Futurism is about believing in better futures, and preparing for it, in spite of how the present looks.

Introduce young people early, to a futurist  attitude, self-preparedness, and the value of our Common Humanity, and they will be the innovative adults of solutions for better tomorrows.

With the above in mind, iPrep2Thrive is proud to announce the Eclipse 2024 Niagara Heritage Tour Short Story Contest, for Ages 13- 17 years old. 

See Full Downloadable Description 

Letter to Parents

The Eclipse 2024 Niagara Heritage Tour Short Story Contest presents a national engagement and exposure opportunity for a new message of hope and resilience, as we bridge the past and present to a bold new future. 

We hope to encourage, mentor, and reward a new generation of young voices who - in spite of the challenges that our nation’s youth face today -  remain energized by faith and unrelenting hope in what the future holds!

We wish all the best success in their short story essay efforts and submissions!  

Pam Kelly, Founder, iPrep2Thrive

I'm in constant search for  preparedness-focused imagery, inclusive of  African American ethnicity.  For scenes involving strategic preparedness activities such as safety, survival, and other readiness scenarios, it's still very scant.  

I'm essentially having to create a new Preparedness imagery industry! That makes me an "imagery industrialist" doesn't it!    So far, the best quality repository of African American imagery I've found is Nappy.co

I don't have Tyler Perry's budget, yet, for camera crews and CGI editing, so I decided to try Bing A.I. Image Creator as a source of “visionary” imagery that isn't available in traditional stock photo libraries such as Shutterstock, iPhoto, and even Nappy.co 

Bing A.I. Image Creator allows you to enter a description of what scenery or activity you want, and the algorithm pumps out your "order." It literally lets your imagination run wild, for FREE! 

For my Eclipse 2024 Niagara Heritage Tour imagery, I requested an “African American”  girl wearing a parka with her passport in hand, and the eclipse in progress behind her.   Tall order for a stock photo right?

But not for Bing Image Creator.  Here’s what it came up with…

Not bad, actually! I love the complexion, the hair, the nails in the foreground. Some features remained innacurate, like the passport, or distorted, like the mis-shapen left hand. I love how A.I. positioned her hand over the eclipse. All in all, I really liked the result with this. I will use it as a “Storyboard” for an actual photo at the April 2024 event. What do you think?

Now, in another scenario, I requested an image of a girl showing fear, as if an at-risk event just occurred. This is what A.I. produced. The default ethnicity is Caucasian. I had to specify African American or Asian to get a different ethnicity.

Default results always show Caucasian ethnicity. 

Perhaps some other A.I. software allow you  to set the default ethnicity.

Can't tell if this is real or A.I.! 

 

A.I. tends to create exaggerated facial features on African Americans 

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Conclusion? A.I. generated imagery will not replace imagery using real people anytime soon.  

It’s rendering of body and facial features, especially of people of color, leaves a lot of room for improvement.

Meanwhile, A.I. Image generation has very good use for “storyboarding”!  I've "toyed" with it to create imaginative scenery, to eventually be enacted by real actors.  

Here’s a few “storyboarding” examples of what I mean.

 E2024NHT Attendees overlooking the falls

 Overcoming travel jitters!

Children observing the eclipse. They  they don’t appear to be wearing glasses so it’s not safe.  I will use this imagery in an Eclipse Eye Safety preparedness PSA

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Try out Bing A.I. Image Creator. It's FREE for now. 

AI Image Generator - ChatGPT (chat-gpt.org) - Also FREE , for now! 

How do you use A.I. image generators for imagery to fit the visual narratives of your projects? 

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"Change the imagery, change the paradigm, change the outcome." 

Pam Kelly - Imagery Industrialist

Believing in the Future Begins the Night Before…

Do you go to sleep at night prepared for the future? Do you wake up, believing in it?

Isn’t that what we all want for ourselves and family members?

A future that makes you jump out of bed in the mornings and reach for the skies?  

We are fortunate, as Americans, to live in a nation, in 2023, where there still exists abundance of opportunity and freedom to pursue your dreams. 

Yet, for many, life in our post-pandemic world can make it hard to believe in “better days ahead,” and have to force ourselves to get out of bed! 

How do you stay sane, resilient, hopeful of the future, in spite of the “madding crowd” of traumatizing imagery, polarizing media messaging, and destabilizing experiences?

In every preceding era, life had its “madding crowd”. There are hopeful sayings, “futurisms” as I call them, that baby boomers often heard from their elders , that provided a spiritual “balm”, to help us keep calm and carry on,  such as… 

    

Then, as now, there’s no substitute for faith, goals, intentional readiness,  and a good night’s rest!             

Yes! No prescription can do more to rejuvenate a “jump-at-the-sun” mindset than intentional preparedness to get sufficient sleep!

Daily preparedness and sleep are complementary and will enhance a healthy outlook on life and the future.

If you are already a futurist in your outlook, you’ve overcome the “madding crowd!” Share your unique perspective on a healthy outlook with others!

Looking up, rather than down at life, and sufficient rest, can empower our abilities to survive, revive, and thrive, no matter what the day sends our way!

• Make 7-8 hrs. sleep the prime directive. Build your schedule around getting it, everyday.

• Before going to bed, read and post a “futurism” quote by your bed!

• “Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today”. Though well meaning, this saying actually causes too many of us to “burn the midnight oil” in a never ending task list. Whatever doesn’t get done by a decent hour, make the world wait until tomorrow!  

Listen to your mind and body. If you suspect that lack of sleep is not the problem, talk to someone!  Invest in your self-care!  - Pam Kelly

Disclaimer: The author does not provide medical or mental health advice, and shall not be held liable for outcomes, by the user, in the recommendations provided!

Hello All,

If you are considering attending the Eclipse 2024 Niagara Heritage Tour is your passport current through 2024?  The Tour includes an excursion to Canada.

Please be advised it takes up to 13 weeks+ to get a new passport book from Passport office!  

U.S. passports | USAGov

 Hello all,

This  transition to enables me to post more content in real time, rather than waiting to compile it month to month! 

I hope y'all enjoy the change. Members are able to post feedback.

Pam Kelly

iprep2thrive@gmail.com 

Founder, Perennial Preparedness NC, dba iPrep2Thrive™