Sixteen Stars

Saturday, 2 August 2025

2025 Birthday !

This weekend, I'm 37, Kim is 39, snags is 7 & Beau is 2, nearly 3! I went to a reformer pilates class, had breakfast with Beth & baby Otis, then went to get my hair dyed darker at the salon. That evening we went to see Bloc Party (20 years since their first album...how), with Rhi, James & Becca. It was really lovely, we danced a lot & it was just a really nice vibe. On Kim's birthday we went for brunch, and to the maratine museum for an exhibition, while B was in daycare. It's rare at the moment that we get days alone, just us, and it was lovely. Actually, the last full day alone might have been this time last year when we were in England! What's going on right now? I'm working at Campos - it's streching & challenging me, but I think for the best for right now. I'm definitely busy, and there's lots of change. Kim's in his first full-time, permanent role and is loving it. It sounds like there's talks to promote him & it's only been like two months (of course). Snags & I are doing our second term of scent-classes. It's been so fun getting to do something just the two of us, and something that he's really good at/enjoys. It's over in Camperdown on a Monday night, so it's also been a good challenge getting used to driving so much, and having that routine. Beau is a really fun age. He's a few weeks out of a really tough patch (terrible twos??), but right now he's a good hang! He loves accessories, his favourite colour is RED, he's still obsessed with trains and just seems to have a really great social awareness - always taking turns, keeping his chill with others & being his smiley self. Today, we were making a Birthday cake for us all, and he was wearing a spiderman mask we found in an op-shop this morning. I'd been saying "thank you Spiderman" while he was helping, and then I passed him something & he said "thank you Spider Mummy" and I just about died. This whole weekend has felt really lovely, and I've felt very loved from a lot of different corners of the world. Feeling very lucky, and a good reminder to just reach out to people on their Birthdays, it's never going to be un-wanted! We're hoping to get back to England for a visit some time this year - hopefully before Christmas, but who knows at this point. There just doesn't seem to be a time that will line up for both Kim & I to be away from work at the same time, so... We're still living in our Randwick apartment, loving it for the layout, size, location, relatively cheap rent...but not enjoying the darkness! And the lack of a balcony/parking space isn't great. We're planning to move in April when our lease is up for renewall, maybe to the inner west? Canada is still the overall aim, but likely won't be for a couple of years still. I should be able to get my AU passport this year! So that'll be a step in the right direction :) Snags is lying beside me as I type. Little angle boy. I've had too much ice-cream and feel a little sick, but it was technically a birthday present, so it feels appropriate!

Wednesday, 4 September 2013

Flexing Creative Muscles

Some exercises to "get the wheels turning (again)"

From here.

1. Rebrand An Existing Product or Service

Is there a logo out there that you hate? A product that has awful packaging? A radio ad that makes you turn red with rage? Then do it better. Figure out, from what you already know about that product or service, what the advertising or design should say. Have fun with it.

2. Design Another Letter Of The Alphabet

You are tasked with inventing a 27th letter of thealphabet. It must represent a sound, maybe a letter for PH, PN or KN. What symbol will it be? It's harder than you think, the alphabet has been developing for centuries and you'll soon find that your new letter is just a backwards p or an upside-down y.

3. Package Yourself

If you were available to buy in your local Rite-Aid or Target, what would the packaging look like? What would your catchy product title be? What would it say on the box? This is not just an exercise in creative thinking, but of establishing your own personal brand in a fun and inventive way.

4. Invent A New Sandwich

There's a terrific episode of "Curb Your Enthusiasm" (Clip here, NSFW language but very funny)that centers around sandwiches named after celebrities. Ted Danson's is turkey coleslaw and Russian dressing. Larry David's is a rather less appetizing concoction of whitefish, sable, capers, onions and cream cheese. So, what would your new sandwich be? How would you market it? What would you call it? What's the wow factor that would make it an instant hit?

5. Write A Six Word Story

Ernest Hemingway, one of the greatest authors of all time, was once challenged to write a complete story in just six words. Never one to shy from a challenge, he wrote: "For sale: baby shoes, never used." What would your complete six-word story be?

6. What Gadget Is The World Missing?

Do you often think "man, why hasn't someone figured out a way to do this better?" Maybe that someone should be you. If you believe that your daily life is missing a killer gadget, or someone you know could use a thingamajig to make life easier, why not start sketching it out. If it comes to fruition, patent the idea. It could make you rich.

7. Start Writing, Don't Stop Until You've Hit 1000 Words

What should you write? Anything. What is your inspiration? Whatever you want. In "Finding Forrester" the character played by Sean Connery asks his young student to take an existing piece of work as a starting point. The student transforms it into something unique. Start with a famous passage from a book, or the opening of a movie. But take it somewhere entirely different. When you hit 1000 words, stop and read it. You may have just surprised yourself.

8. Whose Line Is It Anyway?

One of my favorite shows, ever, and my favorite round was always the "props" round. Drew Carey would hand out two seemingly useless objects and then the improve team would come up with ingenious uses for them. So try it for yourself. What's in your home or office right now that could have a dozen different uses? Write them down. Think big, think small, think around the problem.

9. Become A Child For A Few Hours

Remember as a kid you could play for hours with Lego, wooden blocks, Lincoln Logs, PlayDoh and all sorts of other cool things. Over the years, we learn that these are childish and forget about them. How sad. I personally have Lego, toys and games in my office, and I see no shame in using them. So go ahead, embrace your inner child and create something fun and cool. You'll be amazed at the way your mind starts working.

10. Sign Redesign

Our world is filled with signs. From warning signs to traffic signs, we see them daily. Some use symbols, others use words. But could all of them use symbols? Is the STOP sign something that can be redesigned to be understood by anyone in any language? It's an important sign after all. Or how about EXIT, WAY OUT, DANGER, NO ENTRY or YIELD? Think about it. It's quite the task.

and also this, from here:

Exercise #9: Concealed Colors
This game is designed to increase your flexibility and your ability to overcome the restrictions of habit. The name of what color is concealed in each sentence?

Newspaper editors decided to go on strike. (Red)
The cab lacked proper brakes to stop at the intersection. (Black)

Now try these:

A big, old, hungry dog appeared at our door every morning.

The cop persuaded him not to create a disturbance.
The Brazilian student Paulo lives around the corner from us.
You shouldn't let an upstart like him bother you.
He let out a big yell, owing to the injuries he received when he fell.
La Jolla venders decided to cut their prices in half.
Long rayon fabrics were loaded on the truck.
The Austrian physicist Wolfgang Pauli lacked the requisite documents to enter the U.S.
You shouldn't sell this fossil very cheaply because it is a rare specimen.
The new law hit everybody's pocketbook pretty hard.

Answers: 1. Gold 2. Copper 3. Olive 4. Tan 5. Yellow 6. Lavender 7. Gray 8. Lilac 9. Silver 10. White

In order to identify the hidden colors, you have to disregard the signs that say "stop"—such as word spacings, periods, and commas. People who are habit-ridden will find this exercise very difficult.