Whack on the Side of the Head Wednesday

You know it's true. In the absence of the whole story, we often times are tempted to create our own.

Me? I could make whole movies. Heck, when I was younger and dating, I wrote whole scenes about my love interests. Where was he? Who was he with? And why didn't he call when he said he would? Misinterpret a colleague's email sand suddenly we've got an entire saga on our hands. Who said what to whom? Can you believe it? And by the way... the walls are going to cave in.

I imagine my movies will only get longer and more dramatic as my boys get older and aren't home, safely tucked in bed by 8:00 p.m. Such is life as Leading Lady turned Supporting Actress.

Creativity in the absence of information. That is the focus of today's post.

My office is located in the Physical Education Building (PEB) at the University of North Texas. About two of every five days that I've walked in the building this summer I notice three piles of folders (three - not two or five, but always three) against the wall.

No one is ever around the folders, though a class is usually in session down and across the hall from where the stacks sit (approximately 40 feet). Two garbage cans are also in the hallway, suggesting if someone meant to discard the folders, there was a place to do so.

P.S. When I walk back down the hallway, around lunch time, the folders are always gone.

What do you think? Exercise your creativity today, by creating a story in the absence of one.

Who do the folders belong to? What are they used for? Why are they there some days and not others? Where do they go when they disappear?

Create a movie, but do it with flair. Don't fill in the gaps with mundane, practical, and highly plausible scenarios. Stretch your imagination and give us something juicy or at least a cliff hanger of sorts.

Signing off until tomorrow...

Whack on the Side of the Head Wednesday: Purple Rain

Newcomers to our site. Today is Whack on the Side of the Head Wednesday. It's the day we join forces with Roger von Oech, creator of the Whack Pack. He presents a creative principle and we, in turn, use the principle to advance an idea.

Today's idea... more rain.

Monday we joined together and created a rainstorm by filling buckets with droplets of thoughtfulness. Tuesday we danced in the rain while wearing red boots. That is to say we embraced our inner child by continuing to send notes, but this time in secret code. One more day of rain couldn't hurt, especially when so many of us are experiencing droughts (literally and figuratively).

Today, fun rain. Creative rain. Purple rain.

To get us going... von Oech.

Get Out of the Dogma House: Nothing clouds your decision-making abilities like dogma. Example: none other than Plato himself dictated that the circle was the perfect form of celestial movement, and for the next two thousand years, astronomers said that planetary orbits were circular - even though their observational data suggested otherwise. Even Copernicus used circles in his heliocentric model of the universe. Only after much soul-searching did Kepler use the ellipse to describe the heavenly paths. Everyone has externally imposed "shoulds" and values that influence their thinking. What dogma is clouding your mind?

Ms. Manners and others provide us with plenty of dogma about thank you notes and other notes of recognition. In fact, to prove the point I did a poll of all the people in my afternoon meeting yesterday. What preconceived notions do you have about writing or sending someone a note," I asked.

Answers. Billy, they should be prompt and brief; Tiffany, they should be sincere; Sharon, they should be unexpected and handmade; Philip, they should be personal; and Katie, a note should be specific.

If prompt, brief, sincere, unexpected, handmade, personal, and specific is some of the dogma associated with sending a note, then how might that be clouding our thinking? That's what I spent yesterday thinking about.

Long about 4:15 p.m. it hit me. By ascribing to the dogma that ALL notes have to be personal, I miss out on the impact that an impersonal, yet uplifting message might have on an unsuspecting passer-by.

By 5:00 p.m. Matthew and I were kneeling on the pavement outside our local Starbucks. We were using side walk chalk to write customers an impersonal, but uplifting message. So much fun were we having, we immediately zoomed over to his preschool and left a message on the steps for this morning. After that the post office, then the supermarket, and finally a welcome home message to the neighbors in the culdesac.

Never has an impersonal and non-specific message felt so good!

So how about you? Use my dogma or come up with your own. How is it clouding your thinking? And, how can you whack your thinking to create purple rain that even Ms. Manners would approve of?

Signing off until tomorrow...

Whack on the Side of the Head Wednesday

Whack on the Side of the Head Wednesday. It's been a while.

This Highlowaha tradition is our way of making sure that, in addition to receiving your daily dose of creativity, you are also giving your creative muscles a workout. We will have failed you if after following our blog for a period of time you don't find yourself more creative than when you entered our community. Besides... the stronger your creative muscles get, the better your input is to our comment section.

Normally we enlist the help of Roger von Oech, creator of the Whack Pack, to provide us the creative principle that expands or thinking for the day. After months, even a year, of keeping company with Roger, I thought I'd give a whirl at flying solo.

Kids toothbrushes.

Walk into your local drugstore or Target and there are rows of kids toothbrushes from which to choose. Some spin, others light up, and still more have figures that float from one end of the brush to another whenever the brush is tipped. Action figures such as Elmo, Superman, and the Incredible Hulk that don't light up, move, or talk are old news. Passe.

Here's the latest Beeny Brush.

Point. Kids are pleased, but not surprised, when a toothbrush has a suction cup attached to the bottom. They, in fact, expect a toothbrush to be more than a utilitarian tool and it is precisely that sense of possibility that allows kids to free their creativity. Kids are not surprised when a toothbrush performs. But, jaded adults? We are. We resign ourselves to accepting that it's ok for a toothbrush to be boring. Eventually our imaginations fall in line with our limited expectations and slowly our creativity slips into hiding.

Not today! Today we will reclaim a piece of our childlike wonder. Exercise your creativity by selecting any mundane household item with which we come in contact fairly regularly. Expect more from it. Demand that it capture your imagination in the same way a toothbrush can capture the imagination of a child.

Go ahead. Name an item and whack it. Describe how it could be improved or enhanced. Why should a vacuum only vacuum? Why is it ok that kids sneakers light up, but my hair dryer is perfectly complacent with a simple on/off button? I want more and so should you.

Take it away.

Signing off until tomorrow...

Whack on the Side of the Head Wednesday: Surprise BirthRay

Important announcement at the end.

I was heading into this day with one idea about what we could we could whack, but then Cheryl made the fun suggestion of celebrating Ray's birthday.  Two good ideas, so we'll whack them both.

First surprise.  Actually, "Surprise" with a capital "S," as in Surprise, Arizona.  Julie, one of our fun and loyal readers, recently relocated to Surprise, Arizona, where she will be living for the next few months.  I have not been able to shake the name of the city that she now calls home.  Living in - or knowing someone who lives in - a town called, "Surprise" is way too irresistible for someone like me.  I suspect it might be for you too.  I feel like if you live in Surprise, Arizona fun and spontaneous things ought to be happening all the time.  Spontaneous random acts of kindness, funny ads in the local paper, helium balloons with the word "surprise" tied to parking meters or street signs, and so much more.  I figure we, Highlowaha, are just the people to do it.  So, I am proposing we create one "surprise" a week from now until Julie moves again (about three months, I think) to bestow upon the town of Surprise.  The acts can be executed by Julie, but on behalf of our fun community.  That's the first idea I want to whack.  Can we do it?  If so, what can we do?  And, any other brainstorms that come to mind.

Second.  BirthRay!  Cheryl's right.  Ray needs a birthday.  Cassie P. made some suggestions yesterday about how we might assign Ray a D.O.B. (first day he was "conceived," "first day he was sketched, or his first appearance on Highlowaha).  What are your ideas and can we whack them to make sure we have come up with the A-#1-best possible idea for assigning Ray his birthday.  Along the same lines... how old is he and does he have a back story?

These are the two ideas I hope you'll join me in "whacking" today.  For those new to the community... Whack on the Side of the Head Wednesday is the day of the week when we jar our thinking in order to be more creative.  We do this with a little help from our friend Roger von Oech.   I pull a card from von Oech's Creative Whack Pack and you use the prompt to see what new and improved idea you can come up with.

No idea what I'm talking about?  Jump right in and try.  You'll see it's not hard and you will be amazed at what our readers come up with.

Now for the whack...

Be Whacky.  One day a new product design team got into a really whacky mood and made fun of their product.  They were zany and off-the-wall.  The meeting was a great success and many new ideas were generated.  The next week, everybody was in a serious mood and no new ideas were generated.  Moral: there's a close relationship between the "aha" of discovery and the "haha" of humor, and being whacky stimulates your creative juices.  As the Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu put it, "As soon as you have made a thought, laugh at it."  What whacky things can you do to your idea(s)?

So that's it.  Mill von Oech's idea around for a while and then check back later this afternoon to let me know what you've come up with.  How can our being whacky help us further develop our Surprise surprises or Ray's birthday?

Can't wait to see what you come up with.

Important Announcement:

• Tomorrow Highlowaha goes Goal Fishing.  What's Goal Fishing?  Simple.  It is Highlowaha's attempt at helping readers stay motivated to achieve your New Year's resolution(s).  Each participant submits a resolution, along with name, address, and email.  Each person participating will draw someone's name and then serve as a his/her cheerleader for the year.  Send and encouraging note, cut a relevant article from a newspaper, make a positive affirmation, and anything else you can think to do.  In the meantime, someone else will be doing the same for you!  Sixteen of you are already signed up, but NONE of you will want to miss out.  To get in on the fun, simply send your name, mailing address, and new year's resolution to me at cbeeny@lslog.com.
  

Signing off until tomorrow...

Whack on the Side of the Head Wednesday: Marker Marketing

On Monday I told you we would be doing some housekeeping this week.

I spent the better part of yesterday afternoon packaging Pirate Bingo boxes for the post office, sending emails to package sponsors, and distributing patchwork patches.  I'm using the rest of this week to regroup and to cross all my "t"s and dot all my "i"s.  (See 9/19 for more details on Pirate Bingo).

So while I'm doing Highlowaha housekeeping, I might as well revisit my failed "Make Your Mark" campaign (see 8/5).  I don't mean rehash my gross overestimation of how many people would clamor to participate.  I mean revisit what to do with the 66 remaining boxes of 10 Classic Color Crayola Markers.

I have no preconceived notions... other than... ideally we won't lose money on the deal.  It's icing on the cake if we can use the markers to find a few more committed readers or draw lurkers out of hiding.

This is a job for von Oech and his magical Whack Pack.  For those of you new to the game... the rules are simple.  Take an idea (in this case, what to do with my 66 boxes of Crayola Markers) and whack it by applying one of von Oech's principles of creativity.  Today's principle is...

Flex your Risk Muscle.  Bull's eye every time?  If so, you're standing too close to the target.  As comedian Woody Allen puts it, " "If you're not failing every now and again it's a sign your not doing anything very innovative."  Everyone has a "risk muscle."  You keep it in shape by trying new things.  If you don't, it atrophies and you're no longer able to take chances.  How can you exercise your risk muscle? 

Let me interject two things before we get busy whacking...

First, thank you von Oech.  I accept today's prompt as a subtle reminder that it's ok our Make Your Mark campaign failed miserably.  We were just keeping our "risk muscles" healthy and hunting for the next great innovative idea. 

Second... I've noticed a slow decline in "true whacking" over the past few weeks.  Readers liberally make comments on the dilemma, but few of you are actually applying the concept and truly refining the idea or helping to solve the problem.  Consider this exercise as much a test of your creativity (or a flexing of your "creativity muscle") as it is an opportunity to help highlowaha solve a problem.

So today I will sweeten the pot.  Today I will offer the latest and greatest craft tool to the person who offers the most viable and creative idea/solution (as judged by me and my family tonight at dinner).  The tool I will be giving away comes recommended by Taste of USA participant, Kristen.  Each participant was asked to bring his/her "go-to" craft tool for a short Show and Tell activity.  Kristen's tool got the loudest "oohs" and "aaahs".  We all agreed our lives would be enriched if we owned the...

Fiskars Rotary Cutter  

Valued at $19.99 (at least at Michael's)  

The Rotary Cutter is a superior tool that is ideal for cutting through heavy stock or multiple layers of fabric, paper, felt, vinyl, cardboard, mat board, cloth, leather and fiberglass material.

So consult with von Oech and let me know what you think.  How can we exercise our risk muscle to do something purposeful with the remaining 66 boxes of Crayola Markers?

That's it for me.  I'll step out of the way and let our creative readership get to it.

Signing off until tomorrow...

Whack on the Side of the Head Wednesday: The Lost Day

Announcements at the end.

It's been a few weeks since we've delved into a Whack on the Side of the Head Wednesday.  Our last whack was an attempt to improve my strategy for gathering 100 inspiring teacher stories for 100 unsuspecting teachers around the country.  I dare say, with still only 15 stories in hand, that neither my strategy nor your creative suggestions will be winning highlowaha any awards.

A short commercial break...  IT'S NOT TOO LATE!  Low pay coupled with countless hours of work preparing lesson plans, grading papers, and responding to parents, makes teachers worth the fifteen minutes it will take you to share your story.  Ten to fifteen lines about your teacher of note is all we need.  Stories will be packaged with a box of Crayola Markers and mailed as Random Acts of Kindness to teachers around the country. 

And, if that isn't enough... submit yours before August 29 and be in a drawing to win the beautiful, hand crafted Back to School Tablecloth featured in yesterday's blog entry.  Those of you mailing your paragraphs should aim to have your letter postmarked today, Wednesday, August 26.  Paragraphs (along with $5.00 for packaging, postage, and markers) can be sent to: Claudia K. Beeny, 4012 Harvestwood Court, Grapevine, Texas, 76051.

Moving on.

I sense we have enough new readers/lurkers that I am going to do a quick recap of the idea behind Whack on the Side of the Head Wednesday.  The idea... improve an idea by forcing yourself to think creatively.  But... if thinking creatively was easy, companies wouldn't have to pay consultants for creative solutions to old problems, people wouldn't complain of boredom, and the idea of rut wouldn't exist.  Truth... thinking creatively sometimes requires an outside force to, as my son would say, ..."shake things up."  We rely on von Oech and his Creative Whack Pack for this.  Each of the cards in von Oech's Whack Pack contains a different principle and when the principle is applied, in theory, our idea ought to be better than when it started.  Problem solved.  Here we go, giving it a whirl.

The story behind what we will be whacking today is funny and compliments of a woman many of us know and love... Cheryl.  

So, here I am repeatedly talking about the importance of the number #218 to our blog community.  We've had contests where #218 was incorporated into the answer; we're troop #218 for goodness sakes; and in less than a month I am going to introduce a new ritual... based on the #18.  Let's face it... #218 is here to stay.

The problem.  Soon after we introduced Patchwork (highlowaha jeans used to showcase all the cool patches earned by participating in fun activities), Cheryl emailed me to say... "How do I tell you this?  Your first blog entry was on February 19 not the 18th."  

WHAT?  Big gulp on my part.  Are you kidding me?  Countless number of initiatives, contests, stunts, etc... are based on the my first entry being posted on February 18 and all at once - in one fell swoop - Cheryl drops a bomb on me.

Thank goodness!

Quick re-frame on my part.  I have options.  Pretend I didn't get the email and just keep plugging along in my own little world of denial.  Acknowledge the email, but threaten Cheryl with something awful if she dares to tell a soul.  Fess up to my mistake and just move on.  Or... creatively problem solve my way out of the dilemma.  I like option number four.

My wheels started working fast.  How about a lost day?  That's it.  Highlowaha will have a lost day to recover the February 18 post that never happened.  Perfect.  And, it's leap year to boot.  Somehow that HAS to work to our advantage.  This year there actually is an extra day... an extra one to spare.  Perfect.  But here's the big question.  The question so much fun to think about and so irresistible, I almost have to share it with you.

What do you do with a lost day?  Is this a day we get to do everything we wish we could have done, but didn't have time for.  Or, is this the day we do nothing.  Or, is this the day we repeat everything we did on Monday, February 18?  Or, is the lost day the day a day of mystery?  So many possibilities.

That's the thing that needs some whacking today.  What should highlowaha do to recover and celebrate the lost day - February 18, 2008?  Here's what von Oech has to say...

Let Your Mind Wander.  Much of our thinking is associative: one idea makes you think of another - no matter how logical the connection.  Use this ability to generate new ideas.  Look at something, and make associations based on whatever  you can think of: function, location, size, shape, sound, personal, opposite, weird, etc.  Example - work: play: actor: star: sun: light: bulb: tulips: kiss: love: tennis: net: profit: prophet: oracle: auricle: heart: life.  What things does your idea remind you of?  What do each of these remind you of?  How can you use this cluster of associations to develop your idea?

I'll play this associative game, but I'm more interested in what all of YOU have to say!  Help me.  Help me turn this bitter lemon into lemonade.  Look around the room you're in.  Spot something and then play the associative game.  how can you use your cluster of associations to help me develop great ideas for how highlowaha can use our lost day?

Some announcements and then you can get busy...

Announcements:

• Make Your Mark:  I received three paragraphs from Julie yesterday, boosting our count to 15 inspiring stories.  Eighty-five more to go.  The deadline is Friday, August 29.
  
• Helping Hand: Click on the Helping Hand link at the top right hand of my blog.  Our service project coordinators are looking for input on families in our communities who ought to be considered as recipients of our generous initiative.  Don't fail us now.  Consult with your church, a local organization, or people in your work place.  Submit a name by before the week is over.
  
• Countdown to the Super Bowl:  Still seeking four competitors.  My husband - chef extraordinaire - claimed one of the fourteen available spots.  Cassie, Montana, AZLori?  Who else?  We need four more people up for the challenge.
  
• Taste of USA:  Ten days until our Taste of USA participants meet in Philly.  Our list of participants, to date, consists of: Cheryl, Amy, Tera, Treye, Julie, Katie, Nicole, Kristen, Heidi, and Jayme.  We're still waiting for definitive answers from Brian and Maureen.  For the purposes of planning, we will set Monday, September 1 as the last day to RSVP.  The sooner we know the better.  
  

Signing off until tomorrow...