Archive for April, 2009

Okay, Creative-ites, listen up:  Our May Day dinner with Reedley Creative will take place at Fresh Start Cafe.  Here’s a map:

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In case you’ve forgotten already (or don’t care to look down the page), here are the details: www.reedleycreative.com/?p=92.  In short, you have to bring something you’ve made to give away.  It doesn’t have to be expensive, and it doesn’t even have to be that cool.  It just has to be something – you’ve – made.  (But people will like you more if you bring something cool, so keep that in mind if you care.)

See you May 1!

(Also, thanks to the geniuses at Monkeyraft Studios, Mike Cantu Industries, and Shinn Photography for the new header graphic on the site.  At least one of us risked serious burning to make that happen!)

Here are the rules: Edible, touchable, viewable, foldable.  Come to dinner May 1 with Reedley Creative at 6 pm.  Bring something that fits one (or more) of the aforementioned categories.  It has to be something you’ve made, and it has to be something you’re willing to give away.  Location is TBD, but we’ll try to keep the cost reasonable.  We’ll all go out to dinner together, talk about and exchange the stuff we’ve made, and generally have a good time.  There’s been talk of a musical jam session somewhere nearby following dinner.  I think that sounds cool.

So mark your calendar for May 1 at 6 pm, and watch Facebook for the event invite.  If you haven’t gotten one in a few days, message me on Facebook and we’ll try to get your invited.

Dirty secrets first: I stole and adapted this concept from Dave Thomas, a prominent person presently playing with Pragmatic Programmers. But he stole and adapted from elsewhere, so I’ll follow his lead. Dave writes about the concept of Code Katas, saying this:

How do you get to be a great musician? It helps to know the theory, and to understand the mechanics of your instrument. It helps to have talent. But ultimately, greatness comes practicing; applying the theory over and over again, using feedback to get better every time.

He goes on to discuss how people learn in Karate.  They perform katas, which are rote memorized run-throughs of a scripted movement.  The idea is to train your muscle memory so that you react the right way instinctively when you, ahem, need your mad ninja skills.  So what Dave adapted from karate to programming, I’m adapting to the creative arts.  Sure, creative types like you and me depend on trying new things, but a lot of creative production work is rote performance, too.  Here’s a sample from my work day:

“Shift + Command + N makes a new layer.  L selects the lasso tool. Command + J jumps the selection to a new layer.  Command click on the new layer to reselect, then Shift + Command + I inverts your selection.”

Boring, right?  But it’s damned useful when you need to know it.  And when I go through those steps, even in my head, I can feel a rhythm to it.  It’s like a kata for me.  When I’m producing, I can run through those steps with my fingers.  My brain barely engages.  That leaves me bandwidth to deal with the creative side of the work, the object or the aesthetic.  I can wonder whether red or darker red will work this time, instead of trying to make the mechanics come together.  It’s my equivalent of a ninja skill, if you will.

Shooting photos is the same for me.  I run through checklists instincitvely.  “ISO – check.  White balance – check.  Light direction – check.  Aperture needed – check.  Shutter speed – check.  Composition – check.  Subject – Wait, no, the subject looks goofy.”  If I was caught up with white balance – if I didn’t know that stuff cold – I’d never get around to thinking about my goofy-looking subject.  I’d never be able to consider that I have a human in front of the camera – someone who’s worried about how they look or waiting for some direction from me.

So whatever yoour creative work is, I encourage you to find some katas to practice.  Make a routine to run through, and do it half-speed, three-quarter speed, full speed.  Get your muscles used to the work so your brain can move to higher-order thinking.  Get some rhythm and enjoy the results.

first,  i would like to thank all of you who came out to  START,  we had a wonderful time putting it on for you and were very happy that you all came out to see what we are doing!   Thank you for taking your Friday and spending it with strangers.

I know it’s been some time since we last spoke, but it’s about time! So lets talk about the next event!

We, RC, have decided that it will be on May 1st and be called, get ready;

MAY DAY, MAY DAY, DINNER WITH REEDLEY CREATIVE!

pretty “creative” huh?  we thought so…

so clear your callander and keep your eyes pealed for more info!