Ensarro Ethiopian Restaurant, Grand Ave., Oakland, CA.

Ajuan Mance

Yes, we’ve been having some spring-like weather; but when I saw this shirtless brother–not running around on the basketball court or the soccer field, but standing on the sidewalk on a busy stretch of International Blvd–I wanted to say to him, “Homie, it ain’t that hot outside.”

Ajuan Mance

Basketball court, corner of Brookdale and High, Oakland, CA.

After some absolutely frigid days and nights (by California standards), we’re getting some real spring-like weather, and you can see it on the basketball courts and playing fields, on which the athletes are stripping down to their t-shirts and tank tops. It almost looks like summer.

Ajuan Mance

I was standing in front of this guy at the Wells Fargo Bank on Fruitvale. I always notice guys in coordinating work outfits. There’s something I really like about work clothes like these. They’re so sensible, no-nonsense, and made to be durable. You can really live in these clothes. They’re sturdy, but with classic styling that can be dressed up with a sweater or a button-down shirt. I used to own several pairs of Dickies double-knee work pants, and for two years that’s pretty much all I wore. I was absolutely in love with their comfort and simplicity. I also loved the little cellphone pocket on the hip. Eventually, though, I got a little concerned when a friend of my suggested that professors and other folks with advanced degrees were sorta kinda  “frontin'” when they wore this type of clothing. I haven’t given up on the Dickies double-knee work pants forever, but I have taken some time off from wearing them to consider the possibility that it might look like appropriation. Stay tuned…

Ajuan Mance

Near the intersection of 18th and Adeline, Oakland, CA.

Ajuan Mance

Yoshi’s San Francisco

I haven’t used a black background before, but I really like the effect. I think the addition of purple in this drawings keeps it from looking too much like Halloween.

Ajuan Mance

I always enjoy watching people who use particularly animated gestures during conversation. This guy is a perfect example. He was standing in line with a co-worker at the Los Pericos Taqueria near the Southland Mall in Hayward. He was describing a pass that he saw in some recent college basketball game. It made for an interesting contrast with his work attire.

Ajuan Mance

I was thinking about one of the people I met during my 1998 trip to Cairo, Haifa, and Jerusalem. I was only in Cairo for 5 days, and I met surprisingly few people. There was so much to see that we were almost constantly in transit. Recently, though, I was looking at news coverage of the political unrest there and wondering what happened to this guy. He was the desk attendant at our hotel, The Golden Tulip Flamenco, in Zamalek, an affluent community on Gezira, an island in the Nile River. This gentleman was friendly and welcoming, even though we arrived on the day that the U.S. military had bombed the Sudan. He gave us a comfortable room and answered all of our stupid questions about room service, laundry service, and transportation. I hope he’s okay, and I hope that peace and stability come to his country sooner than later.

Ajuan Mance

The Jack London theater crowd, part II.

Ajuan Mance

This drawing and the next (#483) depict some of the men I saw in the very long line last Sunday at the Jack London theater box office. Sunday is $5 movie day and, as I have since learned, it is the most popular day of the week. That means it is also the day on which your film of choice is most likely to sell out before you reach the ticket counter.

Ajuan Mance