Friday Fun: Tales of Denim

OK ... I'm going to share. I told you about Talbot's Tales of Denim contest, asking for a six-word story about a pair of jeans. Turns out, the online form also allows entrants to provide a title, adding a whole new level of creative possibilities. Here's what I submitted:

Whoa, Baby
I should have left them zipped.

I think that's good enough to score a trip to Paris. But humility has never been my strong point.

Happy Friday! Happy weekend! Go play! (And you know what to do with your zippers.)

Happy New Year

Jews around the world celebrate Rosh Hashanah today -- the Jewish New Year.

Now, I'm a Jewish mother, not a Jewish theologian. But here's my basic take on it: If you compare the Jewish New Year to the secular celebration, Rosh Hashanah is more about making peace and less about making resolutions.

It's a time to make amends with people you've wronged. A time to forgive people who've wronged you. It's a time to start fresh -- which is different than starting over.

If I have hurt you this past year, knowingly or unknowingly, please forgive me. (If I hurt you knowingly, I've probably already spoken to you directly. I'm making the rounds.) If you have hurt me, knowingly or unknowingly, I forgive you.

Here's to a happy, healthy year. A sweet year. A year filled with love and learning, friends and family. Here's to hope and dreams and faith. Here's to creativity that brings you joy. And here's to the work that makes it real.

Happy New Year!

Creative Critic: Until I Find You

I finally finished Until I Find You by John Irving. Ohmilord. Where do I even begin a review?

To set the stage, Irving's A Prayer for Owen Meany is one of my all-time favorite books. I think it's brilliant. Fortunately, I read it before I read Until I Find You -- because I may never read another Irving book again.

Until I Find You proves that talent is no guarantee of ... well, anything. Irving is obviously a talented writer. And yet ...

The characters in this novel are unappealing and unreal. The only characters with any charm are too-soon killed. The dialogue and much of the action is completely implausible. And repulsive -- do any siblings really discuss the proper way they should kiss each other on the mouth?

Oh, heck. Forget the uncharismatic characters and the overwrought plot. The writing is awful. (By which I mean, not good. Not good at all.) Irving has a ridiculously unnecessary parenthetical phrase (that is to say, not needed) on almost every page. And there are more than 800 pages (which, one might say, would be many chapters indeed).

My big learning came from my buddy Lynn, after she listened to me whine about the novel.

"You don't have to finish it, Janet," she said. "If you're not engaged in a book, stop reading. Find another book."

Next time, I'll listen to Lynn. This time, I kept reading -- hoping against hope that John Irving would pull it out of the fire. He never did. Too bad. He was one of my favorite authors. Until He Lost Me.

Creativity Tips: It's Always Personal

For one of her journalism classes last week, my daughter Kate live-tweeted a presentation celebrating the K-State J-school's centennial. One of her tweets, quoting a speaker, really hit home with me: "Every national story is someone's local story."

Then, on Facebook, author Stephanie Calmenson posted a note about the first Brooke Jackman Foundation Read-A-Thon -- scheduled for this morning. If you're in NYC, check it out.

After I looked at the Read-A-Thon info, I read all about Brooke Jackman, a lovely 23-year-old woman who was killed in the 9-11 attacks.

Throughout the week, we'll hear stories tied to the 9-11 anniversary. It's a national story. For New Yorkers, it's a local story. And for oh so many people, it's a personal story.

Remember when you write: Every word matters. Every story is personal to someone.

Friday Fun: Pacman Lives

First and foremost, good news! Amber came through her surgery (all 6.5 hours of it!) in good shape. The doctor said they got the entire tumor this time. Yes! Thanks for the good thoughts and I'll keep you posted. Now ... back to your regularly scheduled Friday Fun:

I have never been any good at Pacman. This was a problem back in the ... what? '70s? '80s? Whenever. Back when I was dating. I definitely couldn't impress guys with my Pacman skills. I also couldn't feign interest in their high scores.

Level 5? Really. Wow ... look at the time.

That said, I'm guessing a few CI team members love Pacman. So here's one version for you. And if you'd rather play with Homer, I found a Simpson version. At least the "d'oh!" with this one amused me.

Here's to an amusing three-day weekend! With very little labor ...

(Does "play with Homer" sound bad to anyone but me? Perhaps I need a three-day weekend.)

Creativity Tips: I Love Creative Medicine

Do you ever stop and think about how amazingly creative the field of medicine is? There are so many ways to treat an illness now, thanks to new drugs, new procedures -- and creative doctors who continually find different ways to cure people.

Ten years ago, TIME magazine named the PET/CT scanner the medical invention of the year. As you can tell from the Wikipedia article, the device was created by brilliant people building on the learnings of other brilliant people.

I really appreciate all these people. They're helping Amber, my 26-year-old niece, kick her ovarian cancer.

Since many of you have asked how Amber is doing, I want to give you a quick update. The PET scan taken after Amber's last massive round of chemo revealed two tiny spots of cancer. So, now that she has built up her strength, she's heading back to the hospital today for one more operation. The chemo shrank the tumor by her heart to the point where the surgeon can remove it. The surgeon will also be removing the itsy, bitsy cancer by Amber's belly button.

Ovarian cancer is tough. Fortunately, so is Amber. She's also looking dang good for a young woman who's been through so much! (I know. Looks are not what's important. But, in this case, Amber's beauty is as much a reflection of her indomitable spirit as a tribute to her gorgeous eyes. My nephew Cary does know how to pick 'em!)

Thanks for all your good thoughts and I'll keep you posted.

By the by, Amber had no idea when she joined the CI team that she was getting an arsenal of cheerleaders -- she really appreciates the support!

Creativity Tips: Celebrate September

Ohmigosh. It's September. I love September. For me, it signals the pending fall, and I love fall. Or, as Woody Allen would say, I lerve fall. Why? It's cooler. I live in the Midwest -- it's gorgeous. The trees transform. Added bonus: October brings the birthdays of a million people I adore and my wedding anniversary.

You get the picture: September starts a fabulous season. So, celebrate properly. Go for a long walk today and look for a fall color. What color is that? You tell me. We could go with the basic yellow. Or orange. Or brown. But fall to you might be burgundy. Or pink.

Whatever. Choose one of those lovely colors, and go find all the shades of it you can.

(We fall in love, don't we? We don't spring into love. No one summers or winters love. Heck, winter is the time of our discontent. I could go on, but I lerve you too much to continue.)