Creative Happy Hour

Is poop funny? Is self deprecation funny? Why do people make fun of others? Humor is what gets us through difficult situations. Take, for example, all of the Covid memes we've been seeing. Research has shown that people who are exposed to something funny perform better on creative tasks. It's also been shown that people with a good sense of humor are generally more successful and that people who make more jokes or are perceived as funnier are often in a position of higher authority or status. So what is funny? What is the link between humor and creativity? And is art funny? Are there any truly funny paintings? Funny music that is not cheesy? In this episode of Creative Happy Hour, we crack some jokes and discuss memes, comedic themes, funny art, stand up comedy, scatological humor, and whether Woody Allen is in fact funny. Join us and get drunk on the creative possibilities.

Do you ever think that you wish you could be more creative and more successful in your creativity, but there just seems to be some force preventing you from doing your work? That force is resistance. Some people may call it creative block or writer's block, some may call it feeling stuck, but essentially resistance is that thing that keeps you from doing the things that you want to do, the things you wish you could do, the things you feel that you were put on this earth to do. In his great book The War of Art, author and screenwriter Steven Pressfield goes into resistance in detail. Cohost Karena Akhavein also discusses a form of creative block akin to resistance in her new book, "Writer's Block is not why Writers Fail." In this super inspiring episode of the Creative Happy Hour podcast, Micah and Karena have a drink and talk about how resistance works, and how to overcome resistance and get more motivated and productive, whether, you are an artist, a creative, a writer, or a creative entrepreneur. Join us and get drunk on the creative possibilities.

All creatives suffer from creative block at some point, and all writers suffer from some kind of block. Cohost Karena Akhavein wrote the book on writer's block: Writer's Block is not why Writers Fail. In this episode of the Creative Happy Hour podcast, cohosts Karena Akhavein and Micah Black discuss the excuses, mindsets, and habits that prevent creatives and writers from doing their best work and getting it out there. How do you go from aspiring artist or aspiring writer to successful? Join us and get drunk on the creative possibilities. Writer's Block is not why Writers Fail by Karena Akhavein, PhD available on Amazon and Apple Books www.amazon.com/dp/B088DGDZF5

Happy hour seems like a purely fun and superficial time, but it's actually a really important moment. In this episode of the Creative Happy Hour podcast, we talk all about happy hour: The history of happy hour, the purpose of happy hour, what makes a good happy hour, how happy hour can help your business, how happy hour impacts company culture, how happy hour can make your more creative, the right way and the wrong way to do happy hour, how to host happy hour, and much, much more. And we do this while drinking Happy Hour Wine. Happy Hour wine is a female-founded brand, with fun imagery and a light-hearted approach. Join us and get drunk on the creative possibilities.

Are you back to work? About to go back to work? Or is your job going to stay remote for a while? Some people are excited and impatient to go back, others are fearful and dreading a return to the office. In this episode of Creative Happy Hour, cohosts Karena Akhavein and Micah Black delve into the issue of going back to work after a long period in quarantine. How can people maintain the self-care and creative habits they adopted during quarantine? How do you avoid burning out and how do you avoid going back to making the mistakes you used to make: over scheduling yourself, being too busy, skipping opportunities for creativity and mindfulness. For those of us who were lucky enough to stay at home and then have a job to go back to, there is a certain amount of guilt and trepidation. Our guess is that emotions are going to run high, and it will be important to give yourself a break for a while, while you make the transition from quarantine to back to work.

How will life change after the CoronaVirus - Covid-19 and what does it mean for creatives, artists, and creative entrepreneurs? In this episode of Creative Happy Hour, Zoom Happy Hour edition, cohosts Karena and Micah discuss the ramifications of the pandemic and how it will affect society. How can creatives ensure that they can see thriving and making a living once we are all out of quarantine? What does the new normal look like? What does Covid-19 mean for gallery shows, concerts, dance performances, and other creative events? What is the added value that you as a creative will need to provide in order to stay successful and relevant? Now that so many things are virtual, how do you embrace that new reality and get heard and seen through the noise? If you are an artist or a creative, this is definitely an episode you need to check out. Join us and get drunk on the creative possibilities.

You're heard people talk about raising their vibration, and about high vibration and low vibration. In this episode of the Creative Happy Hour Podcast, cohosts Karena Akhavein and Micah Black explore the concept of energy, and specifically creative energy. What does it mean to be on the same wavelength? How do you raise your vibration and get into a state of flow? We discuss all this and more as Karena wears a Fiber Frequencies garment made by knitter and fiber artist Micah. Which colors are high vibration and low vibration? Which emotions and spiritual states correspond to them? What should you eat to raise your vibration? Grab a drink and get ready to get drunk on the creative possibilities as we do some energy work on your creative life and cleanse all your creative chakras at once. It's like a sound bath but not as boring!

Creativity and Environment. Creatives know that their environment and surroundings have a huge impact on their creativity and creative output. In this episode of Creative Happy Hour, cohosts Karena Akhavein and Micah Black examine the history of landscape art and of landscapes in art, from the Dutch Masters to the Impressionists, to David Hockney and Christo and Jeanne Claude, and talk about how artists, creatives, and creative entrepreneurs are impacted by their environment. How does light inspire artists? How do corporations try to make their environments more conducive to creative thought? And why do those efforts often fail? What are some of the issues with installation art that interacts with the landscape? The answer to these questions and more in this episode of Creative Happy Hour. Join us and get drunk on the creative possibilities.

We are all supposed to be staying at home and social distancing, and many of us have a lot more time on our hands due to Covid-19. So why are we not getting more creative projects done? Many of us are wondering: "Why am I not being more creative?" "Why am I not finally writing my book?" "Why am I not reading more?" "Why am I not finally painting?" "Why am I not finally starting my company?" "Why am I being so unproductive?" So many of us assume that we don't have the time for our creative projects: writing a book, knitting, painting, composing music, or starting a creative business. But lack of time isn't the only problem. In this special Zoom edition of Creative Happy Hour, our first ever virtual happy hour, we discuss the concept of creativity in uncertain times. Science has shown that uncertainty makes us more creative in terms of fleeting ideas, however we have a hard time following through to express them in a complete way because of anxiety and negative thought patterns. We will discuss why uncertainty impacts creativity and offer solutions so you can get your creative mojo back. You'll learn how to create certainty anchors. Certainty anchors become a thing you can actually count on, that will comfort you in times of uncertainty. We'll also help you to quiet your anxiety with expressive writing, the feel-better skill that will help you to quiet anxious, negative thoughts so you can get back to positivity. We'll also help you to kick your creative productivity into high gear with a simple, scientifically proven trick. So grab a glass and get ready to get drunk on the creative possibilities.

Should I go to Burning Man this year? It's a question that many creatives and not-so-creatives ask themselves every year in late March when the FOMO tickets go on sale, so we decided to devote a whole episode to Burning Man... and then along came the Novel Coronavirus and Covid-19... and now there's a question of whether Burning Man will be canceled this year. More importantly, if it's not canceled, should you go? Also, if all public events are canceled for a while and your friends keep on teasing you about how you're a Burning Man virgin and will never get to experience this amazing event, you'll never feel the burn, you'll never hang out on the Playa getting alkaline dust blown up your hoo-ha... Karena Akhavein and Micah Black, your friends at the Creative Happy Hour podcast, are here to tell you that you need not suffer from Burning Man FOMO... In this hilarious episode, we break down why Burning Man wasn't even that cool when it first started, how it costs a ton of money (can anyone say Burning SCAM?), how it can break up your relationship and ruin your health, and we come up with a great alternative to Burning Man called Wet Woman where you put on moisturizing sheet masks and hang out in mineral springs while drinking Champagne. We also make up a song about Burning Man Sex that you MUST hear. Whether you're an artist, a creative, or a creative entrepreneur, join us and get drunk on the creative possibilities.