Another example of just how small the world really is

What are the odds?

A while back I wrote my first (and so far, only) post using a specific set of guidelines under the title of, “The random image project.” FYI, the basic idea for the series is to generate creativity within constraints. You can find the post here, but the reason I mention it is this:

In the post I reference a book called Blue Like Jazz, written by Donald Miller. It’s a great book with an interesting point of view, and one I encourage anyone to read if you get the chance. What I didn’t know when it was given to me, or when I read it, or even the years that have followed, is that I went to school with the author.

My memory from those days is a little fuzzy, but I remember him as being a genuinely nice guy. So, as a shout-out to Donald, take some time and check out either this book or the others that follow. I think you’ll enjoy what you find.

Random Image Project: 3-9-09

This is the first installment of a project using imagery, constraint, and more than a little tenacity.

Look on the third row of the bookshelf in my study and you’ll find a novel I’ve purchased easily dozens of times. No kidding. Dozens. For years it would be my answer to birthdays, stockings, or those odd and wonderful moments over a cocktail when I realized a friend and I had been talking about a thought or idea that was now just about singing from between the pages.

I first discovered it while on leave from boot camp and have loved it, literally, from the very first sentence:

There was a Master come unto the earth, born in the holy land of Indiana, raised in the mystical hills east of Fort Wayne.

It makes me smile just seeing it on the screen.   

The book is called Illusions and it’s written by a gent named Richard Bach. That’s the same Richard Bach who wrote Jonathan Livingston Seagull, by the bye, and if you haven’t read that one before I’m telling you with no hesitation you’ve done yourself a great disservice. One of my happiest Half Price Books moments was finding an old, beat-up, 1st edition copy of Jonathan a few years ago. Bliss.

I’ve a dear friend who does something similar even now, albeit with a different book. And while his gift, Donald Miller’s Blue Like Jazz, is about a man’s exploration and discovery of Christianity and mine is, well, decidedly not, the two books have far more in common than you’d think. 

So, my challenge to you: pick one of the three books above and read it in the next month. They’re all fairly light reads, so not a huge investment. Once you’ve done so, come back here and tell me what you thought. With any luck we’ll both learn something new and have a good time doing so.

Photo by i5prof

The random image project

A “butterfly on the summer’s breath” is just a tad too pretty to describe Stone and Sea, but it’s fairly clear topics and style are pretty loose at this blog. And that’s okay. For me, the point is to stretch and have fun writing.

In fact a good buddy and I talk fairly often about how to do just that and not long ago he had a great idea. A challenge, really, but one that might help accomplish both points mentioned above. The first post of the series should arrive shortly, but for those of you who like to get into the meat and potatoes of things the challenge is this: grab an interesting image from Flickr, somehow incorporate it into a post, write that post using a set of  constraints, and do it all in such a way you’re not bored to tears.

Why constraints, you ask? Quite a few reasons, actually. Reasons that range from best practices to mimicking business reality. But, perhaps more importantly, constraints can actually free us to produce much more creative work. Check out this, this, and this to see what I mean.

Anyway, hope you’re going to enjoy, and keep your eyes open tomorrow.

photo by Silvio Tanaka