Why the delay, its actually had nothing to do with lacking the inspiration to write anything its more about not having the energy…Its been a bit of a crazy year with highs and lows and lots of drink in between, but in recent months I came accross and opportunity which i couldn’t help but not go for…with a lot of studying and laste nights i have now moved from life of a librarian to working in the digital publishing idustry as a ….wait for it….Media Producer…get me

As you may have guessed I am still going to the the lovelly Scarletz girlies performing and it looks like they are building up a fan base im really pleased for them. Also met a couple of guys who make up The Fancy Toys. I actually missed the lads perform due to my over whelming need for chinese food. But listening to their Myspace i like the quirky French sound thats going on

Anyway back to another important topic…FOOD!!! So two of my favourite Chinese places are the Wong Kei and Yumi.com mmmmmm *drools*

Also in my strange little existence I have currently been reading “Tori Amos: Piece by Piece” its really is an interesting book, instead of the whole crass “celeb” lit thats going on at the moment which i tend to have no interest in mainly as its only the 5 minute famous that are writing this crap when most of the time I am surprised they managed to spell their name….ok breath…rant over….anyway. Tori Amos tends to talk about how she researches her songs and the influences in her life that has influence the way she wants to portray herself which is facinating…i seriously wouldnt be able to do this book justice so here’s a link

Ok randomly today I have been singing “I’m a teeny terrapin, on a magical island” i swear that was something that came out of a kinder egg i remember being when Kinder Eggs were the most exciting things ever and I would collect the toys…ok how did i get to writing about this haha in fact…..

Here is one being faced by a Transformer…..argh!! the cruelty!

I’lll leave you in peace now but i promise i will update a bit often and also show you pictures such as these….

Note: I quickly knocked this up last year in Paint for my own amusement…my skills are usually a tonne better…but yes the strange elf like creature was me at a work xmas party a few years back haha

Currently reading: “Piece by Piece” by Tori Amos and Ann Powers -ok i know I said in my last post i was reading this but i didn’t because of the job thing but am over half way through since starting it last week

What I am listening to: “Bad Romance” by Lady Gaga – its catchy and its a bit wierd, i love it

So im about mid way through the Creative Utopia book and i have to say it is actually pretty interesting stuff it, it basically describes methods and activities in which to spark the creativity in you which had the usual aromatherapy rituals but one that regularly comes up but i have not really appreciated until now is Feng Shui…

ok i wont go as far to say i will be rearranging my whole house to fit the Feng Shui way but what did strike me about the concept of the feeling of restlessness when things are disorganised and messy, I remember when I was studying for my Marketing exam in June the washing up or any kind of mess that was going on in the kitchen would burn into the back or my neck until i finally got up and did it, there was almost a sense of lack of control and anxiety which in itself is a bit odd.

But the main thing about the book which struck a cord (must admit i did joke about it in my last post to start) was about disconnecting yourself from technology to give yourself some time to think and be productive, so that means no internet no mobile phone just you, the world around you and your thoughts…

What what i have found sad about today’s society is the inability for some people to think for themselves yes the internet is a valuable tool and if used appropriately can enhance your learning and your performance, for example i never claim to know everything no person ever can, but i always know where to look if i want to find the answer and then extract what i need from the resource and apply it to the task at hand. But the internet is not the only tool for such education, I am a big fan of sitting down and reading a good book, not only to find my answers but I actually find my mind works a lot better if i have sat and read a good fiction book.

But anyway, enough with the rant and on with the creative side of things. The concept of distancing yourself from technology to be inspired by the surrounding that you are in as sometimes we do numb our brains to whatever is put to us, whether its the latest album feeding us music and lyrics, TV, text on the internet, the lastest text message on your phone…they all tend to feed information directly to us without any given effort on our part….apart from the odd bit of text on the internet of course.

So to extract myself from that to read this book to sit and digest the information without glancing at my phone every 2 seconds to see if i got another tweet, left me feeling inspired and creative. I had an impulse to do some drawing and some watercolour painting which i havent touched since secondary school. I ended up crawling into my loft like a mad person (I was actually told by my partner i was acting insane too) so i could find my reference mannekin to draw figures with…i even drew a sketch as to what i wanted to achieve:

My drawing plus the notes i wrote after to write this blog with

I even vowed that i would take the advice from the book and buy myself a little A5 sketchbook so i can write and draw ideas when i feel inspired….from now on I will take more of this time out to myself as my senses never feel so awake as they do when im away from technology and my mind is free to think and be inspired.

I do miss the times i used to sit by the lake near where is used to live, lost in my thoughts, perhaps i should take up meditation?

What I am Reading: “Creative Utopia: 12 Ways to Realise total creativity” by Theo Stephen Williams – very inspring book i must say

What am I listening to: “Scream” by Michael Jackson – I can always imagine myself dancing to this when i hear it, its a shame im usually in the middle of a street so to burst into a dance routine may be a bit insane