Ann Narcisian Videan's Blog, page 18

Jada Pinkett Smith, Wicked Evolution, “Burn” – Today’s Video Pick

Ms. Smith appears to love wildly stylish, tall shoes. Maybe not these… @2012 CEVidean

A lovely face.

A stunning acting ability.

A delightful attitude about family, served in a loving and common-sense way.

And, now we discover Jada Pinkett Smith, the beautiful singer. Catch her fronting her band, Wicked Evolution, with “Burn.”

Yep, all-around gorgeous.

P.S. I rather admire her talented husband, Will, too. So, who do you admire?

Pink hair + grandpa + gratitude = ???

Not really John Styn’s hair, but still outrageous, yes? ©2007 ANVidean

Sure go ahead. Take pink hair and an outrageous personality. Mix it with a minister grandpa who lives in intense gratitude. What do you get?

One of the most inspiring TEDx talks ever. (And, I love TED talks.) John Styn recorded this 17-minute talk about his grandfather Rev. Caleb Elroy Shikles, and the beauty of gratitude and giving.

My favorite part is astrologer, writer, poet, singer, and songwriter Rob Brezsny’s concept of Pronoia, “the belief that the universe is conspiring in your favor.” I say, let’s live it, friends. You in?

Thanks to my friend Andrea Beaulieu for sharing this uplifting video.

P.S. Share a link to your favorite TED talk in our comments below.

Peter Gabriel, even more “spacey” than usual

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Three people living somewhere up there, higher than the blue, overcame the limitations of space with Peter Gabriel.          “Sky in Howard, CO” ©2008 ANVidean

I just could not resist sharing this video of three astronauts on the space station quite literally “hanging” around, talking and sharing music with Peter Gabriel and his family at NASA.

The English singer, musician, and songwriter (Genesis), remains one of my all-time favorite lyricists, creative thinkers and humanitarians.

A YouTube video gem. You’re welcome.

P.S. Share a link to a unique video about your favorite musician.

#7 Writing Tip: Is your written content legal?

That quote you pulled from the Internet to use in your marketing, or your book…can you legally use it?

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I can use this shot of my daughter Codi (the “Police Chief” in her high school production of “Clue”), because I took it. The play title is royalty free, but if I quoted any of her lines here, I’d need to pay royalties, since someone else wrote the words. @2013 ANVidean

Do you think if you simply provide a source, you’re covered? It’s likely you’re not. You may need to ask permission, or even pay royalties to use it.

When I wrote my novel, Rhythms & Muse, I included famous advertising quotes, celebrity names, song titles, even some lyrics. Not wanting to borrow trouble later, I sought out the advice of a copyright attorney to see what I needed to do to use these snippets of other people’s material. I used Etherton Law Group, but can also recommend Kevin Keener an intellectual property attorney at Keener, McPhail, Salles, LLC.

Advertising quotes

The lawyer informed me I could not use ad quotes, no matter how much people banter them about in common conversation. I had to find a way around it, like in this excerpt from the novel.

      “You mean like, that anti-stomach acid commercial with the Italian guy sitting on the bed saying he can’t believe he ate…’” Alex started.
      Suzanne continued, “Yeah, yeah. …the entire bowl of spaghetti.” She laughed. “Something like that.”
            “Well, I can’t believe I dreamed this whole thing about Matt.”

Celebrity names

Since it is against the CreateSpace Terms of Agreement, I ended up not using celebrity names at all. This forced me—in a fun, creative way—to allude to recognizable characteristics:

“Great. Now, if your local studio doesn’t work out for some reason, we’ll make arrangements to do all recording at our LA studios. I’m hoping for ‘Frankies’ place, though,” Mr. Grandberg said, his unexpected smile lighting up behind the cigar. “Recording at the home studio of my all-time favorite crooner – rest his soul – would be a rare privilege, not to mention the great PR it would make for the single.”

I also used recognizable nicknames, as in this excerpt:

      “Hey, Lex, I have great news!”
      “You mean, the King of Rock and Roll really does live?”
      Suzanne laughed. “No. I’ve patched things up with Kathy.”

I found out Priscilla Presley owns the rights to her late husband’s name, and she requires you to get permission or pay to state his name, depending on how you use it. (Can you say “amass a fortune?”)

Another interesting and frustrating discovery: if you’re self-published, Disney won’t allow you to use any character name. Period. You can’t even pay to use it. [sigh] That led me to sections like this:

“Look, she’s surrounded by all her little dorks right over there. Anyone of them would be glad to have her in their little cottage cooking and cleaning for them. See?” She started pointing one by one to the jocks. “Doofy.  Dippy. Dweeby. Dullard…”

Music artists, song titles, and lyrics

You can use the name of musical artists and their song titles without sourcing or paying royalties. But, if you plan to use any portion of the lyrics, you must pay for their use. This involves contacting music rights management firms like ASCAP, BMI or Hal Leonard in writing, with detailed specifics about how the information will be used.

I ended up paying a few hundred dollars to use a few lines of lyrics from John Denver’s “Annie’s Song,” Ewan MacColl’s “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” as sung by Roberta Flack, and Tim Rice’s “I Don’t Know How to Love Him” from the play/movie Jesus Christ Superstar.

Of course, I own full rights to my own original lyrics appearing in the book, and the book’s “soundtrack” of original tunes I wrote and recorded on CD.

Even quotes from famous people are often copyrighted, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. If you use anyone else’s materials in your writing, be sure to clarify its use with a qualified copyright lawyer. If someone else uses your work, you want them to source it or pay for it, now don’t you?

P.S. If you’re the first to comment, answering the following four questions correctly, I’ll send you a $10 gift certificate from Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf. Can you guess:

The name of the product I alluded to in the ad above?
The name of the crooner who actually owned a home on Hayden Lake in Idaho? (It’s not Frank Sinatra, despite my using “Frankie’s place.”)
The real name of the King of Rock and Roll?
The Disney character I suggest who cooks and cleans house for her little guys?

CBTL answers tea questions

A graphic I created to enter a CBTL gift card contest a couple of years ago.   Yep, those are my family’s hands. @2010 ANVidean

My favorite tea organization, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, held a live tea chat with their international tea expert David DeCandia today (Jan. 30, 2013). The convo took place in honor of National Hot Tea Month. [Who knew that was going on?]

Even though you didn’t catch it live, the questions and answers are still worth checking out.

Coffee CommuniTea: The Black Cat Coffee House – Phoenix, AZ

Today’s Cup o’ Tea

The Black Cat Coffee House

Arcadia Towne Center in Phoenix

Perks (what I really like!)

Urban, friendly atmosphere
Fairly quiet
Comfortable seating and varying sized tables
No trouble finding a plug-in for the Wi-Fi
Nice selection of teas

Share a cuppa (the stories)

I saw a friend’s Facebook “check-in” at Black Cat and thought I ought to go check it out. This place did not disappoint.

A pleasant, community-minded hot spot: Black Cat Coffee House in the Arcadia District. ©2013 ANVidean

The owners’ community spirit encouraged me. Black Cat is a member of Local First Arizona, so they support other local businesses. This contributes to a more thriving Arizona community and economy, and that makes me happy. Plus, they support local schools and educators, whenever possible. Noble and kind, as well as solid coffee purveying. Nice.

What’s Brewing (coffee, tea, food)

Coffee blends and single origin coffees
Ice-blended drinks
White, green, oolong, and black teas
Herbal teas (herbal infusions or tisanes)
Pastries
Sandwiches
Salads

The Grind (what I would change)

Not much, but if high-school students make your allergies flare, you might want to visit in the mornings, as the location is right across from Arcadia High School. The kids I did see on the afternoon I visited kept their composure well.

Percolation Factor (the activity/environment/energy/service)

I found one male barista especially considerate and helpful. Cheers, m’man!

The Grounds (location)

4730 E. Indian School Rd., Ste. 120

Phoenix, AZ 85018-5443602-553-BCAT (2228)

info@theblackcatcoffeehouse.com

Tea Times (hours)

Every day of the year from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Yelp rating: 4.5 stars (36 reviews)

……………………

I love connecting people and ideas, so I’ve been creating small villages my entire life. Really, what better places can writers and musicians find to create “village” than independent coffee/tea shops? I wrote most of my Rhythms & Muse novel and Delfaerune Rhapsody series-in-progress in coffee/tea venues, so it seemed natural to create this blog. Whether you came here to find a new favorite hangout, or suggest a spot not yet not posted, may you find Coffee CommuniTea exactly to your taste!

#6 Writing Tip: Authors and readers profit from free book downloads

Authors and e-book readers, do you use Kindle Select (KS) and the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library (KOLL)?

Why would I, you ask? Two compelling reasons.

Readers receive free e-book borrows.
Authors gain enhanced visibility and potential sales.

Here’s how it works:

Readers, if you are an Amazon Prime member you can borrow from a collection of more than 180,000 books in the KOLL. Besides my own novel, Rhythms & Muse [big cheesy grin], the library includes 100-plus current and former New York Times best sellers — to read for free — as frequently as a book a month, with no due dates.

Watch this price drop to zero tomorrow for Amazon Prime members who want to borrow my book.

Authors, simply give exclusive rights to Kindle for 90 days, enroll your titles, and promote free downloads to gain visibility. The best part, though, is you actually earn a share of the multimillion-dollar KDP Select Global Fund every time your book is borrowed from the KOLL on Amazon.

I’ve had several authors tell me their books get borrowed thousands of times over a couple of days through this program, and they can sell one book for every three borrowed. Looks like we have everything to gain here, especially happy readers.

Authors… Readers… What are you waiting for?

If you have had an exceptional experience using KS or KOLL, the rest of us would like to hear about it in the comments below.

………………………….

P.S. Readers, in the spirit of letting you take advantage of this truly cool offering right away [and, of course, a bout of "well-how-the-heck-will-you-know-about-it-if-I-don't-tell-you" shameless promotion], I’ve scheduled my own KS promo. Yep, you can borrow my women’s fiction e-book this weekend – Jan. 26–27, 2013 — by searching for Rhythms & Muse at the KOLL.

Rhythms & Muse synopsis:

Alex, a Grammy-winning vocalist, lives the glamorous lifestyle, but hates it. Her dreams guide her life, but she doesn’t listen until one actually manifests. Will intuition, flashbacks to her 1970s high-school days in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, and an ambitious current-day plan to reconnect with her former music partner and muse, help her find fulfillment?

Amazon review:

“Ann…has a gift for setting the scene and characters so that you feel like you have visited these places, and know these people in her book. I particularly liked the shift back and forth in time during the book — it reminds us that whichever paths we take in our lives, we are still the same person within. This book brought back memories of high school.”

#5 Writing tip: Writing is not a solitary sport

Actual writers look like this. Kris Tualla, Tisha Pelletier and Laurie Fagen at the Virginia G. Piper Writer’s House at Arizona State University. ©2010 ANVidean

Picture a writer.

Do you imagine a frazzle-haired, pajama-clad recluse sitting at odd hours and brooding over a computer screen, fiendishly snacking or imbibing caffeine? Perhaps she paces the floor, or maybe bangs her forehead on the desk, until inspiration hits. She might spend long hours taking guidance from characters who “tell her what to write.” She may even pour through defunct manuals explaining all the nitpicky grammatical rules no one pays attention to any more in this day of abbreviating and texting?

Yeah, that’s how the movies depict us. But, in real life, writing isn’t effective in solitary. Great writers get out and explore life, listen to conversations, try out experiences, and share their craft.

Sure we sit in the quiet when we’re actually putting words together, but most of the writing takes place mentally and experientially before we sit down at our computer or notebook. At least it should.

It doesn’t matter if you’re writing fiction, nonfiction, or business memos…input from external sources encouraging emotional phrasing and storytelling gets your words read. Here are some ideas:

• Sit in a coffee shop to listen to conversations and watch mannerisms.

• Try doing something new, perhaps even something your book character or employees do, and note your emotional and mental reactions to include in your writing.

• Join a writing association. It can help you, even if you’re not writing books.

Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA)
Romance Writers of America (RWA)
Scottsdale Society for Women Writers (SSWW)

• Meet with a critique partner or group.

• Form your own writing group like my Alliance for Literary Writers, Authors and Yabbering Scribes (ALWAYS) tribe.

What do you do to garner input and experiences for your writing?

Writing tip #5: Writing is not a solitary sport

Actual writers look like this. Kris Tualla, Tisha Pelletier and Laurie Fagen at the Virginia G. Piper Writer’s House at Arizona State University. ©2010 ANVidean

Picture a writer.

Do you imagine a frazzle-haired, pajama-clad recluse sitting at odd hours and brooding over a computer screen, fiendishly snacking or imbibing caffeine? Perhaps she paces the floor, or maybe bangs her forehead on the desk, until inspiration hits. She might spend long hours taking guidance from characters who “tell her what to write.” She may even pour through defunct manuals explaining all the nitpicky grammatical rules no one pays attention to any more in this day of abbreviating and texting?

Yeah, that’s how the movies depict us. But, in real life, writing isn’t effective in solitary. Great writers get out and explore life, listen to conversations, try out experiences, and share their craft.

Sure we sit in the quiet when we’re actually putting words together, but most of the writing takes place mentally and experientially before we sit down at our computer or notebook. At least it should.

It doesn’t matter if you’re writing fiction, nonfiction, or business memos…input from external sources encouraging emotional phrasing and storytelling gets your words read. Here are some ideas:

• Participate in associations/writers’ groups/conferences like:

• Sit in a coffee shop to listen to conversations and watch mannerisms.

• Try doing something new, perhaps even something your book character or employees do, and note your emotional and mental reactions to include in your writing.

• Join a writing association. It can help you, even if you’re not writing books.

Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA)
Romance Writers of America (RWA)
Scottsdale Society for Women Writers (SSWW)

• Meet with a critique partner or group.

• Form your own writing group like my Alliance for Literary Writers, Authors and Yabbering Scribes (ALWAYS) tribe.

What do you do to garner input and experiences for your writing?

Landfillharmonic’s recycled orchestra

When you live on a landfill in Cateura, Paraguay, and in such poverty even your children must work in it, what do you do to bring them joy?

Landfill workers Favio Chavez, a musician, and Nicolas Gomez, a luthier, decided to build instruments from trash and create a children’s orchestra. The “Recycled Orchestra” movement even inspired a movie: Landfill Harmonic.

Since no release date is specified on the Web page, I assume they’re in need of financial support to complete the project. If you care to find out more you will certainly be inspired to help.

Human ingenuity never ceases to amaze.

What incredible musical activities can you share?

The Recycled Orchestra story is humbling and inspires profound gratitude, especially when your own children get to participate in music far on the opposite spectrum, like my son Cutter’s digital performance at ASU.
@2011 ANVidean