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Rants

Commerce Bank International Cycling Championship

So, I got out early today and photographed the huge bike race that was in Philadelphia. It’s important to remember that these photos belong to ME

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)

Current Events / deviantART / Entertainment / Philadelphia / Photography / Rants — 1 Comment
19
Apr 08

Philly Obama Rally (pics)

The rally was great.. there was over 35,000 people there. I walked around for a bit, met people, ran into friends and perfect strangers. The atmosphere was electrifying and gave me hope for the future. All of these people, unified regardless of race, gender and social standing all in support of a single, African American candidate. Everyone was friendly, parents brought their children, there were lots of couples and big groups of college students. My favorite sights while at the rally were the parents lifting children on their shoulders so they could see what everyone was clamoring about.

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

Rants / Technology — 3 Comments
9
Nov 07

I Like My Apple iPhone, But…

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.

Current Events / Entertainment / Music / Rants — 2 Comments
21
Aug 07

RE: Nas – An Open Letter To Bill O’Reilly

Mr. Bill O’Reilly (email),

oreilly 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: Continue reading →