WORLD TO THE WISE » creativity http://worldtothewise.net Home of the Culturally Curious Wed, 11 Aug 2010 16:43:07 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 en hourly 1 The Art of Storytelling http://worldtothewise.net/2009/02/25/the-art-of-storytelling/ http://worldtothewise.net/2009/02/25/the-art-of-storytelling/#comments Wed, 25 Feb 2009 20:36:00 +0000 admin http://worldtothewise.net/http:/worldtothewise.net/culturaltours Perhaps the oldest art form is one that needs to be reclaimed in our generation: storytelling. For years, Melea Brock has been weaving her own stories as well as some borrowed from other times and other places.
For the first time, Melea will be performing a live tele-Storynight tomorrow (Thursday, Feb. 26) at 9:00 pm Eastern time. No matter where you are, you’ll be able to listen in — from your car, your home phone, or your computer. Melea has such an engaging manner about her that adults as well as children are drawn in — and you’ll find her stories charged with meaning.

All you have to do is go here to register.

Make a fire and some hot chocolate, gather the kids or friends, unplug the iPod and tune into Melea instead. It will be one of those moments suspended in time.

]]> http://worldtothewise.net/2009/02/25/the-art-of-storytelling/feed/ 0 On the Offensive http://worldtothewise.net/2008/11/11/on-the-offensive/ http://worldtothewise.net/2008/11/11/on-the-offensive/#comments Tue, 11 Nov 2008 05:08:00 +0000 admin http://worldtothewise.net/http:/worldtothewise.net/culturaltours Why am I not sitting down to write this blog post on a typewriter? Because people like John W. Mauchly envisioned a future of electronic word processing. At a gathering of the American Institute of Industrial Engineers in 1962, Mauchly stated, “There is no reason to suppose the average boy or girl cannot be master of a personal computer.” It wasn’t until six years later that Hewlett Packard first took the risk of using this term to describe their 9100A.

We are wired to innovate. Culture is wired to progress. There is an innate drive in man to produce, to improve, to outdo himself.
Seth Godin, one of my favorite bloggers, says if we give in to paralysis in the midst of this economic slump, we will only prolong it. If we stop investing in the future, we will find then, and only then, that those who say we’re in for a long economic winter were right. If we allow the media to dictate our attitudes — at this or any time — we will find ourselves constantly on the defensive.
Don’t let the doomsayers dampen your creativity. If there was ever a time for innovation, it is now. Be offensive.
]]> http://worldtothewise.net/2008/11/11/on-the-offensive/feed/ 0 The Age of Creativity http://worldtothewise.net/2008/09/03/the-age-of-creativity/ http://worldtothewise.net/2008/09/03/the-age-of-creativity/#comments Thu, 04 Sep 2008 01:11:00 +0000 admin http://worldtothewise.net/http:/worldtothewise.net/culturaltours

I last blogged from southern France, where I was speaking at an annual arts camp in a region called the Cévennes. I was struck by the legacy of the persecuted Huguenots as portrayed at the Musée du Désert, hidden away in the rugged hills of the Cévennes. Their oppression lasted over a century, and many of the men were sent away to the French galleys, seldom to return home. Centuries later, the Protestant church is strongest in the south (as well as the Alsace region in northeastern France).

At the arts camp I spoke on the fact that art, as a part of culture, must evolve. I believe that, as God is Creator and continues to create, He created us to evolve. Otherwise, we would still be nomadic hunter/gatherers, oblivious to agriculture, industry and technology. We are wired to move forward. And a faith that withstands the test of time is one that continues to innovate, to explore new ways of expressing the same timeless truths. If the church doesn’t wake up to this fact, it will find itself shut off from some of the very people who could help it move forward in its ongoing quest for relevancy.I particularly wish this for the church in France, in many ways known as the cradle of aesthetic appreciation. It’s in the church’s best interest to embrace and reclaim this love of beauty. We have entered the Age of Creativity — let’s keep creating.
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