Welcome to my new digs! I think you're gonna like it here. It has some pretty neat capabilities, like collages and big pics (when you click on them) and some standard stuff that I didn't have enabled on the old one like RSS feed capability and comments. I've manually entered all the old blog posts so you can still read about the old days. You probably noticed the nifty new logo, thanks to the creative mind of Demetre Arges at Wonderful Union. Thanks D! The rest of the site should be up sometime next week, depending on how much work I can tackle this weekend. So sign up for the RSS, leave a comment, and help me try this thing on.

I stopped by Barca following a delicious coronary inducing croque monsieur from Cafe Presse to find a packed house. A table of out of town birthday partiers let me sit down and order from their cocktail server to avoid the impenetrable bar. I think this was the birthday girl.

It's likely I won't be posting much this week so I can focus on getting the new site up. The logo is almost done and I can't wait to put all the pieces together. Pretty soon you'll come to the site and have a completely different experience.

I'll be back on Thursday with the Club D, but for now I'll leave you with some more photos of Mexico, mostly by Robin. The boy is talented!

My contributions:

 

Another state gives same sex couples their due.

Following last Saturday's bachelorette party, I briefly stopped by China Gate to get the Club D photo. The entrace dumps you into brightly lit restaurant, face to face with a tank lobsters. I questioned if I was in the right place before the out of tune karaoke singing led me down a narrow hall to the right.

Two gentleman on the left was one of two that immediately greeted me when I walked in, in a surprisingly laid back, sober and unpervy way for 12:20am. The camera is a magnet for those looking for attention and as soon as I pulled it out, Mister walking personal ad made a point to introduce himself (and his phone number on the back of his shirt). It was a good night to be married.

yet I keep reading their names together like it does. Sweet siren Amy Blaschke came to town last month and played the Rendezvous' Jewel Box Theatre with Grant of Arthur & Yu. They alternated sets with two each, finishing up together with a few covers including one of my favorites; I'll Be Your Mirror by The Velvet Underground & Nico. I crept up into the red projection room towards the end for a different perspective.

Amy will be at the Rite Spot Cafe in San Francisco this Sunday and back that way again playing the Mama Buzz Cafe for Heeb's Diamond Days Festival in Oakland July 20th. Word is Tiny Vipers and Whalebones are also making the trip. Seattle gets her back on June 23rd at Nectar. Plants & Animals and the Quiet Ones join her on the bill.

One of my wedding clients invited me to her bachelorette party last Saturday and I just couldn't resist taking out my camera. At Venus Karaoke in the International District you can rent out your own private room with your own private karaoke machine. Secure a banquet permit ahead of time ($10 at any liquor store) and you can bring in your own alcohol and food. I had the best birthday of my life at this place a few years ago (for those of you that don't know me, I'm a bit of a karaoke lover).

Lately I've been setting up a strobe by the DJ/band at wedding receptions and triggering it via wireless receiver to get some great off camera light for dancing photos. I thought these shots would benefit from a similar effect so I strapped a Pocket Wizard to a Sto-fen covered Canon 580exII speedlight and placed it on top of a speaker hanging from a high corner, aimed where the majority of the action would be taking place. The real magic started to happen when one of the girls grabbed a fan from the hallway.

As I was heading up to do old standby, Fame by Irene Cara (below for your solid golden pleasure) I gave my camera to one of the girls and told her to shoot whenever I came between her and the light. She nailed it!

 

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Have you been watching Survivor? This season is so freakin good! Four blindsides in a row, medical drama, nutjobs, post-show insight via the cast-offs at Ponderosa, and we got to see James one more time. Sweet, strong James.

Btw James, I have a totally innapropriate crush on you. Robin seems to be ok with it though since it is mostly because remind me of him, being the hardworking, principled man from Louisiana you are.

Robin's man-crush this season has been on Erik the puppy dog ice cream scooper, the last man standing prior to tribal council last night.

Read the EW recap for what went down (pitiful) plus a little video recap at the end to get you caught up for Sunday's finale.

The Lock & Keel is where you go when you want to play pool, cuss, spit & smoke with the good folk of Ballard. People that will offer you their seat, buy you a pint and open up and say ahh.

This guy pulled me aside to say he wanted it on record that his name was "Super Jim" or "Superman Jim" - I can't remember which. Or maybe it was "Ironman Jim". Sorry I screwed it up, Jim. You're super!

These two sweetie pies are definitely regulars.

The Club Directory is published every week in The Stranger.

Oh Mexico.

Still to come: Chichen Itza & Robin's photos

 

My buddy Amy Stevens is showing her photographs of the crazy colorful homemade cakes she makes, set on various patterned backgrounds at the PCNW this month. They're like Martha Stewart on mushrooms. Seriously - you have to click that link.

These days she's living in Philadelphia (they give her grant money to do this!) but she's here tonight for the opening reception from 6-8pm. Come early and you'll be treated to a firsthand explanation of her methods.

Alex Prager and Susan Anderson are also showing, as part of the "Sugar & Spice" theme.

Happy birthday Jaime! We went to the horse races for my rad lady friend's birthday last Sunday, and some day I'll get around to posting those pics but for now you'll have to settle for me whoring my friends out at Linda's afterward to get a quick Club Directory photo. It was close to deadline. Sometimes you gotta pimp. We walked from Redwood in the rain and ordered some bloody marys and sucked them down. Sometimes you gotta fish for ice and suck them too.

Jaime shares her birthday with my mom. Happy birthday mom!! For her big day, mom is getting a year subscription to Netflix so she can watch all the foreign films and musicals she wants, whenever she wants.

If you don't know by now (it's ok if you didn't), the Club Directory is published every week in the Stranger.