Hey! A Warm Introduction - Full of Nothing but Hot STEEM...

Fellow Steemians!!....Steemurians? Steemers?....(sans the Cleveland)....Children of the Steem? Perhaps there's an appropriate term? Regardless, I'm really excited to be part of this burgeoning Steemit community -- what a revolutionizing platform. In a world that changes at an exponential rate, the perks come in the form of novel, creative and communal enterprises such as Steemit.

My name is Beard Bates (yes, Beard is actually my name...my grandmother's last name became my first name). I'm an artist, musician, author and designer. I'm currently based in Los Angeles but also split my time between Wyoming and Virginia, and I plan on sharing various bits of my art, writing, music and whatever else might be of interest on my Steemit.

I've always been thoroughly invested in creativity and artistic endeavors--as a musician I've written hundreds of songs and put out numerous records with various acts; as a rebellious schoIar I was somehow nominated for the Rhodes Scholarship and ended up getting a graduate degree from the University of London/TATE Modern in Contemporary Art Curation; as an author I've written meta-fictive novels, short-story and poetry collections and critical work; as a visual artist I specialize in large-scale abstract paintings and Lucite installations.

Random Facts:

• I have a historically-based beard-products company called Beard & Bates (https://www.beardandbates.com)
• As an online-ordained minister I've married over 30 couples (all friends: including a member of the Foo Fighters and Nirvana).
• I co-developed and sold a reality-show to MTV
• I co-produced a horrible hip-hop record for STEVE-O (JACKASS) for Universal Records.
• I love old Cadillacs and monster-trucks.
• I've had quite a few "unique" spiritual experiences and learned how to astral-project by accident.

Last but not least, I am an advocate for all that is occurring at the present in respect to blockchain technology and the creative minds behind the overall forward movement of that which could help usher humanity into a new era--one where we collectively end up more open, compassionate, less fearful of each other and more connected to a higher potential in ourselves. Granted with all innovation comes the possibility of dystopian disaster, but what I find very promising about the technological present is the way in which it is working to liberate humanity--the individual Joe--from the hegemonic/controlling shackles that have existed for eons yet are now starting to appear very old, dusty, and arcane. Open-source technologies and the overall ideology underlying it is unifying people in a manner as never before; whether the power can remain both with the people, and positive, in the long-run is another story, but for the moment it appears REAL change is underway on so many levels. It's an exciting time....

Here's to becoming more and more YOURSELF.....the autonomous creative entity that is uniquely YOU.

That last line sounds a bit like some cheesy Tony Robbins' tenet or something, but you know what they say...."beyond all the cheese, [ (I don't know, you fill in the blank) ].

xBeard

Feel free to follow my IGs and FBs:
IG: https://www.instagram.com/beardbates/ | https://www.instagram.com/beardbatesart/ | https://www.instagram.com/beardandbates
FB: http://www.facebook.com/beardbates | http://www.facebook.com/beardandbates