Fault Lines

there are fissures

running through my heart and soul

like the fault lines

through a piece of marble

that make some view it as worthless

but a great sculptor

sees and knows

and with a gentle and skilled hand

uses what others see as fault

to bring forth the perfection

the otherwise unseen inner beauty

this artist shaped by other artists

stronger from the polishing

the hammering away

rough treatment

by loving hands

that can't fix the fault

because there is nothing to fix

when that which some see 

as the problem

is really the solution

and the fault lies not with the stone

but with the viewer

Success Guest Posts Wanted

Back on June 7th I got one of my hair-brained ideas; I decided to ask for guest posts on the subjects of Art, Creativity, and/or Inspiration. In addition to putting out the post and a few tweets, I sent out direct messages inviting creative folks I knew to participate.

The resulting posts went up on a new site called ChocolateScotch.com. As of today, there are 63 guest posts on those topics. They range from an audio response to a sonnet, to a fictionalized account of me searching for thoughts on creativity inside the mind of a friend. And while I think the possibilities for posts about art, creativity, and/or inspiration are endless, I've decided to move on and give you a new topic: success.

So tell me what "success" means to you. What is it? How do you define it? Is it lasting? Fleeting? Elusive? Possible? How do you know when you are successful? What constitutes success for you? Work? Fame? Family? Money? And, once you define it, how long till that definition changes?

You can send your thoughts (along with a short bio if you are new to Chocolate Scotch as a contributor) to DyedBrightHere (at) gmail (dot) com.

On Freedom and copyrights

If you are a creative and a customer of Dropbox hopefully you are aware of the current brewhaha going on now. Dropbox changed their TOS (terms of service) and a stampede for the exit door ensued.

A safe, inexpensive, reliable way to back up our data in all its various forms is something just about every computer user needs. Dropbox came along and offered a wonderful solution. They are a cloud based (somewhere in the etherwebs...off site...on their virtual servers) service where you can easily upload your files to their secure servers and then access them from any location that has internet access and even more importantly, share folders with other users. Every time you save a file dropbox keeps the older versions too. So, if something happens to your file, you can always retrieve the last save or any prior versions.

As an editor, and voice actor I have found dropbox to be invaluable. Before I started using dropbox, my battery died on my laptop while open office was open. I was 3 weeks into editing a novel and the entire file was corrupted. After drying my tears, I moved the original manuscript to dropbox and started over with a new open office version that I made my notes and changes to. Every time I hit save (or the program auto saved) I knew it was safe. When collaborating across 1500 miles on an audio project, a reliable way to transfer files in raw format is critical. If I have to use email then I have to compress the file and in doing so the audio engineer or editor on the other end has a lot less information to work with. With dropbox I could share files with all the people I work with easily.

The problem with the new TOS is that the language implies that dropbox is laying claim to the copyright of everything stored in their service and can not be held responsible if they use anything in any way without the true copyright holder's permission or compensation. They are saying that by agreeing to their TOS a customer is giving them permission to use their copyrighted material and also that the person putting it on their service owns the rights to whatever they are storing there.

In my personal case, I do not own the copyrights to a lot of the materials I was storing there. I am simply working on someone else's work. For that reason, when I was made aware of this change, I had to remove all works that are not mine. I can't risk someone else's copyrights. If something should happen to someone else's intellectual property while in my care I can't imagine what that would do to me not just as an editor but as a friend.

Now, I'm sure this all started when an attorney for Dropbox thought they were making their TOS better for Dropbox. It sounds like legalise designed for the CYA approach to business. Unfortunately for Dropbox I don't want you covering your corporate ass at the expense of my, and my clients and friends, rights as a creator. Since this started, they have been updating and improving the language of their TOS multiple times. I understand they need to take care of business and safeguard their company. But as a consumer, I have rights too. Corporate America seems to think their rights supersede mine. So, while the attorneys and CEO's have the right to create whatever TOS they want, I have the right to chose to not use your product.

So, all the files my creative friends and clients have entrusted to my care are now safely down out of the clouds and I'm back to the old fashioned backup of using an additional hard drive while I wait for Dropbox to decide what their TOS is or will be. And now, I'm also tasked with looking for secure alternatives for file sharing.

Seems that celebrating freedom this year has taken on a slightly different meaning in terms of freedom to own copywritten material...

Happy 4th of July.

For additional thoughts (and more in-depth analysis of the legalese) on this issue, please visit my friend Dan Sawyer's site http://jdsawyer.net.

For @Mattsontomlin

You are creating
What your heart dreams of doing
It is a big deal

Thank you for inspiring these words, Matt. Please remember them when the mundane threatens to take over the divine.

Insights on Art

I just finished listening to my friend, Paul E. Cooley's (of ShadowPublications.com) first con panel from ConJour, "Why Aren't Horror Movies Scary Anymore?"  and I had some thoughts, not just on horror or movies but on writing and creating in general. In fact, the lessons I take away from this would probably apply to just about any form of creative endeavor.

1. Get an education in your chosen medium. Learn the history and immerse yourself in what has already been done. Figure out what you like and don't like and most importantly, why.

2. Get an education in art in general. No particular medium exists in a vacuum. Inspiration and points of reference are everywhere.

3. Have something to say. If you don't know what you are trying to express, how will you know if or when you have said it? Once you have figured out what you want to say, don't pussyfoot around; express your point of view and defend it if you have to. Then, be willing to listen to people's opinions and maybe learn from them. Art is a conversation.

4. Keep it simple. And, often, less is more. You may have a lot of things you want to express, a lot of things you want to try. That's fine, but if you try to do too much in one piece you will most likely confuse your audience or lose them entirely. Do one or two things, and do them well. Save the next couple of things for your next piece.

I have never been a huge fan of horror in the past so my personal knowledge of this genre is very limited. I am thankful that my friends have different passions and preferences from mine as interacting with them broadens my horizons. So, thank you, Paul, for the insight you and your fellow pannelists provided. Job well done.

Step outside your comfort zone. Read, listen to, watch, or experience something you usually wouldn't; make yourself think. Who knows, you just might enjoy it...

Gettysburg Battlefield in Autumn: Part 3-Roads and Paths, Self Portraits

My series of photographs taken at the Gettysburg Battlefield in Autumn continues with two smaller sets of images. The themes for today are "Roads and Paths" and "Self Portraits".

Part One-Fog is here.

Part Two-Nature is here.

Both of today's themes are recurring ones for me.  The more often I make the time to do this sort of thing (spend a chunk of time shooting in one location either alone or with another photographer) the more I find myself revisiting certain main themes.  Roads and paths is a big one for me. Self portraits is possibly the biggest. I have put them together here for two reasons. First of all, they are smaller groups of images that fit nicely together in one post. More importantly, however, they go together in that I take self portraits in an effort to try to see myself from the outside; see where I am headed. The roads and paths are symbolic of that journey. For that reason, they usually curve out of sight, disappearing around the next bend. For most of us, we have a vague idea where we are headed but often in life where we really end up is not anywhere we would have guessed.

To Podcast or Not to Podcast

Most of my friends are artists of one sort or another. A bunch of them are fiber artists: knitters, crocheters, spinners.  Some are visual artists: photographers, painters, graphic designers.  And then there are the writers and podcasters.  I lump writers and podcasters together because for the most part the podcasters are also writers.

Most of the podcasters have at one time or another inquired as to when I will be joining their ranks.  I'm not sure if they do this to every non-podcasting person they stumble upon or if I just look like a joiner in some way.  Come to think of it, I saw people spinning and thought it was cool.  Now, I spin too.  I saw my writing friends producing some really cool stories.  Now, I write too.  I've listened to podcasts from many of my friends, watched them record, even watched some editing and thought it looked complicated but cool.  Now, I'm on the fence deciding if I and when I get off the fence, do I jump down into their camp or run screaming into the night...

A friend of mine, Nobilis Reed, has decided to give me a nudge in the direction of podcasting.  He will be going on hiatus during the month of November and has asked me to write a short story and podcast it on his feed.  I am almost done with the writing.  It is taking me forever. Mainly because I have no discipline whatsoever in general but especially when it comes to writing.

I did take a first little tottering step toward the podcasting camp...I bought myself a really cool (and highly rated) microphone for my birthday last month.  Allow me to introduce you to my uber-sexy "Snowball" mic from the Blue Microphone Co.

Now I suppose I should plug the darn thing in and figure out how to use it...

Then comes the really fun part, learning how to do the editing.  *SIGH*

In the meantime, I have asked the insanely amazing voice actress, talented author, and award-winning podcaster Philippa Ballantine if she would be so kind as to do a guest post and give wannabe podcasters such as myself some advice. Her newest book, Geist, will be coming out October 26th but you can pre-order your copy now.

So, please come back tomorrow for her post...