A Squeeze Bottle Of Creativity

If creativity is a faucet, most of our pipes are clogged.

Unfortunately for all of us, epiphanies cannot be delivered in less than thirty minutes. Yet in almost every creative situation, we are put on a time limit that forces us to churn out work. Whether it be for a job or just to survive, writers have to write and painters have to paint, even when nothing inspires them at that moment.

For anyone out there who has ever had to be creative at the drop of a hat, you know it hurts. To put out work that you don't believe in can break your soul. But don't distress, it's not all bad.

No matter what your medium, there are always rules to adhere to. The basic rules that have to happen for art to succeed are always there, no matter what your project. And all of those forced project make you practice those rules over and over again. It trains you. It makes you harder. That way, when you actually do have a project you believe in, you don't get swept up and forget the basics.

So next time you have a forced project, embrace it and practice those rules. Then it will shock everyone so much more when you break them.


And the Word of the Day is...
Randomocity

Force Of Will

Mental projection. The ability to project your consciousness outward. Trust me, we do it all the time.

What do you think talking is?

If anything, it's hard to find a time when we are interacting with others where we are not trying to project our own consciousness onto others. Think about it. Every discussion you've ever had is you attempting to share, force, or justify your viewpoint to someone else.

Let's face it; it's what we do as human beings.

Every single piece of art and culture is simply mental projection. Every single book or article or blog is saying the exact same thing. See what I see, hear what I hear, believe what I believe.

Understand me.

More importantly, accept me.

So what's so fucking great about being accepted in the first place?


And the Word of the Day is:
Conglomeration

Momentum

Never stop moving.

No matter what happens, never stop moving forward. Never stagnate, never become complacent. Because when we become complacent, we've stopped living and just started being.

An uneventful life isn't life at all, it's only existing. If all you want to do in life is take up space and pay taxes, then have fun.

But I have to believe there is more. I have to believe that we're put on earth to do more than just exist.

And frankly, what's the point in living if it's not going to be interesting?


And the word of the day is:
Forward Momentum

Quality vs. Quantity

Just because you're in the majority does not make you right, and just because you're in the minority does not make you wrong.

Don't get me wrong, democracy is a great system. For better or worse, it has gotten this country where it is today. It may have failed us in the past (cough, Bush, cough), but it still has merit for a system of government.

Yet some people have forgotten that the majority only rules when it comes to voting. If something is right, it's right. Period. No matter how many idiots think it is wrong, it is right.

The most obvious example is science. A fact is a fact. It is not open to interpretation. To matter how many people believe you can fall up, it'll never actually happen. That said, I still encourage you to keep trying.

But some morals are indisputable as well. Perhaps those morals are not written in a book or taught by our parents, but inherent to human beings. Whether you believe in God, Karma, reincarnation or Muhammad, punishment for sins is universal.

But maybe you aren't punished when you break some arbitrary rule written in some ancient tome that's been translated and interpreted more times then Oprah's gained that weight back.

Maybe we are punished when we do in our hearts or souls or brains what we know to be wrong.

And frankly, I'd be OK in a world where morals were not decided by a majority, but by what we all know is right and wrong.


And the word of the day is:
Open To Translation

The Pop Culture Cult

Why do I care about Britney Spears?

Don't get me wrong, I don't care. I'm speaking in a more metaphorical sense. When I say I, I speak for the common people of America. The people that buy the tabloids and watch the specials on CNN about the downfall of America's former sweetheart.

But why is this on CNN? And why does anyone care in the first place?

Let's be honest; at best, Spears was a mediocre singer. At worst, she was horrible at karaoke. A girl who became famous by being a virgin. Unique, but not impressive.

In the midst of the primaries for a new president, it seems odd that so much time is devoted to the life of Britney Spears and her family. Shouldn't more time be spent on the families of the candidates instead?

Or should it?

Why should I care how old John McCain's wife is? Or how often Barack Obama's son goes to church? Shouldn't the issues matter more? Or are we as a nation so obsessed with drama that we have to dig into the lives of pseudo-celebrities and elected officials? Don't we have enough drama in our own lives?

But then again, our drama isn't on the evening news.


And the word of the day is:
Useless

Modern Philosophy

Philosophers are useless.

Think about it. Have you ever met a philosopher? Not a philosophy teacher, but a true, honest to God philosopher.

I'm guessing you haven't.

You've never had this conversation before:
You-"What do you do for a living?"
Him-"I'm a philosopher."
You-"Do you get dental with that?"

There's a good reason you've never met a philosopher before. Because they're outdated. No one wants to sit around and be told how they're living their life the wrong way. Well, except for Catholics.

Yet there is no lack of philosophy out in the world today. But now it's masquerading in a more entertaining form.

Comedy.

Comedians are the modern philosophers. I've never had my life changed by someone spouting philosophy, but have had my views changed by a man behind a microphone. By making people laugh at society, comedians point out the cracks in our lives, and do it in a way that is far more accessible than a lecture hall.

So laugh at the clowns. But listen to what they say, because it might just change your life.


And the word of the day is:
Modern Philosopher

The Greatest Villian Ever

It's sad Heath Ledger died. It really is. He was talented and not a whoring douche bag, like most celebrities. But at least his final part will be as the greatest villain of all time. The Joker.


The Joker is, definitively, the greatest villain ever created. He is, without a doubt, completely insane in a way few people can ever imagine. Such an instability is actually the Joker's greatest asset, as he in completely unpredictable. At any given moment he could kill a room full of school children or give them all lollipops, whichever he deems funnier at the moment.

But perhaps The Joker's insanity isn't quite so insane at all?

It has been theorized that The Joker's insanity isn't insanity at all, but in fact a form of super-sanity. A way for a normal man to deal with the all of the cruelty and barbarism found in the world today. A way for a person to match the insanity of the world around him.

The Joker is a cracked reflection of society, twisted and bent to show us all of our flaws and inhumanities.

So maybe The Joker isn't insane at all. Maybe The Joker is more in touch with society than all of us.

And maybe, just maybe, because The Joker accepts the world while we deny it, we're the crazy ones, not him.

Maybe we just don't get the joke.


And the word of the day is:
New Religion

Does Anybody Not Want To Be President?

Can we end the madness?

I'm already sick of an election that's more then 9 months out. That's longer then it takes to make a baby. I don't want to hear about it anymore.

I don't care about the candidates because we don't have any yet. We have potential candidates. None of them actually matter until they are officially endorsed, and even then, they're all full of shit anyway.

Let's face it; politicians are full of shit. Anyone truly qualified doesn't want to run anyway. Why would you? It's a high stress job with lots of criticism and relatively little pay. The only type of people who want to be president are glory seekers looking to seal their place in the history books, and quite frankly, if that's their motivation, they shouldn't be president anyway.

The only people qualified to be president are the ones who don't want the job. The best leaders have always been people with no intentions of glory. Sadly, they just don't seem to want to campaign for the job they don't want.

So when you go to vote, vote for someone who doesn't want to be president. Doesn't really matter who, since odds are your vote won't matter anyway.


And the word of the day is:
Political Corruption

Just Listen To The Whole Sentance

I'm sick of this shit with words.

I'm going to say it once and for all: there are no bad words.

Words can't be bad. Words are neutral. They have no good or bad inflection, only their intended meaning. A word by itself can't offend anyone, because there is no context.

It is the context that makes a word offensive. And I'm sick of words with no context being offensive. When I can't define the word cunt because people find it offensive, something needs to change.

Here's a little social experiment to try; find a white comedian willing to do the routine of a black comedian, word for word, and see what happens. Have the audience listen to both of them, and see what their reaction is. Same words, different context, different reaction.

It is when we forget about context that we open ourselves up to blind censorship. When a word is labeled as "bad" it can becomes banned without thought. But taking context into account forces people to think and be rational, and thinking, rational human beings are censorship's worst enemy.

So use those words labeled "bad," and when you're scolded for using them, simply explain the context. Anyone with half a brain stem should understand and not be offended.

And quite frankly, it is the people who cling to their political correctness that offend me the most.


And the word of the day is:
Facists

The New Economy

It always seems like those destined to save society are the ones most shunned by it.

Previously, it was the intelligent. The nerds and geeks being shoved in gym class and never went to school dances are now some of the richest and most powerful men in the world. You think Bill Gates ever got laid in high school?

Yet today it is those people leading the country, and keeping our economy alive. In a world where anything can be made cheaper in a country without labor laws and then shipped here, it is the ultra-intelligent that keep us ahead of the rest of the world.

But this is changing.

The world is beginning to catch up. Other countries with far superior educational systems are coming up with technologies we aren't even close to. For the first time ever, GM is not the largest manufacturer of cars in the world. Toyota has passed GM as the leading producer of cars not due to their lower standards, but because of their inventions in hybrid technology.

So who will save us when the intelligent can not?

Well, now we will be saved by yet another shunned group.

The creative.

The creative class. The bohemians. Those people with tattoos all over their body who go to see shows and local bands. The people with artistic talent and design sense. The right-brainers.

Intellect can be trained from a young age, but you can't teach someone what makes a design appealing. You can't train creativity. It must be absorbed, through culture, something that America still has in spades.

And the artists will lead us into the next age of the American economy.


And the word of the day is:
The Creative Class

The Beauty Of The Internet

In my random wanderings through the inter-web, I happened upon this nifty little flow chart.


At first glance, I was delighted! Finally, someone has replaced Rock, Paper, Scissors! At yet a closer examination offers only trouble.

Aside from the obvious fact that ninjas could beat all of them, there are more technical issues with this flow chart of awesomeness. A pirate drowning a robot?! Pure idiocy. No pirate could drown a robot, because robots don't breathe! Well, except for lame robots.

And while I have no doubt that a ninja could defeat a zombie, decapitating a zombie would not work. It would only result in a animated severed head hungry for ninja flesh.

Despite this, I'm glad to see that this 5-point star of awesomeness exists. Yet my heart still yearns for the day when all of them are combined into one super creature to rule us all. That's right: The Monkey-Robot-Zombie-Ninja-Pirate.

You might ask: Besides really flippin' cool, what is The Monkey-Robot-Zombie-Ninja-Pirate?

To answer your query, it is quite obviously a robot modeled after a monkey specimen that is programed with martial arts skills that becomes infected with a virus that makes him crave human flesh after discovering that he loves to sail the high seas.

All I can say is that the Writer's Guild strike needs to end now so this masterpiece can be written, filmed, and receive its 12 Oscars.


And the word of the day is:
Greatest Holiday Ever

Let The Evolution Begin

It's time to let the chips fall where they may.

Modern society has negated evolution. Modern medical science has coddled the weak and the sick, those that would normally be eaten or left behind to fend for themselves in the harsh jungle wilderness. Society has shifted.

We value brains, not brawn.

Now the threat does not come from the member of the pack who can't find his own food, but from the idiot who doesn't realize that coffee is hot and burns himself.

In the past, these outcasts would have been exiled from the tribe or eaten by whatever predators thought they looked tasty, but now they are catered to. The lowest common denominator has come to defile us all, dragging us down with petty lawsuits and seatbelt laws.

Here's an idea: If you're dumb enough to not wear a seat belt, you deserve to get hurt in an accident. If you lack the cognitive skills to realize the beverage in your lap could burn you, you deserve to be burned. Maybe then you'll learn.

Or maybe you'll die. Who cares. Species just got stronger.

Our physical evolution has become irrelevant, but our social evolution must continue.

We live in a society where people with IQ's of under 100 breed four times as fast as people with IQ's over 100. We also live in a society where majority rules.

Something needs to be done. We must stop coddling the fools who are dragging down the sinking ship.

It's time to cut them loose.


And the word of the day is:
Sociocultural Evolution