Laura Bo Creative

Category: DRAFT

  • Banned Words & Shit

    Banned Words & Shit

    Let’s start off with some context perhaps, but also let me drop in this nugget from the FCC so I can link back to it. And let’s keep in mind that I originally set out to discuss this is in relation to broadcasting on TV & radio, but on examination I realize it plays a part in how society views words, language, etc. for an entire generation or two or three or forever cyclically.

    For the purposes of this article specifically I am really referring to George Carlin’s “7 Dirty Words” but of course on looking into it, the rabbit hole got heated, and here we are.

    The “7 banned words” are famous English-language profanities first listed in George Carlin’s 1972 monologue. They are: shit, piss, fuck, cunt, cocksucker, motherfucker, and tits. These also became one of the funniest bits called “Family Reunion” on their live album in 1999. Somehow my bestie got her hands on a copy and we would listen to it secretly so our parents didn’t take the CD away.

    “Federal law prohibits obscene, indecent and profane content from being broadcast on the radio or TV.
    That may seem clear enough, but determining what obscene, indecent and profane mean can be difficult, depending on who you talk to.
    In the Supreme Court’s 1964 landmark case on obscenity and pornography, Justice Stewart Potter famously wrote: “I know it when I see it.” That case still influences FCC rules today, and complaints from the public about broadcasting objectionable content drive the enforcement of those rules.
    In other words, if you “know it when you see it” and find it objectionable, you can tell the FCC and ask us to check into it.

    Deciding what’s obscene, indecent or profane
    Each type of content has a distinct definition:
    Obscene content does not have protection by the First Amendment. For content to be ruled obscene, it must meet a three-pronged test established by the Supreme Court: It must appeal to an average person’s prurient interest; depict or describe sexual conduct in a “patently offensive” way; and, taken as a whole, lack serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value. Indecent content portrays sexual or excretory organs or activities in a way that is patently offensive but does not meet the three-prong test for obscenity.

    Profane content includes “grossly offensive” language that is considered a public nuisance. Factors in determining how FCC rules apply include the specific nature of the content, the time of day it was broadcast and the context in which the broadcast took place. Broadcasting obscene content is prohibited by law at all times of the day. Indecent and profane content are prohibited on broadcast TV and radio between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., when there is a reasonable risk that children may be in the audience.”

    THERE IS SO MUCH FOR ME TO PROCESS HERE BUT I DIGRESS. just kidding. that is not a word for me usually. However I do have a 4 year old who has been using the word “shit” and “fuck” or “fuckin” appropriately since she started speaking.

    and furthermore as I went to get this draft posted so I could continue the research I gagged at the updated google search results.

    Some things we will explore in this article or maybe series:

    Federal Government Funding & Communications: The current federal administration has circulated agency memos—compiled by organizations like PEN America—that flag over 350+ words for removal from official websites and grant proposals. Restricted or discouraged terms include “diversity,” “equity,” “inclusion,” “science-based,” “climate change,” “abortion,” and “Native American.”

    Corporate & Everyday Jargon: In its tongue-in-cheek compilation of overused, misused, or useless language, Lake Superior State University officially banished 2026 slang and buzzwords like “demure,” “cooked,” “massive,” “6-7,” and “incentivize.”

    Educational Materials: Organizations tracking educational censorship, such as the American Federation of Teachers, have identified ongoing guidelines that restrict specific offensive, trivial, or ethnocentric terms (e.g., banning “showman” as sexist or “hordes” for immigrants).

    This post was last updated July 8 2026. BRB.

  • Erin is Magic. She was and is my light.

    Erin is Magic. She was and is my light.

    This is the first draft of a 2 part post. This is long overdue, but something said, today was the day to share my OG notes. Some of these were semi-transcribed voice notes from some of my first sessions with her back in 2023.

    Dear Erin,

    I don’t know where to begin. I have thanked you over and over.

    first note to Erin (after the energetic essence reading)**
    Essence reading note to EPM – HOLY SHIT. I don’t know where to begin. I wish I could give you the biggest hug. I started to listen and read yesterday and immediately started crying (in a good way). So I put it down and waited until Thea went to sleep. THANK YOU. I needed this. I have been following your journey for a bit now, and you have been a light for me. It was not until last night that I realized why. I love your honesty, I love that you bring your true authentic self to the table.

    This was exactly how I have been feeling for far too long. I had an intense cry, because every single thing I thought was what you said right after. It was a little surreal to be honest. and not long ago I acknowledged it but still felt stuck. And while I know this isn’t an instant fix and it opened up a whole bag of things I have been trying to bury, I guess I needed to feel heard, and this reading made me feel HEARD and so SEEN. I guess I needed someone to just confirm my feelings, my thoughts, and put it into words for me.

    There is so much to unpack for me here. I recently and abruptly “quit” my job and offered them some time as a transition (and also for me to do income). It came out in a burst, and I didn’t feel ready to quit, but apparently my subconscious did. The transition is supposed to be through the end of June and now may extend through July

    Side Note: I have always been hesitant about tapping into my energy “stuff”. Maybe because I wasn’t ready to go there, and part of me knows it had to do with being embarrassed/ self-conscious (not the right word).

    voice notes transcription below
    Thank you Erin P
    Okay, so about let’s talk let’s start with a year ago but like 13 months ago, uh my buddy, Johnny Mitchell. Got married in February last year to this fucking awesome, girl named Erin. Um, We’ll go into our backstory briefly in a bit, but, uh, maybe I need to do it now.

    The the first time I met Erin was at Erin’s apartment, I got shithoused because I was meeting two of my best guy college friends new girlfriends, at the same time, in the same night… And I felt so uncomfortable. (for context: I used to drink a lot when it came to social situations that was how I “loosened up”.)That was how I became the “fun girl”. Uh, also the girl that didn’t know when to stop.

    Back on topic. So Erin and I didn’t really talk. We I’ve started following her online. John and Erin got married. Let me just say I fucking love them, I love her. Uh, She has been the light for me.

    Um, And we’re coming up on a year now. I guess of the start of my healing Journey, if you will, um, And forgive me for the Sarcastic tone. When I say healing Journey, I It’s just the language makes me feel uncomfortable. We’re working on that. Back on topic.

    I’m going through my journals. So, like A year, literally a year ago, Erin offered a I think, um, it was like a past life regression session. I signed up for it, it was a free thing. I was like, you know what, let me check this out. I wasn’t ready to spend money, I think out of fear, which is dumb, I don’t know why people are so scared of paying for things that help them. Like you spend money on bullshit and the things and the Superficial shit, that you think helps you but it’s really just a coping mechanism anyway.

    So I did this past life reggression thing. It took me three tries to do it by myself and I had a fucking trip and it was like an Awakening if you will. So, I followed her, her honesty really helped me give grace to myself and accept that shit is hard sometimes. I’m not explaining this well and I’m trying so hard to not get off topic, but anyway, I did a couple of the free things with her. I finally reached out and I said, “hey, I wanted to do something with you. I’m not sure what” She had a couple offers available at the time. “So I said, I’m interested in this and I’m also interested in this, but I don’t know what’s right for me. Like, what do you think?”

    She offered to do a combo session for me.

    And that was July 11th, 2023. Um, just so everyone knows. I’m talking right now and it’s it’s March 13th 2024. Anyway, uh In that session. Uh, she told she Told me about human design. Of course I’m like. What the fuck? Here we go. Uh, and then she just Started talking.

    Now this girl doesn’t know me very well at this point. She only knows what she’s seen online or what she’s heard from John or our other friends and you know, whatever, whatever it may be. What do I know? Uh, Every single thing she said. Always just like, I was like, are you in my fucking brain?

    It was it was like she was in there. Being like, this is exactly how you feel. And she would say exactly how I was feeling before. I could even get the words out. I think the biggest thing that I got from that first call with her, Was. Rest, um, not letting myself rest giving my permit.

    Giving myself permission Be myself and do my shit. And I it was like I needed her to give me permission to rest. And honestly, I don’t think that session went how she probably would have intended it but it was everything I needed and then some Um, She’s the reason why I quit my toxic job and I mean that as a thank you.

    I am so grateful. She had me put a day on it and I did and I quit, it took me three times. My company was not trying to let me quit. Uh, and I quit. Um, That, that was the end of July, so August of 2023.

    And I know this whole post is gonna have to get broken down into a few, but the point of this is that I am so eternally grateful for Erin and showing me human design among other things.

    Here we are in 2026, so many things have changed and stayed the same. I have so much more to say on the updated topcs and my latest experiences with Erin.

    But I’m going to tap out of this one for now… But i leave you with some ways to learn more about Erin P on your own terms. I would pay her all my money at this point for the snippets of knowledge and truth she shares. She has been a force and guiding light in my life and I am not sure where I would be without her.

    Find Erin P on instagram [@erinpanzarella]
    Check out her resources via her linktree here.

  • Random Visual Thoughts 1

    stay curious

  • Costume by Request – always YES!

    Costume by Request – always YES!

    My kiddo was invited to a friend’s birthday party, it was a costume party, and that was a very important part of the invitation, so naturally we took it very seriously. Before I could even ask if she knew what she wanted to be she screamed out
    “I AM GOING TO BE A MAGIC KITTY CAT WITH WINGS AND A WAND. AND PINK. okay mom, that’s what I am going to be”
    After some further discussions on details, there was a plan.

    SKETCH pix coming soon*

    I was raised to DIY. I actually love making costumes (in theory). I hate making them halfway through the process, but I cannot explain how much I love seeing how PROUD she is when she puts it on in the end.

    I tried to throw some photos together of the pieces. On Party day, she didn’t wear the sweatshirt cardigan “because it didn’t have a zipper”, so that is back on the adjustment pile.
    The tail got beat, so it needs some reinforcements. She’s obsessed with the wings, so we will be exploring more shapes and materials there this spring/summer.
    And of course her favorite part of it was the pink disco ball wand (better photos coming soon). She asked for paw covers which I made out of socks and felt, but really they were just fingerless gloves with a heart patch.

    Now I just need to practice making stuff for her without needing her to try it on, she refuses most of the time, and I get it… this time around we learned she DOES NOT and WILL NOT wear rough/itchy tulle anything. More to come soon. Now taking questions.

  • Bob’s Burgers for Swag By FOX | #imadethis (circa 2016)

    Bob’s Burgers for Swag By FOX | #imadethis (circa 2016)

    Back in 2016, I was making 90% of the content that was being put out by the Swag By Fox consumer merch brand. I begged my roommate at the time to get in the non-heated community pool at our complex in Van Nuys. It might have been spring? Thank you Shane for helping me make one of my ALL time favorite little bits EVER.

  • hello spring. an obsession with flowers. the pinks.

    hello spring. an obsession with flowers. the pinks.

    it all started when….

  • Collage Confetti Cuts Part 1 #imadethis

    Collage Confetti Cuts Part 1 #imadethis

    I like watercolor. I like patterns. I like to process and sort. confetti became a side quest hobby during covid. These were from some of my favorites.

  • Main Street Ads: Spring 2026

    Main Street Ads: Spring 2026

    My new window install is going in this week, and then I am getting to work on the new ad spots being offered in my window on Main Street in Cairo. Looking forward to connecting with more of the local business owners here and chase some new sparky projects.

    Looking for info on the window ads, get started here

  • The Magic Screen

    In January I felt the need to update my office window in town. I no longer am using the space as an office for a whole list of reasons, but I have a fabulous window on Main Street here in town. I had measured the center window and the 2 side panels. Stared at it, and suddenly decided a cardboard etch-a-sketch would become the installation.

    I am the worst at capturing the process. I just want to DO the thing….

    this was the window at night

    i put up a little bulletin board on the side with my logo and a brief history of the magic screen:


    The Etch A Sketch, invented by French electrician André Cassagnes in the late 1950s as L’Écran Magique, became a global phenomenon after the Ohio Art Company launched it in the U.S. in 1960, using TV ads to popularize the toy that creates drawings by displacing aluminum powder on a screen with knobs controlling a stylus, offering endless creative fun with a shake to erase. It’s an iconic toy, selling millions and earning a spot in the National Toy Hall of Fame, evolving from its glass-screen origins to more child-safe versions.

  • WORD SHIT: Efficient

    Efficient

    [əˈfiSHənt] adjective

    (especially of a system or machine) achieving maximum productivity with minimum wasted effort or expense.

    productive of desired effects especially : capable of producing desired results with little or no waste (as of time or materials)

    These days corporate beans are hyper-focused on productivity, efficiency and growth. Upon inspection of said beans, it appears that the more corporate the bean, the less efficient the bean.

    Let me explain:

    To be continued….

  • Undefined – Fear of Labels – part 1

    Undefined – Fear of Labels – part 1

    Context. Interpretation. Understanding. Judgement. Acceptance. Definition. Perspective. Experience. Knowledge. Algorithm. Rabbit Hole. Blinders.

    “What do you do?” is a common conversational question, it can have a variety of meanings, depending on the context of the question, the tone of the questioner, and the perception of all parties involved.

    I do a lot of things. Don’t label me. Don’t put me in a box. Don’t assume you know me based on anything.

    Are you an artist? sometimes. Are you a parent? Yes. Do you work? yes. What kind of work do you do? can you be more specific?

    I can’t take a compliment, because I wasn’t raised receiving them.

    It’s different now. I finally reached a point of realization, a place of knowing that I can’t control what anyone thinks of me, and I was never here to be approved. I know myself, I know who I am, I know what I like, I know what I am good at, I know my strengths and weaknesses. I am not here to be tolerated.

    To be continued….

  • How to overcome stupidity.

    How to overcome stupidity.

    This morning I asked myself if it was possible to overcome stupidity, and perhaps the word close-minded would be better suited for the true question. Is it possible to explain something in a way that will make the person understand, care, or empathize?

    Less then an hour later, upon opening my Instagram for a brief moment of doomscroll, a quote by Mark Twain was front and center.

    No amount of evidence will ever persuade an idiot.
    – Mark Twain

    The quote itself was set to a chill instrumental version of gangsta’s paradise, with a black and white video of water crashing behind it.

    It was in that moment that I was reminded yet again on how much energy is wasted when I attempt to explain my perspective to someone who gives no fucks about it. For now the goal is to focus on recognizing and bringing awareness to myself when I begin to spiral into explanation. To stop. Take a moment. Say nevermind and walk away.

  • A name is a name – but what’s up with the personal branding BS? What happened to self-identity?

    I have changed my name a lot. Some were nicknames, some were legit, legally on paper (read part 1 here). I have also built my own brand at least a dozen times — Each time I would tear down the previous version, and start from scratch, rebuild it to something completely new… Only to feel “over it” by the time I got to the end. LOL for me.

    Only a handful of those have ever seen the light of day. Most only briefly. A moment where I was so proud and so excited of my “new creation”. And ya know I would go and share it with some people (like a special sneak preview). I would share it with my besties who would say “WOOT that’s awesome! I don’t get it, but it’s awesome!” And I would share it with a person in my industry/field, usually someone that I respected or admired. Sometimes I would show my mom – that ended pretty early –

    Anyway, those brand versions were really just my identity all packaged up. Which would change every few years based on whatever current special interest I had, or visual I had locked into.

    Now, I would imagine You’ll have the people coming for me saying, “Well, you shouldn’t care.” No shit. I’m working through that. I’m 36. I’m a mom now. Or the people saying “oh, well it just wasn’t the right timing” Sure, no problem.

    You can tell me whatever you think I want to hear or perhaps whatever you think you want to hear.

    As far as why past brand iterations didn’t work? I don’t really care. Trying to understand why is not helping me today or tomorrow. All I know is that my biggest mistake, my biggest failure and regret is not just doing it. Waiting for external validation and approval…

    Here’s the thing when it comes to “just doing it”. Once upon a time, I had this extreme sense of “Fuck the world”. And my mother would tell me “you’re so angry and you hate the world” and blah, blah, blah and like, yeah, maybe I did. Because it was hard as a teenager and try to wrap your head around the fact that your own mother who adopted you HATES you.

    I absolutely am angry. I have every right to be.

    THE BO YEARS – no W
    I used to try and make my whole brand, my identity. Uh maybe you knew me at the Laura bo phase. Uh, for those of you don’t know,
    My middle name is not BO. I have five bow tattoos, I have five ribbon tattoos, right? And I got three of them the summer just before I went to college my freshman year and two of them within the first year of college.

    It doesn’t matter. The point is, is Why was it Bo not b-o-w? Because the first time I had it as “bow”, people said oh it’s “Laura bow” like the pronunciation was BAO. They assumed it was my last name. So I dropped the W. Back then my last name was still my fathers, MARFILIUS.

    THE FIONA YEARS
    I was just barely 18. Took me three more years to take my mom’s last name. Maybe you met me in high school during my Fiona years, right? Uh, it technically. Started, when I went to Camp, Sleepway camp, the same year I got kicked out of camp.

    But I decided that, hey, I don’t know these fucking people. I see them for a few weeks out of the year and I don’t want to be Laura right now, right? Because I thought Laura sucked. And so I said, fine, I’m going to be Fiona and I was Fiona. Up until my freshman year of high school, where there was already a Fiona.

    Her real name was Fiona. And obviously F comes before L in the in the alphabet. Um, and so I decided to go by Laura that year. That blip. The following year when I was shipped off to boarding school in Vermont, I went back to Fiona. I didn’t grow up with the name, Fiona, I didn’t have nicknames. I always wanted a nickname. I didn’t know the, uh, the the ugly side of nicknames.

    To be continued…

  • What Makes A Good Parent?

    In the midst of my increasingly ugly divorce with my soon to be ex-husband we continue to “disagree” on some seemingly universal basics. Now while some of you may be thinking — just don’t talk to him. Move out. Be the bigger person. Please kindly and disrespectfully fuck off. Three years of silence and being the bigger person got me here to this exact point.

    So after a quick google search of “what makes a good father?” for the comic relief, followed by the same search of “what makes a good mother?” it has occured to me that society in this country is FUCKED. (As if we didn’t already know this.)

    Below are the two images of the top things listed for each search as prepared by google.

    As noted these were compiled from various sources across the web. WHAT IN THE ACTUAL FUCK THOUGH?

    *Please note I am fully aware of what MY definition of a good parent is on both sides. We will get to that.

    Can we just talk about the apologize when necessary first?

    To be continued….

  • Stop being so polite..

    Stop being so polite..

    Stop being so polite, and try being honest.

    It has recently come to my attention, awareness, or top of mind that I often find myself surrounded by a bunch of people so worried about offending someone, that nobody wants to say anything at all.

    Enough with the judgement, can we try to lead with curiosity?

    Come from a place of understanding, or wanting to understand. Enough with the judgements, the assumptions, the snarky passive-aggressive bullshit.

    Say what you mean and mean it.

  • Memory Exercise

    Memory Exercise

    For now I am calling this a memory exercise, and perhaps it should come with some sort of warning, because it may or may not unpack baggage.

    Close your eyes and think back to when you were a kid, perhaps sometime in elementary school. Try to find a memory of an event, a holiday party, a school assembly, county fair, but it would be a place where you would be with your family, your parents or caregivers.

    Pick one. They are deep in conversation with their friends, chit chatting away. You catch a glimpse of your name as you pass by, and it peaks your curiosity. What is being said? How is your parent describing you? What words or tone can you hear, feel, or remember?

    This happened to me recently, trying to think back on how my mother used to speak about me, how she spoke to me publicly, privately, how she spoke about me with one friend, vs. how she spoke about me when she thought no one was listening, when she thought I wasn’t listening or when she thought I was… A series of words came up.

    To be continued…

  • Crazy Bear Lady, Crazy Bird Lady.

    My Grandma was an artist, she was my father’s mother. Everyone called her eccentric. Her house was covered in plants and paintings, she had cats, and the best climbing tree in her front yard. She fed the birds and the squirrels, and pretty much all of the critters that came to visit. She also liked to “chase bears” out of the neighborhood and back into the forest. They called her the crazy bear lady, and she was the absolute BEST.

    Sometimes I forget how much I adored and admired her. She spent all day painting things and talking to the animals, it sounded like the best life to me as a kid. We lost touch shortly after I cut contact with my dad, and i wish we hadn’t. After she passed, no one told me, so all of her art went who knows where and I was lucky enough to have 3 paintings given to me, one of them was of me, and I have the matching photo.

    I love birds. I always have. As a kid I wanted my superpower to be flight, I wanted to fly. When I moved into my current apartment, I was ecstatic to have such a busy backyard. Mind you, this is Ridgewood, Queens.We had squirrels, Cardinals, Blue Jays, Mourning Doves, the little chickadees, Starlings, Catbirds, Woodpeckers, and most recently the Crows have moved into the neighborhood, and a Hawk has made it’s home nearby (like in the trees that border my yard nearby).

    I have a special place in my heart for Cardinals and Crows. I taught my daughter to ‘call’ for the crows by calling. They always come.

    To be continued….

  • Questions on a Friday

    Why do people ask “How are you?” if they don’t truly want to know?

    Why does it always feel like someone is offended by the difference of opinion?

    When did the general public get so fucking lazy?

    Who makes all the rules?

    How does advice become cliche quotes/ sayings?

    Why were we told not to burn our bridges down?

  • I don’t tiptoe, I STOMP.

    Everybody is weird these days, maybe awkward is a better way to describe it. But the more I am aware of it, the more I notice people tiptoeing around or dancing around conversations, questions, initiatives, actions, etc. Maybe it’s just me, but I can’t help but wonder WHY — How did we get here? Is it because of COVID and all of the isolation? Is it corporate america taking over? Is it the internet? Is it the apps? Is it helicopter parents? At this point I can only imagine it is some combination of things, and see it from my own perspective, so here’s what i know.

    Why are conversations so hard? Small talk fucking sucks.

    To be continued…

  • A Name Is A Name Is A Name.

    What’s in a name? That famous quote by Shakespeare. I googled ‘famous quotes about names’ and a few stuck out — not sure if I qualify them as famous persay.

    “Names are powerful things. They act as an identity marker and a kind of map, locating you in time and geography. More than that, they can be a compass”  – Bookroo

    “There’s power in naming yourself, in proclaiming to the world that this is who you are” – Brainyquote [i question this source, but will save that for another time.

    “Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom” –Aristotle.

    A cliche one for good measure “Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken” – Oscar Wilde.

    There is a common saying that feels ingrained in my head from my younger years “Make a name for yourself” it always felt so intimidating and permanent — until it didn’t. Sure it is still intimidating, but it did not take long for me to realize that a name is not permanent, neither is a reputation. I have changed my name legally 3 times. I just straight up made up a new name when I was 12 and told people at camp that my name was Fiona — I carried that name with me through my high school years at boarding school. I went back to Laura in college, but again, we were in a new place, so I made up my own nickname “Bo” and Laura Bo has stuck with me ever since.

    To be continued…