Getting Myself Validated by Watching Amanda Palmer on 'The art of asking'

I'm grateful I've seen this YouTube video again by Amanda Palmer, who used to be struggling artist some time ago. I see a lot of things about myself by simply watching her. I've been an artist here (as a writer of primarily non-fiction materials) in NYC and have been helping myself get the necessary cash flow by doing part-time jobs. And along the way, I've been learning to ask and ask very well. Of course, I reserve the very words 'asking for help' on particular occasions; I've learned that I can ask for something without even saying those words. I know from experience that people I personally know and who know me well and for some time now dread the time when I'm going to ask help from them. Growing up, I didn't really know how to usually ask for something or even help; I've learned to reserve the chance to ask for something that I need or want on certain occasions, especially when I'm on a face-to-face situation with people I seek help from.

Of course, I'm very aware of others out there who look down on the kind of work and business that I do, grow and pursue most relentlessly these days. Most of them think it's beneath their sense of dignity to ask for something. Some even look down on this very act of blogging here as they think it's a very cheap way of doing writing works (some won't even consider bloggers as serious writers). I even notice something similar even from business partners I have in my franchise online business (check this business opportunity with Market America and start doing your shopping on my www.shop.com/jeromebaladad site) and who behave unknowingly as if they're superior over me because they don't really engage very much on asking for something because they're professionals, i.e., people listen to them by virtue of their profession. But they're really being misled by their own narrow minded view of their minuscule personal worlds. In NYC, it makes more sense for me to go out and meet new people, and just learn from the experience as I go along. And given today's level of interconnectedness, it's better to go out and ask for what you need or want from others. Look at this practice more closely and you'll see that I'm not even being risky in my behavior here as I learn in the process. I just define more clearly what I want, tell others about what I want, and take action to ask them about what I want. Most times, I get what I want. And just like Amanda Palmer's describing, the experience is very exhilarating, to say the least.

Nowadays, whenever I ask, I use technology, too, from time to time. Sometimes, it works, sometimes it doesn't. And I continue to learn from each experience of asking for something that I need or want from someone, and I am finding out that each encounter is valuable and important. Yes, Amanda's done a great job of asking for what she needs and wants by basically giving away anything valuable she has on hand, and learning to trust in facing common strangers, i.e., those we particularly don't know, and asking for their help. And from my own experiences, I've learned that I've been able to manage to do very well here in New York City (NYC) even if I don't have a regular job mainly because I've learned to ask very well. I've asked in ways that are not direct, and I've done it in some other ways. The approach in asking depends on the situation and the person I'm facing with now. And gratefully, those I've asked help from have generously shared what they've got. What else can I ask for?

SHAMELESS PLUGS:

Thank you for checking this posting out. Being in a capitalist country, I will take this opportunity, too, to share my stakes in various business engagements I currently find my self in. You may check these stakes I have here in whatever manner available to you (given changes in procedures we have from time to time), copy and paste them on your browser (if that works for you), and be more than curious with plenty of other things out there. Thank you again.

Invest in REAL ESTATE: https://fundrise.com/r/eo9x3

Get a FREE STOCK: https://join.robinhood.com/jeromeb846

Open your Fidelity broker's account, too (I got one, too!): https://fidelity.app.link/e/iy3f8YYfbCb

I also have an account with Interactive Brokers, where I mostly buy shares that are not easy to acquire thru the usual other brokers' sites; you can open your own account there, too (and I will earn a USD 200 if you do, thank you!): https://ibkr.com/referral/jerome597

And for anything online shopping that you may be always on the lookout for, especially on bestselling products and priced best, check this: https://amzn.to/3qlanEM

I also have a chain of online stores thru a franchise system, please feel free to check it out: https://affiliate.shop.com/join/register?referralEmail=dyerohmeb@gmail.com&referralPublisherID=AP3060300

I have been using supplements as part of my healthcare regimen, and they work well for me. And I get them from my own online store. Here's the link for you to check and explore:

https://www.shop.com/isotonix-daily-essentials-packets-935461732-p.xhtml?publisherID=AP3060300

(WHEN YOU BUY OR SUBSCRIBE THROUGH SOME OF MY LINKS I SHARE HERE, I MAY MAKE A COMMISSION. THANK YOU! THEY WILL GO A LONG WAY IN HELPING ME CREATE AND SHARE THESE CREATIONS HERE. THANK YOU, AGAIN.)

My First Time Seeing Marshall Factora Doing A Cabaret

A shot I took using my celfone during Marshall Factora's cabaret at Pan De Sal in Manhattan last night. It's my honor to have me and be introduced to him by friends Roger & Carmelo, who, like Marshall, are artists in their own right. The intimate place was packed with people representing those you'd see typically in New York City. I recall listening to him singing and interpreting at least 10 songs, and members of the audience participated most happily. It's almost like a private affair but you get a sense that something good was happening that Friday night. We came for the food, which was awesome, and the entertainment that Marshall put up. We're glad to have been delighted beyond our expectations. Carmelo told me that Marshall also sings and plays the piano, and I'm looking forward to seeing him perform again one of these days. And Roger told me that Marshall has been staging these shows for years now, and both them worked together in past shows with other artists.

I was seated among friends Roger and Carmelo, and also got the chance to meet new friends who have known, I would soon realize, one another for some time now. Marshall sang old and new favorites but I barely recall the titles now, with me being someone who barely recall lyrics and listen to music selections because of their tunes. But I remember Marshall singing Stevie Wonder's LATELY in the most heartfelt live performance to-date I've seen. It was lovely and I felt like recalling certain episodes in my own life, which got me remembering how wonderful great art really imitates life. Marshall did something beautiful last night. The musician accompanying him, likewise did a great job. The audience wasn't really an easy crowd to please. But everybody went home happy after enjoying brief time with friends and strangers with great food and great intimate show by Marshall.

SHAMELESS PLUGS:

Thank you for checking this posting out. Being in a capitalist country, I will take this opportunity, too, to share my stakes in various business engagements I currently find my self in. You may check these stakes I have here in whatever manner available to you (given changes in procedures we have from time to time), copy and paste them on your browser (if that works for you), and be more than curious with plenty of other things out there. Thank you again.

Invest in REAL ESTATE: https://fundrise.com/r/eo9x3

Get a FREE STOCK: https://join.robinhood.com/jeromeb846

Open your Fidelity broker's account, too (I got one, too!): https://fidelity.app.link/e/iy3f8YYfbCb

I also have an account with Interactive Brokers, where I mostly buy shares that are not easy to acquire thru the usual other brokers' sites; you can open your own account there, too (and I will earn a USD 200 if you do, thank you!): https://ibkr.com/referral/jerome597

And for anything online shopping that you may be always on the lookout for, especially on bestselling products and priced best, check this: https://amzn.to/3qlanEM

I also have a chain of online stores thru a franchise system, please feel free to check it out: https://affiliate.shop.com/join/register?referralEmail=dyerohmeb@gmail.com&referralPublisherID=AP3060300

I have been using supplements as part of my healthcare regimen, and they work well for me. And I get them from my own online store. Here's the link for you to check and explore:

https://www.shop.com/isotonix-daily-essentials-packets-935461732-p.xhtml?publisherID=AP3060300

(WHEN YOU BUY OR SUBSCRIBE THROUGH SOME OF MY LINKS I SHARE HERE, I MAY MAKE A COMMISSION. THANK YOU! THEY WILL GO A LONG WAY IN HELPING ME CREATE AND SHARE THESE CREATIONS HERE. THANK YOU, AGAIN.)

Fascinated by the Clothes and their Owners In This Documentary

I can understand why the clothes featured in this documentary are THAT expensive. It's mainly because they're all handmade from scratch, right from the design and up to all those artisans and other workers who have contributed to make them. And as long as you have the means, you can always get these clothes, and wear them if you're a woman (or probably a transgender, which is really no problem).  

These clothes remind me of those awesome old, used clothing pieces I've seen many years ago, and they're all hand made. I've seen so many of them kept in wooden chest cases. And I recall having been in one of those exhibits of the late Ramon Valera, a Filipino haute couture designer, and recalled being awed by his works. It is both sad and a happy event that we've seen how we humans have progressed much in our endeavors, including in the way we make our clothes. Most clothes these days are made by machines. But I know from experience that hand-made clothes feel a lot more better to the skin, as I had pants specifically made for me when I was growing up. I know and remember the tailors who made them. And they always look good on the body, for they've been fitted on the person who would wear them before they were made. 

Such a feeling could be in the minds of those women who wear those wonderfully made clothes. I admire them for sticking to something that's not usual these days. They look snobbish, as a result. But they could do more by endeavoring to make it very fashionable to the general public to always choose to wear hand-made clothes. Indirectly, this will lead to more work for people who have the dedication, the heart, the endless inspiration to create such wonderful works of art that are meant to be worn and be seen on the human figure.

Interested in architecture? You may want to read & study 'Lectures on Architecture'

Lectures on Architecture by Eugene-Emmanuel Viollet-Le-Duc
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I got this book (and the other volume) from HousingWorks here in NYC; I told myself that if it's being recommended by the eminent Frank Lloyd Wright as the only books worthy of reading (and learning from) about architecture, then I should find the time. And yes, I have to say it was, even if it took me some time to finish reading it (as I would usually read many other books within the same period). I have to say the author's style is rather sonorous---you have to help yourself to stay awake while reading at least 5 pages at a time particularly if you're not an architect. Look at this comment in the context of being with someone like myself who once dreamt of becoming an architect (but changed plans midway).


I love studying structures generally, and I would usually tell myself questions on how people go about constructing, building edifices and having them last lives of most people. They're quick symbols of what is great and awesome in the human spirit---just take a look at the pyramids both in Egypt and in South America. And I remember having been in awe just walking on the terraces that were built by 'uneducated' tribes of pre-Spanish period people in the uplands of Luzon island in the Philippines---and I'd learn about how these ancient people taught themselves how to make terraces that would last for thousands of years.


And with this book, I learned, among so many detailed facts, about how the Greeks are considered the most talented artists in the world, particularly in the field of architecture (encompassing a lot of areas, actually, including drawing, design, logistics, construction, finishing, etc. etc.). Their influence continue to be felt when you see structures that were put up during the Byzantine period, which to most have been not known.


I also learned about how the Romans were among the most grandiose when it comes to architecture --- they built massively well using their armies of colonized people, such that up to these days, professionals refer to their works when they want to construct something really grand and humongous looking. Just study why the Coliseum in Rome make curious onlookers gawk at its details these days after its builders have been gone thousands of years.


The book brought some laughs from me as I read about the author's disdain toward the rather stupid styles of a number of French architects he studied and thought their works are all 'on the surface' works that are meant to impress but not really designed for people to live, do their work and go on with the other activities in their lives.  Many chapters in this book got me into thinking about the florid-ness in design built into old (as well as new) buildings that are actually useless and do not contribute to the integrity of the buildings themselves. All these because their architects foolishly wanted to emulate what's found on the surface and would not study underneath what's conveniently seen by the eyes.


The book got me into thinking about the primacy of architecture among the arts, whereas I'm biased because I love writing and the cinema. Yes, come to think of it, the most excellent, most moving samples of artworks (although they were not meant to be such, except that their designers took pains to recognize what's innately beautiful to human senses --yes, there are, indeed, such things in our lives!) in our midst are those that recognize our common needs and wants that begin from the need to create something beautiful and functional (hopefully, at the same time) in the confines of spaces where we can do what we want and seek for. We experience these emotions when we something as elegantly beautiful as the Chrysler Building in NYC. We see other samples all around us, which we don't even recognize as art works, per se. We just recognize them as great looking. By reading this book, I got my eyes more open about all the other important but generally unappreciated details found in structures in places I've been to.


I'll really have to work hard for now so that I'll get to read, understand and finish the second volume.


View all my reviews

"CUCHIFRITOS" - Be Delighted by an Art Gallery Inside a Traditional Market at the LES

These are 2 art pieces that are as intriguing and fascinating as they're creating an image of harnessing "electricity" to convey an artist's creative expression to the curious viewer. It reminds me of some characters in old Frankenstein's movies!




Somewhere in this posting, you'd be led to a photo that's almost white, except for some dark colored parts, inside its framed borders. Can you see the forms of two white, low-flying birds from the photo (inside a photo)?


Imagine my delight at seeing in person the one who's actually the main subject of a photo in this current exhibit. I was glad I noticed the similarities in an instant. when two visitors glided in the small gallery where I do volunteer intern gallery work mostly on alternate Mondays for over 8 months now. Deciding fast, I asked the visitor to pose for a photo beside his portrait (on the opposite, in a role fitted in another costumed attire), and he agreed without much prodding; looking just as cool! He was even asked to make the same pose by his companion, but he thought another pose would be more fitting. Look at what can be seen as similar between the two subjects (one in photo set against in contrast to his photo on another portrait!).

Given the quality of some of the photos in this posting, you'd surely fail to give notice to those shots that are almost blurry (which could have been almost a mistake when I decided to post them here...what can I say to explain these photos? poor technical capabilities of my equipment ha ha ha ha!). They're actually jelly-like creations made out of used water bottles. They're clear plastic rehashed to look like the dreadful jelly fish, that are themselves opaque when you see them swimming in the open sea (most probably getting nearer to bite you!), ready to prey to their desired targets. These hanging plastic jelly-fish-like pieces are much safer, than the real thing, which I know bites and causes terrible wounds if treated badly out of panic.














Have you also noticed the etchings in black with CUCHIFRITOS more about it here! written backwards? They're of mylar tape, that prompted a regular visitor, who's an Italian sculptor (I figure he's traditional, in approach) based in Brooklyn, who visited that day, to remark: "Fantastic!" The creation excited him, and reminded him of decaying outcomes of industrialization, and the dehumanizing ill-effects of the use of technology in various aspects of human activity. He's always sounding profound to me, which can be utterly confusing to me whenever I ponder on what he shares me while I attempt to just listen to his opinions on the artworks he'd be seeing in other previous exhibits in the same gallery. He's been actually not as generous in his praises for some of the artworks he's seen here.



Another friend liked the photo on a forest with all the foliage showing all through out, and with a bloodied naked body with its back against the viewer. It could just be interpreted with about any idea related to something on the apparent wanton denigration of our ecosystem.


You'll also notice somewhere along this posting a photo showing weird looking wooden used tobacco boxes with some cute looking objects inside. elaborately mounted. Look at the individual photos, and you'd see more closely what's inside each box. Looking like stuffed laboratory specimens in 9 different wooden boxes, these are actually parts of skeletons of various animals and insects. Look more closely on each photo, and let your imagination be reminded of what kind of animals these could be?


This exhibit has been so far my favorite among all exhibits I've helped work for in presenting to an interesting mix of curious visitors, and guests inside a traditional market in the Lower East Side (LES). Last Monday, I remember two women, who could be a mother and daughter team (they looked Indian to me), pored with studied curiosity on the photos and the hanging objects. They never realized that there is a big number of art galleries at the LES, as I gave them a brochure of a listing of galleries, as they're more aware about the bigger and well known ones located in Midtown Manhattan. We got into a conversation on how these artists get themselves be exhibited in that small gallery. I remarked that these artists are basically those who are still working themselves out to be noticed by a market that's as finicky and unpredictable. The older woman remarked that these artists are certainly better, as they're "hungrier," which quality shows and get depicted better, as these creative expressions come from the gut (as she points to her tummy), and which has got me to thinking of artworks such as those shown here in this posting: more to the core of us human beings; more visceral; and more in touch with the artist's inner passions, creative longings, and desires.

Come, take time to visit and support art galleries like this!

Windows

Engaged in completing my tedious tasks for the day
I attempt to see what lies just outside
Saw something gleaming beyond just out there, that's exactly
what's playing in my eyes
I'm delighted the pictures bordered by windows open up
to wider avenues
giving me, leading me
where my spirit yearns to go