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Onisha Ellis

We had the pleasure of attending One Spark this weekend and I am here to tell you, creativity is alive and well in Jacksonville, Florida.  The whole downtown was awash with ideas, inventions and art; creators were eager to tell you their dreams as they all vied for your vote to capture a portion of the $250,000 pot of money.

Our daughter, Rebekah Lyn volunteered to take a couple of two-hour shifts at the Biblio Connection booth in the spacious Jacksonville Public Library. The “creator” Betty Poole collected books and videos from Indie authors and beautifully displayed them. She lives in Jacksonville and dreams of turning an old building into a center for authors to come together to write, brainstorm and interact with readers. She even envisions a future expansion that would include artists in other mediums. Imagine what a boon to the local Indie author community to be able to socialize while choosing a cover artist and an editor.

Businesses downtown opened their doors to the creators and we roamed the streets collecting cards from the creators to use for voting. My favorite venue was the sixth floor of the Sun Trust building.

One artist who caught my eye was Robert Adelman. His work is dark yet compelling and I could easily see his art as book covers for the horror and fantasy writers. I mentioned this avenue to him and his response was that he really wanted exposure. If you would like to check him out click here.

The other art that captured my imagination was Beyond the Facade .The artist is a photographer who enlarges photos of nature and covers the façades of abandoned buildings. He chose outdoor photographs of the local area to blend in with the cityscape.

Of course it was much more than art. There were portable solar panels, apps galore, people seeking funding for documentaries, a refrigerator barista, urban gardens and even someone seeking funding for a shrimp and grits food truck (that got my vote, the shrimp were de-licious!)

I can’t end this post without offering a huge thank you to Betty Poole of Biblio Connection. She put in a lot of time preparing for One Spark as well as manning the booth Wednesday through Sunday. Betty is not an author but loves to support the Indie author community. A lot more people know about Indie authors thanks to her passion to help. If you are an author, consider joining her at Biblio Connection as she works to build an interactive community.

Rebekah Lyn at the Biblio Connection booth

We are so very happy to share some photographs of our current show.  We’re part of the Isle of Arts Festival, currently taking place in Ventnor throughout the weekend.  See our show page for all details and hope to see you there..

The UAC x

A QHHT Session with Ron Head and an Unexpected Guest ~ With Suzanne Spooner ~Part Two

Suzanne: Do you mind if I close the windows real quick? (Leaf blowers outside)

Creator: Please.

Suzanne: OK, thank you very much. So so so sorry for that.

Creator: Oh, take your time. I have all the time in the world. (giggles!)

Suzanne: That has never been a truer statement spoken by anybody. That’s actually kind of funny.

Creator: I invented humor. You said that yourself.

Suzanne: I did! I love that. Thank… can I just take a personal moment of gratitude and thank you so much for the gift of TAUK?

Creator: We are grateful to you, dear one.

Suzanne: It has expanded and shifted me and at the very most basic of that, gave me my connection back to my sweet father, named Ron, by the way.

Creator: We have noticed that.

Suzanne: There’s a lot of Ron’s floating around in my life. I do appreciate… I saw… as a matter of fact I saw my father through Ron’s eyes today, and I understand that energy as it comes through, and I’m very grateful for that, as well. So thank you, thank you, thank you for my path and I’m so honored to be here with Ron today and with you. Oh my goodness. I just feel as though we need about 5000 hours here today as I’m trying to get through everything as quickly as I can, but not missing anything.

___________________ PERSONAL SECTION _____________________

Suzanne: He says that he awoke recently and he remembered being in a huge amphitheater at a meeting that was not of this world. Can you please give him more information about what that was?

Creator: This council you would say has happened, you would say will happen, and we will say, has always happened. You all go there… well… to the various councils. You all make the plans. You all create the creations. And you all don’t know that.

Suzanne: So, all those people in the amphitheater are souls in…

Creator: They are.

Suzanne: Okay.

Creator: Some of them you say are higher beings. They are not higher. They’re other. And, in truth, decisions are not made and put upon you because you help make them. If you want to open your mouth and say, then that is honored. If you don’t… well… you WERE there.

Suzanne: Part of the process.

Creator: Exactly.

Suzanne: OK. So having the viewpoint of it being done to us versus taking the responsibility that we were part of the decision makers…

Creator: Right. And those councils never adjourn. They’re always happening, but more and more of you are beginning to remember being there when you go, as he did, in your dreamtime. Some of you interpret that as he did. Others say, “I was on the ships.” It does not matter what picture your mind creates. It’s the same thing. But as you remember more and more of these things you will find it harder and harder to blame your circumstances on things happening to you. And as you remember being able to voice your preferences, being able to make your choices, you will find that your lives will totally change. You will know, after all, that you do create them, and it is not his responsibility, or her responsibility, or their responsibility… and… those things you are so afraid of… are not to be feared. Because one of you created them too. So, if you can create something, eventually, you are going to learn that it can be discreated. There is no need to suffer. I never asked you to suffer. I’m blamed for it all the time. It was useful. You learned a lot of good things. You will help a lot of others… when you’re not celebrating. You deserve that.

Suzanne: Now are you speaking to Ron about that? Is that…

Creator: Everyone.

Suzanne: Everyone. OK. So, in one of my sessions, actually a couple of my sessions, it was brought to my attention that there is a Council of Elders that was having kind of a review on this school of Earth and the component of suffering. Could you please give us an update about what that council has decided?

Creator: What has been done… and again, we have to be careful because you still think in time.

Suzanne: Right.

Creator: We do not.

Suzanne: Right.

Creator: What has been done is… we have said, “Let this be over.” There are much more useful, much happier, much freer things which you all can be doing. When we originally made this place, this was to be… well, you called it paradise. And it truly was. And it was where you could come… for a vacation being a lobster.

Suzanne: (laughing) Right.

Creator: And none of this suffering and tribulation and trial and… and killing and maiming and torture and on and on and on and on did not exist. As a matter of fact, at first, animals did not eat animals. Now, the overall vibrations of your world have dropped some. But even with animals eating animals, all of these other things you have invented were not necessary. This has been a paradise for far longer than it has been a hell. And we wish you to be in paradise again, wherever you choose for that to be. Some of you think, “I’m from Sirius.” Some of you think, “I’m from Lyra. I’m from Aldebaran. I’m from…” wherever. And you want to go home. Well, you will go home. But we’re going to see you learn that home is not some-where-else. Home is where you are. And eventually you will look around seeking for something to do, because you’ve had enough of celebrating for the moment, and you will see other places which are not yet as fortunate as you have become. And then you will discover why you have done what you have done. To them… well you’re going to have a hard time teaching them to stop worshipping you.  Just as my son had.  Just as Buddha had.  Just as so many have had. “Do not make graven images of me.” How many of them said that? “I am not to be worshipped.” They all said that. Which of them said, “I will start a new religion?” Not one.

______________________ PERSONAL QUESTION _____________________

Suzanne: So what would you tell him about going forward in this current life? What can he do to serve the collective greater good in the best, highest way?

Creator: As he continues along the path that he is currently on, very, very shortly, he is going to discover that he is far better known than he thinks he is, and he must learn to stop thinking of that as a burden. He has always, and I mean many lifetimes, thought of that as a burden. And one does not pick up such burdens willingly. But he must pick up those burdens willingly. And if he does, he has been shown situations in which he was teaching rather large groups of people. And this will not happen because he offers to do so, it will happen because they ask him.

Suzanne: Right. Is it beneficial for him to learn this process of Quantum Healing Hypnosis?

Creator: Must you ask?

Suzanne: (laughing) No not really. It seems to me he’s heading straight there, downhill, on a fast car.

Creator: He sees Quantum Hypnosis and Theta Healing as two sides of a coin. And he will run into other things, as well. He has been a Reiki healer for twenty years. Knowing all along that Reiki… is a good thing, but…  And he will learn other things, too.

Suzanne: He asks that you please speak to him about his channeling and whether it will continue to improve… I don’t know why that part of that sentence makes me giggle… because he’s so good at what he does, but he asks if it will continue to improve and will he be able to live channel (channel live) in front of an audience. Is that what you’re speaking of, perhaps?

Creator: Those are the groups.

Suzanne: Those are the groups. Okay. And he wants to know when he’s doing that will he be able to hear the messages himself. I guess will he be conscious enough to hear the messages, or not.

Creator: We understand that he was asking us about the phenomenon you call clairaudience. What he will discover is that, when he puts himself in the place where he is right this moment… you see clairaudience is the hearing of someone other. And there is no other.

Suzanne: It’s a play on words isn’t it?

Creator: It’s a very, very hard thing for you to learn in your world. And you have been forcibly taught otherwise for thousands and thousands of years. (E.G.)There is a man whom you must seek when you want to talk to me.  How silly is that?

Suzanne: That’s silly. That’s pretty silly.

Creator: Now I’m sorry there are groups of people in front of which I would not want you to say that. But, the truth is, that all of the St. Germaines, and all of the Melchizedeks, and all of the angels and everyone else that you channel are part of me and therefore… you can finish that sentence… therefore they are part of you. And so there is no one else to hear. Although, you can teach your senses to convert that energy to something which resembles sound. And we suppose that if he still really desires that we can arrange it. But we think that, when he remembers this moment, and he will, that he will be able to equate it… because this moment that we are in right now is merely a magnified moment of what he feels when he is “channeling”. And he still doesn’t feel comfortable with the fact that he can turn away from your TAUK board, Suzanne, and begin to type, and… you see he has tried to write all his life, and blank pages stare at him for days. And yet he turns, and he begins to type, and before he knows it there are five or six hundred words, perfectly arranged in nice little paragraphs, as if he had spent three days editing them.

Suzanne: So what you’re saying is it’s OK for him to trust the process.

Creator: We would think that by now he had started to do so. But he has not.

Suzanne: Tell me why he and I have crossed paths this time.

Creator: You are… and not just you two… you are part, each of you, of a very, very special group of souls who have chosen… I began to say “have been chosen”, but that is not the truth… who have chosen to take upon yourselves the task… and please do not let this daunt you… the task of educating billions of souls in who they are. This will not be an easy thing to do, as you have discovered. But very soon, you are going to see me do a few magic tricks which are going to force people to begin to ask questions. And I wonder who will be there to answer the questions.

Suzanne: Oh. Would that be Ron?

Creator: And Suzanne. And Rick. And… and… and…

Suzanne: So what will those magic tricks be? Can you give us any information?

Creator: Oh, there will be things happening in the heavens which, at first, you will told to FEAR. “Oh my, the world is going to come to an end!” Well, if I wanted the world to come to an end, it would have ended long before now.

Suzanne: Right. True that. Got that.

Creator: But they will get your attention. And then the world will not come to an end.

Suzanne: And then they’ll question.

Creator: Ohhh, yes!

Suzanne: So what is… I know, I know, I know we do this timeframe thing, but how much time would you say we have before all that starts occurring?

Creator: It’s already occurring.

Suzanne: Right. Already occurring.

Creator: How many comets, how many mete… meteorites? How many meteors? I mean you are in literally the thick of it.

Suzanne: Right, right. OK. Gotcha. Thank you for that correction.

Creator: And there will come the opportunity for the fear mongers to pounce upon, and take advantage of, what they see coming. And then we will do our magic trick. And there will be a combination of things. There will be things which miss you. There will things which explode. BUT, there will very clear evidence that they have been exploded. And that will lead someone to ask, “Who did that?” And there will be evidence, undeniable evidence…

Suzanne: Has some of that happened already?

Creator: Oh yes! But so far, they’ve swept it all under the carpet.

Suzanne: Are we talking about 9-11?

Creator: There is that, but I’m thinking of… Case in point, there was a meteor headed for huge destruction in Russia just weeks ago.

Suzanne: Yes, yes. Okay, gotcha. I understand.

Creator: And there are films of what happened. And there those who interpret those films correctly. But they are very few. Well, there will come a time when it is undeniable any longer. And then you tell me that there is no contact with other civili… that you are the only intellig… this is so silly. The entire universe is alive. The entire universe is intelligent. That’s ME! How could it not be?

Suzanne: And here you are on this couch today, so we have proof of that, right?

Creator: Enjoying myself.

Suzanne: (laughs) Oh, well. It just pains me, but I have to bring him back because I have another appointment that I have to get to.

Creator: That is OK.

Suzanne: Oh…it just breaks my heart though.

Creator: I speak to you frequently, do I not?

Suzanne: Yes, you do. Thank you.

Creator: Okay.

Suzanne: So we can continue these conversations, both he and I, easily. Ah, bless your heart. Thank you. Thank you for this life, and this planet, and the communion between friends. Thank you for the experience.

Creator: Thank you, dear one. We have enjoyed this very much.

Ron Head’s Blog: www.oraclesandhealers.com

Suzanne’s QHHT Website: www.infinityhealers.com

TAUK Website: www.TAUKsite.com

TAUK/QHHT Blog: www.tauksuzanne.com

Dolores Cannon’s website: www.dolorescannon.com Dolores developed the process of QHHT

Copyright© Ronald Head and Suzanne Spooner. All Rights Reserved. You may copy and redistribute this material so long as you do not alter it in any way, the content remains complete, and you include these copyright notice links: http://oraclesandhealers.wordpress.com/  www.infinityhealers.com

In journaling this week,  I remembered that these are the stones and walls that I put in my own path! They take me outside myself and cause distraction.  Only when I listen to my heart do I remember that I am a creator, an artist, and there is nothing surrounding that other than goodness and love.    So I wonder why I put barriers to that goodness in my path.  I suppose the awareness is enough!  As it is from this point that I start to “see” how I contribute to my own demise.  How clever the ego can be!

Empowered now, I gently lift the barriers from my path to discover a new vision and clarity.  It all seems so simple and effortless. Inspiration returns in abundance.  I am aware that the worries and fears are of my ego’s making.  All I ever have to do is trust that what I have already been given is available and waiting every time I get out of my own way!

I also wanted to encourage you to like our official Facebook page and to actively participate in the blog! Comment, send me a message, and if you have a good soul, share my page. Not because I’m a view whore, but because I try to reach people and to make them think. I will try to communicate with you even more when I see that you are interested in it.

Thank you all so much, and cheers.

We are so excited to be supporting this landmark event in Jacksonville history, and encourage everyone to go and check out all the incredible Creators and their ideas.

Still not sure what One Spark is?
Let’s go over it.

Taking over Downtown Jacksonville April 17-21, One Spark is an inaugural event geared towards the notion of making things possible through the financial backing of ideas. It’s described as the world’s first-ever crowdfunding festival, where attendees can support Creators in the areas of art, music, technology, science, and innovation by voting for them in person and in real-time.

“One Spark is built on the belief that game-changers emerge from dorm rooms, garages and small studios.”

The over 450 different Creators will display their ideas in 65 different Venues across the downtown Creator Zone, where attendees of the festival can visit them and choose to vote to give them a piece of the $250,000 guaranteed crowdfund.

How does voting work? Anyone attending the festival is encouraged to register beforehand by clicking here. Once registered, you can vote from your phone by either text message or smartphone app. The app is the easiest choice, and also gives you the option to donate your own money to a creator that you believe in. If you want to go technology-free, you can register on-site at the different kiosks located in different areas across the creator zone, and cast an old-fashioned hand-written vote there as well.

The way the crowdfund works is particularly unique. There will not be a single winner of the $250,000 fund, rather, it will be distributed by popular vote. So for example, if a particular Creator receives 10% of the votes at the festival, they will win $25,000. Festival attendees are allowed to vote for as many Creators as they wish, but only one vote per Creator. Additionally, you must check-in at the festival via smartphone gps, text check-in, or physical booth check-in to have your vote count. That is to say, you cannot vote for a Creator from home if you have yet to actually visit the festival in person.

Voting ends on Sunday, April 21st at 11 a.m., with Closing Ceremonies taking place at Hemming Plaza at 12 p.m. where the top receivers of the crowdfund will be announced.

The crowdfund isn’t the only way Creators can receive funding from the event! Anyone at the festival is allowed to give money to the Creators, whether it’s the change in their pockets, or a substantial donation, or the beginning of a business partnership. In addition, Shad Khan, the owner of the Jaguars and a proud supporter of Jacksonville, has created his aptly-named STACHE Fund with a potential pledge of up to $1 million in capital investments! Khan will have a roving team visiting Creators who applied for the Fund, and they will choose which Creators they feel are worth the investment- very exciting stuff!

Between the crowdfund dollars, Khan’s capital investments, and any other potential walk-up investors with checks in hand, it is possible that One Spark will ignite the downtown area, and see people’s dreams come true- all in one weekend! This is what has people talking; it’s all about potential. Jacksonville has been a city of potential for a long time now, and it seems only appropriate that a festival tailor-made for making potential projects a reality would find a home here.

So how did One Spark become a reality? It began much like many of the Creator’s projects; on cocktail napkins and tossed around in friend’s apartments. Elton Rivas, Varick Rosete, and Dennis Eusibio wanted to showcase, grow, and retain the innovative spirit of Jacksonville. Their vision was a combination of Art Prize in Grand Rapids, Michigan, SXSW Festival in Austin, Texas, and crowdfunding websites Kickstarter and IndieGoGo. After all their many, many months of hardwork, the three friends and their excellent team have brought the festival to fruition.

Everyone in the city is waiting with bated breath for the festival.  Al Letson called the festival “ridiculously ambitious” in this article from The Florida Times-Union, and MetroJacksonville asked their readers in their forum to make One Spark Predictions: Bomb or Boom? While the critics and nay-sayers in the city are beating their same-old tired drum, others in the city are optimisically positive. One Spark, given the potential success of this first year, holds the possibility of becoming a defining beacon for Jacksonville: an economic push, a chance for downtown revitalization, a boost in tourism, and a hallmark for the city. Ten years from now, One Spark could be the biggest reason for people to visit Jacksonville, a town that could be known as a “center of innovation,” and we could be looking back at this upcoming weekend as a defining moment in our city’s history. And THAT is really the most exciting potential of the whole event.

As far as we are concerned, One Spark has already won. They have galvanized the people of the city, given them something to be excited about, and taken a stand and created something as opposed to waiting for someone else to do it. If that is truly the innovative spirit of this town, then maybe this festival has a chance to really become something big.

A few more details on how to enjoy the festival:

• Food vendors and local restaurants will be available during One Spark.
• The festival is also being advertised as kid-friendly. Check out this excellent post from Jax Moms Blog about why they’re encouraging their readers to bring the whole family to One Spark.
• Don’t forget to pick up an Event Guide with full up-to-date information from one of the kiosks when you get there!
• VOTING: Register here. Get additional voting & contributing info here, and don’t forget to download the One Spark app from your app market.
• PARKING: Getting around Downtown by car will be difficult during the festival, so plan ahead for road closures and traffic. Your two best options are to park for free at The Prime Osborn Convention Center and take the Skyway (which will be operating for free with extended hours during the festival) into the Creator Zone, or park for free at Everbank Field Stadium and take the free One Spark shuttle into the Creator Zone. More info at http://www.beonespark.com/attend.
• GETTING AROUND: There’s an online map here, and you can pick up paper maps on the ground at the pink labeled kiosks. There will be volunteer guides on the ground at the event in pink One Spark t-shirts, be sure to ask them any questions you have.
• WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:
  1. Creators will be set up in the Creator Zone, transforming ordinary Venues (museums, public parks, restaurants, high-rises, etc.) into dynamic platforms. Creators pitch ideas from Community First Pitch Deck(s) and perform live on Times-Union Music Stages.
  2. At night, the Entertainment District comes alive. An eclectic mix of things to do and people to see, Entertainment District Spaces offer everything from exclusive VIP parties to come-as-you-are gatherings at local watering holes.
  3. Bump Zones are located throughout the Creator Zone, serving as a venue for Creators to get together to hash out deals and collaborate on projects. Lounges are also available for those with media coverage, and other specific passes.
  4. There is also a Speaker Series, with a list of distinguished guests, being hosted at The Times-Union Center. A pass to attend the Series, the ONLY paid portion of the free festival, is a bargain at $50 and you can get one here.

For more information on anything and everything One Spark, visit www.beonespark.com. Somewhere in the City will be out in full force during the event- if you see any of us, come say hello!

Be sure to check back tomorrow for a report on who our favorite Creators are at the festival.

Go One Spark! And please go attend the festival- to support these incredible Creators, the wonderful team that made the event possible, and our city.

-Daniel

Creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster lived just a few blocks apart in the Cleveland neighborhood that shaped their teenage lives, their dreams and the imagery of the Man of Steel.

In the city’s Glenville neighborhood, still in the throttling grip of the Great Depression, Siegel and Shuster labored on their creation for years before finally selling Superman to a publisher.

The Man of Steel became a Depression-era bootstrap strategy for the Siegel/Shuster team, according to Brad Ricca, a professor at nearby Case Western Reserve University who uses Superman in his classes.

“They really just saw it as a way out,” he said.

In his upcoming book “Super Boys,” Ricca says the story of Superman’s creation is mostly about their friendship: two boys dreaming of “fame, riches and girls” in a time when such dreams are all the easier to imagine because of the crushing economic misery.

Ricca said Siegel and Shuster reflected Cleveland’s ethnic mix: both were sons of Jewish immigrants, struggled during the Depression and hustled to make something of themselves.

“The Depression is all about, you know, if nobody is going to give you a job, you make your own, you find your own niche and we find that’s what they are doing,” Ricca said.

Superman’s first appearance, in Action Comics No. 1, was April 18, 1938. The first and greatest superhero has gone on to appear in nearly 1,000 Action Comics and has evolved with the times, including a 1940s radio serial, a 1950s TV series and as a reliable staple for Hollywood. Pop culture expert Charles Coletta at Bowling Green State University said Superman ranks globally with George Washington and the Super Bowl as American icons.

But it wasn’t just hardscrabble circumstances that tempered the Man of Steel, Siegel’s daughter said.

Laura Siegel Larson said Cleveland’s public library, comic pages and high school mentors all nurtured her father’s creativity.

“The encouragement that he received from his English teachers and the editors at the Glenville High School newspaper and the literary magazine gave my dad a real confidence in his talents,” she said by phone from Los Angeles.

The even school allowed Siegel to mimeograph the science-fiction magazine he wrote and sold by mail subscription, she said.

The tale of Superman’s first moments begins in Siegel’s bedroom. He once recalled coming up with the idea while looking up at the stars and imaging a powerful hero who looked out for those in distress.

Today, Siegel’s home is easy to pick out on a street with a mix of renovated and dilapidated homes: a stylized red Superman “S” adorns the fence and a sign identifies the home as “the house where Superman was born.”

And like the Man of Steel, the neighborhood is tough.

“You better have ‘S’ on your chest if you come out after dark,” grinned Tommie Jones, 50, helping move furniture several doors away.

Hattie Gray, 61, who moved into the home nearly 30 years ago unaware of its history, has gotten used to the parade of Superman fans walking by or knocking, trying to savor a piece of comics lure.

“I get people all the time, people all the way from Japan, from Australia,” she said. “It’s a great joy to live here.”

The top floor, where Siegel went to write, still offers the nighttime view of the sky that inspired Siegel.

Gray has heard the talk about Glenville being tough, but said crime that might merit Superman’s attention can be found anywhere. “The neighborhood is not really bad, it’s just the people are poor. That’s all,” she said.

But there isn’t an outsized Superman profile in Cleveland like the way the city celebrates its role in the history of rock ‘n’ roll, including the iconic Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum.

Comic store owner Markus Benn thinks hometown fans want to see the Man of Steel rendered in granite.

“I don’t understand why Cleveland won’t own up to owning Superman,” he said. “What do I suggest for a Superman statue? He should be downtown, he should have the shield or the eagle, that classic pose where he’s standing up there with the eagle on his arm.”

The low Superman profile in Cleveland may be because Siegel and Shuster weren’t self-promoters and sold their rights to Superman so early, according to Mike Olszewski, a longtime Cleveland broadcaster and president of the nonprofit Siegel & Shuster Society.

Last year the $412 check that DC Comics wrote in 1938 to acquire Superman and other creative works by Shuster and Siegel sold for $160,000 in an online auction.

Fans hope Thursday’s 75th anniversary, including lighting city hall with Superman’s colors, will raise the Siegel-Shuster profile. The city is making a start with a Superman day proclaimed by the mayor and giving out birthday cake at the airport’s Superman display.

The June release of Hollywood’s latest Superman tale, “Man of Steel,” should renew fan interest. The film offers a fresh start for the kid from Krypton, with Henry Cavill as the boy who falls to Earth and becomes its protector.

Ricca said the image of Superman arriving from a distant planet and getting raised in America mirrors the Cleveland background of his creators. The parents of Siegel and Shuster fled Europe for a new life “and they end up on this alien world, which is Cleveland,” Ricca said.

“Funky Winkerbean” creator Tom Batiuk shares roots in the Cleveland area with Superman and that inspired him.

“When I was in elementary school, I found an entry in a school encyclopedia about Jerry Siegel,” Batiuk said in an email.

“The fact that he was the one of the creators of Superman immediately caught my attention, but what was even more astounding to me was the fact that he was from Cleveland. The fact that someone from my area could do something like that was revelatory and inspirational.”

Shuster’s home has been demolished and replaced by another, but the fence has oversized Superman comic book pages displayed. The nearby commercial strip has a state historic marker detailing Superman’s Cleveland roots.

(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

On The Bridge 1 – The Creators

The hunt gifts look really amazing, every item will be on for 45L!

Gift previews and all infos on how to start:

http://royallivingmagazine.wordpress.com/2013/04/13/royal-living-proudly-presents-our-spring-edition-with-the-birds-bees-hunt/

D.B. Weiss

Daniel B. Weiss was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, graduated from Wesleyan University, Trinity College and the Iowa Writer’s Workshop. He spent much of his early career working on a video-game centric novel entitled, Lucky Wander Boy,  which would cement the majority of his work in the science fiction genre. He was part of the teams hired to adapt the Halo video game franchise and Orson Scott Card’s novel Ender’s Game into screenplays. In early 2007, he along with his friend from college, David Beinoff, was hired to plan and pen the first season of Hbo’s adaptation of Game of Thrones.

David Beinoff

Born in 1970 as David Friedman, son of Goldman Sachs CEO Stephen Friedman, he changed his name in his teen years to disassociate himself from his father. After school at Dartmouth, he began teaching english in inner city Brooklyn. During this time he completed his first novel, The 25th Hour,  and would later pen its corresponding screenplay. After his debut novel’s success, he began working in Hollywood and drafted a screenplay of the Greek Epic Troy, then continued working in Hollywood working on scripts for the films Stay, The Kite Runner and X-Men Origins: Wolverine. He has been working with friend D.B. Weiss since 2007 on Game of Thrones. His directorial debut was season three episode of Game of Thrones entitled Walk of Punishment.

If you’ve read the newspaper at all lately, or listened to the local radio, or seen the signs downtown, then you’ve probably heard a little bit about One Spark.  Maybe you’ve heard it mentioned, but do you know what it is?  Well, to quote the FL Times Union, One Spark is a “huge ‘crowdfunding’ festival coming to our city this week, bringing more than 500 ‘creators’ to show off their great ideas – art, music, inventions, organizations and innovations of all sorts – at more than 50 downtown venues.”  

So, what exactly is a “crowdfunding” event, you ask?  It’s a chance for all the creators mentioned above to have a venue to show off their products/ideas for several days while the crowd (that’s us!) votes on the projects they like.  As we all know (especially us fellow entrepreneurs), it takes money to put ideas into reality.  One Spark has secured a guaranteed  $250,000 crowdfund to be distributed to participants based on our public vote, and a pledge of up to $1 million in equity investments to chose Creators from STACHE Investments Corp., an investment company formed by billionaire and Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan.  So basically, the idea of One Spark is to connect projects with the money needed to launch them.

I first heard about One Spark quite a while back because my husband, Tukz, is good friends with one of the local founders of One Spark, Varick Rosete.  They were in FSA (Filipino Student Association) together back in college.  A couple months ago, Tukz sat down and did a recorded interview with Varick for his FSA Alumni Youtube channel and they talked quite a bit about One Spark.

So, why is One Spark so important for Jacksonville?  To me, important because it’s literally the first of its kind and it is happening HERE, in OUR CITY.  As someone who grew up here and has seen Jacksonville struggle to get on the map in terms of art, culture and a vital downtown, this is definitely a huge step in the right direction.  Creators are coming from all over the WORLD this week!  To Jacksonville, FL.  Amazing!  And in addition to the creator booths, there will be great food and music….as all good festivals should have!

It all starts Wednesday afternoon at 3pm and the results will be announced on Sunday morning at 11am.  While attending the festival, you can vote on your favorites via various kiosks set up throughout the festival, text message, smartphone app and/or the One Spark website.  See something you like?  Vote for it!  And if you REALLY like it, you can choose to contribute funds toward it.

There are various sources where you can check out all the details about One Spark – HERE, HERE and on the official website www.BeOneSpark.com.  But if you’re the type who gets overwhelmed with all the details, then just pick a night or two this week (Wed-Sat) to head downtown and just explore.  The Skyway will be running for free from 6am-3am Wed-Fri, 8a-3a Sat and 8a-6p Sun.  My plan is to park at the Kings Avenue garage in San Marco and take the Skyway over to Hemming Plaza and then just go explore from there.

Last, but not least, did you know that one of our very own Jacksonville Women’s Small Biz vendors is a creator at One Spark?  It’s true!  Go out and support our own Lina M. Bath Boutique at her One Spark booth (Entry #822) at The Landing.

So, now you know what One Spark is.  The question now is:  Are you going to come out and support it this week?  Comment below!

I didn’t write the past few days because I really wasn’t feeling guided and inspired to write about anything in particular. And I have mentioned before that this entire blog is basically a set of written messages that I receive from the spiritual realm using my own life experiences to explain them. I never write if I don’t feel inspired to. That’s the beauty of it! 

Just a few moments ago, I was really inspired to write about a particular topic that I feel has been lingering in everybody’s life lately. Every blog I see, I can sense the sadness from people who are experiencing a loss of some kind. In some cases it is a longing to be with someone, or noticing the loss of a relationship. In other cases it is just the feeling of despair about certain things in their lives. 

For anyone out there who feels like their life isn’t moving forward, that nothing seems to be happening, I encourage you to do two things – 1) Watch videos of Abraham Hicks on youtube and 2) Think again.

I really cannot stress enough about how most of us CONTINUE to stubbornly to this three dimensional spiritual realm! What we see and perceive with our physical senses is NOT all that there is! We may feel like nothing is happening but for all we know, there could be THOUSANDS of synchronistic events taking place behind the scenes that are working together to bring you closer and closer to that which you desire!

Abraham hicks, my guru, has BEAUTIFULLY explained in their videos about how, the SECOND we realize that we want something – an arrow of desire immediately shoots from us into the universe. It is absolutely involuntary. You may not even have realized that it is something you want, but the universe will know it instantly. And the second this arrow of desire shoots into the universe, our desires are manifested INSTANTLY in a vibrational reality which we don’t resonate with simply because we are too busy noticing the lack and the ABSENCE of that which we want.

Does this make any sense to you? If it doesn’t at first, thats totally fine because thats how I felt at first, too. But really think about this – Abraham mentioned on multiple occasions how if we want to listen to a certain channel in the radio and we tune into another channel, we’re not going to hear what we want! Thats because we haven’t tuned into the right channel! Its as simple as that.

If you want something, YOU NEED TO BE VIBRATIONALLY ALIGNED WITH IT. If you want that lover that you feel you have lost, you are really not going to help this situation by noticing this loss and constantly feeling bad about it. If you keep doing that, you’re just going to attract more and more of the loss! If you aren’t happy with your job, you can’t improve this situation by just whining again and again about how much your job sucks. You know why? Because the universe will respond to you by giving you EXACTLY what you are focusing on. Therefore, your job will suck more and more and more.

Is that what you want? Think about it. What is it you want right NOW? Write it down. And whatever this thing is that you want, the first step towards really ALLOWING its manifestational evidence into your life is by NOT focusing on the lack of it. Stop focusing on your current reality – i.e. its absence – and start focusing on your DESIRED reality – i.e. its presence. 

Now this doesn’t mean that you completely tune out of your day to day life and spend all day daydreaming. You need to make sure that when you think about whatever it is that you want, you think of it from a place of happiness and fulfillment rather than from a place of desperation and impatience. 

I totally know how tricky it can be to train yourself into doing this. Trust me. I have been waiting for a man to enter my life for a long time. And while it still hasn’t happened, that does NOT mean that it is not happening. All I need to focus on is being aligned with my desire. This means that I need to quit noticing the lack and just focus on feeling aligned and in love. I can be in love simply with the idea of this man! All I do right now is go about my life happily and keep tuning my frequencies to match the frequency of my desire. In the month of March I completely stopped focusing on my frequency, and it didn’t get me anywhere because I felt depressed and alone.
But you know what I realized after that? I deserve better than this! I deserve to be happy, because it is my right as a soul and as a spiritual being! So no matter what is happening around me, I am not going to let it gain enough importance to rob me off my happiness and my right to be aligned with source which is basically the larger part of ME. 

Once you start thinking this way, you will notice your entire life getting easier and easier. It doesn’t HAVE to be this hard, guys! Its not supposed to be! We are all MAKING it hard by resisting and resisting and resisting. The mind is simply a tricky thing to understand. It bombards us with unnecessary thoughts that keep us from being aligned with our desires. 

Once we learn to FOCUS on the ESSENCE of what we want, its presence in our life can’t help but occur. Instead of waiting for the manifestation to make us happy, we need to go about it the other way around. Be happy and the manifestation will just HAVE to occur! Its a universal law, after all. 

So basically, what I am trying to say to you all is that you all are SO, SO beautiful as you are. You have been given the gift and birthright of CREATIVITY. You are all creators. YOU create your life. No third party is doing it for you. It is your higher self and Source, essentially the larger part of you, that is making things happen. Your job is to ALLOW. 

So just take the first step and stop focussing on anything that brings you unhappiness. Stop noticing the absence of people, a lover or the perfect job. Start noticing the subtle changes that take place in your life once you do this!
While I am not aligned with my soulmate yet, I have noticed SO MANY subtle magical messages over the last month. SO many signs and synchronicities have been shooting into my life just to encourage me and show me that I am getting there! And for now, I am content with it. Just because I know that I am getting there. 

I know that this article is not very organized and all over the place, but I just hope I got my point across. It pains me to see so many unhappy people, knowing that happiness is everybody’s birthright. We were created from positive energy. We ARE positive energy and love. So lets not forget that. 

Love and light to you all!

Tʜɪs ᴘᴀsᴛ ᴡᴇᴇᴋ ʜᴀs ʙᴇᴇɴ ǫᴜɪᴛᴇ ᴛʜᴇ ᴛʀʏɪɴɢ ᴏɴᴇ ғᴏʀ ᴍᴇ. Gʟɪᴛᴄʜᴇs ᴀɴᴅ ᴍᴇss ᴜᴘ’s ᴀʙᴏᴜɴᴅ ᴇᴠᴇʀʏᴡʜᴇʀᴇ ʜᴇʀᴇ ɪɴ SL ᴀɴᴅ ᴍʏ ɴᴇᴛ ʜᴀs sᴛᴀʀᴛᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ ᴀᴄᴛ ʟɪᴋᴇ ᴀ ᴢᴏᴍʙɪᴇ ᴏᴜᴛ ғᴏʀ ʙʟᴏᴏᴅ. ᴏ.ᴏ!
Tʜᴇ ʜᴏʀʀᴏʀ I sᴀʏ!
I ʜᴀᴠᴇ ʙᴇᴇɴ ᴀsᴋᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ ᴘʀᴏᴠɪᴅᴇ ᴘʀᴏᴏғ I ʜᴀᴠᴇ ɴᴏᴛ ɢᴏɴᴇ ɪɴsᴀɴᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ᴊᴏɪɴᴇᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ᴅᴀʀᴋsɪᴅᴇ. Wᴇʟʟ I ʜᴀᴠᴇ ɴᴏᴛ ᴊᴏɪɴᴇᴅ ᴀɴʏ ᴅᴀʀᴋ ᴀʟʟɪᴀɴᴄᴇs ʙᴜᴛ ɴᴏᴛ sᴏ sᴜʀᴇ ᴀʙᴏᴜᴛ ᴛʜᴇ sᴀɴɪᴛʏ.
Hᴇʀᴇ I ᴀᴍ ʙᴜɪʟᴅɪɴɢ ᴛʜᴇ ‘ɢʟᴏ ᴅɪsᴄᴏ ɴᴏᴍ’ ғᴏʀ Nᴇʜᴇᴍ’s ᴄʟᴜʙ Exᴛʀᴇᴍᴇ Iʟʟᴜsɪᴏɴ.
Sʜᴇ ʟᴏᴠᴇᴅ ɪᴛ sᴏ ᴍᴀᴊᴏʀ ᴘʟᴜs!
Iғ I ᴀᴍ ᴀʙʟᴇ, I ʜᴏᴘᴇ ᴛᴏ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ᴍʏ ɪᴛᴇᴍs ғᴏʀ “Jᴜsᴛ Hᴇᴀʀᴛsɪᴄᴋ” ғɪɴɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴛʜɪs ᴡᴇᴇᴋᴇɴᴅ.
I ᴀᴍ ʙᴇʏᴏɴᴅ ʜᴏɴᴏʀᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ ᴊᴏɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ғɪɢʜᴛ ᴛᴏ ʜᴇʟᴘ Aᴍᴇsʜᴀ Jᴇᴡᴇʟʟ sᴛᴀʏ ᴄʀᴇᴀᴛɪɴɢ ᴀɴᴅ ᴇɴᴊᴏʏɪɴɢ sᴇᴄᴏɴᴅʟɪғᴇ ᴀʟᴏɴɢ ᴡɪᴛʜ ʜᴇʀ ʟᴏᴠɪɴɢ ғᴀᴍɪʟʏ & ғᴀɴs. I’ᴍ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴛʜᴀɴ ʟᴏᴏᴋɪɴɢ ғᴏʀᴡᴀʀᴅ ᴛᴏ ᴛʜɪs ғᴀɴᴛᴀsᴛɪᴄ ᴇᴠᴇɴᴛ.
Wɪsʜ ᴍᴇ ʟᴜᴄᴋ!
::Lʏʀɪᴄ::

Writing through lulls requires a great amount of discipline, and I doubt that many writers fully perfect this discipline in a lifetime. (Successful ones probably come close.) If you have, are, or expect to struggle with a lack of inspiration, take heart. There are activities that can help you catch your muse. As I’ve learned from my friend Elise Ziegenbein, violin instructor and constant source of inspiration to practically everyone she meets, these lulls can be mitigated and, in some cases, treated by a very simple activity–observation.

The materials for observations are free, and there are only three of them: 1)Your senses. Even if you have one out of five, you can do this. 2)Some time. A little can go a long way. 3)Your undivided attention. This item might take a little effort, but it’s totally worth it.

Elise created a list of 30 prompts for observing, which I’ve pasted below, to get you started. I fell in love with this list as soon as I saw it, and I think it can be used to inspire inspiration (say it five times, fast) in so many professional and creative settings. I also think that many of the items on it are accessible to children and adults alike. Feel free to come up with your own items to add to the list. I, for example, added item number 31.

Print out the list. Put it on your car. Tape it to your dashboard. Hang it on your bulletin board. Most importantly, observe something! Today! Or whenever you get a chance. Gosh, I’m bossy.

30 days of observation + exploration
By Elise Ziegenbein

1. Identify one tree or bush in your yard.

2. Find a branch with blossoms on it to clip and bring indoors. Put it in a jar of water and spend a few minutes inspecting it. What shape are the petals? Are they delicate and frilly, or harder and more sculptural? What colors do you see? What shape are the petals? Do you see solid or blended colors?

3. Listen to a new piece of music. (Ie. Always knew Beethoven’s name, but haven’t ever listened to any of his music?) Pull up YouTube or Spotify and listen to one or two tracks while you’re doing dishes or driving.

4. Take a short walk down your street and pray for each house you pass (and the inhabitants).

5. Walk down your street and make a point of greeting one neighbor (walk over and introduce yourself).

6. Inspect an egg from your refrigerator. Hold it for a moment and note its shape, size, and weight. Crack it into a bowl and spend a few minutes studying it. Take a closer look at the empty shell, too.

7. Read BBC news headlines for an area of the world you don’t normally stop to think about (www.bbcnews.com – regional links along the top bar).

8. While driving, stop at one new place along your route—a park; a parking lot with a particularly nicely blossoming tree; a little shop that you’ve never been into (greet the

9. Follow yard sale signs in your neighborhood. Even if you don’t buy anything (or if you hate yard sales), make a point of greeting the hosts—now you’ve met another neighbor!

10. Spend three minutes sitting outside (porch, front steps, park?) and write down everything you hear.

11. Grab a new fruit or vegetable from the produce aisle to try.

12. Memorize Psalm 19:1. Repeat it to yourself throughout the day and evening. (Write it on an index card and keep it in your bag, in case you forget the words.)

13. Complement a stranger with kind words (be genuine!).

14. Listen for a noisy bird outside. When you hear one, go outside and try to spot it. Spend a moment watching and listening.

15. At the end of the day, write down five things that surprised you during the day.

16. Walk down the street and collect three leaves or blossoms that catch your eye. Press them between the pages of a thick book (with a tissue on either side, so they don’t leave a mark on the pages).

17. Stand outside for three minutes in the dark. Go back inside and jot down the sounds you heard.

18.  Engage with a person you don’t normally converse with (mailman, mechanic, cashier, plumber?). Ask them how their day is going, ask them about their work, thank them.

19. Choose a household object and Google how it is made.

20. Read Matthew 6:25-34 and then take a short walk around your neighborhood, keeping an eye out for birds and flowers.

21. Turn a mundane event (like waiting in line) into something meaningful. Pray and look for an opportunity to bless someone else through encouraging words (ie. a sincere “Thank you—I really appreciate your help!” and a direct look to the person behind the counter).

22. Repeat #21. (And try it tomorrow and the next day, too!)

23. Investigate how something works (light bulb, microwave, toaster oven?).

24. Ask your spouse or a friend to tell you more about their particular area of knowledge (ie. something new they have learned, or an idea they are thinking about).

25. Sketch your home from the outside. Set a timer first: you have three minutes. Ready…go!

26. Read one online article on a subject that has piqued your interest during the day.

27. Learn three new words and write them down. Use them at dinner and share what they mean. (www.merriam-webster.com has a daily Word of the Day.)

28. Look up the constellation Cassiopeia (a distinctive, W-shaped group of stars), read a bit about it, and keep an eye out for it during the summer months.

29. Gather three rocks from your yard (or from wherever you are). Wash them off and inspect them.

30. Retrieve your pressed flowers/leaves from the pages of the book (remember #16?). Note the difference in the items now; note the color, shape, size.

31. Take a picture of something interesting or beautiful with a camera or your phone.

But something else he said really got me thinking.  He talked about how, sometimes, people seem to like and appreciate the pieces of his work he likes the least, passing over the work he’s the most proud of.  And how confounding that can be.

It made me think of my own experiences.

Truth be told, I think it happens to everyone.  I think it happens to all writers at some time in their career.  To all artists and photographers and choreographers and architects and chefs.  To anyone who creates.  But what I’m trying to figure out, to understand, is why.

My father manufactured children’s hats.  And to this day I can hear him, talking with my mother over dinner, expressing surprise each time they would show the collection to retailers.  Inevitably the hats everyone thought would sell well, didn’t.  And the ones no one had confidence in, sold like hotcakes.

Same story when I worked in the fashion industry.  No matter which collection it was, no matter the designer, each season brought the same results.  The top sellers usually turned out to surprise us all.  Same with advertising.

Sometimes clients would pick the concepts we all loved the most, but most often, not.  It’s the reason why I always told the creative teams who worked for me, to always present at least three different concepts, and to make sure they liked them all.  Never present something you don’t like; or are even ambivalent about.  Because the last thing you’d want is to end up producing something you hated.

So what is it?  Why is it we’re so seldom on the same page?

Are we so far removed from the consuming public, we don’t have a clue what their hot buttons are?  Their likes and dislikes?  Is our aesthetic that different?  Do we really live in our own, little world?  I find it hard to believe.  Because if true, they wouldn’t like anything we do, don’t you think?  I really can’t figure it out.

After I spent a while pondering all of this yesterday, I looked at my own stats, here on WordPress.  I don’t publish anything I don’t like.  But having said that, I am sometimes surprised at the posts that get the most views.  The most ‘likes’.  The most comments.  Not always, but sometimes.

What’s really fascinating about it is, it’s globally consistent.  When a particular story I write gets tons of visits, the map is ablaze.  The piece literally has universal appeal.  And the findings are exactly the same when viewership is lower.  It lacks appeal everywhere.  It’s not to say results are great or not so great in the U.S. or in France or in India.  It’s everywhere.

Explain that to me, please.  Because I find it absolutely mind blowing.

Wouldn’t you like to know what it takes to please everyone?  To make sure your idea, or your story, or your painting, or your clothes, or your homes, or your cars would sell?

Imagine.  A world without rejects.  What kind of an impact would that have on business?  What happens to all the stuff no one ever buys, anyway?  Where does it go?  Imagine if we could put an end to all that.  Would we be any happier?

I have seen a lot of changes around the grid, some good, some not so good, some fanatstic. I still miss the days when we were few in the beginning & seemed so close, but Inworldz has grown so much & I am pleased about that, for the founders because they have put so much of themselves into making this grid what it is.

Almost All of the residents are friendly, caring & very much active around the grid. I am especially enjoying my time in the Gypsy Group right now & if you are new to IW & looking to meet friends, then you cannot go wrong with the Gypsy group! http://www.gypsiesofinworldz.com

I have also done a complete circle with rebuying my original Sim on the mainland… Cactus Flats has become my home again & I am enjoying building, creating & being a landlady once more

I hope to have a nice little community here very soon offering low cost rentals in beautiful Houses, some fully furnished, which will give new residents a nice starting place to call Home.

However long I remain in a virtual setting… it will always be in Inworldz… where your Dreams can become a reality!

If you see me at my store, please say hello…. I don’t bite

Rosa

Other benefits of linking your YouTube channel to Google+: YouTube will allow you to “Choose any name for your channel and page.” That also includes the opportunity to rename your channel if that’s something you might be interested in. You’ll also now have access to a few new features including “live broadcasts via Hangouts”, a YouTube tab displayed on your Google+ page, and better video sharing features.

Google warned that there might be some issues with the beta for third-party tools:

- Certain mobile apps and third party tools may require a bit more effort to work with YouTube channels linked to Google+ pages. Just make sure you’re using the most recent YouTube app on Android and iOS. And if necessary, setup login credentials for these apps.

To try out the beta, you’ll need a Google+ account on the same Google account you use for your YouTube channel. From there you can activate the feature through YouTube’s advanced account settings. Full instructions from Google below:

1. Your channel’s Google account must first have a Google+ profile on the account to start this process.  If you don’t have a profile on your channel’s account, go toplus.google.com and create a profile with your name (not your channel’s name).

2. If you have an existing Google+ page to which you’d like to link your channel, add your channel’s Google account as a manager of the corresponding page (instructions). If you don’t have an existing page, you can create a new one in the linking process.

3. On YouTube, go to your advanced account settings, and click “Connect with a Google+ page (beta).” From there you’ll see a number of options:

- Link with a new Google+ page

- Link with an existing Google+ page that your channel’s google account owns or manages

- Link with a Google+ profile instead of a page

4. Select a linking option, follow the instructions, and you’re done!