Creativity, Life and the Meaning of Paper

In my research about journals, I have noticed an increasingly large number of memory books on the market.

One in particular struck me by its honesty and the depth of questioning it contained – “Memento”, by Michael McQueen www.mementobook.com . Inspired by finding a small notebook his recently deceased father had written, which contained a wealth of stories and experiences from his father’s life, the author contacted all his friends and contacts with one simple question, “What do you wish you could ask a loved one who is no longer alive?” The results of his survey are contained in the book. [Read more →]

There is a saying, “garbage in = garbage out”. I’m sure you’ve heard it before…

To generate good ideas, you need to have something to base them on. If you’re feeling flat and uncreative, there’s a good chance you’re near the end of your input supply and in need of some fresh inspiration.

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Well, it’s started. History could well be in the making – or so we hope. Today starts the Copenhagen Conference on Climate Change and so far, most of the world’s biggest emitters have come to the table with significant plans to cut emissions.

And to really set the scene, 56 newspapers around the world (not including Australia by the way) published an unprecedented shared editorial, many on the front page, www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/dec/06/copenhagen-editorial. [Read more →]

This is a reminder to everyone who lives in bushfire zones (including those on city fringes) to not only prepare your bushfire plan and your property, but make sure you back up your treasured digital photos to an offsite storage facility or onto a separate portable hard disk, and get all your treasures and photos off your property before summer really hits. [Read more →]

Need to clear your head?

It’s impossible to have good ideas when you’re surrounded by chaos. Ideas need time to germinate, grow. Ever heard the term, “I need to sleep on it” or “putting it on the back burner” . That’s old wisdom that has now been proven by brain science. [Read more →]

A few years ago, I bought a great book called Ideas Generation by Rosemary Herceg and Tim Flannery. In an effort to keep myself out of bookshops, I have been re-reading it, hoping to refresh my memory and perhaps see things in a new light, considering the change of context. [Read more →]

I really must stop going into bookshops.

My most recent expedition into Readings led to (yet another) an interesting discovery.

How to Be an Explorer of the World: Portable Art Life Museum by Keri Smith (inspired by any number of other artists, writers and thinkers). If you ever have writer’s block or are in need of creative inspiration, this is a gem. [Read more →]

Every now and then, I see something on TV or read a book that really blows my mind. (Currently this seems to be happening about once a fortnight. What does that mean for my mind, I wonder?)

The show How Kevin Bacon Cured Cancer (5/6 of it is available on YouTube, Part 1 - www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcCpEf6_Ofg – yes, it is frustrating that it’s missing the last 1/6!) was one of these moments.

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I am fascinated by neuroscience.

After reading pretty much everything Daniel Goleman ever wrote (he’s the emotional intelligence guy – next time you lose the plot, blame him – or your amygdala), I discovered a really interesting book on brain plasticity, The Brain that Changes Itself by Norman Doidge www.normandoidge.com.

While this book contains some really interesting stuff all the way through, what was of most interest to me was about kids and electronic media in the Appendices. As a parent in a digital age, it really got me thinking… [Read more →]

Starting a business is a mix of stuff – confusing, revealing, energising (providing you’re not awake at 4am most nights, like I tend to do) and frustrating. [Read more →]