Hip Hop, Crack Head, Low Life, Gang Banger...

I mean... eminently distinguished Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates busted for being black in his own home.

Let It Not Be Said...

That I don't stand up for all oppressed minorities...

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Still Enough To Go Around...

Frank Rich claims this may, in fact, be the final swan song of the racist mindset that epitomized the world I was born into. Me, I'm not that optimistic. There's still many a complete Neanderthal babbling about (not to mention their sympathizers)- and their "apologies" somehow fail to reassure me...

San Francisco...

San Francisco is arguably the most beautiful city in the US of A. And as previously alluded to, certainly not without its own problems- homelessness being one, and rising crime another. The former has long been a huge problem, and the latter can only increase with the current economic crisis...

Two For The Road...

Got beaten to the punch twice this past week- and on consecutive days! The almighty Duckrabbit posted on Mark Page's new book (which never fails to bring a smile to my face). Obviously, much thought and reflection have gone into the concept, execution and naming of this uniquely handsome and singular production. Click on photo to order...

And what will remain an unnamed blog highlighted Sophie Gerrard's E-Wasteland, an extraordinary essay about e-waste "recycling" in India. Her other work's well worth a look too... (via BoingBoing)

J.B.

3rd Ward Emerging Photo...

One totally emergifying experience...

Aint It The Truth...

My Favoite Museum Guard

How many published, award winning photojournalists and Guggenheim recipients do you know of that work as... museum guards? Well, I currently know of only one (thanks to Lens blog). Jason Eskanazi- a helluva extraordinary photographer, human being- and...

White and Normal...

As CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin argued on air: "What's worth noting about what Jeff Sessions -- the line of questioning, was that being a white man, that's normal. Everybody else has biases and prejudices ... but the white man, they don't have any ethnicity, they don't have any gender, they're just like the normal folks, and I thought that was a little jarring."

HOPE?

I usually refrain from such "easy prey" images, but sometimes the ironies before your very eyes are just too damn strong to ignore. Obviously, you can't pin homelessness on Obama- but what specific action has he initiated to inspire HOPE particularly in relation to this problem? Realistically, I didn't expect much more than a "Black Clinton," but so far he has actually continued many Bush policies. He previously voted to excuse, forgive and actually strengthen domestic spying, has continued indeterminate detainee detention, staffed his Cabinet with corporate finance insiders, retained Bush era prosecutors, and shown no interest whatsoever in providing accountability concerning the blatant, unrepentant criminal actions of the previous administration.

For now, HOPE remains very much looking aloft safely behind those security bars, deftly ignoring the reality curled up directly beside it.

Send Lots of Your Money To Planet Mag...

You can call this a case of being a sore loser all you want- but I've lost often enough over the years to know better than to submit to any competition expecting to win. I'm usually reluctant to enter such things, but occasionally, being human and all, hope (and desperation) does get the better of me.

Regardless, Planet magazine does have quite the set. Their 2nd Annual Global Travel Photo Contest is ridiculously high on the list of money grubbing photo competitions- at least as high on the list as their first annual contest, which also charged FIFTEEN Dollars PER Photo! That's right- each and every image you submit will cost you 15 greenbacks!

Now, no one forced me to enter, true that. All I'm saying is that you'd think for that price they'd at least honor their own obligations which stated entrants would be automatically notified upon receipt of submission- I never was (despite two inquiries). That's one... two... three separate opportunities to respond with a simple yes or no reply. But they sure as hell notified me right quick when to send more $$$!

Fool me once...

The Hurt Locker

I've read how The Hurt Locker is neither pro nor anti-war. Something I find hard to believe after watching one of the most harrowing, nerve wracking war movies ever made. The film has the viewer share the relentlessly vulnerable experience of being a constant target. The tension and suspense is not in how big a hero you're going to be (no one cares), or how many bad guys you're going to kill (they're faceless, interchangeable and unlimited); it's quite simply- are you going to stay alive one more day? And it slowly, inexorably eats away at you each and every second whether in the field, at base awaiting the next operation, or back home marking the days toward next deployment to relive hell all over again. How does any soldier survive the experience without PTSD, or the viewer leave this movie wanting to exchange their life (no matter how miserable) for this veritable living nightmare?

Vacation Over...Earthquake Soon

Vacation's over; for two pitifully short weeks I actually got to make believe I had some small amount of control over my life. Now it's back to the 50 other weeks of debt and reality. It's not the most comforting thing ending vacation watching a History Channel special on just how much more devastating the inevitable, and sooner, rather than later, earthquake in San Francisco will be compared to its 1906 predecessor. Of course, if it happens while I'm here, I got the 20, the Widelux and the Tri-X ready to roll... That is, if the wife and I are not crushed under several tons of debris, burned beyond recognition, or impaled, dismembered or decapitated by falling glass... Until then, the bills for my lavish lifestyle will keep me occupied.

Cyclist- 6/27/09

Separating The Men From The Boys...

Well, Le Tour de France really starts today as they hit the Pyrenees. Will Alberto Contador finally announce himself as his young legs propel him up the mountains he's meant to dominate? Will the 37 yr old legs of Lance Armstrong remain as formidable as before? This battle for leadership, within one team no less, is tension and excitement enough... Or will someone else create their own drama and leave the favorites behind?

PDN Rapid Response Time...

Must say, found it curious that PDN Pulse pounced on this story on the very same day the issue of digital manipulation was raised; but PDN had to be publicly shamed into responding over a period of weeks to the charge of passive racism on their count...

And for those who still think racism is well... just so yesterday- check out the post directly below! And this one, and...

What Year Is This???

"When the minority children got in the pool all of the Caucasian children immediately exited the pool," Horace Gibson, parent of a day camp child, wrote in an email. "The pool attendants came and told the black children that they did not allow minorities in the club and needed the children to leave immediately."

Photographic OCD?

Well, it certainly looks like yet another "documentary photographer" has been caught with his hands in the "art" photography grab bag. That is, someone who has purposely gone so out of his way to deny he does any digital manipulation, certainly appears to have both hands deep into it- so much so, the NY Times has removed his featured essay from their site. Some people are obviously better able to spot such things than myself, I guess the question is- since this wasn't particularly a flash news item, shouldn't these images (all images in this day and age) have been vetted more meticulously by a photo editor who can, in fact, identify such manipulation for such a prestigious organization? Perhaps, this should even be a separate position- Image Authenticity Editor?

At this point, it sure seems as if Edgar Martins has got quite the case of photographic OCD. (via HuffPo)

Forty Years and Several Generations...

I was thirteen at the time, and it's taken me forty years to realize the iconic photo above was taken by the infamous Burk Uzzle...

What Place!?!

This is way, waaay too early in the game to draw any conclusions, other than to say that Le Boss still has the thrill factor. This will soon be relegated to ancient history as the days and weeks inexorably wear on in this race of unholy attrition. But the old feuds are back and- new ones to be determined?