CEDTalks

In 2007, I was working with Y.M.e? Photography, a company that my friends and I started at our college. We started in studio photography, eventually expanding to events, but we made a name for ourselves with our model photos. In our heyday we were GOOD; G, Jeff, Rob, and I snapped a lot of classics with Devyn infusing his music genius and Ray marketing the product. One of the intangible skills that separated our photography from competitors was...we found the sexy. Looking at our old pics, it is still evident: We were able to capture the best essence of each of our models. Sexy or cute?  Zooeeeeee.... Doing so, however, would always prompt the question, "Which models were naturally sexy?", which expanded into what girls we knew were sexy and who was just cute. At first listen, it sounds like a vain and pretentious statement but there are great benefits in identifying the difference. Recognizing the stark contrast between cute and sexy allows women to maximize th...

As highlighted in my previous blog "The Struggle of a Washington Redskins Fan" , I am dedicated to the Burgundy and Gold. Since my pre-teen years, my loyalty has been with "The Hogs", based off spending a large amount of my childhood with my mother's family who resides in the greater DC area. Thanksgiving Dinner discussions with my late uncles about the defense, the importance of the running game, and more are important remnants of my life. They fuel my loyalty towards the Skins, in good times and bad. A family that roots together, stays together. For many, there is commonly a back story that started them rooting for their favorite team. Through an emotional appeal, we connect with a team and cheer for them like our life depends on it. The team is a part of our daily (or weekly) journey. Their poor performances cause you to beat your kids and despise going to work the next day, while their gutty and successful executions numb you to your everyday proble...

Very few groups cause more stir and opinions than the African American female. In a single conversation about the "sista", you could hear the terms incredible, enduring, stuck up, loyal, independent, too dependent, loud, beautiful or captivating. To some extent, all of these are valid descriptions; meet the right one, and they can embody all of these...at the same damn time. In my experience, the best adjective to describe the black woman is unpredictable. At any moment, the black woman can turn your life upside down like pineapple cake...for better of worse. Some men say they "understand" or "figured out" women, specifically Black women...Nah. If anything, you've dealt with a girl who hasn't developed her superpowers. She's like Luis Mendoza from Mighty Ducks: she can skate, but she hasn't learned to stop yet. Despite this, comprehending the Black woman is still a priority on the task list of guys (Black and others). This is with goo...