Nobody creates in a vacuum. Nobody emerges with a fresh take without already being fiercely and voraciously pursuant of something that foundationally has nothing to do with pure commerce. Money makes things possible, but money by itself has nothing to say. Artists with ideas look to other artists, and other people, and what comes before is always the genetic code for what comes after. Just like children, we may know the parents, but we can still scarcely predict where their lives will go.
Read MoreMY SOCIAL MEDIA DISAFFECTION
For people who try to live their lives in creative spaces, the trivialization imposed by a steady diet of social media has the effect of dissolving yet one more support in the foundations that enable sustained focus. That’s effectively like allowing thieves inside our mental castles in broad daylight: who can tell the thieves from the masses of other roving thoughts crowding the main hall of our consciousness?
Read MoreA FEW WORDS ABOUT WORDS
Where a picture maybe worth a thousand words, a few well-placed words can make all the difference to giving that picture lift and heft and context all at the same time.
Read MoreTHE SHAKY RETURN OF ART
Arts require stability as much as they require energy, and for new voices to speak, the people who propel those voices must be able to stand, to eat, to think, to dream.
Read MoreEVERYTHING IS FREE
The trend toward “free” under-values the ability to create great music because musicians cannot support themselves simply on the merits of their ability to play. The pursuit of the ability to make great music, to extend the example, requires financial support in some appreciable measure, and when those payments fall beneath a certain threshold, excellence cannot easily develop
Read MoreYOUR INSTRUCTIONS: RATE, REVIEW, SHARE
Some things simply don’t rate very well in the ten minutes after then pop into existence. But in a world seemingly powered by social media uber alles we seem to regard all qualitative assessments only in relation to the positive metrics defined by the title of this blog.
THE PROBLEM WITH BIG DATA
If you’re standing in a meadow, rays of sun illuminating blossoms and birds alike, you might consider fully immersing yourself in that singular moment rather than millions of others like it. The bottomless pit of data asking you to tithe one more bit cares not a whit for what you see, what you smell, what you feel when the rising afternoon breeze kisses your skin.
Read MoreTHE NOVEL
You can’t be doing something else when you’re reading a novel. You must do your own imagining. You also can’t check out periodically while you’re in the process of reading a novel. The moment you do, you’re not reading!
Read MoreCREATIVE WORK MEETS PANDEMIC REALITIES
Creative work is not something artists choose to do. The work itself chooses artists bring it to life (And if you’re not an artists yourself and think that statement is nuts, just ask a creative person in your life if he or she understands. I guarantee they do.)
Read MoreA REPORT FROM AN ASTEROID, A REPORT FROM THE ROAD
OSIRIS-REx is a shining light in the darkness, a story of how dedicated teams can figure out ways to pull together and do extraordinary things despite obstacles.
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