Japanese Culture and Lantern Festival to Celebrate Sister Cities’ 50th Anniversary
Tampa, FL (March 2009) - The Gasparilla International Film Festival came and went, leaving a very exhausted but pleased Eric Odum at the end of the after party at the Old Firehouse in Tampa. When I first spied the man who helped found the GIFF at the opening night party, he was the festival’s President. When we were actually able to sit down to an interview at the closing night party, he had turned his crown over to Chad Moore.
Eric Odum spoke passionately about his love of film, a love he developed when he lived in Brazil and was made to watch a Pedro Almodóvar film. He watched it over and over until he not only learned Spanish, but developed an appreciation of artistic cinema. His purpose in co-founding the GIFF was to fill the gap left by the absence of art house cinema in Tampa, to give local filmmakers a chance for exposure and bring to the Tampa Bay Area the films audiences wouldn’t otherwise get a chance to see, like Il Divo, the controversial biopic based on former Italian Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti.
Clearwater, FL - On March 21st, Artists in Action International (AIAI) celebrated their anniversary in addition to having a Grand Opening of their new Mission: Beautification Gallery space located conveniently downtown at 400 Cleveland Street.
The Mission: Beautification Gallery provides an opportunity for local artists to be seen. A few people I talked to had this as their first showing of artwork. Like Andrejas Lazdins, who found out about AIAI through Craigslist. He attended The International Academy of Design and Technology and does photographic and graffiti art, but this is his first time displaying his artwork.
In a previous article, Patrick Valtin provided useful tips on how business owners should deal with the economic crisis. In this article he shares very powerful principles on successful salesmanship. What attitude is right, if you life depends on selling something? What selling skills are vital if you want to succeed in difficult times?
In the first part of this in-depth article, Patrick Valtin presents vital principles of selling in over-competitive, saturated markets. Recognized as an international expert in sales strategies, Patrick has trained over 45,000 sales professionals and executives on the subject of salesmanship. Here, he presents how you what customers consider as most important in their relationship with you, the sales Pro, and how you can pull them into wanting your product…without pushing!
You wouldn't want to raise race horses in Wisconsin because the soil there is high in calcium, which makes them way too relaxed. Cattle raised in Wisconsin are big, easy-going and relaxed. In contrast, breeders in Kentucky don't raise contented cattle but race horses - nervous, jumpy, raring-to-go race horses. That's because the soil is high in phosphorus and low in calcium, which results in wound-up, chomping-at-the-bit, high energy horses. They can't relax and that's what you want in a race horse.
Cupcakes, Red Carpet and Armand Assante What More Could a Girl Want?
Tampa, FL (February 2009) - For ten days, The Gasparilla Film Festival turned Tampa into Hollywood, with all those film types hanging around. For a second it felt as if the Superbowl was back in town; having the nervous feeling that you’ll turn around and bump into Matt Dillon.
Emmy Award winner Armand Assante was honored at the festival with the Career Achievement Award, and was a very pleasant gentleman. We sat down for an interview and ended up chatting endlessly about our acting training and techniques. His advice for young actors was, “If you chose to act, act, and don’t look back.”
In a full-length dress reminiscent of a cloud, Gasparilla Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Terry Moore floated by. In her 80s, she still managed to radiate that vintage sophistication and beauty. She had been married to Howard Hughes, and I wanted to go up to her and verify a few Old Hollywood rumors, but I was whisked off to another interview.
Fountain in the Park
Station Square Park Opens in Downtown Clearwater
Clearwater, FL (February 26, 2009) - Throughout history, fountains have served to fulfill both the practical and aesthetic needs of society. Public fountains were a social gathering point for people while they also collected water for drinking or bathing.
Today, in many great cities, fountains still symbolize artistic and social ideas. It is therefore only fitting that part of the City of Clearwater’s Revitalization Project included an invigorating fountain as the entrance point to Station Square Park.