February 27, 2013 – 10:35 pm
Today was the first day in about a month were I had a moment to breathe. Of course, it was pouring out. Though I love rainy days, I know that many people don’t. So, I figured I would ask what people like to do on days like this. Here’s what they had to say: Inspired by these awesome responses, I created this Rainy Day Photo Project. Here are some of my favorite things to do: How about you? What do you do on a rainy day? Send me your notes, pictures and thoughts. I’ll update this post with them. xoxoxo Related Posts The Traveler: Wine Libraries, Secret Gems, and the London Reboot The Traveler: Underground Detroit and the Rebuilding of a City
January 23, 2013 – 12:03 pm
Hey Everyone! I am psyched and overwhelmed by the response that we have received about the Agents of Change Tour beginning this March. I appreciate all the emails, calls, and suggestion as to what is going on in your city and the creative souls who are truly making it happen. This is going to be epic! We are putting a call out to all of Boston’s creative class to join us on February, 2nd to be in our Kickstarter video. We are looking for: Musicians Dancers (including Burlesque Dancers) Visual artists Yoga instructors Jugglers Makers Ribbon artists ……and anyone else who we showcase! For everyone who participates, we will interview you and highlight you on: The Kickstarter Page Our Website (Coming Soon) Selected stories will be featured on my site and within the upcoming book If interested, email us who you are, what you do, and a URL where we can get to know you better. To make it easy, just email through the contact page. Other Housekeeping Items 1. We are rounding out our dates and the cities we’re headed to. Where should be go? Who are some of the key people we should interview. Comment below and let us [...]
By Ja-Naé
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Also posted in Adventure, Uncategorized
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Tagged a change agent, agent change, agent of change, agent of social change, Agents of change, an agent of change, boston, change agent, change agents, change of agent, changing agents, changing angent, creative class, creativeclass, how to be a Change agent, restoring creativity, rise of the creative class, social change agent, the agents of change, the change agent, the creative class, the rise of the creative class, the role of a change agent, what is a change agent, who is a change agent
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December 17, 2012 – 9:15 pm
I grew up performing. As a young girl, I would put on shows with my best friend in her backyard. I would spend hours on the phone with my friend Jill thinking of lyrics to our song that would be a hit. I even sang at the White House while still in high school. You can ask my mom how many times she would have to come into my room and ask me to stop practicing on any given day. I wouldn’t stop. I loved it too much. That love continued into college, where I paid my way working 4 jobs, created my own major at Northeastern University in collaboration with New England Conservatory. I had double the course load of anyone I knew, but I didn’t care. I was constantly performing and honing my craft. I was exploring new ways to create shows, and even co-produced (and performed ) in the John Coltrane Memorial Concert. At such a young age, I was performing with musical giants and had no idea how I got to be so fortunate. But as time went on, so did my education. Though I had more and more opportunities come my way, the demand to [...]
By Ja-Naé
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Also posted in Travel, Uncategorized
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Tagged coltrane john, how do you sing, how sing, how to sing, john coltrane coltrane, new artist, opera, opera singer, performing arts in, restoring creativity, santa baby by, santa with baby, the artist, the opera singer, the singing voice, what is performing arts
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August 13, 2012 – 3:08 pm
Happy Birthday, Alfred Hitchcock! This directorial game changer would have been 113 years old today. In celebration of his birthday, here is a curated post of Hitchcock on Hitchcock, cameos, quotes and more: The Hitchcock Cameo: Check out this video of all the cameos that Hitchcock ever made. How the Iconic Director Changed One Boy’s Life: “Many times it takes such a spark as this to help a youngster out of his shell and on the road to confidence.” Read more, here. Hitchcock on Happiness: Here are 10 of my favorite Hitchcock quotes: – A good film is when the price of the dinner, the theatre admission and the babysitter were worth it. – A lot of movies are about life, mine are like a slice of cake. – Always make the audience suffer as much as possible. – Dialogue should simply be a sound among other sounds, just something that comes out of the mouths of people whose eyes tell the story in visual terms. – Drama is life with the dull bits cut out. – Give them pleasure – the same pleasure they have when they wake up from a nightmare. – I am to provide the public [...]
By Ja-Naé
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Also posted in Creativity, Spirituality, Uncategorized
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Tagged alfred hitchcock film, alfred hitchcock films, best hitchcock, best of hitchcock, birds hitchcock, films alfred hitchcock, films by alfred hitchcock, films of alfred hitchcock, hitchcock best, hitchcock birds, hitchcock film, hitchcock hour, hitchcock movie, hitchcock on hitchcock, hitchcock presents, hitchcock the birds, hitchcock vertigo, movie hitchcock, movies hitchcock, psycho hitchcock, the birds hitchcock, the films of alfred hitchcock, the hitchcock, the hitchcock hour, vertigo hitchcock
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When you think of video game heroes, you usually think of big swords, big hair, huge attitudes, and rippling muscles. You don’t think of a middle-aged knight who has gone soft in the middle and thin on top after some 30 years of the post-quest castle good life. But for Adam Rippon, creator of the RPG fantasy game, Dragon Fantasy, his knight is not only larger than life, but drawn from deep in his heart. Our hero knight, Ogden Thomas is returning to questing after a long hiatus. Once the RPG-game equivalent of the high-school superstar, Ogden is now finding his armor fitting tighter and his shield a whole lot heavier than it was in his youth. Called out of retirement by the hijinks of the Dark Knight, he must rely on the greatness of his past and the abilities of his new band of travelers. Ogden’s adventures break from the traditional hero-arc and instead find someone later in life, way past the glory days. Settled and stagnant, he must reinvent himself by getting back out there and returning to his former gallantry, albeit with a lot less hair. Dragon Fantasy is the culmination of a lifelong dream and a [...]
By Ja-Naé
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Also posted in Creativity, Uncategorized
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Tagged Adam Rippon, creative, creative drivers, creative ideas, creative labs, creative name, creative solutions, creative strategy, creative teaching, creative thinkers, creative thinking, Creativity, creativity innovation, Dragon Fantasy, fantasy game, innovation 101, restoring creativity, RPG, what is creativity
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August 9, 2011 – 10:15 am
It’s been way too long since I’ve been out of the country, but with the Artist Retreat around the corner, I’m really getting excited. A few of the attendees (Are you one of them? Would you like to be? Contact me for more information!) asked me how to learn a language and learn it quickly. It’s a great question. That’s why I rounded up some great language apps that will help you kick your second or third language into high gear: Tweets: Twitter is understated as an educational tool. Twitter allows you to learn new languages and practice them a little bit. Click here a compilation of some “linguistic twitterers”. LiveMocha.com – Livemocha divides a language into courses, units, and lessons. Lessons are divided into four types of activities: learn, review, write, and speak. What’s nice is that you can also make flashcards from the content in the lessons, or you can make your own flashcards. There is even a chat feature, so you can connect with people learning the same language you are. Babbel — If you’re looking for something that you can use on both your computer and smart phone, Babbel fits the bill. It provides exercises and courses [...]
By Ja-Naé
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Also posted in Adventure, Creativity, Happiness, Language, Uncategorized
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Tagged artist retreat, benefits of learning a foreign language, foreign language institute, foreign language standards, foreign language teacher, foreign languages, how to learn a language, language apps, learn a language
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Do you shy away from the unknown or do you welcome the unexpected? Ever since I was a little girl I have thrived on curiosity and questioning things. However, many colleagues I know in business stick like glue to the familiar. They rely on the routine things that have served them in well in the past, and avoid anything new and different. This attitude can maintain stability, but if you’re not curious you are doomed to the same experiences without ever growing in business or in life. This article by Donald Latumahina at Lifehack tells of the virtues of curiosity. Curiosity gives you a fresh perspective, allowing you to discover fresh ideas. Being curious makes you more observant and opens up new worlds and possibilities you wouldn’t otherwise consider while also adding the spice of variety to your life. Some of my best ideas for projects, as well as some of my best adventures, have come from stepping outside of my comfort zone and following my curious nature. For these reasons, curiosity should be a quality you cultivate. So here are some things you can do to be more curious in your life: Do Not Ignore the Mundane. We all [...]
By Ja-Naé
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Also posted in Adventure, Creativity, Happiness, Innovation, Marketing, Philosophy, Strategy, Uncategorized
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Tagged curiosity quotes, curious quotes, find happiness, finding happiness
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April 21, 2011 – 10:07 am
I was working on a rather mundane project last week when suddenly I was struck with a brilliant idea that stopped my work dead in its tracks. I love it when this happens, even if it sidetracks the work at hand for a few hours. But sparking your creativity is easier said than done. It is usually a serendipitous phenomenon, but I believe there are a few techniques you can use to trigger that creative impulse. Here are over 13 ways I get the creative juices flowing. 1. Doodle. You’ve heard of brainstorming and stream-of-consciousness writing to free your mind and unleash your creativity. But even those activities are limited by conforming your boundless imagination to language. Instead, just take out a blank piece of paper and a pen and doodle away. Draw whatever comes to mind. Just scribble anything and see what appears. 2. Challenge Yourself. People under pressure tend to surprise themselves. Try giving yourself a deadline, say, coming up with 10 great ideas by the end of the week. If your mind understands that there is a deadline to meet, it starts to work extra hard to ensure you meet it. 3. Join with Fellow Creatives. Creative [...]
January 20, 2011 – 10:03 am
Last week I announced Revolution! – a transmedia project designed to help empower ordinary people facilitate small or great changes to improve their community or even the world we live in. Revolution! will kick off in February and gear up for The Revolution Roadtrip on March 4. The Revolution Roadtrip leaves from Boston and stops at various US cities before arriving at Austin for the SXSW conference. After the conference, we’ll hit other cities on the way back before returning to Boston for our Welcome Home Party. At every city we stop in, we will work to create content and social good that promotes change and inspires others to take action to step up and realize that they can change their environments for the better. Our destination is South by Southwest (SXSW) an annual series of film, interactive and music festivals. Over the years, SXSW has earned a reputation as a breeding ground for new thought innovations and creative technologies from the brightest entrepreneurs. Industry leaders, world-class speakers and emerging technology pioneers mingle and share ideas while networking to promote change. Trendsetting musicians converge from all over the globe at SXSW to share their brilliant talents with hundreds of musical [...]
October 27, 2010 – 8:30 pm
As artists, we are passionate people full of raw emotion and creativity. But we can channel our anger into a burst of creative thinking. Here are a few ways I have learned to turn my anger into creative problem solving:
