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Empower Local Creatives

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I Met This Guy At Dinner Monday. Thursday He Killed 3 People. WTF?

This is a true story, based on actual events in Manatee County Florida.

Imagine you are at a dinner party. You are at your friends house but you only know a few of the more than thirty people that fill the room. Look to your right, now to your left. Three days from now, one of these faces is going to kill three people. Who will it be? Could it be you? Could it be me?

It’s like a scene out of a movie, something you’d never expect to experience in real life. You never image you’ll get a call telling you to turn on the news because one of the guys you were at dinner with a few nights before is accused of going on a murderous rampage.

It is not something you think about while sitting at dinner with friends and great food enjoying the camaraderie of a family birthday celebration. But this particular party would quickly be overshadowed by the actions of one young man.

He wasn’t a murderer at the time, but a few days later Andres Avalos Jr. would murder his wife, a neighbor, and the pastor of a local church they attended.

He left his 6 children without a mother, 2 more wthout a father, a church without their pastor, friends without friends and family without family. And after confessing, he will probably spend the rest of his life behind bars.

Andres-Avalos-Jr-with tattoo

Image credit – Bradenton Herald – https://www.bradenton.com/2014/12/07/5517903_andres-avalos-jr-has-first-appearance.html?rh=1

At one point, he was trying to convince me that Mexican hip hop was better than American hip hop, but that argument was settled quickly as the crowd decided that the music coming from another friends phone was more worthy of being plugged into the small set of speakers that were sitting on the countertop in front of him.

He had a tattoo on his neck, coming up from underneath his shirt, something that looked like a cross with a name on it, but hey, lots of people have tattoos.

I never got a warm and fuzzy feeling while talking to Andres but I didn’t get a bad vibe from him either. He was just another guy in the room.

I could tell he was street savvy because of the way he talked and carried himself but I have a varied past myself so I try not to judge anyone based on first appearance.

Most of the nights conversations were centered around the home made Thai food that was being prepared in the kitchen and outside on the grill. It was delicious and there seemed to be so much love in the room.

I guess that’s what makes this all so hard to take in, what makes it all so difficult to comprehend. How can the same guy, who sat there talking to me about lettuce wraps and bad beer, be the same guy who just ripped the lives of three families to shreds?

I don’t know the guy other than the few hours we spent hanging out that night so I am not going to assume to know what was going through his head, but if you ask me it was not murder. Not that night, not in that moment.

So what causes a person to snap like that? What causes someone to gun down three people in cold blood? Could anyone else in that room have snapped like he did or was it his destiny to be a murderer? Was there something in the stars that said it was his time to go, or was this simply the hand of someone’s god?

Does that mean that I am capable of murder? Does this mean that we are all one missed step away from fatally falling apart?

How is it that we can seem so normal on the surface but be falling apart inside? Why are humans so good at hiding their pain? How come we wait until it’s too late before we let someone know that we are about to blow?

There have been no reports on a motive, but what motive can there be for a crime so heinous other than self hate? And if you have so much hate that you are willing to kill, then why not kill yourself instead? Why not end your own pain as opposed to spreading it like a plague by killing those you love?

I’m not one to advocate for suicide, but if it means saving the lives of innocent people, at the expense of assholes who can’t express anger, other than through the barrel of a gun, then I say go ahead and blow your fucking brains out.

Because no one’s life should ever be cut short by the actions of another man. That’s the one gift that no one should ever want to give. We have no ability to create life and should therefore think twice about taking it. Shit, you should think three, four, five or even more times about doing something so stupid. And once you think you’ve thought it through, then write about it and think about it some more. Tell a friend about it. Do something to get it out in the open and please, give someone a chance to stop you before it’s too late.

You might just learn to understand and love the dark parts of your soul. And you might just save someone’s life in the process. Maybe even your own!

 

 

A Sneak Peek At Sarasota Underground – Frank Maggio

In this episode of RayDO uncensored…

Raymmar talks to Mr Sarasota himself. Frank Maggio talks about being a young professional in Sarasota County and other nationally noteworthy topics. Stay tuned to the very end to get a sneak peek at Sarasota Underground and what I am working on here locally in Sarasota Florida.

2:24 – Start here to skip intro

We introduce our guest (Frank Maggio) and give a brief i ntro of what we will discuss in the podcast. I just know that sometimes you don’t want to wait before you dig right in so I am going to start including the time mark for when we come out of our intro music.

3:00 – An unplanned dip into the Global Warming debate

We hadn’t planned on talking about this but somehow Frank and I start talking about global warming or “climate change,” – or whatever other politically correct term they come up with it to hide the political agenda behind global warming. I have recently been reading research and other arguments on both side of the global warming debate and I think I have a common-sense based approach to the issue. Most of the Global Warming debate is really just a shell game that will allow corporate giants to become even more powerful as we as allowing the government to insert themselves into another portion of our everyday lives.

7:22 – How the people pendulum swings

We live in an information rich world where everything is bad for you, until it isn’t and then it is good for you, until it isn’t. Rinse, lather, repeat. We spend so much time reacting immediately to information that we just got, that we often overreact and have no real ability to understand it completely and how it really affects us. We run screaming from scientific report to scientific report that all give us conflicting views. First, salt is really bad for you, and then it isn’t. Milk is good for you, then milk is bad for you. Don’t you ever just get tired of the back-and-forth of this yo-yo style, science-saturated society, that we currently live in?

8:55 – It’s about the individual perspective

One of the biggest problems in living in such an overly reactionary time in history is that we are really only capable of understanding the world through the lens of our individual time on earth. This leaves us with a fairly limited perspective of the true impact of anything we do as humans. It’s easy to see how our overall perspectives might be a little limited, considering that the average life span of a human being is around 80 years, and most of the changes in nature, evolution and societies take place over the span of thousands or even millions of years. In this segment we also talk about minding our own business and how we might be better off as a society if we all just did a little better job of minding our own business as opposed to that of our neighbors.

11:38 – Giving people power

I talk a lot about finding your super power and in this podcast we talk about giving other people power over us and how that influences society. Are we giving away too much power? Are we sure that giving any person, or group of people, this much power on a mass scale is really a good idea? The problem behind our flawed corporate and political structures is this aggregation of power and wealth. Not in the middle class but at the very top. And inside of the structures that they build for themselves to play in. Religion is tied back into minding your own business and not having to take advantage of people in an effort to grow and we move into the next section where we talk about the coming economic revolution.

14:54 – An economic revolution

After chatting about government and large corporate corruption for a while, we dive into the transition that is happening in workplaces across the entire country. The results only work environment is allowing peple to be more productive and still live a free life. We are working towards an environment where the individual is being empowered to once again, become the entrepreneur. People are waking up to the fact that they do not have to live and work inside of the social confines that have restricted the conscious development of our entire society. The progress that we have made over the last decade with the technological advancements that have come. Take a look at our recent breakdown of the history of social media and you can get a taste for how fast it has all come upon us.

17:20 – The new entrepreneur

The future of inventions will come from the aggregation of the data that is currently being collected about each and every one of us. This creates opportunity for the resourceful entrepreneur and the individuals who strive for excellence.

19:00 – Getting back to getting good

The drive to split off from the machine in an attempt to create beautiful products. As we empower the individual entrepreneur, we are seeing true free-market capitalism flourish online because it is the last truly free market.

21:44 – Locking down the middle class

The basic destruction of the middle class and the vilification of success. Did you earn what you have? Or are you standing on the shoulders of the people that came before you.

23:04 – Becoming a self made man

Why it is important to succeed on your own and pass that on to your children as your true legacy.

26:10 – Does capitalism really suck?

I mention an article I wrote about why people who think capitalism sucks are just pain stupid and then talk a little bit about my views on the current economic system and where we are headed. Are we creating a defacto Oligarchy?

27:15 – Northwestern football players unionizing

Is college football growing out of control? How do we solve some of the issues facing the players, schools and NCAA. I agree that there might be a problem with the current system but I am not sure that unionization is the way to go. Listen to Frank and I discuss the concept of football players unionizing.

35:50 – It’s all about the hustle

College is no guarantee for success. College sports are no different and more than anything, the person behind the education and how they look at the world is more important than the education itself. The drive of the individual is more important than any education because that person will always find a way to have the right skills for whatever job they are attacking in that specific moment.

38:40 – You have to perfect your art

Get good at something. Find something that makes you happy, find a way to get good at it and push your self to become the best you possible.

41:20 Building a system of values inside of a university

How can we fight the culture in our schools when we are turning these student athletes into gods. Can a coach really change a kids outlook on life? How much influence does the coach really have to affect or instill morals and values in their players if they do not already have them when they get there.

45:10 – Everyone wants to be a celebrity

Some people get paid to perform on a field or in front of a camera but most of the real players in the world are getting paid to perform for no audience other than the people that they surround themselves with. More importantly, most of us act and pretend for ourselves.

46:05 – Medical marijuana legalized in Florida?

Is it all about taxes? We didn’t talk about it too long but we did jump into the legalization of weed in Florida and whether medical use is legitimate or whether they should just pass it as a recreational drug. What do you think?

50:45 – Introducing Sarasota Underground

Why I am going to take over the media scene in the city of Sarasota. I introduce my concept for Sarasota Underground and what we are working on here in this city to change the status quo.

Events

Rosemary Indie Market

Rosemary Indie Market

Join us February 18th, Saturday 10am-3pm. Where a group of local Artists, Farmers,Entertainers, Handcrafters, Bakers, Designers, and Vintage Enthusiasts share their wares and inspiration.

FOOD:
Ray’s Vegan Soul
Kahwa Coffee

LIVE MUSIC Line-Up:
10am-Noon: TBA
Noon-3pm: Emily Ross

MORE Info: https://www.rosemaryindiemarket.com
Shop, Eat, Chill, Repeat.

FREE PARKING

10×10

Please note that the event series changed venue to accommodate a growing audience.

Every few months, 10 speakers are invited to present 10 images of their work, interest, or inspiration. Slides advance automatically every 30 seconds with brief introductions between speakers. Admission is $10 at the door to cover appetizers and the room reservation. A cash bar will be hosted by Louie’s Modern. The presentations will start at 6:00pm.

This spring’s diverse group of speakers include a videographer, an underwater archeologist, an art educator, two artists, The Ringling Museum curator of photography, the founder of the Urbanite Theater, the Asolo Theater Outreach Director, the chief disruption officer of the Sarasota Underground, and an architect.

Please visit https://www.10slides10speakers.com for more information and to RSVP.

JDub’s Brewing 3 Year Anniversary Party Beer Festival

JDub’s is celebrating 3 years the only way we know how! Join us for a Craft Beer Festival and “Pros Versus Joes”!

The theme of this festival will be a “Pros versus Joes” competition. Over 40 Professional Breweries will be represented as well as dozens of Homebrewers. Attendees will enjoy unlimited samples of the professional brews and the homebrews. You will vote for: 1) “Best Professional Brew”, 2) “Best HomeBrew” and 3) “Best Overall”.

This event will benefit the Humane Society who will be on hand with a variety of wonderful furry friends available for adoption!
Early Bird General Admission is just $35 and includes:
– JDub’s 3rd Anniversary Tasting Glass
-Unlimited Beer Samples from 2 to 5 pm
-Free Food samples from several different vendors.

VIP is VERY LIMITED. $100 per ticket includes all of the above plus:
– VIP tent with separate facilities, tables and chairs
– 1 hour early admission to sample the brews before the rest of the folks arrive
– 750 ML Bottle of JDubs Very Special 3rd Anniversary Beer
– Guided Tasting Session of specialty beers not otherwise available at the Festival
– Special Beers on Tap in the VIP tent not otherwise available
– Q&A with Joey Redner (CEO of Cigar City) and Jeremy Joerger (CEO of JDub’s)
– JDubs 3rd Anniversary T Shirt
– Extra food tickets to enjoy even more samples from vendors
– Free Admission to the “After Party” at JDubs featuring So Flow and the Spazmatics (6pm to midnight) $10 value
– 2 core beers at the After Party

VIP section is sponsored by Boar’s Head Provisions featuring meats and cheeses to pair with the exotic beers not available in the general admission area of the festival.

Please note that general admission tickets will increase to $40 as of January 15 and $45 the day of the event if available. Get yours now! this is a party you do not want to miss!

“The Pro’s” Brewery List (updated 12/019):

21st Amendment Brewery
3 Keys Brewing
3 Sons Brewing**
Arkane Aleworks
Avery Brewing Company
Ballast Point Brewing
Bear Republic Brewing
Big Top Brewing Company
Boulevard Brewing
Calusa Brewing
Chela Brewing
Cigar City Brewing
Civil Society Brewing
Darwin Brewing Company
DuClaw Brewing Co.
MIA Beer Company
Motorworks Brewing
Ommegang Brewery
Rogue Ales & Spirits
Schmaltz Brewing
Sierra Nevada
Tampa Beer Works
Terrapin Beer Co.
**Featuring a Collaboration Beer with JDub’s & 3 Sons!

“The Joe’s” Beer List:

– Left Coast Brewers
Erin Banning: Schwarzbier
Matt Kinninger: New England IPA
Steve Rotondo: Bourbon Breakfast Stout
Joe Hansen: Jean Claude Van Pale (Belgian Pale Ale)
Chris Damm: undecided

– HAMS (Homebrewers Association of Manatee & Sarasota)

– Ten Paces
Food Sponsors:
The Beach House Restaurant
Miller’s Ale House
Poppo’s Taqueria

DOGS ONLY! No other pets will be allowed on festival grounds!
• All Dogs must be on a leash at all times
• Dog leashes can not exceed 4 feet
• Owners must clean up after their dogs
• Only one dog per owner will be allowed
• Dog Owners must report any accidents to first aid immediately

Parking is a $3 donation to the Humane Societ

Meet the Candidates: Mikael Sandstrom

Join us as we interview the candidates for City Commission.

Live video will be streaming on our Facebook page for the first 15 minutes of the interview. The full interviews will be available on our website next week.

Here is the interview schedule

Monday – 1.9.17 – 2:00pm – Susan Chapman
Tuesday – 1.10.17 – 3:30pm – Jennifer Ahearn-Koch
Wednesday – 1.11.17 – 2:00pm – Martin Hyde
Thursday – 1.12.17 – 10:00am – Hagen Brody
Thursday – 1.12.17 – 1:30pm – Patrick Gannon
Friday – 1.13.17 – 3:00pm – Fredd Atkins
Tuesday – 1.17.17 – 2:00pm – Mikael Sandstrom

Meet the Candidates: Fredd Atkins

Join us as we interview the candidates for City Commission.

Live video will be streaming on our Facebook page for the first 15 minutes of the interview. The full interviews will be available on our website next week.

Here is the interview schedule

Monday – 1.9.17 – 2:00pm – Susan Chapman
Tuesday – 1.10.17 – 3:30pm – Jennifer Ahearn-Koch
Wednesday – 1.11.17 – 2:00pm – Martin Hyde
Thursday – 1.12.17 – 10:00am – Hagen Brody
Thursday – 1.12.17 – 1:30pm – Patrick Gannon
Friday – 1.13.17 – 3:00pm – Fredd Atkins
Tuesday – 1.17.17 – 2:00pm – Mikael Sandstrom

Leave your thoughts, questions for the candidates, or topics of concern in the comments and like our Facebook page for more updates as we prepare for our upcoming town hall meeting on the 15th of February.

Meet the Candidates: Patrick Gannon

Join us as we interview the candidates for City Commission.

Live video will be streaming on our Facebook page for the first 15 minutes of the interview. The full interviews will be available on our website next week.

Here is the interview schedule

Monday – 1.9.17 – 2:00pm – Susan Chapman
Tuesday – 1.10.17 – 3:30pm – Jennifer Ahearn-Koch
Wednesday – 1.11.17 – 2:00pm – Martin Hyde
Thursday – 1.12.17 – 10:00am – Hagen Brody
Thursday – 1.12.17 – 1:30pm – Patrick Gannon
Friday – 1.13.17 – 3:00pm – Fredd Atkins
Tuesday – 1.17.17 – 2:00pm – Mikael Sandstrom

Leave your thoughts, questions for the candidates, or topics of concern in the comments and like our Facebook page for more updates as we prepare for our upcoming town hall meeting on the 15th of February.

Meet the Candidates: Hagen Brody

Join us as we interview the candidates for City Commission.

Live video will be streaming on our Facebook page for the first 15 minutes of the interview. The full interviews will be available on our website next week.

Here is the interview schedule

Monday – 1.9.17 – 2:00pm – Susan Chapman
Tuesday – 1.10.17 – 3:30pm – Jennifer Ahearn-Koch
Wednesday – 1.11.17 – 2:00pm – Martin Hyde
Thursday – 1.12.17 – 10:00am – Hagen Brody
Thursday – 1.12.17 – 1:30pm – Patrick Gannon
Friday – 1.13.17 – 3:00pm – Fredd Atkins
Tuesday – 1.17.17 – 2:00pm – Mikael Sandstrom

Leave your thoughts, questions for the candidates, or topics of concern in the comments and like our Facebook page for more updates as we prepare for our upcoming town hall meeting on the 15th of February.

Meet the Candidates: Martin Hyde

Join us as we interview the candidates for City Commission.

Live video will be streaming on our Facebook page for the first 15 minutes of the interview. The full interviews will be available on our website next week.

Here is the interview schedule

Monday – 1.9.17 – 2:00pm – Susan Chapman
Tuesday – 1.10.17 – 3:30pm – Jennifer Ahearn-Koch
Wednesday – 1.11.17 – 2:00pm – Martin Hyde
Thursday – 1.12.17 – 10:00am – Hagen Brody
Thursday – 1.12.17 – 1:30pm – Patrick Gannon
Friday – 1.13.17 – 3:00pm – Fredd Atkins
Tuesday – 1.17.17 – 2:00pm – Mikael Sandstrom

Leave your thoughts, questions for the candidates, or topics of concern in the comments and like our Facebook page for more updates as we prepare for our upcoming town hall meeting on the 15th of February.

Meet the Candidates: Jennifer Ahearn-Koch

Join us as we interview the candidates for City Commission.

Live video will be streaming on our Facebook page for the first 15 minutes of the interview. The full interviews will be available on our website next week.

Here is the interview schedule

Monday – 1.9.17 – 2:00pm – Susan Chapman
Tuesday – 1.10.17 – 3:30pm – Jennifer Ahearn-Koch
Wednesday – 1.11.17 – 2:00pm – Martin Hyde
Thursday – 1.12.17 – 10:00am – Hagen Brody
Thursday – 1.12.17 – 1:30pm – Patrick Gannon
Friday – 1.13.17 – 3:00pm – Fredd Atkins
Tuesday – 1.17.17 – 2:00pm – Mikael Sandstrom

Leave your thoughts, questions for the candidates, or topics of concern in the comments and like our Facebook page for more updates as we prepare for our upcoming town hall meeting on the 15th of February.