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By Raina Episode 13. Of course it was 13, only 13 could be this cursed. To everyone’s surprise, it was also blessed beyond imagination. Well, well, well. Saturday, April 9th will be one The Diner Crew is never likely to forget. With multiple unsuccessful attempts to record our Episode 13 Twitter Space, we carried on with the excitement to announce our big news and will try to recapture the magic here. Thank you to the frens we’ve made in this space for being there with us, giving advice and feedback, and helping us as we all learn to navigate this new piece of the world we are all trying to shape.  The Website: thediner.rocks As Phoenix took the reins and ushered us into the reintroduction of our website, thediner.rocks, the nerves to speak began to settle. I love the feeling of those good butterflies in your stomach when you are about to do something that makes you a bit uncomfortable, public speaking, but you know you will be so proud of yourself when you’ve accomplished the task. Phoenix teased the soon to be launched interactive road map with updated content, that also plays the role of our shared future roadmap as a business and team. That’s something to celebrate. The Blog: I love words and the nuances of a good turn of phrase. I’ve been wanting to make a move into writing and blogging, but I didn’t know where to start. So, starting here with @MetaDiner and our collaboration as a team is such a wonderful place to begin this experience. I’ve met with a few friends recently who make a living as writers, and Allison Hill, a freelance writer for BBC Wales and journalist, gave me some great advice about blogging - “Personal narrative is the easiest to write,” she said. “It’s a bit harder to have to do interviews and cite sources.” But, I have been an English teacher for the past 16 years, and teaching writing is my jam. It’s quite different being on the writing end though, knowing other people will be reading my words. That’s a bit nerve wracking. But, I took Allison’s advice to write a personal narrative for our first blog post. I was pretty stoked with the way the piece came together. I love writing and crafting with words. It is a piece of art in itself to me. What I want the bog to be:
I have to give a shout out to the podcasting team NFT for Newbies! (Check out their trailer here). They have been one of my go to sources for professional development, as they too, navigate the world of NFTs from scratch. I love the ease of being able to listen to them in the car on my way home from work.  How I hope the blog helps people: Since we have been hosting Twitter Spaces, learning from other’s stories, and how they were introduced to NFTs and Web 3, it’s so comforting to know others are also pretty new to this whole experience and are just as interested as Ken, Phoenix, and I are to learn from each other and help promote each other’s projects. The first blog post is about the importance of our communities surrounding us in our various selves: play, work, friend, parenting, spouse, whatever roles you play, it is important to cultivate and nurture those relationships. I want to use the blog space as a platform for people to connect with us. Upon sharing the experience and intentions behind our blog, asking those who chose to participate and support us, before, and leading into Episode 13, it was important to get their feedback, thoughts, and suggestions on what I had just shared. We heard you and are taking notes! Thank you for helping us grow as a team. We are all writing the playbook.
At this point, I sat back as Phoenix and Ken took over. I enjoy that each of us has overlapping and different pieces to bring to the table. The CHUBBY’s Project As a youngster, Ken expressed how much he loved reading Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson, which introduced him to the idea of a metaverse. Through his influences of this novel, The Jetsons, Garbage Pail Kids, enjoying delicious burger and food creations while hanging out with friends at old fashion diners, and creating art, it doesn’t surprise me one bit how this all meshes and derives the essence of CHUBBY’s burgers, The Diner, The Food Truck, and the idea of collaborating and celebrating frens in the metaverse. The Diner, a Spatial space, is not only the place to feed your face in cyberspace, but the place to quench your thirst for knowledge in the metaverse. We will host web3 learning and teaching events in The Diner 2.0 after the adoption of 50 CHUBBY’s Burgers. We plan to mint in late April if all goes according to plan. Each person holding 1 or more CHUBBY’s Burger Grade “A” =
On Saturday, April 23 (or so we had hoped!), we hosted what was to be our pre launch party with Episode 16 - more to come about this momentous day in our next blog post! As we rounded out on the 45 minute mark, all three of us sort of had a satisfied sigh. We had done it. We went live telling our NFT community about the blog and our project and our drop date. April 23rd. UPDATE (April 24) The CHUBBY’s Burgers launch was scheduled for April 23rd according to our own roadmap, but we experienced some technical hurdles that were revealed with our testing processes. We want to make sure minting is safe, secure, and simple for our frens of The Diner. We will communicate a final launch date and time when we feel it is appropriate (soon). Thank you for hanging in there with us. Then… THEN…OMG…THEN… Ken: “Oh my Gosh! Oh Man! Um! Oh Man! Ralph Steadman is in our space! Ralph Steadman is in our space. Ok. Welcome! Oh my gosh.”  Ralph Steadman is and has always been a force and influence in Ken’s life. Steadman’s 1998 book Gonzo The Art sits on the back of his couch in his art studio.  Ken had sent two DM invites to our spaces recently in hopes of making a connection in this new NFT world, but never really expected such a thing to happen. Soon, we had the privilege to learn the person behind the visit was none other than Sadie Williams, Steadman’s daughter and project manager. She was quite new to NFTs and Twitter Spaces she said. Residing in Kent, England and 5 hours ahead of our EST zone, she had sat down to relax on her Saturday night, perused her Twitter DMs, and popped into our space, unknowingly changing our world!
A couple of others were just as pleasantly surprised: Coinlaundry (Jason), an awesome supporter of our ORDER UP! Twitter Spaces, was in awe too. He chimed in and said, “And in walks Ralph Steadman’s daughter!” Our team coder and programmer, Phoenix exclaimed, “When I quote tweeted the ORDER UP! announcement and said “It’s gonna be big!, I had no idea it would be THAT big!” The next 1 ½ hours, sadly unrecorded, flew by as Sadie graciously navigated this impromptu Q and A. She delighted fans who saw her dad’s name in our space who popped in and likewise educated newbies into the awesomeness that is Gonzo art, Ralph Steadman, and her forethought to bring her dad’s world into the future of Web 3 and NFT art. It was exciting to say the least and educational to boot. Additionally, it was humbling to “meet” Sadie and learn that she is new to the NFT world, just like the rest of us, but knows this is where the future lies. She said as his daughter, she feels “proud to represent him and to expose people to his artwork.” We couldn’t agree more. Sadie left us with this wise tidbit, “We need to make the NFT space not what it is, but what it should be!” Yes Sadie! That’s how we feel too. Thank you for an amazing evening! And, we’re out!
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By Raina
I was walking to my car through the school parking lot when I heard my name being called. Ken had his arms loaded down with art supplies and student projects. He asked, “Do you know what NFTs are?” Over an hour later, with the sun much lower in the sky and family calling me home, it was hard to tear away from a conversation that had restoked long burning embers into something I could not yet describe at the time. Little did I know, a small connection I had sought out in my own way, would bloom into a new community of people I didn’t know existed. My curiosity was piqued, as it always is with Ken. Our conversations have been brief at school, but varied and full of shared excitement at the possibility of connection and community building over the years of working in the same building. He oozes with the kind of energy and big scope thinking that's hard to miss. I naturally gravitate toward this type of energy in my life and cultivate as much collaboration and support of projects as possible. It excites me that the possibilities and ideas of collaboration could birth something big and impactful on the community, be it my students, school, or the greater area where I live. The web of possibilities are endless. I know this feeling. I know this experience. I’ve lived it and cultivated it many times over in my life, and it was time for it to happen anew. Electric. I am feeling hopeful for the unknown in my future for the first time in a VERY long time. Who knew supervising students in the hallway a few years ago outside the art room would be a catalyst. Ken’s classroom felt like stepping back in time to the art building at Michigan State University. I found myself half joking one day, but quite serious too, saying “If you ever found a way to pay me, I would quit teaching and be an assistant in your classroom.” What I was really saying was, “I believe in your big picture and I am both qualified and inexperienced to help you make that happen. I thrive on learning new things and applying what I know to make that shift happen. If something brings butterflies to my stomach, even in a fearfully exciting way, because I don’t know all there is to know surrounding said thing, that has always been a tell tale sign for me to go in that direction. For a long time, I didn’t exist without the arts playing some role in my life, be it playing a background actor or dancer, creating art of varied mediums, or designing advertising campaigns with a team for my university courses. But life takes turns and opportunities arise that change the shape of who we are. Growth and learning take place, and more opportunities bloom. During college, I sought out a summer job at YMCA Camp Copneconic in Fenton, Michigan, not too far from where I grew up. I had spent countless hours babysitting to save money for trips out of Timbers Girl Scout Camp in Traverse City, MI, and gained lifelong practical and community building skills that have never failed me in life. These experiences landed me a job that would change the course of my life for the next 20 years. I parlayed my art into entertaining kids, my team building and wilderness skills into leadership positions of varied degrees, and community building skills into some of the best friendships that would not only take me around the world, but bring me joy in marriage and motherhood. Meeting Stephen at camp was the best thing that ever happened in my life. I found a partner to travel with, move across the country with, and build a life with. He became my community that bloomed from shared experiences at camp. When we moved on a whim after a visit to Greenville, SC, I found a new and exciting community to shape and learn in; being an English teacher. I’ve loved this community, one high school, one middle school. Now, here I am, 16 years later, ready for a change. “Raina, do you know what NFTs are?” I had never heard of such a thing, but Ken had! He’d been creating them. And he needed a team to bring his vision to life. So here I am, three months later, immersed on the weekends with a brilliant programmer and artist himself, Phoenix, and a visionary creator who thinks far beyond creating art. My new community. Friends. Business partners. Artists. Community builders. Learners. There is so much to learn! I LOVE IT! I love the feeling of being linked to other people in a profoundly connected way. For me, the essence of community lies deeply within my makeup as a human. It is as varied as my interests and as laser focused as my goals. I’ve found it ironic lately that the ebb and flow of the communities that make up my life have become ever more important as I journey through a big change. I have always been a goal setter, one who sees the big picture, and breaks down the parts to make a plan of action. There is security in this for me. Yet on the flip side, I thrive in learning new things, especially those things that I may not be so good at, yet, and perhaps scare me a bit. Those are the things I will become a master of. To community building and growth. Cheers. |
AuthorThe Diner Studio are Metaverse builders with a focus on utilizing Metaverse technology to help creatives around the world thrive. Archives
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