Caught in the Creation

One of the greatest challenges I have in my creative endevours is finding the will to not be caught up in the works of others to the extent that my own projects either pale or simply become neglected. There’s such a tremendous amount of beauty being created out in the world that it can be daunting when you long to contribute somehow. This past week I fell victim to my weakness for beauty and am just now climbing back. It’s such a pleasureful and inspiring trap but still ever a trap.

One book that impressed me a lot this week was Chester Brown‘s graphic novel The Playboy. It’s a revealing and striking look at how exposure to pornography impacted his life, from stirring paranoia and shame to becoming an obsticle in his romantic relationships (“With my next girlfriend I found that in order to maintain an erection I had to imagine that I was having sex with one of my favourite playmates.”). Brown’s drawing style in his autobiographical books is fittingly quite minimalistic, leaving the reader with a sense of honesty and directness. This honesty, along with a sense of personal rawness, is the strength of The Playboy and draws the reader into a story that might be intimidating or uninteresting in a lesser storyteller’s hands. (For more of my thoughts on Mr. Brown’s work, see Louis Riel)

I’m the sort of computer user who values aesthetic in my environment. Wallpapers (or desktops) are an important part of this for me. A beautiful or meaningful image in the background can be very pleasing. It’s often hard for me to find images of high enough resolution for use on my laptop’s screen (which I have set at 1680 x 1050), so I make note of quality sources. Through Pixelgirl Presents I found TwistedSun.net, which houses a gorgeous collection of desktops pieced together from the creator’s photographs. I’m currently using the red and green mosaic tiles, in case you were wondering, though my love of apples makes the desktop featuring one tempting.

I’ve had my current wallet for about 5 years now. It’s served me well in the time I’ve had it, though it’s finally become worn and ready to be retired. I’ve noticed that its ample storage slots have become magnets for far too many cards. Who really has use for the loyalty cards, membership cards and outdated I.D.’s that we seem to invariably collect? I sure hadn’t touched the Blockbuster and Rogers Video cards in many months (I use the vastly superiour Video Difference). Part of the prolonged ritual of saying goodbye to this keeper of identity has been ridding it of unnecessary cards and miscellaneous clutter. I’m down to a grand total of 9 items, four of which are government issued necessities (ID, health and S.I.N.).
During the process of wondering how I will go about replacing this tired wallet I visited one of my favourite online comics destinations, Lowbright. The creator, Derek Kim, released a graphic anthology I enjoyed very much, called Same Difference and Other Stories. He has also, in conjunction with Poketo, offered art wallets based on the book. Upon learning of this I had a feeling I’d discover a worthy successor. All three of the Same Difference wallets are great, but one in particular spoke to me and is on its way through the crazy network that is international post. I look forward to the transition.

A couple weeks ago I was pointed toward BoyGirlParty, a site sharing art and music (and which also has Poketo wallets, incidentally). Though the visual art pieces are stunning, the music is what most captured my attention. The MP3 section offers some rather enjoyable tunes for your listening pleasure (I recommend “Last Friend”), really scrappy, DIY stuff but pleasing. How can you go wrong with projects by the names Snoozer and Snuggletooth?

Am I alone in having climbed walls when I was a kid? I found it great fun to rise in elevation in the hallway of my parents’ home back then for some reason I’ve lost to time. I’ve now stumbled across some more elaborate acts of House Gymnastics documented in a photo album. “Countertop Lunge” showcases the common grace this new sport embodies.

If you were growing up when I was you no doubt have Nintendo nostalgia. A Mr. Larter pointed me toward a most impressive piece of a capella stage performance video that will awaken memories of hitting bricks with Mario’s head, sliding Tetris blocks and slashing critters with Link’s sword. Nintendo Themes, A Cappella is absolutely a must see.