Black people

Sassy

Is this real life???


Bienvenue, my fellow droogies. It’s been a minute (as always) that I’ve posted, so I figured I’d break the silence with a few random topics.

Donald Trump

Yes, The Donald as he’s known, has been in the news a lot lately. He is, once again, running for President and to much chagrin, is considered the most liked candidate in recent polls. This is an embarrassment to our country that we can’t do any better than this. It’s not even about political parties (which is out of control btw) but not a good reflection on our seriousness of ourselves. We have let deciding the future of our country turn into a meaningless reality show..sad

Freedom of Speech

Yes. I believe you should be able to express yourself, but on the same hand, be held responsible for your words. We can sit here and bullshit each other into a froth, but that doesn’t change the simple fact that words have consequences. I blame internet anonymity for a lot of the things that people say these days. The inconsequence of being a raging dick to someone gets some people off. I say we do away with it entirely. If you want to be free to say anything, you should be adult enough to put your name to it. Fair is fair.

Bill Cosby

People that are defending him at this point are useless to me. There is nothing in the recent disclosures that can even remotely be considered ok. Getting off on taking advantage of a woman when she is incapacitated is sick. Start there. Yes or No doesn’t even matter at that point. You have crossed a line and should be held accountable. People want to treat him special because he fostered the positive image of black folks. Well it’s not an image. it’s a reality and we should be asking ourselves why it took a fake tv show for it to be recognized. That reality has and will exist without Bill Cosby. As a society we cannot allow this image to blind us from the truth.

Caitlyn Jenner

People are upset that Caitlyn Jenner won the Arthur Ashe award for bravery. It’s not about the award. It’s just people being shitty because they can’t sign on to what it took for him to come out the way he did. I suspect there’s some homophobia blended in there as well. Secondly, its a fucking award. It doesn’t mean that one form of bravery supercedes the other. It’s kinda shitty to set up such a scenario in the first place.

Life in the Universe

I was watching Through the Wormhole the other day. The topic was the search for life. There’s a scientist that is trying to prove that alien life is already here and has been for a long time. He’s done experiments to capture lifeforms in the upper stratosphere that are unlike any other we have seen. It makes way too much sense that life is all over the universe and gets seeded on different planets and moons. Its just a reflection of what we already know is happening right here. Our arrogance and the lies that we have been told are standing in our way of seeing the truth. Let’s hope we don’t exterminate ourselves before we come to that realization.

Okay so I owe you some photos and some music. I’ve been somewhat busy but I have some stuff to share.

This track is a departure for me. Well maybe not a departure because each song is an exploration..so lets call it a movement into the trap dub step genre, which is something I’ve been itching to put my spin on. There’s a story and a message behind it..as always.

Special shout out to Sassy Pandez (the gorgeous woman a the top of the page). This woman is special..

Pics to come soon..

The price of lemonade..for a black man


So, yesterday I had this urge for chick peas like really bad, so I decided to shoot by Wegmans to see if they had some ready made salads. Their offering was meager..shoulda went to Whole foods, but I found something. I grabbed a couple of these Hubert’s Lemonades (I’m name dropping because they were rather good) and headed back to my car.

It was a gorgeous day. A bit muggy, but the sky was fabulous. So I decided to find a good vantage point and take a few shots. I pull over into the parking lot and find a spot that was free and clear with the best view. I take a couple of shots, then decided to have a sip of that cool refreshing drink (Eddie Murphy reference..you had to be there). Anyway..maybe 5 mins pass as I’m standing there taking in the moment musing to myself what I should do for the rest of the day when up behind me pulls a patrol car.  Out steps the officer who approached me in a polite manner and asks me “What’s going on?”. I reply, “Nothing, just taking in the view”.  He replies, “Someone called and said you’re making them nervous”.  Pause. At this very moment, that high I felt evaporated and was now replaced with anger and apprehension. “This is how it starts” I said to myself. “Nervous? why? I’m not doing anything to make anyone nervous. It’s a beautiful day don’t you think?” I said, trying to disarm what I could see was now becoming a potentially deadly situation. What frosted me was that I picked that spot specifically to avoid being near anyone so as not to make them uncomfortable about me taking pictures. I wasn’t there 10 mins, how on earth was I a threat, real or imagined to anyone? The lunacy of that statement starting my blood to boil. In my mind I’m calling bullshit. I took a quick scan. Had I parked near someone?? There was no one there. The closest human being was the person in the Zales department store, which was roughly…600 feet from me. “You just bought a camera?”, he asks as he steps closer, one hand on his gun. “No” I replied..what the fuck kinda question was that? I’m thinking to myself.  I realized now we’re in stupidland. Anything I say can be used against me to set him off and find a reason to mess with me..be calm..keep your hands visible..no sudden moves… “Can I see some ID?” he asks. In my head I’m saying “what the fuck for?” I haven’t done a damn thing. I know any attempt to rebut will only be used as “resistance”, so I capitulate. My wallet..where is it?..don’t go in your pockets..pat yourself down..hands visible..It’s not on me..it’s on the center console..I point to it and say “My wallet is right there, do you mind?” He nods ok. I make sure to keep my other hand visible..pick up the wallet..At this point, I know my life could end, but I’m in a no win situation…my heart is pounding. Be calm..be calm..I get my license and hand it to him. He takes it, reads my address and says “E##### Road..you’re from here in Hamilton?”..”Yes” I reply. Inside, I’m raging..yes motherfucker, I pay your salary. He’s eyeing my car..I can see it in his eyes..what’s a black man doing with such a nice car? There’s gotta be something wrong here. He’s calling it in..I’m getting angrier and it’s getting hard to hide it now. I haven’t done anything illegal or even odd…what the fuck….this is some racial bullshit..I’m clean..yeah motherfucker..what now? He comes back with a clipboard, scribbling down my info..I know what this move is..his way of saying, I’m keeping an eye on you..you have been subjugated to my authority. He gives me back my license and walks back to his vehicle. I stand there..I know what he’s expecting..I should run away now..but no..fuck you..I put my wallet inside the car and take another shot..it doesn’t feel the same..its not where I was coming from originally..the beauty is lost..it’s a sign of defiance..I will do what I have a right to do..My mood is ruined..Fuck it, I’m going..but at my own pace and at the time of my choosing…I take a swig of my lemonade..the happy face on the bottle now mocks me..You thought you were just like everyone else?..surprise motherfucker..

(the featured image is that last shot)

The year that was


2014 was as year that re-shaped and reignited my desire to be creative. To delve deeper into who I am. Peeling back layers of changes I’ve gone through over the years trying to please others or focus on someone else’s agenda. That’s the kind of person I was in relationships and over the years I kinda lost myself. I realize even more so now that you should never shut down who you are and anyone that insists on it is not for you.

These are a few shots I want to share from this past year that I thought came out pretty good. I think the measure of a good photo is that it should pull the viewer into the moment. That is what I tried to do. I used different processing methods for added effect. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did attempting to reach that goal.

Many Walks

I’ve got a special wonton soup for you


Bill freaking Cosby..wow. Like who would have thunk it? I defended him, mocked Angie Dickinson for her story and was totally convinced this was some plot to discredit the positive black man. First I’d like to take back everything I said about Angie. It was mean and insensitive. Being a sex assault victim myself, I should have never even gone there. No one probably read it and no one cares, but I want to take it back because I don’t want that out there in the universe. You’re probably wondering what changed my mind. Well, it was Beverly Johnson. This is someone I have met a long time ago. People change, but I think I know her personality and she would not put herself out there if it wasn’t true. On the surface it may seem like a racial thing for me not to have accepted this until now. I did really ask myself that but no, that’s all there is to it. I feel convinced he’s an habitual rapist because this is someone I feel would not lie.

The bad thing about rape is, the victim is always made to have to bear the burden of proof amidst immediate skepticism. There’s shame, fear, vulnerability and a host of emotions one has to overcome to speak out on these heinous life altering attacks. It is as much mental as it is physical, with scars that run deep and remain hidden for a lifetime.

There’s a part of this story that bears discussion. A lot of people don’t understand the impact this has on a lot of people in the black community. This guy single-handedly changed the image of the black family for an America that could not accept the holistically positive aspect of black family life. He was also one of the pioneers in tv of the cool contemporary black male. Yes, it’s TV but it had major social significance to the black community. So there’s a sense of disbelief and a sense of loss for at least 2 generations.

I’ve been wondering why there is such a disparity from the image of him that myself and many others held, and what is turning out to be a dark reality. On the surface one can say that it is the published media image that has been created for him that is totally inaccurate, but when you zoom out and look at the broader picture, there is something very significant happening to our society.
Up until very recently the media factions, tv, movies, and news, owned the control of information. This information is carefully processed by producers, media consultants, editors and so on. When the information becomes damaging, they protect their own interests. If the content is too controversial, it is pasteurized. But now, all of that goes out the window. With the increase of access to the internet, everyday people have ways of communicating unfiltered to the whole world. What we are seeing today is the result of that change. It has affected every aspect of our culture and media communication.
This is not something that has gone unnoticed. People of influence and power want to retain that status so they are trying to get in front of it, infiltrating your social media activities, trying to penetrate all levels of communication that are available. Gathering detailed information about each of us to find a way to manipulate your behavior. Just look at Facebook. Why do they need to know the things they want to? It’s not because it impedes you from using the product. It’s to build a portfolio of you and identify the things that are most likely to influence your behavior. Every time you hit that like button, you fine tune that portfolio. This is the golden egg that the people who want to maintain control want to get their hands on.

I know I drifted off from Bill Cosby, but it helps to see the whole picture to understand the dynamics of whats at play here. In a way, the crumbling of Bill Cosby can be seen as iconic in the way our society continues to evolve.

Orange Juice and Vodka


So..the background on this track is that I was wasted and talking to a friend. I decided I would make up a song about it on the fly. The lyrics were gonna go like this
Orange Juice and Vodka
That’s all I have left
Orange Juice and Vodka
I’m so high I’m gonna piss myself..

But as you can see, I couldn’t make it. Hope this makes you smile..