Creative Think

The Battle of Algiers

A movie I've wanted to see for a long time (and finally did several days ago) is the classic "The Battle of Algiers" (Battaglia di Algeri), Gillo Pontecorvo's 1966 film about the Algerian violent struggle for Independence from the French colonial forces in the late 1950s. It's shot in gritty black-and-white documentary style. The film has terror bombings, insurgents, torture, political conversion, counter-terrorism measures, and patriots. I was especialy taken by the chase scenes in the town's Casbah. The insurrectionary mood of the film makes for an emotionally high temperature throughout. With the advent of the "war against terror" in recent years, the film's relevance has only intensified. The film was banned intially in France for fear of creating civil disturbances. (DVD, in French and Arabic, with English subtitles.)

I was motivated to see it because Morocco's struggle for independence from France occurred in the mid-1950s. It was violent, but nothing compared to the Algerian struggle. Having just been to Fes and Marrakech in Morocco, the film helped me imagine what their battles in the streets 50 years ago might have been like.

Getting Away to Morocco

Two weeks ago, my wife Wendy and I spent 10 days in Morocco. In addition to being fun and educational, it was a great way to clear my mind. Indeed, I've felt mentally refreshed since my return. Of course, we toured Fes and Marrakech, but my favorite part was driving east over the Middle Atlas mountains past Erfoud and then on to the very small town of Marzouga to the western Sahara Desert. We then rode camels 2 miles out into the dunes. What a trip! We spent the night in a Berber tent under a gazillion stars. It was one of the 10 best things I've ever done.

We met many friendly people there. We learned about 30 words of Arabic, and that made a huge difference in the way we got on. "Al-hom-du-le-la" (phonetic spelling) meaning "Thanks be to God" and "Zuween biz-zeff" meaning "it's all very beautiful" worked wonders where ever we go. We also learned the words for "thief" and "criminal" which we used when we kidded about the lobbyists and cronies around the monarch, King Muhammed VI.

We had long conversations with our guide whose father was a ceriff (or Islamic holy man; he had memorized the entire Koran by the age of seven). On our long drives, Wendy asked about religion and I would ask about politics. We've both learned a lot. It's a very different world.

Today's Whack

Only the most foolish of mice would hide in a cat's ear," says designer Scott Love, "but only the wisest of cats would think to look there." Don't miss the obvious. What are you overlooking? What's the most obvious thing you can do? What resources and solutions are right in front of you?

This has always been one of my favorite Creative Whacks. I find that there are two main ways I attempt to "See the Obvious." The first is to get away from the problem. How many times have you found the obvious solution after you've been exercising, or gone to the beach, or were reading a great piece of fiction?

My second method is to "Simplify." What I try to do is write a paragraph about my problem. After some effort, I try to simplify the concepts in the paragraph down to a sentence. By then, the obvious has come out.

First Flog

This post is called "first flog" because I was motivated to start the blog by my desire to promote my newest product, the "Ball of Whacks." Thus, I'm "flog" mode these days. (I've heard from some of you who asked, "Flog?" In addition to meaning "beat with a stick or whip" [this ties in nicely with "whacking"], "flog" also is slang for selling and promoting.)

The Ball is a creative stimulant and consists of 30 magnetic design blocks which the user can transform into many different shapes, the most beautiful of which is the 30-sided rhombic triacontahedron. For more info, pictures, and a video, go to: www.creativewhack.com

In the course of my "self-flogging" the past several days, I've gotten a chance to meet some interesting people in the creativity/innovation/design community including David Armano (Logic + Emotion), and John Maeda (Mr. Laws of Simplicity), and Jim Carroll. All three of these blogs have some interesting content. Check 'em out!