creative ninja
Recently I sat down to watch a Sci-fi film called The Wall. That's all the info that the TV listings magazine gave me. It gave the film three stars. Perfect, I thought, and hoped for a brainless romp with aliens and big explosions. What I got was a subtitled, Austrian-German mood piece called Die Wand (dir Julian Polsler). It wasn't at all what I thought I was buying into. Twice in the first 15 minutes I reached for the remote control and twice I put it down again. The film drew me in slowly, and held me, and it's stayed with me since.
I've just opened A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway, a book that has been gathering dust on my shelf. I chose it over a detective novel that would have been a familiar and easy read. I'm assuming the Hemingway will be more of a challenge, or at least take more of my focus, but I'm certain it'll live longer in my memory.
I'm not the first to realise that indulging in quality creative works by top draw exponents is very inspiring and really fires up ones own creativity, but I'm often the first to forget it and binge on junk. But eat junk alone and I get anemic and I get lazy, and I want to be a creative ninja so I must binge on quality foodstuffs.
I've lined up some Leonard Cohen, returned to the 'tricky' Kate Bush albums, stacked D.H. Lawrence upon Iris Murdoch upon Iain M. Banks on my nightstand. I'm going to visit galleries, and some churches and their adjoining graveyards. I just bought the boxset of The Hollow Crown, BBC adaptations of Shakespeare's Richard II, Henry IV and Henry V. If I want creative inspiration I have to include the Granddaddy, right?
All this stuff might take more 'work' on my part but I'm sure it will reward my effort, it really will provide food for thought.
I've just opened A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway, a book that has been gathering dust on my shelf. I chose it over a detective novel that would have been a familiar and easy read. I'm assuming the Hemingway will be more of a challenge, or at least take more of my focus, but I'm certain it'll live longer in my memory.
I'm not the first to realise that indulging in quality creative works by top draw exponents is very inspiring and really fires up ones own creativity, but I'm often the first to forget it and binge on junk. But eat junk alone and I get anemic and I get lazy, and I want to be a creative ninja so I must binge on quality foodstuffs.
I've lined up some Leonard Cohen, returned to the 'tricky' Kate Bush albums, stacked D.H. Lawrence upon Iris Murdoch upon Iain M. Banks on my nightstand. I'm going to visit galleries, and some churches and their adjoining graveyards. I just bought the boxset of The Hollow Crown, BBC adaptations of Shakespeare's Richard II, Henry IV and Henry V. If I want creative inspiration I have to include the Granddaddy, right?
All this stuff might take more 'work' on my part but I'm sure it will reward my effort, it really will provide food for thought.
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