So rumor has it that you don't need to be a genius to make compelling art (or for that matter stories, or inventions, or any other hobby your wacky little monkey mind can aim for). It seems a healthy bit of dedication will do just fine for most.

William J. Sidis was a true genius though. He could read by age one and a half, graduated Harvard cum laude at 16, and was heralded the foremost mathematician of the 20th century after one speech. And he had already published four books while twiddling his thumbs in between. Young Sidis' IQ was estimated at somewhere between 250 and 300 points, versus the average IQ score of 100.

But for all of the celebration, Sidis made a few choices very smart people often do. He closed himself off from art, music, the whole world, simply in hopes to concentrate on his research. His fame pushed him into the spotlight and so he continually ran from one job to the next, running from the pressure. He soon became a wreck of nerves unable to even look at an equation without recoiling. Bitter. A recluse. Idiosyncratic. Much of his time was now exclusively spent obsessively around his hobby, the railroad system. Mr. Sidis spent his last years working as a poor office clerk and died alone without leaving any true mark.

The smartest folks I have ever met mirror William.

They are gripped by the inability to confront their emotions which never allows their personal beauty to engulf the world. They let their acute mind regurgitate fears and desires without end. They never try and tame their minds. And without a disciplined mind pressure will eat you alive. You aren't prepared for debate with another because you lost the first fight with yourself.

I have watched friends destroy their careers.
I have heard co-workers disown their family.
I have seen family members build a personal prison of fear that encourages inaction.

Taming your mind doesn't mean beating it down into homogeny, it means understanding that anyone can get sucked into fear. The first step to gaining control is as pure as not listening to your fears. They are made to break you down and make you into a creepy little domesticated mammal. Aren't you better then this caged life?

Put another way, happiness is the antithesis of fear. The two can't be in the same place at the same time. You are either happy OR you are afraid, but you can't be happy AND afraid. Sound good so far? So if this is true then wiping fear from your vocabulary should be job number one. For every moment fear steals from you, a second of your unique gift was taken. Fear needs to go. To do this you treat it like a child, and when ignored it whithers plant-like into nothing. Without fear you are free to rise above. Face your creativity. Face it full on with no regrets and no excuses.

Sit your ass down today and DO something that makes humanity regard you with anything more than a whisper. If you look at your life, and anyone else could have taken your place, you have failed.

No one needs any more William J. Sidis'.

And it is free. Plus, it is about bootstrapping. Did I mention Seth Godin created it? Oh yeah. Damn. What are you waiting for? Download it!

So a dynamic shift is clearly happening in the "big three" media markets this holiday season. For the first time ever, television, music, and movies are all available online for free view or purchase. And you can sit and watch the in-store DVD prices drop to record-low levels just to secure a few sales.

Whether you love iTunes or hate it, you have to give Apple credit for building a place that finally makes purchasing online fun. And now with Google delivering YouTube goodness, and Microsoft shilling all forms of content over Xbox Live, the world of digital on-demand content looks bright. The geeks have changed the way we are entertained.

But enough rambling, the point here is that I think this is a great thing for all other forms of entertainment.

The cool part of this to me is that it shows these industry's grip is loosening...and fast. A few tech companies can come to the all-powerful entertainment industry, make them change the way they make their cash.

The barrier of exclusivity that movies and TV held over other markets has fallen. They are trapped down below with other "common" forms of art. While many will still hang on, they will enjoy these stories on their own time. Their own choice of environment. That sort of power levels the playing field. It pulls movies out of their cult-like cinemas, and TV shows from their time-stamped windows of opportunity. The media is free to roam, and so are the folks who can choose how to consume it.

Don't believe me that their grip is weaker? Name the last show or movie that blew you away. Unless you are a middle-aged woman, whom TV loves to cater to maybe due to the fact they stray from new technology, I'd say that you would have a hard time with this question.

So enjoy comics and cartoons...Goliath is falling a bit more each day. There is still a chance for you yet.

Go HERE. Sketch something. Watch your creation dance.

Isn't that interweb something else?

You don't have to be smart to be considered a genius.

It's a nice point that most folks overlook, but according to an article in the September 2006 issue of New Scientist magazine it is one we need to believe. Check out the interesting read HERE. For those who fear the jump, the message is that only practice and effort build great skill. This skill builds what is considered "genius" level ability.

It is an awesome thought. YOU have the power to control your future. Whatever your passion is, wherever it may lie, you are in control of how well you do. It can't be blamed on family or genetics...If you fail to achieve your dreams of world recognition then you know why.

The best part of the article revolved on a magic number though. The question in the above is, if I am very passionate about something how long will it take to achieve a level big enough to make an impact? The answer is only five to ten years. While at first it may seem like a ton, the truth is it gives us time enough to try and fail and try again. There is no excuse great enough for you not to express your unique self in the area you love.

Now if only more folks believed they should live for something we might actually be getting somewhere...

So after nearly twenty years on television the Simpsons are moving to the big screen. Please, keep the thunderous applause to a minimum folks.

The point here is that the trailer released on Sunday looks awful. Hell, awful is being nice. I felt ripped off watching just a minute long trailer.

I can live with one of the best animated television shows refusing to die. Fine. But does the name of 2D animation need to be dragged kicking and screaming through the mud too? Was this part of some unholy animation union pact I missed? This promo goes out of its way to say that it is 2D, only to lie in the very next scene.

- Homer drives some sort of 3D construction equipment. A fluke?
- Nope, the whole world is 3D.
- The ground, the construction ball, the trees - all 3D.
- Even the truck!
- (...)
- It may be safer to list the things that aren't 3D.

Now, the irony here is that ten years ago I may have cared about a Simpson movie. Maybe even eight years ago, but that would be sort of pushing it. Today the series' episodes appeal to the very troglodites (who dance in creepy unison) which the show once went out of of its way to scorn. The bigger issue here is that the movie has been in writing for that long as well. After all of this time in the making Time magazine's "Greatest Show of the Century" better make up for a crappy decade...and quick.

A few thoughts shamelessly stolen from Chuck Jones' Chuck Redux. Enjoy!


On Writing: "The sublimely badly written Rover Boys books [...] unwittingly taught me the primary law of writing books or films that children might read or view: never write down to anybody."

On Work: "The rules are simple. Take your work, but never yourself, seriously. Pour in the love and whatever skill you have, and it will come out."

Perspective: "In spite of the efforts of art critics, children (including myself as a child) ignore the rules of perspective. And quite rightly [...] In a Japanese painting of a city street, you can look over the fences and see what's happening, whereas perspective blocks it all out."

Comedy: "Ed Wynn undoubtedly said it best: 'Comedy is not about opening a funny door, it is about opening a door funny.' Repeat to yourself. Repeat, repeat, repeat."

Rules of Creativity: "It was the beginning of my understanding of the two primary rules of creativity. The first is that you must love what you are doing; the second is that you must be willing to do the dull and tiring work necessary to bring each creative endeavor to completion, and in that endeavor only the love should show."

Structure: "Except their skulls, all vertebrates - including men - have pretty much the same skeletons and musculoskeletal structure. Lighten or shorten a few bones, and man and bear are brothers under the skin."

Gravity: "The puppeteers taught me that gravity is what believability is all about."