Creativity Exercise: Newspaper Blackout Poems

My buddy Chris sent me a link yesterday to this artwork by Austin Kleon on the 20X200 site. Way cool. The art, the idea for the art, and the idea for the site.

Anyway, let's take it and run with it. Pull out the newspaper. Please don't tell me you don't take the newspaper. OK, fine. Find a dang newspaper somewhere. Find a story. Make a blackout poem.

If you create one you love, send me a PDF and we'll post it.

Creativity Tips: Come Back Tomorrow

Here's the real tip: I'll never take cold medicine again while fasting*. At the very least, I won't take it repeatedly.

Stay tuned: I'll be functional again by Wednesday.

*Yom Kippur is a fast day. You're allowed to eat and drink if you're ill. Unfortunately, my biggest ailment is stubbornness.

Yom Kippur

I'm writing this a month before the day you read it -- I just finished proofreading the contemporary Yom Kippur service for my synagogue, and thought I'd share one of the readings with you. Give you a sense for what I'm doing on this Day of Atonement, the only day of the year when Jews participate in a confessional ...

For transgressions against God, the Day of Atonement atones; but for transgressions of one human being against another, the Day of Atonement does not atone until they have made peace with one another.

I hereby forgive all who have hurt me, all who have wronged me, whether deliberately or inadvertently, whether by word or by deed. May no one be punished on my account.

As I forgive and pardon those who have wronged me, may those whom I have harmed forgive and pardon me, whether I acted deliberately or inadvertently, whether by word or by deed.
---
No matter what or whether you believe, fresh starts and forgiveness are good. Happy New Year!

Friday Fun: ThatWhichMatter

To wrap up yesterday's post, my favorite punctuation is ... wait for it ... the ellipsis. Which probably makes sense for a woman who can't let go of anything. Including a sentence ...

And, in keeping with our grammatical twist, today's fun is to point you toward (gasp) Twitter, and the ThatWhichMatter feed. And, if you have to be on Twitter to get there, and you're not, you can look here at the Lifehacker site, which looks pretty interesting on its own. Heck, check this out, and see why Al Gore might want to spend a little time worrying about his own personal environment. Hey, just sayin' ...

Thanks to Barb, who knows ThatWhichMatter most is giving me a steady flow of blog ideas. Happy weekend!

Creativity Exercise: Punctuate This!

I am not an online expert and I don't play one on TV. Fortunately, I hang out with the right people. So, Mike keeps me updated on Twitter and all the social media I fail to grasp, and Leslie finds the perfect links for the CI blog.

Today, for example, we're celebrating National Punctuation Day! And, while you might think the exclamation point is my favorite punctuation, you'd be wrong.

Which brings us to our exercise:

1. Guess my favorite punctuation mark.
2. Tell me your favorite.

If you're feeling really adventurous, scroll down on the National Punctuation Day site and check out the baking contest. Let me know if you decide to enter.

Creativity Tips: Taking It On The Road

Change your scenery and you'll change your attitude. It's true. Changing your view is a fast way to recharge your creative batteries, whether you leave town or simply hang new pictures in your office.

Another creative battery booster? Teaching. There's no learning experience like teaching.

With both those tips in mind, I'm taking Creative Instigation on the road. For CI team members in NY, I'll be presenting in Rochester Oct. 8 at the 2009 PRSA NE District Conference and I'd love to see you there. CEO, adventurer and social media guru Peter Shankman is the keynote speaker.

If you belong to a group that's looking for speakers, remember my motto: Have creativity props. Will travel!

When I leave Rochester, I'm heading to Niagara Falls. Get that barrel ready!

P.S. That's a bad day at the falls in 1911. Surely you didn't expect me to go with the typical tourist shot. You do know me better than that, right?

Site Seeing: Lucy, I'm Home!

Want the back story on the creativity behind American TV? Look here: the Archive of American Television. Fascinating interviews with so many people -- from Walter Cronkite to Betty White. Makes me miss Meathead.

Look around and find your favorite.