What Are You Not Knowing? – Research #2

 

I researched it, and today is the perfect day for #2 in my Research series!

 

Research Is #2

 

People often think science is all about facts and figures. That it is dry and boring.  Don’t tell that to a scientist.  Scientists won’t get mad at you about that claim, don’t worry. They will just look at you with a completely quizzical expression and say, “Are you crazy?  Science is all about NOT knowing facts and figures. It’s about the excitement of investigating what it is we don’t know.  That is what makes it exhilarating, not boring.”

Scientific research is walking a tightrope with the ‘Sea of Unknowing’ on one side and the canyon of ‘Can’t Be’ on the other.  You try not to fall off.  Then you DO fall off.  Then, just as you think you are lost, you find the answer you thought was at the end of the tightrope way down in the canyon or sea!

Science research is very much like creating art.

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Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman

Quote by Wernher von Braun, 1912-1977,  German born rocket scientist

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An Open (and Kinder) Letter to Gwyneth Paltrow

Hello Ms. Paltrow,

I don’t know you.  I probably know more about you than you know about me though.  I have seen you in some movies, on the red carpet via TV, read news/entertainment reports about you here and there.  I know you have a lifestyle website that give advice and information about all sorts of things.  I know you are considered beautiful by many.  I know these things about you because America, and most of the world actually, has developed an amazing obsession with people who do one particular line of work.  That line of work is the one you happen to be in, acting. You are lucky to be living now compared to 100-200 years ago, when your profession was not so highly regarded. Then you would have been considered disreputable, and while people might want to watch you on stage, they would not have wanted to actually know you.

How times have changed. Now everyone DOES want to know you.  Not only that, they actually think they do know you.  And to be honest, that is partially true. Your life is in the public eye, and that is, at least in part, a conscious decision made by you and your family.  As a result, people you don’t know know about you. They know some about your family, your marriage, your likes and dislikes in fashion, food, charities, makeup, hair, and more.

The Special Categories

As a result of this appearance of knowing you, many feel close to you, like you are friends with them.  That is a pretty cool thing.  But you aren’t just showing yourself to ‘friends’, you are showing yourself to everyone.  And here’s the bad part Gwyneth.  You are in that special category of humans (actors) that America has decided does not deserve to be shown the respect they would show to their real friends.  The reason for this is because they don’t, in spite of thinking maybe you are their friend, think you are actually real.  You are just a creation, like the movies you are in.  Those who follow this idea of course don’t feel the need to show you respect, or compassion, or mercy, or kindness, or forgiveness. They get a free pass on all that because you aren’t real.

Of course some may think you are real. But they have another category of human that trumps that and so they still feel they have the right to withhold those elements of civility. That second category is ‘the privileged rich’. You aren’t a person who just happens to have a lot of money, you are ‘the privileged rich’.  As a result, many feel they can treat you like they would an alien species or an animal who doesn’t have feelings and doubts and hardships like they do. They can degrade you. They can mock you. They can rally their friends and society at large against you. They can destroy you.  After all, you aren’t one of them.   You are an alien who doesn’t deserve anything.

Working

Two recent events regarding you made all this come to the fore.  First was your interview in which you said your type of work is harder for you than a different type of work that is more consistent and regular is for other mothers.  Some people, mostly mothers, didn’t like that.  But since you are in the two aforementioned categories they didn’t do what they would have done with their friends.  What they would have done with their friend is perhaps say “yea, I can imagine that sucks. I wouldn’t want to be away from my kids that long either.  My life is consistent, it’s true. I do the same things day in, day out, for the most part. But it’s can be really hard too.”  At which point I have every reason to believe you would have said, “Yea, it can be hard for both of us.” and then you both would have continued to talk as friends about it.

Conscious Uncoupling

The second event was your recent separation from your husband.  In your announcement you used the words, ‘conscious uncoupling.’  It was a phrase most of us hadn’t heard before. Some people made fun of that phrase because it wasn’t the single word, ‘Divorce’.  They used your use of that phrase as a weapon against you, saying you are pretentious and elitist.  What they didn’t do was actually think about the phrase.  They were so busy mocking and denigrating they forgot to actually pay attention.  If they had been paying attention then they might have realized the phrase is actually a pretty interesting and effective way of saying ‘separation’ or ‘divorce’. It makes you think about it in a new and different way.  But those people don’t want to be faced with thinking new things.  They want to stay with what their tribe, and the influencers that lead the tribe, say is approved.  If it’s not approved, then it is worthy of being mocked.

What a Friend Would Do

Here is the crux of it all.  I don’t know you.  You might actually be pretentious or out of touch in real life, I don’t really know after all.   But I certainly don’t think those to examples show it.  But I do know that even if you did say something that showed a lack of understanding on your part, I would respond as I would to a friend. I would first try to understand you; where you are in your life, what you deal with.  I would try to walk in your shoes.  Not your supposed shoes of privilege, but your emotional shoes. Your real shoes.  The shoes worn by a human, not a mockable category.  I would then, if I didn’t fully understand, give you the benefit of the doubt.  I wouldn’t assume you had bad intentions or motives or were a terrible person because of what you said. I would probably ask you what you meant.  I have a strong feeling asking you that would solve any issue I had.

Judgment is the New Black

Unfortunately Gwyneth, you and I are living in an era where judgment is the new black.  Judgment can be a good thing of course, but when it is bereft of it’s  balancing partners it usually isn’t. What are judgment’s partners?  They are compassion, understanding, mercy, silence, patience, forgiveness, openheartedness and openmindedness.  Instead partners that bring out the worst in judgment are on the scene. They are envy, jealousy, self-righteousness, mean-spiritedness and hatred.  What we end up with is an America that thrives on judging and attacking others in the most unthinking, vicious way possible.

Anyway, that is just a bit of what I have had on my mind in the last few days regarding your public situation.  I hope it helps you to see that most of this negative response you are getting, and have gotten for quite a while, is not about you, it’s about them.  It’s about their small minded desire to be part of their self-righteous tribe and their unconscious anger that they are not you.  

I wish you the best with your family situation and your career,

A friend you don’t know,

Marty Coleman

Being Purpocuriosiful

 

 

Researching my Belly Button

Purposeful

Recently I gave a lecture about Photography to PHOTOG, a group I help lead here in Tulsa. The title of my talk was ‘What’s Inside Your Camera?’ and it was an explanation of the workings of the camera.  Of course to talk intelligently about it I thought it might be wise for me to research exactly what DOES happen in a camera. I mean, I know…but I don’t KNOW.  

Curious

So, I went about researching. My research was driven by what I was curious about. How does that image get on the screen in the back anyway?  I knew how it worked in old film cameras, but I didn’t know the details of how it worked in a digital camera.  My curiosity went in that purposeful direction.

I did that a number of different times; exploring this history, that part of the camera, this function. Whatever piqued my curiosity, I went looking into it.  I followed threads of images, forums, essays, lessons, in whatever direction I wanted to know more about.  I didn’t try to have it all make sense before I started. I explored first and it was only after I had done that for many hours that I started to see how it all worked in detail. 

Purposeful Again

I then organized the talk with a certain logic; starting at the lens, where the light enters the camera, and ending at the very back of the camera, where we see the resulting image.  

Purpocuriosiful

That is my favorite way to work, purpocuriosiful. I start with a general idea and a broad purpose. Then, within those wide parameters I just explore freely.  I allow myself to be confused, to not know how something will turn out, how it will all make sense, while I do this exploring. I allow it because I know the process works. I know my brain will eventually see patterns and structures within my purpocuriosiful explorations and I will be able to organize the information so others can gain from it.

While I am not a scientist I know from talking to my daughter, Rebekah, who is a one, that she often works that way, as do many others.  Art and science are not as far apart as people sometimes think.

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Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman

Quote by Nora Neale Hurston, 1891-1960, African-American Folklorist and Writer

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The Tutored Tooting – A Short Short Story

Prologue

I knew these girls.  They were the girls I liked in High School.  Not always the smartest, but definitely the smartassiest.

 

The Tutured Tooting

 

Chapter One

They were way too smart for school. Nonetheless, school they were in.  And they weren’t doing very well.  Especially in Chemistry. It wasn’t that they couldn’t learn Chemistry, it was that they didn’t care about Chemistry.  What did chemicals have to do with anything?  I mean, yea, you have ‘chemistry’ with someone, like your boyfriends. And yea, you don’t want to blow yourself or stuff up by accident so you should know how to not do that.  But organic and inorganic chemistry as a whole class, a whole YEAR? That was pure torture.

Chapter Two

To save money parents had the option of having a group tutoring session.  So now these two girls were at the bookstore sitting with the same tutor.  They didn’t know each other, they just knew OF each other.  They weren’t in the same clique and didn’t do the same school activities. The girl in blue, Amy, was a jock.  The girl in gray, Abby, was in Band.   Amy had a reputation for being really funny.  Abby had a reputation for being really funny too.

Chapter Three

The tutor was a nice lady who wore a pink wool top and gray skirt. Amy thought the skirt was too short for someone so old. Abby thought the pink top made her look like she was from the 60s, like the President who got killed’s wife, whatever her name was.  The tutor had been a full time teacher but had to quit when her mother got sick and needed care. Now she tutored 3 days a week and made almost as much money as she did teaching with nowhere near the hassle.

Chapter Four

The tutor was explaining chemically how gas is formed.  This was an unfortunate topic for Abby, who at that very moment was having severe gas pains in her bowels.  She was waiting to excuse herself until the tutor finished when it happened.  Abby tooted. It wasn’t really loud or really long, but it was loud enough.  The tutors eyes went wide. Amy put her hand over her mouth and tried to suppress a laugh.  It didn’t work.  Amy laughed loud, louder than the toot.  Abby blushed, then looked at the tutor and said, “Sorry, may I go to the bathroom please?”  The tutor scowled, rolled her eyes and said, “Yes, please do.”

Chapter Five

Amy immediately asked if she could go too and the tutor said yes.  When they both got in the bathroom they started laughing hysterically.  Abby said, “I don’t know what she was so upset about, that’s chemistry in action, right?” Amy caught her breath and said, “Exactly, that’s the chemistry they should teach in school, everyone would pay attention then!”

Chapter Six

The tutoring session ended a few minutes later with both girls barely able to keep it together.  They stayed behind after the tutor left.  They did homework, looked at magazines and talked about a million different things for another 2 hours before they both had to go home for dinner.

Epilogue

That day was the day they both met their best friend. Now, 25 years later, they live a mile from each other. They talk every day. Ironically enough, Amy actually did become a Chemical Engineer and Abby became a Science Writer.  They have helped each other through college, graduate school, marriages, divorces, babies, moves, jobs, firings, illnesses and everything else.  They love to tell the story of how they met.

The End

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Drawing and Story by Marty Coleman ©2014

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A Portrait at Starbucks – A Short Short Story (True)

#1

I’ve gone to the same Starbucks in Tulsa about 3 times in a row now. It is not where I usually travel but I had to get my car serviced a number of times and it’s the coffee spot closest to the dealership.  Each time I’ve spent time working and drawing, usually about an hour or so.  Each time the same woman was there.  The first time I noticed her but I was faced the opposite direction and ended up drawing a couple talking at a window table while it snowed.  

Two Women at a Tulsa Starbucks

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#2

The second time I drew her on a napkin and showed it to her. I also showed her the sketchbook drawing from my first trip there and the sketchbook drawing I was doing that day, of a woman being interviewed at the end of my table.  

 

The Interview

 

I haven’t finished her napkin yet but I did take a photo of her with it, as I always like to do if possible.  I emailed her the photograph.  While we talked I found out she liked to hang out there before her job at Dillards, a department store at the nearby mall.  I also found out she had taught English in Korea for a year and had just got back in the summer of 2013.

20140220-112146.jpg

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#3

The third time I sat across from her and drew her in my sketchbook.  She told me that she had decided to go back to Korea for at least another year to teach again.  I admire the courage it takes to go off to a new part of the world all by yourself.  To go back a second time, that really says something about what you discovered about the place, and about yourself, the first time around.  I wish I had done that in college or afterwards.

Tulsa Starbucks 3

 

I wish her great fortune in her journey to Korea!

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Drawings and writing by Marty Coleman

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Photographic Sunday – Scenes from a Conference

As I’ve mentioned, I spent almost a week down in Austin, TX at SXSW (South By Southwest) Interactive at the beginning of March.  I had my DSLR camera with me but I actually took a lot more photos with my iPhone and iPad mini than I did with my larger camera.

Workshop Portraits

I led a 2 1/2 hour workshop on the first day titled ‘The Compelling Image in the Age of Social Media’.  A lot of the hands on activities I had the participants do were related to portraiture and to composition using a simple cell phone.  I also participated some in taking pics and below are examples of what I was teaching them.

Portrait Model for my Workshop at SXSW

Portrait Model for my Workshop at SXSW

Portrait with Eyebrow at SXSW

Portrait with Eyebrow at SXSW

A simple front lit portrait is a great way to get a good photo without much work.  Including the environment around the model helps identify her in an actual place, filling out her identity and giving a mood or feel to the image.

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Partial Portrait Model for my Workshop at SXSW

Partial Portrait Model for my Workshop at SXSW

Partial Portrait Model for my Workshop at SXSW

Partial Portrait Model for my Workshop at SXSW

Heels and Guitar Shadow at SXSW

Heels and Guitar Shadow at SXSW

Portraits of people with just part of their face, or without any part of their face, showing is one of my favorite ways to emphasize character and style and place.  I had them work on that idea of  ‘partial portrait’ and also taught them how to take photos of strangers.  I practiced what I preached in the middle photo, asking a volunteer at the conference center if I could take a photo of her necklace and earrings.

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Conference Portraits

Gaming Glasses at SXSW

Gaming Glasses at SXSW

She was modeling and selling ‘gaming glasses’ at the Gaming Expo of SXSW. I had no idea what they were at first, I thought it was just a sunglass company selling their wares. But she explained that the glasses helped reduce glare, blue light and eye strain for gamers who are at the monitor or TV for hours at a time. That interested me because my daughter Rebekah the Neuroscientist (yes I am bragging) is also a fierce gamer.  I took this woman’s pic and messaged it to Beka at the time to show her the glasses.

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 Subway Lounge

Woman with One Eye Open at SXSW

Woman with One Eye Open at SXSW

I was at the outdoor Subway lounge charging my iPhone and struck up a conversation with one of the Subway hostesses/models. She wasn’t in a costume at the time but she told how she had been earlier and how cool it was. The costume was designed by a hot and upcoming fashion designer in Austin who used nothing but Subway material for the costume.  I really wanted to see it but that promotion was done for the day.

The lounge had this very odd plant block with flowers on top in the middle of it and I found myself trying to figure out how to place it in an image.  I asked her to model for me with it in the background and she was open to the idea.  If you’ve ever seen my photo-collages you know I do a lot of ‘one eye open, one eye closed’ images and I had her pose both ways. I later collaged the two images to get this one.

I went back the next day and lo and behold there were two models in the costume she had mentioned.  I asked them if I could take photos of their backs (another part I take a lot of photos of) and after initially wondering ‘uh?’ said ok.  I posed them on either side of the bizarre plant block.  That combined with the symmetrical trashcans made for a pretty interesting image I thought.

Subway Models at SXSW

Subway Models at SXSW

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Kat

While I was in Austin I wanted to finally meet a long time Flickr friend, Kat. We have known each other via our photos for 6 years or so but have never met in person. She came and picked me up one morning and took me to a cool coffee spot in Austin not far from the convention center.  We then took a short side trip around back where there were some brightly colored building so we could have a mini-shoot.

I took most of the pics with my DSLR camera but I took one with my iPhone so I could use them as a new example in my presentation about the capabilities and power of the camera in  your pocket.  Here are the pics, can you guess which one is from the cell phone?

Kat #1

Kat #1

Kat #2

Kat #2

Kat #3

Kat #3

Kat #4

Kat #4

Put your guess in the comments and I will let you know in a day or two which one is right.

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SXSW at Night

At night the conference spilled out onto 6th street, the main entertainment drag in Austin.  I wasn’t with anyone so I just wandered around looking for interesting scenes. Here are a few I caught.

Street Scene at SXSW

Street Scene at SXSW

Robot Love at SXSW

Robot Love at SXSW

Performers at SXSW

Performers at SXSW

Grumpy Cat at SXSW

Grumpy Cat at SXSW

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Rain

Two Reds on a Gray Day at SXSW

Two Reds on a Gray Day at SXSW

Rain dominated the weather for a few days of the conference.  As I walked from the bus stop to the convention center early one morning I saw this woman in bright red pants brighten up what was otherwise a completely gray/brown landscape.  When I turned after passing her I noticed the red sign in the distance and loved the balance of the two. I originally posted it on Instagram, that’s the reason behind the square format.

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Street Mystery

Composition with Mystery at SXSW

Composition with Mystery at SXSW

And of course in taking street photos you often don’t know what you are going to get. Here I captured a moment right between two people walking by. I was paying attention to the person all in purple but I caught a sweet spot right between that person and the cape leading the way.  It’s an arrow and a mystery.

I really was focused on learning and networking and didn’t take nearly as many interesting photos as I usually do. Next year I will take more!

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© 2021 Marty Coleman | napkindad.com

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Christian Mediocrity – Meh Meh Mediocrity #5

 

Today is the appropriate day to talk about Christianity’s love affair with mediocrity.

 

christian mediocrity

The ‘Inappropriate’ Outfit

A friend of mine who has modeled for our photography group here in Tulsa attends a fashion design college.  She was called out in front of her classmates recently for her ‘extremely inappropriate’ choice of clothing by her teacher. She said it was inappropriate because the college was a ‘christian college’.  

She was quite upset by the confrontation because she takes great pride in her fashion choices and styles.  It was embarrassing and humiliating for her.  The outfit consisted of a typical black tank top and black long pants along with a black leather jacket. I have seen a photo of her outfit and it is well within acceptable bounds for a young woman in America, especially at a fashion design school.  It seems to me that it was an act of public shaming on the part of the teacher that isn’t easy to explain.

Slut Shaming?

It made me start thinking about Christianity’s obsession with ‘appropriateness’.  Why did this teacher think the outfit was inappropriate?  Were there men ogling the student? Were women whispering behind her back?  Were her private parts showing?  Maybe the teacher herself was unable to concentrate because she was so distracted by the outfit?  Did the teacher think my friend was in danger of appearing too ‘loose’ or ‘slutty’ and would get sexually assaulted as a result?

Reputation and Judgment

I actually don’t think the teacher thought any of those things.  I think the teacher’s reputation was threatened.  I think she, and many Christians, wants a world where no one can question their appropriateness. And to do that they have to make sure no one thinks they approve of others who are supposedly inappropriate.  Not just other people, but whole arenas of activity and effort in the creative world;  fashion, art, music, dance, film.  They are quick to judge because they themselves are worried about being seen as insufficiently righteous if they don’t.

Christian Mediocrity

What is the result of that mindset?  The result is mediocrity.  They are firmly planted in the safe middle with safe music, safe art, safe fashion, safe film.  They don’t have to consider new creative ideas and images because they have already have a handy pre-judgment at hand that declares those ideas and images as inappropriate.  And something judged to be inappropriate, even without good reasons behind the judgment, can be dismissed without consideration.

And mediocrity thrives when new ideas aren’t allowed to be considered.

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Drawing, quote and commentary by Marty Coleman

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Baby Bodyless Ghirl Ghosts Get Rambunctious – A Short Short Story #14

 

Last we saw them, the bodyless Ghirl Ghosts were having a Bodyless Ghirl Ghosts Weekend. Meanwhile, their Ghost babies were being baby sat back home.  

 

Baby ghirl ghosts get a surprise

 

Ghost Babies

Wait… you didn’t know ghosts had baby ghosts? Yep, they can.  If the ghosts have bodies they have babies the normal ghost way, through their ghost private parts.  But if they are bodyless Ghirl Ghosts like the ghosts in our story, they can’t do it that way since they don’t have ghost private parts.  So, they give birth to their baby bodyless ghosts through their mouths.  Yes, Once they have ghost sex (which for bodyless ghosts is just making out) they pop them out like bubbles from their ghost mouth.  Hard to believe, but it’s true.

Ghost Ghoos

So, while their ghost moms were off having their little holiday, the baby ghirl ghosts were being baby sat.  Another cool thing about being a ghost is you don’t need other ghosts to babysit.  All you need is Ghost Ghoo.  Ghost Ghoo is something all ghosts can release, sort of like ghost poop, but it’s not gross.  It is a part of the ghost who let’s it out that stays behind. The ghost gives it instructions and it follows them.  It’s like a ghost rhobot.  So, in this case the ghost ghoos was instructed to take care of the baby ghosts. They fed them, got them to take naps, let them play safely, took them on field trips and more.

Causing Trouble for the Ghoos

But on this day there was trouble.  The baby ghosts being taken care of by the red ghost ghoo got very rambunctious and wouldn’t obey the Red Ghost Ghoo.  They fought, tried to run away and played practical jokes on the Red Ghost Ghoo.  It got so bad that the Red Ghost Ghoo broke apart into pieces, which is what ghost ghoos do when they get really flustered.  The biggest piece collapsed on the floor into a ghoo pile and started to cry.

The other Ghost Ghoos; Orange, Blue, Green and Pink, did their best to round up all the baby ghosts that the Red Ghost Ghoo had been taking care of.  It took them a long time and they were none too happy about it.  They gave a stern lecture to the baby ghosts about obeying authority and made them apologize to the Red Ghost Ghoo.

Horror Movie

As punishment and as a lesson about what happens when they don’t obey they made them watch a very scary horror movie about evil people trying to destroy them called Ghostbusters.

The End

To see and read the whole Ghirl Ghost series of short stories, click on the ‘series’ drop down menu to the right and go to ‘Bodyless Ghirl Ghosts‘.

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Drawing and story by Marty Coleman

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Kindness & Attraction

 

Do you agree with this?  At first I thought I did, but now I don’t think I do.

 

if you are naturally kind, you attract a lot of people you don't like

 

Kind and Like

I think I am naturally kind and  I like most of the people I come in contact with ( or that are ‘attracted’ to me, since we are using that term here).  I can imagine if I was in a romantic/intimate relationship, even married, to some of them they would bug me and we probably wouldn’t last.  I can imagine if I were in a business relationship with some of them they may annoy me.  But ‘don’t like’? I don’t think that is true. I like them plenty.  I think being naturally kind actually mean you like most people.  You might notice things that bother you, but that is not the same as declaring you don’t like someone.

The Server hating Serving

I remember back when I waited tables at Eulipia Restaurant in San Jose, CA.  One of my co-workers really hated waiting on people.  I couldn’t figure out why she stayed in the service industry if she was so bothered by serving. I think it’s the same with kindness. If you are naturally kind you don’t mind people and their uniqueness much. If you do, then maybe your kindness isn’t really all that natural. Maybe it’s just a burdensome feeling of obligation to be nice.  That certainly comes in handy, but it’s not the same as being naturally kind.

but maybe I am missing something. What do you think, is the quote true? Explain.

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Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman

Quote by William Feather, 1889-1981, American Author and Publisher

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Less Thoughts, Not Less Thinking – Simplicity #6

 

SXSW

I am back from 6 days at SXSW Interactive in Austin, TX.  I led a workshop then attended presentations and panels on a wide range of topics. Being there is the ultimate in complex reality.  Between the overwhelming crowds and choices; the sheer logistics of eating, drinking, transporting, sleeping, and the intense focus of meeting, talking, learning, teaching, communicating, and remembering it all, it was anything but simple. 

 

simplicity is less thoughts, not less thinking.

 

The Simplicity of Thinking Now

The only way I could keep it simple was to be focused on what was in front of me.  Whether it was a person I was meeting for the first time, a slide on a screen, a lecturer, or a transportation moment, paying attention to that alone allowed it to stay as simple as it could be at the moment.

The Complexity of Thinking Not Now

Yes, I was multitasking. for example, I wanted to tweet (find me at @thenapkindad) what was being said but I also wanted to take notes. My solution? My tweets became my notes.  When I got in trouble was when I thought ahead instead of stayed with what I was doing.  For example,  leaving my hotel in the morning.  I never forgot my badge, thank God, but I did forget my water bottles one day. Doesn’t seem like a big deal, but when water is 3.25 a bottle? It’s a big deal.  I forgot my schedule booklet one day and had to go over to registration (a long way in a big convention center) to get a new one, one not marked up with all my notes.  I had left mine in the hotel bathroom when I went back in to make sure I was empty before starting my day. Twice while at the conference I left a water or coffee behind that cost way too much to leave behind.  Yes, I went back and got them each time and it added frazzlement to my day.

Less Thoughts, More Thinking

All this made me think about Simplicity. I realized I didn’t need to think less, I needed to have less thoughts.  When I limited the amount of thoughts or was able to unify those thoughts into a clear thread of thinking, then I was successful in getting the most out of my time and efforts. That’s simple enough, right?

Check out the rest of the Simplicity Series here. 

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Drawing, quote and commentary by Marty Coleman

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The Beauty within the Camera

 

An Apology

First off, my apologies if you tried to get to my site yesterday. It was hacked and down for most of the day.  With the help of a great PHP coder, Jim Gillispie, I was able to get it back up and running just in time for a momentous week ahead. Thanks Jim!

SXSW

I am headed to the SXSW (South by Southwest) Interactive Conference in Austin, TX tomorrow. I am leading a workshop called, ‘The Compelling Image in the Age of Social Media‘ on Friday.  I wanted one more napkin for my presentation so I drew this one.  

If you are headed to SXSW and would like to attend my ‘workshop‘, get your name on the waiting list as soon as you can and hopefully a spot will open up.  The best and quickest way to contact me there will be via twitter. My handle is @thenapkindad.

The camera

Seeing With a Camera

One of the best quotes about photography is this if/then proposition:  “If you want to take a beautiful photograph, then stand in front of something beautiful and press the button.”  This proposition is true but there is a variable within it.  That variable is what you consider to be beautiful.  For me, a series of questions follow from that variable: Is my mind open to seeing beauty that isn’t readily apparent? Can I see beauty in details, in unexpected and hidden places, within something larger that may not be beautiful?  Can I escape judgment long enough to explore an alternative appreciation for something?

I believe my camera can often be a gateway to that freedom, both for me as the photographer in the moment of discovery and later for the viewer of the image in the moment of revelation.

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Drawing by Marty Coleman

Quote by Dorothea Lange, 1895-1965, American photographer

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