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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

 

 

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

 

Screen Shot 2014-12-17 at 7.10.01 AM

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

 

Pokemon Cosplay Costume ideas

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 Dating

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

 

Gaming Dating Marriage Tips

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

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!

5 Things That Strike Me as Funny Now That I’m 36 and Divorced

April 17, 2014 by smartygirl Leave a Comment

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!

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.

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.

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

SmartyFella Humor: Love, Luck and Smarts

February 13, 2014 by smartygirl Leave a Comment

What are your thoughts? A Valentine Quiz for Readers:


How do you describe yourself?


a) Unlucky in love. Haven’t learned the lessons that can be learned.
b) There’s no such thing as luck or love.
c) Average experience with love. You win some. You lose some.


SGL Editors assume that SmartyFellas and SmartyGirls are mostly A and C. It’s a journey, right? We Editors don’t have this love thing all figured out either but here are some thought-starters we are pondering too.

Photo Credit: Bandaid Heart Valentine Cupcake via Pinterest


Unlucky in Love? Define favorable luck first. Explain unfavorable luck next. Give an example of each.


Luck is about recognizing what can be controlled and what freedom is given to the other. If someone left or if you chose to end a relationship, then this might be a fortunate thing. Freedom was exercised. You used your best judgment with the data you were given at the time, right? So there is no real loss. You’ve gained wisdom.


There’s no such thing as luck or love?


Define luck. Does that mean the individual believes he/she is 100% in control of every outcome? This person might be overly-controlling or have a delusional god-complex. No one gets what he/she wants 100% of the time. How does he/she imagine the partner’s role in the relationship? Is it a relationship at all if one of the two parties gets 100% of what he/she wants every time? Allergic to wheat? Too bad. Offended by the b-word at this concert? Tough for you. In this case one might be Shift and the other might be Puzzle. True, one is an ass but the other is one monkey of a nemesis in literature. If all outcomes can be controlled by one party, including thunderbolts, then this doesn’t seem to be a peer-to-peer network.


Define love. Love is about fostering the well-being and happiness of the other. If one person is forced 100% of the time to give into the other’s preferences then this is not mutual love. Kids who are socialized in public school are taught to take turns, share and wait.


If love cannot be given or received than all affection is false and a mere transaction. This leads some to pay for a love transaction. SGL Media does not support the sex trafficking industry.


Average experience with love? Define average. Describe what it means to win. Give an illustration of losing.


Average is showing as much affection as you receive. Average is accepting rejection as much as you brave making a request. Average is having a sober assessment of yourself and knowing that you are not an outlier in charisma or disenfranchised as an exile. To win might mean that you and past partners have gotten along well for a season until one or both of you chose to call it quits.



You remain friends. Real friends. This means you even recommend friends to them for dates. If love was lost because life was lost in war, an accident or natural causes, then that was bad luck, something outside the control of humans. This requires a period of mourning the loss of a love.


This Friday the 14th, we wish our friends a Happy Heart Day. Celebrate singleness and/or do an assessment on the wellness of your current relationship!








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