Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, creativity, inspiration, perfectionism, Thoughts, writing on October 16, 2021| Leave a Comment »
My public service announcement for today: Good does not equal perfect. While they may be related, I’m pretty sure that Good is Cinderella and Perfect is the wicked stepmother. Just saying.
It’s an idea I’ve discussed before but needed to hear again, and I thought you might too.
Go forth and be awesome!
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Posted in Likes, Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, creativity, environment, inspiration, remix on October 15, 2021| Leave a Comment »
You know how sometimes you see a thing and it sets off little creative sparkles in your brain parts? Well, that’s what happened when I spotted this striking piece of art:
Giant “Faucet” Spewing Single-Use Plastic Urges Us To Reconsider Our Plastic Use
When I saw this my first thought (after “Ok, that’s insanely cool”) was “How can I do that?
Lucky me (and you, if you’re so inclined), the artist has not only created this installation* but turned it into an interactive opportunity. Just as I was visualizing the steps needed to trim a tap like that and build a fountain of plastics, I spotted this:
If you are an artist or creative that would like to participate, join us in creating a remix of the Giant Plastic Tap
— This three story tall giant art installation is leaking plastics into different environments – Von Wong Blog
Don’t mind if I do! If you want to join the fun, all files needed to remix your very own giant plastic tap are available here:
Remix the Giant Plastic Tap – Photoshop Challenge! – Dropbox Paper
Check out this post for more details on usage.
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I’m practicing new photo processing techniques and thought this was a good place to start. Lots to learn (ugh, lighting and color balance! I was in a hurry, but still) and this challenge is a great way to do it.
* Von Wong’s mind-bending original project was sponsored by the Embassy of Canada in France. Because Canadians are awesome. Every single one!
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, creativity, inspiration, Jane Austen, literary analysis, Thoughts, Writers, writing on October 14, 2021| Leave a Comment »
I spotted this article the other day:
What I Learned About My Writing By Seeing Only The Punctuation
Hmm, I said, “That’s interesting in an upside-down sort of a way. I wonder what my writing looks like without, you know, words?”
My first thought was that I probably use too many commas. I headed over to the site developed by the article’s author and lo! I was right.
My second thought was to see how that story compared to other authors’ work. I visited Project Gutenberg and evaluated first chapters from a selection of famous and/or cherished books.
Now that was interesting, both for the differences in punctuation and for the variety and length of chapters. (Nineteenth-century authors also loved commas, it seems. Is it time to hang up my keyboard and pick up a quill?)
This approach certainly provides a new perspective on the building blocks underpinning different authors, eras and genres of writing. Will it help my writing? Maybe, maybe not, but it was fun.
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Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, space, star trek, Thoughts on October 13, 2021| Leave a Comment »
William Shatner, the 90-year-old perhaps best known for playing Captain James T. Kirk in Star Trek, flew 100km up into space in a Blue Origin rocket today. He and the other crew members returned safely to Earth ten minutes later.
In completely unrelated news, all those planning to zap Jeff Bezos with a phaser are asked to please stand down.
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Posted in Entertainment, Science!, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, genre fiction, inspiration, learning@lunch, NASA, space exploration on October 12, 2021| 1 Comment »
What am I reading with lunch? How about a graphic novel about a woman, space, and a spunky little robot? App and interactivity are optional (but could be fun).
NASA – First Woman (read online, download PDF)
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Posted in Holidays, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, holidays, Thoughts on October 11, 2021| Leave a Comment »
Despite yesterday’s post today is officially Canadian Thanksgiving, but (according to Mr. Man) it’s traditional to celebrate the Sunday before and have one’s turkey or other hangovers on the holiday Monday. That way you’re recovered and ready for work on Tuesday.
So sensible, these Canadians!
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Posted in Holidays, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, holidays, pie, quotes on October 10, 2021| 1 Comment »
“Cut my pie into four pieces, I don’t think I could eat eight.”
― Yogi Berra
Posted in Food and..., tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, #distraction, #ThingsILike, home, inspiration, tea, Thoughts, writing on October 9, 2021| Leave a Comment »
This is a nice combination: Green yaupon + peppermint lemongrass tea* = pretty very good. Maple syrup takes it over the top, because it’s awesome in everything.
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* No Camellia sinensis was harmed in the making of this beverage.
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, Affinity Photo, creativity, habits, inspiration, learning@lunch, practice, Thoughts on October 8, 2021| Leave a Comment »
I’m bouncing from project to project again, doing some work work and some practice work. I’ve also started about half a dozen posts but nothing feels right, because none of them said what I was really thinking, which is that today I am the Queen of Meh.
This is not to say that things are not a-ok, I’d just prefer to be making more progress.
Mood: pretty groovy, thanks for asking.
Fine, let’s roll with it.
I did nothing amazing today but do things I did. The project I had the most fun with was practicing photo compositing. Here’s a chimera that is not very good but I like anyway: Behold, the Winged Buffabear!
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I think I’ll try to follow this advice by Christine Carter, and my own, and aim low:
The 1-minute secret to forming a new habit
Here’s why we need to be willing to be bad: being good requires that our effort and our motivation be in proportion to each other. The harder something is for us to do, the more motivation we need to do that thing. And you might have noticed, but motivation isn’t something that we can always muster on command….
The goal, remember, is repetition, not high achievement. So let yourself be mediocre at whatever you’re trying to do, but be mediocre every day.
— Christine Carter
That I can do!
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Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, Thoughts, writing on October 7, 2021| Leave a Comment »
This morning I did something that I don’t do enough: I wrote a thank you note.
After a year and a half, Mr, Man has an appointment with his barber this afternoon. (After a year and a half of decent but time-consuming cuts by yours truly, I think we’re all pretty happy about that:) Sending along a card felt like a good idea.
As I’ve mentioned, it can be hard to know exactly what to say and easy to let the moment pass by, but I gave it a shot.
Here’s to letting folks know that what they do matters.
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