The Life Of A Superhero...

Big Papi, say it ain't so, SAY IT Ain't SO! David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez are two more names that have been added to the 2003 steroid scandal. As a journalist, I am supposed to remain objective, unbiased and behind the scenes by just reporting the news, but I can't help but think SSD! Everyone wanted to throw the book, stones and chairs at Alex Rodriguez, but what about David Ortiz? He's allegedly claiming to be "trying to figure out what went wrong." Puuh-a-lease!!!

I'm a Yankees fan so, of course I'm riding with number 13, but on the other hand, everyone makes mistakes and in 2003, I would challenge you to name a player that wasn't juicing! David Sterortiz, A-Roid and Manny Roidmerez, are all legends in our time and with or without scandal have proven that they can get the job done. I'm not saying I condone the use of steroids, but this society has put the "ju" in Jump, Justice and Judge, by picking and choosing who to condemn/ruin, who to give a pass to and who we want to see PERFORM like superheroes regardless of their faults.

My only question is, since these steroid scandal plagued names are slowly being leaked out, how many heroes will really become tarnished and how many players will just be given a pass because we really don't care about the moral factor, or their health just as long as we can see these super players hit 77 Homeruns, tackle 25 quarterbacks, jump 3 times higher than superman, and swim faster than Michael Phelps, after all aren't records meant to be broken?

The Paradiso Girls @ Hardrock Hotel Thursday Night

Encore Entertainment, IAG Sports and Entertainment and Sfinx Productions brought the Paradiso Girls in for a live performance Thursday Night at Hardrock Hotel. I had the privilege to get some behind the scenes shots of them. I think they are pretty cool girls, I wish them success.
In the process of my event coverage there have been alot of good events going on, so it seems I may have to start my quest of finding the new San Diego Week Night Hot Spot schedule early. What's funny is I was gonna hold off on that for a while, but actually with the way things are moving so fast, I think it may have started Wednesday night at Sidebar. Well I.$.H. is always up for the challenge...I will have my report for you next week.

Hardrock Thursday Night Pix

Wednesday Night Antics...part 2

Since the start of SSD, having my own website has given me a great reason to roam free to whichever venues I want to shoot each night, so with that in mind, I can choose where I want to go as opposed to having to work with one client at one specific spot.

Now don't get me wrong, I love money, so of course I have no problem shooting where ever, but I also like the option to be able to bounce around as well. Anyway, I went to Sidebar last night which brought more Wednesday night antics. I think Wednesday nights at Sidebar may be THE go to Wednesday night spot. What's cool is its INDUSTRY night so there is a good vibe of people in the nightlife industry and not just amateur night like a Saturday when you get a mix of "the scene" and the people that may go out once or twice a month which can sometimes cause a ruckus because of the odd mix of people.

I think in a few months, I may pick a whole week to go to every single weekly night spot to truly get the NEW San Diego Weekly schedule. Right now, techically because it is Sunny SAN DIEGO, you could really go out every night of the week, but I believe San Diego's good nights to go out are Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday AND SUNDAY FUN DAY!!!! That may change as the summer progresses and as we should know in Sunny San Diego the weekly schedule usually tends to do that and then when it does, I will definitely let you all know.

Last night at Sidebar was also the launch party of the newest clothing line to hit the scene, Tainted Entropy, so congrats to Nico and Chloe for that new endeavour, I will be on the look out for my promo shirt...lol

Sidebar Wednesday Night Antics Part 2 Pix Here.

SSD website launching party July 31st

This Friday we are having a website launching party with the help of http://www.twitter.com/ which is a networking site we commonly use here at SSD! Its July 31st @ Decos Nightclub in The Gaslamp. I'm really happy to be able to launch http://www.stopsellingdreams.com/ officially plus the fact that twitter is starting to become a large social networking system as well is also something worth checking out if you USE twitter. If you don't use twitter, you should at least try it out to be able to truly be able to say, "I hate it!" lol

Yacht Party...I think so...

The other day I had the privelage of shooting a private yacht party for some friends. Whenever there is a Great event, I hope I can be remembered to be invited or in attendance to it! Ha, but seriously, my good friend Natalie, the special events manager asked me to come and work/party on their Monday Lunch Time Cruises, which I gladly accepted. Some of the crew went fishing and oh yes caught a shark! WOW!!!! lol This place is definitely doing it big and NOT Selling dreams...TAKE NOTES...

Special thanks to Natalie, Alex and http://www.seaforthboatrental.com/

Life Outside The Comic-Con Convention Center.

This weekend was a good one for San Diego because the Comic-Con filled the city with everything from A-list hollywood-ish parties to sword yielding, costumed avengers all over the Gas Lamp District. I know neighborhood businesses had to see a rising margin in profits, because normally even the smallest mini mart downtown you could slide right in and out in seconds had a line around the block. I just wanted to get a quick 99 Cent Arizona fruit punch, Jeesh. Never-the-less I think it was a good time for anyone that lives in San Diego.

Obviously with any big event coming to the city, I tend to be pretty busy which is great. The Comic-Con brought out the best in San Diego which I am very proud to see. I ended up shooting a few events surrounding the Comic-Con's fame.

Go check out the pix from each of the events...

The BodySprayPainted Comic Hero Tour

http://picasaweb.google.com/ivansharris/ComicConAfterPartyHardrock

Comic-Con 2009

I think it is common knowledge that San Diego has been known to be one of the best cities in the world for great weather. Unfortunately, that is one of the only major things that does stand out about San Diego. And although San Diego is also known for being the beach bum town, the city with no sports championships and the shadow or stepchild of LA, I can't help but retort that it still is the 7Th largest city in the country.

STOP! Its July in San Diego which means, the season opening of the Del Mar Horse Race Track and The International Comic-Con. You're laughing about the comic-con aren't you? I don't think you understand influence of The International Comic Convention has on US culture or San Diego for that matter. After covering this event exclusively for http://www.mavrixphoto.com/, I can honestly say if San Diego had 6 or 7 events like this a year instead of 1 or 2, I think San Diego would be the hottest city in the US. Literally and figuratively.

Now, being a website completely dedicated to erasing the hype and uncovering the real deal lets break down the true insanity of comic-con. Of course when it was founded 40 years ago, Comic-Con was a convention dedicated to comic book writers and lovers alike to get their material seen, virtually like an underworld for "geeks and freaks". That is hardly the case now. Now it is a popular culture phenomenon and freaks, geeks, cool kids and hot chicks all go to the comic-con. Each persons reason for going is completely different from just trying to see the latest issue of jughead and Archie comic.

I have learned that comic-con holds the key to San Diego's step towards getting out of the shadow of LA. With panels of discussion from cast members for such hit shows as True Blood, Lost and Chuck as well as premiering UNRELEASED NEW scenes of Twilight: New Moon, Avatar and Iron Man 2 clips, if you were in San Diego this was indeed the place over the weekend.

I must admit, the hype came late as usual and the first comic-con in 2007 I covered for 944 Magazine pretty much launched my celebrity photography career and the MADNESS that we all know today as Pop Cultures Promotional tool OUTSIDE of Hollywood.

If you could have seen the how people camped outside to wait in a 2 mile long line for certain panel discussions in the now infamous HALL H, the outlandish heavily decorated costumes and just overall quirky lifestyle, I think you would ask, "what's all the hype about and where can I sign up?"

All I can say is, keep up the good work Comic-Con and hopefully, 4 or 5 more events of this caliber will get the beach town out of LA's shadow.

Check out the exclusive photos from my

2009 Comic-Con Coverage Here.

Who's Gone Run This Town Tonight...

Happiness is a subjective journey, like a double edged sword if you will. First off, happiness means something different from one person to the next so to categorize what happiness is would be almost impossible to do. I think the pursuit of this happiness is all based off of hype and that's where I am hear to say SSD!

Society has sold us on the fact that happiness IS almost soley based on having material possessions, but what about the person that has it all, but has no time to spend with loved ones? Or what about the person that makes millions, BUT HATES what he or she has to do in order to make that money? To me, happiness is doing something you love to do, PERIOD. I love being the person that's able to tell a story regardless if it is through a photo, verbally or through my writing. That's what makes ME happy.

To be honest, searching for happiness can make you become a manic depressive, i.e. extreme highs and lows. On one side, you feel happy to be able to set a goal and then accomplish that goal but on the other hand you're stressed constantly wondering when will it be your turn to shine from all the hard work you have put in. Eventually your confidence in your ability leads you to believe you are the best, or your failure will be your ultimate demise.

People say to me all the time I must be happy because of the life I live, and usually, I would respond no. I have heard I party like a star, hang out with stars, take pictures of stars, and I know some would die to be in my position, but that is also the selling dreams element of the industry, although I have never once claimed anything, except that by law I am Ivan S. Harris, the I.S.H., I do realize my job is full of glitz and glamor as well as hardships. As far as I'm concerned, I've already made it, just waiting on the Hype to arrive, late as usual. If you don't believe in yourself, who will? This is where the subjective part comes in. If happiness is subjective and art is definitely subjective then how can anyone proclaim what and who is the best at something.

To quote Rihanna in my new favorite song, "Life’s a game but it’s not fair, I break the rules so I don’t care, So I keep doing my own thing, Walking tall against the rain, Victory’s within the mile, almost there don’t give up now, Only thing that’s on my mind, Is who gon’ run this town tonight"

This song hits home for me and I believe it is HOT, so I know I could be biased and thats why I want your opinion.

Jay-Z - Run This Town Featuring Rihanna & Kanye West

*song supplied by www.5starhiphop.com

King Infamous

Stopsellingdreams.com is a site dedicated to erasing the "hype" surrounded by a situation and uncovering the truth about popular culture and entertainment. Alright now that I have gotten that out of the way, Lebron "King" James has been in the media lately for being dunked on at his own Basketball camp by an "unknown" college student. No matter how you view it, it's pretty much ALWAYS a bad thing to be dunked on anywhere, whether its at a playground, in Madison Square Garden, or even at your favorite gym but it's especially a terrible thing to get dunked on at YOUR own basketball camp.

Okay lets SSD and erase the hype, anyone can be dunked on at any given time, that's the nature of the game, but to try to hide the evidence like it never happened is another type of all time low. After viewing the tape, I have come to the conclusion that it was worse for Lebron to even try to hide it in the first place. The dunk is not THAT bad, but now its a scandal and has exploded into a situation that its worse because he tried to hide the evidence. I know its easier said than done, but King James should have just taken that dunk like a man and laughed later.

Basketball is a competitive sport and anyone can have a good day or a bad day. That's why the NBA playoffs are a best of 7 series. But for Lebron and Nike to try to confiscate all the proof is wrong and makes matters worse because the tape will and did eventually come out for everyone to see. The worst thing that would have happened is there would have been a few jokes and then it would have passed over, but now this tape is out and the controversy surrounding the Dunketapegate makes the situation BIGGER than it even is. See the tape for yourself. SSD!

Kings James Being Dethroned...

*photo and video courtesy of www.tmz.com

I can't wear skinny jeans, because my money clip wont fit...

Trends, Trends, Trends. What is a trend? Do you follow trends? What's the newest trend and how long will it last. Recently President Obama was criticized for apparently wearing Mom Jeans to throw out the first pitch at the 2009 MLB All Star Game. Personally, I have an issue with trends and don't care to keep up with them. Why, because it means you have to conform and follow the masses in order to be cool. SSD!!!!
When I was about 14, the ONE and only time I tried to keep up with the Jones', or for me the Brooks was an epic fail. One of my best friends to this day, KB always had the latest and greatest of the trends. The newest video games, the newest Jordan's, Timberland boots, first down goose puffy coats, I mean you name it and he had it. He was one of the cool kids. I wasn't jealous, but I did indeed look up to him.

I begged my mom to buy me these specific Jordan's and some in style jeans, goes to show what I care now, I don't even remember what the name of the jeans were. They aren't in style anymore anyway, TRENDS ha! Anyway, after weeks of begging, she finally caved in and bought me these jeans and shoes. I was geeked to finally have one up on my friend KB!

So here it is, the day comes and I'm ready to debut my new trendy style. I'm wearing my shoes and my kicks to school and the first thing I notice is KB has on a NEW pair of shoes! S0 I asked him what shoes he had on and he replied, "Oh these are the new Jordan's that just came out this morning." WTF!...so KB says to me, "Yo man, why are your jeans so TIGHT?" I didn't know what to do. Growing up TIGHT jeans was Not acceptable.

Here I am busting my butt to get these shoes and jeans which turned out to not even be the cool thing anymore. From that point on, I said I don't care about TRENDS, I'm gonna do, wear, and think HOW I want to and not care about anybody else's trends.

Fast forward years later and KB says to me, "Hey You know I never told you this but I looked up to you." I'm like WHAT, Why? He said, "because you had the courage to be yourself at a time when it wasn't cool to stand out or do your own thing." He used to call me casual man for getting my grown man on at age 14. ha!

So I said to him, "Man, I looked up to you and your brothers because you guys always had the hot stuff." He said, "Man, I got that stuff because I liked it, not because it was trendy. I could care less about what's cool, you're the one that had all the important stuff, like a car, especially a car like the James Bond old school Mercedes at 14! We used to all love to come over YOUR house because you had the coolest stuff at your house."

Now I really fast forward and look at people talking crazy because OBAMA does NOT wear skinny...wait...let's erase the hype... SSD... TIGHT jeans! I can not see a grown man wearing tight jeans...maybe when you're 14...but the president has other issues to deal with besides what a trend says is cool but wont be next week. Next week none of us may have a job, because Obama DID choose to go purchase some skinny jeans instead of signing a bill or doing his JOB...ha ha ha. Real talk, be true to yourself and do your own thing, this trendy thing will be out of style tomorrow anyway...what's Ed Hardy again!? HA!

Stingaree Friday Night with A Style Concierge

Friday Nights @stingsandiego (Stingaree) showcases the hairstylings of A Style Concierge Salon which I have the privelage of being a contributing photographer for as well as a client!

Stingaree is one of my favorite nightclubs in San Diego, so on friday nights its pretty much the best of both worlds. If you visit ASC or STING, make sure to mention Ivan S. Harris, I.$.H. or http://www.stopsellingdreams.com/ and they will take care of you as well. ;)

Go Check Out Photos From

Friday Night Stingaree...

Ivan S. Harris Photography

Photo Gallery

Wednesday Side Bar July 15th

Wednesday Night Fun Times...

Sidebar's Trusty Industry Night. Fun as always.

Check the pics out on:

Ivan S. Harris Photography Photo Gallery

Miss Be Shaving!!

As President Obama predicted, 2009 must seriously be the year of change. I wasn't gonna post anything about this but it seems as if this is an on going trend. Not only has Cassie but La La (Mtv Host), Ri Ri (Rihanna) and CeCe (Ciara) have ALL taken a page out of Bri Bri's (Britney Spears) book of hair styles by shaving or cutting off a part or all of their hair. 2009 REALLY is the year of change to the extreme from the first black president to people shaving only HALF of their head, and not in a mohawk form.

When Britney cut her hair, everyone thought she was nuts, but actually I guess she knew something that everyone else didn't know. It was just too early and it wasn't time for the change. I really don't know who was copying who but if you ask me this is getting out of hand. Sean Paul has shaved the side of his hair and only has braids on the top and Eminem dyed his hair from the blonde to black. I don't know how long this will gone on, but far be it for me to say what's hot or not, that's your job. I'm just here to point out the trends. I even jumped on the change bandwagon by cutting my dreads of 8 years back in April. 2009 is definitely the year of change!

Pony Shoes/Ivan S. Harris Photography Summer Fashion Contest Winner

I would like to congratulate Bree Rangel for winning the I.$H. & Juelz Presents Summer Fashion Fair contest. About a month ago, Bree won the summer fashion fair contest sponsored by Pony Shoes, Inc. and Ivan S. Harris Photography. Pony shoes and Ivan S. Harris Photography along with I.$.H. & Juelz Presents... hosted a Summer Fashion Fair at Red Circle Night Club. The contest was dedicated to summer fashion because it was the kick off to summer and a lot of women are known to wear the short shorts to show their appreciation for good ole summer weather. Bree had the best outfit wearing the short shorts so she won a pair of Pony Shoes, and a free photoshoot with Ivan S. Harris Photography. So congrats to Bree...

You're Hating...On The Chi? Alright, You Can Forget It!

Chi-Town, that wonderful town, the city with best the skyline, in the summer it's the greatest city in the world, and the best food, I challenge you...okay, okay, i'm probably selling dreams and this is all hype ha ha ha but I do strongly recommend you visit Chicago to see for yourself.

Okay, so lets SSD!

Although I love California to death, my roots are FIRMLY planted within the Midwest and you can call me biased, but me being from the Chicagoland area, there are certain artists that can do no wrong in our eyes no matter what they do! BUT HEY, wait a minute, its no different from people from New York loving Jay-Z, Diddy & Sinatra, or People in ATL loving T.I. and Outkast or we don't even wanna go there with how the BAY AREAAAA represents their artists!!! So allow me to retort, CHI-TOWN!!!! HA HA, but seriously, from where I stand, you all should know that I love good music so it doesn't matter where you are from as long as you come with that heat. Look at Drake, he's from Toronto.

Okay, so I have some songs I wanna post to get your opinion. The first song is called Hating On Him, by R. Kelly. In my opinion, the track is hot, but it also goes against all of my principles I have been taught. Hating? I can't do it. Wait, HOLD UP!!! Foul on the play... SSD!!! Maaaayne listen, every single person has been guilty of SOME form of hating, even if they don't want to 'fess up!

In the song, Kellz admits he is hating on this particular lady's man, because "he don't do her right!" I just wanna know what EXACTLY does this Lady look like that he is hating! SHE better be hotter than HAAAALLLE BEEEERRRRRY Halle Berry! lol

The other song is an itunes bonus track from Twista's New Album Category F5 entitled "Alright" featuring Kanye West. Once again, Kanye along with No I.D. come with that heat on the track! And Twista is consistent with his flow as usual. I wish I had some new Common, Lupe and Jerimih songs to post, then my Chicago thread would be complete for now. Oh well, go enjoy the music, but please don't start hating out here just because you hear someone else do it in a song! If you do chose to start hating, I'll find you, and post it on SSD!

R. Kelly - Hating On Him

Twista - Alright Featuring Kanye West

("Category F5" itunes bonus track)

The Person in The Mirror...

Earlier today, I came across a video ALL MEN ARE DOGS by Shanel Cooper-Sykes that inspired me to post because I feel like this is a perfect EXPLANATION of showing how men and women practice selling dreams to one another on a regular especially when it comes to dating. If you watch the video then you'll understand where I'm coming from. As a man I'll be honest, I really am not writing this to gloat or say I told you so, I'm writing this to get people to think deeper by saying, "HEY, LOOK on both sides of the coin: Women Cheat, Men Cheat, women lie, men lie." Everything that a woman claims only ALL men do, there are JUST as many WOMEN doing those same evil, twisted things to men and it really goes to show that the thin line between love and hate works both ways.

There are 5 Billion plus people on earth! I'm POSITIVE you have personally not met, dated, spoken with or slept with (although Lil Wayne wishes he could, ha that's why it's a wish/dream!) every single man or woman in the world. To be honest, everyone, men and women have the potiential to be found guilty of something negative dealing with a mate, its not just ALL men are "dogs" or ALL women are
"sneaky"

...UGH please SSD!!!!!!!

There is NO perfect person, and knowing this you should look at yourself as well as look at that individual to see the underlying layer and acess each situtation on an individual basis. THAT specific person "Terry" you dated was a dog, but you have not dated EVERY man/woman in the world.

I have definitely been guilty of giving some women false hope, but I HATED when the tables were turned which is one of the reasons I was inspired to make SSD! If you have ever been sold a dream, given false hope, or just point blank period MISLEAD about anything, I would love for you to comment about your experiences...

To Tweet Or Not To Tweet...

I believe there are two things that can make or break you when it comes to reaching great levels of success: opportunity and marketing (the hype). Of course we know opportunity is the actual chance to be seen or heard, and hype is the marketing push behind you. If you don't have one or the other the difference is like being a local garage band or becoming megastars like Blink 182 (Drummer Travis Barker's former band kids!).
Here at SSD, we are constantly on a quest to find out the latest and greatest and then try to break DOWN the actual hype and erase the glittery, shiny layers to find out if the actual concrete evidence about a product, concept or person is worthy of all the accolades. SSD wants to see if this NEW thing is really as good as the hype leads us to believe... and these days you never know what is just gonna take off to truly be successful. Who would have thought that Harry Potter, Napoleon Dynamite, The Hangover and Twitter would taken off like they have!?

What is twitter you may ask...Twitter is an e-mail type service for friends, family, and co–workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing? (Basically with Twitter, you can be your own superstar by posting your thoughts/actions while people follow your updates and keep track of you as you bask in your own "celebrity-ism"...ha, or that might just be my thought process.)
I can honestly say, I like and use twitter regulary, but I want to find out does twitter hold up to the hype meaning, is it the next big thing or will "tweeting" go out of style like Ed Hardy in the next coming months...(oops did I say that?) Do you guys have a twitter account? If you do have a twitter account, leave a comment with your twitter screen name and lets build our network ;)

*Some of the stand out client apps for mobile phones are twitterberry, ubertwitter, twitterfon, tweetdeck and tweet genius.

Some Issues Will Never Be Resolved...

To understand Ivan S. Harris, the I.$.H., you have to understand where I come from. I come from a loving background full of ART. Growing up, my mom had a strong blue collar mentality but raised me and wanted me to be in the arts. My room had all types of art, paintings, records playing Luther Vandross, Michael Jackson, Classical music, almost everything except country (sorry country fans, I missed that bus!)
I played in the band, was an "A" art student, ended up going to Illinois State recieving my degree in Mass Media.
Now that's out of the way, I have always been a competitive, inclusive and a great debate type of person. Since "Stop Selling Dreams, SSD" is a reflection of I.$.H., this site follows the same guidelines.
My good friend Moe called me up just because he knows I like to debate and asked me what's Michael Jackson's best album...HA HA HA, come on...Now I'm gonna ask you all, what is YOUR favorite Michael Jackson Album?
This Collection disc that you can purchase here on Amazon contains all of his SOLO albums AFTER the Jackson 5 split. So Chime in and let me know what you think...

Inspiration: Grab The Bull By The Horns...

Every once in a while, along comes a person that just inspires you to FINALLY get off your ass and get things done. I'm not sure who did that for Amanda, but Amanda surely did that for me. I had been playing with SSD's concept for about a good month when @thatdudejuelz (we speak in twitter language around here kids) told me to go check out http://www.helloamanda.com/. "Hello Amanda" obviously is A site dedicated to Amanda's thoughts! I love it. When I saw her site, I thought, MAN, there is NO reason why SSD shouldn't be up and running. I love her site and seeing Hello Amanda gave me the inspiration to finally finish what I started. What's even crazier is that we have a mutual friend (one of my models) name Erin G! (HEY GIRL!!!!!) So I'm cruising through and see ONE of my random I.S.H. photos from a fun filled night @hardrocksd I'm sure...lol talk about a small world! Anyway, thanks Amanda for the Internet push I needed! Go check her out and tell her I.$.H. said hey!

Going On Tour anytime soon?

CDMA or GSM cell phone technology!? The constant battle for supremacy looms on. A lot of people probably don't know or even care about the difference between the two. Without getting TOO technical, SSD is here to BREAK DOWN THE HYPE, erase the layers and get to the bottom of things, right?! Lets get to it...

Okay, GSM is a cell phone technology used commonly around the world and usually has a sim card so you can interchange phone carriers throughout your travels. Heres the catch: For the states, if you have an ATT or T-Mobile world phone (which uses the world common GSM technology) then yes you can go around the world with your phone, but you still can't use it with Verizon or Sprint because these particular US cell phone companies use CDMA technology and DO not use sim cards which makes them incompatible. (SOME WORLD PHONE! Bleh, just more hype!)

If you plan on going on tour and have sprint or verizon this is a good phone for you to cop. Even if youre not going on tour, this particular blackberry has the newest upgrades, operating system and fast processor so it really is a great addition to the blackberry family especially for us CDMA customers.

Is 50 Cent Forever King? Maybe In HIS dreams...

By now, I'm sure most of you have heard that 50 Cent a.k.a. Fif, plans to put out a mixtape every few weeks this summer until his album Until I Self Destruct hits stores this fall. I think I can safely say I am a self-proclaimed music head, so I try to listen to anyone that has ATLEAST had a good reign, meaning they have earned my respect enough to listen to what they have to say. I know with some of these new kids on the block, I have to be force fed to listen to their music like being forced to eat guacamole!
In Forever King, 50 decides to go FAR left by doing his own updated remix versions of old school R & B 90's songs like Al B Sure's I'm Dreaming And Case's Touch Me Tease Me.
Now mind you, I know that artists are supposed to grow, take risks and try new things by being able to step outside the box. I have been checking around, and a few sites have been saying that 50 Cent is back...SSD (dont believe the hype!!!!). This time, I don't think 50's far fetched attempt has succeeded.
What's interesting is I usually like 50's music, but seeing as this new school doesn't even remember half of the songs on this mixtape, I can only hope the "King's" album has a better concept of what the people want or in the immortal words of B.I.G. "50 Cent's reign on the top will be short like leprechauns."

Here is the mixtape for you:

I'll let you choose King Fifty's fate:

All Hail The King... or Dethrone him...

http://www.mediafire.com/?llimn5mzjvk

Sweet Dreams Or a Beautiful Nightmare...

I don't think anyone knows more about dreams coming true than me, even if the dream is as remedial as meeting your favorite celebrity. Now, I don't want you to think growing up it was my life's goal to just meet celebritys, but I grew up in a small town where the biggest celebrity that you would probably EVER see or meet was the mayor of the city or some hometown hero. (All though Lionel Richie is reportedly from there but that remains to be seen.)

Okay so now that Michael Jackson is gone, people have been scrambling to figure out who's next in line to be the world's next megastar. I could be wrong but I think its gotta be B! I mean, I have been a fan since "Killing Time" (LOOK IT UP!!!) so I can admit that I'm a little biased. I remember back then I used to say, "Beyonce is gonna blow up and leave Destiny's Child and I'm gonna meet her blah blah.) If you do remember the song "Killing Time", their first ALBUM hadn't even been released yet...
I remember the way we used to talk, "Yeah that's my chick, she always come to the crib." You know when youre young you always selling dreams to the homeboys, ha ha) I mean I had to be like 17 at the time...I didn't know how I was gonna meet her, I just knew I was!

Fast forward 12 years and here we are... and actually it IS my life's work as celebrity event photographer. So I did meet Beyonce, (not that she would remember but oh well, I met her and GOT the professional photos to prove it...LMAO!) Dreams come true if you keep believing!

Here is her latest video dedicated to me...

Sweet Dreams...

Drake...The Pressure is on...

By now, most people that know me, know that I am a fan of Drake. It's really simple to understand because as a photographer, I consider myself an artist. Quite honestly, I think I can relate to Drake as an artist because he strives to make good music and I feel he has done what you are supposed to do when it comes to being an artist: build a buzz, get your music/art in as many peoples hands and have everyone in the streets talking! (I believe this is what every artist should strive to do, including me). But now, the pressure for Drake to make an album as good as his mixtapes is definitely in full effect.

I think we have all seen artists succumb to the pressure of being on top of the mixtape game only to fall from grace pretty hard, especially come album time. (i.e. Lloyd Banks and Jin to name a couple... do you even remember Jin? Either way, I wish Drake ALL the luck and HOPE his album lives up to all the hype that we have given him! Believe me if he doesn't, I of all people will be mad, but I will also be the first in line to tell Drake, "Damn, you sold us a dream!" I need that good music mayne! If you haven't heard of Drake, Here is the latest mixtape to hit the streets.

Thanks to On Smash for the heat.

http://www.mediafire.com/?nln5nzml4g5

A Slurpee And A Dream...No Dollar Needed...

So if you didn't know by now, today is 7/11/09! And, if you live in California, then you know there is a 7-11 on every corner literally, which means free slurpees around the block for everyone...I don't know about you, but I was definitely sold a dream on the size...That was my fault. I'll admit, I fell for the hype...HA HA HA, I did think my tasty slurpee was going to be a little bit bigger, but then again I can't hate either because it was free, so enjoy...I Love California, I'm just gonna go around the block to get another one ;)

What A Tragedy, RIP...to Steve McNair & Sahel Kazemi

I actually had a hard time trying to decide if I Should post this, but with this modern era of desensitised media, I have to post it because people have a strange need and desire to see the photos. This is definitely a tragedy and my condolences go out to both families, but I have to say for every action there is a reaction and quite honestly, "to erase the layers and be truthful", when love/emotions are involved in a situation, things can easily take a unpleasant turn for the worst pretty quickly. You can't tell an emotional human being whether it be a man or woman one thing when you have ulterior motives on the brain, especially without there being some sort of consequences. No one knows what the next person will do once he/she feels his/her "situation" has been potentially compromised. (SSD)

RIP Michael Jackson...

I don't know if you all know this, but I have been an MJ fan since birth, literally my mom liked MJ so I was jamming to Off the Wall in the womb back in '79! I'm not getting old, I'm getting betta you youngstas...lol.

I know that any death hurts, especially one of someone that you may have felt close to in any sort of manner. My only brush with MJ was of course the Victory Tour at Soldier Field in 84 (had to throw that in there ;) Of course it hurt to find out he passed, but Now he is in a better place and finally not hurting from the pain of this world.

I have heard there are 7 influential people in your life whether you actually know them or not. I don't know how true it is, but I know I have ALWAYS felt close to MJ, 2Pac, Aaliyah and Beyonce, besides my Mom, and grandparents obviously, lol. I guess I feel like these particular artists music speaks directly to me. In my tribute, my mom, who put me on MJ, STILL has this picture of me in my thriller jacket...(this is real talk from the heart and I'm not fronting for the homies by false flagging like I'm "tough" and hiding my feelings :) WOW...I love you Mom, and RIP MJ...

I always seem to run into examples...

An example of someone "selling dreams" would be:
A guy says, "yeah, you know I'm a record producer and I have worked with Diddy, Kanye and Jay-Z!" When in FACT, he is a janitor who was sweeping the studio WHILE Kanye or Diddy just happened to be WORKING/Producing in the studio at the same time...Oh Yeah, He was working with them alright...lmao...In this situation, this particular guy has tried to embellish or hype himself up to sound better to someone as hes telling his story, literally...I think everyone has encountered "that guy" ha ha ha...STOP SELLING DREAMS!!!!

Hmmmm...Obama thinks, Shorty Got An ... On Her...or does he...

This is what I mean by stop selling dreams or don't believe the hype...SEARCH to find the true answers...But this is FUNNY either way...Go Obama! The truth is, President Obama was helping the young lady behind him down the stairs and in fact not looking at the other woman's backside what-so-ever...

Welcome To Stop Selling Dreams

Welcome to Stop Selling Dreams, SSD. The Purpose of this site is to give insight on ideas, concepts and products that may seem bigger than they appear. "SSD", is also a site to make you become aware of "why something is the way it is" and to learn to NOT just accept it, but rather question what you have been taught. In other words, don't believe the hype, and do your research in order to come to your own conclusion!

http://www.stopsellingdreams.com/ is more than just a site, its a lifestyle, an interactive community and a voice for the people. Feel free to voice your opinion as I will try to make the public aware of certain "blinders" that are put over our eyes.

People that are selling dreams are usually referred to as: "Frontin, Stuntin, Lying, Selling Wolf tickets, Pump faking, False flagging, Selling Wooden Nickels, Phony, Counterfeit, Artificial, Ficticious, A Spoof, Living a Fantasy, Fabricated, Pseudo, Imitation, Bogus, Pretending, Simulated, A Sham, Imposter, Trick, Poser..." I think you get the drift...Basically, erase the layers, and remain true.

-I.$.H. aka Ivan S. Harris