Should Competitive Eating Have Weight Divisions? A Look at Kobayashi vs. Chestnut
Joey Chestnut weighed in at 222 pounds and ate 83 hot dogs, averaging 0.3738 hot dogs per pound of his body weight. In contrast, Takeru Kobayashi weighed in at 148 pounds and ate 66 hot dogs, averaging 0.4459 hot dogs per pound. That is a 74 pound weight difference, if you haven’t done the math yet. Chestnut weighs 50 % more than Kobayashi.
To match Kobayashi's pound-for-pound performance, Chestnut would have needed to eat 99 hot dogs. On the flip side, for Kobayashi to match Chestnut’s ratio, he would’ve only needed to eat 55.32 hot dogs.
These numbers make it clear: Takeru Kobayashi is the pound-for-pound hot dog eating champion. This raises the question—should there be weight divisions in competitive eating?
In the early days of UFC, there were no weight classes, leading to some epic David vs. Goliath matchups. However, as the sport evolved, it became clear that weight classes were necessary to maintain competitive balance. For example, no one (except maybe Conor McGregor) thinks that Conor McGregor could beat Jon Jones. Both are exceptional fighters, but the size and weight difference make a fair fight impossible. Have we reached a similar point in competitive eating?
Introducing weight divisions didn’t diminish the UFC—it elevated the sport by allowing more fighters to compete at the highest level. The same could be true for competitive eating. While Chestnut will likely continue to eat more hot dogs than Kobayashi, it's worth considering how much weight and size play a role in these competitions.
Chestnut mentioned that he has eaten 82 hot dogs multiple times in practice and set a goal of 80 for this competition. He will likely break his own record soon. He also acknowledged that someone taller might eventually surpass him. Meanwhile, Kobayashi exceeded his previous record, despite not competing in 15 years. This suggests that if he wanted to, Kobayashi could push even further.
What’s surprising is that no commentators seem to be discussing how both eaters destroyed the records set at Nathan’s annual contest. While people will still enjoy the 4th of July event at Coney Island, it’s clear that Nathan’s isn’t the ultimate test of greatness in competitive eating anymore. If Major League Eating wants to stay relevant, they might need to offer more flexible contracts, as competitors now have other options.
A Netflix sequel next year, or whenever, could be the perfect opportunity to bring Chestnut and Kobayashi back and introduce weight divisions. Imagine two classes—heavyweight (above 180 pounds) and lightweight (below 180 pounds)—with a handful of the top eaters in each. That could be the future of competitive eating. What do you think?
UNFINISHED BEEF
I photographed the art for Netflix for the Chestnut Vs. Kobayashi: Unfinished Beef, Live event coming to Netflix on 9/2
A few weeks ago, I traveled to LA to photograph the world’s greatest competitive eaters for Netflix. I was thrilled. Having attended the annual Nathan’s Hot Dog eating contest for years, along with several other competitive eating events, this opportunity felt like it was made for me. Years ago, I even competed in a much smaller hot dog eating contest (see below) in Washington, DC, so to say this was in my wheelhouse is an understatement.
I’m excited to finally be able to tell people to tune in—I just saw the event advertised on the network! One week from today, on September 2, legends Joey Chestnut and Takeru Kobayashi will compete live on Netflix. It’s going to be epic. I fully expect the current world record to be shattered. I’m not sure about the exact rules of this showdown, but I can guarantee a ridiculous number of hot dogs are going to be eaten.
Both of these competitors are exceptional, and I was thrilled to have the chance to work with them. For the uninitiated, here’s what you need to know:
Kobayashi is 46 and listed at 160 lbs. He’s only this weight now because he’s jacked. He became legendary for being both the smallest and fiercest competitor, winning the Nathan’s contest six years in a row until Chestnut dethroned him in 2007. In 2010, he was banned from the Nathan’s contest due to a contract dispute.
Chestnut, now 40, is listed at 230 lbs. He won Nathan’s eight years in a row before being defeated in 2015. He came back strong in 2016 and has remained undefeated since. In recent years, no one else at the Nathan’s competition has even come close. Like Kobayashi, he wasn’t allowed to compete in this year’s Nathan’s contest due to a contract dispute.
When I spoke with Chestnut, he expressed a lot of respect for Kobayashi, acknowledging him as his greatest rival. However, when Chestnut first defeated him, he reportedly made some unkind remarks, leading to real bad blood between the two champions. now, the two greatest competitive eaters of all time will finally face off again. While Chestnut seems unstoppable, Kobayashi has a history of pulling off miracles, and now he has something to prove. It could go either way, but no matter the outcome, it will be impressive. I’ll be tuned in at home with 3 nice hot and delicious hot dogs of my own, but unlike the champs, I wont be a hurry.
Once the show airs, I can’t wait to share more photos I took. There are so many great ones.
This is me competing in a hot dog eating contest at the sideshow bar Palace of Wonders in Washington, DC. Yes I am wearing a unicorn puppet for a hat and my golden eagle medallion.
I’ll end this post with a few of their competitive eating records. Let this soak in while you get ready to watch them go at it again.
Kobayashi has world records in 3 categories.
Cow Brains - 57 (17.7 lbs) / 15 minutes
Rice Balls - 20 lbs / 30 minutes
Lobster Rolls - 41 Lobster Rolls / 10 minutes
Chestnut has a ton of records, these are 3 of my favorites.
Bologna Slices - 14lbs / 8 minutes
Gyoza - 384 / 10 minutes
Twinkies - 121 / 6 minutes
The 2024 DNC Begins Tonight.
Joe Biden speaking at the 2012 DNC / photo by David Scott Holloway ©2012 All Rights Reserved
The Democratic National Convention starts tonight and I'm not there. I have photographed at the political conventions since 2004 (not counting 2020). Twenty years, seems impossible. The weird part is, Joe Biden was even old back then.
🤗
I'm excited to see him speak tonight. I'll be tuned in and I'm excited to see the DNC play out this week. It is certain to be a strange one.
CNN anchor Suzanne Malveaux speaks with Kamala Harris inside the CNN Grill at the 2012 DNC. / photo by David Scott Holloway ©2012 All Rights Reserved
Political analyst James Carville at the 2012 DNC in Charlotte, NC. / photo by David Scott Holloway ©2012 All Rights Reserved
Here are some images from 2012, when President Obama was announced as the candidate for the Dems. I was working for hashtag#CNN at this one. I might pull together images from some of the others years as well and post them this week. Have you been to one of the conventions?
http://www.davidscottholloway.com/dnc2012
The Obama family take the stage after President Barack Obama's speech in the Time Warner Cable Arena during the 2012 Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina. / photo by David Scott Holloway / ©2012 All Rights Reserved
Started At The Bottom
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/jLGZMT4ipQQ
It takes a village to make a movie. Working on a film or TV set is an incredible experience, largely because everyone—from the top of the call sheet to the bottom—is talented and deeply committed to a single goal: making the show happen. It’s one of the greatest team sports out there.
One of the things I love most is getting to know other crew members. It’s truly rewarding, and reconnecting with them later is even better, especially when I see how they’ve pursued storytelling in their own unique ways.
Bill Hader, a former SNL cast member and one of my top 10 favorite entertainers, tells a story that captures this spirit perfectly. Hader, who is immense talent, was once a PA on a major film crew. That’s right—a PA, the person at the bottom of the call sheet, often working the hardest and getting the least recognition. There’s a funny but somewhat true saying that I’ve heard: there are two entry-level jobs on a film crew—Director and PA.
It’s inspiring to think that the PA you’re working with today might be tomorrow’s big star. You should check out Hader’s interview to hear him tell the story. It’s a powerful reminder of how humble beginnings can lead to extraordinary careers.
Revisiting Poughkeepsie
A few days ago, I was digging through an old hard drive and came across a series of portraits I took at a wrestling event at the MJN Convention Center in Poughkeepsie, NY five years ago. Simple shots of professional wrestlers backstage after they got out of the ring. Funny thing is, five years later, I find myself really digging them...
A few days ago, I was digging through an old hard drive and came across a series of portraits I took at a wrestling event at the MJN Convention Center in Poughkeepsie, NY five years ago. Simple shots of professional wrestlers backstage after they got out of the ring. Funny thing is, five years later, I find myself really digging them.
David Arquette / photo by David Scott Holloway ©2019 / All Rights Reserved
It all started with a message from my friend David Arquette. He said, "I’m wrestling tonight. Meet me in Poughkeepsie." I love David, and I’ve always loved wrestling, so I rented a car and made my way upstate. It was my first time in Poughkeepsie, and I had this feeling that I probably wouldn’t wind up there again.
Mike Verna / photo by David Scott Holloway ©2019 / All Rights Reserved
Turns out, I was wrong. Five years later, I’ve found myself standing outside the Doubletree next to MJN more than a dozen times. The hotel has become a regular stay for actors working in the Hudson Valley, and last year, I worked on a film in Poughkeepsie with my friends from Choice Films. Every day, I’d take the train up, and we’d swing by the hotel to pick up actors. Standing out front, waiting for them, I couldn’t help but be transported back to that first night—the first time I stayed there, the strange energy of the place, and the fantastic time I had.
Darby Allin / photo by David Scott Holloway ©2019 / All Rights Reserved
These portraits I stumbled upon? They bring it all back too. What a weird, wonderful time. And now, looking back, I appreciate those photos even more. DA thanks for having me along for the ride.
Jon Mosley / photo by David Scott Holloway ©2019 / All Rights Reserved
http://www.davidscottholloway.com/the-wrestlers/
6 years.
Anthony Bourdain died 6 years ago today.
Anthony Bourdain died 6 years ago, on June 8, 2018. 6 years doesn’t sound like that long, but I think it probably is. A lot can happen in 6 years. Geez, WW II was 6 years long.
So much has happened in the passed 6 years. So many things that I’m sure we would’ve loved to have heard Tony’s thoughts on; ALL of the Trump trials, BLM, the Barbenheimer summer, the war in Ukraine, Canadian Wildfires, the Titan submarine implosion, Coronavirus… So much insanity. Hundreds of things.
I always find myself reading something and thinking, “what would Tony say about this?” I can always imagine it, but I loved hearing his voice. I loved hearing him working out his thoughts. Conversation was always the rehearsal of whatever bit was occupying his mind at the time.
The thing that I’ve been thinking of mostly today is that now Tony has been dead longer than he filmed Parts Unknown. That’s a wild thought right? There have been so many people trying to “fill his boots.” I usually find their lack of creativity uninspiring, but maybe it just shows that people are still inspired by what Tony did.
What has happened in the past 6 years that you’d like to sit down with Tony and talk to him about? What do you think he would’ve found interesting?
Anthony Bourdain, 2016, age 59 - Houston, TX - photo by David Scott Holloway
Mysterious Empty Room In The Style Of...
Like most everyone in the creative visual space right now, I’ve found myself trying to wrap my mind around the wave of Ai and figure out what it will mean for me professionally. I’ve been experimenting with a lot of the tools and I find that I’m most interested in what Ai can’t do well (yet).
Like almost everyone in the creative visual space right now, I’ve found myself trying to wrap my mind around the wave of Ai and figure out what it will mean for me professionally. I’ve been experimenting with a lot of the tools and I find that I’m most interested in what Ai can’t do well (yet).
As far as image generation there are a lot of telltale signs that an image is possibly Ai. Ai still regularly struggles with creating realistic human hands. It’s also funny with doors. Not really the shape, sometimes the scale, and often it creates multiple doors right next to each other like bathroom stall doors.
Mysterious Room In The Style Of Tim Burton
I’m regularly doing experiments to try to develop some best practices and figure out the differences between each generator. Today I spent some time trying out Photosonic, the visual generator attached to Writesonic to see what its capabilities might be for making background plates that I might be able to composite other photos onto in Adobe Photoshop.
My experiment today was to “create a mysterious room with no people in the style of…” I used several famous directors’ names in the prompt to attempt to get the Ai to emulate their visual style. A few of the first ones were really good, so I decided to keep the prompt exactly the same, however after doing dozens I realized some limitations to this. For example, the last 4 images are Empty Rooms in the style of Wes Anderson, but the first ones didn’t really feel very Wes Anderson because they were too moody. So I removed the word “mysterious” and the results were pretty classic Wes Anderson. Those two are the brightly colored images at the end of the gallery.
Some of my other quick observations are that all for all three of the female directors I chose, the generator added female figures. It did for a few of the males as well, but the females were interesting because I did it for all of them. The Sophia Coppola pictures were excellent for their tone, but wild that one of them has multiple women in it and in the other, the character it made is staring right into the lens like it is taunting to for trying to make an empty space.
The Chloe Zhao images are also interesting in a bit of a bizarre way. I found the scale of the figures wild and check out the hands of the larger one in the foreground. She has fingers for feet, or maybe they are hot dogs. I’m not sure, but they aren’t really feet.
Also, check the Ryan Coogler images. WTF?! Both of them have figures that seem to be amputees. It knew that his films address the black community, but I really can’t wrap my head around the results. Bizarre right? Do you have any idea why these are so crazy compared to the others?
In the Mel Gibson, Sylvester Stallone and Charlie Chaplin versions a really interesting thing happened; the Ai made a character that looked like each director. The first two directors’ images don’t feel like their films. The Mel Gibson images are semi-anonymous because he has his back to you, but it is clearly attempting an interpretation of Gibson. It is probably more successful than the Stallone images because of the anonymity. But one of the Stallone images has the character facing the camera and the generation is so bad, he looks a bit like Stallone at the end of Rocky II. However, the rooms he is in feel more like scenes from an Ayn Rand novel. The Chaplin one works well, with the exception that the goal was to make a room with no people. The silhouette of Chaplin with his trademark hat looks good and the other of him hiding in the closet is pretty funny, so that also seems like a bit of a win.
There are some pretty good interpretations, but the two directors that I think it did really well with were George Lucas and James Cameron. The Lucas images has an excellent sense of scale. The rooms look huge and the grided lights have a very Death Star vibe. For the Cameron photos I think the color scheme is really great for him. Generally, it handles light really well. The light looks very cinematic, even though not always natural.
I’ve got a lot of other angles to approach this. My goal wasn’t to make perfect Ai scenes but to try to figure out ways the Ai might fail so I can approach future projects with some experience that might lead me to a fundamental understanding of how to get the most out of the program.
Do you have a favorite of these scenes? What worked and what didn’t? Do you have any Ai projects? I’d love to see what you’ve made.
Now I know...
Ok, so I didn’t know who Steph Curry was…
For a couple of years, I shot on set for NBA on TNT. The thing is, I didn’t know anything about basketball, except that I was convinced that Michael Jordan, the hero of my generation, was the greatest basketball player to have ever lived. I have since found that is a popular topic that many people, with a lot more knowledge than me, enjoy debating.
Steph Curry and Chris Webber on the NBA on TNT’s Social Media Awards show. (photo by David Scott Holloway)
I had a lot of situations with this where it was obvious that I didn’t understand much, or i definitely didn’t know much. For example at an NBA All-Star game or maybe it was the college finals one year, I don’t really recall. We were trying to get from the hotel to the venue. A producer told me to hop in the car and ride with Kenny (Kenny Smith, one of the hosts of NBA on TNT, the show that I was working on). As Im getting in the SUV, Kenny says “Hey, no photos in the car, ok?” and I said “Sure no problem. I’m crawling in back and sleeping until we get there.” He smiles and gives me a thumbs up and I climb in back.
I wake up as we are pulling up. There is a huge crowd and as we get out tons of people are yelling to Kenny “Yo Jet!” or “Kenny Smith is in the house!.” They are so excited to see him. I then say “Oh weird. Were you a ball player?” and he says “What? Yeah man, I’m going to be in the hall of fame.”
Honestly, I had no idea. Ask me about fighters, or skateboarders. That’s what I know. I was used to seeing him next to Shaq and Barkley and he doesn’t look like them. I thought even Ernie is taller than him. All that is to explain that I really didn’t know anything about basketball.
Now years later, thanks to my partner, basketball is on every night in our house. I’ve watched hundreds of games, I have players I like, and I have players I don’t. I’ve got opinions. I developed them. What I really like are guys who can pass in interesting ways and I love guys who can shoot. I don’t want to see a guy miss a free throw and if he is making 3-pointers from well behind the line I will jump to my feet. Those are the guys I cheer for. You know, guys like Steph Curry.
The other night I was adding images to my archive and I came across this photo I made of Curry and Chris Webber, 10 years ago while they were filming the 2013 NBA Social Media Awards. I looked through the metadata and I had left Steph Curry’s name blank because at the time I had NO IDEA who he was. He was already a fan favorite and a definite talent, but I just didn’t know.
It’s funny how much can change over time. A decade sounds like a long time, but really those days blend into these days. They seem recent. Looking at this much younger-looking face of the best shooter in basketball reminds me that there is always something I don’t know and that is a nice incentive to keep learning.
I Don't Know If Naomi Campbell Farted On The Elevator, But A Friend Said She Did.
We heard someone calling "Hold the elevator!" A hand reached in and held the door. After a few moments, Naomi Campbell and part of her entourage stepped into the elevator…”
I wasn't extraordinarily close to Amazon Creative Producer Mercedes Leanza, but she was very kind and supportive of me. She hired me to work on a few shows including Making The Cut and The Pack, both had their challenges but were great experiences. This photo, from Making The Cut, was made outside the studio. It was after lunch. I was standing outside with several other crew members. I saw Heidi and Naomi out in the middle of the street, so I grabbed a couple of photos. Amazon used this one several times. I still see it pop up and it makes me happy, mostly because It was so unexpected.
On the last day of filming, we were on the roof of the studio where the final fashion show was held. I had to hurry to the bottom floor to set up portraits of the winner. I rushed to the elevator and stood next to the controls. Mercedes and a couple of other people from Amazon followed me in. Then we heard someone calling "Hold the elevator!" A hand reached in and held the door. After a few moments Naomi Campbell and part of her entourage stepped into the elevator. Mercedes stepped to the back diagonal from my position in the elevator. Naomi was standing right in front of her. The doors closed. We started our slow descent. My phone buzzed and I looked down to see I had a text from Mercedes that read "NC just farted." I quickly stuffed my phone deep into my pocket, hoping that no one behind me saw it. I tried to play it cool. When we reached the bottom, everyone held in place while Campbell and her crew filed out of the elevator. I glanced at Mercedes, standing in the back of the elevator and she was trying to suppress her fantastic smile.
I don't know if Naomi Campbell, one of the world's most beautiful and most famous supermodels, farted on the elevator with us. Signs point to yes. Now thanks to Mercedes Leanza every time I step into my elevator and the air is a little funky I say "I think Naomi Campbell was just on this elevator."
Mercedes passed away in April of last year. She is missed.
#fashion #NYC #truestory #NYFW #cancersucks #NYstory #HeyItsNewYork #HINY #worklife #TheEmuCommand #onset #Biology #fart #Supermodel #passgas #SupermodelsFarting
https://variety.com/2022/film/news/mercedes-leanza-dead-producer-amazon-1235236519/
THE GREATEST STREET ART IN THE WORLD is
THE GREATEST STREET ART IN THE WORLD is currently in Kingsland, Arkansas about 150 miles away from where I graduated from college. See it now, while you can. It is... Remarkable.
THE GREATEST STREET ART IN THE WORLD is currently in Kingsland, Arkansas about 150 miles away from where I graduated from college. See it now, while you can. It is... Remarkable.
One of the things that I love about street art is its fleeting nature. The best street art is temporary. It is impermanent. It will quickly degrade, be altered, or simply fixed, which is what I expect will happen to the Johnny Cash silhouette that was leveled up by a talented and hilarious marksman.
I'm sure the city or the county will swoop in to fix the water tank pretty quickly. My advice to them would be don't.
Hear me out. Obviously, I know that something will need to be done, but what if they recognized the gift that this well-aimed artist gave them. This could easily be a tourism draw. When was the last time that Kingsland got this much attention? Probably not in my lifetime. Much like the response to Shepard Fairy's original Obama piece that he put on the side of a building in Washington, DC or literally ANY of Banksy's pieces anywhere in the world, people will travel to see them. This could be a boom for the local restaurants and other businesses. This is also the best shooting news to find it's way into the media in well over a decade. That has to appeal to a lot of Arkansans too.
I think they should make it a fountain of some kind: Install a collection tank on the ground to collect the stream. Install a pump to return the water to a fountain which could be installed in a compartment built in the water tank, behind The Man in Black. Water made Hot Springs, Arkansas famous.
It could totally work and I'd be willing to bet that the city could get a grant from the Walton Arts Foundation to pay to build and maintain the fountain. I really want to see this happen and if anyone in central Arkansas wants to take this project on, I would be willing. to help in whatever ways I can, including helping write your grant proposal.
Do you have other ideas of how the town could capitalize on its new recognition? Johnny Cash keeps on giving to his hometown.
https://lnkd.in/d625wpHz
#streetart #kingsland #arkansas #publicart #DemocratGazette #WaltonArtFoundation #JohnnyCast #TheManInBlack #Shooting #gunnews #art #artist #creativity #thesouth #ArkansasTech
An Exercise In Imagination...
This is an exercise in reimagining the possible roles of actor Nick Offerman in my son's Legos.
http://www.davidscottholloway.com/lego
I’m too sentimental. That’s what I’ve been told. I compulsively document a lot of my son’s things; shoes, toys, uneaten pizza crusts. Whatever speaks to me in the moment.
2020 was the first time my son didn’t get anything Lego for Christmas. That evening I found myself thumbing through a pile of his mini-figures, when I came across Captain America. He was fantastic, or maybe amazing? No, that’s Spiderman. Spectacular? No that’s Spiderman too. I dunno. He was perfect. A little beaten up, played-with, loved. He was wearing an older outfit. The thing that caught my eye was, he had a mustache. It. Was. Glorious.
Lego Nick Offerman as Captain America
“So that’s what this is, an exercise in imagination, a work-in-progress, thinking of Nick Offerman as many of my favorite characters in many of my favorite films, TV shows, and even IRL.”
Instantly I knew how I was spending my night. I stayed up until sunrise, putting together every combo I could dream up with. Every metaverse role that I dreamed of Nick Offerman playing. Maybe it sounds silly, but in my opinion, the biggest movie franchises don’t take enough chances that inspire me. They aren’t letting actors go off the rails and be more than what people think they are. I get it, they have massive amounts of money and resources invested in making something they need to reap financial rewards. But one of those resources are the deep pools of talent they have. The creative talents of a handful of actors and directors can redefine what it means to be the lead.
Taika Waititi has always been on my list and then he did it. GENIUS. Because of him, Hollywood has never been better. THANK YOU! Jack Black has always been on my list and I LOVE that guy. He has been a leading man, but I dream of seeing him in something I don’t expect him to be in. Look at what Chris Pratt has done! He is an inspiration for everyone. Simon Pegg. Bokeem Woodbine. Rebel Wilson. Tilda Swinton. Sam Rockwell. Julian Dennison. So many greats.
Lego Nick Offerman at Batman / Bruce Wayne
“Nick Offerman is way more than a mustache… but it’s symbolic.”
And YES YES YES Nick Offerman is on my list. When you think of him, you think of Ron Swanson, which is amazing, an iconic character that everyone loves, but his range is phenomenal. Is there a character that he couldn’t play? Whatever the role, he makes it his own and he makes it interesting. Check his IMDB, he has been at this nearly 30 years and he just keeps getting better. Besides being half of the really lovely creative power couple of Mullaly and Offerman, you’ve already seen him in Lego form. He was Metalbeard in The Lego Movie!
I’m not saying the actors in these roles that I’m reimagining didn’t kill it. They totally did! That’s exactly why we have fallen in love with Ethan Hunt, Owen Grady, John Wick, Rick Grimes. Ok wait, the last one isn’t the best example, because I 100% believe that Nick Offerman would’ve made an infinitely better Rick Grimes.
So that’s what this is, an exercise in imagination, a work-in-progress, thinking of Nick Offerman as many of my favorite characters in many of my favorite films, TV shows, and even IRL. I’m making them in Legos because I don’t have him around to shoot a portrait series with, but also because this project is partially about me being a father and documenting the things that remind me of my son’s personality and these moments in time.
Some friends have said, “Well this is more like Tom Cruise playing Ron Swanson, or Shaun White as Ron Swanson…” I get it. That’s fair, Nick Offerman is way more than a mustache (and I prefer him with a beard), but it’s symbolic. Every generation has a guy with an iconic, legendary mustache, a mustache that will be remembered. There was Clark Gable, Tom Selleck, Burt Reynolds, Sam Elliot. My generation has Nick Offerman.
Hillary Clinton on Fareed Zakaria GPS
Hillary on Fareed
I am sitting here reading stories about the current COVID numbers and watching CNN this morning, Former Secretary of State and Presidential Candidate Hillary Clinton is on Fareed Zakaria GPS. She is doing her segment from a remote studio, which is the wise choice at the moment, but it reminded me of the couple of times she came into the old studio at Time Warner Center, so I just wanted to share a throwback image, I made from one of those visits.
Clinton is smart and I’m always happy to hear her thoughts on current events. In this polarized world do you think she will ever hold office again, or maybe run for something? I doubt it, but a boy can dream. Right?
Her new book, a political thriller State of Terror is out. She wrote the book with her friend Louise Penny. Have you read it? Thoughts?
Pound For Pound...
Kamaru Usman is the pound for pound greatest MMA fighter in the world.
Colby Covington is without a doubt a remarkably tough, talented fighter. NOBODY is saying that lunatic isn’t tough. What I am saying is that in my humble opinion, at this time, in this sport, Kamaru Usman is the best. He has always been exceptional, but he has evolved into a fighter that is undeniable. Tonight he will fight Covington. I have no doubt that the fight will be intense, but I can’t see a scenario where Usman doesn’t finish him.
I’m not the only person saying this, but I believe Usman will go down as one of the all time greats and I expect that Covington will just be another great fighter that Usman has beaten (twice).
I made this photo of Kamaru Usman in South Florida five years ago at the Blackzillians’ Trainging Center. He fights in the UFC as a welterweight and is currently the pound for pound best MMA fighter in the world.
I made this photo last week when I stumbled into a view of Liberty that I hadn't seen before. A lot of times the city feels very small to me. Especially since covid, I find myself following the same paths and staying within the East Village. The truth is it is massive and there is no shortage of new ways to see something.
"...her name Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand glows worldwide welcome..."
With so many inspiring sights in NYC, the one that I think I still feel the most is the Statue of Liberty. Maybe because I see it the least? I don't really know, but when I catch a glimpse of it, the feeling is always the same; a little bit of awe, a little bit of pride. It always brings a smile to my face. I don't think I'm alone in this either. She was dedicated 135 years ago today. For over a century she has stood as a beacon in the harbor.
I made this photo last week when I stumbled into a view of Liberty that I hadn't seen before. A lot of times the city feels very small to me. Especially since covid, I find myself following the same paths and staying within the East Village. The truth is it is massive and there is no shortage of new ways to see something.
Emma Lazarus's words from her poem "The New Colossus" are probably the most famous reference to Lady Liberty. In her poem, she says "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore, send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me: I lift my lamp beside the golden door."
She wrote the poem in 1883, during the statue’s construction. I only realized today that Lazarus died the year after the statue was dedicated. Her words were immortalized on a plaque on it's base in 1903, 20 years after writing it and 6 years after her death.
What is your favorite sight in NYC? When you walk down the street, what inspires you here? What inspires you from your hometown?
#iloveNY #StatueOfLiberty #NYC #Liberty #Photography #Sony #SonyAlpha #Skyline #APAD
Look What I Did... (podcast)
I sat down with idea broker Daniel Quin and he interviewed me for the Look What I Did podcast. #getsome
So stoked to have had the opportunity to sit down with Daniel Quin a couple of weeks ago and chat on the Look What I Did podcast. The conversation covers a lot of topics so I’m sure that some part of it will speak to you.
https://www.lookwhatidid.net/
Drop me an email after you listen to it and let me know what you think, or ask me a question if there was anything you wanted to discuss a little more in-depth.
hello@davidscottholloway.com
Hi-fives!
FROM THE ARCHIVES: Nancy Pelosi Swears In New Members Of Congress
Women's History Month is coming to an end, but I wanted to share some relevant work of mine from my archives. This gallery is of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi during the mock swearing-in ceremony with the new members of Congress back in January of 2009.
http://www.davidscottholloway.com/swear
Women's History Month is coming to an end, but I wanted to share some relevant work of mine from my archives. This gallery is of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi during the mock swearing-in ceremony with the new members of Congress back in January of 2009.
I spent a lot of time working on Capitol Hill. I loved walking the halls, attending hearings, and documenting politics in action, but I think I often enjoyed these sorts of odd photo-op moments a little more.
The members have already been sworn-in, in an official, closed-door event. They then recreate the Speaker swearing-in each of the new members for the media. There were two side-by-side photo positions and one group would get ready while the Speaker was with the other group, then she would change sides. The event was all for show, but I think it is also really fun and meant a lot for the newest members of Congress, their families and staff.
#CapitolHill #NancyPelosi #womenshistorymonth #politics #WDC #Congress #photoop #SpeakerOfTheHouse #womeninpolitics #leadership #BTS #behindthescenes #Photojournalism #washingtondc
Hey Tony, I told you so.
The knife belonged to Anthony Bourdain. It was crafted by one of America’s greatest knife smiths, Bob Kramer. It was forged from a blend of steel and meteorite. Bourdain had been wanting one since he did an episode of Raw Craft with Kramer…
Space Knife © 2018 David Scott Holloway/All Rights Reserved
Since I’ve posted this photo on my LinkedIn profile several people have asked me about it. So here is the story.
The knife belonged to Anthony Bourdain. Crafted by one of America’s greatest knife smiths, Bob Kramer, it was forged from a blend of steel and meteorite. Bourdain had been wanting one since he did an episode of Raw Craft with Kramer. Then in 2016, Tony told me he got one of Kramer’s knives. I told him I had to photograph it. I started calling it “Space Knife.” Every time I’d see him I’d ask if he brought the space knife for me to shoot. Or when we were traveling he’d glance over to see me standing off to the side miming a cutting motion and I’d look right at him and doing my terrible Jim Carrey impression say “Sssssspaaaaaace Kniffffffe!”
Obviously, he didn’t travel with it. I hadn’t even really seen it. He had shown me a photo on his phone. Then in April 2018, we were in town at the same time, he said I should come over and check it out.
He got it out and handed it to me. He told me I could cut up anything in the kitchen, but I had to eat whatever I cut up. I used it to cut up a couple of apples and a chicken sandwich that I had been carrying around in my backpack.
He was hilariously critical of my terrible knife skills. He said his daughter could cut better than I could. This is most definitely true. I wanted to cut my finger off so I could say that I had meteorite in my blood. He gave me some guidance and then watched me use it again, then told me I should stick to washing dishes. I have had a couple of great jobs doing dishes and I find it to be really meditative.
I set up a light and wiped the knife off and made this photo and a few others. We started talking about art and I started digging through some of his things I hadn’t seen. He had a lot of cool art; an exploded skull, a polished Michelin Man statue, a portrait of his friend Iggy Pop, a few Ralph Steadman drawings, his Simpson’s script, lots of curious and cool things.
I kept opening drawers and pulling things out, I’d say “What’s this?” or he would say “Come look at this…” and lead me into the other room and pull a book off the shelf or print off the wall. As it often did the conversation turned darker. Tony had a dark sense of humor and was introspective about everything. I kept commenting on how cool this thing is or that thing and he said “It’s all just shit that someone is going to throw in a dumpster when you’re dead.”
I replied, “Well maybe my stuff, but I think someone is going to want most of your stuff.” He said “We’ll see.”
Well Tony, I told you so.
202 of Bourdain’s items were put up for auction as part of The Collection of Anthony Bourdain and were sold at "amounts significantly higher than their estimates," according to the auction house, taking in $1,846,575 in total.
Tony paid $5000 for the Space Knife. That was a steal, but at the auction, it went for $231,250. I often try to wrap my head around that number, nearly a quarter of a million dollars. Maybe that might have also been a steal, that knife has a bit of Bob Kramer’s heart and a bit of Anthony Bourdain’s soul. That’s pretty powerful stuff.
Much of the auction proceeds will support the Anthony Bourdain Legacy Scholarship at The Culinary Institute of America. That’s pretty great too.
Imagine Yourself As Anthony Bourdain
When people would see Tony in a place, the same place that they were, they often professed disbelief. They couldn’t grasp the idea that world famous TV personality, celebrated writer, celebrity chef, cultural ambassador Anthony Bourdain was in the same place that they found themselves in…
I recently stumbled across this CNN story by Steve Hurlbert again. I loved it from the first time i read it. It’s an excellent tale about his chance encounter with Anthony Bourdain in a random bar in NYC. It’s the sort of thing that tons of Parts Unknown fans dream of but don’t believe it happened. The story always makes me happy because I witnessed it many times. You can read it here.
https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/anthony-bourdain-chance-encounter/index.html
“Tony was present that night with us at the bar, just as we've seen him be with the people he meets along his travels. Whether with the people of the Congo or chefs in Los Angeles' Koreatown, you get the sense that he's paying attention. It's not a routine or schtick, and we got to see that up close and personal.” - Steve Hurlburt
When people would see Tony in a place, the same place that they were, they often professed disbelief. They couldn’t grasp the idea that world famous TV personality, celebrated writer, celebrity chef, cultural ambassador Anthony Bourdain was in the same place that they found themselves in.
I would usually say something like “Well have you seen the show? It’s about people in places. Real people and real places. Currently it’s this place. The same one that you are in.” Then they were usually surprised that this person, the one that they admired, maybe even idolized, was so much like the personality from his television shows.
So I would continue with something like “What were you expecting him to be like? It’s not acting. That’s just him, with his thoughts, being himself. But you know, being himself in this place.”
As they tried to wrap their mind around the reality of Tony, I would challenge them and say “Could you do me a favor? Next time you come into this place, look around the room and realize it is an interesting place, full of interesting people. Really interesting people. Choose one of them. Someone that you don’t know, or maybe someone you don’t know so well. Buy them a drink. Sit with them. Have a conversation. Listen to them. Share your thoughts. Start the conversation anywhere; ask about their drink of choice, or how they came to choose this place. Then steer the conversation towards the things that person really wants to talk about. Imagine yourself as Anthony Bourdain. Put yourself in his shoes. Be curious. Dig deep. Recognize the interaction with a bartender or a waiter as a collaboration. Engage the people around you. Then write me a note and tell me how you feel about your world now. “
My hope is that they will have a deeper appreciation of their own surroundings, life and experiences and at the same time, be able to recognize those things everywhere. That they will start to recognize that this world and the people that inhabit it are interesting. It makes the world seem smaller and more accessible. Maybe they will start to reach out and connect everywhere they go. I hope they are less afraid and less surprised to find that people have a lot in common with them, even Anthony Bourdain. He was a father, a fan of movies and music, an illustrator. He had jobs. He had friends. He had responsibilities and romances. He was smart and insightful. He was sometimes shy or reserved, but he was approachable. He enjoyed having a drink and a conversation. He had more in common with you than you probably could’ve recognized.
So recognize that now. Go into the world with curiosity. Make some friends. Look at things around you in a new way.
MAD is DEAD. Long live MAD.
"People who want to do creative things are generally going to seize the opportunity to do so whenever they can."
- Al Jaffee
Several years ago, I had the pleasure of, along with writer Todd Leopold, spending a couple of days with the geniuses of MAD Magazine when they gathered in Savannah, GA. It was a literal joy to spend time with them. They influenced my outlook as a youth and my adult sense of humor.
My son's first magazine subscription was MAD. I bought him an issue in the grocery store checkout while we were visiting my parents. The new Star Wars was on the cover. He chuckled out loud at so many of the pages and even weeks later, he would just burst out laughing. When I would inquire why he would quote a line from that issue. It made me so happy that I got him a subscription. It still comes every month and when I mentioned to his mother that the magazine was closing, her comment was "It's not because you failed to support them." This is probably true, but it doesn't make me feel any less like we all will be missing out on something special.
I think its influence and irreverence is visible in the funniest things. If you spent time buried in the pages you can recognize it's humor in contemporary comedy, everything from older movies like Airplane and decades of SNL to the funniest of shows on Cartoon Network.
But times have changed. In an article on Reason.com today Brian Doherty writes "Mad continued to deal with real presidents and real issues, and it had been hitting Donald Trump regularly and hard in its newest iteration. Trump insulted Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg by tweeting that America wasn't ready to elect Alfred E. Newman (Mad's goofy mascot who came to appear on every cover) president; Buttigieg purported in his youthful way to not have any idea who Trump was talking about, marking Mad as hopelessly irrelevant."
I understand his point, but I don't entirely agree. I'm certain that Mayor Pete has cracked open a couple of issues of MAD in his day, and MAYBE he didn't know who Alfred E. Newman is,MAYBE, but just because Buttigieg doesn't get the reference doesn't mean that MAD's influence won't live on. It's a lot deeper than that.
"I love New York..." - Anthony Bourdain
Tony said “I love New York. I’m a guy for whom a New York accent is a comforting thing.” I’m not there yet.
“I love New York…” - Anthony Bourdain
LONG ISLAND CITY, QUEENS, NY - 2018: I love travel. I love going to the farthest and most extreme spots. I’m never disappointed in far away, but the New York episodes of #PartsUnknown were always the most surprising to me. I always learned the most about the city that I live in. The city is at times both vast and Lilliputian, but most of all it is accessible to me. Every morning I can walk out the door and explore as far as my feet will take me, or hop on a bus, the subway, #lyft, a #citibike or water taxi and the city has an abundance of not so obvious gems to discover. I’ve been here a decade and I’m just getting started figuring it out.
Tony said “I love New York. I’m a guy for whom a New York accent is a comforting thing.” I’m not there yet. A southern twang or a redneck mumble still makes me feel most at home, but NYC is mine now, it’s where my son was born and where I live so I plan on knowing it better than I know anywhere on earth.