Advice from Harry Anderson

From the Dallas Observer:

"Everyone's life would be improved if they do could one great magic trick," said Anderson, winding up. "And tell one great joke, play one tune on the piano and do one great origami fold."

Read more.

How many can you do? 

Letting go of expectations

"...You need to realize something else: you can lead a perfectly good and satisfactory life even if you're not a writer [artist]. When i figured out that i could be perfectly happy and not be a writer, i became a better writer. The unhappiest people in the world may be the ones who think their happiness depends on artistic success of some kind."

-- Wendell Berry



[h/t: Keri Smith]

Stick to it

This quote

The great thing and the hard thing is to stick to things when you have outlived the first interest, and not yet got the second, which comes with a sort of mastery.

by Janet Erskine Stuart, reminded me of this chart by Kathy Sierra (previously mentioned).



Which is right inline with: Mike Lynch's comments about getting better at drawing by drawing a lot, Denis McGrath's advice about getting better at writing by writing a lot, and of course Gladwell's "10,000-Hour Rule."

How to be a better ...

Mike Lynch, a magazine cartoonist, shares some insights from cartooning classes his post "Draw 160":

And that's what drawing is all about; acquiring the knowledge of how to draw. How do you draw a fish? A bird? a cool car? a poodle?

Sure, when you read those words you get a visual in your mind -- but how to train your hand to draw what you imagine?

By drawing a lot.

How do you get to be a better cartoonist?

There is the old piece of advice: take a stack of paper the same height that you are. Draw on every one. When you get to the bottom, you’ve gotten a lot of the bad drawings out of your system and you’re a better artist.

What's more, this doesn't just apply to drawing. (Well, perhaps the drawing on paper part of the instruction.) It fits nicely with McGrath's idea of it being his job to fail.

"I kind of look at it as -- it's my job to fail until I don't. You try something, fail, fail, fail, keep failing, and hopefully eventually you look at something and say, 'that's not a total failure' and then you nurture that little ember and follow it and hopefully you get somewhere."

It's right in line with Gladwell's "10,000-Hour Rule." ("No one gets to the top unless he or she puts in 10,000 hours of practice in a field, be it computer software, hockey, music, or law.")

Go visit Lynch's post. You're sure to be impressed (and entertained) by all the talented work by the students in his class!

And whatever your passion... go and practise. Now!


[h/t: Drawn.ca]

The code for this doodle and other doodles you can use on your blog can be found at Doodles.

Rut vs grave

"The only difference between a rut and a grave is the depth."

(found on Sandra Bell-Lundy's blog)


(Items with a variation of this image can be purchased at Cafe Press.)

The code for this doodle and other doodles you can use on your blog can be found at Doodles.

QOTD: Whatever you give a woman, she will make greater

Does anyone know who the orginal author for this is?

Whatever you give a woman, she will make greater.
If you give her sperm, she'll give you a baby.
If you give her a house, she'll give you a home.
If you give her groceries, she'll give you a meal.
If you give her a smile, she'll give you her heart.
She multiplies and enlarges what is given to her.
So, if you give her any crap, be ready to receive a ton of shit.

[h/t: Sanrda Bell-Lundy]

Things I worried about

For those who are keeping track, this is post 500!

Based on Craig's post 'Worries' which was based on Dale Carnegie and the I'm Learning to Share post about 'How To Stop Worrying and Start Living' (1949).

"Ninety-nine per cent of the things I worried about never happened."

(Though I'm worried I don't have that quite right.)

The code for this doodle and other doodles you can use on your blog can be found at Doodles.

Relax

Vivian Quiring once said:

"Saying you don't have time to revitalize is like saying you don't have time to get gas because you're too busy driving."

Or as Sydney J. Harris put it:

"The time to relax is when you don't have time for it."

[h/t: Bliss Notes]

So what are you waiting for? Make time to relax!

The code for this doodle and other doodles you can use on your blog can be found at Doodles.

Thoughts on wisdom

"You’re wise, he said, to the extent that you can get yourself to do the things you don’t like doing but know will result in happiness, and to refrain from things you like doing but know will result in pain and harm."

-Buddha

Isn't this why every mother wants to become an entrepreneur?

A tongue-in-cheek comment on being a mompreneur, from Mabel's Labels Julie Cole.

"In our hormonally imbalanced and irrational states, we choose to live as over-extended and under-paid business owners, exhausted mothers and neurotic and somewhat manic women."

With a sell like that, don't you want to be one too?

Strange ad copy

I was watching the Olympics, and a T Y L E N O L spot came on air. I can't be certain, but the voice over sounded remarkably like:

"T Y L E N O L. Get back to normal -- whatever your normal is."

Huh?

Did the marketing department come up with "Get back to normal" and then the legal department add in the tag line?

Quotable: COMMIT to The Lazy

This is from Julie and was left in a comment over at Moxie's post on what "no gifts" really means.

"If you're going to be lazy, COMMIT to The Lazy. It's a sin to do lazy half-ass."

Love it!

It comes from the inside

Keri Smith had another post that touched me. Especially the quote:

"Good drawings come from the inside, reflecting the artist's state of mind or sense of being. It has nothing to do with technical ability or amount of detail. A simple line can evoke emotion. "

It's applicable across the artforms I think. Acting. Dancing. Writing. Music. When it comes from the inside, it touches your soul. Regardless of your formal training, the quality of equipment, lighting, environment.

Especially important are the words "come from." Not "forced from." Not "dragged out of you kicking and screaming." It comes. Naturally.

Thanks again Keri!