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I have a love for strip clubs and adult businesses; but only for the outside. I grew up in a military town which means the streets were filled with businesses aimed at striping money away from horny men making good money far from home. I lived there for 18 years before I ever saw the inside of one. Which means I had 18 years to build up an expectation that could never be fulfilled. Years of watching signs that promised hot adventures and beautiful girls did not prepare me for the reality of tired cynical women and really bad interior decorating.
This is a strip club in Memphis. I took the first picture driving by and isn’t it funny that it is probably the best one I took? The next day I went back and parked so I could get outside and take some closer pictures of the sign. I took three quick shots when I noticed the bald muscular bouncer jogging my way. I did what any sex blogger would do and I walked quickly back to my car, praying that he wouldn’t destroy my camera. Luckily for me, my pretty blonde wife fluttered her eyelashes and dropped 80 I.Q. points with her innocent voice.
“Hi!” she said happily to the now confused bouncer.
“Is there a problem?” he asked. His voice hinted that trouble was about to be unleashed. For some bizarre reason, I got the impression he had just seen ‘300’ and was dying to kill something.
“No trouble, my husband just likes to take pictures of signs.” Where did my wicked wife learn to play naive?
“Oh,” the bouncer said. He was just confused. I was smiling like a mute while my wife kept chatting.
“We just thought it was weird,” the bouncer said.
My wife shrugged. “Have a good day.” And that was that.
So many questions are left unanswered. Why was the bouncer so feisty? What does CDL mean? What kind of classy place have dances starting at 10$ and up? Did they pick the name ‘Showgirls’ before or after the movie? What camera tricks do I need to learn to have taken a better shot in that second picture?
And most of all, does my wife ever pull that dumb blonde trick with me and I haven’t noticed?
8 Responses to “Dens of Decadence”
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CDL = commercial driver’s license. they’re trying to attract truckers with a couple of afternoon hours to kill, though many people other than truckers have CDLs.
greyhound bus drivers, for instance. ;)
you needed to be on the other side of the sign dude, sun at your back, picture would have turned out much better at that low angle. sun at your back isn’t always the right answer, but in that situation it would have worked better, low angle, shiny sign. eliminates glare.
and I also have enjoyed the outside of many of these places, the insides not so much.
And you don’t really want to know the answer to the wife question my friend.
Orion- Neat, I learn something new every day.
Art- Thanks Art. I am planning to take a picture tour of the outside of strip clubs around town. Light is both my friend and my enemy with the camera I have noticed.
It is a tricky beast. Remember this as well, since you’ll be taking pics at an upward angle against the sky. A light background tends to make foreground objects darker, and vice versa. Especially if you are taking quick shots on “auto”.
Thus endeth the lesson. :)
Have you seen the gigantic cross next to some place called “Adult World”? It’s on I-40 somewhere in TN. Hysterical.
definately don’t want to know the answer to the wife question – amazing how batting eyelashes and acting “blonde” will get you out of things
Art- lol, lesson learned. For now I don’t mind if the blog turns into Help Shon Take Pictures.
Anonymous- That would have been something to see. Oddly, i didn’t see much in the way of churches.
musns- I’m on to you now :)
I faintly remember some adult places near the Los Angeles airport. I think one sign had “Live Nudes” and one had “Nude Nudes”. I always figured they were trying to be better than the places that had dead nudes or clothed nudes.