New York Art

Before I went into the event on Saturday I got the chance to bum it around New York's Chinatown. Right on the edge of Chinatown was a huge Italian festival... San Genera or something to that effect. To all my Italian friends please forgive me for not knowing which festival this was or how to spell it :)
Anyway, I was way too early for the event that was scheduled for 6pm but actually started at 8pm so I sat and looked at the people passing by me on the steps of a building that was under renovation. In reality, I avoided eye contact with everyone which lead me to discover the coolest little bit of graffiti. It was two bees (one black and the other white) with their stingers touching... Now this was ART and it was totally defacing someone else's property.Typical. All good art can't find its way into a museum so it ends up on the street for free. I'm not complaining, in fact, I enjoyed it so much that I took a pic of it and smiled. The smell of urine was strong with this one but the aesthetic was well worth it. I remember the news doing a story about these little tags a few years ago. Man, I love finding little treasures like this in NY! I hope you enjoy it too.

N8

SunflowerChildren.org and Gawad Kalinga Charity Event

I went to a charity event for the SunflowerChildren and Gawad Kalinga on Saturday. The head of SunflowerChildren showed a video of her work around the world. A girl named Jovy was having a birthday and in a charitable act painted several pictures that were auctioned that night. I have to thank Jovy's father, Bert. He was a true warm-hearted patriarch which made the event encompassing and a true social event. I owe you a drink, Big Guy!
If you would like to give to either one of these organization just click the link above or do a search on Google or Yahoo and you will find them.

Something strange and interesting happened on September 22, 2006 at about 11:15 in the A.M.

It maybe very hard for some of you to accept but I have always felt that there was a power greater than myself influencing my life. THREE TIMES in my life I have had a butterfly land on my finger. The first two times I was in a meditative state literally calling out to get a response. This third time was different.
I was sitting in my backyard drinking a beer and smoking a cigar. As the smoke from the cigar blew to my left I noticed a Monarch butterfly hesitating/fluttering around in it. I thought nothing of it because at the time I was preoccupied with thoughts of the future. Oddly, the butterfly followed the trail of smoke and landed on my right leg just below my knee and very close to where my cigar hand was resting. So I froze because I thought that insects were afraid of smoke. Then it hit me that this was one of those moments so I opened my left hand that was resting on my left thigh and it happened. The butterfly flew over and landed on my left hand. I was shocked because the other times that this had happened I was really calling out to the Spirit world for a sign and this time it just happened. I took my eyes off of it and thought maybe I should say a prayer and it flew up and into the smoke that was in front of my face. I quickly said 'thank you, God!' and it immediately flew in a straight line over the back of the neighbor's house and pass the trees.
HONESTLY, you do not have to believe this story BUT it did happen on September 22, 2006 at about 11:15 in the A.M.
This incident encouraged me to attend a charity event that I was not going to attend. The event was for Sunflowerchildren.org and Gawad Kalinga. I took a few photos and I will post those pics next week. Until then keep faith and love in your hearts.
ALWAYS BELIEVE

Nate

Mike Bales and the All Avenues NY Networking

I recently went to a networking to meet a classmate of mine from high school, Michael Bales. The gathering was sponsored by All Avenues NY and Mike seemed to be one of the stars of the event. He knew everybody and was very laid back and cool. I was shocked at the number of Asian women who seemed to be infatuated with the guy. I jokingly wrote to a friend that he seemed to be the creamy center of an Asian lemon cookie :D If you are reading this, Mike, I'm just kidding.
Some of the cool people I met ranged from doctors to real estate to producers. Sean, the Asian guy lounging on the couch, was so very chill. He is studying neurology and just like Mike is going for a PHD in his particular field. He invited us after the networking to hear some bands play at a local bar. The girls at the event were wonderful. Yuka and Yvonne were very nice and made the evening much more fun than just working the crowd. I admit that I drank a little too much and the drive home reminded me of my college days... Dangerous! DON'T DRINK AND DRIVE, PEOPLE!!!!
Anyway, take it easy and much love to everyone I made a connection with at this networking.
N8

What's In A Name?

"MY EYES ARE OPEN."
About seven years ago I heard this phrase and I had an epiphany. My life needed change and the one factor that tied me to the past was my name. I was never pleased with my family name because my dad after the divorce completely rejected me and my mother. In fact, his entire side of the family cut communication and all ties to us. So what is in a name? Everything!!!
I was watching Fight Club for about the sixteenth time when I realize that change is an internal process that may take a second or sometimes many years to occur. For me it was in that one second that I didn't want to be the same anymore. Sapien just means wise. The correct use of the word in English is sapient which means wisdom. After my epiphany I went on the computer and began looking up names especially those dealing with comics. There was this strange bust of a character who had already been introduced into the comic Hellboy but no one had seen. His name was Abe Sapien. The toy manufacturer had a picture of a man with zebra-like stripes on his face and a speed dial type of device on his chest. I said to myself this looks neither like an Abe nor a Sapien. Then bingo! Nathan Abe? No. Nathan Abraham? No. Nathan Sapien? Ah-ha!!! So for several years I was just Nathan Sapien then the other part of the name came to me. A friend of mine got engaged and in a lot of the correspondence I kept telling her everything was Zen. Jokingly I said maybe I should add this to my name and she told me it was more of an aspiration than a name. I LOVED IT. There was a certain exotic and spiritual quality to it. In my mind there seem to also be a challenge of whether I could live up to the standards created by the name.
Anyway, that is how I got the name Nathan Zen-Sapien. Oddly enough when I checked the website for the picture of Abe Sapien the manufacture had made a mistake and posted the wrong pic. Apparently, Abe Sapien is a mer-man or half fish/half man creature. If I had known this I probably would not have pick Sapien as my pen and stage name. Nothing against fish people but lets face it the zebra/robot dude was just a little bit cooler.
Keep a peaceful state of mind and make sure that your eyes are open.
N8

All Your Base Are Belong To Us

Words, words, words...
Sometimes even if you have the best of ideas there is the very large possibility that no one will understand or care if you have not presented them in the right way. No real deep quandaries here but food for thought to anyone writing, or acting or both. This is also relevant to all people in business because the masses, peers, and bosses all judge you based on what you put forth or those things that you have that they deem is of value. The most amazing thing is that the average performer ( or person for that matter ) doesn't realize that the key component of showbiz is business and success in business is the end product which is usually presented as some kind of show. Put up or shut up takes on new dimensions when viewed in this light.
Like I said earlier no real deep quandaries just food for thought :)