72M Magazine: Issue 13

seventy2minutes.com April 2014

Issue 13

BARBARA ZATLER This Woman’s Work

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contents

discuss 9 / Barbara Zatler 14 / The 4th Wave of Feminism 28 / On Serbia and Feminism 27 / Cognitive Behavioural Therapy 36 / The Alex Experience 40 / Women, Feminism and Ghanaian Society

discover 16 / Frank & Stein 21 / Twenty Four hours in; Oslo 22 / Brit on the Boulevard 32 / Four Day Weekend 38 / ART - Sense and sensuality, Court and Craft 46 / Dipna Anand: Celebrity Curry Chef 60 / FILM - 20 Ft Below: The Darkness Descending 62 / MUSIC - Jonny and the Giants

learn 30 / Ten Profit Producing Promotion ideas 46 / You and Your Money: Your Coaching business 53 / Permanent Make-up & Medical tattooing 58 / Can’t Code, Won’t Code 60 / Graphology 64 / Know Your Feminists

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contributors

the editor Dinah Sackey- Founder, Editor and dreamer of bigger things

the philosopher Alex Jenkins - Knowing that all that we know just ain’t no thing.

the fashionista Katherine Pegka - With more wit than whimsy and eternlly well dressed

the entrepreneur Darren Darnborough - Seemingly, omnipresent, certainly multi-talented

the soul agent Sarupa Shah - Putting Soul & Spirit back into business

our man in Serbia Dave Calcutt - English, male and in Serbia teaching words (English ones)

the artist Ryan Roth - Curator, creator, a Gaijin in Japan and a promoter of Japanese art

the consultant Mbeke Waseme - Coach, trainer, mother of two, author and photographer

the eclectic Sanela Kesegi - Journalistically flexible from beauty, through fashion to business

the marketeer Terri Seymour - a font of articles, resources and information

the foodie Michael Robinson - Living to eat, hungry to blog sevent y 2minutes April 2014

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The Editor’s review

the editor’s review

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s the 4th Wave of feminism bashes against the dark walls of that cavernous den of inequity known as the internet, I’ve called on 72M contributors to lend their voices to the debate.

What is the 4th Wave? Where did it swell from? Who are its key surfers? These aren’t easy questions to contend with and I empathise with those that politely bowed out.

We live in outrageous times where private indescretions become public conversation pieces (we’ll discuss this in issue 14). For feminism this means that there is, potentially, an online collective of supporters armed with blogs, 140 characters, and witty memes, waiting in the wings... yet it’s clear that this collective, like all others, is not as equal, as cohesive or as unified in the beliefs that drive feminist activism as you, or I, would think. It is a fiery conversation.

Join in on facebook.com/72M.Magazine.Home and twitter.com/Seventy2Minutes.

Taking a step away from activism we discover the fashion of Frank & Stein (p16), the music of Jonny and The Giants (p62), The Darkness Descending (p60) and Dipna Anand’s Brilliant (and healthy) recipes (p46).

Following our discoveries we take the opportunity to learn about business, money, Graphology and Spaghetti Bolognese! Make sure you read Terri Seymour’s “Ten Profit Producing Promotion ideas” (p30) or Sarupa Shah’s “11 Reasons Why Your Coaching Business is Doomed” (p46) for some invaluable insights in how to grow and sustain your business.

We’ve wrapped all this information up in a beautiful new package as we take 72M magazine into its 4th year.. Our cherry on top comes in the shape of a competition, sponsored by The Body Shop International, to win £100.00 in gift vouchers to spend at www.bodyshop.co.uk.

Get involved , stay engaged and share the knowledge.

Dinah 6

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hashtag

#

Hi...this is the Veet marketing team in the US. We just wanted to let everyone know, we get it - we’re women too.

This idea came from women who told us that at the first hint of stubble, they felt like “dudes.” It was really simple and funny, we thought. To be honest, the 3 of us could really relate to these real-life moments and they made us laugh. Not everyone appreciated our sense of humor. We know that women define femininity in different ways. Veet helps those who choose to stay smooth. Our intention was never, ever, to offend anyone, so we decided to rethink our campaign and remove those clips. Thank you for letting us know how you feel.

The hashtag. What was social media before it? What will it be once it’s gone?! Whether posting your thoughts, snapping a shot or tweeting your pain; nothing accentuates your sharing like the hashtag. We dared to open this new page, for 72M, with;

feminism sevent y 2minutes April 2014

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Barbara Zatler this woman’s work

Barbara Zatler, Danish actress, TV personality, and glamour model, contacted me a while ago about a cover for 72M. Coincidently the first available spot was this one, with the theme focused on feminism.

I

know feminism has had a turbulent ride when it comes to female sex and sexuality but I wasn’t aiming for the contrived ‘sexy, attractive women are feminists too, see!’. I wanted to know about the person. I wanted to afford the same focus on ‘who’ she is as I have all other covers.

Barbara is an entrepreneur. From difficult beginnings she has carved a space for herself that allows her to live life according to her personal desires. She has found this through modelling and acting, thus a conversation with this woman cannot ignore ‘This Woman’s Work’.

Nevertheless the gospel of Feminist ideology is that she is, no matter what she does, more than the sum of her parts.

Barbara is very candid about her beginnings. She openly

shares that her parents placed her in an orphanage when she was 8 years old. She still doesn’t know why but suspects it’s due to her being bullied in school and their inability to manage this appropriately. She’s approached her parents abut this, as an adult, curious as to why her sister escaped the same fate but they haven’t been able to provide any answers. Her matter-of-fact acceptance of this is admirable.

“This is the past. I’ve moved on.” She states confidently.

She’s aware that few people who begin life in orphanages rarely escape socially, psychologically or emotionally unscathed but describes this period of her life as “a great time for me”. Bullied as a child, lacking in confidence, quiet and introverted she feels that this phase increased her self-assurance by showing her that she is capable.

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barbara zatler

“I’m an old school feminist... I don’t need a man to give me things, I can support myself”

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discuss She does not believe in giving up. She states this with a soft certainty.

When I question her about her body of work (90+ magazine features including the likes of GQ, Esquire, Maxim, FHM and Playboy) and what she’s trying to ultimately achieve her response is; “Nothing. I just love what I do!”

She confesses that she just wishes to carry on doing the things she enjoys and be happy, a state of existence that few of us would deny aiming for.

I’m curious to know how the bullying she endured as a child impacts on her work as a model, an industry that’s heavily invested in an individuals appearance. Again, she states that this has helped her. She’s finally comfortable with who she is; the way she looks, the food she eats, the person she is. The industry’s propensity to enforce standards of beauty are not lost on her but she’s not willing to give up her own ideals for those of somebody else.

Barbara’s work portfolio is extensive. She is clearly driven and describes sourcing and contacting publications and people. It is something she has done for herself, by herself. Support comes from her friends and family but none work for her.

Her loves are the great ‘outdoors’ and her dogs (2 Chinese Cresteds). Whilst she has friends around her she spends a great deal of her spare time by herself. Her solitude is chosen, described as ‘needed’, as most days are spent travelling and surrounded by people. This does not mean she is unsociable. She clarifies that she is a sociable character that highly values her own company and the freedom to withdraw when needed.

On the topic of feminism I ask if she’s aware of the 4th Wave. I explain about the internet dynamic and she openly admits that this is something that has escaped her.

I assure her that she’s not alone and we go on to discuss “old school feminism”. Her father taught her that she

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“needs to take care of herself ” and doesn’t need a man to perform basic tasks like fixing her car or putting up shelves. She sees women as equal to men, capable of achieving the same things.

There is something about Barbara that strikes me as fun, light-hearted, and generous. Her openness, acceptance of what life has given her and determination to live according to her own objectives leave me feeling that she’s the kind of woman I’d happily share my company with.

I ask if she feels she has a circle of good friends around her. Friends that keep her grounded, cheerful and able to focus on her work. She’s certain of this. The people she has worked with have always found her personality to be welcoming and humorous. Even when faced with rudeness she maintains her professional composure.

Her personal belief is to be kind to everyone, irrespective of who they are and where they come from. In her chosen career no-one willingly supports anyone who is arrogant, selfish and ignorant.

On work, we discuss her favourite shoot. Although it involved full nudity (16 hours of it) she chooses the Playboy cover as she felt at ease by the professionalism and consideration displayed by those on the shoot.

Her advice for those who want to enter the modelling industry, beyond getting a reputable photographer to build a decent portfolio, is to be aware of the many characters that are simply ‘using’ hopefuls for their own gains.

Getting agency representation will always help but it is possible to go it alone by doing as she has done, pursuing work, making contacts, building a network that can be relied upon.

Nonetheless it is a competitive industry that has taught her that your attractiveness will get you through the door, however, it is your personality and wit that will keep you in the room.

The Fun, The Fashion

discuss

the 4th wave of feminism

F

eminism; Wikipedia and the Oxford English dictionary seem to ‘get’ it, at least the ‘it’ that it once was and is trying to

movement mobilised into the recognisable force it is today, where it is suggested that we are now surfing its 4th wave, so marked by the use of the internet as a space for activism.

“a collection of movements and ideologies aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, cultural, and social rights for women.

This includes seeking to establish equal opportunities for women in education and employment. A feminist advocates or supports the rights and equality of women.”

Recollections of Sojourner Truth’s “Ain’t I a woman?”, the violence used by, and against, the Suffragettes, and the act of martyrdom from Emily Wilding Davison engender the kind of rhetoric that has fixed the 1st wave of feminists in our minds as ground breakers and heroines. A certain degree of grandeur is afforded these women who argued for the freedom to be heard, acknowledged as relevant and allowed to shape society as fully

be again;

Feminist intentions can be traced back decades before the actual 14

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as their male counterparts.

The 2nd wave of feminism swelled in the 1960’s and lapped against the shores of the Civil Rights movement. Women, largely American, protested on issues of sexuality and reproductive rights, and sought to consider the impact of class, race and religion on feminist ideology. This did not work out exactly as planned. Whilst prominent feminist like Margaret Atwood, Germaine Greer, and Gloria Steinem are well invoked others like Toni Cade Bambara and Gloria Evangelina Anzaldúa are confined to categorisations that ignorantly assume that their feminism was secondary to (not

the 4th wave of feminism equal or intertwined with) their race.

Therein lay the tensions of 2nd wave feminism that has continued to dog the ability of feminists to form “a collection of movements and ideologies ...”

Third-wave feminism, a phrase encapsulated by Rebecca Walker; daughter of Alice Walker, seeks to address the nuances of feminism that the 2nd wave ignored. Race, class, gender identity, sex and sexuality, religion, and economic power are all accepted as soical dimensions that can impact on how an individual defines and/or experiences feminism. Kimberlé Crenshaw described this as intersectionality; the interrelation between forms and systems of discrimination or oppression. This theory asks us to consider the many layers of social inequality that results in the exclusivity of some tenets of feminism. The calls of (primarily) white, western, middle class women for greater representation in the boardroom of Fortune 500 companies do not echo in the hearts of those (primarily) “women of colour” rallying for their fair representation in society.

One reality seemingly ignores the privilege of having a seat at the table in order to be able to ‘lean in’, the other involves fighting for the basic opportunity to be seen and counted.

Under these circumstances it’s clear why the 4th wave of feminism isn’t faring so well. As the fight for women’s equality moves from the natural world to the internet, the source code has been lost in transition.

For this article I spent some time asking my network of women what they thought of the 4th wave of feminism. Few really knew what I was talking about. I searched key social platforms for feminist thoughts using the ever popular hashtag and stumbled on #feminismisawful and #feminismisforwhitewomen, both trending so soon after #solidarityisforwhitewomen caught mainstream media attention.

After pages of anti-feminist ramblings I switched off social media realising 2 things. (1) A great number of people had little to no idea what feminism is and conflated it with other negative ‘isms’, (2) Feminism is fractured. Even those who espouse the rudimentary elements argue that it is, as it has always been, a tool for WASP (White, anglo-saxon, protestant) women to gain more social power at the expense of all others (men and women included).

This misrepresented view of feminism leads to; the undermining of 4th wave projects like Everyday Sexism and Feminist Frequency, holds back the much needed catharsis in accepting the truths inherent in #solidarityisforwhitewomen and #NotYourAsianSidekick, and supposes that all feminist are lunatic, self absorbed misandrists. Whilst 4th wave projects gain strong, often international, support for what they are trying to achieve they also attract criticism, derision and vitriolic anger. Some of this certainly smacks of an attempt to silence all feminist voices. Threats of rape and insults of ‘nazi’ behaviour rarely cultivate rich debate, nor expand mainstream feminist discourse to consider its self, flaws and all.

Yet there is no denying that this 4th wave of feminism, like the waves before it, has much to answer for; such as the Femen movement, which has caused as much titillation as outrage. Their website announces two of their objectives as; to provoke patriarchy into open conflict ... and; to create the most influential and combat-effective women’s union in the world which would require some degree of global solidarity, yet their approach is incongruous with feminists who consider themselves religious, moderate and/or non violent. Once more I find the rhetoric inclusive but the behaviour dismissive of the concerns and perspective of others.

In my online research many who disagree with feminism, as an ideology, suggest that we should move beyond creating enclaves for ‘special classes’ of people. That true equality can only be achieved when we are all considered equal, our differences irrelevant to what we can perceptibly achieve. The obvious danger in this Laputan edict is that we are not all equal. History, chance, resources, genetics, education, ability; our differences often dictate what we can achieve, how we go about achieving them, and who we call on for help when it is needed.

Feminism, and other social activist groups, call for the establishment of equal opportunities – the expectation that your differences should not prevent your access to opportunities available - and this should not be mistaken, or used, for the erasing of individuality.

The fascinating nature of all the waves of feminism is the unspoken assumption that acts of feminism lie dormant in between times. Do these waves reflect significant swells in activity that distinguish everyday acts of social activism from ‘branded’ activism? Are these purposefully designed as platforms for individuals to build their personalities upon, therefore carving a space in history for themselves or, immediately, creating legitimacy for their voice?

It’s difficult to believe that without these umbrella movements to rally behind women, and men, of feminist leaning would not continue to “advocate for the rights and equality of women”. Surely a feminist is a feminist whether s/ he claims that title openly, chest bared, or quietly, as s/he busies her/himself changing the world, one person at a time, confident in the knowledge that pebbles in still bodies of water cause ripples that could very well, one day, become crushing waves?

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discover

L

overs of creativity and fashion fanatics know the joy of discovering a new brand. Sometimes the highstreet is not enough and your wardrobe deserves a dash of quirk.

Step this way and embrace Frank & Stein, a Portuguese brand that injects humour and playfulness into their designs.

The creative minds behind the brand, Frank and Stein, confess to being like chalk and cheese, but get along so well that they manage to make the business, and the brand, work very well.

Supported by friends, all thanked on their website, they’re stocked in 14 stores and 9 locaitons in Portugal, including Lisboa (Lisbon).

There is much to love about Frank & Stein. The graphic prints, bright colours and the playful ‘stories’ behind each collection will draw you in and keep you returning for more.

Prices start from as little as €3 and average in the region of €30.

Shop online @: www.fankstein.net

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discuss

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katherine pegka

Surfing Waves W

by Katherine Pegka

omen are currently riding the so-called 4th wave of feminism or digital feminism (though I personally think that nowadays there are as many waves out there as there are individuals, but anyway): using the boundless power of the internet and social media, women share their thoughts, knowledge, experience and numerous selfies online and unite their voices forming a strong and active movement. These women are predominantly young, known to Marketers as Millennials (or Generation Y if you prefer), and have been born into a world where the equality of women and men has long been established in fundamental human rights. Women vote, have a career and wear trousers, at least in most Western countries they do, where these issues are not subject to dogma or faith - we have to thank the preceding three waves of feminism and Coco Chanel for that.

Fashion is empowering and helps women to express their personality and style. But still, common fashion industry marketing objectifies women and puts appearance above all: if you’re not thin and tall, the chances are small you will get noticed by men – assuming also that all women are heterosexual.

Liberated women who just don’t want to fall into that sexist trap rashly ditch their fancy 5-inch heels - and trade them for boring flats. But ask yourself: am I wearing this bright red lipstick because I should, in order to look sexier? Or I’m rocking it because I really like color; it makes me look like a million bucks and well, why not anyway?

Femininity is not anti-feminist, so you go for it, girl! sevent y 2minutes April 2014

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oslo

24 hours in

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iven its status as one of the world’s most expensive cities, unless you’re fabulously wealthy, 24 hours may be all you can afford to spend in Oslo...

major malls with boutiques and interesting concept stores, like TGR, which sells fun and colorful novelty items in every category you could wish for (great for small gifts), or Moods of Norway, the ubercool local label that encourages you to dress Beginning your day early, you may find it rather like a rainbow. quiet on the central city streets - perhaps thanks to the frequent pre-drinking (see end of article) - so If shopping gets you thirsty, now’s the time to opt for a morning jog through one of the parks decide whether to be a tourist or do as locals do. or along the harbor-side. However, if a hearty Happy hours in bars are definitely not aplenty breakfast is on the agenda, Oslo is a little light in these streets, but stores are not allowed to sell on AM venues, though Grilleriet is purported to alcohol after 6pm, so many people stock up in the be a great buffet, or use the time more wisely by supermarket, to drink at home before their night washing your clothes alongside your eggs at Café out, as cocktails, beer and wine are very expensive Laundromat by the Bislett Olympic Stadium. out. This is the explanation for why early evening may seem desolate, and then suddenly, there are Let the sightseeing commence with a walk through masses of very drunk people roaming. If early Frogner Park, home to the Vigeland installation - bars are on the agenda, try the Internasjonalen the world’s largest sculpture park by a single artist. in Youngstoret for Art Deco cocktails and a rare Roaming the streets can be fun to take in some whisky selection, Dattera til Hagen’s quirky patio in interesting architecture, and the city is strewn with the Grønland area, or go all hipster at Grünerløkka much graffiti art - great murals and entire wall pieces, and environs. but unfortunately just as much mindless defacing too. The locals rave about the Opera House, For a great evening dining experience, the new although this may seem a little underwhelming if food hall Matthallen offers a selection of different you are used to more intricate world class design. cuisines and pastries, including traditional Norwegian fare all under one roof. Then it’s on to Lunch may be calling at this point, and for some some more bars until you’re ready to hit the sack reason there is a blinding prominence of Kebab because you started on supermarket liquor too shops, but don’t be fooled - numerous alternatives early or you maxed out your credit card. However, exist in Oslo, but you’ll have to seek them out, if you’re strictly packing black, on the company and dig deep into that wallet. Even fast food here expense account, or cruising for a sugar daddy, is excessively pricey. Anyone for a $35 burger then eat, drink, play at Aker Brygge amongst the or burrito? For a reasonable, whilst elegant and yachts, in Oslo’s corner for the elite. supreme quality midday meal, head to the main square Youngstorget and knock back a couple of Then it’s to bed at a big brand chain hotel, a oysters and some classic fish & chips at Fiskeriet modern trendy alternative like Comfort Hotel’s which also boasts a sumptuous fresh fish market hip boutique outpost; concept space Smart Hotel; for take-home. From here, you’re a stone’s throw distinctive design hotel The Thief; or one of the from some interesting vintage stores on Torgata; many interesting home rental choices on Airbnb.

Karl Johan’s gate, the central shopping street with Get some rest. There’s an expensive day of drinking both high street brands and designers; and the tomorrow. sevent y 2minutes April 2014

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A

hhh, Christmas Day on the slopes… the perfect way to unwind after a year of crazy in LA. After taking to a much needed ski break in Lake Tahoe, we of course ramped up the pace for New Years Eve in the polar opposite of nature – Las Vegas.

VIP Suite? Check.

Incredible chef ’s tasting dinner at Sushi Roku? Check.

Great seats at the Fleetwood Mac concert at MGM Garden Arena, screaming along to more hits than you remember knowing? Check.

Hotel-room-isolation due to food poisoning and overindulgence as the NYE bells rang in? Check.

So, what I would have been doing when the clock struck twelve was a huge street party on the Las Vegas Boulevard with fireworks from all the major hotels, followed by bouncing around LV Strip superclubs Beachers Madhouse and Hakkasan, gambling my 2013 away, and pigging out on an epic new years day brunch at an unlimited buffet. Instead of clutching my tummy, getting acquainted with my duvet, and watching Regis and Kelly have a grand old time.

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The next day did improve however, and we got some serious adrenaline back in the veins. For those that think Vegas is just about roulette and partying, think again – there’s some adventure to be had too. We kicked off by driving muscle cars and supercars around Red Rock Canyon with World Class Driving. Over a few hours, I got behind the wheel of some souped up monsters, including a Shelby GT500 Mustang, a Corvette Z06, a Camaro ZL1 and a Jaguar XK-RS, following in convoy a wish list of other Ferraris, Lamborghinis and exotics, navigating the desert highways with excellent instructors at 50mph maximum speeds (honest, officer). You go in thinking “how much fun can driving cars really be?” and come out exhilarated and wanting more.

So what better place to head afterwards than Dig This! where we tore up the road in a different way, learning how to operate an excavator in a giant sandpit just off the Strip, even teaching you acrobatics and ball skills with these machines (seriously)! Well, after such a macho morning, it would have been rude not to check out Vegas’ largest surplus of weapons at Battlefield Vegas.

This supergun range transports you from your hotel in military grade Humvee, and unleashes you with expert tuition on any type of machine you want to fire, including

the only mini-gun in Vegas. Back to boring old LA….

One of my first movies of the year was an advance screening of Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, and it was great to see friends and familiar Brit faces Gemma Chan, Karen David, Isobel Pravda and Hannah Taylor Gordon up there amongst the Hollywood blockbuster talent.

I also caught a preview of Ashley Avis and Elizabeth TenHouten’s fashion film (something of a new trend) in Beverly Hills, which sets a short fashion-based narrative to a thumping soundtrack.

The big January event on everyone’s lips though was The Golden Globes, where Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto took home well deserved awards for The Dallas Buyers Club. I attended the official NBC Viewing Party, which took place right above the ballroom of the awards, meaning straight after a lavish dinner and cocktails rooftop at the Beverly Hilton, we were joined by such stars as McConaughey, Ron Howard, Sofia Vergara, and more, to party through the night, with major A-listers also stopping by the Gold Meets Golden area to mingle with Olympiads prepping for Sochi. All of the major parties take place in the Beverly Hilton that night, so we

sashayed through the Weinstein Co event, swept up in Lady Gaga’s entourage, hit the dancefloor with Benedict Cumberbatch at InStyle, and finished up with dessert at the poolside HBO soiree.

I just had time to attend an ALS fundraiser at the Pasadena Playhouse, where celebrities got together cabaret style to raise awareness and money for the terrible Lou Gehrig’s disease. A highlight was seeing Richard M. Sherman, composer of Mary Poppins perform live, just after I’d seen the film featuring his work “Saving Mr Banks.” It’s times like this when you really feel the Hollywood magic, before setting off to Hollywood on tour: The Sundance Film Festival.

As usual, there was a jam-packed week of excellent events, fantastic food and screenings in Park City Utah, with a little fresh powder ski-ing thrown in. Highlights on the event calendar was the Hollywood Meets Silicon Valley conference, talking about the convergence of film and tech and the Chase Sapphire Lounge, which hosted amongst others parties for Breaking Bad’s Aaron Paul, and Eddie Bauer’s branded space fixing us up with awesome ski wear. Big Air Studios threw a fun time at

Boulevard on the

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Sunset Strip satellite Rock & Reilly’s, and we bounced from Creative District and Bright Ideas magazine’s afternoon soiree to Dive Visual’s event, through Vegas pop-up Tao and a Game Of Thrones themed do, ending up at a huge hilltop mansion celebrating Robert Redford produced “Drunktown’s Finest” with one of its stars Elizabeth Frances. Another highlight was the intimate and well-produced Sunday Dinner event, featuring excellent food and a curated guestlist which included actor and activist Adrian Grenier, who we joined again at my favourite Sundance event Chefdance, along with Blonde Abroad blogger Kierstin Rich, where the crème de la crème of film get together to indulge on a specially prepared celebrity chef ’s menu, hosted by the classic Sundance couple Kenny Griswold and Mimi Kim. My vocal chords barely intact, I was honored to participate in reading the winning entry of “Table Read My Screenplay”, a script competition that takes place each year, with a lucky winner having their work read by professional actors at the Waldorf Astoria during Sundance. Walking in past uber film boss Harvey Weinstein briefing his team surely was a good sign for the screenwriter. A little ski time in some very clear and beautiful runs at Deer Valley, and we set off back to

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LA, in time to enjoy the Superbowl game in traditional American style with beer, burgers and hot dogs at a party thrown by tech firecracker Nanxi Liu, owner of Enplug, a new interactive video billboard that’s taking the scene by storm.

LA has great opportunities for continually learning, and the incubator that helped launch Nanxi’s company, Be Great Partners, put on a series of speaker events. We attended one such session with Brit VIP lifestyle concierge Steve Sims, learning all about his company Bluefish and what makes them successful, including his charitable arm BlueCause, which offers exclusive Hollywood experiences that money can’t buy (except it can!) with 100% going to charity. The week continued with some further British influence, as we were invited to opening night of Noel Coward’s Brief Encounter at The Wallis Annenberg Theater, an excellently produced musical play starring Jim Sturgeon whose performance kept you captivated in the story from the very start. We attended a showcase by Irish singer Nadia Forde at Sofitel, a special screening of Oscar-contender Philomena (Q&A with Steve Coogan and the real Philomena!) ending with Brit actor and singer Emrhys Cooper’s birthday party.

Oscar week was just as hectic, where it seems the whole town stops still to celebrate and indulge film (at least that’s their excuse). I enjoyed events by FilmHouse AG and The Weinstein’s and laughed my ass off at the Brits In LA annual Toscars event, where local Brits parody the Oscars, this year sponsored by Jaguar. The ceremony at the famous Egyptian theater attracted fun-loving stars including Fringe’s Joshua Jackson, Ron Jeremy, Australian actress-to-watch Gemma Sykes, and superstar DJ Paul Oakenfold, and it was hosted by Alex Newell of Glee fame, where the parody of Her (Terminate Her) picked up the Golden Fist award. Vanity Fair took care of us with the VFSocial Club at WeWork – a week long haven of panels, food, champagne and a twitter vending machine (yep, tweet for gifts!) By the time actual Oscar Sunday came, I skipped the party scene opting to watch the ceremony with a plate of ribs and good friends at Saddle Ranch (dressed in a tux nonetheless…. You gotta be ready.)

Shrove Tuesday, pancake day, or as the Americans call it, Fat Tuesday and Mardi Gras swung around and we indulged in some battered goodness at The Grove to the sounds of an authentic New Orleans band, ahead of my much anticipated film premiere for 20 Ft Below:

The Darkness Descending. The film I co-produced and played the role of Ajax in, opposite Danny “Machete” Trejo received it’s premiere at the world-famous Chinese Theater on Hollywood Boulevard, with a packed afterparty at new exclusive Sunset Strip celebrity hotspot Vaucluse. Guests enjoyed drinks sponsored by Six One Nine Vodka and Tequila Campo Azul amongst cast and crew, for the film that explores the underground homeless community lurking beneath the abandoned subway tunnels of New York.

Feeling all rockstar from its success, we flew up to San Francisco the next day to pick up my summer ride – a classic Panther Kallista roadster, imported from the UK. We made great time in this classic convertible dream, riding down the beautiful PCH coastline highway from the Golden Gate Bridge, through Santa Cruz, Big Sur and Santa Barbara just in time to end the month as Hollywood-style as you can: showing off the new wheels at a 50’s style burger car hop, then meeting Michael Jackson’s daughter whilst helping a friend move a sofa, and picnicking in the park with not one, but two of the upcoming Ninja Turtles… and yes, there was pizza.

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discuss

behind the lense

I

f you’re reading this issue, you’ll be aware of the fact that the general theme is about the fourth wave of feminism.

Now, with the best will in the world, if I’m honest, it’s not a subject that I have much knowledge about or even much of an opinion which is doubtless to my detriment.

A quick search of Wikipedia has done nothing to clear the waters around the topic either I’m afraid.

So, like my old boss at McDonalds used to say, stick the aces in their places, there are plenty of fine scribes in this wonderful magazine who will have written beautifully and insightfully on this topic, but for me I need to pitch my literary tent in a totally different field this time.

When this magazine started I wrote exclusively on my own battles with the black dog and have been more than happy to dip back into it at various stages with updates on how I’m getting on. It’s therapy for me, and hopefully helps others too.

So maybe it’s time for a quick update, especially I’ve recently added a new weapon to my armoury when it comes to tackling it.

It’s a topic you’ve possibly read about or wanted to know more about, so let me use this column to share.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.

When I first posted on Facebook that I was off to a CBT session, a lot of responses were along the lines of, don’t forget your helmet, aren’t you too young for a midlife crisis etc., based on the knowledge that CBT is also another name for the compulsory bike test.

But in this case, it’s CBT to help keep my mind away from the kind of metaphorical road blocks and potholes that have stopped me from enjoying my wonderful life as much as I should be.

Worrying too much, making mountains out of molehills, not seeing other people’s points of view, assuming the worst in pretty much every situation you can think of, low self-esteem.

All symptoms of depression and general anxiety, but

by Andy Holmes through CBT the plan is to essentially retrain the brain to pretty much think the opposite of that.

So the worry should decrease, the mountains will revert to being molehills, other people’s points of view will be taken into account more often, and instead of assuming the worst, I’ll be trying to take a step back and remember that what goes on in my head, is merely a feeling and not a fact.

After twenty years of thinking in a negative way and letting toxic thoughts get the better of me, it’s not going to be an easy task but already after a few sessions I’m beginning to see a subtle change in the way I handle certain situations.

Sometimes we need to remember that the brain, like every other part of the body, needs to be maintained and can be altered, just like you can lose weight or gain muscle tone and strength if you put your mind to it.

The brain is the most amazing device we will ever own, but we so often take it for granted.

My hour sessions are exhausting, and there is homework on top, but my therapist has instructed me to treat it like a college course, where the more you put in outside of the sessions, the more you potentially get out.

It’s also important to point out that if you’re suffering from depression or anxiety in a particularly bad way, well CBT isn’t for you yet, you need to be of a fairly sound and importantly positive mind to get the best results and that’s something I’ve previously forgotten.

I’ve had therapy in the past, and then when I’ve been feeling better, I’ve got on with my life, instead of then taking the time to tackle those thought processes that have often got me into trouble in the first place.

Make hay while the sun shines as a good friend of mine says.

Which as the weather begins to turn and thoughts turn to the summer, is a decent point to leave you on for now.

I’d best start researching the topic for the next edition!!

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sanela kesegi

on Serbia & feminism

by Sanela Kesegi

S

erbia today is still undergoing many economic, social, and political processes whose characteristics largely determine the social status of one of the most vulnerable social groups - young women. Women in Serbia are often denied the right to live and work free of violence, coercion or fear. They are often denied the right to work in a safe place, in a friendly and encouraging environment, to advance, to exercise their right to secure employment, to plan their family and the birth of their children without a negative impact on their own existence and that of their families. For example, a specific form of discrimination which young women in Serbia are exposed to is based on pregnancy and maternity. On average Serbian women earn lower salaries than men, even if they do the same job. But it is important to say, that there are many positive examples. Nowadays, we have women who are working in more responsible positions than men, and prove more capable than their male counterparts. In Serbia we have smart and beautiful women working in government. We have a lot of women who are successful in various fields, women who are known worldwide. Although we are a developing country, the new generation will not allow, any differences to constrain them in business or from making any other progress. We have women in Serbia who decide to raise the family alone, and work at the same time. I do not want to say that women want a life without men, I just want to say that women in Serbia are brave enough and also capable enough to do the same jobs as men.

Finally, it is very important to give the women of the whole world the recognition they deserve, appreciating them as equal members of society and give them, not just a little respect, because women deserve a lot.

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dave calcutt

I

live in Belgrade and have done for nearly three years. I perceive things here to be a little different from in England. It seems to me that there is a kind of acceptance of the “traditional roles” of men and women here in society but it seems to have very little negative impact on the perception of women’s equality in society, be it at work or at home. There seems to be an acceptance that in many areas of life, men and women rightly have an equal part to play, whilst in some other areas a pragmatic acceptance of who does what prevails. Now, if all concerned are happy with that situation and nobody is being forced to tolerate, is that an acceptable situation for whichever wave of feminism we are on by the time you are reading this?

When I first started to research the topic of 4th Wave Feminism I have to admit that I had absolutely no idea at all what it meant or what it represented. I wasn’t even aware we had had 2nd Wave, let alone 3rd or 4th Wave, Feminism. I suspect I am not alone in this confusion.

To be honest, as someone who is somewhat cynical of the general direction of feminism, I was already feeling a little uneasy as I started to read the various articles to be found on the internet which seek to qualify what these numerous waves actually are.

Now, before you reach for your stock of chauvinist badges with which to label me, I should give you my perspective on this issue. Yes, a male perspective on feminism, how radical! As a man, I am completely aware that there are inequalities that exist in a variety of sectors of our lives that should, and indeed have, been addressed. But, and this I suspect is where I will draw some criticism, I feel that feminism has, to a degree, forced issues so far that they have gone beyond equality and tipped over into a kind of reverse inequality. Hands up all those men who can relate...

I heard a quote recently that pretty well sums up my feelings about the seemingly endless advance of so called “feminist activists” and it went something along the lines of “your are supposed to be attacking the bigots not enraging the moderates” I feel there is a real danger of feminism becoming overly “politically correct” to the point where men will perceive it as something they are forced to pay lip service to in order to avoid innocently saying or doing the wrong thing.

Forcing a section of society to tread on eggshells at every turn is not an effective way to bring about meaningful change.

This idea of taking a pinch of pragmatism with our dose of feminism even seems to have found its way into this latest wave. When reading through the “4th Wave Feminist Manifesto” it seemed to me that some of the language used was more in keeping with what many have been saying in response to the more extreme feminists of the past.

That is to say that it is ok for a woman to want to look good, to wear makeup, to dress sexily even (oh my god the shock of it all!!), if that is what SHE wants to do. Surely, if a woman looks attractive that is ok….it is even ok for her to look good in an attempt to attract a man. That last bit is me speaking, not the Manifesto!

I started this article admitting to a lack of understanding of the numerous waves of feminism. I still don’t really understand why there have been so many waves and when the waves will stop. Will there be a 5th and 6th and 7th or will we all one day be deluged by the Tsunami of Feminism?

All of this gets me thinking…..with feminism having taken things so far, has the time arrived for the 1st Wave of ……what is antonym for Feminism, I wonder? There are those who would say it is Misogyny, and therein lies much of the problem, in my humble opinion.

Dave Calcutt is

our man in belgrade sevent y 2minutes Issue 13

29

mind your business

10 profit producing promotion Ideas

by Terri Seymour Š

1.

Bronze, Silver and Gold Tickets

Let everyone know that each and every customer will receive a silver, bronze or gold ticket with their purchase. These tickets allow the customer to save on later orders or even offer instant savings.

For example: Bronze Ticket = 25% Savings, Silver Ticket = 35% Savings, Gold Ticket = 50% Savings.

2.

BOGO with a Twist

Put a fun new twist on the old BOGO standby. With each BOGO purchase, offer a certain amount of points depending on the amount of purchase.

When the customer reaches a certain amount of points, offer him/her a free item of a certain value, or a gift card, etc. 50 points = free $10.00 item; 100 points = free $20 item and so on.

3.

Business Card Codes

Put special discount codes on your business cards. Let people know they will need the business card when they make the purchase to get the discount.

This is a good way to get people to take and keep your business card and could lead to many new customers.

4.

Refer a Friend

Offer a gift or discount to anyone who refers a friend and a discount to the friend for any purchases. Make the discounts a percentage of what is purchased or offer so many rewards for the purchase, depending on the total. Each level of rewards gets a larger discount or gift.

You could also hold a refer a friend contest. The one referring the most friends or highest friend purchases will get a substantial prize.

5.

Name a Product

Hold contests for naming your products, coming up with flavors, choosing colors, etc. Many successful companies hold promotions such as these and they produce huge results.

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A

promotion is a way of drawing attention to your business whether it be through advertising or other means. Special offers, sales or contests that are not normally available usually produce impressive results. It is an effective way for any business to draw in new potential customers and to retain existing customers.

By running periodical promotional offers that are fun and interesting, you are keeping your business fresh and alive.

But more importantly, you are showing your customers you want to help them save money, thus making them feel special and appreciated.

The ideas for promoting your business are unlimited.

Be creative and make your promotional offers fun and unique. Encourage interaction with your customers to make them more memorable.

Below are ten great ideas that are sure to pump up your sales and produce profits! We all know the standard discounted prices, bogo, and other sales but by putting new and fun twists on these proven tactics you are making them fresh and exciting!

terri seymour

6.

Trivia Contest

There are very few of us who do not like trivia. Post a new trivia question each week. Customers must come in or email/text their answers with a special code found on your website or in your newsletter. At the end of the month offer a prize to the one with the most correct answers. Or, in the case of several people getting the same amount of questions correct, enter them into a drawing for the prize with all runners-up getting a smaller prize. There are so many fun ways you can offer trivia as a means for your customers to save money.

7.

Customer Appreciation

Customer Appreciation – Have a customer appreciation day. This can be done online or offline. Have refreshments, games, prizes, contests, etc.

Offer demonstrations of your products or services and have a Q&A session afterwards. Really be creative and make this event special. Obviously, online and offline events will be different but either way, your customers will know you appreciate them!

8.

10.. Daily Special Have everyday be special for your customers.

Each day offers a new savings. For example: Monday = $5.00 of this item. Tuesday = Save 10% on everything and so on for each and every day.

If this is too much for you, just do it one week out of the month. Make it work for you, your business and your customers!

The above ideas can certainly be adjusted to fit whatever business you are in or details can be changed to suit your needs and your customers’ needs. These few ideas in no way encompass all the possibilities of how you can attract new and existing customers. But, hopefully, they will get you started and your creative juices will start flowing for more successful promotional ideas!

Customer of the Month

Take the old employee of the month idea and use it for your customers. Rewarding loyal existing customers is just as important as getting new customers.

9.

Scavenger Hunt

Provide people with a short list of items and for each item the customer brings in or sends online, they will get rewards, points, dollars off, etc. For an online scavenger hunt, the person must find the items on a website and then have them provide the link. These items must be unique so they are not too easy to find. Of course, you don’t want them to have to work too hard. Just have a light, fun game to bring some interest. Your customers will enjoy seeing how many items they find and how much they win for finding them.

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31

“We’re not Carrot Top but we do have to wear the occasional wig”

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discover

T

here was a palpable energy in the van as we shuttled our way out of the airport in Baltimore on our way to Cambridge, MD. We had about a two-hour ride ahead of us and quite frankly, none of us really knew how we had ended up here. It was seven of us, in a van loaded with show equipment, and we were making our way to a remote hotel in the woods under the auspice of Four Day Weekend to perform our comedy teambuilding keynote address for the Democratic Caucus of the United States House of Representatives with the President of the United States in attendance.

Again, we silently asked ourselves the question, how the hell did we get here?

Nearly 15 years prior we had started our “little” improvisational comedy show, which we title Four Day Weekend. The reason we put “little” in quotations is because ever since we started this show people would always ask us, “How’s your little comedy show going?”

The word “little” has always been the conversational equivalent of fingernails on a chalkboard to us. We have made our living, a quite a handsome one at that, for more than a decade yet people had no compunction to try to diminish what we had done by calling us “little.” In almost no other profession would someone be asked how their “little” career was going.

Very rarely do you hear, “How’s your little doctoring thing working out for you?”

Although this has driven us crazy for a long time the truth of the matter is people don’t even realize that they are doing this.

Now, we finally had a pretty good answer. Our “little” show was about to deliver our teambuilding keynote to the legislative body of the most powerful nation in the world and none of the occupants in this van could really fathom how this occurred. At this point it seemed that things were going pretty well.

A lot had happened in the preceding 14 years and not all of it could be considered a traditional success story.

Several of the original cast members had left to pursue other endeavors, we struggled through a transition period that nearly ended the show only to do more than 4,000 shows, becoming one of the longest running shows in the Southwest and eventually selling a 30 minute sitcom to Fox.

The highs and lows of the last 14 years were marked in stark contrast to each other and, on this late January day , as we headed towards one of the biggest performances of our 14 years we were definitely embarking on the newest chapter of the show’s storied existence.

As we hurled our way towards our destiny of this unknown new chapter an underlying pensive fear permeated the van. You’d think that we would have had grown used to the uncertainty that accompanied a life in show business but judging by the uncertainty that was pervading the van at this moment even our performance experience was abandoning us at this time.

A thousand thoughts swirled around the rented 15 passenger van. “How did we get here?” “Are we good enough to be here?” and “Is failure imminent?” The theme of the thoughts were as similar as the variations with which they came. Everyone felt it. No one said anything about it. Our fear was replaced with false bravado that concealed our truest feelings at this moment. It was every anxiety dreamed rolled into one and the theme was terrifying: “Good God, are we about to be exposed as frauds?”

Even the best amongst us wonder privately whether they will fail when faced with their biggest challenge. However, at this moment, privately each of us knew that only the best among us overcome the fear and deliver when the moment of pressure arrives.

Life’s challenges have a way of bringing out fear that sometimes you might not even know existed and on that day the challenges were facing us front and center. The two-hour ride seemed to go by too fast because as soon as this journey was finished we would be faced with our expected task: To teach the tenets of improvisation to a group of our government’s representatives to assist them in working more effectively with each other and their opposing party counterparts.

In other words, our job was to fix America in 90 minutes.

Hardly any pressure at all.

Whenever any of us started to consider how big this might be for our company and our careers the thoughts were quickly replaced by less intimidating concerns like, “Hey, there’s a Stucky’s, why don’t we stop for beef jerky?”

Our first approach to the hotel only added to the tension

Four Day Weekend When comedy does business

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33

discover in the van. The impending visit from the President of the United States heightened security around the hotel to a level none of us had ever experienced before. Secret Service agents, replete with high-powered submachine guns and bomb sniffing German Shepherds, swarmed the grounds of the entrance of the hotel and it was immediately obvious to all of us that this was the perfect setting for comedy. Who doesn’t love to laugh with an AR15 pointing at your head?

Of course our first fear was that they would soon be scouring our van to see what was inside. We didn’t necessarily have anything to hide but the implication of the van’s contents surely could raise some eyebrows. You see, when a comedy group like ours travels we sometimes have to bring props to do our show. Hey, we’re not Carrot Top but we do have to wear the occasional wig, beard, moustache, outfit, costume, prop and…oh, screw it, who are we kidding? We’re improv’s traveling version of Carrot Top. Anyway, it always looks suspicious when a large group of guys tries to get past the TSA, the local police, the Capitol Police or the Secret Service with a bunch of luggage full of disguises. But we figure that if we couldn’t travel with our props then the terrorists with their props have won. And we don’t want that. We’re Americans for God’s sake.

to be grounded and sent to our room. The excitement of our visit prompted us to film our arrival until we were informed in no uncertain terms that filming was strictly prohibited.

Secret Service Agent: business at the hotel.

State your

Us: We are Four Day Weekend. We are the comedy keynote address that will be delivered tomorrow.

Secret Service Agent: Can I ask you two hardcore questions?

We get asked this frequently. When people hear we are a comedy group they are often compelled to offer to tell us a joke. Us, being naïve, assumed this is what the “hardcore question” would be so we lightheartedly responded:

re.

Us: Su

Service y t e r Sec that gu g s I : n i Agent back film in the this?

s.

Us: Ye : e Agentg c i v r e S Secret ost menacin t (in a m ell, knock i tone) W off!

The weight of the office of the President of the United States was literally lingering over the grounds of this rather modest hotel in a small town in Maryland and there was no escaping it. The seriousness of the responsibility of the men and women who are tasked with protecting the president was eerily evident upon our arrival.

As we made our approach, we were met by not one, not two but three secret service officers who took on a level of seriousness that quickly made everyone feel as if we about 34

sevent y 2minutes April 2014

Whatever feelings of tension that were prevalent in the van before we arrived had now become exasperated exponentially. Needless to say, we knocked it off. We weren’t so sure we wanted to hear question number 2 but these guys had guns.

4 day weekend

Secret Service Agent: Ca ask you another hardco n I re

Us: Sure.

question?

Secret Service Agent: W hat are all these disguises for?

Us: Sigh.

We felt out of place. We felt like frauds. It was exhilarating.

Sometimes embracing your fears and stepping outside your comfort zone can make you feel alive.

We had come from the most humble performance beginnings performing for 12 to 13 people at 11 p.m. at night. We started a 6-week-run with little intention of it lasting beyond that short run and now we were about to perform for the President of the United States.

It was a testament to the power of belief. It was a testament to the power of saying “yes, and” to all of your dreams. (* This is one of the fundamental building blocks of improvisation and life.) It was a testament to everything that we had learned and then began sharing in our keynote address. You can become anything you want

to become. You can accomplish any dream that you have the imagination to create if you only have a willingness to say “yes, and” to all that life has to offer.

Everyone experiences fear. We certainly did. Everyone experiences doubt. We certainly were as we approached the Hyatt Hotel in Cambridge, MD but the one thing that was stronger than either our fear or our doubt was our belief in ourselves and most importantly each other. The belief that if we worked together as a group we would succeed as a group. It was the belief that we are far stronger as an ensemble than we were as individuals. We would lean on each other and together we would perform for the United States Congress.

We banded together to perform for the United States Congress. We stood looking out the at likes of Vice President Joe Biden, Leader Nancy Pelosi and Democratic Caucus Chairman John Larson and the only thing we were armed with was each other.

When Congress met the finale of our performance with a standing ovation we knew that everything we had learned and taught had culminated in a success we never anticipated. We learned a little belief can take a person a long way but no one succeeds without getting into the arena for this is where fears and dreams, eventually, manifest.

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35

the alex experience

years, fears & ideas by alex jenkins

I

t is only the miniscule perspective of the span of a single human life or part thereof that prevents us from realizing that all is balanced.

So, there it is, a contention that a truth is useless to the pragmatist, and so include also all opinion, theory, discourse and any ‘isms’ that for those movers and shakers can’t be practically employed to enable success, or might that be a succession, or even a succession of successes.

The feminine then, is simply everywhere. It is irrepressible, it is nature, it is this Earth, the heavens, it is life. If you are alive, and to be reading this you would have to be close, it is in you as it is in me, and I am a man.

Her ancient reflections include Isis, Ishtar, Ma’at, Qetesh, MehetWeret, Mary, Ataksak, Asherah but most notably Taweret, she the original alpha and omega.

For nine months she was all there was, you were one with her, indivisible, indistinguishable, beneath the swollen dome of her protection and from the moment of the parting there is an irreparable loss. Then for every 36

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second of every minute, and for an average of seventy voyages around the sun and from time immemorial we try to compensate ourselves for the severance.

endeavors, amass great wealth and graduate upward then either we will find her once more or perhaps she will realize our virtues and return to us. And so is enabled the infantilism of cults So how might compensation and clans, of trends and traditions, manifest itself in this experience? of mindlessness and materialism, Let’s begin with the possibility rules and regulations, of cupidity that we might convince ourselves and stupidity. that she is irrevocably lost, or at least that we are lost from her, But that’s not going to work that she is gone, or somehow for those who feel the lingering withheld, or most damaging of presence of her, those for whom all that she doesn’t exist, maybe the wrench was not so quick nor never existed. Perhaps for some it so painful. To the strength of this is so vital to deny the pain of the connection is owed the making loss that they will do anything to of idols, the steganographic shut it out and convince others to substitutes and the obscuration deny it too, and in this regard are of the obvious to give us every the architectural plans drawn up experience from drinking milk for “a man’s world”, within which to the madonna, from the to dwell. acceptance of monarchs to Miley Cyrus, from pornography to From this position so much sense pedagoguery, from jail time to can be made of the boardroom Jesus. and the battlefield, the lodge and the locker room, the presidency It is into this Western world, that and the papacy. most severed from true spirit, that has risen an ideal. Little wonder How about summoning her then that it is not from subreturn? Surely if we build the Saharan Africa, nor the Middle domes, statues or shrines to East, nor Asia, that this has honour her, if we wear the right manifested, yet in none of these clothes, follow the right teachings, places, besides others, do men study our texts, make academic and women reside in isolation. breakthroughs, achieve great

alex jenkins This ideal or ‘ism’, we are told, can be bound to us as a word, worn as a badge, surmised in a poem, run in a race, asserted in a thesis, sung in a song, nurtured in a cradle, claimed as a necessity, danced as a dance and demanded as a right, even birthed in a child and comes very much like a solution to our problem by way of reaction.

Yet to make it that it be only one of these, or one specific area in particular that we will get to, is to be divided once more, to miss the trick and back two steps we go.

Furthermore this gives some credence to ideas that the advocacy of women into work and the political realm in the name of an ideal has only occurred to enable greater state influence over ’junior’ through the deactivation of the family. The aim then to reduce him/her to merely a more productive ‘unit’ for society a.k.a, ‘ the machine’, and we merry-go-

incrementally steer their activities to benefit a socialist collectivist stance, perhaps taking many decades to achieve such ends.

Is this ‘ism’ then, now in a 4th wave, or might that be 4th casting in the context of gradualism, be merely perhaps a dragnet for women of intellect, of ambition and will and therefore as a distraction

“...every experience from drinking milk to the madonna”

Then what of the employment of ‘ism’s’ in general as social round to denial of her once more. engineering through psychological conditioning?

What is more such theory suggests that the peoples champions of We are now witness to an this ‘ism’, despite having merely ongoing example regarding the lived a life, and though often not environment and an agenda to family orientated individuals, have implement exploitative actions on been nonetheless spun by media the world as a result of spurious and agency as standard bearers ‘science’ and the unproven cause for change amongst the greater of weather changes. populace far from their personal level of power. Of course in some Are we aware of the desire by cases with their full acceptance some to maintain each ‘ism’ in and intent; Goddess worship? isolation and to protect their provenance as some how unique Emmeline Pankhurst the leader and their historical origins entirely of the suffragette movement, virtuous despite intertwining so one might say the seismic changes of cast and crew? force behind any ‘first wave’ of feminism, who is now regarded as What of the tendency for some such a figurehead also happened of the more academic advocates to be a notable member of the of this particular ‘ism’ to be under Fabian society. the banner of one of the biggest ones. Many have been admitted So then, to the ‘ism’ of the Fabians; communists sympathizers and ‘through gradual expansion, to define outright Marxists. Perhaps this and control socialist and Western is because in academia your European ideals and to facilitate their sustenance arrives as a hand out promulgation throughout the rest of the for your pontifications, opinions, world’. This is well encompassed and ‘research’ especially if they by the emblem of the Wolf in promulgate the continuation Sheep’s clothing, the Fabian action of a ruling elite who are the being for its members to infiltrate benefactors of your cozy tenure. organizations and movements Infantilism? across the political, commercial, cultural and social spectrum and

far away from true potential, creativity, rationality, inner-beauty and uniqueness, and that is being simultaneously aimed in the same way as a body centricity is targeted resulting in the cults of plastic surgery, cosmetics, diet fads, gym obsession, pop star worship, celebrity gossip, and princess programming.

Is any of this portentous or even relevant then to that which in my conception is already greater, more abundant, and infinitely more creative, and is to be held in the highest esteem, or should it be only the goal of the political and socio-economic arena that while masquerading as a promised land. is in reality a mere corral.

Does it in fact matter that a person’s life be defined by someone else? By their ideas, their poetry, their body, their experiences, their education system, their tragedies, their struggles, their passions, their victim-hood, their disenfranchisement, their pain, their joys…

You might wonder, am I simply a feminist, when there is so much more besides…

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37

Art Nouveau

T

his exhibition of mainly French Art Nouveau will explore the drama and spectacle of contemporary life at the turn of the 20th century. The majority of the seventy works, in various media, are on loan from the legendary collection of Victor and Gretha Arwas and the show marks the initiation of a significant collaboration between the Sainsbury Centre and Gretha, to establish the Victor and Gretha Arwas Foundation dedicated to the study and presentation of Art Nouveau.

Sense and Sensuality: Art Nouveau 1890-1914 Masterpieces from the Victor and Gretha Arwas Collection Exhibition dates: 14 February to 14 December 2014 Curator: Professor Paul Greenhalgh, Director of the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts Location: Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, University of East Anglia, Norwich NR4 7TJ Public Information: Tel. +44 (0)1603 593199, ac.uk Ticket hotline: 01603 593199

www.scva.

Opening hours: Daily Tuesday to Friday, 10am to 6pm, Saturdays and Sundays, 10am to 5pm Closed on Mondays, including Bank Holidays

38

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The period 1890 to 1914, which saw the rise and fall of Art Nouveau, was complicated: it has often been depicted as an age that represented the end of many things, but it was also an age of beginnings. It was a turbulent time: millions of people migrated to rapidly growing cities, becoming urban dwellers in a modernised environment.

How people lived, worked, and took their pleasures was transformed in a single generation and, alongside the physical shift, how they thought about the world also began to change. It was an age of contradiction, in which aspiration sat alongside anxiety and doubt, and in which values of the past clashed and mingled with ideas about the future.

Sense and Sensuality explores the intense emotional maelstrom of the period. It focuses on personal and sexual liberation, women and the rise of feminism, youth revolution, the questioning of organised religion, eroticism and an exploration of mythology, novel art forms, psychology and dreams, narcotics and the concept of mass manufactured art. Thus Art Nouveau could be interpreted as a style of liberation and a widespread questioning of values.

More overtly, the depictions of Art Nouveau woman in posters, paintings and sculptures were often sexually charged. With or without her clothes, and whether still, dancing, self-consciously posing, or smoking a cigarette, she was not a quiet, shy or unassuming character like her Victorian forerunner: she had confidence, with flowing hair, a coquettish smile, and eyes provocatively closed.

Mucha’s famous images of women reflect this liberation and two examples of his single greatest work Job (fig.

8) are presented here. All this lived just below the surface in much architecture, furniture, glass, jewellery and ceramics, where curving lines round volumes appear to be based on plants and landscapes but were often representations of limbs, breasts, buttocks and phalluses.

Islamic Art

F

COURT & CRAFT:

A Masterpiece from Northern Iraq Exhibition dates: 20 February to 18 May 2014 Curator: Guest-curated by Rachel Ward, formerly of the British Museum Location: The Courtauld Gallery, London, WC2R 0RN

Somerset

House,

Public Information: Tel. +44 (0)20 7848 2526, www.courtauld.ac.uk @CourtauldGall, Facebook.com/ TheCourtauldGallery Opening hours: Daily admission 17.30

10.00

to

18.00,

last

or the first time in its history, The Courtauld Gallery is staging an exhibition of art from the Islamic world. Its centrepiece is one of the most beautiful works in the Gallery’s collection, a brass container inlaid with intricate scenes of courtly life in gold and silver, a masterpiece of luxury metalwork. Despite its rarity and exquisite craftsmanship, this superb object remains little known or understood. Acquired by the Victorian collector Thomas Gambier Parry in 1858 and bequeathed to The Courtauld by his grandson in 1966, this object was for many years thought to be a wallet or document carrier, or even a saddlebag. The exhibition proposes that it is in fact a handbag or, more properly, a shoulder bag, made in the city of Mosul in northern Iraq around 1300-30. Its owner is likely to have been a high-ranking woman at the court of the Il-Khanids, the dynasty established in the region by the grandson of Chinggis Khan (known in the west as Genghis Khan). Through some forty works on loan from international collections, the exhibition will explore the origins, function and imagery of this masterpiece, as well as the cultural context in which it was made.

In the early 13th century, the Mongol leader Chinggis Khan initiated a wave of invasions across Asia. In 1256 his grandson Hülegü established a subsidiary dynasty, the Il-Khanids, to rule the southwestern territories of the Mongols. The Il-Khanids continued Mongol expansion into Anatolia and Iraq: in 1258 they captured Baghdad, the seat of the Caliphate, and in 1262, the city of Mosul. The Italian merchant Marco Polo, who travelled from the Mediterranean to China in the late 13th century, left an eloquent description of his journey and some of the Mongol courts and personages he encountered.

Guest-curated by Rachel Ward, formerly of the British Museum, this focused exhibition will provide a fascinating framework for the appreciation and understanding of this magnificent work of art.

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discuss

Feminism and Ghanaian Society by mbeke waseme

W

omen hold up half the sky, but 3 million of those women in Ghana will not be functional citizens.

The honorable Hannah Tetteh reminded us in her presentation on Women in Leadership and Governance – why it matters.

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most children. The quality of that experience is highly enhanced if the mother is educated.

Ghana is often held up as ‘the gateway to Africa’ and as ‘one of the emerging and fastest growing economies’.

And yes, this is certainly the case for a handful of families in this West African country. However, not unlike many countries in sub Saharan Africa, it has a long way to go on its human rights record or on moving towards the women in this country having anything close to the same rights as their male counterparts. So why is this even important?

So in what ways can a change in this position of women in Ghana, affect the rest of the society? According to Mrs. Tetteh, if the current systems and practices continue, one quarter of the women in Ghana will be illiterate.

The result is that others are making decisions for them and they are non-participants in the many available levels of governance in Ghana. There is also extensive research on the different ways in which men and women make decisions and the different qualities that they bring to these processes. In Ghana, at least one quarter of its female citizens will not contribute to it’s future in any way.

If you invest in girls, their investment affects society. This is because women are the first teachers and educators of

Women who are illiterate often marry young and have little control over their fertility-related decisions. They

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mbeke waseme miss opportunities to attend school or to develop job skills and early marriages usually mean early pregnancy, since many societies pressure brides to prove themselves capable of childbearing. These are often children of as young as 10, having children. Their bodies and minds are not yet prepared for these major life experiences.

Education usually results in women marrying later and in them having children when they are older and healthier.

This must be good for the women, the children and the society as a whole.

In writing this paper, I knew it was important to speak to local Ghanaians as I have learnt that no amount of external research or theorizing will give you the picture as much as talking to the people of Ghana.

Men and women who work in a Ghanaian school were asked to define what Feminism is and what it meant to them. I shall refer to a few of the responses for the purposes of space.

In speaking to security guards, teachers, students, cleaners, I asked them to tell me what their thoughts on feminism were and what it meant to them.

A number of the students whom I spoke to immediately went to their cell phones and goggled ‘feminism’. There were no random responses here!

“Feminism is the social and political equality of women. I think it’s very important that everyone knows this.”

“To me, feminism has to do with female gender. It is about all that constitute womanhood right from the birth of a female child to maturity and old age. To me it is an understanding of total composition of females.”

Male security guard - 47 years old

“Feminism is a female or woman. To me it means an organism that is totally different from manhood. Feminism can also be determining a given birth to a new baby and breast-feeding as well. So is a composition of womanhood.”

Male Martial Arts teacher - 34 years old

“Empower women to the best that they can be so they can play their role in society as career women, professionals, wives, mothers and independent confident women role models for other young women.”

Male Teacher - Aged 40 a very limited understanding of ‘feminism’. It would be great to revisit this research with an interpreter, as I know that the answers of the first two men would have been more substantial.

The following quotes open up the debate about the challenges of ‘feminism’ in Ghana. They are both given by female teachers;

Female - Aged 13

“Feminism is the equality of all women. It is crucial because there are so many stereotypes about women which is wrong and they deserve to be recognize to other people as their equal” Male - Aged 14 On speaking to a security guard, a teacher and to a martial arts instructor, I received these responses. I have not corrected the English to be true to their sentiments.

Here the first two responses have come in from uneducated men and their expression in English denotes

“There has been a sharp contrast of the emancipated woman of 40-50yrs ago to that of de present one. De dominant male syndrome still poses a threat. Evidence is still seen in our media culture where male music producers continue to portray women as sex symbols in their videos. In our compound homes it is normal to hear mothers say ‘enough of school for u are a woman”. Despite all that some women torchbearers have risen above those barriers n made their impact independently. In the film industry for example that has been de domain of male producers, de likes of Shirley n Leila are de leaders in de country. For feminism to make much impact, feminism curricula should be introduced in our JSS highlighting women’s rights etc. Given our peculiar culture where women are predominantly boxed up.”

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feminism in ghanaian society And; And he then went on to say;

“In Ghana, feminism refers more often to the highly educated, career woman who is very independent.

Feminists believe women are equal to men. Thus they live with the notion that whatever men do, women can do as well. Feminists hardly accept the idea that there are natural differences between the sexes. They are seen in all circles in Ghana, some are professionals in various high positions, wealthy women who own their business are also seen as feminists because they have been able to venture into areas that have been traditional cut out for men, Entrepreneurs, Estate development, Bank Managers, Writers, etc. Women, who are rich and for one reason or the other are divorced, are seen as feminists in Ghana.Ama Atta Aidoo a Ghanaian writer is seen as a feminist she portrays the idea of an independent career woman in Esi Sekyi one of the characters, in her book Changes.”

These quotes are both from professional women in the 40-50 age group. Both highlight the challenges in Ghanaian society of striving for some of the changes that are important. “Enough of school for you are a woman” is heard by many girls throughout Ghana each day. Unfortunately, many of these girls will grow into women and say the same thing to their daughters.

In poor communities, young women will often experience sexual abuse, many still experience female genital mutilation and young women will often be denied education as their parents and communities believe that women’s education is unimportant when their ultimate goal should be to be married and to have children. One male teacher’s views really punched home what women in Ghana are faced with in the twenty first century

“Feminism is a new age ideology which seeks to give equal opportunity to women to get educated in order to, enable them contribute meaningfully to address the socioeconomic and political challenges in the society. However, in Ghana, it is seen as an agenda being pushed by educated women to see women as equal to men. Educated women in Ghana have further deepen this by propounding a theory that “what men can do women can even do better”.

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“Education exposes them to Western knowledge of ‘Rights’ which further compounds the issue. They literally challenge men in everything especially in marriage.

Educated women seeking to proclaim and defend their “Rights” further transport this into their marriages that often do not last because their perception about marriage as a “contract” is contrary to the cultural norms and therefore are quick to file for divorce once their husbands begin to dominate in the relationship.” Feminism in Ghana is on the rise due to education but I have a strong doubt if the battle can be won, especially when educated women see it as an opportunity to challenge men in society. The society generally believes that the worst educated man is better than the most educated woman. If educated women will see feminism as an opportunity to partner men to build a better society, then, a good future is ahead but to use it as a grounds to challenge men on their “Rights”, even their fellow women will oppose them knowing that men still pay their dowries and to have a stable marriage earns a woman in Ghana more respect than education.

Ghana has a long history of strong female icons, sung and unsung. In Ghana, women often run the markets and it is the women in one of the big markets in Accra who financed the political campaign of Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana’s first president. Women in Ghana have owned property and voted when women in Europe were still fighting for these rights. Ghana also has a long history of prominent women who have, and who continue to, contribute to the society. These include, of course, the famous Yaa Asantewaa and more recently the honorable Betty Mould-Iddrisu; Joyce Adeline BamfordAddo (born 26 March 1937) who is the Speaker of the Parliament of Ghana.

The male teacher states that the ‘battle cannot be won’ and does not see the relevance of collaboration or a partnership here for moving Ghana forward. Marriage earns a woman in Ghana more respect than education.

mbeke waseme

In many parts of Ghana this is not said but it is this approach to women that supports the many experiences that women continue to have. Female genital Mutilation is perpetuated due to ideas of ‘women’s promiscuity’ and ‘sexual feelings’. The practice ‘controls’ both until women are ‘happily married’. Young women are often traded for money or for ‘things’ in families so you may see a young girl groomed for an older man who will pay the family or pay for the other children to go through school or contribute towards building their home.

In March 2014, the BBC world service presented a feature on Women’s Equality. March is hailed as the ‘Women’s month’ as International Women’s Day falls on March 8th so as the month drew to a close in 2014, they revisited this age-old question. They concluded that women were not equal anywhere in the world! Nowhere at all!

I had listened attentively as men and women reported from their special destinations of the varying plights of women compared to their to male counterparts and the

conclusion every time, was that women and men were not equal. If equality were to exist, no doubt it would mean different things to different countries. Alice Walker referred to black women as ‘Womanist’ as oppose to ‘Feminist’. Which ever term you accept and are willing to assert your voice on, the reality is that Ghana has a very very long way to go to demonstrate its wholistic value of the women in its country.

Hannah Tetteh MP refers to the presentation by Papa Akhurst on Functional Citizenship. Citizenships who (with a working understanding of the constitution) can fully participate in Ghanaian society. Tedx, Labone April 5th 2014 Anne Firth Murray. From Outrage to Courage 2008 Anne Firth Murray. From Outrage to Courage 2008 p80

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the food curator

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michael robinson

spaghetti bolognese

S

paghetti Bolognese is a classic. It also conjures up an age when men were getting into the kitchen for the first time. This was a popular dish for any man to make for a prospective partner, I’m sure there are a few women out they who remember having spaghetti Bolognese made for them.

It’s simple but like all good things it takes time to let the flavours meld and to transform the mince into something special.

Ingredients 500g Minced beef 8 White mushrooms 1 Medium Onion 1 Small carrot 1 or ½ Stick of celery (to match size of carrot) 1 or 2 Cloves of garlic 1 Level tsp salt 1 Level tsp dried basil 1 Can chopped tomatoes 3-4 Tbsp Olive Oil A few good twists of pepper (8 should do it) Dice the onion, carrot and celery as small as you can. I mean really small, use a chopping machine if you have one because hand chopping will take time.

Now add the olive oil to a frying pan and the diced vegetables and cook on a very low heat. It takes around 20 minutes for the veggies to shrink in the pan, when they look like they have halved in quantity, add the crushed garlic and stir in on the heat for about 2 minutes.

Remove from heat.

Take a good solid heavy bottomed saucepan on a medium heat and add the minced beef. Nothing

by michael robinson else as the fat in the minced beef should be enough. I used mince with about 20% fat, if using a much lower fat content then add a splash of olive oil. Now mix that beef round and round the second it goes in, pressing it against the side of the pan with a spoon. You want to smash it into tiny pieces so keep stirring. When the beef has changed colour and has a “grainy” look to it, add the veggies and garlic.

Immediately get the heat as low as your hob can possibly go and add the tin of tomatoes, salt, dried basil and pepper. You see those chunks of chopped tomato? Smash them up roughly.

We will now cook this for about 1 hour 30 minutes….maybe more depending how low your hob can go.

Around 40 minutes into cooking clean the mushrooms then chop them in half or quarters depending on size. Add them to the pot and stir in. The mushrooms will add their liquor, enriching the sauce further without them becoming “over stewed”.

About 5 or 6 times during cooking give it a good stir, smashing any chunks of tomatoes you may have missed and of course scrapping any tomato “crust” from the side of the pan back in to the sauce.

The sauce is ready when it’s reduced enough to still pour of the spoon willingly, but there is no “watery” tomato juice left. Now is the time to taste and add extra seasoning if you feel it’s required.

There you have it, a perfect classic spaghetti Bolognese!

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discover

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sevent y 2minutes Issue 13

dipna anand

dipna anand I

beyond brilliant

ndian food has been a much Your food icon, their influence on your adored part of the British diet for cooking and why you admire them. over 400 years. What began as an My food icon would be my mum. She is the most adventure into the culinary unkown amazing cook in the world, it’s strange because has matured into a well established when she married my dad she could not cook a thing. After marriage she learnt everything; some relationship where few modern day cooking from dad, some from my nan and others Brits could imagine Britain without by just experimenting herself. I admire her for this the curry house. because she is almost self taught. She doesn’t just Dipna Anand is taking this culinary affair to the next level by creating new and exciting Indian dishes that are also healthy. With her first-class degree in hospitality and catering Dipna teaches, is involved in the running of her family restaurant and has recently published her first book; Beyond Brilliant.

We spoke to Dipna about her food icons, favourite dish and most unusual food she has created!

The most unusal dish you have eaten Most unusual dish I have eaten is at the restaurant show. I was asked to try parmesan ice-cream, at first I said no but then when I saw my dad try it and say “oh my gosh this is amazing” I was intrigued and thought I would give it a go. It is the most unusual thing I have ever tasted! You expect it to be salty, as parmesan is, but it’s not, it’s sweet and you can taste the parmesan coming through. It’s quite hard to explain but it was weird yet tasted good

cook Indian food, she cooks all types of foods and loves being in the kitchen and cooking all the time. I always watch over mum, and what she is cooking, and always ask her questions such as; “why you putting that in now”, “could you do it this way instead” etc.

Mum is also the one who taught me how to cook healthily. At home she cooks with healthy fats and always cooks food at home keeping it as healthy as she can. This has inspired me and is also part of the reason I started cooking healthy Indian dishes, and then putting them on the menu at my restaurant.

Your favourite low-fat indian recipe, created by you, that you can share with readers.

My favourite low fat recipe is stuffed mushrooms (pg. 48) which I won the national award for, the project was voted ‘best project in the country’ and awarded to me, for my A Level assignment, from the British nutrition foundation.

The most unusual dish you have cooked The most unusual dish I have cooked is chicken tikka masala ice-cream, it actually tastes like chicken tikka masala yet its ice-cream, again hard to explain! sevent y 2minutes Issue 13

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dipna anand

stuffed mushrooms This recipe is a special one for me, and one which won me a national award from the British Nutrition Foundation for my A level project in Food Technology back in my college days. The award inspired me to pursue a career into the food industry, and the very first recipe I produced myself was this one. I included it as part of an assessed college project, of which the focus was healthy Indian food. Mushrooms are one of my favourite vegetables and I wanted to create a unique recipe using them, so I came up with the idea of a stuffed mushroom using Indian spices yet ingredients such as mangetout and spring onions which we rarely associate with Indian cuisine.The idea of stuffing the mushrooms with chicken mince and combining it with these spices and vegetables worked very well the first time I tested it, and this is by far the dish I enjoy eating the most, especially with a refreshing salad to go with it. For my mum, who is a vegetarian, I stuff the mushrooms with soya mince and according to her it’s the best dish I make. I hope you enjoy it too.

Makes 6:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180°C

6 large flat or Portobello mushrooms 380g chicken mince (can also be replaced with soya mince to make the dish vegetarian) 6 chopped spring onions 150g chopped tomatoes 100g mangetout, chopped into small pieces 3 medium potatoes (any variety) 150g grated low-fat Cheddar cheese 2 tbsp ginger/garlic paste 6 tbsp chopped fresh coriander 4 green finger chillies, finely chopped 75ml extra virgirn olive oil 20g margarine 4½ tsp salt or to taste

2. Rinse and pat dry the mushrooms

Spices:

1 tsp turmeric powder 3 tsp garam masala ½ tsp coarse black pepper 1 tsp red chilli powder ½ tsp cumin powder

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3. Mix all the coating ingredients together thoroughly and then coat the bottom and inside of each of the mushrooms by rubbing on the mixture using your fingers to evenly spread the coating all over each. Leave the mushrooms to one side until needed 4. Blanch the mangetout for two minutes - they should still retain something of a crunch to their texture. Leave to cool to one side until needed 5. Boil the potatoes, skin on. Once they are boiled, remove them from the heat and run under cold water before peeling the skin, then dry each of the potatoes. When the potatoes are peeled and dry, grate them, mix in the margarine and leave to one side until needed 6. To make the filling, fry spring onions in extra virgin olive oil on a medium heat for about three minutes until slightly golden 7. Add the ginger/ garlic paste and green chillies to the saucepan and cook for about one minute 8. Add tomatoes and cook for five minutes before adding the turmeric powder, red chilli powder, cumin powder, salt and coarse black pepper. Mix well 9. Put in the chicken mince and break up well so the mince does not clump together. Cook for 5-6 minutes. Add a little water if required to prevent the mixture from sticking. Add the boiled mangetout to the filling and cook for another minute or so

indian cuisine

For the mushroom coating: Juice of ½ a Iemon, freshly squeezed 50ml extra virgin olive oil

Spices:

¼ tsp red chilli powder ½ tsp garlic powder ¼ tsp turmeric powder ½ tsp garam masala 1 tsp garlic salt

10. Add the final touches of garam masala and chopped coriander to the dish. Cook for 30 seconds and remove the filling from the heat 11. Add the grated potato to the chicken mince mixture and combine thoroughly.

Add a little more seasoning if needed at this stage

Stuff the mushrooms with mince of your choice - chicken, lamb or soya.

Whatever you use, they taste delicious

12. Leave the mixture to completely cool and then start to fill each of the marinated mushrooms with the mixture using a tablespoon, pressing the spoon down so that the mixture stuffs right into each mushroom 13. Wheii all of the mushrooms have been filled, sprinkle each with the cheese, again pressing the cheese down onto the chicken mince mixture to stick 14. Cook the mushrooms in the oven for 20-25 minutes until the mushrooms have cooked and the cheese on the top has browned 15. Drain off the juices that are in the oven tray, serve the mushrooms and indulge

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You don’t show up to ‘be’ in it, and spend more time in a tizz about how it isn’t working, and worrying about money and when this phase shall pass.

Solution: Commit to showing up and simply do it.

You limit your clients by what you know and think possible, and don’t want them being more successful than you. I am not going to ask you to raise your hands to this but there is so much of this energy around. If this has made you indignant or protest too much, or look over your shoulder, yes you, then stop it. This kind of energy is going to take your coaching business nowhere very fast!

1

Solution:

Stop being so in lack there really is enough to go round and if you create people who surpass you then they will be the reason you attract more people, but take heed of no. 3 and 4!

You spend more time telling others who you are coaching because it is always about the showing off and sale for you

4

3

You take credit for your client’s success - yeah what about when things haven’t worked? I guess it is their problem.

Solution:

Get some marketing support and learn to market from abundance and not desperation.

Solution:

You take from your clients, their ideas, their clients… makes no difference, you are forgetting that as a coach you are in service and if that includes theft, then the energy around your business is murky and heading for the doom spiral.

Solution: Get your own coach to help you grow.

Your own personal dramas get in the way of delivering a professional, quality, and customer focused service. If you treat your business like a hobby, and a place to let people down, then you can’t be all that interested in it. discipline and create some boundaries to put your clients first. If you say ‘my kids come first’ then don’t play games with someone else’s investment and business. This is not a competition as everyone can come first, this is true abundance and it is about what you are willing to commit to, and not about proving others are less important.

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This is not balanced behaviour or showing any signs of emotional intelligence. I would get out of coaching if I were you or get some serious help! You are not responsible for either success or lack thereof, but your integrity is what will enable you to give the highest level of support.

5 You don’t have a coach yourself, you think you are beyond it, or maybe deep down you think you aren’t worth it, whatever it is there is a mix of arrogance here!

Solution: Become committed. Get some

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2

Solution: Get a coach, heck get a few and start acting with authenticity.

6

You don’t work on your money story so your pricing is all over the place.

You don’t focus on results, you think ‘you’ are enough and your clients should be happy to have you.

You forget what you agreed, and forget what you said was achievable through working with you. If you lie in the sales conversation you will be found out!

Solution:

Solution:

Keep your promises and don’t forget you are contributing to someone’s dream. You are not responsible but you have been invited into this person’s life and they have employed you to assist them. It is more than accountability they are after.

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Come on, are you really willing to ignore personal development and growth or think you can just piece it together from a book or a blog post…?

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You try and be an expert in everything. There is no doubt you can do a lot, yet trying to be a Jack or Jill of all trades doesn’t serve you or your clients. It’s like going to the doctor for dentistry advice, they can give it but it won’t be the best.

You work on it and not in it. In fact, you only work on it and not much else.

Solution: Balance, remember that

saying about all work and no play?

Also, never work on anything, you are either in it or not. I say focus on what you want. You are in business as a coach so be a coach, don’t work on it, it is all about the affirmation and what you attract because of it.

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Solution:

10

Focus on your gifts. If you have a desire to be ‘IT’ for everything that is just more ‘lack thinking’. Remember there is enough for everyone and then some. Setting yourself up as the video expert (because you do a few), or Facebook expert (because you have a Facebook page) when you are about creating products, for example, is just not serving you or your clients in the best way.

11 reasons why your coaching business is doomed…

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by sarupa shah

he coaching industry grows and grows. When I Googled this there are some big figures around, yet success, on the other hand is in much shorter supply. All you need is a phone line, an internet connection, and you and anyone can be a coach. Yet like any business it takes discipline and consciousness a.k.a. ‘deliberateness’, to be a success.

I have created a list here to help clarify why your coaching business is doomed and, of course, in true 72M style you have the solutions so you can get on track for success.

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Are you ready for success? Or are you cruising to doom?

What else would you add to this list? Have I gone too far or not far enough? A personal ethical and quality standard is essential, do you agree? sevent y 2minutes April 2014

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karen betts

the art of permanent make-up

an interview with karen betts

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n your experience who is the semi-permanent and permanent make-up market aimed at?

It’s suitable for absolutely anyone who wants to replace lost features or to enhance the ones they have. We find that the over 40s are the most prevalent clients as it is quite a high end treatment and out of the reach of many younger clients. As it can be used to reduce the signs of ageing; the over 40s with receding lip lines and diminished brows are also more receptive to the benefits of the treatments but that doesn’t mean it is not suitable for younger clients who simply want to enhance their appearance or save time applying cosmetics.

Is the process invasive and are there any skin types that you would advise to avoid semipermanent or permanent make-up treatments?

It is classified as an invasive treatment so it would be remiss to say that it isn’t. It’s a very light form of tattooing using specially formulated pigments so the invasion factor is very low. It is suitable for all skin types but not all skin conditions. A full consultation is undertaken before the treatment as well as patch tests for the pigments to be used. It’s not ideal for someone with severe allergies or skin complaints but we can seek doctor’s advice for any clients we think are borderline.

How easy is it to keep up with changing trends?

Our recommendations are always to go for something natural that will look normal for everyday life and just add to it for weddings or nights out.

If you’re absolutely sure you want to go wild then that’s OK so long as you bear in mind that this is permanent cosmetics. Although it will fade over time, there’s no guarantee that it will disappear completely so you have to be sure about it before the treatment.

How did you chose this strand of make-up artistry? Or would you consider this a clinical skill rather than a general artistic skill?

You definitely need an artistic flare to do permanent cosmetics. We find that imaginative beauty therapists or technicians with an artistic background become the best technicians. I found permanent cosmetics completely by accident as I had a client and friend with cancer and I made her a bespoke wig. What I couldn’t give her were her brows, so after a bit of research I was on a plane to America where I learned the basics in the art of permanent cosmetics. The rest I learned by pushing myself over the last 20 years.

What advice do you give to clients to help them maintain their skin and their make-up?

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learn

From a permanent cosmetics point of view only; the sun is our enemy. It is not only bad for our skin but it also accelerates the fading of the pigments so plenty of sun screen and shade are my recommendations.

Are there any myths about the industry that you can dispel through your experience?

There are lots of negative comments regarding permanent cosmetics but these are based on bad experience rather than myths. Going back 15 years the industry was in its infancy and fashions were different to what they are now so thick blue or purple brows were not uncommon. Today’s brow treatments are much more natural with the use of advanced pigments, products and techniques. A colour boost treatment is recommended every year or so to keep your permanent cosmetics in tip top condition.

If a client is new to semi-permanent/permanent make-up what advice would you give them when seeking a practitioner, and what advice would you give them about what is the right individual procedure for them.

Make sure you choose a technician with a track record or if you choose to go with a new technician, make sure they have done a recognised training course. New technicians are not to be avoided; they have trained more recently and will know all the up to date methods but ensure you check out their work first and accept they may be a little slower while they strive to get it right. In any case, check out the technician’s portfolio and watch out for photoshopped or stolen photos and try to get personal recommendations from previous clients.

Your technician will go through a consultation procedure to establish what you want then draw it on in pencil for you to approve the design first. If you can’t agree on what you want or you don’t like what the technician suggests, now is the time to walk out.

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“If you’re absolutely sure you want to go wild then that’s OK so long as you bear in mind that this is permanent cosmetics”

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learn

<title>can’t code, T

he internet is an endless string of opportunity. Once you’re plugged in and you’ve shed your nervousness about spies, worms, viruses, and other nomenclature you previously associated to the physical realm, it dawns on you that the WWW is your oyster.

You can build a shop, indulge in a blog, make films or even start a revolution! You have heart, intention, dreams of WWW domination and, most importantly – access to a computer!

Now what? <script> can’t code? </script> You may be familiar with hanging out in web space; you’ve tweeted a bit (get you!), applied a few retro filters to banal pictures of yesterday’s dinner, and you’ve even left a few hundred comments on your favourite website, however, you’re still struggling to understand the point of VBA let alone HTML5! This doesn’t stop you from wanting a bit of that WWW action. You have things to say/ sell / show but don’t necessarily have the skill to “build it [your website]” so they will come.

<span> won’t code? </span> You’re a little more web savvy than the usual WWW interloper. You know your CSS from your HTML and even understand the magic of JQUERY. HEX codes are cool, and you’re even seasoned enough to ‘get’ the difference between Hits, page views and unique visitors.

The trouble is you don’t actually want to build your own “all singing, all dancing, smorgasbord of a website”. Sure you can do it, but someone, somewhere can do it much better! Shelf your shame adventurous one, outsourcing is no longer a dirty move. Everyone knows that the most successful people delegate so they can spend invaluable time thinking outside of the box, preferably close to a blue sky.

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technology

won’t code</title> <body> the ‘WYSIWYG’ solution </body> Envanto. In case you missed that; EVANTO. It’s a marketplace with ready made websites of all descriptions. From as little as $25 you can buy the design of your choice, download your beautiful bundle of interweb joy and upload to your webhost’s server. Now if that sounds too complicated you can pay a small fee to have the product designer do it for you but these packages often come with really simple instructions and remote support when you need it.

Can’t Coders; what you see is what you get! You can

test drive a demo of your website before you buy, add favourite designers to your account, hang out in forums with likeminded webprenuers and generally bug people with a multitude of questions about how stuff works.

Won’t Coders; Download the zip, upload via ftp, adjust the code if you fancy, change the PSD templates if you’re feeling frisky or leave well alone and bask in the glory of your ability to focus on the things that really matter.

Buffet would be proud.

<table> The “I have a dream, a very specific dream...” option </table> Adhocracy. Remember the word. It’s a little clumsy but it’s management speak that implies the opposite of a beauraucracy. Sites like Freelancer aren’t ‘organisations’, in the strictest intent of the word, but the flexibility and responsiveness they offer, in an organised manner is close enough. More important is the knowledge that you can post a project, set your price and wait for the techperts to flood in. For as little as $300/£150 (I kid you not) you can pay a seasoned web designer to build that l’il dream of yours. Huzzah!

Can’t Coders; You have to have some idea of what you want. Yes, you can pay for someone to give you the idea (brand logo et al) but where is the fun in that?!

Communicate with your freelancer, be realistic with your expectations (especially if your ideas are very ‘rudimental’ aka ‘weak’ aka ‘you haven’t really given this much thought

have you?’) and do some research first so you can at least direct them to samples you really like. Above all else remember these words and you’ll be fine; fool, money, easily, parted.

Won’t Coders; resist the urge to turn Gekko on your freelancer. Whilst your $300/£150 is a King’s ransom in some seemingly far flung land, in the web development world it’s a pittance. Think ‘bangs and bucks’ and put a little leg work in first to get the ‘woah’ you’re looking for. A lot of designers can work from your PSD files and bring your imagination (from font family to functionality) to life. The project management style payment process also allows you to test your development before agreeing it’s final. You may have lunch now.

<td> The “I’m wicked and I’m lazy” option </td> There is a special place for you, but only the WWW Gods can judge you so we’ll leave it at that. If you really, really want to suck the creative joy out of WWW endeavours you can just pay a whole lot of people to do what you are far too wicked and lazy to stretch to. Shame. On. You. Buy a snazzy website from Envanto. Hop to Freelancer and post a project for someone to fiddle with it until you’re heart’s content. Make sure you specify in your project that they need to upload it for you too. Find some willing souls on Fiverr. They frequently cost more than a fiver but what do you care? You’re far too busy

with all that wicked laziness. Encourage those souls, with offerings of money (of course), to dream up some content. Blog post? They’ve got your back. Art work?

Bring it on. Videos? Careful what you wish for. SEO? Social Media promotions? Increased traffic? Facebook fan page likes? Instagram followers? Everything has a price, and don’t you just love it.

Can’t Coders; The internet is no place for you.

Won’t Coders; Please return your W3C certificate and don’t let the /> hit you on your way out.

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discover by the stories and urban legends surrounding the vast infrastructure below New York especially the stories of the underground artists, runaways and homeless population making their home in the subway tunnels.

My producing partners, all made up of other actors and friends, put together a plan and started going about the business of trying to raise the budget. We wanted to make an action movie that would deal with the very real issues facing homelessness. We wanted to try to raise awareness in an audience that may not normally watch a documentary about homelessness but may be more interested in an archetypal action thriller.

M

y father once told me that he used to watch movies from the first row when he was a child because he wanted to be inside the movie. On March 10th I got to sit in the front row of the Chinese Theatres in the heart of Hollywood and be inside the movie when at the premiere of 20 Ft Below: The Darkness Descending.

It was the end of a decade long journey to bring the self financed and produced film to the screen that started in a small screenwriting class held in the basement of an apartment.

A group of fellow actors had been starting to produce short films as part of the Annex Film Group a group we formed to learn different aspects of filmmaking and create our own work. In our first few years the AFG able to make eight short films, all with money collected from monthly “dues”, that started to win awards at festivals and showed that it was possible to produce our work ourselves.

At that time, before YouTube, there was not a large market for short films outside of the film festival circuit and a very prolific movie producer suggested we take what we have been doing with short films and put together a full feature that could then be sold and distributed.

I had been in a screenwriting class for actors and wrote my first feature script then called “Redemption”. It was a fictional action film set against the back drop of the homeless population living in the tunnels below New York City. Growing up in New Jersey, I had been fascinated

As we tried to find investors for the film, something very interesting happened that changed the face of filmmaking, YouTube. The digital revolution had started. More and more filmmakers we’re producing their own work and having it seen by thousands and eventually millions of people. As an actor I had started working on several “web series” , including co-producing the popular comedy series, MAN VS. (Manvsfilms.com) and became more and more interested in what was possible in the digital world.

Still unable to find the funding for the feature “Redemption”, we decided to adapt the script into an action web series. In 2010 we self financed a four day shoot and produced “The Darkness Descending” a five part pilot web series based on the feature script.

The series was released in 2010 on several new online platforms (most of which no longer exist) and got hundreds of thousands of views along with some good attention. Through the development of the series we realized that there was a lot more that could be done in digital both in terms of storytelling and getting the audience directly involved with the issues of homelessness We adapted the full feature into 25 episodes of the “The Darkness Descending” with the plan of releasing both the web series and feature film cut. We developed a mobile app that would allow the audience to fully interact with the story and encourage them to take action in the real world to raise social awareness around homelessness. The project got attention from the new digital departments of some of the major studios as well as the support of some amazing established producers but still could not lock in the financing needed to finish the full project.

In March of 2012, at a digital video conference I heard the

20ft Below: The Darkness Descending by frank krueger

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frank krueger great filmmaker Robert Townsend speak to the YouTube generation about how he put his first feature film on his credit card and that nothing was standing in the way of creating the content you want to make. After almost ten years of “close but no cigar” in terms of getting financing, I was inspired to take the leap and just start shooting the full script with the money I had in the bank.

On August 9, 2012, I was turning 40 years old and knew if I didn’t start moving forward on this project, which had turned into somewhat of an obsession, I never would forgive myself, so we set August 13th (the day after my 40th birthday party) as a start date and began to put together a team of maverick filmmakers and actors who were willing to jump on the crazy train.

We began shooting in August as planned without fully knowing if or how we would be able to finish. We had an amazing cast and crew that put worked far above and beyond the money they got paid (if they got paid anything) and were able to shoot a film far beyond the budget we had, but one essential piece was still missing.

We knew that the key to success was to find the right star for the important role of the mysterious and dangerous underground cult leader. We needed someone with not only star power but the courage to take a chance on young independent digital filmmakers. It wasn’t until after we began shooting that we found our “Angel”, Danny Trejo.

Along with being a film icon, Danny Trejo, is one of the most supportive actors you could ever hope to work with who truly believes in independent filmmaking and does everything he can to help young filmmakers.

At every step the team went far beyond what was “possible” to get the film done and done far better than could have been hoped for with the budget that was less than the catering budget of a major motion picture. We finally had a film and now had to find out what to do with it.

In 2013 we took it to the Cannes Film Market, American Film Market and Comic-Con in San Diego. On March 18, 2014 the feature film was released in the US by Vertical Entertainment as 20 Ft Below: The Darkness Descending and will hit the worldwide market starting with the UK and Australia on July 7, 2014 and Germany later this year.

After going from feature film to digital series and back again, the journey continues as we continue to develop the digital mobile app and interactive series surrounding the movie as well as continuing to try to raise awareness around the issues facing homelessness.

With new distribution and filmmaking avenues opening up everyday, the possibilities for filmmakers are better than ever.

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discover

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jonny and the giants

“One of the most

impressive debuts we have ever seen” - Planetary Group (Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Tegan and Sara, Kings of Leon)

Jonny and the Giants Jonny and the Giants’ debut five track EP has been described as having a ‘dark spine wrapped in romance and mystery’.

From the driving rhythms and sinister landscapes to the soaring, uplifting melodies and big vocal hooks, lead track ‘Monsters’ is already making waves in the USA, having charted at CMJ stations all across the country.

A lot of credit for the shaping of the Giants sound lies with Guy Chambers’ right hand man Paul Stanborough who has worked with Rufus Wainwright, Jamie Cullum and Robbie Williams to name a few.

Jonny has drawn great inspiration from working with the likes of Alan Winstanley (Bowie, The Stranglers) and Pedro Ferreira (The Darkness, Enter Shikari), as well as performing at major festivals such as SXSW.

It’s been non stop for the Giants’ since their Stateside Autumn Tour in New York and Nashville - as well as jumping straight back into the studio, the band are gearing up for their new release this March.

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learn

‘I will not bow down to somebody else’s whim or to someone else’s ignorance’

#solidarityisforwhitewomen

“My generation has been caught up in an extreme cultural, political and media backlash against women’s rights”

“Your silence will not protect you”

“A woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle.”

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world wise woman

“Poetry is a political act because it involves telling the truth.”

“...all countries are mine because I am every woman’s sister or potential lover.”

“We will share a role in all aspects of life, side by side with men.”

“I am never afraid to speak truth to power”

know your feminists Feminists, past and present, young and old, well documented or holding fort in their own corner of the Internet. Discovered through recommendation, curiosity or a sheer determination to cast the nets wider than often expected. Find them, read them and leave with more knowledge than you came with.

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discover

I

n past editions of 72M magazine ‘You-ology’ has covered fanciful, fantastical, and factual methods of getting to grips with who you are. There is no higher pursuit! The world is equipped to know you, whether you like it or not, therefore now is the time to get to know yourself, flaws and all. The internet offers libraries full of information that anyone can access, improving their unerstanding of the techniques used by businesses and individuals to consciously, and subconsciously, make judgements about people.

Learning these techniques, turning them on yourself to understand how the world recieves you, will prepare you to move through life confident of who you are and, most importantly, who you are not!

know yourself the basics size

Small - detailed, precise, introverted Large - Sociable, gregarious, extroverted

slant

Forward - Extroverted, confident, insensitive Backwards - Introverted, reclusive None - Consistent, reliable

pressure

Heavy - Energetic, emotional, determined Light - Lack of energy, not emotional

connection

Connected / closed letters - Logical, factual Open letters - Imaginative, intuitive

What can your handwriting say about you?

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Resources http://www.tokenrock.com/graphoanalysis/famous_signatures.php http://www.graphology.co.uk/ http://www.viewzone.com/handwriting.html http://www.skepdic.com/graphol.html

you-ology

G

raphology is the study of handwriting and although it’s disputed as real science it’s becoming an increasingly used technique for the assessment of people in criminal studies, businesses, educational institutes and organisations. It’s rumoured that after just a few minutes of looking at a complete stranger’s handwriting a graphologist can accurately determine the writers Country of origin, level of intelligence, emotional stability, aptitudes and talents (Psychology Today,The Lowdown on Handwriting Analysis; By Matthew Scanlon, James Mauro, published on November 01, 1992 - last reviewed on June 20, 2012).

you through the basics of graphology in enough detail to allow you to indulge in a spot of selfanalysis. Main suggestion are that you should consider size, slant, pressure, connection and space used.

There are many sources that refute the value and validity of Graphology. Incorrect interpretations have been used to wrongly accuse individuals of possessing traits that have damaged their perceptions of themselves, and how others receive them. The importance here is that you know, and understand, what the general beliefs are so that you can choose whether this is an ‘ology’ that fits or one that’s merely worth knowing in order to challenge how others see There are many online resources that will walk you.

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