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illegiblewords · 3 years

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Notes under the cut!

Having made a lady WoL collection, I decided to do a dude one too. As before I have more, but not all are leveled and I have some I’m more attached to than others.

I do want to push for more range honestly--I’m not sure how I wound up with three midlander dudes and a highlander lol. I should really follow through with a male au ra, hrothgar, and lalafell. I did an odd green/brown hair hybrid that I suppose could qualify for brunette, but otherwise my tendencies toward black and blonde hair came through real strong. Mysteriously absent are redheads. I may also want to experiment more with color palettes and cultural influences a bit.

For the guys, there are spots where I played into job expectations and spots where I defied them. I wanted to try designing some characters in ways I hadn’t seen so much in-game, as well as designing characters who would immediately evoke a specific tone! There are also definitely jobs where I deliberately tried to show some traditional masculinity where it’s less expected, which was fun.

Cenric/Black Mage Midlander: People have criticized hyurs before by calling them “too vanilla”, since they’re the human stand-ins. I figure though, they’re hyurs. Hyurs are imaginary and don’t need to follow real world biology. Play with color palettes and features so you get a more definite fantasy look if you want to. With Cenric, I specifically tried to go super dark and de-saturated to evoke a walking silhouette (sort of like drow) and gave him the palest eyes possible with strategic face paint so they’d look like they glow. This was all in the name of making a character who evoked Final Fantasy’s classic black mage, just going in a more adult and extra spooky-goth direction.

Maerec/Dark Knight Midlander: Maerec, I designed specifically to both be a step off of the default midlander from commercials and to embody the Dark Knight questline as best I could. Giving him some edge visually while still feeling reasonably natural was fun to balance! To this end, I knew dark eyes would be important to helping the black hair fit in. Going with a very dark red I figure it almost seems like he could have brown eyes until you look closely. Making him feel very Ishgardian was also fun, with the horned helmet and Fray-esque glamour. I also designed him to both parallel and contrast with Lahabrea given their stories are intertwined. If there’s scattered angel/demon imagery between them that works even more.

Sublime Tiger/Samurai Hellsguard: I know that my natural inclinations go toward bishonens lmao, so figuring out the angle I wanted to work with the SUPER BEEFY male roegadyns was wild! One thing that gave me inspiration at the time was realizing that, with their black noses, Hellsguard roegadyns can 100% evoke big cats--among other animals. I usually prefer designing Sea Wolves for lacking the black noses because my impulse is for it either to be visually unified with the rest of the face/body or go without--so I often feel a bit more limited with what kind of designs I’ll do for Hellsguard. With Sublime Tiger, originally he had both orange and black striped hair (one of the styles available works it) as well as the black face paint evoking tiger stripes. I found the hair more limiting with helms though so made it pure black instead. Deciding what glamour would look good and play well with proportions was also a process--wanted him to feel like he’s from Othard since there is a big Hellsguard population there, so samurai made some sense to me in building that. After experimenting though, I wound up going with a look that took a bit of inspiration from One Thousand And One Nights. I have additional ideas for what I might try going forward though.

J’mor/Red Mage Miqo’te: This was a combination of a lot of ideas! One was wanting to embrace the physicality of red mage as a job, and explore it as a worldly kind of caster who works well with ease of movement and does a lot of darting around the battlefield. Mages in-general are often seen as kind of ivory tower sorts, and by shedding the usual frills I wanted to show that it’s possible to have a caster’s knowledge while being very connected to the world at large. Also give a strong sense of SWASHBUCKLER where the magic kind of slaps you in the face with additional power. I also noticed I hadn’t seen as many black male miqo’te in-general, along with fandom stereotypes about catboys as soft. So I decided to design J’mor with that in mind--playing him as a very shonen kind of hero while the beard brings an extra bit of hardness to his features.

Asah’zi/White Mage Miqo’te: Asah’zi is another case where I wanted to challenge the idea of male miqo’te as soft, and I added to that challenge by making him a white mage when that is often filled by lady characters. I was also interested, lore-wise, in the tension between Keeper of the Moon tribes and Gridania (where white magic has very strong ties). That Keepers of the Moon are also very matriarchal gave added interest for me making a more rough and traditionally masculine-feeling white mage sort, especially since Keepers often build a lot of their lives around hunting through the Twelveswood. I also wanted to bring some sense of druid into white mage as a job, given the nature ties. With Asah’zi, using skydruid skins, claws, a wooden cane, and on all contributed toward the vibe I wanted to build for him. Using emotes that show off his fangs helps bring a bit of cockiness to him too, which is fun. And stealing Thancred’s hair lets him have a bit of a roguish vibe lol.

Amir/Dancer Highlander: Like I said, I tend to go for bishonen-sorts in designs a lot. HOWEVER! I do love this highlander face type specifically a ton, and think guy highlander proportions are well-balanced overall while being beefy. I knew for a while that I had a specific design I liked a lot for male highlander with Amir, and I definitely wanted to do something with him. The choice to make him a dancer specifically came from a conversation I saw just after the job’s release. An IRL male hip hop dancer mentioned feeling a bit bummed out because a lot of the animations felt like they played more to softness/grace and traditional femininity, and he’d been hoping for the option of a little edge with battle dancing because that’s what he does. Some players said he should just play monk, others were kind of mean to him and acted like what he wanted was somehow shitty. I felt for the dude to be honest since he was coming from a place of feeling frustrated by stereotyping, so I decided to look at the animations and see how much they could be integrated into a design that felt more traditionally masculine. I saw a lot of bright greens (especially with the peacock feathers) so I tried to unify that with a green glamour. The mask reminds me of rave aesthetics a bit, and I’ve seen dudes wear shorts similar to the Nezha ones before. I’m a big fan of the idea that fashion can be a way to create what you want tonally, and I tried to explore that in this design.

Navarre/Paladin Midlander: At some point it hit me that I have been avoiding traditional knight-in-shining-armor looks like the plagues in my tanks lol. This made me think a fair bit. What struck me was that if the only thing a glamour has to say for itself is “this is a knight”, that doesn’t feel so interesting to me. If it’s supposed to be a knight in shining armor specifically though, bringing an almost angelic, elemental feeling to the look is something I’m 500% there for. And weirdly, people don’t seem to do this as much. I’m less used to paladins compared to dark knights, warriors, or even gunbreakers--and since paladins are so associated with that holy knight-vibe I figured it made sense to go that direction. While I was looking into glamours, one thing I found was that a lot of them dyed with unchanging patches of black, had edgy red woven in, or otherwise came across as having been designed with dark knight or warrior in-mind. I decided part of what I’d do in this instance was really make a Warrior of Light who immediately screamed “yes I am the Warrior of Light” when you looked at him, and took inspiration from Cecil Harvey from Final Fantasy IV toward that end too. Every piece in this glamour was carefully picked not just for whether it worked as a silhouette, but also how it would dye.

Cesaire/Dragoon Elezen: Cesaire has gone through a lot of design phases. Initially he was a red elezen, because it’s a direction I don’t see used a lot but has a very doable fantasy feel I think is fun. Then he was a champagne/cream color all over as inspired by a particular breed of horses. Now, having put a lot of thought in, he is deep gold with blue eyes. The underlying concept for him was that I wanted to make a golden dragoon who looks like he should be terribly heroic, but then in practice he’s a kind of blood knight WoL who is about as close to Zenos as a Warrior can get without going outright evil. I played into gold and more general adventuring gear for the reason that I think Cesaire has absolutely left Ishgard behind him, and strongly prefers to be someone defined by what they do rather than where they’re from. Given elezens’ wide shoulders I also had to think about what combinations would work for balancing proportions, and I wanted Cesaire to visually hold his own visual niche within my overall Famfrit lineup so a lot was chosen with that in mind.

#final fantasy xiv #final fantasy 14 #final fantasy gpose #final fantasy xiv screenshots #ffxiv

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kunalkarankapoor · 5 years

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Because Art Is What You'll Make Of It...!

Marking 6 months of Na Bole Tum. And 6 months of following a performer who lends soul to his performance. Kunal Karan Kapoor - you're truly the coming of an artist! ps: Also (belated) Happy Birthday to a friend who's made many days of my life over the last one year feel brighter just like that! ---July 9th The episode was, as I think has been sufficiently - and unless I entirely missed some drastic forum drama - unanimously established, as Kunal Kapoor's arena! Ever since I got done watching, I've been torn between two conflicting mindsets. How exactly does one react after an episode like this one? No team of show makers can really use an actor's genius, unless he himself will live it out and give it all - and I have never known moral, ethical or professional compunctions to become the motivation for an actor to truly deliver. If Kunal still managed to give Mohan and the Monday space what he did give - he's an artist in more ways than I have personally appreciated him for! Because working on correcting and perfecting a minor quarter of a castle of cards while the rest of it sways and falls to a heap is not something everyone can do - much less an artist who is genuinely a performer of his art... The Kunal fan in me was rooting with an admiration that had no way to be subdued, no matter what my sensibilities had to contend. And that is brilliant. As is it ironic. It's not just about a commitment he has towards this team and the show - "Mohan" has to be dear to him in more ways obviously than any reasons that he may find to detach himself from the character! I was saying this elsewhere, and for making my case I shall say again. Indian television is perhaps one of the worst cases of typecasting at the moment. An authentic platform that seems to "honour" mediocrity as a virtue that should trump difference and thought. It doesn't mean there aren't people who are different - it only means that survival for this minority is obviously more than just an artist's struggle to exceed quality "competition". For some like Kunal whose lisp I assume has landed him more often than not in roles of stumbling, fumbling, goofy, stammering sidekicks - "Mohan" has obviously been a life altering opportunity. And frankly - "Mohan" is the chance he is, because Kunal himself makes it out to be so! What he had in hand was merely a case of not being typecast the way he had been previously. I remember this Rangmunch interview where Rinku Karmarkar mentioned how at the start of the show some from the team had apprehended the makers' decision to bring on a hero who lisps. And then she'd trailed into what in commonly accepted parlance is Mohan-Kunal-jaap! Something the audience is far too privy with, and as it turned out, so is the cast and crew! Anyway. What Kunal's made out of this opportunity is an indisputable case for himself, as an actor who can no longer be recognized for or upheld on account of a speech fault and the consequential typecasting he may have faced in the past. It's not just while "Mohan" lasts either - even if yes, it's fresh and of greatest impact while that's there - fact is, Kunal has successfully managed to free himself of being "stereotyped". Whenever the tomorrow comes for "Mohan" to wrap up, he will not - or at least should not - have to apprehend going back to the sidekick roles which were casually put together to "accommodate" him to "fill up" screen and script space with more than just the protagonists. He is no longer part of the "baggage" and it is not unlikely a tediously earned spot - which obviously runs much prior to "Mohan" happening, even if for me like many others, knowing the gem he is has started with Mohan. Anyway. When NBT started off, and safely upto its 100 episode mark, and some weeks into it too - what Kunal had in hand was an asset. An asset he had struck gold with and turned into the chance of a lifetime. What he currently has in hand however, is at least in part an albatross. Mohan himself may not be the distorted character of the series even yet; but Mohan does not exist in mutually exclusive space. If he was the epicenter of a brilliant slice of life plot earlier - the SuperM(oh)an whose interactions with just about any other made the other stand out too; Mohan has now become the hold it together super-glue. He seems like a blackhole of authenticity at some level - because while words like authentic, vintage and logical fall flat over most of remaining charades, Mohan holds out like he's absorbed it all in himself! There is the possible bias of Mohan being a favorite, for everyone from the makers to the audience turning to Kunal to salvage the situation from dire straits. But honestly, like I said above, I doubt any artist can deliver as Kunal has consistently been (through much low and little high of recent times) out of the sheer pressure of "expectation". Curiously enough, expectations evoke a sense of obligation in most people even with respect to vocations that have been entirely of their own choice and interest. I find it very humbling to believe as a mere fan of this artist, that he may have succumbed to neither the "expectation", not the "obligation" it brings in the wake. Somehow, even as I find myself increasingly losing out on my front as a viewer - he holds on not in faith or optimism but with a sensibility that seems like a myth to me when I look at the big picture otherwise. I want to say for myself here - and perhaps most will disagree- that if "faith" or "optimism" was all he progressed with, the conviction would not come through to me, ever. But what Kunal is managing to do here - something that puts me in another level of awe for him as just an artist and no strings attached - is delving so deep in the psyche of his character that he can essay sense even when there is an immense lacking of it. If you can lie like you believe it, sometimes it will not just seem like the truth - but actually become a truth in some alter universe. Sometimes, when a lie matters that much, somehow you make it real in some realm. And Kunal does that. Contrary to what most in his place would have done, he wasn't parading around with Mohan when the latter was in a soaring place, because he figured didn't have to. He was giving it all no less back then - but it was easier, because Mohan was in a place Kunal could easily slip into. He only had to slip in and out of shoes that nearly fit him anyway - and the onus was more about handling the center stage spotlight upon himself. At this point, the center stage focus is a heavier task. If Kunal was another kind of artist, a more usual kind in Indian telly industry, I would likely in all my judgment assume he's losing little sleep over disconnect or distortion. I'd probably go as far as assuming it either didn't matter so much to him, or perhaps even eluded him partly! But if Kunal was any percentage superficial or shallow in his understanding of the show, of Mohan in it and where and how he stands with respect to all else and others - he could never bring conviction to this point of the "story" (or lack thereof, if I may!). At a point where I in the viewing audience find the gap to be such a gaping hole - there is no way for him to not fathom its gravity. And yet, for an actor who consistently tried to establish himself as distinct from the "Mohan" on screen, in his real life bytes - Kunal has currently stepped right into the core of the caricature that is Mohan, and is what breathes life into it like a heartbeat. For all my saying all along of how Mohan and Kunal are intriguingly inseparable cases - at this dire stage I take back part of my opinion. A lesser actor could have possibly carried Mohan forth in the good times, and still connected with us - we may think not, accept not, being spoiled by what Kunal has made of Mohan - but fact is so. But what a lesser actor could not have done is what Kunal does now. When a lesser artist would have found it easiest, even inevitable, to "disconnect" with the character he was portraying, Kunal has only lodged himself more firmly in place. He has reinforced - not contrived - sensibility and conviction into Mohan! He has literally submerged himself into a place where he is only Mohan, where Kunal ceases to exist. The phenomenal part of it has been not just sustaining Mohan - who has constantly seemed like the least altered on account of I can no longer say the "story" or Kunal - but he's done so in complete awareness and understanding of the inconsistencies around Mohan. At more points than not, in his scenes, Mohan somehow lends sense to those who're sharing the screen with him. Somehow, you feel a little more sympathy for Megha. Somehow, you manage to connect with what Ved and Mohan have at another level beyond contentions. Somehow, you feel empathy for Indu. Somehow (in my case) even a sheer unwanted extra like Ridhima too feels ... tolerable. And that I believe has been his greatest feat yet. Carrying Mohan through times of reign was more a journey of ruling. Carrying Mohan through ruins is the tricky part. One that can automatically transition into seeming like an obligation, often irrespective of the host of an albatross wanting for it to seem so or not. But somehow, Kunal has done what Mohan does best. Strike a balance. He seems to understand the discrepancy of the script in a complete manner, and not just with regard to Mohan. And he puts his understanding to root himself deeper in the character of Mohan - the key to all the tangled webs which make lesser sense each day by themselves. I've always been one to believe no actor however good can carry on himself the weight of a failing story. And while logically I can still not challenge that fact - Kunal seems to manifest the contrary through his art day after day. I don't feel any more kindly for what NBT has been made into. I can't put aside all the contentions that rise for me as a viewer with respect to just about every character (mostly excluding Mohan). But on days like Monday's episode, when Kunal just takes over the stage and does his thing - I find myself in such a sublime place of content (even if "sensibly rueful" of it in bits and flashes of awarness, lol!) where somehow, for a while, I can just go back to being the NBT viewer who could for some 20 odd minutes everyday descend into another world that isn't my own, but still find myself "fitting in". I'm not sure how long Kunal can do this. I'm not sure where and in what he finds it in himself to balance the act of understanding fallacy and infusing sensibility in it. I don't know how many days I can come back to this place feeling like I do now - in such a conflict with my own domain between contention and conviction yet compelled to be here - but everytime that I do, I will always want to come back and say what it means to me. To know there is someone on this team who is capable of the very enviable feat of striving for change in a system, by being a part of its center. To have followed an artist who will truly, like an underdog that he is, exist with it, against it, without it, for it! ---I'd really hoped to write something for the occasion of 6 months. And I'm glad the muse to still feel the coming of an ode for this show and my love of it remains the one piece of the jigsaw that fits right in the middle of all the groves and cuts like it's no ones place or business but his - Mohan Bhatnagar! ps: I think the one reason Mohan somehow manages to retain himself characteristically - apart from Kunal's part to play in that - is what Sonal Ganatra once said about being quite like Mohan. Maybe, just like for Kunal, Mohan comes so naturally to her, that she can lend him sensibility even in the middle of a lot of lesser reason. So even if this is only an acknowledgement in the postscript, I want to say what's been her part of grooming and nurturing her baby - has been the making of a wonderful journey! Here's hoping that as she continues to spin stories for her followers, her pen will emerge as the mightier force to reckon with!

by without-fathom

Tuesday, 10 July 2012

#kunal karan kapoor #artist #nbtnmkk

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itsfemaleengineermanagertip-blog · 5 years

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Female engineer manager tips

It became obvious from the primary event when I took a PC programming magnificence in secondary school that it changed into one in every of most effective a handful couple of topics that truly energized me. At first, it become only an opportunity I become giving it a shot, yet I before long found out that designing turned into what I needed to study and are looking for after for my deep rooted vocation. The factor I cherish most approximately constructing is that there are boundless chances to do vital work and usually study. Here are a few female engineer manager tips.

There are in every case new advancements and styles with which to acclimate your self, just as better processes to manufacture some thing better. Toward the day's end, it's inconceivably satisfying seeing a notion trade into some thing full-size, certainly one of a kind and innovative.

After that underlying class in secondary faculty, I proceeded to get my Bachelor's certificates in Computer Engineering from the University of Mumbai and a Master's qualification in Computer Science from USC. I at that factor labored at a group of tech businesses, including, IBM, a beginning period journey startup as soon as within the past referred to as Triptrotting (currently Wist) and Myspace. In the lower back at the leading edge of my mind, be that as it may, the startup area become calling me — it become something about the success of shape, turning and downsizing that was example me.

I moved to San Francisco and joined YouNoodle, a SaaS degree for startup rivalries, as one of the early specialists. Following three years of in-your-face designing, that's the element that I needed to are trying to find after as my deep rooted vocation, I moved to item the board. I presently lead the object and designing organization. Despite the truth that I don't get the hazard to code like an architect does, I am immediately there with my institution, offering course and information.

To the volume analyzing software program engineering and filling in as a specialist are concerned, anyone realizes that the male to woman percentage is extremely slanted. The functions behind this have been ascribed to the whole thing from undeniable sexism and industry generalizations to the manner that the lack of girls is detaching in itself.

In spite of the truth that I haven't confronted direct segregation (thump on wooden) as a lady professional, there were unobtrusive things I've visible whilst running in past employments. Most pretty these included occasions in which I'd be not to mention for the "young guys membership." But as lengthy because it wasn't planned or had a bad effect expertly, I accredited of it … to some extent.

Get beyond the stereotyping and position yourself for an effective career in PC programming and building.

Moreover, and unfortunately, over and over I actually have encountered the now-basic response from a part of my companions. It's the equivalent incredible remark with out fail: "Gracious, no question about it?!" I might experience that being in Silicon Valley, wherein there are many female designers, my glad decree could not evoke this sort of response any further. Shockingly, and lamentably, regardless it does.

My answer to this has changed from outrage to perplexity, and now I'm in reality diverted. Nobody accepts that I'm a clothier, generally in mild of the reality that I am a female. Now, I recognize incredible people with truth about my calling and am glad to interrupt freed from their imprudent suppositions.

So what do you have to do to get past the stereotyping and function your self for a fruitful profession in PC programming and designing? Here are my pinnacle bits of know-how for the ones young girls obtainable who are hoping to assemble and hold a vocation in any STEM calling.

Concentrate On What You Love Doing. Regardless of whether or not it is shape gadgets, composing code, seeing things paintings or helping individuals, you ought to dependably progress inside the direction of what you're lively about (prosaic as that sounds, it is extremely legitimate). Disregard considering the assumptions of what someone in tech ought to resemble and resemble, in this kind of case that you cherish doing it, you'll probably do it nicely.

Be eager! Snatch every open door that comes your path. In Silicon Valley, and around the world, there are boundless open doors from tech how-tos and organizing occasions to notion rivalries and mentorship applications.

Discover A Workplace That Facilitates Growth For Women And Emphasizes Work/Life Balance. Vet an company even as meeting; pose inquiries, as an instance, who are the women inside the board? How does the building group examine and produce? You do not have to paintings simply with ladies to sense good. It's the business enterprise's way of existence and convictions that problem extra. My quick group is for the most component men, however YouNoodle by using and big advances and cultivates the improvement of women, so I feel extensively all round put. A tremendous deal of businesses of overdue are focusing on assorted range — earnings through that.

Discover A Mentor … Or Two Or Three. Having a teach goes far in supporting you make feel of what you need, a way to method undertaking your targets, the way to defeat problems and the sky is the limit from there. Tutors may be every person from individuals you regard and admire on your calling, to collaborators, cherished ones. I've seen that there's a actual bond among girls in this space, and that likens to a ton of assist and encouraging of improvement.

Step Away From The Built-In Imposter Syndrome. Act obviously. The sham sickness is energized by means of various matters — the well-known pay hollow, the sheer difference in numbers amongst male and girl companions in a similar field and a distinction in ranges of reality. I used to peer that my male partners could be regularly wonderful approximately popular while contrasted with my female friends, no matter the fact that their aptitudes and capacities were of a similar level.

I myself have felt the fraud disease kick in on unique activities, each whilst concentrating just as running. It took me some time to take a shot at my truth levels; but I did, and it has really helped me pass far.

Last, however positively not least, on the off risk that someone is treating you amateurishly (man or female), trade the circumstance. Persuade them to be accountable, or get out and into a advanced condition whilst you may. There will dependably be exclusive possibilities, and you merit the exceptional.

Contact Info

Engineers Rising LLC

210 W Hamilton Ave, Suite 305, State College PA 16801

8148263151

https://www.engineersrising.com

https://www.facebook.com/engineersrising/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanieslocumpe/ https://www.instagram.com/stephtheengineer/ https://twitter.com/stephslocum

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coolculturegram · 7 years

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ARTIST WENDY RED STAR WANTS TO CHANGE HOW YOU THINK OF NATIVE AMERICAN ART

Wendy Red Star is a Native American multimedia artist who uses photography and juxtaposition to re-think notions of identity, culture, and history. Often evoking a sense of satire, her striking photographs combine elements of Crow culture with traditionally Western American symbolism, questioning the fluidness of perceptions and the shifting definitions of our cultures. Wendy’s subversive work and dedication to “pulling the veil back from history” place her in a unique position to create meaningful works that align with Cool Culture’s mission to help diversify art spaces.

What were your first introductions to the arts?

I had many introductions to the arts. Growing up, I was surrounded by the work of my uncle, Kevin Red Star. My grandmother Amy Bright Wings Red Star - she made mostly traditional pieces. I used to spend my days watching her – she had a very serious studio practice. All of these were entry points for me to experience the arts.

My background is diverse, my mother is Irish and my father’s side is Crow Indian. This background has really influenced what I create and how I navigate specific spaces.

I used think that to be an artist you had to be someone who could draw very well, but my experiences have since changed that. There were so many entry points for my exposure to the arts. It wasn’t until I was in college that I began taking a 3D design class and I realized art could be so much more. There are so many different ways to be an artist and practice your creativity.

With my background growing up Crow on the reservation, stepping out of my comfort zone into college and learning more about my cultural identity was challenging.

This is what I’m interested in – that weird gray area where cultures meet, peeling back the colonist lens and really diving into the truth of it. So much of native history isn’t spoken about or learned, I feel like as an artist I’m really straddling the grey zone. There’s so much that isn’t taught and the few things that are are usually presented through a colonial standard.

How has your experience as Native person impacted your art?

To be a Native Person, especially a native artist, sometimes you are forced into the role of an educator. My father used to play dumb when people used to ask him questions about being Native. He would play into the stereotypes to shake them up. I understood why he did it, but for me, I think my role as an artist is different. If I’m given the chance the educate others, I’ll do it.

The reality is that most people don’t think about indigenous people; they don’t know that they still live and exist. I try to have empathy for others. Their ignorance is learned; it’s pervasive. I’m happy to educate.

What is like to be a Native artist now and in this climate?

It’s an exciting time to be an artist because I’m really talking about history and how it impacts things today. It’s a good time to be creating because things are coming up to the surface now, history and realities that have been buried. The curtain is being pulled back in a way. I feel confident in the work that I’m doing, that I can make a real impact. So many people just don’t have the history and they don’t know it. I’m making work that reflects on my history and [the] knowledge that I have, but a lot of people still don’t get it.

I felt pressure in graduate school to conform into creating work that was more understandable to some people. I remember a professor coming around the room and commenting on people’s work and making critiques, and when he got to mine he said, “I have nothing to say about this work, maybe don’t make work about your identity.” That was hard for me. But I felt like the work that I was creating was necessary and still is necessary. The more artists who create work that focuses on these topics pushes them farther into the mainstream. And that’s needed.

What are your views on cultural appropriation, especially cultural appropriation of Native cultures?

The coming age of online Native activism did a lot of great things. There’s been a growing awareness of cultural heritage and about many Native issues. With cultural appropriation, I really want people to try to dig deeper, to really see and understand what cultural markers they are associating with a specific group of people. We have to dig deeper and really understand that there’s fluidness to much of the culture that we are experiencing today. We are so quick to say “this is our culture,” or “this is that culture,” then we need to dig deeper and really try to figure out the history of these things.

With cultural appropriation, and especially cultural appropriation in art, I just want to know where things came from – it’s always a lot more complicated and combined than we think. I remember doing research about the Dutch Prints popularized in Africa and learning how these colonial prints were renowned as African, and have become such a clear cultural marker today. There’s probably so much more re-appropriation than we realize. I think we need to keep asking ourselves where things came from – I find that really fascinating. I think that taking over another’s culture and erasing one’s identity is the problem.

How has being a parent impacted your work?

My [ten year old] daughter Beatrice is actually really involved in my work. We’ve started collaborating together, doing tours together at museums. We started really working together in 2014, [when she was 7]. I was working on a project and she was in the room, drawing over the extra copies of images I had created. I ended up incorporating around 20 of her drawings into the project. She’s seen me give tours, and she ended up asking me, “Can I do this with you?” She’s given tours for kids at The Denver Art Museum and she created an outfit from her own design for the tour– it’s been great for her to feel comfortable in museums and to have this experience.

As an artist, how do you feel about the recent threats to major arts funding like the National Endowment for the Arts?

I’m very lucky to be sustaining myself purely on my art and through the use of grants. I think an attack like this really shows [how] important the arts really are, and it’s been amazing seeing how so many organizations and people are springing into action and defending the arts. I think we’ll be able to see this through.

All this just goes to show how important the arts are and have been throughout history – we can’t take it for granted, and we have to know that it’s the backbone of our society.

#art #wendy red star #native artist #artists of color #cool culture #interview

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positivepsychologyinterventions · 4 years

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Podcast: How Toxic Masculinity Also Hurts Men

The phrase “sacred masculine” can evoke images of patriarchal religiosity. But it has a different meaning for today’s guest. For Miguel Dean, the sacred masculine is an ideal, embodied by a man who accepts all of his emotions, understands the connectedness of humanity, and is devoted to helping others.

Join us as Miguel explains how the sacred masculine is increasingly being recognized as a new model of masculinity to replace the old ideas of what it meant to be a man. This new man embraces all of his humanity and recognizes that part of this is the courage to feel, express and honor the full spectrum of human emotions. He knows that everything in life is connected and that his wholeness is catalyzed by his commitment to service.

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Guest information for ‘Toxic Masculinity’ Podcast Episode

Miguel Dean walks the path of the sacred masculine as seer, catalyst and holder of sacred space. He is also a writer and author of his latest book Bring Him Home – A Twin Flame Love Story.

He was born in 1968 in Colchester, England where he had a challenging start to life. As a result of his early difficulties, as a young man, he spiraled down into a life of violence, petty crime, addiction and homelessness in which he spent seven years living on the road as a New Age Traveler. It was the love of his newborn son that inspired and motivated him to begin to take responsibility and make changes. This was the beginning of a rich, varied, and at times extremely challenging journey to return home to physical health and inner union.

Miguel’s writing and other offerings are all in alignment with his passion to serve and ease the transition, from what no longer serves humanity and the planet, into a more beautiful world for our children and the generations to come. www.MiguelDean.net

About The Psych Central Podcast Host

Gabe Howard is an award-winning writer and speaker who lives with bipolar disorder. He is the author of the popular book, Mental Illness is an Asshole and other Observations, available from Amazon; signed copies are also available directly from Gabe Howard. To learn more, please visit his website, gabehoward.com.

Computer Generated Transcript for ‘Toxic Masculinity’ Episode

Editor’s Note: Please be mindful that this transcript has been computer generated and therefore may contain inaccuracies and grammar errors. Thank you.

Announcer: You’re listening to the Psych Central Podcast, where guest experts in the fields of psychology and mental health share thought-provoking information using plain, everyday language. Here’s your host, Gabe Howard.

Gabe: Are you having issues sleeping? Because right now Psych Central Podcast listeners can get 25% off a Calm premium subscription at Calm.com/central. That’s C A L M dot com slash central. Forty million people have downloaded the Calm app. Find out why at Calm.com/central.

Gabe Howard: Welcome to this week’s episode of the Psych Central Podcast. Calling into the show today, we have Miguel Dean. He is the author of Bring Him Home: A Twin Flame Love Story. He also talks a lot about the sacred masculine, which he is going to define for us right now. Miguel, welcome to the show.

Miguel Dean: Hello. Hello, Gabe. Thank you very much for the invitation to be here. Yeah. Great.

Gabe Howard: We really appreciate having you here. Now the sacred masculine. Can you explain that to the audience, please?

Miguel Dean: Yes. So the sacred masculine is a new type of masculine, which appears to be emerging, awakening or perhaps even remembering itself on the planet today. It’s essentially a man that has realized that in order to be the best that he can be to reach his full potential, he needs to balance the masculine and feminine aspects of himself. It’s also a man who realizes that everything in the world is connected. And then he follows the, you know, a lot of the sort of spiritual principles, really that everything is connected and that, as I do to another, I do to myself. Humanity is one body, one creature, if you like. And we are all different little cells of that one body of humanity. The other thing which is probably important to say about the sacred masculine is that he is very committed to service. He understands that because there is this connection and that everything is connected, his role isn’t just to take care of his immediate blood family, if you like, the traditional family. When he is at his best, he is also seeking constantly to serve the whole of humanity. And how can I contribute rather than what can I get out of it?

Gabe Howard: I like everything that you said there, and I agree, I do think that we’re all interconnected. But I’m going to play devil’s advocate for a moment. You know, I come from a long line of blue collar, stereotypical man’s man. You know, work with your hands. Don’t go to the doctor. Never say, I love you. Never cry in public. Kind of men. They’re good men in case they’re listening to the show. But I can kind of hear this rumbling from my childhood of people listening to you and saying, well, no, that’s completely wrong. That’s not what a man is. He’s describing a woman. What do you say to that?

Miguel Dean: My understanding is that, you know, we have these gender stereotypes and, you know, this is what it means to be a man and this is what it is to be a woman. But we both have masculine and feminine qualities to ourselves. So although if you’re a woman, there are still gonna be more masculine qualities, which they’re often, you know, things like pushing forwards and proactive and speaking up and persevering in that kind of effort. So all of that stuff, whereas the feminine qualities are more sort of receptive and they may be something, you know, more of the listening rather than the speaking, more of the kind of like holding space and just being rather than doing. Now we live in a very patriarchal-focused society. So there’s been an overemphasis on doing and on those masculine qualities. But regardless of whether you’re a man or a woman, in order to be the best version of yourself, we encompass both of those aspects. There is a time to push forward. There is a time to be tough, to be more in your masculine. And there is a time, if you think of a man with his newborn baby, be soft and he will be gentle and he will be quiet, and he will embody more of those feminine qualities. So it’s not that you know one is right or one is wrong. But it’s, you know, how do we move forwards by just being able to find a balance within both of those? Because it seems to me that, you know, largely the evidence that what we perceive, the stereotypes around being a man at the moment have been largely responsible for the big decline that we have in men’s mental health. For the big increase that we have in male suicides. I’m sure that there’s more that we can do better. Is this really the embodiment of the best version of masculinity? And for me, through my own experience and, you know, my own journey, the answer is no. And I don’t expect everybody to agree with that. I always like to emphasize that I’m just sharing my truth.

Gabe Howard: I like that a lot, Miguel. Now, in order to be fair, is there a sacred feminine counterpart to go with the sacred masculine?

Miguel Dean: Yes. Yes. You know, similarly, the sacred feminine is a woman who is striving and working towards finding the balance of her own masculine and her own feminine qualities within herself. So, you know, when we have a man that is living from this place that is being this, and a woman that is being this, then we have really strong and powerful partnerships. So instead of two halves, a man and a woman making up a whole, we have a woman that is balanced and a man that is balanced. That means, when they come together, the whole is more than the sum of the parts because they’re not trying to complete each other. They are complete unto themselves. When they come together, there is an extra energy. And those sort of couples you will often find contribute a massive amount to society and to humanity.

Gabe Howard: I couldn’t agree with you more, and for whatever reason, we’ve sort of genderized emotions and feelings. Going along with that idea of genderizing emotions and feelings, which you can probably do a whole podcast on why that’s probably obnoxious. But let’s go with these stereotypical terms. It seems to be what you’re saying is, listen, we all have all of these emotions living inside us and we need to step outside of our comfort zones and acknowledge that if we can be full-fledged people and accept and realize and utilize all of our emotions, we’ll achieve more.

Miguel Dean: Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Okay. Yeah. You’re hitting the right notes. Definitely. We have these sayings that we heard that are prevalent in society. You know, big boys don’t cry. Little girls should be nice. And actually, it doesn’t seem that that’s terribly helpful in the long run, because if we’ve been given this full range of emotions, then the human being is an incredible miracle creation, really. And it doesn’t seem right to me that that men were given the emotions of sadness and tears and feeling soft and feeling broken or feeling disempowered or whatever by mistake. We were given these emotions because the emotions are kind of like they’re like they’re part of our inner guidance system that steers us towards or away from different actions and behaviors. You know, if we’re feeling lots of negative emotions it’s usually a cue to look inside and say, okay, so what am I doing or what am I living or what am I creating that’s causing these negative feelings? So perhaps I need to shift the direction, you know, that I am headed and move to see if those emotions get less or whether they get more. You know that the emotions are really important. And so when men suppress, or have been taught to suppress, their emotions and shamed into, you know, not showing their vulnerability or their weakness or their fragility or their depression or whatever, then all those emotions get trapped in the body and invariably seem to lead to dysfunctional behaviors. To addictions, you know, attempts to anesthetize and numb the unpleasant feelings, because that was certainly what I did. You know, that this is part of my story that I’m talking about now, but it just resulted in depression and, you know, severe lots of physical issues that I have because all that energy was trapped in my body.

Gabe Howard: Let’s talk about your personal journey for a moment. You describe having a life of violence and petty crime, addiction, and homelessness. You said that you spent seven years living on the road as a new age traveler. What was that like for you and how did it lead you to the discovery of the sacred masculine?

Miguel Dean: Mm hmm. Good question. Good question. What it was like was, well, looking back now, it was quite a blur because it was living kind of outside of society, really. And I now realize that it was a kind of knee jerk response to what happened to me in my childhood in that I’d lost my mom when I was a baby. My step mom, let’s say she wasn’t very loving. And so it was a very fearful. You know, my childhood, I was kind of in fight and flight, really. And my father was a typical absent male who was out at work at all hours of the day. So I left home with very low self-esteem and carrying this trauma from my childhood of losing my mother because I felt I had such low self-worth. I didn’t feel I was worth anything. I didn’t think that I was lovable or that I would amount to anything. I unconsciously chose a lifestyle that would reflect that back to me. And that was the life of living on the road where drug addiction and violence and fights and, you know, petty crime and so on. And begging on the streets sometimes was just a way of life, really. You know, I was sort of numbing myself. I was self-medicating with alcohol and illegal drugs most of the time. What then happened really was that I met a woman, as is often a turning point in men’s stories, but I met this beautiful woman and she fell pregnant. And my first son was born while I was still living on the road. And I hoped that, you know, becoming a father would change everything.

Miguel Dean: It would be a magic wand, because I had certainly reached the point where the drugs weren’t really working anymore. They weren’t numbing me and they weren’t helping me escape from all these kind of trapped emotions and this depression that was just sort of building energy inside me. But unfortunately, becoming a father wasn’t the magic wand that I’d hoped for. And in fact, it actually turned the heat up even more because it made me realize how I felt, I still felt as if I was a boy inside a man’s body. And, you know, I didn’t feel in my power and I felt really lost. And one day I just woke up, Gabe, and I thought to myself, you know, perhaps I should just leave. You know, my son was about 18 months old and I thought perhaps he would be better off without me because I was moody. I was angry, I was needy, I was controlling, and perhaps my son would be better off without me. But in a conversation that I’d had with his mother, I remember saying that I’d try everything, even going to counseling. So one day that day that I woke up with that feeling of perhaps I should go, there was another voice that came into my head and said, there’s one more thing to try. You said that you would try counseling. So I got in my van and I drove into town and, you know, and I went from one organization to another and eventually bumped into somebody that gave me the number of a private counselor.

Gabe Howard: I want to back you up for just a second there, because this is a question that I ask pretty much all men who agree to try counseling.

Miguel Dean: Yeah?

Gabe Howard: What did you think? Were you just doing it to make her happy? Did you think that it would be productive? Did you think that it was stupid before you ever walked into a therapist’s office? What was going through your mind?

Miguel Dean: Yeah, it was kind of desperation. What was going through my mind was if I leave, walk away from my son and my partner and I haven’t tried this, I will always wonder. So I really, you know, I need to do this. I need to sort of tick this off. But I remember thinking very clearly. I just don’t get how having a chat to somebody speaking to somebody is really gonna make, you know, make the difference. I wasn’t holding out that this was gonna help. I just didn’t get it at all. But actually what happened was it was a male counselor and it was just a couple of sessions and all these lightbulbs started going on for me. And I realized for the first time, I was about 28 years old then, that the way I’d been living and everything that I’d been feeling was connected to the wounds that I was carrying from my childhood. And it may seem obvious now, but back then, I, you know, I didn’t have a clue that was where the roots of most of our issues that, you know, in adulthood arise from.

Gabe Howard: We’ll be right back after these messages.

Announcer: Want real, no-boundaries talk about mental health issues from those who live it? Listen to the Not Crazy podcast co-hosted by a lady with depression and a guy with bipolar. Visit Psych Central.com/NotCrazy or subscribe to Not Crazy on your favorite podcast player.

Gabe: Hello, everyone, this is Gabe Howard from the Psych Central Podcast, and I have a quick question for you. Are you struggling to sleep these days? Because if you are, you are not alone. One in three U.S. adults doesn’t get enough sleep, and if you’re not sleeping enough, it can affect your cognitive functions during the day. Things like learning, problem solving, and decision making, and that’s why we’re partnering with Calm. Because they are the number one app for sleep. Because we want you to seize the day and sleep the night, and you can with the help of Calm. And right now, Psych Central listeners get 25% off a Calm premium subscription just by going to Calm.com/central. That’s C A L M dot com slash central. Forty million people have downloaded Calm. Find out why at Calm.com/central.

Announcer: This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp.com. Secure, convenient, and affordable online counseling. Our counselors are licensed, accredited professionals. Anything you share is confidential. Schedule secure video or phone sessions, plus chat and text with your therapist whenever you feel it’s needed. A month of online therapy often costs less than a single traditional face to face session. Go to BetterHelp.com/PsychCentral and experience seven days of free therapy to see if online counseling is right for you. BetterHelp.com/PsychCentral.

Gabe Howard: We’re back learning about sacred masculinity with Miguel Dean. So here you are, you’re looking for a therapist, you’re looking for a counselor and you’ve found one. Let’s pick up the story from there.

Miguel Dean: Yeah, I’ve found this counselor. It was really amazing because it’s such a simple process. I mean, basically, he listens to me. You know, he held space and asked me a few obviously quite powerful questions. I had never experienced that before. I’ve never experienced being really listened to by somebody, you know, with no other agenda apart from wanting the best for you. It was incredibly powerful. And I would like to say that again, that everything got better from there, it was really easy. It did get better. But there was the healing crisis that I needed to go through first, because this was the first time I began speaking about what had happened to me as a child, that all the emotions, you know, came to the surface. And as the emotions came to the surface, it was like it was a stopper taken out of a bottle. You know, a purging, a purification began to take place as I began to express the emotions that was mirrored through my body, releasing and expressing all that toxic emotional energy that had been trapped in my body.

Gabe Howard: And how long from those moments before you started discovering and hashing out the sacred masculine?

Miguel Dean: Yes, there was another book that was written about that, but basically it was that it was a long journey. To begin with, I started working with adults with learning difficulties. I’ve been living on the road. So I realized, you know, I need to move into a house. I need somewhere safe to do this work. And I wanted something that fulfills me. And the counselor gave me this little glimmer of hope that I said to myself, maybe I can do something to help people. Maybe I could be a counselor. Maybe I could do what he’s done for me. So I actually went back to college and I did a counseling qualification. I got married to my partner because I wanted to show commitment and that I wasn’t just going to walk away. And I began working with adults with learning difficulties, and that progressed on to working with homeless youth. And I guess some of the seeds of the sacred masculine were really sown here because I began to realize that I couldn’t help and heal myself because it was, you know, an ongoing process of healing the trauma that I’ve been carrying. I couldn’t do it in isolation. And what I found was the more that I helped others and the more that I was there for other people and the more I got involved in service, the more that helped me, the more that brought me back into and along alignment with who I really was, which was a kind, compassionate, albeit wounded person. But, you know, that wanted to help, but also saw that you couldn’t help others fully unless you really sorted himself out and began to be operating from his own optimum.

Gabe Howard: You mentioned working with young men and boys, and I know that there’s a lot of mixed messages about masculinity, you know, toxic masculinity. You know, like you said earlier, boys don’t cry. How do we introduce sacred masculinity to boys and young men to overshadow all of the messages that they’re already getting from, you know, this is my word, stereotypical masculinity?

Miguel Dean: Yeah, well, the way that I do that, Gabe, is that I live it. I just am who I am. And so young people, you know, they pick up. They learn from what you do, not what you say. So I just live that. Whoever I’m working with, young people, I always share. It’s never I’m the teacher and you’re the student, and I don’t tell you anything about myself. I share my own experiences. I share times when if I’m struggling a bit sometimes. And so I think, you know, the best way to for us to pass that onto the young man is through absorption, really. By just living that, you know, as best we can and modeling it in the way that we live our lives, in the way that we interact with everybody. It is quite easy to feel a bit overwhelmed and a bit defeated. You know, when we think because like the stereotypical machinery, if you like, is so huge, you know about what it is to be a boy or what it is to be a man. But, you know, every great journey begins with a single step.

Miguel Dean: And I think there is an increasing awareness. The model of masculinity that is prevalent in our Western society is that there is room for improvement. So people will start looking for alternatives. And, you know, even you don’t need to be a spiritual person. But if you just come from a kind of purely scientific perspective of what I do here in the UK does affect other people over the other side of the world. You know, the way that I shop, choices that I make, the food that I eat, the entertainment that I consume, or, you know, all these different things, we are all interconnected, even just from a physical understanding. You know, I’d like to think that it will move more into the education system and it will move into the media. You know, that’s why we’re having this conversation, I guess. It will happen slowly and it will happen surely because everything changes. You know, we’ve had different ideas of what it is to be a man and so on. And this model of masculinity has had its time. It’s time for something new.

Gabe Howard: Miguel, do you think it’s important that men cry? And a follow up question to that is do you think it’s important that men cry in front of other men?

Miguel Dean: I think, you know, we mentioned this briefly at the beginning of our conversation that we were given this full spectrum of emotions for a reason, and there is scientific evidence that shows, you know, that when we cry, we release stress hormones, chemicals and so on. There is a physiological benefit to crying. People talk about, you know, I felt better after I had a damn good cry. I believe it’s good to men for men to cry from that perspective because it releases the pressure and it releases stress that’s inside. Whether they cry in front of other men, I think there’s no I think that’s probably to be encouraged is okay that there’s nothing wrong with that. You know, in order to sort of help shift the tide of it’s not okay to cry. You know, the more men that see other men crying, it’s like, oh, it’s okay. You know, you’ve kind of given permission rather than we just cry secretly. Which leads me really to the key points in this question is because there’s so much about shame. It’s not helpful to cry if we cry and then we beat ourselves up with a load of shame and tell ourselves what a wimp we are or, you know, how unmanly we are afterwards, because that’s counterproductive. So, you know, I feel that, yeah, in a way, it’s a good idea for men to to see other men crying and without the shame. And just from that place of, you know, I just felt broken or just something devastating has happened or there’s just all this buildup of stress or pressure and it’s okay. It’s a crazy idea, really, that that we’ve come to. It just seems really odd to me that it’s okay for girls to cry, but it’s not okay for boys to cry. But we have the same anatomy as we’ve both got the same tear ducts and we have tears and we both have eyes. So, you know, the same chemical response happens when when men cry and when women cry.

Gabe Howard: I agree with you. It’s sort of a crazy conversation to have where you say, hey, is it okay to cry even though you’re perfectly capable of it? And is it okay to cry in front of other people? Even though we see crying all the time, it’s well-represented in pop culture. We’ve all seen our loved ones and families cry and then we’re talking about whether or not it’s a good idea. It would sort of be like asking, hey, is it okay to sweat in front of people?

Miguel Dean: Yeah.

Gabe Howard: Like you said, it’s just a biological response. I love what you’re saying about masculinity because I think that it is time to evolve. Behaving how you’re supposed to behave means that you’re not making choices that are true to you. You’re making choices that are true for society or for others. And there’s like a controlling element in that. Right? I want to do X, but society told me I wasn’t allowed, so therefore I won’t. It’s almost faceless, right? Society isn’t an individual. Like everybody got together and voted that you’re not allowed to do this. And I can see where that causes a lot of conflict inside people. And of course, that conflict almost never comes out in any mentally healthy way. I love everything that we’ve discussed. Let’s talk about the book momentarily. Where do people find it? What’s it about? And how do people buy it?

Miguel Dean: Thank you, Gabe. Yes, the book is called Bring Him Home: A Twin Flame Love Story. It’s available on my web site, which is MiguelDean.net. It’s available from Sacred Stories Publishing, from their web site, available on Amazon and book retailers. You will find it. It’s a true story. It is my story of how a beautiful and enchanting woman gave me the courage to make the journey from my head back to my heart. You know, to get in touch with some of the wounds and some of the pain that I was still carrying from my earlier years. It’s a story about the rise of sacred masculinity. One of the key aspects of the sacred masculine is a deep reverence for woman and how to have a relationship that is different from the Hollywood idea of what relationships should be. My experience and my belief is that relationships can be a really powerful way of bringing to the surface that which needs to be healed within us. A conscious relationship or a conscious twin flame relationship gives us the opportunity to do the work to find the union of the masculine and feminine within ourselves so that we can really become operating from our very best potential. So that’s what the book is all about. It’s a beautiful love story and you know, there are deeper levels to it as well.

Gabe Howard: Miguel, I really appreciate you being on the show. And remember, everybody, his book is called Bring Him Home: A Twin Flame Love Story. There’s some things that you can do for me and I would consider it a personal favor. Wherever you downloaded this podcast, they probably have a ranking system. Give us as many stars, hearts, bullets or whatever that you can. Let people know that you love the podcast and use your words. Tell people why. It really helps with our rankings. Please share us on social media, e-mail us to your friends and family, do whatever you can to scream us from the rooftops so that people know that we exist. If you have any questions or show ideas, you can always e-mail me at [email protected]. I’d love to hear about what you would love to hear about. And remember, you can get one week of free, convenient, affordable, private online counselling anytime, anywhere, simply by visiting our sponsor, BetterHelp.com/PsychCentral. We’ll see everybody next week.

Announcer: You’ve been listening to The Psych Central Podcast. Want your audience to be wowed at your next event? Feature an appearance and LIVE RECORDING of the Psych Central Podcast right from your stage! Email us at [email protected] for details. Previous episodes can be found at PsychCentral.com/show or on your favorite podcast player. Psych Central is the internet’s oldest and largest independent mental health website run by mental health professionals. Overseen by Dr. John Grohol, Psych Central offers trusted resources and quizzes to help answer your questions about mental health, personality, psychotherapy, and more. Please visit us today at PsychCentral.com. To learn more about our host, Gabe Howard, please visit his website at gabehoward.com. Thank you for listening and please share widely.

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tragicbooks · 7 years

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How to protect yourself from phishing, from experts who deal with it every day.

Ever wonder what it's like to be hacked? Sarah Jeong did. So naturally, she decided to ask someone to hack her.

Jeong isn't just a random thrill-seeker — she's a respected technology journalist and lawyer, and she knew exactly what she was getting into when she recruited her friend Cooper Quintin of the Electronic Frontier Foundation to help her out. She wrote about her experience in GQ.

All it took was a couple of hours and some readily available tools, and Jeong joined the approximately 12% of the population who have fallen for a hack.

But even before she was successfully hacked — and don't worry, we'll get to that! — both Jeong and Quintin discovered some important truths about the world of online safety and what it takes to infiltrate it.

Here are just a few lessons from experts that we can all benefit from:

Photo by Blogtrepreneur/Flickr.

1. Most hacking isn't done by master "Matrix" coders.

For most people, "hacking" tends to evoke one of two images: a stereotypically out-of-shape nerd in their parents' basement or a sleek, leather-clad cyberpunk in a Guy Fawkes mask who moonlights as an extra on a Wachowski movie.

But in reality, most of what we call "hacking" is actually "phishing." In fact, last year, then-Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson said that phishing is the threat his department fears most.

THIS IS NOT WHAT HACKERS LOOK LIKE. Except when they do, which is sometimes. Photo by Vincent Diamonte/Flickr.

2. Phishing is a type of scam that disguises itself as something trustworthy.

It can be an email, phone call, or text message, and it then tricks you into giving up your passwords, credit card numbers, and more. All it takes are some clever social skills plus some free online tools used by information security professionals that, technically, anyone can use. (A little coding knowledge doesn't hurt, though.)

3. Many hackers are savvier than you might think.

It doesn't matter if you have the best anti-virus software installed on your computer and run daily checks for malware along with Ghostery and ad block to keep your online browsing extra-safe. Don't get me wrong — viruses and malware are still dangerous. But phishing isn't about computers. It's about people. And that's a lot harder to protect against.

"Phishing isn’t (just) about finding a person who is technically naive," Cory Doctorow, a sci-fi author, journalist, and technology activist told Locus magazine. As savvy as he is, even he fell for a phishing hack back in 2010. "It’s about attacking the seemingly impregnable defenses of the technically sophisticated until you find a single, incredibly unlikely, short-lived crack in the wall."

"It’s a matter of being caught out in a moment of distraction and of unlikely circumstance." In other words, it can happen to anyone.

Smile! I'm stealing your identity! Image via Pixnio.

4. The terrible typos and grammar in some phishing schemes are intentional.

You're probably familiar with the classic "Nigerian prince" phishing scheme, where some kind of foreign dignitary emails you and offers you a ton of money to help facilitate the transfer of their new bajillion-dollar inheritance. You also probably know that these emails are famously riddled with grammatical errors and totally implausible premises.

What you might not know, however, is that these "mistakes" are done on purpose in order to target the most gullible people. That way, reports Business Insider, the scammers don't have to waste their time trying to persuade rational skeptics to give up their bank account information.

Photo by Nate Grigg/Flickr.

5. To hack a specific person, all a hacker needs is social media.

You know those silly memes where you find your "porn star name" (or whatever) by using the name of your first pet and the street you grew up on?

Now think about those security questions you had to answer for your online bank account — things like, oh, the name of your first pet, the street you grew up on, or your mom's maiden name.

Yeah. See the connection there? If a hacker wants to social-engineer their way into your bank account, all they need to do is poke around your public accounts to find those little bits of information. These targeted attacks are called "spearphishing," and they're why Doctorow recommends that people "only use Facebook to convince your friends to communicate with you somewhere other than Facebook."

Image from Pixabay.

6. Be careful what you open — even when it's sent by someone you know.

Jeong was hacked after she clicked on a malicious link made to look like it was sent from someone she knew.

To hack her, Quintin just had to scour Jeong's online presence until he found an acquaintance who could plausibly email her. He made a fake email address — using that person's real-life profile picture and everything — and that was all it took to get Jeong to give up her information.

Fake Google Docs scams, like the one she fell for, are increasingly common. In these cases, the target receives a phishing email that looks like a standard invitation to Google Docs sent from a trustworthy source — except that both the sender and the link are actually malicious frauds. This link will bring you to a landing page that resembles the standard Google password screen or bank login page you thought you were clicking on, and the hacker can use that to capture whatever password or personal information you enter into the false form.

7. Double-check your URLs.

Always make sure you're really on the website that you think you are before you enter any sensitive information.

How do you tell the difference? Generally speaking, the domain name should look like "[blank].google.com" or "http://ift.tt/2tkU3Bs]." If it's something hyphenated like "accounts-drive-google.com" or "boa-accounts-login.com," well, you should probably think twice about it.

(Another helpful tip is to look for SSL certificates, which usually appear as a lock or green text in your browser bar — but even that's not totally reliable.)

What is real? What is fake? Image from Pixabay.

8. You should definitely use two-step authentication.

I hate to break it to you, but your p@$$w0rd probably isn't very safe. The least you can do, according to CNET, is turn on two-step authentication. That way, every time you log in to an unfamiliar device, you'll get a text message with a secret code just to make sure it's you — because even if someone gets your password, they probably don't have your phone, too.

Unless they, um, literally walked into the AT&T store and charmed a sales rep into changing your phone number over to their phone. Which happens.

9. And use a password manager.

If you want to be extra extra safe, use a password manager such as LastPass, then set up a DiceWare password like "correct horse battery staple" (or some of these other great ones recommended by the Intercept) that are incredibly easy to remember but next-to-impossible for hackers or computers to crack.

Image from Pixabay.

10. Remember the greatest flaw in your internet security is the trusting nature of other people.

A trusting customer service rep can easily compromise you without realizing it. Your friend who mentions you on Facebook can do the same.

Heck, my wife has a fairly gender-ambiguous name, and I can tell you from personal experience how easy it is to call up the bank and pretend I'm her — even when I have to charm my way around a security question about her high school mascot. Which, yes, I've done.

As Jeong wrote, "Successful social engineers are not just perfectly capable of interacting with human beings — they are talented manipulators who take advantage of our willingness to trust our colleagues, friends, and family."

"You can turn your digital life into Fort Knox and still be undone by an overly trusting salesperson behind a desk."

Basic rule: Always look over your shoulder. Photo by Arthur Harry Chaudary/Wikimedia Commons.

There's no way to protect yourself from every possible online vulnerability. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't try!

As we've seen, the power of the internet can used for good or evil. All it takes is one trusting click, and even the savviest security professionals can find themselves compromised.

The best you can do is be smart and pay attention. A tiny bit of paranoid skepticism will save you a lot of time, stress, and energy in the long run, and that'll free you up to enjoy all the wonderful things that the internet has to offer. Trust me.

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socialviralnews · 7 years

Text

How to protect yourself from phishing, from experts who deal with it every day.

Ever wonder what it's like to be hacked? Sarah Jeong did. So naturally, she decided to ask someone to hack her.

All it took was a couple of hours and some readily available tools, and Jeong joined the approximately 12% of the population who have fallen for a hack.

Here are just a few lessons from experts that we can all benefit from:

Photo by Blogtrepreneur/Flickr.

1. Most hacking isn't done by master "Matrix" coders.

But in reality, most of what we call "hacking" is actually "phishing." In fact, last year, then-Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson said that phishing is the threat his department fears most.

THIS IS NOT WHAT HACKERS LOOK LIKE. Except when they do, which is sometimes. Photo by Vincent Diamonte/Flickr.

2. Phishing is a type of scam that disguises itself as something trustworthy.

3. Many hackers are savvier than you might think.

"It’s a matter of being caught out in a moment of distraction and of unlikely circumstance." In other words, it can happen to anyone.

Smile! I'm stealing your identity! Image via Pixnio.

4. The terrible typos and grammar in some phishing schemes are intentional.

Photo by Nate Grigg/Flickr.

5. To hack a specific person, all a hacker needs is social media.

You know those silly memes where you find your "porn star name" (or whatever) by using the name of your first pet and the street you grew up on?

Now think about those security questions you had to answer for your online bank account — things like, oh, the name of your first pet, the street you grew up on, or your mom's maiden name.

Image from Pixabay.

6. Be careful what you open — even when it's sent by someone you know.

Jeong was hacked after she clicked on a malicious link made to look like it was sent from someone she knew.

7. Double-check your URLs.

Always make sure you're really on the website that you think you are before you enter any sensitive information.

(Another helpful tip is to look for SSL certificates, which usually appear as a lock or green text in your browser bar — but even that's not totally reliable.)

What is real? What is fake? Image from Pixabay.

8. You should definitely use two-step authentication.

Unless they, um, literally walked into the AT&T store and charmed a sales rep into changing your phone number over to their phone. Which happens.

9. And use a password manager.

Image from Pixabay.

10. Remember the greatest flaw in your internet security is the trusting nature of other people.

A trusting customer service rep can easily compromise you without realizing it. Your friend who mentions you on Facebook can do the same.

"You can turn your digital life into Fort Knox and still be undone by an overly trusting salesperson behind a desk."

Basic rule: Always look over your shoulder. Photo by Arthur Harry Chaudary/Wikimedia Commons.

There's no way to protect yourself from every possible online vulnerability. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't try!

As we've seen, the power of the internet can used for good or evil. All it takes is one trusting click, and even the savviest security professionals can find themselves compromised.

from Upworthy http://ift.tt/2sPwOCj via cheap web hosting

#Upworthy

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