Creative Think

My Favorite New Year's Eve Story

Not long ago, I read about a group of Russian immigrants in Los Angeles who have the tradition of celebrating New Year’s Eve on the afternoon of December 30th. A reporter for the Los Angeles Times heard about this and, thinking that there was a story there, went out to interview them.

“Why are you celebrating the new year thirty-six hours before everyone else?” she asked.

One of them, a man in his late sixties, responded, “When we were growing up in the Soviet Union forty years ago, we were very poor, and we found that it was a lot cheaper to get a band on December 30th. That’s how the tradition started.”

The curious thing is that most of these people are now well off — they've prospered in America. They could easily afford lavish entertainment on New Year’s Eve, and yet they still celebrate it on the previous afternoon.

I think we've all experienced this phenomenon many times.

1. We make rules based on reasons that make a lot of sense.
2. We follow these rules.
3. Time passes, and things change.
4. The original reasons for the generation of these rules may no longer exist, but because the rules are still in place, we continue to follow them.

Almost every organization I’ve ever worked with — including my own — has some of this mentality of celebrating New Year’s Eve early for an obsolete reason.

I think this story highlights an important aspect of innovation:

Creative thinking means not only generating new ideas;
it also means escaping from obsolete ones as well.

Enjoy letting go of some obsolete ways of doing things in the coming months. I know I'm going to try!

Not long ago, I read about a group of Russian immigrants in Los Angeles who have the tradition of celebrating New Year’s Eve on the afternoon of December 30th. A reporter for the Los Angeles Times heard about this and, thinking that there was a story there, went out to interview them.

“Why are you celebrating the new year thirty-six hours before everyone else?” she asked.

One of them, a man in his late sixties, responded, “When we were growing up in the Soviet Union forty years ago, we were very poor, and we found that it was a lot cheaper to get a band on December 30th. That’s how the tradition started.”

The curious thing is that most of these people are now well off — they've prospered in America. They could easily afford lavish entertainment on New Year’s Eve, and yet they still celebrate it on the previous afternoon.

I think we've all experienced this phenomenon many times.

1. We make rules based on reasons that make a lot of sense.
2. We follow these rules.
3. Time passes, and things change.
4. The original reasons for the generation of these rules may no longer exist, but because the rules are still in place, we continue to follow them.

Almost every organization I’ve ever worked with — including my own — has some of this mentality of celebrating New Year’s Eve early for an obsolete reason.

I think this story highlights an important aspect of innovation:

Creative thinking means not only generating new ideas;
it also means escaping from obsolete ones as well.

Enjoy letting go of some obsolete ways of doing things in the coming months. I know I'm going to try!

Thanks for 2007!

Vladman: "Man of the Year" Humor

Now that Putin has been selected "Man o' the Year" by Time, that amazing magazine, I thought it would be good to repost my list of my Putin jokes. (By the way, I won this same award in 2006 — and believe you me, it's a good feeling.)

• When Putin smiles, a child is born in Russia. If the smile is wider than usual, expect twins.
• When Putin is sad, the national suicide statistics go up.

One of my favorite souvenirs of my recent trip to Russia is a 3" high hand-painted metal action figure of Russian President Vladamir Putin (shown at left). Vladman: he's superpowerful!

Russians like their leaders powerful. Here are some jokes that are floating around Russia now. These jokes reveal just how powerful Putin has become.   

• A fork that Putin ate from can slay a vampire with one stab.
• A chair that Putin sat on gets promoted to the rank of Major General.
• When Putin was little, he broke a cup. The spilled water turned into oceans and the splinters became continents.
• Putin can scratch his own heel without bending over.
• Shirts worn by Putin are sent to a secret military facility and converted to the strongest layer of armor for the Russian tanks.
• Socks worn by Putin are routinely dropped on Chechen rebels.
• Putin’s used tissues become the property of the Department of Cartography and their content is classified.
• Putin knows every Russian citizen’s name, address, and phone number. If you say a dirty word, Putin will call you in the evening to reprimand.

• When Putin’s name is typed, the first letter capitalizes itself.
• By squinting his eye Putin can read and write multimedia DVDs.
• Putin’s stare has downed 15 American satellites spying over the Kremlin.
• Putin’s stare penetrates a ten foot lead wall and brings a kettle to a boil within 10 seconds from three miles away. For public safety he must wear special contact lenses at all times.
• Chechen rebels blow themselves up when they hear Putin’s true name.
• Saying Putin’s name repeatedly contributes to the common good in the universe.
• Putin inhales carbon dioxide and exhales oxygen, ensuring the continuation of life on the planet.
• Putin’s love for humankind heats up the planet by 2.35 degrees annually - a phenomenon also known as the Global Warming.
• Putin appeared in Thomas Edison’s dream and revealed how to live in harmony with the Universe. But all Edison could remember in the morning was how to make the light bulb.
• Everything Putin touches turns into a national project.
• If a sunbeam shines beautifully through the clouds, Putin is nearby.
• If you shake hands with Putin you will be taken to heaven alive.
• If you hate Putin you may die early through your own fault.

Beware the Unintended

Need a jolt of inspiration? Let's take a card from the Creative Whack Pack. Today's message is "Beware the Unintended." Let's see what it says:

In preparing for the Olympics, the coach of a leading crew team invited a meditation instructor to teach awareness techniques to his crew. He hoped that such training would enhance their rowing effectiveness. As the crew learned more about meditation, they became more synchronized, there was less resistance, and their strokes got smoother.

The irony is that they went slower. It turned out that the crew became more interested in being in harmony than in winning. What are the unintended consequences (both positive and negative) of your being successful in a current project?

Unintended consequences are fascinating. Each of us has examples of things that we did for a particular reason, and something much different was the result.

For example, in September, 2006, I started blogging with the purpose of promoting my (then) brand new product, the Ball of Whacks. As I got into blogging, though, it turned out that very, very few of my posts pertained to this product. What happened instead are two main things: 1) I've met a lot of interesting people from all over the world; and, 2) I developed a lot of new content ideas some of which I've been able to put into the new edition (25th Anniversary Edition) of my book, A Whack on the Side of the Head (coming out in May, 2008).

Question: I'd love to hear some of your "Unintended Consequences" stories — both negative and positive. What are some of your favorites?

My Shakespeare Tragedy Film Marathon

For the past month, I've been listening to Peter Saccio's "Shakespeare: Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies" (36 lectures presented by the Teaching Company). Saccio, a professor of Shakespearean Studies at Dartmouth, does a wonderful job of bringing the Bard, his work, and his times to life. This has been one of my favorite Teaching Company programs, and I heartily recommend it.

Listening to these lectures motivated me to seek out and watch a number of film adaptations of Shakespeare's tragedies: Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, MacBeth, Julius Caesar, and Romeo and Juliet. I had read all of these (except Othello) when I was student in the 1960s and early 1970s, but hadn't gone near them since. Thus, I was able to approach them both with a "fresh eye" and also nearly forty years of "life experience" that I (obviously) didn't have as a student.

Let's start with the Hamlets (I watched three versions).

Hamlet (1948), starring Laurence Olivier. This won Oscars for Best Picture and Best Actor. I had a lukewarm reaction to it. There are two reasons. First, the entire Hamlet play is four hours long, but this version was abridged to just over two hours, so I felt like I was missing something. Second, it was essentially a film version of an austere stage play, and felt cold and remote. Plus, I felt Olivier's performance was unconvincing (he was 41 at the time). I'd give the film **1/2 (out of four).

Hamlet (1990), abridged and directed by Franco Zeffirelli, and starring Mel Gibson, Glenn Close, Helen Bonham Carter, and Alan Bates. Mel Gibson brings a freshness and energy to the role of Hamlet; I thought he was quite believable in the part (at that time he made this picture, Gibson was the world's top box office attraction and the "sexiest man on the planet"). I also liked Glenn Close as Gertrude. Her bedroom confrontation scene with Gibson after the murder of Polonius is absolutely riveting. I'd give it ***.

Hamlet (1996) complete and unabridged, screenplay and directed by Kenneth Branagh, and starring Kenneth Branagh, Derek Jacobi, Julie Christie, Kate Winslet, Charlton Heston, Billy Crystal, Robin Williams, and many more. This version is stunning. It is four hours long (with an intermission) and is on a scale comparable to Lawrence of Arabia and Doctor Zhivago. The color, light, costumes, and detail are outstanding (it's filmed in 70mm TechniColor — a huge plus).

Branagh has set the play in a mid-19th century Denmark (he used Blenheim Palace for the exteriors), and you really get the sense that the characters (especially Claudius and Polonius) are running a country. And for the first time, I got a sense of the larger context of Hamlet. Branagh had lived and breathed Hamlet (and Shakespeare) for years, and it shows in his imaginative screenplay. There are also many well-choreographed tracking shots.

This was the best DVD I've seen this year, and I recommend it to all. Indeed, I watched the entire film again (yes, all four hours) with the Director's Commentary on. Most edifying. I'd give it a well-earned ****.

Here a few quick comments on the other films I watched.

Othello (1995) starring Laurence Fishburne (in the title role) and Kenneth Branagh (as Iago). A delightful production. ***1/2

MacBeth (1971) directed by Roman Polanski. This version still holds up well today. Polanski made this soon after his wife, Sharon Tate, had been murdered by the Charles Manson family. I'm sure the second witches scene in which MacBeth has something akin to an acid trip had some therapeutic value for him. I saw this version when it first came out when I was a student at Stanford in 1972. It seemed like half the people in Mem Aud recited MacBeth's final soliloquy along with him ("To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow, Creeps in this petty pace from day to day, To the last syllable of recorded time . . ."  ***

King Lear (1974) starring James Earl Jones, Raul Julia, and Paul Sorvino. This was a video tape-to-DVD production of a live performance in Central Park (New York) in 1974. The audio and video quality aren't great, but the enthusiastic audience give this production a certain warmth.  **1/2

Julius Caesar (1953) starring Marlon Brando, James Mason, and John Gielgud. I felt that (a young) John Gielgud as Cassius stole the show. And Brando (as Marc Anthony) is interesting to watch as well. ***

Romeo and Juliet (1968) directed by Franco Zeffirelli. I first saw this in 1969, and I remember there wasn't a dry eye in the house at the end (it was a great "date movie"). Zeffirelli's version holds up well today. This won Oscars for Best Cinematography and Costumes and nominations for Best Picture and Director. ***1/2

Also: Last year during my Akira Kurosawa Marathon, I saw his adaptations of MacBeth (Throne of Blood, 1957) and King Lear (Ran, 1985), and I'd give each of them ***1/2.

Question: What other Shakespeare film adaptations would you recommend (or avoid)?

Getting Purified at the Ganges (Varanasi)

One of my all-time favorite places to visit is Varanasi (formerly Benares), the "holiest of the ancient Indian holy cities" that sits on the banks of the Ganges River. I was there in 2004, and I took this shot just after sunrise (I'm in a small boat looking back at the ghats).

Many, many Hindu pilgrims come here every year to purify themselves in the river. Incense fills the air and so do the sounds of chanting and celebration. Off to either side (out of view), four open-air cremations were taking place. Flowers float on the rivers. Incredible scene. The whole spectrum of life: birth (sunrise), renewal, and death.

We went back to the river later that evening. What a sight! Music, singing, chanting, swirling lights. Flowing colorful robes. Happiness. Frenzy. Delight. A feast for the senses!

Chinese Flotsam or Modern Art?

China's Three Gorges Dam has been in the news lately. It seems that soil erosion upriver on the banks of the Yangtze has been greater than the engineers had predicted, and that perhaps an additional one million people will have to be relocated.

In 2004, my wife and I took an idyllic three-day cruise from Chong Ching down-river to just past the dam. It was delightful.

My favorite photo Three Gorges Dam photo is this one: it is a huge reservoir right next to the dam and it shows some of the debris that has been captured by the dam. Modern Art indeed!