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’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!

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.

The last week, has been heavy since the news of the 7.0 earthquake in Haiti. The images alone haunted my dreams fro days. The concern over what would happen to my brothers & sisters in the Diaspora in the wake of chaos, destruction & panic broke my heart, as I’m sure is the case with most people who watch and wait for the slightest bit of good news.

The only thing that I knew to do immediately was donate cash for this cause & that was easy. I sent a text message to 501501 with the word Yele. Later, Suite Suzy went online & made a larger donation to the same organization.

Yes, these are small donations but every dollar adds up quickly. So I encourage you to act with a cash donations ASAP.

Here are a few links:

• American Red Cross
• Americares
• CARE
• Direct Relief International
• Doctors Without Borders
• Food for Poor
• Heart to Heart International
• International Rehabilitation Forum
• International Rescue Committee
• Oxfam
• Partners in Health
• Save the Children
• UNICEF
• World Food Programme
• Yele Haiti

As I stated on Twitter earlier this week: “I hate to be the bearer of bad news but prayers don’t deliver food, aid, medicines or missing loved ones. Cash will make all of the above happen. I’m just saying.

On a similar but somewhat related note, I’d like to address Pat Robert’s most ignorant statement to date. In case, you missed it, that fool said… What, you can see for yourself in the video below followed by two on point rebuttals.

I’d like to say Pat Robertson; you have officially been checked bitch!

One a final note, I spotted this very witty note from the devil to Pat Robertson written by Lily Coyle, of Minneapolis on NPR’s website today.

“Dear Pat Robertson,

I know that you know that all press is good press, so I appreciate the shout-out. And you make God look like a big mean bully who kicks people when they are down, so I’m all over that action.

But when you say that Haiti has made a pact with me, it is totally humiliating. I may be evil incarnate, but I’m no welcher. The way you put it, making a deal with me leaves folks desperate and impoverished.

Sure, in the afterlife, but when I strike bargains with people, they first get something here on earth — glamour, beauty, talent, wealth, fame, glory, a golden fiddle. Those Haitians have nothing, and I mean nothing. And that was before the earthquake. Haven’t you seen “Crossroads”? Or “Damn Yankees”?

If I had a thing going with Haiti, there’d be lots of banks, skyscrapers, SUVs, exclusive night clubs, Botox — that kind of thing. An 80 percent poverty rate is so not my style. Nothing against it – I’m just saying: Not how I roll.

You’re doing great work, Pat, and I don’t want to clip your wings — just, come on, you’re making me look bad. And not the good kind of bad. Keep blaming God. That’s working. But leave me out of it, please. Or we may need to renegotiate your own contract.

Best, Satan”

Photo Above:?
Photographer: Unknown
Decedents: 2010 Haiti earthquake victims

After reading Senator Harry Reid’s [“unintentional“] racist comment, I went into blank stare mode, then snapped out & went straight into no that mutha fucka didn’t mode. In case you’ve been under a rock, this fool said privately that he believed Barack Obama was well suited to a presidential run because he is a “light-skinned” African American “with no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one.”

First, of all, it’s clear that there is a fear/dislike of the dark skinned Black. Reid’s statement & many echoed around news outlets, blogs etc have led me to believe that all of these incidences of unintentional racism go to the core of beliefs held by many white Americans.

I don’t know how many times today I’ve heard that Barack Obama would have not been our president had he been darker. Sounds like some Willie Lynch shit to me. Is a light Negro less dangerous & friendlier than a dark Negro?

Truth be told, if our ancestors were not raped and… No, I won’t go there, that’s another blog post.

Second, what the fuck is a “Negro dialect?” I’ve been searching for that meaning all weekend! And how does Reid know who has the ability to turn said dialect on & off? Is the ability to turn it on & off based on skin complexion?

Dictionary.com defines dialect as – a variety of a language that is distinguished from other varieties of the same language by features of phonology, grammar, and vocabulary, and by its use by a group of speakers who are set off from others geographically or socially.

Black Americans, just like any other group on this country are now homogeneous. And the last time I polled, my Negro friends, 94.254% of them sounded like my white friends. I’m just saying.

So now people, mainly republicans are calling on Reid to step down. I’m actually torn on this; not sure if he straight up needs to go or if he needs a verbal bitch slap from the top down; starting with the Black Messiah (Barack Obama) himself. Well, I guess that verbal bitch slap from the Black Messiah won’t be coming. He just feels that Reid used “inartful language.”

Lastly, I have an issue with the Congressional Black Caucus unequivocally backing Reid. Where’s the out rage in our “Black” leaders on Capital Hill?

Now: Do I dare broach the subject of a white man claiming that he’s blacker than a Black man? A nasty looking white man, who’s a disgrace to the state of IL, politics in general & possibly his race thinks that he’s blacker than a Black men; the man running this fucking nation? I think not!

Obama may be a lot of things, but one thing is, he is undeniably is the quintessential Black man in every fashion.

This fool Rod Blababitch Blagojevich said to Esquire magazine:

“I’m blacker than Barack Obama. I shined shoes. I grew up in a five-room apartment. My father had a little Laundromat in a black community not far from where he lived. I saw it all growing up.”

Since when does shining shoes give a white man a ghetto pass? Shit, I play golf but that doesn’t make me white, or wanted on the golf course. Actually, I don’t play golf; I just want to make a point.

Honestly, I can’t even be mad at Blagojevich for his dumb ass comment. It’s clear that he’s struggling to remain relevant & in the news. What better way to attempt that by saying something so over the top. Creating this controversy gave this fool another three minutes on his fading fifteen minutes of fame. I guess his upcoming appearance on “Celebrity Apprentice” wasn’t enough.

I’ll tell you; today, I suffered the biggest racial tension headache that I’ve experienced since Don Dumb Imus said with pride; “Them some nappy headed hoes.”

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.”

Today I heard from a client who saw an image of her on a MSN website advertising single ladies “in your area.”

She sent me a screen shot of the page & I totally flipped out! She signed a model release for me so that I could submit it to Getty images Flickr Collection a few months ago but it had not sold. So knowing that it hadn’t sold, I KNEW it was being used without my authorization. With that in mind, I went storming around the internet for answers.

I left messages on the MSN support site, left a message, started a discussion thread with Bing via FB, & later posted something to the Flickr Getty Images contributor forum.

As you can imagine, I was quite upset. Like really upset.

To my relief, by the end of the day, I was contacted by the Bing Facebook team, letting me know that they were investigating the situation on my behalf. About an hour after that, I received a call from one of Microsoft’s managing photo editors who explained that the image in question was indeed used lawfully & that it was recently purchased from Getty Images via the Flickr Collection.

“Hi Tafari

I’m a Managing Photo Editor at Microsoft and your mail and link to: http://www.twitpic.com/vls82 was forwarded to me.. This is an image we acquired from Getty (see the info below with your credit) and is in the cue for payment. We take licensing very seriously and go to great lengths to make certain our images are licensed correctly…”

Funny thing is, somewhere along the way & during my hastiness, I forgot that the image was indeed available via Getty.

Had I paid better attention, I would have contacted Getty images & let them do the investigating for me. Sigh! These days, one can never be careful with protecting your creative properties

So since all of the drama was laid to reset, I made amends with Microsoft for my hasty reaction. With quick reactions, a couple of tweets, a FB post & no research, all kinds of hell can break loose.

Oh, by the way, my client thought that this was comical & right now, she single & still very much sexy.

See my original image here.

Yesterday, I was in the locker room at the gym washing my hands before I headed to work out when I said hello to another member. He responded back by with, “hello, how are you?” I was like fine.

He then asked me if I was ready for Christmas. I told him that I wasn’t because I don’t celebrate Christmas.

He then looked at me all confused & was like really? I was like really!

He then asked me is I was a Muslim. I said no. Then he asked me if I was Jewish. I told him no.

Before he could ask me anymore personal questions, I simply stated that I was holiday celebration hating Atheist.

As you can imagine there was a long uncomfortable silence as I walked away. Before I left the locker room, he said, I hope that your soul finds salvation.

So WTF, I’m not at the gym to be preached at; I’m there to lose this rotund belly & man titties.

I judge no one for their beliefs or lack there of, so I expect the same in return.

I really don’t get this commercial. Why do Black athletes have to be compared to animals? Maybe Im tripping…