According to Refinery 29, Kansas City (yep, that little dot in the middle of the country there) is one of the 29 Places & Things We Love. We rank alongside Rio de Janeiro; Auckland New Zealand; Stockholm, and American Samoa for pete's sake! 

Well, I say, "DUH!" Of course Kansas City is on this list, and many others (this one, this one, and this one) as well. But really, SSSHHH! We're not huge, and we like it that way. And we're also awesome. Kansas City is the largest city in the state (yes, larger than the city of St. Louis). It's beautiful here, with more fountains than anywhere in the world, except Rome! We have an amazing arts scene, music scene, and the best food anywhere, especially BBQ. 

But I'm not proud or anything.

Thanks for reading,
Cami  =)

Like a slider bar on a scale between fear and love, the indicator can't be at both ends of the scale at the same time. If you find yourself afraid, take a deep breath, relax as best you can, then throw love at the idea that's frightening you, and feel yourself slide over toward love, and away from fear. 

Thanks for reading,
Cami  =)

Stop feeling bad about doodling during meetings and phone calls.
Here's a great article from Discover about how doodling helps concentration during monotonous stuff, like meetins and phone calls—participants recalled 29% more than those who were just listening without doodling.

There's another write-up of the same study here from Time.

I think artists could have told you this all along. I'm always doodling, especially during meetings and phone calls.

Then, darling Jeff Fisher posted  this on FB, via Brain Pickings (I LOVE that blog—so much goodness there!). 

"Beloved cartoonist Lynda Barry is teaching a university-level course on doodling and neuroscience that you can audit remotely for free. She’s posting the weekly assignments on her Tumblr – this is the first one."

There is so much information in this website, it's hard to know where to start and what to do with it all. I spent a good hour just reading. (I don't know how much I retained, but wow, is it cool.) Peoplemovin is a visualization of the migration of people to/from countries. The first photo here shows how many people, from where, have immigrated to the US. Mind boggling.

The second photo shows how many people landed in Australia from foreign shores. 

Where are you from?

Thanks for reading,
Cami  =)

While the STEM classes (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) are being more and more heavily stressed in schools, the arts are being whittled away as labeled as non-essentials. Unfortunately, this is completely counterproductive. Too frequently, teachers are only looking for the "right" answer from their students. But, where in math or technology can a made-up, imaginary answer be the right answer? So instead of STEM classes being the core, what about STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics)?

This article, by Lisa Phillips (that's her photo there), highlight the top ten skills kids gain from learning the arts, from theater and dance, to drawing and sculpting, to singing and playing music.

In a nutshell, the skills Lisa lists are:
1. Creativity  
2. Confidence
3. Problem Solving
4. Perseverance
5. Focus
6. Non-Verbal Communication
7. Receiving Constructive Feedback – So many adults I know could benefit from having learned this one.
8. Collaboration
9. Dedication
10. Accountability

#1 Creativity – In it's rightful place at the top of this list, and simply THE most important skill a person can have. When businesses are hiring, they don't want candidates who can only recite what's been done before. They want innovative, creative people, who can add A and B and come up with 42—then show why. Thankfully, and contrary to popular belief that either you have it or you don't, this skill CAN be taught.

#2 Confidence – While I do think confidence is important, having a lack of fear is more important. I've met some teenagers recently who are too big for their britches, so to speak. The young man I'm thinking of is very, very smart and knows it, but is so full of that knowledge few people can stand to be around him long. He's very confident in his intellect, but still is afraid to try new things lest he not live up to his own (albeit well-founded) hype. He would be better served with a willingness to fearlessly experience new things and not brag to others.

The rest, I more or less agree with. What do you think?

Thanks for reading, 

I had a nice chat yesterday with Tim Colley at Bird Sings. You remember him, don't you? I mentioned his shop back in December. I was running a quick errand (trying to return some boots, but I couldn't find the freakin' store—but that's another story entirely), and thought I'd stop in and say hello. As always, Tim was friendly and, naturally, we started chatting. We ended up talking about religion, gay marriage, gun control, with a dash about our parents. Of course.  =)

Tim and I both think it's beneficial that people are talking about these controversial subjects. It's tragic that shootings are what it takes to bring this about, but at least people are discussing things.

My stance on gun control: I really don't want guns in my house. But I absolutely defend, with both fists, your right to own a gun. Please don't use it to hurt anyone unless you're defending your life. Then, aim carefully, please.

My stance on gay marriage: I really don't want to marry a woman. But, again, I absolutely defend your right to marry a person of your choosing. Please don't be greedy and try to marry more than one person at a time. And make sure you're both adults. And human. Then, be nice to each other, for pete's sake!

My stance on religion: I really don't want religion in my life (notice the theme here?). But I defend your right to believe what you want to. Please don't believe everything you're told; do think for yourself. And please don't hurt others who don't believe what you do. (On a side note, I rather like Alain deBoton's view of religion: take the really good bits, and toss the rest. But I'll save that discussion for another post—if I've not done it already, that is…)

Tim and I agreed that people just need to use a little more common sense, be less selfishness, and have more love for each other. It is, after all, the most powerful (non-physical) force in the universe, right? If only we were in charge…

Do stop by Bird Sings, say hello to Tim and his staff, and see their downstairs gallery. They have a huge wooden star down there that I just love! 

Thanks for reading,
Cami  =)

Stumbled across this on thisiscolossal.com's page. If you're  not familiar with their site, check it out. It's always got something yummy to look at and/or think about.

"Digital artist Paolo Čerić is currently studying information processing at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing in Croatia where his experiments with processing and digital art have resulted in a steady stream of fascinating animations which he publishes on his blog Patakk.…"

While his other work is single-note, this particular one, I just love. It reminds me kind of a snake, or intestines, but the response is physical, and kind of crawly. When it's animated, anyway. Hop over to his website and check it out.

Thanks for reading,
Cami  =)

p.s. Your good juju today: Aw yeah! Happy Friday!!

I just stumbled across this site thanks to a pal on Facebook. It makes me feel like I'm a saint compared to some of these "DBs" as Daughter calls them. From stealing ideas, to stealing money, to giving jobs only after sexual favors. Really?! Really?!! 

The ones I do like, however, involve a bit of creativity and/or humor: 

And the one that resonates with me personally:

What's your creative confession?

Mine? I am a dash nazi. There are three different dashes, with different purposes. They are NOT interchangeable. I'm probably one of the only people on the planet who cares. I also care about grammar. Weird for a designer, huh?

Thanks for reading,
Cami  =)

The website 500px.com consistently blows me away with the originality and beauty of the photos posted there. You need to check it out. 

Specifically, this set. I think Husband needs to write a script based on these locations, then have some pros come in and shoot a movie, spooky, of course. Meanwhile, the photographers get international fame and glory for the quality of their work.

(I'm sure I'm violating some kind of copyrights, but seriously, you need to see these.)

Thanks for reading,
Cami  =)