In the Mix with Aaliyah Miller

Anne's book cover Hello everyone, Winter is my least favorite of the four seasons because I hate the cold, but it looks this weekend gave me an early taste. Snow at the end of October is not good, not good at all. Sorry but I felt the need to gripe. On a more positive note I'm thrilled to share some wonderful news about Anne Witkavitch, an award-winning writer and fellow alumna of Western Connecticut State University's Master of Fine Arts Creative and Professional Writing Program . This past week Anne was featured as a guest blogger for MariaShriver.com . Anne's inspiring post entitled " Practice Patience to Achieve Your Goal s." In the post she gives tips and advice that have helped guide her as a writer. The post channeled some positive energy and thoughts for me. It also reminded me that achieving my goals as a writer is not out of reach if I can remember to practice patience. One of the things I love about reading other blogs is that it provides m...

Hello everyone, I know it's been a while since my last blog entry. Between work, writing assignments, and group projects I really haven't felt like blogging. I just didn't have the energy although there was plenty to talk about in the world. Since my last entry Steve Jobs has passed away, Herman Cain is now considered a serious contender with his 999 plan, and the Occupy movement that begin on Wall Street continues to grow (Yeah!!). I'm pleased to report that my first course officially ends tomorrow. A heavy load was lifted when I uploaded my final paper late last night. It felt so good. After I posted my final paper on my personal communications philosophy I then logged onto Blackboard to review student presentations and provide feedback on their work. When this course began, I was worried about how I was going to be able to manage the course load with work.  It wasn't easy, but I did it. I spent some nights staying up late and other days waking...

Hello everyone, I know I've probably come off slightly overwhelmed and frazzled in my last blog entry. There have been some positive developments on that front. I can report that while the amount of work I need to do for Gonzaga has not slowed down, I'm getting better at my time management and organization. Kudos to me. In other good news I'm thrilled to share that my short script, "Out of the Box" is an official selection of the 2011 Urban Media Makers Film Festival  (UMMF).  Founded in November 2001, the mission of the Urban Mediamakers is to promote and support a diverse independent media arts community in the Southeast and worldwide. Their signature event is the Urban Mediamakers Film Festival (UMFF), showcasing independent films from around the world. Check out the screenwriting selections here . I received the good news this past Friday and thought I wait to until Monday to blog about it. Now I need to figure out how I'm going to get myself to Dul...

Labor day has past, our days are getting shorter, and the trees in new England are beginning to change from a bold green to vibrant yellow, brilliant red, and provocative orange. Kids are also back in school, which may or may not be a relief for parents. Like the kids in my neighborhood I'm also back in school. A few weeks ago I blogged about gearing up for my studies in Gonzaga's online masters program in Communication and Leadership . I am about two weeks into the program and am feeling overwhelmed by the amount of work I need to get done. Be careful for what you wish for, cause you might just get it. I knew the program was going to be intense and that time management and organization were going to be crucial. I thought I was prepared, however, I really under estimated the amount of time I need to set aside for course readings. My first course is theorizing communications and I'm learning about many of the theories that have been developed in the field ...

Hello everyone, What a weekend we had. I'm glad hurricane Irene is behind us. I know many areas of the the northeast were hit pretty hard and are dealing with problems such as flooding, no power, and delayed travel. Lucky for me, I don't have to wrestle with these problems. I didn't lose power during the hurricane.  Karim and I also managed to drive to and from Wrentham, Massachusetts for a friends birthday party during the day of the hurricane. We also made it back home late that night. During my drive in this morning I heard stories of people who were seriously impacted by Irene listening to Morning Edition on National Public Radio (NPR) . I also went on to facebook and saw posts of folks complaining about no power. Another reminder of how lucky I am not to be dealing with the aftermath of Irene. While many of my fellow north easterners are cleaning up from this storm, I'm gearing up for my first week of online classes. I actually was able to go online a...

Education is more than a luxury; it is a responsibility that society owes to itself.--Robin Cook Last week, I shared news with my social networks via twitter, facebook, and now Google+ that I was accepted to Gonzaga University's masters program in Communication and Leadership. It's time for me to blog about it. Looks like I'm going to be a bulldog yet again in my life. I was thrilled when I received the call from Jeff Wadley, program manager at Gonzaga University's , School of Professional Studies. Jeff has assisted me throughout my application process and he and his team are awesome. After he told me the good news and I told him how thrilled I was, I took a pause because the real work to prepare to go back to school now begins. I've been down this road before and I know what it entails. I can't believe it has been two years since I graduated from Western Connecticut State University's Master of Fine Arts Creative and Professional Writing program . Li...

Official Poster This month I'm pleased to highlight Velvet Rhodes, a very talented screenwriter, producer, and actor. She's a triple threat who has a passion for screenwriting and filmmaking.  Next week, her webisode series Room for Rent will be screened at the 2011 Action on Film International Film Festival in Pasadena, California. Room for Rent also won 'Best Dialogue' for a short screenplay at the 2010 Action on Film Screenwriting Competition. Bio: Velvet Rhodes is an actress who hails from London, England. Beginning her career in music playing and singing alternative rock music in several bands and then going onto theatre in London, England. As well as music, film and writing, she is an avid painter of fine oil paintings. Acting since the age of 3, acting is her passion and film making is her joy. She recently starred in and produced The Purple Zone , wrote, directed, produced and starred in The Cell Phone and now is in pre-production for Ticke...