Tag Archives: guest post

From Listener to Creator: How Making Music Changes How You Hear It

man using keyboard and computer to record music
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Most people spend their entire lives as passive consumers of music. You put on a curated playlist during your morning commute, blast a favorite record at the gym, or let a lo-fi stream run in the background while you work. But crossing the threshold from listener to creator often feels like a distant thought. The reality is that building a simple home setup to start making music on a computer is no longer a privilege reserved for elite recording engineers or classically trained prodigies. It is accessible to anyone with even a laptop and a love for sound.

Taking the leap from listening to making your own music does more than just give you a new hobby: it rewires your brain and fundamentally transforms how you experience every single song you will ever hear for the rest of your life.

When you start producing music in your home, you stop hearing magic and start hearing mechanics. And rather than ruining the illusion, pulling back the curtain makes the music you already love infinitely more beautiful. Continue reading From Listener to Creator: How Making Music Changes How You Hear It →

Photographing Seattle Home Styles, From Craftsman to Modern

house near green trees
Photo by Brett Sayles on Pexels.com

Walk a few blocks in Ballard and you can pass an early 20th century bungalow, a mid-century rambler and a townhome built in the last few years. On Capitol Hill, older houses sit on tree-lined side streets a short walk from condo buildings. Seattle’s houses were built in very different styles, and each one asks something different of a camera.

A photo setup that flatters a glassy new townhome can make a craftsman bungalow look cramped and dark. A slow, detail-heavy video suits an old house full of woodwork and bores a viewer in a clean modern interior. This guide goes through the three styles you see most in Seattle listings and how each one reads in photos and video.

Craftsman Houses and Early Bungalows

The appeal of an early 20th century Seattle house is in the details: a deep front porch, square or tapered porch columns, low-pitched roofs with wide eaves, and inside, built-in cabinets, window seats, wood trim and a fireplace at the center of the living room.
Continue reading Photographing Seattle Home Styles, From Craftsman to Modern →

Before Your First Botox Visit: Turn Saved Photos Into Clear Questions

inviting botox treatment room

By Sarah Hitchcox, BSN, RN

You already have the screenshots of what you want from your Botox procedure. Here’s how to turn desires into questions that a nurse can effectively answer at your consultation.

The consultation starts before you get in the chair: photos on the phone, questions in the notebook.

Start With the Folder You Already Have

You probably have a folder of screenshots, a saved collection on Instagram, or a photo of a friend from a wedding. Most people arrive for a first Botox visit and simply show me their face in person, along with their photos. That’s not a problem. The pictures are useful. The work is turning them into questions.

At Sarah Hitchcox Aesthetics, I perform every Botox treatment myself, and the consultation before it is free at both of our Knoxville-area offices. The better your questions, the more we can get out of that conversation together.
Continue reading Before Your First Botox Visit: Turn Saved Photos Into Clear Questions →

Yoko Ono’s Music Of The Mind at The Broad

Photo 1 Yoko Ono - Music of the Mind

A Guest Post (and Photos) By Geoffrey Dicker

Mention Yoko Ono’s name and chances are you’ll get a reaction. For many people, she’s still remembered more for the myths that surround her than for her art — whether it’s the persistent claim that she broke up The Beatles or strong opinions about her famously experimental music.

The Broad’s Music of the Mind, the first major museum retrospective of Ono’s work in Los Angeles, does an excellent job of moving past those preconceptions. Instead, it invites visitors to experience her as one of the most inventive conceptual artists of the last century, revealing an artist whose ideas have been far more influential than many people realize.

Continue reading Yoko Ono’s Music Of The Mind at The Broad →

HungryPanda Picks: NYC’s Top 10 Hidden Gems for Authentic Chinese Food

vibrant streets of yokohama s chinatown
Photo by Iban Lopez Luna on Pexels.com

New York City’s Chinese food scene doesn’t really announce itself anymore. The most interesting things happening right now are tucked into takeout stalls, basement counters and neighborhood restaurants where menus shift by region, dialect and memory rather than trend.

Whether you’re a lifelong New Yorker or exploring The Big Apple for the first time this summer, some of the city’s best Chinese offerings are not the usual ‘hot spots’. HungryPanda, an Asian food delivery app, is highlighting its Top Ten Hidden Gems of independent, authentic Chinese restaurants that fly under the radar.
Continue reading HungryPanda Picks: NYC’s Top 10 Hidden Gems for Authentic Chinese Food →