Blog Archives

Me and Quirkyalone on Globo, Brazil’s Largest TV Channel

Posted on August 21, 2012 by sasha — No Comments ↓

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Those of you who follow my work know that I fell in love with South America in 2009 and spent six months in Brazil in 2010 (and then went on to Colombia and Argentina). Those travels are the subject of the memoir I’m writing now.

My book Quirkyalone had already been published in Brazil in 2005 and now the concept is getting even more attention in one of the fastest-growing economies in the world. Globo, Brazil’s largest national media channel did a 20-minute special on the global phenomenon of people embracing singlehood rather than treating it like a disease. I’m on at 1:12 (in English) telling the “creation story” of quirkyalone of how I first came up this this idea on New Year’s Day 2000–and then we have all kinds of stories and analysis about people living single and/or alone in Brazil, the US, Sweden, worldwide. A great special, especially if like me you have a sweet spot for that lilting, lyrical Brazilian Portuguese. Check it out here!

Like this? Share it! Sign up for my mailing list to get weekly inspiration for your quirky life. To get even more inspired, read one of my books Quirkyalone or To-Do List and join us for the next session of my class GetQuirky which starts in July 2013.

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Posted in Press, Quirkyalone, Video

Sasha Cagen/Authors@Google

Posted on July 15, 2011 by sasha — No Comments ↓

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Posted in Video

Sasha on Andersoon Cooper//Quirkyalone

Posted on July 13, 2011 by sasha — No Comments ↓

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Posted in Press, Video

IdeaChat #1: Befriending Your Inner Critic with Tim Desmond

Posted on June 14, 2011 by sasha — No Comments ↓

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Idea Chat #1: Befriending the Inner Critic with Tim Desmond from Sasha Cagen on Vimeo.

I’m excited to be kicking off an intuitive new project: IdeaChats. Intuitive in the sense that there is no grand plan, I’m excited to just let this evolve. That’s how I roll with most of my projects, letting them unfold into places I may have not expected.

I love discovering new ideas. A new idea that turns my mind and makes me see the world (or the self) in a new way. I am rolling out a series of interviews with friends and strangers about their ideas.

First off I am starting with the brilliant friends I already know and then will broaden to others. The first idea chat is with my friend Tim Desmond, a Buddhist psychotherapist. In this conversation, we delved into Tim’s approach to working with the pesky “inner critic,” so pervasive in Western consumer culture. When you are beating yourself up for not being good enough, how can you stop?

Tim believes it is best to not ignore the inner critic but instead to soothe it and ask it what it needs. I’m developing my practice as a coach and am integrating various theories of how to work with the “inner critic” aka the “saboteur.” Enjoy and stay tuned for more. Who should I interview next? I have ideas and would love to hear yours too. I am curious widely.

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Posted in Idea Chats, Video

Staying sexy and connected in a phone-obsessed town

Posted on April 25, 2011 by sasha — No Comments ↓

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At long last, here’s the Commonwealth Club’s panel discussion on “The State of Sex and Dating in San Francisco.” I took part and so did three other insightful San Francisco thinkers Ethan Watters (Author, Urban Tribes); Nicole Daedone (Founder, OneTaste; Author, Slow Sex: The Art and Craft of the Female Orgasm) and N.W. Smith (Contributor, The Bold Italic).

One big theme was the sense of disconnection that people often feel in a big city now that we are all staring into our iPhones on public transportation. The moderator Violet Blue joked that’s how geeks flirt. I miss good old-fashioned eye contact.

After the panel a woman came up to me and told me she wanted to start a movement where people identify themselves as available for human contact and chatting in some way on BART trains (BART is the Bay Area’s subway system). As in wearing a feather, a handkerchief, a button. Something like that.

I’m open to all kinds of ideas because I think random contact with strangers is the most effervescent part of living in a dense area.

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Posted in Video

Totally In Love with Tango

Posted on January 15, 2011 by sasha — No Comments ↓

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Here are a few of my favorite dances from my two months in Buenos Aires. I am still very much a beginner and I have majorly benefited from immersing myself in the culture, dancing and taking classes nonstop for two months. This is a dream life and one I want to continue.

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Launching Quirkyalone in Santa Teresa, Rio de Janeiro (IN PORTUGUESE!)

Posted on May 15, 2010 by sasha — No Comments ↓

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It’s hard to believe that I actually pulled off a book event in Portuguese. I did it! Wow! Here’s the official book launch I did in Rio during a literary festival in Santa Teresa, Rio’s outrageously beautiful bohemian hilltop neighborhood (think Rio’s Montmartre but more musical–music always lilting or drums pounding).