Morning class, I'm Will Kemp from Will Kemp Art School and for this lesson we're going to look at the amazing power of a tonal ground and how it can be the one mistake so many beginners are making you don't even realise it. The first thing that you often do when you first start painting is to grab one of these, a white canvas and then to start your painting directly on top of here. For most of my paintings, I'd say about 80 to 90% I use what's called a tonal ground. So here's one that is made with yellow ochre, you can see what a bright colour it is, it's got this really lovely glow to it underneath it. This could do so many great things for your painting, it can enable your paintings to be made quicker, you can establish your tones from your darkest darks to your lightest lights really quickly, you can bring a real mood to your picture very very simply and it could be the one technique that can take your paintings from looking really amateur to really professional really easily. So I'm going to show you now how I make a yellow ochre tonal ground and some of the other colors you can use for a more subtle approach. So depending which brand of paint you're using the actual thickness of the acrylics will vary. So this is from golden paints and this is a heavy body range so when I put that out with the palette knife you can start to see it really holds its shape very well. So when you're first applying a color ground onto your canvas you don't want to apply it too thick so you don't want to apply it straight from the tube because if you do that what happens is firstly you'll use loads and loads of paint and secondly the actual other layers of acrylic that you paint on top won't actually be able to sit on top as easily you wanted to have a bit of absorption to it. So if you look at this sample here you can see how it's very very faintly applied I can still even on these parts here just about see some of the white of the actual canvas shining through. So you've just got to think of it like you're trying to stay in this canvas with the minimal amount of paint so it has a tone of color to it but it isn't too thick you still want to have that nice feeling of the texture of the canvas and the absorption still in the canvas. So to dilute acrylics you just add water to them to dilute them down well if you work a lot of the time with acrylics to speed up the process you can use what's called a fluid acrylic so this is an indian yellow from golden paints and a fluid acrylic and a fluid acrylic just comes thinner to start with so you see here that's got a lot more runny of a consistency so to match that with this I'm just going to add some more water to it and you're trying to let me put some in here so we can get going with it we're trying to get a consistency that's really a bit like milk so it's quite a watery mix here just to show you on the canvas you see how it covers it over but it's not too thick for this example I'll probably have it a little bit thicker than that not quite as watery I'll just take that off add a bit more of the acrylic paint into it and a bit more water so what I do to apply the color ground when working with the acrylics is if I'm working on a box canvas and I want to paint the edges I always paint the edges first then for applying my color ground I always usually use a decorators brush so then I'll grab some of the mixed acrylic onto the brush so it's just on the edge of the brush and then you see when I paint it on I'm just putting it on quite thinly I'm not adding loads of water to it I'm leaving the consistency as it is and I'm just like pushing it into the edges into the corners especially these corners in here so you see how it just stains the canvas that's really what we're after we're still getting some of that glow of the white from underneath but it's created this nice even tone onto the canvas that we can work on top of that's looking absolutely lovely on there so I'll just work around the edges so you can be quite rough to start with and then just go over it the same direction with your brush just so you get that nice smooth finish so if you need to mix up a bit more paint just do that at each stage so that consistency between milk and cream really that's what we're after the first part you can put on there quite roughly again and then just work the same direction watch any edges just get it nice and smooth so you don't get any real overruns and then just overlap your brush marks and now what we've got is a lovely colored ground so that is thin enough that when we put a pencil mark on or a next layers of paint they'll grab onto that canvas really easily but it's a pike enough so it covers overall the white and then we can build up our painting from here so here's an example of a painting that I've taken to the next stage so you can start to see I've got all the darks in here and then I can add the lights in here with the titanium white and start to see the pencil marks as well so I'm building up the whole picture really really simply just by building up this color ground to start with and then the other layers on top of that so this is a gray mid-tone tonal ground and this is made with a mix of raw umber and white just painted onto board for this example if I'm doing a portrait where I'm using skin tones I don't really want the yellow ochre next to it because if I put the yellow ochre next to my face it's really really hard it's really strong it's hard for me then to judge the subtleties of skin tone whereas if I've got this color which is a lot cooler I can have that as the underpainting and start to bring the skin tones on top of that so it will really help me to balance the warm and the cool and help to judge those subtleties of colors so much easier I can also again apply nice darks onto here and really strong highlights so it will help me to judge my tonal range within my painting you can make a tonal ground in any color you want you can use a pigment straight from the tube just water down or you can mix in white with it all you've got to think of is what mood or feeling you want in your painting and then to decide what color will suit that best so Turner used to make lots of different colors on his papers so one would be a burnt umber brownie color one would be a blue underpainting and then when he feels out sketching or out looking at a scene to paint he'll just go through his colors that he had with him and see which one had the general tone the general color tone to what he was looking at then they just start to work on to that color and half your works already done for you because you've got a great base to work on to and these are the concepts that I work with from my paintings and they can be so effective to get really professional results from your acrylics this is Wilkham from Wilkham Art School click above to subscribe so you don't miss out on the next lessons


I was very lucky to leave an investing and consulting environment and jump into operations. And I think so often, you don't know what you don't know. And the way to find that out faster is to ask people. And so not being afraid to ask, to say, what would you do differently? To have a strong opinion loosely held is critically important to getting it right. And then paying that forward to other people and being a brainstorming partner really, really matters.


The Secrets of the Naga is the sequel to the Immortals of Meluha, and it's kinda just more of the same. This is the introduction song. It's not very good, but it's not too long. Now, when I say more of the same, I mean that in a positive and a negative way. Like, all the good stuff is still there. You know, we still have a decent world that's here. You know, it feels kinda small and there's some weird parts, but it's still very deep, has a rich history and all that. There's still some pretty decent action sequences, but at the same time like the writing itself isn't that great and a lot of the characters come across as kinda shallow, not all of them, but a lot of them. And so there's just, it's kinda just the same thing continuing on. The only area that I would say really did improve by, maybe not by leaps and bounds, but the only area I would say that did improve was the main character Shiba, because in the first book, we didn't really have a good feel for his character for a long time, and I don't think until around maybe halfway or two thirds through that's when I started to feel him more, like feel his personality, feel his desires, feel why he does the things he does, and all that. I didn't really feel that at first, but then in this one we know right from the get-go, and we see him change more and more, and so he did become a much better character. In fact, I found myself getting more into this one than I did the last one just because, well, I was more invested in him. You know, I wanted him to be okay. I wanted his wife and his friends to be okay just because of how it affected him. So, yeah, in that regard, I would say overall this one is a little bit better than the first one. The world continues to be kind of a weird blend of primitive and modern stuff, though, because, man, how do I put this? Like, I mentioned in the last review that there were some terms that they used, which were, they just felt modern, like the term terrorist or oxidants. Those just felt weird when put in this setting, and we still see some of that in this one, but even more so, it just feels like the various empires and kingdoms are a little too disconnected from one another, which, like, I know that that was kind of the case in a lot of societies way back this far away, but it just feels weird for them to be that disconnected and that ignorant of one another when it's combined with all of this scientific knowledge and such that they have. It just, it feels weird, you know? Like, it's not the end of the world or anything, and it's not a huge issue at all, I don't think. It's just, it feels weird, okay? And so that kind of exasperated the problem that was already there a little bit from the first book, I think. They added in a couple more references, I don't know if reference is the right word, but they added in a couple more things that tie into Hindu mythology, like how, you know, the main character is Shiva, and that's a god, which I'm not really familiar with it, so if I get any of this wrong, I'm sorry. But then they also bring in, like, a man with a face kind of like an elephant named Ganesh, and that's another god who, I might put a picture up or something. And then there's Kali, who has more than two arms. It's just, it's kind of, it's interesting to see how, like, oh, okay, so it started off as something abnormal but still believable, and then it, over time, morphed into this huge epic tale that people told. The issue with that is that they still have some stuff that is not quite magic, but, like, way beyond what we have even today, like way outside the bounds of reality, like the Soma, or wait, is that the word? Shit, I forgot already. Ugh, no, I don't want to refilm, but the immortal elixir, basically. Like, there's no way that was real, so that, it's just a little bit of a disconnect between taking something that's normal and turning it into a legend and taking something that's legendary and combining it with that. It just, it kind of doesn't mesh all that well. Like, again, it's not terrible, it's just, it's weird. And partway through reading this, I started to realize that it was giving me vibes, like that Hercules movie that had the rock in it. Like, you remember that movie? Probably not, because not many people saw it. I mean, it's really not that good of a movie, but I kind of liked it. But anyways, the point is that movie was basically, like, it was the legend of Hercules, except this was the real legend. Like, it was like, okay, so Hercules was not actually a demigod, and he didn't actually kill the Hydra or the Namian Lion. He didn't actually get the Golden Apple or all that other legendary stuff he's known for. It was just, he was a dude who did some pretty impressive neat stuff, but in the end he was just a normal human guy. And this story kind of feels like that as well. And I have mixed thoughts on that, because on one hand, it is neat to see a different take on this sort of story. And again, I'm not super familiar with Hindu mythology or with Indian culture at all. So I'm probably missing out on a lot of that. I think that if you are Indian, you might enjoy this more than I do. But anyways, I just have mixed thoughts on it, because on one hand, yeah, we're getting a different perspective on it. We're getting a different take on it. But at the same time, you're losing out on a lot of the cool stuff. Like, you know, with the Hercules example, like, we didn't get to see him fight the Hydra. We didn't get to see him fight the Namian Lion. And those, like, those are some of the coolest things that he did. That's the reason that the myth has been around for, like, what, 3,000 years now? And so it's just, I don't know how to feel about it altogether. It's weird. And I don't know, there's still one more book. I might be able to make up my mind one way or the other after that, or I might not be able to. But in the end, yeah, this is going to be a shorter review. I just don't have all that much more to say. And I don't want to sit here for another couple of minutes to try and stretch this out to 10 minutes. So, yeah, basically, the secrets of the Naga. If you liked the first book, then keep going. And the series, as I said, I just don't know who to recommend it to. It's kind of a neat fantasy adventure thing without all that much fantasy in it. And if you're Indian, you might be getting more out of this than I am because I just don't have that bedrock of familiarity with the culture and familiarity with the legends that this is based on. So I'm probably missing out on a lot. But you guys might be more into it. I don't know. But, you know, thanks for watching this far. Thanks to all my patrons, including Apo Sabalainan, Abrahash Singh, who suggested this series. So if you are happy I'm doing this, then thank him. Thanks to Christopher Hawkins, Joseph Pendergraft, and Melanie Austin as well, and all the other names. You guys are cool. Please consider donating to my page. If you can't do that, then, you know, like the video, comment on the video, subscribe to my channel. All that stuff that I'm supposed to say here. And, yeah, it's less than 10 minutes. So you're welcome. Bye.


One of the main problems they have is a clash. This man made specific predictions about the Qur'an during his days, touring cities in the United States, teaching about his theological observation and deep insight into the Qur'an. Most of his predictions, explanation and suggested solutions fell on deaf ears. It seemed Muslims were not in the mood for the radical approach he was suggesting at the time. Now as Islamic theology and exegesis gain accelerated traction in the West with the positive consequences of rapid growth in development across four strata there is no better time than now to revisit what this white mathematics professor and an open-minded researcher said above the Qur'an and its delimitation of the transcendent qualities of God. For context some of you already know who he is. Professor Jeffrey Long has an amazing revision story, a story of its kind, a story that humbles all the cylinders of atheism and fires the pipes of arrogance. This is a man who lectures in one of the largest universities in Connecticut and this part, the splendor and pride that comes with such exalted position laid humble before a dreamy heart about becoming a Muslim. He indeed became a Muslim and since then has stead effort to resurrect an intellectual probe into the Qur'an and modern societal changes. Wait a minute, that doesn't explain this. Why the intellect? Why the choice? Why the suffering? Careful of what Professor Long said, I can summarize his prediction to mean Muslims must engage in intellectual discussions about Qur'anic interpretation to navigate the rapid changes in society. As a world evolves, new issues and challenges arise, requiring critical thinking and analysis to understand how Qur'anic teachings apply to contemporary situations. According to him, these will enable Muslims all over the world to make informed decisions that are in line with Islamic principles were adapted to change in times across the globe. As-salamu alaykum brothers and sisters, welcome to another episode of the Upward-Minded Thinker Show. For the purpose of awareness, please like and share the video. This is the only way others can find it on YouTube and learn as we are doing right now. Don't forget to subscribe as well to help us grow bigger and better. Now, what does the Qur'an tell us about God? You have to realize I'm just about through with the Qur'an here in my first time reading it, and now I was really caught. I searched my head, what does the Qur'an tell us about God? It tells us nothing could be compared to him. That he's outside anything that we may compare to, that our definitions do not encompass him, that our reason cannot comprehend him, that he is transcended and we are finite, that he transcends time and space and we are bound by it, that he is immortal, we are mortal, he is uncorporal, we are corporeal, that we have no way of comparing ourselves to him. Nothing could be compared to him. I thought, oh my God, I'm so close and yet so far because I'll never understand the essential link between us and God and why these three things fit into place because the Qur'an tells us that we will could never really quite understand God. Or at least that's the way I thought. And so I put down the Qur'an when I had finished it and much to my dismay, I was honestly disappointed because I thought and just the author made a brilliant, brilliant, brilliant, brilliant try but he never quite made it. And so I was sitting in front of about three, four weeks later, I was sitting in Diamond Heights in my apartment watching a football game I think it was. And you know sometimes just things just slip into your minds when you least expect them and I'm sitting there watching it and all of a sudden into my mind came a thought and I said, wait a minute, the Qur'an does tell us so much about God. It tells us again and again and again but somehow I just missed it. Just skimmed over it every single time because if you turn to almost any page, if you turn to the beginning of any Sura, you could see time and time again essential information about God that I just thought was sort of a literary device, something to make it just sound more beautiful. Because if you turn to beginning of any Sura, you'll see the words Bismillahirrahmanirrahim and the name of God, the most merciful, the most compassionate. If you read almost any passage, long passage when you come to edit end of it, it's punctuated by dual attributive statements like God is the merciful, the compassionate. God is the forgiving, the gentle. God is the kind, the protector. God is the generous, the truthful. God is and so forth and so on. There are tens of thousands of such references in the statements in the Qur'an. What the Qur'an defines as God's most beautiful names, his attributes of perfection, repeated again and again and again on almost every page. And as I sat there sitting by the television, I started to jot them down in my, you know, on my little piece of notebook there, same notebook I used to jot these down before, and I began to list from my own mind the attributes of perfection as I remembered them, and they were, we should be, God is the compassionate. God is the merciful. God is the forgiving. God is the just, the protector, the defender of the oppressed and the weak, the knowing, the wise, the generous, the kind, the truthful, the loving, the peaceful, the source of all peace, the truth and so forth and so on. Every item I had listed in my list for the qualities that we human beings are supposed to develop, the Qur'an was telling me had its infinite source and perfection in Allah, in God. And then all of a sudden all the pieces fell together. Then I suddenly saw it as I see, most of you probably see as well, that now, I mean suddenly it all began to make sense to me. In what way do I say that? For me, his theological basis of conceptualizing God as written in the Qur'an is far too basic. Some of the attributes he listed belong to the human manifestation of the divinity, whereas God is kind, compassionate, love, peace and so on can be said to be authentic, but a go beyond those thresholds. In a philosophical sense, God can be described as a spiritual being that is transcendent and tenor or mini-portent or mini-scient and or mini-present as a spiritual being. God is immaterial and exists outside our physical realm. The Qur'an is directly silent on this, but let's see how the professor looks on from here. Well, it was now obvious why we had to develop these qualities. It was now obvious how these things on the floor here fell into place. And I'll just say it clearly. We're here to develop a relationship with God, to become closer to God. But how can you become closer to God when he's transcendent in your finite, when he's immortal in your immortal, when you're in vice versa, when he's immortal in your mortal, when he's unfettered by time and space and you are and so forth and so on? How can you become close to that one? If I want to become close to you, I need to have something to share with you, something that we have in common. So for example, if I want to come close to this young man here physically, I'll approach him because we both have bodies and I could position my body closer to him. Physical presence, bodily presence is something we both share. If I want to become closer to that gentleman back there, if I want to become closer to him intellectually, I'll reason with him so we will have a convergence of minds because we both possess reason. If I want to become closer to one of my sisters on this side emotionally, I'll try to appeal to their sentiments because we both share feelings and similar types of experiences that generate those feelings. But how does one become closer to God? What do we share with him? We share with him exactly what he gave us because the Qur'an tells us that when we came into this life, he breathes into our spirit something of his spirit and that we'd come into this world with the seed of these very qualities within us and we could either kill them, stunt them as the Qur'an says, or cause them to grow. And when we grow in these, we grow in our ability not just to experience tremendous beauty in life through all this, but we grow in our ability to receive and experience the infinite beauty, the infinite peace, the infinite truth, the infinite compassion, the infinite mercy, the internet, etc., all the way down the list that only comes from the infinite perfect source of all these. The more we grow in mercy, the more we grow in our ability to receive and experience in this life and in the next to an infinitely greater degree the mercy of God. The more we grow in compassion, the more we grow in our ability to receive and experience God's compassion in this life through prayer and through ritual and through contemplation and through other experience of others and of course infinitely more in the next life the compassion of God. The more we grow in our truthfulness, the more we grow in our ability to experience God the truth because all truth comes from God. The more we grow in these things, the more we grow in our ability to receive and experience God's attributes of perfection. The more we grow in our ability to receive and experience his being and that sort of nearness we are growing to him is tied to our essential nature and to his. It's more than just physical nearness, it's more than just a convergence of ideas, it's more than just a convergence of feelings, it's a convergence of essential beings. It's the closest type of nearness to, can feel, to, can experience. I'll just give you a quick analogy because this helped my children. Let's pretend I have a goldfish, a dog, and three children. Three daughters, let's say. And I do have three daughters. No matter how much of my love, compassion, forgiveness, caring, I pour upon that goldfish, it could only experience it to a tiny degree. It might not even really be aware of it because it's a very primitive creature. But my dog on the other hand, when I show it all my kindness, all my love, all my compassion, all of what is essentially me, it could experience it to a much higher degree than my goldfish. And through its interaction with me, through its own trying to give its own self to me, we could experience a quite wonderful relationship. But my children, especially as they grow over and go through their own experience and their own development, could receive and experience all the love and the compassion and the forgiveness and the caring and the generosity and the protection, everything I have to offer, they could experience my being to a much higher degree than my dog ever can. And we could have a relationship of beauty that I could never have with my dog, as much as I love animals. Having had three daughters, I know that the relationship that you have with three beautiful daughters could never even come close. No other relationship could approximate that. Of course, my relationship with my wife is also extremely beautiful and she might air this day. And she's a wonderful woman, really. I mean, she's the source of so much beauty. But one of the reasons why God created man was apparently to submit to him in all things. He created us in his image. He said and imbued in us the ability to be as perfect as he is in knowledge, understanding and creativity. However, as other factors came in between this arrangement, the professor got it quite rightly that we would require to cultivate those attributes of godliness so deep to be able to experience the beauty of God's transcendent potentials. This is just so theologically pure. Okay, Madam Chairman, I am ready. So that seems to bring it all together. So now I thought, wait a minute, that doesn't explain this. Why the intellect? Why the choice? Why the suffering? I thought, you almost had me this Quran. You almost duped me. You almost tricked me, seduced me into accepting this philosophy. But wait a minute. What about intellect, choice, suffering? Why do we have to experience these? Why couldn't you just programmed us to be merciful, compassionate, forgiving, etc.? Why do we have to go through all this? And then, of course, the answer came to me as quickly as I thought of it. So we are creatures, and we grow, and we become. And yes, and you could make us anything you want, but you can't contain any of those attributes I listed without these three things. In mathematics, we try, you know, three premises that go into, you know, proving a theorem, we try to see if we could take one of them away and if it's essential. And all three of these are definitely essential. For example, you could program a computer never to make an incorrect statement, but it doesn't become a truthful computer. Never heard anybody say to me, Jeff, this Macintosh is the most truthful computer I ever saw. If it's programmed, it's not truth. You could program a CAT scan to help the sick, but it doesn't become compassionate. Never heard a doctor say, Jeff, if you want to see a compassionate CAT scan, you come right over here. Because all those things, compassion, forgiveness, truth, caring, love, all are born out of choice, suffering, and reason. In order to do a compassionate deed, when we consider reaching out to someone in compassion, that person, first of all, that's inconceivable without the presence of suffering, an environment where there's suffering. And when we decide to help them or not, we reason in our minds, what is this going to require of me? It's going to require some suffering on my part, some in my giving of myself. And without that mental process, it doesn't become a compassionate deed. And if it isn't by choice, it's not a compassionate deed. It's that choice that makes it compassionate. The same thing with truth. Truth is a choice between telling the truth or not telling the truth. Oftentimes, we tell it at risk to our own personal loss. The more suffering that might come out of that choice, the greater is the truth behind it, the greater an act of truthfulness. And all the time, we have to weigh the consequences of that choice. If I tell the truth there, my teacher's going to give me an F. If I don't tell the truth, I may get an A. We weigh it in our mind. Last example, the famous wedding vow. Do you take this woman to be your wife in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, until death do you part? What are they asking us? Do you knowingly make this choice? Understanding full well, what's at stake here? That it might involve richness but poverty, health or sickness, that suffering is going to be involved, until death once a young lady told me, you know, you never really love me. Because when the growing got tough, when things got hard, when we hit rock bottom, when my life fell apart, you just got up and left. And she was right. And she understood full well that that's what love is all about. It is through giving and suffering together and hanging in there with each other and not bailing out and persevering through suffering, making that choice and knowing what you're doing. All those three things are essential. So it's very easy to see why the Quran stresses these. For in order for us to grow in these, I've dropped it. We have to add these. Watching to this point left me satisfied. He finally laid the big cut out of the bag. God deliberately planned the creation of man with the same free will and intellect as himself. We're not created like animals and thus possesses the ability to go intellectual in weighing fully the consequences of our actions in relation to religion. These principles are often intertwined. Free will allows individuals to make choices that can lead to suffering, but also to happiness and fulfillment. Intellect is used to make informed decisions and understand the nature of suffering and can lead to deeper enlightenment and understanding of one's faith. Suffering in turn can test one's faith and lead to spiritual growth and enlightenment. All these are plans of God's witness of our human frailties. Let's live it there, people. Like, share and subscribe. See you next time. As-salamu alaykum.


The President of the United States. We've put together for you a little sure, and it's intended to set forth some of the specifics that we've accomplished during the past several years, and also to point out some of the remaining problems ahead. And it gives some impressive details, about 45 percent, 45 percent more dollars than in 1981. We've got a chart here that says now, and our volunteers have never been more committed. Now, ladies and gentlemen, it's my privilege to present to you our Chief Volunteer, the President of the United States. Mr. President. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you, Jim. That report on the United Way is very encouraging, more than that. It's just spectacular. And thanks to you, Cheryl and Bill, I want you to know that I no longer can say I never got an Academy Award. Hey, wait till I get home and tell Nancy, this beats anything we've seen in the late, late show. Well, I'm delighted to meet with all of you and give so much of your time for so many worthy causes. With the success of your accomplishments to date, I can't help but feel we can meet the needs of the future. It's also a great pleasure to join you on this, the 100th anniversary year of the United Way. I always get a particular pleasure out of celebrating the birthday of anything that's older than I am. But seriously, in the front atrium stands a bust of one of the most perceptive foreigners to visit this country, Alexis de Tocqueville. When young de Tocqueville traveled here in the 1800s, he identified a spirit in America that set us apart from those in other countries. Today, de Tocqueville's words have come to symbolize what is uniquely right about our nation. He wrote, in a local community in America, a citizen may conceive of some need which is not being met. What does he do? But he goes across the street, discusses it with his neighbor. And then what happens? A committee comes into existence and the committee begins functioning in behalf of the need. And he added a line there in that book that he was writing about democracy in America, which he said, and you won't believe it. But there was never a bureaucrat involved. Well, as you may know, I grew up in a small town in northern Illinois where every day you saw a neighbor helping neighbor. It was an accepted part of the running of a successful community. And yes, from our earliest days in Hollywood to our current jobs, Nancy and I have tried to carry this spirit with us. Through our administration's private sector initiatives program, we've been able to see how, when free of the restricting hand of government, the private sector can respond enthusiastically to the needs of the community. Of course, I don't need to tell any of you how successful Nancy's programs with foster grandparents and just say no have been. And believe me, Nancy, and I know that this is due in large part to your own heartfelt contributions. One of the most rewarding things about having this job I have is that I get to see the dynamic spirit of neighbor helping neighbor at work in our country. I see hope in the faces of the Americans through volunteer tutors that they've learned to read. I see the eyes shining bright with expectation of those young people graduating from high school who through the care of those like you may have the opportunity for a better future. But most of all, I see it in the renewed spirit of those Americans who are doing the giving and helping, the ones who've chosen to get involved, to take action, to make a contribution. For example, in the tornado-ravaged community of Saragossa, Texas, the citizens there had lost hope. Then hundreds of volunteers poured into the town to rebuild not just homes, but lives. This same spirit was also obvious in the now-celebrated rescue of little Jessica McClure, whose one precious life commanded the intention of not only an entire community of volunteers, but also a nation anxiously awaiting her return to safety. Nothing makes me prouder as I travel abroad than when leaders of other nations ask me to share our formula for success in encouraging private sector initiatives. I believe that formula is summed up most adequately by the plaque hanging near the front entrance to this building. It reads, to increase the organized capacity of people to care for one another. Well, together in America, we have continued to foster an economic and social environment that encourages giving. And I'm very proud to say that this includes not only individual giving, but corporate giving, volunteerism, and the development of public-private partnerships. Of course, it's a growing American economy that helps to make all this possible. That's right, I said a growing economy. For despite the adjustments in the stock market, the economic basis in our country remains strong. Consider, for example, that during the third quarter, which ended in September, the gross national product in constant dollars rose at a 3.8% annual rate, spurred by business-fixed investment, which was soaring at an extraordinary 24%. And just last week, we found that inflation, as measured by the GNP implicit price deflator, rose only 2.4%. The unemployment rate was falling to its lowest level since 1979. Manufacturing jobs had risen by over a quarter million during the past 12 months, adding to the astonishing 14.2 million jobs created during the past 59 months of economic expansion. Exports were actually up at more than a 16% annual rate, and the federal budget deficit for the fiscal year 1987 had fallen by a full third from one year earlier to its lowest levels since 1982. This is a record to build on because there's still much more to be done. Your spirit of cooperation is the same spirit America wants from those of us in government. Yes, the stock market has tossed and turned the past several weeks. After more than five years of a roaring bull market, some adjustments were to be expected. And while the financial markets have recovered somewhat, the lingering uncertain volatility has caused for concern. Now is not the time to reverse course. However, some adjustments can and should be made. I have stated all my political life that deficit spending must be controlled. That's why I've consented and negotiated with Congress to see if we can jointly produce a credible package that will further cut and I hope eliminate our deficits. But with our administration's economic program in place, perhaps most important of all, our tax reform and reduction in marginal rates, America is still a very good place to do business, still a land of jobs and opportunity, making possible record levels of charitable contributions. United Way of America is demonstrating to the world how a caring nation can unite to help the less fortunate among us. Through your agencies and volunteers, you've met the challenge I set forth to you one year ago, magnificently. I urge you to continue to build on this momentum. We must set our sights even higher as we look forward to the future. After all, it's our nature to set higher and higher goals. We're Americans. It's been a privilege for me to come here today to share the encouraging news of your progress. And as we've seen today since 1981, that overall funding for the United Way has risen, as you've been told by Jim, 45% while certain key services have shown much greater growth. For example, funding to serve for services to women is up 500%. Child welfare programs are up 198%. Services for the elderly up 100%. And funds going to substance abuse have increased 89% for this period. Thanks to you, it does work. You know, I have to tell you in hearing your very eloquent presentation here, this land of ours, some time ago, earlier in my term as president, at a dinner at the White House, the wife of an ambassador to a European country, or of a European country, was hearing a conversation going on at our table about such things as this, and private giving, and so forth. And quietly, she spoke to me, and she said, yes, in your country, you're unique. And I said, well, what do you mean? Well, she said, yes, in your country, people do things that way voluntarily, but not in any other country. She said, in all our other countries, if the government doesn't do it, it doesn't get done. It's always a government program. Well, that stuck with me, and so that a little more than a year ago, we had been hearing for some time from our friends and allies around the world. And then a meeting was held in Paris, France, of nations that had invited our people to come there and tell them how to institute programs such as this, programs of private giving. And now it is going on and spreading throughout the world. I went to the Economic Summit in Italy this last summer, and did a little sideline visit at an invitation to address a group that was meeting. Yes, there were Americans present, but it was the new Italian society to now bring about private sector initiatives and do things by private giving of the people.  There is not a government program in America to help the people in any way that has as low an overhead as you do. I was horrified once when I was governor of California to discover that one program at least of the government spent $2 to deliver $1 to a needy person. Well, not you. 90% or more of every dollar raised goes directly to help the people which that money was raised. So, thank you all. God bless you all and my goodness. For all of us, it's a real happy anniversary. Thank you very much. Mr. President, you know it really is kind of your vision and your initiative on the private sector's power that's one of our greatest export products. You really helped us take that worldwide. Now, every year, we honor unique volunteers who make a special contribution with our own version of the Nobel Prize. And the award is named after a man that you quoted this morning, Alexis de Tocqueville, who marveled at our spirit of generosity and our voluntary effort. And certainly if there's one person to be singled out in this country as the catalyst for voluntary action, it would be you, Mr. President. And if one person were to be singled out as the champion for the voluntary fight against drug abuse, it would be Nancy. Together, you have raised the expectation and reality of what the American volunteer can accomplish. So today, United Way is proud to present the Alexis de Tocqueville Society Award to you and Mrs. Reagan. Mr. President. Very heavy. Very heavy. Thank you, all, and thank you, Jim. He just told me that this would be delivered. The address is 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. I want to be sure to get that. Thank you all again very much.


Welcome to Think Tech Hawaii, Konnichiwa Hawaii, a Japanese language broadcast streaming live from downtown Honolulu, and available on YouTube. I'm Yukari Kunisue, and joining me today in the studio is Riko Hirayama, Meister of Hawaii School of Japan Beauty Living, Raw Food Specialty Cooking School. Hello everyone, from downtown Honolulu, Think Tech Hawaii is available in Japanese. Hello, I'm Yukari Kunisue, and today's broadcast is from Honolulu, Hawaii, a Japanese living beauty church, Ninteko Honolulu, Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii School Meister. I'm Riko Hirayama, Riko Ritsuko, and I'm working in the studio. Riko, thank you very much for your time. Let's start with raw food. Raw food is raw food. You eat raw food, right? Yes, that's right. Here's a question. In the past, we taught raw food to be careful of living things, and not to eat raw food. That's what we were told, and we passed the time. On the contrary, we told them to eat raw food. What is raw food? Can you tell us about that? Raw food is vegetables, fruits, nuts, and seeds. We cook and eat raw food without heating it up more than 48 times. Why is that? Because it's the most important part of the course. Of course, we eat raw food, so we can take vitamins and minerals. We can also take vegetables, fruits, and fruits that are included in raw food. That's how we do it. What's good about taking that course? When we take the course, we often hear people talking about the consumption course that humans have. It's like a helper that is necessary for consumption. Yes, that's right. When we take the course of raw vegetables and fruits, we can only use 10% of the course that humans have. That's why the burden on our body is so light. The burden on our body is not so high? That's right. When we eat the food that has been heated up, we don't have to take the course on our own, we have to take the course that humans have. That's why the burden on our body is so high? According to humans, there are some people who use the energy to eat full-marathon. Full-marathon? Yes, they get tired of eating. Are you tired of eating full-marathon? Yes, I have to take the course, so I work in my own body for the rest of my life. That's why I get tired of eating full-marathon. That's right. I feel tired of eating full-marathon. I see. That brings us back to the previous question. Why were we told that we shouldn't eat raw food? How do you think about the old Japanese way of thinking? To cool down our body? To cool down raw food? I think that's the best way to think about it. What about bacteria?  Yes, I eat raw food. That's why it's important to clean and wash and eat raw food. I see. It's important to control the heat and to clean and wash raw food. That's why we should take the course, to keep the course.  No, I don't. You don't heat up? We used to eat 100% raw food for about a year. What about us? We started raw food in Japan for about 10 years. At that time, we had a lot of people who ate 100% raw food. I think that's the reason why our bodies are different. The number of people has gradually changed. Now, we are talking about 50% to 80% raw food. It's like a passion. You can eat raw food only half of the base of raw food. I see. I told you that 10 years ago. What happened 10 years ago? I had known about raw food more than 20 years ago. I was interested in it. I was just interested in it. That's why I was interested in it. Originally, I was a nurse in Japan. You were a nurse in Japan. I took a massage therapist's license in Hawaii. I was involved in the body and the treatment. When I heard the story of the people who were there, I felt that raw food has an effect on the health of the body. That's why I became interested in raw food. I see. Originally, the medical knowledge and experience have changed. I went to Hawaii for a massage. When I heard the story of patients and clients, I didn't want to get better by just massaging. I wanted to change the whole life of raw food. That's how I became interested in raw food. Did you change your life from raw food to raw food? When I was in raw food for 100% of my life, the quality of my sleep has changed. The quality of your sleep has changed? I slept well and became powerful. I lived in Napoleo for three to four hours. I woke up and I was surprised. What is the relationship between raw food and raw food? When I was sleeping, I was able to use a lot of raw food. If you reduce the consumption of raw food, you can use a lot of raw food such as detox, and you can increase the number of raw foods you eat. I see. While you are sleeping? The amount of food you eat increases the amount of energy you get. Other role models also give you a chance to go out. That's how it is. I see. The quality of your sleep has changed. If you have a problem with your sleep, why don't you think about raw food? There is a lot of people who want to study raw food in Hawaii. Do you study raw food? Yes, I study it at home. I want to become a cooking teacher and a master. I want to become a master and teach people how to cook. I do that at home. What is a master? A master is a certificate of license given by the Japanese living beauty association.  What kind of people do you work with? I work with students.  That's why I have a lot of people who come. I see. There are women and men in Hawaii. I feel a little problem with my husband and my family. I want to use my cooking power to take good care of everyone. What kind of teaching do you have? The basics of raw food are smoothies. Yes, I drink smoothies. Green smoothies. Salad. It is called raw food simply. Anyone can get it right away. So there are some people who can improve their health by just using the smoothies. Can you show us the example of how you can make a dish here? If you can show some pictures here. This is beautiful. Do you have any other reason to make this dish? Do you have any other reason to make this dish? I don't have any other reason to make this dish. What is the white part of the dish? This is the cream made with cashew nuts. It looks delicious. The cream made with cashew nuts is decorated with strawberries. Is it like a pizza on the bottom? Yes, it is on the bottom. It is not on the side. I will show you the picture later. When you use almond milk, it is like a pulp. It is like a pulp. You can take it and use it as a common cake. In the case of raw food, you can use it as a cake. What is the top part of the tofu? The top part of the tofu is the milk. I forgot to show you the top part of the tofu. I forgot to show you the top part of the tofu. I'm sorry. Next picture, please. This is beautiful. We had a lesson last year. Can you eat this? Yes. We will make a salad for the students by imagining Christmas. This is a salad. This is not something you can put on the door. I want to put it on the door, but I get angry. I think this is a dressing. Yes, it is. Is the middle part of the tofu lettuce? Yes, it is water-based. Water-based? Yes. You can put it on the table. It is very beautiful. Okay, the third picture, please. Okay, great. Wow, this is amazing. This looks like a lunch. Yes, it is. Can you explain a little bit? The front is called jajamen. Jajamen, yes. It's a spicy one. It's a little spicy. There is a scene where the noodles come to your liking. So you put noodles on the table. Isn't this spaghetti? Zucchini? Yes, zucchini. It looks like pasta with zucchini. The one on the top looks like meat. It's made with black sesame and mushroom. It looks like meat. It looks delicious. The sauce is also made with sesame oil. It tastes like eating a good meal. I see. It's like eating a good meal. Yes, it is. The salad is on the table. What is the drink over there? On the left, there is a drink called kaki and orange smoothie. That's the smoothie. Yes. And on the right, there is a drink that uses almond milk. I see. It looks like it's just looking at the course. It looks like it's just looking at the course. Yes. Maybe we can see the rest of the pictures later on. Thank you. This is now. Yes, a little later. Yes. Okay. Thank you very much. I'll show you the second half later. Okay. Oops. Okay, then. Shall we take a little break here? Okay. We'll be right back. Aloha. I'm Marcia Joyner, inviting you to come visit with us on Cannabis Chronicles, a 10,000-year odyssey, where we explore and examine the plant that the muse has given us. And stay with us as we explore all the facets of this planet on Wednesdays at noon. Please join us, Aloha. Aloha. I am Howard Wigg. I am the proud host of Cold Green for Think Tecawaii. I appear every other Monday at three, and I have really, really exciting guests on the exciting topic of energy efficiency. Just see you there. We are back from break. I'm Yukari Kunisue, and this is Konnichiwa, Hawaii. Talking with Riko Hirayama, Role Food Specialist, Master of Japan Beauty Living School in Hawaii. I am Riko Hirayama, and I am here today to talk with you about Role Food Specialist, the master of Japanese beauty, Honolulu, Hawaii. I'm Riko Hirayama, and I'm here today to talk with you about Role Food Specialist, Riko Hirayama. Please continue to join us. You can take a, show us the picture of the next. This is almond milk. You made almond milk yourself? Yes. How do you make it? It's really easy, so I want you all to make it yourself. You put the almond milk in a bowl. Do you usually sell almond milk? Yes, raw almond milk.  For the first almond milk, you put about two drops of water in a blender. Then, you squeeze it, and you make this milk. It's that easy, isn't it? Then, you put it in a bowl and throw away the water. Then, you put about two drops of water in a blender, and you make this milk. That's right. You can make it yourself, too. Yes, I often sell it in the market. It's not good, right? It's not good at all. It's completely different. This is really... Is that so? But everyone, please try this. Okay, let's look at the next picture. Wow, this is amazing. This is matcha tiramisu. Matcha tiramisu. It's really popular. This color is really beautiful, isn't it? Yes, it is. All of this is made of raw food, isn't it? After making the almond milk, we use the pulp that comes out. We use it to make the sponge. It's layered many times. There are the dark green and the light green. The dark green is where we used the pulp. The almond milk base. The light green and the white are made of cashew cream. Cashew cream. We mix the matcha in half, and the white part is only the cashew cream. We add that and it looks like anko. It looks like anko. It's not anko, it's a bit like anko. We used dates. Dates? What is the green on top? That's matcha. Oh, that's matcha. I see. I feel like I want to eat it now. That's right. Is there any sauce on top? That's another sweet. Oh, sweet. I think that's probably strawberry cream. Strawberry cream? I'm just listening to you. That's right. The next one, please. Wow, is this pasta? It's pasta, but it's all zucchini. Zucchini again? Yes. This is one of my master's courses. We use a lot of shiso leaves. The shiso leaves are on top of the shiso leaves? Yes, and we also add them to the cream. And we also use shungiku. Shungiku? It's a very dark flavor. It has a rich flavor. And pine nuts. We also add pine nuts to it. This one is very delicious. That's right. Is there any shungiku around here? Yes, that's right. It looks like a flower. That's right. It doesn't look like pasta to you all. It doesn't look like pasta to you all. It's zucchini. That's right. That's right. Yes. The last one, please. This one has a lot of beautiful colors. Yes, I mixed them all together. The one on the top, the one on the top, the one on the top. We also mix a lot of pine nuts. We use a dehydrator machine to dry them. We slice them like that and make them into a bun. They're made from the bread, right? Yes, that's right. I see. And there's a thing called norimaki on the bottom right. It's not rice. It's not rice. We use about two kinds of nuts. We cut them in half and wrap them around the rice. So the texture is more crispy, right? Yes, that's right. It looks like rice. The one on the top looks like a frying pan. It's a vegetable frying pan. We use a dehydrator machine to dry them and make them into a frying pan. I see. It's a little different from a matcha. Is that a matcha? Yes, it's the same as a tiramisu. So the front of the pan is... The front is a simple cheese cake. Cheese cake? Yes, it's a cheese cake without cheese. It's a cheese cake without cheese. It's a main dish with a variety of nuts. So you use a lot of nuts? Yes, that's right. I see. I see. And the strawberry is beautiful. Yes, that's right. This is the one that I put on top. I see. Thank you very much for showing. Thank you very much. That's it, everyone. I would like to ask you to make something for us today. Yes, please. If you can show... What is this? This is a brownie made of raw food. It's a brownie made of raw food. It's not baked. It's not baked? Yes. I don't use flour. What? You don't use flour, why are you doing this? I don't use flour. The ingredients are really simple. Kurumi, dates, and cacao powder. Kurumi, dates, and cacao powder. That's right. It's a little mature, so I also put cacao nibs in it. What is cacao nibs? It's cacao nibs made of cacao powder. It's a little bitter. Yes, it's like an adult brownie. I'll let you do what I'm lucky to do later. I'm looking forward to it. You can see it here. I believe that it's very hard to believe that you don't use flour. That's how it is. That's right. Thank you very much. I'm going back to school. There are various stages. For those of you who come to Hawaii, I'd like to learn about your family's health. Of course, you can do it in Japan, but you can learn from Dr. Riko in Hawaii. What kind of courses do you have? There are two master courses. The course is a basic course like the entrance exam. It's a basic course of low food. It's a course of 8 hours. 8 hours? Do you do it in one day? I sometimes do it in one day, but I divide it into two days. I do it in 4 or 4 hours. When I do it, I understand the basics. I see. I also make a lot of food. For those of you who come to Hawaii, for example, you have 4 or 5 days, and you study with a teacher in the morning and then you go to the beach to relax. You can come back the next day or something like that. You can do it. Then you do it in 2 days. Then you do it in 1 day. You do it in 10 days. Then you do it in 1 day. At the end of the day, you can make the first class by yourself. You can combine it and study it. I see. The first class is a course to teach people. If you want to teach people, you can make a lot of things if you take the first class. I see. First, you master the basics of low food for about an hour. You can use it gradually and cook it. You can use it in any way you want. You can make it in any way you want. That's the order. Yes. Or you can use it as a teacher. Yes. You can use it as a teacher. How long does it take to do all of that? Well, well, the first class and the first class are 12 hours. 24 hours. Yes, 8 hours. All of that is 32 hours. Yes. Well, that's all. Do you want to learn a little bit? Yes. Do you have a day's course? Yes. We combine it in 3 hours. We make a smoothie for the season. We make a salad. We make mayonnaise and dressing. We decide the main course. And we make a dessert course. I see. We make a salad, smoothie, and dessert. We make a salad in about 3 hours. If that's the case, I can do it too. I want to hear a little bit about the smoothie. It's called smoothie, right? And is it not broken down? It's not broken down. It's not broken down. In the past, we used to break down the broken cells. For example, there is a time when things were old. There was a time when things were broken down. There was a time when things were not good. Is that so? I don't know. I changed my mind at that time. On the contrary, there is a blender. It's a high-speed blender. You want to drink it all at once. That's because the vegetables are very hard. If you just drink it, it's too late to take a break. On the contrary, it's too late to take a break. If you drink it, it's too late to take a break. You can't do it at high speed. Can you do it normally? It's okay. How many minutes or how many seconds do you have? If you do it too much, it becomes too hot. The drink itself will break if you do that. That's all you can do. I understand. Riko, you have a blog. You can also take classes in Hawaii. If you live in Japan, you can take classes in Japan. If you want to contact Riko, if you want to learn more, where do you contact her? Or do you have a Facebook account? Yes, I do. Please tell us about it. Yes, I do. In Hawaii, you can search for low food in Hawaii's cooking room. Low food in Hawaii's cooking room. If you are in Facebook, you can search for low food in Hawaii, Riko, and Hirayama. I understand. If you are interested in low food, please take a look at the blog or Facebook. Thank you very much for your time, Riko. I learned a lot today. I'm going to take a break. Okay, way out of time. Thank you so much for coming. Riko, stay tuned for more shows in Japanese. Thank you all for watching. Think te kawaii. I'm Yukari Kunise. This is Konnichiwa, Hawaii. See you next time.


So today I had a coaching call with some of my students and the question came up. They were asking me what was one of the most important attributes as an entrepreneur and I told them It's being optimistic Now it's funny because they were kind of laughing at me It's like what do you mean by being optimistic Wilson well a lot of times when you are faced with a lot of challenges and as an Entrepreneur you face challenges every single date. That's your job to be able to solve Problems, that's what being an entrepreneur is is that you're providing a solution to a problem and in turn you get paid for it so I Told them that being optimistic is one of the biggest skill set and actually trait of a successful entrepreneur And they asked why why is that the case? Well, if you're not optimistic and you're always a Debbie Downer you would never be able to see opportunities and Solutions to solve problems and when you're running a business oftentimes there are no straightforward answers. There are no Playbook there are no Equation for solving a specific problem. It's always About putting things together going around Different problems and just having the tenacity to problem solve and that's why being optimistic is super super important because if you always see the negative stuff then it will definitely drag you down and you won't have what it takes for you to prevail for you to see the light at the end of the tunnel and So they asked me like hey Wilson I get it I get being optimistic is amazing like everyone wants to be optimistic How how can you become optimistic? How are you always so optimistic? Well That really got me to think like how did I become so optimistic? And then I realized that it's because I'm always super thankful I'm always really thankful for what I have and I always give gratitude to everything around me and I actually keep a gratitude journal and Basically every day I come in and I write down one or two things that I am grateful for and that really primes my mind to see the goodness around the world so these are just some of my Stuff that I'm grateful for Stuff that I'm grateful for every single day I write down different things that I'm grateful for and Being grateful doesn't mean that you You you need to have a promotion or that you have a new car a new house Whatever the case may be it doesn't have to be something big for you to celebrate. It can be something as simple as You waking up feeling healthy feeling that nothing hurts in your body Feeling that wow, I have a very clear mind. That is something you can be grateful for oftentimes I put in my journal I feel super grateful for the Opportunities that my parents have given me to be able to have the freedom to explore freedom to actually do things freedom to shoot videos For you guys because in a lot of different cities countries around the world. It's a luxury it's a luxury to be able to have the opportunity to do these things and It's something that I always give thanks to my parents for giving me this opportunity to raise me in this environment and Because of the environment that I'm in in Vancouver in Canada a lot of the political unrest in the world a lot of unfair unjust things racism Things that are happening around the world. I am not I'm not a victim of and Sadly that's happening around the world and it's just really really unfortunate and that's the reason why we need to give thanks we need to be able to recognize and Be thankful for the space and the place that we're in and for you watching this video You should definitely be thankful the fact that you have the internet to be able to see this video shows that you're already one of the fortunate ones out there and You can simply be giving thanks to be able to have a clear mind to be able to have a mind that can articulate to to respond to actually understand things a Mind that you can actually allows you to take action. These are all great things to be thankful for and That's what I do. I keep my gratitude journal and every day it keeps me and primes me in a Mode in an estate that I always recognize the good things that can happen in the world out there And that allows me to see opportunity and gives me power to go out there to actually approach all the different problems because I understand There's always goodness Around the world. There's always goodness that can happen and that becomes like a game for me And and that's why I really enjoy my whole whole journey and then being an entrepreneur is to be able to solve different problems and Yeah Being grateful also just makes me happier. I really hope that you can find some inspiration From this video to find your own happiness things that you're grateful for and perhaps even start your own Habit of keeping a gratitude journal definitely has helped me a ton Hope you enjoyed this video. Make sure you guys subscribe along the journey. I'll see you guys in the next video


But to me, it's probably going to come down to, you know, a favorite of mine would be just because of his experience and he's a vet, is John Simpson, you know, but would Sala be sort of the remarkable story that the underdog, if you will, and then would the surprise at this point be Ben Cleveland because of how little buzz there is around him. I think it's probably between those three guys,


I'm Rufina Baslova. We are both from Belarus, whoo-hoo, Belarus in the house. Sorry, had to. I never get to do that. Who knows where Belarus is? Anyone? Anyone? Okay, great. So, Rufina is a political artist who hasn't continued to live in Belarus for a very long time. I immigrated from there as a child. I live here in Chicago and today we're going to talk about doing international solidarity work while living in the diaspora. So, I'm going to start with a question for you. If you could talk a little bit about the work that you do and how your medium connects to the political activations that you do. Yeah. Actually, my main tool I work with is traditional Belarusian embroidery, but through this medium I just depict and I work with the political topics, political issues and currently my work is about political prisoners in Belarus because there are more than 1500 directly like right now in the moment in prisons and the work was developed after the first series where I used ornaments to tell the stories of Belarusian protests in 2020 and this project is, you see the sample here, the project about political prisoners is named framed in Belarus and this is, it's very important to say that this is the collective project. The core is that I create the patterns, like I study the stories and I create the pattern in this traditional white red colors and then I invite a lot of people from like everyone can join the project to stitch one or more stories of political prisoners and then we collect back all the works and try to exhibit them working like now we're working on a big archive on like web page and sorry, yeah for the moment we already have 400 pieces collected from people from like around to 20 countries so and here is the sample how their pattern look like. In the middle there is the hero if I know a heroine, if I know something about the person I add some details there also there is the name and the surname of the political prisoner and above there is the name of the case and below it's actually the short illustration of what happened to the person and one very important thing that in the corner there is a signature of a person who stitched the work. I think we can show the second slide also yeah and also like we work it's very important thing for like in the project so people can work together in groups I mean we also organize workshops where people can meet and share their feelings and thoughts and yes and also it's possible to work alone especially it is very important for people in Belarus where it's just dangerous to together together so and how it works I think we can go back to the first slide we also ask people to share their like in general I would say the project is about stories not only about stories of political prisoners but also about stories of people who joined the project usually they do it because they want to show solidarity because they're empathized with these people struggling in in prisons and we ask these participants to share their thoughts and feelings and actually from these feedbacks we learned a lot so the project somehow have proposed an alternative physical psychological support because the stitching process is very slow and meditative somehow and you have a lot of time to to think about the situation to think about like connections like relations with you and your country and also what like comparing what is happening in Belarus and actually for Belarusians it is somehow an instrument to to work with the with their struggle and feeling like you united with people in general like with other Belarusians in all among all the world and also with like other people so and for people from from other countries it's also a kind of instrument of how to know what is going on there so it has also an educative effort yeah thank you so much for sharing something that just struck out to me when you were talking is the fact that embroidery is such a meditative process and if I understand correctly a lot of your work has been shared through social media so thinking about that kind of like very fast way that folks consume and then the very slow process of actually embroidery and I'm interested in that kind of dichotomy and how in some ways maybe this wouldn't have been possible in another time and also what you mentioned around the fact that it's either illegal or very dangerous to actually protest actively physically in Belarus and then this being a way that folks can participate in solidarity struggles in a way that is decentralized and distributed so yeah if you want to just talk a little bit about how folks in Belarus are responding to this global participation and what you've heard about the impact of it oh yeah about like how the information is spread in media so it's very fast like when they were protesting 2020 I actually had my Instagram account where I just in this technique because it's like traditional and it's very recognizable and somehow I work with cultural codes so everyone like from Belarus or from our region just can see the work and understand like this code speaks like okay this is Belarusian and I know it and also like coding in in this traditional style the contemporary like the modern situations and events were also like super recognizable for people and that's how it became very popular through social media so people just share it and another thing is about the technique of embroidery and stitching the pattern it is very soft and somehow when like we just have plenty of photos and videos like with all the violence and blood and sometimes for people it's very hard to accept like to consume these pictures the technique of like this soft and pretty technique telling these stories were like more acceptable so it also helped to spread the information so people just share it yes and also there as I said there are a lot of stories of people who participate in the project some so somehow they this is very important for them to to find for example connections like we had different stories one a woman from Canada she just maybe I'll ask you later how do you feel she originally she was from Belarus and but she cannot visit her grandmother because of COVID and because of all the situations that happened afterwards but through the project and through the stitching she found this connection with her roots so how did you feel because you saw it also like earlier yeah so I actually found out about your work pretty recently I wish I had known about it in 2020 because I was here watching the protests unfold while at the same time we were having our own you know global movement for black lives and I was also doing a project archiving the prisings here at the same time and I feel like there that's a common thread between our work and actually if you could move down to two more slides yeah that one prior to us meeting and knowing about each other's work I was and still am part of a queer post-soviet Jewish artist collective named Krivor Kolykov and we were creating similar work kind of like reclaiming our traditional cultural practices these scarves read abolition at the mitzvah free Palestine at the mitzvah queer at the mitzvah and re-matriation at the mitzvah and a mitzvah or a mitzvah is the Jewish term for a good deed so reclaiming these concepts that for a lot of us we have been called traitors for we have been shamed about in our own family so these words of like pridat il pasor like always feeling like somehow we are betraying our people by actually participating in solidarity with the press peoples of the world and I I love for in your work the fact that you created a pattern that then becomes accessible to so many folks and I I'm really inspired by that and thinking about how to make this work more decentralized and more and create an invitation for others to participate if you could go to the next slide so the piece that I've been working on since 2020 living our parallel lives not knowing each other is called what time is it and it is inspired by Gracely Boggs and Jimmy Boggs who were Black Power organizers in Detroit and would ask this question what time is it on the clock of the world so in early 2020 when the pandemic first began and a lot of folks were on lockdown I started reaching out to folks that I really admire some of those folks are in this room right now folks like Temfus folks like Ammar folks like Hinesh and asking them this question and having them sit for a portrait over zoom and actually the show is up right now at the Chicago Art Department and we're having a conversation this Saturday that I want to invite folks to that Hinesh is facilitating but just thinking about this idea of solidarity and how do we bring together multiple perspectives for multiple lived identities and also to Temfus project thinking about living archives and how do we take back the power of our own narratives from institutions can we do a time check two minutes any other questions and maybe I just like what I want to say this for my project and I think also for yours it's like very important the cariness so actually it's spreading not only solidarity but like that people care and like also care about health care about mental care and care about other people not being like just selfish and yeah having hope yeah I think that piece around mutual aid and community care is something that's like a connective tissue during the ongoing pandemic yeah I think something a theme that's come up a couple times today is the importance of relationships and interdependence and I think those are ways that we are able to kind of push back on these harmful systems yeah in our one minute left I want to open up to the audience I feel like it's always just the people up here does anyone have a question for us yes it's called Krivoye collective which means Krivoye is like crooked and it refers to our noses and our sexuality any other questions audience breaking the fourth wall yes I did but for streaming I think if anyone here wants to join your embroidery project what should we do go to framed in Belarus.net register Google form and as soon as I have new patterns we will contact you