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Connecting Globally: Neda Shoaei and Waqqas Shahid talk shop in my Instagram DMs

Giraffitii by Neda Shoaei

Neda
I love this topic Nicole has chosen. And I believe that connection has always been the highest need for human beings throughout history. How we define connection has changed in modern times. Waqqas, how do you see the connections we are creating in the 21st century? Are we as effective as previous generations used to be, you feel?

Waqqas
In the 21st century, we have more tools than ever before to connect with people globally. We build global connections because we want to connect with people from different backgrounds and cultures. By fostering understanding and inclusivity, we can build lasting relationships.

Technology has the potential to bring tremendous financial benefits to individuals and communities. But we should also be using it to improve the lives of people around the globe.

We can start by bridging cultural divides, instead of perpetuating them. By approaching global connections with openness and humility, we can create a more compassionate world. What are your thoughts, Ned?

Waqqas Shahid

Neda
Great points, Waqqas. That meaningful connection is what we are all looking for. And we have amazing new media tools to help with that. People are starting to realize, more and more, that borders have no meaning. We are getting connected on a deeper level. Solidarity is rising because we are getting in touch with more people from different countries, languages, and backgrounds.

When did you personally start creating deeper connections on social media? Was it the same feeling as the physical world conversations you had before?

Waqqas
I began creating deeper connections on social media about seven months ago. By being open to new perspectives, I formed meaningful relationships which have become a part of my real-life network.

Listening and observing are more important to me than speaking, as I really want to understand others. One of the great connections I made was with Nicole, and I am grateful to her for having me here. I encourage others to use social media as a tool for creating genuine and lasting connections with people from all walks of life.

Neda Shoaei

Neda
Waqqas, I like that you said that people should build/find that genuine connection. Knowing these facts from the beginning helps us to keep going until we find like-minded people.

You said you have been connecting with people on social media for seven months now. Was there any point where you felt this was not right, or had any self-doubt?

Waqqas
There were moments of self-doubt. It can be intimidating to put ourselves out there and engage with strangers, especially if we are not sure if we’ll be well-received.

However, the key to overcoming these doubts was to keep an open mind and be willing to learn from others. By listening to their perspectives and experiences, I was able to build genuine connections. The sense of community I have developed has been incredibly rewarding. I’m grateful for the growth and learning opportunities that have come from these experiences.

Neda
I always observe the fact that some communities are very English-centric. I mean, they seem not open or ready for non-English speakers to join them. On the other hand, I see communities that ask for people from different backgrounds and languages to join them. They overcome language barriers by having bilingual speakers in Twitter Spaces or having foreign language channels on their Discord channels.

Again, I believe we should find communities/people that are like-minded. That way, we can feel happy to share our feelings and ideas in an open way. This is the point of global connection at its core.

Neda Shoaei

Waqqas
It is true that some communities tend to prioritize English language and Western culture over others. Understanding different languages and cultures is crucial for global connections. By connecting with people from diverse backgrounds, we get the opportunity to understand and learn from their perspectives and values, which can broaden our own thinking and outlook on life.

On that note, what role does cultural awareness play in building connections with people from diverse backgrounds?

Neda
Normally, media and the role that it’s playing in our lives are not taught in schools. Small, medium and large organizations, as well as communities, should create that message throughout the world.

Schools and universities are being left behind. We need a new educational system to replace the old one. It is amazing when I see how individuals are coming together to make the shift happen.

People who are considered to be in the margins are now finding their voices. A strong global connection is being built that is precious and also unique. I feel more people are noticing this movement and are joining it. We grow stronger each day.

Waqqas
It’s truly amazing to witness how individuals are taking the initiative to push for a more culturally aware and equitable world. Let’s continue to come together and make this shift happen.


。⁠.゚⁠+⁠ ⁠⟵⁠(⁠。⁠・⁠ω⁠・⁠)

About the creatives

Neda Shoaei
I’m Ned, 31 and a multidisciplinary artist, with a passion for technology. I have been honing my skills and expanding my creative horizons since 2016. If you like watching videos, you can follow my journey on my YouTube channel. My background in English literature and focus on concepts such as diaspora, post-colonialism, and decentralization gives me a unique perspective on my craft. I am particularly passionate about new media, digitalization, and creating content for both physical and virtual platforms. I started my studies in game design in 2023. My ultimate goal is to create unique, engaging, and thought-provoking experiences for audiences across both physical and virtual worlds.

Artwork by Neda Shoaei

Waqqas Shahid
Hi, I’m Waqqas Shahid, a 30-year-old entrepreneur from Karachi, Pakistan. I come from a family business background in yarn textiles. I decided to pursue my own dreams and become an innovator in the exciting world of cryptoart. I’m a curious soul who loves to research the latest trends and happenings around the world. I believe that through research and hard work, we can create positive change and make a difference in the world. That’s why I ventured into the NFT community. My goal is connecting with people globally and inspiring them to make a positive impact.

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art artificial intelligence creative writing fashion technology women writing

Artist’s Diary: Anneli Berglund

Happy Saturday. Believe it or not, it’s been almost 9 years since I started this blog and this is my first Stream of Consciousness Saturday. Of course, I’m going to bend the rules by introducing Swedish fine artist and graphic designer, Anneli Berglund. In this post, she talks about her soon-to-be released Wabi Sabi Noir generative art project. I hope you enjoy her work as much as I do. She is truly stylish.

$$$$$$

Hello, I’m Anneli, here to tell you about my day. This morning I got up, put on some coffee, and sent the children to school. Then I went to watch a tutorial made by Goblin on YouTube, about how to deploy a generative collection on LaunchMyNft, an NFT platform I am using for my most recent art project.

Before that, I had self-destructed the same collection’s profile page on Foundation. Now, I’m setting up everything on this new platform. So, uhm, follow me on Instagram?

After gathering the information I needed from the tutorial, it was time to press “self-destruct” on Foundation.

In a storm of energy two days ago, I put up a brand new collection of art there. But after exchanging a couple of emails with Foundation Support, I realized I didn’t have a service to help randomize my design elements.

So I had to press the self destruct-button. It happened pretty fast. At first, I felt a little scared. Then, it felt like a cool James Bond movie moment. In truth, I regretted having to spend transaction fees on something I had to burn only two days later.

And now it’s afternoon. The kids will be home in an hour, but I have very little food in the fridge. So I’m thinking egg sandwiches should be fine? I’m still staring at my screen, waiting to add my new artwork to the Ethereum blockchain.

But I see that the transaction fees have gone through the roof. It’s going to cost $90 to mint the collection. That is too much. I’m low on ETH and need every bit of it to push out my work, especially because there’s no real guarantee it will sell.

My reach on all social media is crap right now because I refuse to play by the Algorithm Rules. It’s not a provocative choice; this is how I’m wired. I’m a busy woman, a full time artist and full time mother, and I will not post everyday nonsense to appease current technology. It’s built by greedy humans anyway, if you ask me.

Lately I’ve been looking at a decentralized social media app. I was told I’d get a spot on that app but, it’s still in beta.

Looking at my screen again, and the transaction fees are now between $63 and $68. It was down to $25 just a few days ago. Maybe I chose a bad time to do this, but I don’t have much time to sit in front of a screen later today. I really want to launch this collection on March 23 because the date will be 2023/3/23.

See what I did there?

The date itself is not special. I saw a bunch of 23s somewhere and decided March 23 was a good date. I work intuitively, much like when I decided to deconstruct my earlier ink works and put them back together again as unique characters. I call my characters “inklings.” And I have called the collection Wabi Sabi Noir. I guess a lot of what I do seems impulsive, but it’s working for me.

Ah! It’s getting late, and I have to wash my hair. Maybe the transaction fees will go down by the time I’ve finished? Fingers crossed.

Sending ….

God! Twitter removed all the spacing. What a horrible block of text – ha ha ha ha. I am literally heading into the shower now. See you around!

Follow Anneli Berglund on Twitter
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Writers’ Lift: AI integration in Google Workspace

Some exciting news was announced yesterday about generative AI integration in Google Workspace. Most of you might already be familiar with this paid set of apps used to manage a business. We already have access to a free version of the apps through our Google accounts. The workspace suite allows more functionality and comes with pricing options.

Dear Lord, let it be cheap. What I’m truly excited about is the prospect of having AI tools to help me research my writing projects. My second book is already finished and is waiting to be published. The plot itself was simple, and the story timeline was relatively uncomplicated. However, I needed to take the entire 2022 off to battle the great zombie apocalypse at work.

And even though it was challenging, I managed to get my writing done and produce two musical albums to go with the story. For this second novel, what was especially challenging was the research. In my Google Docs, I have a small book’s worth of research on the story. Of course, I love inventing new place names and designing interiors. I also have a wiki about the rules of interactions and laws of the fictional country in which the story is situated. It was also relatively straightforward to design a wave-powered yacht which has a floating indoor farm. But that wasn’t the most challenging part of the research.

This is a romantic story, which is not in my wheelhouse. In order for the story to work I needed a convincing pathogen, a test for that pathogen, and a treatment. Then I also needed a bunch of legal proceedings to distract my protagonist from his love interest. In other words, I had to leave the actual dialogue and chase rabbits down rabbit holes. One particular rabbit hole from which I recently got sprung was in YouTube.

I was fully immersed in some pop culture commentary. One of my protagonists is obsessed with social media. She knows what celebrities have for breakfast, but she thinks she’s better than they are because she doesn’t post countless photos of herself online. I needed to know how she spun her thoughts in her private moments, and I wanted to know what ticked her off. She was pretty irritated for most of the story, and she was using social media as a distraction from what was really bothering her.

I’m not writing about myself, I’m writing about a character. And I might have broken my brain. While I’m rehabilitating, I am creating a plan for how I’ll use the AI tools embedded in Google Docs to write about a much more complex character, Hurricane Nisto, in my third novel. It would be nice to fully flesh out her “voice” using the rules I created in the treatment for the story.

I had a plan to run off to Antarctica to write that story (already started) because that’s where everything happens. But I’m hoping I will be able to access the AI integrated suite for a very affordable price by the time I’m ready to continue working on it. I might not have to travel at all.

Thank you for reading. I’m more than happy to hear about the projects that you’re working on. I have been trying to find your blogs but not sure if I’m meant to comment or not. Please let me know how I can support you. If you find some of my comments in your spam folders, please be kind enough to fish them out for me. Best wishes.

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Titan Queens: Mahnoor Niazi and Aida Boldeanu talk “beauty” in my Twitter DMs

Artwork by Mahnoor

Twitter DMs might be the last place you would expect to read an in-depth conversation on beauty. But when I decided to experiment with this style of interview, Mahnoor Niazi (Islamamabad) and Aida Boldeanu (Prague) were kind enough to join me. Read ahead and find out what they said in my DMs.

Bella Donna by Aida

Mahnoor
Hey there. I have been thinking about this question all day, consciously and unconsciously, and I feel like I can define the meaning of beauty according to local culture in probably one line: ‘A temporary span of age where you look the most pleasing for all those who lay their eyes on you’. However, beauty for me is the spark that people possess as individuals. It is their freedom to feel and express as they want, to realise their wildest dreams and have the reflection of those dreams sparkle in their eyes.

As we see bodies and forms all around us, we confine them into a few genders without asking for names and without thinking about their individual identities and ideals. Beauty to me is the smallest of details that set these bodies apart. It is not what meets they eye; rather, it is our own ability to see beyond physical appearances.

I remember being totally confused about what being beautiful actually meant. And for a long time, I was confused until I understood what it mean to me.

What a small world by Mahnoor

Aida
So for you, Mahnoor, beauty is rather the spirit and intentions reflected in our gaze?

Mahnoor
Yup, I feel like that’s an everlasting form of beauty that is free of conforming to preconceptions or expectations. I have met people whose physical presence or appearance fades away as soon as they start expressing themselves.

Aida
GM.

Mahnoor
Good morning, Aida.

Save Me by Aida on Objkt

Aida
Beauty is a very controversial and difficult topic, and quite complex. The subject covers a wide range of unit measures. And in various geopolitical spaces, beauty ranges from being the most important thing in life to becoming a taboo topic.

I will refer now to only my experiences and culture. I have seen beauty standards shifting in time. And I remember beauty was strongly embedded in cultural values with symbolism, whereas nowadays, beauty is about power.

Artwork by Mahnoor

For me, beauty means various things. I could speak about abstract beauty, human behaviours, architecture, nature and our physical appearance. This last idea is the most controversial and most discussed in society. But I totally love natural physical beauty, and unique features. I admire the bravery and talent of those who choose to emphasise that with beautiful make-up and clothes, even if I am not very good at it. Anyhow, I believe beauty should be free to express itself in whatever form.

Mahnoor
I really wanted to ask you one question to start with. As you work with people, how do you make sure both you and your subject are reflected equally in your artwork?

Aida
That’s an interesting question, with a simple answer: We don’t know and I never focus on that. The results you see are like the product of making love: In the process, one doesn’t actually analyse how much the other partner is giving. It’s a dance, going back and forth, adjusting always to your own pleasure or to the responses of your partner. The final result is filtered out through your values and perceptions, wishes and expectations.

Look up to me by Adia

Mahnoor
Damn! That’s a beautiful take and probably a treat for those who face the lens.

Aida
Sometimes I am not aware I have such answers in me, as I shoot organically. I shoot with my soul, senses, limbs. I barely know how to use the camera, even if I have been doing that for 10+ years (please, don’t disqualify me, haha).

Closed doors and hidden ideasl by Mahnoor

Mahnoor
That’s the best, really. The organic way. The reason why I admire that approach so much is because I have always worked in solitude, and I love it. I love observing things around me as I draw a contrast between the elements I have around me.

Aida
You are in a good place, being self sufficient, and having the ability to feel the life and beauty around you and make friends with it.

Mahnoor, what does Pakistani beauty look like? On average, that is.

Photography interior mockups by Aida

Mahnoor
Oooh, that’s an interesting question. The general perception here might not sound very pleasant. There are different schools of thought here really. For some people here, it’s literally a certain span of age (like somewhere between 18-26). That is when they consider you beautiful in most cases.

I am very glad that there is also a group of people here who don’t highlight beauty in terms of physical appearances. It’s more the substance that a person has; their ability to face life and to take care of themselves.

Artwork by Mahnoor

Aida
So it seems, that in your society, the values are pretty much divided, each carrying different influences or bodies of understanding, perceptions, and preferences. Can you show me a picture of what would define classic Pakistani beauty? Could be a man or woman.

Mahnoor
We have so many sub-sub-cultures here, and with those, a lot of different presentations of what a traditional woman might look like.

Portrait featured on Lens Culture

Aida
One day I must come down there and have you guide me so we can document that variety of beauty.

Mahnoor
Oh my! That would probably do justice to all the different cultures and traditions here.

Aida
I would love that. We could speak about beauty, make a project out of it, and raise funds. I need 1000 euros only for the flights. Maybe some people in the NFT community can sponsor us up front? And we could offer them a “Pakistani Beauty Guide”, as digital collectibles and prints, with lots of behind-the-scenes interviews with people in the local community.

Mahnoor
That sounds amazing, we should definitely do something like that

Aida
Mahnoor, do you consider yourself to be beautiful?

Mahnoor
@aida_studios ooooooohhhh, that’s a question I have always avoided. I wish I could explain why. I feel like I don’t want to apply that to myself. I don’t take myself seriously.

Aida
You are free to take yourself seriously.

Mahnoor
And that freedom, my freedom, is the most beautiful thing I have. But to answer the previous question on the cultural connotations attached to beauty, I would love to share some pictures from around me. I can talk about the people I know or have met and how the physical ideal of beauty might change according to certain occasions and circumstances. But as these are not just my pictures, I don’t know how comfortable the other people might be to have them shared on a blog. I can share them privately, though.

Aida
So she is avoiding the question. We will talk more about this when we meet.

Mahnoor
Yes, we should do that. Whatever gets me out of answering that question now.

Aida
Sure. And I will just add that you are a very beautiful person.

Mahnoor
Thank you, Aida. I am happy you think so.

*****

About the artists

Mahnoor Haroon Niazi is a multi-disciplinary artist from Pakistan. She is the founder of Pakistan’s first and only digital magazine for artists, Chaap. The magazine serves the creative community of the entire country. Mahnoor believes in the power of community, and her art is mostly inspired by shared experiences, culture, and thought-provoking elements. She works to encourage, empower and enable local artists and creative professionals. Niazi believes that art and creative economy have the ability to bring individuals together in order to find a collective voice and form a sustainable community even when political and social circumstances inhibit growth. She is also active in the NFT Community on Twitter. Her digital assets are listed on Objkt and Foundation.

Aida Boldeanu is a Romanian conceptual photographer living in Prague. Through her work, she speaks about freedom and uses her creative gifts to redefine terms, concepts, and trends. Collect her photography as digital assets on Manifold. She combines them with her inner perceptions. In her documentary and street photography, she works with human geometries, spaces, light and details. Aida travels the world, trying to understand as much as possible. And in her travels, she has been meeting and talking with the people she meets about liberties, freedoms and life.

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Political neutrality is for OnlyFans: Artists should lead with their values

Geisha Collection

Political neutrality is for OnlyFans and if you’re not on there, you need to lead with your values. The latest buzzword in marketing is “values-based marketing”. That is, showcasing your work in a way that appeals to your customers’ values. It’s everywhere – content creators on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, or Facebook infuse their titles with their opinions. And I want to share my thoughts on why doing this is good for you. 

The other day, I read a report about Donald J Trump being called a p***y a** b***h by Chrissy Teigen on Twitter and almost having her account shut down by the White House. Not a fan of hers and this post is not about her. But I thought it was really important for artists to not be wishy-washy about expressing our values in a public space. 

Back to the bones

Living and breathing our values builds trust and that in turn helps our audience to find us. We should take a position on certain matters. Our audience wants to know what we think because they want to know why they are supporting us. 

Political neutrality refers to the idea that an individual should not promote a particular political ideology or agenda. A position like this is certainly appropriate for public institutions such as the judiciary, law enforcement agencies, and civil service. These institutions must maintain fairness and objectivity in decision-making. They are expected to work without bias towards any particular political party or agenda.

Sold out geisha collection from artist Pinxx
Geisha

However, for artists in a commercial space, achieving complete political neutrality should feel unnatural, because our personal or ideological leanings directly influence our work. Naturally, the main disadvantage of being politically neutral is lack of advocacy. By remaining politically neutral, we may miss opportunities to gain support for causes or policies that we believe in.

As artists, we have the means to express ideas in ways that will appeal to a wide cross section of society. If a cause or policy is in the public interest or if there are vulnerable groups who are affected, we should speak up. Being an artist is a privilege and we must always remember the advantages that creative expression affords us. 

Sharp shooter - 3D portrait
Sharp Shooter

According to recent business research, being politically neutral may prevent us from making good business decisions. One negative consequence of fence-sitting is perceived lack of accountability. Political neutrality is often a way to avoid making tough decisions. An audience will notice that. This can be particularly problematic for a highly visible brand. Quite a number of popular artists have been criticised because of their decision to remain silent on matters that their audiences care about.

Remember the Balenciaga ad scandal? Celebrities were called out for not speaking against the inappropriate presentation of children in that infamous ad campaign. And Taylor Swift got pummelled by her fans for not speaking up when the United States was politically split down the middle.

Geisha 3D artwork
Geisha

This brings me to my concern that in the wider society, political neutrality is a type of privilege. For example, some people want to signal that they are comfortable within the status quo. They can use neutrality to look away from people who are being marginalised or exploited. Or, neutrality could be a mask they use to hide their true beliefs while lobbing rhetorical salvos at their ideological opponents.

Many artists will avoid sharing their values or taking a political stance. It is natural to be scared of being called names on social media. But if your values are beneficial to society, being opinionated is good for everyone. Here are some ideas you can think about:

Portrait in 3D format
Back to the bones
  1. Expressing values and beliefs: We often have deeply held values and beliefs about social, economic, and political issues. Taking a political stance allows us to support causes and policies that align with those values and beliefs. We gain support in return and build communities as a result. 
  2. Participating in democracy: Participating in the democratic process doesn’t only mean voting. It means having a say in how society is governed. By engaging in political discourse, voting, and advocating for causes, we can help shape public policies and decisions that affect our lives and the lives of others. That’s the power of influence and how it should be used. 
  3. Making a difference: By taking a political stance and advocating for causes and policies that align with their values, artists can make a positive difference in the world and contribute to social and political change. Isn’t “changing the world” why we are all here? 
  4. Holding leaders accountable: By taking a political stance, and publishing our beliefs in the public domain, we can hold elected officials and other leaders accountable for their actions. This can help ensure that leaders are responsive to the needs and interests of their constituents and are held accountable for any negative impacts of their policies.

Taking a political stance does not necessarily mean aligning yourself with a political party or ideology. Instead, it means advocating for specific causes that you believe will have a positive impact on society.

If there is a cause that you feel passionate about, gather your thoughts and do some research. Reach out to others who have similar ideas. If your present audience does not agree with your stance, then be grateful for the chance to attract new supporters. I hope that you are fortunate, because then you will find that yours is the voice everyone has been waiting for.

Notes: Artwork for this post was generously provided by my fabulous friend, UK based 3D artist Pinxx. You can follow her on Instagram and keep up with her latest posts. And collect her artwork on Makers Place (ETH) or Objkt (tez). You’ll be happy you did. Thank you and have a fabulous week ahead.

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How to market your novel with music

West Port: Intro to Songs for Maitheland (Part I)

Hello, everyone. It is time for another adventure in “how do I market my second novel”. My second fiction novel, which I am calling Maitheland, is wrapped. And, as you know, I have been working on this novel for some time.

The story takes inspiration from romantic flash fiction I wrote for this blog eight years ago. I decided to repackage the story and make one of the main characters a nephew of King Cordial from The Quarter Percent. This time around, I plan to promote the novel with music.

I took my time to finish writing the novel because I had to relaunch, promote, and relaunch my startup again. During that time, social audio became an adventure and I made lots of great connections through this new medium. Some of my new colleagues have been featured here on this blog.

Photo by Maisie Kane

Sidebar: Speaking of social audio, now that Elon Musk owns Twitter, if you’re not on there, kindly dust off your accounts and hop in now because the popcorn drama is on every hour. Not even journalists, clamping their eyeballs on their phone screens, can keep up.

On Thursday morning, Elon cohosted a Twitter Space. A day later, I read a news report that the host, Robin Wheeler, and cohost, Yoel Roth had quit. About two hours after I scheduled this post, I see a tweet from Robin saying that she was still at Twitter. That was too fast. The space was recorded, so you can listen in.

And now, back to promoting my novel. You may remember that my attempts at promoting my first novel, The Quarter Percent, were pure drama. This time, music has been my focus.

Why music? Aren’t you only supposed to read a novel? I wanted to create an immersive experience for readers. The story is sensual and moody, and I think that listeners will appreciate that. There are also lots of soundtrack music fans out there. And I have my own playlist I listen to when I want to concentrate. That is why why I thought this idea would work.

Photo by Marcelo Chagas

After producing a suite of classical tracks for one scene in the novel, Maitheland, I thought about creating EDM tracks related to the story. But as I contemplated the expense of hiring a new team, I asked Google if AI could generate music for me.

The answer was yes, and that was how I found the platform Boomy. Over the course of two days, I created five songs. If you go to my Vimeo channel, you can hear five tracks in the easy listening, loopy style that is really popular on YouTube.

How does all this help with marketing my book and other creative projects? Simply put, presence, exposure, and traffic. My plan is to take advantage of Boomy’s role as my distributor. The platform will submit my work to all of these streaming services:

Rolling hills and river in Iceland, the physical location for my fiction work, Maitheland.
Natural scene from Maitheland

… Spotify, Apple Music, Pandora, Amazon, Google Music, YouTube Music, YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Shazam, 24/7, 7 Digital, 8Tracks, Akazoo, Alibaba Music, Amie, Audiomack, AWA, Deezer, EOS, iHeartRadio, iMusica, Kanjian, KKBox, Line Music, Leeway, MediaNet, RealNetworks, NetEase, Neurotic Media, RX Music, Saavn, Slacker, SoundExchange, Tencent Music, Aspiro, TouchTunes, UMA Music, Yandez, and Zvook.

Boomy |About

Have you even heard of some of those platforms?! In other words, based on the uptake, the soundtrack for my novel is going to be available everywhere. And that means (if I have used really good keywords) someone will find my work. Then, if they are intrigued, they will look me up. The first release of five tracks is called Songs for Maitheland Part I. There are four completed tracks, and I am hoping to expand that over the coming few weeks.

At the moment, I am waiting to find out if my music will be accepted by the above streaming platforms. Until then, I am building a presence on Vimeo. The rest is up to you. I hope that you enjoy the sounds of Maitheland.

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What revolution?


Fabric swatches on canvas with makeshift cardboard frames
Fabric swatches on canvas

The Netflix film, 365 Days, is not the worst film ever made. That distinction belongs to the threequel, The Next 365 Days. And this is according to journos who got paid to write nice things about it. The films are based on the series of novels by Polish author, Blanka Lipińska.

According to the Daily Beast’s Kevin Fallon, stories like 365 Days serve an important purpose. They allow us to watch as the inversion of our values play out in real world scenarios. And as we watch the scenes play out, our tablet or TV screens shield us from the consequences.

Sketchbook doodle from Charlie Esposito

Now, I think that as we broadcast disapproval of fan-fiction hot sex, we are avoiding the real hot topics. We might tell ourselves that we are staying neutral on those issues. But there is no political fence, not really.

Based on my experiences on social media over the past year, these are some questions I feel like asking people I am meeting for the first time:

Are you all in on a multicultural society? Can same-sex couples get married if they want? Can people with wombs please get a prescription filled without a pharmacist asking them to pee on a stick so their religious rules are not broken?

Dr. Emily Porter finds that medical professionals doing their job is going to be very frustrating

Neutrality is a nice word that means we are scared of saying what we think in case someone screams in our faces. Being human is already a lot of work, which is why we elect public officials to help us out. Yet, we keep electing representatives who won’t let us get on with living. They create legislation on matters that should remain private; and drag their feet on issues that are in the public’s interest. This is precisely the reason why more of us are speaking out.

With all of that in the background, I now ask you to consider the artist’s work during times of struggle. One of the best things about being an artist is that we usually end up collaborating to start a movement. The movement is whatever we choose to call it. We make noise as a collective, and people pay attention to our message.

Medusa Marie is on Twitter. Follow her for more fabulous visual art.

Unfortunately, the creative space is most vulnerable to interference. Because we artists are living in a society filled with outrage, our worst enemy becomes what we think others want from us. Fear stifles our productivity. But if we don’t make things, we cannot refine our process and become better artists.

Artists are people with feelings, and this makes us easy targets. And people use their own reactions to our relatively benign creations as an excuse to avoid the draft.

If you are a hobbyist critic, should you pack up and leave? Not so fast. There is still time to get some real work done.

Find balance in everything you do. drawing of stones balanced on top of each other.
“Find balance in everything you do” Artwork by MHBB via Twitter

Here are some people who will benefit from your support: Women, children, minority ethnic groups, refugees, the homeless, the starving, the physically challenged, the mentally unwell, recovering addicts and the orphaned. Dial up your voice to the usual strength. Vote for representatives who can help. Keep writing letters to them until they mobilise resources to alleviate pain and suffering.

Fairies are real and help us achieve our dreams as we sleep. AI assisted digital painting by Simply Veronica.
Fairies are real and assist us in our dreams – artwork by Simply Veronica

The revolution calls you to the draft. There is no need to burn your old scripts. Find a new cause, make some edits, and read them again. You might need a change of costume. Maybe a haircut. Or perhaps a 15-minute session on IG Live will get the ball rolling. The energy expenditure will leave you exhausted and restless. But soon enough, someone will hear you. And then, they will listen.

Good luck out there.

❤️

Postscript: Big shout outs to my lovely friends, Charlie Esposito, Medusa Marie, MHBB, and Simply Veronica. Thank you very much for responding to that last-minute request. Keep inspiring everyone with your activism and hard work.

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art creative writing fiction women writing

The Lotus (Short film): Meet Australian filmmaker Bernadette Walsh

The Lotus: Short film by Bernadette Walsh

Thank you for viewing The Lotus, a short film by Australian filmmaker, Bernadette Walsh. It has been a while since the last short film Friday. When I caught up with Bernadette in Twitter Spaces the other night, I knew her activism would resonate well with you. Read on as she opens a window into her project.

The Lotus: Behind the scenes with director Bernadette Walsh

My name is Bernadette Walsh and I wrote and directed the short film, The Lotus. The film tells the mythical story of a brother and sister who were rescued from the darkest of places, and given a future with hope. I wrote the story in 2019, because I was inspired by the work of Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation, an NGO based in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Bernadette Walsh and her sister, Kate Walsh

The Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation was founded by Australian philanthropist Michael Brosowski in 2004, when he saw the need to rescue children from exploitation by labour and sex traffickers. Michael founded the NGO to provide these children with the care and support they would need to help rebuild their lives. In 2020, Blue Dragon rescued the 1,000th survivor of human trafficking. Today Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation is still working with over 10,000 children and youth from around Vietnam.

Transforming the lives of children who were trafficked is hard work. And I knew that I wanted to support the NGO in any way I could. Working together with Blue Dragon, I raised funds through the Australian crowdfunding platform, Pozible, to make my film project a reality. My family and friends also chipped in to offer support.

The Lotus was brought to life by sand animation artist, Kseniya Simonova who rose to prominence in 2009, after winning Ukraine’s Got Talent 2009. Ten years later, she participated in The Champion on America’s got Talent. And on Britain’s Got Talent, she was the only act to receive two Golden Buzzers. Kseniya is an extraordinary artist who brings to life moving stories through incredible sand art. Having previously seen her work online, she immediately came to mind as the person who could breathe life into the story.

Sand art by Kseniya Simonova

The other wonderful, creative and talented people working on The Lotus included fine artist Kate Walsh, who created the storyboard visuals for Kseniya. The original music was created by Australian film composer, Robert John Sedky. And as the narrator, my 11-year-old son, Michael, was happy to offer his voice.

I enjoy testing new narrative styles in storytelling. This is why my next film project, Navigating a Pandemic will be testing more boundaries. For this project, I will be using artificial intelligent software to animate pandemic-related data into a 3D pigmented sculpture. I am fortunate to have the support of a high-performance computer company, which is supplying me with the computing power I need to render the project.

Kseniya Simonova meeting with King Jigme of Bhutan

Next stop? Raising funds to produce the project, and I will do that via the sale of non-fungible tokens. For me, token sales to multiple buyers works in the same way as traditional fundraising platforms. Supporters will be funding the project with the proceeds of their crypto investments. In the meantime, I am working to focus my fundraising activities within the community of crypto investors. The possibilities are both exciting and daunting. Wish me luck.

The Lotus has received the following awards:

  • Special Jury Animation Award at the Awareness Film Festival in Los Angeles (Oct 2019)
  • Finalist at the Rome Independent Prisma Awards (March 2020)
  • Award of Merit at Best Shorts Festival in California (Apr 2020)
  • Finalist Mescalito Biopic Fes (Nov 2020)
  • Finalist JellyFEST Season 6 (Feb 2021)
  • Humanitarian Award at the Best Shorts Competition 2020 (2020)

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celebrity creative writing entrepreneurs men news writing

Curtis Richardson: Rihanna’s multi-platinum music producer chats with Charles Myambo


Happy Saturday, everyone. In this post, you will meet the multiplatinum music producer Curtis Richardson, who has written songs with Jennifer Lopez, produced music for Rihanna, and worked with David Guetta, Tiësto and John Legend. He is speaking with the fabulous celebrity interviewer, Charles Myambo.

How was it working with Jennifer Lopez?

Well, I first started working with Jennifer Lopez before she was mainstream. She came at a time where the world was itching for a breakout Latina star. At the time, its safe to say that Jennifer Lopez was a pioneer, not only in the US, but also around the world. To date, she is one of the biggest stars worldwide, but it was not always this way. Jennifer was extremely hardworking and determined when I first started working with her. She had a day job and needed to balance that with recording music. Combine all that with the pressure of being a Latina entertainer during a time where not many like her were global superstars, and you can see how Jennifer Lopez was a pioneer. To this day, she is one of my favourite artists to work with. 

Curtis Richardson

What are your thoughts on musicians becoming huge without the help of a record label?

You have to understand that record labels are like machines when it comes to artist promotion. The top tier record labels are exceptional at branding artists and giving them exposure to a global audience. If your question is whether artists can be filthy rich without record labels, then the answer is definitely yes. ChanceThaRapper for instance, is independent and extremely well-off. However, if your question is whether an artist can become as big as Nicki Minaj or Drake without a record label, then I have to say no. Not impossible but it is extremely difficult.

The room on Clubhouse

What tough-love advice would you have for aspiring musicians today?

It’s not easy. The music industry is very much cutthroat. You can gain or lose relevance so quickly. The volatility of music fans is simply astonishing and without careful planning and strategy, almost any artist can start becoming irrelevent very quickly. Obviously, you have your Beyoncé, Snoop Dogg, and JLo, who are household names globally and they are unlikely to ever become irrelevant. However, that’s part of the issue.

Fight about it

We have young artists who try and mimic exactly what these huge stars are doing while failing to understand that it took years for those superstars to be able to produce one album without promoting it on Instagram and it becomes a hit. Today’s artists need to understand that the music game costs money, requires time and effort, demands creativity, and also social media platforms such as TikTok and Facebook to promote upcoming tracks. Artists also have to be willing to adapt to trend changes in order to become relevant and perhaps even one day become the trendsetters.

If you don’t feel like quitting, your dream isn’t big enough

Do you feel like a celebrity?

No not really. Never feel too comfortable. You can always achieve more. Pride is the enemy of progress.

What was the most difficult part about the pandemic for you?

I love travelling, and I couldn’t travel as much as I really wanted.

It’s not that deep, baby

What is one major thing still left on your checkbox?

I’d love to travel more. I’d like to explore more of the world than I have already. Gain more new perspectives through learning about different cultures, music, ethnicities and heritage. 

👀

Thank you for reading this interview, which was provided by Charles Myambo. Follow him on Instagram. Charles is an actuarial scientist by day. And by night, he is founder of the celebrity networking community, Team Smooth. Since 2019, he has worked with hundreds of celebrities from all over the world. Team Smooth has a vision of presenting the community outreach of celebrities and some of the world’s most notable names and brands. Their mission is to spark positive change in the world by bringing awareness to worthy causes and communities.

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art creative writing science fiction technology women writing

A gift of birth (W I P)

Floral montage with fabric swatches on canvas

A work in progress. Still drafting the story, even though I am about six months behind in writing. The best part is that this delay has allowed me to rethink the story I am trying to tell, and build more rounded characters.

In mid-January, I drafted two scenes to show faith intersecting science and politics. This is an important theme in the story because the politics are influenced by a religious doctrine. Blending them will be interesting, because I do not plan to make anything obvious. In this untitled scene, the science is explained in a conversation between two government officials.

Photo by Vidal Balielo Jr.

“That was their colossal cock up,” shouted the health minister. The minister was not inside his study, so Sebastian was talking to an empty desk this afternoon. The health minister was speaking from a different room, and he was shouting even though his voice was transmitted over voice activated smart mics in his home.

“Sir,” replied Sebastian, “Treasury does not have jurisdiction over private medical cases.”

“You can revoke their funding,” was the minister’s surly response.

“True, but taking away funding from medical research into fertility treatment would be tantamount to a human rights violation,” said a smirking Sebastian. He was rather pleased with himself. “And may I remind you that overseas investors are plugging large amounts of cash into the research and development?”

“Money, money, money,” said the health minister. “She is suing me for lack of oversight. Me, personally. The research shows that uterine cells never generate fetal tissues even when exposed to a massive cocktail of hormones.”

“It was an act of God,” said Sebastian. He was laughing silently because he knew the statement would annoy his colleague. He stopped laughing and raised an eyebrow because he wondered if the health minister could see his face on a monitor somewhere.

Collage elements, fabric swatches and acrylic on canvas

“An outdated notion,” was the swift correction from the health minister’s voice.

Sebastian rolled his eyes, slightly relieved that his mocking behaviour had not been noticed.

He said, “She is with the Congregation, so those notions are alive and well. And support, across the world, has been universally positive. Also, remember that this is a giant leap forward for fertility research. The value of stock portfolios of biotech investors have skyrocketed. Absolutely everyone loves her.”

“Fine,” replied the health minister. “She is raising her daughter, and enjoying sainthood, but why is she suing me … and the government for the near fatal heart attack she suffered minutes after giving birth? I feel sorry that she had to go through that, but the same technology reprinted her blood vessels that were damaged. She is alive because of us and is suing us? Yet, everyone believes her actions are justified. Especially after that fiction!”

“Creative non-fiction, sir,” corrected Sebastian. He glanced over on his screen to review the article published in the National Gazette, in which the woman recounted the experience of giving birth to a girl less than a year after male-to-female gender reassignment surgery. Bloating, swelling and discomfort were normal after these procedures. She and her doctors did not know she was pregnant and there were no sperm or egg donors. Her doctors guessed that because of the hormone protocol she received, some of the cells in her ovaries had changed to reproductive cells. After exhaustive tests, they concluded that the most likely explanation was that one of the cells moved to her uterus and started dividing spontaneously. The hormone protocol facilitated the pregnancy, and the fetus was delivered at the six month mark.

Sebastian looked at the highlighted text of an email which was opened in another window on his screen. His cousin, Gala of Vale, was the first person he contacted when the health minister asked him for a meeting. She had replied to him with a voice message. Reading the transcription, he saw that it had everything he needed.

“Technically,” Sebsastian continued, “she cloned herself but this not a flaw in the medicine. She is reproducing, which is, biologically, what her body is supposed to do. Ask your team to focus on that argument and petition the tribunal to force a settlement on those grounds. But while you do that, tread softly. Her story is about family, faith, and the belief in miracles. Something that is lost in our world. People like hoping for things. We shouldn’t try to take it away from them.”

Paper collage with 3D elements

“All right,” replied the health minister with a sigh. “And what can I do?”

“Hire her as a special health advocate,” answered Sebastian.

“Even though she’s suing me,” retorted the health minister.

“Yes. Exactly,” replied Sebastian. He glanced over at the rest of the notes from his cousin. “And for the settlement negotiations, you personally offer money and resources only if she agrees to set up a foundation. Ask the Congregation to join the negotiations as an appropriate third party. As health minister, you will appoint an advisory board to represent the Congregation and the biotech industry. Instead of fighting her at a tribunal, we should help her to build a platform and set an agenda for the next three decades.”

“All right, Sebs. I am going to get legal on the phone, and I want another meeting with all of you before dinnertime today.”

“Yes, minister. We will see each other then.”

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art creative writing opinion technology women writing

A loving me thing: 8 steps to an Instagram turnaround

Hello everyone. This is a followup to my post last year when I realised why IG was sending me followers though I did barely anything. As opposed to the year before. At that time, I reached 300 followers even as I posted infrequently, and used zero hashtags. Shortly after publishing that post, I reached 500 followers.

I have since that point started using hashtags. I also hid reels and archived posts to create a tight, focused grid. At some point, I will take down most of my current grid so I can keep the focus on installations of my artwork.

My Instagram account is attached to Clubhouse (and Spotify Greenroom). Quite a few of my early follows were coming from there because I participated in room discussions. I was also asking people in Twitter Spaces to join me on Clubhouse, and they found me on Instagram as well.

A few weeks ago, I was discussing the above results with a friend, and I came to understand that by posting to my Story daily, I was creating space for Instagram to place ads between accounts. People are used to tapping on the right side of their screens to see new stories, and that gives 5-second ads a place to breathe. I believe that my steady gain of followers daily had something to do with that. In other words, Story is where active accounts thrive, and you raise the likelihood of IG recommending your accounts to people interested in your niche.

By the end of 2021, (CH/Twitter) collaborations with some larger accounts were also boosting my account. Accounts with massive followings were talking about our collabs on Clubhouse and they reposted my stories (about them) to their stories. I have also been mentioned in their IG Live broadcasts. Remember that I am using IG for business and these were my goals all along.

Step by step, let’s review the method I used, with an updated set of 8 enhancements. These are also low effort and consistently applied, with focus on the Story feature.

  1. Share the work of other artists
    First, do for others. Instead of scrolling, think about whether you would like to share a post in your Story. I recommend that you share posts to Story if (a) the account supports you or (b) if the account is somewhat popular. In the latter case, a story mention (using the mention tag) ensures that you stand out in their notifications.
  2. Keep it up in messages
    Socialise via text and voice messages. The more time you spend sharing accounts in a meaningful way, the more you find yourself receiving kind notes from creators in your messages. And sooner or later, you will feel like you’re talking to your friends. Follow up by explaining why you like their work. Be interested in their methods or techniques, and ask them what other projects they are working on.
  3. Follow and share accounts that look like yours
    If an account is doing work that you want to do and it is not too big (over 100K followers), you should try to show that you have something in common. Show your followers that your ideas have been brought to light by another creator. Use the text or drawing feature in notes to make it obvious why you like the post you’re sharing. Be adventurous and you will find support.
  4. Pay attention to accounts with great content and few comments
    When a new post bubbles into view, look for comments first. Then, if this account is familiar to you and you know they will respond, leave a comment. Comments are precious, so offer them generously and try to keep them light and positive.
  5. Check stories and comments
    Quite a few popular creators schedule their posts and no matter how amazing your comment is, they (or their team) might never see it. One way to make sure that an account is active is to look at their Story. Active accounts may be more willing to engage with yours, and this is what you want.
  6. FL!RT
    This is the one time when I will advocate making the first approach. On the account of a popular creative (artist/writer) in your niche, look at comments on their most recent post. Did the post author reply to comments? If not, among the replies, look for accounts that engage with their followers. Come back to the post and reply to their comment. Then, heart some posts on their account, and wait.
  7. Mute
    There are accounts that produce amazing work, but a swath of posts down your timeline two days in a row is no bueno. Mute the account so you can see other posts. Or, if you feel so-so about a single post, hide the post so Instagram doesn’t keep showing more of what you don’t want. You can always see other posts from the account later.
  8. Unfollow
    What’s it like when you notice a live broadcast or a post that seems out of left field? It pays to do regular checks of accounts that you are following. Use the “most/least interacted with” feature in Instagram to check for accounts that are far outside your interests. First and foremost, focus your attention on accounts actively supporting you. From there, branch out with confidence, and bring new friends with similar interests into your fold.

Thank you for reading this post. I imagine you might realise that a low effort method of using social media takes … effort. Overnight, you could have great results, but that’s because you were consistent in the past. None of these methods require you to spend a whole day scrolling. Based on what I have shared so far, create a plan that fits comfortably with your needs and objectives. Never give up on your dreams, the saying goes, but you should be prepared to work for them. Best of luck.

Categories
art fiction women writing

Thirsty Girl

I am waiting to hear more words. Certainly, she had a working vocabulary and used them to acquire her fancy credentials. Over fifteen thousand followers on social media as a filmmaker, public speaker, and academic who barely speaks. What was her magic formula? I needed to retrieve that algorithm and save myself hours socialising online each week.

I had never heard her speak in more than three full sentences in the two months that I had known her. In my memory, her voice is a deep vocal fry of utterances that I cannot spell out. My brain is trying to make sense of what sounds like a guttural “ghehaaaaa” strummed on a loose D string.

A split second after I decided to leave the space, I noticed a name floating below an avatar. I hopped back in immediately because a few days earlier, she had told me and sixty others that he was her boyfriend. Actually, all she said was, “Lyyyyyyyke, uhhhhm … weeee … him … aaaah.” We grasped the situation when he said, “She’s the wife.”

Scrolling through his media folder, I soon discovered that he was a blond dude bro covered in tattoos. He looked young enough to be her son. He had an alien face for a head, which was fine, but the croaking sounds he was making left me wondering how their relationship got started in the first place.

“… was supposed to fly out to see her this Thursday, but the sex dungeon is closed,” I heard him wailing to the host.

“I didn’t saaaaay you couldn’t caaaaaahm,” she fried, nasally. That was the second full sentence I had ever heard from her.

I waited to hear more words but I gave up and left after fifteen excruciating minutes of silence punctuated by croaking sounds and vocal fries.

“Ribbit!”

“Hyhhaaaaahh.”

The next morning, I learned why a cohost’s microphone was muted. I read his messages to her in the screen capture she sent me, and I understood that he was doing something with his dominant hand.

“No,” I thought. “How was that possible while her boyfriend was sat there talking to them?” But before I could ask any more questions, she sent me a fresh message.

“Holy shit,” it read, “That hot guy you were talking to the other night? His body is like wow. He’s in a room with me now.”

“You should say hello,” I offered. I was still somewhat confused. And I would learn later that the hot guy was married and that his wife was newly pregnant.

“Oh, I already messaged him,” read her smug response. And I was gobsmacked. But what else should I expect from a thirsty girl?

Categories
art opinion poetry technology women writing

Octophina: Life and the art of healing

Fine artist Octophina

Not every artist’s origin story begins with the artist falling unconscious to the floor. But mine does. My name is Sophie. I am a Bulgarian mixed media abstract artist, TEDx speaker, and mental health advocate. Until I turned 32, I was an artist in denial. And I say that because I never had the courage to admit that I wanted to make art.

Octophina is on Twitter

After a very challenging period in my life, creating art helped me sculpt a new self-identity. I was also able to redesign my reality. The process saved me, and every day, I share my story with others to help them find their true calling.

I call myself Octophina because I’ve always felt like a human octopus, who like a real octopus, has at least three hearts and nine brains. Art helps me to use my “bugs” as features. This way of thinking enables me to see every challenge as an opportunity to grow. My path to becoming an artist was an unexpected journey of healing through inner exploration.

If my life had a prequel, it would be my corporate background as a trained journalist specialising in graphic design, PR, and IT. I was also a prominent international food blogger, a certified Mind Body Eating coach and founder of a social enterprise. And yet, despite everything I achieved, I struggled with depression for over a decade. Navigating the world through this brain has been a weird experience. Today, I capture all of that in my art.

In recent years, after numerous traumatic events, including the pandemic destroying my business and leaving me broke, moving alone to a new country to restart my life at 31, and my mom getting diagnosed with breast cancer, I was emotionally, physically, and psychologically drained.

On May 8, 2021, I fainted in my kitchen and when I woke up, I felt completely apathetic about the projects and initiatives I had been passionate about for years. It was as though my entire identity had been wiped out. Over the next four months, I was trapped in major depression. And it was difficult for me to articulate what I was experiencing internally. I felt terrified.

My therapist encouraged me to start making art to clear my mental cache, improve my emotional metabolism, and practice self-care. Today, almost six months later, we are working on a start-up which will merge psychotherapy, art, and blockchain technology. We started this business to help people improve their mental health and financial well-being.

Follow Octophina’s journey on Instagram

In celebration of this resurrection of life, presence and hope for the future, I launched a collection of NFTs on Open Sea called Pain to Power. This is a constellation of reflective artwork I created between November and December 2021. The date of the release is January 19, 2022, is the date my mom got her breast cancer diagnosis last year. After almost a year in hell, my mom recovered completely and is doing well. Sharing my transformational healing art with the world on the anniversary of her diagnosis is for me a celebration of resilience, which is what makes the human experience special.

Art has helped me discover my identity outside of social conditioning, peer pressure, and others’ expectations. As I create art, I am healing emotional wounds and building a healthy sense of self-worth. I invite you to stay with me on this journey.

Outro
Happy Friday, everyone. Thank you for reading Sophie’s story. We are five days away from her genesis drop (first collection of NFT art) on Open Sea. Let us send her our best wishes for the sale of her collection. In the meantime, why don’t you go ahead and visit her website, then follow her on Twitter, Instagram, and Medium. She is looking forward to sharing her adventures in art and life with you.

Categories
art science fiction TV women writing

Sailor Song (Music video)

Marinda Botha and Frankie Beagle collaborate for “Sailor Song”

Sailor Song
The music video Sailor Song was a collaboration between me and musician Frankie Beagle. Sailor Song includes paper cut-out puppetry, one of the many artforms I like to create work with. Even though I co-produced and directed this music video, it took a whole team to create this project and I am so very proud of that.

Marinda Botha
I have been writing poetry since I was a teenager and I dabbled in photography, too. I studied to become an actress, and moved to London where I lived and worked for 8 years before returning to my home country, South Africa. During my drama studies, I was introduced to puppetry and there, I fell in love with the medium. On both continents, I have worked with numerous genres of puppetry, but my first love is for wooden marionettes. Perhaps, as a result, I have found myself in daily life observing people and catching small gestures they do, the way a person flicks a hand, a transfer weight, tilt a head, fascinating to watch.

For the past 20 years or so, I have also been a voice over artist, working with studios in London, while in the UK, and now from my home studio in South Africa. If I had to condense what I am about, what my art, I would say:

  1. I believe in the power of words, in transporting people to other forms of existence and worlds through the use of that age-old artform: storytelling.
  2. I believe that our lives and identities are shaped by the tales we absorb and tell. It is what we come to believe.
  3. I love movement. In another life I want to be a contemporary dancer, say nothing and just move).
  4. I trained as a mime artist in London and still love that form of performance so very much, but everyone hates a mime, right?
  5. I love animation and the delicacy of that medium.
Marinda talks about her upcoming NFT project

I am new to the NFT community but will be launching numerous projects in the next couple of weeks. My spoken word audio art can be found at Foundation and I will be dropping video poetry soon, too. Please follow me on Twitter for updates.

Website: Marinda Botha
LinkedIn: Marinda Botha
Spoken word poetry NFTs: Foundation App
Twitter: Marinda ETH
Udemy: Marinda Botha voice trainer

Sailor Song full credits:
Vocals and guitar – Frankie Beagle. Backing vocals, keyboard and beats – David Driver. Upright bass – Brendan Ou Tim. Saw and percussion by Frankie Beagle. Recorded at The Cooler. Produced and written by Frankie Beagle.

Video credtis:
Puppetry / Director / Producer – Marinda Botha
Co-Producer / Director – Frances Charlton
Director of Photography / Editor – Karien Mulder
Lighting – Damon Berry and Tammy Reid
Cinematography – Nicole Olwagen, Celeste Muller and Karien Mulder
Continuity & Gaffer – Liani Lombaard
Puppeteers – Franqi van Niekerk & Anri Wessels
Make-up – Yowyn du Plooy
Stills – Mark Straw, Nicole Olwagen and Celeste Muller
Concept design – Marinda Botha and Frankie Beagle

Marinda is a voice actor on the feature film, Alien Rescue

Thank you for viewing this post and getting to know this talented artist, whose voice is featured in studio film productions. How exciting it is to meet someone who is dedicated to their craft. Please follow her on Twitter. I have seen sneak peeks of the poetry videos and I have to say that they were stunning. Marinda has agreed to let me feature her work here in future, so please stay tuned.

In next week’s post, we will meet filmmaker, photographer and diversity activist Brissa Marina Page. Stay good until we meet again.

Categories
men news opinion People TV writing

On Leaving (Short film)

On Leaving is a short film by Sagar Kapoor (India)

On Leaving (07:45) is a documentary short by Indian filmmaker, Sagar Kapoor.

Synopsis
Lockdown in India had just started to be lifted, however, due to job loss, increasing COVID19 cases, and other circumstances, the narrator is forced to vacate his rented room. This short film tries to express the feeling of the narrator visiting his room for one last time and how spaces can be personal and important parts of our lives.

Bio
Sagar Kapoor is a filmmaker from India and he grew up in Lucknow, a city known for its delicious cuisine, history, art, and culture. At La Martniere College, he was first introduced to the world of art and photography. Today, he works as a independent filmmaker and illustrator. His documentary films are introspective and empathetic, as they focus on our relationship with the environment. In his free time, he loves to read, write, travel, and cook. 

His upcoming projects are: 
1. Eating clouds, a documentary on a local delicacy from Lucknow.
2. On Death a City; how the uniqueness of a city dies with time and our need for modern infrastructure.

Follow Sagar Kapoor on social media:

Instagram
YouTube
Twitter

How many of you have friends who make films? Well, you have one now. And you will make another filmmaker friend next week. On October 22, 2021, drop by and greet South African poet, voice actor, and performance artist, Marinda Botha. Stay tuned as I feature more filmmakers and creatives over the next few weeks.