Doing Creative Work

Everyone who reads this blog knows I love This American Life. Well, on one of the many times I'm surfing around YouTube, I come across this interview of Ira Glass (the host)where he talks of how there's often a lag between one's taste level and the actual moment when one's creation meets it. What's most frustrating about this process to creative types is that one is fully aware of how much one's efforts suck. And this is when most people quit out of frustration. But he advises them to keep at it, to do as much work as they can, because it ultimately gets better. here's the actual interview (he has a funny voice but just keep with it):



Nowadays, the closest thing I do creatively is work on my condo. But though I no longer draw, or paint, or create pieces, I feel like my medium is my life. I work hard to do meaningful work, to volunteer, to find meaningful relationships, and to stay fit. I'm constantly creating, forming my life to standards that I've set according to my "taste level". Sometimes though, I look at my life and say "It sucks!It's not what I set out to do." But all I can do is to keep at it, to keep doing work, and (hopefully) to not quit.

Celebrity Siting!

In a crowded cab ride from Gym bar to Mr. Black, I spotted a tall skinny brunette standing on a crowded street corner in the West Village. It was Cameron Diaz! What the hell was she doing shopping on Saturday night in one of the most touristy areas in NYC? I thought she looked lonely. I also thought that I really need to stop reading the US Weekly's at work......

TV Nostalgia

I spent a ton of time looking for these (ok, it was about 20 minutes)

Rushing

The Washington Post recently conducted an experiment by having Joshua Bell, arguably one of the best violin players, stand in a DC subway station and play on a Stradivarius for about 45 minutes. They did it to see if beauty could transcend the rush hour. In short, the answer was no. He received $32 and change from 27 people out of the 1070 people who rushed by and only 7 people stopped to listen for a minute. When the story was published, some people wrote back to say that they actually wept when they read it. The findings resonated with so many people, including myself. For a short video of the experiment and the article itself, click ......I tried to put a link but couldn't do it. Go wo washingtonpost.com and look for "Pearls before Breakfast" for a great article and amazing videos of the performance/experiment.