Strength To Be Human --Global Arts & Affairs Podcast, Hosted by Mark Antony Rossi

S2 E148: The Dark Side of Guilt, Pride and Perfection in the Art World

By outlining and speaking to some of the major contributing factors to a writer's creative funk we seek to lessen the negative impact and therefore help restore productivity and a sense of belonging once more.
 
Guilt -- parental, martial, sexual, racial
 
Pride -- the insistence of living off resume, geography or culture instead of hard work and good faith. This path often steers towards arrogance.
 
Perfection:  really more of a fantasy that insists on control but actually becomes less secure and more paranoid. 

S2 E147: Navigating World Travel in Literary Writing

How much is too much of a subject matter for writing? Well, you guessed it, traveling and trying to incorporate the experience can be a test of writing skills or of one of patience.  In this show we cover three subtopics:
1. Shading: travel locale sprinkling through writing
2. Detail: Full blown detail oriented writing on a event, locale, geography etc, that merits more substance.
3. Overblown: when we attempt to fill all we write with foreign names, locales, events, cute phrase, unknown sayings and start losing focus on the writing and disconnecting from the reader.

S2 E146: How Evil Words Reduce Civil Behavior

In perhaps one of the most controversial of podcasts on word usage we delve deeply into hateful words that have no place in our writing or lives.
Gender --- B-word
Sexuality -- lesbian --- lesbo, dyke
                   gay --- fairy, queer, faggot, homo, pansy, sissy
                  transgender -- tranny, he/she
Disability --- retard, gimp
Race -- N-Word
            intro -- evil word should not be used by anyone
           n-word rap music, authentic theories, taking back word theories
           mark twain, dick gregory, luke cage, remember the titans, atlanta
 

S2 E145: The Value of Creative Writing Coaches & Courses

Lately this form of creative instruction, due to Covid, has migrated more than ever to online, Skype and even Zoom. Less in class personal instruction is taking place but in this episode I will address both Coaches & Courses.
Pros & Cons (individually & comparison modeling)
seeking references, understanding impact of assignments
creative goals, writing exercises and "homework"
Managing Expectations --
What is self awareness, self definition and self instruction
 

S2 E144: Classic Spotlight Series -- Thoughts on Charles Bukowski

More listeners have requested a show on Bukowski than any other literary figure in history. Even Poe. In this extended episode of plus ninety minutes I will explore in an artistic manner what Bukowski was as a person, a persona, a writer and possibly a philosopher. It should reveal some new facts, new viewpoints and help demystify a seemingly dysfunctional countercultural icon and celebrity.

S2 E143: The Art of This Podcast: Behind the Broadcast

In one of the more unique episodes we answer emails on how and why this podcast exists and how it may be different from other literary or artistic endeavors. In this episode we cover questions:
On how compose interesting titles
Whether show is from top of head or more structured
The sources of many of its ideas
Why show not as formally polished as others in the medium
 
The subject breakdown is as follows
 
titles
outlines
constructing the show
improvisation mixed with structured thought frame
injecting the personal to lend more humanity into topics
 

S2 E142: The Relationship Between Creativity and Mental Illness

There's been an overwhelming feeling in the artistic community for centuries that "madness" or what we now call mental illness plays a pivotal role in the lives of creative individuals.
Drawing from the latest studies on this question from the US, UK, India and Denmark as well as anecdotal evidence and famous artistic quotes I will attempt to bring us closer to understanding what the creative experience means inside and outside of mental troubles.
introductory statement
section 1 -- known science on the subject
section 2 --- various theories on the subject
section 3 -- my thoughts on the subject
closing comments
 
 
 

S2 E141: The Long Road of Lost Potential

On the heels of another military veteran suicide, I figure best to speak about the distractions and detours that can cause people to begin that long road of lost potential.

S2 E140: Toying With Tangents -- Science Fiction in Writing

In the long overdue followup to the toying with tangents series, this episode explains the deeper significance of science fiction in writing.
 
We Cover:
 
poetry & fiction
novelization with recurring themes of ethics, humanity, artificial intelligence, philosophy and religion.
authors: asimov, bradbury, clarke, verne, 
shows: star trek, babylon 5
movies: star wars, ET, 
 

S2 E139: Interview with Tammy Smith

In another informative interview we discuss art therapy and writing with New Jersey-based licensed clinical social worker and writer Tammy Smith.
We cover the following topics:
 
Art Therapy
Writing in Medicine
Writing as Therapy
Telemedicine