Aaron’s Opinion

Hi there

So, I’m demo Scotland, UK. IM 56 years old (nearly 57 yikes, where are the years disappearing to….)

I’ve been involved with music since ,y teens, since High School Bands, and Musical Theatre productions locally. Never really did anything with the bands, we wrote so,e stuff together but only played live a handful of times, and changing line-ups of the bands often caused ‘creative conflict’ as I’m quite a strong personality and if I jace my mind set on a musical direction, I won’t waver from it, a mindset that often caused conflict 🤣

So throughout my twenties and thirties music kinda went on the back burner. I was still writing and recording occasionally, but without any real drive. Fast forward to late 30s and I jad that moment when it was like ‘OMG Iim nearly 40, I’ve got all this stuff and I’m not doing anything with it” so I started writing more often. However it wasn’t until late 2015 that o decoded to step it up a gear. I jad a song ‘Discotheque’ on YouTube, and entered ot for the (now defunct) global u signed music chart, which was compiled from listeners votes, and lo and behold it hit number 1 and stayed there for 4 weeks.

My then-partner Robert persuaded me to release something ‘properly’ so I signed up with a distribution company and released my first proper single ‘Passing Thoughts’. This was released on 25th January 2026. However, tragedy struck as a Robert passed away that very day after a short illness. I was completely devastated. Then, not long after, my Dad got diagnosed with a terminal brain tumour. It was all too much for me to deal with, and I reckon this is what caused my stroke later in the year which caused my sight problems. Ever since childhood, my left eye had been very weak with limited vision while my right eye was OK, sods law the stroke took out the optic nerve of my good eye,,. It took six months to actually discover I’d had a stroke as ai hadn’t suffered any of the normal side effects, and due to my Dads condition they were testing me for all sorts of things.

So I adapted fairly quickly, and even went through college to study for a HNC in a counselling, was doing great with that and only needed to do another uear to qualify then covid came along and threw a spanner in the works.

I know you said a short paragraph haha but felt I ha to get all the important bits in jere, anything else can come up in conversation, although for personal reasons I don’t really want to talk about Robert’s death.

So there it is. Hope you’re interested, I knownO certainly would be up for getting my music a wider audience! And also, I have a really positive attitude and have been told I’m inspirational, which sometimes can be quite embarrassing but quite nice at the same time.

Here’s my links

Facebook music page

https://www.facebook.com/profi...

Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/neil...

X

@neil908uk

Look forward to hearing from you 😀



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Dedicated professional with over 30 years of experience in the art business, including extensive involvement in gallery management, event organization, and community engagement. Skilled in marketing, display, promoting, and social media. Committed to fostering education and appreciation of art while ensuring customer satisfaction. Proven track record of successful leadership and collaboration in both business and advocacy roles.

Organized over 200 group and solo exhibitions, and hosted numerous events.
Represented location of l and regional artists, while providing top-quality custom framing.
Implemented successful fundraisers benefiting the National Federation of the Blind.

Selected Achievements and Engagements:
Spoke at conferences and events on topics ranging from art education to sight-loss.
Currently serving on the Operations Board of World Services for the Blind. President of the Central Chapter of the National Federation of the Blind of Arkansas.
Featured in media outlets such as Radio Western, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, The Braille Monitor, and Nation’s Blind podcast.

Education:
Bachelor of Arts in Humanities
Hendrix College, Conway, AR
1988

Contact Information:
Cindy Scott-Huisman
Cantrell Gallery
8202 Cantrell Road
Little Rock, AR 72227
Hours

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Dear Aaron,

Thank you so much for inviting me to be a guest on Aaron's Opinion, I'd be happy to accept.

A bit about myself: my name is Demir Ajvazi, I'm 34 (turning 35 this September), from Beočin, Serbia. I have a degree in English Language and Literature, but since I couldn't find work in that field in Serbia, I currently work repairing and selling mobile phones. I'm married and we have a 20-month-old child. My wife is a musician, and together we run a YouTube channel where she creates and publishes children's songs.

I've been fascinated by computers for as long as I can remember, and I started programming back in elementary school. After a long break, I got seriously back into it once I got married.

The project I'd most like to talk about is Ultra Creative Suite, two applications I'm currently building: Ultra Video Editor and Ultra Audio Editor. The video editor came out of pure necessity - once my wife started creating content for YouTube, we needed someone to handle editing, and we didn't want to keep relying on sighted friends for help. So I decided to build something myself that I could use completely independently. Over time it grew into a real production tool - it now covers everything needed for professional video editing, plus a good amount of AI-powered functionality (automatic lyric analysis, stock footage selection, color grading, subtitles, and more). The audio editor is still in development, so I won't say too much about it yet.

What matters most to me, and what sets these apps apart, is that they're fully accessible with screen readers on Windows (JAWS, NVDA). This isn't a stripped-down "accessible mode" - it's a full professional tool that a blind person can use completely independently, from importing media all the way to rendering the finished video in 4K.

For more details, the project is on GitHub: https://github.com/demirajvazi...

You can also find me on Facebook if you'd like to reach out or check my profile: https://www.facebook.com/demir...

Feel free to let me know what recording date works for you, and if there's anything specific you'd like me to prepare beforehand.

Thanks again for the invite, looking forward to the conversation.

Best regards,
Demir Ajvazi

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Aaron, thank you for your interest in Sideways Innovations, LLC. My name is Stephen Poirier, alias Blind Yoda. I noticed at a very young age that I could not see well but my teachers thought I was simply lazy. When I told them I could not see through the cloud on the chalkboard, they did not understand. This was confusing to me and my family since I knew I had a problem. I saw many specialists without results. Though I was able to participate in sports, my academic abilities were very limited. When I turned 14 years old, I was finally diagnosed with Juvenile Macular Degeneration which is now known as Stargardt disease. At this point I was declared legally blind. Music became my only focus, mainly drumming. At 22 years of age I finally had to accept my blindness and attended the Carroll Center for the Blind. During one of my mobility trainings, a man taking a right hand turn hit my blind mobility cane, knocking it out of my hand. He stopped and said, “I did not see you”. I replied, “If I had a light saber you would have seen me and I would have cut your car in half!” Hence, the concept of the Light Sword was born! Fast forward 40 or so years later, I created the Light Sword Blind Mobility Cane out of a modified light saber. Today, my focus is to bring vision to the sighted, enabling them to better see the blind community at night in a cool and stylish way.


Looking forward to talking with you!


Stephen

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About Me:
My name is Natalie Kay Hamlin. I’m a writer, content creator, and advocate focused on vision‑loss awareness, emotional intelligence, and lived‑experience education. I was born with chorioretinitis and I also experience Charles Bonnet Syndrome, so a lot of my work centers around explaining these conditions in a way that’s honest, accessible, and human.
I create educational content, personal narratives, and community‑building posts across my platforms, and I’m passionate about helping others understand what life with low vision and CBS actually looks like.
Platforms:
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/natal...
YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/@NatalieArmstrongcreate
My Book:
https://a.co/d/0gaEY2mR
If you need anything else — a shorter bio, a headshot, accessibility notes, or specific topics you’d like me to prepare — just let me know. I’m happy to provide whatever you need to make the episode smooth on your end.
Thank you again for the opportunity. I’m looking forward to it.
Warmly,
Natalie Armstrong

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