Kai Interviews Simon about Music Business Hacks

May 27, 2018 by smartygirl Leave a Comment

Get her margarita right. Kai likes her margaritas on the rocks not blended.

Who is Kai?

She played Ani Difranco songs on her guitar for a San Jose State University audience. That’s how she met Renee Marchol, SmartyGirlLeadership Editor-in-Chief, years ago. Kai Shuart caught up with Renee over a visit together at Seattle’s MoPop music and pop culture museum recently.

“I really like the ideas of a post-show routine and using the scientific method to boost your career,” said Kai.

So our Editor-in-Chief invited Kai to be our blog’s guest music reporter and do a bit more research this past Spring. She read the book Music Business Hacks and listened to a couple of Music Business Hacks podcast episodes. She came up with interview questions for the author and musician Simon Tam.

Simon Tam’s Music Business Hacks book cover

Simon Tam’s Music Business Hacks Podcast

You can hear the audio here. You can also read the transcript below.

[Begin Transcript]

Hey! This is Simon from the Music Business Hacks podcast and author of Music Business Hacks.

Kai’s questions for Simon Tam:

Post-show routine

How do you frame bad news? You gave the example of getting banned from a club. How did you frame it so that nobody is afraid to book you, or do you embrace the bad publicity?

Using the scientific method

It makes sense to focus group things like album covers, merch design etc but how do you make room for spontaneity and an individual voice?

Treating rehearsal like a performance is a great idea

How does one get out of the mindset that a rehearsal is “just messing around”?

Is it just creating a firm space/time boundary to hone your craft or do you think it’s something else?

Simon’s reply:

So in terms of framing bad news when it’s an internal culture like band members, publicists, management or that sort of thing I frame any kind of news as honestly as possible.

If we are in fact being banned from a club if something didn’t go well I think it’s important to be honest and have that conversation with ourselves to figure out how we can prevent things from happening again. What can we do to improve? I don’t like just to criticize folks just for bad behavior or to focus on the negative. I always like to propose a solution for whatever we are encountering.

In terms of publicity. I think about it in terms of how our most dedicated fans would view it. When you think about perspective I think about what our deepest supporters would think and kind of go from there. Another way of thinking about it is: What would my mom say? What would my best friend say? If they have my back behind whatever happens then I have a feeling that that in a broader picture our audience will most likely be supportive as well.

So back over 10 years ago. My band, the Slants, got banned from a club for breathing fire. Now it was something we cleared with the venue in advance. We had the emails to prove it.

The stage manager freaked out on us while we were on stage and basically canceled the show. The audience in the club was so upset because they clearly didn’t see any issues that they all left which meant the room was completely empty for a band that they paid a lot of money to be there for after us. There were only two people and they were both in my band because we felt bad for what happened. Everyone else went down the street to hang out. We were just getting some drinks and food and hanging out with everybody.

So in that incident, I knew that it was the wrongful actions of the stage manager. And because they tried to twist it on it us we decided. Let’s go ahead and address the issue with honesty and truth. However, people want to view it they can. Of course, immediately after that incident, we got offers from several different venues saying, “Hey, do you want to burn down our club?”

They saw what happened. They thought it was really inappropriate of that venue. They wanted to support us.

Another incident would be when we joined a battle of the bands event. Now, I normally hate battle of the bands events. I think they’re cheesy and a system to create gains for promoters usually.

So we entered basically on this premise. We would stay in as long as we like but the moment we felt uncomfortable or we didn’t like what was happening we would drop out. We entered a competition to win a chance for a million dollar recording contract as well as a spot on a reality tv show kind of like American Idol but for touring bands.

Long story short we started killing it every single round. We got first place. We weren’t necessarily doing everything they asked us to. They really wanted bands to sell tickets for them but we felt uncomfortable charging people $15 to $20 per ticket for a four-song set from us and force them to watch six other bands. We didn’t care about that. We just thought our music should stand on its own.

By the time we got to the semi-finals the president of the record label actually flew out to come to see us specifically. They gave us the contract. So well before this contest had ended, well before the reality tv show which was supposed to have this Grand prize we were offered the prize. I looked at the contract, had an attorney look at it. It was terrible so we decided to drop out of the competition.

Just saying, “Hey this isn’t for us. But that’s ok.”

The label instead decided to twist it on it on us saying we were disqualified. That we somehow tried to cheat or something like that.

So we put out a press release telling the truth that we rejected the million dollar contract. That the system was rigged. This multi-million company was trying to bully this small independent band. Well, it didn’t go well for them despite how much publicity and power they had.

People liked the story of the underdog. They wanted to support the band That was struggling and they wanted to support what was happening with what we are doing.

So I think it’s important to consider context. What are your greatest supporters going to think? Because in the end, that’s all that matters. We don’t really care about the general public per say. We care about the people who are on board with us, who support us, who understand our values and know what we stand for. If they’re with us then it doesn’t matter if the overall sentiment and press is bad. Overall we believe that sentiment will change especially if you have supporters willing to fight for you.

Okay, in regards to the scientific method. It makes sense to focus group things like the album cover and merchandise. How do you make room for spontaneity and individual voice?

The scientific method is something really amazing and underappreciated. Very underutilized in the music industry and marketing as well. I think it’s an important way to hone your voice because you get to test out what works what doesn’t.

It’s simply a hypothesis. Then you have a specific set of measurements to see if your hypothesis proves true or not so it doesn’t actually remove spontaneity it supports it. You can spontaneously think: would this idea work? Of course, you measure it.

The most important part of the scientific method is that you actually measure. Too often I see artists trying to make room for spontaneity by putting out messaging, by trying something new on stage and not actually taking the time to dissect. What worked about it and what didn’t?

So whenever people want to have a specific individual voice, spontaneous expression, or anything like that. It should be done with a larger set of goals in mind, a hypothesis in mind. There should be some kind of tracking system. Hey, does this work or not?

For example, if you look at top performing artists out there. People who are performing at the top of this industry when they actually have shows there are two ways to go about it.

One, it’s the same show every single time. There are certain bands that play the exact same set. The artists say the exact same thing night after night. They might change the city name or have something that addresses the audience at that specific concert but they are doing it the exact same way they always do.

Then there are artists who change it up every night. For example, Ringo Starr kind of customizes the set each night. They take time to have a long conversation and narrative with the audience. Interact with the audience and kind of play off of it. However, those skills have been honed over time. While the words might change the approach is the same because they’ve developed a method that has been based on what works.

For example, learning how to talk to the audience about certain topics. Depending on what the audience responds with they can play off of that. But there still some kind of testing involved. If a show bombs or specific moments that don’t work. They change it for the next time.

So in terms of the scientific method and the performing arts comedy is the best example of this because you can see how people hone their voice over time. This is why even high profile comedians like Dave Chappelle and Robin Williams would do this. They go to smaller more intimate comedy clubs to test out jokes to see how they play out and to hone those jokes over time sometimes on tour before launching it into say a comedy special. You can oftentimes find Youtube of comedians evolving their jokes over time.

Well, there’s no reason why musicians shouldn’t be doing the same thing. In terms of their performance or creating music. It’s all about goals, measurement and testing out what works and what doesn’t work.

Third question here. I guess this would be really related to treating rehearsal like performance.

How does one get out the mindset that rehearsal is just messing around?

If you want to change mindset around rehearsal beyond just a spontaneous practice or anything else like that you have to set ground rules. This is why I always emphasize that every band should have an inner-band agreement. There should be a set of expectations, rules to follow as well as goals you all agree on. If everybody has same expectations of what you want to accomplish from the music industry and rehearsal then all of sudden that changes the mindset of those entering the room. If you have a specific set of determined hours for rehearsal people know there are limited hours and make the most of it. So you can use this to say, “For two hours we’re gonna play through this set twice or three times. We’re going go through our talking points and dissecting that guitar solo in the fourth song.”

You create those expectations in advance so people don’t see it as a time to mess around. Of course, there’s something to be said for time set aside for creative expression. Let’s get together, jam and see what comes up. Let’s try to write songs. I think those are different times.

But a rehearsal is preparing for the live show. Whatever you do, the rehearsal could also be approached with the scientific method as well. Like we have hypothesis or theory that we believe if we rehearse the set this way that we can time down to 29 minutes flat. You start working on that idea until you get to that point.

Thank you so much for having me. [End Transcript]

YouTuber Musician Teaching Artist Kai Shuart

Guest Music Reporter Bio

This debut article of Kai Shuart as music journalist is dedicated to her dad who inspired her love for music.

Kai is a pop culture expert, teacher of children and a musician. She sees music as a way to address uncomfortable subjects with a safe buffer.

She cites Tori Amos’ “Me and a Gun” as a prime example. A musician can choose to use real, traumatic experiences and change the details a bit or even create a character in order to confront the uncomfortable at a safe distance.

Teacher of children? Yep. Kai is a Montessori teacher on the West Coast. A typical day that includes a music curriculum? In 2018, she brings in her drum collection and thumb piano into the classroom.

Interested in hearing teacher, performer, singer-songwriter Kai Shuart play? If you are able to catch her live, meet her first over a pescado burrito to hear her thoughts on practicing daily habits. Meanwhile, subscribe to her emerging YouTube channel.

Comedian Vivek Mahbubani Gives Advice for Dating Indian Men

January 3, 2017 by Vivek Mahbubani Leave a Comment

Our Editor-in-Chief Renee Marchol has interviewed guests on the perspective of Asian masculinity in the entertainment industry. However, in her Amazon Audible Tinder Manual audiobook, she confesses that she has never been asked out by a man of Indian ancestry. So our staff invited Comedian Vivek Mahbubani to give his humorous take on race relations and family approval. His wit can be heard in English and in Cantonese Chinese as he performs in Hong Kong. The South China Morning Post featured a video titled “Discrimination is a punchline for Hong Kong-born comedian Vivek Mahbubani.

Just as those who identify New York as their home call themselves New Yorkers, Vivek refers to himself as a Hong Konger where he has lived among the Hong Kong Chinese as a minority.

His guest post “Why Indian Hong Konger Men Don’t Ask Renee for a Date” is below:

When most people think of super heroes or saviors, it’s very rare to find someone dreaming of being saved by an Indian person. Even if they did, chances are their super power would either be a combination of constant wobbling and dance moves or radioactive body hair that can hypnotize even the strongest of minds…

… until recently. With the explosion of Bollywood worldwide that has put the brown man on the map of not just being sexy but also being sensual, the value of the Indian man has gone up and so has their pickiness.

A generation ago, dating would often be limited to your own circle or what is available in your neighborhood or network. Traditions played a big part and family was the key. Interracial relationships were not the norm for the Indian man mostly because he’d have to deal with the extra questions from family and also have the challenge of explaining to his children why they’re not the same shade as their relatives.

But today, with the improvement of the Indian man’s confidence and image in the world thanks to a new wave of Indian talents, from Sundar Pichai becoming the CEO of Google to Aamir Khan winning over the hearts of everyone with his wise words and perfect abs in the movie 3 idiots, the typical Indian man now has new images of success they can replicate. Sure, we may not be Google’s CEO, but we feel like we play a big part in its functioning, after all, Google seems to know us really well with its constant suggestions and ads that match our tastes, and fine, we don’t have Aamir Khan’s abs, but we’re surrounded by 2 other idiots at all times, so we’re halfway there. Combine that with the new wave of International love stories we’re surrounded by and you’ve got yourself a very picky person.

But no matter how much the world gives the Indian man these ideas of anything is possible, at the end of the day, there’s still the universal factor that the Indian man has to deal with – his family.

Ultimately, if you’re able to be the girl-next-door but also have that wild-side while still making sure family comes first without compromising the idea that you need to take good care of the guy, then you stand a good chance of getting along just fine. The problem isn’t in your doing all those things, it’s in you being able to send that message to the guy so he realizes you’re someone that fits the bill and asks you out.

Having said all that, why is it that Indian Hong Konger men aren’t asking Editor-in-chief Renee for a date? I suppose the first thing would be for Renee to think about what she wants in a man. Not all Indian Hong Konger men are created equal. Some place beauty over brains, others place family over fun while others might have wacky over well-being. If Renee is looking for the man that can go on the wild side with her every now and then but still wants to make sure they’re both in bed by 11pm, you’ll probably want to look at the self-made Indian man who dwells amongst big social events and conferences where business is the primary item on the agenda. After all, they made their own business through lots of trial-and-error and chances are they’ll take that mentality to every aspect of their life, even in what makes their partner happy.

Alternatively, looking for the Indian man because brown and hairy fascinate Renee, well then you’ll probably want someone who embraces the Indian identity. There are lots of Indian parties where the music is blasting Bhangra beats and the men are dancing. This is your golden opportunity to let these guys know that you know how to party the way they do. Before you know it, you’ll be deep in a conversation about life after the party winds down and they’ll be ready to go on a formal date with you the next time you speak on the phone.

Ultimately, the best way to get an Indian man to ask you out is the same as getting him to invest his money into prime real estate – location, location, location. Be at the right places frequently and just like Google’s ads that constantly hound you in every corner of your screen with what it thinks is right for you, the Indian man will eventually notice you everywhere and figure part of the special club and ask you out. If not, at least you can enjoy the fun of dancing around at least 3 idiots at all times when the Bhangra beat drops.

Photo Credit: Vivek Mahbubani Stand Up Comedian

Vivek Mahbubani is best known as Hong Kong’s top English and Cantonese stand-up comedian. Being bi-lingual allows him to both laugh and get offended in multiple languages. For more of his entertainment, visit http://funnyvivek.com

Shutting Down Hecklers Using Humor and Compassion: An Interview with The Slants

November 30, 2016 by Renee Marchol Leave a Comment

Photo Credit: The Slants photographed by Sarah Giffrow

You may have heard Simon Tam’s TED talks. You may have skimmed news headlines about the Asian American musicians’ petition to the Supreme Court for their trademarked band name: The Slants. Rocking out and social justice are just some facets of these SmartyFellas.

Readers of our blog can identify with receiving negative criticism for one reason or another for pursuing their bucket list.

In this article, readers receive a behind-the-scenes look at how these creatives have fun together and do individual self-care to recharge despite hecklers. These answers were given to our Editor-in-Chief Renee Marchol during the weekend that The Slants performed at the anime convention Aki Con 2016 in the Seattle area.

What would you share with young Asian American male musicians dealing with heckling? What is something you tried that you learned wasn’t sustainable?

Ken: You can’t listen to others trying to bring you down. Trolls and haters can be really scary if you dwell on the harmful words that they are intentionally throwing at you.

Listening to criticisms is one thing but you can’t hang onto words that are simply an opinion.

From my own experiences, hecklers who lash out might be jealous about the way you are living, making music or pursuing your art, and they are upset that they are not where you are. Other hecklers might just be curious to see how you react.

Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there! If you only think about the people that are bringing you down, you’ll forget about the people who always want the best for you!

Joe: I think it somewhat depends on the genre of music you play. If you are playing edgy music or music that demands attention, then I would say stand up for yourself and get good at shutting down hecklers. If you think you are rockstar, then the bulletproof attitude against hecklers will only benefit you. On the other hand, I feel like with a more pop friendly band like us, we stand up for ourselves but we are not antagonistic. There’s definitely plenty of negativity thrown at us but our response is often compassionate and with a sense of humor. We enjoy what we do and are lucky to get to play music and a heckler isn’t going to change that. The unsustainable thing would be to get angry about it and hang on to that anger. That is what the heckler wants and it creates an air of negativity that drags everyone down. It’s much better to throw out a witty comeback (“…the Jerk store called and they are running out of you”), get a laugh and go on having fun.

Yuya: Being a successful musician is already hard enough, but being Asian American in the music industry is an added hurdle. I wish this wasn’t the reality for us in 2016, but it is. Heckling comes with the territory. We’ve all dealt with it at one point or another, and if it hasn’t happened to you yet; it more than likely will at some point in your musical career. Don’t let them get to you. Let your art and talent speak for itself. We’re just not well represented in the music industry yet. The more of us there are, the better off we’ll be in the public arena that is the music industry. People are typically uncomfortable with what they don’t understand. This is where I tend to think heckling comes from. As Asian American musicians, we can use our music to help people understand. We can speak on panels, and do these types of interviews to help shed light on who we are. We need to support each other, and help each other succeed. We still have to work hard to normalize the thought of Asian American musicians in a very non-Asian U.S. music industry.

When dealing with hecklers in the past, I got bent out of shape, got angry and lashed out at the person for saying whatever they said. I learned over time that it doesn’t work nor does it solve anything, it just cements those stereotypes even deeper into their minds. And really, a reaction is what they’re wanting from you. These people tend to be bullies and just want to make people feel bad about themselves (likely because they’re insecure about themselves, but that’s a completely separate topic). Getting angry about it and lashing out isn’t sustainable. Instead help educate these people. If they’re not open to that, just ignore them. Not everyone is going to accept you, and that’s okay. The more people we educate through our music and interviews, the easier it’ll be for us to succeed as musicians.

Simon: Rejection and ridicule are two things that every artist will face in their career. That is unavoidable. When that is combined with Asian American identity, it is only compounded. This is usually what happens when people are disrupting the system, when we are challenging social conventions about art. My advice is to always find a way to positively use any criticism or heckling to make better art. Remember, the best form of “revenge” isn’t striking back, but success. Rising above that noise takes discipline, self-care, and compassion – the cruelty lashed out by others is often rooted in pain and ignorance.

Years ago, our band appeared on stage at a bar in Bakersfield, CA. People in the audience actively taunted us – “Why are there so many Asians on stage? They even have keyboards, how cliché!” However, they quickly shut up when our bombastic stage show kicked off with fire-breathing and the most energetic show the venue had ever seen. Insults turned into apologies. You aren’t going to win everyone over, but you can certainly use your music to speak in ways that words may not be able to address. Good art can spur a conversation; great art can disarm those with malicious intent.

The other thing I would recommend is finding a community who can support you. Instead of only feeding upon toxic messages, connect with others who understand your struggles who are able to inspire and lift you up. And if you don’t know any other Asian American musicians locally, feel free to connect with our band anytime.

How do you recover after performing entertainment and/promoting a social cause? How do you create balance and do self-care?

Ken: Vocal warms ups, cool downs, 4 gallons of water and hot tea! I appreciate the fact that my bandmates know that sleep is the best form of recovery for me. (They also know it’s my favorite). Thankfully, good technique can carry you far if you are disciplined enough.

Being with the band has made me feel like an activist. We have an anti-racist, all loving message, so when we are at events I feel charged up from all the positive energy and vibes.

Joe: Some of us seem to be machines that could work 24/7 but I usually need a week to recover from touring. That usually means sleeping in and binging on Netflix. I try to eat well and exercise, even on the road, and the habits keep me in check. I still constantly work on music and other creative endeavors, along with paid gigs, but I know all about burnouts and have learned when my body and mind need a break. As I’m answering this question, I actually just spent the last three weeks working on a movie, editing it in LA, then flying back for our Seattle show and slept maybe an average of 4 hours a night for this entire time. Agenda for the next few days? Finishing Luke Cage and catching up on the CW superhero shows.

Yuya: After a performance, I like to sit or lay down and listen to soft jazz. It’s like the Yin-Yang effect for me. Stepping off stage after a show; I’m still pretty hyped up from the adrenaline. It’s nice to able to close my eyes, relax, take some deep breaths, lower my heart rate, and just get lost in the music. Right now, I listen to a lot of Jane Monheit. If you like jazz and you’ve not listened to her music yet, you should. You’ll enjoy it.

Simon: I believe that the best cure is often prevention – whether it is direct social justice work or playing on stage, I believe in keeping the mind sharp and body healthy by eating well, exercising frequently, getting good sleep, and meditating. It’s all-too-easy to solely live in a work/production mode, but the quality of our work (both in terms of art as well as activism) is greatly affected by these areas, so it’s important to be disciplined enough to take care of ourselves first. That being said, there’s nothing like a hot bowl of pho after a tour to feel refreshed!

What is a question you’d wish reporters would ask more often? What is the answer to that question?

Ken: “How do we like each other in the band?” The only reason why I say this is because with a new line-up change, there are completely new personalities that make up the band. That being said, this line up is awesome! We are ready to put in work and hungry for what is to come.

I’m glad that we can enjoy ourselves and each other when we are on stage, but it feels good just laughing hard or eating food together on the road as well. Plus, it’s fun messing with Simon every once in a while.

Joe: I wish it was this question! “Ask yourself a question and answer it.” My brain is pretty random and I’d have fun with something like that. Like right now, it would be “How do you feel about the current state of Bigfoot sighting videos?” My answer would be: It’s 2016! Why are there still videos online of sightings that look like they shot it with an Etch A Sketch?? If you are a Bigfootologist, get a real camera! Even Go Pros can do 4k! Come on!!

Yuya: “Who are you outside of music and activism?” My answer: I’m engaged to my better half, Emily, and we have 5 children. (You didn’t read that wrong, I did actually say 5!) I’m a lover of Netflix, and especially sleep (even though I still can’t seem to get enough of it, parents know exactly what I’m talking about!) Other than that I read occasionally, mostly philosophy/self-improvement type books. I love to travel and embark on new adventures. I’m really looking forward to my first tour with The Slants, and getting to experience places I’ve not yet seen. If you don’t follow us already, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and our website. If we’re coming through your neck of the woods on tour, come out to our show and hang out with us! (Shameless plug, I know, I know lol.)

Simon: “Why do you continue to play in The Slants when the music industry is so difficult, especially for Asian Americans to find success?” For me, this band is equal parts art as well as activism. I’ll never forget when I first made The Slants public on Myspace, which gives you an idea of how old this project is now. Within a few hours, an Asian American teenager wrote the page to thank us for giving them hope and a reason to be proud of their heritage. Ten years later, we’re still empowering communities around the world. It’s an incredible honor and privilege to serve our people. Plus, it’s incredibly fun.

What’s next for the band creatively as a bucket list item? Who would you like to collaborate with?

Ken: My bucket list consists of touring with a big name, making big scale music videos and release more full length albums! I would love to collaborate with many artists and not only Asian American ones. Some would be Maroon 5, Weezer, Bruno Mars, and Far East Movement. Actually those are just some my bands that I’m into right now!

Joe: My actual band bucket list has opening for Tegan and Sara as the next item. Also touring Japan or the UK. And playing at a festival that Radiohead is playing at (even if we played in the parking lot). For collaboration, I’d really like the band to work with some visual artist and filmmakers. I’ve met quite a few amazing filmmakers hosting and attending film festivals and would love to line things up with them. To name drop a few… Dave Boyle, William Lu, Steven Kung… we want to be in your movies!

Yuya: Getting the new album written and recorded! I’d like to collaborate with Far East Movement. They’re doing great things for Asian Americans, and The Slants are doing the same. Imagine what we can do together! We could really make a statement for our causes.

Simon: Right now, we’re wrapping up writing and recording another album. After that, we’ll be heading to the Supreme Court before tackling an extensive tour going from Portland, OR to Portland, ME and back. I would love to collaborate with a number of non-music (Asian Pacific Islander) API artists to do some great work, including comedians and authors like Margaret Cho, Hari Kondabolu, Chang-rae Lee, Gene Yuen Lang, and more! On the music side, I would love to collaborate with Dave Gahan (Depeche Mode), Max Martin (songwriter), or Rick Rubin (producer).

—

Renee Marchol lives on the West Coast. She continues to collaborate on this bucket list blog by interviewing subject matter experts with Anthropology Scholar Erica Tyler, who is currently studying on the East Coast. Renee is currently taking beginning adult breakdancing in Bruce Lee’s Seattle Chinatown.

Audiobook Hey Blogger! Narrated by Beth Matzke

December 4, 2015 by Renee Marchol Leave a Comment

Our blog is happy to announce the launch of our first of many audibooks and ebook tutorials, available for sale on Amazon, Audible, and iBookstores by SmartyFellas and SmartyGirls! We have partnered with Tablo and Audible to bring readers a new way to enjoy our advice from experts. On any device? Most devices. So you can listen to it through your earbuds? Yep.

Our team at SGL equips readers to run their own blog and recruit their own writer teams and expert panels. Our Editor-in-Chief Renee Marchol tips her fedora and can’t wait to read what you have produced in the New Year. #writeon

Hey Blogger!: A not-quite 18-minute tutorial for your first blog by Renee Marchol
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I noticed an education gap for beginning bloggers so I created an audiobook tutorial for this with Narrator Beth Matzke.

Sure there are many get rich quick tutorials on creating a website to generate income. However, no Quickstart for bloggers who were interested in managing quality content and building a trusted reputation for reporting.

Wouldn’t a curious reader want to know a system for handling submissions for guest posts, requests for product reviews and evaluating ad clients? However, the foundation of a blog is its value to the public. How do you lead a team of writers to generate original and relevant content over the long-term?

These are the methods that I have used as Editor-in-Chief of the successful tech entertainment and leadership lifestyle blog SmartyGirlLeadership.com

View all my reviews

Fielding Questions About Asexuality as a Sexual Orientation: Holiday Hotseat 2015

November 26, 2015 by Renee Marchol Leave a Comment

Thanksgiving is usually a friend or family gathering where people feast on comfort foods and watch football before taking a nap. This drowsy, dozy comforting event shouldn’t have sharp edges in conversations. Right? Well, maybe for fun political debates last 7 uncomfortable minutes. Then some ribbing about loyalty to a particular football team that is only mildly awkward. Correct?

For our debut of SGL’s Love & Sex Series for Healthy Relationships here’s how to avoid hurtful comments when a friend or family member shares an update about his/her love life. Since our readers were curious, we asked our friend Ditching Adulthood blog Creator Cierra Mercier to return as a Guest Blogger to speak to us about asexuality.

Ditching Adulthood blogger Cierra Mercier

Photo Credit: Cierra Mercier Ditching Adulthood

Asexuality is not a lack of emotions or feelings; simply put, it’s a lack of sexual attraction. For some reason when the term “asexual”, or phrase “lack of sexual attraction” are spoken, whoever you’re talking to will more-than-likely not get it. I know I’ve been treated like I had no clue what I was talking about (in my 20s), or like I was some emotionless android with no sense of feeling. It hurts to be treated like you’re less than human, or as if you don’t know yourself well enough to know who you are.

I remember when I didn’t know about asexuality, and I just stuck with the “saving myself for marriage” excuse. But it wasn’t an excuse, it wasn’t truly something I believed in either, because I knew even if I was married, I wouldn’t be attracted to my husband sexually.

BUT, that doesn’t mean we can’t love, show affection, or have sex. This is what people can’t seem to understand. We can still crave, and HAVE a healthy relationship without sex being any type of focal point.

Most people, once being told that I’m asexual, doubt and dismiss me. They wonder what happened in my life that made me this way. They’ll tell me to get it checked out because something’s clearly wrong. I’ve even been told by guys interested in me that I just needed someone to give it to me right, in order to fix me.

From disgusting “advice” like that, to telling me—condescendingly, I might add—that I’ll want it when I meet the right one… It’s disheartening and frustrating. Aside from the fact that I was in an almost four-year relationship without that level of intimacy (he was eager to have sex once we were married, and I just played along because I didn’t know about the asexualrealm then), you just know. There doesn’t need to be a test or experience.

If you were a straight male friend of mine, and you told me “how do you know if you’ve never tried it?” I could ask you “how do you know you wouldn’t like sex with men if you haven’t tried it?” You just know, you see? I was curious about things like cuddling and kissing, but sex was never on my radar of curiosity. And I’m okay with that!

The heteronormative mindset is what’s predominate in our society, and it includes being both heterosexual and heteromantic. In actuality, there are plenty of people who just don’t identify with both of those terms, and when they arise to the occasion of identifying themselves, a whirlwind of confusion occurs. It’s really appreciated when people take the time to ask meaningful questions, and honestly try to understand when you’re trying to explain something that can play such a huge role in your relationships.

I know I for one am very patient as long as the conversation toward understanding is civil. And honestly that’s all most of us ever wants, is to feel human, and be loved in whatever way feels best for us.

For more candid talk about life, love and art, you can follow SmartyGirl Cierra Mercier on Twitter @ditchadulthood

Photo Credit: Cierra Mercier’s Ditching Adulthood Logo

Preview: Love and Sex Series including Asexuality Perspectives

November 6, 2015 by Renee Marchol Leave a Comment

Here is an excerpt from the upcoming Thanksgiving week educational report:

Our panel includes Cierra Mercier of Ditching Adulthood who self-identifies as asexual

Photo Credit: Cierra Mercier Ditching Adulthood

Most people, once being told that I’m asexual, doubt and dismiss me. They wonder what happened in my life that made me this way. They’ll tell me to get it checked out because something’s clearly wrong. I’ve even been told by guys interested in me that I just needed someone to give it to me right, in order to fix me.

From disgusting “advice” like that, to telling me—condescendingly, I might add—that I’ll want it when I meet the right one… It’s disheartening and frustrating. Aside from the fact that I was in an almost four-year relationship without that level of intimacy (he was eager to have sex once we were married, and I just played along because I didn’t know about the asexual realm then), you just know. There doesn’t need to be a test or experience.

To read more on our Love & Sex series, visit our blog again mid November for SmartyFellas and SmartyGirls who are willing to open up to help dispel myths about Love & Sex in our diverse community.

Follow Cierra Mercier on Twitter @ditchadulthood

Photo Credit: Cierra Mercier Ditching Adulthood logo

We are releasing our Love & Sex series just in time for family holiday get-togethers to show support, friendship and solidarity with those who are served prying questions about private life along with ladle-full of gluten-free vegetarian turkey stuffing. We will be sitting in those dining room chairs and in that hot seat right alongside you.

vegan thanksgiving food recipes turkey vegetables

Photo Credit: PrincessPinkyGirl.com Turkey Veggie Party Tray

Stolen Car Replacement Crowdfunding Challenge: Empowering Women

October 19, 2015 by Renee Marchol Leave a Comment

Replacement Support Vehicle? Sure some of our editors have gone car-free but that doesn’t mean that all production crew can go without a support vehicle. What’s a support vehicle? Support vehicles can be an emergency van like the one used by Susanne Brusche in Iceland for her pedelec bike team for battery recharging in a place with little sun for solar. A support vehicle can also be transport for talent and equipment that cannot be on public transportation. SGL is in favor of supporting the following crowd funding for a daily support vehicle that was stolen from an awesome single grandma who is welcoming her grandbaby home this week, works two jobs in addition to transporting one daughter from hair and makeup gigs. The car is essentially used by 4 people to do all that is awesome: baby raising, youth amateur boxing officiating, income making, and film production supporting!

How do the editors at SGL know these 3 women pictured below? Editor-in-Chief Renee Marchol ran assistant camera as part of the production crew for 48 Hour Film Project Seattle for “Heart Wants”. You can see them in action in the behind-the-scenes video from August 2014’s film race.

Renee worked alongside Jennifer as production assistant, Mikayla as actor, and Sherri as hair & makeup expert.

Photo Credit: Stolen Van Replacment GoFundMe Jennifer, Mikayla, Sherri

What do we know first-hand about Jennifer, Mikayla and Sherri? Jennifer volunteered for an SGL Microdocumentary by Mammals indie film production for Emerging Ebikes as production assistant and drove an extra 3+hours during her work week to show support for the filming and screening in Everett WA. Mikayla and Sherri are sisters and they make hilarious Youtube videos in addition to their separate careers.

So, for your consideration: a group donation to “Stolen Van” Replacement on GoFundMe as your awesome autumn crowdfunding challenge?

Pre-production 8 Steps for an MBA-style Post-Mort for National Domestic Violence Awareness Month

September 30, 2015 by Renee Marchol Leave a Comment

Many of you have referred to this lifestyle entertainment and leadership blog as “the missing manual” to all things adulthood without skipping the awesomeness. Thanks BTW!

Most of our educational reports in audio, text article or video give “lab reports” in a step-by-step aimed at equipping readers while making them laugh!

Here is a glimpse over-the-shoulder via Mac Desktop screen video of how staffers align our core values/mission/vision with our daily operations using simple office technology. This is how we make the abstract concrete for our work culture.

See breakroom videos on Vimeo for our office outtakes and to snoop what’s in our fridge!

Our Editor-in-Chief Renee Marchol is committed to walking the talk as SmartyGirl in Leadership with SmartyFella “office spouses” as dear friends.

This example highlights our launch of our Love & Sex Series that includes Dating And Other Sports coinciding with October’s Campaign: Domestic Violence Awareness Month! SmartyFellas are #HeforShe and we SmartyGirls are for our “office spouses”/allies too!

Equipment

Mac desktop running Snow Leopard
Wireless Mouse that consumes Energizer batteries like a beast
Wireless Keyboard
Sense of humor

Lots of patience
Screenshot of National Domestic Violence Network’s Power and Control Wheel
Photo Credit: National Domestic Violence Prevention Network Power and Control Wheel

Skype account
Gmail account
Quicktime app
wifi

Objective: Mindfulness and efficiency in making judgments and completing set tasks aligned with philosophy. Accountability to crew, readers and self.

Step 1: Login to wifi. Get someone else’s wifi by mistake. Finally connect with ours.

Step 2: Open Quicktime app to record screen desktop for this demonstration

Step 3: For demo highlight October’s campaign, study and be aware of the warning signs of unhealthy new/existing relationships according to the National Domestic Violence prevention network. Commit to giving respect to all men and women and insisting on the same.

Step 4: Login to SGL media company Gmail. See agenda items for shared team and leadership calendar. Note business travel to Toronto Canada in 2 weeks and arrival of New Zealand team in SFO next week.

Who have we interviewed from Toronto lately?

Photo Credit: Tim Cheung Co-founder Battle Sports Toronto Rage Room

Who are we supporting again from New Zealand?

Dr. Niall Doran New Zealand Biologist Filmmaker

Photo Credit: SmartyFella Dr. Niall Doran of Sixteen Legs Documentary and Bookend Trust New Zealand Filmmaker Biologist

Step 5: Go to Mac Desktop magnifying glass to search the MIA Skype icon (again).

Step 6: Login to Skype. Watch spinning beach ball of doom. Wait to connect with North America SGL hubs in Seattle, SF, and Albany New York to begin day with meeting.

Step 7: Quit Quicktime as a work-around because it refuses to stop recording the desktop and export the mp4. 🙂 Save the screen recording onto the crowded desktop.

behind the scenes National Domestic Violence staff meeting

Photo Credit: Renee Marchol Vimeo Account Screenshot of Accompanying Video for October National Domestic Violence Campaign BTS

Step 8: Have “coffee”/beer with staff via Skype in different Time Zones and begin the day at our “virtual” offices

In order to view the technical tutorial for those curious How to Record Screen from Mac Desktop, please use password: gumdropcircuit2 as a (no-cost WordPress SGL subscriber) to view on this Vimeo link!

Photo Credit: To Subscribe to SGL WordPress post alerts find this icon

Healthy Dating: A Love & Sex Series Announcement

September 18, 2015 by Renee Marchol Leave a Comment

Announcement: Guest Blog Launch

Healthy Dating: Love & Sex Smartygirlleadership original content

The staff of SmartyGirlLeadership Media is proud to launch a love and sex relationship tutorial series which will be launched on Smartygirlleadership.com this fall. Special thanks to Emily Lindin and Michael Zack for helping to shape this press release.

The preparation has taken two years of hands-on research, apprenticeships with experts, and field studies that we can’t wait to tell you about.

For these groundbreaking studies of modern relationships we would like to thank NuReality Productions of Berkeley California for inviting our Editor-in-Chief Renee Marchol to delve into a trove of sexologist interviews for what may become previously taboo subjects.

Highlights include presenting valuable consumer information and opposing viewpoints on the following topics

Needed medical insurance coverage for sexual aids for wounded vets returning with wounds that affect their love life
Reducing social stigma and increasing accessibility to sexual education and inclusion of adults living with disabilities.
reduce and prevent intimate partner violence for all by utilizing empathy training, sex therapy, anger management and other wellness resources

We all know that Love and Sex philosophies can clash at the office, on the soccer field, in the lab or during commute home from work. Our hope is to provide an entertaining and useful tutorial debuting October 2015 only on smartygirl leadering exploring how we can increased healthy relationships with the people we meet, including platonic relationships between polyamorous and asexual individuals, and even neighbors.

Our expert, opinionated and rational bloggers and contributors are tapped for their diversity of views across overlapping political and personal circles.

This has been our mission and vision since the pilot blog SmartyGirlHome before our SmartyFella allies joined our crew. Our neighborhood is neighborhood Earth, for now. Our dream for this educational and entertaining resource is progress working more efficiently through our lifetime of bucket list items. For the dreamers, thinkers, doers and visionary lovers, we already can anticipate through space exploration new solutions to combat scarcity here at home, and home for humans that might include expand beyond the third rock from the sun.

Citizen Journalism Big Idea Origin

Our leadership, Editor-in-Chief Renee Marchol is the descendent of Christian C.S. Cheng. He served time in a political labor camp for his views of international cooperation and futurism. His skill set? Arts plus Technology. A surgeon, music conductor and man of faith he was a triple threat to those seeking to divide, deny and oppress. He also had an unforgettable sense of humor as Renee’s “Mommy” recounted even into her last two years of fond Daddy & Daughter stories before Renee’s first hero died in 2013. Renee’s “Mommy” was 85-years-old when she passed. Paramedics that include a proud Marine reported that Renee’s “Mommy” ’til the end winked and gave a smile to ambulance transport to her memory care home and dialysis center until her final day.

This is a salute to lives well lived by SmartyFellas and SmartyGirls past, present and future. Special Thanks to Documentary Filmmaker Shanice Johnson for her interview with Renee Marchol that gave Renee courage to reveal that she is descended from men and women of conviction, who frankly have served time.

Additional thanks to Women in Tech Artists Regina Larre Campuzano and Amanda Wallace for encouraging Renee to share a small piece of her personal reasons for content scheduling for four years and counting for equipping others to close the wage gap, apply best practices from business school and leadership theory.

*Please Note: Kindly send comments to staff@smartygirlleadership attn: Letters to the Editor for an interactive community who will help us learn and correct our oversights. We anticipate we will be receiving an in-service training to understand more about transsexual, asexual, pansexual and other identities that are included in our readership and friendship.

We anticipate this to be a controversial series and welcome our community to speak with each other and about one another with friendship and respect.

Sincerely,

Editors Erica Tyler & Renee Marchol

Lynn Krug Reports on Her Second The Moth Storytelling Event

September 12, 2015 by Lynn Krug Leave a Comment

Our blog welcomes a return visit from SmartyGirl Lynn Krug. If you missed her book review of Lean In or her review of The Moth event in San Francisco last summer, then click on the links. Take it away, Lynn!

The Moth story telling at Berkeley, California, “Freight and Salvage” Performance space August 2015 was sold out and there is a reason why. People come for the magic. Storytellers are given a story theme weeks earlier, and are chosen to perform as names are randomly pulled out of a hat (a bag actually). The magic dust is showered on the audience and performers alike by the MC, and the audience is alive with the truth tellers and their fans. The laughter, the tears, and revelations all tumble through the story teller and the audience.

Photo Credit: Freight & Salvage Coffeehouse

Tuesdays performance in Berkeley was themed “Betrayal”. I anticipated the performances about betrayal to be predictably about personal love stories…and they were, but I was not disappointed. The audience and I laughter so hard my head hurt afterwards. I felt I had to catch my breath in empathy for some of the truth tellers.

What is it about “Betrayal” that captures us all? Is every story ever told about betrayal of a sort (?)…the heart, the plan, the challenge, the climb…or there would be no story. But, with personal betrayal the only prize is eventual acceptance or finding one’s own peace. Did I learn who I could be? Have I traveled those heights and depths? Was I the one who was betrayed?

No one told the story where they themselves were the “bad guy”.

The stories were triumphs over heart break, the ability to leave, honoring your own life, wondering where they are now…or not.

Story telling is a part of our very existence. The “Moth” story told most successfully compels the audience to hang on each word, and is not told by the actor or comedian. The Moth story works best when a the story teller is accepting their own place in the story: idiotic, heroic, broken, free, …and lives with that acknowledgement, and takes the audience with them. There’s a learning curve and a “twist”. The story teller, when it is told best, leaves you in the shared revelation. Epiphany is life’s magic.

There is a reason the Moth performance are sold out. Performers and audience alike return time after time.

The Moth is addictive because it bumps you into shared life. You are participating in a joyous occasion where being human is

raucously celebrated with a community that loves you for it.

If you would like to attend a Moth performance they occur bi-mothly at “Public Works” in San Francisco, and at “Freight and Salvage” in Berkeley.

Multidisciplinary Arts and Technology Artist Amanda Wallace: Make History Now

September 10, 2015 by Renee Marchol Leave a Comment

Reserved is a limiting label that is painful to unpeel. Shy is another description that can limit others’ expectations of an individual. Multidisciplinary Artist Amanda Wallace is a self-described minority and Woman in Tech colleague of Regina Larre Campuzano of the Spokane Washington fine arts and technology lab. Like Regina, Amanda is allowing audiences to experience in a sensory way what life is like through her eyes. For Regina, sound is primary. For Amanda, she chose to learn code in order to create overlays and spinning visuals to share her thoughts on race and history in the making.

Reserved and shy were some of the words written on adhesive labels and applied directly to Amanda’s skin. The artist chose to make literal, tangible and concrete what is abstract, distant and hard-to-imagine for others.

We use a jury process here at Laboratory to make sure we get a diversity of viewpoints in our selection process. With Amanda’s application, our jury was really excited about Amanda’s work dealing with her experience as an African-American in the modern world, and especially interested in bringing an artist living in a city with a large minority population to Spokane, where we have like, 3 black people (joking aside, only 3% of the population is African-American here). We were really motivated to bring her practice here to engage our community with racial issues in light of the ongoing national conversation around racial justice, and her timing couldn’t have been more perfect with the Rachel Dolezal situation occurring just before her visit. It was also really exciting for us, from a mentorship standpoint, to help Amanda transition her practice from primarily photography and video work into interactive art – the interactive art space has a lot of white dudes in it, and bringing some more voices to practice in the medium is going to be really important for the field’s development.–Alan Chatham

Alan Chatham and a jury of advisors at the Spokane Lab recognized Amanda Wallace’s art as especially timely so invited her to join the residency. Chatham explains that the demographic served by the lab is less than 3% minority and that it would be beneficial to the community for understanding in the climate of racial violence in national news.

Our Editor-in-Chief Renee Marchol became a Washington State resident a year ago and can verify that there is less diversity in let’s say Everett WA than SF CA not because Everett is racist and that San Francisco is morally superior but that’s the way geography and job opportunities have made it so. Just as Renee observed that Everett neighbors found her curious as a Chinese American woman doing a eco sport documentary, Spokane had yet to have the chance to meet more African American women with psychology degrees and conceptual art to share with coding.

For the piece “Unpeeling/Unpiling Amanda Wallace solicited others to contribute to the word bank used for labels. She was the only subject recorded. The solicitation of words from others is a form of interaction.

For “Field | House” completed by Amanda Wallace at the Spokane Laboratory, she was not the subject. Instead she used “found” imagery and footage for the visuals. “Field|House” has text originally written by Amanda Wallace but she was free from “subjecting” her visible body to the artwork. The piece is interactive depending on how long the viewer stands in front of the piece because the experience is at the command of the viewer like all art.

race history culture identity art Amanda Wallace

Photo Credit: Field |House by Amanda Wallace Spokane Laboratory

Another reason? Amanda Wallace describes artists as champions of contemplation. She teaches part-time but through her art she teaches full-time. When she teaches high school students and adults taking college courses she assists them in overcoming barriers for empathy for others. Like Artist Regina, Amanda guides viewers to recognize wrong assumptions and equips the audience to remove lenses that distort.

Example:

An image of a clothesline and a hanging hairpiece (a weave) with a black woman in the background

Hair Stories Untold Nakeya B race culture identity

Photo Credit: Nakeya B “Hair Stories Untold”

How do her students begin discussion? The first assumption is an extreme one: her students assume a negative assumption that the message is of self-hate and rejection of natural hair. For more, read “Hair Stories Untold“.

That isn’t always the case and that isn’t the end of the conversation. Like Regina Larre Campuzano, Amanda Wallace challenges the viewer to consider other possibilities that require empathy: as an individual what might this person be thinking. Group-lumping is also severely limiting. It halts thinking by ending exploration and the stamina for understanding another human. Maybe the individual enjoys variety and changes hair decoration like any other clothing accessory. This is a new future, one that does not dismiss another as alien and lacking the same breadth of wants and needs of human expression.

That’s not to say that hair isn’t a controversial topic. Our Editor-in-Chief Renee Marchol currently bleaches her natural black hair nearly platinum blonde to stir conversation about identity and individual freedom too. In Renee’s case just as her blonde female colleagues have championed for respect for Asians on the nearby UCLA campus, Renee dyes her hair yellow so she can field sexist blonde jokes that her allies are pummelled. As a Oh yeah? Say that to me if you dare to say that to my friend. Plus Renee likes variety and her fave aesthetics are from the mysterious deep ocean where creatures are eyeless, gelatinous or strikingly hued. Becoming eyeless or jellyfish-like is not on the menu yet for Renee but no promises.

Renee is Chinese American and the public often reminds her of that difference though her message is shared human experiences. So Renee shared with Amanda her complaint about “hijacking”: when corporations use emotional ads with a seemingly advocacy role to sell product.

Likewise Amanda also feels a sense of loss when major brands in mainstream markets take on natural hair care for African American customers. Why? Because its corporate giants rather than grassroots. It does not come from the authentic community.

Amanda Wallace would also be pleased if street teams would be willing to wear “future histories” t-shirts and walk as interactive art suggesting that the simple act of interacting with a stranger on the sidewalk where meetings between the majority and minority are unfamiliar we are changing the course of history for the better.

For more about Amanda’s current work including conceptual interactive art about the black body, colorism and the contrast of images of lynching with Bree Newsome’s famous climb up a flagpole to remove a Confederate Flag visit www.amandarwallace.com

Toronto’s Rage Room as Self-Care Interview with Tim Cheung

September 5, 2015 by Renee Marchol Leave a Comment

One of the best comedy routines I heard recently was by a Marriage Family Therapist visiting a Norcal church to give a seminar on getting along with your intimate partner using the Meyers Briggs Type Indicator as common ground. Humans are too wonderfully complex to be categorized strictly into 16 personality types. However, the Meyers Brigss have been tested in improving working relationships to diffuse conflicts in business. Since this MFT PhD was giving a testimony as well as practical tips, she shared her vulnerability with her audience. She vows to never raise a hand to her husband. Why? Because she saw the sorrow of domestic violence when her mother used to hit her father during her childhood. Comedy and practical tips can coexist and might be born from pain. The good news? Something productive was created by the speaker and the audience may have used her tips to de-escalate conflict in their home.

What are other ways of receiving care to get along better with others? Note: This is not medical or legal advice. This is an entertainment lifestyle blog. Please seek professional help for anger management and clinical depression.

Strengthening empathy is one route. Consider visiting an interactive art exhibit to see the world through a stranger’s eyes. The Spokane Laboratory comes to mind because of recent interviews with Alan Chatham, Regina Larre Campuzano and Amanda Wallace.
Exerting physical exercise is another. Many of our staff run, swim and bike year-round.
Making art is another opportunity. Write, draw, sing, or compose to get your feelings out without hurting yourself or harming others. Right? For an example of how heavy metal can be soothing, revisit SmartyGirl Dawes here.

These three you already know. Our Editors want to bring you a fourth option. You’ve heard of the Maker Movement. Right? Well, we might have identified a different trend: The Unmaker Movement.

When our Editor-in-Chief Renee Marchol apprenticed at the San Francisco Children’s Creativity Museum, as an assistant educator, she validated children who chose to mash, tear and smoosh their creations. Unmaking is just as important as making for creativity. It also showed resilience in being willing to start over.

Likewise, Tim Cheung of Battle Sports in Toronto gives adults the opportunity to come back from a lunch break refreshed and incredibly serene. How? Tim describes the increasing stressors affecting the quality of life for working adults in Toronto. In particular banking professionals that work 14 hour days are likely to have toxic anger stressing out their bodies. Is taking a crowbar to a printer going to help anything?

Let me ask you another question: will jogging on the treadmill make your coworker less douchey? Not likely but you will build more emotional self control if endorphins are caressing your mind and body after exertion. Will swimming laps cause that unfeeling Mac beach ball of doom to hurry it up? Nope. Mellow? You bet.

How does it work? The cost of the Rage Room rental is based on time spent and items for disposal. Meaning? The operation costs for Battle Sports really is the disposal of recyclable and non-recyclable debris. What else? The labor and safety precautions for its workers to assist with clean up.

Customers purchase items from a smash menu. The most popular? Printers and ceramic gnomes. As far was we know these are non-sentient things that can’t sense pain or suffer metaphysically. Can a customer bring in his/her own item? Yes. Outside items undergo evaluation by Tim’s crew if it would be safe to break. For example, all things that are already on the smash menu are safe. But stuff like CRT screens and halogen bulbs are prohibited, because CRT screens are pressurized and halogen bulbs release mercury fumes when broken.

What is the most unusual request received by Tim for the Rage Room? A call from a Californian seeking to purchase debris from the room of items she did not smash. Why? It is unknown. We speculate it may be a scholar’s project. Did Tim approve the request? Not at this time because it would be cost prohibitive to ship debris by weight and Battle Sports already has its own environmental hazard protocol in place.

How did the Rage Room begin? Tim and his friends/business partners already have a thriving Archery Dodgeball facility. Tim tells me that the Americans are the originators of the sport though it is popular in Australia also. When Tim found he had room to expand, he borrowed inspiration from Serbians who were smashing things as recreation and charging for clean up.

What’s next for Battle Sports Rage Room? Tim is considering a Smash Truck much like a Food Truck but one that sells items pre-approved for smashing. Will that mean his rage room might be portable? Wait and see. Tim and his partners are also in talked to create theme packages of smash items on the menu such as Stood Up on A Blind Date and Happy Divorce.

Our Editors take the position that humans can reduce violence by self-awareness, self-control and empathy for others. Having a bit of fun with lots of dissonant noise and unmaking can be a form of self-care.

Photo Credit: Tim Cheung Co-founder Battle Sports Toronto Rage Room

“Tim Cheung thinks all fries should be double-fried. He also finds it incredibly fulfilling to slam a crowbar into a printer, and hopes that one day he can do so in zero-gravity.”

SmartyFella Michael Zack Bike Blog Post from South America

August 27, 2015 by Michael Zack Leave a Comment

A special thank you to SmartyFella Eric Hamaoui for the previous travel guest post from Europe.

While our indie production team attended the Silicon Valley Bike Summit for part 2 of our Emerging Transportation documentary, our South America bike correspondent gives us another travel narrative. Welcome back, SmartyFella Michael Zack! In honor of National Dog Day, here’s a puppy picture first.

Photo Credit: Michael Zack’s Bike “Wolf” and dog “Tara”

My Wolf, carrying the “Moça Dourada” statue, makes it home safely; welcomed by Tara, our Pastor Alemão. “Tara will never be hungry again!”

My friend Renee asked me to send some bike photos for her blog. If only I had a camera there would be so much to send; I see cool bike things daily.

I was once an aspiring photographer, going so far as spending a year at junior college photography school. But my temperament was very restless at the time; and by the time I had moved my photography equipment into the Washington Heights apartment of an actress who was about to premier her one-woman Broadway bound musical, a Jewish female version of Charles Bukowski’s Bar Fly, my cameras were seeing little use, (although I did capture Lady Bunny at Wigstock, when it was still in Tompkins Square Park), and I was downtown all day expediting building permits for Helen Frankenthaler’s remodel of her Carnegie Hill brownstone, I had lost my creative drive.

New York, it’s often described as the concrete jungle where you see stars in the street, but not in the sky. I never did meet Helen Frankenthaler, the great Abstract Expressionist, but years later I did walk past her secret unmarked grave on a Bennington College hillside. She is as abstract in death as in her art, I guess we could say.

However bright my hopes for a new NYC life were burning, with my roommate’s decade-long gestation about to sparkle off-off-Broadway (the “Plan B” after a lifetime gig on Tina & Tony’s Wedding didn’t pan out, as I always recall when I see it STILL advertised in the NYTimes), I was making my home one day, walking past the carcasses of the cars lining the streets upper Manhattan in random degrees of dismemberment (greasy men where always leaning under the hoods “collecting” parts), I found the apartment door ajar, the place ransacked for anything worth taking, and my one-ticket out of Miss Bar Fly’s apartment stamped. It was official, I was not going to be a photographer.

Being two middle-class kids making it in the city there was stuff to take, digital alarm clocks, a blender, her luggage, my cameras. I was blamed for the robbery, because I had brought a trick home the previous week. But I still think it was the building superintendent, because SHE gave him the keys to do something in the apartment that week, too. But I did put a suspicion over my head (he told me he was a Dr. from New Jersey, but who really knows), and I moved to the unfashionable side of Williamsburg, the Italian side.

I’m a fatalist, so that ended my interest in photography.

Actually, this was 1989 and at that time, all of Williamsburg was unfashionable. No self-respecting Italians would live there, but I was endlessly fascinated seeing the neighborhood white women rounding up the all the kids in the afternoon, grabbing a baseball bat, and go around marauding through the neighborhood scaring someone (I never did see) out of “nostra” neighborhood. It was kind of like a Mickey Mouse Club for the Misguided. Our African-American friends were always attacked coming to visit us in that neighborhood.

I didn’t miss those cameras, but I really should have photographed those women, now that I think of it.

I have had no camera, since 1989. I do remember in the mid-nineties buying those plastic disposable 35mm cameras though. I like those.

Coupled to that, I lost my cell phone and have been cell-free since last Carnival Tuesday when I jumped into a cab with a friend to go visit her friend, who runs a bar in front of her house, who took some time during our visit to do lines of coke on the counter. Counter, not the Bar, I guess you have to wait until after closing to see that.

I’m nervous around coke, I associate it with impending bankruptcy.

I’m nervous enough without coke, so it’s nothing I want to try a 2^nd time. The first time I tried it, a very cool Hep Cat Jazz Bass Player at one of the cooler Michigan State Co-Op Houses shared a line. My heart beat so fast I thought I was going to die. I was really concerned, for a minute or two.

I don’t know, the next day my cell phone was gone, I didn’t bother to look for it. It was a sign of fate.

So I went cell-free.

I hope to buy a tablet some day.

So when Renee told me about her bicycle blog, I immediately wanted to share photos of all the cool bicycling people, the bicycle things I see in Goiânia, Brazil, a city where the 1^st world meets the 5^th, a tropical Dallas where millionaire farmers live in penthouses, where bicycles are great cheap transportation for people and cargo.

Photo Credit: Odilon Vasconcelos Writer Michael Zack & Downhill Bicyclist Thiago

The way Critical Mass and SF Bike Coalition parties made bicycling an ethnic/gang thing in San Francisco, I can see the same increase here in camaraderie amongst bicyclists, and with our friend riding inside cars. I can see that happening here. Sunday Streets is here, too.

Goiânia used to be a motorcycle city, and it still is (as you see lots of people limping around with metal cages with pins drilled into their legs to show it), but more and more people have either cars or bicycles. I think the percentage of Motorcycles to cars is going down, and motorcycles to bicycles is way down. Bicycling has exploded in the last 10 years, with so many good bike shops opening. A front-page newspaper article I saw the other day read (I think, my Portuguese is weak) that by cycling you can save 500 bucks a month, and that is the reason bicycling is becoming practically the only good option a lot of people have. If you have to take 3 or 4 buses to get to work and pay $3.30 each ride, with no free transfer except at terminals, and no monthly discount pass, riding a bike starts to make a lot of sense. The buses are a private thing, who knows where the money goes. Brazilians don’t know how anything works, they just know it works badly, so what’re you going to do? So that’s the way it is; co-incidentally similar to the arrangement Catholics have with The Church, “Who’s to know, who’s to say?”

Folks will transport almost anything on a bicycle here; including a whole family if need be, or it’s Sunday. Yesterday, I pedaled past a guy carrying tall wood cabinet strapped on the back, vertically. That’s very top heavy. He looked very proud, “bummer, no camera”, I was thinking to myself, but gave him a Goiano thumbs up, “bem feito cara”

Groceries are delivered by bicycle; grocery cargo bikes are very cool and I am saving up for one.

I have been living without a car, doing my daily commuting across the city by bicycle (or by bus when it’s raining) and transporting almost everything on the back of my bike, in orange panniers. People ask me where I get my panniers, ALL THE TIME.

As Renee is a long time friend I first met in MBA class I know she will indulge and appreciate the following. A tip for all you entrepreneurs out there, a word for you Kid – “Panniers”.

I might not have a hot body, but I’ve got some great Panniers, orange and old (like The Donald), and they get a lot of positive attention, and people ask where I got them, and I tell them I think they made it here from Os Estados Unidos. If I was going to start a bike line, I would start with a great bike bag/pannier. Maybe in denim. The bike messenger bag will never go out of style. Denim too, for that matter.

This past month, I carried 8 foot lengths of steel rebar to build a stone wall, a 20 kilo bag of dog food, and a golden statue of a woman, on my bike

I love bicycling, riding through the balmy air; but in truth it’s an economic necessity, and it’s also often faster than driving would be, because I weave through traffic, go through red-lights, jump on the sidewalk when need be.

My favorite bike advantage: riding against one-way traffic.

I’m cool because I am a cell-phone free, iWatch free Bicyclist. When I’m out in the city, nobody can F’in call me -to paraphrase Faye Dunaway in Barfly.

Photo: Odilon Vasconcelos Golden Lady – The “Moça Dourada”

Tour of Europe Guide by Eric Hamaoui in Gelato Travel Photos

August 21, 2015 by smartygirl Leave a Comment

SmartyFella Eric Hamaoui contributed these travel photos of his recent trip to Europe. What makes these photos uncommon? Much like SmartyFella Phillip Tau, Eric shares an uncommon habit when on travel.

Phillip suggested breaking away from your phone to make friends while on business travel.

Eric suggests a radically refreshing way to get to know a city: get lost and eat gelato. It’s the SmartyFella way to Tour Europe!

Editor-in-Chief Renee Marchol met Eric Hamaoui the same way she met Intern Blaine Brount. They were colleagues working promotional campaigns for video game launches.

Here’s some life advice through 5 editor-picked travel photos:

Photo Credit: Eric Hamoui Madrid Spain

Don’t sweat it when you miss the connection to a tour, join hostel friends see the city on foot. Create your own self-directed tour with new friends.

Photo Credit: Eric Hamaoui Vatican

When lost, find food. Some of the best gelato can be found within the walls of the Vatican city.

Take it easy. Don’t let your vacation or a conventional tour guide hurry you.

When you walk you’ll find hidden gems.

Photo Credit: Eric Hamaoui Florence Italy Lemon Gelato Ice Travel

Photo Credit: Travel Pisa Tower Europe Eric Hamaoui

Photo Credit: Eric Hamaoui Switzerland Travel

Treat yourself to gelato when visiting Lago de Luganu even if it costs 7 Euros.

For a review of the best, hidden hostels for travelers who love gelato try your luck and send a Facebook friend request to SmartyFella Eric Hamaoui here.

Photo Credit: Cousins Eric & Michael Hamoui in Europe

Women in Tech Interactive Artist Regina Larre Campuzano Part 1 of 2

August 19, 2015 by Renee Marchol Leave a Comment

Our Editor-in-Chief Renee Marchol comes from a musical family. Well more accurately a music and medical lineage. That could be why Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math (STEAM) resonates with her as a technology journalist. The same did for her Futurist great grandpa who was a surgeon and conductor in China. Earlier this summer Cannes-recognized Documentary Filmmaker Shanice Johnson interviewed Renee about her interest in technology, diversity and social justice and her great grandfather’s “hardcoding” resurfaced. Advocacy with technical expertise might be in her DNA.

It follows that our blog would send Renee to ask fine arts and interactive media Women in Technology. Exactly! This week, Regina Larre Campuzano met with us via Skype.

The Mexico City born artist took the video conference first on an outdoor patio of a coffee place at our Editor-in-Chief’s homebase in Seattle. That way our reporter could hear abstractions and imagine visual soundscapes. That’s not sarcasm. The Skype call only moved indoors when the call dropped. Then it was a live object lesson of SmartyGirl Regina’s training on microphones and the difficulty of some mono-directional mics picking up a few feet of weirdness because of the bounce back from walls.

Where did we hear about Regina Larre Campuzano? The previous week we spoke with Alan Chatham of the Spokane Washington fine arts and tech Laboratory. Regina is one of the selected artists-in-residence at this one-of-a-kind effort to blend fine arts with high tech to develop and nurture professional artists in this new field. Think a field of lasers or virtual reality (VR) used to create an inner journey for the museum visitor. Trippy, yeah?

This expectation has become a common one since the Internet of Things and Wearable Technology became more than just Google glass. As Regina Larre Campuzano explains museum docents are rethinking programming of exhibits because the public is so eager to consume a “walk through the mind of the artist in a 3D interactive experience” at a faster turnaround. Our rate of consuming memes might translate to our appetite for fine art using the latest technology to express a human feeling or constellation of emotional stories. Regina Larre Campuzano gave artist Yayoi Kusama as a primary example of women artists who are earning the attention of men and women who seek an immersive interactive experience. Like the male and female readership of SGL, Regina cares about egalitarian futures for careers for all genders.

The most common barriers for women artists, as experienced by storyteller Regina Larre Campuzano?

the societal burden of being the “first” and therefore beginner mistakes being a condemnation of the perceived incompetence of a gender rather than the natural learning curve of an individual getting up to speed. In short, the unfair pressure of not being allowed to fail fast and frequently to improve but having “one shot” to justify belonging with first-time out perfection
the internalized pressure of wanting to be respected that one fears delegating resulting in the exhausting responsibility of trying to perfect what goes on behind-the-scenes and public-facing performance. In brief, a woman has to do-it-all (100% self-reliant for all technical aspects) or be perceived as merely decorative

Regina Larre Campuzano uses the following analogy:

Flower painted by women assumed to be about gender, a flower painted by black artists assumed to be about slavery, but the same flower painted by a white male artist is free of those assumptions, and can be seen as simply a flower.

In other words, bias assumes there is only one story for an individual from an underrepresented minority to tell and that the public has already heard it.

As our reporter listened, talked and laughed with SmartyGirl Regina Larre Campuzo to ask about her upcoming visit to San Francisco as animator for her work for the nonprofit benefitting prisoners of conscience in China it’s clear Regina has many less often heard narratives to share. Stories that are funny, universally relatable and fresh. Need an example? She describes her faux phobia of this business trip while she meets with her client because her partner, a lovingly-described tech geek, might come back transformed from Burning Man. Her partner willingly experiences demonstrations about makeup to develop empathy for choices that Regina makes as an individual who enjoys her femininity as much as she relishes her right to express violence (not towards her partner) as a human emotion in her art. As Regina Larre Campuzo says so well: I can think about bombs while wearing a dress. Preconceived notions about faux biology limitations of women is another barrier. Women have the capacity. The willingness to learn technical aspects of creating interactive art won’t change if Regina decides to become pregnant. Embracing femininity as a feminist interpreted by Regina does not preclude professional development in sound engineering.

If you need another example of Regina’s optimism despite barriers, take a peek at her team collaboration with men and women to produce Impotence: A Love Story written, filmed and edited in three weeks. Note: Without spoilers, this is respectful and winsome

Photo Credit: impotence, a love story from Gabriel Maxwell Freed on Vimeo.

For more of Regina Larre Campuzano’s work, you must hear and see it for yourself at http://www.reginalarrecampuzano.com

People on Bikes Blogger San Diego’s Turbo Bob

August 13, 2015 by Renee Marchol Leave a Comment

Microdocumentary by Mammals is a creative project of SmartyGirlLeadership Indie.

As promised we are right alongside our readers in DIY indie film projects from behind-the-scenes video production to bootstrapping fundraising.

Photo Credit: YouTube SGL TV Microdocumentary by Mammals FAQ The Making of “Emerging Ebikes”

So as Part 2 of our bike documentary short series, we’ve interviewed green transport experts outside of Washington State such as Pedelec Adventures’ Susanne Bruesch of Berlin Germany and Sustainable Transportation Consultant Ayman Zoubir of Lyon France.

Who is next? You guessed it! That’s Turbo Bob!

Four Fast Facts

Turbo Bob is an aviation and automotive technician
He predicts that the fourth profile of the ebike rider is the teen who will be receiving his/her first electric personal transport rather than first car because of the cost savings and environmental benefit to parents
Turbo Bob hosts an “Introduction to Electric Bicycles” cost-free seminar twice a year in San Diego as a community event, with no sales, no pressure for the public to learn about and test ride electric assist bikes
Turbo Bob and his wife Barbara are championing the term “People on Bikes” to describe the people riding bicycles to bring attention to the human life on wheels that is sharing traffic with cars

Our Editor-in-Chief Renee Marchol interviewed Turbo Bob last week by phone. Our editors were most curious about how Bob maintains a bike library to blog so prolifically, what is his relationship to bike makers, and how he advocates for bike safety and green transport adoption in his community.

As promised SmartyGirlLeadership blog shares MBA best practices so that challenge of maintaining objectivity for product reviews is transparent. Likewise, Turbo Bob shared his commitment to avoid partnering with instrusive advertisements on his Turbo Bob Bicycling Blog. Why? Because his approach is a no sales pressure approach. As in his interview with Morgan Lee of The San Diego Union Tribune in April 2013, Bob is well-qualified to speak about high-tech but is most interested about the green effect and “youthful innocence” that each bike ride brings. So you’ll notice that similar bicycle blogs have chosen a different strategy. This is how Turbo Bob is distinctive.

So without bike ads in sidebars, how is Turbo Bob receiving access to all these electric bikes to review? The electric bike companies contact Turbo Bob based on his reputation of giving even-handed product reviews. What does Turbo Bob do when he’s not adding posts to his own blog? He is an active member of a Meetup called the Electric Bike Club of San Diego while writing the E-bike monthly column for reborn Bicycle Business Journal. In other words, Bob stays immersed in the field study of ebikes.

So if Bob doesn’t advertise for bike companies what incentive do bike makers receive in approaching Bob for an evaluation? Turbo Bob shared that he chooses to give constructive feedback to startup E-bike makers who have a long way to go for improvements. Instead of slamming them in a damning review, if they are receptive the engineers and in-house team receives his suggestions for improvement. Then they are invited to submit the bike for review again, for a second chance. Bob tries to test each bike for two weeks in different terrain and varying temperatures to really evaluate its capabilities though a full review can be done in 4 hours. How does it perform after 20 miles on a hot day ? How does it ride on a misty 1 mile trip to the market?

Lastly, Turbo Bob and his wife Barbara are so community-minded and respected in San Diego that an energy innovation center offered to host his “Introduction to Electric Bicycles” community event, craft services were sponsored, and electric assist bike retailers agreed to a “onsite sales prohibited” policy to participate in a test riding day event for the general public. With waiver of course.

Our Editor-in-Chief Renee Marchol and her Emerging Ebikes indie production team knows that what Turbo Bob has accomplished is difficult to coordinate. In the past year, for Part 1 of SGL’s supported electric assist bike documentary short our logistic coordinators found that Pacific Northwest bike coalitions, bike retailers, bike athletes, bike commuters and government transport authorities are fragmented in their individual efforts. Turbo Bob has united efforts for a non-commercial cause of improving the green neighborhoods of People on Bikes.

bike reviews electric assist pedelec bikes Turbo Bobl

Photo Credit: Turbo Bob

Turbo Bob is passionate about getting people to embrace bikes and all they stand for. He does much of this through his testing, reviews and feedback to the bike companies. Find out more about city security for folding bikes and electric bikes on his Turbo Bob’s Bicycle Blog.

Bike Technology News and Sustainable Transportation Update from France with SmartyFella Ayman Zoubir

August 3, 2015 by Renee Marchol Leave a Comment

What might be the intermediate step before non-bicyclists become bike-to-work commuters part-time? Full-time?

What would have to change in city/suburb transport infrastructure to incentivize these same new-ish bike-to-work commuters to adopt on a 20 mile trip daily versus a 2 mile route during the work week?

Last month our editors interviewed photojournalist Susanne Bruesch of Pedelec Adventures of Berlin Germany who takes bike tours to the very limit for bicycle travel usually seen only in National Geographic. Is cyclotouring becoming more feasible for everyone? The injured, infirm or just-out-breath? Are campaigns of bicyclists crossing landscapes of volcanos, meadows, waterfalls and glaciers that rival car ads enticing enough for adults to consider a two-wheeler again?

This month? Our bicycling documentary editors completed Part 1 of Emerging Ebikes of the Pacific Northwest for focus group test screenings in Washington State and California.

17 July Friday Screening from Renee Marchol on Vimeo.

iZip E3 Dash, Emazing, Kalkhoff Sahel and throttle (power on demand) converted brand X. These are four electric transport options already in the Pacific Northwest USA. Susanne Bruesch of Germany studied pedelec electric bikes when they were emerging in Europe but established in Asia. Now Interbike (the bike industry trade show) has shown electrified sports bikes too.

How might your bike community react to pedal assist bikes, throttle (power on demand) electric boost bikes as part of regional green mobility? What about the Maker movement? How will DIY electric bike conversion kits change the way you commute?

Journalist-on-a-Bicycle Renee Marchol studied electric bikes and its emerging urban and hilly communities in the Pacific Northwest during the summer of 2014. What are your thoughts? How do you imagine the next 15 years of electric transport? Performance or fitness: what is your purpose for cycling? 800 miles from Pacifica CA to Everett WA including San Francisco and Seattle

So for Part 2, we checked in with a transportation researcher known for his Canada Velocity ebike report, Ayman Zoubir PhD Consultant in Urban Planning and Sustainable Transportation of Lyon France via Skype call on July 23rd.

4 Fast Facts

Pedelecs bikes are seen as sustainable transport solutions targeted at commuters, which are most typical users. Average commute distance range from 3 to 5 miles. Surveys show that middle-aged people holding higher social positions represent about half of pedelecs users in France.

Suburbs outside of Lyon France are still reluctant to adopt the “last mile” on bike practice because a lake of integration into transit system. Solo car passenger is still the most appealing option because of underdeveloped public transport and cycling infrastructure that would encourage combining bike plus bus and train.

Conventional foldable bikes seem to present fewer obstacles for commuters willing to adopt “intermodality” particularly when boarding on public transit during peak hours.

Commuters can change their mobility behavior when they are confronted with specific new mobility options in experiments. The challenge is to design a sufficient range of experiments to be able to draw more general conclusions on what it is possible under which conditions.

In SmartyGirlLeadership Indie’s documentary short project, Microdocumentary by Mammals, the filmmaker’s conclusion after five months of electric bike research as commuter in the Pacific Northwest is that too many barriers exist for her choose to purchase an ebike for all her commuter needs. Compatibility on other public modes of transport was the number one reason why phase 1 of the research showed that renting a pedelec for certain film and commute trips was the most feasible solution.

Speaking with advisors, Robert & Danny Beaman of Dublin Cyclery of California, our Editor-in-Chief prepared interview questions to ask Ayman Zoubir about the parallels in North America and the challenges he faces regarding transportation innovation for green mobility in Lyon France.

Ayman Zoubir teamed up with transport authorities from local government to study the impact of commuter incentives to reduce solo passenger driving in the city Lyon France and its suburbs since 2011. The tests have included the use of pedelecs, conventional and foldable bikes. Also, cycle & ride facilities were provided near local public transit stops to cover the last mile to workplace.

Intermodality is a theoretical term, which means combining several means of transport during the same journey, using different types of vehicles to get from A to Z. For example, train + car or bus + bicycle.

This logic aims to justify the use of the car by offering relevant mobility alternatives.

But I’m not sure that the UK and the USA share the same definition of multimodality, which in our UK meaning assumes a choice (not a combination) between several means of transport.

For example, you can commute to work by bus and ride a public bike for your return trip to home. This could be considered as multimodal mobility behavior in the USA.

What is the problem? What is preventing adoption of this commuter lifestyle by bike?

Infrastructure is not consistent in the suburbs. In contrast, the city has amenities such as convenient, numerous bus and train stops and designated bike lanes. Commuters living in the suburbs do not adopt a bike-to-work lifestyle because bike paths are lacking and connecting public transport is lacking. Biking is not a convenient alternative to using a solo passenger car for suburbia yet. Another barrier to bicycle commuting stated by testers during the experiment in linked to safety concerns. We’ve noted also a strong seasonality in the frequency of cycling, commuters were particularly sensitive to weather conditions in particular precipitations.

What incentives have been tested? What was the result?

The main aim was to introduce industrial employees commuters who normally drive alone to work by car to test an e-bike, a conventional or a folding bike as an alternative mode of their daily commute. The objective was to involve a core group of around 100 “test-commuters” for the experiment. The main finding was a long-term change in car use in the first demonstration site: 10% modal shift from SOV to Cycling. 20% of test-commuters purchased a bike.

Among other incentives introduced by the local government to promote alternative ways of transport and encourage employees to cycle to work, Greater Lyon metropolitan authority has decided in 2012 to assign grants for e-bike purchase (maximum grant €250) for resident living on the Grand Lyon area. Measures are part of Lyon’s active transportation master plan (2009-2020), which plans to reach 7.5% cycling mode share by 2020.

Many were frustrated with the lack of compatibility of the electric bike frame’s weight and frame to fit in comfortably as bus-rider and train-passenger. The participants also expressed reluctance to store their expensive electric bike, even in the newly built bike parking and storage for fear of theft. Reducing the initial cost of the electric bike purchase did not seem to assist the intermodality bicyclist commuters in maintaining this lifestyle beyond a year.

What other types of bikes are in the study?

Non-electric folding bikes present fewer obstacles to intermodality bicycle commuters when passengers on bus and train. We are still studying the customer satisfaction of the newly built bike storage for these types of commuters.

Glossary

Infrastructure: human strategy for logistics in a settlement. The objective is a transportation sustainable eco-system for people, goods and services. For widespread early adoption and a permanent lifestyle change for commuters, the criteria includes: cost-effectiveness, safety, security, comfort, technology adaptability, and social acceptance.

Foldable bike: a personal transport, usually with two wheels, for one commuter. The frame can be folded to take up less space for portability.

the “last mile” campaign: Ayman Zoubir studied the results of the tests on commuters choosing to use a combination of bike, bus and train for their daily commute for 12 months in the Lyon France are. The goal was to make reducing solo passenger cars for daily commutes to alleviate congestion on the roads. Example: For a two mile work commute, consider riding a bus/train and then riding your bike for the last mile to workplace.

SOV: single occupancy vehicle

To read his original reports visit the following links.

http://www.ecf.com/wp-content/uploads/Zoubir-Ayman-Experimenting-bicycle-commuting.pdf

http://www.epomm.eu/index.php?id=2771&lang1=en&study_id=3391

For creative ways eco-transport intermodality biking advocates have used video campaigns, go here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1HYYvEVw6c

What? You thought that laughter wasn’t allowed?

Photo Credit: Ayman Zoubir PhD Consultant of Urban Planning and Sustainable Transportation of Lyon France

SmartyFella Ayman Zoubir answered our Skype questions via video conference while sitting in his private office in Lyon France wearing a long-sleeve collared light blue shirt suitable for a bicycle commuter working in an academic setting. Oh yeah. He also chose our pop culture export a dapper Garfield as his Skype avatar. Go scientist-scholars! For more green transportation innovation news follow @Mobilius_C

Iceland Challenge Bike Tour Short Film: An Interview with Pedelec Adventures Ebike Photojournalist Susanne Bruesch

July 13, 2015 by Renee Marchol Leave a Comment

Many of our readers have been participating in independent filmmaking as cast or crew for the past two summers. Our blog featured filmmakers Joe Nicolosi and Niall Doran. For this educational report, Susanne Bruesch joined us via Skype from Germany to answer our questions about electric pedal assist bike touring in Iceland. During this adventure she produced a short film together with filmmaker Andreas Gutmann.

Fast Facts about adventure Smartygirl Susanne

She coined the term pedelec as a journalist in her college thesis to describe electric bikes powered with manual pedaling and a boost from an electric motor in contrast to electric throttle powered bicycles
Bicycle Retailer And Industry News reported that Currie Technologies, the leading electric bike distributor in the US, hosted live shows by Susanne Bruesch about her Iceland Challenge project at Interbike (a convention for the cycling industry) where their film had its USA premiere.
She is a photojournalist who likes to push pedelecs to the limit through bike touring. She has toured with speed-pedelecs that support up to 28 mph pulling solar trailers in Morocco and Mongolia. Iceland was her third project under the Pedelec Adventures flag.

One of our guest contributors, Bicyclist Michael Zack, shared his Morocco bike tour diary with our readers. According to Bicycle Retailer And Industry News (BRAIN), Susanne’s travels on pedelecs attract many locals who request test rides of the electric bikes during her filming schedule. This was no exception in Morocco. Our Editor-in-Chief found Susanne Bruesch to be delightfully funny, vividly descriptive as a journalist and inspiring as a maker of documentaries during the video call. Why inspiring? Because she is just like our readers: she is a maker and thusly a creative problem-solver!

BRAIN reported that Pedelec Adventures modified the eflow pedelecs they were using in Iceland with suspension forks, off-road tires to be more suitable for cross-country riding. A major challenge in Iceland was to cross rivers. For this reason, the team used silicone seal to waterproof the motors.

ICELAND CHALLENGE – eflow through ice and fire (Short film Extended) from Andreas Gutmann on Vimeo.

Susanne’s answers from Sunday, June 28th are paraphrased by our editors below.

How did she prepare her equipment (cycling, battery charging and film), crew and self for her tour in Iceland?

In Iceland there wasn’t enough sunlight to recharge our batteries with solar panels as we did in Morocco and Mongolia. So we had to come up with a different solution. We purchased a 4×4 offroad truck that was formerly used by the public technical aid (THW) in Germany to use in Iceland as a support vehicle that would carry the stuff for 4 people, 4 weeks and 4000 kilometers (2485 miles).

What were some challenges unique to the terrain?

Hundreds of miles of vast lava desert, temperatures between 32 and 59°F and lots of rivers to cross. The weather constantly changes. The Icelanders say, if the weather is bad, just wait for 5 minutes. And they are right. By the way, if they say bad weather, they don’t mean rain, they mean rain that hits you like this (shows a horizontal line). All of this is no problem because you are rewarded with spectacular scenery that completely changes within short distances as well. Standing at Europe’s largest glacier, the Vatnajökull in the morning, we arrived at a lovely green valley in the afternoon and spend the night in the hot springs.

What is something unexpected in Iceland that you’d share with first timers on a pedelec bike tour and as filmmakers?

The white summer nights of the north are just too beautiful to go to sleep. We mostly traveled at night time when we had the natural sights such as the big waterfalls, the geysir and the glacier lagoon of Jökulsarlon to our selves in the most beautiful light for filming and photo shooting.

For example, we chose to have dinner at 6 A.M. , went to sleep for a few hours when the sun was already high up in the sky (if it was not raining) had breakfast at 10 A.M. and continued our journey.

Pedelec Adventures Iceland Challenge 2013 Susanne Bruesch

Here’s more about Susanne in her own words:

I started working in the electric bike field in 1997 when this new bicycle species had just started its growth in Asia and was an absolute novelty in Europe. Communicating its benefits and potential in a worldwide network while closely working with promotion and testing authority ExtraEnergy, I soon hit the limits of available terminology. Using the words e-bike or anything connected to assist caused a serious image problem. At least in Europe, back then. While I was still studying languages in Heidelberg, Germany, I dedicated my diploma to this topic and the result was the word pedelec which is now widely used in the industry to describe the sensor controlled type of electric bike.

Publishing pedelec in the international bike media was my start into journalism. Today I am a regular contributor to the leading bike media internationally.

After having tested, photographed and written about electric bikes for so many years, the first e-mountain-bikes appeared on the market and changed my work focus. I really wanted to ride these myself.

This was the birth of Pedelec Adventures. Developing, organizing and riding multi-week expeditions on electric bikes allows me to combine my expertise in the bike industry with my skills and passion as a journalist, photographer, public speaker and cyclist.

Together with my team of bike enthusiasts and professionals in media, e-technology and travel I want to show what’s possible on electric bikes even in the toughest conditions and how much fun they can be even if you’re not lazy!

Helping this industry and market evolve over the past 18 years has been an extraordinary experience and I am looking forward to being part of what is still to come.

Best & thanks for spreading the story!

Photo Credit: 2013 Andreas Gutmann Susanne Bruesch Team Pedelec Adventures

Photo Credit: The Pedelec Adventures team just before their departure for Iceland Challenge, Berlin, June 2013

Fashion Book Review of SmartyCouple David & Yena’s Menswear Dog The New Classics

July 9, 2015 by Renee Marchol Leave a Comment

What if your best friend was in charge of your wardrobe for one month? Let’s say that you were given a stipend to buy 5 new investment pieces but the rest of the makeover depended on your usual budget? The difference? New criteria for fit, rise and pattern mixing.

Smart dressing doesn’t have to mean breaking the bank. Fashion is an expression of personal style and our educational report is made to help readers look and feel their best.

Artisan Books Senior Publicist Patrick Leonard of New York sent our editors a review copy of creative couple David Fung & Yena Kim’s guidebook on blending classic and modern menswear on a budget. The timing? Perfect. Our editors reported on Oakland’s Queer Fashion Week that showcased modern menswear for all bodies this Spring. Previously our editors reported as guest contributors for Black Girl Nerds for fashion and technology in Vegas that included an analysis of musician Janelle Monae’s choice of menswear.

Our readership, male and female, expects our practical guides to include humor. SmartyPet Bodhi, the model Shiba Inu dog, brings a light-heartedness from his Tumblr-fame and demystifies: dressing for the gym, date-wear, and unflattering rise and fit to avoid. Fashion principles shared by David Fung and Yena Kim and modeled by Bodhi can be borrowed by all readers. Think of the androgynous fashion example of Comic Tig Notaro.

Photo Credit: David Fung & Yena Kim Menswear Dog

Fit

Armholes! Paying attention to armholes can make a world of difference how the wearer is perceived in a t-shirt, polo, or long-sleeve dress shirt. Wear a size that is snug but does not display your nipples. For example, ribbed trim on polo sleeves flatter your arms by highlighting your biceps. Think of sleeves as arm hugs! Smaller armholes = slimmer sleeves for a tailored look says Bodhi.

Rise

Crotch! To avoid an unintentionally old timey look, select mid-rise for suit pants and for jeans. Bodhi explains that the rise measurement is from the middle of the crotch to the waistband. Dad-jeans have higher waistbands, at 12″ for instance. A modern rise is closer to 7″.

Pattern-mixing

A pop of pattern! Late Comic Rodney Dangerfield was known for wearing loud madras plaid sport coats to match his loud comedy. Bodhi gives the reader the option of more subtle ways to introduce fresh patterns such as gingham, floral and plaid by using small accents. Our editors think it’d be fun to add a surprising floral pattern on the shoes. But readers may be more comfortable with a starter gingham pocket square before diving into a collared floral shirt.

Photo Credit: Hawaiian Floral Dr. Martens Shoes via Asos.do

Check out the New York Times article on Menswear Dog and summer destination weddings smarts also from Bodhi.

As Seattle bike commuters and fog-dwelling San Francisco readers prepare for autumn they might consider Bodhi’s idea to layer a quilted vest under a modern suit jacket when cooler temperatures hit. Central Time Zone and Eastern Time Zone readers might already be adopting Bodhi’s advice for layering fisherman’s sweaters over oxford shirts and henleys under tweed blazers. What’s new as a contemporary fashion tip for cold weather dressing? Seek a shorter crop such as windbreaker jackets that end at the hip and slim-fit hooded sweatshirts that are shorter than mid-thigh.

Bodhi’s fashion wisdom summarized by our editors? Choose clothing that hugs you back and don’t hike up your pants too high!

Empowering the Child at Heart: Ditching Adulthood Creator SmartyGirl Cierra

June 3, 2015 by Cierra Mercier Leave a Comment

From robotics to building businesses, our readerships are experts in fostering creativity in the greater community. Another shared trait? Its leaders #NeverStopLearning

Part of bringing best practices back to the artist-maker hive is to complete field studies as an apprentice every season. Further reading? Try SmartyFella Thomas Davenport & SmartyGirl Julia Kirby’s “Beyond Automation” in this month’s Harvard Business Review.

This season? Our Editor-in-Chief Renee is an apprentice at The Children’s Creativity Museum of San Francisco: where arts and tech are friends.

Teaching Human Empathy Through Tech: Robotics Vlog by Museum Educational Intern from Renee Marchol on Vimeo.

What does that mean for readers?

Upcoming behind-the-scenes videos with thought starters how to foster greater creativity and productivity in your shared or solo workspace!

In that same spirit, our staff pursues Creatives around the country and around the world for self-care tips to nourish the inventor. Below is a co-written blog post by our Editor-in-Chief Renee and our newest ally Cierra.

I met another SmartyGirl. Cierra, Creator of the blog Ditching Adulthood, wrote as a guest for Jamie of Black Girl Nerds recently. I liked her Artist’s Way spirit so I asked her to meet me via webcam for a self care educational report.

Photo Credit: Black Girl Nerds logo

Cierra’s thought-starters?

Treat yourself to a healthy escape for inspiration.
Avoid consuming the creativity of others to the point where you forget to produce your own.
Resist negative pressure to conform, even from those who offer that unsolicited advice from a place of love.

Cierra often battles the negative perception of seeming idle when she watches YouTubers, and browses Tumblr. People around her ask why the recent college graduate doesn’t jump directly into graduate school. Cierra is choosing to believe in her artistic self and giving full-time blogging her commitment before pursuing more education. Viewing the work of other Creatives inspires her own work. Consuming helps her produce. In moderation, this consumption of media is healthy and prompts her to create. How? She evaluates what she consumes, she adds to the conversation, and she takes her own spin on themes. She tries to filter how much, and what she takes in on a daily basis. By deleting the Facebook app, limiting how many Bloglovin’ posts she reads at a time, and monitoring how long she’ll scroll through Instagram (if she decides to check it that day), she has worked on becoming more aware of the fine line between mindless consumption and inspiration.

It’s tempting to lose yourself as an artist viewing the work of others. Cues to excess consumption might include creeping self doubt or a sense of complacency due to subconscious comparisons. In other words, stop watching, and start exploring and creating when you feel intimidated, outmatched, or somehow “less than.” That’s disciplining your mindset to stay positive. For example, listen to music or read posts that inspire you. If viewing becomes mindless, stop before your mood becomes negative and prevents you from contributing. Do you. Don’t get lost hoping to imitate or vicariously live through someone else.

People who don’t get what makes you happy might speak from a loving place. But they don’t know what is good for you. Their advice might be what was good for them in a different era, under different circumstances and with different life goals in mind. Negative pressure to drop your unconventional interests and second guess your feelings can come from people who love you and even nurtured you in a past season. Practice standing firm while being equally loving in your tone that this pursuit makes you happy, and makes progress towards your objectives. Behavior can’t and shouldn’t please everyone. Discomfort with your artist life is something that others might have to accept without you leading as their therapist. After all, you’ve got creating to do. Time can’t be spent justifying why you enjoy what you do.

More about Cierra’s blog

How did it get its name, Ditching Adulthood?

Photo Credit: Ditching Adulthood logo

Sure, adulthood can mean bills and other suckiness, but it doesn’t have to mean forfeiting all the happy feelings, and joyfully unconventional interests you had before. The name of my blog shows my positive attitude: if adulthood is defined only as embracing all that sucks and conceding to a life of conformity, then I choose to ditch growing up.

In contrast, I believe childlike interests that are healthy, harms no one, and creates happiness for yourself and others is not the opposite of maturing. I am offering an alternative: maintain that childlike sense of bold creativity, wonder, and willingness to embrace your unconventional interests. Cling on to what you’d like to do with your life, and even if it’s not clear what you want to do? Treat yourself and take care of yourself however you can through the adversity and stressors adulthood can bring. I plan for my blog to be a support system and escape for adults who’ve “let down” family and friends by not becoming a doctor or lawyer, or have pursued other loves that some don’t understand. I want my space to become a safe haven for adults who have been told to “grow up” from the cartoons they watch, or interests they have, or to make more “mature” clothing, hairstyle, etc., choices.

Where do you go for quiet?

Currently, Cierra is surrounded by movement, chatter, and energy almost 24/7. Her quiet places come in the small windows where everyone is asleep, and when she can slip away for a bath. Any other time she’ll attempt to zone-out by watching or reading something inspiring that’ll help her produce new writings for her blog or journal. She took the video call from a lovely teal/sea-foam room decorated with warm family photos on the wall of a basement in the Midwest. Since it was near 4 P.M. and the pinnacle of activity in the lovely home, she assisted her mother with a few to-dos and gave herself permission to brainstorm with fellow Creatives at SmartyGirlLeadership for self-care tips this season.

Photo Credit: Ditching Adulthood Creator Cierra

Currently Cierra has many ideas in mind such as a fiction novel, more art, and merch for The Ditching Adulthood blog. SGL is keen on being the first to ordering branded t-shirts when they become available. SmartyGirl Cierra says, “Time to get my head out of the clouds and put some action to my dreams!” Follow Cierra on Twitter @ditchadulthood.

NSFW Sexual Self Care: An Interview with SmartyGirl Rachel Dwight

May 1, 2015 by Renee Marchol Leave a Comment

At SmartyGirlLeadership, our editors bring expert guides from a diversity of perspectives about health in particular. Caution: Because of the explicit sexual nature of this educational health report, we are labeling this sex ed article Not Safe for Work (NSFW).

Earlier this month, our reporters were invited to Oakland California’s first Queer Fashion Week.

Photo Credit: Nye’ Lin Tho Queer Fashion Week Mixer

Gender performance, gender-bending and the queer community are not are areas of expertise. So what do we do? Just as our editors usually do, we call in a SmartyGirl or SmartyFella subject matter expert for our educational report. The season’s theme of self-care continues. Today’s topic? Sexual wellness.

Many of our readership share overlapping beliefs about human sexual rights such as the right not to be exposed to sexual content and the right to refuse sexual contact. However, there is little public information about accommodations, health insurance coverage and hands on assistance for sex in practice with a disability. What to do with this knowledge gap about sex, intimacy, touch and human connection? This Monday, we invited SmartyGirl Rachel Dwight, M.Ed., a Sexologist and owner of the first body-inclusive sex store – Validity (age 18+), to answer questions our readers and viewers have about sexuality and disability. Rachel Dwight loves her body. She makes no apology. She describes herself as fat, disabled and queer.

Rachel Dwight’s stance is that human connection through sex is a basic need. She relates this to how prisoners who are put in solitary confinement show extreme emotional and physical distress when they are kept from other humans, “Humans are social creatures. We need human connection to both survive and thrive.”

She answers our readers’ first question: what is the stigma about disability and sex?

SmartyGirl Rachel explains that the stigma by society about disabled individuals and an active sex life are as follows: “othering”, squeamishness and pity.

Lesser known fact? Because of disability barriers to an active sex life might require equipment as a sexual accommodation.

Health insurance, currently, does not typically cover sexual aids or sexual counseling as a medical necessity. Some disabled individuals have difficulty with mobility because they are in a wheelchair, missing limbs, and/or have lost motor function over time. Modified sexual aids accommodate those who need assistance with grip with devices such as a strapless strap-on. Vice News, known for its controversial documentaries, also reports on sex devices and sex assistance in its Hand Angels report.

Rachel describes marginalizing disabled individuals and their sex needs as “othering” when a fully abled body individual does not show empathy, assuming someone disabled could not have the sexual wants that he/she also has. Rachel continues by giving an illustration of squeamishness that readers are likely to relate to: the idea that one’s parents have an active sex life.

Yes, Mother’s Day is Sunday, May 10th!

Rachel knows that lots of people have an issue acknowledging that their parents are/were sexually active. She finds this to be rather problematic, “This idea that someone who isn’t the the category of ‘I might have sex with this person’ is relegated automatically to ‘That person has sex!? Ew, Gross!’ is a huge problem. All people have a right to sexual pleasure and if we don’t actively acknowledge that right, then it serves to push those with non-‘mainstream’ bodies – like those that are disabled, fat, trans and aging – further from having that respect.”

The same squeamishness might apply as a cultural attitude to those who do not fit the traditional parameters of attractiveness. SmartyGirl Rachel gives personal analogies when working with her clients and when presenting to groups at advocacy events. For instance, she loves herself and her body size while others may regard her with pity. Rachel chooses to express herself and states, “I don’t edit myself just so others can be comfortable.” However, she describes that the struggle with self-acceptance is daily. Instead of an adversity that is overcome once and the battle is over, her internal critic emerges time and again. This is normal to work at positive self thoughts. As if it wasn’t hard enough with attitudes of oppression from the external?

How is Rachel Dwight these days? She reports that she is happy. Rachel says that she loves her life and she is fine with the struggle. Is her life much better on this side of the learning to self-love gauntlet? SmartyGirl Rachel says yep.

Her writing can also be found as a guest post on The Militant Baker. She looks forward to attending more in-person events such as the past Queer Fashion Week mixer and hosting private sex ed & gear parties to promote her message of self-acceptance for a variety of people, including an active sex life of different body types.

Photo Credit: Rachel Dwight The Validity Initiative logo

Photo Credit: Rachel Dwight The Validity Initiative Founder

Rachel Dwight is a lover of music, animals and radical self-love. If you like her store’s Facebook page, Validity Initiative, from there you can sign-up for the newsletter to keep up with all the amazing things she is doing in the realm of sex and body positivity.

Nepal Earthquake Fundraiser: A Journey to Gorkha by SmartyGirl Alicia

April 29, 2015 by Alicia Forbrich Leave a Comment

Photo Credit: Lending Promise Nepal Volunteer Alicia Forbrich & Lisa Lau

In November 2014, I went to Nepal with my best friend to not only hike the beautiful Himalayan Mountains, but also to volunteer at a small, remote village called Gorkha. The first couple of days in Nepal were absolutely amazing… everything looked different, smelled different, the food was amazingly different and delicious, and the people were extremely friendly! We immediately felt comfortable and “at home” in Nepal… it is one of the most welcoming countries I’ve ever experienced.

We soon met up with a guide from the Gorkha Foundation, which is the only charity foundation in this tiny village, located about 4 hours away from Kathmandu. At about 5:00am, the driver took us away from the big, familiar city and drove us for many miles over very bumpy, dusty and undeveloped roads. This was an adventure in itself! And it reminded me that visiting countries is not only about the big, popular cities, but also the smaller towns that are rich in culture and history.

Several hours later, we were greeted by several villagers who graciously decorated us with hand-made leis. They invited us into their home for a home cooked meal, which consisted mainly of rice, some steamed vegetables and a little meat. This ritual – of the leis and food offering – is the official way this village brings guests into their community. They welcomed us with great big smiles and open arms… my friend and I felt very loved!

Nepal Volunteer Lending Promise Alicia Forbrich

Photo Credit: Lending Promise Volunteer Nepal Alicia Forbrich & Lisa Lau

Lisa and I were in Gorkha on behalf of an organization called Lending Promise, which provides micro loans to women to start their own businesses and establish independent lives. With these micro loans (about $100), these women usually purchase livestock to breed, to milk, and to use their fur to make clothing and other goods. Some of them choose to buy plants and create a small farm to feed their families and trade with other villagers for other goods. Our job that day was to interview 12 ladies who received the micro loans and see how these loans have changed their lives. After interviewing them one by one, there was no doubt that the loans have helped all these women in providing food for their families, supplies for their children to go to school, and create more independent, happy lives.

financial empowerment women micro loans nepal Lending Promise

Photo Credit: LendingPromise.org logo

After several hours of touring the village, exploring the farms, and meeting many of the residents, my friend and I were off to our next mission. We had brought tons of schools supplies, books, badminton rackets, soccer balls, and other items that Gorkha’s local elementary school were in need of. Bringing all these things from the US was quite a challenge (including a few negotiations with the airlines), but we did it!

When we approached the school, we were greeted with dozens and dozens of leis! The children made a long row for Lisa and I to walk down, and every child put a hand-made lei over our heads. By the time we got to the end of the row, we could barely breathe above the leis! Our hearts were beaming with love. Shortly thereafter, we met with the leaders of the Gorkha Foundation, the school’s principle and several of teachers. During the conference, we discussed how the school was managed and their current needs. We also received a tour around the school, which was a great eye opener.

Photo Credit: Nepal School Lending Promise Alicia Forbrich & Lisa Lau

The school basically has 2 buildings of 4 adobe walls and a few benches inside. No desks, no comfortable chairs, no supplies, no books. Their biggest recent upgrade was getting whiteboards (place over their blackboards). But now a new problem is that they cannot afford whiteboard markers! I thought to myself that we (Americans) really have it great for the most part and take these “little” things for granted. While were we taking the tour around the school buildings, the kids were peeping their heads through the windows and giggling at the site of us funny looking people. They were so cute and so happy, even with so little! My heart really goes out to these humble, sweet children.

Soon we approached the “Computer Room” where the principle proudly showed off their 3 (very, very old) desktop computers, which were recently donated by some company. I sat down at one of the desks to try it out, but it didn’t turn on. The principle explained to me that because they cannot afford to plaster their adobe walls, the rats get inside the school building and chew away at the computer cords. Now they have 3 computers that don’t work. The project to plaster the walls of the computer room would cost them a grand total of $250 (an amount I later sent to them when I returned home).

After our interesting tour, we were surprised to see the entire school of children sitting on nearby steps, all starting at Lisa and me. “The children would like to sing you their national anthem”, explained the principle. Gladly, Lisa and I sat amongst them and listed to the most beautiful national anthem we have ever heard. Sung with so much pride, and so much heart. This was one of the most memorable moments of my entire life!

Lastly, we returned to the conference room and presented all the school supplies that we brought to Gorkha. The teachers, principals, and organization leaders so were so incredibly thankful for everything. They were so happy just to have the simplest things – pencils, pens, notebooks, and a few toys. They promised to share the supplies with Gorkha’s only other school just down the road. Their gratitude for our donation was truly appreciated and all I could think of is how I wanted to help them even more!

Photo Credit: Nepal School Lending Promise Alicia Forbrich

A few hours later, our visit came to an end. Lisa and I had to return to Kathmandu before it got too dark. We had a 6-day trek planned throughout the Himalayan Mountains in which we had to start early the next morning. Although that trek was one of the greatest adventures ever, the overwhelming feeling of love that I received in Gorkha could never be matched. During this trip, I established the Gorkha Elementary School and the San Jose Learning Center as Sister Schools. I vowed to help this school, and its small village, in any way that I can.

Nepal Gorkha Lending Promise Alicia Forbrich

Photo Credit: Lending Promise Volunteer Alicia Forbrich & Lisa Lau in Nepal

I don’t know what really brought me to Nepal in the first place, and even to Gorkha. Something inside of me just said that I need to meet, and help this village. Now, 5 months later, Gorkha is the epicentre of one of the most devastating earthquakes Nepal has ever experienced… what a sad coincidence! The leaders of the Gorkha Foundation told me that 90% of the village has been destroyed and almost everything that I saw there no longer exists. I cannot express the deep, deep depression I felt when hearing this news. I felt sick to my stomach, so helpless and so sad. Immediately I vowed that the San Jose Learning Center will donate $5 for every class registration it receives for its May/June program. In addition, I created my own fundraising website to raise money for the Gorkha Foundation.

Photo Credit: Nepal Gorka Lending Promise Volunteer Alicia Forbrich

I chose to donate the money to the Gorkha Foundation because I know that 100% of the proceeds will go directly to the victims (the organization does not keep any overhead). I also have met the leaders personally, and spent time with their local residents. Because this is an emergency, I will be donating all the funds this coming Sunday, May 3rd. If you are interested in donating any amount, please feel free to do so at:

Photo Credit: GoFundMe Alicia Forbrich Gorkha Nepal Sister School San Jose Learning Center

SmartyGirl Alicia Forbich is Founder of San Jose Learning Center, photographer and athletic model. Support her GoFundMe for Nepal above.

Spring 2015 Update: Nutrition and Exercise Interview with High Five Fitness TV Founder Denet Lewis

April 28, 2015 by Renee Marchol Leave a Comment

Hearing yet again about the harm of HCAs (heterocyclic amines) and PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) would be a Debbie Downer before a Spring gathering of friends in front of the grill, right?

So instead of boring “shoulds” and “should nots” , we invited an expert guide this Spring, to present options, so that we can make our own decision how to reduce harmful habits without making smoked meats part of our no-no list.

For an audio version of this article, click below for our pilot Google Hangout on Air, broadcast recorded live.

SGL High Five Fitness TV Founder Denet Lewis: Spring 2015 Update Interview from Renee Marchol on Vimeo.

SmartyFella Denet Lewis prefers a baked yam over a modest helping of white rice after a hard workout to replace glycogen stores. Why? For the taste and the higher nutrition density. Why is our SmartyGirl ally talking to us about The Truth About Carbs by Nate Miyaki? Because the scientific community has learned more about what keeps us healthy and new information about agricultural practices that affect our food supply, reducing the consumption of carcinogens, and battling seasonal allergies with more outdoor exercise since our last visit with Denet Lewis in May 2013.

Photo Credit: SpaceGirlOrganics Maggie Purple Sweet Potato

3 Easy Ways to Reduce Cancer-causing Effects of BBQ Foods

1. Remove the skin of the smoked meat after grilling

2. Marinate the meat with a fresh squeezed lemon/lime juice before putting over charcoal

3. Dip the raw meat in a beer bath before exposing it to open flame

We met with competitive bodybuilder, fitness tv host and scientist Denet, by phone on Friday afternoon before our weekend barbecue. Here’s what he had to say paraphrased below.

What is the top health news story for SmartyFella Denet in 2015?

Denet Lewis is concerned with the use of herbicides such as brand name Roundup to ripen non genetically modified (GMO) food crops for grains such as wheat. Yes, you read that right: herbicide to ripen wheat. You may already be aware of the effect of pesticides on the food you buy. The use of this herbicide has its upsides: as a mass agricultural practice this allows the wheat harvest to ripen at the same time and produces heavier wheat. However, this use of herbicide kills the root of the plant. SmartyFella Denet is wary of this herbicide in his food supply so he suggests eating grain-free, gluten-free or organic.

Photo Credit: Amazon.com Nate Miyaki’s The Truth About Carbs

What nutrition fact would you like to share with our readers that you have learned in the past two years?

It’s acceptable to enjoy a treat of white rice after a hard work out. You need to replenish fuel for your muscles after glycogen depletion. To quantify what makes a lean-muscle building hard work out, see the previous link by AskMen.com.

Many SmartyGirls and SmartyFellas carry tissues because of seasonal Spring allergies. Any exercise advice for severe allergy sufferers? We miss the outdoors.

Caution: please go to your doctor first. This is not substitute for medical advice but you might have a holistic alternative to antihistamines. However, Denet Lewis consulted his doctor because he has allergies too. It shows in a runny nose after a warm up and lifting weights. Denet believes that pressing through with exercise, increases blood circulation, which in turns improves the clearing of his sinuses. It might be as simple as accepting that you will need to blow your nose.

Photo Credit: High Five Fitness TV Facebook Denet Lewis as BMX Kid

Denet Lewis has been a lifelong SmartyFella from solar car building to BMX racing. Subscribe to the High Five Fitness YouTube channel for daily motivation! Until his next visit, he reminds us how gemstones are made. A diamond is the birthstone for April. It is formed only in extreme pressure and heat over time. Take the stress and pressure in your life to form and grow yourself. Use knowledge, passion and drive and get motivated. Underneath that rough stone is a rare, unique and most beautiful diamond just waiting to be polished, just waiting to shine.

3 Travel Habits to Start This Spring to Increase Serendipity

April 2, 2015 by Phillip Tau Leave a Comment

Serendipity. When Lady Luck smiles on you. Our Editor-in-Chief Renee Marchol met Travel Tech expert SmartyFella Phillip Tau at Vegas CES 2015. Another definition of serendipity: a pleasant surprise. Can travel habits like his increase favorable outcomes? Try his thought-starters for yourself. Phillip shares his smarts with us below.

Photo Credit: SmartyFella Travel Tech Phillip Tau

I overhear people say they hate the travel process but enjoy the end destination. This is befuddling because the old adage stipulates that it is not the end result but the journey that matters most. Adages are not always right but there are truths to them and this case is no different. Let me tell you a short anecdote about the birth of travel technology.

One of the major travel technology providers, Sabre, came about because of the serendipity of travel. As a preface, Sabre is a global distribution system (GDS); airline, hotel, car, rail, cruise content is aggregated in a GDS which then travel agents, companies, travelers access to search for availability and rates. Sabre, Semi-automated Business Research Environment, was a collaboration between American Airlines and IBM. This came about on a random flight when a top IBM sales exec sat next to AA’s CEO and discovered they both had the same last name. The rest as they say is history.

The moral of the story is that the travel process itself has many fruits to bear. Whether you are traveling for business or for leisure, there is always something or someone to be gained. It is not glamorous to be that guy who chats everyone up on the plane but don’t be the sour Sally who refuses to talk to anyone. For the most part our lives are based around routine, we go to the same places, see the same people, eat the same things. Travel is one aspect that allows us to come into contact with the new new, let this apply to all parts of travel including the journey.

Here are some of my tips to increase serendipity while traveling.

Smile
Share
Get Off Your Phone

I am a habitual smiler, you’re already going to get crows feet, you might as well earn them the proper way. Nothing is more inviting than a smile, you never know who might say hi in return or pass on a smile after seeing yours.

Sharing is caring as they say and traveling is no different. This can happen in many ways, whether you share your trip plans on social media or buy an extra big bag of chips to share while you wait. Foster positivity through sharing.

I am guilty of being glued to my phone like most everyone else but this is something that must stop. I assure you that another tweet or Facebook like won’t change your future. What might though is meeting a new friend or travel buddy.

At the end of the day, your travel serendipity might not result in the creation of the backbone of travel, but it is within your locus of control. As in the rest of life, you are the master and commander of your ship, don’t waste sailing to your destination without enjoying the journey there.

Phillip Tau leads business development and product strategy at Cornerstone Information Systems and is Executive Director at Run Up Labs, a travel specific startup accelerator program. More tips on travel serendipity and a bag of chips? Follow him @PTau. Views and bag of chips are his own and do not represent the opinions or chip flavor preferences of business entities.

From Single to Engaged: A Spring Update from SmartyGirl Katie Kiesler

March 26, 2015 by Renee Marchol

Katie Kiesler Christianity Love Sex Marriage Engagement

Photo Credit: Katie Kiesler

Our editors are so delighted to have Author Katie Kiesler visit us again this Spring to contribute to our educational report on self-care.

We have been honored with Katie Kiesler’s friendship for a few years now. She has nurtured the art community through Coffee and Tattoos as an inclusive forum. She has talked with single SmartyGirls and SmartyFellas in youth senior high school ministry about love and sex. Our SmartyGirl Katie has also allowed readers a glimpse into her personal life as she shared how she handled the season of singleness in her book My Problem with Grace.

We asked Katie Kiesler, with her sweetheart’s permission, to share with us how life has changed from being single to engaged. Her own words are below.

Going from single to engaged means my life has definitely changed. However, not necessarily in a giant leap way, although it might seem like that to others. For me, it’s been a gradual process. The big life changes and decisions, like choosing to move from California back to my home state of Minnesota and deciding to get married, are really manifestations of personal growth. Not that I have arrived at a higher level of my own personal being, but more of a realization of where I am, and who I am. It’s an outward reflection of an internal journey that that the Lord has me on.

I do feel like it’s a journey, but maybe more of an archeological one rather than an engineering one. It’s not about a process in which I build, but a process in which I discover… I see the structural imperfections, realize my inability to fix, and then ask for help. I have not wanted to grow up in so many ways. And the Lord has used life events to make that clear. But once I finally realized it, change could flood in. I opened the door, which I didn’t know was closed.

Knowing who you are, where you come from, your gifts, talents, and flaws, I think, is so important prior to entering a relationship. Not that you need, or possibly could, know every single gem or imperfection inside of you but it’s advantageous to know as much as you can because being in a relationship will reveal even more. Once you’re aware of the areas you need to grow in, you can be secure in who you are because you have nothing to hide. You can rest in the love of the One who created you and not be dependent on someone else’s approval.

Being engaged, and being in any relationship, I think is all about having healthy boundaries. Living alongside another person can make it tough to keep your own identity if you don’t know where you end and the other begins. In a relationship, both people have to be supportive of each other. I don’t think I realized how my fiancé and I’s passions would affect every aspect of our life. My fiancé is super passionate about sports whether it be playing, coaching or watching. I enjoy sports too, but I’ve come to realize that it’s definitely not to the extent that he does. There have been times I’ve tried to keep up with him and immersed myself in sports culture, but to me, that was exhausting and unsatisfying. Through those experiences, I learned I need to make things that fill me up a priority as well. I think I was afraid that if I didn’t do all the things my fiancé was doing that he’d forget about me or not want to spend time with me outside of sporting events.

Really, what I was doing was robbing him of opportunities to love me. If I’m always participating in the things he enjoys, he can’t support me in my passions because I’m not doing them. Therefore, if you know what your passions are and what your purpose is, you can communicate this to your significant other. You can share what you need in order to carry out your goals and at the same time, can be okay with the fact that it might not be identical to your partner’s. It’s not about being the same person, it’s about being different together, helping each other grow in areas you wouldn’t otherwise explore, and being each others’ biggest cheerleader.

I’ve heard it said many times that if you’re in a relationship, you should be stronger together than you are a part. If that’s not the case, than perhaps this isn’t the right person for you. I’ve come to agree with that philosophy. My fiancé balances me out in so many ways – he makes me stop to have fun when I would just work non-stop, I make him do activities like walking and reading when he would be content running and watching sports, but together there is amazing variety and joy in everyday life. Probably because he’s constantly challenging me, which keeps life interesting and definitely more exciting. I can’t wait to keep growing with him because I certainly have so much more to learn.

Katie is a writer who believes students can change the world. Check out her blog and books at katiesjournal.org.

Work Life Balance Advice for a First-time Film-race Actor: An Interview with Actress Tricia Hakenewerth

February 22, 2015 by Erica Tyler Leave a Comment

Tibetan Terrier Dog of Tricia Hakenewerth

Photo Credit: Actress Tricia Hakenewerth & Tibetan Terrier Dog Bailey

One of Tricia Hakenewerth’s secret weapons is soft, sweet and cuddly. Never underestimate the effectiveness of a SmartyPet. Bailey, Tricia’s Tibetan Terrier is excellent at reading her mood. Bailey nurtures Tricia with a kiss or a snuggle just at the right time.

Why might SmartyGirl or SmartyFella readers need an arsenal to combat burnout? Well, Forbes, Bloomberg, Harvard Business Review, and Fast Company have reported on this preventable health problem that troubles the best of us. SmartyGirl Tricia is an actress and she was willing to share her take on staying balanced even during a high-pressure Make-A-Film-in-a-Day race. Here are her paraphrased thought starters, when our Editor-in-Chief interviewed her by phone on Friday.

Besides Bailey, Tricia relies on regular prayer and hiking to keep her centered.

What are her workplace challenges as actress? Acting requires Ms. Hakenewerth to dig deep and use real emotions to play a character and connect with other actors in the scene. Spending this energy outward, carrying it with momentum truthfully takes great effort. Curious? Google the acting technique: “the moment before”.

How does Tricia grow in her craft? The actress strives to be humble and take criticism well. Mastering this along with technical skill makes her an asset to any film production.

Tricia describes her natural shyness as a strength that helps her be more reflective.She enjoys acting because it allows her to learn more about herself and explore her boundaries. She finds acting therapeutic and stated that her first performance was in an elementary school play that was filmed.

Tricia’s professional development includes taking acting courses in college and elsewhere. She tests out her skills at film races.

What’s a typical day at a film race? Tricia did her first film race on Valentine’s Day 2015. She faced the daunting task of arriving to work with a director she didn’t know, to act out a script that writers created on the spot, to be filmed by a production crew, take-after-take with multiple takes, all with actors she just met.There were so many unknown variables in that 8-hour day but Tricia gained valuable acting and life experience by embarking on a project where she had to rely on the kindness and hard work of strangers who eventually became friends.

Valentine’s Day Weekend Make A Film in a Day: Behind-the-Scenes Production Assistant Log

February 17, 2015 by Renee Marchol Leave a Comment

Who will be joining us as guests for our Top 3 Badasses of Spring? Two of the three badasses will appear in our March educational reports. Actress Tricia Hakenwerth and Director of Photography Leo Tutor. Where can you find our third nominee? On the set and leading the company she was born to run. Badass #3 is Producer/Director Elena Altman, founder of the film production nonprofit: MMTB. Readers are encouraged to find out for themselves what makes local indie producers/directors unique and so we’re staying mum.

Where did SmartyGirlLeadership meet these digital shorts badasses? At badass Make a Film in a Day during Valentine’s Day weekend.

The proofreader only allows badass to be used as a noun twice and adjective once per article so this reporter will change to another descriptor.

How many film races have our Editors done? Three so far: one with Team Tacoma of the Seattle 48 Hour Film Project, another with Director Quan Zhang of UC Berkeley, and Make a Film Day led by MMTB’s Elena Altman.

We Editors would not ask our Readers to do anything that we aren’t willing to do ourselves. Write a novel in one month? Yep, did NANOWRIMO. Seasonal Fitness Challenge? Absolutely, did the Eagal Lakes Run. Digital Shorts for film festivals? Right here beside you. We are in your corner so why not video reply on our YouTube Channel, post your portfolio link and share your Vimeos with us on our SGL Facebook. The “solitary” artist has a league of friends.

Photo Credit: Six Sisters’ Stuff Churro Waffles

3 Fun Facts about the Valentine’s Day Make a Film in a Day Potluck

Cheetos and churro-waffle-donuts are the new food of love. Conversation hearts? Nah.
Sports Videographers, including one who regularly covers the World Cup, went undercover as Production Assistant
Bi-lingual Spanish/English Writers were awesomely funny in any language when such SmartyFellas double as Sound Operators pulling pranks on the set with the “dead cat” (wind dampener)

3 Fast Facts Social Intelligence Emotional Intelligence

Notice the Fast Facts shrunk from 10 to just 3 compared to the 48 Hour Film Project educational report? That’s what happens at a 10 A.M. to 7 P.M. film race. Time compresses everything from building rapport to learning equipment. Be ready for that agility mentally.
Tension is higher than on the set of the 48 hour shooting and editing schedule. Why? Because brilliant people have strong opinions and racing the sun adds heat to such personalities.
Let go of ego and stay positive as Production Assistant because you are as much “on camera” as anyone else. The behind-the-scenes word of mouth will spread across social media networks and at mixers if you are a douche to anyone.

4 Technical Tips

Leave your camera and tripod at home if you are in a non-camera role as Production Assistant. Too much equipment clutters foot traffic areas. Space and time is at a premium.
Go lean as Production Assistant. Bring your survival minimum in your PA kit. This can mean Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) in a vest of bandolier instead of a full backpack. Unless you are filling that backpack with water for yourself and crew. Think about photojournalist Laina Dawes advice about live concerts in the heavy metal pit: don’t take up much space.
Anticipate clogged toilets so be ready to bring hand sanitizer in case you must take care of plumbing. Rectangular packets of facial tissue work well as toilet tissue too.
Show initiative. If you have special skills such as fight choreography, speak up. Believe it or not, Israeli Martial Arts training came in handy for one PA who could contribute to a scene to avoid stereotypes of a “girl catfight”.

Youth Leadership Development: 3 Perspectives Winter 2015 Report

February 7, 2015 by Renee Marchol Leave a Comment

For SGL’s 2015 educational report on youth development, our journalists asked a panel of youth mentors about their motivation, objective, and methods for influencing the next generation. This youth development report presents a variety of political, religious and philosophical views that represent our readership and the community this Winter 2015.

On Friday early evening, our Editor-in-Chief Renee Marchol interviewed SmartyGirl Tabora Constantennia, by phone.

SmartyGirl Tabora volunteers for a private Protestant nonprofit serving homeless youth and their mothers. When did her participation begin? November 2010. The catalyst? A children’s indoor winter carnival that provided entertainment, gifts, and winter coats. At the carnival, Tabora was assigned to help the other booth participants, including monitoring the bounce house. She returned home with the surprise of pre-chewed gum on the seat of her pants, and an invite from the nonprofit’s organizer to create a program to show Christ’s love through curriculum to homeless teens. Materials given? None. Previous lesson plans? Again, none. Freedom to design curriculum tailored to a small group of teens she’d teach for four years? Yep.

Our educational report seeks to present ways singles can also nurture the next generation as community-minded “neighborhood aunts and neighborhood uncles” .

Much like the other youth club leaders featured in this educational report, Tabora’s challenge included educating and retaining youth participants, keeping operating costs low, and committing to continuing education for herself as facilitator of content.

Tabora acknowledges that there is a generalization that women use their free time to nurture plants, animals and human relationships. Tabora’s gender-identity as a woman might be a factor. However, Tabora’s identification as a follower of Jesus is her motivation. She jokes that she isn’t trying to deny her teen club the deliciously satisfying fun of chocolate, ice cream (homemade), and Hot Cheetos but Tabora strives to make the measure of success for her after dinner weeknight club more than subjective happiness. She continues to clarify by saying that her late mother set the example: the template for teaching is modeled by God in the Bible. Tabora’s mother made Bible reading aloud to her daughter, several times a week, a priority. The radio and tv would be turned off and Tabora was allowed to play quietly before bedtime as her mom read a chapter or two of the Bible aloud. If not before bedtime, then during breakfast. Tabora’s mom explained that she believed strongly that she would not be obeying God as a Christian parent if she did not introduce her child to Jesus through scripture. Though the mom would not be responsible for Tabora’s choices later in life, her mom believed that she was responsible to inform her child what the Bible says. So metrics for success? The duty of the teacher is done as long as the information was presented. The outcome? Up to students’ free will.

Evangelizing of a different sort, promoting S.T.E.M., takes place at Mercy High School (A Catholic All-girls School) after school at the Girls Media Club led by Director of Technology Matthew Evearitt.

Make, Global Girl Media and Black Girls Code have forged an alliance to mentor coder and broadcasting youth at the Girls Media after school club in San Francisco.

Photo Credit: Global Girl Media Logo

Photo Credit: Make Logo from Makezine.com

Photo Credit: Black Girls Code Logo

Photo Credit: San Francisco Mercy High School

Dressed in a fashionable dress shirt and blue-gray tie, SmartyFella Matthew answered FAQ via webcast earlier this week on Wednesday. The Girls Media Club is one month old and will launch its school news program shortly. The broadcast will be a closed system for peer-to-peer news at the school. Select programs, in the future, might be shared with the larger community in a later YouTube channel. Takeaways for mentors in technology and social justice?

See below for our paraphrase of Matthew’s reply.

How will you equip youth to handle hecklers and troll comments?

Participants include those who are from underrepresented groups in technology and broadcasting. Acknowledging the marginalization of such youth and the lack of gender equity in technology, moves the conversation forward to closing that gap. Being straightforward with the young girls will help them be more resilient when they encounter pushback such as hecklers in person or troll comments from the internet.

What type of software do you use?

We have been teaching Scratch coding and look forward to introducing the youth to other programming languages.

What content will you feature?

We will focus on our specific school related news and our hope is to cover reports in the community such as green initiatives (i.e. eco sustainability). We’ll go from there.

What type of resources do you use for teaching?

Our partnership with Make, Global Girls Media and Black Girls Code is valuable because these organizations provide the people-power for mentorship.

What is the goal? How do you measure success?

Our leadership has two goals. We hope to develop technical skills in these youth so that they can be competitive in careers that once had a glass ceiling. Secondly, we would like to see these young women be recruited for work at these partner organizations upon graduation or choose college majors that have a gender disparity such as technology and broadcasting.

Success is measured by how happy each participant is in learning the skills that will give her more choices for higher-paying careers in fields where women and people of color are underrepresented.

As a SmartyFella reader or SmartyGirl youth curriculum developer, you might wonder how to gather resources and co-mentors if you don’t have partnerships like Matthew Evearitt described. Visit our Video Interview with Curriculum Developers at Radical Brownies for how SmartyGirls Anayvette Martinez and Marilyn Hollinquest meet their youth club needs. To wrap up this panel’s input, SmartyGirl Tabora also shared how she financed the textbooks for her Teen Bible Study. First, she acquired eight paperback bible translations over her years as an adult for $5 or less a piece. Then, when she needed hardback bibles with an easier to understand translation than the King James Version, she shopped around and compared buying in bulk prices. Finally, she cold-called a church office, after she heard the church was replacing its 100+ hardback pew bibles. Tabby proposed that she’d be willing to purchase a few used hardback bibles for her class. To her pleasant surprise, the church authorized enough copies for her Teen Bible Study students as a gift.

Special Thanks to Our Winter 2015 Panel of Youth Mentors

Tabora Constantennia is a frequent contributor as Guest Reporter for Arts & Technology. She also makes killer, homemade honey and green tea ice cream.

Matthew Evearitt teamed up with SGL for Black Girls Code at UC Berkeley in 2014. Follow him on Twitter @MatthewEvs1

Anayvette Martinez and Marilyn Hollinquest are birthday twins and superheroes of hospitality for patio tea. They also nurture the Radical Brownies of Oakland.

Please share your How To stories for Youth Development Winter 2015 below.

S.T.E.M. Comics in Education #Predictions2015: An Interview with Gene Yang

December 26, 2014 by Matt Lam Leave a Comment

Gene Yang: 5 Fast Facts

Taught Algebra II math to high schoolers
Received his Masters degree from CSU East Bay
Compared, Secret Coders, his upcoming graphic novel to Hogwarts but with circuitry instead of sorcery
Observed, on a trip to South Korea with his Korean American wife, the country’s fully developed market of educational graphic novels
Fan (NOT) of any vegetable remotely related to squash

Photo Credit: Gene Yang

SmartyGirlLeadership Press observed coding classes that filled up within 35 minutes of a social media posting by Devoxx4Kids.org in Norcal. For two consecutive weekends, parents of youth coders filled Saturday classrooms at Texas Instruments of Santa Clara and UC Berkeley’s Engineering building at BlackGirlsCode.com event to watch S.T.E.M. students animate characters on Scratch and build Lego Wedo robotics.

What might this surge in interest for kids to teach peers coding and dad-daughter workshop teams mean? Readers wanted insight from a S.T.E.M. education and coding comics expert who can explain why kids are doodling Big Hero 6 sensors and racing their parents to wake early on a Saturday for robotics camps. While one of our indie production crews covered the second event, Gene Yang answered a 20-minute phone interview request from our Editor-in-Chief Renee Marchol as our #Predictions2015 guide. A different indie news outlet, TaiwaneseAmerican.org spoke to Gene Yang in 2013. To hear about his American experience, see the video below.

Gene Yang, the 2013 National Book Award Nominee, gives us the FAQ on the history of comics in America, its use in K-12 education, his S.T.E.M. involvement, and what’s next since Baymax has hit Sanfrantokyo.

Frederic Wertham expressed concern in his 1954 book, Seduction of the Innocent, about his belief that there was a strong correlation between juvenile delinquency and the reading of comic books. Gene Yang describes Wertham as a decent man who cared about the possible moral questions that the emerging horror and pulp fiction genre might introduce. However, Yang does not agree with Wertham’s conclusions. The examination of comic books as a social good or social evil for youth became a topic for the Supreme Court.

Even today with wearable tech and classrooms with requirements to BYOD as K-12 students, comics still suffer a stigma. Are visual narrative format books still “literature”? What makes real reading?

Gene Yang studied the use of technology and comic illustration for educating youth for his graduate studies. He observed real-life high schooler responses to his move from video lectures on Algebra II to comic panels illustrating the same math concepts. The result? His students preferred the format that allowed them to study Algebra II in graphic novel format. The advantages? Viewing the sequence, the logical progression. Self-pacing where the student could control the speed of information delivery and review.

Photo Credit: Gene Yang Avatar

A sure-fire way to get Yang to geek out in front of his students? In other words, his superhero weakness? Ask a question about comic illustration as an art and science.

Yang is modest and points the spotlight to his peers, the league of illustrators who have been using visual narrative to engage students in science, engineering and math for much longer. For instance, comics as teaching tools and recreational reading for youth in South Korea is commonplace.

As moms and dads in Norcal have commented, the new marketplace expects coding skills in our workforce so S.T.E.M. events and materials make our children (or Smarty Nieces/Nephews) competitive in the world.

Yang suggests Primates, and other education comic titles, as a Quickstart primer for the curious: What is a S.T.E.M. comic? In this example? Jane Goodall dropping science graphic novel-style.

This article was co-edited by Guest Media Intern SmartyFella Matt. Gene Yang’s interviewer? Renee, our Editor-in-Chief and eater of the most waffles in the Seattle office.

5 Secrets of Being a Great Gamer Spouse: Guest Post by Newlywed SmartyFella Topher Ellis & SmartyGirl Bethany

December 17, 2014 by Topher Ellis Leave a Comment

5 Secrets of Being a Great Gamer Spouse

Hello and greetings from me, Topher, and my wife and Bethany! It’s our pleasure to once again be guest bloggers for SGL. You might remember our last guest blog, 5 Secrets of Being a Great Gamer Boyfriend: A Guest Blog Post by SmartyFella & His SmartyGirlfriend. Since then a lot has happened and believe it or not, we tied the knot! So you might be thinking do things change now that you’re married? Do the same rules and secrets still apply? Well yes! The same secrets still apply but this time we’re going to share how they apply to being married. As your relationship grows and evolves, so does how you approach and handle things. Let’s get the ball rolling!

Secret #1

Zelda-themed birthday cake by Topher & Bethany Ellis

Photo: Bethany made Topher a Zelda Theme Birthday Cake.

A little goes such a long way. What does this mean exactly and no, I’m not talking about Charmin Toilet paper where less is more. I’m talking about the little things we think that aren’t a big deal. Now as a gamer, I completely know what it means to be caught up in a part of a game where you’re glued to the screen or where you’re just having so much fun you’ll pretty much ask for five more minutes whether your wife is calling you for dinner or the house is burning down (let’s hope not!). And for all you out there that play games that don’t have a pause button or pause function (e.g. League of Legends, World of Warcraft, some kind of online rank game, etc.), I know how tough it is to pull away from those games. So what does this have to do with the little things going such a long way? Instead of asking for those five minutes to finish your game or to get to a more convenient point to stop for a bit, stopping right then and there says so much more to your wife. It’s not always the task that they want done but the fact that you put something down that they know you love to do something for them. This says so much more. Yeah you might die in the game, you might lose some points or have to start the level over but those things are tiny compared to impressing your wife and showing her she is more important than winning. But once she knows that she comes first, she’ll be right there doing whatever she can to help you win and get the high score.

Secret #2

Topher Cosplay Costume as Pokemon Meme

Photo: Topher Cosplay Costume as a Pokemon Meme

Gaming can be very complicated. There are so many different genres and sub-genres of games that to someone who isn’t familiar with gaming could be completely lost. Bethany isn’t clueless when it comes to gaming and can tell anyone that my favorite games series are The Legend of Zelda and Final Fantasy but that’s probably as far as it goes and that means so much to me. I love that she tries to be interested every once in a while and will ask me questions here and there but one thing you should never do is make it a requirement that they know as much as you do about what you love. I’ll never know clothes, make-up and jewelry like she does and I for one hope she never expects me to know but I can time to time figure out what she likes and get her something based off of that. Don’t force your hobby on her and expect her to change.

Secret #3

Gamer Spouse Date Tophany

Photo: Bethany and Topher

Gaming posters have got to go. Now this might not apply to everyone but if you’re a hardcore gamer like me who loves displaying posters of all my favorite games and you’re wife… well… isn’t, you’ll know where I’m coming from. It was cool having all your posters up in your college dorm or your own place but now that you’re married, some things have got to change and sacrifices need to be made. Some things mean more to Bethany than they do me and one of those things is how the house if decorated. Long story short, I get the hang up posters in the guest/game room and she gets the rest of the house. Now you might be thinking that I got the bum deal in all this but honestly I didn’t. She gets to be happy and decorate the entire house as she likes and I get one room? That sounds awesome to me. She’s happy and I’m happy that I only have to decorate one room and that she’s happy. That’s a win-win situation in my book. Remember fellas, you want to make your wife happy. You love games but you love her more.

Secret #4

Sim Topher Selects Bethany Late Night Gaming

Photo: Late night Gaming but Bethany planned it

Late night gaming cannot happen every night. Like a lot of you out there, I work 40+ hours a week and she does too. And this one took me quite a bit of time getting used to. Before I ever got married, what I did at night was up to me and up to me only. If I wanted to stay up all night catching up on that giant list of games I have yet to beat than I was free to do so. I’m sorry to inform you fellas, once you’re married, that do as I please at night thing is gone. Now I’m not saying she owns you and gets to tell you what to do, I’m saying you need to think of her now. So this is how I worked this out with Bethany and it works out great! We try to plan out the week ahead of time. Not to the extreme where every minute of the day is scheduled but mostly just big things that are going on like work schedules, date night and guys, you’ll like this one, nights you’d like to stay up playing video games. If you plan it ahead of time, she won’t feel neglected and you won’t feel bad that she’s sad that she wanted to cuddle and you wanted to beat that part of the game you were thinking about all day at work. Some women just like to know that you’re next to them at night and they fall asleep easier this way. Don’t feel like she’s just trying to give you a bedtime. Plan those nights so it’s no surprise but also plan to go to bed when she does.

Secret #5

Photo: Topher and Bethany being ourselves

This one might sound familiar but it’s probably the most important. BE YOURSELF! She chose you. Bethany once said she was never going to date or end up with a gamer and years later she just happened to meet and marry me. Gaming is important to me but I’d give it up in a second for her and never look back. You know they’re the one when you can give up your hobbies and passions for her. But back on topic, be you. Be the nerd gamer that rants for ten minutes during the car ride about this awesome play you made in your game and she has no idea what you’re talking about. Be the passionate and enthusiastic gamer that lights up when you learn your favorite series are releasing a new title within the next two years. It those things that your wife loves to see. It’s those things that make her want to endure going in to a game store to find out what that game is that you want so she can personally surprise you with it. Guys, it’s also the same thing for you when you see her light up about her favorite things.

Photo: Bethany & Topher Ellis Spouse Team

Whether you’re a gamer guy, girl, or you’re passionate about anything. These rules apply. Taking the time to know, love and care for each other is what will get you from one day to the next. We’re not the same person we were ten years ago, a year ago, a week ago or even yesterday. We are constantly changing and will be changing even ten years from now. You learn to love that special someone over and over again every single day. And like they told me on our wedding day, for better or for worse, in sickness or in health, till death do us part, I will love her. I hope you enjoyed this! Take care and Happy Holidays!

Meet Black Girls Code SmartyGirls and SmartyFellas December 2014: Bay Area Interview (Video)

December 15, 2014 by Renee Marchol Leave a Comment

Black Girls Code SmartyFellas and SmartyGirls Interview: Bacon, Curtz, Williams, and Evearitt from Renee Marchol on Vimeo.

Robotics Event Transcript

My name is Joe Bacon. I’m at the Black Girls Code at UC Berkeley. It is Saturday, December 13, 2014.

I’m Joyce Curtz and I’m here at the Black Girls Code event. This event is working with Lego. Every child, even adults, still play today with Lego. So I think it’s a very good kind of toy if you want to make girls familiar with the technical aspect of Lego. And by doing that they get more familiar with the tech industry.

By using Lego, having that as an introduction to technology and the technical industry, kids can get familiar by just playing with the toy. Playing with Lego, building something, creating something, and having something created at the end by putting little pieces together. Then the technical aspect of it can be programming something on the computer and then putting that together with the toy itself. Then the toy can do things. It can make noises, it can work, or it can move. Children like that.

They like creating that does something. They can say, “I did that! I did that!” In that way they play. What you’re doing is you getting them introduced to the technical industry because this is all part of the tech of today.

My name is Matt Evearitt and I’m the Director of Technology at Mercy High School in San Francisco. It’s an all-girls high school and what were trying to do is start off with a small program with about nine girls to learn about technology and to learn about media production as well to create equity in the industry. And that’s one of our main goals. So our girls are going to start learning off with block coding with programs like Scratch, and then they’re going to learn about Media Production and Podcasting later on. And eventually we’ll be running our own independent Media Production Club through the school.

My name is Jennifer Williams. I’m here at Black Girls Code at the Robotics Event on the campus of UC Berkeley. I decided to volunteer at the event as I can lend a hand today. My daughter is seven years old and when we moved back to the Bay Area I was looking for an organization to get her involved in and it was mentioned about Black Girls Code. I never really thought about sending her or exposing her to technical experiences and now that I think back on my experiences when it comes to S.T.E.M. science and math. In 5th grade I attended an event in San Francisco called Broadening Your Horizon in Science and Math where I was exposed to the sciences, mathematics and things of that nature. So it’s really interesting to see that that gap still exists between young girls and young boys that we’re still trying to fill that S.T.E.M. gap. So I think that the organization of this event as a great segue way to get young ladies and parents thinking about other career opportunities or other points of interest. Here we are in 2014 and there’s still such a huge disparity in the field of science and mathematics so I’m so happy to be here. I believe she’s having a super awesome time. She’s smiling a lot. She’s nodding a lot. She doesn’t want me to interrupt her throughout the day so I’m trying not to be Mommy and just trying to be a super awesome volunteer.

How to be an Anti-harassment Hero this Holiday Season: An Interview with The Unslut Project Founder Emily Lindin

December 11, 2014 by Renee Marchol Leave a Comment

Emily Lindin is the founder of The Unslut Project and a Harvard graduate. Like many, she is the survivor and overcomer of sexual bullying. When she was 14-years-old she was sexually curious and experimented sexually with a classmate. Unfortunately gossip spread in her school and she was the object of name-calling. Her classmates, male and female, harassed her even telling her to kill herself. One incident included a school field trip where a boy grabbed her hand in a darkened theater and forced her to touch his privates. Emily did not receive the protection of her other classmates because the rationale was that she was a slut and did not have the right to refuse or complain.

Editor-in-Chief Renee Marchol heard of SmartyGirl Emily Lindin’s anti-sexual bullying campaign while working alongside NuReality Productions, an indie documentary company in Berkeley. The all male crew had respectful things to say about The Unslut Project so our blog readers wanted to know more about this social justice campaign. Our Editor-in-Chief has witnessed first-hand that #HeforShe allies are everywhere. Thank you, SmartyFellas!

Note: It is the strongly-held personal belief of our Editor-in-Chief Renee Marchol that individuals have sexual human rights including the “right not to be exposed to sexual material or behavior” and prior consensual acts do not mean “yes” to unwanted sex. Our Editor-in-Chief traveled from Seattle to Berkeley in order to complete an academic internship, in November, on the definition of consent through NuReality Productions’ documents.

Before Thanksgiving, Ted Talker Emily Lindin was willing to take our Editor Renee Marchol’s phone call for an interview and share the insights that follow.

Here are 5 Tips for Readers as Bystanders of Sexual Bullying

1. Listen without necessarily giving advice. Sometimes advice is warranted, but the point is that if you don’t know what advice to give, that’s okay – you can still be helpful just by listening.

2. Proximity is powerful. Sitting closely can be such a simple but powerfully affirming gesture. Emily shares that a then-acquintance, a female classmate on that same field trip, sat next to her to say, “I heard the rumors, but I think you are cool. Let’s hang out sometime.” Years later Emily says that acquaintance-turned-friend invited her to be one of her bridesmaids. The thought-starter? Support the bullied with your own reputation by showing: you are proud to have him/her for a friend publicly.

3. Allow for the possibility that the target of sexual bullying may take time to trust you. Someone who is sexually bullied has been set up for traps that lead to more mocking by those who pretend to be sympathetic only to add more torment. In other words, he/she may doubt your motives for showing solidarity (at first).

4.Choose in-person disclosure. If you are the target of sexual bullying at school or at work, consider finding allies offline. Why offline? On the phone or messaging, the hearer has the opportunity to be rude or dismissive with little consequence. Emily says, “In person, it’s that much harder for that person to respond rudely.” In addition, it reduces the opportunity for victim-shaming such as unauthorized forwards and gossipy shares.

5. Be mindful of timing for a show of solidarity or ally recruitment. Keep in mind that people are usually uncomfortable with sex as a topic. Victim-blaming still exists. You can’t control people’s responses, but you can take all possible steps to assure confidentiality.

Photo Credit: Emily Lindin TedxYouth@Toronto The Unslut Project

Follow @UnSlutProject on Twitter for more about Emily Lindin’s advocacy. Emily shares that she loves breakfast food, especially blueberry pancakes. She acknowledges that she has a really loud, unique laugh. She used to be embarrassed of it, but now she embraces it because it always makes other people laugh, too!

Bicycle Touring Through Morocco: A Literary Travel Memoir

November 29, 2014 by Michael Zack Leave a Comment

Photo Credit: Michael Zack bicycling in High Atlas Mountains by Photographer Rob Bregoff

Pedaling Nowhere Writer Logan Watt’s article “Bikepacking Morocco” is just one of the signs that bike touring in Morocco is becoming more popular with cyclists. What if you retraced the steps of your favorite writers on a travel adventure too? SmartyFella Michael Zack did just that. Here’s his story.

There is something that we want to find, some experience calling us, when we set-out to travel. From the first step confidence as to what that is diminishes, and it not far down the road that we’re reminded again that it’s the journey, not the destination, that leaves a lasting impression.

In the spring of 1995 I boxed my touring bicycle in San Francisco and re-assembled it in the Casablanca Airport, and rode out of the airport, past people working in the fields who smiled and waved. I learned two things quickly: to defend myself from less welcoming dogs with the help of my tire-pump and to carry some stones. Marrakesh was to be my home for five months and I ended up riding over the High Atlas Mountains with my invincible friend Rob Bregoff. We were just beginning a five year domestic affair. We made it to the mountain pass and to Zagora “the door to the Sahara”, but we, like so many other couples, couldn’t make it past Y2K.

I first went to Morocco in 1991 to find the American writer Paul Bowles. Leaving the Joe Orton Diaries incriminatingly underneath my childhood bed, I landed by boat in Tangier and checked into the waterfront youth hostel. Two days later I had given up any hope that I would summon the courage to ask around to find Paul Bowles, occupied in my head with what I would actually say to Paul Bowles should I meet him (I had nothing really to say), and questioning “what on earth he would have to say to me? The whole literary world comes knocking at his door”. Instead, I humbly went forward to Marrakech to see for myself some of the North African life I experience in Paul Bowles novels The Sheltering Sky, Let it Come Down and The Spider’s House, and most evocatively found in his short stories.

I never did meet Paul Bowles, but this past spring I spent two months sleeping in my parent’s Michigan basement, reading everything on my Mother’s bookshelf and on “Michael’s table” where she keeps all the books I’ve given her because my Mother is determined that my legacy will include the return of every gift I’ve given her.

My Mother kept suggesting I read Paul Theroux’s The Pillars of Hercules, “it’s down there on the shelf.” She loves his writing, me not so much. He’s quick: can sum-up a place in the comment of an old man working in a Tabac that sells porno. Wherever he is, he’s always checking-out the porno, taking the temperature of a repressive nation. It’s a series of events that are only related in that they happen to him; but it’s travel writing, and carefully observed for what it is, and easily dismissed as obviously having been better to stay at home, so it’s wildly popular.

Photo Credit: Michael Zack’s Passport Stamp for Tangier

Upon reading the premise of the thick hardcover on the torn dust-jacket with the picture of the Amalfi Coast, I was hooked. Paul travelled by land and sea around the coast of the Mediterranean, from one of the Pillars in Southern Spain to the other in Morocco, a journey that would take him through Europe, Asia and Africa. Hooked, because in the autumn of 1995 Rob Bregoff and I had an unforgettable lunch of really giant prawns at a table positioned on a little carved out spot on the Pillar, just above the crashing surf of the Atlantic.

When Rob landed in Tangier for our bicycle journey to the Sahara, I waited for him in my room with a view of the harbor in the Continental Hotel, a Moorish palace where Bernardo Bertolucci filmed some of The Sheltering Sky. I didn’t know what boat he would arrive on, so I arrived a couple days early, and Rob was a couple days late, leaving me a long time to watch the ferries come and go, and lay around the empty ornate hotel lobby rooms thinking about Bernardo Bertolucci, and strolling The Kasbah and all over the slightly menacing city. Rob arrived, and before we took the night train to Marrakech we rode over to newly late Malcolm Forbes’ frothy abode – with all the glamour of a Hollywood set – now Forbes’ Toy Soldier Museum, undoubtedly a tax-exempt charity run by his heirs. Peddling West, from this not so subtle re-imagining of Christian domination over the Islamic world, we came to the Pillars of Hercules, and those jumbo shrimp.

Would Paul get there? Would he order the shrimp? So, I read through the 500 pages as Paul weaved his way around the political hot spots of the region. And he finally does get to Tangier. Not as I had imagined, by way of Algeria, but back across the Straights of Gibraltar, from where he began, arriving on a ferry boat, just like we all did.

The magical moment for me is when he goes and looks up Paul Bowles. Paul meets Paul; “I know your books” Bowles greets him and invites him in, and recounts again, for the record, that it was Gertrude Stein in 1931 who suggested he go to Tangier, for the boys, and the tax-free cigarettes, and it was he alone who could stand the place (for very long), so he stayed.

As the audience waned, they smoked some hand rolled cigarettes of The Rifs finest, floated away into their own worlds, and Theroux end up walking the alleys of The Kasbah until he stumbles upon writer Mohammed Choukri who Paul Bowels translated into English and “introduced to the world”, and got published his novel For Bread Alone. Mohammed was a little drunk, a little surly, and basically summed-up Bowles as patrician, and cheap, “In twenty-one years he has not bought me even one cup of coffee”.

So there I have it, in 2014 I completed my journey I set out on in 1991, to visit Paul Bowles in his legendary Tangier apartment, where he died in 1999.

I didn’t do it, but someone else did,, and wrote about it. And if my Mom hadn’t given me the book, sold me on it really, I would not have ended this journey so comfortably, in the comfort of my bed (with it’s perfect reading lamp), in the interior of Brazil. Thanks Mom!

Photo Credit: SmartyFella Michael Zack Passport Photo 1995

Michael Zack is a writer currently in South America. Renee and Michael became friends on an asphalt basketball court in grad school. Renee believes Michael and his layups are invincible.

Aki Con 2014: A Year After the Incident

November 7, 2014 by Marquila Wilson Leave a Comment

November is our blog’s month of thanksgiving. Our editors thank our guest reporters in the field who take on personal risk to get our stories for educational reports that matter to SmartyGirls and SmartyFellas. Don’t think there is personal risk for World of Warcraft to Queen Elsa Cosplay? You’d be surprised.

Empower yourself by advocating for safety for all: #heforshe

Photo Credit: @HeforShe

Our editors would like to acknowledge our thanks to Guest Anime Reporter Marquila Wilson for covering a Seattle-area anime convention that received negative press last year because of a violent crime.

SmartyGirl Marquila Wilson is an Anime expert and our eyewitness to changes in the anime community one year later. Here are her observations in her own words:

Aki Con 2014 was an experience to be remembered for both its originality and elegance compared to some of its larger “Big Sister” Cons like Sakura Con. This smaller convention offered many perks of the name “Aki” to sparkle. The glimmer in the eyes of its attendees, the ornate and elaborate cosplay and the flashy autumn lights made a positive impression.

Photo Credit: AKI Foundatiion

There were so many cool things about Aki Con. For instance, one of the many events included voice actors Melodee Spevack Voice actor to a number of projects including Bobobo-bo Bo-Bobo anime and a Star Trek web series. She together with Michael McConnohie, another voice actor from the widely known World of Warcraft and Vampire Hunter D series, hosted a Voice Acting Master class that I found to be both informative and realistic. They had a more personal interaction with the class that you don’t seem to get at larger Cons with advice tips and voice acting exercises that were beneficial to those who attended.

Cosplay was detailed and for some quite extravagant! See below for a video clip by Timey Wimey Production for what I mean.

Aki Con hosts a Masquerade Ball that’s formal and other dances along the way. This makes for a grand opportunity to cut loose from the hustle and bustle of the jam-packed schedule. A few smaller but less formal dance parties featured a whole lot of eye-catching pop culture references like Sailor Moon and even Queen Elsa from Frozen Cosplay Hall offered a chance to show off some skills and give tribute to your favorite anime, game or comic. With the presence of a new a division named S.A.S.H. (Safety and Social Health) volunteers well known, attendees were able to have full access to the con without concern.

Photo Credit: S.A.S.H. Aki Con

Artist Alley featured some very talented up and coming artists as well as some who have already arrived. There were many personal artworks and manga. A large assortment of vendors with everything pertaining to the culture of anime from lanyards to full costumes ( plus mystery bags) designed to give the buyer an assortment of goodies pertaining to a genre for a fair price.

Overall, Aki-Con 2014 was a success that overcomes a bad rep from the years prior giving its attendees additional staffing more attractions and a list of things to do that just keeps going. Not only is it worth your time, this also counts an experience any true Otaku should have at least once. This convention offers endless opportunities without the commercialism while still exploring diversity connecting with its attendees vendors and sponsors. It offers a safe and open space where those alike and unalike can unite for a common purpose: The understanding and celebration of anime and Japanese culture. And what Smarty Girl Otaku or #heforshe SmartyFella can’t get behind that?

Photo Credit: Marquila “Kila” Wilson

SmartyGirl Marquila Wilson is an anime/manga illustrator and reporter for the anime community in the Seattle area. She also believes in evaporated milk as the magic ingredient in desserts.

“Spidey Sense” for Subterranean Documentaries: An Interview with Biologist Niall Doran

October 11, 2014 by Renee Marchol Leave a Comment

In horror movies, the plucking of string instruments usually signals the crawling of spiders onto someone with arachnophobia. In contrast, imagine a group of camera operators pursuing spiders into the dark for a documentary.

Photo Credit: Joe Shemesh Bookend trust Dr. Niall Doran

SGL (Media) met via Skype with Biologist Niall Doran of Tasmania last week. Dr. Doran is working with Bookend Trust and celebrity Neil Gaiman. Here Dr. Niall Doran answers our readership questions about filmmaking, camera hacks for corrosive environments and adventure.

SmartyGirls and SmartyFellas are partnering with Niall Doran from now to Halloween to assist in raising $100,000 towards his awesome-face research.

What did the research require? 19 hours underground with little light and lots of damp and cold. Repeat for 30 days. Then repeat again for 90 days. Continue for 2 years.

Fun fact? 6 P.M. Pacific Standard Time (PST) in North America is before noon in Tasmania.

Why is SGL partnering with spider documentaries this season? To encourage art, science and filmmaking. As a thought-starter for those considering lifetime career in science for the environment.

1. In what way can my blog and social media partners assist you with Sixteen legs? Do you hope for more likes? Donations?
We’re definitely happy with more likes/followers, either via Twitter (@BookendTrust) or our Facebook page , and we’re also after schools, teachers and students from around the globe to look at what we’re doing and to be a part of our general education programs – either online, or through touring of our exhibitions and other materials. But at its heart, this current campaign is really about fundraising. Bookend began with a small group of people putting their own money into this work because we believe it’s important to inspire the next generation. We’ve been running this work for a long time now, but this current project (Sixteen Legs) is a bit more than we can manage just on our own!

2. My audience includes filmmakers who are curious what types of gear was used for the shoots in the dark and in water. Tell me how you dealt with conditions.
Given the challenges involved in getting the footage (spiders not liking light or heat, cameras not liking wet & corrosive conditions, and crew not liking extended periods in dangerous dark places) we decided to film at the best resolution available at the time, so that we wouldn’t have to go back to do it all again. The best available at the time was digital 5K with a Red Epic camera, which in turn put limitations on the rock crevices we could access and the focal distances we could work with. Depending on how much background your audience wants on the film-making challenges, here’s some extra info:

(i) A sneak peek at some excerpts from the behind-the-scenes doco, where our DOP discusses the choice of cameras.
(ii) And in much more detail, here’s a link to an article that was run in Australian Cinematographer on
the challenges of the filming

3. How long is your campaign: 6 weeks? We’d like to assist from now to October 31st.

That’s fantastic – any help getting a good response before the end of the month would be greatly appreciated. We’re planning to run the fundraiser to the end of November, although we will need to close off on some items before then so we can get the books printed and delivered before Christmas. That’s especially so for the Deluxe book option, in which people get the books signed by the contributors (including Neil Gaiman) and their name printed inside the book.

Other comments:

At its heart this a quirky, fun and slightly creepy story about giant prehistoric spiders seeking love in the dark. They grow to the size of a dinner-plate and they are still living in the caves of Tasmania. They have a legspan of 18cm (7 inches), and webs that can be six feet or more across. They live in some of Australia’s biggest and deepest caves, and they are of high scientific interest globally as their story spans at least 200 million years. They are survivors from the first age of the dinosaurs; they predate the splitting of the continents when Antarctica, South America and Australia separated (their closest relatives are in Chile and Argentina); they appeared at a crucial junction in global spider evolution; and they have endured throughout the entirety of human civilisation.

Everything about them breaks the usual spider rules: they have complicated and very kinky love lives, they build highly structured egg-sacs that are much more complicated than those of other spiders, the young take longer to merge than other spiders (9 months! instead of 6-8 weeks), and they live for decades (instead of 2-3 years). We’ve pieced together the spider’s life history through 23 years of scientific research, and we have just captured the key facets of all this via 2 years of documentary filming.

By sticking a camera crew underground for months at a time, we’ve finally captured their lifecycle on film, in glorious 5K resolution, and we’re working with best-selling international author Neil Gaiman (Coraline, Sandman, Doctor Who) on a documentary that not only presents the science, but has a ‘dark fairytale’ rendition of the science woven through it. This was recently showcased to an audience of global broadcasters in France as one of only 7 ‘in production’ natural history documentaries selected from around the globe. The main “Sixteen Legs” documentary won’t be finished until next year, but a shorter piece on what it took to film the spiders (“16 Legs: Spider Love”) has just been selected as a finalist at the Banff Mountain Film Festival in Canada, where it will screen in November. It will also be shown in a dual world premiere at the Breath of Fresh Air (BOFA) Film Festival in Australia on the same day (November 9 – both hemispheres on the same day).

We’ve also recently held an exhibition about the filming, complete with 18 foot (!) replicas of the spiders, and there’s a whole range of educational work we’ve been doing on this topic – see http://www.bookendtrust.com/caves for how the whole educational side fits together.

Why are we doing this? We run an education charity called the Bookend Trust, and the successful exposure of this documentary will both promote and support our work. The short version of our mission statement is to “inspire students with the careers they can build making the world a better place”. We started this work as a self-funded group of individuals with backgrounds in science (many of us biologists). Bookend was initially funded through my long service leave and equity on my house. We now draw income from a range of sources, including working as consultants, incoming grants and donations, business sponsorships, and the development of documentary content. The range of projects we run with students has grown dramatically, and although we are based in Tasmania we have participating schools across Australia and around the globe.

A video snapshot of Bookend’s work

Overview of all our projects

We’re not using a typical crowd-funding approach to this project, as the books and other rewards will be available irrespective of the funds raised. However, the fundraising target – if reached – will release an extra reward for one lucky contibutor, and that’s the trip to Tasmania. It’s an opportunity to get to a fantastic far away place with Neil Gaiman, at a time when the exchange rate is good and supporters from the northern hemisphere would be trading winter for summer. The winner will see fantastic behind-the-scenes work with endangered and unusual animals in Tasmania, as well as cultural experiences (such as the world-famous MONA Museum and associated Festivals) and the opportunity to be a part of the filming of Sixteen Legs.

Where to donate/buy fundraising rewards:

www.sixteenlegs.com

2014 Banff Mountain Film Festival Finalist – Sixteen Legs
2014 Official International Pitch Selection – Sunny Side of the Doc international market, France

10 Things to Ask an Actor: Part 1 of 2 An Interview with Actress Cami Okins

August 12, 2014 by Chasya Hill

Last Thursday, SmartyGirl Chasya Hill interviewed “Heart Wants” 48 Hour Film Project Actress Cami Okins by phone. Make memorable small talk with actors and actresses by using one of these 5 out of 10 Thought-starters:

Photo Credit: Cami Okins

1. What do you see as the main difference between acting for theater vs. acting for film?

SmartyGirl Cami Okins played Christine Daae in a non-musical theater production of “The Phantom of the Opera” by Gaston Leroux, in addition to her other roles. In live theater, facial expressions and delivery of lines are more exaggerated than acting for film. This is so the audience, even at a distance, can follow the story. Movements are wider, more expansive.

In theater, it’s indoor and live. The audience is present so actors “can’t take it back” when delivering their lines. In film, actors have opportunities to do retakes. The camera captures the actor’s expressions up close on film. For film? The more natural and realistic, the better.

Ms. Okins enjoys using her varied life experiences to connect with the character she is playing. She believes that life experience builds an individual into something. She invites playing different types of people and addressing a range of subjects. Understanding the history of a character inspires her as an actress.

2. Tell me more about the research you’ve done for a role.

Ms. Okins researched the character of Christine Daae as created by Writer Leroux. What was the political climate during the time of the story? How did women dress at the time? In what way could Christine Daae’s Swedish upbringing influence her perspective of Paris? Research informs how a character would operate and react to her world.

3. Can you tell me how “cue lines” signal fellow actors and crew during a theater production?

Cue lines are the end of a sentence before another character enters in theater. Cue lines choreograph when to do what. Imagine the sound specialists, lighting effects crew and actors as a big machine working together.

In film there is more room for actors to improvise. In contrast, theater productions require actors to improvise when something goes awry. For example, when lighting fails, the actor might choose to joke aloud about forgetting to pay the light bill to smooth out the production for the theater audience.

4. How are the physical demands for film different from the energy expended for live theater?

For theater, it can be physical demanding for an actress to communicate climbing a mountain when she is indoors and on stage. She must be convincing enough to help the audience imagine the strain of clawing at a rockface. For film, she might do a retakes for a running scene 20 times. Both take its own kind of exertion.

5. Besides acting, what other roles interest you in the entertainment industry?

Cami Okins has an interest in “child wrangling”. This is a designated role of an adult with training how to protect youth actors from emotional trauma. A child wrangler advocates for the child actor and might suggest alternatives for a shot for a body double if a scene might be too upsetting for a young actor.

Check back with SGL for 5 tips from Actor Alex Hager. You didn’t think we’d leave out the SmartyFellas, did you?

SmartyGirl Actress Chasya Hill enjoys time with friends. Quality time with friends, according to Ms. Hill, can be a walk outdoors or a trip to the grocery store together. She believes in living a rich and interesting life. Weird jobs? Bring it on! She currently resides in Los Angeles.

Photo Credit: Actor Chasya Hill

Seattle 48 Hour Film Project: Behind-the-Scenes Assistant Camera Operator Log

August 3, 2014 by smartygirl Leave a Comment

Photo Credit: All You Need is Love by Zed1 via Laughing Squid

Our Editor-in-Chief Renee Marchol participated in the @Seattle48HFP with Team Tacoma as Assistant Camera Operator under the leadership of Writer/Director/Producer Serena Berry, Assistant Director Christine Brewer and DP Victor Antonio Labarthe. The image above captures how she feels for her peers after this marathon weekend.

Fist-bump to her Palo Alto Media Center producer and crew buddies in California too who trained her for this event out-of-state. She misses you all.

We promised that we would be right by the side of our readers in digital shorts production this summer, right? That means we also communal living room campout and stand out in the sun for hours. Hot tub victory soak? Of course!

We are so proud of you movie-making SmartyGirls and SmartyFellas. Please comment below. Make sure you video reply to our YouTube Channel post.

3 Fun Facts

SmartyFella Victor Antonio Labarthe was born in Southern California but lived in Lima, Peru. His past work includes lighting for award-winning documentary “Maikaru”

SmartyFella Greyson Boevers hosts the YouTube channel “No Rest for the Caffeinated” when he’s not writing poetry, music, or science fiction. You might catch this gaffer on a Star Wars Chewbacca longboard (skateboard) catching moving-car-shots while wearing a GoPro strapped to his chest.

SmartyFella Patrick Rodriquez does landscape photography in Seattle.

Photo Credit: Jennifer Faulkerson Patrick Rodriguez on “Heart Wants” set

Yep. This is just a sample of the awesomeness of the past 48 hours.

10 Emotional Intelligence/Social Intelligence Fast Facts about Your First Seattle 48 Hour Film Race

1. Offer bartering to couchsurf at headquarters the evening when the script is written

2. Be on best houseguest behavior

3. Reach out to professionals your junior and your senior

4. Watch to know when to speak on the set

5. Trust but verify that your leader knows your strengths and limitations

6. Mingle and leave a favorable memory

7. Study nonverbal signals

8. Cut the tension when conflicts arise but be yourself

9. Accept what you can’t control

10. Count on developing strong professional crushes of mutual temporary mentorship

Simply conserve your energy and do not be an energy drain on others. This is a top 3 priority when participating in an athletic/creative/technical event such as this. Stingers (i.e. extension cords), power strips for outlets, and battery charging cradles need to stay charged and so do all humans on the team, right? Shorten the distance you must travel so you can use your concentration for being the best you can be with unfamiliar technical equipment instead of road hazards.

Do not add to the pressure on others. Hum a song to yourself. Whisper entertaining small talk. Be a listener. Find whimsy that is not distracting to others.

Go outside of your comfort zone and join conversations outside of your subject matter expertise. Rotate and socialize with each department of the team. Listen to actors. Hear the challenges of leadership. Give a high five to production assistants. You will be rewarded. For example, our Editor Renee learned about the humor that takes place on horror production sets and best practices for keeping youth actors from emotional trauma for scary scenes.

After the first two mistakes, you’ll know where to look and when to speak.

Just as we are unable to control the position of the sun in the sky, don’t get upset if your recommendations can’t be implemented. Watch how well others support the leadership and offer options respectfully. Timing is also key!

Photo Credit: DP Victor Antonio Labarthe Director Serena Berry and AC Renee Marchol

Don’t be afraid your professional admiration will be mistaken for romantic interest. Chatting while waiting is part of the job of an Assistant Camera Operator for the next setup on the shot list. It’s ok to chill and network with SmartyFellas and SmartyGirls. For instance, curious? Ask someone your junior. Young professionals are willing to get you up to speed on how to use a Star Wars longboard (skateboard) and chest strapped GoPro for additional trucking shots for outside-a-moving-car footage. Who knows? You might also find yourself partnering for future podcasts, award-winning documentaries, or growing YouTube channels.

Be very careful to avoid giving unsolicited and ignorant advice. Listen. Listen. Listen. What worked in the past for you may not apply. Different gear. Different time frame. Different mix of people talent. Avoid the S-word (should). Don’t describe a way of doing things as the “right” way. Never touch equipment belonging to someone without asking. Don’t be the handsy-douche who thinks he/she has all the answers.

Never pretend to know something you don’t. Fix it. Learn it. Need to look up how to set a certain manual mode on Canon T2i or Canon 7D? Find the most popular and well-rated tutorials on YouTube.

5 Technical Fast Facts about the Seattle 48 Hour Film Project

1. Ask the onsite expert during his/her downtime for a 10 minute demo

2. Sacrifice sleep to practice drills solo

3. Teach self to fill in education gaps

4. Same seats

5. Guard gear

Remember school bus field trips? Same seats reduced confusion and people left behind. Same goes for riding in carpools for equipment and people. Usually ride back with the same group you arrived with unless leadership says differently.

There are no porters (production assistants aren’t personal assistants).

Bring trolley cases for your gear. Wear a slim backpack. Our Editor used her beta-model Runnur hands-free carry all from her Las Vegas International CES roadtrip. (CEO Andrew Hamra, the red/black Runnur is still intact!)

Washington State has many individuals from the Armed Forces. This applies to creatives professionals such as actors. Treat your assigned camera as you would with any expensive and lethal equipment. Treat it right. Keep it clean. Know how to dissemble and reassemble it. Example? Editor Renee cut three hours off of her sleep time to practice drills, solo, with her assigned camera to support her team as competently and quickly as possible.

Visit again next week for guest blog posts from cast, crew and leadership for their behind-the-scenes log.

This was our Chief’s first film race with new coworkers in her new home: Washington State. Check out the road movie “Heart Wants” by Team Tacoma at the screening next week!

The Moth Story Slam in San Francisco: Storytelling Live

July 31, 2014 by Lynn Krug Leave a Comment

Photo Credit: The Moth

Guest Blogger Lynn Krug joins us today with her review of the live storytelling event in San Francisco on Tuesday the 29th.

What are 3 Fast Facts about Krug?

1. She is a colleague at the Palo Alto Media Center, an award-winning community tv collaborative in California.

2. She is known for her art critiques.

3. She and her college-aged daughter share a love for National Public Radio (NPR).

Why are the Palo Alto Media Center and our Seattle SGL Media branch teaming up for this review?

Photo Credit: Palo Alto Media Center

SmartyGirls and SmartyFellas value the art of storytelling and the use of technology for excellent audio. The Moth is a nonprofit headquartered in New York. Its product? A radio podcast of true stories. Storytelling events this well produced? We wouldn’t miss it. Special thanks to KALW’s Matt Martin and The Moth’s Anna MacKinnon and Andrew Slusser for the invite.

Photo Credit: Twitter: @TheMoth

What’s the call to action?

Lynn Krug reports that San Francisco needs more volunteer storytellers to take the stage.

The Moth Story Slam
Producers:
Anna MacKinnon
Andrew Slusser
Sponsor: KALW
The “Public Works” Performance space at 161 Erie in SF.
The theme “Altered”
“Real people telling real stories for 5 minutes”.

The Moth Story Slam was a first experience of live story telling for me. I must reveal, I already held a jaw dropping bias for the Moth radio show, but it was a complete surprise what the experience of “live” is when the audience (sitting next to you) are also the performers.

The Moth Story Slam at Public Works is an open fluid space with a celebratory atmosphere of happily anxious story tellers and their warm and encouraging audience.

Judges are selected from the audience, and the speakers are selected at random. Memorable team names included: “Transformation”, “Fourth Date” ( with the daters), and “Loose Change”.

The host for the evening, Dhaya Lakshminarayanan sets a great pace with fast and witty humor for the audience, prompts the audience to wildly nurture each story teller up to the stage.

Each story teller is randomly selected from their entries by Dhaya. Once selected, it is like watching both semi professional and amateurs climb the ladder for the high dive. You have no idea what to expect.

This isn’t Ted Talk or Oprah-lite. The Moth stories are about being drawn in to a personal story. A story teller is best when fresh, raw – and true to who they are. Over rehearsed or stories that reveal the ending early won’t work. it is all about the authenticity and the twist at the end.

There is no “hook” for the performers. There is only the audience’s anticipation and their willing support. Unlike the radio performances where you might change the dial, each 5 minute live experience may leave you rolling with laughter, paused in thought, or writhing in your seat. With each speaker, I began challenging myself to be an active participant and go places emotionally that I would not normally experience.

Of the performers, the night launched with Silvio Menendez’s hilarious recounting of being a hospital Spanish interpreter in the operating room interpretting for a surgeon and woman having brain surgery while she was awake awake!

A few speakers , as would be expected with the theme “Altered”, recounted drug experiences, as was told in a recounting of a Burning Man experience that was screamingly inappropriate and funny…the advantage of unedited live theatre.

Mara Berg, was judged the winner with “I learned how to love at my first love’s funeral.” Her edgy discomfort and displacement of time and space on stage, only made the story more real for how this experience could unexpectedly happen to someone, and bring them to a place where she (and now we) celebrate the life of her first love.

Reality TV has nothing on The Moth Story Slam. Get real. Get live. Connect with KALW and tell your story!

My Problem With Grace by Katie Kiesler: Memoir Review

July 31, 2014 by smartygirl Leave a Comment

John Lennon’s lyrics in the Beetle’s “Imagine” suggests that conflicts would end if we eradicated religion. Bahai-heavy Soul Pancake contributors and Zack Anner, Host of “Have a Little Faith” have a different approach: promote understanding.

Photo Credit: YouTube Soul Pancake “Bahai How are You Doing”

Katie Kiesler self identifies as a Christian in her memoir titled, My Problem With Grace. Want to understand where she is coming from? She differentiates her faith from popular Christianity that worships the big house, the faithful spouse, and the problem-free kids. Her memoir is her conversation, at age 23, with Grace, unmerited mercy.

3 Paraphrased Thought-starters from Kiesler:

1. Idolizing consumerism is a waste of the big adventure that is life.

2. Mistaking your love interest (guy or girl) for god is a mistake.

3. A never-ending chase for acceptance is not peace.

Her writing is naked. Kiesler does not shield herself from embarrassment of “realness”.

Photo Credit: My Problem With Grace via Katiesjournal.org

For instance, she confesses she realizes how “super-creepy” she must have appeared when she followed a stranger to warn her that the stranger’s back tires were smoking.

In another example, she describes how unromantic and uncomfortable eating at a French cafe can be despite its initial mystique: “metal wires shaped like a heart are poking me in the spine.”

Kiesler’s y’alls and discrediting faith-based dating websites with taglines that imply if you love the Lord, He’ll give you a spouse are liberating.

Katie Kiesler’s memoir is a call to action to expect battle and adventure in life instead of drowsy comfort.

Courtney Swan Black Lives Matter Ally & Mentor Grammie

July 30, 2016 by smartygirl Leave a Comment

Photo Credit: Courtney Swan

” A grandmother is a little bit parent, a little bit teacher, and a little bit best friend.” -Author Unknown

Growing up living in my Grammie’s house, I understood this quote on a deeper level than most. My grandma was and is to this day a parent, a teacher, a best friend. My role model, my faith mentor, my biggest fan — the list is never-ending.

We often look to the famous- the rock stars, the innovators, the world changers- as our sources of influence. Barack Obama, Kim Kardashian, and Jimmy Fallon are included on Time’s list of 2015’s most influential people on the internet. But how often do we turn away from the television (or more realistically, our laptop and phone screens) and look to the people around us?

My Grammie is without one single doubt the largest influencer in my life. Without her mentorship over my life from my childhood, I promise you I would not be the woman I am today.

I could honestly write about every individual way she has helped mould me into the identity I proudly and joyfully embrace today, but I’m going to attempt to put it all into a jam-packed nutshell. If I had to use one word to epitomize my Grammie, it would be compassionate. This woman LOVES people with reckless abandon. I was raised to believe that every single person, regardless of age, gender, race, sexuality, religion, skin colour, social status, or any other factor, deserves equal opportunity and treatment by all. Period. No if’s, and’s, or but’s.

She taught me that the homeless are people too and are worthy of the same level of dignity that I’m entitled to. She taught me that immigrants come to North America to develop healthy and prosperous lives, just like you and I, and deserve the same opportunities that I have as a Canadian-born, young, white female. She taught me not to judge people on the colour of their skin but on the content of their character.

My grandma continuously shows me firsthand what it looks like to love people the way Christ loves us, and I swear she doesn’t even realize it most of the time. For her it’s not a habit, it’s a characteristic. It’s not a task, it’s an inherent part of who she is. And I can’t adequately express how grateful I am for being raised under her influence and guidance.

Now, a bit more about me— if I had to put a label on myself, I like to think I’d be a human rights activist. Like my grandmother taught me, I believe in the radical notion that every human being is entitled to equal rights and freedoms. I believe that my greatest purpose in life is to help work towards developing a world where each individual is granted the inherent rights and freedoms permitted to them just by virtue of being human.

I don’t believe in coincidence, and I certainly don’t believe that these passions of mine just randomly found a way into the deepest parts of my heart. I don’t believe that it was by chance that I’ve come to love people I will never even meet with every fibre of my being.

I can confidently say that it is largely thanks to my Grammie’s influence that I am the person I am today, and that I have chosen to dedicate my life to the causes I have. I can also proudly say that I would not change a darn thing.

Every single one of us is in the process of creating our legacies. Each day, you write the story that future generations will tell about you. If I can encourage you at all with this post, let me encourage you to leave the kind of legacy that my grandmother has left with me. And I’m not saying that you should make everyone around you want to be a human rights activist. All I’m asking is that you be intentional about the impact you’re leaving on those around you every single day. Think about the me’s around you who look to you the way I look to her. You’re leaving an impact on them whether you choose to or not, so please, I implore you, make it a powerful one.

Courtney Swan is a Canadian writer with a passion for people who specializes in race relations and human rights. Her website? courtneyswan.ca Find her on Twitter at @courtney__swan

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