So yeah, things have been pretty quiet here on The Josh Effect. Let's get you folks up to speed, shall we?

As you may know, my production equipment was stolen from my apartment last fall. We got some of it back (namely, the computer), but not everything (namely, my camera). So what have I been up to, exactly? Well, a couple of things actually.

Firstly, I went from being employed to being super-employed. I'm currently holding down two jobs (at one point, it was 3 jobs) which have unfortunately consumed pretty much all of my time. Therefore, I haven't had a lot of time to make any new content for The Josh Effect. However, last year I said 2012 will be a big year for The Josh Effect and I still intend to keep that promise (just not in the same time-frame I'd originally planned). For the time being, however, I do have a few things to share with you.

Firstly: Brainal Leakage. For those of you who somehow visit this website and don't follow me on Twitter or Facebook, I'm in a band called Brainal Leakage. When I'm not working (which is almost always) I've been hard at work practicing and rehearsing with my musical partner-in-crime, Brent Tisdale. Over the course of the last few months (or last year and a half if you want to get really technical), Brent and I have put together a solid set and are now beginning to play live (our first gig is actually later tonight). So, if you haven't seen me promote it enough on Twitter or Facebook, you can check out our tunes by clicking THESE BIG OL' FUCKING WORDS.

Also, it's important to let you all know that pretty much all of my regular production crew has moved on. Bric Mitchell left for his hometown in Kansas last fall and our regular camera-monkey Stephanie Whitney ran off to Maryland, both to pursue greener pastures. Both of them are doing well and more importantly, they're both happy. Fortunately, new help isn't too hard to find.

Which brings me to my last small update. I'm currently in the pre-production phase for a brand new series that will run exclusively on YouTube. I don't want to give away any details at the moment because we haven't shot a single frame yet, but it should be interesting to say the least. What I can tell you is that it will be a weekly series, the episodes won't be very long, and we already have over 3 months worth of episodes planned out. This series is the brain-child of my friend Chuck Carraway and myself. It's also completely idiotic, so naturally: it's right up my alley.

So keep an eye on my Twitter feed (or my Facebook, as all my tweets go over there anyway) because the blog updates will be sparse. You guys are fantastic just for reading this in the first place, but really: all the good shit goes on my Twitter.

'Til next, time. -Josh

Not going to go into too much detail here (for security reasons) but any and all current video-production for both The Josh Effect and the Dark Jester Network has been halted indefinitely.

Last night between 5pm and 8pm, my apartment was broken into and burglarized. All of my production equipment is gone. I will now, instead, be moving forward with my artwork-driven projects, such as new comics, doodles, and other various works that simply require a pen and paper (which fortunately, they left me).

I haven't slept, I'm in severe nicotine withdrawal, and I just lost several of my most precious belongings. Material possessions they may be, but with them, I felt like I was finally getting my life back on track. I was creating again. I'm an artist, God damn it. They didn't just take some expensive shit I owned, they took away a small part of my life. And for what? A quick buck?

My only hope is that the police here perform some kind of fucking Jesus-miracle and catch the sons of bitches who did this. I know, unfortunately, that they won't. Even if they did, the chances of me getting everything back are even smaller.

Things are going to be quiet around here for awhile.... I'll post my movie reviews and I'll be drawing all kinds of shit in the meantime, but don't expect anything major anytime soon.

I'm reachable on Facebook or Twitter if anyone needs me. -Josh

Got a whole bunch of new videos in the works, but those won't be released until we've got them all filmed, at least. In the meantime, I have plenty of time, in what little spare time I have, to shoot and cut little episodes of Short Cox. In fact, we just posted a new one today.

So head over to the Videos page and see just how much Josh loves hair-waxing. Totally worth the watch.

Just posted my review of The Smurfs on the Josh Reviews page, so go have a look-see. Later this week, Rise of the Planet of the Apes.

Small production update: Filmed a bit of footage the other day, going to make it into a Short Cox episode. Hard at work on some pre-production for a new series that I'll be announcing at a later date. I can tell you a few details about that, though. It's going to be a review series in the same vein as The Nostalgia Critic, or Angry Video Game Nerd or other online review shows. I won't, however, be reviewing movies or video games in this new series (after all, I already have Josh Reviews for doing movie reviews). There are all kinds of fun ideas I have for this new series that I'm slowly fleshing out. The best part about it is that it'll be something I can (for the most part) handle completely on my own, seeing as how the Dark Jester Network crew is a bit scattered for the time being.

Also, here in the next week or so I'll be adding some new photos to the Photo Album. Keep an eye out for that.

Well I just wrapped up my epic 7-Part Harry Potter Retrospective Review and I'm a little burnt out on the whole thing. I have a new review going up on Friday, with my review for Captain America: The First Avenger going up sometime next week.

But enough about reviews, let's talk about the real reason I'm writing this post. Since we re-launched the website on July 11th (a mere two weeks ago) we've had more traffic to the website than in any month in the last freakin' year. We still have 6 days left in the month, but so far we've already racked up 11,371 hits for the month of July. That is just phenomenal, you guys! Really, just the fact that you guys are hitting up the website or sharing it with your friends means a lot to us (and to me especially). So keep spreading the word, because we still have lots of great stuff in the woodwork.

Right now, I'm collecting all kinds of artwork to get the Josh's Doodles section rolling smoothly again. I've got books upon books of drawings that go back as far as 7 or more years to work with. There's going to be a really heavy focus on getting more of my cartoons on here.

Also, in the month of August, I'm going to begin filming the footage that will ultimate become our new videos. I have a whole list of ideas that Bric and I wrote that I'm working with, so expect a lot of filming photos (and, in the long run, some damn good videos).

Again guys, thank you so much for the wave of support that's come in this month. Tell your friends, tell your co-workers, make your dog watch the computer screen, because the best is yet to come!

So we're 3 reviews into my 7 part Harry Potter retrospective (with part 4 going up today). If you haven't checked 'em out, they're all over in the Josh Reviews section for your reading pleasure.

So my short and sweet review for Horrible Bosses is done and readable over on the Josh Reviews section. The review took me forever to write, because as it was a really great flick, I really found it hard to put into words the way I felt about it. I spend a decent amount of the review drooling over Jennifer Aniston.

In any case, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part Two just hit theaters on Friday, so I'll be doing a review for that at the end of the week, but it would probably help if people knew my opinions on all of the other Potter movies before I give my stance on the last one. Therefore, all this week I'll be writing up reviews for each and every film in the series: the good, the bad, and the seriously, what the fuck moments in each included.

So check out the Horrible Bosses review (and the movie itself, I might add) and check back tomorrow for my review of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone to kick of my 8-part review of the entire Harry Potter movie series.

Finally, I am proud to announce that all of the major site-building/re-building is done for both The Josh Effect and the newly re-born Dark Jester Network. Let's just get the rundown out of the way, shall we?

The Josh Effect: New Content and Pages

• Comics: This page is a placeholder for the eventual addition of our new webcomic, Empty Space as well as the restoration of The Josh Comic.
• Josh Reviews: Josh's movie reviews have come home to The Josh Effect, where they belong. We'll try to have a new review up once a week. In fact, there's even a new one up right now....

Other than that, the site is basically the same. Expect regular updates on the Josh Doodles page here soon and always check the main/updates page for new content (and be sure to follow Josh on Twitter).

Dark Jester Network: Complete Rundown

• The Crew: Short bios on all of the DJN guys. Give it a read if you're curious on who the Hell these people are.
• Stale Cracker: Placeholder page for the eventual addition of the Dark Jester Network's flagship comic, Stale Cracker, Inc.
• Videos: A shared page between DJN and The Josh Effect containing all of the videos these morons have ever put together. This is where magic happens.
• Photos/Artwork: This page takes any of the posts we make that include original photos and artwork and lumps 'em all into one easy to find location.
• Turntable.fm: Josh of the DJN spends a lot of time on Turntable.fm, and on this page you can get all the info you need to get on there and jam right alongside him.

The comic pages only have placeholders for the time being because, well we haven't drawn them yet. Right now, we're moving into video-production to shoot the next year's worth of video material. Once we have all of that shot, we'll move onto working on the comics. For now, enjoy the small nuggets of material we'll have in the next few weeks (mostly doodles, pictures and reviews) and just enjoy the brand new Josh Effect and Dark Jester Network!

(Oh, and don't forget to check out Josh's review of Transformers: Dark of the Moon over on the Josh Reviews section of The Josh Effect!)

Ryan Dunn is my favorite member of Jackass. That's not just a line, either: that's the honest to God's truth. I'm having trouble just figuring out what I can write about this man that would do him any justice, so bear with me if this article seems a bit rambly.

Ryan never tried to be funny, he simply was funny. His laugh was downright infectious and even that thick beard of his couldn't hide that bright and cheery smile. Of course, I don't know Ryan Dunn personally, but for the first time in my life I was actually brought to tears upon hearing about the death of a celebrity. I'm man enough to admit that. I've read the beautiful memories the Jackass cast and crew have been writing, I've listened to the interviews with the Margera family, and watched the most heartbreaking interview with Bam Margera I've ever witnessed, and each time my eyes water. Shit, I'm fighting back tears right now while I'm typing this.

Ryan, however you knew him, was such a phenomenally kind human being. He was a fierce and loyal friend to those he cared about, madly in love with his wonderful girlfriend, Angie, and an all around amazing guy to have in this world. I only knew him as an entertainer, but through a series like Jackass, you really feel like you get to know these guys. They aren't playing parts or putting up fronts: they are who they are. I'm deeply saddened by the death of Ryan Dunn in all sorts of ways. In a way, I felt like I knew him, having watched him grow into a man basically over the last 12 years. Over half of my life I spent watching Ryan, between the old cKy videos and Jackass. Even though I never actually knew or met him, I still feel a huge loss, and I'm just some random schmuck. I can't even imagine what his friends and family are going through at this time.

One thing that really shook me to the core was that I always imagined that Ryan and Bam's friendship mirrored my own friendship with Daniel King. I was the Bam to his Ryan, or vice versa. You can really feel the love between those two guys every time they share a screen together. I would be completely devastated to lose Daniel. I'd probably cease to function entirely. So I really mean it when I say that my thoughts and prayers are going out to those hurting right now in the wake of this tragedy (and before any of you internet trolls flame me for idolizing a "drunk driver," we know he made a bad decision, we know you shouldn't drink and drive, but that doesn't change the fact that people are hurting right now, so have some respect and keep that kind of diatribe out of here).

So here's to you, "Random Hero." You've made us laugh, made some of us cry, but overall it was just an absolute joy getting to watch and, in some weird way, know you over the past decade. Rest in peace, Dunn.

Also, I'd like to offer my condolences to the friends and family of Zach Hartwell, who also passed away in the accident. I don't know much about him, but from what I've read, he's a pretty stand-up guy. Rest in peace, Zach.

Finally, after several days of tracking down all of the videos we ever made for the great and powerful interwebs, they are all available for viewing in the Videos section. ...Well, mostly. Two episodes of Josh TV were deleted by Google Video and several videos I flat out removed myself from the Videos page (for my own reasons). We also have one or two videos still being uploaded. Other than that, the new Videos section contains literally everything else we've ever produced since the website opened.

I've also done a bit of re-organizing here and there. For example, because of their incredibly short length, the Josh TV episodes "Lips" and "Bellybutton" have been moved to the Short Cox category. Also, a very rarely seen video, now titled "W.T.F.", has also been added under the Short Cox label.

Lastly, the switch to Vimeo is mostly complete. We've got it down to where only two videos on the website are hosted on YouTube and everything else is either on Vimeo or Viddler. In time, all of the Viddler videos will make the switch as well.

We have also changed the front page for the Dark Jester Network to display its own blog, as opposed to simply mirroring The Josh Effect's blog. The old DJN blog needs some heavy post-editing, but when it's all done it should be an entertaining read.

So please, check out our new (old) videos, while we continue to finish building around here. Once all of the site-building is done, we're moving head-first into filming and editing. Then after that, Bric and I are sitting down to work on the new comics. All in all, we've got a pretty busy schedule around here. Peace.

Got another big functionality update for you guys today, are you ready for it?

Today we've merged the Short Cox and Josh TV pages into the brand new Videos page. You'll also notice that the new section features the videos created under our Dark Jester Network label. I've also shifted a couple of videos that used to be under the Josh TV section over to the Dark Jester Network section, because truthfully, some of those videos weren't actually episodes of Josh TV. The new Videos section has all of our content in (currently) 3 categories (Josh TV, Short Cox, and Dark Jester Network). As we produce more content, the categories will grow. So how can somebody keep up with all of those categories? Well we've included a Latest Video link at the very top of the page so you can always view the latest piece of stupid we've posted in the video section.

Also, I've begun the slow process of switching all of our videos over to the Vimeo video service. Over the years we've gone from YouTube to Google Video to Viddler and ultimately found a good home at Vimeo. With YouTube and Google Video we ran into some copyright and "content" issues, leading to some of our videos being blocked or outright deleted. We then switched to Viddler, but soon after found Vimeo, which to us is a much better service. So, we're switching everything over to Vimeo so all of our videos use the same player and provide an overall more consistent viewing experience for you, the viewers.

Lastly, as we make this switch to Vimeo, we'll be releasing rarely seen videos from the old Dark Jester Network that got buried in obscurity when the original site went under. Already, we have one of the original promo videos we shot for the DJN's original launch, a completely embarrassing Super Smash Bros. Brawl match between myself and former DJN collaborator, Randall Danger, and the first episode of our short-lived DJN original series 2 Guys Living in an Apartment. Also, I've added the Short Cox episode "Telephone" to the Short Cox section after having been absent entirely from the website since we shot it, as well as tacking on an old DJN video there as a Short Cox episode (since it doesn't really "fit" as a DJN short) titled "Firecrackers".

So enjoy our new Videos page, friends. Once all the site-building around here is complete, you can expect it to keep growing. For now, keep an eye on it as we continue to throw all of the old DJN content on there. Peace!

Well, it's been a quiet month, but I've been really busy, both with the website and in real life. So today, I have something new for you all to enjoy: the beta build of the Dark Jester Network is up.

By clicking the Dark Jester Network button over on the menu there, you'll be taken to our long-lost sister site, rebuilt from the ground up around the same shell as The Josh Effect. I'm literally announcing this the second it was up, so there's nothing up on it yet, but if you want to poke around or leave some criticism for me, I'd appreciate it.

Once we get the pages locked down for each website and get all the content we have already loaded up on each, then we'll be moving into full-time production mode for new content. For now, the menu on the Dark Jester Network is mostly not working.

Also, I've added the pictures from the Powerman 5000 concert to the Photo Album section, which includes all of the photos from my written report of the show and 3 that haven't been seen on the website before. Coming soon will be my full report of the Primus concert from this past Monday, complete with photos.

Alrighty then... Back to the grind.

It's been a month now since I announced that The Josh Effect was getting a complete overhaul. Let's take a look at what's been done so far and what's on the way.

So far we've rebuilt the entire Photo-Album from scratch. I'm still going through old photos that need to be organized and uploaded, but what we've got up looks great. Also, we made some small coding changes, but none of you are going to really notice any of that. We've also added a PayPal donation button, just in case some of you folks like what you see and want to contribute to the cause.

Now, that doesn't sound like a whole lot of work, but cut me some slack: I still don't own a working computer. I'm still saving up for that, so in the meantime, we're focusing on things we don't need the computer for just yet (such as artwork and shooting the raw footage for upcoming videos).

So what's coming next? Well, I've got a few exciting things in the works. First of all, I'm still working on a mobile version of the site. I know what I need to do to get it up and running, I'm just working on the how. The whole website will be viewable and easy to browse on most smartphones, however, the videos will not be iPhone or iPad compatible (not my fault, blame Apple). Also, I'll be building a new section here for Josh Reviews, my movie reviews that originated on TheEpicSandbox.com and will now continue here on The Josh Effect.

Secondly, I've decided to rebuild and re-open the Dark Jester Network as its own website (in the form of a sub-domain of The Josh Effect). The reasoning for this is because while it was up, the Dark Jester Network was a beast all of its own. It's simply too big and too dear to me to reduce it down to simply a section of The Josh Effect. The Josh Effect will focus mostly on me and my own works while Dark Jester Network will feature the collaborative works of everyone we've come to work with in recent years. However, to keep visitors from having to switch from one site to the other, both sites will share the same video section so all of our videos will be available no matter which site you're viewing. Each site will also have a menu button leading back to the other site for when you do wish to switch between them, as sections such as the comics, artwork, photo albums etc. will differ between the two.

And finally, speaking of comics, we've come to an agreeable arrangement for how we'll be handling the new comics we've got in the works. Each site will be featuring its own "flagship" webcomic that will update twice a week. The flagship comic for The Josh Effect will be a comic I've been drawing since high school titled Empty Space. The Josh Comic, in my personal opinion, just doesn't work as a webcomic. I'm proud of the webcomic I made, I just think it worked better in the full-page format I drew it in for the school paper. Empty Space, however, is perfect for the webcomic format. I originally drew it for the school paper (under the pseudonym "James Gross") to literally fill the empty spaces in our layout, should they have appeared. The jokes are short, sweet and to the point, whereas The Josh Comic was usually a long narrative peppered with little jokes here and there building up to a bigger punchline. Don't fret, though, Josh Comic fans. I'll still be doing The Josh Comic, it'll just be on a "whenever I feel like doing one" basis.

As for the Dark Jester Network, we'll be running a brand new series titled Stale Cracker Inc., a comic written by our own Bric Mitchell and illustrated by me. This comic will be handled entirely differently than Empty Space. Firstly, the comic will be drawn as a traditional comic book would be, page by page, with each page being released twice a week. It will be a very story driven comedy that will probably drive me to insanity while drawing (due to both the style and detail we plan on putting into this one). This comic will take a lot of work, so don't expect it to launch anytime soon. We really want this one to shine.

God, that was a long entry.... The keyboard on my Droid probably hates me at this point. 'Til next time, friends.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.8

So one of the biggest problems with running the website right now is that we don't exactly have a working computer round these parts. But fear not, we live in the year 2011. I'm writing this shit from my phone. I want to go back in time and tell my 10 year old self how much the future kicks ass. ...Also that I should've totally nutted up and asked out that girl from history class. My homies assure me that she had "dumps like a truck."
Anywho, even though the computer is a savings fund away, we still have the ability to shoot our footage and draw up some artwork in the meantime. I'll keep up the updates from my phone. Later days, tapeworms.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.8

So we've been running this website for over 6 years now. It's not exactly expensive to run, but we're not exactly rolling in the dough over here. We here at Dark Jester Productions would like to take this time to direct your attention to our newest menu button. We now have a very gold Donate button.

It's hard work, believe it or not, to make this website possible. It's even harder when you consider that we have absolutely no budget to run on. Now we're not saying "You better donate or we'll cut your fucking heads off," or anything like that, we could just use a little help from our fans here and there. The money you donate to us will go towards new production equipment, hosting costs, and other various website expenses.

Ideally, we'd like this website to grow to a point to where we did this for a living, which not only provides one really kick-ass job for us, but also provides you guys (the fans) with even more content on a regular basis.

So here's the deal. If you want to donate to the cause, we're giving you the option and ability to do so. If you don't, that's fine too. For those who donate, we'll try to throw in little perks here and there for you guys, such as extra content or signed artwork, some random shit like that. If ya'll have any ideas, be sure to let us know what you'd like.

Sincerely,
The Dark Jester Productions Crew

Well, yesterday was a very productive day. Of the design notes I posted, I completed 3 tasks. I've re-designed our Photo Album page to actually be nice looking. All of the photos have viewable thumbnails that, upon clicking, pop out into a neat photo-viewer. You can use the left and right arrows on your keyboard to scroll through picture groups, or click on the Previous/Next buttons that appear by hovering your cursor over the blown-up image. I'm still in the process of adding a whole slew of pictures to the Photo Album, but I think I've got enough up on there now to let the page be live.

Also, I got rid of the Josh-Cast button and to make up for the empty menu space finally added the Updates button, a button that will bring you right back here to this blog. It was a small thing that should've been done when we first made the site, but, for whatever reason, I never did.

Also some tiny design tweaks here and there. I've added a small increase to the width of this iFrame (by a mere 35 pixels) to make its edges a bit more snug with the main menu to your left and the Twitter feed to the right. I've also (finally) made the borders of the iFrame and the Twitter widget the same exact color as the page's main border. Again, a small thing that I should've done forever ago but never did.

I've done my absolute best to make the website compatible with both Internet Explorer and Firefox, and as far as the computer I'm currently using goes, all is well. Be sure to drop me a line on Facebook or Twitter if you notice any glaring bugs, glitches or issues.

New content isn't the only way we're shaping things up around here. I'm actually spending a lot of time working on new code for the website to make things a bit more efficient around here. Now, I'm no experienced web-designer, by far, but I know enough to keep this place from blowing up. If you visit The Josh Effect every day, you'll more than likely notice a bug here or a glitch there in the next few weeks. Don't pay them any mind. Now for some "patch-notes".

Design-Notes for The Josh Effect build 3.2:

• Entirely new Doodle and Photo Album pages.
• Consolidation of the Josh TV and Short Cox pages into one Dark Jester Network page.
• Complete overhaul of the Comics section of the website. No section of the website has given me so much grief as this one.
• The Josh-Cast is being removed (and nobody will miss it).
• Thank God, we're putting a Home button on the menu.
• Finally, the biggest addition in my opinion: The Josh Effect Mobile. As it stands right now, The Josh Effect explodes on mobile browsers. Therefore, we'll be building a dedicated mobile version of the website so iPhone, Android and other smartphone users can enjoy our stupid little website anywhere they want.

Of course there may be some graphical changes as well such as the background, buttons and color theme (although of all the layouts we've had over the years, the purple is my favorite), but we'll just have to see. Later days. -Josh

Don't mind me. Just posting a test.

So far, the pre-production process is slow. Bric Mitchell and I are working on a slew of video ideas and kicking around the idea of doing a new webcomic. I won't go too far into detail on it, but it's a story written by Bric and will be illustrated by me. It's going to be a huge project in-of-itself, so it's pretty low on the priority list right now. Right now our main goal is to get a solid block of video content filmed, edited and ready to go before anything comic related begins. Good comics take time, which is why I, personally, don't like the "webcomic" version of The Josh Comic. I never took a great deal of time in doing those. The webcomic seemed like a cheap, watered-down version of my comic. If we start doing comics on The Josh Effect again, I'm not doing cheap and watered down.

Going to be posting some production photos on the ol' Twitter here within the next week, so keep an eye out for those.

Later days.

It's been a long time. Too fucking long, if you ask me. I've ran this website for nearly 7 years now and what do I have to show for it? 7 years worth of empty promises, videos that never got updated on time, a webcomic that fell off the rails shortly after it even began, projects and ideas that never even saw the light of day.

Personally, I'm sick of myself.

I created this website as an extension of my so-called "legacy," a rise in popularity and recognition because of the cartoons I drew in fucking high school. Those loyal readers? They've long since gone. I honestly don't even know how many people will read this entry. I've continuously let down any fans I may have had over and over, time and time again these last 7 years.

This is me pouring my heart out right now: to anyone who actually gave half of a shit about this website in the past 7 years, I am genuinely and truly sorry. I let you, the few fans I had, down.

...and I'm done with that.

How much time it will take, I have no idea, but starting right now I'm in production mode for a whole new era of The Josh Effect. I want this website to be something I'm proud of again. I'm an artist, God damn it. It's about time I started acting like one and actually create some shit for you guys to look at and to laugh at. I'm sick of sitting on my ass day after day, week after week, month after month and letting this website rot in some dank corner of the world wide web.

So this is my promise to you: New things are on the way. New layout for the site, new videos, new comics, the whole shebang. Now I don't want to get ahead of myself here, as this whole undertaking will be quite a bit of work, so I'll be updating this blog weekly with production updates until we re-launch. I'm not re-launching until we have 90% of the new content completed. We're coming back, guns a blazin'. I just hope you guys decide to come back as well.

Sincerely,
Joshua J. Cox

Testing out zee mobile blogging with my new(ish) phone. Seems to be working out well.

Big announcement, coming soon.

The Stranger assumed he was alone. The shops were all empty. There was only the sound of the wind, whistling its way down the streets, and the Stranger himself.

As a tumbleweed passed through, the Stranger wondered, "What is this place? What is its purpose for being?"

I know it's been 2 months without and update, so let me at least fill everybody in: my computer is still broken. Without it, I cannot create new content for the site. In the meantime, I've been drawing a bunch of new artwork for when the site does go back up as well as started a new movie news blog called Lights, Camera, Cox. I have some Josh TV ideas I'd like to get filmed, and some other creative ideas I've been hard at work on. Trust me, when my computer is fixed, there will be updates. Plenty of them. that day is coming very soon. -Josh

My computer keeps shutting down for days at a time. Not sure why. Possibly an overheating issue. Having it looked at.

Alright, tapeworms: here's my week-overdue concert report from the Powerman 5000 concert. (Pictures are inserted all around the article, just click words that appear to be links)

Scout Bar in Houston is not the first venue I've been to, but it was my first time there, and let me tell you: it's the place to be. That's what a guy I'm calling Stoney McHemp told me before we got in. This guy was pretty insane. After talking about his days of "opening for Powerman" in his band, we sat there in an awkward silence, followed by "...Wanna go around the corner and burn some hay?" I politely declined. I'll smoke weed with people who don't scare me, k? If you show up early like Stephanie (friend, room-mate, camera-monkey) and I did, you're guaranteed the front row awesomeness that Fastu (still Steph, now we're in nickname mode) and I witnessed. No guard-rail between you and the stage (at least at this particular show). Fastu and I were literally leaning on center-stage the whole show (we were so close, Evan 9 from PM5K stepped on my pinky during their performance).

Small story real quick. The band Hinder will be playing Scout Bar on the 25th. Hinder sucks. Only girls like Hinder. Luckily, I happened to have a girl with me. Whilst Fastu and I were arguing about whether or not Hinder did indeed suck monkey-shit, a couple of guys next to us chimed in and agreed: only girls like Hinder. These guys were cool and we shot the shit with them for a few minutes, no big deal. Stoney McHemp approaches us. Apparently his wife locked the keys in the car and he needed a ride somewhere to get the spare. We told him we couldn't (you wouldn't do it either, don't judge me) and he got pretty pissed and walked straight into the green room. Yeah, where the bands chill before the show. He just waltzed right in there... then security waltzed him right the fuck back out. This guy was out of his fucking mind.

Showtime, opening act begins to take the stage and the two guys who were beside us at front row are now absent. Didn't even notice until one of them sat behind the drum-kit on stage and the other took the microphone. They were the drummer and lead singer for the opening act Faulter 42. Not a band that I'd heard of til that night, but still, it was cool that they were just chillin' with us moments before-hand and now they're up on stage. For the sake of keeping it short, Faulter 42 fucking rocked. They were great guys, fun to listen to and had great energy on-stage.

Next up was The Hectic, another no-name to me (the same applies to you, Chrome 44, I didn't know any of the opening bands, ok? Deal with it). The first thing we noticed was the absolutely gargantuan drumkit the band had. Huge! On such a small stage.... The second thing we notcied was they all kinda looked like douchebags (hold that thought). They had over-the-top white make-up, big banners with their name on an already crowded stage, they just seemed a bit douchey. The third thing we noticed was that Stoney McHemp was obnoxiously shouting Powerman lyrics while they were setting up.Then, the lights went out, the blacklights came on and the make-up, the neon green signs, everything just sucked you into a horror show. Amidst the darkness, the lead singer came on-stage with a bullhorn siren wailing, the mood was getting tense. Then, in the blink of an eye... they melted our fucking faces off. The Hectic was hands-down the most enjoyable of the opening acts. All my previous misconceptions of doucheyness washed away by their heavy licks and screaming vocals. They were the heaviest, coolest act of the night (except of course Powerman). I've already gone on too long about The Hectic so I'll make one last comment. At one point during their set, the singer leaned down reallllly close to me, took The Hat (you know the one) right off my head and wore it on-stage, saluted the crowd, then returned it to its rightful owner.

Alright, Chrome 44 time. While the band was setting up, I think Stoney McHemp lost all touch with reality. He walked up to the side of the stage and started shouting more Powerman lyrics at these guys. What the fuck is his deal? Does he think that's Powerman taking the stage now? Is he trying to flatter them? Is he simultaneously baked out of his fucking mind and totally shit-faced? Does he know where he is? Anyway, Chrome 44. ...They were good. Blunt, yeah, but really, they were good. I think they're a bit more known than the other two (crowd members singing to songs I didn't know) but for me they were just good. Not great, like The Hectic, but they definitely have a good sound and great stage-presence. They even had their own custom built light-boxes that lit up when they stood on them. Now, I will say this: the guitarist's guitar was fucking gorgeous. A sweet deep-red Schecter that was just shiny all over. Quite possibly the most beautiful guitar I've ever seen in person. The bassist on the other hand had a fuck ugly Music Man. Fastu liked it, but I just can't stand Music Man guitars. What's with that fucking pick-guard? Seriously? Anyway, good set, good sound, let's move on.

Alright, the main event: Powerman 5000. Fortunately, no obnoxious Stoney McHemp interruptions this time. This was obviously going to be a "new album" show, so I expected to hear (and did hear) V is for Vampire and Supervillain, but they also played Timebomb and Show Me What You Got. I'm getting ahead of myself. When they took the stage, it was almost like watching a movie. Spider1 in all his glory came on-stage and the crowd erupted. They really stuck to their setlist, didn't take any requests (though I can understand that, the whole band except Spider has only been on for 1 to 2 years, they probably haven't rehearsed/played all that material together). Sucks though, 'cause I could die happy if I heard Public Menace, Freak, Human Fly live, and maybe the cKy show has made me a little spoiled because they took requests left and right (or gave the crowd an option between two songs). Anyway, they fucking rocked: it's Powerman 5000 for God's sake! Went off-stage maybe 6 or 7 songs in and returned donning the masks they've been shooting promotional photos in (except Spider1 of course). They played the obvious fan-favorites Bombshell, When World's Collide, Free and played a few songs that shocked me such as City of the Dead and Neckbone. I heard pretty much all of my favorites, which is good. I was pretty satisfied with the set as a whole. One of my favorite bands playing my favorite songs? Hell yeah.

Made sure to stick around longer this time. At the cKy show Bric and I met Jess Margera then peaced out, missing the chance to meet the rest of the guys. Fastu and I met the whole band (with the exception of one guitarist). Spider was a cool guy, he signed The Hat, and took a photo with me. Actually, Fastu and I took pics with all the guys out there. Side note: Evan 9 is hella short. He's a wicked guy though. They all were. All in all, hands-down the second best show I've ever been to, but really, nothing can compete with dancing on-stage with cKy. You want to upstage that? In order to do that, PM5K would've had to not only bring me on-stage, but also taken me out for a night on the town as well. Yeah, never gonna happen, though if another certain band I really love (Primus, Papa Roach, Drowning Pool, Slipknot, Mudvayne and a whole slew of others) reads my website... take notes (and take me out for a night on the town next time you're in Houston).

Sorry to drop another movie review on you guys, but I gotta. This time we're takin' a look at Rob Zombie's (yes, also again) The Haunted World of El Superbeasto. Directed by Rob Zombie, and co-written by himself, Joe Ekers and Tom Papa, Superbeasto is an animated adult comedy. ...And by adult I mean this shit would've NEVER gotten a theatrical release. Ever. It looks friendly and inviting cartoony on the outside, but hides a blood-sucking freakshow once you get inside. Also, there are lots of tits. Lots of them. Seriously, I've seen pornos with less tits and ass in them. So, if you like naked cartoon girls, you'll be in for a treat. (Don't feel bad about touching yourself either, the film says "the Japanese do it all the time.") ...That's a joke. Seriously, please don't masturbate to cartoons.

Anyway, the film follows washed-up superhero has-been "El Superbeasto" as he journeys to rescue his long lost love from the evil clutches of "Dr. Satan." ...Ok, so it's not so much long lost love as it is some really stacked stripper from the tittie bar. ...and he spent about 10 minutes deciding whether he should go save her or wait for his hot wings to arrive.

This movie is downright raunchy. Sex out the wazoo. If you don't like sex-humor, then you're going to hate this right off the bat. But if you don't, you'll find an insanely funny, wonderfully animated, journey into the moral gutter. The film features excellent voicework (Paul Giamatti as Dr. Satan, Rob Paulsen and Tom Kenny lending their talents to the film, just to name a few) and references all of Zombie's previous works (even Michael Myers makes an appearance) either subtley or in-your-face cameos.

The movie's story is a bit shallow, but I think that's intentional: El Superbeasto is an absolutely shallow man. All that matters to him is tits and pussy.

Bottom line: If you're looking for sophisticated comedy, you're in the wrong fucking place. If you're looking for pure mind-rotting insanity, this is it. It's a fantasticly rediculous film, and one of Zombie's original works (which instantly puts it up there with Devil's Rejects and not down there with the Halloween films). Two thumbs way, way up.

Holy crap, there's an EXCELLENT QUALITY video of my Womanizer experience with cKy on YouTube that I haven't seen 'til just now. Unfortunately, some guy claimed HE was the guy in the video. You're just a poser, Mr. Darkez982. I'm the real mother-fuckin' deal, lol. Anyway, you can find the video here:

Josh Cox Dances to Womanizer with cKy (High Quality)

So, 5 days late, I've decided to celebrate Halloween in my own, non-Renaissance Fair way. My original intent was to marathon all of the Halloween movies back-to-back (up to and including Rob Zombie's remake), but I just did that a few months back and Jenn wanted nothing to do with watching them all over again. Besides, I'll save another marathon for when Zombie's Halloween 2 comes out on DVD.

Instead, I chose to watch one of my favorite films about the horror genre, Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon. I say "about the horror genre" because the film in of itself isn't really a horror film. It's a mockumentary about an aspiring serial killer's rise to infamy. Set in a world where Jason Voorhees, Michael Myers, Freddy Krueger, and even Chucky are actual, real-life serial killers, you get a behind the scenes look at how they do what they do as a film crew follows Leslie while he takes them through the process, from preparation to execution (Yay, puns!).

So what you get is essentially a horror-comedy. The film pokes fun at all the cliches of the slasher film genre. The movie Scream did this from the survivors point of view. It was all about the cliches of surviving a horror movie, followed by the cliches of convoluted sequels. This film is from the killer's perspective: finding the right "target group" and "survivor girl," setting up red herrings and preparing the murder location for the night of the killing spree.

There are countless allusion to other horror franchises in the film. Robert Englund is in the film as Leslie's "Ahab" (basically the Dr. Loomis, stop-the-killer-at-all-costs, character). Kane Hodder makes a brief cameo, Zelda Rubinstein (from Poltergeist) makes an appearance, as well as many more subtle references (including a bottle of "Stay Awake" on Leslie's mantle).

The film had such a small theatrical release, I would've missed it entirely, but when it came out on DVD a few years ago, I noticed some ads online for it, watched a trailer and knew I had to have it. If you're a horror fan, like me, then you'll love this film. Rent it, buy it, come over to my place and watch it: seriously. It's a fantastic movie and one of the best original "horror" films of the past decade.

Short post, on a tight schedule, but HAPPY HALLOWEEN! Coxtober is on its last day and I have some new work up in the doodles section. Go have a look-see, won'tcha?

Anyway, I'm out at Ren-fest, so expect some photos to go up on my Twitter over the next 24 hours. Happy Halloween, tapeworms, and have a safe one.

Coxtober draws to an end, Joshmas has come and gone and the updates on this website are as non-existent as ever. However, my side projects are nearing completion which means good things are in store for the next few months. ...I promise. ...No, sersiously.

After these side-projects wrap up, we have a new episode of Josh TV planned and ready to film, as well as a bunch of artwork on the way. After the new year, things should be rolling a bit more regularly around here.

As for my self-centered mini biography? Yeah, haven't finished/started that quite yet. Don't worry, it will happen. It's the greatest story ever told, after all.

Golly, tapeworms... it seems I just have no time for you guys these days. I've been swamped in side projects, none of which relate to the site and the work is still going on. But alas, it is now October, which will from this day forth be referred to as Coxtober here at The Josh Effect. October is the festive month in which yours truly was born. Therefore, a month-long celebration of my awesomeness shall begin today. How will I celebrate? By getting fucking plastered, it's my 21st birthday.

All liquor-booze shenanigans aside, I'll be filming a mini-documentary about myself, letting all you bastards out there know how my sorry ass came to be what I am today. It shall be titled Josh Cox: The Untold Story of the Boy Who Named His Penis "Singapore." Tune in for updates all this month. Happy Coxtober.

Movie review time, kiddos. Today we have Rob Zombie's Halloween II, the sequel to his 2007 "re-imagining" of the Michael Myers saga.

This movie is a lot like Transformers 2 actually.... Not in concept, style or direction, no; but rather, if you like the first Transformers then you probably liked the second one. It's no question that Rob's first take on Halloween was a hit or miss, love it or hate it type flick. You have the old school Halloween fans who hail John Carpenter's original as a horror classic (and for good reason: it IS a classic). Then you have the Rob Zombie fans who will love and praise just about anything he does. ...And then you have me: a fan of both. Can the two come together to make a cohesive and enjoyable film experience?

Like I said, if you liked the first one, you probably won't be disappointed by this one. The film picks up fresh where part one ended (only to jump forward a year later after the introduction scene). The movie starts with a mentally troubled Laurie Strode, dealing with the demons of her previous Halloween. In typical Michael Myers fashion, after Michael's "death" at the end of the first film, his body conveniently disappeared after a car accident immobilizes the coroner's van that was transporting him. Is he dead? Is he alive? This sets the groundwork for our film's story, which I won't go any further into for the sake of not spoiling the film.

The original cast is in place (with one glaring exception, but we'll discuss that later) and for the most part, they all do great jobs. My only real problem with the acting in this film came from Scout Taylor-Compton (playing Laurie Strode). Not to say she was bad in the role or anything, but if you hated the crying and screaming she spent the last 3rd of the first film doing constantly... it's gotten worse. A lot of new characters also suffered dearly from under-development. Laurie has two new friends, Mya and ...uhh. ....umm.. friend number two.... Yeah, I got nothin'. Her other friend was entirely un-developed and gave me not a single shred of emotional attachment. She was hot though, so there's that.

Danielle Harris and Brad Dourif reprise their roles as Annie and Sheriff Brackett, respectively. These two were easily the best actors in the film. I love Brad Dourif as a very emotionally driven father in the wake of a horrendous killing spree, and Danielle Harris is just as enjoyable and talented (and hot) as ever. Malcolm McDowell returns as quite the dick-headed Doctor Loomis. Seriously, he got rich off his books about Michael and now he's a real asshole. Not much more to say, really.

The only re-cast in the film was the young Michael Myers. Daeg Faerch had apparently grown too big (and his voice too deep) to pull off the kiddie act any longer, so they recast. Where I guess I see the point in that, at the same time I really don't. Michael Myers spent 15 years in that asylum, did the "kid version" absolutely have to be that young? To have Daeg Faerch back in the role is as believable as establishing "well, this is Michael in the asylum at age whatever." Overall, I think the recast was pointless and actually hurt the film. I had zero emotional attachment to kid-Michael this time around, which was an element that seemed so important to the first one.

Overall, the film was an improvement over the first. Mr. Zombie's distinct visual style was a lot more present this time around, and the direction he took the film in was a pleasant (and much needed) departure from the tired Myers formula. Would I want another? Hell no. Was this Rob's best film? Not a chance, but it's easy to say this was superior to the first in almost every way and left a good taste in my mouth after over 25 years off disappointing Halloween sequels. I give the film a 7.5 out of 10.

On a side-note, you have fans of the series claiming Rob Zombie ruined the franchise. To those people I say: quit your bitching. While Rob took the series in a direction you may not have liked, it doesn't suddenly sweep all the shitty entries of Halloween under the rug. Halloween 5, 6, and Resurrection will always be shit-piles, period. Michael Myers' corpse has been dragged through far worse than these two films, trust me.

Well, life just gets crazier and crazier around here, but I won't get into anything personal. Let's talk business. You and me. Right here, right now. You and I, in my office, alone. I'm tall dark and handsome in a neatly pressed suit. The scent of my after-shave tantalizing your nostrils. You want me, nay, you NEED me. So I'm gonna give it to you.

I'm cutting a new episode of Josh TV. It will be the fifth episode since we decided to re-format my little web-series into a pseudo reality-show format. We also planned for the "season" to be 10 episodes (as well as *ahem* finished earlier this year). A mid-season episode after no content for so long can only mean one thing. That's right, you guessed it: it's a God-damned blooper and clip show.

We really do have quite a bit of unused footage from the first four episodes, as well as old unseen footage shot for episodes that eventually fell through etc. Such gems include the Josh TV crew in a dildo store, Jenn Trivia, and random shots of me dancing (clothing optional). So I'm cutting all of that along with some new interview style footage of myself to tie it all together. Fun, huh?

That's all for now. Go take a look at yet another new Doodle about zombies.

New Doodle today. I've dropped the word Daily, given the very non-daily nature of the Doodle page (especially with all the downtime and problems with the first half of the year). Also, I'm re-working some more page buttons today, and will have that Short Cox video I never got around to posting up today. **EDIT: Or not, my computer is being a bastard. Short Cox will have to wait til I figure this out.**

Had to ignore workin' on the website this week, so Daily Doodles actually resume next Monday. My top secret project is totally done (with a generous paycheck to show for it) so once everything is all said and done with that, I'll share it with the masses.

Got a new film series in the works for the website. It involves booze. ...Lots of booze. More on that as it develops. For now, expect a new entry in Short Cox tonight to tide you over. Peace.

Quick entry: Making some changes around here, slowly but surely. You'll notice I've added a new page for my new series Short Cox. I'll also be switching pages around as well as re-working both the art gallery and the photo album. Keep an eye out for that.

My concept art project got shot down, but I still have a small part in this top secret project. So stay tuned about that.

Regular Daily Doodles resume next Monday, starting with a series I drew a few months ago.

That's all! Enjoy.

If you're like me and you grew up watching Jackass and playing Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, then you're probably no stranger to cKy. Last night they came to Houston (for the first time since 2005 if I'm not mistaken) and they KILLED. Where was I? Front row, center. Literally less than two feet from the stage (and at one point, ON stage, but more on that later).

The opening acts were good and had decent sets for being opening bands. Each band had their own individual faults though for some reason. First up was Fall From Grace, a band out of Seattle. On the whole, they sounded great, but I really can't help but mention their lead guitarist. This guy was a complete tool. Guitar spins are pretty fun to watch, but this guy was tossing his guitar two or three times per song. It really kills the spectacle of it. He then proceeds to clumsily knock over his microphone stand (not in a "FUCK THIS MIC STAND, THIS IS ROCK! way, more like a dopey "Derr, WHOOPSY-DAISY" way). Factor in the face he kept making the whole time and his wicked bad comb-over: you've got yourself a genuine douche. The band sounded great though and their drummer was FANTASTIC. He was way into it and was good at what he did. He was by far the most entertaining person behind a kit the whole night.

Next we got ASG, from North Carolina. The band played their music really well, the best (in my opinion) of the opening bands, musically. The problem with ASG was that their vocals were COMPLETELY inaudible. Zero. Nothing. I didn't hear a single word Jason Shi was singing. He played the SHIT out of that guitar and so did their bass player on his weapon of choice. Overall, damn good heavy metal sound, great guitar riffs: good show.

Last of the opening acts was a band from Sweden called Graveyard. These guys had some INTENSELY slick looking gear. The lead singer had a beautiful vintage guitar of a brand I didn't catch, and bassist Rikard Edlund had a gorgeous Rickenbacker four-string that looked just as good as it sounded when he played it. They were all great musicians and had a good and somewhat unique sound. Good set from them overall, though I was distracted by one tiny thing. Girl pants. All of them wore girl pants. And not the "I'm wearing tight pants for the hell of it" guys-wearing-girl-pants look, these were fully hip-hugging, curvy, bell-bottomed girl pants. It didn't take away from the music, but it was a tad distracting....

Finally, the moment you've all been waiting for: cKy took the stage. ...Ok, so maybe they took the stage after a 30-minute soundcheck, but the wait was well worth it. They all looked great and happy to not only be together, but to be in our shithole of a city (which they wrote as "Hew Stin Tey Hass" on a setlist my friend ended up getting autographed after it was given to him). They opened with Escape From Hellview, which is one of my favorites, so right from the get-go I was stoked. Fuck that, I was stoked before they even got on stage. I'd see little things, like a piece of equipment with Chad Ginsburg's initials on it, or Jess Margera standing side-stage while Graveyard was playing their set and point them out like some fucking tourist seeing celebrities on Hollywood Blvd.

Chad I. Ginsburg, as much as he already was, is even-moreso my fucking hero. He was the life of the show, and had great chemistry with Deron on-stage. Halfway through the set he started playing on his iconic cKy guitar (while Deron has a custom cKy axe himself this tour, depicting the album artwork from Carver City on it). At random points through the show, Chad would begin playing audio samples of explicitly gay music (Cher, random pop music and one specific song we'll get to in a bit). It was hilarious. He kept egging the crowd on to make "so much noise you can't HEAR this shit anymore," to which the crowd would oblige, drowning out Cher with chants of "CKY! CKY! CKY!"

Though Matt Deis has only been with cKy since '05, I can no longer imagine cKy as the trio it once was (switching bass players, to having no bass player etc.). Deis made his presence known and played a hell of a good bass (the only 5-string of the evening). He genuinely looked like he was having the time of his life up there. Here's hoping Deis sticks around longer than those before him (though he stuck around through their brief falling out these past few years). He truly is part of the cKy family now, and, if he hadn't already, he proved it to everyone in attendance last night.

Deron looked and sang great (with a gorgeous guitar to go with it all). As with any band, I had concerns that they wouldn't be as good live as they are on their albums. I was especially concerned because I knew Deron would have to change his vocal style to bring certain songs to life on stage (which he did). Did changing the vocals threaten the quality? Fuck no. Deron ROCKED that place when he needed to and sang soulfully when it was called for. I'm a huge cKy fan, so I was there two feet from him singing right along with him through every single song.

Jess was Jess. Just as laid back and chill as I've always seen him in interviews, on TV or on Radio Bam. Where I was standing, I was right in front of Deron. Deron was right in front of Jess. For most of the show, I didn't get a great look at Jess doing his thing, but I heard it and it was just as great as I'd imagined it would be. At one point in the show, the band seemed to be leaving the stage to take a break at which point Jess (while the crowd chanted) played a small bit of solo drumwork to the rhythm of the chanting. Once he got up to take a break, Chad I. Ginsburg took his place and just started hitting shit. It got everybody laughing.

The band retook the stage to play a few more songs, and shortly after going back on stage, my night went from excellent to FUCKINGEXCELLENT. As you may know, if you know me, I listen to a wide variety of music. Most recently, I've taken the time to learn the lyrics (or at least the chorus) of Britney Spears' Womanizer, with intentions of shooting a parody music video for the website. After they get done playing a song, Chad resorts back to his joke of playing some gay song instead of playing more cKy. The song? You guessed it. When Womanizer began playing, Chad Starts talking to the front row. "C'mon, I know you guys know THIS song. You there," he said, pointing to my friend right beside me. "c'mon you know it!" My friend replied, "I don't, but uhh, he does," pointing to me. I leaned as far out as I could and screamed "Fuck yeah I do! I know this song!" At which point (brace yourself, because I'm not sure what amount of acid you'd have to drop for this to sound believable) I was invited on-stage to dance with cKy to Womanizer. Dance I did. Now, I am not a good dancer, by any means. I know that, and everyone who went knows that. Is that going to stop me from getting on stage with one of my favorite fucking bands of all time? Hell no. I danced my fat-ass off up there (and even unbuttoned my shirt for the ladies.... Ok, so maybe they weren't interested, but still). After they stopped playing Britney, Chad said "Good job!" and Deron asked the crowd to give me a round of applause. I shook Chad's hand, hugged him and Chad asked "What do you want us to play?" Flustered and kind of light-headed from it all, I dopily asked him for an autograph (honestly, the fuck was I thinking?). After comprehending that he was asking ME what THEY should play, it was a no brainer. As I was escorted off the stage, they began playing, at my request, Inhuman Creation Station (a song I later found wasn't even on their setlist that night, which somehow makes the whole thing that much cooler).

I got back in the crowd (not in my front-row spot I'd secured earlier, but fucking Christ, you don't get closer than ON-STAGE) and they played a few more songs, ending the night with Beat It, in tribute to the late Michel Jackson (Chad was also wearing a Michael Jackson t-shirt). Anything I could write to sum up the show would be an understatement. It was by far the time of my FUCKING LIFE. My only concern about the show was that they didn't play much from their latest album, Carver City, but even more concerning than that is that the crowd didn't seem to give a shit. When given the choice between a new song, Hellions On Parade and an old song Knee Deep (which Deron himself reminded the crowd only has one line in it) the crowd chose Knee Deep. It's a good song, but this IS the Carver City tour. This is their chance to play their new music live for the FIRST TIME to many in attendance. I'm not sure how it happened, but they also began playing Old Carver's Bones and then switched to Flesh Into Gear. Whether they were simply teasing Bones, or they played Flesh by request, I'm not sure, but I do know I'd've loved to have heard them play Old Carver's Bones.

All in all though, I have zero complaints. I had, like I said, the time of my fucking life. I met and got an autograph from Jess, got a guitar pick and had a once-in-a-lifetime dance-off. My only regret is that we didn't stick around longer, as I now know other members of the band made social appearances (including CIG, who I'm totally bummed about not getting an autograph, but fuck it. Next time. I shook his hand and danced on stage at his request, that's good for a lifetime).

Good fucking show. Best in my life, so far. Here's to cKy! Hope you guys come back to Houston soon and ROCK the Meridian off its foundation.

-Joshua Cox

*Stick around for a complete setlist and photos of the concert from myself and my friend Jesse. For now, I leave you with THIS: "Womanizer," ala Josh Cox and cKy

Not a lot going on, just thought I'd get you kind folks up to date. I'm currently at work on a project, though I'm not entirely certain how much I'm allowed to show or say about it right now. I'll let you all know how that develops.

I'm working on some new stuff for the website and still trying to get everything working properly again. Alot of the coding got fucked up because of the extended downtime. Among the fixed pages: The Daily Doodle is up and running (with a new drawing to boot).

I'm also trying my God-damnedest to go see the CKY show this Sunday in Houston. Woot. I'll get you guys pictures if I make it.

That's all for now.

Movie review time, kids. Gather 'round. Today we are, of course, talking about Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

If I weren't writing a review on this movie, I'd be completely speechless. Over the last 9 years, we've lived with this series (on film, anyhow). To date, we've had 4 different directors, different cinematographers, composers and, in one case, a different writer. As inconsistent as these movies have been, stylistically, over the years, it's easily agreeable that the two most similar in style are the first two, directed by Chris Columbus. Same director, same writer, same feel.

Fast forward to today. The last film, Order of the Phoenix, as well as Half-Blood Prince (and the two-part finale, Deathly Hallows Parts 1 & 2) have been made under the watchful eye of director David Yates. OotP had a different writer, sure, but the movie felt very light-hearted and happy go-lucky, even with the subject matter of Voldemort's return and the death of a main character. Even the musical score (which was horrendous, in my opinion) was light-hearted and bouncy. Half-Blood Prince throws all of that out the window with a vengeance.

David Yates has made a complete 180 with HBP. It's a dark movie when it has to be, the comedy is acceptable and doesn't feel forced or out of place (a complaint I had with OotP) and most importantly, the heart-wrenching moments of the story are just that.

The movie comes in at about two and a half hours, so the cuts they made from the book were completely necessary (minus my favorite line from the book which was apparently cut for no reason...). The only complaint I have as far as stuff that was cut out was the fact that again, we are given a film that has zero presence of Dobby, the house-elf. Even Kreacher was cut from the film. As I remember, Dobby's been in all but two of the books. With him confirmed to be in the film adaptation of Deathly Hallows, I only hope his re-appearance doesn't seem as abrupt and awkward as Percy Weasley's did in the fifth film.

I also feel that Draco Malfoy was grossly under-used. His part is big in this story, and at least it seems he got alot more attention in the book (with Harry having Dobby and Kreacher tail him around the school). In the film his presence is constantly known, but he has less speaking time than I'd have liked to see. Under-used as I feel he is, Tom Felton did a superb job, reprising his role as Malfoy, and was quite possibly the best player in this particular entry (next to an absolutely, bat-shit-crazy, Bellatrix LeStrange, played again by Helena Bonham Carter).

And that's it. Two complaints. I'm a nitpicker beyond all reason and I only found two things wrong with this film. Even the extreme psychosis of Lavender Brown (played by Jessie Cave) didn't bother me (and trust me... this bitch was crazy). It manages to take what (in my opinion guys, calm down) was a rather boring entry to the Harry Potter saga and turn it into easily the most enjoyable film in the series to-date.

J.K. Rowling herself said to David Yates this film was her favorite one (source), and for good reason. While the movie feels like a mere setup for the finale to come, it does it with enough grace, emotion and style that it truly does stand on it's own as the best in the series. I give it a solid 9 out of 10. -Josh

*Additional comments: A bunch of people don't know how to separate the books from the films. If you go in expecting an exact representation of the book you love, you're going to be sorely disappointed. Scenes get cut, dialogue changes. Sometimes it hinders the story, but more often than not, it does not. Enjoy the film as it's meant to be: it's own creation. The books will always be there and if you prefer them, pick one up and read it. I'm tired of people bitching and complaining about scenes that were changed or left out, so much so that they refuse to enjoy the film for what it is. Like I said in my review, they left out the house-elves entirely, a part of the book I love: did it ruin the film for me? Absolutely not. If they wanted to translate these books in their entirety, we'd end up with a 6 hour movie....

What a shitty two months.... Here's the scoop kids: I lost my job. I also lost the Dark Jester Network (for the time being...). I was really close to losing the good ol' Josh Effect when a good friend played the guardian angel card and ponied up the dough to keep this site running. I cannot thank them enough.

I've been a tad busy looking for new work, as well as an actual paid videography gig earlier last month, so I don't have any major content updates, but that will change.

Also, you've probably already guessed that this whole thing has (again...) put filming Somewhere on the Map on an indefinite hiatus. But alas, the more this filming gets delayed, the more time I have to learn new things to make the film better.

I've missed this place... It's my home here in the big ocean of infinite cyberspace. It's good to be home. -Josh

**Update** Ok, the blog is publishing properly again. Now we're in business.

Been a quiet month around here. So here's the scoop:

The Dark Jester Network will go back up on Thursday (hopefully). It all depends on how fast Dixie Systems moves their asses. With that, I have TONS of new footage, Bric's drawing up a bunch of new cartoons, and I may have enough loose footage for a new Josh TV episode.

Keep an eye out. And for those that missed it, I Tweeted my BuzzFest experience live from the show. Enjoy.

New Josh TV is up. Happy April Fool's day, everyone!

Got a few words to say about the current state of Josh TV. We are still filming for a new episode (due out very soon) as well as sitting on a crap-load of footage we shot but couldn't form full length episodes out of. Expect some half-assed concoction of an episode where it's just a bunch of random footage lumped together.

Also, I'm making the official jump from our old video service, Viddler, to Vimeo. Apparently the internet decided to take a big shit on flash-video websites and Vimeo appears to be the only one left which keeps decent quality upon uploading your videos.

I'll be working my hardest in the next week or so to transfer the entire Josh Effect/Dark Jester Network library of videos over to Vimeo. Keep an eye on the Twitter for video transfer announcements. The first video to make the Vimeo jump is the beloved Josh TV entry, "Tainted." The reason for this is that the video had been taken off of Google Video due to copyright bullshit. So, it's back now and in nice high quality.

Alright, I'm done typing for now. Expect some April Fool's hijinks sometime today.

We're introducing a new addition to the Josh Effect/Dark Jester Network series of videos. One of the biggest problems we have with producing new video content is that our camera isn't exactly small. We currently film all our major projects on one of these:

The video quality is good and it's without a doubt our number one camera, but we needed a smaller, back-up camera for situations where we either can't bring the VX2000 (above) or simply don't have it with us at the time. Something we could carry around at all times and still produce quality video. Enter: the Flip Video Ultra

I can literally have this camera on me at all times to capture all the unseen hilarity that ensues when we don't have the VX2000 handy. I'm in the process of shooting short clips for the website as a series of shorts known simply as Short Cox. Check the Twitter for when the first video goes up.

It was originally our intention to film a New Year's Eve special for Josh TV. What we filmed was a jumbled mess of drunken firework play. Only one shot will end up in our next episode, which you can see a little preview of here:

I suppose it's about that time. Time for updates and all that. If not by actual content, then at least by regular blog posts.

Entertainment-wise, I've seen both Coraline (in it's proper 3-d form) and Friday the 13th recently and was thoroughly pleased with both. Expect proper reviews of those soon.

Me-wise, I'm doing just fine. I'll admit, I'd been really down these past few months. I'm not entirely certain why, but I was. I'm happy to say I'm coming out of this and getting back to doing what I love. I'm drawing again and we begin filming Somewhere on the Map this week. Friday to be exact.

Also, I think it's about time my few faithful visitors get an explanation of things, such as: why was the website down for so long? Well, it's a short story that takes me a long time to tell... Expect a full explanation later today.

For now, I sleep.

Well as you can see the new content is not up yet. Go me.

You can blame my addiction to the World of Warcraft for that one. I've hit level 80 and the game is slowing down for me, so it's back to website work.

Also, I may be returning to the good ol' paper medium I started out on, but more as that develops. Today, new Daily Doodle (I've seriously had this drawing done for two weeks, sorry). Tomorrow, who knows?

Alright, the Christmas/New Year's cluster-fuck is done and over with, so updates will resume this week. The Daily Doodle resumes first thing tomorrow and a new episode of Josh TV will be up on Wednesday.

I've been in sort of a bleh mood as of late, so forgive the lack of updates to... well anything really. But, it's a new year and a new start for everyone at the Dark Jester Network.

The most important development for this month is that we will officially begin photography for our first film, Somewhere on the Map. More on that as it develops.

Stand by for new shit....

Keeping the ball rolling here, I'm beginning to finally release a lot of my old "high school newspaper era" work on both The Josh Effect and the Dark Jester Network, respectively. The comics, of course, will be posted here (one of which already has, go take a look in the "Josh Comic" section) and my old articles and columns will be posted on the DJN.

Enjoy.

Welcome back to THE JOSH EFFECT! Right now we're still working on getting everything up and running again. Alot of the older Josh TV episodes are down at the moment, but I'm working hard on getting them all back up.

I also have to rebuild the Art Gallery from the ground up. Sucks.

Anywho, as far as new content goes, we have a new episode of Josh TV up and live. So go watch. It's goodness. We should have a new episode up next week as well.

Stay tuned, my tapeworms.

Doodles have been updated, sorry for the wait. I found an old sketchpad that I overlooked, so all the doodles are old (but good). I especially love the Turkey Death Beam.

So yeah, Josh LIVE? Fail. Cool in concept, but it's just not something I can keep up with. We'll be removing it soon. In it's place, however, we'll be bringing back a classic: The Friday Night Josh-Cast! For those who missed this shortly-lived series, the Josh-Cast was a podcast I would put on any Friday I felt like updating the thing. There was butter-eating, velcro-torture, barbershop quartet renderings of Village People songs, among other hilarities. So with the DJN crew basically all in the same house, we'll all be gathering around the mic for shits and giggles once a week (that is to say if we can get SOMETHING done on time for a change).

Speaking of "on-time," you're probably wondering where the fuck the new Josh TV episode is. Well, we have it filmed and planned out, I just happened to have misplaced one of the source tapes. So, until we find the source footage for episode 3, we're currently on short-term hiatus. Don't worry, if push comes to shove, we'll move along with and film the rest of the season with the episode (though it IS an AWESOME episode).

Stay tuned, tapeworms, for riddles are abound tonight. -JC

Well, Bric's run of Daily Doodle's is over, as my finger is mostly healed (thank god). Expect a new one by ME today.

Oh, and when you get a chance, I did a guest comic over at www.mydistortedmind.com

So, that guest work I've been up to? Here's part one of that. I was featured in the Distorted Minds Podcast over at www.mydistortedmind.com

It's a cast about video games, so prepare to get as nerdy as me upon listening. You can check that out here: http://mydistortedmind.com/?p=80

Well, I've uploaded all the doodles I'd had drawn, but we've hit a snag. Yesterday I sliced my index finger open. Guess which hand? Yep, my drawing hand. I tried my damnedest, but I'm currently unable to draw anything for the time being. How do we remedy the situation? Well, I'll be digging through old archives looking for unreleased artwork, but meanwhile, I'm having Bric show off his artistic abilities and drawing some doodles for the site while I'm out of commission. It should heal up in no more than a week.