from The Creative Personality by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Psychology Today, July-August 1996 v29 n4 p36(5) <blockquote>When we're creative, we feel we are living more fully than during the rest of life. The excitement of the artist at the easel or the scientist in the lab comes close to the ideal fulfillment we all hope to get from life, and so rarely do. Perhaps only sex, sports, music, and religious ecstasy--even when these experiences remain fleeting and leave no trace--provide a profound sense of being part of an entity greater than ourselves. But creativity also leaves an outcome that adds to the richness and complexity of the future... Here are the 10 antithetical traits often present in creative people that are integrated with each other in a dialectical tension: <ol><li>Creative people have a great deal of physical energy, but they're also often quiet and at rest.</li><li>Creative people tend to be smart yet naive at the same time.</li><li>Creative people combine playfulness and discipline, or responsibility and irresponsibility.</li><li>Creative people alternate between imagination and fantasy, and a rooted sense of reality. Great art and great science involve a leap of imagination into a world that is different from the present. The rest of society often views these new ideas as fantasies without relevance to the current reality.</li><li>Creative people tend to be both extroverted and introverted.</li><li>Creative people are humble and proud at the same time.</li><li>Creative people, to an extent, escape rigid gender role stereotyping. This tendency toward androgyny is sometimes understood in purely sexual terms, and therefore it gets confused with homosexuality. But psychological androgyny is a much wider concept referring to a sensitive and rigid, dominant and submissive, regardless of gender. A psychologically androgynous person in effect doubles his or her repertoire of responses. Creative individuals are more likely to have not only the strengths of their own gender but those of the other one, too.</li><li>Creative people are both rebellious and conservative. It is impossible to be creative without having first internalized an area of culture. So it's difficult to see how a person can be creative without being both traditional and conservative and at the same time rebellious and iconoclastic. Being only traditional leaves an area unchanged; constantly taking chances without regard to what has been valued in the past rarely leads to novelty that is accepted as an improvement.</li><li>Most creative people are very passionate about their work, yet they can be extremely objective about it as well.</li><li>Creative people's openness and sensitivity often exposes them to suffering and pain, yet also to a great deal of enjoyment. Being alone at the forefront of a discipline also leaves you exposed and vulnerable. Eminence invites criticism and often vicious attacks. When an artist has invested years in making a sculpture, or a scientist in developing a theory, it is devastating if nobody cares. Deep interest and involvement in obscure subjects often goes unrewarded, or even brings on ridicule. Divergent thinking is often perceived as deviant by the majority, and so the creative person may feel isolated and misunderstood.</li></ol></blockquote> also check out <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-url/index=books&field-author=Csikszentmihalyi%2C%20Mihaly/002-5559700-4805653">"flow" and "creativity"</a> 77499932daniel millerSaturday, June 08, 2002publishLater that night, as brother and I were still laid out on the couch watching pay-per-view, there was a knock at the door, and upon opening the door, we were treated to the sight of two <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport/hi/english/boxing/default.stm">knockouts</a>. These two blond bombshells in extremely tight, short dresses actually knew our names and quickly introduced themselves as friends. It was like the movies, or a dream. They hung out with us for a couple hours, talking and flirting like crazy. I felt alive again, amazingly alive, their attention filling back up my empty fuel cells like a Texas power station. Brother and I soaked it in, brother obviously more experienced at this type of thing than I. He made his move and before I knew it he had one of the girls in his bedroom for the night. I was not so adept, nor sure about what was reality and what fantasy. Two nights prior I had choked down generic baked beans for the two-hundredth time. Tonight I had a beautiful woman touching my thigh. My heart was pounding again, but my head was also spinning. I started to get lightheaded. In an awkward string of excuses and strange body language, I saw the potential fulfillment of years of sexual frustration, a perfect body and an undoubtedly amazing lover, out the door. She smiled politely and went, I can only assume, home to her studio apartment. 77498622daniel millerpublish<img src="http://danielsjourney.com/images/unionjack2.jpg"> <a href="http://www.freshworship.org/index.html">grace</a>'s service this month is "god save the queen," <a href="http://www.vh1.com/shows/concerts/queens_jubilee/">appropriately enough</a>.... 77498600daniel millerpublishJust now working on Rob some more. Tomorrow's entry is my fav so far... :) 77462082daniel millerFriday, June 07, 2002publishThe rest of that day and the next were a blur. By the following evening, brother and I were put into a fantastic hotel in downtown Manhattan. We had a huge two bedroom suite with soft sheets on the beds and terry robes in the bathrooms. We ordered the biggest dinner I�d ever seen in my life and devoured it until we were bloated so much we couldn�t budge from the couch. My studio apartment and the coffee shop were a distant memory. History. 77461887daniel millerpublishSo I've made this little face_picker. Dunno what to do with it just yet, but I figured for now I'd stick it up here and let you decide what kind of mood I am in based on my posts. Actually I'm going to put it in the header. I may do something more with this in the future; but I wouldn't count on it. Feel free to put the "pick a dan" on your blog, too! Yeah, right!? :P 77461701daniel millerpublishSo in that joy, I was playing with this face maker thingie I came upon. And I just found that it had a randomizer. It makes a random face from all of its options. And it is a riot! If any of you are over sometime we'll have fun with this game I invented: name that face (or quote that face, whichever is funnier). I know the folks I chum with would have way too much gross fun over this. A sample: <img src="http://www.danielsjourney.com/images/faces/1/1.jpg" align="left"> recently "let go" disgruntled tech worker <img src="http://www.danielsjourney.com/images/faces/1/2.jpg" align="left"> Dennis Rodman in Shaq II <img src="http://www.danielsjourney.com/images/faces/1/4.jpg" align="left"> The Eminem Unibrow and Lipgloss Show <img src="http://www.danielsjourney.com/images/faces/1/7.jpg" align="left"> John grad student in Japanese studies <img src="http://www.danielsjourney.com/images/faces/1/8.jpg" align="left"> Jamal grad student in Philosophy <img src="http://www.danielsjourney.com/images/faces/1/9.jpg" align="left"> Howdy! Did you heeeear about Rose over in HR? Yeah...I'm just *shocked* too! <img src="http://www.danielsjourney.com/images/faces/1/6.jpg" align="left"> After many long years on the road, CPM's drummer shows the effects of way too many beers 77442970daniel millerThursday, June 06, 2002publishTonight is one of those nights where we're just going to enjoy it. Life itself is not so bad sometimes, and even though, when rated based on this blog, I'm clinically bipolar, I really do think that most of the time. Tonight it's just a tad more lucid. So tomorrow may bring more joy or some sorrow, but either way, tonight we smile.... 77442755daniel millerpublishjust updated <a href="http://christianpornmachine.com">CPM</a> as well and <a href="http://gravattville.com">Scott</a> has also now posted to that blog. 77419593daniel millerpublishjust updated <a href="http://www.danielsjourney.com/miriam/">miriam's site</a> with new sources and resume pages. 77417544daniel millerpublish<a href="http://theyblinked.blogspot.com/2002_06_02_theyblinked_archive.html#77381950">some of dan's fav peps</a>. me too, dan. 77416079daniel millerpublishBut they mentioned something about a prosthetic and seemed to be happy enough with that. The air in the room became lighter and I sensed their confidence in brother and I increasing. I think they were more concerned with my dedication; and upon their determination of that, the hand, for the first time since the accident, became a non-issue. Something that could be worked around. 77415966daniel millerpublishnumb us <a href="http://play.mp3.com/cgi-bin/play/play.cgi/AAIAQpVWJgDABG5vcm1QBAAAAFLOcQAAUQEAAABDlYYHPWlP39IaMWgUeJGWajNVyCU-/Numb_Us.mp3">3.7M mp3</a> <s>i would annotate these lyrics...but not yet</s> by dwm</small <a href="http://danielsjourney.com/numb.htm">annotated lyrics</a> <a onclick="javascript:alert('on the original demo, i accidentally said boeno instead of bahno...which makes it a double meaning...which is cul...but i hate to pick on a dead guy...so bahno it shall really be');">Bono is prone to posturing��.bug eyes</a> Every president needs his war. . .bulls eye I could care less about the American dream <a onclick="javascript:alert('this lyric has changed from exclusive to inclusive. the demo has the old lyric, this has the new');"> cuz they all are just locked up so we can't hear them scream</a> shakira is all made up like britney. . . <a onclick="javascript:alert('so shakira has actually been around a lot longer than britney, and until this last album was really good. but she messed up by trying to be the next britney. so its a rip off and a trip up at the same time.');"> trip off</a> <a href="http://www.dealingwith.blogspot.com/archives/2002_04_01_dealingwith_archive.html#75211639"> fat short men in kakis</a>. . .jerk off <img src="http://danielsjourney.com/images/30_03_2002_6ii.jpg" alt="" align="right"> I can't remember your number though because I've got it programmed in my cell phone it's like that last sip of coffee when you can see yourself in the bottom of the cup it's like that first hit of <a onclick="javascript:alert('heroin. no i do not do any of the substances i reference in my songs. so far im up to 2 cocaine refs, 1 smoking ref, a heroin ref, and 2 drunk refs. im just interested in substance abuse and addiction as a metaphor for most peps lives. god knows im an addict.');"> junk</a> you know it's never going to be that good again it's like that last shot of whiskey right before you meeting with the floor it's like the first time it's over before it even began <img src="http://www.beckerfilms.com/trainspotting.gif" align="right" alt=""> <a onclick="javascript:alert('i really did see this old guy in the parking lot of the pharmacy where miriam works-ed. he was sitting in the back seat of a lexus and staring around kinda funny like.');"> crazy old man in the back seat of a lexus</a>. . .loner waiting for his woman to pick up his meds. . .<a onclick="javascript:alert('ooo and now a pot reference. but actually its a ref to whatever prescription drugs that guy was on. like i said we are all addicts.');">stoner</a> I will never be <a onclick="javascript:alert('you thought i was making a ref to the crazy guy didnt you?');">that man</a> I'll never have <a onclick="javascript:alert('nope. that mythical man');">a deep dark tan</a> pacifist me and that guy in the <a onclick="javascript:alert('how lexus got a double mention is beyond me. suffice it to say if yer reading this you probly do not drive one nor plan to, and neither do i, so whatever.');"> lexus</a> we both suffer from the same perplexus so drug us. . .just numb us 77391840daniel millerWednesday, June 05, 2002publish Since I had found them in the first place, and filled out all the applications, I answered all their questions, most of which were repeats from the application. They had a hard time believing we were in fact brothers at first, but I assured them that with proper diet we would be again identical in no time. There was some mumbling about makeup�necessary�but other than that there was nothing to be too concerned about. Except of course my hand. 77379631daniel millerpublish<a href="http://www.shoppingcartabuse.com/">Center for Shopping Cart Abuse Prevention</a> it really is amazing what u can find out there... 77372085daniel millerpublishi'm working on a proposal right now and i just invented a new word: brandwidth, as in how much brand info a person can process and still be effected by. don't steal that, that's good shite! Update: should've know I didn't invent that shit... <a href="http://www.logophilia.com/WordSpy/brandwidth.asp">definition of brandwidth</a> 77337304daniel millerTuesday, June 04, 2002publishI had already arranged almost everything with the audition, so the next day I made a phone call and we were scheduled for later that afternoon. We arrived at the dark Village loft and were led to a small stage facing a handful of folding chairs. Our guide was a 20-something man dressed in black jeans and a long-sleeved black tee-shirt. He had a short beard and well-trimmed hair. I looked punk-ass next to him, and brother looked like a first-rate hick. After confirming our identities at the door, he had not said a word until depositing us at the stage and disappearing stage right. Soon after--just long enough to make brother and I quite nervous--he and a trio made up of two similar looking males and one striking, business-like woman entered the room. They all took their seats on the folding chairs before us. There were exactly enough chairs for the four of them. 77332736daniel millerpublishYou are driving along in your car on a wild, stormy night. You pass by a bus stop, and you see three people waiting for the bus: 1. An old lady who looks as if she is about to die. 2. Your best friend who once saved your life. 3. The perfect woman you have been dreaming about all your life. There can only be one passenger in your car and you can't return to the bus stop once you have stopped. Which one would you choose to offer a ride? Think before you continue reading...This is a moral/ethical dilemma that was once actually used as part of a job selection process so your future could depend on how you answer this question. You could pick up the old lady, because she is going to die, and thus you should save her first; or you could take your best friend because he once saved your life, and this would be the perfect chance to pay him back. However, you may never be able to find your perfect dream lover again. The candidate who was hired (out of 200 applicants) had no trouble coming up with his answer. WHAT DID HE SAY?... He answered: "I would give the car keys to my old friend, and let him take the old lady to the hospital. I would stay behind and wait for the bus with the woman of my dreams." The moral of the story is that we can gain more if we are able to giveup our stubborn thought limitations and "Think Outside of the Box." Nobody came up with the correct answer which is, of course, to run over the old lady and put her out of her misery, shag the perfect woman silly on the bonnet of your car and then drive off with your best friend to the nearest pub to celebrate ...... sorted. 77291151daniel millerMonday, June 03, 2002publishTonight: TheDWMAmericanaProject and CPM performing at Dada's open mic, 10PM, Dada's, Delray Beach... 77286571daniel millerpublish<a href="http://www.rejesus.co.uk/index.html">.:rejesus homepage:.</a> v.v.cul site....checkit....i of course headed straight for the photographer's piece in 'expressions' 77285620daniel millerpublishfound on <a href="http://jonnybaker.blogspot.com/">jonnybakers blog</a>: I had a large steel bowl (wok ) on top of a metre high black plinth, with candle burning beside it. In the wok was a pile of meths soaked pumice rocks (very porous). At the appropriate moment I pulled out an aerosol can of cooking oil and sprayed it across the top of the candle. It ignited like a flame thrower and lit the bowl of pumice beside it. how kick ass is that? 77285118daniel millerpublishWhen he walked in, unless you knew, you might not even take us for brothers. Back home all those years ago, we were identical. Now, he was huge. I was gaunt. He had presence. I disappeared into corners. He walked tall. I slithered. I was going to offer him the bed, but upon the sight of me, he denied it, insisting instead that I continue to use it. He spread a blanket on the floor--the only free floor space in the studio--and used that as a place to sleep. 77284972daniel millerpublish<a href="http://designforcommunity.com/display.cgi/200203281958">Design for Community: Essay: Killing the biggest myth of web design</a> this one, too...by one of the masters... 77284888daniel millerpublish<a href="http://home.cnet.com/software/0-8888-8-9951353-1.html">Net Effect - Software Reviews - CNET.com</a> I'm with Powazek and the community on this one. I'd much rather have a pretty, informative, friendly Web than a cold, analytical Web trying to sell me things with ugly, 14-point sans-serif type. Seriously, compare Jakob's site to Derek's--no wonder Nielsen thinks people won't spend any time reading Web sites. His site makes me feel like I'm in the bathroom. Coop if yer out there, this will interest you... 77284803daniel millerpublish<a href="http://www.sxsw.com/interactive/tech_report/powazek.php">http://www.sxsw.com/interactive/tech_report/powazek.php</a> The government tells us the economy is beginning to get back on track. From the perspective of the new media industry, do you agree? POWAZEK: It's funny. I was talking to my optometrist the other day. Doctor Greg. And I said I had no work from September last year until around March of this year. And he said the same. The only person I know who's business improved after September 11 is my dad. He's a psychologist. hmmm..... 77284254daniel millerpublishthose last two from small ritual 77265046daniel millerSunday, June 02, 2002publishLet's be honest: most of us are too exhausted by the demands of modern living to make our own worship. That's why we pay vicars to get on with making worship while we deal with the kids, the boss and the groceries. And in truth, those of us who do make worship happen without being paid a living for it still haven't really cracked the problem. What we do may be authentic, but it takes even more time and effort than the usual sort, and so often proves unsustainable. We haven't worked out how to slot worship into our lives in a way that enriches rather than takes out. Worship becomes one more task to do, rather than a relief from tasks, a sabbath as intended. 77261704daniel millerpublishWe fear to become like the people on the train, grey from travelling too long without arriving. this was particularly moving with lamb in the cd player ;) 77261170daniel millerpublishwhy r we so afraid of questions? why must believers have all the (pat) answers? i want everyone to know that i don't have any answers. life is not all wine and roses. life sucks sometimes. god is a mean old bastard sometimes. does that make me a heretic? lucid dreams and deja vu are weird. but i think jesus was a cool cat. and i'm not afraid to die. does that make me a fundamentalist? ;) 77261060daniel millerpublish<img src="http://danielsjourney.com/images/danielgar.jpg"> 77260979daniel millerpublish<img src="http://danielsjourney.com/images/labyrinth.jpg"> didn't realize how similar my worshipproject concept was to the labyrinth posters. <a href="http://smallritual.org">ref1</a> <a href="http://web.ukonline.co.uk/paradigm/index.htm">ref2</a> 77260964daniel millerpublishhey steve sorry it took me so long to link to you (see above). hey anyone out there, if u r linking to me and me not back to you, then <a href="mailto:daniel@danielsjourney.com">let me know</a>. 77260822daniel millerpublishI updated the Rob archive yesterday, just FYI. See link above. 77248517daniel millerpublishAnd with that, <s>bye-bye</s> my brother packed up some stuff, got into his red extra-cab pickup truck, and drove across half the country to join me in New York. He parked in Jersey-- somewhere his Palm told him was the best cost-to-distance ratio from my apartment--and took the train in. It seemed like I had just hung up the phone and he was knocking on my door. My heart jumped a little bit. Adrenaline. We were really going to do this. 77248486daniel millerpublishfrom my friend <a href="http://smallritual.org">Steve</a>: >The other thing is that, after checking out your venue, we realized that no-one >in my group of co-conspiritors, could ever possibly afford to stay there. This >changes the practicality of our participation in that we would need full >subsidizing; or we could camp out nearby or something. on the one hand, conference centre; beside it, a small group of tents in the bushes around the parking lot. daniel emerges in his underwear, scratching his balls. he wanders into the plenary session wrapped in a sleeping bag looking for free coffee and is ejected as a bum :) 77248458daniel millerpublish