on creativity

Here's a fascinating article by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman from Newsweek about the decline of creativity in the US:

The Creativity Crisis

The article uses reports from professor E. Paul Torrance's creativity tests as a jumping off point about measuring creativity, how creativity manifests and why it's important. Early on the author's define creativity (not sure who has "accepted" the definition, as I might wordsmith it some myself):

"The accepted definition of creativity is production of something original and useful, and that’s what’s reflected in the tests. There is never one right answer. To be creative requires divergent thinking (generating many unique ideas) and then convergent thinking (combining those ideas into the best result)."

On the one hand, the authors posit that "creativity should be taken out of the art room and put into homeroom."

"The age-old belief that the arts have a special claim to creativity is unfounded. When scholars gave creativity tasks to both engineering majors and music majors, their scores laid down on an identical spectrum, with the same high averages and standard deviations. Inside their brains, the same thing was happening—ideas were being generated and evaluated on the fly."

On the flip side, it does seem that artists do have a leg up in the creativity category. Using an example of a study done at University of Western Ontario neuroscientist Daniel Ansari and Harvard’s Aaron Berkowitz, the article highlights the value of right-brain/left-brain process in creativity:

"They put Dartmouth music majors and nonmusicians in an fMRI scanner, giving participants a one-handed fiber-optic keyboard to play melodies on. Sometimes melodies were rehearsed; other times they were creatively improvised. During improvisation, the highly trained music majors used their brains in a way the nonmusicians could not: they deactivated their right-temporoparietal junction. Normally, the r-TPJ reads incoming stimuli, sorting the stream for relevance. By turning that off, the musicians blocked out all distraction. They hit an extra gear of concentration, allowing them to work with the notes and create music spontaneously."

The whole article left me pondering creativity vs. arts and really how we can provide opportunities for more, more, more. This means rethinking everything: arts education, education reform, community development - all of it. To me empowering creativity is empowering individuals to be critically engaged in our world and our environment.

Back to Blog A-Z

A. apricot and cherry crumble with alden's vanilla bean ice cream
B. basement = "summer palace" when it's 94º outside at 8:30pm
C. our new favorite card game is called "hand and foot"
D. waiting for DVR to capture a good chunk of sytycd
E. sick of walking on eggshells around certain stressful individuals
F. font: CarbonType
G. goal!!
H. our neighborhood hollywood farmers market rocks my world
I. inspired somehow to get back to blog
J. joke - q: Why does a chicken coop have two doors? a: Because if had four doors it would be a chicken sedan!
K. thinking of getting a flip camera or a kodak Zi8, please share thoughts if you've got 'em.
L. love my hubby lots
M. our 2 yr old nephew maceo loves trucks and hummus
N. nuts i love: almond, macadamia, cashew, filbert
O. our nephew oscar brought over his pet hamster furball
P. harry potter. obsessed. anxiously awaiting for bk 6 from the library.
Q. we made two different, delightful quinoa salads last week
R. reading like mad
S. word scramble 2 interface on my ipod touch is very cool
T. finally got our tax return
U. conveyor belt sushi delivered unagi tonight
V. on the librarian recommendations new release shelf, picked up ether: seven stories and a novella by evgenia citkowitz. evgenia. neato.
W. time to talk about something besides the weather
X. x-ray? x-men? xylophone?
Y. finally getting some yardening on
Z. zit on my nose = contact lenses

A2Z September 2009 Edition

a) My ankle is bunk. I had a Spice Girls incident years ago (tripped over my own platform shoes)(OK I know, why the hell was I wearing platform shoes? What can I say, it was the 90s.) and ever since my right ankle has been sensitive on an on and off basis. This week, on. :-(
b) Fall means Back to Blog! I shall blog regularly again after my unexpected summer hiatus.
c) Our poor Corolla has a whole slew of problems right now. Nothing serious, but annoying enough. On the list: driver side seat belt is failing; dome light doesn't work; window rattles; some weird noise when we turn (okay that might be more serious). If anyone has a good mechanic in Portland let me know.
d) Dog or no dog? That is the question.
e) Egg Salad. I want to make egg salad today.
f) Excited to dabble in the film world again. I recently joined a small collective (if you're knowledgeable about the local film scene and interested in getting involved let me know!) producing a new program at KBOO called Behind the Screen. Listen in the last Thursday of the month.
g) I'm gazing out my window and the skies are gray. Or is it grey? Actually grey is the British spelling. So, now you know. Madonna would definitely use "grey."
h) House! Enough said.
i) Now that it's fall, I'm committed to doing more improv! A group of us gals just started meeting to play together. Hopefully that will get going on a regular basis. I founded a rad all-woman improv troupe in Chicago years ago called RED. One of the other members of this group was in Southern Oregon's Hamazons: Warrior Princesses of Comedy. Other improv opps I plan to partake in: Jumping Off Place and Curious Comedy's Open Court.
j) Didn't get to finish Jhumpa Lahiri's The Namesake before I had to return it to the library. I'm putting it on hold again.
k) Just watched Project Runway Allstars on DVR. Korto Momolu was robbed! Just goes to show that white man making an "edgy" collection that can be worn by twig-sized teens gets more respect than a woman of color making bold, well-crafted beautiful designs for women of all sizes.
l) I'm into my Burt's Bees' Lip Shimmer. Shade: Peony.
m) I'm excited to dive into the slo-cooker pork mole that Matt made. Yummy!
n) Check out the newly designed Bitch Magazine. The stalwart feminist pop culture rag took a break to regroup and are looking better than ever in "The Consumed Issue." They've also got a new Executive Director Julie Falk who we hope will continue to help steer the Bitch boat in the right direction. Call them Bitch Media now and enjoy not only the magazine, but their offerings of audio, blog and more. Support Bitch by joining their B-Hive!
o) Open auditions for Portland Theatre Brigade are happening starting next week! All young actors ages 7-15 invited to audition for this fabulous, empowering, young people's theatre company.
p) Pens I'm into right now: Uni-Ball Gel Grip Pens, 0.7 mm, Medium Point; Uni-Ball Vision Elite Liquid Rollerball Pens, 0.5 mm, Micro Point; and always the magical, wonderful standard Fine Point Sharpie.
q) Quip: 1. A clever, witty remark often prompted by the occasion.2. A clever, often sarcastic remark; a gibe. Courtesy of Free Dictionary.
r) RIP Richard Francis, host of KBOO's A Different Nature. I didn't know him well, but I know he was a sweet soul and well-loved at KBOO. Here are nice articles about Richard on the Kill Ugly Radio and Baron Landscape's Broken Hour blogs.
s) Super Project Lab, my hubby's improv troupe, has a whole bunch of shows coming up. This weekend they're doing "Old Flames" at Curious Comedy and they are sharing the bill with Canoofle. And Matt (my sweetie) directed the show!
t) TBA! TBA! TBA! Here's an interview I did with curator Kristan Kennedy for Behind the Screen.
u) Okay, nearing the end of the alphabet and feeling a bit stuck... I always wanted Wonder Woman Underoos. It seems they still make them.
v) The Verdana font was designed by Matthew Carter specifically to be read on a computer screen. Here's more from fonts.com.
w) Speaking of Wonder Woman, did you know that Joss Whedon started writing a live action film adaptation of Wonder Woman? Too bad it never came to fruition.
x) Xi is the 14th letter of the Greek alphabet. It is preceded by Nu and followed by Omicron
y) I'm a full-time working stiff now. Luckily it's at this marvelous place, Young Audiences.
z) Zee End.

Attention KBOO Members - Exercise your privilege and vote in the Board elections!

Some of you who know me may or may not know about the circumstances around my recent lay off from KBOO Community Radio. I've decided there's no reason to hash any of it out here (it's being well-hashed elsewhere and who knows, it may be fodder for a satirical short film someday). I'm still a proud member and active volunteer at the station.

And since I no longer work at KBOO, I can feel free to say how I feel about some of the folks who are currently running for KBOO's Board of Directors. If you are not a member of KBOO Community Radio then join now and support grassroots, locally crafted, non-commercial media. If you are, then you've probably received your official 2009 KBOO Voters' Guide and Ballot in the mail. Don't forget send in your completed ballot or deliver it to the KBOO Annual Membership Meeting on Saturday, September 26, by 2pm. The Annual Meeting takes place at Liberty Hall, 311 N. Ivy St.

Hell yeah!
The reason I'm endorsing the following folks is because I think they are all excellent people whose unique and thoughtful perspectives will help propel KBOO forward during a time of needed change, revolution and evolution. I'm also pleased to note that each of the candidates I'm endorsing are women of color. Where else in Portland you gonna get that kind of slate?

Keller Henry - I've worked some with Keller and can attest to the fact that she is a hard-worker, bright and energetic. Though she's only been with KBOO a short time, she's shown incredible commitment and enthusiasm. Her experience as an activist and perspective as a queer Haitian-American would be a valuable asset to KBOO and the Board.

Nia Lewis - I've worked with Nia a bunch and she kicks ass! She has been serving on the board over the past year in one of the appointed positions and has proven her worth as a committed and savvy board member. As a young African American woman she brings a much-needed perspective as KBOO continues to grow inclusive of diverse voices.

Paul Small - Paula is extremely savvy and exceptionally committed. In her short time at KBOO she's already taken on the role of Board Treasurer (she was appointed to the board at the last meeting after serving on the Finance Committee over the past few months). With her experience in accounting and non-profits, her enthusiasm and grounding energy she will continue to be a strong addition to the board.

Mimi Villarqui - Mimi is a talented and enthusiastic KBOO volunteer who's been doing KBOO events and serving on the Development Committee over the past year. Her interest in marketing/outreach combined with her commitment to community radio make her a huge asset to the KBOO board.

Please, no!
I implore you to please NOT vote for the following candidates:

Scott Forrester and Michael Papadopoulos - They are in the process of suing KBOO. More of that story here.

Now you've got my $.02. Go forth and vote!

Summer vacation is almost over

Didn't realize I was taking a summer vacation from the blog! As the summer winds down I'm back. I've been busy, busy, busy, with lots of exciting, crazy antics, which I'll probably write about later when things are a bit more settled. Because I'm been so INSANE (just know, the last three weeks, and the last few days in particular, have been one of the biggest roller coaster rides I've experienced), and because my poor hubster is so darn sensitive to the heat, we decided to go to the air-conditioned movie theater last night. A welcome and excellent distraction!

There were a few good options at the Lloyd Center theatre (the one outside the mall on Multnomah) - Funny People, (500) Days of Summer, Julie & Julia. We chose Julie & Julia starring Meryl Streep, Amy Adams and Stanley Tucci. The (based on true) story follows a nearly-30 young woman named Julie who dreams to be a writer, but depressingly plugs away at government desk job. Her husband encourages her to start a cooking blog. She decides that her blog/life project will be to cook every single recipe from Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking in exactly 365 days. Parallel to Julie's story is Julia Child's story - how she began seriously cooking in her 40s while living in Paris, studying at the Cordon Bleu and her deeply romantic and loving relationship with her husband Paul. To top it all off it was written and directed by queen of the chick flick Nora Ephron of When Harry Met Sally and Sleepless in Seattle fame. Sounds like too-perfect a package, right?

Loved it! OK, I admit, it's exactly what I wanted and needed for a distraction - a sappy, sweet love story. But it was even better than I expected from a formulaic Hollywood "chick flick."

First of all, Meryl Streep is frakkin' brilliant. She is such an amazing actress! She always manages to create fresh, complex, engaging characters, unlike so many other iconic (particularly male) actors of her caliber and age, who seem to fall into trite characterizations of themselves. (Think DeNiro, Pacino.) Streep's Julia Child is hilarious, loving, lovable, tragic, flamboyant and charming. Stanley Tucci makes a perfect Paul to Streep's Julia and their chemistry is heart-warming and wonderful to watch. Jane Lynch has a fun appearance as Julia's equally tall and charming sister.

In the other story line, Amy Adams does a very nice job as the sweet, quirky blogger. Her journey through Julia's cookbook is somewhat predictable, but well-played and satisfying. Eric Messina brings a nice grounding to their story line as husband Eric.

Another interesting aspect to the film is the political and social backdrop of the time periods of the two stories. Julia and Paul's story takes place amidst the scary McCarthy years, with Paul himself getting investigated for his communist ties. Julie and Eric live in Queens, Julie working at the Lower Manhattan Development Project post-9/11 answering calls about claims for survivors of folks who perished.

All in all, I enjoyed the film. It made me yearn for (and almost feel sick over) the gorgeous, rich French dishes. And it's always lovely and rare to see a good movie with strong, interesting, complex women characters, made by a strong female director.

Today's A 2 Z

A: Angry Asian Man
B: Blogorrhea
C: Chocolate, dark and bitter is good
D: Dr. Horrible
E: Elliot Smith
F: Fonts
G: Grace Lee Boggs
H: Hamblog
I: Improvisation
J: Juice, carrot-orange
K: KBOO
L: Lost, yes I'm enjoying it again
M: Colectivo La Malagua
N: Naomi Iizuka
O: Octavia Butler
P: Parks
Q: Quince paste and manchego cheese on a nice cracker
R: Racialicious
S: Spectacles
T: T, the letter
U: Ursula K. LeGuin
V: Vernal equinox
W: Word games, puzzles
X: Malcolm X
Y: Yam, roasted, but not candied
Z: Ruth Zaporah

donut wedding

My friend Lena just moved here from Boston. Her sweetie Paul just, just moved here from London. Today they got hitched in true Portlandia style - at the legendary Voodoo Donuts. Proprietor Tres Shannon did the honors. There were kazoos, a pirate and of course, lots of donuts. It was very sweet!

Here's a few photos. More on flickr.