The Tron Lebowski

In an effort to keep our blog relatively, well relative to the world of film, counterculture and general awesomeness, I will be posting a shitton of more non-sequitir and internet mayhem that relates to us and our influences. And what better way to begin this again then to show this amazing real-life mash up of Jeff Bridges finest works "Tron" and "The Big Lebowski". Bridges shouted out via sattelite to the "Lebowski Fest Seattle" last night with a huge geek 'splosion by donning the old Flynn helmet while on-location finishing Tron 2. And seeing as the trailer premieres today in San Diego's Comicon, one can only sit back and wonder if Jeff Bridges is the greatest actor of all time.

Cheers to Harry Knowles and Crew for this one.

Also, this viral Kevin Flynn Site for Tron 2 just went up like hours ago...

Our New Favorite Celebrity is....

By Day

By Night

Joey Lawrence Shows Us How He Spent Our Money

Joey Lawrence is quickly becoming one of Canada's better exports with a career that started when he was 18 and now he's shooting posters for Twilight, the Jonas Brothers and Fiddy Cent. He made a ton of dough with a $300 video seminar that isn't available anymore which exploited his self taught Photoshop techniques that have landed him a fairly intense and exciting career so far... But I keep scratching my head... I mean, didn't Dave Hill do it first?

Prime Directive 5: Steal Frozen Fried Chicken

So during work today, Reeves obliterated any chance of productivity when showed me his new prize from a vintage toy store in NYC: a 12" Robocop talking action figure. The shiny silver armor was almost as disconcerting as the fact that it made a wailing siren sound. But the figure looked EXACTLY like the Korean Robocop who is shilling fried Chicken and ripping refrigerators off the wall. What a tyrant... First he comes at you out of the TV like that freaky chick from "The Ring" and then he steals a family's only means of sustenance. Apparently, Robocop's maxims of honor and justice don't hold up too well in the Asian market. Bet he got paid alot for the ad though....

Go Robo!

RIP Ricardo Montablan

Fantasy Island played a huge role in the nightmares of my youth, but also laid the groundwork for my marriage in Hawaii a few years back. Campy, scary, sexual, sometimes trivial and downright bizarre (anyone remember the zombie episode? How about the voodoo one?) the show was on when I shouldn't have even been awake in 1978-1980. But alas, I would sit through the pain of the Love Boat on a Friday night just to get to Mr. Rourke's Fantasy Island. I'm convinced that half of my perversions were incubated from this Aaron Spelling abomination...How else would I tolerate midget porn?

The episode above features an old man looking to become a young swinger. They call him Mr. Dodge, but we all know it's Mr. Reeves, cast from 40 years in the future to 20 years in the past.

The "I Hate Nature" Mix Tape

"June 28th. Yes, Knee deep in snow in June. Colorado Blows."

"Ooooh...Rocky Mountain High....."

"Mr Elk's Front Moat"

So me and the Mrs. went out to Rocky Mountain National Park, The Colorado River and Garden of the Gods for some Rest and Relaxation....with her entire family. Suffice to say, the trip offered plenty of breath taking moments of Sky, Rock and Trees. But it wasn't until Day 3 that I leaped from the 2008 Royal Metallic Blue Dodge Caravan to hunt down the biggest game I would shoot. Forget Paris, Forget Radiohead... I ran 200 yards with a Tripod and a 600mm lens attachment (300mm with a 2x ring) to find 2 small Elk frolicking near a stream. I set up, framed it and gasped as they jumped into the water, offering a National Geographic shot. But my lens wasn't set on the ring quite right and the camera recorded nothing but a big fat blank slate of blackness.

"Ha Ha...Missed Me! I was frolicking in the water!"

I cursed Eastman Kodak and begrudgingly sulked off until I looked to my right and saw the King of the Elk...1000 lbs+, 6 point Bull...just mowing some grass in a marsh that the fat tourists with the point and shoots hadn't noticed yet. I snuck around the 6 foot high bushes that spattered the marsh and came about 50 ft of the massive Bambi. I set up the tripod ever so carefully and hoped to God that the obese hecklers from Ohio that were yelling at the other elks wouldn't discover my find.

I was getting ready and then...the bastard looked at me.

"Jagermeister's Spokesmodel"

It was one of those fight or flight moments. He took a long hard gaze and decided that my Flaming red Parka was not camouflage and that I posed no threat to his grandness. I took the shot, thanked him, and left. While I understand that its exciting to get a picture of an animal in the wild, its not for me. Once you get the shot, its boring. Granted, I was hardly embedded in nature. We were driving on a road when I spotted his children for Chrissakes. But I give nature photographers way more credit. It takes enormous patience, time and skill to make something interesting. Otherwise its just another landscape photo.

That, and its a lot harder to convince a frightened animal you won't exploit them than it is a drunken bar patron. Ok, not that much. But at least you can sue an angry drunk for knocking out your teeth.

Here is Jay Z... you have 12 minutes...

Jay - Z by Danny Clinch

EW recently showcased legendary rock and roll photographer Danny Clinch. My favorite story talks about how long Jay Z gave him to shoot a 6 PAGE COVER SPREAD. Ready for this? 12 minutes. You can't even cook a fucking Tombstone Pizza in that time. And to think I was upset when I only got 3 minutes to shoot Diddy for the newspaper. Just goes to show: Know what your gonna do before they get there just in case they leave before you attach your lens.

Kanye by Danny Clinch

Damian Marely Daguerreotype by Danny Clinch

In Memoriam: Greg D

Greg the Crocodile Hunter

UPDATE:

The passing of Gregory T. Dimitriou 1964-2008 Funeral Arrangements

Funeral Arrangements:

Wake Monday June 30, 2008, 3-8PM at Burnett-Dane Funeral Home, 120 W. Park Ave. (Rt. 176) Libertyville.

Funeral service at 11 a.m. Tuesday, July 1 at St. Peter and Paul Greek Orthodox Church, 1401 Wagner Rd., Glenview.

Memorials to the American Cancer Society, appreciated. Info: 847-362-3009.

http://www.gregdimitriou.com

So I got a phone call yesterday that veteran nightclub staple Greg D. passed away from a brain aneurysm. He was 44, wickedly handsome and one of the funniest guys to saunter through the decadent halls of our city's esteemed and not so-esteemed nightclubs. I had first met Greg 6 or 7 years ago when I was a bartender on Rush St. He would become a beacon of sarcasm and hilarity when I might be run down by the end of the night. He was a great friend to our first publisher Ted Widen and always made us laugh. My wife put it best when she gasped upon seeing it was him that passed: "He was always so cordial! He was nothing but nice to everyone." We loved his presence at every special event and parties, Mr. Sylvester's legendary BBQs and especially on the boats where he would prove that age couldn't keep a man from looking good. (The man was in PERFECT shape. That's not a gay thing..its just jealousy.) His girlfriend Mary was always a delight and our cameras will miss him dearly. Its unsettling to lose the legendary George Carlin and then Chicago's local funnyman in the same week. I don't know how to finish this post so I'll post this picture that kind of sums up all my recent "street cred losing" anger and sadness in one glorious shot:

End of the Truth as We Knew It

"I think we're already 'circling the drain' as a species, and I'd love to see the circles get a little faster and a little shorter." - George Carlin

RIP George. You were the last good prophet. 6.22.08

Writing on the Wall

"Art, is a habit forming drug. That's all it is for the artist, for the collector, for anybody connected with it. Art has absolutely no existence as veracity, as truth. People speak of it with great, religious reverence, but I don't see why it is to be so much revered. I'm afraid I'm an agnostic when it comes to art. I don't believe in it with all the mystical trimmings. As a drug it's probably very useful for many people, very sedative, but as a religion it's not even as good as God."

- Marcel Duchamp, 1912

"The world has changed less since Jesus Christ than it has in the last 30 years"

- Charles Peguy, 1913

"Trashbat.co.ck."

- Nathan Barley, 2006

Got Milk? Siphoning from your peers...

"josie milk" by Terry Richardson

When we're putting together concepts or even when we're shooting from the hip, there are certain touchstones that Reeves and I are always grabbing onto. Our success has come from our mutual admiration as well as deconstruction of today's top artists. We are never keeping secrets and are supportive of our competition not out of face-saving scheming, but out of love for the craft. In today's paparazzi and point and shoot society, its easy to forget that there is incredible work being done on a daily basis. I just wanted to share some of our recent influences and hope you get something out of it....Besides Reeves and I, there are a few other tag team photography firms like Nick and Chloe out of Paris who did this incredible shot of Kanye surrounded by his iconography....

and the always fabulous Markus Klinko & Indrani who think outside of the box as much as they push mainstream material... The reason I am reevaluating these portfolios is because we just bought a fellow photographer's tutorial to get a new look on some old works. As they say, "its all been done before!". And for the most part it rings true. But the exception is guys like Dave Hill and the 19 year old Wunderkid Joey Lawerence (whose sloppy tutorial has already made me rethink everything I do) who cross the line between illustration and photography with incredible results. The first example is Dave Hill, the second is Joey Lawerence. Brilliant, Right? Its the constant learning that makes photography such a fantastic job. There are millions of ways to reinvent the wheel and give the homage that the artists deserve. I was going to review Joey Lawerence's (Not of Blossom fame, mind you) video tutorials but feel that there's no reason to criticize a guy for sharing his inner workings, albeit for a steep $300.