#mother art asking crowdfunding

[bread-and-roses-too]

I've talked before about how, while there's no ethical consumption under capitalism, there is standout UNethical consumption that should be avoided so here are some tips I use as someone with a general vendetta against Amazon:

use the shopping tab on google instead of going straight to amazon when you want to buy something.

[image ID: an image of a google search for "cool lamps". The cursor is hovering over the second tab to the right under the search bar, which is labeled "shopping".]

this will allow you to look through a variety of sellers that sell the item you're looking for. You can also sort by seller, price, condition, and other factors using this feature.

look everywhere else first. I pretty much only click on Amazon when I've exhausted all of the other options on the shopping tab.

The Better Business Bureau is your friend. Some non-Amazon websites can be sketchy as hell. If the business is based in the U.S., Mexico, or Canada, the BBB is basically the mother of all review sites. If you suspect a company is suppressing negative reviews, or if they don't post them at all, check with the BBB to see if the business has a page and if people have complained.

You can also look up "is [website] a scam". This is a bit jankier and less official but it does work. Usually if a website is conning people out of their money someone has posted to somewhere complaining about it.

Choose smaller sellers if applicable.

[image ID: an image of a white origami-style ceiling light made to look like a lapu lapu or grouper fish. the seller is VasiliLights on Etsy, and the price is $243.18 and shipping is $34.29].

Obviously if you're looking for a specific item it's probably only sold on a certain store's website, but if you're looking for unique pieces, it's actually fairly fulfilling to buy from a smaller seller. When you buy from places like Ebay and Etsy, or from smaller websites owned by the seller, you're handing most of that money over to a real person like you who will go and spend it on things they want and need. Sellers are also genuinely happy and grateful when something sells, my mom has been a seller on Ebay for years and she still gets excited when she makes a sale.

If an Etsy seller has a personal website, buy from there instead. This is more of an anti-corporation tip than a specific anti-Amazon tip.

[Image ID: a screenshot of the Etsy shop page for neurodelightful that also displays the address for their website, neurodelightful.com].

Sites like Etsy still take big fees from their sellers which can make business more challenging and result in sellers not being paid properly for their work. Personal sites help reduce this so sellers will often promote them on their shop page. If you like your money to go into the hands of real people and not corporations, buy from their personal website instead.

Take notice when artists advertise their shops here on Tumblr. It can be easy to school by someone asking for money but a lot of people on here sell genuinely amazing art. @/cypric-rat-hyperfixation, @/dappermouth, @/pangur-and-grim, @/pidgie-core, @/ultrainfinitepit, and @/pikaole are just a few people I can think of who sell their art and it's usually cheaper than buying the same mass produced painting that everyone has in their house.

Switch out your Amazon wishlist for a Throne wishlist. One of my biggest pet peeves about leaving amazon was no longer having a wishlist to display on social media that people could actually buy from. Throne filled that role for me. Copy a link for the item you want, click "add gift", paste the link, adjust the price if needed, and bam, now anyone can but it for you. You can even set up crowdfunding for items costing over $10. It's also sex worker friendly and allows you to have NSFW items on your list if you choose!

Finally, understand that there are just some things you won't be able to find elsewhere. Don't beat yourself up for buying a non-essential item from Amazon once in a blue moon. Amazon is a massive overarching corporation that can be extremely hard to avoid especially if you need to shop for things at cheaper prices. The overall goal is to reduce the money given to them and increase the money given to other sellers to send a message that our favor with Amazon is waning and they need to change things to win it back.

[bonnienapierfilm]

POPPER - JANUARY

This month has been full steam ahead for Popper! Where we are currently:

Popper will be the title for the film! If it ain't broke...

Socials have been made, headshots taken, and ready to start crowdfunding asap.

Script in on draft 3, close to being locked in!

Dates almost secured for shooting.

Casting has had callbacks--ready for confirming soon.

We have a cinematographer! Jacob Gandy, who has a wonderful website filled with their work, I am very excited to work with them.

Writing

Drafting Popper has been a challenge, as the story really is developing and unfolding as I draft, which I'm not that used to--previously I've been very sure of a story as I write. My meetings with Kate have been incredibly helpful; her insights and ideas have really pushed the project in the right direction, and helped me properly explore the themes I wanted to but struggled to find.

Current Important Themes in Popper:

Mother/Daughter Relationship

Male Dominance

Patriarchy

Isolation

Misogyny

I have never written a surrealist script, so I have been reading scripts and exploring surrealist art to inform myself. I had been writing my dissertation about surrealism and the Czech New Wave, so sometimes research doubled over which was handy. Films like Alice (1988), Daisies (1966), Cat in the Hat (2003), have helped me visualise my project, which I feel I'm doing far too much of -- visualising. I have found myself drifting my focus from the story when I spend too long imagining the film.

I also reread some of Barbara Creed's 'The Monstrous Feminine', and tried applying it to Popper. I have a mother character in the script, Audre's Mother, and I'd like to incorporate one of Creed's archetypes of women in film, the Monstrous Mother. Also the idea of the castration is relevant in Popper-- as Audre is a non-conforming female character, and therefore a threat to the male doctors at the clinic she visits. Audre is a real threat to the men in Popper, though she doesn't feel like it, as they force her back into the conforming corner, she did have power and individuality. If her Mother had supported her daughter, then the two 'monstrous' women would be a powerful force against the misogynistic men.

Additionally, I am trying to find visual metaphors to include. I want to explore thee idea that women becomes nothing but a vessel for life once they are pregnant. I want Audre to feel so unseen by the characters around her, pushing her isolation and the surrealist elements to the short. I just need the right way to do this.

Casting

Niamh (the producer for Popper) and I put together documents for casting, collecting scenes for specific characters as well as writers notes on the characters. Niamh put this on Facebook and we had lots of people interested! We had over 20+ interests in Audre, a few for Mother, Doctor and Johnny. We asked for self tapes, and those we got we filtered through and had actors for callbacks. We also had our actors from the test shoot re-audition.

Callbacks were in person, and were very daunting for me, as it felt very professional, thanks to Niamh! I hadn't held such intense auditions before, it felt kind of awkward to sit before actors, who am I to turn people down? Alas, I am the director, so I am that person. We saw some great people, and I honestly feel spoilt for choice right now, which Niamh keeps reminding me is a great position to be in. We hope to confirm cast this week, as well as dates too.

more updates to come! :)

[20thcentutygeek]

The Creator of Mind MGMT and DEPT. H is Teaming Up With his Mother, Margie Kraft Kindt, for a Brand-New Whodunit Murder Mystery

Bestselling cartoonist Matt Kindt has shattered crowdfunding records with Keanu Reeves on their blockbuster BRZRKR graphic novels. He’s created acclaimed comics with fellow indie comics darlings Jeff Lemire and David Rubín and his talented studio mate, Brian Hurtt. And now the creator of Mind MGMT and Dept. H. has a new and entirely unexpected writing partner: his mother, Margie Kraft Kindt. Together the two Kindts are creating Gilt Frame, an eccentric and electrifying crime thriller starring the most unlikely detective duo in the history of murder mysteries. The 3-issue whodunit will be published at Dark Horse Comics through Flux House, Kindt’s boutique imprint that features crime, science fiction, and humor stories, all told and presented in startling and untraditional ways. 

“Although it is a privilege and thrill to collaborate with someone of Matthew’s caliber and of his generation, the real joy and value is personal,” said Margie Kraft Kindt. “What a bonus at this time of life, the gift and pleasure of so many hours and days in the company of a grown-up son, sitting across from each other at our partner table, settling into our chairs as we brainstorm plot twists.Each of us takes on the roles of our characters. I develop the energetic persona of the star of Gilt Frame, the take-charge Meredith Pearson — Aunt Merry to her beloved nephew and best buddy, Sammy — while Matt shoots out dialogue for him. We toss around how they would play off each other — so completely immersed in the exhilarating work we are both passionate about, that every once in a while, we stop and ask each other, ‘Are you getting this down?’”

A classic whodunit that spans the globe from Paris to Hawaii to Montenegro, Gilt Frame stars Sam, an orphan in his early twenties, and his well-off Aunt Merry who has an outsized appetite for antiques, travel, and solving crimes. Sam was adopted by his aunt years ago and together they have solved some of the most notorious murders in the world. Now their latest Parisian adventure is cut short when they stumble upon a murder scene so bizarre that only a raging psychopath could have produced it. To solve this crime, Sam and Merry will have to wrestle with jewel thieves, art-forgers, gun-runners, the century-old ghost of the woman in black, a lost puppy, and a master French detective who just might solve the crime before they do.

“Sam, the young nephew in Gilt Frame, is really the star of the show here,” said Kindt. “The voice of reason who generously gives old Aunt Merry just enough screen time” not to embarrass herself. He’s always looking out for her as they solve a real puzzle of a murder. It’s not a locked room murder mystery. It’s more of an unlocked…UNHINGED murder mystery.”

 For over 20 years, Matt Kindt has been writing and illustrating inventive, independent comics that balance action-packed storytelling with a highly personal creative vision, with titles like BRZRKR (with Keanu Reeves), Apache Delivery Service, BANG! Dept. H, Ether, Fear Case, MIND MGMT, Folklords, Revolver, 3 Story, Super Spy, and Pistolwhip. But he’s never had a collaborator quite like this… “While we were working on this book it brought back memories of me when I was ten or so…and Mom constructing pretend “crime scenes” at home for me to solve,” said Matt Kindt. “ Follow the fake bloody footprints to figure out what happened. Pay attention to the broken clock. Why is that door open? That childhood memory actually explains a lot. Very formative. So of course it only makes sense for us to build another crime scene together. Brings me back to my roots and to what writing has always been for me – play. We’re having fun.”

The 64-page giant-sized Gilt Frame #1 is due out in comic shops on August 7, and advance copies will be available for sale at the Dark Horse Comics booth at San Diego Comic-Con. Follow Dark Horse Comics on social media for more news, announcements, and updates.

[matildainmotion]

Crowdfunding Diary Day #4: An Invitation to Engage

Dec 7th .

             I wake this morning to find we have reached £2000 on our Mothers Who Make crowdfunder – hooray! Only another £8000 to go – help!

           I had no idea what I was getting into in running a crowdfunding campaign. It made sense to me because this project is about building and sustaining a network. My hope was that people would feel motivated to fund an initiative from which they could directly benefit – peer support groups, a website, an online home.

           So far the campaign has been many sets of opposites: exciting/ tedious; heartening/ discouraging; wonderful/ worrying. I will start with the positive side to all those pairs…..

           Whenever I facilitate a Mothers Who Make meeting there is always a part of me that is amazed and touched that anyone shows up. I have felt the same on this campaign: incredibly touched that anyone has given anything – and there have been so many donations!; I have felt inspired by the passion and enthusiasm of peoples’ comments. It is humbling. It has been like this since the start. I never intended to found a national network. At the first meeting, in the café waiting room at Battersea Arts Centre, in the spring of 2014, there were 8 of us. I had no idea that word would spread, not only across the city but over the whole the country, and that our group would grow from 8 to more than 800. I am still moved by my sense of the need Mothers Who Make goes some way towards meeting- something simple and profound about the support and recognition women need as they go about the extraordinary feat of raising children and sustaining a creative practice. I would never have guessed we could raise £2k in just over a week. But we still have £8k to go…..

           If we are going to make our £10k target then something dramatically needs to shift, and fast. In the next week either some rich and generous benefactors need to get behind us, or – and this is my preference- many, many more of us need to give £10. This was my vision for the campaign: there are over 1000 members on the Mothers Who Make Facebook pages. I would love the support we need to come from 1000 women valuing this work, their work, enough to give £10 each. Given the nature of the campaign – what it is for - the number of supporters is in some ways more important to me than the number of ££££ raised – but they go together. This sounds a startlingly obvious thing to say when running a crowdfunder but I cannot do it alone. In other words, to make that shift, to tip from the slow, steady creeping up of funds that has taken place over the last week into a 100 people a day giving £10 each, I need others to be campaigning too.

           If you are reading this and want to help, here is what you can do: think of 10 people whom you can invite to give £10.  Contact them in whatever way feels most comfortable to you and, nowadays we have so many options: email, text, phone, in person, Twitter, Facebook or, as I have been doing recently in a retrograde step, postcard. Maybe they know about Mothers Who Make already and just need a nudge to contribute. Maybe they don’t know and you can tell them about the network. If they are not a mother, or not a maker you could share my previous blog with them about why this network might be relevant to them too. Consider the very asking as a kind of creative practice. Feel generous – you are making an offer, not taking a tenner. You are giving people an invitation to engage. This is my solution to surviving the crowdfunder experience – I am making it a part of my practice. I get up every morning and write to you. I try to find a new, creative way of asking, once again, for your help. Please go here, to give it, and please ask 10 other people to do the same: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/mothers-who-make

[rustbeltjessie]

Five years ago, I began putting a book together—a collection of my writings themed around punk music/punk subculture. They were all written between ‘99 and 2014, and had previously appeared in my own zines that had since gone out of print, or other zines or online magazines that had gone out of print/gone dark; style-wise, they ran the gamut from CNF to lyric essay to music criticism. I decided to crowdfund and self-publish the book, but at that point I didn’t really know what I was doing in regards to either crowdfunding or publishing full books. The book was almost ready to go but the artist I’d commissioned never finished the cover art, and my crowdfunding campaign hadn’t been entirely successful, and I wound up not having enough money to publish it.

About a year after I realized I couldn’t do it the way I’d initially planned, the book was picked up by a small press. My plan was to buy enough author copies to fulfill the initial crowdfunded preorders, and hopefully sell even more than that. With the help of an editor, I partially rewrote some older pieces and wrote some new ones to flesh it out a bit more. They found someone to do the cover and interior art, and put up a preorder page; I got blurbs from some of my favorite writers. It was all basically ready to go. But shit happened, and the press folded, and the book was once again dead in the water. (I’m not naming the press here, because my intention here is not to call anyone out. The people involved in all that are friends of mine, and as a small press owner myself I understand that shit happens. The saddest part about that whole thing is that I don’t get to use the cover and interior art we had, because it was amazing.)

I’ve recently realized that I need to get the book out in some way, because I need to put it behind me. For one thing, I feel badly that the people who crowdfunded or preordered never received anything. For another, I just need to move on, and I can’t fully move on until I get it out into the world. So I’ve decided to self-release it. For right now, I’m only making a digital version. I know, I know, print is way better, but I don’t have the funds to print it right now, and I’m certainly not going to ask people to pre-pay for it a third time. I’ve redone it somewhat—took out some of the weaker pieces, added in some others I’ve written in the past three years—and I’ve used my own artwork for the interior and done the cover in a zine-y/Xerox art style. I’ve uploaded it to Payhip, for a sliding-scale, pay-what-you-want price. This way, people who already paid for it (or just can’t afford it otherwise) can download it for free, and other people who can/want to throw a few $$ my way can do that. Most importantly: finally, finally, five years later, What We Talk About When We Talk About Punk will be released unto the world. — Here’s what some rad people had to say about WWTAWWTAP in its original incarnation: Love letters to way-too-late whiskey-drunk nights, stolen hearts and stolen kisses, small- town parking lots and bad decisions and even badder girls, WWTAWWTAP is a gritty and gorgeous series of riffs on living and loving punk. Like your very first show all over again, it'll set your blood on fire. —Sarah McCarry, author of the Metamorphoses trilogy and editor/publisher of the Guillotine series What We Talk About When We Talk about Punk distills wild nights of loud music, cheap whisky, and fugitive romance into a pure tonic. Jessie Lynn McMains’s voice is as indelible as a stick-and-poke tattoo and her autobiographical stories vividly capture the highs and lows of punk-rock youth. Pull on your leather jacket, grab a bottle of something, climb up onto the roof, and read this book. —Jeff Miller, author of Ghost Pine: All Stories True Wearing music like a jacket, that’s one of the things Jessie says about herself in these pages. I find that very admirable and inspiring. It gives a wonderful perspective to not only observe oneself in the moment, and in the past, but to feel the effect of that topic of study and passion on you, pressed against your skin. Jessie’s very subjective approach succeeds, and doesn’t fall into, impenetrable in-crowd self absorption, because she is smart enough to allow an adequate amount of objectivity and analysis to let her audience vibrantly see and feel her own experiences as if we are there with her. Music is a good reference point because lyrics, rhythm, and melody hit deep beyond the intellect into the emotions. You can always put on a CD, or vinyl record, or cassette and be transported to other places and times. These personal essays did this very thing to me, like listening to music. She becomes the jacket that we put on as we hear the lyricism of her stories. We are always with Jessie in her writings. The hyper-awareness that she uses to capture her memories to be pondered again and again, as we read on, immersing ourselves in her writing, is crucial. We are reading something that is alive and learning it’s own lessons. We can picture her being transformed by her own documenting of her experiences, becoming a complex being, a well informed member of humankind. She is infused with the playfulness and philosophy found in music and she demonstrates the frightening willingness to view oneself through a microscope. I find this fascinating. Therefore, because of this heart-on-her-sleeve writing style, when we allow ourselves to engage with her words on the page, to be as vulnerable as she has allowed herself to be, we too are transformed. Her words have gone from jacket to skin. We are there feeling her sexually charged reaction to Rock and Roll. We experience the sensual allure of the human body. With her we dive head first into decadence, decay, nostalgia, and hope. Her bouts of loneliness and need for community are palpable. We are bruised by the violence, the drugs, the suffering. We are stifled and also warmed by the dying and the regenerating of a constantly changing musical style. We witness the passing of friends and idols. We share in her understanding of what it means to be an outcast, and more specifically, how it feels to be a female outcast, to be a mother and a rebel. Through the willingness to wear this book like a jacket, like a skin, we not only see who Jessie is but we learn about the daily life behind the music, of people, inspired by their own creativity and the creativity of others, trying to simply be, to live a life worth living. This isn’t just a collection of diary entries, a memoir, it is an opportunity to look at oneself. Why are you a punk? Or perhaps even more importantly, why aren’t you a punk? —John “Jughead” Pierson, podcaster (“Jughead’s Basement”), musician (Even in Blackouts, founding member of Screeching Weasel), author Jessie Lynn McMains weaves the threads of her own life with a typewriter ribbon on a loom fashioned from melted records and empty 40's. The end result is fascinating, an ultrapersonal look at a life shaped by punk, forged by punk, fired by punk. What We Talk About When We Talk About Punk has music at its core and surrounding it on all sides, but its main muscle is the reaction to that, the response. Thoughts thought while listening to a perfect mixtape that takes you far away from the blah street you've found yourself living on (and a secret peek at the science behind that perfect tape), the thrill when a cute girl comes into your crappy job and gets why the 1" button on your jacket is so important. Notes scrawled on diner napkins and on the back of show flyers, now compiled into book form! —Ocean Capewell, author of The Most Beautiful Rot and High On Burning Photographs zine At 16 I cut my hair with a razor and dyed it black, looking at my reflection in the mirror that night I was convinced I was the spit of Richard Hell. When I think back through my own punk history, the bands, the friendships and the crushes; the obsessions that took over my life, led me to zines and the community I was desperately searching for, I can see with perfect clarity how I arrived at this point. As an adult woman these things are intrinsic parts of me. And that’s what Jessie’s writing does, it kicks you in the gut then hands you a cold beer. She knows. Jessie is the real deal; she is the girl Cometbus, one of the great zinesters of our time. If you want me, I’ll be in my room listening to my tapes. —Cherry Styles, writer, editor/publisher of The Chapess — You can download it here. Then listen to the official soundtrack here. (Pretend it’s on a tape, okay?) xoxo, the writer formerly known as Jessica Disobedience

[done-dm]

Talks Machina Summary, Episode 52

*SPOILERS*

Just a heads up, some of this is combined to comply with the new text block limit. If the formatting is a little messy or random things seem to be under the same bullet point, I apologize.

•Laura Bailey and Liam O'Brien on tonight’s episode. ANNOUNCEMENTS: Yeehaw Game Ranch premiered today, this episode will be uploaded on Thursday. The series will air every other Tuesday at 4pm, pacific time.

•Quality Avantika impression. ALSO, Monday March 4th, crowdfunding campaign for Vox Machina animated special begins. TALKS MACHINA WILL BE UPLOADED TO CRITICAL ROLE YOUTUBE CHANNEL ON YOUTUBE, HALLELUJAH!

•This:

•Tiefling classes, no dirty implications here folks!

•Frumpkin got his first nat 20 during episode 52.

•Liam used the disguise self because he missed being Laura’s twin. For Caleb, it was just practicality.

•Jester’s view on Caleb has not changed since his backstory reveal. Although, it did make her feel guilty about giving him crap about being dirty. Jester didn’t go out much, but the different kinds of people that came to where she lived as a kid helped make up for that lack of experience.

•Caleb never specified that he wanted to take down anyone affiliated with the empire.

•Jester thinks she did awesome with her diplomatic encounter. She does not realize her charisma is so low.

•Caleb is not scared by being manipulated by other political powers (AKA Xhorhas), but he feels wrong being out of the empire just because everything that matters is there. He knows he’s walking into a dangerous place, but it’s not like his home wasn’t dangerous already.

•Max eats a Starburst with the wrapper on.

•Jester is always down to spread the word of the Traveler, even in Xhorhas: nothing is sacred.

•Laura has no backup for Jester because she feels like that would be admitting she would be okay if Jester was gone. Laura then goes on to compare this to her experience as an actor with her mother telling her to get a backup job and her refusal to do so.

•Jester doesn’t even care about the Empire vs Xhorhas. Caleb just sees it as a big mess. He still has emotional ties to the empire, but sees that they’ll flawed and awful (not everyone, but a decent portion).

•The whole gem tattoo/gem in the arm has crossed Liam’s mind, but he says it doesn’t really bother Caleb since tattoos are just a thing and the two processes aren’t similar enough to trigger anything for him. If anyone could convince Caleb to get a tattoo, it would be Jester. Jester isn’t afraid of the pain of getting a tattoo and would totally get one.

•Caleb doesn’t really have an agenda for where he wants to go, as of now he is just following the parade of disasters known as the Mighty Nein.

•Liam doesn’t answer questions about where he got his clothes, and Brian trolls everyone who asks him.

•Jester felt awesome about teaming up with Nott for another detective adventure, but she did change her perspective about Nott upon learning she was a mother. Jester knows what that relationship is supposed to be like and feels bad that Nott had that ripped away from her. Laura has thought back on all the times Nott refused to bathe and sees them in a new light now that Nott revealed her trauma to the group.

•More tiefling jokes. Dani disapproves of said tiefling jokes.

•One of Liam’s favorite spell components/somatic combination is running his hand through phosphorus for wall of fire.

•Laura thinks “consecuted” means something about being reborn.

•Liam doesn’t worry about picking the wrong spells, he already knows he will. Also, Liam NEVER makes mistakes.

•Laura feels that Liam has a stronger platform for the D&D Beyond Presidential Campaign. Greg is undecided. Dani is contractually obligated to vote for Sam (but is open to monetary persuasion).

•Jester doesn't really care about keeping the Kryn’s powerful relic.

•Jester enjoyed having more tieflings around her, even if they were just disguises.

•Liam has been kept busy enough that he has no current plans to create a new spell for his character. Jester on the other hand….

This:

•Jester thinks it’s important for Fjord to appreciate himself. She sees him growing back his tusks as a step toward realizing how awesome he is. Liam realizes that Caleb caught Fjord’s accent slip and says that Fjord’s whole identity crisis is a major part of his character.

•They both realize the portal they found is super dangerous. Laura and Liam then debate who will die first. Personally, I vote for neither.

SEARCH FOR GROG QUESTIONS BELOW: SPOILERS

•Liam chose to play a grave cleric of the Raven Queen because he wanted to do something adjacent to what his character was in the past. He also didn’t want to do something random and felt his character should help flesh out the lore of the world. Liam also wanted to be sure no one from Vox Machina died.

•Laura has been looking at Vox Machina art. She very much enjoys stepping back into the Percy/Vex relationship. Vex’s first “darling” during the sound check made Dani tear up.

•It was painful for Vex to have Lieve’tel around, but she appreciates having someone else appreciate what her brother did.

•Everyone was begging Sam not to drink from the old mug before the show began. Graphic descriptions of the contents of the mug ensue.

•Nostalgic Moments: Gilmore, Allura, Percy/Vex banter, Scanlan and Trinket, “I can carry him,” Scanlan inspiration, and just Pike in general.

•“The Search for Bob”

•Diabolic planning is underway, possible announcements in the future.

[tessatechaitea]

What do you think about the current state of comics right now and the people known as comicgate

My current take on the state of comics is that they cost far too much for what you get. I wouldn’t mind seeing comics go all digital but still selling physical copies of collected editions. I’m not a business person or care what happens on the business end; I’m just a customer who could live with the paradigm I just came up with in a few seconds because you asked me this question. I also think Image and other non-DC and non-Marvel publishers put out the best comics and have been doing so for years. It makes a difference when a writer knows they own the characters and stories they’re writing. You save your best shit for the stuff you know you’re going to own. Sure, as a comic fan and writer, you would love to do a Wolverine story or a Batman story or whatever. But if you’re a writer for hire, you’re just not going to expend your best ideas on that company. You’re going to save that shit for a company that lets you own your shit. As for comicsgaters, fuck them. They hide behind the fact that the general movement outside of their crappy philosophy isn’t a bad idea at all. Crowdfunded comic books is a great idea on the surface. But when you get right to it, who’s going to crowdfund the next Chris Ware or Warren Ellis? Probably nobody. Artists probably need publishers to get their names out there unless they’re fucking great at self-promotion and the Internet. But that’s not really what Comicsgate is about, no matter what they’d love everybody to believe. To quote Amanda Halley, “Fashion is not an island. It’s a response.” I know, I’m not talking about fashion. But fashion is art and art is the same way. If you read and study a lot of poetry, you begin to learn that poets don’t just spring up because they thought up a beautiful way to express the onset of spring or the decay of winter. They’re almost always responding to previous poets and their methods of writing. They’re responding to the ideas they disagreed with, making changes in method as rebellion, and expressing themselves in ways that differentiate them from the previous generation. Well, Comicsgate is a response to something they feel is wrong with comic books. Sure, it’s a lie of a response because they’ll say shit like, “We don’t want political stories! We just want apolitcal action stories with great plots! Like how comics used to be!” But if you read how comics used to be, the best ones were always “political.” And the problem with Comicsgate is that the “politics” they hate are just stories about people being compassionate and heroic. It’s easy to read a story about a hero stopping a bank robber because the reader can think, “I would never rob a bank. Get those baddies, Batman!” But when a reader reads about Starfire facing the horror of Apartheid, readers become uncomfortable and send in letters like, “Why did you make all the white people so unlikeable? I will not be reading this comic any more. You should be less political.” The problem with Comicsgaters isn’t that they want good stories told with compassion and heroism and maybe a good lot of punching; the problem is they want those stories with a white male heterosexual protagonist. And, to them, a story automatically isn’t good if you change any of their terms for a good protagonist. Yes, I know a lot of Comicsgaters will deny a lot of this. But the move away from everybody being white and male and cishet is verifiably the root of the problem with the movement. We’ve had indie comic books for decades that have told amazing stories that have absolutely been political with non-binary protagonists. Elfquest was the comic book that got me into my first local comic book store (Brian’s Books of Santa Clara, CA!). Now that was a great story and sure, maybe you could make an argument that the protagonist was a white heterosexual male. But I’m also pretty sure he fucked Skywise in the mouth more than once and practiced socialist or even communist ideologies! And Cerebus! High Society, Church & State, Jaka’s Story, Mothers & Daughters? You don’t get more political than those stories which makes them as fascinating and interesting as they are. And, yes, the letters pages of Cerebus really got fucking crazy but I’m not here to talk about that. Whatever your thoughts of Dave Sim’s life journey, he wrote an enthralling story that maybe took a bit of a wrong turn somewhere past Guys. Still, an achievement. And fuck me, I didn’t even mention Strangers in Paradise! It’s like the anti-Comicsgate comic but also a huge indie comic hit! Thinking on my list, Dave Sim, Wendy and Richard Pini, and Terry Brooks were the only artists I ever stood in line to have something signed before I started my New 52 blog.

Anyway, there are still tons of great comics being published and still tons of shitty comics being published. Just like it’s always been and I’ve been reading them since Crisis on Infinite Earths (and before that with Elfquest, of course).

[vmheadquarters]

By Alexis Soloski

When we last saw Veronica Mars, the greatest private investigator Southern California has ever birthed and tanned — shut it, Philip Marlowe — she had ducked a corporate law job and returned to Neptune, her beachside hometown, resolved to defend the weak, defy the powerful, wisecrack with the best of them. Happily ever after, on her terms.

But why be happy when you can be hard-boiled? As Veronica’s inventor Rob Thomas said, “Happy and noir don’t go well together.”

“Veronica Mars,” a snappy, sophisticated crime drama about a high school P.I., debuted in 2004 and ran for three critically celebrated but lightly watched seasons, first on UPN and then on CW, returning in 2014 for a fan-funded movie.

That seemed to be the end of it. Its star, Kristen Bell, continued a successful film and TV career. Thomas went on to create and run “iZOMBIE.” But you know the noir trope where a character thinks she has outrun her past and then the past comes on at a sprint? It applies.

In a genre-appropriate twist, the show is back, revamped for the streaming age. An eight-episode fourth season will drop on July 26 at Hulu, where the first three seasons are already available.

Reboots and revivals are as thick on the ground as Neptune beachgoers. A long-gone show that returns after so many years with its original cast, led by Bell’s Veronica, and its distinguishing style (think Dashiell Hammett after a few blender drinks) mostly intact? That’s rarer, and not without its dangers.

Continuing a beloved series after so many years risks tarnishing its legacy. (If we’re being honest, the uneven third season was risk enough.) Besides, how do you make a show about a child prodigy when that child prodigy can apply for a fixed-rate mortgage?

The season’s big mystery, according to Thomas: Is a 30-something Veronica Mars “an interesting enough character on her own to continue to attract fans?”

A few weeks ago, I met Bell on a gloomy June afternoon in her trailer on the Universal lot, an overheated box befrilled in demoralizing beige. She was in the middle of a shoot for her other show, “The Good Place,” and had two caffeinated drinks going, which partly explained the pep. (The messianic zeal she feels for Veronica explained the rest.) In her costume, a lilac sweater over an embroidered blouse and green chinos, she looked about as noir as an Easter basket.

And yet “Veronica Mars,” she said, is the show that launched her, that shaped her, that taught her comedy and responsibility and a commitment to social justice. She will quit it, she said, when everyone in Neptune is dead.

“That’s when I’ll do it,” she said, pushing her cane-sugar soprano into a lower register. “That’s when I will let her go: When the last body is buried.”

“Veronica Mars,” which The Times described, on a list of the 20 best TV dramas since “The Sopranos,” as “a peerless blend of neo-noir mystery and teenage romantic drama,” was always a show ahead of its time. Its heroine, 17 when the show began, looked like a Barbie and scrapped like a G.I. Joe. She was as quick with a comeback as with the Taser she called Mr. Sparky, but still vulnerable to problems personal and systemic.

More politically minded than your average teen soap, “Veronica Mars” had love triangles and cliffhangers and, from its first episode, a sustained interest in wealth inequality. In its depiction of gendered violence, it anticipated much of the #MeToo conversation.

“It continually kept questions about gender inequality in view,” said Susan Berridge, a lecturer in media at the University of Stirling who has written about the series. “There were so many story lines involving sexual violence and other forms of gendered abuse that it became impossible to see these issues as one-off aberrations.”

If you don’t identify as a Marshmallow, the name ride-or-die “Veronica Mars” fans adopted, here’s the back story: A onetime popular girl, Veronica became an outcast when her best friend Lilly was murdered and Veronica’s father, Keith (Enrico Colantoni), then Neptune’s sheriff, mistakenly accused the town’s most powerful man. Keith lost his job and his home. Veronica’s mother deserted the family. Her former friends ostracized her. During a party, she was drugged and raped by persons unknown. At some point she gave herself a terrible haircut.

“It was an adult show about a teenage girl,” Mr. Colantoni said, speaking by telephone. “This wasn’t ‘Saved by the Bell.’”

During the first two seasons, Veronica would solve episodic mysteries while also seeking justice for Lilly and for herself. The third season, which brought Veronica to college, dispensed with the case-of-the-week in favor of longer arcs. It also assigned Veronica a nice-guy boyfriend, Stosh “Piz” Piznarski (Chris Lowell), though most fans shipped her and the poor-little-rich-boy Logan Echolls (Jason Dohring).

Facing cancellation, Thomas tried to interest networks in a revival that saw Veronica working for the F.B.I. No one bought it. Presumed dead, “Veronica Mars” was briefly resurrected when Thomas decided to try crowdfunding a movie. He raised $2 million in less than five hours, drawing the highest number of donors for any film or video project in Kickstarter history.

“Veronica Mars” the movie may not have been a masterpiece — The Times called it “a likable, unmemorable, feature-length footnote” — but it melted the gooey hearts of most Marshmallows. Thomas and Bell could have let their gumshoe-made-good ride into the sunset in her secondhand car, placating the fans with the occasional tie-in novels Thomas co-writes. (“‘Co-writer’ is being generous to me,” he clarified.)

But last year, Thomas called Bell and asked her if she would consider playing Veronica again. It was a big ask: Bell had already committed to a final season of “The Good Place” and a “Frozen” sequel. Also, noir involves night shoots and Bell has two young daughters, which means a lot of missed bedtime.

Weighing the commitment, Bell recalled asking herself, “Do I want a world where my daughters know she exists? Or do I think there’s enough out there for them to look to?”

“I didn’t,” she said. “And I thought, yeah, I have to do it.”

And — “this is going to sound so corny,” Bell added — she still needs “Veronica Mars” in her life, even after all this time and all her success. The show gives her a place to put both her anger at a world that is still unequal and unjust, and her faith that individuals and communities can make it better.

“Just knowing Veronica exists has allowed me to pull strength in certain situations,” she said.

This installment picks up five years after the film ended, with Veronica sleuthing alongside her dad at Mars Investigations and living, reward check to reward check, in the oceanside apartment she sometimes shares with Logan, now an active-duty naval intelligence officer. There are a few B- and C-plots, but mostly Veronica works just one case involving a series of bombings threatening Neptune’s spring breakers.

Thomas and Bell, an executive producer, chose the eight-episode format partly because that’s all Bell’s “Good Place” schedule allowed, but also because they were impressed by what shows like “Fargo” and “Sherlock” were able to do in short seasons. They sold the show to Hulu, which was also able to acquire the past seasons. Craig Erwich, Hulu’s senior vice president of originals, described the revival as “an opportunity to see a beloved character grow up.”

Unlike the movie, this new season doesn’t pander — a few Marshmallows may feel scorched. The emphasis on wealth inequality and structural bias is, if anything, starker. The moral palette is grayscale, and the tone (Thomas described it on Twitteras “Hardcore So-Cal noir”) is dark, though maybe not that dark. “There are a lot of jokes,” Thomas said. “I don’t think we can go full ‘Handmaid’s Tale.’”

Though the earlier seasons of “Veronica Mars” shot in San Diego, the show relocated its exteriors to Huntington Beach, nearer to Los Angeles, where Bell lives. Certain sets, like the Mars Investigations office, have been faithfully re-created and shouldn’t upset continuity hard-liners, though Thomas is wary of checking his Twitter feed once the episodes drop.

The dialogue has stayed slangy. “What’s with the fakeloo, our mark’s no Jasper,” Keith scolds Veronica in the fourth episode. (Among this season’s writers: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. “It never got normal,” Thomas, a basketball fan, said worshipfully.) And Veronica can swear now, though not much. The sex scenes are a little more explicit, the relationships a little more complicated and the emotions real, just like they used to be. “Even when we were teenagers, we all meant it,” Dohring said.

Here’s the big change: A former child prodigy who could out detect men decades older, Veronica has become age appropriate, maybe even immature when it comes to her personal life. (If the series followed real time, Veronica would now be about 32, but these episodes edge her into her mid-30s, closer to Bell’s age.) Thomas wondered if her superpowers — her bravery, her righteous anger, her lack of interest in what others think of her — would seem as impressive on an adult woman. (Speaking as an adult woman: Yes.)

I spoke to Thomas on the telephone a few hours before I met with Bell. Before we hung up, I asked him what he thought I should ask her.

“Ask for her window of availability in 2020,” he said. “That’s what I want to know.”

So I did. Bell told me she had set aside a few months next spring to shoot a follow-up. “As long as people want to watch it, I will do it,” she said. (Hulu is “definitely open to the discussion” about making more of the show, Erwich said.)

But here is what I wanted to know. As a viewer, I’d grown up with Veronica, too. And I’d looked to her as a character who had survived trauma and had accepted how that trauma had changed her, without ever having to sacrifice her humor or her mean-street smarts or her self-confidence. “Veronica Mars was this girl that other girls and boys could look to as an option of what to do with pain, and how not to let it sink you,” Bell said.

So would she ever get that pony? Would we ever see her happy?

“I don’t think we want to,” she said, speaking as Marshmallow in chief. “We want to see her match lit. We want to keep her fight in her. When she’s truly content, the story will be over.”

[misscecil]

How To Be A Great Art Ally to your Creative Friends.

Slightly tweaked from my 2015 post How To Be A Great ART ALLY

I’ve been having a lot of heart to hearts lately with my friends who are authors and artists and we’re all saying the same thing: It is getting harder and harder for everyone who isn’t in the top 5% of their industry to get the word out about work they are doing.

Because of the way the industries are now, many artists are not getting the marketing and push that they deserve or need. Much of that promotion and publicity now falls on the artist’s shoulder. Your artist friend may have a good career, but unless they are crazy lucky, or have the “it” thing of the moment, your artist friend is probably really struggling.

“What. But they have so many books out! They are on tour all the time! They are always doing some wacky play!”

Sadly, about 90% of artists are struggling and barely making a living wage. According to the NY Times (1/5/19) The median wage for most authors is $20,300 

Most of your creative friends have full-time day jobs on top of their full-time art careers. Or they are taking a lot of side speaking gigs, lecturing or school visits and other supplemental work to add to their income to meet basic needs. 

Remember, every new project that they do is like starting from scratch. 

For example, many of the people who I know who are not artists see all the stuff that I am doing and think that it’s going so great for me that I don’t need their help to get the word out about my books. But I do. All of your artist friends (even the most famous ones) need your support all the time.

To be a great Art Ally for any of your author/artist friends I’ve drummed up a list of things that you can do. I’ve focused on books, since I’m an author, but I’ve added helpful tips within to give you ideas on how to help your music, performer, filmmaker, comic book, visual artist and indie game maker friends.

1) Pre-order their stuff. Seriously. If your friend has a book (or CD or DVD or indie game or comic book) coming out pre-order it. Pre-orders give the publishing company an indication of interest and can help with print runs. Good pre-orders sometimes help a book because the publishing company may give a book a little push with extra marketing money and publicity based on those numbers.

2) Show up. If your friend has a reading or something, go to it. “But I went to it once for another book!” That’s great! You are a supporter! But, every book is a whole new thing! (Go to their rock show! Play! Art gallery opening! If your friend is in a film/made a film go opening weekend, that’s when the box office counts. Or order it on VOD the week it drops. Or buy the game the week it comes out. You get the idea.)

3) When you are there, buy the book. “But I already pre-ordered it!” Yeah, I know. But buying it at the store or the reading helps the bookstore and the numbers and will help your friend do another reading there the next time. This is especially important if your friend is doing a reading not in their hometown. (If your friend is a musician, buy merch because that might be how they are paying for gas. If your friend is an artist, buy a piece of art because that might equal a bag of groceries.) (comics peeps put your pals book on your pull list) (etc)

3a) “But argh! This is not my kind of book. I don’t read that genre. It’s not for me. I’m not a kid/teen.” Sure, that’s fair. The book might not be for you. But I bet you one million dollars that you know somebody that the book (or other thing) would be perfect for. Maybe a strange aunt? Maybe your weird nephew? Maybe your co-worker? And remember the holidays are always just around the corner! Why not get it signed? Think of it as a back up present. You can give it at a white elephant exchange. If all else fails, get a copy and donate it to your local library or if it’s a kids book, to the school library nearest you.

4) Signal boost their work. While it may look to you like everybody knows about your friend’s book, they probably don’t. Remember that we are all kind of in a bubble when it comes to social media. Authors (and artists of all kinds) are always looking for new readers/audience and you totally have a bunch of friends that your author/artist friend doesn’t know. And those friends might have never heard of your friend’s book, movie, game, music and it might be right up their alley. And those friends have friends that you don’t know. And so on. And so on. So every once in a while, if you like and in a way that you are comfortable with, an easy Art Ally action is to Tweet, Instagram, Pintrest or Facebook (or repost) something about that person’s art thing on the social medias! This signal boosting helps to get new eyeballs on the book (or art thing) that your friend is doing.

5) Review it / Rate it. Perhaps you are on Goodreads? Or perhaps you frequent Amazon or B&N or Powells? If you really are a fan of the book (or art thing), a simple way to help boost your friend’s work is by giving it a star rating or a review. (For musicians you can do this at those places as well. Also you can add their album to your streaming site and rate it! For films rate it on Netflix if it’s there! For games there are places to do this too!)

5a) For books, on Goodreads it’s also helpful if you add it to your to read shelf. It’s both helpful before the book comes out and when the book comes out. So if you haven’t done it already, go to it! Add all your friends books to your to read shelf. It’s not too late!

6) Make sure that it is in your local library branch! Libraries are the biggest purchasers of books! An author wants their book to be read! Libraries help with that! Maybe you are librarian? Or someone super close to you is a librarian? This is where you can really help to get it on the library radar by making sure that it is on the order list for your branch or for your system. Sidenote: Many libraries are too poor to purchase books this is a great place for you to donate that extra book!

7) Consider using it in your class! Many books have reader guides or teacher guides. Are you a teacher? Or is someone super close to you a teacher? If you love the book, Or if not that, you can donate the book to your (or your teacher pal’s) school library or classroom library for students to enjoy.

8) Book Club it. If you have a book club, suggest your group read your friend’s book. Or maybe just have a one-off book club and get a group of your friends together to read your friend’s book. If your friend writes for kids, do a mother/ daughter or father /son book club with a group of people. I’m 100% certain that your author friend would be delighted to come over (or if they live far, Skype) to discuss their book with your book club. (for musicians you could host a living room show at your house)

9) Ask your art pal to come in and speak! Maybe your school or library has a budget to bring in a variety of guest speakers for classrooms or assemblies? Your friend would be perfect for this. If your institution has no budget, you can still ask your friend to come and speak! Lots of authors have sliding scales and can organize a way to sell their own books and that can offset a pro bono visit. Also, it will help them to get new readers. Being an art ally is all about getting new audiences for your arty friends. (Your other artist pals would make great classroom / assembly visitors as well.)

10) Vote and Nominate. It’s possible that there are lists that you can vote on or nominate your friends for that they may be eligible for and deserving. This could be anything from your local publicly voted on thing to a list that is for professionals which you might be. It’s easy for everyone to remember to nominate the big best sellers of the year or the debut books that are getting the big pushes. But there are many midlist books that are wonderful and get lost in that shuffle. Make sure to champion the midlist! They really need help to be seen! (This is the same for all of your artist friends. There is always a thing that is going on where they can use your vote or nomination. You’ve gotten those emails / updates.)

11) Hand sell. Maybe you are a bookseller? Make sure that the book is on the shelf. And then, when and if you love it, hand sell it! You can also help by making sure that the book is still on the shelf once it’s sold. Many stores don’t automatically re-order a book if it doesn’t sell more than a certain amount. If you are not a bookseller, you can still hand sell by just talking up the book to people. (Talk up their music, game, comic, play, and movie.)

11a) If you work in retail anywhere and your pal is a musician and you like their music: Try putting their album on at work! Who knows? Maybe someone will ask you who that swell band is? Your pal may gain a new listener!

12) Be a Microphilanthropist. Support their Patreon/Kickstarter/Go Fund me.  It really helps to get that support whether it be a small patreon contribution or a small contribution to getting that dream project done. Support their Indiegogo or Kickstarter or Patreon. For your other artist friends who are making movies, plays, albums, comics, indie video games support their crowdfunding or patreon effort. Really. You can totally afford the $5-10 level (even if you think the project is lame.) for a crowdfunding and $1 for patron. And it will really help them and boost morale.

13) Be a good literary citizen. If you are an author, remember to be a good literary citizen. Promote yourself, but also do stuff for the larger literary community. Participate and include others. There are many things you can do. You can organize events. You can pitch panels. You can show up to things. You can volunteer to be a judge for things or to moderate panels (be a good moderator if you do.) You can write essays about other works. Remember to extend past your own inner circle of friends to include people who you might not know. Being an artist is very hard. There are many ups and downs in a career. At some point everyone goes through a hard time and needs help. Avoid the cool kids table mentality. Be kind. When you are on the top, don’t forget to keep helping your community. Diversify your literary and artistic world. (Other artists, you know what this is in your own field. Art citizens for the win!)

14) Invite your friend over to dinner. Or buy them dinner. Or have a potluck. Everyone could use a good night out with friends and conversation. It’s a spirit booster. No lie.

[sedeso]

Preparing to Travel Abroad Alone at 18

Turning 18 and beginning my gap year planning, I’m faced with the realities of “traveling alone.” My parents are against it, random relatives are praying for me, everything is so expensive, and what am I actually doing? It took a while for me to reconcile being my own support system because of my parents’ disapproval, but I am ready for this experience. 

In September I will be going to Balgue, Nicaragua for 3 months to intern with an organization called Project Bona Fide. My internship is focused on sustainable agriculture and herbal medicine. I’ll be learning permaculture practices, tending the herb garden, and attempting to create a local shop for the farm’s herbal remedies. This in tandem with improving my Spanish and participating in the many workshops and excursions at the PBF Farm.

I got into contact with PBF and this internship through an organization called Omprakash, which matches volunteers and interns with nonprofits and other organizations worldwide. They provide an incredible pre- and post-departure support team, with an online classroom dedicated to global development and volunteerism. Through them I am doing crowdfunding for my trip, getting discounted travel insurance, and have a mentor! I really recommend their organization for anyone looking to travel abroad and have it be more than a vacation. 

There are multitudes to my gap year, I will be completing my yoga teacher certification, returning to Antigua, and possibly doing a volunteer trip through Omprakash. It really all depends on my finances and flexibility, but I’ll keep you all posted!

So I’m Caribbean. The only time I’ve traveled alone is to my mother’s home island and country Anguilla. And that was to stay with my aunt the entire trip, and travel back with an older cousin of mine. I know the ins and outs of air travel from going to Anguilla and Antigua with my family all throughout my life, so this shouldn’t be that daunting right?

Right! I am excited to not have to juggle 3 bags because we always bring things for family and to be able to stick to my schedule. I am flying to Managua in September, where I will meet up with 2+ other interns and we will travel together to the PBF farm. Thereafter, I will be with PBF staff, interns, volunteers, and the surrounding community. 

Oh, but it is that daunting. As I mentioned I’m Caribbean, and my parents are fighting me tooth and nail to get me to call off this trip. I can do another post about why I am going to take a gap year at all if you’d like. Their concerns are rooted in safety, which I acknowledge. I’ve always wanted to take Krav Maga defense art classes, and will likely be doing so sooner rather than later to appease them. 

Human trafficking is a very real threat, and tourists are such easy targets. Literally fuck being a tourist. I hate the idea of walking into a new place ready to drop a ton of US money, look stupid, and appreciate the scenery more than the people around you. So many people that travel and volunteer do not have this attitude but you will always note the tourists in any place you go. 

Making yourself into a target is a for sure way to get pickpocketed and even kidnapped not only in Central America, but all over the world. I advise you not to be flashy with money or gadgets, and to just enjoy your time without taking a photo of everything. 

Some other tips I’ve made up or come across for keeping yourself and your shit safe:

Get a money belt thing, its like a flat fanny pack u can wear under your clothes to make it way harder to pickpocket

Know where you are going, download the google maps in wifi BEFORE you even leave for your trip

Do not look at your map on the street, rather duck into a store or cafe (looking lost makes you a target)

If you have a daypack and are going through a busy area wear it on your front

Try to know as much as you can of the language where you are going (being confused makes you a target)

Make a female friend, ask them where not to go and safe areas

Do not have both headphones in in public places 

Snap a picture of your cab’s license plate before you get in it.

If you stop to buy tickets or anything where your attention is away, put your bag between your legs or in between your body and the counter instead of beside you

Don’t feel guilty about saying no to anything

Know how to use the emergency call function on your phone, for if you have no service or wifi 

Have scheduled calls with someone back home

I plan on using all of these tips myself, and will be documenting my gap year travels here and on youtube (videos coming soon)

I am also new to blog-type posts, so any feedback or constructive criticism is welcome, stay safe and love you all!

[wombwonders]

Cairo Phoenix’s first crowdfundings Campaign = Check.

This blog is from 2014 reposted from my previous blog Cairo Phoenix.

Update: Since than things have developed and transformed. I’ve been studying movement based Art therapy and certified as a sexual trauma crisis counselor. At the moment I am also working as a student Doula/Birthing coach. Becoming a mother to a beautiful son made my adjust my coarse for a bit. This year I’m offering workshops for new mothers in Cairo. The money that has been raised during this campaign I still keep aside to use when the time is right to work again with women after sexual violence ----------------------------------------------

With even still a few days to go Cairo Phoenix raised 14% more than the $4000,- target.

I’m so touched by all the support from friends and also strangers who believe in the impact that creative expression can have on the healing process for women after sexual assault. It’s a great motivation to keep helping Cairo Phoenix rise higher and spread her wings further.

This also means that any excuse I had left for not pursuing this is now dissolved in thin air, Thank you very much!

There is no doubt about it; If you believe in what you do, if you follow your passion, others Will support you. You just have to find your own personal passion and share it with many other people so they know what you are into and they can share relevant information with you. Everyone enjoys the feeling of helping someone else. This is how I got contacts of other organisations and individuals who are also interested in the same topic and a month ago someone pointed out this Zoomaal Challenge for ‘women in the Arab world’ A crowdfundings campaign for women where every $1 raised until a certain amount would get matched by another $1.

Never before did I apply for anything like it but I did remember a friend crowdfunding her project and that inspired me to give it a go and to see what  would happen. While filling in in the online form I drove my roommates crazy. (my computer was acting up and needed to use theirs to make a video) I realised I really enjoy talking to people while looking them in the eyes, other than having to  talk to a computers screen where I see only myself stuttering. I decided to not edit it and just trust people could see past it. The fact that the deadline for applying was getting pretty damm close  had nothing to do with that off cource)  Just as I was about to send it of 10 minutes before the deadline  my computer crashed and I tried to recover it all night, The next morning it finally did work again but by now the deadline had passed, I decided to contact the organisation and ask if they would still consider my application, I was lucky because the community manager liked the topic of using the arts to help women in their healing process.

And so it happened that Cairo Phoenix was chosen to enter this challenge with 22 other projects initiated by women in the ‘Arab world’. The race against the counter began trying to raise as much as possible of the funds money that would double the amount.  The fund had already run out early the next morning and by than we raised around $700 that would get matched so that was a great first push, I decided to lay low a bit after contacting all my friends and using all the social media tools I  had at hand including asking others to also share the campaign to reach a wider public. 2 of the total 4 weeks passed and I still needed to raise about $1500,- to reach the 100% so I decided to organise a fundraiser event at my previous workspace The District. W’lessa a group of young theatre makers from fayoum came to perform on the Rooftop and the Cairo deli offered to give us a nice deal on their catering.

Two days before the fundraising event I got a very generous contribution from the author of Society30 and together with a few more contributions we where able to push it to over the 100% even before the actual fundraiser event!

With the raised money we can now start organizing the first few co creativity retreats.

The idea is to start off right after the month of Ramadan and use the time before to go out and explore more possible partnerships and to come up with the perfect content of the retreats where we aim to offer groups of around 12 women an inspirational & balanced retreat between, connecting with each other, exploring new art forms together, creating more self awareness and stimulating sharing stories, ideas and tools with one another. With the purpose of exploring and rising further within the individual and in the collective healing processes.

For more info register to the Cairo Phoenix newletter here and if you would like to read more about crowdfunding than check this blogpost on MBAonline.com for good tips. Yalla beena!

Last but not least I want to thank every one who supported, shared, and contributed this project. Thank you so, so much;

Pink, Pink’s family, David, Kholoud, Jim, Ahmed, Ahmeds mom, Sylva, Mandie, Hisham, Mazen, Sara, Hana, Anke, Nathalie, Helen, Dana, Paivi, Westen, Megan, Marina, Rachel, Walter, Michiel, Veronica, Bill, Joost, DaliaSteve, Zeinab, Catriona, Lina, Nada and Ronald, Helen, Laura and Hivos for matching some of these contributions! + all the kind anonymous  contributers and the ones using the District donation box.

Shukran kidan, kidan!

[optimisticvibeworld]

'Call To Action' by Robert John Cook

Calling to Action... All Ages!

'Wisdom of Elders' has a long list of things to do!

Help us help you decide what you would like to work on...

Learn about Wisdom Of Elders. We are folks just like you and I. We are ready to help out. Take a look at workload and no matter where you live we will assist you in the easy to follow Next Step. Simply call us at today (808) 250-8746, or fill out the form below.

We need your help with...

Organize an amazing team of passion hard at work pulling together the tasks, budgets, and schedule to lift ‘Wisdom of Elders’ off the ground with Jeanne Rasmussen and Dr. Cliff Robbins, President & Chair of the Julie Ellen Robbins Foundation.

Announce… with an introduction by the University of Hawai’i Small Business Development Center in Hilo, we have partnered with Carbonaro CPA as our financial management team. And for the very important people we serve, for our employees we have selected ProService Hawai’i as the best in the state to bring full employee benefits to life for us.

Social market Sisterhood Ohana is teaming up with Wisdom of Elders’ business incubator, courtesy of the Julie Ellen Robbins Foundation, to provide the empowerment to a select group of Single Mothers.

Social market ‘Become a Member’ and enjoy the behind the scene features and benefits of Education For The People. Should you love wellness as much as we do you will really enjoy Meditation For The People. Should music be your thing, toss off your slippahs and join us down the beach for Music For The People.

Announce ‘One Hand Up’… Certificate Program is more than just a job, 'Awakening Your Truth Within', define and offfer LoveLiving Awakening Certification Training Program, and publish LoveLiving Truth Within workbook for Employees.

Announce Sisterhood Ohana is teaming up with LoveLiving Wellness to provide an online Truth Within workbook for exploring passion-based architecture to produce your dream come true… 'Designed By Heart'.

Jeanne Rasmussen is the first member of Sisterhood Ohana to experience the joy of ‘Designed By Heart’ passion-based architecture. Social market… By exploring her Truth Within with the aid of LoveLiving Wellness online workbook, Jeanne discovered what she needed for her spiritual temple to include to bring her passion to life.

Announce Press Release ‘Join our environmental advocacy project ‘One Living Green’ as we deliver zero-waste Alternative Homes’.

Announce Sisterhood Ohana is proud to offer Alternative Homes Hawai’i’ On The Job training. As part of the business incubator that Julie Ellen Robbins Foundation serves, Single Mothers will be provided a Certificate Program as a benefit of their employment from the business incubator.

Announce… The first ‘One Hand Up’ Certificate Program project will be to build a scaled model of Jeanne's ‘Wétū’ on Hoku’s trailer.

Distribute Sisterhood Ohana brochures as invitations to Alternative Housing Community Conversation at Ka’apau Library on ???

Create Sisterhood Ohana Community Events calendar.

Manage Newsletter and Press Release Announcements.

Sisterhood Ohana announces ‘Wétū’ as our Alternative Home Model. Using passion-based architecture our Spiritual Temple design uses free wooden pallets salvage material.

Build our first project, ‘Wétū’ the Optimistic Vibe Basecamp. Currently under discussion, we are looking at possibly start building ‘Wétū’ the Optimistic Vibe Basecamp at 'Lorna's Garden' in Lapahoehoe.

Announce to HGTV our proposal presentation for Sisterhood Ohana’s weekly television show ‘Alternative Homes Hawai’i’.

Host a free workshop to the public at Lorna’s Garden to participate in a live demonstration of dismantling wooden pallets without tolls and free how-to construct lessons in building a scaled model of ‘Wétū’ the Optimistic Vibe Basecamp on a trailer pulled by our adorable VW Camper, HOKU.

Announce other workshops we are including in our series range from hearing from local Alternative Home professionals to alternative living enthusiasts.

Social market Sisterhood Ohana is quickly becoming the Alternative Home lifestyle experts on HGTV! Produce our first episode of ‘Alternative Homes Hawai’i’.

Announce Land Trust, collaborate with options, purchase 10 acres minimum.

Press Release… We are super excited for the land trust ‘ Garden In Paradise’ will be providing Sisterhood Ohana a location to prove the business incubator concept.

Then it’s off to the politicians, Tim Richards, Cindy Evans, Russell Rudermen, and the amazing Jen Ruggles, as we discuss 20 acres of state-owned land for Sisterhood Ohana to expand the function of Dr. Cliff Robbins business incubator.

We need your help!

Help Wanted, $15/hour plus Full Employee Benefits

Hire Sale/Marketing person to market Julie Ellen Robbins Foundation Land Trust by announcing via a presentation to HGTV that Garden In Paradise is a business incubator proving the concept of Self-Reliance. Invite each of the 1,700+ OV Facebook friends, 1,500+ LinkedIn friends, plus existing social marketing friends (Instagram, Google+, Tumblr, Twitter, YouTube, etc). From this that become our Friend we send them a video inviting them to join us in spreading the word… Each Task/Blog described above will be uploaded as daily social media to Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter, and Tumblr, and re-directed to Post on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Google+.

 Crowdfund

Marketing/Sales Manager prepare individual press releases for Alternative Homes Hawai’i, and ‘Hoku’ VW Camper.

All social marketing goes through Patreon for crowdfunding purposes.

To reach our overall Crowdfunding goal each Employee invited to participate in our weekly Newsletter will issue a variety of blog/social marketing campaigns.

Deliver weekly blogs on the following Crowdfunding campaigns:

Kickstarter

We Fund

Seed Invest

Crowd Funder

Microventures

IndieGoGo

Sellaband

EmployeeShare

Go Fund Me

Social Marketing

The Sales/Marketing Lead will collect each Friday blogs from each Team Member describing an inspiring and uplifting part of their project. Social Marketer will create Newsletter and distribute to each Newsletter member, and each Like/Comment friend:

a)    Newsletter, issue a weekly Newsletter utilizing a collection of social media from the week’s Postings of Daily Vibe Updates.

b)    Host Weekly Contest. ‘Did Ya Know?’ is a playful engagement whereby we social market an inspiring suggestion each day. Make a contest of the daily engagement by awarding a ‘Did Ya Know?’ T-shirt on each Aloha Friday to the member of our audience that replied to our Twitter with the most inspiring comment of the past week.

c)    Build a Ground Swell. Strength in numbers, show a large and diverse following by giving away ‘Did Ya Know?’ T-shirts (?) to each person we interview for film documentary footage. The questions asked during the interview are strategically arranged so the answer is suitable for social marketing of our message.

d)    Inspire Audience.   Inspire those of our Audience coming to Hawai’i for HOKU to joins us before they leave the Mainland by social marketing our video tour guide. Inspire those of our Audience not coming to Hawai’i (yet) to follow us like a television show by regularly scheduling the release of our HOKU tour guides as part of a series they can follow our adventures in Hawai’i with stunning photos, exciting stories, and interesting people.

e)    Gather Volunteers. Publish HOKU daily online events with 'View from HOKU': People feel happiness from sharing wonderful montages of our social architecture vision because it makes people feel nurtured. Wisdom of Elders is among many other things, the way we talk and write about Seven Teachings as our voice to be heard. Honor Ancient Elders by the example 'View From HOKU' sets, very kind, beautiful, and different in a very great way because we touch people’s heart and soul. Free-spirited HOKU beach lifestyle suits the personality of our audience. HOKU beach adventures, him wearing cowboy hat, her wearing sarong. Be all that Optimistic Vibe stands for by posting daily passion-based 'Awakening Your Truth Within' Teachings from 'View from HOKU'. Be fearless, passion-based (makes it exciting to look forward to a new lifestyle), self-actualization (unlike anything our audience has come across), generous giving lightning rod, positive force, publish videos of pro-environment position. Publish Music For The People as ‘Awakening’, music and lyrics, and photo's with the colorful guitar and ukulele case, music with songs of very personal lyrics. Publish passion-based metaphors that are refreshingly unique and different. Share an optimistic vision and creativity that is inspiring with wisdom, words, and ideas that are comforting, especially a fabulous day in paradise with HOKU. HOKU travels island, action, not words, our optimism and spirit, a breath of fresh air.  Plein Aire, Meditation & Music, island art, and writing, very prolific, colorful music, text, and movement to highlight our Awakening message from the many wonderful sources of inspiration in your life, churn out quite a bit of different works, we color outside the lines, a lot. Inspire audience to love the way we think, as wisdom, power, strength, makes people want to Awaken. Tour Guides show the cool passion-based people in Hawai’i that people are glad to meet, people feel happiness.  HOKU delivers the gorgeous day the island brings to your Awakening.  HOKU makes it so people can see why OV Team is drawn to Hawai'i. People feel they are Awakening to have cool people in Hawai'i in their Ohana that people are glad to meet, people feel happiness. HOKU is a spiritual being, HOKU's spirituality is loved by our audience, it represents trust in fate, karma, and synchronicity in our Awakening, seen as the amazing gift we are, truly an angel of Awakening to others. It is nice what RJC writes in his journal about Awakening with ‘Just Be Happy’ through RJC’s connection to David. People see HOKU with others as excellent team work. HOKU delivers the gorgeous day the island brings to our audience's Awakening. HOKU makes it so people can see why OV Team is drawn to LoveLiving. People feel happiness from HOKU sharing messages, it makes people feel they are Awakening. HOKU inspires passion-based alternative lifestyle based on Awakening Your Truth Within with Garden In Paradise’s co-living international approach. People are drawn to OV Team's kindness and energy.

Public Relations

Marketing/Sales Manager manages media and press responsibilities:

What makes us newsworthy?

Contact Editors for lead business story

Press Release for HGTV appearance

Develop series of Press Releases

Schedule weekly Press Release

What are other large volume media opportunities are available for us to reach via Internet?

List of Newspaper Contacts

What are other large volume media opportunities are available for us to reach via Radio?

What are other large volume media opportunities are available for us to reach via Magazines?

List of Local Access Television Contacts

What are other large volume media opportunities are available for us to reach via Honolulu TV?

Contact Honolulu television

Press Release

Marketing/Sales Manager works with creative agency producing HGTV presentation and develop a series of press releases on the entire product line and service.

Prepare press releases for each new service introduction and participation in an event, and music performance.

[matildainmotion]

Introducing Some Wonderful Side Effects…

Halfway through the Mothers Who Make Crowdfunding campaign that I ran back in December, a startling challenge to the campaign’s output appeared on the MWM Facebook page:

Where is the sense - for the outsider - that all this isn't just tea and toddler natter? You have pictures of kids, and kids' toys, and mothers and kids - but where's the ART?! Where's the visual sense of the extraordinary capabilities in need of being nurtured here? (Nicky Singer)

            It was a very valid and vital challenge (thank you Nicky!). Once confronted in this way the truth seemed stunningly obvious – yes, of course – where was the art?! I had been so focussed on MWM as a process, as a peer support network that involved creating safe, well-held, pressure-free, diverse spaces, welcoming to any woman who identifies as a mother/maker, that I had not even considered representing the outcome, the art, within our campaign.

            Ultimately my ambition for Mothers Who Make is incredibly simple: I want it to do one thing really well. I want it to provide support. I want it to be welcoming to the many of us who do not feel confident about our status as ‘makers’ or artists. I want it to be accessible to someone who has made nothing but soup for ten years. Or someone who has simply made it out the door, has managed to arrive in the room, or on our page online. No one is going to stop you at the entrance and demand to see your CV or latest artwork. As I have said before, if you feel the need to be there, if you recognise why such a thing as MWM exists, you can come.

           One of the strongest links for me between my mothering and my making is that they are both practices. By this I mean nothing glamorous – I mean I have to show up everyday and do them. The emphasis for me will always be on this, on the practice, the process of turning up, of listening, of holding space, for my children, for other mothers and makers, for myself but – “Where’s the ART?!”….. Focussing on practice should not become an excuse to hide away, an avoidance tactic. Putting stuff out there is a critical part of the practice, the process, the unfolding conversation – without it the conversation only circles in on itself, and grows smaller, not wider, richer, deeper. I have realised that to do that one thing well, of providing support, Mothers Who Make needs to put out some art.  

           Last year, in the foyer space outside the Olivier at the National in a fantastically apposite space, on the margins of the prestigious, like some small protest camp that had been given legitimate rights to set up our stall, 8 mothers and makers came together. I had put out a call for participants to engage in a MWM R&D, 4 sessions over 4 months, with homework in between. It was unfunded. I would not charge but nor could I pay, but I wanted people to commit to all 4 sessions so that there would be a consistent group of us meeting. I wanted to go further, deeper than I felt the regular monthly peer support meetings in London, run on a drop in basis, enabled me to go, to research how mothering can inform making and vice versa.

           The homework I set – notice what you notice in your mothering days - was inspired in large part by a writer, graphic novelist and heroine of mine, Lynda Barry. The one thing I told everyone they must bring along to our sessions, outside the Olivier, was a notebook. Over to Lynda Barry on the power of the notebook:

I wasn’t quite 20 years old when I started my first notebook. I had no idea that nearly 40 years later, I would….still be using it as the most reliable route to the thing I’ve come to call my work….a place to practice a physical activity – in this case writing and drawing by hand – with a certain state of mind. This practice can result in what I’ve come to consider a wonderful side effect: a visual or written image we can call ‘a work of art,’ although a work of art is not what I’m after when I’m practicing this activity. What am I after? I’m after what Marilyn Frasca called “being present and seeing what’s there.”

           In the midst of the practice, some things appear we can call a work of art. This is what happened as a result of our R&D group last year: I am building up to announcing Mothers Who Make’s first set of commissions, some wonderful side effects……

           One more thing to acknowledge: I am one of the commissioned artists. I want to explain why this is. I included myself in the R&D group as a participant as well as a facilitator, as I do in all MWM sessions. MWM is a peer support network. I may have started it, but I am, at the end of the day, a participant, a peer. I am a mother and a maker, trying to figure out how on earth to do these two things, and finding it hard right now to eke out any inch of the day for my making, hoping that I can find a way for MWM to support rather than exhaust me. Also I think I should be willing to do whatever it is I am asking of others. This involves my being prepared to feel vulnerable.

At the start of every MWM group I ask people to name “What they make or what they are dreaming of making.” I can answer this – I say I am a theatre-maker and a writer. It is a stock answer that it is no longer hard for me to say. BUT to tell people what I am actually making, let alone show any of it to them is another matter. Over the last six years I have breastfed my children well into their toddlerhoods, brazenly getting out my boob in public in front of countless strangers. No problem. During the same amount of time I have been writing a novel, which I have revealed to almost no one. I think it is time at last to answer that intervention: Where’s the ART?!

           All of the MWM commissions have a participative/ invitational element – it was part of the brief. Watch out for these. Take them as invitations to engage, to practice, to make, to share and show. And this is also my question to you for the month. What are you making right now? It could be epic or tiny. A book, a show, a play, a song, a composition, a picture, a sculpture, a design, a pot, a poem, or just an idea, a sketch on the back of a napkin or a nappy, or simply in the back of your mind – a flicker of something in between the shopping lists and laundry.

           Come to a meeting to share it in a safe, supportive space, post it on FB, tweet it with our hashtag. Let’s show each other and the world where the art is….

Go here to read about the MWM commissions: http://matildainmotion.tumblr.com/post/174791658448/announcing-the-mothers-who-make-commissions

[ina-nera]

Amoako Boafo aims to challenge the notion of Blackness

Now, more than ever, art speaks to us through a medium that challenges without raising a fist or drawing blood; no one is more adept at saying what needs to be said than Amoako Boafo. Looking through Boafo’s portfolio I’m immediately drawn to the Diaspora Series (2018 ongoing) with its bold colours and patterns. The series of paintings is a celebration of black life. It aims at challenging the notions of blackness that embodies and dehumanises, by assimilating it with negativity. Portraying individuals from the Diaspora and the continent by highlighting self-perception and beauty. It invites for a reflection on blackness and asks for an understanding of its diversity and complexity.

Art is not a job

Born in Accra, Ghana, brought up by his mother and grandmother along with two siblings who made their feelings clear about his career choice. But Boafo knew from an early age he wanted to paint, to be an artist. Starting his journey at Ghanatta College of Arts and Design in Ghana, Boafo credits his peers for teaching him his art. A very generous statement from someone who is so clearly naturally talented and unusually modest.

Amoako Boafo Straight from art school, Boafo studied at the Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna. Immediately finding the Austrian capital unreceptive to black people and subsequently the art scene is, in his words, “just as challenging”. He tempers this atmosphere in his first exhibition at the Roberts Project in Los Angeles, in February 2019 with a portrait series which is a celebration of his identity and blackness; an attempt at self-preservation, he says.

Just Like Egon Schiele

Talking to the Los Angeles Times, Boafo recalls his first impression of Vienna. “When I arrived in Vienna, I didn’t think of changing the way I paint or anything, but I heard certain names over and over—Klimt, Schiele, Lassnig—and I wanted to see why they were so famous. I actually love their paintings, and every now and then I would test myself to see if I could paint the way they were painting. I could, of course. But with Schiele, I was most interested in seeing how he got his results. You could really see all the brushstrokes and colours he mixed to make a painting, unlike Klimt, whose work is very well mixed, realistic and decorated, which is also good. I just want my paintings to be as free as possible, and Schiele gave me that vibe—the strokes, characters, and composition”.

It’s all in the brushstrokes

Looking at the painting, you are drawn to the immaculate texturing and the all expressions on the sitters face made more poignant by the brushstrokes; drawing the viewer into the quality of statement while allowing you to make up your own mind. The work is excellent and has a broad range, which many might consider un-appealing. This work is so far from bland. To be challenging you need to be seen and you really get the feeling that Boafo sees. The portrait that resonates with me is “Bel”, a 2018 portrayal of a long-suffering woman, possibly his wife, giving that well-known expression of humouring a loved one and acknowledging a back seat position that is both powerful and comforting.

"Bel", 2018. Photo: fashionweekdaily

Every Artist needs a break

Things moved quickly for Boafo once Kehinde Wiley, a prominent gallery owner, bought one of the paintings and then introduced Boafo to his gallery. This may not seem unusual to most but African art was not being bought in Austria; especially contemporary art, and certainly nothing that hadn’t been painted for at least two hundred years earlier. Exhibitions follow soon after with his first exhibition at Roberts Projects in Los Angeles, titled “I see me” and, more recently, “wish you were here” also at the Roberts Projects—a phrase that resonates with all of us at this moment in time.

We Dey, a nonprofit arts organization in Vienna

Most artists would be put off by the negative response and hightail it back to Ghana. But Boafo is a stoic individual, to be seen and not to have his art whitewashed meant starting We Dey, a self-funded space for artists of any discipline to include performance, drawing, painting. In order to maintain the space, the exhibition space is funded by a successful yearly crowdfunded project.  No one can deny that enthusiasm and hard work pay off. The aim now is to create a similar space in Ghana to support other artists. Boafo is an artist we will see much more of in the years to come. Anyone who can be quiet and extremely vocal at the same time is a force to be reckoned with—mark my words. Read the full article

[blschaos3000-blog]

Its 5:17 pm

  Welcome to “8 Questions with…..”

I recently was approached by a producer named Chris Morrisey about talking with our next guest Emmanuel Osorio,a 19 year old film director who is prepping his first film for release. Now normally interviewing a artist with no track record is a high risk because there isn’t anything the public can actually see for themselves. But as anyone who knows me either through my blog or in real life can tell you,I love to find new voices no matter where they may come from. Giving a young man like Emmaunel a platform to share his story is no different from giving a band their first show or in my own case,sharing my first film review. We all have to start with step one,right? Besides,I could sense that same excitement I feel when I was talking with Chris,he has found a talented director and smart young man in Emmaunel Osorio and believes he is destined for big things….and my gut is telling me that Chris is right. With that in mind..let’s go ask Emmanuel his 8 Questions……

    Please introduce yourself and tell us about your current project.

    My name is Emmanuel Osorio and I am a 19 year old Latino filmmaker, writer, actor, producer and film buff. I was born and raised in the amazing city of Los Angeles and I am currently working on my first feature film titled “BLASÉ L.A.”   Blasé L.A. is a semi-autobiographical time capsule of Los Angeles that follows a group of young millennials growing up in this fame and selfie obsessed city. Prior to Blasé L.A., I had a huge interest in photography and visual art. I have photographed everything from editorial fashion shoots to landscapes and everything in between. I also have directed and acted in several plays prior to jumping into filmmaking. It felt like a natural transition to combine the best of both worlds and explore what comes out of it. 

While you’re only 19, Los Angeles has a way of making folks grow up a bit faster. What three impressions has growing up in Los Angeles left on you?

     Growing up in the city of Los Angeles has very much shaped me to be the person I am today. Hollywood and the entertainment industry made a huge impression on me early on, it is hard not to be dazzled by the glitz and glamour of it all. I always enjoyed reading books and watching movies as a child but I didn’t always have time or access to it because I was busy with school work. My mother always pushed me to attempt new things to the best of my ability. She constantly placed me in environments that I would learn from. When I was able to, I would focus on music, dance, art, acting, and sports. At a very young age, I was hand selected from a group of children to participate in an all-paid dance scholarship in Downtown L.A. While doing that, I started to notice that opportunities for success can be found anywhere if you are determined and willing to put in the effort, so I tend to strive for perfection as much as possible in anything I do. 

   I feel that L.A. is so diverse with many different cultures and that made a great impression on me as well. Most of the people I met growing up moved here from somewhere else to pursue their dreams in the entertainment industry. I feel that I learned a lot from just hearing people’s various stories about life before arriving to L.A. and I got to witness the ups and downs and see how much dedication is involved if you want to become successful in any type of career.  I decided early on that when I finished high school I would focus on making my goals a reality. This city offers so many opportunities and there is room for everyone to succeed. 

   After high school, I got a scholarship to a college 60 miles outside of Los Angeles and my family highly encouraged me to accept it. I was torn because this college is in a very secluded location and I knew it would isolate me being so far away from L.A. While there, I felt very sheltered and continued to work on writing and photography as a creative outlet. It was easy to get distracted because the other students there didn’t have many career goals and were just attending classes on auto-pilot. There was a cabin fever vibe with everyone being stuck on the campus with nowhere to go, so the kids were all about partying at night and oversleeping the next day, then showing up late to classes — not caring if you completed the assignments or received good grades. It, unfortunately, was a toxic environment and I realized that if I stayed there, I would never be able to focus on achieving my dreams. I needed to take a leave and come back to L.A. On the bright side, the college party lifestyle experience gave me a lot of material to put into my script. I was able to make lemonade out of lemons, so to speak.   

What led you into making your own films? 

   I always have been fascinated by movies and the stories people tell visually. In my early teens, I began to discover a lot of classic Hollywood films and game changing movies by directors like Stanley Kubrick, Quentin Tarantino, Francis Ford Coppola, Guillermo Del Toro, Alfred Hitchcock, Steven Spielberg and Robert Rodriguez. Watching their films inspired so many ideas of my own, I decided that I want to do what they do. These filmmakers have opened up a whole new creative space for me to play in and I am loving every minute of it!

I read the synopsis for your film,do you feel your generation is shallow and materialistic? Is film one of the last things that will bring people together for a face to face interaction?

    I do notice people of all ages with those traits but it’s all because of smart-phones and advanced technology. I feel that going to the cinema is one of the only places right now where you have to shut your phone off for two hours and focus on something other than social media. I think it is great that a lot of movie theaters are very strict about making sure nobody can interrupt a film.  During High School and my short time in college, I felt a lot of the kids there were all about social status and there is a huge obsession with the internet and how many “likes” and comments you get on your social media photo posts. At times, It all seemed like a competition. I love that technology has evolved and that we have access to use these tools to our advantage, but I remember recently sitting at a restaurant with a group of friends and some of us were texting each other even though we were sitting directly across one another at the table. The minute the food was served, everyone whipped out their phones and took photos of the food for their instagram feeds. Times like that make me feel like my generation can be superficial and shallow. Going to a movie theater with a group of friends and then talking with each other about the film after it ends feels special. I appreciate that outlets such as Netflix and Hulu exist and people have more access to discover films, but I truly hope people continue to keep movie theaters in business by taking the time to escape and experience the stories we dream up and create for everyone. I want my films to be seen on the big screen in dark cinema. If someone watches on their cell phone or laptop there are too many distractions and you don’t get the full experience. 

What are three things that surprised you the most in directing a film for the first time?

    The first thing that surprised me was how easy things started to come together once the script was completed and I started to map out how to turn this all into a reality. I was able to get great feedback and suggestions from people I met in the industry through networking. They happily gave me great advice just by politely asking a lot of questions.

   Another thing that surprised me was how comfortable I was at solving problems by finding creative solutions. Instead of being stressed or disappointed if we lost a certain location or couldn’t get a brand we specially wanted for a scene, I was able to tap into my creativity as a writer and tweak the script or dialog to make things work and still be satisfied with the changes.   

   I also wrote the main character in the film for myself to perform as an actor since the storyline is semi-autobiographical. I think it was surprising was how challenging, yet rewarding it was to direct myself and rely on my crew and producers to guide me through it. There was a huge  trust involved and I couldn’t have an ego or be too self conscious when we filmed the scenes I was in. 

How did you go about gathering the resources and money for your project? Why would investors gamble on a newcomer? How did you pitch your film?

     That was a big challenge in the beginning and very intimidating while writing my script. I asked a lot of other filmmakers what avenues they took to raise money or find investors. Most of them suggested crowdfunding or making a short film as a calling card to show to film studios and possible investors. I was lucky enough to meet my producers through networking at film screenings and various film events. Everyone I met told me they were impressed that I have such a drive and determination at such a young age. One producer said I should just be daring and make the full film and skip making a short. This producer introduced me to other people he knew in the industry that he felt would connect with the storyline and overall vibe of the project. Things clicked and came together and I was lucky enough that people believed in me and the project and decided to take a chance on me. Things came together very quickly which was a little overwhelming, but it all felt right and as if it was meant to be,  so I am even more determined now to make sure this film is a huge success. I truly want to have a long term career in this industry and continue making films for years to come so I am willing to invest in myself and work as hard as possible to achieve my goals. 

What three directors working today do you admire most and why?

      Quentin Tarantino is a huge inspiration to me! I regularly go to see films at his movie theater, the New Beverly Cinema,  to discover many classic films I didn’t have a chance to see growing up. I feel like his career and the success of his films have paved the way for people like me by proving that anything is possible. Guillermo Del Toro also inspires me. He is so humble and I recently attended the unveiling presentation of his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It made me think that one day I might be able to have my own star as well. Robert Rodriguez is another huge inspiration. I read his book Rebel Without a Crew early on and it gave me so much confidence to take chances. His motto is No risk, No gain.  

What kind of films do you want to make? Do you feel the bigger the budget the less creative freedom you lose?

    I want to make films that open doors for other people and inspire others to follow my footsteps. If I can do it than anybody else can if you put in the hard work. I want to tell compelling diverse cultural stories and come up with original ideas that Hollywood hasn’t showcased yet. I want to have creative freedom at any budget. I feel like if you stay true to your creative vision you can tell stories with any size budget. I hope to continue to surround myself with people who believe in me and believe in my art to be able to do this for as long as possible because I love it!

What is next for for you after this film?

    BLASÉ L.A, is currently in post production and should be ready to premiere in early 2020. Cannes Film Festival is a big goal. I would like to tour the film in as many cities and countries as I can. I want it to be seen in as many theaters as possible. I have some other scripts I am starting to write but my main goal right now is to present BLASÉ L.A. to the world. I definitely have a follow-up film in mind but I think it will all come together once this film is released. 

The cheetah and I flying to watch your latest film project but we are a day early and you are playing tour guide,what are we doing?

    The great thing about L.A. is that there are so many different things to do within a short drive (as long as you don’t run into too much traffic). L.A. is a place where you can go to the beach in the morning then drive two hours to the mountains and play in the snow. It is a melting pot of so many different cultures and amazing mini cities. You can go to downtown LA and feel like you are in New York, then head over to the beach and soak up the artistic hippie vibe of Venice Beach. You can get a gourmet latte and window shop at all the posh designer stores in Beverly Hills then head to Disneyland and be a kid again. There is a place to basically fit every mood. There are so many famous landmarks and historic places that all can be seen in just a few hours. Hollywood Boulevard is a must if you are into anything movie related. I love this city and my film BLASÉ L.A is also a loving tribute to it.

    I like to thank both Emmanuel for the interview and Chris for helping secure it.We will be looking forward to seeing “BLASE L.A.” in 2020 and reviewing it as well We wish nothing but the best for Emmanuel….

You can follow Emmanuel a couple of different ways:

You can follow him on his very busy InstaGram page. You can also see whats coming next via his IMDb page.

Its been an incredible time as of late with all these interviews but don’t worry,the cheetah and I are still reviewing films/TV shows as well and have some great films coming up.

Feel free to drop a comment below and thank you for your support! 8 Questions with………film director/writer Emmanuel Osorio Its 5:17 pm Welcome to "8 Questions with....." I recently was approached by a producer named Chris Morrisey about talking with our next guest Emmanuel Osorio,a 19 year old film director who is prepping his first film for release.

[baby-onthe-brain]

Affording Baby

Originally Posted 12 March 2018

I’m not going to lie… This is the part that scares me the most. I’ve never been affluent, and there’s only one period in my life where I’ve been well off — a three-year stretch when I was a child myself. The topic of finances isn’t a comfortable one for me, and I’m routinely embittered about all the folks who seemingly have more than I do. 

Not necessarily material things, but also the experiences that financial freedom often grants. Things like routine travel expeditions, or not having to worry about going over your grocery budget and the successive awkwardness of having to ask the cashier to take some items off the bill. I’m trying to get better about it, especially since Rhys brought up a little while ago just how often I voice my opinions on it, but it’s still there in the back of my mind. I’m working on it.

I will not the first (nor will I be the last) to say that having kids is expensive. Really, really expensive. Children are a 20-year investment or longer, and you’d best be ready for the long haul (especially if the economy keeps going the way it is). Which is why when you’re actually planning for a baby, it’s a good idea to make sure you can actually afford one. Or two.

Or three. You know how it goes.

Now, I’m sure that you’re aware of the procession of mommy blogs out there that tell you ���how to financially plan for a baby in 5 easy steps.” While these blogs are often repetitive and from an upper-middle-class perspective, they do have some useful advice. Some of the stuff I have to laugh at, like cutting down on routine unnecessary purchases (like mall trips or lattes) and setting that aside into a baby fund instead. Other stuff, though… That stuff is good.

One of the things that I’ve really taken to heart from my research is to accumulate essential baby things slowly over an extended amount of time. It would scar up anybody’s finances if you suddenly had to jam outfitting an entire nursery plus stock up food, and clothing, and diapers, and every other necessity under the sun into less than a year’s worth of paycheques. Getting the job done slowly ensures that you can do a little at a time, without the side effect of wincing whenever you see your bank statement. Well… As much, anyway.

I’ve been accumulating in earnest for a while now, and have been happy to discover that most of it can be gotten second-hand. This cuts down on costs incredibly, and I can help to reuse items that still have a good lifespan to them. Most of these financially-savvy mamas also recommend asking your friends and family for hand-me-downs, which I fully intend to do once I actually have a due date. Keep in mind that a baby shower, if you’re going to have one, will also help you accumulate smaller stuff. A friend of mine said that she didn’t have to worry about getting baby clothes because she’d gotten a whole stock of them as gifts. Score!

There is, of course, the necessity of actually looking at your finances. As I mentioned earlier, this is one of the scary parts for me. Rhys and I don’t exactly live in the lap of luxury; while we are comfortable, it’s an uneasy comfort that comes from a lot of organisation and budgeting. This is something we’ve earnestly taken to in recent months, revising our budget and figuring out down to the (useless) penny where our money is going and when. This new budget is still in its early stages, but it’s so far been helping immensely in making sure we can stay afloat and still get where we need to go.

One of the things that baby prep resources across the board (mommy blogs, books, web-based resources, etc.) have asserted is that you must reduce debt as much as possible. This to me is a no-brainer, but one that becomes rather difficult when you’re saddled with student loans you can’t pay out. My advice is to pay the smallest debt off first and work your way up. If you have a credit card, or somebody loaned you money, get those paid off first. Then, when you’ve gotten them out of the way, move the money you’ve been using to pay those off to the next smallest payment.

Of course, this entirely depends on how much you make, how much debt you have, and a whole slew of other things. I’m not a financial advisor by any means, so if you’re really in trouble financially, seek out help! There are hundreds of debt consolidation and consultation businesses available to you. For example, both Rhys and I are in the process of repayment assistance for our student loans, which means we don’t have to think about them right now. We wouldn’t be able to do anything about it anyway, but it’s nice to know that we’re not being thrown under the bus because we couldn't pay for our educations out of pocket.

One of the things that the baby prep book I’m reading (Rachel Pepper’s Ultimate Guide to Pregnancy for Lesbians) brought up is all the legal stuff you don’t really think about. Admittedly, I completely forgot to factor in stuff like wills, life insurance, and RESPs. Well… No, okay that’s a lie. I’ve had it in my head for years that the moment I conceive, I am going to open an RESP account for my baby. I don’t want them to have to suffer through student loans if I can help it. But, in the grand scheme of things when you’re already worrying about the money you’ll be spending on your little one in the coming months… Well. It’s a kick in the butt.

Thinking about things like your baby’s education when they’re not even born yet, or whether they’ll be able to get by if anything ever happens to you unexpectedly can be a bit of a stretch… But a necessary one. The book I mentioned before stresses how wills especially are important for LGBTQA+ couples, or other couples who underwent ART. The will is a legally binding document that makes your wishes known, and will hold up better in court, should the need arise, than a co-parenting agreement or a known-donor agreement. This is fundamental if you want your partner to have custody of your little one in the event of your passing, especially if they’re not on the birth certificate. Rhys and I have thought about what would happen, should our little one be left stranded without both of us. Not concretely, mind you, but we’ve at least broached the subject.

Wow, this post has turned way more into one of those mommy blog posts than I was expecting it to. Apologies, if that’s not what you were looking for!

Back to the topic, in general, though… I’m not going to say that if you follow the steps I listed above, or any steps found online or in books, that you’ll be completely financially prepared. If there’s anything working in childcare has taught me, it’s that kids throw curveballs just by existing. There will be moments where you’re wholly unprepared for a situation, and just need to roll with it. Doing what you can now will help take the strain off for sure, but don’t freak out if you haven’t paid off all your debt, or if you haven’t saved as much as you wanted. Life happens. Shit happens. It’ll be okay. Do what you can.

I think that one of the reasons why I even started writing this blog post, is because I’ve been coming up against a lot of doubt from myself and others recently. Working out the budget I mentioned earlier scared me shitless about how we were supposed to afford a baby with all the other stuff on top of it. In addition to that, when I asked a “friend” whether I should set up a crowdfunding button to go on this blog to help with the added cost of ART, she came back with a rather judgemental: “If you can’t come up with an extra $2000 for that,” (HA! If only it cost just $2000….) “then should you really be having kids?”

Ouch. Right to the heart of my anxieties. Thanks, I needed that. Please take your entitled, unknowledgeable ass right out of my house. Don’t let the door hit you on your way out. It’s not like I haven’t thought about this for DAYS on end and stretched and thought and researched…. No, I’m not like that at all.

I should have known better, to be honest.  This particular “friend” has no interest in having children herself or being around them for extended periods of time. She has frequently been seen rolling her eyes at all my preparatory excitement, and giving me long looks that essentially said: “oh my god this again?” Her comment really tore into me, though, like a good cat-scratch, and I find myself still thinking about it. I know exactly where I stand socioeconomically, and I know at least generally how difficult it’s going to be, raising a child. There are tons of considerations I’ve already discovered, and tons more that I haven’t even thought of. But if I’m going to let my financial situation forestall my desire to be a mother, do I really deserve to be one? Situations can change.

One of my favourite romance movies of all time, P.S. I Love You has this really exceptional scene in it that I’ve kept with me since seeing it the first time. Granted, the whole movie is about losing a loved one (spoilers?), but it doesn’t start like that. I’ve been thinking about it more and more, and it’s acted like a sort of balm against some of the bile coming from doubters, including my own anxiety.

It’s the opening scene, and Holly (Hilary Swank) is mad at her husband Gerry (Gerard Butler) because of something he’d said during dinner with Holly’s mother (Kathy Bates). Finally, it comes out that Holly is mad at Gerry because he said she didn’t want children right then (along with a slew of other semi-related issues). The scene shows that Holly is a planner, and a worrier, and frequently gets inside her own head and lets her anxieties get the better of her, and I feel that, girl. The whole opening scene is so relatable and almost perfectly voices my anxieties about preparing for a baby. What sticks with me most is what Gerry says though:

“People have babies with no money all the time…. We’re not a mistake just because we don’t have any money.”

You’ve just got to work through it. You’ve got to rely upon one another and support one another, and do what you can. Things will turn out one way or the other (even if you’re not a cute, carefree Irish guy). It may take longer than you want it to, like it will with us, but… You’ll get there. We will too.

Do you have any hacks or saving tips? Have you had similarly unsupportive friends? Let me know in the comments! I’d love to hear from you.