first two albums were so horribly produced and by their fourth album they started adding hard rock elements and went even further over the top, but that third album is pretty interesting. Anyway, enough defending a pretty defenseless band, instead I want to talk about the 10th Annual Gathering of The Juggalos.

I remember the 1st one of these happening. I had pretty much stopped listening to them by then, but my friends and I wanted to go anyway. It was like this big festival in the middle of no where and you could get all this exclusive merch that everyone wanted, because that band is less about the music, and more about buying their expensive shit. 10 years later the festival has turned into a clown filled Woodstock and strikes me as either the worst possible thing you could ever do, or the best.

You have to watch this trailer. It is the funniest damn thing. It is really long, but you have to watch it all, it just keeps getting funnier. The two hosts are the lamest people on Earth and they keep trying to get you psyched about stuff like hay rides and Beach Boy thing BBQs. In this official trailer they can’t even get ICP to show up, they talk to them via telephone. Seriously, this thing is priceless. It also looks like something I really, really, really want to photograph. Normally concerts like this suck for me, because I have to cover all the bands, but I don’t want to see ANY of the bands (Maybe Ice Cube and I would like to see people throw shit at MC Chris). I could just shoot the wrestling and the wet tshirt contests, and the guy shooting himself out of a cannon and the crazy rednecks on drugs. The thing is BYOB and the website tells you they do a visual check of your car which basically means they are encouraging you to bring all the drugs you can hide. I can’t even imagine how great the photos I could shoot there would be. Alas, it is in the middle of nowhere, costs $150, and is taking place while I am going to be on a fishing trip.

Anyway, you need to watch this whole video (make sure you get to the 2:20 mark at least, thats when the hilarious fucking hosts come in.), I swear it keeps getting better. It is like a parody. I mean Rowdy Roddy Pipper is wrestling AND doing stand up comedy! JJ from Good Times and Pauly Shore will be there! Coolio & Vanilla Ice!! I mean Jesus Fuck, this is party time. And I am down with the clown, till I am dead in the ground. Juggalo 4 LIFE, ninja!

Check out these dope events! Dudes on Stilts! Real Midway Games! Karaoke Contests! Magicians! Hay Rides! HAY RIDESSS!!!!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNe11E_KiAk[/youtube]

Wanna help me test out my new ReTweet button? I am going to post a bunch of fun internets videos for the viral minded in you. Now this is entertaining and exciting content that you clearly need to share with everyone you know. So the way to do that, is to press that button to the left there and it will send out some sort of Twitter Signal into the dark and your friends will think you are cool for knowing about such wacky and cute videos. Plus it will let me see how this thing works. So yeah, wanna help me beta test my new button? I’ll never ask you to press something you don’t wanna ever again baby, I swear it. Daddy loves you. Now press that motherfucking ReTweet button!! And then please enjoy these lovely viral videos.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Psfn6iOfS8[/youtube]
Auto-Tune The News just keeps getting better. John Boehner & Michelle Bachmann may be hate filled lunatics, but they sing like fucking angels.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxJLUZWPEb8[/youtube]
This is one of the last Onion News Network episodes my brother is ever going to work on. He is moving on to new and exciting career opportunities. He has been with the ONN for their entire existence and this is one of their best yet.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrjmfqrHhZk[/youtube]
These people might be fast, but they aren’t easy.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdLVLPoRXR4[/youtube]
Clearly we can’t do a viral video update with out some cute animal doing something only a person would do!! Oh, she’s sooo like people!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVJVRywgmYM[/youtube]
I guess we can’t do a viral video update without a flash mob either… or a Michael Jackson reference… I know! Let’s kill two birds with one stone!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfBlUQguvyw[/youtube]
Lastly, I really think this video is going to be shown in classrooms 25 years from now. While this is sort of stupid and silly, it is completely showing the full potential of Web 2.0 to make collaborative web based art.

Thanks to my amazing friend and part time webmaster Thadd Williams DBB has gotten a very minor touch up to make it slightly more social networkable…

There are now some little buttons below each post where you can send the post to Digg or Facebook or Stumble Upon or what have you.  Whatever the kids are doing these days… I used to have a button that just said Share This and you could do similar things, but I think these little buttons work better.

Secondly, we added the Retweet buttons at the beginning of each post.  Now you can press the Retweet button and this post will automatically be sent to your Twitter.  I hope people will use this to show friends the party they were at last night, or to promote whatever event they hired me to shoot.  God willing when I do a real design update all the gallery pages will have a similar button so you can easily Tweet and/or Facebook your individual pictures.

Speaking of Twitter, there is now a feed of my latest three Tweets.  Now you can see what sort of bullshit I am getting into without even owning a smart phone.  The installation actually fucked up my side bar a little bit, but we are working to fix that. Hopefully that will be taken care of ASAP.  My guess is it is some sort of CSS issue, but I don’t even know what CSS stands for, so I think I will leave that up to Thadd.

Lastly, I think we fixed the problem with my RSS feed in Google Reader.  If you don’t use Google Reader or you don’t even know what an RSS feed is, please ignore this.  If you do use Google Reader, let me know if things are working better.  In fact, if anyone sees anything wrong with this site please let me know.

I just talked to some people about doing a more major touch up on the site, so hopefully that will be happening sometime in the next 20 months. I want to redo the side bar, add more links finally, add a place for minor site updates and a place where you can see just the photo updates without having to scroll through my ramblings.  I am also considering measures to make this site load a bit faster.  Let me know if you have problems with the site speed generally.  Also, really, any advice on how to make this page easier to use for you please let me know.

Thanks a bunch. Oh, and just for contents sake, I have been listening to the Dramatics while I have been working on this site.  Their song Shake It Well might be the best song I have ever heard.  Listen to it while you browse this site and everything will look that much nicer.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QYBoaI0ypE[/youtube]

As you may or may not have noticed, or may or may not have cared, I have been updating this site less often than normal.  There are quite a few reasons for this (Less paid work, nightlife burnout, broken equipment, thieving intern, sleep problems, an attempt to enjoy the summer, writers block etc…) but I don’t really love writing blogs apologizing for my slack. Really I need to be embracing the slack.  I think I am going to just try to update this site when it needs to be updated.  So the slow trickle of posts may continue until some of the above issues are resolved.  That is not to say I am not being productive, as I am scheming constantly, it is just that none of the projects I have been slowly working on have come to fruition.  That in itself is reasonably frustrating, but I am taking stepts to improve my diligence in such matters.

I have had some recent bouts of inspiration and productivity.  I have teamed up on an art project with graffiti artist DAZE that you will hear about soon.  I am also as we speak organizing a book to show to gallery owners in order to get a non-nightlife (gasp!) show together.  I also hope to one day come up with some sort of portfolio site for my event work but the thought of somehow organizing the last 2 years of party photos gives me nightmares.  I really want to be taking more day time photos, more natural light stuff, and more documentary and editorial stuff.  So I am going to put this little classified ad out there. I want to be more productive and I want your help.  If you can help with any of these bullet points below, please contact me.

• I am looking for any paid nightlife work as always.
• I am looking for any editorial, fashion or documentary print assignments which I would be willing to shoot at a one time reduced rate.
• I am looking for interesting looking people or any sort of pseudo celebrity type that would let me shoot some portraits of them so I have some portrait work that isn’t naked girls.
• I am looking for naked girls who do not flake on shoots.  Preferably ones that are willing to do fun stuff like break into construction sites and shoot in public.
• I am looking for art shows, magazines, art based sites that would be interested in my non-party work.
• I am looking for gallery space to show my non event 35mm work.
• I am looking for anyone who would pay me to go out of town to shoot anything for any reason.  I need adventure.
• I am looking for weird shit to shoot.  Do you have a fight club? A weird sex party? Smoking crack out of a light bulb?  Let me know, I will come take photos.
• I am sort of looking for work shooting your band.  I used to do a lot of band portraits and live work but I sort of hate it.  That being said, I am reasonably good at it and I will do it for money.  Same goes for head shots, press photos and anything like that.
• I am looking for press. Want to interview me for something? I don’t know why you would want to, but sign me the fuck up. I need to be getting out there more.
• I need more traffic.  I think I have plateaued a bit.  I think you should link this site already.  When my traffic is going up, it makes me want to work on the site more.
• I am looking for excuses to write.  Got any ideas?
• And lastly I am looking for anyone who does web design who would want to do some free work to build there portfolio.  I have a site that needs to be built and I have no money to do it and my friends are all flakes.

Okay, I am not sure what the hell the point of this blog was, but I enjoyed writing it for some reason.  It was probably good to slighly organize my thoughts or something.  I just need to be doing stuff other than taking photos of drunk people and naked girls.  That being said I like doing those things too, so if have any ideas let me know.  I just need to stay on point.  You would think that not having a job would make it so I got more done instead of less, but since I have been doing this site full time, I have found it harder and harder to work.  Help a brother out, let’s make some art.  Or at least some money.

Ps. While this site may be less populated with posts, I do Twitter a lot.  I am even sometimes entertaining and I try not to blog about the food I am eating unless that food is fried chicken.  I fucking love fried chicken. So follow me already.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qt9MP70ODNw[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DeCqVAOqsI[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FS9TY7z8Dw[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_lcmcNthAU[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMnk7lh9M3o[/youtube]