Unleash'd Magazine

The Eclectic Issue

Isn't our newest issue HOT? I mean look at this cover! Then you open, and you see more great stuff... and you get to your first feature with Jules Arthur and Celia Helfrich (NYC based artists). You go further, and you find musician Gilbere Forté! And then you read about Jamaica. And on top of that, another feature of DJ O.N.E., and the journey is not over... More eye candy up until the last page!

We, the Unleash'd Magazine team, could not be more proud of what we have accomplished thus far (always wanted to use thus far, althoug I dislike people who use it frequently...). With every issue I feel like we are getting better and better and that's what it's all about! We are currently re-structuring and adding to the magazine. Unleash'd is getting bigger!

Oh... and growing also means more responsibility sometimes – if you do a good job. Apparently I did, and now I am the "Executive Editor!" Congratulations to me! In that sense, please write me if you are interested in becoming an addition to our team. We need NY based photographers and writers (working remotely is O.K.)! Only serious inquiries are considered, and do not forget to send samples of your work! Send to Janina AT Unleash-d DOT COM! We are a startup, so there is no pay, but there is a lot of learning and doing, and you will be credited in the magazine.

Preview and purchase out Feb/March 2012 issue HERE!

What is Love, Polygamy WTH?

The other night I went to bed, but I was not quiet tired enough to call it a night. So I started browsing “Netflix” for some options. I wanted to watch a TV show, because a feature length film would have been too long and it was already late. Long story short, I discovered a TV show called “Sister Wifes.” When I read the description I found out it was a TV show about a family that lives the polygamy lifestyle. I had never been interested in that topic, but I do have an inquisitive personality and always enjoy learning new things.

The family that was featured consisted of three wifes who shared one husband (but not their sex lives) and had 13 children. What I realized after watching was, that opposite of what I might have assumed before, they do not seem weird at all (aside from sharing their husband), but like a big, happy family. Their children were taken good care of, they seemed intelligent and well spoken, and although their family structure seems off or strange at first, I believe that if someone is happy outside of conventional patterns that are determined by society, and is able to create a loving and nurturing family environment, I am OK with it. A friend of mine had posted something on Facebook the other day, her status said: “The abuse rate of lesbian households is zero – I find that incredibly beautiful.”

In the New York Times, readers replied to an article called “One Big Happy Polygamous Family.” Here is what a reader named Carol Kraines said:

“Polygamy amounts to female child abuse. Girls are “given” to men at a young age, generally with minimal education. The husbands don’t believe in family planning, of course, so the girls become pregnant early and often. The husband makes the decisions about the number of wives in the household, and about every other aspect of their lives.”

I am not pro-polygamy, but what I saw on that TV show was the opposite. I must say I was surprised. I am not sure if all polygamist households are that loving, maybe they are not. One thing this family was emphasizing, was their goal to raise happy children. They also stated they would support them when they grow up, even if they did not want to follow their parents foot steps into living the same kind of lifestyle.

There is no question that any kind of abuse in any kind of family should be prosecuted, but why determining how people should live, if there is nothing wrong with it except for not being considered the norm?

Unleash'd Magazine

Last Issue for 2011 – The Holiday Issue!

This issue is the first cover to feature a male model! I love it, not for obvious reasons, but for the fact that it makes Unleash'd Magazine unique, I love being a part of it.

Find the following two articles by me in this issue: "Beats and Produce: Ingredients for Success" with Printz Board of the Black Eyed Peas and "Don't Be Bitter, Be Better" with DJ SynCity.

Preview here:

DJ SynCity

Printz Board

Unleash'd Magazine

Issue #2 is here: Unleash'd Magazine

Our October issue The Super Hero Issue Oct. 2011 is here! I contributed the following three articles this time:

1. Stacy Clark (Singer/Songwriter)

2. Matt Cook (Model/Actor)

3. Chanta Patton (Model/Actor – Feature Editorial)

Make sure you pick it up here! Right now you do get a 25% discount (until Oct. 31st ONLY)!

Unleash'd Magazine

First Issue Out Now

I have been interning at Unleash'd Magazine since July 2011. And ratatatam, the first issue is out now! Unleash'd is a lifestyle magazine with focus in music and fashion. The August 2011 issue features interviews with musician J-Lie and skateboarder Stevie Williams, both written by me. Find out why J-Lie didn't want to become a soccer pro, although ranking number 14 in the nation, or why Stevie Williams finds it so important to teach young kids.

This is the first time I am published in English for a magazine that is available in print, so it is very exciting for me.

Please support, it's only $2.70 for the digital issue and $11.80 for both digital and print. Buy here: Unleash'd Magazine August 2011 Issue.

Thoughts

to age with grace or not to age with grace

to be friends or not to be friends

to be in the big city or not...

My 20 Pound Heart

Natural Thoughts of a Young Woman in her late 20's


My heart is weighing twenty pounds. Although it is beating in my chest, it seems to do it a little slower today. Time is creeping by like it is walking on tiptoes, but that does not make it feel any lighter, more like a villain who is trying to hide in the night’s shadow, hoping you won’t notice it. But you notice it even more, insulting it with your thoughts.

It’s the time where one feels like one is not being productive in any kind of way. Not just for a day, but for a period of time. A phase that needs to pass by, which has not revealed yet if it is life or just temporary (which I guess is a natural thought for almost thirty year olds).

Friday night. When you usually get off around 2 AM, an earlier workday throws you off. You are asking yourself where your social life has been? As usual men are not reliable. There you are, sitting at home with your make up on, in your dress and heels, only to find out the night is a failure like so many others. Same old.

There you are, decided to call it a night. Thinking about all the people you wish around but are far more than just a continent away. Your heart knows you are in their thoughts; regardless, it is beating heavy tonight.

Bored glances into the night sky. No stars tonight, it is New York City after all. I am asking myself if I can ever just be here tomorrow – tonight it is not possible. I decided to open the pack of cigarettes I never meant to buy in the first place.

Where is she, the heroine that you wanted to be, the Lisbeth Salander, the Jeanne D’arc, the Flannery O’Connor minus the suicidal thoughts?

More glances into the sky, hastily blowing out the cigarette smoke then the final thought of the day: Should I lower my expectations in others, the world, and most importantly in myself? Tell me life. And your mind goes on dreaming of becoming a writer. That just discourages more, since everybody who is literate is a writer nowadays. Everyone has a Blog and taxi drivers are becoming special career advisers – especially for writing. What am I supposed to dream of then?

Prince, you are not helping with your “Purple Rain.” Good night, this time for real…