Shifting the structure fire

New blog at www.jennylui.blogspot.com. It's just got a better url. Spanks.

Worst blogger ever

So yeah, Jay just yelled at me for not updating my blog. Ever. And then a rando person totally blew up my spot when they left a comment reprimanding me for being uncommited to being a committed blogger. So fine. You're right. I am a terrible blogger. Are you happy?

To me, blogging has several imagined flaws. As a perfectionist, a blog post hasn't gone through enough drafts to be worthy of permanence. Also, being more introvert than extrovert, it makes me itchy and uncomfortable to have other people peering into my consciousness. Although since these words are offered freely, any embarrassment from overexposure would have to be my own fault. And I don't like the absence of a physical product. I like to hold writing. Little bit of cupping. Maybe petting. Not heavy petting. That's too much petting.

Super lame blogger

After a two-month hiatus, I'm going to give blogging another solid go and try not to be so easily distracted. We'll see about that. This blog is about "That what she said" etiquette. Credit to Evan Thompson for his blatant overuse of the phase, which saturated the catchphrase market and created popularity through overflow. First of all, "That's what she said" is a phase that magically transforms a non-sexual comment into something perverse. Ex. (Action - opening a grill and getting steam in your eyes, you say, "Ahh, that went right in my eye." "That's what she said," -third party observer.

Timing is important. You want what the set-up man says to sink in before you deliver the punchline. Ex. of bad timing--looking at a leaning street sign. "Why is that crook--." "That's what she said!!!" Not only was the delivery pre-mature (that's what she said) (see below*), but there was entirely too much enthusiasm, as indicated by the excessive exclamation marks. Optimally, you want a certain degree of "understated, yet sly swarminess."

*As referenced above, it is poor "That's what she said" etiquette to set yourself up for the punchline. You must leave a two-second grace window for any potential "That's what she said" takers. If you are able to count to three, you may then take the bait you've conveniently laid out for yourself. The potential "That's what she said"-ers are either asleep at the wheel or have decided that the bait was worth passing up. Be selective because you have a limited number of "That's what she said's" before you earn the title of "humorless twat." "That's what she said" is not something you can just spam and hope everything it hits is a great success.

And although amusing, it is not okay to make your default drinking game rule "you have to say "That's what she said" after everything you say." Good luck. Happy perverting.

So creative that we're not

From www.overheardinnewyork.com.

20-something girl: I once broke up with a guy because he was too small.
Queer: Yikes.
20-something girl: It wouldn't have been a problem if he could have, you know, made up for it in other ways.
Queer: He wasn't creative?
20-something girl: He was in advertising.

continuing our adventure in egoland

The best creatives find a way to get their ideas across. But unlike strategists, they don’t have the option of simply giving up credit and being content to know their idea was used. Our livelihood depends on having good ideas attributed to us. How can we get good work while avoiding the ego game and still be viewed as a valuable contributor?
Despite the need to have great work credited to you, a good creative is one that realizes that the idea is king. It doesn't matter where it came from. A lot of people probably touched it and changed it along the way. One project you carry the load, the next time it'll be your partner's turn. Being precious with an idea is a sign of insecurity. The need to garner full credit because of the fear that you will get none. People can notice that good ideas always happen when you're around. It's the balance between taking care of the idea versus taking care of yourself. But if you always err on the side of humble, you'll be known for both.

egomania

Egomania has its advantages. Maybe that's why advertising is full of it. Because of their perception of eternal flawlessness, egomaniacs have the luxury of by-passing an internal edit, the first killer of work. Also, this elevated perception can be contagious. Being so undeniably certain about your work can fool others into the same mindset. The ability to ramble about various subject matter just to hear yourself talk also projects the image that you have much to say about many things. The overwhelming amount of words coming out of the egomaniac's mouth can make it seem like their portion of actual work is equal to or greater than the hot air they dispel. A gross exaggeration of character.

But seriously, I wonder if egomania comes out on top when pitted against quiet brilliance? I've witnessed this argument in process regarding a few people. However, I can attest to the fact that I did notice it happening, so that must mean others have noticed as well. There is a distinct difference between confidence and egomania. I'm not saying we should all become argumentative assholes. It's the natural tendency of creative types to err on the side of insecurity and uncertainty, but if we are to get the best work out of ourselves and our group members we all need to be more brazen. Relinquish the certainty of your uncertainty. Believe you are right while being open to the possibility that you are not. We have all mentally kicked ourselves when we ignore our gut feeling only to find out later that it was right. If you put it all on the table you will never have to deal with that feeling again. For all the self abuse we inflict, we all need one less tool for torturing ourselves.

Shiny objects

It's so easy to get caught up in the pursuit of image. Production value. All flash and no substance. Where is the truth in what we do? Everyone is off chasing the "cool factor" that sometimes they forget about the insight. Sometimes it's about saying something obvious in a cool way, but I find that saying something insightful makes more of an inpact. Obviously execution and insight are the ultimate goal. But it seems like most people chase the first rather than the latter. I feel like I'm starting to forget my own point of view because everything/everyone around me is trying to be one thing and I start to think I need to be that too. It's a shiny object and bright lights, it's easy to be distracted and drawn to it. The gold lives in our own experiences and connecting to those experiences. Not in throwing up an idealized image and making people feel bad that they're not that. It doesn't matter how cool it looks if it's not genuine.