SlyBrand

From the car ride this morning, listening to NPR Morning Edition’s story on Diana Krall:

She demonstrated her version of the song at the grand piano in the suite. Afterward, in spite of her exhaustion, Krall had more to share.

“I’m on the road with 2-and-a-half-year-old boys who, before I came here, they wanted to go outside and play outside,” she says. “They wanted to go down the slide. And I’m like, ‘Where can I find a slide?’ “

But for Krall, that gives her a renewed sense of purpose.

“We’re moving house every day, and like I said, I’m probably as fatigued as I’ve ever been. But in some ways, it’s that fatigue that gives you a strong sense of self — what you want to do [makes you] more relaxed, focused,” she says.

I was talking with a couple of fellow Memphis-lovers tonight about our city. We were trying to figure it out. Now, I know that trying to “figure out” this place is an exercise in futility, but something keeps me trying to make more sense of the place I’ve lived for close to 10 years. There’s something haunting this place. A presence that’s fluid and dangerous—filling every crack and crevice of the city–and at the same time evasive and fleeting. (more…)

I was going through some files and found this word cloud I created by running this blog post through Wordle.

This one for Westminster Academy never quite got implemented. One of the reasons it ended up in a file somewhere may have been the lack of a dynamic, conceptually reinforcing, simple secondary mark.

Oh well. Win some, lose some.

“Brain crack” is something I wrestle with on a daily basis. Today it went like this:

I got up and read an extremely challenging book for personal reasons. I commuted 20 minutes through Memphis past numerous billboards with my music on. I tooled around on the internet reading e-mail, news, blogs, word definitions and several articles. By lunchtime, I couldn’t form, much more, speak, a full sentence. I was at a complete productive standstill and officially on “brain crack.”

Here’s how I got off it:

I confessed to someone I trusted that I was mentally drained.
I followed his advice and went on a long, slow run on the Tour de Wolf.
I quickly jotted down the ideas that flooded my head on my run.

So, to YOU, 9 subscribers (I know you’re out there, I just checked my feed stats) …

How do you get off “brain crack?”

“Mythos.”

My wife and I adore “The Office.” Both the BBC and NBC versions. I have to tip my hat to creators Ricky Gervais & Stephen Merchant, and to the writers for producing such a consistently hilarious TV series.

Steve Carell’s character, Michael Scott, Regional Manager of Scranton, PA paper company Dunder Mifflin, is one of our favorites. All appearences communicate that this guy is a complete buffoon. A major recurring theme in the show are the idiosyncrasies that arise from this mundane, dead-end workplace run by this very insecure and erratic manager. I’m continually asking the employees of the office “why do you people stay around?” Please watch the show. I can’t do it justice here. But what I can say is that the writers continually catapult Michael Scott into extremely awkward inter-office situations and that, in my opinion, is a large part of what makes the show great. But there’s something deeper about him—something I have not been able to pin until just now: Michael Scott is a relational genious.

That brings me to the point. More often than not, in any lasting relationship there can be a “white elephant” in the room. That awkward issue, real or imagined, can hinder clear communication. Communication is a two-way street, and both lanes have to be open in relationships, working or other, in order to move in a postitive direction. And as uncomfortable and awkward as addressing the “white elephant,” can be, I think we can learn something valuable from diving head-long into the process.

In that regard, Michael Scott is my hero.

For a good laugh: Be sure to check out Ricky Gervais explaining some of the slang he uses on the show.

Oh yeah, happy birthday today to Harvey. Thanks for being a SlyBrand subscriber, fellow “The Office” watcher, and friend.

“I don’t care so much about relating with someone in his strength, but if I meet a down-and-out man, I hope he would soon call me ‘a friend.’” —Anonymous

There is a recurring theme that keeps coming up on my radar screen. It’s that cultural tendencey we have to forsake being considerate or thoughtful of others for the immediate fix available through any number of nuero-stimulating channels. Don’t let me confuse you, hopefully this will clarify.

My 3-year old daughter is unnervingly independent. And that’s how she likes it. Particularly when it comes to dressing. Even when she was 2 or so, she would throw a fit if I tried to help put on her pajamas. After a swift kick in the head with a feety-foot, I would just sigh and just answer her with a loving, “we all need help.”

Only after a couple of months of focused thought on what makes a company last, have I realized how true that statement is. Whether it’s needing an advocate on a prospective client’s side, or needing more information from a key person in order to move forward in the creative process, or just needing someone to say “good work,” we all need help.

So when I hit my next creative brain-block, instead of asking “why can’t I produce?!?,” maybe I should just look … for a little help.