I live for negative feedback.
I do. That load of bull the counseling community wants to feed you, about how you need ten positive comments* to equal the impact of one negative comment? That’s just them selling something. They know no one’s going to get ten positive comments for every negative. Einstein proved that.
I think.
If he didn’t it’s because he lacked proper time management skills.
My Mother used to say this all the time. I don’t remember her saying it to me, but I remember her saying it to my kids and their cousins. Her theory has always been that there are too many interesting things to do in life, and one never, ever needs to be bored. If you are bored, you’re just not being observant enough of your opportunities.
Of course, when you’re a kid, being bored usually means that the entertainments you’re looking for aren’t readily available. For me it meant there was nothing good on television. (Back in the day, you couldn’t pop in a DVD, pull up NetFlix online or watch YouTube. You had to wait for the program to be broadcast. And if you missed it, you missed it.)
Now, I guess, a kid is bored when the WiFi is out.
Last week, while walking on the boardwalk at Rehoboth Beach, I saw a shirt that gave me pause. It said, “Fear Failure.”
Fear Failure? Yep. Apparently it’s an Adidas campaign. It puzzled me about as much as did the word “Adidas” when it started appearing on peoples’ shirts. I thought it meant something. (It’s just a portmanteau of the company founder’s name, Adolf Dassler.)
Sorry, Adidas, but… Fear Failure? I consider that an asinine — and particularly American — sentiment, ironic that the shirt is marketed by a German company. Doubly ironic, because the young gentleman wearing the shirt was clearly Asian, and was speaking a non-English language to his friend as they passed. The shirt was bright green and yellow, as I recall, and I assumed from the font and design that it was geared toward athletes of some stripe — possibly even surfers. Though why surfers should fear failure I’ll never know. Continue reading
(This is mostly just a few opening remarks on a subject nicely addressed on at The Figure in Question blog this week.)
Science Fiction and Fantasy, including the Super Hero genre, are for young people. No, I’m not saying that to be denigrating. I’m saying it because they are. They’re for people who keep their minds open, their hearts pure, their souls ever thirsting for something better, something that improves the human condition. They seek peace, justice, adventure, prosperity, triumph. You have to be young (at least at heart) to believe in those things. Old people, middle-aged people, adults (ick!)… their minds have set, atrophied, become rigid. Continue reading
No, that’s a serious question. I only made it a bit bombastic in the title because… well, you’ll figure that out in a second.
I am not a Magician. I’m not. When I do things, you can see the parts move. You can see the wires. I’m not out to make things look easier than they are, or make anyone think that there’s some kind of supernatural force guiding my hand as I perform superhuman feats that mere mortals may not attempt. Sure, some people wonder, “How do you do what you do?” I get asked that. But the fact is, I’ll be happy to tell you. I have no trade secrets. How I do what I do is by having a mind that works in an interesting fashion, by forcing myself to do the things I think are important, and by working hard.
That’s it. I have no trade secrets, no elusive, patented process.