Podcast appearances and mentions of Noah Scalin

Slaptown, a unique art showcase celebrating sticker and street art culture, is set to take place in Indianapolis from June 6 to August 1.Hosted at Upland Brewing Co. in the Fountain Square neighborhood, the event will feature works from renowned artists such as Shepard Fairey and a live exhibit by Noah Scalin.The opening weekend of Slaptown promises a full schedule of activities, including a Sticker Mix listening party with Side Street Ked of Dungeon Family, a Sitker Movie screening, and an artist panel featuring international artists.Noah Scalin, known for his Skull-A-Day project, will create his largest sticker collage live during the event, offering attendees a unique opportunity to witness the creative process.In addition to the art exhibits, visitors can explore the Artist Market, which will offer limited-edition merchandise, original art, and stickers.Local organizations such as Upland Brewing Co., Hey Now Pizza, and 31SVN Dance Academy are supporting the event, contributing to its vibrant cultural experience.Slaptown offers a vibrant cultural experience, inviting the public to engage with sticker and street art culture in Indianapolis this summer.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It's time to talk PRAWNS! Cameron with return super-guests Noah Scalin and Victor Koressel discuss “District 9” from 2009. This movie had just as many SFX shots as a transformers movie for  ⅕ the budget, and it packs a punch like no other sci fi film! With a totally unique approach, Neill Blomkamp and his wife Terri crafted a story of alien encounters in Johannesburg South Africa, where Aliens come and no one cares. Do you remember seeing this movie in theaters? Summary:Released in 2009 for Tristar films with the backing of Peter Jackson, District 9 was directed by Neill (with 2 Ls) Blomkamp and his wife Terri Tatchell, based on Neill's short film “Alive in JoBurg.” Neill went on to direct Elysium and Chappie btw! District 8 takes place in a universe where refugee aliens  with a bug-humanoid look, called “prawns”, land over Johanesburg in South Africa in 1982, where they are  relegated to a massive slum, picking for scraps. The story begins in the 2010s, 28 years later, and follows Wikus Van Der Mere played by first time actor Sharlto Copley - a Michael Scott type government employee working alongside the weapons company MNU - Multi-National United to forcibly evict the 1.8 million “prawns” and move them to a concentration camp 200 kilometers outside the city. But when Wikus inhales alien power fluid during a shanty raid, he begins to metamorphasize into a prawn himself, setting off a bloody chain of events that will change both prawn and human history forever. Check out Noah's art: https://www.noahscalin.com/ 

Congrats to Adam Bomb, who won week 3 of #moxiemillion, by sharing the show to help it reach 1 million downloads this month! Necessity is the mother of invention and these inventions had real mothers!  Hear about Black female inventors, the tribulations of research, and a story I didn't expect to find and couldn't pass up. 01:00 L'histoire  06:36 Martha Jones's corn husker 07:55 Mary Jones de Leon's cooking apparatus 08:56 Judy Reed's dough kneader-roller 10:30 Sarah Goode's folding bed-desk 11:40 Sarah Boon's ironing board 17:15 Lyda Newman's hairbrush 19:33 Madam CJ Walker's Wonderful Hair-grower 22:03 Biddy Mason Links to all the research resources are on the website. Hang out with your fellow Brainiacs.  Reach out and touch Moxie on Facebook, Twitter,  or Instagram.  Become a patron of the podcast arts! Patreon or Ko-Fi.  Or buy the book and a shirt. Music: Kevin MacLeod, David Fesilyan, Dan Henig. and/or Chris Haugen. Sponsors:  What Was That Like, Reddit on Wiki, Sambucol Want to start a podcast or need a better podcast host?  Get up to TWO months hosting for free from Libsyn with coupon code "moxie."   The first Africans arrived at Jamestown, Virginia in 1619. They were recorded as “20 and odd Negroes.” These Africans had been stolen from a Portuguese slave ship, transported to an English warship flying a Dutch flag and sold to colonial settlers in American.  The schooner Clotilda (often misspelled Clotilde) was the last known U.S. slave ship to bring captives from Africa to the United States, arriving at Mobile Bay, in autumn 1859[1] or July 9, 1860   The end of the Civil War and the passage of the 13th and 14th Amendments meant that all black inventors now had the right to apply for patents. The result over the next few decades was a virtual explosion of patented inventions by black mechanics, blacksmiths, domestic workers, and farm laborers — many of them ex-slaves. By 1895 the U.S. Patent Office was able to advertise a special exhibit of inventions patented by black inventors. The list of new inventions patented by blacks after the Civil War reveals what kinds of occupations they held and in which sectors of the labor force they were concentrated. Agricultural implements, devices for easing domestic chores, and devices related to the railroad industry were common subjects for black inventors. Some patented inventions developed in the course of operating businesses like barbershops, restaurants, and tailoring shops. started here Researching African-American history is far tougher than it should be.  Marginalized stories don't get written down, and then there was the whole Lost Cause thing, actively eradicating what stories had been recorded.  For those in far-flung parts fortunate enough not to have have attended a school whose history books were written or chosen by these [sfx bleep], the Lost Cause was people like the Daughters of the Confederacy purposefully rewriting history.  Their version of events was that civil war generals were heroes, slaves were generally treated well and were happy to work for their enslavers, and that the war was about state's rights, not the immorality of owning another human being.  It was from this movement that my hometown of Richmond, VA got a beautiful tree-lined avenue of expensive row houses and every third block had a statue of a civil war general.  the number of Confederate memorial installations peaked around 1910 — 50 years after the end of the Civil War and at the height of Jim Crow, an era defined by segregation and disenfranchisement laws against black Americans. Confederate installations spiked again in the 1950s and 1960s, during the Civil Rights Movement.  It weren't nothing to do with celebrating ancestors who fought for what they believed in, which you shouldn't do if your ancestor was so stunningly wrong in their beliefs, it was about telling African-Americans that you haven't forgotten when they were under your boot and you'd bring all that back tomorrow if you could.  The statues are on my mind today because I was just in a networking event with Noah Scalin and Mark Cheatham, the artists who created a now iconic (regionally) iconic image of the empty plinth where the Robert E Lee statue stood.  Scalin was the guy that started the Skull A Day website, if you ever saw that, and my husband helped him do an art installation in Times Square.   But my squirrel brain was talking about the inherent difficulty of researching this topic.  Details were sparse for the male inventors and it wasn't uncommon for me to find the same photo used on articles about different people, and if I ever, say, shared an image of Benjamin Montgomery with the caption Henry Boyd, many many apologies for the inconvenience.  But in researching black *women inventors, I'd be lucking to *find a picture, misattributed or otherwise.  Or their story or even enough of a bio to fill out aa 3x5 index card.  I got nothing, bupkis, el zilcho.  Well, not nothing-nothing, but not a fraction of what I wanted to present to you.  One of my goals with YBOF is to amplify the stories of POC, women, and the LGBT (see my recent Tiktok about the amazing Gladys Bently for the trifecta), but I guess if I really mean to do that, I'm going to have to abandon Google in favor of an actual library, when I no longer have to be wary of strangers trying to kill me with their selfishness.  That aside, I love a library.  I used to spend summer afternoons at the one by my house in high school – it was cool, quiet, full of amazing knowledge and new stories, and best of all, my 4 little sisters had no interest in going.  When you come from a herd of six kids, anything you can have exclusively to yourself, even if it's because no one else wants it, immediately becomes your favorite thing.   So I don't have as much as I wanted about Black female inventors of the pre-Civil War era, but I did find one real gem that I almost gave the entire episode to, but we'll come to her.  As with male inventors, it can be a little sketch to say this one was first or that one was first.  There are a number of reasons for this.  Black people kept in bondage were expressly prohibited from being issued patents by a law in 18??.  Some would change their names in an attempt to hide their race, some would use white proxies, and of course many Black inventors had their ideas stolen, often by their enslavers, who believed that they owned not only the person, but all of their work output, that they owned the inventor's ideas as much as they owned the crops he harvested, the horseshoes he applied, or the goods he built.     The other big thing that makes early patent history tricky is something I've dealt with personally, twice - a good ol' fashioned structure fire.  A fire broke out in a temporary patent office and even though there was a fire station right next door, 10,000 early patents were lost, as were about 7000 patent models, which used to be part of the application process.  Long story short, we don't, and probably can't, know definitively who was the first, second, and third Black woman to receive a patent, so I'm going to take what names I *can find and put them in chronological order, though surely there are some inventors whose names have been lost, possibly forever.   Martha Jones is believed to be the first Black woman to receive a U.S. patent in 1868, three years after the end of the Civil War, for her improvement to the “Corn Husker, Sheller.”  Her invention made it possible to husk, shell, cut and separate corn all in one step, saving time and labor.  This would be for dry or field corn, the kind used to make cornbread, not sweet corn, the kind you eat on the bone in the summer.  This invention laid a foundation stone for advancements in automatic agricultural processes that are still in use today.  I can show you the schematics from Jones' patent, but as for Jones herself, I've got sweet Fanny Adams.  But I can tell you that her patent came 59 years after the first white woman got hers in 1809, for a weaving process for bonnets, which I think also illustrates what constituted a “problem” in each woman's life.  On the gender side of things, Jones' patent came 47 years after Thomas Jennings became the first black man to receive a U.S. Patent in 1821 for the precursor to dry-cleaning, whose details we lost in that fire.   Next up, or so it is believed, was another Jones (it's like Wales in here today), Mary Jones De Leon.  In 1873, De Leon was granted U.S. patent No. 140,253 for her invention titled ”Cooking Apparatus.”  De Leon, who lived in Baltimore, Maryland, and is buried outside Atlanta, GA, created an apparatus for heating or cooking food either by dry heat or steam, or both.  It was an early precursor to the steam tables now used in buffets and cafeterias.  Remember buffets?  We'll be explaining them to our grandkids.  You'd go to a restaurant and eat out of communal troughs with strangers for $10.  By the way, if I were to say ‘chafing dish' and you thought of a throw-away line from the 1991 movie Hot Shot, “No, a crock pot is for cooking all day,” that's why we're friends.  If you didn't, don‘t worry, we're still friends.   The third patent in our particular pattern went to Judy Woodford Reed, and that patent is about the only records we have for her.  She improved existing machines for working bread dough with her "Dough Kneader and Roller" in 1884.  Her design mixed the dough more evenly, while keeping it covered, which would basically constitute sterile conditions back then.  Reed appears in the 1870 Federal Census as a 44 year old seamstress near Charlottesville, Virginia, along with her husband Allen, a gardener, and their five children.  Sometime between 1880 and 1885, Allen Reed died, and Judy W. Reed, calling herself "widow of Allen," moved to Washington, D. C.  It is unlikely that Reed was able to read, write, or even sign her name.  The census refers to Judy and Allen both as illiterate, and her patent is signed with an "X".   That might have actually worked to her favor.  Lots of whites, about 1 in 5, were illiterate back then, too, and an X reveals neither race nor gender.   The first African-American woman to fully sign a patent was Sarah E. Goode of Chicago.  Bonus fact: illiteracy is why we use an X to mean a kiss at the bottom of a letter or greeting card.  People who couldn't sign their name to a contract or legal document would mark it with an X and kiss it to seal their oath.  Tracing the origin of O meaning hug is entirely unclear, though, and theories abound.   Sarah Elisabeth Goode obtained a patent in 1885 for a Cabinet-bed, a "sectional bedsteads adapted to be folded together when not in use, so as to occupy less space, and made generally to resemble some article of furniture when so folded."  Details continue to be sparse, but we know that as of age 5 in 1860, she was free and living in Ohio.  She moved to Chicago 10 years later and 10 years after that, married a man named Archibald, who was a carpenter, as her father had been.  They had some kids, as people often do, though we don't know how many.   If they had many kids or lived in a small space for the number of kids they had, that could have been what motivated Goode to create a very early version of the cool desk that turns into a bed things you can see online that sell for hundreds or thousands of dollars.  Goode's invention had hinged sections that were easily raised or lowered. When not functioning as a bed, the invention could easily be used as a desk with small compartments for storage, ideal for a small city apartment, especially if there were hella kids in there.   We have a bit more on another Sarah inventor, this time Sarah Boone of NC.  Born into bondage in 1832, Sarah may have acquired her freedom by marrying James Boone, a free Black man, in 1847.  Together, they had eight children and worked to help the Underground Railroad.  Soon the family, along with Sarah's widowed mother, made their way north to New Haven, Connecticut.  Sarah worked as a dressmaker and James as a bricklayer until his death in the 1870s.  They'd done well enough for themselves to purchase their own home.  Far removed from the strictures and structures of enslavement, Sarah became a valued member of her community and began taking reading and writing lessons.     It was through her workaday life as a dressmaker that she invented a product you might well have in your home today, the modern-day ironing board.  Quick personal aside in an episode that's already chock-full of them–did anyone else marry military or former military and make your spouse do all the ironing because you assume they'd be better at it from having to do their uniforms?  I can't be the only one.  Back to Sarah Boone, who wanted “to produce a cheap, simple, convenient and highly effective device, particularly adapted to be used in ironing the sleeves and bodies of ladies garments.”   You might think the ironing board didn't *need to be “invented,” that it was just one of those things everybody kinda just had, but no.  Prior to Boone, you'd put bits of wood between the backs of two chairs, like a makeshift sawhorse.  And anyone who's ever used a makeshift sawhorse only to have it slide apart out from under them or end up sawing into their dining room table will attest that there was indeed room for improvement.  She began by creating a narrower, curved board that could slip into the  sleeves of dresses and shirts, with padding to stop the texture of the wooden base from being imprinted onto the fabric, and the whole thing collapsed for easy storage.   With a bit of help from other dressmakers, she finalized the design for which she'd be awarded her patent in 1892.  Such a simple device was a boon to many a homemaker, though there remains the extent to which she profited from the invention, particularly as they became a product for mass distribution by companies. Even so, we know that it was soon an indispensable household device and made manufacturers wealthy.   MIDROLL   Lyda Newman is remembered for two things, patented the first hairbrush with synthetic bristles in 1898 and her activism in the women's voting rights movement of the early 20th century – she was a key organizer of a Black branch of the Woman Suffrage Party, which was trying to give women the legal right to vote.  We know she was born in Ohio sometime between 1865 and 1885, which is a helluva range for history so relatively recent, and that she spent most of her life living in New York City, working as a hairdresser.      As a hairdresser, and an owner of a head of hair herself, Newman wanted the process of brushing hair to be more hygienic and efficient.  Most hairbrushes at the time were made using animal hair, the same kind you might get in shaving brushes or paint brushes.  Now imagine trying to get knots out with a shaving brush.  Animal-based bristles were too soft for the job, which is where we get the old trope/advice of 100 strokes – it took that many to get the job done.  And that was for white woman.  These brushes were practically useless for the thicker textures of African American hair.  Animal hair also harbored bacteria like it's nobody's business, which is unfortunate since it was also used to bristle toothbrushes and, oh yeah, back in the day, you'd have a single household toothbrush that everyone shared.  Newman's brush used synthetic fibers, which were more durable and easier to clean, in evenly spaced rows of bristles with open slots to clear debris away from the hair into a recessed compartment.  The back could be opened with a button for cleaning out the compartment.     This wasn't a gimmick or fly-by-night idea.  Newman's invention changed the hair-care industry by making hairbrushes less expensive and easier to manufacture.  This paved the way for other Black inventors in the hair-care space to actually *create the black hair care industry, chief among them, Sarah Breedlove.  Don't recognize the name?  What if I call her Madam C.J. Walker?  Well, I'm gonna tell you about her either way.  Breedlove, born in 1867 in Louisiana, was the first child in her family born into freedom, but found herself an orphan at age seven after both parents died of yellow fever.  She lived with a brother-in-law, who abused her, before marrying Moses McWilliams at age 14 to get away from him.  Sarah was a mother at 17 and a widow at 20, so on the whole, not having a good time of it.  And to top it all off, her hair was falling out.   She developed a product to treat the unspecified scalp disease that caused it, made of petroleum jelly, sulfur, and a little perfume to make it smell better.  And it worked!  She called it Madame C.J.Walker Wonderful Hair Grower (she was now married to Charles Walker) and along with Madame C.J.Walker Vegetable Shampoo, began selling door-to-door to other African-American women suffering from the same disease.  5 years later, she set up the Madame C.J.Walker Manufacturing Company in the US, and later expanded her business to Central America and the Caribbean.  She recruited 25,000 black women by the early 1900s to act as door-to-door beauty consultants across North and Central America, and the Caribbean.  Walker was the first one using the method known today as direct sales marketing to distribute and sell her products, a method adopted later on by Avon, TupperWare, and others.  And she paid well, too!  You could earn $25 a week with Walker, a damn site better than $2 per week as a domestic servant.  Her workforce would grow to be 40,000 strong.  So don't be telling me that paying a living wage is bad for business.   Walker didn't keep her success to herself, but used her wealth to support African-American institutions, the black YMCA, helped people with their mortgages, donated to orphanages and senior citizens homes, and was a believer in the power of education.  Now be sure you don't do as I am wont to do and accidentally conflate Madame CJ Walker with Maggie Walker, the first African American woman to charter a bank and the first African American woman to serve as a bank president, and an advocate for the disabled, because she deserves coverage of her own.    As I was searching for black female inventors, I came across one listicle with a paragraph on a woman the author claimed helped “invent” the city of Los Angeles.  That's a bit of a stretch, I thought to myself, but as I read the story of Bridget “Biddy” Mason, I became so utterly fascinated, I almost flipped the script to do the episode entirely about her.  I did not, as you've plainly noticed, since I'd already done primary research for the first six pages of an eight page script. Biddy was born into slavery in 1818 in Georgia, maybe.  We do know she spent most of her early life on a plantation owned by Robert Smithson.  During her teenage years, she learned domestic and agricultural skills, as well as herbal medicine and midwifery from African, Caribbean, and Native American traditions of other female slaves.  Her knowledge and skill made her beneficial to both the slaves and the plantation owners.  According to some authors, Biddy was either given to or sold to Robert Smith and his wife Rebecca in Mississippi in the 1840s.  Biddy had three children, Ellen, Ann, and Harriet.  Their paternity is unknown, but it's been speculated that Ann and Harriet were fathered by Smith.   Smith, a Mormon convert, followed the call of church leaders to settle in the West to establish a new Mormon community in what would become Salt Lake City, Utah in what was at the time still part of Mexico.  The Mormon church was a-okay with slavery, encouraging people to treat the enslaved kindly, as they were lesser beings who needed the white man's protection.  In 1848, 30-year-old Mason *walked 1,700 miles behind a 300-wagon caravan. Along the route west Mason's responsibilities included setting up and breaking camp, cooking the meals, herding livestock, and serving as a midwife as well as taking care of her three young daughters aged ten, four, and an infant.  Utah didn't last long for the Smiths and 3 years later, they set out in a 150-wagon caravan for San Bernardino, California to establish another Mormon community.  Ignoring warnings that slavery was illegal in California, Smith gathered his livestock and people they treated like livestock and schlepped them along.  Although California joined the United States as a free state in 1850, the laws around slavery were complicated and there was a lot of forced labor to be found.  Indigenous people could be forced to work as "contract laborers."  How, you ask?  Well this made we swear loudly when I read it.  Every weekend, local authorities would arrest intoxicated Natives on dubious charges and take them to what was essentially a slave mart and auction off their labor for the coming week. If they were paid at the end of that week, they were usually paid in alcohol so they could get drunk and be arrested to be auctioned off again.   Along the way, biddy Mason met free blacks who urged her to legally contest her slave status once she reached California, a free state.  When they got to Cali, Mason met more free blacks, like her lifelong friends Robert and Minnie Owens, who told her the same thing.  Smith must have noticed this, because a few years later, fearing the loss of his slaves, he decided to move the whole kit and caboodle to Texas, a slave state.  This was obviously real bad news for Mason and the other enslaved people, but thankfully Mason had the Owens on her side, particularly since her now 17 year old daughter was in love with their son.  The law was on her side, too.  The California Fugitive Slave Act, enacted in 1852, allowed slave owners to temporarily hold enslaved persons in California and transport them back to their home state, but this law wouldn't have covered Smith because he wasn't from Texas.  When Robert Owens told the Los Angeles County Sheriff that there were people being illegally held in bondage and being taken back to a slave state, the sheriff gathered a posse, including Owens, his sons, and cattleman from Owens' ranch, and cut Smith off at the pass, literally Cajon Pass, and prevented him from leaving the state.  The sheriff was armed with a legal document, a writ of habeus corpus, signed by Judge Benjamin Hayes.   On January 19, 1856 she petitioned the court for freedom for herself and her extended family of 13 women and children.  Their fate was now in the hands of Judge Hayes.  You wouldn't expect Hayes to be on Mason's side in a dispute against Smith.  Hayes hailed from a slave state and had owned slaves himself, plus in his time as a journalist, he's written pro-Mormon articles.  The trial started with a damning statement from Biddy's eldest daughter Hannah, herself a mother of a newborn, saying she wanted to go to Texas.  The sheriff spoke to her afterwards and found she was terrified of Smith and had said what she was told to say.  She wasn't wrong to be scared.  Smith threatened Mason's lawyer and bribed him to leave the case.  Smith's son and hired men trail hands went to the jail where Mason and her family were being kept safe and tried to intimidate the jailer.  They also threatened the Owens family and a neighborhood grocer and a doctor. They said 'If this case isn't resolved on Southern principles, you'll all pay the price, all people of color.'    Judge Hayes…he wasn't having any of this.  Technically, Mason and her children had also become free the minute they stepped into California. The new California constitution stated that “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude unless for the punishment of crimes shall ever be tolerated in this state.” However, lacking options and probably unaware of her full rights, Mason continued to serve in the Smith household.  Smith claimed Mason and the others had stayed because they were “members of his family” who voluntarily offered to go with him to Texas.  Mason, as a non-white person, was legally barred from testifying against the white Smith in court, so Judge Hayes took her into his chambers along with two trustworthy local gentlemen who acted as observers to depose her.  He asked her only whether she was going voluntarily, and what she said was, 'I always do what I have been told, but I have always been afraid of this trip to Texas."    Smith fled to Texas before the trial could conclude.  On January 19, Judge Hays ruled in favor of Mason.  "And it further appearing by satisfactory proof to the Judge here, that all the said persons of color are entitled to their freedom and are free and cannot be held in slavery or involuntary servitude, it is therefore argued that they are entitled to their freedom and are free forever."  He hoped they would “become settled and go to work for themselves—in peace and without fear.”   Okay, now we're getting to the part of Biddy Mason's story that the listicle writer used to include her in a gallery of inventrixes.  Mason and her family moved to Los Angeles, then a dusty little town of only 2,000 or so residents, less than 20 of whom were black, where she worked as midwife and nurse.  As the town grew, so did her business.  Basically, if you were having a baby, Biddy Mason was delivering it.  Well, her friend Dr. Griffin probably helped, but we're hear to talk about Biddy.  After tending to hundreds of births and illnesses, she was known about town as Aunt Biddy.  As a midwife, Mason was able to cross class and color lines and she viewed everyone as part of her extended family.  In her big black medicine bag, she carried the tools of her trade, and the papers Judge Hayes had given her affirming that she was free, just in case.    By 1866, she had saved enough money to buy a property on Spring Street.  Her daughter Ellen remembered that her mother firmly told her family that “the first homestead must never be sold.”  She wanted her family to always have a home to call their own.  My family is the same way – if you can own land, even if it's an empty lot, do.  Mason's small wood frame house at 311 Spring Street was not just a family home, it became a “refuge for stranded and needy settlers,” a daycare center for working women, and a civic meeting place.  In 1872, a group of black Angelenos founded the First African Methodist Episcopal Church at her house and they met there until they were able to move to their own building.     She also continued to invest in real estate, while always making sure to give back. According to the Los Angeles Times: “She was a frequent visitor to the jail, speaking a word of cheer and leaving some token and a prayerful hope with every prisoner. In the slums of the city, she was known as “Grandma Mason,” and did much active service toward uplifting the worst element in Los Angeles. She paid taxes and all expenses on church property to hold it for her people. During the flood of the early eighties, she gave an open order to a little grocery store, which was located on Fourth and Spring Streets. By the terms of this order, all families made homeless by the flood were to be supplied with groceries, while Biddy Mason cheerfully paid the bill.”   Eventually she was able to buy 10 acres, on which she built rental homes and eventually a larger commercial building she rented out.  That land she invested in and developed is now the heart of downtown L.A. three substantial plots near what is now Grand Central Market as well as land on San Pedro Street in Little Tokyo.  Mason was a shrewd businesswoman too.  Los Angeles was booming, and rural Spring Street was becoming crowded with shops and boarding houses. In 1884, she sold the north half of her Spring Street property for $1,500 and had a mixed-use building built on the other half.  She sold a lot she had purchased on Olive Street for $2,800, turning a tidy profit considering she'd bought it for less than $400.  In 1885, she deeded a portion of her remaining Spring Street property to her grandsons “for the sum of love and affection and ten dollars.”  She signed the deed with her customary flourished “X.” Though she was a successful real estate pioneer and nurse, who stressed the importance of education for her children and grandchildren, and taught herself Spanish, she had never learned to read or write.   Bridget “Biddy” Mason died 1891, one of the wealthiest women in Los Angeles.  For reasons never fully explained, she was buried in an unmarked grave at Evergreen Cemetery.  While you can't visit her grave, you can visit the mini-park created in her honor.  Designed by landscape architects Katherine Spitz and Pamela Burton, an 80-foot-long poured concrete wall, created by artist Sheila Levrant de Bretteville, displays a timeline of Biddy's life, illustrated with images like wagon wheels and a midwife's bag, as well as images such as an early survey map of Los Angeles and Biddy's freedom papers, from the northernmost end of the wall with the text “Biddy Mason born a slave,” all the way down to “Los Angeles mourns and reveres Grandma Mason.”  If you're ever down near the Bradbury Building on Spring street, get some pictures for me.   Sources: https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/mason-bridget-biddy-1818-1891/ https://la.curbed.com/2017/3/1/14756308/biddy-mason-california-black-history https://www.laconservancy.org/locations/biddy-mason-memorial-park https://alliesforracialjustice.org/shark-tank-in-the-1800s-black-women-reigned-in-household-inventions/ https://interestingengineering.com/black-inventors-the-complete-list-of-genius-black-american-african-american-inventors-scientists-and-engineers-with-their-revolutionary-inventions-that-changed-the-world-and-impacted-history-part-two https://www.ipwatchdog.com/2021/02/08/revolutionizing-cooking-mary-jones-de-leon/id=129701/ https://lemelson.mit.edu/resources/lyda-newman https://interestingengineering.com/black-inventors-the-complete-list-of-genius-black-american-african-american-inventors-scientists-and-engineers-with-their-revolutionary-inventions-that-changed-the-world-and-impacted-history-part-two https://laist.com/news/la-history/biddy-mason-free-forever-the-contentious-hearing-that-made-her-a-legend-los-angeles-black-history  

Thank you for checking in at the Inner Game of Change Podcast where I focus on exploring the multi layers of managing organisational change.My guests cover a diverse number of critical topics to enable effective and sustainable change adoption including communication, leadership, training, change practice, process design, change capability and much more. My guest today is author, creativity consultant, and artist Noah Scalin. Noah is an advocate for the power of creativity during uncertain times to help solve business current problems and manage change. I am grateful to have Noah sharing his passion and thoughts with me today. About Noah (in his own words)Because creativity is a practice not a talent, I believe everyone has the ability to develop it. As an Artist, Author and Innovation Consultant, I have been all over the world teaching creative practice through talks, workshops and public art projects.Contacthttps://www.linkedin.com/in/noahscalin/https://www.anotherlimitedrebellion.com/https://www.noahscalin.com/

On today's episode, we have artist and activist Noah Scalin join us for a conversation about the generational divide with the rise of the internet age. Together we talk about the internet-self vs. the physical self (or a lack thereof), the danger of curation, and the possibility that political beliefs may be taking over the role of religion. If you enjoyed today's podcast, then please subscribe, leave a review, or share this podcast with a friend! And, join the movement by becoming a part of the conscious objectors patreon. Your support is what powers this work and the larger societal change we are fighting towards! Let's continue to challenge our assumptions and grow together. Join the community here: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=54121384 Modern Anarchy Community: Instagram Facebook Patreon Noah Scalin's Community: Instagram Website Resources to Learn More: America Without God Generational Differences At Work Are Small. Thinking They're Big Affects Our Behavior Revisiting the Origins: The Internet and its Early Governance How the Internet was born: from the ARPANET to the Internet Why Are My Boomer Parents on Their Phones Literally All the Time? The Social Dilemma Millennials stand out for their technology use, but older generations also embrace digital life Demographics of Key Social Networking Platforms The negative effects of social media on the social identity of adolescents from the perspective of social work Identity in the Age of Social Media The Artist Way

Tune in to today's episode to learn how to merge creativity and business for greater success! Noah Scalin and Mica Scalin are artists and innovators who are here to share how to grow your leadership skills and business through creative practices. Creativity is a part of human nature, and by spending a small amount of time each week strengthening that muscle, you will become a better problem-solver, innovator, and leader.Today on Do I Dare?How getting creative will make you better at your jobThe critical role artists play in the corporate environmentSolve more problems by scheduling in creative timeBuild your creative muscle by “dreaming small”Ideas for managers to virtually connect their team & innovateFollow Noah & Mica:Instagram:  @noahscalin ; @micawave Website: noahscalin.com ; anotherlimitedrebellion.comFree One Week Creative Sprint: createbettertogether.comCheckout Noah's books heredOGUMENTA: @dogumenta Resources:Referenced book: A Whole New MindHead over to The Ian Corzine Show to listen and subscribe!Connect with KKL:LinkedIn: Kimberly Kleiman-Lee Website: kimberlykleimanlee.com Instagram: @kimberlykleimanlee This show is produced by Soulfire Productions

On this episode of Artivism NOW! Noah Scalin joins us! We talk about his non-traditional methods and media as well as the impact of public art in the southern United States. We also discuss his corporate consulting work and how it's making an impact in the minds of corporate America.  IG: @noahscalin / @alrcreates / @creativesprint --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/artivismnow/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/artivismnow/support

SingleStone CTO Ryan Shriver meets with Artist, Author, Activist, Creativity Consultant, and Space Pirate Noah Scalin in the fifth episode of Bounded Context.

Host Hamilton Glass talks with artists Noah Scalin and Alfonso Perez about their instant artistic connection while creating a powerful mural across from a police station in Richmond, VA.-The public art created for Mending Walls addresses where we are now in society to inspire conversation about how we can move forward with empathy through understanding and collaboration. Join the conversation! Virtual community gatherings, hosted in partnership with the Drums No Guns Foundation and the Community Foundation for a Greater Richmond, have been scheduled. Register NOW!-Resources for this episode: Skull-A-Day projectSacred Heart Center of Richmond-More information:Mending Walls RVA Mural ProjectHamilton GlassNoah ScalinAlfonso PerezInstagram: @noahscalin@adrawingtable@mendingwallsrva@19red.fuelProduction:19RED @ FuelIn Your Ear Studios

Cameron speaks with a local artist-turned-entrepreneur Noah Scalin about the path he took to become an inspiration in finding art where it is typically stifled. Noah and Cameron discuss the unfortunate reality of a perceived divide between business and art, and how that can be overcome simply by just getting up and moving.

In this one I get Noah Scalin (or Nacho Snail, to his close friends) to give me some much needed therapy and advice on how to do this art stuff. We also talk about his motivations for his Skull-A-Day project back in the day, his strategy in changing directions in mediums, and lots of other behind-the-scenes-with-an-artist type stuff. For example- when you get to be well known and appreciated for a type of art but are ready to move on in another direction. How do you do it? Personally, I was very interested in his answer!Also- this past week an Old Navy commercial debuted that shows Noah making one of his animorphic perspective pieces. Unfortunately this podcast was recorded a month or two before that happened, so we don't talk about that in this episode. Check it out! Also- check out his Patreon, for bonus and behind the scenes stuff!!

Work. Shouldn't. Suck. LIVE: The Morning(ish) Show with special guests Mica Scalin & Noah Scalin, Another Limited Rebellion. [Live show recorded: April 21, 2020.] NOAH SCALIN is an artist, author, and activist. He founded Another Limited Rebellion in 2001 with the idea that he could make a living doing what he enjoyed and effect positive change in the world. Since then, Noah has traveled the world bringing his message of creative practice to everyone from incarcerated teenagers to Fortune 500 executives. A graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of The Arts, Noah started his career as the Art Director for Troma Entertainment and Avirex Clothing. Noah's artwork is collected internationally and has been exhibited in numerous museums and galleries, including the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, the Mütter Museum and NYC’s Times Square. He is the author of six books — most recently Creative Sprint which he co-wrote with his sister/business partner Mica. Noah is also one of the co-hosts of the VPM PBS television program The Art Scene. In 2016 Noah was chosen as the first ever artist-in-residence at the Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of Business and was named the "The Region's Most Creative Individual" by Richmond magazine in 2017. MICA SCALIN is an innovator in the use of art and media for community engagement and creative development. She was among the first producers hired by NBC Universal Digital Studios, she launched social media strategy at Showtime Networks and consulted on CBS Interactive marketing. She was VP of Communications for the groundbreaking non-profit JDub and has produced documentary films, art exhibitions and cultural events. From grassroots to broadcast, her passion lies in creating cultural experiences that make meaningful connections between people. She has a BFA from the Corcoran School of Art in Washington, DC and studied with Douglas Rushkoff at The New School in NYC. She is the co-author of Creative Sprint: Six 30-day Challenges to Jumpstart Your Creativity. She is also one of the humans behind dOGUMENTA: America’s First Art Show For Dogs.

Noah Scalin is an artist best known for his Skull-A-Day project which continues the tradition of memento mori in art. Julia Skott returns as guest host of Art Supply Posse to interview Noah Scalin about his socially conscious art. Images of Noah's artworks are embedded inside this podcast file. You can view the images as chapters inside the Apple Podcasts, Overcast, and Pocket Casts apps on Android and iOS. Noah Scalin's website Noah's podcast is where he interviews other full-time artists about their process. Julia Skott co-hosts the makedo podcast with Tiff Arment where they talk about their range of mixed emotions as artists and creative people. ​Support Art Supply Posse and get bonus episodes Art Supply Posse Website ​​ Discuss art and art supplies in our forum Artsupia Forum

Noah Scalin is an artist best known for his Skull-A-Day project which continues the tradition of memento mori in art. Julia Skott returns as guest host of Art Supply Posse to interview Noah Scalin about his socially conscious art.Images of Noah's artworks are embedded inside this podcast file. You can view the images as chapters inside the Apple Podcasts, Overcast, and Pocket Casts apps on Android and iOS.Noah Scalin's website Noah's podcast is where he interviews other full-time artists about their process.Julia Skott co-hosts the makedo podcast with Tiff Arment where they talk about their range of mixed emotions as artists and creative people.​Support Art Supply Posse and get bonus episodesArt Supply Posse Website​​Discuss art and art supplies in our forumArtsupia Forum

“Certainly the jobs that are going to go last are going to be the ones that require people to creative problem-solve and come up with unique new ideas.” The post Infiltrate the Business World in the Name of Art—Noah Scalin appeared first on Clark Hulings Fund.

Noah Scalin is a visual artist based in Richmond, Virginia. Best known for his viral blog “Skull a Day,” he produces work for shows and galleries and teaches workshops on the creative process.Hosted and produced by Thomas Breeden. Sign up for news and updates about Artists at Work. Support our show by becoming an Artist at Work Patron.

Artist, frontman, dad, creative warrior Noah Scalin (aka Captain Orlok) visits StudioB today.  We talk about music, art, space, creativity and alternate universes and manage to play a few songs ahead of the League of Space Pirates single release show this Saturday, April 28 at Twisted Ales in Richmond.  They're releasing their new single "Impossible Girl".  It's an all ages show that kicks off at 3pm.  The Pirates also welcome special guests Noah-O and Flashlight tag for the gig.   www.spacepirate.org http://www.noahscalin.com Local and Regional Music out of Richmond, Va. Playlist, notes, links: www.studioBrva.com Email/Requests: studioBrva@gmail.com

In this episode, I am so excited to have spoken to Debbi Mack. Debbi Mack is the New York Times bestselling author of IDENTITY CRISIS, the first book in the Sam McRae mystery series, featuring Maryland lawyer-sleuth Stephanie Ann "Sam" McRae. She has also written and published a young adult novel, INVISIBLE ME, a thriller called THE PLANCK FACTOR, and several short stories, including a Derringer nominee. Debbi's currently working on a new mystery and preparing to re-launch her Sam McRae series. She has her own podcast called The Crime Cafe, where she interviews other crime, suspense, and thriller authors. Debbi has also written two feature film screenplays, including an adaptation of her first novel, an original TV pilot and a short film script. A native of Queens, NY, Debbi currently lives in Columbia, MD, with her husband and cats. Topics Covered Her diverse background which led her from law, to working with the EPA, and ultimately how it played a crucial role in her current writing works today. The "superiority" lawyers can feel that can hinder and alienate them from others, and how to combat this with a healthy perception of self and their career. She dives into the writing process; how she puts pen to paper, who she writes for, and how her writing is an expression of her self in a way. She also talks on the "creative sprint," and how it can help spark creativity in those that don't feel they are creative. You can learn more about Debbi and her work at: Website Twitter Youtube   Questions? Comments? Email Jeena! hello@jeenacho.com. You can also connect with Jeena on Twitter: @Jeena_Cho For more information, visit: jeenacho.com Order The Anxious Lawyer book — Available in hardcover, Kindle and Audible Find Your Ease: Retreat for Lawyers I'm creating a retreat that will provide a perfect gift of relaxation and rejuvenation with an intimate group of lawyers. Interested? Please complete this form: https://jeena3.typeform.com/to/VXfIXq MINDFUL PAUSE: Bite-Sized Practices for Cultivating More Joy and Focus 31-day program. Spend just 6 minutes every day to practice mindfulness and meditation. Decrease stress/anxiety, increase focus and concentration. Interested? http://jeenacho.com/mindful-pause/ Sponsor: Spotlight Branding provides internet marketing services exclusively for solo & small law firms. Unlike most internet marketing firms, they do NOT focus on SEO. Instead, they specialize in branding their clients as trusted, credible experts, increasing referrals, and ultimately driving growth. For our listeners, Spotlight Branding is offering a complimentary website review. Go to: SpotlightBranding.com/trl Transcript Intro: [00:00:02] Today's show is sponsored by Spotlight Branding. Spotlight Branding works exclusively with solo and small law firms to brand them as trusted, credible experts and help them stand out in a crowded marketplace. Their services include web design, social media, video marketing and more. Debbi Mack: [00:00:28] Being able to effectively balance your work with your life. And that sounds a bit trite, but your work should fold in neatly with what you want to do in your life. Intro: [00:00:44] Welcome to The Resilient Lawyer podcast. In this podcast, we have meaningful, in-depth conversations with lawyers, entrepreneurs, and change agents. We offer tools and strategies for creating a more joyful and satisfying life. And now your host, Jeena Cho. Jeena Cho: [00:01:08] Hello my friends, thanks for being with us today. In this episode, I am so delighted to have Debbi Mack, who is a New York Times best-selling author of "Identity Crisis." She has also written and published a young-adult novel, "Invisible Me," and a thriller called "The Planck Factor." Debbi's currently working on a new mystery and preparing to relaunch her Sam McRae series. She has her own podcast called Crime Cafe, where she interviews other crime, suspense, and thriller authors. [00:01:38] Before we get into the interview, if you haven't listened to the last bonus episode, please go back and check it out. I shared a short, six-minute guided meditation to help you let go of stress and anxiety. It's a preview for my new course Mindful Pause, and all of the components of Mindful Pause is designed to be done in six minutes. For obvious reasons for the lawyers out there, and it's really designed to fit into your very busy schedule. So head on over to jeenacho.com to learn more. And with that, here is Debbi. Debbi welcome to The Resilient Lawyer podcast, I am so happy to have you here. Debbi Mack: [00:02:14] Well I'm thrilled to be here. Thank you so much for having me on Jeena. Jeena Cho: [00:02:17] So let's just start by having you give us a short 30-second introduction, I know you've done so much with your life. I want to dive into all of that, but just give us a little overview of who you are and what you do. Debbi Mack: [00:02:32] Who I am and what I do. My gosh, I do so much these days that I guess I'll just say that I am an author and a screenwriter; that seems to be the best definition for what I am and what I do. I blog. I have a podcast, and what I'm working on now is a few things actually; I'm going to relaunch my Sam McRae mystery series, which is four books actually, only two of them are out right now. One of them in print, but it's with a small press and I have made a decision actually to go out again as an indie author with that series. It's not that I did not like the publisher; it's more about trying to get the product out faster. I think these days you really have to be kind of attuned to that. [00:03:36] Unfortunately there's kind of a pressure on authors these days to publish fast, and I don't write particularly fast. And so I'm working on this other series that I started before I got into these discussions with the publisher. They're a really great publisher in terms of supporting their own authors, but again I just felt like you know, this is the time for me to take all the content that I have that's already been out there and get it out there again. So, but at the same time I'm also working on screen screenwriting; I have a feature-length screenplay that made the semifinals in the Scriptapalooza contest last year. Jeena Cho: [00:04:26] Oh wow. Debbi Mack: [00:04:26] Yeah that was, that felt like a real honor. I also have a TV pilot that I'm working on, and I have a short film script that I would possibly like to produce myself, with help from others who are more familiar with the techniques I guess is the right term. I mean I'm getting familiar with the industry for sure, but I have always written kind of with visuals in mind (let's put it that way), and with adaptation to the screen in mind. But screenwriting strips it down to its very essentials..storytelling. And it's caused me to exercise a whole nother set of skills, in terms of writing and editing. And looking at my work and saying okay, what can I cut here? What do I really need to tell this story and to tell you about these people? Jeena Cho: [00:05:32] Yeah, and you know it's so funny because I was kind of struck by the fact that of all the descriptors that you used to describe yourself, one of them was not an attorney. And it's so interesting because I think so many lawyers sort of identify so much of who they are with what they do. But maybe that's a good place to kind of start your journey and kind of unpack it a little bit. So you were an attorney? Debbi Mack: [00:06:00] Yes, I was. I practiced law for nine years and I was with different federal agencies. I started off with the Social Security Administration, actually. I was doing appeals to federal court. I actually got to appear before the 8th Circuit on one case, and it was like my first year practicing as a lawyer and I got to go before the 8th Circuit. [00:06:24] I was like, oh my god. And I tried not to be really nervous about it but I'll never forget; I was there and there was this water pitcher, and I poured myself a little water and somehow or other some of it was splashing all over the table. Jeena Cho: [00:06:41] Of course it did. Debbi Mack: [00:06:41] I was like, okay this is not happening. I heard somebody snickering behind me and I was just like, ahem, I'm playing it cool. I'm taking a piece of pad paper and putting it down there and going, yeah yeah okay, that didn't happen. Pay no attention to me. But it was really a unique experience. And but it kind of a grind, to do these briefs. It was during the Reagan administration. And well, what can I say? I mean Social Security during the Reagan administration. Let's just say there were a lot of appeals. [00:07:26] So I thought, I've got to do something else. I need something that I can do other than just crank out these briefs. And I went to work at a law firm. It was a local law firm in Prince George's County, Maryland. And started off in litigation and ended up going into land use. And when I was in land use I became interested in environmental law, so I thought, you know what I really want to do? I want to become an environmental lawyer. I made a decision at that point, okay let's focus on a specific niche, and I made it environmental Law. So I was looking and looking for a job, and happened to know somebody who knew someone else at EPA. And I got the job, but it was not as an attorney. It was as an Environmental Protection Specialist, which is basically fancy language for like, project manager or something. I was supposed to manage groups that were doing like rule-making, or thinking about rule-making. And I worked in the Office of Toxic Substances, where they effectuated the Toxic Substances Control Act. I don't know if you've ever heard of TOSCA. [00:08:51] Most people have not heard of TOSCA. You see, it's one of those little known environmental statutes that I always think kind of gets overlooked in the grand scheme of things. Along with FIFRA, The Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act; that covers pesticides. And it used to be enabled by the Department of Agriculture. [00:09:17] So they used to do the reg-making for FIFRA, but now it's with the EPA. And so TOSCA is, well any environmental lawyer will tell you that it's a problematic statute in many ways, and difficult to write regs for. The whole area is difficult to regulate, and there was a whole nother set of issues with FIFRA. But it fascinated me because I had studied science at one point, so I was really intrigued with working with scientists while I was at the EPA. I enjoyed doing that. [00:09:56] But I will tell you, I live in Columbia, Maryland, and of course I was commuting into D.C. I was getting up at like 4:30 in the morning every single day, getting on a train, and it was taking me more than an hour to get to work every day. Also, EPA had some sick-building issues at that time, and I was just coming home exhausted at the end of the day; it was a long day. And as much as I enjoyed working at EPA and the people I worked with, I just said you know, I need a life; I need something other than being on this train, going to work every day. I hadn't imagined doing this for the rest of my life. So that's how I ended up actually opening my own office. Jeena Cho: [00:10:51] Oh okay, yeah. Debbi Mack: [00:10:56] From there I went toward opening my own office, I took a lot of Marilyn's continuing legal education courses to try to prepare me for that. I had a lot of material that really helped out, in terms of forms, and I met people; I ended up meeting two women who ended up sharing office space with. So they were there as kind-of mentors in a way, because they had started their offices right out of law school. [00:11:29] And I just thought that was the most admirable thing to be able to do, to just launch themselves out there like that. But those first couple of years that I did that were so rough financially, I was just like I can't believe I'm doing this. I wonder if I will ever make any money doing this. And it was a general practice, I was doing basically whatever came in the door; your wills, your DWI's, this that and the other. And at some point I somehow got in contact with, I think she was a lawyer and accountant who had decided to go into freelance writing. And that's when I started doing work for Matthew Bender, and at the same time I'd always been interested in writing fiction, always. There was always a part of me, like when I was doing something like making copies or faxing something, or doing something very administrative, where I would say, you know while I'm standing here doing this, I could be writing my novel. Jeena Cho: [00:12:44] Oh how interesting. Debbi Mack: [00:12:46] I mean, I kept thinking about that. I kept thinking about the time that I wasn't writing while I was doing other things. And it just spurred me at some point to say okay, I am going to sit down and I'm going to start writing something. And whether it's any good or not, we'll see. And of course, the first things I wrote were just terrible. I mean, my husband doesn't hold back when it comes to criticism; he basically said, this is just not working, it sucks, it's boring, it's not going anywhere. I said I know that, I'm just not sure how to take it anywhere else. So I mean, I took a class on mystery writing and horror writing. I started reading a lot of mysteries, and what I did is I would really read critically. I would look at what people were doing in the books that made me interested, and I thought okay, this is how it works. Jeena Cho: [00:13:56] Like I want to actually pause for a moment and just ask you, like when you wrote that first draft and it sucked and your husband told you it sucked, I feel like for so many lawyers, they would be like oh my gosh I clearly suck at this. I should just give up. Was there any part of you that thought that? Or was it just like no, this is my first draft and I'll get better through practice. What was your mindset? Debbi Mack: [00:14:20] My mindset was, I knew I could get better with practice. I just knew it, because I think it's that way with everything. I mean, when I started law school I didn't think I was going to make it as a law student. There were times when I thought I would just say, oh the hell with this I'm going to drop out because this is just so dull. briefing these cases over and over and over and over and over again. But then I thought, the subject is so interesting, every time I read a case I'm so interested in what I read. And at the same time, I also thought it was very special knowledge. [00:15:06] Now you know, it's funny that you mentioned that I didn't say I was an attorney. Because at this point I'm not practicing, so technically I'm a lawyer. And it's funny how I don't self-identify that way, because I actually feel very much like a lawyer. I mean, I still think like a lawyer. But at the same time, it's as if I want people to feel like I'm not just defined as a lawyer. Or I'm a lawyer who happens to write, or I'm a writer who happens to be a lawyer or something like that. Sometimes people are put off by that whole lawyer aura, if you know what I'm saying. Jeena Cho: [00:15:52] Oh totally, right. When you were a lawyer though, did you strongly identify yourself as a lawyer? Or did you just think, I'm a person and what I do for a living is law? Debbi Mack: [00:16:04] Well it's funny, I did actually identify very strongly as a lawyer. And this is interesting, I mean your own self-perceptions do have to change a little bit when you get into a new field. You have to stop thinking of yourself as "better" or, I don't know what the right word is without being a little insulting..I tended to notice with some attorneys there was this kind of air of, well I'm better than that person because I have a law degree. You have to kind of get away from that feeling, you know. It's kind of like being in this club or organization, where you're all members of the club and you all know the language. [00:17:05] And I mean I like that part of it, I like the part of it where you could just talk to people and they would totally get what you were saying. In fact, I recently went to my law school reunion not knowing how it was going to be, and I had a great time. I had an absolutely great time. It was so great to talk to other lawyers. Jeena Cho: [00:17:31] Yeah. Debbi Mack: [00:17:32] I don't get to have those conversations very much. And it was good to be able to tell them about what I'm doing, and they were excited by it. And I recognized people, it was just great to be there. Jeena Cho: [00:17:47] Do you not have that sense when you're hanging out with other writers? Is it different than hanging out with other lawyers? Debbi Mack: [00:17:57] It's, it's different. Hanging out with writers, you have different commonalities; you have different subjects that you share. It's a different club, so to speak; it's a different group, a different universe or something. When you're talking to other writers, we all know what a struggle it is to write and to publish and to find our readership, that sort of thing. [00:18:30] With lawyers, there's the struggle I guess to market without violating any professional responsibility rules, to handle cases properly, all of those things. I mean, I know all of those pressures. I know what all of those pressures are like. And I can appreciate them. So when anybody says something mean or wrong about lawyers, it's like I want to set them right. In fact, the Sam McRae mystery series was inspired by my desire to present a lawyer in a good light, somebody who really cared about her clients, almost to her detriment. And that to me was a challenge. It was like, okay you know a lot of times in detective fiction, detectives will lie to find things out about themselves. [00:19:44] And I thought, Sam isn't like that. Sam is not going to misrepresent herself. She will always be very above-board and ethical. Although, she has had those moments where she's had to kind of agonize over whether she was crossing the line. And that's part of the inner conflict of that character in the story, you know? So yeah, I do identify as a lawyer, but I don't do it to the exclusion of all else. It's not like being a lawyer is the be-all and end-all for me anymore. [00:20:21] I mean, at one time I felt a distinct kind of sense of loss about not being in the profession. Because I was no longer in the profession, I was no longer practicing. And it was like, gosh I'm not with them anymore. I'm just me. But then it was okay, you know it was like you know what you're getting in exchange? That's the way I had to think of it. You're getting something in exchange for letting go of that. And it's that letting go that really felt good. Jeena Cho: [00:20:57] Yeah, and so much of life is like that, right? It's a series of surrendering one thing to gain something different, or making room for something different. And it's not really clear exactly what you're giving it up for even. Debbi Mack: [00:21:14] Yeah, oh I know. And believe me, I didn't get into this with the expectation of becoming a best-selling anything. All I wanted to do was to write and make a living at it. And it's still a continuing process. Jeena Cho: [00:21:35] Yeah, yeah. So I've heard authors or writers talk about this in different ways, and I'm curious to hear what your thoughts are on it. When you write, who are you writing for? Are you writing for yourself and this is something that you do because it's a way that you're expressing yourself? Or are you writing it for your potential readers? Like when you're writing, do you have an avatar of your ideal reader in mind that you're writing for? Debbi Mack: [00:22:10] I don't think I'm writing for an avatar, but I do think I'm marketing to an avatar. When I write, I think it's really more of an expression of the things that I want to say. I know that there's an audience for this particular type of work, because I see it all the time. So, writing within a certain genre's conventions will lead you to that audience, or at some point that audience will grow interested in your work. I chose mystery because I heard somewhere (I love mysteries, I've loved them all my life) that if you can write a mystery, you can write anything. That's what I've heard anyway. Jeena Cho: [00:23:05] I think it's because you have to get everything, all those clues and everything in there and have the plot makes sense in the end; have everything tied up. And there's a lot to that, for me it's a lot of plotting. That's a tough thing. But when it comes to actually writing, I think a lot of it has to be inspired by your own desire to express something. That's what I hear from other writers too. It's like, well you know, I grew up in Brooklyn and these are the kinds of things that I experienced. Or I grew up in such and such a place, and you can hear it in what they say. [00:23:50] The things that they express, a lot of it is the kind of stories that you would like to see, that you wish you could see. For me it's like, when I was a kid there weren't very many strong female characters on TV (and I was just a compulsive TV watcher as a kid) and in the movies either. So my desire was to write strong women. And so Sam is a strong woman I think, and a lot of it is really inspired by that; the desire to see something that isn't there. [00:24:38] Or is there but it is my own take on it. It's there now more because a lot of authors started doing strong women before I got involved. But now it's my own take on that. Jeena Cho: [00:24:52] Yeah, and to me it sounds like there's some level of actually validating your life experience by sharing and saying, this is my story. And even though it's in a fictional form, it's an expression of who you are and what you want to say. And I would imagine that's really just comforting to be able to tell your story. Debbi Mack: [00:25:21] It is in a sense. But I like to make sure that people know that I'm not Sam, because Sam is so different from me. Sometimes I actually look to other attorneys that I knew who were strong women, and thought what would she do in this circumstance? Because I found I had to get outside myself a little bit, you know? I had to come up with a snappier, more sarcastic answer than even I would even do to somebody, or a thought. You know it's like, I can't just write about me, I have to write about this person Sam. She's different, she's stronger, she's better. I like to think of her as a stronger, better version of myself. The person I would be if I were a stronger attorney, or a stronger person and wanted to be an attorney. Jeena Cho: [00:26:16] So did writing that book and having to imagine a better, stronger version of you, did that change you in some way? Debbi Mack: [00:26:31] Gosh I don't know. I hadn't really thought about that. I think that if anything, exploring the relationships between Sam and the various people who end up becoming recurring characters have spurred the additional ideas I've gotten for more books and sequels. Because I've always wanted to make it a series, I've wanted to make it the Sam McRae mystery series. And I had ideas for at least three books. And actually, the first book in the series, the one that made the New York Times bestseller list, was the second book that I wrote. The first book that I wrote, which needed a lot of work, ended up becoming the fourth book. [00:27:25] And there is a reader of mine and a friend, who is very honest (he wouldn't hold back if he didn't like it), he said, I think this fourth one might be the best one in the series. And I was like, oh my god it's come a long way from those first drafts. So you see, there's hope. Jeena Cho: [00:27:49] Yeah, yeah. So you wrote the first book and you showed it to your husband and he said it was terrible. How long did it take you before you felt like it was better? Debbi Mack: [00:28:06] You know, I don't remember exactly how long it took, but I know that it didn't take long for me to make the decisions that needed to be made to turn it around. Let's put it that way. You see, when I was writing it I knew in the back of my mind this is not going anywhere, but I showed it to him anyway. And he said, this is not doing it. And so it's as if I had a sixth sense about it. It's like, okay I know I'm not doing this right, I know I can do something to fix it. It's just a matter of doing it, of sitting down and figuring out the problem and getting it fixed. And I think anybody who practices law, I know attorneys who practice law who write extremely well, who are doing wonderful work and are getting published. And I've had them on my own show, I mean think of John Grisham or Scott Turow. Look at these people, Lisa Scottoline. These are lawyers who write fiction. Jeena Cho: [00:29:19] Yeah and I think you know, there is a certain mindset that has to shift to say I am more than just a lawyer, that I can do these things and that I can have interests outside of the office. Debbi Mack: [00:29:33] Oh you can, yes yes yes. Jeena Cho: [00:29:35] But you know, I don't think it comes naturally for most lawyers. We're kind of taught or trained to have this very singular focus. And also, it seems like the messaging is that if you divert your attention and do anything different, then that's going to end up hindering your ability to be an excellent lawyer. Debbi Mack: [00:29:59] I hear completely what you're saying. And it's funny how this starts in law school, it's a terrible thing. But I think a lot of it is old type thinking, because when I went back to the law school, I've been doing moot court, I've been doing these mock trials actually, regional mock trials. I'll show up and be a judge. So, it's interesting to see the kinds of posters that I see now around the law school. I see posters for mindfulness and all this kind of stuff. I remember when I was at, my first year in law school was at GW and I couldn't afford it. So I ended up transferring to the University of Maryland. [00:30:49] But while I was at GW, I remember distinctly somebody coming by and talking about if you ever need stress relief, we do art therapy. And there were these two guys sitting nearby, and they were in front of me and they looked at each other and just sort of snickered. And I was like, hello! I mean, this person is trying to help you, and you're snickering. Don't be snickering at art therapy, dude. [00:31:23] I think what lawyers are afraid of is that feeling of letting go, that feeling of just allowing their minds to wander a bit off of the logic path. Now, you're not going to stop being logical simply because you do this. Seriously. Especially if you write something like crime fiction, because you have to have the story make sense. I mean, if you're writing something along the lines of, who is that guy, Burroughs? Or some of these beat poets or whatever. Okay that's wild stuff, okay if you do something that's really far out, out there. Yeah, sure. I mean you get a little crazy, but that's not going to change your ability to think. Even if you do that, it's all about what you want to express. And a lot of times that expression can come out of the very thing that you're doing. Let's say your own day-to-day frustrations as a lawyer. I certainly see my own frustrations as a lawyer expressed in Sam. I mean, there were times when I would just shake my head at some of the things that I saw. Where I said, this is unjust, this is wrong. And I see lots of things in the news now where I just say, oh my god I know Sam would be appalled. [00:33:00] I see so many ideas out there that I can't begin to write all the stories that I could write about them. And it's a matter of queuing them up, like planes waiting to take off, you know? They're just there, waiting to be written about. Jeena Cho: [00:33:28] Getting a new website design can be a huge pain. But what if I told you that building a new website for your law firm didn't have to suck? My friends at Spotlight Branding pride themselves on their responsiveness, on great communication, and on delivering results for their clients. And Spotlight Branding doesn't lock their clients into long-term contracts. In fact, they offer a no risk, money-back guarantee on their work, so that you can have total peace of mind while you work with them. Spotlight Branding will help you stand out from the competition, drive more referrals, and ultimately achieve the growth you're looking for. Their team is currently offering a special, complimentary website review for our listeners. Visit spotlightbranding.com/trl to learn more. Jeena Cho: [00:34:23] Yeah I love that, that you gave yourself the permission to explore and do things. I felt this way at certain points in my life, like I remember being younger and loving to draw. But then I graduated from law school and I felt like, well I don't have the permission to do that. Like no one gave me permission so I can write fiction or draw or paint or sew, or do all of these things. And I don't know where that idea came from, but it was just so strong inside of me. Debbi Mack: [00:35:01] Oh my gosh, well I have a recommendation for anybody such as yourself. It's called "the creative sprint," and it's something that I have taken up actually. Noah Scalin, and his last name is spelled "S-C-A-L-I-N," Noah is the first name. And there's a book called "Creative Sprint." [00:35:24] And the thing is, if you sign up for the emails, every now and then they do this thing called "creative sprint," where if you want to participate, you make something based on a prompt that they give you every day for a month or so, and then you post it on social media somewhere. Jeena Cho: [00:35:48] I love this. Debbi Mack: [00:35:50] It's great, it's fantastic. And, so I've been doing it every now and then. In fact, I want to put together a video of what I did. Jeena Cho: [00:35:59] Oh, that'd be so awesome. Debbi Mack: [00:36:02] I'm going to have to do that, because some of the stuff I did was pretty wild. I did a video of me singing the lyrics to the Star Trek theme as William Shatner would do it. I was using a William Shatner style, you know. Have you ever heard him do "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds?" Jeena Cho: [00:36:26] No, I'm going to have to look this up. Debbi Mack: [00:36:28] Oh my god. You haven't lived until you've heard William Shatner singing "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds." Jeena Cho: [00:36:35] Okay, I'm going to look this up. Debbi Mack: [00:36:39] Look it up on YouTube, William Shatner singing "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds." You will die. So I decided to do the lyrics to the Star Trek original theme as William Shatner would do it. Jeena Cho: [00:36:54] That's awesome. Debbi Mack: [00:36:56] Give yourself permission to do things like that, and you'll be on your way toward doing fun stuff. Jeena Cho: [00:37:04] It's okay to do it. Yeah. So I want to shift gears a little bit, so think you have sort of hit that benchmark that I think every writer aspires to, which is to hit the New York Times Best Sellers List. So I'm curious, how did that happen? And tips or suggestions do you have for other aspiring authors? Debbi Mack: [00:37:30] Get in a time machine, go back to 2009. Self-publish your book and offer it for 99 cents on Kindle and Nook. And oh, and have five blogs while you're at it. Jeena Cho: [00:37:49] Wow. Debbi Mack: [00:37:49] At the time, I had five blogs. I was reviewing books; I was doing reviews for Mystery Scene magazine. I was blogging like crazy, like I said. I was tweeting like crazy. I had these 99 cent books, and I was making more money with 99 cent books than I was making pricing them at $2.99 or higher, with the higher royalty rate, because of the sheer volume. So I thought, why would I want to raise the price and have this income drop? And then of course, when Nook came along, that was another platform. So I was on Kindle and Nook, and being on Kindle and Nook qualified me for consideration on the list. And then I made enough sales, simply by sheer volume. I think there was some kind of promotion that Nook did at one time, and I was just picked out. It was not even something I asked for, me and another author's book were featured, and I think that must have boosted my Nook sales. And the combination of great Kindle sales and Nook sales together caused my book to peak in late March early April. So I made the list twice. And I was like, wow, oh my god. Jeena Cho: [00:39:22] So you didn't write the book thinking, this is going to be a New York Times Bestseller and have some grand scheme for making it there? Debbi Mack: [00:39:28] No, I had no grand scheme whatsoever. I had no idea what I was doing half the time. I was just essentially, I was blogging about my life as a writer. In fact, my blog at that time was called "My Life on the Midlist." "Debbi Mack, My Life on the Midlist," something like that. It was kind of a take-off of "Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List" because I always felt like I was pretty much a nobody. And I still feel like nobody, which is good. I don't want to be a famous writer or anything, that would be like.. no, no, no. Jeena Cho: [00:40:10] I don't know, I feel like once you make The New York Times Bestseller's List it's hard to say that you're not a famous writer. Debbi Mack: [00:40:15] But I'm not! That's the funny part. Unless you're in stores, you know what I mean? Unless you're in stores, if you're on the New York Times List as an e-book writer, it's very different than being on the New York Times List as a print book author. So I don't know, I don't think I'm famous so much as I've had some financial success, and I have had some marketing success. I think that's really the thing, I'm still in the process of what I would call "putting my tribe together." You know, my real big fans. Jeena Cho: [00:41:01] What does that process look like to you, put your tribe together? What does that look like sort of on a day-to-day basis? And let's say a month-to-month and year-to-year basis? Debbi Mack: [00:41:14] I would say on the day-to-day basis, what I like to do is try to blog on my author blog at least once a week. And that doesn't count my Crime Cafe posts, I like to have something up there that's mine. And often it's a book review, or I've started something I call "Myths About the Law." And I try to dispel what people think about lawyers. Like for instance, I had one post that said, I had read this book by a comedy writer. I won't say his name, but he's a wonderful comedy writer. But he said something about the movie "Liar Liar." And he said, "This guy can't lie because his kid wishes for it. How's he going to do his job, because he's a lawyer. He has to lie, right? And I'm like, ahem no. [00:42:17] So I said, no this is wrong. This is not what lawyers do for a living. In fact, if you watch the movie you'll see that he learns how to become a better lawyer by not lying. That's actually the message in the movie. And it's also an extremely funny movie. It's a great movie. Jeena Cho: [00:42:37] Yeah, yeah. And I think that's the thing that's hard. You have to put in that persistent and consistent effort and that building or finding your tribe doesn't happen overnight, obviously. Debbi Mack: [00:42:54] I kind of like the idea of joint efforts, of joint marketing efforts, because the more we can help each other the better off we are. And that's something about the legal profession that people don't appreciate either. They don't realize how collegial it is. I mean, there's of course conflict between people when there is litigation or a situation where there's something that needs to be negotiated. There can be a degree of conflict of course. But at the same time, the legal profession I have always found was very collegial. [00:43:34] I've worked in remarkably collegial circumstances, I guess. I've been very fortunate to work with people who work together well and share advice, that kind of thing. I know that there are probably law firms and things out there, places where people aren't like that. But I would say if that's the kind of place where you're working, maybe it's not the best place to be if it's causing you stress. Because you should be able to be happy with what you're doing with your life, not doing something that stresses you out. Jeena Cho: [00:44:17] Yeah. And also it seems like there are attorneys who just don't see an alternative. They are at a law firm, they're making a great salary. They have a mortgage or they have kids in college and this just feels like, yeah yeah. And I think it's kind of hard to make space for a different possibility. And that's just a possibility that you are not aware of in this moment. But it doesn't mean that those possibilities don't exist. Debbi Mack: [00:44:50] I think that's absolutely true. And I think if you want something badly enough, you can make it happen. It's just a matter of learning how to make it happen, and preparing for that. And I feel like right now I'm at the point in my life where I'm still learning all the different ways that I can make the things that I want to make happen. Jeena Cho: [00:45:17] Yeah, although it's really weird for me to hear you say that, because when I look at you and all that you've accomplished. I feel like, wow, she checked off all the boxes and she's there. Wherever that there might be, but yeah. Debbi Mack: [00:45:37] That's the thing, even the successful authors who are kind of famous, you'll always hear them say you're never quite there. Writing is a profession where you're always an apprentice. It's not just the writing process itself, there's also the unfortunately or fortunately, I don't know, it's easy to get yourself out there in the sense of, we have the Internet. We have blogs, we have social media. But knowing which thing to use and how to use it, these are all tools. Social media is a tool, you have to think of it that way. And how do you use it most wisely to get the most out of it, that's the trick. And like I say, I'm honestly still in the process of learning these things. [00:46:29] I'm always in the process of trying to hone my skills at various different levels. I am teaching courses on Yudami now, and I'm actually uploading some of those courses to Teachable, if people do online courses and they're writing oriented. I'm thinking about adding some more courses on other life topics, because I have a condition called dystonia. It developed secondary to a stroke I had several years ago. I mean this was in the early 00's. It's more of an annoying condition than anything, it is constant and there's no cure for it. But the thing of it is, in or to deal with it you have to do things like exercise and make time for yourself. [00:47:30] And so I'm thinking, there's a whole community of people out there who have chronic illnesses of various types. And I think there's a lot of advice I could give people on how to how to deal with that. Because I have had to deal with it out of necessity if I wanted to keep writing. I think if anything, this has really helped me to empathize more with people, and even just sympathize with them because some of them have the same problem I do. All I can say is, it's amazing what you can do even when you have a problem like this one. So I hope in that sense, I can serve as some sort of inspiration not only to lawyers, but to people who are struggling with chronic conditions. Jeena Cho: [00:48:22] Yeah, and it almost sounds like you've sort of had to learn to treat yourself more kindly and say you know what, I'm tired, I need rest. And not feel like you should feel guilty for taking a nap because you're really tired. Debbi Mack: [00:48:41] Exactly, right. It's kind of like learning to, there's a kind of a Buddhist concept to this sort of forgiving yourself and accepting, kind of all goes together. Jeena Cho: [00:48:55] Yeah. And it sounds like it's a little bit of room just for you to digest and see what comes of it. Debbi Mack: [00:49:04] Exactly right. Jeena Cho: [00:49:06] Yeah. Debbi, it's just been so wonderful talking to you. One final question before I let you go. So the name of this podcast is called The Resilient Lawyer. What does it mean to be a resilient lawyer to you? Debbi Mack: [00:49:25] Being able to effectively balance your work with your life. And that sounds a bit trite, but when I say that I mean your work should fold in neatly with what you want to do in your life. The kind of work you do, is in a sense a byproduct of yourself. It's like, you do the things that you do because you care about them. And if you don't care about what it is you're doing, you should be doing something else. Don't be afraid to make a change. [00:50:13] The way I see it, if you're going down the wrong road, you need to turn around at some point. And continuing down the wrong road will not take you to where you want to go. So it just doesn't make sense. It makes more sense to think about what you can do to change your situation to make it better and more in touch with your inner needs, your desires. Jeena Cho: [00:50:46] And I think it takes courage to make space for that voice that's longing to be expressed in the world. Debbi Mack: [00:50:56] Well thank you. Jeena Cho: [00:51:00] Debbi, for the listeners out there that want to learn more about you or your work, what are some places where they can find out? Debbi Mack: [00:51:09] Well you can find me at my website, which is debbimack.com. And you can find a link there for The Crime Cafe podcast, it's right there on my website. You can also find my Twitter link, my Facebook link, and my Google Plus link. I'm pretty sure they're all on there. [00:51:38] I'm also on YouTube. I do a lot of book reviews on YouTube I've become something of a "booktuber." I'll put in a plug for two writers whose books I just finished reading, who I absolutely love. Robert Crais and Terry Pratchett. Jeena Cho: [00:52:03] Alright, so I will put all of those in the show notes. Debbi, thank you so much for joining me today. I certainly enjoyed our conversation. Debbi Mack: [00:52:12] It was a pleasure. I'm very happy that you invited me on. Thank you so much. Closing: [00:52:23] Thanks for joining us on The Resilient Lawyer podcast. If you've enjoyed the show, please tell a friend. It's really the best way to grow the show. To leave us a review on iTunes, search for The Resilient Lawyer and give us your honest feedback. It goes a long way to help with our visibility when you do that, so we really appreciate it. As always, we'd love to hear from you. E-mail us at smile@theanxiouslawyer.com. Thanks and we look forward to seeing you next week.    

We are only a few days away from the Virginia statewide elections for Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and Attorney General. On this episode of Top Billin', I went one-on-one with the Democratic candidate for Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax. Fairfax, a 38-year-old, father of two, talks about his upbringing, family, and the values that led him to run for statewide office. If elected, Fairfax will only be the second African American elected to serve statewide in Virginia's history. Justin and I talked about his desire to expand Medicare, eliminate the very troubling school to prison pipeline, and reform the criminal justice system. These are fitting goals for the former federal prosecutor, who graduated from Duke and Columbia Law. He is taking his message to every area of Virginia and encouraging Virginians to get engaged and be a part of the process. We also talk about his music playlist, his campaign theme song, and who he'd like to have join him for dinner. This podcast was recorded at 804RVA in Richmond, VA. If you like this podcast, please subscribe to The Cheats Movement on iTunes, Soundcloud, and Sticher. Also visit TheCheatsMovement.com for new podcast, post, and special product releases like the 11.1.2017 collaboration with The Cheats Movement and Noah Scalin. #WESEEIT

In this episode, I interview Noah Scalin, an artist who first gained notoriety a little over a decade ago with his Webby Award-winning Skull-A-Day project (during which he produced a different piece of art containing a skull every day for a year). Today, Noah is the first artist-in-residence for the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Business. He runs Another Limited Rebellion, an art and innovation consulting firm, with his sister and leads a collaborative science fiction universe and art project called the League of Space Pirates. He's also authored six books on art and creativity and continues to create art for exhibitions around the world.  Visit us at HeadHeartandHustle.com and subscribe to our newsletter for updates.

  Episode 100!  Thanks for sticking with the show! Spencer Smilanick aka Captain Spoo Diggity is the lead vocalist of The Pirates Charles.  So many good "where did that name come from" stories in this episode! Where the band name came from will have you on the floor.  Pull your car over before that section so you don't hit anything. We'll go deep into how Spencer has crafted his pirate persona and is able to tell deeply personal stories through his music, often without the audience even knowing it.  And we'll chat some biz stuff too about what it's like being such a different kind of band in the Los Angeles market. And, of course, we'll spin a track from their new album Invictus called "Fortress of Five Kings". And to celebrate the 100th episode of Under The Crossbones, I invited a bunch of past guests to call in and update us on what they're doing now.  Interviews are great, but they're just a snapshot in time.  Fun to catch up with all the cool folks we've been listening to the last couple years. Under The Crossbones is a podcast all about pirate culture.  Your host Phil Johnson (comedian, musician, and pirate geek) interviews the most interesting people in the pirate subculture: Actors, Authors, Historians, Musicians, Artists, Festival Founders, Clothing and Prop Designers, Treasure Hunters, Archaeologists, and more. Today's show is sponsored by: Pirate Radio of the Treasure Coast - The best in pirate talk and music! Get to listenin'!  http://www.PirateRadioOfTheTreasureCoast.com Make Great Music - For aspiring low frequency mavens in the Houston, TX area, talk to Jonathan Leon for lessons on electric and upright bass, tuba, and piano. http://www.MakeGreatMusic.com  For videos, pictures, book links and more, be sure to click through to the full show notes.   http://www.UnderTheCrossbones.com/100   Pick up 'Invictus' the new album from The Pirates Charles. Important Websites: The Pirates Charles - http://www.ThePiratesCharles.com Baylus Brooks - http://www.BaylusBrooks.com Tom Mason - http://www.TomMason.net Cindy Vallar - http://www.CindyVallar.com Dan Stevens - http://www.PirataClothing.com Helen Hollick - http://www.HelenHollick.com Noah Scalin - http://www.SpacePirate.org Laura Nelson - http://petercorneliushoof.blogspot.com Sam Siegel - http://www.PiratesofthePursuit.com John Amrhein - http://www.TreasureIslandTheUntoldStory.com Lisa Jensen - http://ljo-express.blogspot.com Tiger Lee - http://www.PirateFashions.com Sam Staley - http://www.SRStaley.com Brigada Pirata - http://www.BrigadaPirata.com   You can get my latest comedy special, "Pretty From TheBack"at http://bit.ly/prettyfromtheback Additional Show Notes: http://www.UnderTheCrossbones.com/100   Support the show!: http://www.UnderTheCrossbones.com/support    Subscribe to Under The Crossbones on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/under-crossbones-pirate-podcast/id1039621331?mt=2 Visit http://www.UnderTheCrossbones.com for all the episodes.                             

Monuments are all the rage following actions to remove Confederate monuments in New Orleans, and closer to home in Charlottesville, VA.  Last week, Mayor Levar Stoney made a major announcement that he is appointing a 10-member commission to study ways to add context to the monuments on Monument Avenue. Mayor Stoney said, "it's time to set the historical record straight." But is now the right time to discuss monuments when the city and region are facing other critical issues? I've brought together a great round table to discuss what else? Monuments. I'm joined by Bill Martin, Historian and Director of the Valentine Museum, Julian Hayter, Historian and educator at University of Richmond, Tawnya Pettiford-Wates (Dr. T),  educator at VCU and Director of the Conciliation Project, Noah Scalin, educator, Social Justice artist and activist, Ted Elmore, Creator of BridgePark, Pam Mines, Founder of JP Jumpers Foundation, Alex Mejias, singer -songwriter, community activist, and Kelley Libby, Storyteller, Producer of UnMonumental. This podcast just touches the surface, there will be very serious discussions happening within our region about monuments, history, and the path forward. I hope you enjoy this podcast. Please subscribe to the Cheats Movement Podcast on Itunes and Soundcloud. And if you really like this podcast leave a comment on Itunes. The Table Podcast is brought to you by our Sponsor Health Warrior. A superfood company, headquartered in Richmond, VA, that believes better health will build a strong society.

Episode 210 Wednesday, April 19 @ 2:30 pm ET / 11:30 am PT, Noah Scalin is coming back on the show to tell us about an activity that has revolutionized his professional work. Doing these creativity exercises on a regular basis has allowed him to push past the typical and come up with thought-provoking, original ideas. From these creative sprints new work has been produced and because he is doing them with a community of people at the same time it is building a community of creators who are sharing their creative process and explorations with others daily. We will talk about Noah’s new book and how it is different from his other books and how the idea of the creative sprint has expanded his creativity and his business. Connect with Noah at: Creative Sprint (including book buying links): http://CreativeSprint.co Personal portfolio: http://NoahScalin.com Company: http://AnotherLimitedRebellion.com @CreativeSprint (Instagram) @ALRcreates (twitter) @NoahScalin (instagram/twitter) #CreativeSprint (everywhere) Things we talked about during the show: Meena’s project is here https://www.instagram.com/newinlou365/ @meenakhalili https://www.instagram.com/freehandprofit Find more great episodes at www.rechargingyou.com Connect on Instagram & Twitter: @designrecharge Or email me at diane [at] rechargingyou.com Become a part of the Design Recharge Family and get access to the interviews each week. Sign up at http://www.rechargingyou.com

THE DESIGN RECHARGE SHOW: Noah Scalin // The Design Activist’s Handbook by diane gibbs

For extended show notes and more pirate goodies, visit www.UnderTheCrossbones.com   Noah Scalin is a unique artist.  And artist in the broadest sense of the word.  His music with the League of Space Pirates is a fantastic romp of a story that encompasses music, theatrics, web shows, live shows, and more. Noah is even more known for his visual arts including Skull A Day in which he presented a different skull piece every day for a year.  Be sure to check out the really cool installation pieces that were part of that project. Plus comedy from Jimmy Earll about telling white lies to your kids and and a song called "Abridged History of Love" from League of Space Pirates. Important Websites: Noah Scalin - www.NoahScalin.com League of Space Pirates - www.SpacePirate.org Skull A Day - www.SkullADay.com Jimmy Earll - www.facebook.com/jimmy.earll Phil Johnson - www.PhilJohnsonComedy.com Additional Show Notes: www.UnderTheCrossbones.com/024 Support the show!: www.UnderTheCrossbones.com/support  

The Background Noise podcast series focuses on the music that artists listen to when they work, what music inspires them, or just music they like. This week, in Episode 67, the focus is on Noah Scalin.

Noah Scalin is a Richmond, Virginia, based activist, artist, and author. He is the creator of the Webby Award-winning art project Skull-a-Day, which was the basis of his first book, Skulls; he is also the author of 365: A Daily Creativity Journal. Find out how you can experience creativity as a way of life in this inspiring interview with Noah!

  In episode nine I introduced you my friend, skull artist and fellow Virginian Noah Scalin, whose book of Skulls caught my eye while I was perusing the back of a shop in Charleston, South Carolina a few years ago. Every skull Noah creates is made from a different materials, from turnips to  tinfoil, and they are so amazing that Noah has become a bit of a skull celebrity. His art was recently featured in the Mammoth Book of Skulls, he speaks around the world on creative expression, teaches graphic design at the Virginia Commonwealth University, and even found time to hang out with Martha Stewart on her TV show. Noah has just released a new book of 365 skulls, and tomorrow I plan to stop by Chop Suey books in Richmond’s Carytown district to pick up my copy. I can’t wait! But for now, let’s move on to Part Two of my interview with artist Noah Scalin.

Punk Professor. Space pirate. Design rebel. Noah Scalin is not your ordinary guy ~ he might not even sleep! He teaches design at the Virginia Commonwealth University, runs a socially conscious design firm called Another Limited Rebellion, and has just launched a kickstarter campaign for a new book of skulls that you’ll want to hear all about. We had so much to talk about that this show is just part one of a two part interview. Noah’s work can be seen in many publications including USA Today, Wired and The New York Times. His art has been exhibited at the Mütter Museum in Philadelphia, the Museum of Death in Hollywood, The International Museum of Surgical Sciences in Chicago, and the Museum of World Culture in Gothenberg, Sweden. He gets around. Noah has written a series of books on creativity, made skulls with Martha Stewart on her TV show, and even found time to meet me in his Richmond studio. We had so much to talk about that this show is just part one of a two part interview.

Todays' interview is with Noah Scalin. Noah is a an artist whose work requires him to wear many hats. He's a professor at VCU teaching future graphic designers how to find their own ethical voice, He runs the design agency Another Limited Rebellion, he's written and published a few books on some of his art projects, perhaps most notably his book 'Skulls' and his 'Skull-A-Day' project, and on top of all of this, takes his creativity and ethics to music with the group 'League Of Space Pirates'.

Noah Scalin is our guest for episode 7.  Noah is a prolific artist, designer, speaker, author, among many other things.  My description won't do him justice, so please check him out at his website, Another Limited Rebellion's website, or check out the skull-a-day project (all of which will lead to many more things he has ...read more

Graphic designer Noah Scalin created a new skull design every day for a year and posted them to his blog Skull-a-Day. He used whatever was at hand: breakfast cereal, sparklers, and little green army men. Scalin thinks that no matter the material, the skull is timeless. Produced by Studio 360's Michele Siegel and Erin Calabria.

Graphic designer Noah Scalin created a new skull design every day for a year and posted them to his blog Skull-a-Day. He used whatever was at hand: breakfast cereal, sparklers, and little green army men. Scalin thinks that no matter the material, the skull is timeless. Produced by Studio 360's Michele Siegel and Erin Calabria.