4 posts tagged “creativity”

It's 1:32 am EST, March 31, 2007. I just finished watching "Me and You and Everyone We Know". If you haven't seen it, and for any reason are reading my blog, you might enjoy watching it. It was a strange experience. I felt for people I didn't really understand, and ultimately had to conclude that the feelings I was having were situational. This struck me as odd, especially when the situations were expressed in such a way that you were left with the rationalization that everyone is crazy. Brilliant, if it was intentional. (I'm crazy, if it wasn't.) So, do I have any evidence to believe it was? Well, the shots themselves were coordinated so effectively that I am persuaded to say that it is. For example, as the shoe salesman (Richard Swersey) and video artist (Christine Jesperson), played by writer/director/lead Miranda July, are walking along a theatrical block discussing their hypo-metaphorical relationship, when they delve into their "in the moment" actual relationship, you are deceived to think that cinematic time slows, only to watch the car (from the corner of your eye of course) slow because of a trailing police cruiser. I was hooked. I certainly did not catch every little piece of savoir-Flare stuck all throughout this movie, but I was comforted by an appreciation of fresh artistic merit. I was also warmed by the casual and sincere pace throughout the entire show. Who are you cheering for, and why? Good questions.

I began thinking that I should write more, and not just poetry or stream of consciousness writing, but actually good writing. (Hah. Okay, so I think my poetry and stream of conscious are a somewhat ... Hmm.) I am thinking of the sort of writing you would be graded on in school or college. I haven't written a paper on anything interesting in two years. I used to imagine there was a correct answer that if I approached it deeply enough I could uproot the meaning and essence and bathe in it triumphantly. That's not exactly how things went, and that may be a short amount of time ago; still, I can imagine a situation where I would not write such a paper for another 3 years. If I were to write, however, I would like it to be on pieces of artistic merit in the 21st century. I believe "Me and You and Everyone We Know" as well as "i heart huckabees" have inspired such a switch in intellectual hobbies in me. The only problem is I would have to plan time to travel and visit galleries or keep up to date on present day works of contemporary art. I doubt I will begin such an endeavor unless surreptitiously, which appears to be impossible. So, It's not ever-lasting, but I will content myself presently with the wonderful time spent watching what I can. Macaroni.

(It's strange that "March is National Women's History Month.  What women are making history today?" is the question of the day on Vox.com for March 31. March ends tomorrow; I guess someone is trying to be sneaky and/or inspirational. Excellent. Doubtful I'd remember Miranda July, but I really love her name and what it touches right now. I'll also admit that she's somewhat inspirational, but someone might find it to be too awkward.)

Today is the first day of NaNoWriMo, and I am participating this year. My username is justperceptions. Look me up if you decide to do it, too.

It's slow in the PLRC (Physics Learning Resource Center) so I decided to start brainstorming for my first novel!!

This is what I have done so far: (useful, but not incredibly productive)

I don’t want to be a narrative, but what other choice do I have?
I could be a sequence of strings that taken in abstraction ARE something else. I’d be a novel emotion, symbol, or object (i.e. table, 1991 Subaru Legacy, a grey wolf). How would I ever pull something like that off? Maybe it’s better if I just stick with a narrative… maybe I’ll actually finish this assignment.

A cluster of marbles, each carrying a pattern of geometrically interesting surfaces, collide. During the recoil, there’s an odor indicating that the socio-rational metaphor collapsed mid-integration. It’s not a particularly fowl odor. It’s not even unpleasant. It is, however, disappointing. The novel idea failed.

I am not capable of doing this abstraction this time around. I should stick with a storyline, and insert the metaphor and substance through the world I’ve encoded.

The story must be about something. It must be about a person. This is just easier. It can be about several people, but I should keep my character list short, and concentrate on the world or the ideas. I liked the play “No Exit,” and as such, I should stick with the interactions of a few people. It’s just easier this way. Most of the story will be attempting to understand the people. So, having less people, allows for less confusion or cross-pollination.

An artist-poet, a philosopher, a mathematical-scientist. These are things that I know personally. They will be visible on every page of this novel. Thus, there’s no reason to make any of these my main character. I do want to approach some explanations from a scientific understanding, however, but maybe I can find a more qualitative explanation. This would be ideal.

Is this a coming of age story? Is it a re-evaluation? Is it just being caught in the moment? Being caught in the moment is very a propros. Being caught in the moment would also allow me to start en media res. I loved this style of story-telling particularly because there’s no prefacing. It’s very realistic. You encounter the world through the elemental moment. Should I start somewhere? Sometime? An idea? An idea would lead me to too much of a dualistic… wait a minute. I can use this to explore my refutations  of a delusional dualist. It shouldn’t be a lecture or even remotely similar to one. The reader should draw their own conclusion. I will not start with an idea. It’s too contrived… maybe we begin with a rumination…

Not yet. No, it’s just not the right time. I don’t understand how, but okay… sure… I’ll just set it again. 5:21pm. Click I guess that would have been embarrassing. I could always leave in 25 minutes. I’d still be early, but who the fuck cares… this is not going to work anyway. Yeah. I’ll just get back to my work. Time to start again.

Let’s write about these giant snowballs of rice and spiced-jelly dipping sauces. The rice is harvested in the fields. There they are loved and cherished like babies. Babies are exciting people that can’t act reasonable. I hate them, too. (The bionic commando has a mechanical arm that can attach to walls and climb all over the place like Spiderman. It’s awesome. Ok, but seriously, you have to agree that bionic commando works hard for a living. There have been many attack ads recently on bionic commando from the babies. Unbelievable, they say, that this half-robot, half-deity can even call itself a commando. They say with all of his special weaponry, bionic commando has to be the pound for pound laziest fighter in history. The babies are wrong, as is typically the case.) They don’t understand reason or even emotion at this stage in society’s development. They are awkward, bigheaded monstrosities stumbling with wanton disregard for basic forms of respect like cleaning up after one’s own messes. They piss on the face and clothes of the working people. Each and every one of them. The rice balls are the only form of appeasement for the babies. They can’t fathom the splendorous glow they shine upon the world. The rice balls are winners. We all know this. We all love the rice balls. We all used to be babies, too.

I think we are so neurotic about getting "it" right, that we're bound to stumble upon the next enlightenment, renaissance, or whatever it will be called. This time, however, or maybe the next time, it won't be attributable to a few intimidatingly perceptive philosophers, but to the storage of knowledge in the history that is civilization. Our structures, patterns, and productions are learned, modelled, judged, and reinvented without the singularity of an infallible author. The flexibility of thought will allow us to reclaim the human animal. Thus exposing the darkness of the human mind.