Author Archives: JimArnoldLA

Enjoying Los Angeles Arts and Culture Without a Car

La Cienega/Jefferson Station on the Expo Line

Step-by-step intrux on how to: How to Enjoy L.A. Arts and Culture Without a Car.

Thoroughly enjoyed this enlightening and entertaining story by Alissa Walker in the L.A. Weekly blog. It’s really a blog post about a book, Car Free Los Angeles and Southern California, by Nathan Landau, a transit planner.

Walker, who navigates L.A. every day car free, writes about Landau’s ideas as how they work for a skeptical resident as well as someone visiting or a casual tourist. Both authors emphasize how Los Angeles public transportation has and is being improved, seemingly on a monthly basis — for instance, this week (on Saturday, April 28) the Expo Line light rail opens. Not only will this be the first light rail link to the west side in 50 years, it will also take one to museums in Exposition Park and some nice restaurants in Culver City.

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I recently had the opportunity to show my brother and his family some sights of L.A. in one day – and we did make use of the Red Line subway for part of the trip. Sightseeing Goal: Staples Center. We didn’t need to park downtown, and we didn’t need to get on the Hollywood Freeway. That in itself, I’m sure, lowered my blood pressure a few points. Continue reading →

Ross Tallent’s design & sculpture website is up!

From Ross Tallent Gallery images

Ross E. Tallent – design & sculpture website.

Scary monsters! Horned beasts! Aliens, and more . . . My friend, the artist Ross Tallent, let me know about a week ago that his first website showing his work was up and running.

You can read the bio there, but Ross has worked for years in Hollywood on makeup special effects and model making — need an extraterrestrial satyr from Neptune? Get Ross on the phone!

Here’s to hoping this online platform is beneficial to all those purposes. It can’t be the simplest thing marketing oneself as a special effects sculptor – cocktail party chat:

“Oh, and what is it you do?”
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“I make monsters, the stuff that comes out of your worst nightmares!”

“Umm–kay, I think I saw some cheese balls over on that table . . .”

Fortunately for Ross, the entertainment industry shows no signs of any cooling on its love affair with scare. Take a look at his online galleries and see if you agree.

Five Tips on How to Write a Book Synopsis

Five Tips on How to Write a Book Synopsis*

Before you market your self-published book, you need to have a piece that encapsulates the essence of your work into a form that’s sharable. This is usually called a book synopsis.

Tip One: You Need Three.

Or better put, three versions of your synopsis. First: a logline, (for fiction) which is one or two sentences which should inform us of the title, the genre, who the protagonist is, and what sort of struggle or conflict they encounter in the story. For non-fiction self-publishing, one or two sentences which include the title, genre, and what the lesson/argument is.

Second, a slightly longer version, about the length of one paragraph, which will include more details a buyer needs to know; and finally, a one-page version of your story or message that includes the plot, main characters and themes if it’s fiction, and your argument/lesson if it’s non-fiction.

Tip Two: Break it Down, Chapter by Chapter.

Where to start! Do you have a table of contents, if it’s a non-fiction book? This can provide an easy way to break down the essence of your message. If it’s fiction, try summarizing each chapter into a short paragraph and then combine, edit, then merge some more.

Tip Three: Tell a Story (arc).

Think along the lines of classic story structure. Start with your main character, and the problem or issue that character is presented with. There’s an opposing force, which is often another character. Your hero or heroine is beset with increasing complications and setbacks, ending with a climax, before ultimately achieving a goal of some kind. This kind of “spine” works just as well with a non-fiction book.

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Aaron Marino, Virtual Makeover, Part Four: Shirts

Alpha M Image Consulting, Virtual Makeover Part Four – and last part. Didn’t have time yesterday to go through the shirts.

What I want to tell you about the shirt situation is pretty much along the same lines as the guiding principles in the pants situation — too much fabric! At least that’s according to mentor Aaron Marino, and I think he’s right.

A few years ago I began to see “athletic fit” dress shirts being sold, and this was a start. Typically, they’d fit in the shoulders and chest and would taper down somewhat at the waist. Clearly, they were made for men who lifted weights or had broad shoulders, narrow waist for some other reason (not sure what that would be, maybe genes?). Anyway, I digress.

So again, as by now you’re used to, the methodology was for me to send Aaron some pictures of current shirts he would critique. The light blue button-down L.L. Bean shirt (see video) is typical of shirts I’d wear to work situations (when not wearing a tie, which was most of the time). Nice enough, but way too much fabric around the middle and arms, as you’ll see.

Aaron at Alpha M Image suggested a few things, of which I’ll show you three (again, in the video!)

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Aaron Marino, Alpha M Virtual Makeover, Part Three

Makeover Part Three . . .

Pants!

Moving northward from the shoes . . . it was time for Alpha M Image Consulting to evaluate the pants situation. At the time having been out of work or working sporadically, the usual American staple, jeans, were my daily uniform of choice (one I got out of my chili pepper lounge pants, but that’s another story).

So I sent Aaron Marino a photo of my usual jeans choice: BTW, I’m 5’7″.

Old jeans, notice the bagginess at the ankle and thighs

His comments were that I was in good enough shape (thank you walking, biking, yoga and gym) to wear things that were more fitted, for a leaner, youthful look. Again, he sent me (via email) a number of suggestions, which I went out to try on. After many tries, I settled on a pair of Gap 1969 Skinny (!) jeans and a pair of Buffalo David Britton jeans (which have a tiny amount of spandex in them, making their snugness less restricting, at least for this person).

Gap 1969 Skinny jeans, notice more fitted look, also correct length

Buffalo David Britton jeans, nice fit.

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Aaron was right. These do look good on me. Who knew?

Now, for dressier slacks. Again, the problem was what I had was way out of style (like, hello, pleats!) or simply too big. Alpha M focused on a better fit, so I got things like these two examples: Slim-fit tailored black khakis (also from Gap) and a pair of pin-striped Kenneth Cole Reaction pants.

Slim-fit tailored black khakis from Gap

Kenneth Cole Reaction slacks

My reaction (to the Reaction!): I didn’t realize I could wear pants cut like this, or that they’d be comfortable – when I’d seen them in ads or on lean/skinny twentysomething models, I just assumed they’d be tight, uncomfortable and impossible to zip up – but they weren’t.

I wear the jeans quite often and, since I work at home, the dressier stuff is (so far) for business casual events, such as a mixer I went to last night.

I’ll do yet another virtual makeover post to focus on shirts.

Aaron Marino, Virtual Makeover, Part Two

Virtual Makeover part two:

In my discussions with Aaron Marino of Alpha M Image Consulting, we decided the first thing that could use an update in the virtual makeover was the head image! For me, this meant a new hairstyle and updated glasses.

Here’s a picture of pretty much what it looked like before:

Before

I had always had short hair and decided to grow it out a bit a couple of years ago, but I agree, this looks kind of messy. Aaron suggested something very short, a buzz really, with some angled sideburns. This is what it looks like now:

After the cut

I like it. Since we did this (November 2011?) I get it cut about once a month. My barber Ian keeps it looking neat and fresh, and I appreciate the fact that I don’t have to mess with such a short hairstyle (yes, I am rather lazy in that regard).

Continue reading →

Double standard in Manhattan Beachgate restroom sting?

Photo by thisreidwrites

LA Daily News: 8 men arrested for suspected sex in Manhattan Beach restroom

When I read this about a week or so ago, it made me sick. I felt then like I did as a young teenager in Wisconsin when I’d read the names of men caught in park restrooms, subsequently published for all to see in the Milwaukee Journal.

In the 60s – 70s, having something like that done to you really would literally ruin your life – you’d easily lose your job, your family, your friends — everything.

Let’s just take a deep breath and realize a couple of things: 1) these men haven’t been convicted of anything. 2) If they were having public sex, which is a crime, it is a victimless one, often involving police entrapment. 3) If these were man/woman couples having public sex (say, on the beach or in a car, etc.) do you think we’d be seeing their pictures in mug shots in the newspaper? No, I don’t think so, either.

I don’t condone public sex. People of any persuasion should be discreet about that, for many reasons. But the overreaction of this Manhattan Beach Police Department and the media involved in publicizing these arrests smacks clearly of a same-sex double standard. Another question the residents of that town might ask is if this is the best use for the money they’re spending on police protection.

As one man in the story says, “you’ve completely ruined my life.” He’s right. My dream would be they get all charges dropped then sue the Manhattan Beach Police so that little homophobic community by the sea goes bankrupt.

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Jimbolaya merged with Jim Arnold Communications!

Jim Arnold

If you’re a repeat visitor to Jimbolaya you may have noticed a change over the past couple of weeks. I’ve been in the process of merging the blogsite for Jim Arnold Communications into Jimbolaya, and, except for relocating a few of the posts, it’s all here.

Mainly, the other blogsite was composed of pages describing the Jim Arnold Communications consulting business and what it offers to prospective clients and why, in the two areas of business copywriting and book marketing. It finally just made sense to me to put the two blogs together, and have all my writing in one virtual place.

I recently took a series of seminars offered by Mediabistro on Job Hunting skills, which I adapted to mean, in my case, self-employment skills. There was a lot of emphasis on social media, strategies for both marketing oneself and looking for opportunities via Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and through blogging. I had at the time two of most everything – personal Facebook and business page; Twitter again for both; and the two blogs (Jimbolaya and Jim Arnold Communications). It was suggested to me that I combine the Twitter accounts and the two blogs, for two reasons: 1) using just one Twitter and one Blog would be more impactful, and 2) having fewer social media accounts to keep current would give me a lot more time to do my actual work!

My work as a Los Angeles-based communications specialist now focuses on freelance copywriting. That center of attention is informed by my 20-plus years in public relations and the several years prior to that where I worked in book publishing.

One of the more common complaints I’ve heard from PR pros is that there’s a lack of writing skills in the profession, so the need is there – and not just for PR agencies, but for businesses in general, all of which have many needs to communicate in writing – whether it’s to their customers, to other businesses or even internally.

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What kinds of companies am I looking to help, specifically? Having worked in the entertainment industry for quite a few years, that’s a definite area of interest and expertise. There’s a particular need in entertainment technology, where an explosion of new firms, new products and delivery platforms are being invented and launched at what often seems a dizzying pace.

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Aaron Marino, Alpha M Image Consulting Makeover, Part One

Last fall, coming close to my second anniversary of unemployment or underemployment (and there’s a fine line between those two!), I decided I needed to step up my game in all areas of my life, not just the work aspect.

We often hear about age discrimination in the job marketplace, and I’m sure there’s enough of it out there — though how do you ever figure out if that’s why you’re not hearing anything back on all those gobs of resumes you’re papering the city with?

Still, I figured I’d better look the part if indeed I got a callback. Truth is, I am fifty-something, and perhaps not quite as fashionable in reality as I think I am in my dreams.

I’d been a fan of YouTube video star Aaron Marino for quite some time. Aaron, who is also a former bodybuilding champion and fitness expert, runs a web-based men’s fashion advice business (Alpha M Image Consulting) from Atlanta. He uploads humorous, but always very well-informed fashion videos about once a week or so. He also offers makeover consulting, either in person or virtually.

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I always had a secret desire for a fashion makeover! So I bit. I contacted Aaron and we arranged to do the virtual makeover. The methodology was pretty simple: first, there were some questions I needed to answer, then a phone call with Aaron for him to get a better idea of where I was and what I was looking for.

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Gay Romance Ebooks are (still!) IN

Writers take note: edgy, gay romances with steamy sex are IN. But don’t take it from me. Here’s a fascinating interview with CEO Lori James of All Romance Ebooks where she talks with Katie Dunneback of the Library Journal about the state of the romance ebook industry.

It will come as no surprise that gay romance ebooks were one of the top three subgenres for 2011 [the others being erotic and speculative (which includes paranormal, vampire/werewolves, shape shifter, sci-fi/fantasy — I know, a shock)].

The interview is great for getting some behind-the-scenes info on how the ebook business is actually run – great information for writers intending to self-publish ebooks in any genre. Lori also helpfully provides a nice amount of demographic data on who is buying what, along with some key insights into what a romance fan wants when she (he?) buys a book.

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