With art by Paul Roberston. COPPED!

“They just fucked with the wrong Mexican.”
Hell. Yes.

The Subway Time from Dongzhen.Li on Vimeo.

The Denver Post’s Captured is photo journalism at its finest. Spend some time there.

Ok, I get it. Apple, wants to retain the close coupling of their software with their hardware, which, as a person who is on a computer most of the day, appreciate. Adobe, on the other hand, want to continue to growth of the ubiquitous Flash Player, which has become a part of most peoples’ computing experience, and establish a strong hold in the mobile arena as well. Apple, who prides themselves on having perhaps the finest user experience in the game when it comes to their products, you would think would appreciate this. Logical match, right? Let’s join together and rule the web as father and son, right?

Wrong.

*Sigh* Look, folks. This has been going on for awhile now, and to be quite honest, I am getting tired of this dance. It’s almost like they broke up with each other or something. I can understand a business doing whatever they want on their platform, but it is the constant bickering and figuring pointing that has been going on between the two of the most forward thinking companies in computing that has me not only scratching my head, but becoming more annoyed at the whole soap opera the more I hear about it.

As a web pro, I enjoy the variety of applications and technologies that I can use on a daily basis. Some days I’m feeling Flash. Some days I’m not. Some days I want to get my CSS on. Some days I want practice my ActionScript kung-fu. I like building all kinds of stuff with all kinds of tools. So at the end of the day, it is me and people like me who are becoming increasing frustrated with the proposition that Adobe and Apple simply won’t play nice to give us, the creators, the variety of tools we have come to expect from both of them. True, there are some technical limitations and such, but let’s be honest. These are not insurmountable. By far. It really just seems like a personal tiff between to executives, for whatever reason, simply cannot talk it out like adults and give us, the people who spend (ridiculous amounts of) money to support and use your products, the tools we are FEIGNING for so we can concoct whatever our hearts desire.

All in all, I just want the tools. I do not care about the why or what or whatever. I just know that there is a barrier that is keeping me from creating, and when that happens, yes, I get antsy. However, when I see why my tools are not coming in this particular situation… yeah, I’m really just kinda pissed. Get a relationship councilor, a hobby or some self respect, Apple and Adobe. I want to able to use whatever I want on whatever platform I want. Stop squabbling over non-sense and make it happen.

So I was coming off the train one day in midtown, which is not one of my favorite places in NY, so my mind was just focused on getting the task I had to get done over with. As I was stepping out into the street, I barely noticed this girl right beside me as I cleared the doors. However, the dude yelling after her did get my attention, and I turn my head and see this guy running after her, which of course in my direction. Maybe it’s because I’m from Baltimore, but I kinda tense up, expecting something wild to go down. Instead though, the girl, who is just as surprised as me, turns, take a beat to recognize who it is, and just smiles as the aforementioned dude runs up on her, and much to my relief, pulls her into a deep embrace, and gives her a full on kiss in the middle of the street, tourists be damned. What started out as a task that reluctantly had to get done, was now colored by the proximity of affection. I don’t know anything about those two or their relationship, but the way they just full into each other despite all of the crowds and noise around them brought a smile to my face as I went about my day. When I got home, I made this…
The Like [MP3]

I will say one thing that the entire healthcare debate has really brought out is the conversation about the ever present elephant in the room, racism. Personally, I enjoy talking to people, seeing different topics from different perspectives. And I’m always down for a good, lively discussion, but based on what I have been seeing, reading, and hearing, I’m not sure if that is possible when a black/brown person is involved. Even when one is the leader of the free world. To me, and most folks of color who have lived in America a large portion of their lives, we pretty know what it is. No, no one is yelling ‘nigger!’ at the top of their lungs (not on t.v. anyway). That would be too obvious, of course. The tipping point for me is how people who want to insult Obama immediately gravitate to the most horrid and despicable depictions America has offered in referencing Black folks. There is a consistency in the language and imagery of the arguments against the President that are indicative of the inherent bigotry that many have against him simply because of his color. And I really don’t even need to mention that outrageously disrespect comparison to history’s most infamous figures, Adolf Hitler. Still, I must say I do enjoy poking holes in peoples arguments as the continue to clutch at the taters of their reasoning when it is based on prejudice. And I think it is a good thing that all of this hatred is being exposed for what it is. Whether this will prompt our country to change it’s course, I’m not sure. But at the very least, people are talking.