All or Nothing

You find yourself staring at a candid photo of someone's honey coloured memory. A brief blurb letting you know about an emotionally charged situation. Your heart rises in sympathy. Rape or other violent crime plus ethnic label to season this equation with negative connotations equals jumping to conclusions and joining the latest Witch Hunt. Quick, put on your outrage. It's All or Nothing. Join the Social Media Mob of Good Intentions and Ethnic Cleansing! Get your virtual pitchforks and boiling tar over here! Bit currency accepted!

Stop. When you look at pictures and story teasers on social media, I ask you to do one thing before you do anything else. As your heart starts to get the feels, pause. Slip out of Facebook, Instagram, or whatever app you are in. Head over to a web browser. Do a search. Is the little blurb you're seeing truth or is it false?

Many of us have unintentionally shared false posts at some point getting carried away by a plausible pitch. In the early days of Facebook, I shared what interested me with the idea we each choose our own truths to believe, and I found some of the satire to be hilarious.
The world has gotten heavier with conflicts and gate seething like a pot about to boil over on a stove.

When you share an inflammatory post, hate accented with words that tug heart strings or passive aggressive prejudice that claims to be comedy you're actively hurting other people.

You're reinforcing prejudice. You're saying it is alright to judge and hate. You plant painful lies in the back of people's thoughts without considering they'll remember the emotion and the picture, they'll forget it was proven to be false.
Stop. It isn't All or Nothing.

Refugees aren't running around the country on rape and murder sprees but on the other hand vioent American criminals aren't being extradited to the states that have warrants- many are being allowed to go and commit more crimes as they slip across state lines and do terrible things. Do you remember the article about Police departments climing they don't have the money to transport violent criminals to the states they committed crimes in to face justice?

You forgot about that? It's real news. How many times have you seen little blurbs of hate shared on media blaming refugees, blacks, men, women, or another group for some terrible crime. "Murdering some sweet young girl so her ex military Daddy took the law into his own hands." This is what the narrator in a fictional story says.
If it sounds like the introduction to a bad B movie, it isn't news. Stop. Do not share it. Fact check it. Comment on it, in case there person who shared it is not aware they are sharing a fiction and helping breed prejudice. I will note, if you put it this way, your "friend" will probably not stick around.
There is enough real tragedy in the world. There is more than enough hate. A wise man once wrote "What's so funny about peace, love and understanding?"

One thought. If we all made the choice to jump as enthusiastically on  understanding and love instead of hopping the daily animosity train- if as much effort was put into respecting and communicating, think how different we could make the world?
If we looked at people wondering about their positive potential instead of assuming they'll manifest the worst behavior it makes a huge impact.
Other people aren't the enemy. Judgement, fear, and spreading inflammatory falsehoods are.

I hope that in a year I can look back and say "2018 was the year people really started questioning. 2018 was the year people started critically thinking. 2018 was the year many people held themselves accountable for their own shortcomings and they stepped up. They made changes. 2018 is the year many chose to set aside prejudice and hate. It was the first year on social media where people overwhelmed inflammatory posts with fact based comments; Snopes reported a seventy five percent drop in false hate articles."

I know, Ive got a big imagination. Imagine what the world could be like if we all set aside our fear and mistrust, if we all tried respecting each other?
This is a goal worth going All in on.

The Virtual Reality of Hacking

Memes, flash ads of the day. Suddenly we can all quip and write up zingers to share through social media.

Advertisements, presentations. What is the difference? Follow this link and that one, but is there something hidden in that link? Will sunglass spam harass my friends or something more sinister?

Our culture is shifting, reshaping the boundaries of friendship and affection into the latest sales hooks. What is friendship worth, listening to pitches, offering connections, because bills seem to grow and income does not.

Your name, your number, is it who you are? Do your expenditures define you?

Do you wait for the media to tell you what to shirk and what to embrace? Social media is a soothing drug you use topically through touch and sight, sometimes sound. If it had a warning label:

"Do not use while operating heavy equipment or driving. Dangerous when combined with other substances including alcohol, caffeine. Use with caution if you have medical conditions including hypertension, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, diabetes or if you may be pregant. Consult a physician before use. It is for entertainment purposes only, do not take what you find on social media as anything other than entertainment.

Overuse may cause irritability, mood swings, short attention span, impulsive behavior, eye strain, depression, anxiety, hypertension, anger, and cancer. "

Danny often says,
"Why not talk to the people around you, people love talking about themselves, it's interesting and you learn a lot."

Today I stood in line, waiting to board my flight to California. Mentally preparing for the eight people I will be this week, checking off details in my head. A conversation caught my attention like a martial artist might catch a fly. Here's what caught my focus:

"The company I work for does cyber security. The public only hears about one in ten attacks. Companies don't want the public to know, as the first month after the attack their sales drop over 30% and in the first couple of months there is a customer loyalty decrease of over 40%.  Our company does all the security for the secret service and government because we've never been hacked. We change algorithms, which all the other companies and protections stick with one. Anyone could run a number of credit cards over a few weeks and figure out the security algorithm being used. Happens all the time. Identify thieves now hack you, then spend the money online using addresses for spending in your home zipcode so it doesn't flag quickly. Takes longer to catch.

Over 90% of cyber crime in the United States is perpetrated by criminal enterprises in foreign countries, not other governments and not here by citizens. We just got contracted by Burger King, working with all the separate franchise owners. The large companies have realized the potential disaster it would be if they get hacked. Burger King can't afford to watch forty percent of their sales to go somewhere else because of a hack, so they invested in our company to protect them. We guarantee our work, we've never been hacked and we guarantee to cover losses if someone does succeed at hacking us."

Think about that.

What would you have asked this gregarious fellow? What wisdom he could share:

"When you use credit cards, debit cards- they are protected, you are protected. They've got it in their contracts that merchants are responsible for protecting themselves. If the merchant does not or their algorithm is hacked, the merchant is out. The credit card companies are not responsible for losses from cyber attacks. The cardholder and the credit card aren't affected. The businesses, often small businesses are, they take the full losses, and doubly so when news of the hacks go public.  "

Small business owners, I thought perhaps you would appreciate this wisdom.

The next war will use virtual weapons. Viral soldiers camouflaged by code.

When you've got a chance to connect, to stretch your knowledge and understanding it is good to open your mind and ears. Listen, consider. Most of the folks in line were absorbed in social media. Two of us listened as that man spoke. Most important lesson I've had in a long time.

Mud Pies and Magpies

Colorado has magpies. Beautiful black and white birds, they look like they are prepared to go to a formal event. Tricksters and opportunists they observe and call out in a variety of voices as if they have a hundred other birds songs caught on a secret recorder that they play back to amuse and astound.
I enjoy bird watching. The wheeling buzzards and turkey vultures, the darting little wrens and sparrows, the watchful hawks and owls sitting on branches waiting for mice to move below them. Once I even saw a nighthawk sitting on it's nest. On another occasion I heard the woods fill with the echoing song of Whippoorwills on a Missouri summer night. There is nothing so wonderful as observing nature as it is. Not interfering, not shouting or making loud noises. Not even talking, just sitting and letting life happen around you as if you were a stone or a tree. There is a peace in such observance. Our own petty distractions and illusions fall away. There is what is, the made up stuff vanishes in the sounds and scents of the real world. It is humbling to realize how much of what we focus on and invest our energy in is not even real and does not really matter in the long run. In a hundred years it will not matter what any of us thought of each other. Political views, religious views, even life choices- they will not matter and they will not be remembered beyond generalization.

The sounds of nature are incredible. They surround and soothe. The sounds of animals going about the rituals of life regardless of the head games and complications we like to add to it. The frogs singing for rain, singing for mates. The crickets with their steady beat, keeping time with the sound of the wind through tall grasses and leaves.

Today I head into the city, my significant other continues to rest and heal. I become three different fictional people for a few hours, I do work on contract. I act out a role and fulfill a contract. The work is easy and enjoyable. It is observing others as they work. Allowing people to do their jobs and to take a moment to observe a slice of their lives. Just like when I go out into the woods and watch nature, only I am observing people in an urban setting instead. The same peace and sense of wonderment can be found. The same appreciation for the brighter aspects of watching people be their best, as they go through their every day lives.

It is about being more than what we have chosen to be in the past, to be mindful of the world, respectful of each other. As parts of Society chooses to atone or at least acknowledge past wrongs, we should not turn and attack each other because apologizes and acknowledgements begin offering closure on violent and negative parts of history. We should not hide or try to edit the embarrassing mistakes of the past away; they are the scars that remind us to choose more wisely, more considerately in the future.

Sarcasm is the latest way to excuse ignorance. When a poisonous comment is noted for being inappropriate, the latest excuse is "it is Sarcasm, aren't you smart enough to tell?" No. Sarcasm, when used properly is understood and appreciated. You can't claim sarcasm after you parade your ignorance and toxicity for all to see and read. It is like hitting someone with a baseball bat, then claiming you were killing a mosquito on their head. Seriously. There is a time and place for humor.

Perhaps instead of attacking each other over our differences, it is past time we let go. We stop trying to be little Emperors and Bully Boys. Other people have the right to their own choices in their own lives. It does not matter what we think of them, it does not matter what they think of us. Sit out in nature and listen to the crickets, frogs, birds. Watch the squirrels, chipmunks and rabbits go about their lives. Even with your presence they continue going about their lives. The squirrels may loudly complain you are invading their space. Other than that, the animals go about their lives leaving you to go about yours. Take that lesson and apply it to Social Media, social interactions.

In nature no flower resents another for its color and appearance, they grow and they bloom.

When I was a child I made mudpies on rainy days. Soppy cold water, grainy mud full of pebbles, and whatever random container I could find. No one really wanted them, no one ever ate them. This was always known, yet on rainy days it was fun to make them. It was fun to decide who each one was for. No one ever shattered the illusion with negativity or venom, yet now with the advent of Social Media people cannot wait for the opportunity to verbally slash at each other. Sometimes I post things just to see what angles people will attack from, to see if reason or emotion will be the instigation of ridicule or antagonism. They both come up about 50/50. Both are used to justify behaving like a spoiled teenager on social media. It has become apparent that while we as individuals appear to have maturity, on social media we can be less mature than the teenagers who's behavior we try to shape. They see what we post. They see how we choose to live. We aren't the best role models. We turn them to shopping when they are sad or hurt, eating when they feel lonely, feeling bad about their bodies if they aren't a perfect size two, feeling impotent as politicians continue to be inept and apparently beyond their control.

Time to make mudpies and to go out into nature. Time to relearn how to express our maturity. Time to demonstrate our growth, time to heal each other. Time for us to choose to observe each other at our best, to hold that and continue to respect and treat each other well despite what we were taught.

Today, I have the honor of enjoying part of three people's lives and witnessing their appreciation for the work they do. What are you doing to grow today and can I make you a mudpie the next time it rains?

When was the last time you went out walking, just to look at the moss? 

Colorado's State Flower, Columbine - When was the last time you went in search of wildflowers? 

In a circle all are equal. 

Storytelling and the social media age

Searching for gigs is like panning for gold on the putting green of a golf course. The internet is an ocean with possibilities, so vast that it makes the search harder.

You want an easier search, you pay a provider to include you. Does it mean your work is quality? Hemming and hawing could be done, but it comes down to money rather than skill. Money for professional photos and editted video, money to add listings by area of the country and even more if you want or need a national listing. You want to be included with enough detail to interest prospective clients, pull out those dollars as it has nothing to do with talent, appeal or skill. Professionalism already shook its proverbial head and quietly left.

Being found or being considered when you send out lines is even harder; so many fish in the sea and so many vivid, amazing, incredible pr fliers, cards, emails, and ads for so many folks that may or may not be what their flashy ads suggest.

I marvel at the momentous effort required, the frustration of finding knock off princess pseudo-cosplay characters getting gigs as if they were entertainers rather than cheap imitations that people are content to trick themselves into paying for. Hire real entertainment, people who have worked for years considering their performance as important. Performance versus appearance, performance versus an ad campaign.

I cringe at calling myself a storyteller, as everyone tells stories. The word brings to mind someone tedious and long winded rehashing tired stories someone else wrote. Wrong. Entirely wrong. I know amazing storytellers who deserve recognition for their skill. Brother Donald, Joshua Safford and Terry Foy, all gifted, practiced and incredible.
Have we reached a point in civilization where instead of veneration, storytelling is seen as a lesser valued trade? Storytellers used to be the pinnacle of entertainment, I see quotes from famous actors calling out that the world needs us. Needs us? As we race into our metaphorical phone booths to switch into our superhuman storytelling costumes, will we really be perceived and valued for our trade or will it be seen as lesser than other forms of entertainment? It would be like Superman waking up to a world where a thousand someones eating fire bumped him out of respected recognition.

Why should storytelling be valued?
We learn from stories. We gain perspective. We are distracted, we laugh and cry. We release what we've carried and we are reminded of the human connection. A good storyteller sets themselves aside and offers the audience the stories they want and need. It is about the audience. Every politician, lawyer and successful con artist has to be an excellent storyteller although none of those folks want it on their resume.

Allow amazing storytellers to inspire you. Inspire them, appreciate the profound chance and take each beautiful opportunity you are given to savor the way their words inspire you. Appreciate how hard, in a sea of social media, it was for chance to bring you to a place where you could have the opportunity to listen.

How often do we listen anymore? Is that timer running in your head even now, telling you to rush back to a candy colored game or gossip or shopping? Slow down! If you are so discontent that you have to constantly shift your attention, why? Stop avoiding what needs changing or addressing. Settle down for a story, take what you need, make changes to reduce that weird agitation that seems to be affecting everyone lately.

Let a storyteller help you change the world.

Stop buying things you do not need. Stop justifying them. Focus on your health and the health of your relationships. Stop blaming. Take responsibility. Set goals. Relearn self control and impulse control. Be the Captain of your ship rather than a hapless stow away jostled by the waves of social mores and norms, legislation, and advertisements. Turn off your data. Turn off your phone. Go outside. Talk with real people. Live your real life, and if you do not like it- set goals and change it. Possessions and pretending do not make the world a better place. A starving child is not saved with a doll and a princess dress, but with nourishment.

I was asked what my ideal community would be like and to give it serious thought

Start caring for each other, instead of attacking each regardless of the size of the difference. Compromise. If you choose not to get along because of severe conflict you have the right to choose not to interact or have dealings but must accept that mutual connections may still interact. Resposibile living, growing animals and crops, self sustainability: learning and teaching the basics. Choosing to stop and not include disposable, wasteful options like bottled water and plastic toys. Solar, wind power, and human power.

We as a people lost our voice after the sixties. We choose to believe we are stuck. We are not. I hear and read people saying change starts within. Be free in your head and you will be free. It's misleading. It starts there. It shifts to responsible, informed decision making regarding your immediate environment and choices. It expands into changing and reforming the laws and government. Do not accept corruption. Choose to take the power from those who misuse it. Learn to be adults again and without an immature rant, accept that other people are different and have different views and beliefs. Respect them as you want your own respected, and do not assume they are flawed or wrong any more than you would want your questioned.

Storytelling. Learn why it has been held in high esteem throughout history. Read or listen to a storyteller. It could easily be the most dangerous thing you do. Remember, Charles Manson and Leonard Peltier are both still in jail not because of what they did but because of the stories and the influence the would have on others if freed. The power of words in a master's hands goes beyond that of a gun.

Have an excellent birthday Tawasi. May the world change, May people make the individual choices to shift the sands out from under the unstable, unhealthy structt we have now. May each person be strong enough to listen to their spirit and step back out into impacting the world for positive change.

As a storyteller, I encourage you to remember that you are the protagonist in your story. You, not a cartoon character, but you. You are incredible, you hide behind apps and you bear the burden of feeling trapped and attacked by judgemental peers in a social climate engineered to divide you and rewarding you for judging, rewarding you for impotence and acceptance. Find your personal strengths and start changing your worlds. Become immune to advertisers and labels. Accept that life is hard, dangerous and fleeting. Appreciate it.

The Technology Handicap or the Socially Awkward Social Media Apps Are They Better than Old Fashioned Posters?

I used to write murder mysteries, I had a talented group of entertainers who worked with me. We printed posters, we submitted press releases. We entertained.

Fifteen years later, the world has changed. No calling friends or hanging posters. Posters? When was the last time you read a poster you walked by? Think about the faded words just begging for a reader to notice them. Never speaking, never able to say "THIS INFORMATION IS HERE FOR YOU and IT'S WORTH READING!" Not all of it is, but some of it warrants a look or a browse. There are fewer posters. Fewer concrete communications of events.

Everything flows from data, seeded through social media applications. Maybe you match an eye catching photo to the information or perhaps a short video; you pay for an ad to tantalize online, you use tags to catch random internet surfers. Tweet. Pin. Tumblr. Blog. YouTube. Angie's List. Craigslist, Facebook, Etsy, Ebay. Do you have all the apps you need yet to communicate?

Part of my mind sees a cartoon of each application as a different type of communication. Say Craigslist is like a blind date.It  could be a prank or sales pitch but you won't necessarily know until you give it time and focus. It could be a great evening... You never know.

Etsy, handmade unless it is "vintage," think of one of those craft circle groups that gets together weekly and the people you meet there spread the word about products hopefully the same way that old women gossip.

Facebook is like the child who constantly talks too loud and has to be looked at for no meaningful reason. You talk at them, wondering if they ever hear a word you say or if they're tuning you out to stare at a mind numbing game about candy.

Twitter is like the party down the hall. Whoever's drunk and shouting has the lines you hear loudest whether you want to or not.

Pinterest is a hobbyist, so passionate that they constantly tell you all about their favorite topics. Probably seven million different times and ways, to the point where you either have it memorized or you've tuned out.

Youtube is like that person who always has the video running. You tell them to stop, saying not funny or not entertaining. They post it anyways. Sometimes it is interesting, other times it is painful to watch.

With all of these characters in mind, which ones would you want promoting your events or interests? It used to be as simple as printing or writing posters and taking a walk. It used to be face to face invites or postal mailings. It used to be personal. Now it is the choice "share" and which engine do you want to use?

I keep thinking I want a communication tool that doesn't have quirks like socially awkward people sharing an elevator.

I keep sharing on the different engines, listening to their cacophany and wondering what will come next? They have apps designed so that if you want to shout over the proverbial hurricane of internet chatter you have to pay for advertising, to raise and promote the rank of your chosen jewel you want shared or you have to hope that you choose a good enough hook- whether it is a picture or a video or even a catchy phrase that gets everyone sharing and commenting on your post. Probably why the most shared posts are controversial political and religious posts.

Perhaps we could retrain the system. Use it as a tool rather than let it sweep us under. We could tune in and tune out. We could comment on shared posts on small businesses, local businesses, events- even if it's just a "great work" we can also share each other's events and items to encourage others to share as well- to increase awareness and promotion of each other.

Remember, we each can make the choice to promote each other; to give artisans a livelihood by buying the art they love to make. We can watch live shows, we can share pictures and videos to show our friends and beyond why we loved the shows. Since we're stuck with the awkward communication club of applications, why not begin to use them rather than have them continue to use us?

How many apps do you adjust your schedule for? Do you just have to get on at a certain time to access another level in a game or to do another silly survey?

Sitting here wondering if this coming Monday night's Storytelling and Magic at Cup O Karma will have a larger crowd. They are promoting the event. I am promoting the event. It will be an excellent evening, and a correlational study of the impact of social media apps on small venue attendance. My new phone shines in a silver metal sheath, waiting to send out word on what comes next.

The absurdity of social media

With the internet the way it has become we never need to leave home. We never need to talk to each other. We can spend our time controlled by the misconceptions that expressing our views, beliefs and interests on social media sites actually has an impact on the world.

Voter turnout is down? Why? Perhaps because we all participated in expressing our views and stances online. Perhaps we felt that was a type of voting?

How many people have done a nonsense survey on their "fairy name," special song or macabre fictional death? How much time wasted on leveling up in cartoon games? We could learn languages, cultures, explore the world, gain real skills but instead we vote with our dollar and time. Facebook now charges small businesses to even post where anyone can see it. We could fight it, we could support our friends businesses and ventures by sharing and liking posts. Instead we like moronic memes, redundant, unimaginative surveys and corporate advertising.

We could do to Facebook what we did to MySpace. We could part ways.

How do we change things? Not by posting. We change things by educating ourselves, not trusting or relying on the government to give us neutral, accurate information. We start by being aware that money is controlling our country. It is absurd that we boast of democracy in a country ruled by corporate interests. Freedom?

We are free to block applications, we are free to use search engines to do research and make our own choices. It seems absurd that we let the Facebook and Twitter feeds be our network instead of sites like Huffington. We can choose to buy from small businesses and individuals, we can do reviews and facilitate networking or we can focus on twerking?

Why are we so bent on justifying and endorsing mediocrity, complacency and believing validity in weak scientific studies?

We change by choosing to take the time to be responsible and accountable for our own health and wellness. We change by teaching our children and modeling constructive use of time. We change by working on decreasing the dangerous new craze of labeling and belittling others we perceive as different than us.

Don't like someone's view, the new way is to villanize them. If they become villains, it's okay to treat them in an immoral, derogatory way. We can excuse anything as long as it's a villain that pays.

It may sound absurd until you think about it. We learned this as children watching cartoons. Heroes fought villains, villains deserve to be brought down. But are we facing real villains or shadows? Conspiracy theories abound.

To change we need to be aware, to foster tolerance and to try detaching enough to have perspective. I watch those old cartoons and realize some of those "villains" really did nothing wrong. Some of those "heroes" were thieves, bullies or worse.

What we watch, what we spend our time on, these things shape our views.

We can change by voting. We can change our internet use and applications. We can change by demonstrating and protesting. France once changed through the most gory revolution in centuries. We aren't Sims, we shouldn't live like we are- THAT is absurd.