By the time he was 30 Leonardo had already produced designs and studies on flying machines, fortresses, and numerous advanced weapons including a tank and other war vehicles. Also parachutes, helicopters, a spotlight, ball-bearings, bicycles, and a spring-driven car. Even diving apparati, floats for walking on water, and submarines. (Speculative Da Vinci Condotta; David Kujit)

There is a difference between artist and designer and also a difference between designer and inventor, Da Vinci was all of these thing, and more. Da Vinci sought out to defeat the laws of nature and to test all of the boundaries in between. He challenged the sky with the designs for his flying machine and dared to defy the laws of physics by walking on water.

Throughout his life many of Leonardo’s inventions exuded a feeling of whimsy and boundlessness however some of them had a much darker purpose. For much of his life Da Vinci was paid to engineer weapons. Although most of these weapons were probably not built in his time, his sketchbooks feature some of the nastiest weapons ever conceived by man. It is perfectly apparent that the A mind like Da Vinci’s was a weapon in itself.  

Fascinating, compelling, extraordinary are all words that come to mind when I think of what type of man Da Vinci was but for some reason none of them quite seem to fit. He was a remarkable man, with a remarkable mind and I strongly encourage everyone to learn just a little bit about him. Your brain will thank you for it!

Every great creative mind needs a break once and a while and although my brain is still in creativity boot camp…I have no problem accepting the beautiful gift they call Spring Break.

Catch you all on the flip flop…im taking a nap.

I’m trying to think of what I could have done differently. Maybe if I picked something better or maybe if I got the word out on my funky chip bowl someone would have taken the bait. Oh well..There’s always next time. Although I did not manage to make a sale I still found the challenge exciting. The Ebay challenge was by far, one of the most unique school assignment Ive ever had to do. I’ve shopped on Ebay before but never sold anything so in retrospect, I guess the challenge wasn’t a total waste. I tried something new and got my hand on a spanking awesome tortilla bowl shaped as a hat. now all i need is some chips…mmmmm…chips.

Dating back to 356-323 BC, during the time of Alexander the great, Art was already being used as a way to persuade peoples both politically and emotionally. Alexander knew he had to win over the hearts of the  Persian Empire, and he clearly understood the power of the logo art.   He understood that in order to convince the empire he was a   nobel leader that could be trusted to rule he needed a strategie unlike anything before. As a result, for the first time in history a man has used his own face as a logo. People reacted favorably to the face of Alexander, and as a result, one of the first political logos were created.

A persond face is something we all can connect to. It’s the first thing most of us look at when we greet somebody and some even go as to say that the eyes are the window to the soul. The human face as a logo is  still popular to this day. Politicans use it to sway votes and oppinions, much like Alexander the Great did thousands of years ago.

How am I going to get people to buy that!?

I’m not just going to sell the bowl.

Ole'!!

…… I’m going to sell the feeling that comes with owning that bowl. If you the bowl, you will be the hit of any fiesta. It’s quirky and fun, a direct reflection of whoever owns it. The person who owns the bowl is happy and confident and enjoys life.You may think its a bunch of BS…and maybe no one will buy my bowl. But I wouldn’t be surprised if someone did. When somebody buys something, whatever it is, they aren’t just buying the product..they are buying the story that comes along with it.

I’ve Never posted anything on Ebay before, so you could call me a newbie. Im really excited to see how everything turns out..and eagerly awaiting someone to buy into the story of the singing tortilla bowl.

If you want to bid on the bowl go to:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180333769695&ssPageName=ADME:L:LCA:US:1123

……………To Be Continued.

Being able to look at something and see it so differently from everyone else is a gift. Thinking outside of the box comes naturally to some people and others spend their entire lives learning, living, and creating there. Every one of Munizs’ creations break through the barrier of perception.

chocolate syrup

Not everything is as it first seems, sometimes you have to take a second look. Vik Muniz is not the exception to that rule, he is the reason the rule was made.  

Going to a thrift store can be a very stimulating experience if you look at it a certain way.  The smell, the people and the sheer quality of the stuff for sale is jaw-dropping. While some people may see the endless shelves of  discarded items as nothing more than trash,  I find the whole thing fascinating.  You never know what you’re going to find when you go.  You can find things at a thrift store that are priced way below what they should be.  At some point in time, somebody cared enough about one of those pieces to spend full price for it, then just as quickly as the urge to buy it, there was an urge to give it away! There’s nothing wrong with the stuff for sale, Nothings broken or disgusting. A little old and out-dated maybe but there’s nothing wrong with that!

As you sift through the never-ending things for sale all of a sudden something stops you…….. and there it is. The holy-grail of all second-hand paraphernalia just for you. A hundred people have passed by that exact item; never even noticing it was there.   You think to yourself, how could anyone not see the masterpiece so clearly in front of them?!

You have just found your  diamond in the rough 

Like a painting or another piece of art, people  only really buy something from a thrift store if it means something to them. One persons junk is another mans treasure, and your local thrift store is literally an unopened treasure chest. To the people who frequent these Establishments often like myself, I’m sure you get what I’m saying. To the people who have never been..don’t be scared! Try new things and I promise if you look hard enough you’ll find something fabulous.

Companies like Pepsi, Budweiser and Frito-Lay spend around 2.5 MILLION dollars per 30 sec of ad space during the Super Bowl. NBC pushed a total ad revenue of a record $206 million this year.  That’s ALOT of dough.  These companies obviously have the money to fork out, but is the stuff they come up with really the best out there?

There is such hype over Super Bowl ads. People who don’t even like football tune in, just to watch the commercials and the anticipation is enormous. People expect that because the companies spent so much money, their commercials must really be something.

I would have to respectfully disagree.

A great commercial is supposed to do more than make you laugh. It’s supposed to make you go out and SPEND MONEY!!  The creators behind some of the Super Bowl ads are so consumed with leaving a humorous impact that when the commercial is over you barely remember what the ad was for. Watching an insanely repetitive commercial about punching a talking koala in the face doesn’t make me want to go out and look for a new career. Obviously this is just my opinion. The way I feel about the quality of certain Super Bowl ads doesn’t keep me from watching. I sit there just like everyone else and laugh. I am human and they are funny. But like i said before, being funny isn’t the only thing that makes a commercial great. Being funny doesn’t cut it anymore and i think a lot of companies have lost their edge.

Retarded, sexist men are given the responsibility of handling millions of dollars and the Super Bowl ads of 2009 are the cream of the crop. I’m sorry but when it comes down to it, i just don’t think they are that good!

I will however give credit to Monster: Need a new job, the Hulu spot with Alec Baldwin and the free Doritos commercial. They all scored well with me.

Somewhat unsure, a little uneasy and most definitely “green”.  Opening yourself up to comment and criticism is an idea fairly foreign to me.  The chance that everyone who reads will agree with me is slim-to-none. I know this. But I also know that life is like that.

I truly used to believe that your were either born with the ability to be “creative”  or you weren’t.  Some people were good at math while others were good at art or music.  You either use the right side of your brain, or the left. Right-brained people thrive on aesthetics, feelings and creativity while left-brained people are logical, analytical and accurate. Each side of the brain is wired to the opposite side of the body. Left-brained people are right handed and vice-versa for the Right-brained. You get the point.

Suddenly it occurred to me. You can train yourself to write with the opposite hand, so in theory, any left-brained person could teach themselves to be creative.  FYI. I am not in anyway dismissing the importance of logic and analysis, a skill held by the left-brained thinkers, but for the purpose of this entry I’ll concentrate on the right-brained. 

Although it may be possible to teach yourself how to be creative, I do still believe that some have more of an advantage than others. Some people are creatively inclined, and there is no denying that. But like the saying goes;

“Nobody is good at everything, but everybody is good at something.”

Anything goes. Certainly not everyone is going to like it and not everyone is going to get it. You may face some hard criticism but like everything else in life, what is considered “creative” is merely preference just as creativity itself is nothing more than perception. People will always see what they want to see. There is no right or wrong answer however, understanding a simple concept such as that may prove to be more difficult than expected.

Understanding perception and accepting its vastly obscure nature will allow you to see things you have never seen before.   The world is a truly beautiful and interesting place with undiscovered connections and patterns around every corner. Only after you come to know perception as something personal, will the creative juices flow candidly through your veins.

The glass is not just half empty or half full, the possibilities are limitless