Dr. Gene Healy at Root Healing Acupuncture talks about how acupuncture works.
To quote from the movie Wolf of Wall Street: “Sell me this pen.” How do you sell it? You make someone need it.
And when coming up with products to market, it’s best to work with what we already know people need.
So, what are basic human needs? Like, mentally and physically? I’d say as a baseline: sustenance, rest, companionship - both romantic and platonic, and some feeling or concept of safety and productivity.
And where are some places you can get those in Clearwater and beyond?
Well, let’s start with the first one: sustenance. You’ve got Nature’s Food Patch on Cleveland Street, Publix, Walmart, and Tony’s Pizza, among many others. You pretty much have to shop at those sort of places because, whether you like it or not, you need to eat.
Now, as to rest. You probably have a bed and a house, so this one is mostly covered. Except sometimes you need to push away the desire for sleep. So, Starbucks.
Next up, companionship. This one’s not particularly locked down by anyone, at least platonically. But romantically: stop me when you’ve heard enough: Tinder, Match, OkCupid, Zoosk, Plenty of Fish, Geek 2 Geek, and so on and so forth.
Feeling safe and productive? We’re back to Starbucks for the latter and on to any insurance company and Bayside Urgent Care Center for the former.
And I could keep on going with this, expanding into less necessary “needs” but I think you get my point. The most successful businesses fit into, expand upon, or simplify what people need to do and have to have.
And I know all of this boils down to that old, but relevant chestnut “supply and demand.” But it is important to understand the base of the “demand” portion, so that you can better “supply.”
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If you liked this article, you can read more of Brandon Scott’s work over at The Hive, or on his website: www.coolerbs.com.
There has been much written about the political process, the political candidates for the Presidential election, senatorial and congressional elections and even the local elections that concern all of us in Pinellas County and elsewhere around the country.
Each of us has our own unique, or shared, political views. Some of us are hard, party-line voters with ideals that do not change. Some of us are flexible voters who analyze each candidate we are eligible to vote for and base our decisions based on the policies they preach. Many of us are completely ignorant of the political process, and as much as the greater United States doesn’t want to admit it, a great many voters are completely ignorant of what each politician stands for outside of the spin that the mainstream media bombards them with.
However, there are two types of voters that stand out: the revolutionary and the enlightened. These may seem like bombastic descriptions, but if you bear with me through this analysis, let me explain.
The revolutionary voter is inclined to align him or herself with the candidate that speaks to the oft unspoken ideals, like Bernie Sanders who is so far out of the mainstream of public policy that his policy proposals are nothing but revolutionary in the country. He is radical, charismatic and intelligent. A potentially lethal combination.
The enlightened voter is similar in their choice of candidate to the flexible, with the distinction that they will look beyond their personal interests to the greater good of the country and world.
So the question begs: do we have any enlightened candidates?
I theorize that we do.
And here is why.
We have one candidate this election cycle who most closely represents the political ideals that our founding fathers, in part espoused, of personal freedom, small federal government and an increased sense of social mobility and hard work. Who embodies this decidedly Jeffersonian outlook? None other than Mr. Donald J. Trump.
How? How can anyone say that this bombastic lunatic, with such aggressive rhetoric and tenor can be considered in the same philosophical league as such illuminaries as Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Marshall and Benjamin Franklin?
It’s quite simple.
The economic principles that Mr. Trump has espoused in this election cycle thus far, and in his past have indicated his bent toward the Independent Party, and Jeffersonian thought. As he has said multiple times before, and in this Q&A with Chuck Todd on Meet The Press, October 4th, 2015:
“Q: Are you going to get rid of entire departments?
TRUMP: I would get rid of some. For example, the Department of Education. I would certainly get rid of a lot of it. I want local education. We could save a fortune with Environmental Protection–
Q: what is another agency you’d get rid of?
TRUMP: Even in the military, I’m going to build a military that’s much stronger than it is right now. But you know what? We can do it for a lot less.
Q: So you believe you can spend less money on defense than we do today?
TRUMP: I think we can make our defense much stronger and spend somewhat less money.”
This is a man who wants the federal government to spend less money, cut out oversight on defunct organizations and bring the economy back to the working class of the United States of America, where those who are in the game can flourish and prosper. This is one of the core arguments of Jeffersonian Principle. Thomas Jefferson killed departments that he considered a waste of federal resources, and by extension that of the people’s. Thomas Jefferson encouraged individuals to work, albeit in agriculture primarily, but we move adapt with the times, and that too was something Jeffersonian principle dictate.
These are strong indicators that Donald Trump is an enlightened political candidate, and not merely a revolutionary candidate who wants to bring drastic change to the societal make-up of this country, and to be damned with the results.
You may not like him as a person, and no one is asking you too. But, for those who are not party-line voters or ignorant of the political process, Donald Trump is one of the best candidates we have seen so far this century.
Feel free to agree or disagree below.
Before I begin, a quick definition of “fair use.”
"a legal doctrine that portions of copyrighted materials may be used without permission of the copyright owner provided the use is fair and reasonable, does not substantially impair the value of the materials, and does not curtail the profits reasonably expected by the owner"
--Merriam Webster
And now, on to the article.
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Creators are going to create. It’s in the blood, the brain, the soul. But some now find themselves penalized for what they do. YouTube’s automatic copyright-infringement monitoring system is wrecking them. And people are asking: “Where’s The Fair Use?”
It’s a growing topic. And a growing hashtag (#WTFU.) An outreach of P.R. between internet creators and the audiences that love them. It’s part of a discussion of what it means nowadays to be a professional creator on the internet, and on the biggest video sharing site we have.
And this affects everyone — myself included — who enjoys YouTube, which I imagine is most of Clearwater. And, I imagine it’s most of America, considering the widespread ownership of computers in modern-day society.
Because commentary, and criticism, and parody are a legitimate form of art — enjoyed by many — with a long-standing history in print media that now finds itself attacked on YouTube.
And perhaps if all YouTube videos were a matter of hobby only, this may not be as big of a problem. But, we live in a world where artists make a living off of YouTube videos. And so we need to at least consider all the problems that restricting them poses.
Because if Fair Use becomes a non-defense, or if it’s basically ignored on YouTube, and the people doing honest, and legal videos can no longer do so without fear, then we stand to, and the creators certainly stand to, lose quite a bit.
An entire genre of videos — and many people’s livelihoods. No more reviews. No more commentary. No more “Let’s Play’s.” No more video discussion of films, television, or songs. A drastic loss of creativity on a still young form of artistic expression.
And I hate to leave this on such a bummer, but there are no set answers to the problem yet. At least not that I can see. But it is something we need to look at, and I urge you to watch one of the various videos on the subject. Because in our internet age, it’s becoming more and more important.
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If you liked this article, you can read more of Brandon Scott’s work over at The Hive, or on his website: www.coolerbs.com.
