PRSPCTV Series V
Elevated Thoughts' Latest: Quarter 1 Edition
Peace everyone. Welcome to a brand new edition of Elevated Thoughts' Latest. We took a hiatus from making blogs and it's been long overdue so we're back! For those unaware, this blog consists of recent news, anything pertaining to the brand; upcoming releases, upcoming sales and/or giveaways, and changes made within the brand. I hope everyone is having a good start to 2022. Thanks for tuning in, with no further delay, let's get into this. 🧠
Recent
I decided to put some products up for sale; these products are the least popular of our catalog. These products are limited edition as they will not be remade, so be sure to cop an item or two! Who knows, they might be worth a lot more in the future!
I've been making several changes to the brand and content; a complete revamping if you will. I've been slowly updating the website and Instagram page. I'm also making some important changes to the brand, which, I believe, will make the brand much better. Shout-out to Estephani, Chris, Carmen, and the handful of other people that give me and have given me advice on the brand, you all know who you are and your opinions/insight are greatly appreciated.
As I become more attuned to my ideal consumer, I'm learning how to personalize the brand more and more. Some of the updates I'm doing to the website is creating a more consise message. I noticed that on some pages I'd promote a Hip-Hop inspired brand, other pages I'd promote a graffiti brand, while on other pages I'd promote a lifestyle brand. They're all true, our main influences are the Hip-Hop culture and graffiti. It's what guided me in my youth, took me into the unknown and what helped me uplift my state of mind. But, along with some guidance, I realized where I truly want to go with the brand. In essence, this brand is about creating thought-provoking designs. I want Elevated Thoughts to embrace most, if not all, cultures and lifestyles. Not exclusive to the Hip-Hop Culture. It's not exclusive to graffiti. I'll always pay homage to Hip-Hop and graffiti though, no doubt. But the purpose is to help spark thought in people. Inspire people to think differently. Motivate people to push themselves and search for their selves and their purpose. Educate the masses by teaching them things they don't know. Informing people on historical events and on our views.
On the Instagram page, I realized that I didn't have consistent content. It's what is referred to as an aesthetic. Having a consistent message along with color branding. Many brands are well known for the colors they use; Coca-Cola with the color red, Pepsi with blue, Supreme with red and so on. Our go-to aesthetic will be black and white.
Why choose a black and white aesthetic?
Good question, I'm glad you asked! What I admire most about these colors is what they represent. Black is the absence or absorption of visible light. White is all colors combined. Black and white are also seen as opposites. I'm sure you're familiar with the Yin Yang symbol? Light and dark. Good and bad. It's a dichotomy. I once heard in a song 'without darkness, it's hard to appreciate the light'. Those words couldn't ring any more true. How would you know what good is if you don't know what bad is? How would you know what bad is without the good? You have to learn to appreciate both the good and the bad. This is what my brand represents. You have to go through the darkness (black) in order to become enlightened (white).
New Releases
At this time I won't be releasing any new products, Elevated Thoughts inventory is pretty full right now but I'm hoping to introduce some more dope designs either by Summer or Fall 2022 so be on the lookout!
Newsletter
To our new readers (and those who haven't already), be sure to subscribe to our newsletter! You can do so by entering your e-mail on the pop-up once you open up our official site or towards the bottom of the page you'll see the form to enter your e-mail. Once you subscribe, you'll receive a 10% off discount for your first purchase. We don't flood your inbox with e-mails like many other companies do. We send the more important stuff pertaining to the brand, such as newsletters, sharing info on blog releases, product releases and such.
To those checking out the blog for the first time and to our current subscribers; thank you for the opportunity and stay tuned for exclusive discounts.
Blogs
Have you checked out our PRSPCTV blog series? If not; it's a blog series that I started which consists of breaking down philosophical quotes. Philosophical quotes are usually very short, but pack a very deep message. These quotes are usually from Stoic philosophers. For those unfamiliar with Stoicism, Stoicism started off as a school of philosophical thought in Greece, back in 3 BCE. Since then, Stoicism has grown into cultural phenomenon that I've come to admire and try to live by. Stoicism is about taking each moment as it comes; embracing the present, without allowing external factors control your feelings negatively. The purpose of the PRSPCTV blog series is to help see things from multiple perspectives; not just for self, but for others as well. I try to dissect what I believe the philosophers underlying message of their quote is. I also try to explain how that quote can be compared to modern times so we're able to relate to it. To read more about it, check it out here.
Coming Soon
We have some great content coming soon; we're working on releasing a PRSPCTV podcast series and more dope blogs that delve into issues that I believe are important to shine a spotlight on. And, of course, we're definitely working on new designs behind the scenes!
As always, I truly appreciate everyone's support. Thank you for reading this edition of Elevated Thoughts' Latest. I'm looking forward to providing you with more elevated content and looking forward to what 2022 has to offer. Don't forget to sign up to the newsletter and follow us on social media; you can find the links on the bottom of this page! If you've purchased any of our products, be sure to leave us a review, we'd greatly appreciate it! Stay safe and stay elevated everyone! Happy New Year's!
Peace and love,
Cesar Plascencia
PRSPCTV Series IV
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Your situation could be always be better, but it can always be worse at the same time.
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Any day above ground is a good day.
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As long as you're alive, there's nothing you can't overcome.
PRSPCTV - Series III
PRSPCTV - Series II
Peace everyone! Welcome to our PRSPCTV Blog Series Part II! This is Cesar; owner & founder of Elevated Thoughts. For those unaware, PRSPCTV (short for perspective) is a blog series I created that breaks down insightful, philosophical quotes; mainly from Stoic philosophers. I do this in order for everyone to learn how to think critically; not just to understand what these quotes mean, but to help gain knowledge of self. By breaking these quotes down from my perspective, I hope you can apply the knowledge to your lives to help you become better selves, which in turn can help create a better society. I won't get too far into what PRSPCTV is about; if you're new to the blog be sure to check out the Introduction To PRSPCTV blog. With no further delay, let's get into this quote, break it down and uplift our state of minds 🧠
Quote
The Breakdown - Part I
The Breakdown - Part II
The Takeaway
PRSPCTV - Series I
Quote
"You have power over your mind, not outside events. Realize this and you will find strength." - Epictetus
The Breakdown - Part I
"You have power over your mind, not outside events."
The Breakdown - Part II
"Realize this and you will find strength"
The Takeaway
An Introduction to PRSPCTV
The Importance of Elections
Peace y'all! Hope everybody is having a good start to their week! With midterm elections coming up, it's vital that we all get out and vote in order to make our voice heard! The 2016 presidential election showed us our political power (yes, by not voting). Many people didn't vote because they didn't like either presidential candidate or more troubling; they were unable to. But if our voice will be heard at any time, it's now more than ever. We (the Millennial generation) are on record of becoming the largest generation to date. Elections are the heart of what makes the United States a democracy. With that being said, let's get down to the importance of elections!
According to an article by The Guardian, out of the 250 million adults in the U.S in 2016, only 136 million adults cast their vote in the presidential election. What does that tell us? That 114 million or 45% of adults did not vote. Nearly half of the U.S. population of adults didn't vote; for various reasons, of course. I was a part of the population of adults that did not vote; it was because I didn't like either presidential candidate. I know, I know. I fucked up. But after the disastrous (in my opinion) Trump administration, they've ironically influenced me positively to be sure to vote in EVERY election going forward. After the presidential elections in 2012, the Census Bureau sent a questionnaire to eligible voters to gain insight on why they didn't vote. It turns out that white Americans are five times more likely to not vote because they "do not like the candidates or campaign issues" than black Americans. Black Americans are more likely than white Americans to not vote due to polling issues, such as transportation problems and inconvenient locations. Other eligible voters answered that they were "too busy" to vote, which is shown that non-white people are more than likely working in a low-wage job and have less job security than white people as well. This form voter suppression gets worse. Also, due to state felony laws preventing people from voting, 1 in 40 adults are unable to vote. Because of this, non-white people are more than likely unable to vote because of racial disparities in the criminal justice system. How will we be able to change all of these flaws in our system? You guessed it: by becoming more politically active and by voting!
The Pew Research Center found that in November 2016 there was a total of 62 million Millennials that were of voting age. The Newsweek reported that of the 62 million, only 49% or 30 million voted in the 2016 presidential election. So 1/3 of Millennials in the U.S. did not vote. Fast forward to today: our generation of Millennials in the U.S. (currently ages 22-37) are expected to be the largest generation next year, surpassing our parents' generation of Gen X or Baby Boomers (ages 38-53).
What this means is we have the largest leverage in social, economic and political issues. Why is this a good thing? It's because our political ideologies are similar. The majority of Millennials believe in a universal healthcare system, we believe in equality for all, same-sex marriage, climate change, gun control legislation and the list goes on. Our generation (more than any other) also believes that racial discrimination against black Americans are the reason why they cannot get ahead. In these crazy times of senseless violence, racial discrimination, police brutality, anti-LGBTQ; our time to rise is NOW.
Elections are ultimately what gives us the power. We have to remember that a democracy is a form of government where power is given by the people, for the people. Although there is so much government corruption and many obstacles barring some of us from voting, that doesn't mean we can't participate in other political activities to help create change. Let's do what we can, while we can. Let's create a better future for our children. Let's play the game by their rules and make it better for us and future generations to come.
A couple of more things I wanted to share with you guys. Below I added a few link's to help guide you in choosing the right candidates for the midterm elections; there's a dope article I found on GQ that serves as a guide for those that don't know where to start when it comes to researching candidates for this year's midterm elections. There's also a link provided on the bottom from Vote.org (an organization that encourages people to VOTE!) that provides locations to polling places around the country. For my local Las Vegas heads, I added an endorsement guide provided by the Las Vegas Weekly below to help you find the right candidates to elect into office.
Hope you guys enjoyed this read. Remember to drop a comment and let us know what you think! . Until next time, stay elevated y'all!
GQ - A Lazy Person's Guide to Every Senate Race in the 2018 Midterm Elections
Vote.org - Polling Place Locator
Las Vegas Weekly - Whom Should You Vote For In The Midterm Elections? And Why?
Citations:
Chalaba, Moni. "Who are the three-quarters of adult Americans who didn't vote for Trump?" The Guardian, 18 January 2017Fry, Richard "Millennials approach Baby Boomers as America’s largest generation in the electorate" Pew Research Center, 3 April 2018
Fry, Richard "Millennials projected to overtake Baby Boomers as America’s largest generation" Pew Research Center, 1 March 2018
"The Generation Gap in American Politics" Pew Research Center, 1 March 2018
Maniam, Shiva & Smith, Samantha "A wider partisan and ideological gap between younger, older generations" Fact Tank, Pew Research Center, 20 March 2017
Fry, Richard "Millennials are the largest generation in the U.S. labor force" Pew Research Center, 11 April 2018
Facial Recognition Databases
Peace y'all! Cesar with Elevated Thoughts here, trying to touch base with everybody on an issue that's been bugging me for years. Facial recognition databases have been playing a strong role in both law enforcement agencies and social media for several years now and I feel that either not enough people are aware of it, or just plain don't give a fuck. But in my opinion, our faces ending up in a facial recognition database is inevitable now, especially with this rapid advancement of technology we've been witnessing. So my question is: why shouldn't you give a fuck?
Face Recognition; what is that? According to a non-profit digital rights group known as the Electronic Frontier Foundation, face recognition "is a method of identifying or verifying the identity of an individual using their face. Face recognition systems can be used to identify people in photos, video, or in real-time. Law enforcement may also use mobile devices to identify people during police stops."
Face recognition databases has peaked human interest for decades. Since the late 2000's, however, when cellphones were replaced by personal handheld computers known as smartphones, the use of social media websites blew up; facial recognition databases shortly followed.
When I learned about facial recognition databases back in 2012 while attending the College of Southern Nevada, I had a gut feeling that it's not as good as law enforcement agencies and companies make it seem. Facebook claims they use facial recognition databases to help 'connect' people to pictures they're in and may be unaware of. Law enforcement agencies tell us that they use these databases to help with investigations and detaining criminals. Hell, even the National Security Agency (national intelligence agency) have their own extensive facial recognition database known as Tundra Freeze. The last two don't seem so bad, right? They do it to capture criminals and potential threats to our national security. But, as we all know, too much of anything is bad. Especially when data about us is collected without our consent or knowledge of it. So, why should we be concerned about our data and facial recognition databases?
To this date, Facebook has faced a total of 16 class action lawsuits for violating both state and federal laws dealing with privacy. The biggest controversy is with Cambridge Analytica LLC, an analytics firm that, in 2014, gathered data from over 87 million Facebook users without permission. That might include your data. Your likes, dislikes, comments, political views, hobbies, preferences; the list goes on. This also includes pictures of you. Think of it as a profile of you that was created without your permission. It goes from small analytic companies up to Big Brother. The FBI, CIA, NSA all have information of you which even includes arrest records, Social Security numbers, passport photos and so on. Cambridge Analytica, however, deals specifically with political analytics. So if your data was breached, it was used to influence political elections. The power it gives people to influence elections is unimaginable. This is just one company by the way. Other companies that gather data (legally or illegally) may sell your information so companies can use it for marketing purposes. This is not limited to just Facebook either. This includes ALL social media apps; Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat, Vimeo, LinkedIn, etc. 5 years ago, digital forensics examiner Richard Hickman found that not only does Snapchat save your photos/videos to the app, but they also save to your phone. But who knows, the research was done 5 years ago; maybe developers have changed Snapchat settings to keep their word and actually DELETE your data after 24 hours.
Back to facial recognition databases. The NSA gathers millions of images per day and store it in their database. Their main objective is to capture suspected terrorists, both at home and abroad. But if their information was as accurate as they claim, they would've had the ability to interfere with the mass shootings that have occurred in our nation for the last few years. Years ago I read a report that if you used the word 'Mexico' in any form of digital communication; that you'd be targeted by the NSA. Are you fucking kidding me? What's really troubling (besides our invasion of privacy) is that facial recognition is not 100% accurate. In the FBI's (Federal Bureau of Investigation) biometric identification system, known as Next Generation Identification, there is a 15% chance of inaccuracy in face recognition scans and are more likely to misidentify black people than white people. Face recognition softwares used by the FBI have difficulty in distinguishing between dark skinned faces and aren't routinely checked for accuracy either. Since there is a heavier police presence in black communities around the nation and blacks have higher arrest/incarceration rates among any other race, they are over enrolled into facial recognition databases. To top it off, black people are more likely to be subjected to a facial recognition scan via body cameras by police during any type of interaction. Congressmen and the Government Accountability Office have grilled the FBI on these issues before. Although all evidence points to a racially biased database, the FBI claims their systems do not need to be tested for racial bias because the algorithms used for identification is based on facial features, not skin color. Say there is an arrest. Even if the defendant is found innocent in a court of law, their mugshot and police report remains in these databases, furthering the issue on how inaccurate and unreliable facial recognition is.
It doesn't end there. I've mentioned about certain companies that are in the business of gathering your data and selling it. One of them is Verint Systems, an analytics company who last year acquired a surveillance company named Terrogence. Started by an ex-Israeli intelligence officer, Terrogence is in business to do just that; acquire photos and videos through major social media outlets, entering it through their facial recognition software called Face-Int; then exploiting this data for profit. A well known client of Terrogence is..the U.S. government. Terrogence claims their services are to help combat terrorism online but have been found to use these databases for political gain as well. What does this mean for the rest of us? Well, it means we are all subjected to bias. When we are entered into a facial recognition database, we can be mistook as a criminal; especially with the proven inaccuracy and racially biased databases. In some softwares, it's information that may or may not be true about us that's collected to make judgements about us. We truly have no control over the information they collect about us.
My advice to you? Just be aware. Be careful what you say and how you say it. Be sure to read what information is collected in every app, how it's used, what permissions you give to apps, etc. This will not stop the use of facial recognition databases, its ties to social media and law enforcement agencies; but by discussing about the issue openly, I hope it sheds light and encourages you to read more about this. Don't take my word for it, this blog was apart of my research; most of the information collected were facts but I've included my opinion at certain times as well.
Hope you enjoyed this read! Be sure to stay tuned for the next blog on Monday, 9/17/18: Elevated Thoughts' Latest! I'll be including what I've been working on for the brand; new designs, new products as well! Also I'll be discussing the pricing changes on some products, why this was necessary and a breakdown of our pricing. Shit, I may even include a sneak peek at our next design(s)! Stay tuned and as always, stay elevated!
Peace and love,
Cesar Plascencia