John Cena, Joy and a Heel Turn

Posted on by
Reply

“We tend to measure success in things, “grind,” or status, among other ideas. Measure success in joy instead; it’s a much better gauge.” – John Cena, Be a Work in Progress. (This post contains affiliate links. If you get to Amazon after clicking a link and buy something, we will get a commission and it won’t cost you anything extra.)

Cena is an actor and retired professional wrestler. He’s best known for his roles in Peacemaker, as the voice of Honda commercials, and for his catch phrase: “You can’t see me.” He has appeared in over 35 films.

During Cena’s retirement tour for the WWE, he made a hilariously cartoonish heel turn. He laughs and hugs Cody Rhodes. His chin comes over Rhodes’ shoulder and Cena looks at the Rock in the corner of the ring. His grin turns upside down as the Rock makes a knife across the throat motion with his hand. Cena glares at life, mean-mugging for the camera, steps back with a smile, and kicks Rhodes in the privates. During the run, Cena insulted the fans and removed the joy from his last time wrestling in many places.

The heel turn didn’t work for me. We all knew Cena wouldn’t go out a heel, so there was no real tension. There wasn’t enough time to set it up, and every site out there talked about how Cena wanted to be a heel for a little bit. Cena’s turn also affected Ron “The Truth” Killings wrestling arc.

Truth became angry with Cena, like a sibling would. He said he would knock Cena back to the right side of the ring. Truth brought joy, tinged with care and concern, to the ring.

I’ll admit that I’m less than a casual fan of wrestling. I loved it in the ‘80s when it was still “real.” Somewhen along the way I stopped watching it, probably when I got to college. Still there were some things that I caught, that WWE did exceptionally well. They were great at parodying the NFL’s commercials and the NBA, at least once. They’ve had good characters and good storytelling. More importantly, the WWE is still laden with good guys and bad guys. The good guys bring joy to the world. The bad guys are the foils.

There are far too few people and things that bring joy to the world and to life. You can choose whether you want to bring people joy and make this world a happier place to live. Or you can choose to turn heel. I hope that we choose to bring joy more often than we choose to sabotage it.

What brings you joy?

‘All-American Girl’ and the Flow

Posted on by
Reply

(This article uses affiliate links. If you click on a link that takes you to Amazon and you buy a product, we get a commission. It doesn’t cost you anything extra.) In Meg Cabot’s All-American Girl, Samantha Madison is an artist, who loves to draw. When she talks about her art, she says:

When you are drawing, it is like the whole world around you ceases to exist. It is just you and the page and the pencil… When you are drawing, you are not aware of time passing, or what is happening around you. When a drawing is going really well, you could sit down at one o’clock and not look up again until five, and not even have any idea that so much time has gone by until someone mentions it, because you have been so caught up in what you are creating…

When you are drawing, you are in your own world, of your own creation.

And there is no world better than that.

The Flow

Mihály Csikszentmihalyi called this “the flow.” It is a state as Cabot describes it through her narrator, Madison. You can achieve this state through other endeavors, including sports, when solving a complex problem, and when participating in other creative activities. It is also known as “in the zone.”

‘All-American Girl’

All-American Girl is a quasi-romance seen through the eyes of a 15-year-old girl, who happens to save the President’s life. It comes with all the angst, worry, and love triangles that you might expect from the genre. It also faces the question of learning how to become one’s true self.

Creativity Notes

If you want drawing to be your thing, I recommend joining our Patreon and looking at the 2025 Advent Calendar for easy ways to draw Christmas. If you want to learn more about creativity, check out my books:

What to Do with Your Amazon Gift Card

Posted on by
Reply

(This post uses affiliate links. Read the last paragraph for more information.) The week after Christmas is the best time for authors because that’s when most people buy their books. You may wonder why this time of year generates so many sales for authors. It’s because people get Amazon gift cards for Christmas and want to spend on things they might not otherwise buy throughout the year. Books have become one of life’s guilty pleasures. They make the perfect gift for yourself and others.

Buy Books

Obviously, you should get my books with your Amazon gift card. I’ve written 16 books, including my latest in the style of Choose Your Own ending books. Creativity skills for better problem solving, fictional answers to questions I had in Russia, and autobiographical tales about My Life in the Projects and My Life in the Peace Corps. For the younger set, I have Polly Penguin Wants to Fly. Whether you’re looking for entertainment or information, I have a book for you. My favorite is The Pirate Union for its sense of 90s’ humor.

Need More Books                     

But Shad, I have all your books. Then I recommend picking up books by Darren Lamb, Drue M. Scott, and T. M. Brenner. They’re stories are unique and not something you’d get from mainstream book publishers. If you want more creativity in your story-telling, these three authors have it in spades. Which reminds me, I’ve got to get back to editing Lamb’s and Scott’s books. That’s on me.

I Don’t Read

If you’ve gotten this far in this article, clearly, you do read. You just don’t think of yourself as a reader. That’s okay. Amazon has lots of other products available for your purchase. I would stick in the movies area, but music is also nice. I love Legos, even if I can’t afford them. Whatever you need, Amazon has it, and if you use one of my affiliate links, I’ll get a commission and your product won’t cost you anything more.

What To Do with Your Etsy Gift Cards

Posted on by
Reply

Gift cards make some of the easiest gifts. You don’t have to worry about the size or color being right, and you can give them to a place that you know the person likes. But what do you do when you get a lot of gift cards? If they’re Etsy gift cards, we’ve got a solution for you. (Even if you didn’t get any Etsy gift cards, you can still take advantage of these great items.)

Sophie Scarfs

Our most popular item by far has been the Sophie scarf. This versatile accessory is soft and warm. They’ve been leaving the shop as fast as Jenya can knit them, and the reviews have been amazing. If you’ve never indulged in a scarf before, now’s the time. Keeping your neck warm makes a huge difference for the rest of your body, and these Sophie scarfs are the right choice for it.

Stuffed Bears

Jenya’s handmade plushies are unique, full of personality and soft. They become fast friends with their adoptive parents and are designed to be there in good times and bad. Jenya has one bear available at the moment. If bears aren’t your thing, we also have penguins and roly poly penguins at our Etsy shop!

Other Clothing

Jenya has also knitted a shawl, a poncho, and a blouse. These items are made for the petite person. They are designed for everyday luxury.

Etsy Gift Cards

When you give and Etsy gift card and it gets used, you’re helping a micro-business maintain their enthusiasm and productivity. More importantly, you’re getting a handcrafted item that will last for years. Thank you for finding and supporting us.

‘Christmas in Camelot’ Advent Calendar Idea

Posted on by

After the end of Magic Tree House, Merlin Missions: Christmas in Camelot, there is a section for “Christmas Craftwork.” The publisher chose to describe making an Advent Calendar that you can reuse. As someone who loves Advent Calendars, I found this concept intriguing, especially since it is an easy way to practice being creative. (This website uses affiliate links. If a link takes you to Amazon and you buy something, we earn a commission, but it doesn’t cost you any extra.)

The Basics

You’ll need 24 Velcro squares, a large piece of poster board preferably green, and supplies, like paper, crayons, colored pencils or pens, to make the countdown decorations. Draw a tree on the poster board attach ½ of each of the 24 Velcro squares. Create your ornaments from the other supplies and attach the second half of the Velcro. Be sure to number your ornaments 1 to 24, so you know which day each represents. Of course, the instructions are more detailed and kid friendly in Christmas in Camelot.

Disappointing Advent Calendar

One year I got a cheap chocolate Advent Calendar. I knew what it was: a cheap chocolate, cheap Advent Calendar. You open the door and get a small square of not great chocolate with some Christmas item printed on it. The square could have an elf, Santa, stocking, tree, or anything else related to Christmas. I wasn’t expecting anything grand, just something fun that I could afford. What I really looked forward to was the double doors labeled 24. That would be the largest piece of chocolate.

It wasn’t. I opened the doors on the appointed date to find a piece of chocolate the same size as the rest of the chocolates. Why did it have double doors when a single one would’ve been just fine?

My Solution

I spent the next year making Advent Calendars for friends and family. I sewed them from discount cloth I found after that Christmas. These were three feet wide by five feet tall, and they had 24 pockets that could hide items large or small. I put names on them with fabric paint and put them on dowels with string so they could be hung up. I then went to the dollar store and filled the Advent Calendars and sent them out.

I don’t know how long people used them. I do know at least one sold at a garage sale for $5. I was there for the garage sale and thought about retrieving it, but I had given it to the person, so I just let it go.

Avoiding Disappointment

You don’t have to go through all the work I did to create a fun reusable Advent Calendar. Christmas in Camelot has one suggestion that is guaranteed not to disappoint. And if you do it with your spouse or children, you’ll create memories that will last far into Christmas future.

Join us on Patreon if you’d like to countdown Christmas with us.

Sophie Scarfs from Jenya on Etsy

Posted on by

Jenya has knit several Sophie scarfs and put them on Etsy. These scarfs are extremely popular, she’s already sold more than a half dozen of them. That may not seem like a lot, but when you consider that she knits them by hand, you might begin to see why that number is amazing. Secondarily, it’s pretty cool that she’s been able to garner orders from across the United States for her warm creations. It’s incredible how this item has taken off for us.

What are Sophie Scarfs?

Sophie scarfs are smaller scarfs that wrap around the neck once or twice. The ends are thinner than the middle, which makes them easier to wrap together. This fashionable accessory is soft to touch and just right for the Winter season. Jenya uses yarn that she likes to knit with, so you know it’s soft to touch. She also knits in different colors. Blue has been the most popular.

Scarfs or Scarves?

For my English-speaking nerd friends, I looked it up. Either plural is valid according to Grammarly. Merriam-Webster agrees.

Discussing the Plural

Regardless of which plural you think is correct or which one you use most, you can’t use either unless you order two or more Sophie scarfs (-ves), preferably from Jenya on Etsy. While you’re there, you can look at some other great creations she’s made.

‘Tis the Season

If you’re planning your holiday season gift-giving, we’d love to be a part of that plan. You can rest assured that your Sophie scarfs will be made with care and love. We also have stuffed penguins for your favorite plushie and/or penguin lover, Roly-Poly penguins for those who need a little help with stress relief, and some teddy bears that will bring vintage back to Christmas. Visit the Penguinate shop on Etsy and order now. Quantities are limited, and shipping times are increasing.

Top 31 Ghosts at Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion on Patreon

Posted on by

I have posted the top 31 ghost at Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion on Patreon. It’s all in one place if you want to see the list on one web page (but, like, seven real pages). That particular post is for paid members only, but you can still scroll through our October posts on penguinate.com to see how everything shook out.

Thanks for being here for our countdown. Let us know what you thought with a comment below and tell us who your top ghost is at Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion.

If you want more Haunted Mansion and creativity, get my book “The Haunted Mansion Is Creativity.” If you want a different kind of Haunting fun, check out “When Hauntings Collide,” the story where you are the star.

Top 31 Ghosts at Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion: #1 The Ghost Host

Posted on by

The Ghost Host spirits guests through their Haunted Mansion experience. From beginning to end, he makes the haunted Mansion come to unlife. Voiced by the imitable Paul Frees, without the ghost host to carry the story thread, guests would be lost in a series of tableaux.

Happy Halloween!

If you want more Haunted Mansion and creativity, get my book “The Haunted Mansion Is Creativity.” If you want a different kind of Haunting fun, check out “When Hauntings Collide,” the story where you are the star.

Top 31 Ghosts at Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion: #2 Madame Leota

Posted on by

Madame Leota holds a séance to “call in the spirits wherever they’re at.” She helps send guests’ sympathetic vibrations to the other side and calls in the swinging wake. Even before her crystal ball floated, she was a marvel to behold. The imagineer and perfectly named Leota Toombs gave a face to the medium. Eleanor Audley provided the voice. Later updates would use Kim Irvine’s face; Irvine is Leota’s daughter and an imagineer.

If you want more Haunted Mansion and creativity, get my book “The Haunted Mansion Is Creativity.” If you want a different kind of Haunting fun, check out “When Hauntings Collide,” the story where you are the star.

Top 31 Ghosts at Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion: #3 Hitchhiking Ghosts

Posted on by

Exiting the Graveyard, the Ghost Host returns to warn us of hitchhiking ghosts. It seems he forgot to mention them earlier. These ghosts will follow guests home and haunt them until the guests return to the Haunted Mansion.

The Doom Buggy floats by the ghosts and into a corridor with mirrors. The mirrors reflect the guests image and the ghost, who will follow them home, sits beside them.

Disney has updated the effect, which is fun, but nothing beats the experience of going through the Haunted Mansion as a child and having a ghost sit next to you, or on your lap. With three ghosts to follow you, the Haunted Mansion had built in reasons to go back.

If you want more Haunted Mansion and creativity, get my book “The Haunted Mansion Is Creativity.” If you want a different kind of Haunting fun, check out “When Hauntings Collide,” the story where you are the star.