I’m anticipating a good start to my weekend one day early & I hope to share some really great news Thursday evening.

If my things go as expected, it means that one of my bright ideas has manifested & will help move my photography career in a great direction.

Stay tuned!!!!!!

In other news:
- I ate two too many cookies tonight
- I totally blew my finance midterm
- I’m watching “Cinema Paridiso” (one of my favorite foreign films) this weekend.

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UPDATE:

Well, it jumped of today & my news is that………………….

I NOW HAVE STUDIO SPACE! Yes me!!!

It’s actually a shared space with the “Detroit League of Photographers” at the Russell Industrial Center (east side of Detroit), which is a hub of creativity that hosts a variety of artists.

I plan on being set up at the Russell in April, which is perfect because I have a shoot at the beginning of the month.

With this space, I can grow my business, not have to scavenge to borrow space & attract a wider variety of clients.

I’ve been dreaming of having a space at the Russell Industrial Center for the last two years but timing, opportunity, & resources were not aligned. Good thing I have some patience because this venture with the Detroit League of Photographers is right on time!

I’ll give this a try for several months & reevaluate. If all goes well, then great! If all is blah, then oh well.

Overall, I hope this will be my field of dreams. I’m building it & I want them to come. Whoever they may be.

In other news:
- I’m gonna eat another cookie tonight

I had all the best intentions of waking up at 9am today to fix myself breakfast, & prepare for my 1pm photo shoot with Detroit rock group Fluxphonic.

In my head the plan was solid! Well, it all went to hell when I woke up at 11am.

I jumped out of bed, rushed to get dressed, packed my camera bag, gathered light equipment & loaded the car. Before you know it was 1150, everything was in the car & I was on my way to the set with a very empty belly.

I totally had no time to stop for a quick bite. Oh my!

I HATE working while hungry!

Well, none of that mattered because I had to make it happen.

Then… I get to the set & realize that I left a vital lighting accessory at home. Bummer! So I improvised like one should.

The clock tics & tocs & the shoot is going great; before you now it, we wrapped about 4:15.

Before heading home, I stopped at Popeye’s for a quick meal, which I later suffered from. BIG TIME!

Lessoned learned from today:

- Set 2 alarms, maybe 3
- Triple check the equipment checklist
- Pack snacks no matter what
- Never eat a Popeye’s spicy 3 piece on a totally empty stomach

With all this said, my clients never saw me sweat or heard my belly growl (I think).

Pictured above: Fluxphonic (Steffanie Chris’tian (Left to Right) Kris Wilson, Danny Lecours, Russ Dobson)

If you’re in the Detroit area Saturday March 27, you can see Fluxphonic at the Charles H Wright Museum of African American History “Black Women Rock! A Tribute to Betty Davis”

Side Note: Who is Betty Davis?

A wildly flamboyant funk diva with few equals even three decades after her debut, Betty Davis combined the gritty emotional realism of Tina Turner, the futurist fashion sense of David Bowie, and the trendsetting flair of Miles Davis, her husband for a year.

It’s easy to imagine the snickers when a 23-year-old model married a famous musician twice her age, but Davis was no gold digger; she turned Miles onto Jimi Hendrix and Sly Stone, providing the spark that led to Miles’ musical reinvention on In a Silent Way and Bitches Brew, then proved her own talents with a trio of sizzling mid-’70s solo LPs.

See a few more out takes from my shoot with Fluxphonic here.

This summer my blog will be 5 years old! Wow!!!

Since I started blogging, I have gone through several blog content metamorphoses.

I started off talking about nothing in particular, then started talking about pop culture (mostly movies, weird news stories & music), then I started blogging about race, which is where I think I peaked in terms of reader interest.

When I blogged about race & inequality I started off with good intentions, but that soon grew into me blogging as an angry Black man.

During my blogging as an angry Black man period, I was getting 10k hits a month and this attracted all kinds of comments & interactions. Funny thing is, I didn’t realize that I was an angry Black man until mid 2009. This is about 2 years after I entered the angry zone.

I mentioned my reader drop off on Twitter earlier today & this is what some of my contacts there had to say:

“Anger sells, like sex. Maybe u shoud write abt sex?”

“ppl like fuckery”

“we went through the same thing…people like anger & controvesy more than pleasant isht for some reason. Look at reality TV”

Interesting… True???

Now I wonder if I was really writing for myself or for an audience. This brings to mind a quote by writer Cyril Connolly (thx Jovan)

“Better to write for yourself and have no public, than to write for the public and have no self.”

Did I lose myself? I don’t think so but at this point, I guess it doesn’t matter.

After I got my mind right & calmed down is when I decided to change the tone & scope of my blog. Since that point, my traffic is looking more like 3k hits per month.

I’m OK with whatever traffic I get here on my blog/journal & I’m happy that I’m writing for myself.

Last night I while working Melinda Anderson’s “Back To The 80s” event, I found myself in a conversation with this 20 something Canadian girl who asked me about other parties happening later. I shared with her the only other set that I knew about. A house music set called “Moist.”

After she giggled over “Moist,” she asked my name so of course I said “my name is Tafari.” She was like oh wow, “is that from ‘The Lion King.’”

I was like excuse me? Are you for real? All followed by blank stares. No my name has nothing to do with “The Lion King.”

Then she was like, it’s OK, “people call me “Nala” all the time because my name is Nelee and I like it.”

Well, that’s nice but don’t try to get me caught up in your Disney movie name mess!

Admittedly, I did laugh on the inside when she said this to me because I knew that my kids would get a kick out of it. They call me “the lion king” or “king of the lions” all of the time because of my mane of hair.

After telling my boy about this funny incident today over lunch, he was like, she must have been thinking about “Jafar” from “Alladin.” O_o Wow!

Side notes:
- My name is Ethiopian in origin
- I meet some of the most interesting people when out working events
- “Scar” is my favorite character in “The Lion King”
- I’ve never seen “Alladdin”
- I wish I could time travel back to the 80’s so that I could tell myself to be a better student

I’m nearing the home stretch of my BBA program; just quick 6 classes after this semester & it’s not coming soon enough.

Right now, I’m enrolled in a human resource development course (bore) & a finance course (double bore). As it stands, I’m doing OK in both classes but I’m not having the best semester. For some reason, I’m kinda stuck in some kind of funk that I cannot shake

One major factor of my funk is my finance class! It’s not hard but at the same time I feel like I’m not learning anything. My instructor SUCKS like none that I’ve encountered.

He mumbles lectures (I won’t mention the very heavy West African accent), gives us worksheets that are barely legible, does not answer emails, & shows major schizophrenic tendencies.

While writing this, I decided to check Ratemyproffesor.com & was not surprised to see these comments:

“I am not the best student in the world, but I am a B student and put a lot of effort into this class. He’s intelligent, but not helpful and not meant to teach. I had a very hard time understanding him through his accent and felt lost in his class.”

“Do not take him! His handwritten notes are almost impossible to read. and when he uses powerpoints, he won’t post them online and he flies through them. He ask for our feedback of the class half way through, then doesn’t even bother to really listen to what we have to say. If you don’t want to hear it, don’t ask!”

How in the hell did he get tenured?!?!

I leave class every Wednesday night saying that I learned nothing! Well, wait, I now know how to calculate the interest on a long term T-Bond but I’m not sure if I will ever need that knowledge.

Most times when I’m in this finance class, I pray that someone pulls the fire alarm!

After discussion of my feelings with other classmates, I know that I am not alone by any means with my feelings.

Tonight, we had a 30-question midterm exam on shit we hardly covered in class. One student even blurted out “how are you going to test us on something you haven’t taught us?” The instructor looked at him, like are you talking to me bitch, then there was dead silence.

To make matters worse, I wrote my instructor evaluation 2 weeks ago & I’m really going to go there on him! And I’m seriously considering gong to the head of the finance dept to launch a complaint.

Just 2 more months & this torture will be over.

Whoa is me!

This month marks my 6 year Brotherlock anniversary. Woo Hoo!!! No, it’s really not that exciting but yet here I am.

When I got my Brotherlock six years ago, it took 16 hours & $475.00 to lock my 2.5” hair. My ass still goes numb from the though of sitting that long. Today, my locks measure about 16”.

6 years later, the dumbest question that people still ask me is “how long I’m gone let them thangs get?” Oh the ignorance from my beloved Negro folk. If your interested in more of my hair annoyances invoked by others, click here.

Thinking back, I laugh at myself because my locks looked retarded & it took a good six months to feel totally comfortable with them. Now they’re longs as hell & wind up in my mouth while I’m sleeping. I guess I should put getting a 5-6” trim higher on my priority list.

No matter what, I’m happy that I went with the Brotherlocks locking method vs. traditional locks. They fit my lifestyle much better. For your reference, I started off with traditional locks & me & that process didn’t get along at all. I tried it for like 4 months & it was just a no go.

From time to time, I wonder how many brothers out there with Brotherlocks actually exist because I rarely see any no matter where I travel. I have my suspicions why.

I guess I will celebrate my 6 year Brotherlock anniversary with a bottle of expensive shampoo & a braid out when I got my money right.

Before I wrap this post, I must take a moment to acknowledge some rampant website jankiness that has gone on for far too long.

Dear Dr. JoAnne Cornwell,

The Sisterlocks websites is still outdated & janky as hell. And you still fail to mention Brotherlocks or any other type of inclusiveness.

A good website redesign would cost anywhere from $1200 – $2000, please invest in your business boo. As you know, first impressions are everything.

I’m just saying. OK. Thanks. Bye!

I stopped eating beef a little over two years ago & it was a clean break with no regrets. That is, no regrets until I realized that I could no longer enjoy corned beef sandwiches or French onion soup; two my favorite dishes. Outside of those 2 treats it’s been all good.

Well, it’s been kinda all good! Since my self-imposed restriction, I have cheated 3 times with today being one of those times. From the image above, I’m sure you can see that I surrendered all for my undying love of corned beef sandwiches. I felt so guilty after it was all gone but so full & satisfied.

Today’s lunch was devoured at Mudgie’s Deli located in Detroit’s Corktown district. Shamefully, I have to admit that this was my 1st time @ Mudgie’s since Greg Mudge opened the much loved deli 2 years ago (almost to the day).

After I was seated, Greg asked me where I had been & I was basically like in Loserville for not being at his restaurant until today. Then he offered me on a Wild Bill’s Root Beer (made in northern MI & totally awesome).

Mudgie’s is located in the same spot where former favorite deli, Eph McNally’s existed, where Greg was also a server until they closed. Shortly after Eph McNally’s closed the Corktown location, Greg pulled some things together & before you know it, Mudgie’s was born.

Mudgie’s is one of few places near downtown Detroit where you can get an inexpensive, fresh, & fast meal that’s not packed in grease. The environment is refreshingly vibrant with bright orange walls & it has simply fun & funky décor.

Now that I finally have this place on my foodie radar, it’s on & popping! Especially since they are open through the dinner hour & SMOKE FREE.

Pictured above: Greg Mudge, some of the best “new” pickles in Detroit along with a “Barret” sandwich (corned beef, Mudgie-made creamy cole slaw, Swiss cheese and Mudgie-made thousand island dressing on an onion roll – $8.75)

A few weeks ago while working in Photoshop (CS4), I accidentally unselected the “resize window to fit” option & had no idea that I did so.

Since them I was trying to figure out what I did to have my open windows not zooming to the sizes that I set my documents to be so I had to resize them manually. This was a mild annoyance until today when I accidentally figured out what was causing the issue.

Had I done some quick Googling, I would have found this answer & saved myself a mini headache. Sometimes I forget the power of the internet. Duh!

Automatically resize the window when zooming

- With the Zoom tool active, select Resize Windows To Fit in the options bar. The window is resized when you magnify or reduce the view of the image.

When Resize Windows To Fit is deselected (the default), the window maintains a constant size regardless of the image magnification. This can be helpful when using smaller monitors or working with tiled views.

Note: To automatically resize the window when using keyboard shortcuts to reduce or magnify an image view, choose Edit > Preferences > General (Windows) or Photoshop > Preferences > General (Mac OS), then select the Zoom Resizes Windows preference and click OK.

This evening, I met with photographer Loti Walker who also happens to be the Assistant Director of Programs at the Ann Arbor Art Center to discuss their ArtMakers Teens program. ArtMakers Teens is geared toward at risk youth between the ages of 14-18 and it exposes them to art education. The current session will be led by Loti & will be centered on photography.

During our meeting, Loti shared her vision for this session & the flow of what she wanted the students to experience through digital photography. This is where I come in. Loti extended an invitation for me to come in & give a talk to the students regarding my creative process & photography work. She also invited to me critique some of the student’s work at the end of program before their photography exhibit.

Needless to say, Loti didn’t have to twist my arm at all to get me on board. So Feb 20, 2010 I will give a talk to some young fresh minds, which I find very exciting.

The great thing about this opportunity is that it will allow me to educate & provide community service locally, which is a personal goal every year.

After Loti & I were done talking shop & exchanging fun life stories, I immediately called my Aunt Phyllis to share my news. I knew Aunt Phyllis would be excited because she’s an artist herself & teaches art in the Detroit Public School system. She was so excited for me & asked if she could join me at the talk. I so appreciate her undying support.

Now, I have to focus on my talk outline & prepare a visual presentation for the students to feast on.

On a side note: Loti introduced me to a new word; filthy. When something is filthy, its hot/bad ass/off the chain. When she first said it, I was like what did you just say? She laughed then explained. From there I challenged myself to say it throughout the week. See the Urban Dictionary’s 1. definition (I love the Urban Dictionary).

I’ve been using Blogger.com’s FTP service to update my blog for the past 5 years & it’s been great. The upside to using the FTP service is that the blog & files are all hosted on my server giving me additional administrative controls that I would not ordinarily have. The down side is that I am not able to use all of the nifty new little features that Blogger hosted sites have such as widgets.

Well, my happy little blogging world came crashing down like a ton of brinks yesterday when Blogger announced that they will no longer support their FTP service, which is used by .5% of their active users.

After digesting the news, I felt a little down. This has been my online home for 5 years & I know have to make a change. Change is good more often than not, but this is one change that I’m not ready for.

On a positive note, Blogger is offering migration assistance to those of us in the .%5 boat & I’m sure many will go along with it but I have decided to move on.

So sometime before March 26, 2010 Tafari’s Mind Spill will have a new look as I move to the Word Press platform. Stay tuned & lets all hope that this is smooth…