Y Crazy Mind

It’s been nearly a decade since Narin Charan founded Capital Alliance , a private, tech-enabled lender specializing in providing small businesses with much-needed access to capital. Narin’s business has grown quite a bit since those early days, as it now offers unsecured business loans approaching up to $1 million to businesses across a wide range of industries via a three-step, same-day decision process. What is the story behind 'Capital Alliance'? When did it begin? I founded Capital Alliance in 2008, while the country was still in the throes of “The Great Recession.” I saw a lot of business owners -- especially small business owners -- struggling to find access to capital and felt compelled to do something about it by developing a newer and more efficient lending model capable of adapting to the changing economic environment. What is your competitive advantage? Simplicity is far and away our greatest advantage. Capital Alliance has removed the ineffici...

North Carolina singer, author and spiritual seeker Gideon Smith is recognized for his bluesy seventies retro rock that has gathered worldwide acclaim. We caught up with the razor sharp zen master of the microphone to hear the latest news on his music and writing. Gideon has been immersed in doom metal, classic reggae and rap and gives us the inside on the new music.  What have you been up to since the last time we talked about your music? In the last few years, I have recorded sporadically and written many new songs for various side projects. The main sideband that people have heard thus far is my doom metal band Cemetery Crows . It is Black Sabbath worship with death metal vocals and touches of psychedelia, blues, and gothic rock. The response on it has been awesome. I’m very thankful people dig it. I have collaborated on new material with my good friend Kim and hope to finish the new stuff in the next year. We will also have several guests coming down. The material ...

Today our guest is Michael Rojek. He grew up in Honolulu, HI and attended the University of Hawaii where he graduated with a B.A. in Management from the Shidler School of Business. He then moved to Krakow, Poland where he attended Jagiellonian University and graduated with an M.A. in European Studies. Husaria Marketing is a digital marketing agency in Krakow, Poland that was founded by him in 2017. We have conducted an interview with Michael. Which aspects of your digital marketing business do you pride as the most important to success? Definitely the attention to detail. There are countless digital marketing agencies out there, promising anything you want. We take a different approach. Instead of promising you unrealistic goals, we start working for you for free and let you decide whether our approach is one that works for you. How does 'exclusivity' in part of your service rendered to your clients, sets you apart from your competition? By limiting the number...

Today our guest is Dilhan Suraweera, a professional tour guide, and owner of Dilhan's Awesome Adventures . He is a licensed and registered guide within all Provinces of Sri Lanka, and he has been in the Tourism profession for 14 years. We have conducted an interview with him. Which are the top 3 attractions that are the most unique in Sri Lanka that you think travellers should not miss? The top 3 would be difficult to choose. It depends on what you like to do and how long you have to spend in Sri Lanka. Many people come to visit our 8 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, ancient cities, and civilizations, such as Sigiriya, Kandy, Polonnurawu, Anuradhapura, Dambulla, and Galle. Others come to visit our natural wildlife preservation areas such as Horton Plains in the Central Highlands, Sinharaja Forest Reserve, or take a Safari in Yala or Udawalawe National Park. I would say the others come to relax. Ride the train from Nuwara Eliya to Ella, or enjoy our spectacular, pristine beac...

Roberta Cantow is a longtime filmmaker with a body of work that includes: Accordions Rising (2015) ; Not a Still Life (2013) ; Bloodtime Moontime Dreamtime: Women Bringing Forth Change (a Trilogy) and Clotheslines , 1982, Emmy Award winning 30-minute documentary. We have conducted an interview with her. How did you develop this style of filmmaking? How did you make your films personal and also poetic? What do you incorporate into your films/scripts? The first film that I "fell in love with" was Fellini's La Strada, different in so many ways than any film I had seen before. Even though it is considered to be in the category of 'neo-realist,' it is intensely poetic visually, even in terms of the characters who take on mythic proportions. I found that I was drawn to European cinema in general, the anti-thesis of Hollywood at the time. So the development of my "poetic" style was the product of all that interested me at the time including travel, ...

Tonight our guest is Marguerite Nardone Gruen. She is a new novelist having never written before or aspired to be a novelist. She had a dream one night and couldn't stop thinking about that dream so she sat down and wrote it out. Her first book ' The Band 4-The Air We Breathe ' came out in Feb 2016. It will be a trilogy because so many kept asking for more. The sequel 'Ed-For Love and Hope' is due in July. We have conducted an interview with Marguerite. What are the challenges you had faced before becoming a trilogy novelist? Not knowing anything about the printing or publishing business – I searched Google to learn what I needed to do and how to find a publisher. It was amazing searching and reading what to expect and how to find a reputable publisher. I pulled up the top self-publishers and started reading their blogs to see what people were saying about them. I was shocked about how many people were so dissatisfied with their publisher. They either wer...

Dr. Angelise M. Rouse is an education writer and staunch special education advocate. Her interest focus is on creating a meaningful, lasting and empowering educational experience for students with disabilities. Her research examines the development of opportunities to learn in special education classrooms, and how these opportunities are negotiated differently by various groups of students.   Dr. Rouse holds a Masters in Organizational Management and Special Education and received a Ph.D. in Special Education Leadership. Her first book, Especially 4 Me: A Student’s Guide to Understanding the IEP , was written to help promote self-advocacy for special education students. Her latest publication,  The King Inside: A Practical Guide for Young African American Males , was written to encourage and motivate young African- American Males to succeed and navigate life’s challenges into adulthood. She is currently working on her next publication which will highlight urban educa...

Seriously driven artists are just as good at creating passionate stories for a generation with their voices, as they are with their words—Matthew Sean Gibson Lopez AKA K.Lindo is one of the few. Standing apart from the synthetic acts produced by today’s media industry, K.Lindo is an invigorating cup of vocal and rap ability, songwriter, and true to the craft that platinum acts are known for. Raised in Atlanta, Georgia. K.Lindo embodies a deep love and passion for his gift of emotional expressions through a sound that stirs the crowd. Inspired by his grandfather, a former vocalist and musician with a caribbean sound, The elder has imparted the valuable genes of persistence and bravery within him. We have conducted an interview with him. Does rap require vocal ability? Rapping does not require vocal ability, but having the ability to utilize vocal range can present longevity for a musical career. Where did you develop this unique vocal and rap ability? My grandfather introd...

After 17 years working in sales, customer service and installation of hot tubs, billiards and saunas, Ted Fletcher suffered a disabling spinal injury in early 2012. In the last 5 years, he has had 5 surgeries and numerous setbacks. In the summer of 2013, he was given an older Canon EOS Rebel XT camera and began taking photos. Photography began to grow on him and show that it was more than cathartic, it became a way to stay close to and enjoy things he loved that he thought he'd never be a part of again or able to enjoy as much. Things like the outdoors, nature, surfing, travel and his family. Just last month he took an additional step into photography by creating his own business, Ted Fletcher Photography , and was also chosen to be a Getty Images iStock, and Adobe Stock contributor. We have conducted an interview with him. How did you start your photography business? I started after getting lots of encouragement from others that my photography was good enough. I haven’t...

A Grim Trilogy by Jennifer Reinfried #amwriting #horror Today our guest is author  Jennifer Reinfried for her book series ‘ A Grim Trilogy ‘.  Jennifer is an avid reader, loves gaming, comics, zombies, and playing bass. We have conducted an interview with her about her books in ‘A Grim Trilogy’: 1. Eventually, did one of your lead female characters (as you had aspired before the start of writing this story) become who you had wanted to create? What has changed? Definitely. In the first couple of drafts, the character Emma started out as more of a love interest, even though she was one of the criminals trying to take the city’s superhero down. For a long time, I considered her to be kind of on the side, which definitely reflected in the writing. Betas said they had a difficult time connecting with her. After a suggestion of a new beta, I gave Emma a different history, one readers could sympathize more. Once that was added into Grim Ambition, h...

M.T. Ellis is an Australian based author. She has just published her debut crime thriller, Azrael, and is currently writing her second novel. We have conducted an interview with her. Who or what in particular inspired you to write your debut crime thriller 'Azrael'?  I had a nightmare where I was being chased through the bush and was kept captive in an old house. I had been trying to think of a decent book idea for ages so I wrote the dream down when I woke up and eventually turned it into a book. How did you craft the character, Emily? She survived a horrific, sexually motivated abduction in this thriller. I've been listening to a lot of true crime podcasts and I try to think about things from the victim's perspective. I wonder what I would do, and how I'd feel, if I was put in the same situation and then write from there. It would be horrifying to be in constant fear like survivors of traumatic events so I tried to recreate that. Do you consi...

Rocco Basile is a longtime professional photographer and a prominent expert in fine art photography whose work has been frequently featured in galleries and international publications alike, thereby demonstrating a diverse professional skill set that includes landscape, wildlife, fine art, and portrait photography, not to mention the prolific work he has produced as a photojournalist. We have conducted an interview with him. What do you enjoy most about being an expert in fine art photography? What I enjoy most about fine art photography is the ability to learn and teach others about the profession. With photography, particularly fine art photography, you can always find ways to improve your craft. I enjoy the learning process and finding new ways to elicit emotions from my audience. A picture has different meanings to different people. The ability to elicit a response from a client is important to me. I personally think the response I get from my creative work is what ...

Tonight our guest is Marquita, the person behind Kita the Explorer , living in the Atlanta, GA area. She is an accountant by day but her passion is Kita the Explorer initiative. We have conducted an interview with Marquita. Why do you want to run your initiative and having the focus about "Vlogging, Planning, and the Environment”? I originally started this initiative as vlog to document my adventures and stories while traveling the world based on encouragement from friends as I had amazing pictures, tips, stories, and had been to several places (14 countries and counting). Vlogging allows for my viewers to see what they can do in a country while learning my personality while providing them tips on how to make their travels better. I quickly realized I enjoy planning and preparing for upcoming trips whether that is putting an itinerary together or creating a travel budget. So I took that joy to help my viewers or fellow Explorers save time and plan their next trip. I...

Colorado's Food Now is a  business about all women who love to cook. They came up with the idea while eating dinner and taking pictures to show people all the amazing food around Colorado. We have conducted an interview with them. What made you want to begin this business for all women who love to cook? I wanted to create a small community for women who love to cook and go out. All of us of very social and people are making new friends while also having fun going out to restaurants. How did we get started? I and my co-founder were out to dinner together when I saw her taking pictures of her food. I was a little confused at first, but then she explained how she was going to post it on her Instagram. It was a really good picture, and I really thought it was a good post. Then I got the idea to start an account for pictures of food. My co-founder loved the idea and so that night we immediately started working on the account. Where are we based and does locati...