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Ojai WordFest premieres March 19-27, 2011

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE



Ojai WordFest premieres March 19-27, 2011

A 9-Day Celebration of Words, Ideas and Stories





OJAI, Calif., November 16, 2010 — Ojai WordFest will launch next Spring with nine days of reading and writing events in one of the most beautiful settings in Southern California: the majestic Ojai Valley.



“We’re excited to be showcasing Ojai authors,” says Roberta Raye, owner of Made in Ojai - Artisans & Mercantile and co-founder of the event. “In Ojai you can find New York Times best-selling authors as well as screenwriters, playwrights, slam poets, cookbook authors … you name it.”



The mission of Ojai WordFest is to celebrate the wealth of Ojai’s literary talent; to nurture aspiring writers as well as seasoned authors to further develop their craft; and to introduce Ojai to the world as a literary destination.



“We hope to draw people from all over Southern California,” says Sequoia Hamilton, owner of Paris Writers Retreats and co-founder of Ojai WordFest. “Ojai is already home to Ojai Music Festival, Ojai Playwrights Conference, Ojai Film Festival and other arts-centric events and we are thrilled by the outpouring of support from local businesses, organizations, the City of Ojai, and volunteers.”



The nine-day event kicks off Saturday, March 19 with an all-day Book Fair and is followed by a multi-author Book Release Party that same evening. Ojai WordFest continues for eight more days with a host of community events – open mic venues, poetry readings, a scrabble pajama party, a literary-based big screen movie night, a downtown “Lit Crawl” – and is anchored by a 3-day Writers’ Conference (Friday, March 25- Sunday, March 27.)



Highlights of the 9-day event are numerous and include Cooking Classes at the Lavender Inn with local cookbook authors, soulful workshops by esoteric authors at local venues including the dome at Soul Centered and Ojai House, classes by Yoga authors at Ojai Retreat, and numerous author readings around town including Theater 150, Bart’s Books, the Ojai Library, and more. Ojai WordFest will culminate with a Gala and Awards Banquet on Saturday, March 26.



“Ojai is a natural venue for such an event,” says Bret Bradigan, publisher of Ojai Quarterly magazine, and co-founder of Ojai WordFest, "We are brimming with talent, tranquil beauty and inspiration.”



For more information, visit: www.OjaiWordFest.com



# # #

Media Contact:

Sequoia Hamilton

(805) 766-7222

www.OjaiWordFest.com

Word-of-Mouth 2.0

This is part of a conversation earlier this week about socializing my work's website, www.OjaiVisitors.com. I wanted to add a Facebook 'Like' Box to the site to help drive up our Facebook content. Read and tell me if you think I made my case.

The “Like Button” is for article content, the “Like Box” is to integrate your website with your Facebook Fan Page. They are not the same thing.

If our goal is to drive traffic to the website, we need to take advantage of the tools at our disposal. If we really want to use the Facebook to

drive traffic to the website, we need to make a customized landing page, which will showcase the site immediately when new users click on our Facebook. The way we have it right now, the website isn’t even mentioned until we click the “Info” tab on the page. Consider the fan page is like a continuously streaming e-newsletter, users see the information and specials I post in real time. Most of the information I post on our Facebook directly links to our website, so why not try to get more fans so they can be continuously updated with specials and information?
This is where the symbiotic relationship between the website and social media comes in. Our mission is to drive midweek overnight stays, and by not making our website sharable or incorporated with FB or Twitter, we aren’t allowing the possibility of crowd sourcing. Social media is making e-blasts and e-newsletters obsolete, and the more out of town people we have on our Facebook, the more up to date they will be on what’s going on in Ojai. And they will tell their friends

, and so on and so forth. It’s “Word-of-Mouth 2.0!”

Shortly after this post was written, we added a beautiful landing page to our Facebook to help drive traffic to the website. Check it out:

Despite my finding that my confidence in the "like" box wasn't good for the site, I am so happy that my team listened to what I had to say. You win some and lose some.

Open Letter to All the Gay Youths

In light of the recent gay youth suicides, I feel it is important to reflect on my experiences as a gay youth to let LGBT kids to know that life does get easier. We are different, and people in high school have a way to never let you forget about it.

Maybe you can't see it yet, because the bullying seem like an endless onslaught. Life is full of challenges, and fighting for respect while maintaining your pride can be an all out war.

I guess I was lucky when I came out in 2003, I had a warm welcome by a strong group of core friends. Not to mention I had fellow gay allies to watch my back. On the rare occasion I was harassed for being gay, the taunter was a Bellevue poser" "gangster." For those who aren't familiar with the geography of the Seattle area, Bellevue is a growing wealthy community east of Seattle. It's where "new money" families come to live lavishly. So as you can imagine, a "gangster" from this suburbia didn't to much to intimidate. Sure, there were uncomfortable moments with other guys in gym class and the locker room, but I was able to evade conflict.

And sure, I had my awkward and frustrating times, the feeling of being a stranger in your own skin. But I also remember feeling intensely liberated for the first time. I had done it, I had finally said it outloud to someone else--I was gay. And if it wasn't for the courage and loyalty of my friends, high school could of been a lot different.

To all my fellow Bellevue School District Gay Straight Alliances members, thank you for being you and fighting the good fight.

School was fine, but home was a different story. I have four older brothers, who are quite a few years older than me. They were all out of the house, and it was just my parents and I. My mom was the socially liberal parent, but she is marred by tragedy. The death of her cousin from AIDS a decade earlier had left a less-than-favorable impression of the gay community. She was scared for my health and safety. She was worried about gay bashings, and so was I. But this didn't stop me from expressing who I was, and not being scared to make mistake and look like an idiot. What others think of me shouldn't affect my happiness. Never put your happiness in the hands of someone else.

In conclusion, to quote the great Ru Paul, "If you can't love yourself, than how the hell are you going to love anybody else?"

We're a community, tap into that communal support and strength. You won't regret it.

Love Always,

Ryan

Using the WriteRoom Application for the First Time

I'm trying WriteRoom for the first time to keep my mind-wandering to a minimum. WriteRoom is designed to aid writers, bloggers and freelancers by taking up the full screen of your computer. By using a retro " green text on black background," it's simplifying the design of the word processing and eliminating muli-tasking.

I definitely appreciate the motivation behind its' design, sometimes Word can get overloaded and clogged up with boxes and elements.

And success! I wrote this paragraph in under 5 minutes! Maybe WriteRoom does work.

Download your free 30-day trial of WriteRoom.

Sun is the Best Medicine--It's that Simple

I haven't been sick once since I've lived in Ojai, California. I mean, I've had a scare where I thought I was getting ill, but nothing ever came of it. I swear it's the dry climate--and my diet of fresh fruit and veggies straight from farm to table helps quite a bit.

As much as I love my homeland of Seattle, the wet weather was sucking me dry. Too many gloomy days for one sane person to live through. The Spring and Summer are when you have a better chance of scoring sunshine in the Northwest. And bel

ieve me, it is unparalleled in beauty when it is nice.

This pictures exemplifies my point on the beauty of California and it's good for the soul:

My Quest for a High Klout Score

Today marks day one of my experiment to see if I can improve my score on Klout. For those of you who don't know what exactly is Klout, here's a description ripped straight from the company itself.

"The Klout Score is the measurement of your overall online influence. The scores range from 0 to 100 with higher scores representing a wider and stronger sphere of influence. Klout uses over 25 variables to measure True Reach, Amplification Probability, and Network Score. The size of the sphere is calculated by measuring True Reach (engaged followers and friends vs. spam bots, dead accounts, etc.). Amplification Probability is the likelihood that messages will generate retweets or spark a conversation. If the user's engaged followers are highly influential, they'll have a high Network Score." (link)

On my Ry_Curran account, my Klout score is 7, which is casual and mostly inactive. Although I might disagree with this assessment, I'm curious if I'm truly engaging anyone in the Twitterverse.

I'll try to keep good on updating this blog with my progress. Give me a tongue-lashing if I don't.

Natural Progression

Moving is a part of life, and it is necessary for an individual to mature into a well-round adult. I grew up in the Seattle area, and I went to college 90 miles north of the my hometown--Don't you dare think that's enough distance to "get-away." Needless to say, when the opportunity to move to Cali arose, I clammered for the chance at a clean slate--a clean slate from the nest... Sounds like serenity, doesn't it?

I wouldn't say moving to California has been calming, but it has opened a lot of doors. But there was a catch, I had to live in the small town of Ojai, a "city" of 8,000 people strong. Don't feel sorry for me--no, Ojai is an absolute paradise, but an isolated mountain town. It's located just outside of Los Angeles. I maybe in cowboy country, but I feel like I am in the center of the world. California has the eighth largest economy in the world. Did you know that?

However, I do miss my buddies and the buzz of living in a city full of people and possibilities.

I've spent a lot of time in Ojai over my life. I've always been close with my aunt and uncle who also live in Ojai. My aunt Betsy was also my hero going up. She is the kind of free spirit who is completely straight forward, she'll tell you how it is, but she has a hint of class clown. She would always take me out to go find snakes, spiders, bears and lizards. Naturally, living close to them feels right.

One thing I will say about moving is don't do it alone. If you can, move with a friend. I think the exception to that rule would be living in a large, crowded city. But on those nights after a long day at work, it would be nice to see a familiar face.

Excuses, Excuses! Just Do it!

Even though, I have a Journalism degree, writing is something I fail to integrate into my daily routine. Sure, I get to write occasional e-mails at work, and that can be considered "fun." I do always like seeing how many ways I can phrase something differently. It's a word game for me, and I found that same thrill crafting my shoe sales at Nordstrom. But for some reason, I haven't been relax enough to make transcribing my thoughts into written form. I need to change that. Writing is cleansing, and it has been something I've always enjoyed doing. Play to your strengths, isn't that what our coaches always told us? Besides, it is my belief that if you aren't pushing to be the best at what you do, then what's the point of trying.

Let's see how well I can do keeping this blog up... Finally.

Working Intro to Ginger Narrative

I’d like to think the sun doesn’t hate me, but my skin would tell you otherwise. Usually after ten minutes under it’s fiery omnipresence, my milk coloring begins to pinken as though spanked by an enormous hand. Don’t start thinking I'm whining, my epidermis is a magnificent specimen, and should be admired for it's growing rarity.

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It's fun, yes? No? This is from a free write so I'm not exactly hoping for a Pulitzer, but I cannot deny the fact that one would be nice.

No Such Thing as Free Time

Since I have some time on my hands, I am using it to continue my education and to feed my creative beast, I am learning Adobe Photoshop!

I am also being a savvy researcher, because I am using Google go find free literature. Luckily, I have InDesign experience, so this jump to Photoshop isn't mind boggling.

I think this will unleash my visual imagination, and this thrills me. The world through my eyes! And in visual form--this is exciting!

Be prepared to see a lot of geometric shapes, shark teeth and dinosaurs appearing in my photography!

Don't Put Baby in the Corner

Okay, okay, okay... The craziness of my work situation has been resolved, and I now feel much better about the whole ordeal.

The only person I need to apologize for my lack of blog updating is myself. I'm trying to maintain a schedule of writing blog posts and continuing work on side projects, but the consequences of a hostile work environment has taken its toll on me.

I am no longer working for Nordstrom. This is a good thing, but it is an outcome that came a little too soon. I only graduated from college a month ago, so this makes me feel confident in finding some gainful employment, but one should also continue to have a job while exploring the job market.

I am a grounded person, and I have built myself a semi-solid shelter from the unemployment woes hurricane, so I am not worried about this affecting my present living situation.

So, I finally have the time to follow my passions, and find a job to work where I can grow as a professional and as an adult. HOWEVER, this means going through the job hunt, which can be competitive and gruesome. But this freedom allows for my creative side to run rampant to keep my time entertained while dying from boredom of nothing to do.