DIGG
I am in the process of interviewing Juliet Annerino, who put together the Hotties 4 Ron Paul calendar. Juliet is also Ms. July.
I previously wrote about the calendar
here and here.
If anyone has any questions you think should be asked please ask in the comments, and I will be
updating the entry. Some questions have already been answered at the H4RP site.
UPDATE Jan. 5 We now have some Q & A but you can still add questions in the comments. I’ll see if I can get Juliet and/or some of the other calendar participants to stop by and answer if I get some questions.
Are you affiliated with the Ron Paul campaign?
No, Hotties4RonPaul is not directly involved with the campaign. H4RP was created by concerned freedom loving citizens, just like you.I want a Hotties4RonPaul Calendar! How do I order?
Ne simplified ordering instructions are in the purchase section above.
Do I still have to donate directly to the Ron Paul Campaign like before?
No, we are donating 40% of our proceeds to the campaign ourselves now. That is entirely included in the purchase price at this time!I’ve already max’d out my donations to the Ron Paul Campaign? Can I still get a calendar?
Yes! You may simply buy a calendar by going to our Purchase page.If you like, you may also contribute “Hotties4RonPaul” 2008 calendars to our vets of the “Paralyzed Veterans of America” and “Homes for Our Troops” oganisations, by simply clicking on the “Chip-in” button on our Purchase page and donating an amount of $8 or more to the cause.
Can I buy a calendar if I’m not a US citizen and live overseas?
Yes, you can! Just send us an e-mail with your full address to Hotties4RonPaul@Hotmail.com and we will let you know our cost for shipping and then bill you accordingly, before sending out your calendar(s).
What happens to the money collected on the Chip-in?
Two charities will be first; the “Paralyzed Veterans of America” (http://www.pva.org) and “Homes for Our Troops” (http://www.homesforourtroops.org/site/PageServer?pagename=homepage ) Our goal is to send 300 calendars to these veterans by raising $4,200. (If this amount is not reached we will simply donate as many calendars as we have donations for.) Thank you for your generous contribution to this worthy cause!Can I order more than one calendar? Yes! Just drop us a quick message at Hotties4RonPaul@Hotmail.com and let us know how many you would like. WE’ll take it from there to get your shipping costs right etc.
Note: Discounts are available for orders of 10 or more!
PC) How is this project different from other Ron Paul items like T-shirts, Slim Jims, bumper stickers, etc?
JA) This project has the unique potential to reach people at the office, garage, shop or other work place or home, who might never have heard of Ron Paul, without the aid of some one even talking about him, or even actually indicating that they are a Ron Paul supporter. In this way. it’s kind of an “innocent” way to promote Dr. Paul and his message of Freedom!
It works on it’s own merit, first as a conversation piece or simply a pretty thing to look at. Then it inspires curiosity and further investigation of Ron Paul and the movement by virtue of the Ron Paul quotes on each page with the matching quotes from great statesmen, authors and other great thinkers all echoing Dr. Paul’s philosophy. This makes the calendar a uniquely accessible, even “friendly” way to effectively reach many people who would otherwise not want to learn more about Dr. Paul!
These quotes, by the way, were chosen by me not just because they work well together, complimenting the words of Ron Paul with the words of visionaries like Thomas Jefferson and Martin Luther King Jr. , but because they also (for the most part), match the sentiment of the personal messages of the girls on each page, either in life experiences or personal philosophies.
As an artist, myself (composer, singer, writer, director) I see how powerful the arts – here demonstrated in the beauty of the photos and the poetry of the text – are, and always have been in shaping the way people, even whole civilizations, feel, respond, reason and form belief systems. Historically speaking, art creates change.
Behind every great socio-political movement has been a corresponding movement in art, literature, theatre (now, including television, movies and video) and of course music. The popularity of Dr. Paul on YouTube, arguably another art forum (as every video is a personal creation) in its own right, marks a profound zeitgeist or “spirit of the times”! At the vanguard of every socio-political movement have been and always will be the artists, because it is always the artist who feels the common human sentiment, the unspoken truths, the wave of change, most sensitively and most strongly. And it is always the artist who feels this sentiment, this truth, this wave of change to be absolutely unbearable unless expressed in a poetic form to as many other souls as humanly possible. It is this drive to feel and to then share that defines a person as an artist. And therefore the artist has and always will be an integral element of any profound socio-political movement.
PC) How did you come up with this idea?
JA) OK, I’ll lighten it up a bit here – hah! I was on one of my MeetUp pages and I was corresponding with some of my new friends there, seeing who was new, etc. I thought to myself, “Wow, we sure have some great looking people here supporting Ron Paul!” Then I thought that it would be cool for other people to see what a great group we had of not just beauty but brains…that maybe they might see that there are some really terrific Ron Paul supporters, beauties inside and out. I figured first off, that this might make them want to check out who these beauties were and just why were they supporting this 72 yr. old Doctor running for the presidency! Everyone likes to be in “good company”, after all…
PC) Have you been politically active long, and how did you get involved with the Ron Paul campaign?
JA) I was always a Libertarian at heart, since reading the Fountainhead in High school, but I was never political to the degree of supporting a political candidate or even voting for that matter. I just never thought my high ideals would ever find a place in the corrupt system I saw. Seeing Dr. Paul changed that for me.
I first heard of Ron Paul on Bill Maher’s show. Here was a true cynic, a sarcastic comic, respectfully calling some man I’d never heard of, his “new hero”. After hearing the reasons why Bill Maher liked Dr. Paul so much, that Dr. Paul wanted us to examine what our “enemies” were saying as reasons they attacked us, the scales fell from my eyes. Here was a man who was telling it like it is, who wasn’t afraid to state simple truths.
From that moment on, I began to watch 6 -12 Ron Paul videos a day on YouTube to learn more about him. I felt charged up and moved by his message. (Sometimes they made me weep!)
I was in the studio working on some new songs at the time and I decided to write some material addressing issues of freedom, including Ron Paul quotes, anti-war sentiments, etc. I would stay up all night reading more interviews with Dr. Paul, going through MySpace to find other supporters, leaving comments on the Ron Paul forums, everything! I was truly inspired. I joined 5 MeetUp Groups in 2 days. I bought a Ron Paul T-shirt to wear for every day of the week. I made iron-on shirts with Ron Paul slogans for everyone in my family! I made signs, I went to rallies, on marches, spoke to newspaper reporters and TV reporters. (I made the front page of the LA times and FOX News!) I hung posters over freeways late at night with my new guerrilla friends, canvassed and attended demonstrations. What a blast!
PC) How did you find the models for the calendar, and can you tell us more about any of them?
JA) Some of the models were girls I’d heard about , like Mona “Liv” Gillen, the Ron Paul Girl, and Michelle Shinghal, who I’d seen on the Tucker Carlson show. Other girls were suggested to me from guys on the forums who directed me to their MySpace pages. I found “Constance Strickland” through an ad I posted on Craigslist. She wrote to me the day after I posted and she was the only reply I got through that! Some of the girls, like “Gina Dumania” and “Courtney Carlisle” I found in my own MeetUp groups. I missed some obvious girls like Erin of Ron Paul Revolution Radio, and Christie “Psycho Bitch”, just because I didn’t know about them yet! Katharine is also working for Trevor Lyman and the Blimp, which is interesting. Krista, our February girl, is the one girl I actually never even spoke with, which was strange considering how close I became with some of the girls, Like Gina and Michelle. Krista’s boyfriend suggested her, sent in her info, pics and it just worked out great! Lisa Kelly is the founder of Redheads4RonPaul.com. All the girls are really activists, which I love!
PC) What do you think of how it turned out?
JA) I’m really happy with how it turned out, though it is not without a couple typos! I was not sleeping more than 4 hours a night for weeks working on it, contacting girls, writing, editing, art directing, photo-shopping (7 of the photos were done right here in my apartment, with my friend, and photographer, Fred Braham).
PC) How many calendars do you have, how many have you sold and how many do you have left?
JA) I had 500 printed. I just took a chance that this was a boss idea and put it all on a charge card! I sold about 50 in person at the Tea Party here in LA and about 300 on line. I’m bringing some to our next event, “Rock 4 Ron Paul” because we have girls coming in from other states for that event. If you want to know more about that, you can go to Safari-sams.com and/or H4RP
PC) Besides the Ron Paul campaign, the calendar is raising money for a couple of veterans charities. Can you tell us more about these?
JA) “Homes for Our Troops” is a great charity with an excellent reputation, suggested to me by Michelle Shinghal. They help to build special accommodations for our men and women who have served who are handicapped and need special facilities to function comfortably in their living arrangements. The Paralyzed Veterans of America is one of my personal favorites. I have been donating to them for many years now. They help our paralyzed vets and are always so grateful for any donations. They always have my heart.
PC) Some people have asked about a less G-rated version. Are there any plans you know of to put anything like that together?
JA) No! Sorry about that…I personally have no issues with nudity or sexiness, but I wanted to present this in a way that would maximize public exposure (no pun intended!) in order to reach as many people as possible.
PC) Who did the photoshoots, editing, etc.?
JA) We already talked about that pertaining to the girls here in LA, but the other 6 photos were taken by photographers/friends (of the girls in the other states)… boyfriends, girlfriends and other pros. Some really amazingly great shots!
PC) What have you learned from working on this project, and do you have other new campaign project you will be working on?
JA) I learned that there really are some great people who will do amazing things if motivated by a powerful cause! My next project is “Rock 4 Ron Paul” a multi-media event on Wednseday, Jan 16th in Hollywood at Safari Sam’s, 5214 W. Sunset Blvd. There will be live music, Dj’s, video shorts, comedy, full bar, full food menu, surprise special guests, calendars for sale…and cover charge is $10 with ALL of the proceeds going to the Call 4 Paul” Project.
PC) What other projects besides the campaign are you involved in which you would like to tell us about?
JA) Keep in mind, Paulie, I don’t work directly with the Ron Paul campaign, but am a volunteer. This means that I am not paid or endorsed by the official Ron Paul Campaign!
Apart from my political activities, I’m recording my next music album to be called “Lit!” independently. I’m also planning to do some touring to support the new record. I was playing some shows in Amsterdam and Paris this past June/July, so I will probably go back there, and might tour the Middle East and even India. A label in Goa, India has expressed interest.
PC) Besides hotties4ronpaul.com and the myspace page, are there any other resources you recommend for people who want to know more?
JA) I love Ron Paul Radio and Ron Paul Revolution Radio! And of course I still love YouTube!
Walt Thiessen also wrote a great review. It includes the pages for:
Melanie Ranza, Ms. November
Lisa Kelly, Ms. January
Another article about it is at
Just a Girl in short shorts talking about whatever, as well as
this one at Steve Gordon Unleashed and even this coverage in The LA Times. Girl in Short Shorts has the following:
Ms. August, Gina Dumania
Ms. December, Constance Strickland
Our own Michelle is featured in the calendar; here is a small version:
The calendar also has a myspace page.
Some of the women in the calendar can also be seen at Chicks and Politics which also has a
myspace page as well. Another page of interest is
Musicians and Hotties for Ron Paul.
Besides Michelle, the most famous woman in the calendar is Mona Gillen of Liv Films, known as the “Ron Paul Girl” for videos such as this one which promoted the Nov. 5 money bomb:
Liv’s page from the calendar:
Front Cover:
Back Cover:
Another project Juliet is working on:
Last Free Voice 