All photos were taken in or around Orlando. If you've got a great picture you'd like to share, post it to our Facebook wall or email us and we'll include it in a future update!

Let us know which pic you like best in the comments!

Spacebar is located in the Milk District near downtown Orlando. And for those wondering, the name “Milk District” comes from the nearby TG Lee milk processing plant. This lactose intolerant writer had a near-constant bowel-oriented panic attack all night long.

On the subject of Spacebar itself, the description on their Facebook page says that they’re “the only skate shop in town with a focus on local brands”. Which seems to explains a lot.

Upon arriving at about 10:30pm, Spacebar (formerly known as “Covert”) we discovered a small, open venue with an equally small bar at the end of the room. There were a handful of people relaxing along east wall while DJ’s Xuan, Sleepy Hippie, and MOT made with the beats on the west wall. In between … nothing. Along the walls were artfully designed (aforementioned) skateboards and other framed pieces of art.

Being the creative junkies we are, the main criticism we want to throw at the venue is typographical. Nit-picky and typographical. But mostly typographical. Although we’re sure the name “Spacebar” has a special meaning, we desperately wanted to see a sign that read “space␣bar”, obviously inserting a unicode space character (effectively a bracket on its back) -- most are familiar with the character on a T9 cell phone keyboard. It’s hip, much like the bar itself and the performers it hosts.

The headlining act -- and the reason we even left the house on a Friday night -- was DJ D003Y D3C1MAL (to which it was quickly pointed out to this writer that even without the numerical substitutes, that’s not how you spell dewey decimal -- the system invented by Dewey Cox to organize his library books).

The best way to sum it up: Steve Jobs would be proud. There were four macs and three glowing Apple logos and aside from incredibly real (and epic) xylophone and the oral-oriented beatboxing (because there’s SO many other kinds of beatboxing), all the music was mixed and performed digitally -- a triumph of Steve Jobs’ vision of the personal computer.

More importantly, the music was a triumph of musical and digital creativity. Again, from D003Y’s facebook description: “The sound is quirky electronica influenced by hip hop- I sing and rap about books, space travel, Orlando, ect.”

In short: it’s different. Beautifully so. For anyone who appreciates originality, thinking different, and breaking molds, take the time to sample the D3C1MAL. If you’re a fan of generic pop, well, this probably isn’t for you.

The evening was unabashedly nerdy and the jams on the xylophone were poetic -- the beats were muted and the audience was treated to something special: xylophone solos. We’re hoping that the next show features an equally epic triangle jam solo.

Also worth noting was the somewhat disjointed banter between D003Y and his rapping partner, Billy Kersten. It was mostly raw, unplanned quips that filled gaps and pointed out a rhyme that might have bombed, but there was also something truly engaging about it. We hope that they take some time to develop this element of their show because we found it engaging and entertaining -- essentially making it the perfect musical performance.

Be sure to check out the music of D003Y D3C1MAL here and his facebook page here.

Stay tuned to Spacebar’s upcoming events through their facebook page here.

Orlando Insider is now on facebook, too! If there’s an event or artist you think we should know about, let us know by posting on our wall.

Stay creative, Orlando.

We enjoy innovation and outside-the-box thinking, which is one of the reasons we're excited about Mazda's new SKYACTIV technology in their 2012 lineup of vehicles. The engine delivers a fun-to-drive experience that's considerably more fuel efficient than your standard internal combustion engine. Not to get too gear-heady about it (after all, that's not the kind of head we even like) but this SKYACTIV junk could be a make a bigger splash than hybrid technology.

Check out this early look from Classic Mazda in Orlando:

Here at Orlando Insider, we have a hard time denying the claim that our writing and editorial staff are a bunch of immature nit twits. We are. Terribly. We think it's a medical condition. So you can understand the frustration that came with Legoland Florida’s grand opening.

The stuff of our dreams (literally, dreams of living in a world of legos -- it’s practically the happiest dream we’ve ever had) has a theme park in our back yard and come to find out that Legoland hates grown-ups.

Again, not that we claim to be particularly grown up (at least, not anywhere where it doesn’t matter, dig?) but we can’t help but take offense to the fact that Legoland only cares about the 2-12 year old demographic. Because if you’re 13 you can’t enjoy a day filled with sheer joy and rapture that only Legos can bring?

That’s what we were told right before we had to donate our massive 100-pound collection of assorted Legos to Goodwill when we turned 16. It was either the Legos or a driver’s license and in retrospect, we should have stuck with the Legos.

Look, we’re not sitting here saying that Legoland is run by a bunch of pedophiles (seriously, we’re not!) but instead of pushing the fact that they’re blatantly targeting 2-12 year olds, why not say that they’re marketing to the kid in everybody?

THE TWO YEAR OLDS OF TODAY ARE NOT THE ADULT LEGO FANS THAT MADE LEGOLAND POSSIBLE IN THE FIRST PLACE.

Recognize, yo.

And please don’t call the cops when we give you a hard time about leaving the park. We seriously just love Legos that much. You’re the weirdos trying to lure kids into your magical Lego wonderland. Weirdos.

Sincerely,
The Lego-Obsessed Orlando Insider Writing Staff

To prove that personal connections will get you everywhere, here's the first installment of the Orlando Insider Calendar series. We'll be at Spacebar this Friday night listening to the smooth jams of D003Y D3C1MAL and trying to remember if we were banned from the library for unpaid fines or for that time we got caught spending way too much time "reading" in the art and photography section.

Oh, wait, it was both.

Either way, we'll be there and so should you. Spacebar is located at 2428 E. Robinston St., Orlando, FL 32803 and the D3C1MAL makes with the music at 10pm. Support local talent and check out his tunes in the playlist below.

Here at Orlando Insider, we believe in community. And blogging. Blogging and the community. Community blogs. Communal blogs? Nah, scratch that. We believe in blogging (which we are currently doing with this blog about Orlando) and community (that which resides in Orlando and is reading this blog).

Now that we've met today's daily SEO quota (tomorrow: LEGOLAND!), we should mention youtuber JCalebM. But first: when Orlando Insider cast a net looking for original creative content from the community, the last thing we expected was a parkour video. This might have something to do with where we cast our net. Fortunately, we don't have to take the blame for this -- that's what an editorial staff is for. Really, Ed? Was craigslist the best you could do to drum up some creative talent? Just because you found a complete set of Sasquatch footprint casts on craigslist DOESN'T MEAN IT'S THE BE-ALL-END-ALL OF INTERNET RESOURCES.

*ahem*

Today we bring you the Art of Parkour which was brought to Orlando Insider by JCalebm. And we'll be honest: at first, we just didn't get it. Maybe because the Orlando Insider writing staff is a bunch of lazy, inactive sumbitches who think jerking off should qualify as daily exercise.

In fact, the more we watched JCalebm's videos, the more it looked like a couple ripped dudes jumping around in slow motion.

And then our staff video editor started cutting together a promo piece, at which point our confusion gave way to flat out hilarity. Slow-motion jumping guys in REVERSE? This sh*t should be on AFV, people!

At some point, however, we started to see something that can only be described as "athletic prowess" (and no, that has nothing to do with jerking off .... yet). And then we watched a few more of JCalebm's videos and began to show a bit of (begrudging) respect for the sport of parkour. 

Because if there's one thing we're good at here at Orlando Insider, it's approaching something with an open mind (i.e. the Bible). So if you have something unique, original, or just plain creative you'd like us to feature on the blog, send it in and hope we don't die laughing at you (read: with you). In the meantime, be sure to check out some more of JCalebm's videos.

Sincerely,

The Ridiculously Out-of-Shape Orlando Insider Writing Staff

Bold statements aren’t always easy to make.

No, wait, scratch that -- bold statements ARE easy to make, but actually making them (depending on your current set of circumstances) isn’t always easy.

As my year progresses, my creative life develops in all the ways I never expected. It’s counter-intuitive (at least in my head) and because of that, I don’t always acknowledge it when it’s happening. My instinct says that my creative work is personal, the stuff that I do out of pure passion.

As my professional career continues to take up more time, my passion-projects have dwindled to the point of nonexistence. And I can’t help but feel guilty.

But the fact of the matter is that my professional creative career has taken priority. And although it may not look it, I’ve been more creative than ever. And I get paid for it. Finally.

The big struggle in producing commercials and web content for a corporation (family-owned or otherwise) is that you have to work within guidelines that someone else established. Some of these guidelines are important; others are dated. My personal goal is to make a mark and do something different, but sometimes the best I can accomplish is to do something different in the business’s history.

The following is a TV spot for our Mazda dealership. It’ll be airing on WRDQ in Central Florida starting in a matter of days. Holler-Classic has never produced or aired a commercial like this (to my knowledge) and it is one of the most unique local dealer commercials I’ve ever seen.

If you’re familiar with local car dealer commercials (and who isn’t??) then you know that every spot advertises an offer -- dealers seem to be scared to promote something other than a monthly payment and APR. The result ends up stripping all originality from not just the video, but the product they’re trying to sell.

Think about it: manufacturers spend a lot of money developing a vehicle as art -- and that’s how they pitch it. Audi and Cadillac are great examples. And then when the creative trickles down to the dealer level, that piece of art is described as the mass-produced copy that it really is, and that “we’ve got tons to choose from! Every make and model!”

It’s the difference between saying “this is a beautiful car” and “have I got a beautiful car for you”.

At any rate, my goal is to create something different; something that puts a little bit of that art back into a local dealer commercial. Is it there yet? Probably not, but it’s gotten a lot closer. And if it catches an eye or two, then all the better.

The process on this Mazda spot started with a sixty-second radio spot (another monumental departure from the norm this month!). I had an opportunity to write something that took full advantage of the sixty seconds (usually we only have about thirty seconds to play with) and after the spot was produced, I asked the radio station to give me a version of the VO without any music under it.

After cutting the VO down to thirty seconds, I was able to build out the rest of the video. I shot the stock footage of the dealership a few weeks back and created the .com title in Motion. The photos and sparkler video at the front of the commercial were actually the hardest part, slogging through tons of stock pictures trying to find the perfect fit. This commercial is actually the second draft, having to change and add an additional photo.

So that’s what I’ve done creatively in the past week. Is it truly great? I dunno, but when I look at it -- especially in the context of my other work at Holler-Classic -- it makes me proud.

Stay bold and stay creative.

- Jordan Krumbine

Please don't write your stories in the blog. If you accidentally back out or close your browser before clicking "save", everything will be lost and then we will have nothing to publish.

Sincerely,
The Immensley Frustrated Orlando Insider Editorial Staff

As we sink deeper into the Devilmas season (spanning October 1st through December 31st) it becomes clear just how aptly-timed Orlando Insider's Apocalypse Watch series has become. We don't like to brag [We do. -- Ed] but as of today, well, we told you so.

Following the seemingly endless rains of prior weeks, central Florida has seen one apocalyptical portent after another, ranging from the aforementioned floodwaters to the ground literally opening up and devouring a family's SUV. While our hearts go out to the displaced Marion County family who lost their vehicle to a sinkhole, our intrepid reporters are tracking down the rest of the story. We have yet to hear back from Mother Nature herself, but we speculate that the whole SUV devouring sinkhole is likely just Mother Nature saying enough is enough -- she's mad as hell and isn't going to take it anymore. You know what it feels like to be thoughtlessly raped by the inefficient, ozone-deplating gas hogs that are SUVs? No? Well let's see how you feel after I EAT YOUR FREAKING CAR.

[The Orlando Insider writing staff is scheduled to undergo sensitivity training next week. -- Ed.]

Putting aside the fact that the worst apocalypse we could possibly imagine would be the earth itself rebelling against humankind, we turn our attention to THE OTHER WORST APOCALYPSE WE COULD POSSIBLY IMAGINE:

Mosquitopocalypse 2011.

Witness our staff artist's rendition of what Mosquitopocalypse would look like:

It's terrifying, people. And an impenetrable wall of mosquitoes isn't as bad as it gets. Everyone knows that mosquitoes commonly carry various diseases, so we asked our staff statistician about the probability that the zombie virus could be communicated by the mosquitoes.

"Extremely likely. In fact, considering the sheer volume of mosquitoes that are estimated to be involved with Mosquitopocalypse 2011, one could possibly say that their count is 'innumerable'. If something is innumerable, we can then assume it is infinite [See the artist's rendition above -- Ed.] and in an instance of infinity, there are an infinite amount of probable instances that are literally guaranteed to occur, because of the infinite probability attached to this scenario. Therefore, yes, somewhere within the infinite mosquitopocalypse swarm, a single insect will carry the zombie virus. And since we know that the virus is highly contagious, the infinite number of mosquitoes guarantees that the virus will spread through the cloud, indefinitely, making this virtually the most terrifying apocalyptic scenario we've ever predicted."

Yep, we just peed ourselves.

Source: CFNews13

In our continuing coverage (read: speculation) of where Casey Anthony might be hiding, there's definitely one place where we know she isn't: at her attorney Jose Baez's side while he faces two complaints from the Florida Bar.

Since the process is confidential and it might take months before any legitimate action is taken, all we can do is speculate as to the nature of the complaints against Jose Baez. Luckily, that's what we do best.

Although many would assume the obvious -- that the complaints are in regards to Casey Anthony's defense and, in general, how Jose Baez got a baby-killer a not-guilty verdict -- here at the Orlando Insider, we've seen a David E. Kelley show or two, so we're well aware that Baez was just doing his job and sometimes you have to bend the rules in order to win -- and if you were on trial for murder, wouldn't you want a roguish defense attorney willing to do whatever it takes? That's his job, Orlando.

Nope, here at Orlando Insider, we've checked with our on-staff legal consultant to find out what these kinds complaints are usually about.

"Nothing glamorous, actually. It's mundane. But that doesn't mean it can't be sensationalized. In Baez's case, the rumor is that he may or may not have taken a bribe in the form of a cupcake. Or two, actually."

Orlando Insider is currently looking into why there's a legal consultant on staff at the Orlando Insider.

Source: CFNews13