I’ve been fascinated by the work of Vivian Maier since her work made it’s way to the internet a few years ago. Talk about a true hidden treasure discovery.

I cannot wait until this film is released. Seems like she had quite the secret life.

The New York City Million Hoodie March in support of Trayvon Martin was held today & still going on as I type this post. If you’re not familiar with Trayvon Martin, he was a 17 year old who was murdered by a rogue crazed and racial profiling community watch member named George Zimmerman.

Zimmerman claims that he shot Martin in self defense but the evidence so far says otherwise. When police came to the scene, they found Martin armed only with a bag of Skittles and an Arizona Iced Tea. Where does self defense make sense?

Several weeks later:
- Zimmerman has not been charged
- The 911 tape has been released and it is a heartbreaker
- The Dept of Justice and FBI are now involved
- A Grand Jury is being sorted out
- Several marches and rallies are planned around the country
- Floridian officials are calling for the Sanford, FL police chief to step down
- Black men and boys are simply not safe from racial profiling

To support Trayvon Martin, I wore my hoodie. Yes, it was hot but a young man was murdered so my little discomfort meant nothing in the grand scheme of things.

Check out Trayvon’s mother talking to marchers today.

This story just really makes me upset. Will things ever change?

I saw this video & I died laughing!!! First at Rice’s must have and they way that she was so animated. Second at how the host/interviewer got all fake “sister-girl” on her. Who does that with a former White House official.

As for Robertson… Nothing he says is shocking. Nothing…

10 years ago, I met Cole Jordan and he helped me to get back in school to complete my baccalaureate. Since then, he & his wife Diane have been like parents. Today, I learned that he has been a fugitive for the past 40+ years and is now in jail in California.  I am beyond shocked & devastated as I sit in my office trying not to cry.

I called Diane, the woman that introduced me to Toni Morrison (not the person but the literature) and we comforted each other. I needed to hear her voice and know that she was OK.

For the longest, Cole & I have been planning on getting a coffee to catch up but our busy lives made that meeting not happen.

Now, I’m sitting here wishing that it did. It’s always after the fact….

The fact that Cole turned himself into the authorities speaks volumes to me! I know Cole to be a man of integrity, love, honesty, style, education advocate and most of all, a friend who personifies what a Black man should be.

I have to wrap my head around this. I really do.

I feel for Cole, Diane, and their sons, my brothers from another mother.

I don’t know the facts of the case that got Cole to this point. I don’t know what led to whatever but I have to say that it does sound pretty bad ass. I’m just saying.

To get the backstory, check here. I read it 4 times and still like, just like….

Photo Credit: Michael Macor / San Francisco Chronicle

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.

1987… I had my introduction to computers in the 7th grade at Durfee middle school. I LOVED my computer class but I didn’t like my teacher, Mr. Donaldson at all.  He was tall, super skinny, high yellow, short but pointy afro and a nose the size of a small Yukon gold potato. He always seemed to be on me making threats and just generally being a hard ass.

Although he was not a teacher that left a positive impression, I learned a lot in his class working on Macintosh computers. Mr. Donaldson would say, “it’s time to get on the Macintosh.” That’s so funny to me now.

We did all sorts of education activities and commands that would make the computer talk to us.

During free time, we worked and printed signs from a program named “Print Shop” (does this still exist). I remember being fascinated by the dot matrix printer and all the noise that it made.

We also got to play “Oregon Trail,” which I still love! Totally one of the best games ever!!!

After a year in that class, I did not touch a computer again until 1992 when I was a high school junior. Then it was all about Windows.

Fast-forward to 1998 and I have my very first PC. It was a Compaq Presario. I swear that I loved that thing. Then it died! Over the course of time, several Windows based PCs and laptops followed and they all died tragic deaths of epic proportions.

About 6 years ago, I gave up on Windows based PCs and started to move to Mac only. First a laptop, then a desktop. I was hooked. My kids even have a Mac desktop.

I guess I would say that I am somewhat of an Apple loyalist but I’m not ride or die like others, however I LOVE going to the Apple store, especially the Apple store on 5th Ave in New York.

Last night when the world learned that former Apple CEO, Steve Jobs passed, it seemed like Twitter, news sites and blogs that I follow were going to explode with the news.

I really don’t do RIPs but I am feeling the need because the man created a movement and a computing lifestyle that made being a nerd cool… so I’ll leave it there.

<tackynote>While a sad moment in modern history (for tech lovers), I can’t help but to wonder about the timing of the death. Was he kept alive long enough to let the release of the iPhone precede his death? Is it a total coincidence? I’m just saying…</tackynote>

When things are shiny & new, everyone wants a piece. I’m happy that Ted was “discovered” & I’m VERY happy that he is in recovery now but it’s a shame how it all played out for him under the media pressure.

Shame on Kraft, The Cavaliers & them other bitches who dropped Ted like a hot potato. I mean, come on, did you really expect that he had a squeaky clean past. Perhaps they should have did some background checking before they started sucking his dick & making offers because they wanted to look “nice & caring.” I’m just saying.

I’m hoping that Ted heals the areas of his life that were neglected for so long. While healing, I hope that the money/fame hungry vultures are kept at bay. Let a brother be successful the right way.

Now that I said my piece, peep this story I found on Good.Is.

“A Month Later, “Homeless Man with a Golden Voice” Is Abandoned by His Corporate Friends” by Cord Jefferson

“In early January, a journalist in Ohio came across a homeless man possessed of a “golden radio voice.” That man, as you probably know, was Ted Williams, and the journalist’s video footage of him quickly became a hit on the internet and television. Williams got a makeover seemingly overnight, and soon he was doing voiceovers for Kraft products, appearing in TV ads, and fielding an announcing job offer from the Cleveland Cavaliers. But then reality struck.

After getting into an altercation with his daughter, an altercation for which he was not , Williams was pressured into going into rehab for alcohol addiction by TV psychologist Dr. Phil McGraw. He then left almost immediately, saying he felt rushed and that the process (i.e. being broadcast on Dr. Phil live from rehab) felt “scripted.” Williams then checked himself into a sober living house for voiceover actors in Los Angeles, where he could come and go as he pleased, but where he still needed to submit to drug tests and promise to remain clean.

Eventually came word that Williams had long ago abandoned his nine children. And then The Smoking Gun released his rap sheet. Ultimately, it turned out that the man with the golden voice did not have such a golden history.

Alas, in the aftermath of his troubled second chance, Williams is still making minor appearances—the Los Angeles Times reports he was recently at a milkshake shop but Kraft hasn’t brought him back, his TV ads have been pulled, and the Cavaliers’ job offer has been reneged.” Read More Here…

Photo Credit: AP

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!

Now that President Barack Obama has proven for the 50-11th time that he was born as a human in Hawaii, which happens to be an American state, we can go back to reality where the sky is blue, the grass is green.

Yesterday, I got to a fever pitch with this birther bullshit & posted this:

“The people questioning Obama’s place of birth & scholastic record are proof that some people really think a Black man is not worthy of greatness. Reminds me of when Malcolm X’s schoolteacher told him that he would be nothing. Reminds me of when a high school teacher (Michelle Ries from Mackenzie, I just put you on blast bitch!) of mine told me that college was not for me.

I’m actually taking it personal.”

Racism is so institutionalized in this country to the point that some people just don’t know it when they see it. Maybe they do know & see it, but just don’t care because they feel & are privileged.

WOOOOOSAAAAAAHHHHH!!!

With that rant out of my system this image is a play on “Of Earth & Sky” from 2009.

The field where I photography the grassy portion of “Of Earth & Sky” is no longer there. Three weeks ago it was razed by bulldozers making way for two new charter schools. I swear I don’t know why we need more schools in this area when two closed within the last year. Will students magically appear?

WOOOOOSAAAAAAHHHHH!!

I met Damian Furtch last month in New York while I was at that Patricia Field party that I posted about recently.

When he saw my camera, he asked if I could take a photo of him and his friends. Then next thing I know, he asking me to take all these other photos. Jokingly, I said “this is not a photo shoot,”  but he was cool. After I took some shots, he asked for my card so that he could follow up.

Days later, he reached out to me via Facebook for the photos so I hooked him up.

At the same party that I met Damian, I also met Manila Luzon who posted on Facebook last night that Damian was attacked in New York because he was gay.

I was like damn! When I read the story, I was just like WTF! Where does this hate come from?

“26 year old Damian Furtch was on his way home from work at a restaurant late Sat night (Sunday morning), when he stopped off at a McDonalds in NYC’s West Village ( a predominantly gay area) to get some food. It was approx. 4:30 am. While inside the restaurant Damian noticed 2 men staring at him – giving him “looks” – we have all been there, we know what this feels like. It was late, Damian was tired, he felt uncomfortable and he didn’t want any trouble so he left. He was across the street, walking away while on the phone to a friend when the 2 men from McDonalds approached him and asked him “if he had a problem” before he knew it he was punched in the face by one man, then instantly felt another punch by the second perp, and then he heard it – “You Fucking Faggot”, the words as hurtful as the punches.

Damian managed to get away – but not before suffering a severe beating to his face – and head to the nearest hospital where the police were called. He filed a police report and the cops appropriately asked him if they used any slurs. Damian said yes “they called me a faggot.” Now these 2 thugs are wanted in connection to a HATE crime. Damian got 4 stitches and they have to break and re-set his nose.

One of the perps has a huge tattoo of a gothic cross under his left eye..it was approximately 2 inches…Damian will be going to the precinct to go through mug shots and the police have subpoenaed the video surveillance tape from McDonalds.” (Source)

I don’t know Damian, but when I photograph people, I feel connected to them in a way and more often than not, their stories interest me.

I hope that he heals from these physical wounds soon, while working through the emotional scars.

This world can be fucked up and sometimes I struggle to understand hate. It makes no since to me for anyone to consciously put that much energy behind something causes harm to others on any level.

Just last week, I was talking to a friend about posting images online and how there is no real way to protect your work from being stolen once you publish it to the world.

As an artist, I mos def want my work to be seen by as many people as possible, but I want to be the one who controls that experience. Unfortunately, I, you, whoever cannot control that because it’s just out there to be manipulated by those with good or ill intentions.

If you want to decrease or eliminate the possibility of your work being stolen, copied, reworked etc, don’t post it online. It’s simply the best option of few.

I gave up on the fight, generally speaking, but I will contact bloggers and or designers who I have busted using some of my art.

The internet is a big cold place like the Atlantic so it is impossible to comb through and be a detective. Not only that, who has the time?

In the case of Noam Galai, it’s totally awesome that he got his work out there, but the unfortunate piece is that he was unknown, hardly credited & to a point unpaid for his “Screaming For Help” image seen above (6,618 views, 33 comments & 50 favorites on Flickr for this colored version).

It seems like he made peace with it all but I can imagine how he may have & must feel. I know I went on a mini rampage when I thought Microsoft used one of my images without my permission for an ad.

This short video tells Noam’s story and how his image was spread across the globe literally before he had a clue about it.

I love Getty Images, but I guess they don’t always know what they are talking about.

Are you an artist? Do you have a general fear that someone may take your work that you posted online? Talk to me…

Video courtesy of FStoppers
Photo courtesy Noam Galai

I don’t follow many celebrities on Twitter partly because most of them don’t correspond with their fans or either they are modern day wannabe social media prophets.

But every now & then you may see a tweet something like this:

The tweet was made yesterday and like some weird Kwanzaa omen, she died today of causes yet to be determined.

Like many Twitter deaths that occur on a daily basis, this had to be vetted.

After about 30 minutes of messages & phones calls the word came that it was indeed true. Lady Tee had passed onto the next phase of her existence.

The news was initially saddening, then it just became tragic.

No, I did not know Lady Tee but like so many others I am sure, her music & being penetrated my soul at some special moments.

I can literally recall when my aunt Carol got me hooked on Teena back in 1981 when “It Must Be Magic” was released. I cannot tell you how many times that  I have listened to “Portuguese Love…”

I would be lying if I said that I did not get emotional as news that TRUE R&B legend had left us.

What is it about this time of year?

At this point, I can only imagine her & Rick James sitting around talking shit & planning their next moves.

I’ll miss you Teena but your music will live on in my heart & in my music library!