Emotional hijacking? If you are 75% human as opposed to 100% android, then there are crying spells that you do not share socially across Twitter, Facebook and Vine. SmartyGirlHome Editors male and female are in your corner. If the strongest of us, didn’t shed tears how could we be web warriors? Think warriors don’t cry? Read by The Warrior’s Heart by Eric Greitens (rhymes with brightens)reviewed by SmartyGirlLeadership (SGL) Media’s Editor-in-Chief Renee Marchol. Support for literal Soldiers Shoulder for Front Line Moms Solidarity with Everyday Activists Thought-starters? Children’s book titles are haikus of the universal human experience. Soon we’ll be expressing ourselves as Viewpoint from Outpost Earth. For instance? Ivy and Bean’s What’s the Big Idea? Second-graders Ivy and Bean are pummeled with bad news bearing jaded fifth-graders. The result? Second-graders Ivy, Bean and their class comrades are initially demoralized. Until? Until the teacher explains that science isn’t just the discovery of problems but the makers’ haven of solutions. Is your idea a litter-prevention enforcing robot? Ice cubes to cool down the climate? Ivy and Bean create an experiential nature nap for grown-ups as a softer sell for thought-leaders to be enticed rather than guilted to do something to conserve earth for another 50 years. What does this have to do with the tearfulness of the toughest of us? As humans, we all need to express sorrow sometimes. A friend is diagnosed with irreparable brain injury from an improvised explosive device? A family member is diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer? Where’s compassion if we don’t cry before doing something practical and helpful? Terminators can eat potato crisps from a bag and neutral androids can guard a pain-sensitive cm2 area of skin but showing empathy? That’s a human thing as of April 2014. Will you share 3 Thought-starters how you are hosting a women’s treat that supports one of the three listed above? Though SGL Media has partnered with Faces of Courage by Mark Tuschman (Yes, that’s a real last name), we Editors know that isn’t the only worthy cause to kickstart this summer. Grassroots hospitality for SmartyFella and SmartyGirl badasses starts with you. Show us your best Instagram, Vine, and Vimeos of how you are beating the baddies and showing solidarity for our awesome-face allies domestically and globally. Comment below. More ideas? Homecoming treats for soldier moms Crocheting patterns for knitted toys for rescued girls from trafficking Video essays of encouragement how-tos “Shoulder one another’s burdens”—Steven Saum Twitter: @swamiriver Editor-in-Chief Renee’s former intern supervisor as The Commonwealth Club of California, a nonpartisan, current affairs, monthly magazine. Magazine former presidents and speakers? Shirley Temple Black and Audrey Hepburn.
Jam for Juvenile Diabetes: Summer Skateboarding 2014
Would you like to meet the Real Watson? Karl Watson is partnering with Robert Ferguson, 4141 Corp CEO, to host the Cali Am Jam.
KARL WATSON FOR ORGANIKA from KAYOTV on Vimeo.
What is the the Cali Am Jam?
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| Photo Credit: Facebook Cali am Jam 4141 Corp |
Why is SGL Media cheering for Mr. Watson and Mr. Ferguson in their league of super-youth heroes and parents?
In Summer 2013, SmartyGirlLeadership (SGL) Media caught 4141 Corp in San Ramon mentoring youth how to stay fit during summer vacation.
This year, SGL Media Editor-in-Chief followed up with Robert Ferguson during the Super Bowl and by phone for an exclusive sneak peak of Summer 2014 awesomeness. What is one of five youth health campaigns supported by the Cali Am Jam?
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| Photo Credit: Woodward Music Camp Scholarship hosted by Cali Am Jam Skateboarding Contest Summer 2014 |
Juvenile Diabetes management. As of Summer 2014, juvenile diabetes does not have a cure. However, diabetes can be managed. How does Watson and Ferguson support youth empowerment? Through the sport of competitive skateboarding. Some youth and their parents manage diabetes through this sport. How many juvenile diabetes youth and adults manage diabetes with the support of their doctors and a holistic fitness program? Ask Watson and Ferguson. Robert Ferguson, a youth mentor joined forces with Watson to promote health and wellness in communities through positive youth leadership.
Insulin injections and prescription medication help manage diabetes. Fitness through skateboarding and medical team oversight for juvenile diabetes patient care make it possible for some individuals to decrease their dependence on prescription injections to regulate insulin levels. Disclaimer: Consult your medical professional as this is not a medical advice article.
5 Things That Strike Me as Funny Now That I’m 36 and Divorced
5 Things That Strike Me as Funny Now That I’m 36 and Divorced
To listen to the blog post as an Audio Article, please check on the video below!
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| Photo Credit: NeverEnding Story Bastian & Luck Dragon |
1. Labyrinth is Sex Ed EQ
2. Goonie is Not All-purpose noun, verb, adjective or adverb
3. The Ending to NeverEnding Story is Ambiguous
4. Lisa Simpson Could be any Gender
5. The Minor Characters of Beavis & Butthead Time Travel Well
Comedians such as George Carlin will speak to you in a new way at 36 than he did when he played Rufus with pre-Matrix Keanu Reeves. My younger self would have told my current 36-year-old self, “Go way, Nerd!” in my best Bobby the Barbarian voice from Dungeons & Dragons TV series.
Until I separated and divorced my first spouse, I held an entirely different view of womanhood and self identity.
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| Photo Credit: Dungeons & Dragons (1983) TV Series Bobby the Barbarian |
What are my pre-divorce beliefs about the above?
1. I believed that Jareth was a sexy bad boy but actually harmless frenemy like the Jabberwocky from Alice Looking Glass.
2. Since derivatives of goonie included goon, the seaweed-wearing giants in retro Popeye cartoons I thought Goonie was one of the most agile words I knew.
3. Bastian triumphed. Right?
4. Lisa Simpson is female.
5. Daria Morgendorffer and Tom Anderson were buzzkills.
How did growing wiser and the end of a relationship drive a revision of my original pop culture analysis? Willing to suspend disbelief and go with me here? Assuming the TV was the third strongest influencer after fave mentors/friends and encouraging family, then saturation in the zeitgeist should produce a near-common universe-view. Right? However, the 5-bundle can be open to more than one interpretation. In other words, I could have gleaned an entirely different PSA from each that might have led me to make different choices in my real life. Come on, now. I’m not the only ones that accept some pop culture myths as fact.
Here goes.
Jareth is insidious. He is not harmless. He cannot be slain like the Jabberwocky. The fictional relationship between Jareth and Sarah can be a cautionary tale. Not about babysitting protocol for your baby stepbro. More like, all your friends will know Jareth is bad news. Really bad news. Oppressor-scale bad news. You friends will not interfere or intervene because it’s your life and your choice of a love interest. However, when it’s go-time some will journey with you to the battle boss castle. Love him once and you can’t unlove him. It’s up to you to separate from unsafe people. The final standoff is not final. Jareth collects. He does not define love as you might. #RuinAMovie @midnight? Labyrinth reinterpreted as a teen dating domestic violence prevention tale? Your take. Check Jareth out on the National Center for Prevention of Domestic Violence Prevention “Power and Control” Wheel. Just sayin’.
At 36-years-old, my younger self would ask, “Way?” My 5-year-old niece, Kai, calls boys’ anatomy differentiator: a goonie. No way, right? I didn’t learn the slang for my Magic until the V-monologues in grad school. Taco, really? However, I stopped using the neologism: third leg. I didn’t learn ‘til I was married the in man culture, this referred to a Johnson. I was still thinking in terms of 3-legged-races a la Brady Bunch. Smurf is almost as versatile as f-ck. But some people are f-ing amazing at creating poetry with the new most versatile word I know. For some reason it’s referred to as explosive. Then, what’s the landmine-sweeping antidote? What is the antonym of fuck? Despite spending all of 4th grade mornings before school reading a paperback thesaurus, I never learned that one.
Open to interpretation. Tarantino and French/indie films. Choose Your Own Adventure paperbacks will evolve into Visual Essays. Shuffle the sequence and swap out the main character for a minor character’s perspective and the story subplots steal compassion for a new hero. Breaking Bad, right? Sure, there’s a #ItGetsBetter campaign. But what if NeverEnding Story was re-edited so we find out why the “bullies” chase Bastian. Note: I’m not advocating abuse of anyone. Just wondering where the underdeveloped characters were coming from. My heart dropped this season when the After Hours Cracked.com team blew-my-mind with the idea that Bastian lost his marbles and did not ride LuckDragon into the real world.
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| Photo Credit: Author Eric Greitens Choose Your Own Adventure references in Warrior’s Heart |
The Simpsons family is not white. Neither are they upper middle or working class. Lisa Simpson also is not “gifted”. She is also not a feminist. Lisa Simpson is the Everyman. Or in English major terms, the every-person: the blank character for a fill-in of the self of the reader/viewer. Lisa Simpson can sub in for any gender. She constantly learns new things about herself. Made foolish, the Everyman improves. Example? Lisa Simpson mades a big-showy-deal as a female football player only to discover that she is the 4thdisruptor (i.e. the coach is an early adopter of innovation) not the edgy prototype.
Morgendorffer and Anderson. Post-modern, pre-hipster Daria is not a Reality Bites time-capsule. Instead she is the ageless Hello Kitty with the right accessories to reflect almost any protest in a SmartCity era or social media rep curator-for-hire new normal. Anderson is interchangeable with Morgendorffer. Not a left out young person? Anderson is an avatar for the not-young-anymore person. He seems conservative. However, he is open to adapting to changes in the Zeitgeist. He champions his Peggy and his post-millenial Bobby though he experiences culture shock in every episode. Like us, we are being accustomed to jarring changes in tech innovation that change social anthropology in an immediate way. Example? See how the queue changes at your fave fresh-mint-leaf barista coffeehouse from Thursday to Thursday. Obsolescence in 6 months? Try personal tech upgrades every 6 days. Don’t believe me? Quietly observe the line of Mint Mojito Iced coffee drinkers and what they BYOD to work.
Sarah, Bastian, pick-a-Goonie, Simpson, Morgendorffer and Anderson are the Everyman as your Jaegar: a suit to explore the world, gender and self-hood.
Please Share and Comment below if you’d like to see Renee guest post for Hello Giggles in Winter 2015.
Renee Marchol’s teddy bear is named Guillermo. She enjoys tall tales such as Johnny Depp’s road-to-producer apocrypha starting with 21 Jump Street wiki legend that he was so fun to watch because he tried to get fired everyday. Her past marketing writing clients have included a French video game & entertainment company. She likes anchovies on pizza but is scared of small fish in lakes.
Twitter: @rmarchol
DIY Digital Shorts: Post-mortem for Student Video Production #1
Have you heard the wounds from a friend are better than kisses from an enemy? It’s a proverb. Variations exist but the meaning is friends are likely to tell you the truth because they care about your well-being whereas enemies will flatter you to ruin you.
In business school, best practices include doing a post-mortem. This is a briefing of what went right, what went wrong and what are the opportunities for improvement for next time.
Here is a post-mortem that our Editor-in-Chief Renee Marchol shared with the team as SGL Media. Why? Because our editorial team believes in being in the creative trenches with our readers: we wouldn’t ask our readers to do what we are unwilling to do ourselves. In other words, if we ask our followers to consider independent digital shorts production we will also DIY along with you.
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| Photo Credit: Peninsula Personalities Production Ted & Kim at Royal Pin Donuts in South San Francisco |
Consider “Peninsula Personalities Starring Ted” a video production business case. Think of the answers below as a behind-the-scenes interview with the producer.
Our friends asked the following at a focus group:
Why did you choose a cutaway of a Google self-driving car?
To give setting in the briefest way possible. Where is the Peninsula? It is a region in Northern California that includes Silicon Valley and stretches to the San Francisco Bay Area. What is distinct about the region? Technology innovation on the streets. The self-driving Google car is a common sight. This gives a sense of place and time outside of the donut shop.
Why is Ted laughing?
He is a naturally funny guy and viewers see him with his friends in this slice of life video. He is cracking jokes and in turn his friends tease him. He balances the poignant with the light-hearted in a narrative less than 2 minutes long.
Why is the audio so quiet?
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| Photo Credit: Producer Renee Marchol Audacity Low Audio |
Because I used a camera mounted microphone and I was too shy for my first student video documentary project to step in much closer with a handheld camera. This is fair feedback. As a producer, I had many other options. I could have hired a camera operator to capture audio from a second camera who would be comfortable within 6 “ of the interviewee’s mouth. I did not have the confidence yet to Gaffer tape a length of cable leading from a lapel microphone to a camera on a tripod. Now that I’ve learned that lesson, audio will be better for future indoor interviews.
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| Photo Credit: Producer Renee Marchol Improved Audio Capture |
By the second student documentary video project, I learned how to coordinate two camera operators and one assistant crew member for an outdoor shoot with better audio capture. It’s a judgment to weigh the pros and cons of each type of microphone for the setting and what will fit the location rules.
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| Photo Credit: Peninsula Personalities Production Firefighter Jim |
Why aren’t there more images of the café signage?
This was a non-commercial documentary focusing on the narrative of how someone in the setting of the busy Peninsula could slow down and have meaningful interactions with neighbors. This educational project gives credit to the location but cannot advertise for the business as per agreement with the class.
Producer’s Extras
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| Photo Credit: Peninsula Personalities Production Airline Evacuation Safety Instructor Verne |
Though Renee received talent waivers also from Ted’s friends Jim (also named Jim but not Kim’s spouse) and Verne, their still photos did not make the final edit because the stills did not fit this narrative. At a later date, it would be fun to get funding to feature a video essay with Jim and Verne, retired firefighter and current airline safety drill instructor respectively. Jim also carries a prank California photo I.D. identifying himself as Dean Martin.
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| Photo Credit: Dean Martin via Pinterest Firefigher Jim’s alias |
Comment below for some of your fave YouTube digital film tutorials. So far, our staff likes watching IndyMogul, TheMeejahChannel and Flula.