We get by with a little help from our friends. 'All Systems Good' is back from a long hiatus, but it couldn't be more exciting to put an end to our cold streak by sitting down with long-time friend and insanely talented Visual Artist, Pierce Marratto. Pierce announced he's hosting an art show of his original work, Skate or Die - An exhibition of original skate deck art, and we dug into everything in and around the event.  

This episode is a very unique slice of entertaining because as if the announcement of Pierce's show wasn't big enough, we started peeling back the layers behind why this particular art show is so special. There's a recurring theme of acknowledging our age, at moments in more heavy context, but mostly in sense of reaffirming passions we have, why we've held them so long, and why they still have longevity into our futures. This art show has deep roots that helped set the foundation for the trajectory of Pierce's life, including meeting Eli during their teen years.  

This is a conversation that reinforces the importance and the valuable weight communities carry and have in people's lives. It touches on young wisdom colliding with creativity and how that can take the act of creating from being not only an outlet, but also a reward in and of itself. And it's a conversation that repeatedly demonstrates that taking the risk and seizing opportunities to pursue your passions can lead to unexpected doors that open to beautiful things.  

Make sure you hit the link below to RSVP to Pierce's art show!

This week we have the pleasure of sharing with you our conversation with Andy Norman, Philosopher by training and author of the book 'MENTAL IMMUNITY: Infectious Ideas, Mind-Parasites, and the Search for a Better Way to Think'. If the name and face strike you as familiar, you might have caught him on a recent episode of The Joe Rogan Experience- you know... the biggest podcast on the planet. It's becoming abundantly obvious that the conflicts occurring on the cultural level are extremely potent and there are no sectors not at risk of being subject to exposure, including business. In some cases, many businesses are actively engaging in said conflicts. Conflict by nature is on some level, a clash of ideas and Andy explains how it has become imperative become aware of our mind's immune system and how to use the tools of Philosophers that have held up over the test of time to strengthen and build up our mental immunity to rapid-spreading parasitic ideas.

We cover a lot of ground in a short amount of time starting at how Andy's book, 'Mental Immunity'- its existence has origins of becoming necessary from as far back as 30 year ago. Philosophy's fundamental value of the search for wisdom becomes the road map for how to build and strengthen one's mental immunity to "mind viruses". You'll hear about whether you're the type of person prone to parasitic ideas, the value of Devil's Advocate arguments, the need to matter, roots of cancel culture and the road to complete delusion.

With so much information swirling around and designed to make you have an immediate emotional response, there are people like Andy out there trying to help you sort through it all and build a strong defense mechanism for how to protect your most valuable possession... your mind.

Enjoy!

This week we have a returning guest back on to give us some exciting news she has coming up in pretty short order. Sarah Wahl stops back in with 'All Systems Good' to talk about her returning to Pittsburgh to be a part of her first Gallery Art show. We dive into the Who, What, Where, When, Why and How details on the front end, so rest assured those details aren't buried in the middle or the tail end of our conversation.  

If you caught our last conversation, there should be no surprise that we found ourselves running toward topics of inspiration. One very specific example was how the impact of our actions manifested into personal inspiration even though those actions weren't focused to necessarily have that impact. Inspiration thematically reemerges in our discussion talking about the journey of the Artist and Musicians being very similar and having many parallels with each other.   This conversation melds aspects of positive vibes, intentionality, human nature, creativity, travel and opportunity all in one stream of consciousness. We hope you enjoy it and remember, whenever possible...  

Bump the Lamp.  

Enjoy!!!

It's been a long time coming but we finally linked up with Award-Winning Sportscaster, Josh Taylor, to talk about everything we could think of around the world of Broadcast Media and Sports Broadcasting. The foundation of the conversation is built on the idea of our relationship between work and self-worth and meaning. It was a thoughtful discussion about perspective, wellness, sleep, and valuing the time we have while we're here.  

The general direction kicks off with the societal narratives being spun about whether or not people feel too entitled to work and from there, hit on everything from prep-work in sportscasting to personal skillsets that turn out to be surprisingly useful, to the life decisions most people never see before a someone becomes on-camera talent, to a bunch of steamy hot takes about the local Pittsburgh Sports Franchises.   

Come hang out with us and weigh in with your own thoughts on balance, struggle, meaning and perspective, as well as your thoughts on our takes on these topics.  

Also... Once a Cardinal, always a Cardinal.  

Enjoy!!!

This week on All Systems Good we had the privilege to connect with Author, Dan Kovalik, who just recently released his new book 'Cancel This Book: The Progressive Case Against Cancel Culture'. In parallel with his rapidly growing library of publications, Dan was a legal representative for the Pittsburgh Steelworkers Union. All of this becomes the foundation of our conversation.

As Eli mentioned in his personal story rant, typically All Systems Good is very business and tactically focused and there was a lot of that planned for this conversation, but considering the topic of Dan's book, stream of consciousness took a front seat. That's far from a bad thing, though. This is a good faith conversation that starts in the realm of unions and spans into culture and politics that carries no water for any side. We tackle a lot of really important and culturally heavy topics, but as stream of consciousness often does, we weren't incredibly focused on putting a nice clean bow on things. The great thing about how this turned out is that it lays a beautiful foundation for a Part 2 conversation.

Things you can look forward to us covering in a more tactical way in Part 2:

- The difference between symbolic gestures and substantive policy change

We really had a great time having this conversation and I hope you all enjoy listening to it. If there's anything you think we should go deeper on in our Part 2 conversation, throw it in the comments and we'll be sure to add it to our list.

This week we connected with Chris Vendilli, the founder of the Internet Marketing company, ProFromGo. This episode was a long time coming and had been waiting on deck to happen for some time, fortunately we waited just long enough for one of the biggest announcements a business owner can make. Chris recently made the announcement ProFromGo was merging with the local web design and video production outfit, Media Post. Introducing... Vendilli Digital Group!  

We dig into a ton of topics, not least of which, the nuances of what makes  merging into a single entity make sense over remaining separate contract partners operating in parallel of each other. We dive into the COVID experience of running a company that already primarily operated in the digital space over the commonly heard story of the in-person, service or retail-driven, brick and mortar business. We even dig into a realm of exploring theories and feelings about certain business concepts that may or may not have played out during this incredibly strange era.   

Enjoy!  

As the world seems to be creeping closer to a new chapter beyond lockdown, this week we were able to link up with Nicole Billitto, co-owner of the Lawrenceville bar, The Goldmark. The Goldmark is a massively unique bar in a not so massive space, and after having been almost completely closed to the public for an entire year, is reopening their doors- and like everything else surrounding the bar, they're doing it in their own unique style.   

We dive into everything from what the personal and professional impacts of the last year have been like for her and her husband, to all night virtual DJ dance parties, to the hidden speakeasy operating completely under the spread of word-of-mouth. Tune in to hear everything Goldmark, past, present and future, and stick around for getting personal about Nicole's true love she's been hiding in plain sight.  

Enjoy!

This week we sit down with Artist & Yoga Instructor, Sarah Wahl, and cover everything from supporting all that is good to considering the uncertainty of our futures. We cover her wildly unique path that took her across the country and landed her in very unique professional realms like stunt actor, standup comedy and podcast host. Like the rest of use, Sarah had very unexpected ups and downs due to the arrival of a pandemic, but she could never have predicted the completely new trajectory her life would be set on due to the appearance of a virus. Come for the good intentions and the support for good causes in the world and stay for the thoughtful honesty about the complexities and nuances we're being confronted with in these times.  

Enjoy!!!  

If you're able to give, there are children who would be eternally grateful: https://www.walkforkids.org/goto/grizzly

This week we connected with Ashley Corts, usually holding court as the owner and operator of the Black Forge Coffee locations, but this time while she was trekking across the midwest in the Black Forge Coffee Van. As an owner of music venues and a huge supporter of the music and entertainment industry, Ashley felt compelled to literally hit the road and do whatever it is that she can to support struggling venues across the country.   

Strange and trying would be massively understated descriptors of the times we're living in right now. Many people all over the United States will have shared in a similar experience of having not attended any live concerts or live entertainment, certainly not in the traditional sense we used to 12 months ago. Pair that with the fact that the government on every level has largely turned its back on providing any meaningful relief to the floundering industry, leaving stages all over the country to scrape and claw their way through this ordeal while their main and often only source of income is deemed unsafe and prohibited.  

Thus... the Save Our Stages Tour was born- S.O.S.  

Enjoy!!!

I wake up every morning, and me being me, I have my social media reacting to me rather than the other way around, and have my feed catered in such a particular way that I see Mary Jacquel's newest photography within the first 4 posts I see. Her gorgeous whale, landscape and Alaskan nature photography brings me genuine joy.  

This week we sit down with Whale and Nature Photographer, Mary Jacquel, and talk all about a life behind the camera that most photographers never get to experience. We go into how she started spending time in Alaska, her equipment and workflow for taking photos out on the water, how she prepares to face the elements while out on open Alaskan waters, and a whole lot more. If you ever wanted to hear how someone working in advertising and marketing winds up being an a Whale Photographer in Alaska, this Bud's for you!  

Enjoy!!!