Radical Transparency

I'm pretty sure only one person in the history of the world has inspired hundreds of prisoners on the other side of the planet to put on an intricately choreographed dance performance. For themselves. And only accidentally for the rest of the world.

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Back in Ancient Rome, they had these little creativity gnomes that lived in studio wall cracks.  They'd pop out from time to time and bounce and sing and kiss and inspire.

Nowadays, if an artist ever sees a gnome, he tries to catch it and swallow it.  Which turns the gnome into an uncooperative lunatic heartache.  But, apparently, it's crazy to release a good gnome.  I mean what if it never comes back?

That's what Elizabeth Gilbert just told me.  In a TED Talk that's worth watching (even if you categorically deny gnomes' existence) for Gilbert's description of Ruth Stone's poetical process...

Gnomes or no gnomes, I think she makes an important observation about culture, creativity, and self-fulfilling prophesies:

Somehow we've completely internalized and accepted collectively this notion that creativity and suffering are somehow inherently linked and that artistry, in the end, will always, ultimately, lead to anguish.

And I think she takes that observation in exactly the right direction:

Better if we encourage our great creative minds to live.

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Wow.



Now imagine you're that book's author, and watch the video again.

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My uncle Glen works in Hollywood.  His nickname among agents and managers is "The Hammer."

He has lots of stories about the personalities with which he works.  My favorite, I think, involves an angry phone call in which the producer on the other end of the phone line screamed, "Tell him to stick a hot dog in his ass, you know what I'm saying Glen?!"

Last night, my sister, my cousin Zach (Glen's son), and I were sitting in my grandfather's kitchen.  I was drinking tea to calm my cough, and we were talking about collaborative creation, lonely poets, and to what extent muses participate in the art they inspire.

Glen walked in in his pajamas.  He made a few silly comments.  We all got laughing.  I started coughing.  And Glen noticed.

Glen: Yo.  I got two words for you.  Jim Henson.
Jake: What about him?
Glen: He died.

Having just written that down, I realize that that those words don't look nearly as funny as they felt last night.  Something about Glen's face as he delivers.  Luckily, I have a picture that might help.

It's from 2005, I think, from Glen's second time coming to visit me in Beijing.

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Just got this from my sister.  She says it reminds her of Mimi, our granny, who died last January.  It's from The Velveteen Rabbit.

"Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real."

"Does it hurt?" asked the Rabbit.

"Sometimes," said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. "When you are Real you don't mind being hurt."

"Does it happen all at once, like being wound up," he asked, "or bit by bit?"

"It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse. "You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off and your eyes drop out and you get loose in your joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."

Wisdom and inspiration come from unexpected places.  Glad Giuls is always on the lookout.

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I just added an Inspiration list to the right hand sidebar on A More Perfect Market.

14 videos so far. 

As I was thinking about who and what to include, Ani DiFranco jumped to mind.  But I knew her only in audio, so I looked her up.  I was hoping I'd find a live performance of I'm No Heroine.  I found this instead...

I love musicians that smile.

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But, today, we woke to find ourselves in a world where a child might grow up not fearing the unknown.  I don't know about you, but that scares the shit out of me.



It's not every day that sarcasm leaves you teary eyed.

And it'll be fun to see where comedy takes Barack Obama.

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I think the Phils need something both mellow and inspirational to ease the nerves before game 3.

My cousin Zach turned me on to Gang Starr.  I was listening to a lot of Tupac at the time, and I remember complaining the Guru wasn't smooth enough.

I was wrong.

Moment of Truth is track 8 on Moment of Truth.

Click here to download:

08 Moment Of Truth.mp3 (3867 KB)

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