Interview with:Tali Adina [sailortalipluto]
CREATIVITY
 | How and why did you begin to be creative? I think that everyone is creative in their own way, they just have to find it and figure it out. Some people get it right away others later on in life.
I love writing and that's the best way I express myself since I'm social-phobic and a little anti-social.
I've always been myself even though growing up, I've had people who have tried to change the person that I am to no avail.
I think we should all be ourselves and not fit in.
I love who I am.
A lot of people don't get me but that's okay. I'm just comfortable being me and I express myself in my own creative way. |
| Your mind is your work tool. How do you take care of it? I eat the right stuff and I try to exercise 3 times a week. I'm not a gym person so I do it at home.
I have anxiety but I listen to music to calm myself and I also pray. |
| How do you avoid repeating yourself, or falling into formula? How do you stay fresh? I try to keep an open mind and just try to think outside of the box. I love diversity! |
| Do you have a ritual like retiring to a lonely place from time to time to cleanse your mind? Oh I love quiet places! What I do is listen to music and sleep that helps to cleanse my mind. |
| What cultural sources do you draw from the most? I'm an African-American Carribean Jewish woman. So I have lots of cultural refrences to draw from.
I also love to learn about other cultures especially Japan. |
| Who have your teachers been? My teachers have been my G-D, my ancestors, mother, life, history, and of course the majority of my teachers in educational background have been great. |
| When you accept a job, how much value do you place on each of the following? Money, creative liberty, visibility, and to work with the best. I think that creative liberty and working with the best are important to me.
Money and visibility aren't as important. Money is required to provide for yourself but it's not something to worship. |
| Have you ever had a job that was so stimulating that you could not get your mind off of it? I have a job-I created it. I'm not getting paid for it yet but it's special and very important to me.
I am the creator and editor of Kehila Magazine.
http://kehilamagazine.web.officelive.com/default.aspx
It's received a lot of great feedback and people are spreading the news about it through word of mouth and online.
I'm currently working on the second issue which will be out December 1st.
This job is stimulating and it's my baby. But it would be nice if I was getting paid for it too. |
| "To give birth to ideas." Is this only an expression, or are there really parallels between giving birth and creativity? I haven't had any children yet, but I do believe that they're are parallels between the two.
Everytime someone brings a child into the world, they are giving birth to a person that they help create.
Everytime some creates something they are giving birth to a new idea, moment, etc. whether good or bad. |
| Does spirituality contribute to your creativity? Yes. I believe in G-D, and I always pray and that helps me with my creativity. |
| It is possible to fall in love with a bad idea simply because it is yours. How do you avoid this? Oh yeah. You must recognize that the idea isn't working and you need to find a new one. Maybe later on you can come back to that idea and see if there's anyway to fix it=if no then let it go. |
| Must someone be the leader or boss in order for a creative team to function well? Yes.
W/O a leader or boss, being creative can also lead to chaos and disfunction and disorganization. |
| Declaration: With what person or business would you like to work? Anyone that wants to help others and make the world a better place.
Someone that has a new way of doing things but respects the old ways.
They must have diversity and an open mind and think outside of the box. |
| What criteria do you use when selecting someone to be a part of your creative team? They must be (Even if they're anti-social)respectful of others.
Are they open-minded and diverse
Creative
Enjoys life |
| The armchair psychologist: Is creativity an act of rebellion for you? Sure |
| What is the best advertisement you've seen recently? I can't recall one that stood out to me recently. |
| Do you work well under pressure? Sometimes. |
| What city in the world currently attracts you due to its creative environment? New York City
Tokyo |
| How is an idea sold? It can be sold in many ways.
It can be sold to help others or help oneself.
It can be sold with passion, belief in ones idea, and creativity. |
| What do you feel when, after two or three years, you see an idea of yours again? That it came back for a reason. |
| Ideas can come simultaneously to different people in different places with no connection to one another. How do you explain this phenomenon? It I think shows that no matter the differences people have a lot of things in common. |
| You are as good as your last idea. Wouldn't you like to have a more secure type of work? Sure but not if it's something that I don't enjoy doing.
And if I have to work in an area that I don't find enjoying I would try my best to make it creative. |
WRITING
| What did you first read? How did you begin to write? Who were the first to read what you wrote? I read Clifford (before it ever became a cartoon), The Bernstein Bears, Amelia Bedelia, Dr. Seuss, The Babysitter Club Series, among other stuff.
I've been writing since I was a kid.
My mom and my teachers where my first readers. |
| What is your favorite genre? Can you provide a link to a site where we can read some of your work or learn something about it? I don't have a favorite genre. It's whatever I find interesting.
I just started a magazine called Kehila. It's a magazine for Jews of Color. There are about 1.2 million JOC's in North America alone and there are not a lot of places or spaces that are for Jews of Color.
So here's the site to read it:
http://issuu.com/tali_adina/docs/kehila_issue_1_official_online_version |
| What is your creative process like? What happens before sitting down to write? Well I have ideas in my head and then I plot them out on paper-mabye several sheets of paper then I write in an organized creative fashion. |
| What type of reading inspires you to write? I'm interested in History, Judaism, Music, Fashion, Food, Japan, travel, and whatever I'm observing, or thinking about. |
| What do you think are the basic ingredients of a story? Facts, creativity, imagination, pain, life, love, music, beautiful and dark places. |
| What voice do you find most to your liking: first person or third person? I like both. |
| What well known writers do you admire most? Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan-he's no longer with us but I love reading his books! He died at a young age but he was full of wisdom on various subjects. |
| What is required for a character to be believable? How do you create yours? I think that the character has to be relatable to people. |
| Are you equally good at telling stories orally? No. |
| Deep down inside, who do you write for? I write for myself and also to express I how I feel, think, believe, etc. to others. |
| Is writing a form of personal therapy? Are internal conflicts a creative force? Yes. |
| Does reader feed-back help you? Yes it helps. But I stay true to who I am. |
| Do you participate in competitions? Have you received any awards? I haven't in a while but I will. |
| Do you share rough drafts of your writings with someone whose opinion you trust? Yes. My mom and my sister. They are honest and they give me constructive criticsm. Also my professor. |
| Do you believe you have already found "your voice" or is that something one is always searching for? I think so. I can't really describe it for me though. I just know it's my voice. |
| What discipline do you impose on yourself regarding schedules, goals, etc.? I write down what I need to do and then I try to keep on schedule but i'm also flexible but I get it down. |
| What do you surround yourself with in your work area in order to help your concentrate? My work area is my room and sometimes I'll have the tv on or I'll play music or nothing. |
| Do you write on a computer? Do you print frequently? Do you correct on paper? What is your process? I do both.
Sometimes I'll write out what I want to say and then when I type it out, I correct it some more until I think it's ready. |
| What sites do you frequent on-line to share experiences or information? www.MaNishtana.net
www.twitter.com/sailortalipluto
www.4JewsOnly.com I write blogs for this site. |
| What has been your experience with publishers? I haven't had any experience yet with publishers. I look forward to it. |
| What are you working on now? My magazine called Kehila. It's a monthly magazine for Jews of Color but everyone can read it and relate and get an understanding of it.
http://kehilamagazine.web.officelive.com/default.aspx
Check it out! |
| What do you recommend I do with all those things I wrote years ago but have never been able to bring myself to show anyone? Start getting it together and organize it.
You can self-publish it yourself.
Stay true to who you are. |
JOURNALISM
| What is your specialty? What subjects do you deal with? I deal with the subjects that Jews of Color deal with or want to talk about.
Judaism, culture, food, fashion, life, relationships, news. spirituality, hot topics, racism, anti-semitism |
| In which media do you presently work or have you worked? My senior year of high school I was on the newspaper staff.
Now I am the creator and editor of Kehila Magazine. |
| Please list a web address where where one can view an example of your work. http://kehilamagazine.web.officelive.com/default.aspx |
BLOGGING
| What is your blog address? What subjects do you deal with? My blog address is: http://taliadinasdaysoffuturepast.blogspot.com/
The subjects that I write about are anything that I'm interested in or just things that I'm going through, or obeserving in my life. Pretty much anything that's on my mind. |
| What was it that made you create your blog? On what date did you start it? I love writing and I express myself best when I write so I just thought why not use a blog to also do that? I don't have any followers though, and that's okay I'm writing for me the followers will come in time. I started the blog in Feb. 2010 |
| What blogging system have you adopted and why? I use blogger. Cause that's just the one I picked. |
| How many visits a day do you get? What type of comments do you receive? The only visits right now that I get are from me when I'm adding stuff to my blog, etc. I've only received one comment so far. |
| How has 'having a blog' contributed to your life? It's just contributed to me writing more. Which is helpful because as a writer you should write everyday. |
| Have you created relationships with other bloggers or readers of your blog? A little, I've chatted with two other bloggers. I don't have any readers yet but I know I'll get some. |
| How often do you post? Does regular posting of your blog require a lot of effort on your part? I post at least once every month. No it doesn't. |
| Does blogging bring in income for you? Can one make a living from posting? No. I don't think so. |
| How do you promote your blog? I use my twitter page and my facebook page. |
| How would you define your readers? Have you got a faithful audience? I don't have any readers yet. But I know that I will get an audience soon! |
| Are there any blogs you follow daily or regularly? www.JewInTheCity.com
www.MaNishtana.net
and some others. |
| Have you ever received gifts for blogging about your opinion of products or services? What do you think of bloggers who do that? No I haven't.
As long as there are no laws broken then I guess it would be okay. |
| How do you see your blog evolving in the future? Yes I do! I know that it will continue to blog. |
| What advice would you give to someone who wishes to begin a blog? Just to write from your heart and just keep on going. |
IDEAS
| Did God create the world in seven days, or do you believe in the theory of evolution? I believe that G-D created the world.
Theory of evolution I kinda believe in it. The problem I have with it is how racists say that black people and other people of color are "monkeys", and how all humans are supposed to have come from monkeys. |
| To what percentage do you believe in statistics? I would say 30%. |
| Do you believe many illnesses can be caused by the mind? I think that if people hold things in their heart against others that can affect their health. |
| Do you believe it is true that humans only use 10% of their brain capacity? Maybe some people do but I think we use more than 10%. I think a lot of us have a lot of potential and we don't use it fully. |
| Using the subway without paying, shoplifting: is there excessive tolerance to these small offenses? Sometimes. It depends on who the person is doing those things. Whether they're rich or poor or white or a person of color. |
| What do you think of the squatter "movement"? I think that more needs to be done to prevent and help those that are homeless. |
| Does brand name influence your buying habits? Nope. Price determines my buying habits. |
| Do you think tipping is a good custom? Sure. But it can be overdone. |
| Are there too many holidays in the work calendar? Nope. |
| Do you think the catastrophism about climate change has been exaggerated? I think that climate change is probally suppossed to happen and that pollution has made it wrost. |
| Do you boycott brands if you learn they employ children in third-world countries or harm the environment? Yes. |
| Do you defend animal experimentation for the development of medicine that can save human lives? Yes as long as they aren't treating the animal badly and they're using animals like rats and mice. |
| What is your opinion of the rise in popularity of plastic surgery and implants? I think it's gone overboard.
If it's for scars or lost limbs then absolutely use it.
I think looks unfortunately have become too important. |
| Should more limits be established for cars within downtown areas? It depends on what the downtown areas looks like.
If there's more access to public transportation then yes. Plus alot of us should walk more. And the prices of parking garages is ridiculuous! |
| Do extraterrestrials exist? I'm not sure mabye they do. |
| 
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Tali Adina
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