Back to Square... Negative Something....

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

Mr. Miyagi Will Be Proud

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.

Let's Do This

After two long years, it is finally that time again folks: we are officially "in production" here at the Dark Jester Network. The cameras have new batteries, the tapes have been purchased and I'm just itching to film. Here's a little update on what's going down this month on the production front.

My go-to camera wizard Daniel lives in Austin these days, so we unfortunately will not have him with us to film. That definitely does not mean he won't be involved, however. Daniel is one of the most important minds in this crew. Everything being shot and produced is going to him for review before it ever sees the light of day here.

We're also, unfortunately, short a couple of other members of our team for the time being. Bric Mitchell has recently re-located to his home town of Great Bend, Kansas to partake in some sort of spiritual vision-quest. ...Okay, truth is he left for a bit because he just wasn't very happy in Texas anymore. Bric got offered a job up in his hometown and he really felt the need to go up there and be with his family (not to mention make some decent money). It was honestly one of the hardest moments he and I ever endured together the day he left. He promises to return, however, but when that return will be is, as of yet, undetermined. We miss Bric a lot and can't wait to have him in our presence again soon. As far as production goes, his role for the time being is the same as Daniel's (reviewing the shit before it goes live) but also, he has his hands full with working on the scripts and concepts with me.

Lastly, our back-up camera-monkey Stephanie Whitney (lovingly known around here as "Fastu") is also on a vision-quest of her own. She's currently across the country spending some time with her boyfriend and meeting/getting to know his family before they return to Texas to set up a permanent residence. Stephanie should be back down around December. Stephanie, in addition to filming our dumb asses, is also a great source of unintentional comedy. Some of the stuff we shoot with her ends up great because her reactions are just priceless. We miss her a bunch and can't wait to have her back.

All in all, it would seem like it's pretty much a one-man-show around here these days, but don't you fret. Bric and I wrote a whole slew of bits, plenty of which can be filmed and edited by myself. Also, I may have a few new cast members up my sleeve, but I won't get into that until they're officially attached to something.

We really fell on some hard times around here and it really hurt. Many of you who visit the website have most likely seen the "Donate" button on the menu there, so if you ever feel the need to contribute to our little troupe, don't hesitate to click that button. We lost a lot of our production equipment these past few years and getting back on our feet has been pretty tough. Also, if anyone has extra equipment they'd like to sell or donate, drop me a line either in the comments or on Facebook. We lost our good tripod in a car accident I had awhile back, we're looking for some lighting (work lights and the like), and if anyone has a decent shotgun mic that uses a basic stereo jack (like a pair of headphones) they'd like to sell, we'd be interested in that as well. We can buy all of this stuff new, of course, but it'd be a lot quicker (and cheaper) if we came across some cheap, used gear. The quicker we get our gear back in check, the quicker these videos will return. Not trying to lay a sob-story on you guys. Believe me, with your help or not: we will be making new videos, but if you'd like to contribute we'll be really grateful.

Alright guys, that about covers it. In the next few weeks I'll be filming just to get back in the swing of things. I'll keep everyone posted on what I'm doing as I'm doing it and be sure to follow the Twitter! Later days.

Operation Re-Launch: Success!

Well I just wrapped up my epic 7-Part Harry Potter Retrospective Review over on the Josh Reviews section of The Josh Effect 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 of The Josh Effect 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) posted here on the Dark Jester Network.

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!

I Assure You, We're RE-OPENED!

Finally, I am proud to announce that all of the major site-building/re-building is done for bothThe 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!)

In Memory of Ryan Dunn

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.

My Business is DONE

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.