A great example of someone else viewing life through a different lens...

A significant source of frustration for me in the type of creative sharing that appears to be so important to our society currently is the time commitment.  Yesterday's entry, as it may or may not be obvious, was originally drafted and edited in early to mid December.  It was re-discovered a couple of days ago when drafting an entry that hopefully will be published before the end of next week.  The entry published yesterday was re-edited to update its currency, as the primary content remained valuable to share to establish the narrative for "View Life through a Different Lens".  This secondary editing consumed an additional three or more hours on top of the initial drafting and editing.  I can only hope that with practice the process gets quicker...

However, while I am purposely trying not to have perfection be imperative, it is not pleasant when tools that I thought I had configured properly don't appear to work the way they did in the past.  I don't want senseless, or worse, offensive comments that I am required to weed through.  My wife, Cindy, who has a Blogger blog and account and in the past been able to leave comments, posted to the comments of my Facebook link post that she was unable to directly post comments to yesterday's entry.  This is basic functionality that was working.  This is not a demand for blogging functionality perfection, just consistency... Sigh...

Annoyances aside, I will share, however, that I discovered a great example of someone else viewing life through a different lens.  Sorry if you can't leave comments here just now...

As Cindy documented several months ago, we have (re-?)discovered Legos^® as a creative outlet.  (A third link...) To some degree, I have become intrigued by Lego^® mini-figures.  Early on, we accumulated a number of mini-figures trying to get the mini-figure wearing the chicken suit from Series 9, but many sets come with "participants" or "operators", and these characters further expanded the collection.  I suppose it is the alternative perspective and vicarious participatory aspect that really intrigues me.

The Lego^® Mini-Figure Gang

No, we haven't seen "The Lego Movie" yet, but plan to before it leaves the theaters.  Maybe this weekend...

On Monday, an article and slideshow on Today News by Samantha Okazaki documents a photo project by Andrew Whyte of Portsmouth, England, United Kingdom offering a "Legographer" perspective.  I can be succinct in my thoughts this time and will share only one word:  BRILLIANT!

Yes, I know.  That was VERY trite.  I loved the subject matter, had to say something, and sometimes being trite is really the most effective statement.

View life through a different lens...

Cheers!

LEGO^® is a trademark of the LEGO Group of companies which does not sponsor, authorize or endorse this site. http://aboutus.lego.com/en-us/legal-notice/fair-play/ 

News from the creatively constipated

At varying times, I have posted about personal impediments to the rapid development not only of my blogging endeavors, but to the development of a significant number of creative ideas that I have in general.  Fortunately, Stephanie Peterson for The Daily Muse (found on Mashable via a Code Project Daily News link) posted something recently which again indicates I may not be alone. 

"Now, I realize the difference between those times when I was honoring my introversion and times when I was caving into fear, and how important it is to separate the two before the latter threatens to hold you back."

- Stephanie Peterson, "How Introverts Can Stand Out at Work", Mashable, December 1, 2013

There are elements to my personality that on a Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) test actually show a slight (very slight) tendency towards the extroversion end of the spectrum.  However, I am probably one of the most introverted-appearing extroverts you will ever meet.  Stephanie's article is applicable and helpful to me as I recognize that while I am energized by participation in extroverted situations, absorption and quiet contribution are certainly satisfactory for me.  Best described, particularly using a sports analogy, is that I love being part of the team and contributing to winning, but I am certainly content with not being the star.  As an ice hockey player, I am perfectly happy with assists that help us win, in baseball-type sports, base hits and solid field play are the main goal for me, not home runs. 

It is worth mentioning that Stephanie's article provides reference to another, older article with networking advice for introverts on The Daily Muse by Anna Runyon.  This article has some helpful ideas that do translate to my situation, as well.

So, having said all that, there are a couple of things that I will share that, hopefully, are signs that  things may be different in this new year.

One is, as I have posted before, that my wife, Cindy, is an amazing artist. Why do I say this again here and now? Well, as she announced in a post a several weeks ago, we were, and now, have moved to a location.

What has greatly impressed me once again, though, is that in the midst of implementing the move, she created an incredible mural segment in just a few hours, as part of a project for the Phoenix Festival of the Arts. I am once again floored (and maybe newly inspired?) by my wife's talent, but I regularly am. The event itself was something that, had I not felt as uncomfortably creatively inhibited that I have, I would have liked to participate in with her.  Maybe I will if and when this opportunity comes around again later this year.

The other item to share is that I am altering my closing branding and tagging, both to step away from Apple branding ("Think different"), but also to more accurately reflect the direction of my creative focus.  Or, at least, I hope so.

It certainly appears that our new home is beginning to do a number of positive things to ease the creative constipation that I have felt for some time.

This is still just a work in progress, though, but isn't life?  So...

View life through a different lens...

Cheers!