Jay-Z Bp3 Leaked Online...Hear It Now...

Sometimes you literally have to just stop and smell the roses to gain and enjoy the meaning of life in its entirety. In my day-to-day grind, I have learned the only thing that is universal is music, meaning everyone can understand or relate to you in some sort of way through a melody or song. And the only thing that will bring you back to that passion of understanding and enjoying the meaning of life is a birth.

A birth meaning something new, something fresh, or something to make you fell alive again. Whether it be the birth of a child, the birth of a new business venture or or the rebirth of a spark of passion you once had in your youth only to regain as an adult. I believe the meaning of life is working hard to achieve personal happiness by pursuing a passion and living a happy and fulfilled life. I speak about my passion on this site and through my work daily, which happens to be Art by way of music and photography (in the form of creativity).

Tears, Passion, Joy: All things that come along with the ups and downs of Life. When you go through these trials and tribulations to come to the sunny side of the road its usually a gradual learning process throughout a life long journey hopefully that will teach you to cherish life as a gift more so then a nuisance of tragic situations. Many times things in our lives tend to become more of an obstacle than a positive, motivating challenge which holds us back from enjoying this fulfilling life we hear stories about.

Today was a great day for artists and musicians alike or even people that just needed some type of pick me up because they lacked something refreshing in their life. Why? Because Jay-Z's 11Th studio album The Blueprint 3 leaked online today. Although Jay-Z may or may not have had something to do with this, the end result is the art has landed. And what great art it is.

By this album dropping today, I had a refreshing, rebirth of my love and passion for music inside the genre of Rap & Hip-Hop. It made me feel alive again and happy about rap music not being labeled as "garbage" as it has been in the past 5 or 6 years.

Before I go any further, GO AND BUY/SUPPORT this ALBUM. If you are a fan of any hip-hop circa 2001 and back, take a ride with me by fast forwarding to the past to rewind to the future while sipping this new classic material of the present.

I have to give a forewarning: if you like bubble gum rap or you don't like songs that contain lyrics which make you rewind and say "that was tight, let me hear that again," this album is not for you. I guess its the difference between generations.

Growing up guys wouldn't wear skinny jeans, color contacts and bright colors all meant for little girls. But then again, this album is grown man rap and not intended for the kiddies (sorry got to put the young, silly madness to bed). D.O.A. indeed.

With Songs like Venus Vs. Mars, Empire State Of Mind featuring Alicia Keys, As Real As It Gets featuring Young Jeezy and So Ambitious featuring Pharell, it just reminds me of the classic cuts from Jigga's Black Album, Blueprint and Reasonable Doubt and the reason why Jay-Z is truly Hova The God MC who was crowned King in 2001.

Just as in the Lord of The Rings Trilogy, it seems The Blueprint 3 has brought us the return of the King.

*side note: Just because the album leaked online doesn't mean, I'm gonna post it here. SSD If you think I would. If you don't have it yet, then you'll just have to wait until it hits stores Sept 11.

Jay-Z - The Blueprint 3 (Leaked on Rhapsody.com)

The Heart Of A Champion

If we have learned anything from our youth its to believe in yourself and PLAY with your heart and everything else will come to fruition. I watched this little league world series game for a lot of reasons. One was because I love watching championship caliber sports, two because the team was from Chula Vista (San Diego). Three because watching the kids play showed the the true heart of a champion, meaning playing for the love of the sport and not for money, collegiate scouts, or some type of contractual agreement, but strickly for the passion and ability to say I have accomplished a goal that I worked hard for. And four because I just wanted to watch something that could quite possibly go down as history being made.

No US Little League team has beaten another country in the last umpteen years. I'm not stat checking here, I am making a point. These kids had talent, the will to survive and the beliefs that they could actually do something they set out to do which was win the World Series Little League championship.

You could see early in the game when Chula Vista was down 0-3, Kiko Garcia was on the mound against Taiwan's best batter with some doubt in his eyes, but once he struck their all star player out, it was money in the bag! Confidence is everything, right? Believe in yourself. As @iamdiddy tweets consistently, GO BE GREAT!

Too many times as adults we lose the love that we had in the beginning for our respective passion because we get caught up in life. Bills, Money, Spouse, family and well life. These kids had passion and all they had to do was practice, eat their vitamins, say their prayers and believe in themselves, just like Hulkamania taught us.

I think we need to all take a lesson from Hulkamania and the Chula Vista Little League World Series Champions and once again regain our passion for life and not just walk like zombies in the Mill. I think them winning not just for Chula Vista (San Diego) but also USA proves that we can all be champions if we lift our heads up, believe in ourselves and stick our chest out!

Now, if we could get the OTHER San Diego powder blue team to win, we would REALLY have some celebrating to do. Sometimes it takes the kid in us to bring out the BEAST!

The Most Interesting Academy...

As you should know by now, this site is dedicated to uncovering the truth about things that are hyped up by determining if the product, concept or person is worth of the publicity. On Wednesday night Dos Equis presented The Most Interesting Academy at Hardrock Hotel San Diego.

I was inspired to go because, one, I heard that the most interesting man in the world may be there and because I was personally invited by four different people. I guess you could say I was hyped up to go...lol. Hype is everything, right?

Covering the event, I must say definitely was a great experience. It wasn't too packed as I have been to other events at Hardrock and the vibe was very interesting, literally. Very sociable. As a matter of fact, it was more of a social, intimate interaction as opposed to a regular club or nightlife event. Special guests got to attend this complimentary invite-only event by simply printing out their electronic ticket.

By hosting events like this on a weekly basis (quite frankly, I have had to shoot event photography at Hardrock 6-7 consecutive weeks in a row when usually I bounce all over to elite spots) might be the hottest spot in town, but I'm not trying to figure that out yet. The only thing I was not happy with was all the hype surrounding the fact that THE MOST INTERESTING MAN IN THE WORLD would be there when in fact he was not. SSD!!!

Oh well, Stay thirsty my friends...

Interesting Academy Event Photos

King Of Hip-Hop??

2Pac, B.I.G., NaS, LL, Andre 3000, Eminem, Nelly, Lil Wayne and T.I. may all have some questions for the new XXL cover (out on newstands Sept 15) as they all have sold multi-platinum albums, and I don't mean collectively. I only mentioned these above names because at one point in time, these relative artists all released albums that sold at least 2.5/3.5 million copies which in today's market is almost impossible to do. Now if we are speaking solely based on lyrics then I would name a different list all together.

To be King, means you are the best, the top and the ultimate at a given point. Some people would say that their favorite rapper is the best, but what makes someone the best? Isn't being the best subjective? Who determines this "best of all?"

If we are going off of records sales and net profit then Jay-Z would probably be best. Beat production: Jay-Z usually has top notch production with beat makers, Just Blaze, Kanye West and Premier to name a few. A business man, he made the most money in a fiscal calendar year, more than Diddy and 5o Cent to be exact.

If we are going on relativity and influence to pop culture, I would have to give that one to Jay-Z as well. Jay-Z has literally changed the game multiple times to proclaiming what was cool and what was not as well as setting it in stone until the God MC proclaimed something else to take its place. "I dont wear Jerseys, I'm 30 Plus...Give me some crisp blue jeans and a button up!"

Sports jerseys, Crystal and Autotune sales have long since dimished, but I do admit to have been seeing people wear all black lately. HA HA. Jay-Z has also had back to back consecutive number 1 Summer smashes to put in your whip and make you wanna cruise an extra block just so you could repeat a song. (Ignant Ish, Dear Summer, DOA, the list goes on and on. Honestly, it seemed like when I was DJing back in the day, every time I would get inspired to make a new mixtape for the people, I would be motivated by a new song Jigga dropped. "Oh man, that's hot, I gotta make a new mixtape for the streets..." (It's true I am a fan of Jay-Z, but I also have Pac, NaS, and Kanye on constant rotation) so I have to give credit where credit is due all across the board.

Wait! Pac, Nas, Kanye, T.I., Common, I mean don't these other rappers have this same influence and credibility? I am really trying to figure out what makes Jay-Z the best or any given rapper for that matter. Some people could say LL Cool J is the G.O.A.T (Greatest Of All Time), or maybe Rakim? Some say, 2Pac or B.I.G. And the new school kids may say Lil Wayne.

Honestly, I think what makes someone the best is their ability to stay relevant to the times, consistence with their number 1 albums sales, a profitable money-maker for themselves as well as those around them and of course your peers acknowledging you as the king or best to go along with everything else.

I don't know if Jay-Z is the best but I can break down why your favorite rapper is NOT.

I'll start with Lil Wayne. Lyrically, he can stand own his own. When F. baby is on his mixtape weezy grind, his rap skill is astronomical, but sometimes weezy tends to go too far off with the alien talk you know with him being a martian and all. Plus Lil Wayne has been in the game for about 12 years but he has only since become relevant to mainstream in recent years.

Ask a new school believer of weezy wearing skinny jeans, what Lil Wayne's first album? They will probably tell you something made in the 2000's like The Carter 1. Ha ha ha, What about 500 Degrees and Lights Off? These were both great albums but didn't quite hit the mainstream core of success, meaning Lil Wayne doesnt have enough consistency or longevity being and STAYING on top; he's still to new to the "kingdom" if you will.

NaS. Probably has the best hip hop album of all time with Illmatic, but since he is a lyricist and not a rapper per se, he doesn't try to appeal to the mainstream and sometimes loses most main-streamers with his I-read-too-much am too-socially-conscious and too-smart-for-you dumb and average listeners. Luckily, I'm one of the smart ones...Or else I would have missed out on some of the classics Nasir Jones put out that most people missed the memo on.

Andre 3000. Bar none a beast, but never can stand alone because he always comes as a 2headed dragon with him being in Outkast which is a group.

Eminem. This is a touchy subject. Why? Because he IS white. I think Eminem is great, but I think some people put him on a pedestal and some people throw stones at him because he is white. So in all honesty, Em will never be judged fairly on his ability to rock the mic either by him being given a handicap(+) or a crutch(-). Not to mention does anyone remember Obie Trice? A black Eminem; an black average rapper?

2Pac/B.I.G. No matter how you put it, these two artists were definitely way ahead of their time but died way to soon in their career to determine how good or bad they would be. We will never know what life after death would truly be for Notorious or whether Makaveli would come back in 7 days to bring us more rapture; just always left wondering?

You're only as good as your last album, and B.I.G. had 2 albums and Pac, although he had 5 compared to someone such as LL Cool J with 13 or Jay-Z with 11 is almost impossible to judge based off of averages alone.

LL Cool J. Why Is LL Cool J not the GOAT? He has 13 platinum albums. The Ladies still love Cool James, and he is still relevant to the times. So what is he missing? Well, the fact that he is "missing" something that we can't quite put our finger on, and since it is solely based on this ability NOT to be able to determine what he is missing to be the Goat, keeps LL from being the GOAT.

After all of this criticism, I could be way off base and your favorite rapper could be the GOAT, but since being the best IS subjective it doesn't matter what I think or anyone else for that matter as long as you pay your &13.99 for your favorite artists album and pop it in your itunes to enjoy, that rapper is the GOAT! SSD on who's the best and just make sure you support YOUR local goat!

Forever My Angel (01/16/1979 - 08/25/2001)

Music. The heart and soul of the human spirit. It controls peoples lives by brighten up your day, putting a damper on your mood, giving you the energy/motivation you need to focus or helping you get over a loss of a loved one.

Music can touch people miles away without ever having face to face interaction. Without a doubt some people feel the passion and and some people just don't get it. No matter what genre, certain artists have this Ora about them that make this addictive drug (music), contain some type of sedative making you completely helpless under their power; resistance is futile.

Being one of the biggest Michael Jackson fans, I used to wonder how people would just faint, pass out and fall faintly to the floor when they would see their favorite star. Because I was 4 when I went to The Jackson's Victory Tour, I couldn't understand for being so young, until it happened to me.

November 4Th 2008 election day, Madonna was right outside my friends 3rd story condo with that ORANGE glow that I have heard stories and read about. REAL TALK, I fell to the floor in disbelief that this person whom has created this powerful vibe of artistic beauty over her fans was right in front of my face.

Now I understand. The music already speaks to your soul, but to see the person that for years has fed your need and addiction in the flesh just adds to the silver platter. I could only imagine how I would react if I met Aaliyah.

I am a passionate person and music flows through my veins 365 days a year. I'm listening to Aaliyah's song Erica Kane right now while I am writing (Get Familiar). To Be honest, at any given time you will see me skipping to my own beat probably from the song I was listening to in order to wake up. I tend to go to sleep with music on and have to wake up to my soundtrack of melodies to my life. I guess I have an addiction.

It is true, I cannot function without hearing ANY given song in my head RIGHT at that moment: I need to hear it and everything else is on hold until the song plays, hence 400 gigs. Yes, by definition, I am addicted to music. I will not be able to accomplish anything until I hear that particular song I am yearning to hear. (which could be ANY, artist, year or genre.)

To further this addiction, certain artists happen to be my doctor and contain my prescription that at any moment needs to be filled at the drop of a dime.

Some artists that have taken over my melodic soul are Michael Jackson, 2Pac, Beyonce and Aaliyah. Aaliyah's music touched me because we were the same age and through her music she seemed so real, as if she was singing directly to ME. "If at first you don't succeed, dust yourself off and try again."

Without even seeing her face, this song was to Ivan, and there was no one that could tell me anything else. At age14, hearing Back and Forth for the first time featuring R. KELLY on it living in Chicagoland, KB (my best friend) and I rushed from school to go to the mall to purchase that single. I have been a fan ever since.

Although, I never got to meet her, I always felt a connection, of course through her music. On that detrimental Saturday August 25th, 2001, Aaliyah Dana Haughton passed away from a fatal Cessna private jet crash and the world lost an angel on Earth, but more importantly I lost my connection, my soul and my musical friend. Tears were shed, my soul was taken and my connection was cut off or was it?

The music! Through Aaliyah's music she would always be with me, just not near me, the SAME way it was in 1994. She recorded a song in New York and I received the song in Joliet! With that I say, Long Live our baby girl, Aaliyah. We will always love you and miss you. R.I.P.

Song of The Day...

Timbaland & Magoo Ft. Aaliyah & Static Of Playa - I Am Music

Saturday Night ...

Saturday nights in San Diego faithfully tend to bring forth a fun-filled night if you know where to go. What's interesting is there are so many events going on, you literally can pick any one of them to have a good time.

In fact, depending on where you go and what time you arrive could be the determining factor in whether or not you get into that spot if indeed it is the hot spot, but fear not because if you can't get in due to capacity issues, not having the clout or privilege of "knowing someone" or you just don't want to wait in line, you can always petty cab it right down the street to the next hot spot, so its definitely not a big deal.

This is why I like the Gaslamp District in San Diego because its a strip just like in Vegas, which means you can club hop with no problems. Hardrock was at capacity by 9:30pm, OF COURSE the I.$.H. could get in, but that's never cool if you invite people out and they can't get in, so like always, you can head right down the street, because there is always a fun time ahead if you keep it moving and don't get caught up with the previous situation, the night will always bring fun down the street!

Fun Night Pix Here.

*special mention to Marty & Mac @ Stingaree for taking care of the ladies ;)

And to Tiffany one of my favorite hottest models/bartenders in daygo!

A Little bit of DRAMA in San Diego

Flashing lights, red carpets, publicists with blackberry's pacing back and forth, sounds like another Friday night in Hollywood right? Wrong! Although San Diego is mostly known for its year round warm climate and beautiful beaches, being a hop, skip and jump away from the entertainment capitol of the world literally garners celebrities having to make cameo appearances a must.

Enter Encore Entertainment and IAG Sports and Entertainment: two companies working together as a super conglomerate to bring San Diego nightlife to another level by adding the celebrity element to the party. IAG and Encore specialize in bringing Hollywood to San Diego. Ivan S. Harris Photography works closely with IAG, Encore and Stingaree when the stars hit the red carpet of San Diego.

August 21st was business as usual when Kevin Dillon (Johnny "Drama" Chase) of HBO's hit series Entourage celebrated his birthday at Stingaree Nightclub and Event Center. Stingaree, voted hottest night club, is one of the elite venues in San Diego and usually has events hosted by Beyonce, Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian to name a few. Along with his personal entourage, "Drama" walked the red carpet, greeted fans and had a birthday cake custom made for a king.

Birthday Party Pix HERE.

College Night Hosted By Diznee

The end of summer is approaching pretty fast which means the first day of class is right around the corner. What's a better way to bring in the new semester than with a party hosted by an actual full-time model and student. Talk about dedication!

Ridiculous Entertainment, Z90.3 FM along with Show Magazine cover model Diznee hosted the opening of College Nights At Deco's Night Club. DJ D-Rock, DJ Ironic both of Z90 and DJ Al kept the high energy dance party going all night while Diznee gave away her autographed magazines and DVDs to very enthusiastic fans.

View College Night Event Photos Here.

We Love Short Shorts...

I might be showing my age, but "who likes short shorts? I.$.H. loves short shorts." Remember the Nair commercials. Ha. At the beginning of the summer, I hosted an event with the short shorts summer fashion fair theme.

Recently, First Lady Michelle Obama was spotted wearing shorts which apparently may or may not have been too short for some people depending on who was viewing.

I do have to mention that no matter who you are, if you are in the number 1 spot, you are a target and scrutinized for every little thing you do, so being the first lady, Mrs. Obama pretty much was an open target. In the past, most First Lady's have not been viewed as younger, beautiful women, but older, more mature, motherly... some even grandmotherly types. `HEY, this site is called stop selling dreams for a reason, where we call a spade a spade!

I could see you having a fit about your grandmother wearing short shorts, but what about younger mothers with youth and flair, are they supposed to wear turtle necks now because they have children. I'm not saying they should go out and wear tacky, tasteless outfits but let's be real, we are talking about shorts in the dead heat of a desert, humid summer! It just seems like the media is reaching for any type of news to post these days.

I guess it was cool for the Nair Promo Models to use the product and show their legs but if the first lady shows her legs off especially since it was in the hot, humid desert, national security is in an uproar. To be honest with you, I don't think its a problem. It is 2009 and believe me from this picture, I can truly say that I have definitely seen shorter shorts than these that still exude good taste.

Years ago, for a woman to show an abundant amount of skin was an unacceptable feat regardless of her age. But now, I think the country is evolving into a younger, cooler, society hopefully becoming less judgemental. My hope is that we will stop viewing our future first lady's less as "old maids" but more as respectable, beautiful, independent women not ashamed to show off their inner and outer beauty. Maaaaan, SSD! Really, the shorts aren't even that short...

Weird Science 2009: Digital Girl Remix

It looks like the 80's really did a teach us a valuable lesson. Those that remember the teen flicks of the 80's such as, Weird Science, 16 Candles, and Ferris Bueller's Day Off, will remember that the director John Hughes (R.I.P.) really tried to implicate the possibility of communication and technology becoming a reality by teasing us with cool inventions not yet available at the time.

I remember as a child watching Weird Science thinking, that would be a great idea to be able to create a hot girl by making her on a computer. Look no further than 2009. Without a doubt, the form we know as social networking has taken over as the new mass medium form of communication period. With sites such as e-harmony, match.com and the advent of Myspace, Facebook, Twitter, Instant Messenger, ichat, BBM, Text, e-mail, smartphones, and web-cams, you may not need to put a bra on your head in order to find a girl. These sites are indeed a digital menu, meaning you can choose what you are looking for and voila, that magicial person appears in front of your computers monitor.

Jamie Foxx obviously is no stranger to digital media, marketing and social networking and I'm sure he also watched the John Hughes films growing up. Foxx, has released a new video and single from his latest album Intuition called Digital Girl (Remix). The song Digital Girl (Remix) features The-Dream, Kanye West and Drake. The Video is very futuristic and colorful, and I think John Hughes would be proud of what he started if he were here today.

Jamie Foxx - Digital Girl Remix ft. The-Dream, Kanye West And Drake

*video courtesy of http://www.worldstarhiphop.com/videos/

Earlier in the month, I posted a new song from Jay-Z's forthcoming album Blueprint 3 called Run This Town featurng Rihanna and Kanye West. With this new song and video, it seems as if Jay-Z is trying to assert his claim as Hov, the God by showing that "my teams too strong for yall".

Frankly, Kanye West and Rihanna stand alone as stars in their own right, so the three of them quite possibly could do what they say set out to do which is put The R...O...C. on the T...O....P. Here is the Video from the ROC conglomerate. Jay-Z's Blueprint 3 is set to drop September 11, the same day his original Blueprint album dropped 8 years ago. Let's see if the God MC still has the glow! As always, only time will tell.

Jay-Z - Run This Town

View New Video here

*Video Courtesy of www.WorldStarHipHop.com

Breakfast, The Meal Of Champions?

In order to get your day off to a positive start most nutritionists believe eating a healthy breakfast in the morning will give your body the vitamins and energy needed to accomplish your goals. Breakfast is also supposed to be the most important meal of the day because its the first meal so logically eating breakfast makes sense because food is energy and breakfast is food so its the first boost of energy to keep you going until lunch or if you're a career on the go person, until that next snack to hold you over.

Now that we have the technical jargon and healthy mambo jumbo out of the way, let's get down to the real question at hand. Where is a great place to eat this most important meal? Although its an opinion, I believe the best place for this tasty breakfast would be in your own kitchen.

Cooking your own breakfast will do miracles for your pocketbook as well as your time management and the rolling-out-of-bed-to-eat convenience factor would be second to none. But, if you are not a master of gourmet proportions with kitchen utensils, short on time or just plain out as most Americans want to do, pay someone to do your labor, then there are a few places in San Diego I would definitely recommend.

Here at SSD, we are ALWAYS trying to find the latest hyped up product, person or concept to see if it is truly worth of the accolades and publicity that it receives. The latest to come across my path was an ad about a pancake house downtown. I have been seeing ads for this restaurant for quite some time. I'm even convinced that they own stock in all the media publications here because I see the ads in all the magazines, handouts and even pamphlets. I'm joking, but the advertising is clearly visible. The place I'm referring to is Richard Walker's Pancake House.

Out of every meal including the in between meals snacks, junk food and on-the-go pick me ups, I actually love breakfast the most, sort of a connoisseur of this continental meal, so I take my breakfast very seriously.

Recently, I was actually invited to breakfast by a friend and what do you know, the perfect opportunity to try a new breakfast spot came up. Richard Walker's Pancake house has a very comfortable bistro feel, sort of like an LA brunch spot. I liked the decor and definitely the service was very friendly. The menu offers a lot of colorful choices including waffles and french toast, but seeing as I was there strictly to erase the hype and uncover the truth, I pulled all the stops by ordering the Raisin Nut Flap Jacks with a custom made sausage and cheese omelet. Being a vegan, my friend Janelle order the Best Western with Cheese omelet minus the ham.

I do have to admit, my custom made omelet was not custom made which kind of put a damper on my spirits as I had to wait for my new omelet to arrive before being able to dive into the pancakes. (Honest mistake, no points deducted...lol). The Raisin Nut Flap Jack was indeed tasty and I would go back again just for the pancakes, but I'm not sure about the omelet because I didn't get to enjoy it and reheated eggs the next day just don't work no matter how you prepare them...Ha!

For me, RWPH overall experience was pretty cool. The prices are very reasonable especially for being downtown and the portions are huge, so believe me breakfast was served the next morning. As for Janelle, she really had a bad experience and would not recommend it again. So right now I am at odds end. You can read her review here.

Changing Of The Guard...

Over the years, I have found myself becoming a modern day captain obvious by realizing that in life, there are definitely no guarantees. And even when someone provides you with substantial evidence showing the later, I still am ready to blow a whistle and throw out the SSD flag!

The entire reason for this website is solely based off of the dedication to determining whether or not someone or something can guarantee the result it claims from the hype it has surrounding it. Since there are no guarantees, throughout my research of this journey called life, I have found that there are three things you can at least rest assured to be inevitable: times changing, paying bills and death.

The irony of this is the longer you live your life, you will continuously begin to notice the more things change, the more things tend to stay the same and as long as you are living you will eventually have to owe someone something i.e. paying a debt/bill, until you die and then in that case, something definitely would be different and so my theory would be true, but I guess we won't know until the day after, huh?

Without falling too far off from the subject matter, some people don't like change and some people welcome it with open arms.
I grew up like most people watching my favorite basketball players on my favorite team play basketball. At that time, I thought these certain marquee players would play on that same team forever. And then the unthinkable happened, In 1998, forever arrived and Michael Jordan retired on top of the world, as an NBA World Champion Chicago Bull.

Being from Chicagoland at that time was a detrimental time in life. Was this the death of sports as we knew it or the birth of a marketing big business corporation dragon that today commonly devours the love of the game that players have for their respective sport or team?

As you know, SSD is dedicated to erasing the hype to uncover the truth. Through my perspective, it seemed that although Michael Jordan retired, his love and passion for basketball along with the desire to come back and play was not strong enough to compete with the "BIG BUSINESS" moving on without him, leaving MJ to have no choice but to migrate to another team that would accept his talent.

Now I know that the marketing corporation monster has been around longer than before Michael Jordan's days, my point is that this situation is far too common with players in this new age. Teams are not loyal to players and players are not loyal to teams. Its all business and in my opinion players are starting to lose the love they have for the game and are playing just to show up to cash a check. Is it the players fault for this mentality or is it the organizations that treat players/talent like cattle by not nurturing their players the ones to be blamed?

I guess there are so many variables at this point in time, its almost impossible to point the finger now. Art vs. Commerce is a life long battle across the board when it comes to talent vs client(organization) relations no matter what type of talent it is. (example: Athlete, Actor, photographer, recording artist etc.)

I digress.

So my question is, why should I continue to be loyal to a team if neither the players, nor the organization are showing loyalty to me as a fan? We want to THESE players playing on OUR team. It seems as if someone has sold their soul to the devil or given Biff Tannen the sports almanac to give us this alternate football sports universe.

Let's break this 2009 sports-opera'd, pro-club, Sunday drama scenario down, shall we? What's interesting is, I'm not even talking about 3rd and 4Th string wannabes being shipped off, I am talking about marquee Probowl caliber players that become synonyms with specific team recognition being shipped off like sheep for whatever reason. Its very interesting to say the least. Like Bill Gates and Microsoft, these athletes were, if not THE franchise player, or at least a franchise player within the organization.

Let's start with former Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Randy Moss (the whole reason I even started watching football as adult). Moss was traded from the Vikings (NFC North) to the Oakland Raiders (AFC West) and then finally to the New England Patriots (AFC East). Next, former Atlanta Falcons starting quarterback Michael Vick had a run in with the law therefore forfeiting his NFL career only to be reinstated into the league and signed two years later with his former nemesis the Philadelphia Eagles (NFC East). I really wonder if birds of a feather...naaaah!

Brett Favre who was a Green Bay Packer fixture as well as the starting quarterback forever, retired and then after a stint with New Jersey Jets, decided to come back this season and is signed to the Vikings now (going from one NFC North to another NFC North team is the equivalent to the CEO of Samsung LCD Television screens throwing his 52" in the trash and picking up a Sony, you just don't see that every day). Then again, times change. The Vikings, (my former team) also had running back Michael Bennett during the Randy Moss hay day, but Bennett now plays with the Chargers.

I know all of these players were traded for various reasons, but for whatever the reasons, I'm merely stating that it seems odd to see these marquee players performing in different colored jerseys. I think back to my Bill Gates analogy and envision of Mr. Gates sitting down to an apple macbook pro doing some itunes and iphoto for his grand kids. Wait, Itunes is compatibale with windows. I guess times do change. HA!

Either way, 1998 my faith in sports for love, passion and entertainment was crushed but I learned that you can always enjoy sports, just to stay away from the business side as you will be let down every time if you get caught up in more than the entertainment aspect of sports.

Fast forward 11 years. It seems all the teams with marquee players have basically traded the players to the enemy. Literally. It's the Babe Ruth curse all over again.

With this knowledge, I chose my new football team based off of friends, business acquaintances and newly found home front ties. Being a professional photographer that living in San Diego, I have worked with The Chargers organization on nonprofit and profitable events not to mention becoming friends with some of the players so its only logical that I ride with my home team. I figure with the exception of a few lucky players, no one on a given sports team is actually from the city they play for.

This means the bandwagon threats can remain idle as long as you pick your team before the pre-season starts and the team has no previous championship at least 3 years before you picked them. Don't worry the football gods will grant you a change of team in that situation. Michael Bennett is with the chargers now, so as far as I'm concerned, I am atill routing for the home team.

Can't Stop Football Fans!

As I am sure you were, earlier today, I was super pumped to watch the starting kick-off of the 2009-10 football season until being hit by a super buzz kill finding out the game would not be televised due to local NFL guidelines blacking the game out. I know for me, finding out the Seahawks-Chargers first official preseason game being blacked out only in San Diego definitely put a damper on my "good ole fooozeball spirit" so I could imagine how any other football fanatic felt.

Apparently, the NFL has rules and guidelines to when it comes to airing games in the home game teams area based off of how many tickets the stadium sells and obviously the stadium didn't meet the qualifications, hence the game not being televised in the San Diego market.

Honestly, this is the pre-season so I can understand why people might hold off on paying full price tickets to see their favorite star players only get to play a few downs before sitting out the rest of the game to preserve star athletes from devastating injuries.

*Sidenote (what's ironic is, I don't see how the game should be blacked out even if it is the pre-season, because almost every Facebook update and twitter post shows pics of people being at the game...lol). Fortunately for us, we all know you can't keep a good football fan's perseverance and spirit down.

Whether you love, hate or don't care about a particular sports team, to not be able to watch any game is a football fans worst nightmare as well as an overall unjust travesty.

Without further delay...WATCH THE CHARGERS GAME SINCE ITS BLACKED OUT!!!!

*Thanks to my man Travis's and his facebook Page for sending us this link.

DJ Cobra Release Party @ Stingaree

DJ Cobra had his mixtape release party last night at Stingaree Night Club. Fans got a chance to get a copy of his latest mixed cd while enjoying the sounds of Cobra's Live DJ set.

You can download the "promotional-use-only" Iller Mixtape CD here.

DJ Cobra Release Party Event Photos Here.

Vick Returns to NFL...

After an almost 2 year stint in prison, former NFL Quarterback Michael Vick has been reinstated into the NFL. Since being reinstated, the NFL, media and fans alike have welcomed Vick back with a lukewarm reception. There has also been a surge in media scrambling to change headlines about figuring out which team was going to add the former star to their roster. Would he be as good, is this risk worth the pay off and what team will even want the added media attention are just some questions NFL execs, coaches and fans have been asking.

Well Look no further friends, because it seems we have an answer.

Previously, Michael Vick was the starting quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons, but as time has progressed, so has his team. After being reinstated into the NFL, Vick has reportedly swapped feathers ultimately to join the immortal NFC enemy, the other bird in the east, the Philadelphia Eagles. How is this for irony? If you can't beat em join em is right. Michael Vick once a Falcon, is now a Philadelphia Eagle.

Obviously, until he proves otherwise this particular season the name Vick will be synonymus with controversy seeing as the current starting quarterback Donavan McNaab, a probowl teammate of Vick's now has pressure to play well or lose his job. How is this Phily sunday daytime drama different from any other season you ask? In my opinion its not. Just some more negativity for people to talk about in the city of brotherly love. Either way, the deal is signed and preseason has arrived and after all of the off-the-field off-season antics, I just have one question...Are You Ready For Some Football?

G.I. Joe Premiere in San Diego...

Last Wednesday, the movie premiere for the new Paramount Pictures motion film G.I. Joe was brought to San Diego by a young boy name Justin Velasquez, who entered and won "the Real American Hero" contest. Justin who's father, Jose Velasquez, was just returning from duty overseas, in which Justin decided to enter the contest and tell why his father was a real American hero and deserved a real heart-felt welcome home.

The contest premiere brought in the films stars, Marlon Wayans (Ripcord) and Channing Tatum (Duke) as well as the film's director Stephen Sommers along with other special invited guests. 93.3 FMs Geena The Latina hosted the event by getting fans hyped up to see the premiere. Geena also introduced the motorcade featuring the stars and hero's family amongst the fans massive applause for a job well done.

Fans waited on-hand for hours before finally being able to get a glimpse of Wayans, Tatum, and The Real American Hero, Jose Velasquez. The family as well as the films stars arrived on the red carpet in style being brought in by the motorcade filled with hummers, firetrucks and SUV's fit for the U.S. President himself.

Club Skin Part ii @ Bondi...

It's another beautiful day which brings about another SSD photo post and at present the time is 1:59 pm on August 2nd: August 2009 is in full effect! So now that the month of August is here, it also means the Peak of Summer is here, Football season is about to start, Baseball starts to actually get interesting and a lot more events will start popping up to finish off the San Diego Summer 2009 Tour.

Annnnd, since it is August, its about that time for people to find their snuggle bunny for the cold months ahead like this guy in the photo, but in the mean time, my fortune teller has told me there will be a plethora of pool parties to be thrown in my distant future to take advantage of the warm Indian summer coming in September. Club Skin at Bondi was a great way to start off The END of summer extravaganza. I say, "Let the August games begin..."

Club Skin Part ii Pix

Twitter Party featuring a Live Performance by Tommy Redding

Ah...the end of July brought for a very busy, busy week for I.$.H. the photographer which was indeed a great thing. Friday night was the twitter social networking party and the official launch party of SSD! Fun times for sure...A lot of people came out so that was a good thing. Tommy Redding did a live performance and a lot of social networking was accomplished, ha ha. I am very pleased with the turn out and thanks to Z90 Radio station, DJ D-Rock, DJ Ironic, Ridiculous Entertainment and Tommy Redding (50Fifty Ent)

Twitter Party Pix Here.