Lo Maximo

Creativity crosses all language. This is pretty cool, even with its slightly pyramid-like scheme. Originating apparently here, the idea is for bloggers to share with others what inspires them in the blogosphere.

Barbara over at Layla's Classic Rock Faves awarded it to me on her private blog, Writing from the Inside Out. So here goes:

I'm going to start with a Flickr profile of a Spanish artist named Pablo Morales de los Rios, because when he started uploading his caricatures, he blew me away. Very friendly too. Here's his Flickr profile to start with, but go to his photostream and check out his collection of caricatures of an incredibly diverse bunch of people. His personal site is wonderful as well.

Second is a blog which slapped me in the face with some scary social truths. chartreuse uses the blog format pairing text with photos in juxtapositions that might make you cringe or wince, but will definitely make you think. Be openminded or suffer.

Third sort of follows second, as this blog led me to chartreuse. He might surprise me and pass this along, but in any event, Seth Godin is continually inspirational. He truly loves music enough to pick apart the system which isn't doing its job to promote it. For free he disseminates pearls of wisdom that effected a complete shift in my approach to promotion. He substantively responds to emails too!

On a wider scale, Chris Guillebeau has written a manifesto for you to take over the world. Literally, no fooling. It takes some work (damn!, ;) but it's brilliant. A great way to re-look at your life, with practical ways to put your plan in action throughout his blog. I know these blogs aren't creative in the sense that they create objects of art, but they are extremely creative and inventive in life.

We are creation after all, so finally, I pass this cool award along to my dad, Michael Edlen. (My mom doesn't have an "online presence", and he's thinking about starting a blog, ;) Besides making me and raising me and introducing me to music, he's got his own outlook on life. Growing up, he helped me explore and develop MY own, even when it completely diverged from his. His views on individuality go almost beyond the concept of tolerance and got me to look at the science of life. Very, VERY, inspirational to me, in particular and;

he, as super-realtor, also helped (if I remember correctly) start the trend of "staging" houses in the areas of Pacific Palisades and Brentwood in Southern California. Years before the popular shows now filling HGTV's prime-time slots.

SO there're my 5. Kinda off-beat, not what you'd expect. But then, I'm not.

Peace.