I will not confess to loving Judge Joe Brown, however if I did, this video would be a great representation why.

I’m still laughing at how Judge Joe Brown broke the photographer down with her entry-level equipment. Classic!!!!

Entry level camera, slow kit lenses, Walmart prints & a lack of planning sealed the deal for a bad job in this case.

And whatever happened to customer service?

New photographers – Be cautious with how you present yourself & services. Having a camera doesn’t make you a professional. Skill, knowledge, abilities, & practice go a long way.

Brides – Sometimes you get what you pay for. Ask for samples, referrals etc! I’m just saying.

Judge Joe Brown – You are the man! And next time you’re in Detroit, lets go out shooting.

I love when Negro pop culture blogs do those “who rocked it better” posts & always wondered if I would do that here. Well I’m not exactly out looking for fashion trends etc but I couldn’t pass this opportunity up.

So anyway, I ask you, who rocked “Island Life” best? Is it a toss up???

Behind the Island Life album cover:

Grace Jones’ former lover & photographer Jean Paul Goude took this photo of her in 1978 for a New York Magazine model profile.

Of the image, Goude has stated in his book “So Far, So Goude:”

“…unless you are extraordinarily supple, you cannot do this arabesque. The main point is that Grace couldn’t do it, and that’s the basis of my entire work: creating a credible illusion.”

The image is actually a composite of several photos stitched together to make this iconic image. Awesome work from the pre-Photoshop days!

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

Just for shits & giggles, I decided to see what a few random Google auto searches would yield by simply typing in “black people…” I guess a lot of people are Googling such topics like illustrated below. Is it BS, racism, coincidental or just crazy?

And for the record, I don’t act like an animal, smell like cocoa butter or sour milk, nor do I love watermelon. In fact, I hate watermelon but I LOVE some good fried chicken.

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 is what happens when I’m bored & hopped up on candy while in class.

Last night, I played with my hair & came up with the style above. Suite Suzy called it a “Fuck Bun” & I said no, it’s a “Hollywood Fuck Bun.” How both names came about is totally random & somewhat private, so I will not go further into any details.

So, last night Suite Suzy & I had a child free date; dinner & a movie & I decided to wear the “Hollywood Fuck Bun.” The first & only concern about rocking the “Hollywood Fuck Bun” was if it would be obstructive at the movies. So…., it then became a social experiment. How would the “Hollywood Fuck Bun” fare at the theater???

Well, I’m happy to report that the “Hollywood Fuck Bun” was not obstructive at the movies but it happened to be an exotic conversation piece as people keep asking me about it. And trust me, I really got a kick out of seeing peoples faces when I told them that it was called a “Hollywood Fuck Bun!” Talk about blank stares & confusion.

Hours later…

We’re back home & I got Suite Suzy to take a few new portraits of me. Yeah, I know, I like a lot of photos of me. I’m an artistic narcissist; sue me!

After some coaching on the lighting set-up, shutter speed, aperture settings & composition, my boo was ready to capture my 1st photos of 2010.

I’m very excited about the results!

Anyway, so yesterday afternoon, I took a bunch nude photos of myself & the images made me throw up in my mouth. OK! Thanks! Bye!

Check out the remix here.

Something tells me that this ad is a little more than racist. I don’t think Australia in general will ever get it. Am I tripping?

From the talking heads of KFC

“It is a light-hearted reference to the West Indian cricket team. The ad was reproduced online in the US without KFC’s permission, where we are told a culturally-based stereotype exists, leading to the incorrect assertion of racism. We unequivocally condemn discrimination of any type and have a proud history as one of the world’s leading employers for diversity.”

I finally had my turn to see one of the most anticipated Black films this year today: “Good Hair.”

Although I was very excited to see this film, I walked in with an open mind & no real expectations. With that said, I really enjoyed the film as a good piece of edutainment. Actually at one point, it seemed to turn into a mocumentary.

Upon leaving the theater, I posted this on Facebook:

“”Good Hair” was entertaining. Was it deep? No! Will it spark good debates? Not really! Will Black men & women ever abandon their lust for white beauty euphoria? Hell no! But…. I think Rock did a good job though providing good edutainment.”

A couple things that freaked me out in the film were learning about how Indian hair is actually obtained (very disturbing), Derek J’s 4” boots, hearing stories of 2 & 3 year old children getting their hair permed.

Driving home, I figured out that I know entirely too much about Black women’s hair. I actually wish I could un-learn/undo/un-see some of my knowledge & experiences. Call it a cornrow, fried dyed & laid to the side hot mess overload of mass proportions.

If you’ve been reading me for a while or seen my posts on other blogs, you know that I’m always willing to start or jump into a fight/heated discussion on natural vs. chemically/heat processed hair. Well as of lately, I’ve thrown up my hands in this never-ending battle.

I’m married & my woman has “good” Mulatto hair (yes, I did say it! Who gone check me boo?) so I don’t have to worry about weaves, perms, hot combs, running my fingers through her hair without running across a track, snagging a hang nail or getting a ring caught. My daughters rock natural looks & gave up fighting with me on straight looks. It’s a win all the way around for me (for now anyway).

I cannot care or put energy into what other people do with their mops. I’m not fucking them or paying for anything so what difference does my opinion make.

If you want locks; great! If you want to rock a kinky look; great! If you want a perm all down your back; great! If you want to pay hundreds of dollars for hair that an Indian woman shaved off to sacrifice in the name of her religion or had stolen as she slept; great! If you’re dumb enough to think that pressed hair makes you natural: great! Gotta put your hair in the lay-a-way; great! You do you boo!

Wait, let me get back to the movie! Overall, this movie is totally worth seeing even if on a bootleg from the DVD man that visits your salon or barbershop.

So tell me, have you seen it? What are your thoughts? Talk to me!

Photo Above:
Me @ The Detroit Institute of Arts
Taken summer 1992
Hair Styled by Curtis Griffin
Photog: Unknown :(