The Wellington Museum explores the stories that made Wellington a town. With a heavy emphasis on the creative arts and creativity, this is one of my favorite museums in New Zealand.
Continue readingTag Archives: Creativity
New Zealand: Photos from Toitu Otago Settlers Museum in Dunedin
The Toitu Otago Settlers Museum is located next to the Dunedin train station. It has exhibits that focus on creativity, vehicles, and what was important to the people that lived in the region.
Continue readingNew Zealand: Devonport Brings Victorian Seaside, Shopping, and Creativity Together
A ferry ride to Devonport comes with the Auckland Explorer Bus Tour. We were able to use our ticket on the day after we had done the hop on, hop off experience. Devonport is a small suburb of Auckland that is full of quaint shops and cafes. If you like shopping and eating, this is the place to go.
Continue readingNew Zealand: A Short Survey of New Zealand’s Creativity
The Arts Council of New Zealand is dedicated to opening the world to the arts of New Zealand. It facilitates creative exchanges and helps fund everyday artists and their works. Called “Creative New Zealand,” the organization is funded by the government and confirms New Zealand’s dedication to the arts and their proliferation.
Continue readingWhy Have I Chosen These Titles for My Poll?
Writing a book isn’t as simple as having an idea and running with it, or at least, it isn’t for me. Writer’s need to consider what will sell, what they have inspiration for, and what their writing plans are. It’s a lot convoluted and other writers have different ways of working. For the moment, these are the titles that I can work on and why they’re included in the poll.
Extermination of the Ice Goddess – This book is about a boy who is recruited into an army that wants to eliminate the Ice Goddess. His companion is a different species. Together, they go out into the world, find the worshippers of the Ice Goddess and destroy their power sources. I’ve already got a part of the story written. I’ve been shopping it to magazines, but I think I can grow it into a trilogy or more. “No man follows the goddesses.”
Rod Serling and the Fifth Dimension – I don’t have all the materials I would like to use for research, but I do have much of them. This examination of the Twilight Zone and its creator would take time; there are five seasons of the original Twilight Zone. But it would be fun to examine his genius and what the Twilight Zone has to say about creativity. My copy of “As I Knew Him” is in Oregon, but that’s a minor problem. This could be used for comic convention presentations.
Saturday Mornings in the 1980s: A Study in Creativity – This would be a book full of nostalgia and it would examine everything about my Saturday mornings in the 1980s. Cereal, cartoons, and commercials would make up the largest components of this book. It would be fun and a lot of research.
Reimagining Tomorrow: Essays and Short Stories – There are a lot of dystopias out there and few utopias. With this book, I want to present a positive vision of the future and something we can work towards. This one will take research and brain power. It’s a little outside what I feel I can do properly, and I’m not sure I could get others to participate in an anthology style without coming up with some sort of payment. (I tried it with the “Haunted Mansion Is Creativity” and only two others participated – Thanks, mom and Darren!)
The Jungle Cruise Is Creativity – The third in the Disneyland Is Creativity series! The Jungle Cruise is one of the original attractions at Disneyland and opened in 1955, which means it has an anniversary next year. These books give me a presentation to pitch to comic conventions that may want Disney related content at their event. They are also my best-selling books. I would do this one a little bit differently because I want to examine the inspiration behind the Jungle Cruise, including “the African Queen” and the imagineers who made it successful, like Bill Evans. Also, no single tour can cover all of the humor in the Jungle Cruise since it changes with each skipper. I don’t have access to all of the information I would need, but I’m okay with that because I think I could get access to much of it by changing my entertainment provider.
Snow Wh-Island – That’s just a working title. I’ve also thought about “Fairy T-Isles.” Still a work in progress. This would be in the style and world of “The Pirate Union.” It wouldn’t be a sequel or a prequel; it would just be its own story. Something funny, something crazy, something weird, and maybe something timely. It’s hard to say what this story would actually be, though I have three chapters outlined, I have no idea where it would end up. Since my collaborator for “The Pirate Union” is no longer available for collaboration (or is he?), it will be a little more difficult to pull of the amazing humor and directions the PU took. Still it could be funny.
The Creativity Workbook – I don’t know if this needs another title, but basically, I have three sections outlined. This would be an intro to why the idea is important, and then how to improve your skills in that area. For example, believing that you’re creative is the first step to becoming more creative. The workbook explains why you’re creative, why you should believe it, and then it takes you through several different activities so that you can prove to yourself that you are creative. This book would contain fewer words than most books because it is a workbook.
Penguinate! At the Movies – This would be the easiest for me to pull together. It would consist of reviews of movies and essays inspired by the movies, most of which I have already published on my websites somewhere. I would just need to take them down, format them and then get a book cover. This would be the third in The Penguinate! series, which has been my least successful in terms of sales. Part of that is probably due to the title of the first one, which is in the process of changing to “Penguinate! Positive Creativity.”
Star Trek and Creativity: Where No One Has Gone Before – This would take a lot of research, and I only have access to part of it at the moment. Gene Roddenberry’s vision of the future is fascinating and should be great fuel for a book about creativity and moving toward that future. I don’t have access to any of the books, but I still think I could work this correctly and then use it for comic convention presentations.
So that’s a little bit about the books in my poll. If you haven’t voted already, please do. Thanks.
P.S. I have other titles that didn’t make the poll list because nine was already enough (Why didn’t I keep it to eight?) and I don’t have the necessary materials to make them happen. “My Life in the Peace Corps,” “Ray Bradbury and the Theater of Creativity,” and “My Life in the Soviet Union” are all under future consideration as is “My Life at Disneyland” though I don’t know exactly which direction, I’m going to take with that one, it’ll involve having to go through my stuff that is stored at mom’s.
There may be more ideas floating around, but I have to find the notes about them. For the moment, I’m just considering the nine that are in the poll.
Did You Catch the Creativity Secrets in the Countdown?
As part of the countdown for our last Patreon offer for new members, I did a series of photos featuring our penguins and numbers. Each photo had Easter eggs related to creativity in them. Do you know what those Easter Eggs were?
Number 10: All of these penguins are sitting on a couch. They’re comfortable. Because they are comfortable, they are ready to create. Getting comfortable is especially important in industrial creativity because being creative is risky, and people who are worried about losing their jobs aren’t going to take risks.
Number 9: Thinking outside the box is great when being creative, but sometimes, what’s left inside the box can be just as surprising. If you’re interested in the learning portion, a number with an exclamation point beside it is a factorial. That means you’re supposed to multiply the number by every number below, i.e. 9x8x7x6x5x4x3x2x1.
Number 8: Just like our penguins welcome a new penguin (Did you notice the new penguin? It still needs a name), you need to welcome new ideas. Don’t be afraid of what’s new, embrace it like a stuffed penguin would embrace you.
Number 7: Most creativity results form some sort of collaboration. The Muppets weren’t just Jim Henson; they were also Frank Oz, Caroll Spinney, and a host of other puppeteers. Grab a few collaborators and make beautiful music, art or whatever together.
Number 6: Travel is a great way to jump start your creativity. You get exposed to new cultures, foods and ideas. Think about them enough, and they can result in new ideas.
Number 5: Brainstorming is one of the quickest ways to get a lot of ideas. Be sure to have someone record them. You can even do it by yourself.
Number 4: Being childlike is important to creativity and remaining young. Have a tea party with your stuffed pals and invite friends along. Find a way to play make believe. And if a tea party makes you think of Alice, she’s a great role model because she’s curious. Be curious. (Bonus Easter Egg: Check out the cups and find a surprise that is correlated with greater creativity. Don’t laugh when you see it, or do, actually, laughing might be better.)
Number 3: These penguins are recording their time together with a photo. You should record your ideas when they occur to you. Always have a pen and paper handy or make a note on your phone. Don’t let the idea get away, record it somehow.
Number 2: Books can be a great way to continue learning or to find inspiration. Books also allow you to exercise your imagination. Read a little every day and change up your genres to keep your creativity function at a higher level.
Number 1: You’ve got to set aside time for your creativity, and that time needs to be guarded against the intrusions of everything that would distract you. It’s hard to do, but giving yourself an hour to do something creative every day will improve your creativity.
Which Easter eggs did you spot that we missed? Leave a comment and let us know.
Do You Know How Many Articles I Can Write on Creativity in a Month?
Have you ever wanted to know how many articles I could write on creativity in a month? Generally, I spread my writing out with travel articles, movie and book reviews, penguins and Disney-related material. Oftentimes, there’s an overlap between these subjects and creativity; sometimes, I don’t point the overlap out. What does this have to do with anything?
For the last week of July at our Patreon page, I am issuing a challenge to you, the members of my Patreon and myself. For every five new members that pledge at any level, I will write an article about creativity for all of the Penguinators. If 20 people join, I will write 4 articles for the challenge and one because that’s what I normally write. If 50 people join, I will write 10 articles plus one or more depending on the other goals we achieve. If 150 people join, I will write 30 articles plus one or more depending on the other goals we achieve. That would be at least one a day for the month of August!
I’m pretty confident I can write one a day because I’ve been able to do that at my website for the last 210 days. In fact, I think I can write as many as five articles a day, but that would mean 750 people would have to sign up at our Patreon page.
If you want to know how many articles on creativity I can write over the course of a month, you’ll need to join our Patreon and encourage your friends, family members and colleagues to join. Will you accept the challenge to find out what I am capable of? Let’s find out.
2 Episodes In: ‘Instant Hotel’
When someone does something with passion and the do it well, it’s a joy to watch them be rewarded. In the second episode, Jannine and Mark have a ‘50s-inspired Instant Hotel that’s amazing. The other guests love it, too. When they tell the couple how they feel, Jannine and Mark tear up. It’s a beautiful moment that’ll touch your heart strings, too.
As a series, “Instant Hotel” is fun. Because the participants are Australian, I’m never sure what I’m going to get. Sure, they speak English, but the cultures are different enough to catch an American off guard. So far, they tend to stick with their stereotypes: The two gay guys, the spoiled little girl who can’t get out of bed and her enabling mother, and the young couple with the wife who is spoiled but “in a different way.” But most of them seem to be enjoying themselves. The competition is bound to ratchet up as the mother-daughter team look to bring down the gay-team, but for the moment, there are only seeds for this future conflict.
I don’t normally watch reality television shows, but “Instant Hotel” is a good time that has a different cultural element to it. If you want to diversify your viewing habits and watch something that you don’t normally watch, this show is a good choice. Improve your creativity by replenishing your well and learning about instant hotels in Australia.
For more on creativity, order “Disneyland Is Creativity.” Get “Penguinate! Essays and Short Stories.” Preorder “The Haunted Mansion Is Creativity.”
The Cover Reveal for ‘The Haunted Mansion Is Creativity’
The Haunted Mansion was always my favorite Disneyland attraction growing up. Sure, I enjoyed singing and clapping with the Country Bears. I had fun sailing with pirates in the Caribbean, and I really loved Adventures thru Inner Space. However, it was the Haunted Mansion and its magic that remained the attraction I would choose to go on first.
This year marks the Haunted Mansion’s 50th anniversary. Because of that, I wanted to delve deeper into its history and its links to creative principles. From the late 1950s when Ken Anderson was the only imagineer assigned to the project through to Yale Gracey and Rolly Crump’s shenanigans to opening day and beyond, “The Haunted Mansion Is Creativity” takes you on a tour of the home of 999 happy haunts linking attraction details and designs as well as stories of its creation to creative principles as revealed through scientific studies and interviews with people who create for a living.
“The Haunted Mansion Is Creativity” is scheduled to be available on June 1, 2019. I will be presenting “The Haunted Mansion: 50 Years of Creativity” at Lilac City Comicon 2019 and Ogden UnCon 2019.
Without further ado… Here is the amazing cover for “The Haunted Mansion Is Creativity” designed by Antonisa Scott and Transcend Studio:
Penguinate! Positive Creativity 