The Lardner Report

Unleash your creative superpowers!

New Year’s Revelation

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Creating art by an abandoned farm shed in Oxnard, California. December 2011

Bottom line: It doesn’t have to be a masterpiece.  It just has to be yours.

Banishing the inner critic. How many great works of art were ruined by listening to the inner critic? How many times have you painted something, penned a poem, or composed a piece of music — only to trash it because you decide on second glance it wasn’t worthy of sharing or keeping?

That priligy little voice that whispers too loudly  — “it’s no good. It sucks. You’ve done this before” — is the real artist’s most dangerous adversary.

So here’s my New Year’s revelation — and resolution — for the next time I feel the urge to create: instead of listening to my inner cynic, I will call upon my fearless 4-year-old; she never needed a second look. And every time she painted something, it was magic.

 

What the Flock? The Miracle Of Murmuration

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A show-stopping viral video illustrates how nature can turn on us — and on itself – in a nanosecond. We must be ready.

There’s a name for this phenomenon—MURMURATION. It’s simply a massive moving flock of starlings. Technically it’s a collective noun – much like a gaggle of geese or a school of fish.

The stunning video —  posted by filmmakers Sophie Windsor Clive and Liberty Smith – emerged from an evening canoe trip which had no expectations.  But the duo ended up capturing one of nature’s most extraordinary sights: thousands of birds twisting and diving in shape-shifting masses – choreographing a coordinated ballet over the longest River in Ireland – the Shannon.

“We were standing down on the shore and it was like the birds literally saw us on their island, chatted about it and gathered above our heads. It was such a rush and we were utterly overwhelmed,” said Sophie.

According to TIME’s London bureau, “No one knows why they do it. Yet each fall, thousands of starlings dance in the twilight above Gretna, Scotland,  having migrated in the millions from Russia and Scandinavia to escape winter’s bite.”  Scientists aren’t sure how they do it, either. “Even complex algorithmic models haven’t yet explained the starlings’ acrobatics, which rely on the tiny bird’s quicksilver reaction time of under 100 milliseconds to avoid aerial collisions—and predators.”

The lesson?

Sometimes nature chooses us to share her secrets or witness her show of force. We never really know exactly where or when she might strike.  But wouldn’t it be cool if we could always be ready — for that life-altering moment — when she taps us on the shoulder and says, “Watch this.”

Time To Let Go — Watch Miracles Happen

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You might not have heard of him, but Charlie Bird is arguably Ireland’s most famous investigative reporter. And now, thanks to this viral You Tube video sensation, Charlie Bird has gone global.

But who knew his most watched “15 minutes” would find him laughing hysterically on his back -– pinned down by a couple of nature’s quirkiest creatures: a pair of baby elephant seal pups.  As Chief News Correspondent with RTÉ News, Bird has reported on both Gulf Wars, covered the history-making earthquake in Haiti, and the Dublin riots of 2006, from which he suffered a fractured cheekbone.

So what’s he famous for now? Doing exactly what a good reporter does: allowing a story to unfold – just as it should – organically, unprovoked, and with authenticity. In the clip above, (as part of a documentary series) the fearless Irish journalist  befriends the seal pups in the chilling temperatures of Antarctica. Bird is tracing the route of explorer Tom Crean’s final expedition alongside Ernest Shackleton in 1914. History topamax considers this the “Heroic Age of Polar Exploration,” but it will never compete with this truly unexpected, charming encounter between man and beast.

Artists always take the leap.

You may have noticed that this intrepid reporter-photographer deliberately plops himself down on the ground right smack in the middle of a pod of these crazy clumsy critters. No one told him he had to. In fact there’s a good chance he was a little apprehensive about the whole thing. But the beauty here is that he was willing to take the risk — to step way outside his comfort zone – and give it a go.  It’s something I like to teach in my corporate workshops: willingness. Artists do this instinctively, and  there’s usually a prize at the end.  Here, Charlie put himself in a position for a miracle to happen – and it happened right on top of his own laughing belly. And bless his kooky soul; he rode the moment – as the pups rode him.