2012 was a bitch & my boo at the same damn time! Here are my top 10 highlights:

• Hearing my sweet baby Amelia tell me that she missed & loved me after not seeing each other for 8 months.
• Finalization of my divorce & My EPIC "The Ring Didn't Mean a Thing" divorce party.
• College graduation & party. The party & the morning after was some of the sexiest shit ever.
• My trip to Los Angeles: Having Lunch with my boo, Los Angelista at the La Brea Tar Pits: Having lunch with my boo, Ayanna at the Getty, Brunching with my boo, Thembi at Taste, Riding around & getting it with my niggas, Marcel & Asia, ya bish & of course the LA Sip & See at Lola's with all of my west coast family...
• Traipsing around Brooklyn with Cousin Dee & landing in Hotel Delano.
• Listening to Kendrick Lamar's "Good Kid, M.A.A.D City" album for the 1st time.
• Making the New York Times Style section.
• My parrot, Tongi laying 4 eggs.
• Being surrounded by love & support from my great friends and family.
• Re-connecting with my big cousin Danny.

Hit up my favorite portraits from the year..... [gallery columns="3" ids="5679,5680,5681,5682,5683,5678,5684,5687,5685,5686" orderby="rand"]

"It go Halle Berry or hallelujah Pick your poison tell me what you do Everybody gon' respect the shooter But the one in front of the gun lives forever And I been hustlin' all day, this a way, that a way Through canals and alleyways, just to say Money trees is the perfect place for shade and that's just how I feel"

Money Trees ~ Kendrick Lamar

I'm neither for or against guns. I am, however, for responsible ownership... If that means anything. Last week, I was in a situation where I was surrounded by tons of guns. It kinda felt dirty but cool at the same time. I wouldn't own a gun at all but I'm kinda hype about going to a gun range and shooting off a few rounds. Seems a little more exciting now that I've actually had a hands on experience. And this is a backstory to another story that I'll be discussing next month.

Many, many years ago, I had a dream where I was visited by the Devil. He came to me while I was half asleep & he sat in my  bedroom chair offering me an opportunity. From that dream or nightmare, I woke up screaming. My then wife asked me what was going on & at that time I was afraid to explain that the Devil was in the room with us talking to me. Then, before I realized that it was a dream questioned my faith and why the Jesus that I then believed in did not come to help me and escape from this being. For a long time this dream was a reality and I shared the story with a select few.  One good friend told me that it was impossible that the devil visited me and that Jesus covered me. I simply did not believe that and after a period of time, I abandoned pretty much all of my beliefs in Christianity and other religious sects. Of course, abandoning belief in the devil was included in my religion purge. But….. Driving home tonight after an evening with friends, I was stopped by this light & was reminded of the devil. Maybe (s)he exists, maybe (s)he doesn’t but for a moment at this cross road, I had a flash back of that one night when I had that dream or nightmare. Whatever you want to call it.

“Early this mornin', when you knocked upon my door Early this mornin', ooh, when you knocked upon my door And I said, "Hello, Satan, I believe it's time to go" Me and the devil, was walkin' side by side Me and the devil, ooh, was walkin' side by side And I'm goin' to beat my woman, until I get satisfied She say you don't see why, that you will dog me 'round (spoken: Now, babe, you know you ain't doin' me right, don'cha) She say you don't see why, ooh, that you will dog me 'round It must-a be that old evil spirit, so deep down in the ground You may bury my body, down by the highway side (spoken: Baby, I don't care where you bury my body when I'm dead and gone) You may bury my body, ooh, down by the highway side So my old evil spirit, can catch a Greyhound bus and ride”

Me and the Devil ~ Robert Johnson

A few years ago when I learned about the Martin Luther King Jr. monument that was to be constructed in our nation’s capital, I got excited. When I learned that the artist assigned to produce the sculpture of perhaps the most notable Negro in American history was a Negro himself, I got even more excited. Not too long after hearing this news, I learned that the project leaders decided to go with another designer for the MLK monument. Not really a big deal because things often change on large initiatives, right? The project leaders flipped the script and decided to bring on Chinese stoneworker, Lei Yixin. Making the changes even more controversial was decision to use Chinese granite for the memorial. - Why not an American sculptor? - Why not with American materials? - Just why? Yes, I was one of those people opposed to the statue after those changes. I wasn’t angry but I was very turned off. Fast-forward to this summer when the MLK monument opened… I decided that I would not visit. Fast-forward to this past weekend when I actually visited the monument… I broke down in a moment of DC tourist weakness. The monument is HUGE. On grand scale. Attractive. And obviously missing the “Made in China” markings. Even after being impressed by the size & style, I’m like meh… Then you add the fact that the monument is directly across from the Jefferson Memorial. Jefferson was not only a slave owner but a rapist of his female slaves. OK, let me calm down. I’m starting to get a racial tension headache up in here. I wonder what MLK would think of his monument being constructed by people living under a communist regime that oppresses, jails and tortures citizens while restricting internet access… Wait, some of that happens in the US also. Your thoughts? Am I tripping? BTW, the photo above was taken with my iPhone 4, which was “assembled in China.” I’m just saying.

Based on this image & this image alone, I think the key to Lil Wayne's continued success throughout the next 50-11 years will be do to bad facial tattoos & sagging while wearing leopard print jeggings. I'm just saying... Art Credit: Unknown

I think I figured out why the rapture didn’t happen yesterday. Here goes: God went to his locker for the "rapture tool kit" and found that the devil jammed up his lock. Since he & Jesus are both germaphobes, the "rapture tool kit" remains locked…. I mean, what else could it be?

As a self proclaimed Jesus impersonator, I will admit that I am not all that ready for the rapture this coming Saturday. So far, all that I have ready is a playlist, some batteries, a new pair of jeans and a full tank of gas. Sigh! From what I read, Jesus will be here at 1:45am Zulu, so if you’re not familiar with Zulu time, bitch, you better read up. With that said, I will quote one of favorite my soulful house DJs, Osunlade:

“…As sure as I live, I know there is a Black Messiah coming. The shadow of the spirit looms against the universal sky. There is a Black Messiah coming. The son of the great Black father who watches the door of time. There is a Black Messiah coming. His thoughts, they fill the air. There is a Black Messiah coming. He is the one we have be waiting for forever. There is a Black Messiah coming. He will love us all completely, there is a Black Messiah coming. The spirit of Malcolm will walk again. There is a Black Messiah coming. Bringing dreams that only Kings would dare to dream. There is a Black Messiah coming. The man of all men he will be. There is a Black Messiah coming. All people will be set free. There is a Black Messiah coming. He will walk this barren land removing all children out of ignorance. There is a Black Messiah coming…”

See you on the other side!

This ceviche was prepared by me. I shopped for the fresh ingredients. I sliced that avocado to perfection. I styled the plate. I took the photograph. I ate the ceviche. I processed the photo. I posted to photo to Flickr so that I could share my recipe and image with friends and admirers. This all took time, energy & most of all, $30 for a piece of red snapper. OK…. ----------------------------------------------------- Today, my pissedoffness with Air Canada Vacations has ended after having a discussion with their marketing director; Manon LeBlanc. I actually left a voicemail for a call back this morning & was happy to get a response this afternoon.  Evidently, my web campaign to spread this hot mess was successful because this story was circulated by Air Canada’s PR department and beyond. Since yesterday the post has nearly 300 hits. Yeah, I put it on blast here, my FB pages, Air Canada’s FB page, Flickr & Twitter. I’m happy that the post spread because I think it’s important for photographers who grind like I do in this craft to know that our work has value & we need to claim that! Anyway, here is the rub… Manon apologized for Nick’s unprofessional attitude and response. She also informed me that he is a 17 year old college intern working an unpaid 2 week assignment.  Until Nick encountered me, he was used to getting the photos that he inquired about. I guess you could say that he was really feeling himself before he ran into me. I’m cool with the apology & can somewhat process Nick’s behavior. On the photographer piece, Manon mentioned that Air Canada Vacations has been successful in procuring images from Flickr users in the past at no cost while providing credit.  They have also encountered Flickr members such as myself who know the value of their work is worth more than a byline.  In these fuck you, pay me instances, Air Canada Vacations isn't a position to pay for a photograph because they don't have a photography budget. In fact, they have and will change the focus of their story(s) if imagery cannot be obtained for .free99. I’m tripping on the fact that they are able to fill a 300 page publication with free images. I mean, it takes a real marketing pimp to snake charm a photographer with photo credit only as the company gets paid by clients/passengers booking trips in addition to advertising dollars that they get through the publication. Seems like the sky is falling or some crazy mess because more often than not that companies, groups & individuals need imagery but have no budget. During the conversation I stated that it MUST be known that just because a photo is posted on Flickr does not mean that it is some random snap shot. In fact many of the photographers on Flickr are professions, semi professions and highly skilled photo enthusiast. I refuse to play a part in that game. The gas is too damn high! Lessons learned:

• Sometimes you have to cuss a bitch out
• Standing your ground keeps you from being taken advantage of
• Social media is a wonderful platform to spread information rapidly
• I love telling people to “Google my name & do my resume.”
• I’m an artist and I’m sensitive about my shit

Lastly, I am thankful for Air Canada Vacations reaching back out to me to smooth this out & I hope that Nick uses this interaction as a workplace learning example on how not to wild out. And no, they did not buy the photo, offer me a free trip, but they did Google my name.

With that wide availability of PCs, word processing software and consumer grade printers, I struggle to understand why some businesses create these tacky, poorly written signs. I saw this one yesterday while grabbing a quick lunch at Lou’s Deli in Southfield, MI. Bad handwriting, shady message & painter’s tape all combing to create an unprofessional hot mess. The hot mess was worse on the inside of the spot when I noticed an older gentleman selling mixed gospel CDs in one of the new wider booths. I wanted to get a photo of him but he was watching me like a hawk. All I could do was shake my head & laugh about the ever increasing size of American asses.

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