Barack Obama – Stronger on opposing CEO greed, in command of numbers and facts, vowed not to give the nations wealth away, both smart and funny, appeared more sincere and honest, not anti-government but wanted to make it work better, thinks and responds quickly but most importantly, accurately.

John McCain – weak on clearly explaining his own policy, lacked facts and details, attack! attack! attack, but guess what, they don’t work, appeared bitter and snappy, some anti-government rhetoric could be construde as anarchist (which just might be bitterness shining through), repeated same old stump speech, left an impression with me that he’s an “angry old man,” and last but not least, I’m convinced that he blinks when he lies.

Vincent J. Brown:

October 3rd, 2008 (Abington, PA) – Barack Obama, while campaigning in the Abington suburb of Philadelphia, shook MY hand. A wonderful experience. Here’s the video

In the video, you can hear the Secret Service agent talking to me. First telling me to move my camera behind me because it was hanging over the railing and Barack Obama, speaking directly to me calling me, “Sir.” Better photos from my Canon DSLR to come.

Recorded with a jailbroken, 16GB Apple iPhone 3G (white)

UPDATE: CNN.com features my iReport video under “Latest News”

MAD MCCAIN: Where the truth lies
Photoshopped in a couple of minutes.

I had this idea, today, as I watched CNN re-air John McCain’s latest, sleezy ad. It reminded me of something the 1960′s advertising executives in AMC’s award winning drama, Mad Men would do. Also, their tag line for the show, "Where the truth lies," fits so perfectly to my understanding of how John McCain has run this campain. Or, better yet, how his party and its surrogates have been running it for him.

So, I was sitting in my room, sick with a head cold, watching the presidential debates on CNN while twittering feverishly, just amazed at how "presidential" Barack Obama looked and sounded, standing next to a 26 year Senator and "war hero." McCain, on the other hand, fell short of any expectation I had of him performing well on that night, September 26, 2008. I guess that’s what happens when you make an empty gesture of suspending your campaign to wreck negotiations in Congress.

I listened to the talking heads on CNN, MSNBC and yes, even FOX News, much to my chagrin. They all do a GREAT job of spinning you right around. Whatever thoughts you had post-debate, were essentially considered null and void by these blabbering fools, talking in circles amongst themselves about issues WE THE CITIZENS should be deciding for ourselves, impartially if it can be helped.

That said, I was all but fed up with cable news coverage so I went to sleep, only to wake up in the middle of the night to a John McCain ad that essentially cherry picked "John is right" clips that Barack Obama uttered only a few times. Of course, the McCain M(AD) MEN, as well as cable news stations did not accurately portray Sen. Obama’s full sentiments. They even were as clumsy to allow stay in the video Senator Obama saying "but…" at the end of a sentence outlining mutual respect and support for John McCain’s understanding of a particular issue.

None of that matters when you’re behind in key polls and your Vice Presidential candidate can’t speak for 4 minutes without making Katie Couric look like Madeleine Albright.

Legal?
This is considered a political parody. Not endorsed by any politician or party. It represents my views and creative spirit at the time. All rights reserved their respective owners. In particular, AMC for the promo ad for Mad Men and Electricity & Lust, where I swiped the image from (thanks, Google).

Interesting people and places captured in these two sets. The first set is from the Joe Biden “Community Gathering” at Linvilla Farms in Media, PA. The second set is of Michelle Obama, Jill Biden, Ed Rendell and Mayor Michael Nutter at the Francis Myers Recreation Center in South West
Philadelphia.

SET #1: Joe Biden Community Gathering, Media PA

SET #2: Michelle Obama / Jill Biden Campaign Rally, Philly PA

Hope you enjoy the photos…

UPDATE: Danielle Belton over at The Black Snob has sent some solid hits over here so I would like to acknowledge her for that. Also, fellow Philadelphia photographer, Phillybits, gave me a shout out on his blog.

Share!

Yes folks, it’s officially – ON. Just a week after a bi-racial man, named Barack H. Obama, became the presumptive Democratic party nominee for President, I have seen the so-called race war or battle of the races (or is it racists?) in a way I never have before: In my RSS feed reader:

June 3, 2008

Barack Obama Democratic Nomination Victory Speech

June 6, 2008

Congressional Black Caucus Foundation receives racist Obama t-shirt in the mail
On Wednesday, the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation (CBCF) received an offensive t-shirt in the mail; the shirt had “a cartoon image of Curious George, the beloved children’s character, with a paper bag over his head holding a sign that says ‘A Truth We Can Believe in ‘08!!!’ written underneath.” (ThinkProgress.org)

June 6, 2008

Fox Anchor Calls Obama Fist Pound A “Terrorist Fist Jab”
On the June 6 edition of Fox News’ America’s Pulse, host E.D. Hill teased an upcoming discussion on a gesture Sen. Barack Obama shared with his wife, Michelle, saying, “A fist bump? A pound? A terrorist fist jab? The gesture everyone seems to interpret differently.” (HuffingtonPost.com)

June 11, 2008

Fox News calls Michelle Obama “Obama’s baby mama”
During a segment discussing conservative attacks against Michelle Obama, the wife of presumptive Democratic nominee Barack Obama, the network described the former as “Obama’s baby mama.” (Salon.com)

Update: ABC News’ “Senior National Correspondent,” Jake Tapper calls the Fox News gaffe: “just straight-up racist” Was it ‘straight up racist’ or, as Fox News would have you believe, ‘poor judgment’ executed by a producer?

June 12, 2008

Website peddles racially-charged ‘Sock Obama’ toy
Last month, ThinkProgress noted that a bar owner in Georgia was selling t-shirts comparing Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) to Curious George; last week, the Black Congressional Caucus Foundation received an t-shirt in the mail featuring a similar image. Continuing this racially-charged theme, a stuffed monkey toy called “The Sock Obama” has now been made available online. (ThinkProgress.com)

I will keep this list updated with other absurd and down right frightening expressions of blatant racism as it becomes available (which should keep be busy in the months to come). Sad.

If anyone is wondering… I’m Human, North American.

Photographer: Vincent J. Brown (VincentBrown.com)

What: The 24th running of the Commerce Bank Triple Crown of Cycling: Philadelphia International Championship. More than 200 of the world’s top male professional cyclists descend upon the city of Philadelphia to race in the longest running and most important single-day cycling road race in the United States. The cyclists will complete 10 laps of a 14.4-mile circuit through Philadelphia. They will finish with three laps of Lemon Hill and Logan Circle, having logged 156 miles total in one of the biggest special sporting events in the country. – ProCyclingTour.com

When: June 8, 2008 @ 9:00am EST

Location: Logan Circle on the Parkway: Philadelphia, PA USA

Note to Editors, Publishers and Bloggers: Feel free to utilize these photos (with proper credit given and link back) to complement your editorials as long as it’s not for commercial, monetary gain (IE: news papers, magazines, posters, unauthorized prints). High-resolution, black and white versions of each photo can be made available upon request (email me).

Exclusive, commercial licensing approval is available upon written request.

Here’s how I’ve broken it down for easier viewing. I created two sets on my favorite photo sharing website Flickr:

Prelude to: Commerce Bank International Cycling Championship

These are photos AND a video of the prelude to the Commerce Bank Philadelphia International Cycling Championship. Bikers getting ready, warming up and the festivities that proceeded the BIG bike race in Philadelphia on June 8 2008. (VIEW AS A SLIDESHOW)

The Race: Commerce Bank International Cycling Championship

These are photos of the race. The Commerce Bank Philadelphia International Cycling Championship which took place on June 8, 2008 in Philadelphia, PA (VIEW AS A SLIDESHOW)

Unfortunately I wasn’t close enough to see Barack or get a good photo of him, his voice had enough of an impact on myself and the 34,999 others around me

The first thing I noticed was the impressive police presence.

In this photo you can see a police officer tipping his hat toward me while two sharp shooters make their way to their next position. Later on that evening, snipers and spotters were clearly visible atop the buildings surrounding Obama’s speech podium.

Supporters gathered on the other side of Arch street… while the more brazen supporters gathered on the lawn of the Independence Visitors Center.

Unexpectedly, I ran into an old friend. His art and work ethic has inspired me to move forward with my photography interests.

Some of the best spectators turned out to be the little ones. Although they didn’t understand what was going on entirely, their demeanor and blissfulness should set an example for everyone.

And the massive crowd disperses.

According to official reports, Sen. Barack Obama drew 35,000 people at the downtown rally in Independence Park — Making the crowd at the event his largest ever. The sea of people sprawled across nearly three city blocks.

You can view my full set of images on Flickr.com

I Like The Apple iPhone, But… (in no particular order):

1.) I wish ring-tones could be accessed and loaded on the phone more simply, without all the restrictions. The fact that you have to pay an extra $.99 to make an iTunes purchased track a ringtone is beyond ridiculous to me.
2.) Why couldn’t Apple, Inc. include the ability to send SMS and MMS messages to multiple contacts like my OLD Motorola phone could?
3.) Apple, Inc. should be nice and stop thwarting efforts to load 3rd party applications on the iPhone (or just simply open it up to better functionality and access). Firmware 1.1.2 kills the Firmware 1.1.1 tiff exploit
4.) The iPhone probably could have been as thin as the Motorola SLVR, my SLVR had almost every functionality that my iPhone currently has minus the WiFi and touch screen (the iPod Touch has a touch screen and it’s as thin as my SLVR).
5.) Everyone mentions the storage space.. 8GB, sheesh, after a few albums, two videos and some photos I’m damn near full.
6.) No voice activated dialing.. that’s a feature I simply fell in love with on my Moto SLVR, yet it doesn’t exist on the “Greatest Invention of the Year?”

Now, I was aware of all of these caveats when I purchased the device. Having it in my hands and in full use is a much different experience. What I like about the phone far exceeds what I dislike about using the device. Also, the popularity and fame it automatically gives me is a plus. However, unless Apple addresses these and other issues (which are basic usability and functionality omissions), I may have to consider selling it if the “next-Great-thing” comes along.

Go here (iLounge.com) for everything you need to know about the Apple iPhone.

While I agree with critics that he may not have been the safe or most accepted act to play at a memorial benefit for friends and family of this tragedy; I believe you have been promoting a distorted view of Nasir Jones (Nas) on your “news” program, in response to his invitation to perform at Virginia Tech. Concert details here.

In recent shows you have criticized Mr. Jones – for malign motives – based solely on snippets of song that don’t accurately portray (in context) the message found in the stories being told. On top of that, you neglect to offer your viewers the necessary, factual information on Nas so that they can independently familiarize themselves with his body of work. Mr. Jones is a hip-hop performer who writes songs that tell a story, convey thoughts, feelings and emotions and that narrate real life and fictional events.

Screenwriters and producers create movies about gun culture, (Die Hard, The Bourne Ultimatum, Rambo and The Terminator come to mind) and television shows (like Cops, Jerry Springer, Desperate Housewives, The Sopranos) with graphic content because life is graphic. Authors create compelling story lines for novels based around that similar premise, but when, if ever, are they boycotted from appearing in public? Mr. Jones is no different in that regard, except that he strings together rhyming words and delivers them to a beat in his signature poetic style and you can’t appreciate it.

I urge you to research his entire body of work, interviews and poems. Then, surely you can find an appropriate amount of positive and uplifting messages to compare with his gritty portrayals of the life he’s grown up in, (those so-called “Street Tales”).

I write this because I don’t feel you have been fair in your portrayal of this man, Mr. Nasir Jones. To myself and others he is a refreshingly unique individual in Hip-hop. Never one to water down his content for mass consumption, his message has largely been uplifting and positive – despite the stories he narrates of the difficult and cruel environment the world can be at times.

I am asking that instead of working against the progress we’re trying to make in Hip-hop culture, please work with us. Learn to understand, respect and represent us fairly to your viewers. I present to you, the more uplifting and soulful songs/videos of Nas for your listening/viewing pleasure:

Hi-Tek – Music for life (Featuring J. Dilla, Nas, Common, Busta Rhymes & Floerty)

A great song about what THIS music means to us

Nas – Can’t Forget About You

2pac (Featuring. Nas) – Thugz Mansion

Kanye West, Rakim, Nas & KRS-One – Classic (DJ Premier)

Celebrating the classic origins of this hip-hop thing.

Nas – Warriors Song (Featuring Alicia Keys)

Nas – I Can

Sometimes the truths conveyed in this video can be hard to swallow, and I think that’s exactly the point.

I am not a spokesperson for Nas, nor am I in the entertainment industry in any capacity. I am merely a fan of his music over the course of his entire career. I believe I understand what he stands for and that you, so far, have not portrayed him accurately in your broadcasts.

Respectfully,

Vincent Brown, Philly, PA
(Supporter of hip-hop music and culture)

Virginia Tech: We Remember

HBO’s: The Sopranos | Season 6 | Episode 86 “Made in America”

Something to think about: Did he die or did he live?

That’s the beauty of this whole scene. You’ll never know, but will always be guessing. Let me put it to you this way, and it took someone else to bring it to my attention. Remember when Tony and Bobby were on the lake, talking about what death is like at the moment it happens? Tony’s response “You never see it coming” Well, that’s what this scene means to me.

Think of it this way. Each time someone new entered the diner, Tony would look up an the camera would swing to his perspective. Attentive to his surroundings at all times. Italian guy in a Members Only jacket glares at Tony the whole time until he walks into the rest room, suspiciously I might add. Two black guys come in and cause Tony to make a visible facial response. The last time Tony looks up, and the camera swings to his perspective is when Meadow comes running in and BAM. CUT-TO-BLACK. Nothing more to see here. The last thing Tony sees before he’s whacked is the only person in the family worth anything to him at this point, his beloved daughter Meadow.

At least, that’s what I think. I’m not alone either: vincentbrown.com/sopranos.htm

UPDATE 2: Embedded video link updated since HBO ordered it to be removed from YouTube. They didn’t say anything to MySpace. So, here you are.
UPDATE 1: Here’s a good interview with Sopranos creator David Chase on the season finale. I think I’m finally satisfied with what I saw on Sunday night, even if most people aren’t, lol.