Losing My Shit over IP and Copyright Issues

I write 12 horoscopes a week, which takes me about two hours.

I publish a daily astro tidbit every night on Instagram, which takes 15 min.

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Image courtesy of bitmoji

I do a live radio interview weekly for 50 minutes.  I prepare at least 10 questions.  It takes me about an hour of prep per show, in addition to the 50 minutes  LIVE on air.  To take the live radio and make it ready for YouTube and IMDB, it usually takes an additional hour of my time editing.  That’s not counting the time, money and effort my co-host Judy Goss puts in to produce the show.

A 12 episode season of my talk show “Horror Talk with Kristin West” usually involves at least 6 hours prep before the taping by multiple producers, plus the cost and expenses of the actual show. Sometimes, we tape under less-than-ideal conditions, which means hours of sitting in the rain, sitting outside, etc.  We tape for at least three hours per taping.  Our editing process takes us about a week per episode.  That’s not counting the podcast version of show on iTunes, Spreaker, et al.

At least twice a month, I put out one 15 min or so episode of “Star Power:  Celebrities & Astrology”, my astrology podcast.  It takes me about an hour to write the show, 30 min to record it and 20 min to edit it and distribute it.

I write several guest columns and blogs.

All of this takes time.  Some of this takes money.

Few things upset me more than to have my IP and my copyright violated.  When I see my content or ideas appropriated, you might as well have stolen my time and money.  The next time you feel like you can just appropriate someone’s work, someone’s video or part of someone’s blog without attribution, stop and consider how you would feel if you were stolen from.  We are so used to having content bombard us, we forget the effort it takes to make the content in the first place.  When someone who’s in the entertainment business does this, it makes me even more indignant, because it’s extremely disrespectful to a fellow creator.

Entertainers and content creators, please familiarize yourself with IP and copyright law.  If you don’t know, ask.  If you’re unsure, ask permission.  Just don’t assume you can take something because you have the ability to rip something.  Just because you’re in something or worked on something, doesn’t mean you OWN that footage.  Respect your fellow creators and hopefully, they’ll respect you too.

 

 

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No Skinny Shaming. No Fat Shaming. No Shame.

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Photo by Lisa Fotios on Pexels.com

It’s very easy to cherry pick reality these days.  It’s very easy to ignore what’s inconvenient or what doesn’t matter or apply to you.  In the curvy and plus size community, we deride “thin privilege” but we have less conversations about “skinny shaming”–picking on someone because they are “too thin”.  How many times have you thought “that person should eat a cheeseburger”, not even knowing them?

lacretia lyons mrs birghtsideThere’s at least two sides to every issue and while we as plus sized people do suffer from “thin privilege” we pay very little credence to how thin shaming hurts everyone too.  I recently discussed this in depth with Lacretia Lyon on her Mrs. Brightside show.  Lacretia and I both had relatives that could not put on weight no matter what they ate and we discussed how that impacts them and our perceptions and relationships with them.

One thing we have to remember when we discuss the human body is that human bodies are human.  Picking on people hurts them.  Being picked on hurts and damages.  Unacknowledged bias hurts and impacts people.  One of my new mantras going forward is “no shame”.  No thin shaming, no fat shaming…no shaming period.  If we extend a little more love, respect and compassion for others, perhaps we’ll start to become the change in the world we want to see.

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Mrs. Brightside Finds the Bright Side of Tough Stuff

Can’t wait to sit down with host Lacretia Lyon of Mrs. Brightside.  We’re going to discuss the bright side of being plus-sized, body positivity & more.

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Lacretia explores the bright side of many important and sometimes heavy topics, including depression, failure, living alone and so much more.  Learn more here!

via Podcast

The Sun in Gemini & Morgan Freeman’s Saturn Return

Happy birthday, Geminis!

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In this week’s episode of Star Power, I started to unpack the very interesting lore of the sign of Gemini, the Twins!  I also took a little dive into what Gemini Morgan Freeman’s chart had to say about his recent woes.  It appears he’s in the waning square of his third Saturn return.  I unpack what that means and how Jupiter also pointed to his current woes.

Next week’s episode, we’ll be looking at Gemini and The Lover’s card of the tarot.

 

Is it Happily Ever After for Harry & Meghan?

Instead of watching the royal wedding, I decided to take a peak into what the stars were saying about Harry & Meghan’s relationship.  I’m not sure if it’s all happily-ever-after for the royal couple, but it’s certainly interesting.

Besides exploring Prince Harry’s & Meghan Markle’s synastry, I also discussed the tarot and the sign of Taurus (it’s why Bishop Michael Curry & Rihanna’s Met Gala dress made headlines) in this newest episode of my new podcast, Star Power:  Celebrities & Astrology.

Listen!

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There’s been a lot of development this past week for “Horror Talk with Kristin West”.  After making its film festival debut at Direct Online Shorts Competition, “Horror Talk” will compete in the Miami Independent Film Festival’s monthly web series competition.  In addition to the show’s exciting film festival run, Spotify and iHeart Radio now offer the show for streaming.

My fellow producers and I are actively planning season 2 and we have two more episodes for season 1 currently in post production.  If you’ve ever wanted to get into producing a talk show, now is a great opportunity to get involved with our show.  Check out our Patreon offerings!

Have you been missing “Horror Talk with Kristin West” ?

Ever want to know what today’s top horror stars do off camera? Want to know the behind-the-scenes scoop on today’s top horror movies? Check out my show with Domain of Horror, “Horror Talk with Kristin West”.   it’s available on Facebook, YouTube and several of your favorite podcast outlets, including Podomatic.  Listen to a preview below or watch here.

Horror Talk with Kristin West

This weekend may be all Easter bunnies and egg hunts, but for those of you wanting a scare, check out Domain of Horror‘s “Horror Talk”, my newest collaboration. filmfest We interview top names in indie horror and TV in Los Angeles.  Recent guests have included Tony Moran, Debra Lamb, Rena Riffel, Sheri Davis, Nikki Guzman and Armin Nasseri.  Subscribe today!  New episodes coming soon, including interviews with Bill Oberst Jr., dubbed the “king of indie horror” and folks from the creative team of the new movie “Corbin Nash

“Horror Talk” videos are hosted on Domain of Horror and YouTube.  Haven’t got time to watch?  Listen wherever you want.  Our episodes are available on Podomatic, iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher and others–with more outlets being added soon.

PS:  Tomorrow we have a special episode featuring Rena Riffel of “Mulholland Drive” and horror chef Nikki Guzman coming out.  Subscribe today & don’t miss out!

Congratulations Amy Newmark & CSSE

When a woman I’ve met succeeds at achieving her goals, it makes me hopeful. Congratulations to Amy Newmark of Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment! CSSE is now trading publicly on NASDAQ. I had the honor of speaking with Amy on What Women Want Talk Radio a few months back with Judy Goss! Amy is a shining example of leadership and vision.Her entertainment company has been making headlines today and I am so happy for her success.

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Amy Newmark at the opening bell of NASDAQ 8/18/2017, debuting Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment (CSSE).  Photo courtesy of NASDAQ Official Facebook Page. 

 

Check out this stellar interview with Amy Newmark  here.