TED2013 - Session 6: CREATE!

TED2013: The Young. The Wise. The Undiscovered. Session 6: CREATE!

Gotta love the friends who keep you "in the know" and share opportunities with you...

February 27, 2013, I had the opportunity to attend a session of TED2013 via TEDLive held at City College. It was made possible by Scott Elias of LivingWorks Ventures. After the talk he told us for all the years he's been attending TED conferences the common thread among all the speakers is their passion for what they do. What is your passion? Are you happy? How can you make yourself happy doing what you're passionate about? How will your passion affect change? These are questions he didn't have the answers to which is why at age 50 he started LivingWorks Ventures. It's one thing to create products for consumers, it's another to create from love, create memories, create a feeling that a person will want to recreate again with your products.

The Date That Wasn't

One of my recent forays into online dating...


We exchanged a few messages before deciding to go to the movies. Previous plans to go on a gallery crawl didn't pan out because of location (he's in NJ) and other plans (I had other plans).


He'd be in "the city" (Manhattan, NY) on this particular day. He played an active role in selecting which movie we'd watch where, took into account my travel, all that jazz. We had the movie and time all picked out (4:15pm on a weekday). We were going to meet at the theater. I had his photo queued up on my phone so I could match it up with the man I would meet.

Ask Abbie: Victor the Virgo and His Flaky Pisces Fish

Victor our Virgo wants to make sure he doesn't blow it again with his super cute, confusing Pisces woman... and get through their date on Thursday night.

Victor the Virgo asks:

Well I am a Virgo male and I'm very interested in this super cute and amazing Pisces woman. We're still friends and we only fooled around 1 time in back in December. I told her that I cared for her too much to have sex when we are drunk so we stayed friends. I was courting her big time and she knew I wanted more than friends... we had such a great time these last 2 months. We had this trip to Miami Beach planned -- amazing Trump hotel suite over the ocean which I knew she would love. I was going to pay...but she canceled the trip, she said "too much pressure" ??? I was shocked and upset about this ... I sent some stupid texts to her. That's wrong I know so we did not text or talk at all for a week or so. 

UFC 157: Rousey vs. Carmouche - Ultimate Fighting Women

Rousey vs. Carmouche at UFC 157

Rousey: "...Damn, those girls did deserve to be in the main event."


On Saturday, February 23, 2013, in Anaheim, California, "Rowdy" Ronda Rousey successfully defended her Bantamweight Championship against "Girl Rilla" Liz Carmouche in UFC's first women's bout. The night was history making. And inspiring.

Sweet Chick Chicken and Waffles in Williamsburg

Sweet Chick is Native Creative Concierge™ approved.

Sweet Chick, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY

I received the email re: Sweet Chick's opening in Williamsburg. It was touted as "Brooklyn's newest chicken and waffles spot". Although the duck sloppy joes on the menu caught my eye momentarily, I went for the chicken and waffles.


I'm a late-bloomer when it comes to the culinary combination of chicken and waffles. Since finally indulging in  the dish a few years ago, I've done my fair share of catching up. You've read my take on the version at Cafeteria. The Egg Nog Chicken and Waffles at Melba's during the holidays one year. I've had them at Amy Ruth's in Harlem at a friend's birthday brunch. I've eaten Chicken and Waffles at Rustik Tavern. Have yet to try them at the Pink Tea Cup and I didn't get to try them at Gladys Knight & Ron's Chicken and Waffles when I was in Atlanta. I had a satisfying Chicken and Waffles at Williams & Bailey in Williamsburg a few months back, on a whim... crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside whim. My all-time favorite thus far is the Chicken and Waffles at Clinton St. Baking Co. And I most recently had them at Back Forty in my second home, SoHo.


I had to know if Sweet Chick could measure up.

Learning To Take Baby Steps

Learning how to take baby steps is going to take baby steps. I like quicker results. Not overnight -- I know that's not realistic in most situations. But fast results? Why not.

How to Get Him to Commit to You

I downloaded How to Get Him to Commit to You Over and Over in 7 Easy Steps and Think It's His Idea by John Alanis this weekend when the free download link was on my Kindle. Free? Ok, can't hurt. Plus I had to read what a man would tell women about getting men to commit.

Turns out he told the truth. The hard truth. The truth your "head-in-the-real-world" girl friends probably told you before but you didn't heed.

Here are the things I was totally on board with:

City Crab Lunch Break

City Crab is Native Creative Concierge approved.

Juan mans the raw bar at City Crab in NY

Last Friday's lunch was at City Crab in the Gramercy/Flatiron neighborhood in Manhattan. My friend and I had been there before for drinks during happy hour and for post-brunch drinks on a Saturday (we like drinks). My friend chose City Crab because of Juan, the oyster shucker.

Always Have A Plan B

screenshot from Plan B commercial

 

Right at the precise moment I was sharing with a friend that I really am not looking forward to being pregnant and there are things that I have to take care of first before I do and there's only one person who I would even think long and hard about considering having a baby with IF that were to happen, that Plan B, AKA The morning after pill commercial (see above) came on hulu. I took a pic of it to send to my friend to show her the universe was screaming at me -- there's no need to be thinking about having no babies, 'specially not with him. As this commercial eloquently pointed out there was an option for when the condom breaks or if we lose common sense in the heat of the moment.

 

DJ Abbie Debut (Recap)

Ten days removed from my DJing debut. I've since come down off the high to the point that I haven't listened to music since. Which is astonishing for me. But I guess, subconsciously, my body and brain knew a detox was needed. I had a lot of fun controlling a room with music. In the weeks leading up to it, I organized most of my "world" music onto one playlist to make it easy. Then I organized them based on their sound or the mood they set. It's all about mood for me.

Exhaust Pipes: A Mini Collection of Erotic Fiction

I wrote another book. Exhaust Pipes. The idea came to me late last month that a mini ebook released in time for Valentine's Day would be a great product for new and old readers of my erotic fiction. So with the support of my "market research division", I went to work.


Exhaust Pipes, is a mini collection that containing four erotic stories featuring car sex or anal sex. Originally it was going to be a mini ebook of only two stories but I decided to include two more that were "in the vault" and ready to shine. Exhaust Pipes is available on Kindle, Nook and Kobo. I'm excited to also be reaching new readers on Sony eReader and Apple iBooks with this release. You can buy the book formats for those readers on Smashwords. I'll have those direct links for you shortly.

Undertaker vs Brock Lesnar at Wrestlemania 29

After Brock Lesnar's return last Monday on Raw I was excited. It took a week to hit me -- "why?". I do NOT want to see him anywhere near Ryback. We already had Lesnar vs Goldberg at a Wrestlemania. No good. I've seen the above image floating around the interwebs. Add The Undertaker to the promo image and we're set. That is what we need to see - The Undertaker vs Brock Lesnar.


Set up: Brock crossed The Boss last week (fracturing his pelvis in the process). Brock thinks he's a big shot, the Big Dog in the yard.  The Undertaker will show Brock whose yard it is.

Django Unchained (2012)

 

I finally saw Django Unchained (it opened Christmas Day 2012). I enjoyed the movie. It was entertainment. It's a movie I could (and probably will) watch again. It was your typical man-seeks-vengeance, save-the-princess buddy movie with comedic and psuedo-superhero elements. What's not to love? Men on horses, men shooting guns, witty one-liners -- works for me.

Django (Jamie Foxx) and Dr. Schultz (Christoph Waltz) in Django Unchained

Happy Holidays from The Native Creative

Thank you for all your support thus far; here's to Abundance, Prosperity, Joy and Gratitude in 2013!


We've reached another end. But the only thing ending today is autumn. We welcome the winter season and a new age of consciousness.


What's on your To-do I-WILL list for 2013? Please share.

NY Post "Subway Death Cover" Should Not Have Been Published

My first thought upon seeing the cover of the NY Post on December 4 was "whoa". I peered deeper at the image trying to get a look at the face of the train operator, physically empathizing for what Ki Suk Han must've been feeling, wishing it were merely a scene from a movie in which at the last second the man would hoist himself up on the tracks narrowly missing his real fate.


And I was disturbed that the NY Post chose to publish that image on it's cover (not to mention it's choice of headline). R. Umar Abbasi, freelance photographer, took the photo. I heard the story on WCBS 880 yesterday before I saw the image -- onlookers screamed and ran from the scene as the photographer tried to use his camera flash to warn the train operator. I can see the logic behind his decision -- a split second panic-driven decision perhaps (Malcolm Gladwell explains this well in blink). But what remains is that photo ended up on the cover of the NY Post.

Giving Thanks

What are you thankful for?

The 5, 6, 7 dishes you get to choose from for dinner today? The egg nog? The pie? Maybe you're thankful for the opportunity to put your feet up and order Chinese food.

Working today? Be thankful for the job and the double or triple overtime pay. I've gone from no job to the choice of 3. I'm thankful.

Be thankful for the big and the little things. Great and small. Expressing joy and gratitude attracts more to be joyous and grateful for.

A Home For My Nude Men

My Bare Men photo series features 7 men, ranging in ages 22-51 in art, editorial and erotic nude images sharing moments of joy, release, ecstasy, vulnerability and angst. It is also a book.

"Cover Boy", Bare Men, Abigail Ekue Photography

I'm currently seeking a place to exhibit and it's been a uphill battle. Any rejection I've received has been about the content of the photos, not the quality of the images, the level of my work etc. I've been told numerous times, "I/we love your work, we just can't show that here", the reason given being the clientele or they feel it's too raw.

My Personal New Year

I celebrate my Personal New Year today. My Solar Return.

All day I can't help smiling from ear to ear when I hear the newscaster announce the day and date on the radio - Thursday, November 15.

Whoo-hoo!

My vision board consists of post-its on my wall. I add and subtract as needed. I've never had an "official" board, but I always make lists or write notes, have certain themes that recur in my journal entries and things I wish for constantly.

This year I will continue to exercise, learn new skills (je suis etudient francais pour quand je visite Paris), push past my comfort zone and fears, live by my moral code; be my authentic self. I also have a million dollar check to cash as a reward for following my dreams. Yes, travel is on the board too.

The past few months, Buddhism has been popping up all around me. I realized there are parts of that philosophy that I am familiar with. I started my new year celebrations by visiting a Buddhist center. A friend was gracious enough to show myself and a friend around. It coincided with the solar eclipse new moon.

I'll use synchronicities as guides. I will remain aware of them, open to them and proactive with them. Two minutes after my solar return, I received an email about the release of an erotic photography book. They continue.

I might add that at the moment of my return, I noted it in my journal and continued doing something I truly enjoy -- eating.

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50 Shades of Rope Burn

I watched the trailer for Fifty Shades of Chicken earlier this week. I enjoyed the narration. I enjoyed the eye candy. As a writer who tackles different genres and styles, I'm glad that there's a market for a cookbook for what I think is the most common of meats -- all sexed up.

You know my stance on food, enjoyment and sex, already. Plus, I love to laugh. I've delved into kink and BDSM only a handful of times; I've relinquished power for play and art.

He's Too Short For Me

He answered my ad, which was more of a rant on folks going online to meet people then never actually meeting.


He told me he was "quite young", in his 20's. In any capacity, I avoid them. But since this wasn't a date-date, I was my usual open-minded, adventuresome self. I sent the message, "Quite young"? Oh boy. But I'm not looking to date so I guess it's ok." I could go for some witty banter and a drink. What I did like was that he chose the place and time. I have declared to no longer deal with lazy men -- you ask me out then have a plan if I say 'yes'.