Jul
31
Things I Want To Tell My Daughter On Her 18th Birthday

It has finally happened. That little baby who totally changed my life 18 years ago today is an official adult.

It’s cliché to say the time went so fast. In some ways, the changes came on too fast, but I felt every last one of those diapers I changed.

I was 33 years old when I became a father. My child lived in the pre-9/11 world for 42 days. She arrived before we had iPods, iPhones, and iPads.

She’s now old enough to buy a lottery ticket, enlist in the Army, get a tattoo or piercing, serve jury duty, drink alcohol in most European countries and Canada, go to jail, and vote for president.

Read More

Jul
27
Invasion of the Political Pod People?

Did you ever see the original “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” made in 1956?

In that classic science fiction horror film, an extraterrestrial invasion begins when Alien plant spores fall from space and grow into large seed pods, each one capable of reproducing a duplicate replacement copy of each human. As each pod reaches full development, it assimilates the physical characteristics, memories, and personalities of each sleeping person placed near it; these duplicates, however, are devoid of all human emotion.

via GIPHY

After seeing a transport truck bound for San Francisco and Los Angeles filled with the pods, the small town doctor frantically screams at the passing motorists, “They’re here already! You’re next! You’re next!”

The subtext of the movie was, of course, a reaction to the spread of communism. The actor playing the lead in the movie was named Kevin McCarthy.

Read More

Jul
26
Blade Runner: Future Becomes Present

The Impact of ‘Blade Runner’ on Visual Art in Popular Culture

One of my favorite films is Ridley Scott’s masterpiece “Blade Runner“. I rewatched the movie following news of the death of the story’s villain, Rutger Hauer.

I was sad to hear of his passing and realizing that this will be, as of this November, a movie set in the past, joining such futuristic visions as “2001: A Space Odyssey“, “2012“, “Back to the Future II” (set in 2015), and “Escape from New York” (set in 1997). The book on which “Blade Runner” was based was set in 1992.

Read More

Jul
22
Economic Anxieties Based on Changes in Market Fundamentals

My gut tells me that hard times are ahead. I called my financial advisor this morning and asked him to scale back the risk level on my investments. I may be wrong (I honestly hope I am), but I have a bad feeling about the near future of the US economy. You don’t have to be an economist to see danger coming.

Let me explain…

Read More

Jul
19
10 Ways to React to Trolls on the Internet

The Internet: A Pandora’s Box?

The Internet offers a treasure trove of helpful information at our fingertips. Unfortunately, it has also amplified the voices of the worst people on earth. I’m talking about Trolls — and offering a few suggestions on how to handle them.

The term “Troll” refers to someone, often anonymous, who “starts quarrels or upsets people on the Internet to distract and sow discord by posting inflammatory and digressive, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community (such as a newsgroup, forum, chat room, or blog) with the intent of provoking readers into displaying emotional responses and normalizing tangential discussion, whether for the troll’s amusement or a specific gain.”

Read More

Jul
07
Fashion Photography Featured on Website

© 2019 My Sweet Oasis. All Rights Reserved.

My photography of model Olivia is featured in a pictorial on the website MySweetOasis. I really love shooting with her because of her unique appearance and youthful qualities. We’ve collaborated since doing these images in 2017, but I still love this photo set.

Read More

Copyright Steven Stiefel 2018. All Rights Reserved