I have not done a political podcast for a while. mostly because my views have been changing quite a bit over the last 4 months.
Listen to the full recording to hear me describe the evolution of my political perspective in a little more detail.
Why cover this?
Considering my platform, and position on the current state of political affairs, I could not ignore what was going on with the current IRS scandal in Washington. It has me in disbelief as I sit here and watch this administration tell lie after lie. I just couldn’t sit quiet and neither should you.
Please share this podcast and article with your friends and let them know it is time to realize that we are in deep shit as a country.
Raymmar’s Rundown
So here is what is going on with the IRS scandal and why this it is absolutely ridiculous for anyone to think that this recent “hard drive failure” is just a coincidence.
This is the same administration that told us that the attacks on Benghazi were started because of a YouTube video. For two weeks they told us it was a video and then it all turned out to be a lie.
You can keep your healthcare. Lie!
I am going to shut down Guantanamo bay. Lie!
I am going to get our country out of war. Lie!
Taxes will not go up. Lie!
This administration, which claimed it was going to be the most transparent administration of all time, has turned into one of the most power hungry and tyrannical administrations that the American people have ever seen.
To round it all off, back in 2013 it was discovered that the IRS was using its powers to target conservative political organizations and other right-leaning non-profit organizations, especially if the words “Tea Party” were in the organizations name.
IRS Targets Conservative Groups – Click image for source reference.
Now, a few weeks ago, we find out that a bunch of emails, that just so happens to correspond with the time in question, have gone missing from the hard drive of the woman who was at the head of the IRS when it happened.
1. Shannon Bream, filling in for Megyn Kelly on Fox news – Start at 0:19
Announcing that emails were announced missing by John Koskinen and deemed to be unrecoverable.
Let me explain how these large email servers actually work and why they couldn’t have just disappeared. These systems are backed up daily, backed up across multiple servers and stored in multiple locations. There is so much redundancy in a system like this that there are probably back-ups of the back-ups. To think that these emails just disappeared is preposterous. Or is it.
What about the people who received the emails? Did those computers all crash too? Have we forgotten that in order for an email to work it has to be received as well as sent. What happened to the emails on the other end? Why can we not run the entire database through a search query and look throughout all of the other computers for emails sent by Lois Lerner and find them with a reverse look-up process. Seems logical to me.
The other thing that strikes me about that last clip is that only one out of every eight Americans that think this is suspicious. How can you look at this information think that this is anything other than a cover up. This is simply a pitiful attempt to cover up the even larger conspiracy, which is that this administration was systematically picking off its political opponents by means of regulation, excessive audit and general molestation by the Internal Revenue Service.
We have seen the IRS grow by more than 16,000 agents just to enforce the healthcare legislation and if this is any indication of what conservative groups will be facing in the years to come, then there is a lot to be worried about.
2. Mark Thiessen – From American Enterprise Institute on Fox News. – Start at 5:59
Now apparently, the Democrats are in a tizzy too? Give me a break. Again, this is just part of the game and I predict that both sides of the political aisle will come together to cover this up because there is too much at stake here. The IRS is the largest weapon the government has to control the people. It is the system by which all of their revenue is collected and to think that anyone of them is going to let something bring it all down then you have another thing coming.
What we will see is a “bi-partisan effort” to get this scandal under control and bury it any way they can. Probably in the upcoming 4th of July weekend which I think is even more ironic. As we watch our liberties slowly disappear, we also celebrate the anniversary of our independence.
To make things worse, we also find out that 6 other employees, who are also under investigation have miraculously had their emails disappear as well. How stupid do these guys really think we are?
This is absolutely absurd and it just goes to show the level of corruption that we have allowed to take over this entire government. Think about how corrupt the entire system must be for them to think that they can get away with something like this.
The crazy part is that they probably will. Much like the other lies and cover-ups from this current administration, this will get swept under the rug and we will all forget about it soon enough.
This is what happens when you get government organizations with unchecked power. The IRS has had unrestricted rule for a while, and now we are watching the Executive Branch take their lead and step out on their own. They are taking more power and making congress more and more irrelevant every day.
3. The arrogance of Obama talking to Bill O’Reily. Start at 0:50
Back to President Obama last year. In this next clip he is talking to Bill O’Reily about the IRS scandal and asking why Douglas Shulman, former IRS Chief had been to the White house so many times over the last year? 157 times to be exact.
Listen to the arrogance. Look at his face while he sits there. He can not believe that he is being asked these questions.
It seems like he is asking us why we won’t just sweep this under the rug? Do you hear what he is saying here? He is literally wondering why we won’t just let them bury this. His face screams “Why are you asking me so many questions?”
First of all, lets look at the number of visits to the White House from the head of the IRS. 157 to be exact. And we are to believe that he didn’t meet with this guy once? Not even to say hi? I find that hard to believe.
If you would like to see more about who is visiting the white house and why it matters then click here.
This is nothing new though. President Obama has a long history of allowing his political operatives access to the White House. Andy Stern from SEIU has been there more than 20 times, 677 Billionaires have come to see Obama in the white house out of 1326 logged visits. Throw in another 50 for top political donors and a couple other hundred misc donors, lobbyists, etc and it is not hard to see a pattern in the type of political games that are being played here.
Obama then goes on to tell us “That is not what happened.” He expects us to believe him as if he never lied to us before. “There have been multiple hearings on this.” he says, although there has been no conclusion or verdict reached and there is no hard evidence to refute anything other than this being a scandal. Now you throw in these missing emails and things really start to get suspicious.
“It only comes up because people like you keep bringing it up.” Obama continues, talking about how it is O’Reily’s fault that people are still talking about it. As if it is the medias fault that this is still an issue. Again, telling us to just let it go.
Later in the video, President Obama passes the blame to the political organizations inability to understand the tax law and then goes on to say that there is “not even a smidgen of corruption.”
I agree that the tax law might be complicated but how come there were so few liberal or left leaning organizations caught up in the confusion? If it was just a difficult law, then you would think that there would be at least some level of fallibility from groups on both sides of the political aisle. But that is not what is going on here. The majority of the targeted organizations were conservative or right leaning which points to this having been a planned political attack and not just a fluke.
You have to watch the whole clip to appreciate the presidents complete arrogance while being questioned. In the podcast, I try to point out his laughter and smugness but it is plain as day in this video.
4. Obama calls IRS scandals phony. Start at 2:18
Check out this montage of Obama and his press mouthpiece calling these scandals phony.
It is like he is telling us to just quit paying attention. Seriously, these are just made up scandals and Washington problems. He wants us to believe that there is nothing to see here. No need to bother yourself with this. Just go back to your Kardashians. Does anyone have a line on the next sext tape?
So now this is a phony made-up scandal, but somehow the missing emails are real, and they just happen to be from the time in question. Additionally, 6 other employees that are also under investigation have had this mysterious corruption affect them as well.
It’s all just too difficult to believe if you ask me. I think that the average person paying attention would also be hard pressed to think that this was actually just a mistake.
5. Jon Koskinen talking to congress. Start at 0:00
In this video, temporary head of the IRS Jon Koskinen, is finishing up his prepared testimony in front of congress. He then goes on to talk about how all of the emails after the investigation are still there. As if anyone actually ared about the emails that have been sent since the event.
I couldn’t listen to it for much longer than a few minutes but I was astonished at what I heard in that short time.
What I want to know is what these guys are hiding from us? Why won’t they produce those emails? And how out of touch must they actually be, if they think we are going to believe this line of crap.
We are coming up on a point in history where we either stand up or we get run over. The people in power are getting bold and if we let this go by then they will know that they can get anything over on us. If this thing goes unsolved then they will know that they can lie to our face and tell us whatever they want. We will eat it up and the media will be right there to help them sell it to you.
I remember growing up as a kid and learning about the Watergate scandal. I remember thinking about how crazy it would be to see a president resign and how the people of that time must have felt. What is happening now makes Watergate look like a joke and if you think this is something that is just happening in the IRS then you would sadly mistaken. This is something that is systemic and this level of inbred corruption has infiltrated every level of our political establishment.
Where are the people in the streets? Where is the outrage from the public?
At what point are people going to realize that this is all a charade. When will we realize that the elites are finally getting bold enough to do what they have always done. They are staking claims to their power and soon we will lose any semblance of what is left of the republic. This has little to do with a technological failure and everything to do with power and corruption. This has all happened before because all societies eventually self destruct. We just happened to learn how to do it faster than most might have expected.
So what happens next? Will they just sweep this under the rug and let it go or will we actually get an answer? Will there be any change? Leave your thoughts in the comments or click below to join us in the forums.
The photos are priceless and the story will make you smile.
An experience that helped shape the way I look at the world. By Katelyn Prisco
The other day…
I was called out to a photo shoot.
I work with a local organization in Sarasota that refers me to people or companies who are looking for a photographer.
I rarely even ask what the session is about, I just show up, do my thing, and expect it to go quite routinely.
This job was different.
I was met at the door by an extremely kind and upbeat woman.
“Hey! Come on in, we’re all waiting for you,” she exclaimed.
Oh, ok awesome… these people are really nice, I thought to myself — this is going to be easy money.
I walked into a small studio, full of cameras and video equipment. All eyes were on the nicely dressed man, who was sitting in a chair in the middle of the room. My mind was racing with possibilities as I thought to myself… this is a little different.
The man, Kevin, thanked me again for showing up to help.
Apparently he had booked another photographer who wasn’t able to make it. I had emailed Kevin the night before and told him I’d be here in the morning, but I still wasn’t sure what the shoot was even for.
Kevin explained that there would be a video of him thanking the guests of an Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) event he was hosting the following week.
Kevin was only 29 when he was diagnosed with ALS. He wanted to shed light on the importance of knowledge. The knowledge of what this terrible disease has done to him and his body. He explained that he wanted a series of still photos to use in the video.
Before today, I had no clue what ALS even was. I thought maybe it was something they named after a baseball player. Now I know that it is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. Not cool. But Kevin, he was cool.
He spoke so eloquently and finished his video relatively quickly.
Then, before I even knew what was going on, he removed all of his clothing down to his boxers and socks. In front of me stood a man, who I had met no more than five minutes earlier, almost completely naked. Ready for his close up.
He joked about his unfortunate situation and his silly socks.
He laughed with his mother, and other friends about his beer belly (which I had to get in a photo [or so I was told] because it was a direct result of the ALS).
He even had his mom go to a costume store so that he could dress up for a couple photos. He wanted to remind people that he hadn’t lost his sense of humor.
When I walked into the studio that day, I thought I was going to take a few pictures and maybe put a few extra bucks in my pocket. Instead, I met an inspiration, a new friend, someone with more love than he knows what to do with.
Kevin has dedicated the rest of his life to raising awareness for ALS.
He started A Life Story Foundation and has raised thousands of dollars for the cause.
I don’t what kind of man Kevin was before his disease. I don’t know much about his family or his friends, I actually don’t really know Kevin at all.
What I do know is that in the short time I have been able to spend with him and his entire entourage of awe-inspiring supporters, I am very aware that I have met a present day hero.
With permission from Kevin, I am posting some of the photos from our session.
This is my very first blog post and I couldn’t think of any better way to launch my blog than with Kevin’s story.
Katelyn is a photographer and loves to capture life’s little moments through the end of her camera lens. And, as you can see here, she has a few special words to share with the world. Learn more about Katelyn on her personal website.
Exploring enlightenment; Can you find it or does it find you?
Kyle Cross helps me break down the quest for enlightenment and how to participate in the conversation. We talk about why you should not be getting your news in 3 minute segments from the main street media and why you need to surround your brain with interesting ideas from other people in order to truly stimulate your own creative process.
We discuss the basics of enlightenment being the ability to recognize that you know absolutely nothing but desire to know everything. It is a self awareness and understanding of how significant you can really be but how much easier it is to allow yourself to become insignificant.
Between discussing the quest for enlightenment we dive into a bit of religion, drugs, graffiti and more. Kyle even dives into a bit of his personal background and talks about his childhood and even mentions growing up as an orphan.
Always A RayDO Twist
We talk about some of my favorite YouTube channels and how to find the information you need and want in the moment you need it. Quit pretending like you have to wait for the information you need to come to you, instead of just going out and working hard to find it.
You Tube References –
Here are the YouTube channels I mentioned in the podcast.
- V-Sauce – Awesome videos about science and life. History from a whole new perspective. I promise you will love this.
- Minute Physics – Quick videos that help you understand complex physics in a fun way.
- Smarter Every Day – Down to earth explanations of curious topics in science. #LoveThisGuy
- ASAP Science – More simple science that blows your mind. Short video crack.
- Raymmar.com – Obviously you should subscribe to my YouTube channel!
Digital Connections
We also explore the growing digital network that is enslaving all of us, discuss the possibility of an Electro Magnetic Pulse (EMP) destroying it all and how instant communication could potentially lead to a completely new digital nation.
We touch on the evolution of online commerce and understanding how we might soon be able to plug into computers. Whether for gaming, porn, gambling or any other experience that will inevitably be digitized, the human experience will be merged with the digital life soon enough.
As always, we explain why we do what we do and show you how all of these issues are interconnected and how they can let you bring all of these experiences together in a completely new understanding on the meaning of life.
Introducing Sarasota Underground
In this episode of RayDO we talk about my current city of residence, Sarasota Florida and my plans for SarasotaUnderground.com.
We begin to explore the inner workings of a city that is dead set on staying the same and why some would restrict its growth.
We also talk about the difference between Bradenton and Sarasota and how people from the inside look at it versus the way people from the outside look at it. Why don’t they work better together and why this really is an amazing place to be and will be for the next few decades as the entire culture in Sarasota shifts towards a new generation of doers.
We Always Bounce Around
This is RayDO, and we do bounce all over the place so there might be a few more surprises along the way. You’ll just have to listen in to find out what else we talk about this time on RayDO.
Make sure you grab us on Stitcher and iTunes Podcast app so you can get the newest episodes delivered to your phone immediately upon release.
The listening experience is totally customized and if you have to turn it off in the middle of an episode it will save your place and start it back up from the same place.
Finally, be sure to subscribe to Raymmar.com to keep up with all of our progress and updates about what we are doing.
We just got back from a weekend in Washington DC, attending the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). I wanted to take this opportunity to test out my new recording equipment so I invited Ben Doherty to sit with me and review our wild weekend in Washington.
In this podcast we discuss why the conservative party cant get out of their own way. We explore the key points of the CPAC conference along with our adventures in DC which includes being questioned in front of the White House, getting kicked off of the Lincoln Memorial and broadcasting live from radio row. Not to mention some epic parties and some DC nightlife adventures.
We review a sound clip from Sarah Palin’s keynote speech where she rewrites a Dr. Seuss poem as well as some discussion about the technical difficulties we faced on radio row.
All in all, I love the new equipment and these podcasts are going to get better and better as I continue to learn the ins and outs of the new soundboard, understanding the microphones and developing my on air personality. Thanks for joining me on this quest and I look forward to growing this portion of my website with all of you.
Introducing RayDO – Pronounced Radio
Rated R – for Raymmar
I have been blogging on Raymmar.com for about a year now and the last 6 months have absolutely unreal. The site and my words have reached more than 2 million people over the last few months and I even got picked up by the Huffington Post last month.
For a while now I had been thinking about podcasting so… I did. much like when I started making my video rants, this is just another opportunity for me to share my message across multiple channels. An opportunity for me to get more intimate with my audience and really give them a chance to get to know me.
I think as people get to know that I am just a regular guy trying to make sense of the crazy world we live in, that the power of my message will be multiplied. Thanks so much for your continued support and I look forward to where this road leads.
What’s In This Podcast?
I introduce my concept and talk about some recent experiences with religion, business and introduce my sales theory.
You find out that I smoke pot in this podcast and I am not really ashamed of that. I am sure we will dive into it further down the road.
You get a taste of my religious views although I am not happy with the way I described them as I listened to it after recording. The wonder of live recording.
I will definitely be getting into my religious views as well as a number of other controversial topics in more details as the podcast moves forward and I look forward to having some debates with people across many different view points.
This Is Just The Beginning
I know not many people will listen to this first podcast but over time it will definitely grow. Much like my blog and my videos, it has to start somewhere.
Love it or hate it, here it is. Let me know what you think in the comments. Also, feel free to leave suggestions for topics of other podcasts.
One of the main reasons I came to the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington DC was to test my mettle on radio row. As a member of the Big Dawg Music Mafia I was asked to come and be the host of their on air broadcast for the three days they are on air here at CPAC.
Day 1
Online Politics Conservative Radio at Blog Talk Radio with BigDawg Music Radio on BlogTalkRadio
(Warning – rough audio due to technical difficulties) skip to 5 min mark for my monologue and then skip through the music by jumping to the 106 minute mark.
Day 1 on radio row was an absolute mess. No offense to the Lisa’s (Lisa Day & Lisa Mei) as much of this was beyond their control but we lost almost half of our broadcast time do to technical difficulties. The internet was not working consistently and it seemed as if the world was set on keeping us off the air. We got it together and were able to salvage the last hour of the broadcast. Hopefully day two goes a little smoother.
Michael McShane
We did get an opportunity to interview Michael McShane from the American Enterprise Institute.
Ben Doherty
Who has come to CPAC as my production assistant but he is also sits on the board of the Sarasota Young Republicans as well as being the founder of Bridge Education Abroad Institute which is an international study abroad organization.
Day 2
Check Out Politics Conservative Podcasts at Blog Talk Radio with BigDawg Music Radio on BlogTalkRadio
Day two went much smoother. We worked pretty hard yesterday to line up a number of interviews for this broadcast. Hoping that things would work out a little smoother and thankfully they did.
Project Red Leaf
Our first guests were John Publicover and Michael from Project Red Leaf. Halfway through the interview we were also joined by Michael Rubin who is an author and a Resident Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. Michael spiced up the conversation with his perspective on engaging rogue regimes and talked a little bit about his book, “Dancing With The Devil”.
Bill Connor
Next on the show was Bill Connor who is running for Senate against Lindsey Graham in South Carolina. He is a graduate of the Citadel and had some strong opinions about how to change things in Washington. Namely he was fully in support of term limits for all members of both the Senate and Congress.
Joe Kauffman
Following Bill Connor was another candidate, this time a congressional candidate from South Florida. Joe Kauffman, who is running against Debbie Wasserman Schultz wanted us to know that he thought Debbie was nothing more than a puppet for the current administration and that there was a massive conflict of interest in having her not only serve in Congress but in the fact that she also serves as the chair of the Democratic National Committee.
Curtis Davies
I met Curtis in the elevator on the first day of CPAC. He is from San Francisco and is running against Nancy Pelosi. He told me he believes in Universal Healthcare but he thinks we are doing it all wrong. He then told me he wanted to privatize the Post Office which I thought was rather hypocritical and lead me to challenge him a bit to further understand how he could contradict himself by wanting to privatize one bureaucracy and then begin to build another one.
Equality for Puerto Rico
I met Dr. Antonio Longo at the Equality for Puerto Rico booth in the CPAC Hub and thought he would be great to have on air as they are fighting for the rights of Puerto Rico and their quest for statehood. This hits close to home for me since I am of Puerto Rican decent. We were also joined during this part of the interview by Alfonso Aguilar who is the Executive Director. With 61% of the Puerto Rican population voting in favor of becoming the next state these guys feel that within the next 5 years we might just see that happen.
In Search of Liberty
Norm Novitsky, stopped by the radio show to promote his upcoming movie titled “In Search of Liberty”. A movie about the constitution. The first question I asked was if the movie was going to suck because I feel like their art and messaging lacked a little refinement.
The film is not yet funded but they will be launching a Kickstarter campaign in the next week. He feels that “Failure is not an option” with regards to the funding of the film and has invested “more than $100,000” to the production of the film so far.
Tim Young
Tim Young is a conservative comic and Director of Marketing for the the Liberty Alliance. His forthcoming book, “I hate Republicans, I Hate Democrats” takes both political parties to task and exposes some of the hypocrisy of Washington politics.
National Organization for Marriage
Our final guest was Christopher Plante from the National Organization for Marriage. I wish I had been able to spend more time talking about this issue with him. Part of me is so conflicted with the whole gay marriage debate and thinks that the Conservatives and Republicans are really alienating a large section of the populous by focusing so much on this issue. While I have my own views on homosexuality and gay rights, I feel that there is definitely some room for compromise and understanding.
Wrapping up Day 2
That was all she wrote for day two on radio row and we already have a number of other interviews lined up for tomorrows show. I am trying to keep the blog as up to date as possible but with speaking, broadcasting and trying to actually take in some of the convention speakers it is almost impossible to find time to keep it all up to date.
There will be more pictures and hopefully some video to come so stay tuned for more updates from CPAC 2014.
Arrival – The Day Before CPAC
We arrived in Washington DC this morning at about 11:00 am and took a Taxi to the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center. Site of the 2014 Conservative Political Action Conference.
We wanted to get here a day early in order to explore the DC area and take in the history of the town. This is my first trip to DC and I was actually quite excited to see all the history that this city has to offer.
Ben Doherty from Bridge Education Abroad Institute is accompanying me on this trip as a production assistant. He is helping me document the event in video and photo.
My first impression of Washington DC?
Police… Everywhere.
Seriously. They are everywhere. There was secret service, capital police, some swat looking guys with full armor and even guys with the infamous assault rifles they bitch about so much around here.
We had no specific intent but we did want to try to shoot some video and our first stop would be the White House.
We took the metro to get there after a short taxi from the hotel to the metro station. The taxi driver spoke no English and handed us the GPS as if we knew where we were going.
Needless to say, we figured it out, bought a day pass for the DC Metro and jumped on towards the White House.
White House
We took a few pictures and decided to get some feedback from people on the street. I’ll probably post the video later as I don’t have time to edit them while I am here.
We talked to a few people, most of them were foreigners but we wanted their perspective on American Politics nonetheless.
After a while in front of the White House we decided to ring the bell at the back gate and ask to speak with the president.
As we were hanging around the gate a Capital Police officer came up on his bicycle and asked us who we were with and what we were doing.
He didn’t really give us a hard time but you could tell they were watching us so we decided not to push our luck. The last thing I wanted to do was get arrested before CPAC even started.
Washington Monument
After the White House, we went to see the Washington Monument which is still undergoing some renovations after an earthquake in 2011. Actually, it seemed like most of the DC area and monuments were under some type of improvement or restoration process as there was construction happening everywhere.
The Reflection Pool was emptied and being renovated and there was fencing around many of the fields in DC. Not sure what was going on but I imagine this has to be the off season for tourism here in DC and there was some snow still on the ground.
We filmed another little clip in front of the Washington Monument, hoping to string them all together for a video to recap the entire trip but there was not much too see since the monument was closed.
Lincoln Memorial
This is where things started to get interesting.
I decided to start asking people if they thought there were still any great people in Washington. Afterall, there is so much history behind these monuments we were visiting that I couldn’t help but wonder what people thought about the current leadership.
We interviewed the stature of Abraham Lincoln (Satire – see future video) and asked a few college kids about their political views and just as things were getting interesting another security guard came over and told us that we were not allowed to be filming inside of the memorial chamber.
He referenced some statute which I have to go back and review but I thought it was a little suspect. We did not get him asking us to leave on video, but as soon as I realized what was happening I turned on the audio recorder. I have not listened to it but it will definitely be included in the video if it came out on the microphone.
The Capital
Talk about police. I thought there were a big police presence at the other places we visited but the Capital Police took the cake. Fully armed, swat gear and all standing guard on the Capital steps.
There were convoys out front and lots of armored suburbans, no doubt waiting to transport a congressmen or senator. It made me wonder about how much money we spend on all of this security and staff. Then I looked around and saw the massive buildings all around the Capital and wondered how much of our Federal payroll was tied up inside these buildings.
My Overall Impression Of DC
I hate it. Seriously, it is completely detached from reality. At one point I felt like I was walking in front of the Kremlin. I spent 5 hours walking around DC and I understood why our country is in such trouble.
Stay tuned for more CPAC updates as the conference starts tomorrow and we will be broadcasting live each morning. Check back regularly for more updates from CPAC 2014
Want to know more about CPAC and what we are doing this weekend? Here are some resources from the official CPAC Website.
Thanks to everyone who has supported us on this adventure and I look forward to updating this section of the site regularly with our radio broadcasts, my speeches and anything else CPAC related. Stay tuned for frequent updates.
Original article from: KMarie Photography
A few weeks ago Emily Owen (artistic enthusiast, and owner of Virgin Vintage) approached me about collaborating on a concept she had in mind, involving a little girl assuming the role of a make up artist, as a statement piece in terms of how beauty is viewed from the eyes of a child.
Here are a few behind the scenes shots of the first child, Arianna, in our little experiment (who happens to hold a special place in my heart aside from this project.)
It was incredible to see the creative process evolve in such an open ended mind. Before even meeting Emily, Arianna tossed around the idea of doing some sort of “rainbow” design, but as she gazed upon a smorgasbord of colors/glitters/brushes displayed before her there was no need for planning, she jumped right in layering color after color (and politely apologizing from time to time when she thought excess powder had fallen into Emily’s eye.)
After several wipes with a cloth to “clean up her lines” she settled on a look of “rainbows for eye shadow and pink rain clouds for cheeks” I can only hope that as this series continues to grow it serves as a reminder to be appreciative of the creative nature of children, be careful never to squander the “pink rain-clouds” or the uneven lines of innocence.
We take to much stock in squeezing ourselves into an idealized perfect..(guilty!) when perfect is the raw moment, a lip line that goes down to your chin, or a much needed spontaneous hug at the end of a beautiful collaboration.”
Thank you Arianna for teaching us all that perfection lives only in our hearts.
Warmest thank you to the talented KMarie Photography for documenting this splendid event.
This podcast originally appeared on The Zentist Blog
Brief description: This podcast covers the everyday dealings of sex, love, relationships, marriage and intimacy as well as everything that comes with them.
This article first appeared on hubsarasota.com – Written by Rich Swier
We have all heard the saying “tortured artist”. It’s a commonly used phrase to describe the frustrations an artist has with people who don’t quite understand them. This frustration typically leads to isolation, depression and many other expensive emotions. In my opinion, this stereotype doesn’t even scratch the surface of what a creative person lives day to day. This is why I am going to make my own label – “cursed creative”.
What is a Cursed Creative?
A cursed creative is an person who lives to create. It could be music, painting, writing, editing, design, acting or coding. There are hundreds of outlets for a creative to use to drive their passion. And the curse is… it’s never enough. There is no final piece of work. No final applause. There is only an appetite that is never satisfied. Like a Vampire with better taste in clothes… is the life of a Cursed Creative.
When I first started working with creative minds, it was a challenge for me to understand what drives their passion (or more appropriately their hunger.) I have done a lot of thinking on this matter, and here is what I have concluded:
Do they care about Money?
In short, no. A true creative wants to share with people around them the way they see the world. In many cases, they knowingly understand the profession they are entering doesn’t result in a big salary or a million-dollar payday. The irony to me, is that most of the richest people in the world are “creative” minds, that were either lucky enough to commercialize their vision at the right time, or were able to surround themselves with business-minded people to turn their talent into money. Either way, I know for sure money is not the root of why they are creative, and it certainly isn’t the motivation behind their passion.
Do they care about Fame?
Yes (but in a good way). We all appreciate someone’s desire to be famous. It’s natural for any person to want to be known and respected by thousands (or millions) of people around the world. It’s even more important for someone who creates something to share it with the world. Fame to a creative is more like acknowledgement. It is the assurance of sharing their creation… and not so much the red carpet “take pictures of me” fame. The only real exception is performers (actors) and musicians, because they personify their creativity. In some way they are the MOST cursed creatives, because their art is them. They don’t paint the art, they become the art.
So the obvious question is – why are many creatives still unhappy (or un-satisfied) after having success. Why do musicians who perform to thousands of fans screaming their lyrics, are still depressed backstage? Why do actors who perform lead roles in Oscar-winning films, still find themselves on the other side of a needle. The answer is not easy to comprehend or explain. It is simply a curse.
When you are a creative being… you are only fulfilled when you are creating. It is a never ending cycle. And no matter what you create – no matter how magnificent, popular or profitable – you will wake up the next day wanting more.
Of course, it’s not all bad. There are a few positives in being a creative. Here is a short list:
- You will experience life in a way no one else can comprehend
- You will change the lives of everyone who knows you by sharing your experiences through a creative outlet.
- You will change the world.