Genius Happens in the Gaps

Got an interesting insight on promoting creative thought at yoga this morning. There are certain breathing exercises that help lengthen and smooth out the breath—when the breath isn't choppy, the mind remains calm. While I always knew this, what struck me was the realization that real genius happens in the gaps between thoughts.

With today's hectic pace of life that most of us are embroiled in, we're usually caught in a vortex of ideas, thoughts, and emotions overlapping each other; millions of impulses stimulating our brain at the same time without having moments to reflect on them. Getting in the habit of regulating the breath will enable the mind to concentrate and deliberate in-between thoughts as they pass through the brain.

It reminds me of one of my favorite songs by Bright Eyes, The Middleman:

I traveled though the atmosphere as a wall of feedback climbed
The pegs were gold, the band was old, they played in half time
Now every dream gets whittled down just like every fool gets wise
You will never reap of any seed deprived of sunlight

So I have become the middleman
The gray areas are mine
The in-between, the absentee
Is a beautiful disguise

So I keep my footlights shining bright just like I keep my exits wide
Because I never know when it's time to go, it's too crowded now inside
The dead can hide beneath the ground and the birds can always fly
But the rest of us do what we must in constant compromise

So I have become the middleman
The gray areas are fine
The "I don't know," the "maybe so"
Is the only real reply
It is the only true reply

The lyrics seem to suggest a frustration towards constant compromise and a breakthrough towards the search for meaning and inner spirit. How does the song resonate with you? What's your creative process? How do you create an environment for your mind to think and find gaps?

To find inspiration I usually do fifteen minutes of breathing exercises to cleanse and calm the mind and then site down to meditate. At other times, I try and engage with whatever environment I'm in—if I'm walking through the street, I try and listen to conversations around me, observe the dogs walking around, or even people observing other folks in an attempt to figure out what they might be thinking off. That said, I usually find myself most relaxed and creative in nature—out in the park, up in the mountains, by the ocean or a waterfall.

Michael Phelps' Schedule and Legitimacy of the Fabled 8 Gold Medals

If you're like me and were confused by Michael Phelps' absence from yesterday's 400m freestyle event, here's a list of the eight events he'll be competing in:

200m freestyle, 100m butterfly, 200m butterfly, 200m individual medley, 400m individual medley, 4x100m freestyle relay, 4x200m freestyle relay, 4x200m medley relay

Besides the possibility of breaking Mark Spitz's 36-year record of seven gold medals in a single Olympics, here's a list of other possible records within Phelp's reach. Regardless of what happens, there's an interesting debate brewing on whether Phelps should even be allowed to win eight gold medals. In his blog at the Telegraph, Brendan Gallagher says, "Swimmers have it way too easy when it comes to winning multiple Olympic medals."

His argument is that, "Too many of the races are tailored for the same athletic type and repetitious in the talents they showcase. There is way too much doubling up generally, the same competitors swimming, time after time, in 'different' but actually very similar races. If Michael Phelps can win the 200m individual medley then of course he is probably going win the 400m Individual Medley. It's virtually the same event."

Gallagher calls for more variety if a swimmer is to win a multitude of medals, "...ranging from, let's say the 100m backstroke, to the 1500m freestyle and on to the newly introduced 10km Open Water swim."

The fact that Mark Spitz's record has stood for 36 years makes for a hugely flawed argument by Gallagher but worth bringing up to understand the endurance required for an eight medal haul. As some of the commenters pointed out, Phelps will swim an equivalent of 30 miles over an 8-day span—all his preliminary, semifinal and final races combined. Also, the reason why Phelps isn't participating in certain races you'd think he'd be great at—something that piqued my interest to write this very post—is scheduling conflicts. Phelps has a very versatile program at Beijing and given his two individual medleys, he'll be swimming all four strokes. Something Mark Spitz didn't do.

All these comparisons will be meaningless if Phelps doesn't conquer even one of his events, but, if he does, his detractors should turn over and celebrate one gargantuan achievement for the man fom my alma mater, The University of Michigan. Go Blue!

Jean "Moebius" Giraud: The Pope of Comics

French artist and writer Jean Giraud is one of the most famous and influential figures to have graced the comics medium. Popularly known as Moebius, the name became more of an alter ego to him than just a pseudonym. Moebius Redux is an inspiring documentary film (attached below) that chronicles the life and creative process of this visionary artist with insights from partners he collaborated with and those he inspired along the way—Stan Lee, Mike Mignola, Alejandro Jodorowsky, Jim Lee, H.R. Giger, and Dan O'Bannon.

"Drawing is a revelation of the soul," says Jean and can bring about deranged possibilities for the artist. His own soul was "cracked open" by a visit to Mexico, "a very mythic place" that turned him "inside out like a sock" and give birth to Moebius, the alter ego that he used for his insane creative explorations of the subconscious. Such was the duality of his persona that despite knowing him for years, Alex Jodorowsky could never grasp his human side and only knew Jean Giraud the artist.

Jean Giraud lost his father at an early age and being brought up by a working mom meant he spent many lonely moments growing up. But he channeled the melancholy and later conflicts in life (death of his first wife) to spark his imagination and illustrate his pages with startling images of characters with "animalistic qualities and sexual power." No wonder he hated America's superheroes who "had big muscles but no dick." Even the women "had no genitals," says Giraud. Jodorowsky too makes a scathing attack on "the empire" of America's superhero culture towards the end.

So check it out now, an inspirational piece on a group of creative folks who influenced storytelling and brought the world many groundbreaking films and comics.

Pictures from the Opening Ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympics

As expected China had a great coming out party and put on a spectacular show to display its might to the rest of the world. Check out some early images from the Boston Globe which are nothing less than breathtaking.

Switzerland in Pics - 20 Found Objects and Street Art

The Swiss are known pioneers of engineering, design, banking, insurance and healthcare; demonstrated by their phenomenal train system, conglomerate ABB, watchmakers like Rolex and Swatch, Helvetica font—the list goes on. No matter the industry, there is an emphasizes on cleanliness, readability and objectivity, which also manifests itself throughout Switzerland's cities. Here's a mix of logos, found objects and street art that I found interesting:






































and my two favorite:






While writing this post I came across an exhibition, Criss-Cross, that features varied work of Switzerland's creative designers. I couldn't find a website but it appears that they tour Europe and now India ever so often.

Beautiful Asian Girl

Noticed this postcard on PostSecret, a community art project where users submit anonymous secrets on homemade postcards. The site has had over 150 million visitors since 2005 and is a great place to witness some dark and revealing desires of the human mind. Do you have (or had) any obsessions with fictional characters? Do you think a subconscious fancy influenced this writer in shaping his character? Or was it a moment of discovery? Or both?

Switzerland Trip in Pics – Highlights

i. Taking the train from Zurich Flughafen airport

ii. First night at Hotel Le Mont Paisible in Crans-Montana. Spectacular views at night of the looming mountains and deep valleys under a starry sky.

iii. Brave paragliders taking off not too far from our balcony

iv. The dinning area/restaurant

v. Retro looking radio at one of the hotels in Bluche



vi. The funicular ride between Crans-Montana and Sierre



vii. Red eggs... 'nuff said!



viii. Mmm... graphic novels! Too bad they were in French.



ix. This one was bizarre. Getting to the top of Jungfraujoch and seeing the only restaurant being called Bollywood and food signs being displayed in Hindi as well.



x. I'll have a blonde. Thanks!



xi. Saw some incredible graffiti all over the country. This particular mural is from the Sierre/Siders train station.



xii. More...



xiii. Woken up by a local Bluche band on Swiss National Day



xiv. Taken in Zurich that same evening



xv. On the way to the "Top of Europe"



xvi. Wengen-Mürren-Lauterbrunnental region: The valley of 72 waterfalls



xvii. Made it. Jungfraujoch, 3454m



xviii. Lake Geneva



xix. Ahhh... Montreux!