Designing Books with the Hilariously Legendary Chip Kidd

Sir Kenneth Robinsion on paying off the creativity deficit...

On Monday, I talked about the diminishing creativity of the American child and a local effort to do something about that.  Or at least a part of it. 

This video was recommended to me at a meeting on Monday where we were discussing what it would mean to create a community writing center on the east side of Tacoma. An under-served, under-resourced community if ever there was one.


At risk of this becoming the "TED is Cool" blog, I'm going to post two more TED videos, making it three in one week.  I trust you will bear with me.


In a 2006 TED Talk, Sir Kenneth Robinson talked about the death of creativity and the under-appreciation of the arts in a global culture that puts a higher value on skills and talents that are of use to industry whilst stripping away the parts of the child that society values less... 




This past year, Sir Kenneth returned to TED to finish his speech (as he puts it) positing a new model for learning.  Replacing a fast food model of education with an agricultural model to grow creative young minds.  He makes some fascinating points, some of them perhaps a trifle utopian.  I would certainly love to see a community that could carry this off...  

Dave Eggers on Writing, Tutoring, and Pirate Supplies :: TED Talks

In reference of yesterday's post on writing tutoring and creativity...  This is a video of literary great, Dave Eggers, on the idea behind his 826 Project and how it can be applied anywhere.

I love his concept that there should be no borders real or imagined between the writing community and the students in the same community.


http://onceuponaschool.org/

A Horse of a Different Color

I was met with a round of blank looks.  It's okay, I'm used to it by now, but it didn't make it any less frustrating.

"This is a book?" One person ventured.

"It's a kid's book," I said.  "It came out when I was in high school."

A round of knowing looks went through the group. Someone patted my forearm, I forget who it was, and leaned in to whisper "Scott, by high school, most of us stop reading children's books."

Actually, I was twenty six or so when I finally read it. A fact that I keep to myself, preferring to pretend to be horrified that they hadn't been reading stories about boys and their horses when they were sixteen.


I thought about asking about those Harry Potter books I knew they had on their shelves, but gave up.  Those were different, or at least those were the worm that turned.  And even though JK Rowling was largely responsible for drawing adults into the young adult sections of their bookstores and libraries, most of the venturing seemingly went forward from Harry's pub date, not backwards.

Which is too bad, really. There are some great overlooked books on those shelves, languishing in the boy wizard's shadow.  It's possible that I'm one of the few Americans who had even heard of War Horse before it became a play.

I cheated, I suppose, by being a children's bookseller. 

Today, it was featured in the New York Times, but only because it's about to open in New York.  In short, it's a story about a boy and a horse. Big deal, right?  Then the British army takes the horse to Europe and the boy follows his equine friend into the blood and chaos of the First World War.

Written from the viewpoint of the horse.

There have been a number of great stories written from the viewpoint of animals and some not-so-great attempts to mimic them.  Traveller, by Richard Adams, is the book it reminds me of most.  And though War Horse predates Traveller by a few years, comparisons are inevitable because of their animal's-eye-view of war, the comparisons stop there.  Both narratives attempt to draw attention to how strange the enterprise of war is by showing it from the viewpoint of an uncomprehending animal forced to participate. Much though I liked Traveller, I think War Horse wins the bout, capturing the full scope and horror of the putative War to End All Wars.

War Horse is one of those books that hollows you out and shakes you and then puts everything back just a bit wrong and with extra parts left out.  In a good way.

I haven't seen the play, but I will if I get the chance. In fact, I was reminded of the book (prompting the discussion above) by the play, or rather by the puppets used to bring horses onto the stage.  The puppets are so beautiful and amazing that the designers were invited to talk at this year's TED Conference.  It's no secret that I love puppets and puppetry. I wanted to be Jim Henson when I grew up and I still quietly dream of working with his people someday, somehow.

The horse puppet will show you how powerful a puppet can be.  Seriously, the could not have been more powerful if they had brought actual horses onstage.  I cannot fathom how the upcoming movie adaptation by Stephen Spielberg can hope to measure up.



Before you see the play or watch the movie (Christmas of this year, I believe) I hope you take a moment to read Mr. Morpurgo's amazing book.  And if you're a writer as I am, read the story behind that book.  It's the perfect story of a tale that made it to print only to be written off more times than you can count, finding its audience decades later and an author who never gave up on it.

TED Talks: The Classics of Technology

I have not posted a TED talk in awhile and I absolutely love this one on the astrolabe.

TED Talks -- Erin McKean Redefines the Dictionary

I just referenced this lady and her TED talk in a comment on someone else's post over on Facebook and I thought I'd share it more widely because this is one of the most beautiful speeches on the English language I can readily think of. If you're not familiar with Erin Mc...Kean, you should familiarize yourself with her. You really owe it to yourself. I'm pretty fussy about language but her enthusiasm and her arguments are really difficult to reject.

"Love makes things real -- If you love a word use it, that makes it real, being in the dictionary is an artificial distinction."

Random Thoughts On a Monday!

Website overhaul! I'm working on getting my internet presence worked around to a more professional site. Someone owns ScottPerkins.com and wants to sell it to me so I'm contemplating some other permutation of my name or perhaps this blog that will be simple enough to remember, yet wholly mine. Leave your suggestion in comments! (And be nice! My mom reads this blog.) "This Bespells Doom..." The New York Times today had an article about authors trying to figure out how best to adorn an e-Book with thier signature. David Sedaris signed one "To Marty -- This bespells doom" and other authors are reporting being asked to sign the things too. Amazon needs to come up with a digi-pen signature or something before Kindles start to look like the side of an elevated train. Then again, that might be an improvement, they are rather sterile-looking to my eye. Living in the present tense... The Onion announced today that funding cuts have forced underfunded schools to cut the past tense from their language programs. During budget negotiation, administration officials apparently decided that "...the past tense was deemed by school administrators to be too expensive to keep in primary and secondary education." Indeed. In the future, we won't need the past, that's what makes the future perfect. In all seriousness... If you haven't seen Elizabeth Gilbert's TED Talk, you are missing out. Sooooo much of what she has to say is immediately germane to my life. Inspiring. Ole!!