Tendenci AMS Celebrates Black History Month, Honoring Influential Black People and Afro-Puerto Ricans

This month we honor all Black History, including Latin America.

Kimberly Bryant

The inspiring Kimberly Bryant is the creator of Black Girl Code, a program designed to change the face of technology by offering a future to young girls of color in technology.

Kimberly Bryant is the Founder and CEO of Black Girls CODE

Ursula Burns

The inspiring American business woman Ursula Burns was the first female Black CEO of a Fortune 500 company. She is currently the chairman and CEO of VEON, a senior advisor to Teneo, and a non-executive director of Diageo as of April 2018.

Photo of Ursula Burns
“She is inspirational to me in how service is leadership and leadership is service.” – Ed Schipul

Charles Gordon

October 12, 1925 – November 16, 1995

He was an American playwright, actor, director, and educator. He was the first African American to win the annual Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and he devoted much of his professional life to the pursuit of multi-racial American theater and racial unity.

Charles Gordon October 12, 1925 – November 16, 1995
Charles Gordon October 12, 1925 – November 16, 1995
I had the privilege of studying acting/theater under Charles Gordon”.
– Ed Schipul.

Dania Warhol

“I am. Transfeminist, black, cuir (queer), sureñx (southern). I exist I live with music and stories. I am the sum of all my ancestors and the experiences of my contemporaries. It’s not my job, it’s my language.” – Dania Warhol

Dania Warhol and the Spicy Nipples team.
“Dania is a young beautiful Transfeminist, and a hard working Afro-Latina rock star from my hometown in the south of the island. She is an advocate and leader to all the women, LGBTTQIAP+ community, poor people and black immigrants of Puerto Rico. Her dedication, elastic brave heart and passion keeps me alive and inspired.”
– Shirley Team Tendenci

Dania Warhol and a group of amazing strong women have created a Transfeminist platform called EspicyNipples.

“Media technologies and art are tools that we use for collective liberation, to heal generational violence and to connect our diverse nuances. We want to be a citizen journalism platform, taking into account our experiences and our bodies. Where we can count being ourselves, where we can grow collectively while telling our stories, and where we can be part of a safe space for queer life.”

Don Rafael Cepeda Atiles – Pratriarca de la Bomba y la Plena

July 10, 1910 – July 21, 1996

El Maestro Rafael Cepeda Atiles a.k.a. “The Patriarch of the Bomba and Plena” was the patriarch of the Cepeda family, known internationally as the exponents of Afro-Puerto Rican folk music.

Rafael Cepeda July 10, 1910 – July 21, 1996

“The bomba grew out of the colonial African slave experience. In its style of drumming, singing, and improvisational dancing, it resembles several other West African-derived forms of music and dance in the New World. The plena emerged as a local popular music during the last decades of the nineteenth century.”

Martin Luther King Jr.

January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968

And of course, we greatly honor Martin Luther King Jr. and 8 Black Activists Who Led the Civil Rights Movement

Martin Luther King Jr. Photo taken by Michael Ochs
Photo: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

TED 2013 Starts Today! Some of our Favorite TED Videos

We at Schipul love sharing knowledge and inspiration – especially the fantastic free videos that come out of the annual TED Conference! In honor of the 2013 TED Conference (which starts TODAY), we’ve put together a few of our favorite TED videos to share.

A few ways to follow along with the TED Conference:

What is your favorite TED video? Let us know in the comments!

Some of our Favorite TED Videos!

Simon Sinek – How Great Leaders Inspire Action

Quote: “People don’t buy what you do; people buy why you do it”

Talk Details on TED.com

Loved by Sarah Worthy

Benjamin Zander – The Transformative Power of Classical Music

Quote: “The conductor of an orchestra doesn’t make a sound. My picture appears on the front of the CD — but the conductor doesn’t make a sound. He depends, for his power, on his ability to make other people powerful. And that changed everything for me.”

Talk Details on TED.com

Loved by Caitlin Kaluza

Brené Brown – The Power of Vulnerability

Quote: “When we work from a place, I believe, that says, ‘I’m enough,’ then we stop screaming and start listening, we’re kinder and gentler to the people around us, and we’re kinder and gentler to ourselves.”

Talk Details on TED.com

Loved by Benjamin Floyd

Ken Robinson – Schools Kill Creativity

Quote:  “I believe our only hope for the future is to adopt a new conception of human ecology, one in which we start to reconstitute our conception of the richness of human capacity.”

Talk Details on TED.com

Loved by Eloy Zuniga Jr.

Amy Cuddy – Your Body Language Shapes Who You Are

Quote: “Tiny tweaks can lead to big changes.”

Talk Details on TED.com

Loved by Erica Bogdan

What Did We Leave Out?

Have a favorite TED video we didn’t include here? Let us know in the comments!

30 Days of Thanks: Life Lessons from Lala and Poppe

Typically, I take a more light-hearted approach to my 30 Days of Thanks post, in the past professing my gratitude to our clients, the Dallas Cowboys and Kodak Moments. Topics that are seemingly less ‘tug at your heart strings” and more…globally grateful.

This year is different, and no it is not because of the Mayan Calendar hoopla. This year, I am thankful for my parents, Laura (Lala) and Russell (Poppe) Pemberton. I have always been thankful for them and I believe they know that. But this year, I have truly felt the culmination of 26 years (and 11 months) of love, support, friendship and encouragement. These attributes span far beyond the parental definition and more into lessons that have paved my day-to-day life. And for that, I am incredibly thankful…

[Cue the montage]

Work Hard

My parents always communicated the bigger picture…beyond sports, beyond high school and beyond college. If you want something, you sure as hell better be willing to work for it. And let’s be honest, as a kid, you “want” A LOT.

I wanted to be lead-off batter in the line-up. “Ok, I will take you to Decker Prairie Elementary so you can take reps everyday outside of practice.”

I wanted the Docs [Martins] with neon lacing. “Ok, you can iron your Dad’s shirts at 50 cents/piece.”

I wanted to go to Washington D.C. for the Presidential Classroom. “Ok, let’s draft up a letter asking people for donations towards your travel expenses.”

I am thankful that my parents not only made me work, but made me work hard for what I wanted. They were preparing me for my future and unknowingly instilled an unwavering drive and determination that makes me want to do better every day.

Raise the Roof and Celebrate

The Pembertons celebrate everything. Have you ever heard of a non-birthday? Well now you have – Happy Non-Birthday anonymous reader! My parents have always gone out of their way to let me and my brother know how proud they are of us. Whether it was through their words or partaking in a death defying 21st birthday stunt, they were there with their party hats in tow.

I am thankful that my parents celebrated our accomplishments, and encouraged us to celebrate in others. It is amazing what someone can accomplish when they have unconditional support.

Don’t Forget to Laugh at Yourself

My dad is famous for getting a laugh through his grandiose stories. You know, the one where the ball rick-o-shays off 5 trees, gets swallowed by a Big Fish and somehow lands in the hole for birdie. And my mother, bless her heart, has heard each one about a 100 times and laughs just as hard like it’s his first rendition.

I am thankful my parents taught me to enjoy the “funny” in life, embrace humility and laugh at yourself. Yes, that even means laugh at the time you looked like a little boy in a tacky Christmas sweater…it’s makes for a great story right?!

Happy Thanksgiving Lala and Poppe! Love you both!

Gary Hoover On How to “Think Like an Entrepreneur” and Succeed in Your Business

This week, I had the distinct honor of hearing Gary Hoover present at the Houston Technology Center on how to “Think Like an Entrepreneur”.  Gary Hoover is a successful entrepreneur having founded companies including Bookstop and Hoovers.com and he’s spent the last year as the “Entrepreneur in Residence” at the McCombs School of Business at the University of Austin.

Gary’s presentation was described as an “intense, information and idea packed presentation… [that] will be like drinking from a fire hydrant.”  That description was spot-on.

I took over 5 pages of notes, mostly trying to type as fast as I could and catch the great and inspiring quotes of wisdom plus the recommendations for books and specific, actionable items Gary said we could do to change the way we thought and be more successful and innovative in business.  

Gary began his presentation by personally handing everyone in the audience his business card and shaking our hands.  On the back of Hoover’s card are the top 8 things he believes are keys to making great enterprises.  Download a larger photograph of his business card with the 8 tips to keep and view more photos from the evening presentation in the Tendenci Photo Album I’ve created.

If you are interested in a  full copy of my notes, leave a comment below or send me an email at sworthy@tendenci.com and I’ll gladly send them to you.

I was inspired by how much of what Gary recommended for being a more successful entrepreneur also applied to the work we do at Schipul for our clients in web development, website design, and web marketing.  In learning to think more like an entrepreneur, you also learn to see different perspectives, understand the ‘bigger picture’ of your business, and receive lifelong benefits personally and professionally.

Probably the most profound statement of the evening from Gary was when he said:

‘I define entrepreneurship as getting great personal satisfaction from serving others… you have to love it and others have to love [what you are giving them].  

The people who are most happy with their lives at my stage are the people who have spent their whole lives working to make the world a better place.”

Here are Gary’s recommendations for learning how to “Think Like an Entrepreneur”.  My goal is for you to find the same inspiration and ways to relate them to your daily life as I found.

Practice the Habit of Wisdom

‘These are people who just cannot be anything but an entrepreneur.    They may fail a lot’ because it’s hard to get them to sit still, hard to get them to focus… but ultimately they are going to succeed because they just don’t stop.”

As Gary states, some people are born fundamentally entrepreneurial and others are born to be bureaucrats, while the rest of us fall someplace in between the 2 extremes.  If you want to become more entrepreneurial, then you will need to change by developing better thinking habits.

To develop these habits, you’ll first need to master the 3 things Gary calls his working definition of wisdom :

  1. Knowing what matters and what doesn’t matter.
  2. Knowing what changes and what doesn’t change.
  3. Knowing what you can change and what you can’t change.

These are three easy concepts to understand and yet, very difficult to master. As Gary put it, “There’s no rocket science here, but you’ll spend your whole life trying to figure out what matters and what doesn’t.”

Be Curious

“Study the great entrepreneurs, like Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Michael Dell and so on, and you’ll find an intense curiosity.”

Gary explains the importance of doing your research before starting a new business venture.  The most successful entrepreneurs are the ones who ask the most questions and really understand the marketplace, the customers and competitors, and gain insight into the future of the business environment.

Ask the managers and owners of similar businesses questions like:

  • What do you like about your job, and what don’t you like?
  • What is the best day you’ve ever had… describe your worst day?
  • What do you look for in an employee and how do you hire and train new people?

By asking questions and being curious, you can begin to gain perspectives from other people and understand the why’s and the how’s and the what’s…

When you begin to understand these different perspectives beyond your own, you can make better decisions and you are more equipped to solve problems as they are thrown randomly at you.

Read Every Day

“The key question is do you see yourself in a box or not in box?”

The greatest thought leaders in the world are also the most avid readers.  Read daily, Gary recommends, books and business journals… the beauty of the internet is the availability of so much free and great reading material.

Here are 2 books Gary recommended Tuesday night:

The Innovator’s DNA: Mastering the Five Skills of Disruptive Innovators” by Jeff Dyer, Hal Gregersen and Clayton M. Christensen

The Innovators DNA describes 4 skills required for innovation:

  1. Observing
  2. Networking
  3. Experimenting
  4. Questioning

Mindset: The New Psychology of Success” by Carol Dweck

Mindset describes the importance of not locking your children or yourself into a set way of thinking.  Gary recommended this book and said “It’s not about being smart or being stupid: people who think they’re smart are locking themselves in a box just like people who think they’re stupid.”

Entrepreneurship is not About the Technology

“Entrepreneurship is a lifelong process of self-understanding: learning about yourself .”

As I listened to Gary’s presentation, I found myself mentally replacing the word “entrepreneurship” with “Marketer” and “Schipulite”. We’re passionate about providing great service to our clients.  We’re constantly asking questions and inviting our clients to come hang out with us so we can get to know you.  We never stop trying to innovate and find better ways to help your business increase online and offline revenues through your website and web marketing.

These quotes from Gary’s presentation were my favorite because they gave me new perspectives on creating a better user experience through our Tendenci CMS for you, your staff, and your website visitors:

‘When I use the word technology, I mean any way of doing better things…  Technology is only relevant to the extent that it makes people’s lives better!”

“Step back and look at the big pattern’ and the big pattern here is that ALL MEDIA has been digitalized, it’s all been turned into 0’s and 1’s.”

Be obsessed with your customer and making great products for them and you will succeed’ be passionate about it.  It is about making it good for the user!”

I would love to hear how we can make our products and services better for You and anything else you want to add!  Please tell us below in our comments or Come Hang Out With Us and get to know us.  (And I promise to ask you lots of questions!)

Friday Fun: Get Up,Get Moving!

When did the word “athlete” become a label? Or maybe its just always been and we had not taken a moment to notice.

What does it take to be considered an athlete? Running in a marathon?  Competing in the Olympics?    Winning a medal?

Maybe its none of the above. Maybe it is all.

In my opinion, anyone who gets out, is active AND especially has passion, can be  considered  an athlete.

People exercise for various reasons: weight loss, healthier lifestyle, feeling/looking better..
Whatever the reason, those people have a passion to be able to  succeed  in something they have set their mind too.

And guess what?!? Yes, some people  exercise just  for fun!

I recently started getting into workout regimes such as Insanity and P90x. These are the programs that everyone sees on infomercials and usually thinks “HAHAHA, yeah right, NO way!” And Guilty as Charged, I was one of those people.

Which brings me to my next and last point: The 2011 Metro Dash

A 30 element obstacle course that tests physical and mental limits.

Never have I ever ran a marathon, much less a  triathlon…and much less even thought about doing the MS150 (props to the fearless  Rodney)  so this will be something new, challenging, and fun!

Trying something new is scary, thoughts of failing can be even more daunting but in the end, accomplishment really is a warm, fuzzy feeling. You never know what you can do until you try. Don’t knock it ’till you try it!

 

What Would Warhol Do?

“In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes.” – Andy Warhol, 1968

I attended a screening of Warhol on TV presented by Aurora Picture Show at the Menil Collection last Friday night. The film was a collection of excerpts of works created by and featuring Andy Warhol. The film was curated by the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh, PA.

Andy Warhol’s obsession with celebrity and the lives of the rich in famous is well documented, and very evident in the film. What hit me was his fervent dedication to documenting his life and the world around him in photographs and video. Take this photo I took of a video of Andy being done up in drag.

In today’s pop culture, our obsession with the lives of the rich and famous is at an all time high. The entire Charlie Sheen saga has been a grim reminder of how much we thirst for a good celebrity train wreck. But a democratization of the velvet rope has occurred with the proliferation of camera phones. Whether it is the video of Cyndi Lauper singing Girl’s Just Wanna Have Fun in an airport terminal . . .

Or a little girl singing the new Lady GaGa single . . .

 

There are moments of Warholian fascination being born (this way) every day. It’s had me thinking about what Andy Warhol’s art would have looked like if he was armed with an iPhone. The glut of photography apps on the iPhone, particularly those dedicated to creating a vintage look to your photos, make your iPhone reminiscent of Warhol’s ubiquitous cameras. Here are a couple of my favorites

Instagram – FREE

Instagram is incredibly simple. Take a picture, apply a cool filter, share with other user and over your social networks. They recently added hashtag support allowing users to tag their photos, making them searchable. Instagram is great to get quick snaps of random things going on around you. The in-app feed is great for those moments when you want to just look at something interesting in the middle of the day. You can also like and comment on your friends photos. There is also a Popular button that takes you to a collection of the most liked photos taken by Instagram users.

Hipstamatic – $2.99 plus multiple $.99,  Hipstapaks (app currently on sale for $1.99)

I’ll warn you now, this app can lead to a serious obession. I LOVE Hipstamatic. While the app comes with a nice set of equipment up front, the real fun is adding the Hipstapaks, expanding your lens, film and camera options. I doubt I’ll ever learn how to use this app to its fullest potential, but I know it’s going to be fun trying. Another great feature of this app is the Hipstamart. You can upload photos from your phone into the Hipstamart, and order high quality prints! They come in a nifty little envelope that folds into a stand-up frame.

Hipstamatic just takes great photos. You can also share them in Instagram, doubling the AWESOME! One more thing, if you’re going to be using Hipstamatic, you might as well invest in SwankoLab as well. It’s like having an entire dark room in your pocket!

8mm Vintage Camera – $1.99

I haven’t been able to use 8mm as much as I would like. As you can probably imagine, it turns your iPhone into an 8mm camera. Like Hipstamatic, it comes with a small collection of lenses and films to experiment with. Turn your videos into home movies from yesteryear!

Fortunately, the bad fashion from the 70’s is not included.

With an iPhone and these apps, anyone can lead the life of Andy Warhol. And getting your 15 minutes of fame just got a bit easier. Happy content creating!

Boss Blog of the Month: Orange Juice & Biscuits

Boss [baw, bos]

-adjective
1. exemplifies a unique quality; awesome; incredible
2. An expression from the mid 1950s, which fell from favor by early 1960s…until now.
Used in a sentence: Orange Juice is great, but Orange Juice and Biscuits is boss.

Jonathan Valdez - blogger of Orange Juice & Biscuits

What is the most important meal of the day? Some classic folk might say Cocoa Puffs, a few dieters will admit to cold pizza, but pop culture, fashion fanatics will declare in unison, Orange Juice & Biscuits is where it’s at.

No, this does not mean there is a new organic orange that will guarantee weight loss nor does it anticipate an advanced biscuit that will combat frizz. It means that if you love a humorous take on front row fashion, “Livin’ La Vida Lohan” and all things sexy in the NYC, then you must suppress your appetite with Decemeber’s Boss Blog of the Month, Orange Juice & Biscuits.

I believe any successful blog tells a story, and OJ&B does just that through the eyes of Jonathan Valdez – a hilarious, dapper young fellow who writes with such enthusiasm, he could make a 76 yr. old nun pumped about Gaga’s latest music video. In 2009, Jonathan was named Mashable’s Top 5 Best Bloggers to Follow and for good reason; it’s not just about writing for him, it’s about sharing an amazing experience with amazing people.

Recently, I had the opportunity to speak with creator of OJ&B, and close friend, Jonathan Valdez about the incredible growth of OJ&B and what sets it apart from all the other fashion and celebrity blogs.

“I believe OJ&B is funny without being snarky or mean. Yes, it’s fashion, yes, it’s celebrities but it’s also about supporting the great people I have met in New York. You never know who you are going to meet and where they are going…OJ&B has enabled me to show how much I value these relationships and I believe people respect that.”

Jonathan doesn’t just sit and watch from afar, he writes about Whitney Port’s new fashion line because he was there. He gives shout outs to Models of the Runway Winner, Kalyn Hemphill because they truly are friends. He provides live media coverage of events, like Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week because, well…they thought OJ&B was awesome too. People enjoy Jonathan as a person because he genuinely enjoys them, the difference is he writes about it. And let’s be honest, who doesn’t like to see their name in print? Guilty.

There is just not enough great things to say about OJ&B. I love this blog, I love the guy behind the blog and I love that we can agree on one thing…

“Everyone loves a good Lohan mention.” – Jonathan Valdez

Want more Orange Juice & Biscuits?

Fan OJ&B on Facebook

Follow OJ&B on Twitter and be apart of OJ&B’s 2,011 followers by 2011!

The Annual Schipul Christmas Sweater Attractiveness Contest

***UPDATED****

Congratulations to our winners for best sweater and best caption!

Sweater Contest Winner: David Stagg “The Elf Playboy”

Caption Winners: Chilly- 1st Place | Nicole – Runner-Up

2011 Christmas Sweater Contest Winners

We here at Schipul don’t believe that Christmas sweaters are tacky. In fact, we’re of the opinion they’re just as trendy as Hammer pants, neon-on-neon, and JNCOs.

In honor of our attractiveness (and, really, our complete inability to be impartial in choosing the most attractive outfit), we’re putting it up for you all to vote on. Help us decide our winner! Peruse the candidates and vote at the bottom. Leave a comment with a caption of your fave Schipul sweater for a chance to win a $15 Starbucks gift card!

David Stagg – The Elf Playboy

Dstagg as "Snowball the Elf"

David Stagg pranced in here with quite the vest this season, sporting multiple active Santas in a variety of sleepwear. Under the vest is quite the cozy cream sweater embossed with iron-on presents trimmed in fabric paint, and a large forest green Christmas tree made of ribbons, rubies and red bows. And to top off what is soon to be every girl’s fantasy, a hat with cut-out felt elf ears, a single jingle bell and lovely hand-stitched embroidery that reads, ‘Jingle This.” – assume what you must.

Aaron Long – Bad Santa

Aaron Long as Bad Santa

Aaron Long has taken a more traditional approach this December with the ever so popular cherry red coat and Santa hat. As you may have guessed, the suit is carefully lined with soft, white fabric leaving many to believe his presence is that of an angel. Bringing a more modern feel to the garment, he has added a silver zipper from the chest to the neckline which only solidifies the fact that everyone loves a good zipper. While he has foregone the beard this season, we believe that his golden salt and pepper locks have made up for his lack of facial hair.

Courtney Pemberton – Grandma Coco

CP as Grandma Coco

Courtney Pemberton has channeled her inner grandma this Christmas and opted for the classic red cardigan with two sequined, embroidered snow globes. Each snow globe has been carefully sewn to tell a story about a jolly man named Santa embracing his best friend Rudolph…who of course, can stand upright due to his sweet dancing skills. Adding a bit more pizazz to the garment are 20 fabric-glued snowflakes accompanied with individual brooches that include a dog holding a bone, an assumingly drunk Santa Claus, 2 bears playing footsy and a cat tangled in Christmas lights. To bring the outfit together, a Grinch T-shirt resides under the cardigan and of course, the beloved Trapper hat has been placed upon the head for final effect.

Ben Gillin – Creepy Christmas Neighbor

Ben Gillen as Creepy Christmas Neighbor

Ben Gillin in channeling his inner redneck this year wearing a somewhat smoked, cherry red, house robe. You can’t miss this flamboyantly styled A-line hem with Santa Claus, candy canes and gum drops galore lining the inner fabric. The hood reflects an Avant-garde mood and is a perfect addition for fetching the newspaper in the rain. If conservative is more your style, this outfit offers flexibility with a built-in belt to keep everyone guessing at all times.

Derek Key – Wise Ol’ Candy Cane

Derek Key as Wise Ol' Candy Cane

Derek Key is relating to young and old alike this season with his hand woven sweater vest accompanied with an abnormally small pocket detail. The sweater comes just above the belt line proving that this garment can be purchased at 10 and worn till you’re at least 35. Iconic images of sailboats, stockings and Christmas cheer add just enough spunk and that abnormally small pocket – well, it’s perfect for holding pennies.


After you vote – leave a comment with a funny caption of the Schipul sweater of your choice. The Schipulites will pick their favorite on Tuesday, December 28th and send off a $15 Starbucks gift card!