Today's blog, more than most, is an exercise in futility. I want to communicate an idea to you, an endeavor that is doomed before I begin. In today's world, communication can happen quicker than ever before in human history. I type my words here and press "Post" and you will have access before I leave the room. That's true wherever you are, be it your own home in Cincinnati, or halfway around the world in a Malaysian coffee shop. (Hey, Jason!) And yet, the probability tha

They say a magician NEVER reveals the secret. Magicians love secrets, especially knowing them. We love thinking we're smarter than everyone else in the room. We giggle to ourselves about it, in fact. We love to smirk when people say, "How did you DO that?" We love it so much that the International Brotherhood of Magicians (yes, it's a real thing) wrote it into the Code of Ethics so we can say, "Sorry. Can't tell you. Union rules." A MAGICIAN NEVER REVEALS THE SECRET. It

When I show my writings, my drawings, or even my magic to people they will (I hope) admire it, and then they'll often say something like: "Gee, I wish I was creative." The assumption they make is that creativity is a binary state, a condition that either exists or not, and because they cannot or do not make things just like mine, their personal creativity circuit breaker is flipped. ("Right here's your problem; ya got this thing set to 'Uncreative'.") Even more disheartenin

I told a lie. On a recent episode of The JuiceCast, the podcast I co-host, the question arose: What commitments do you have the hardest time keeping? I replied that I have the hardest time keeping commitments I make to my wife just before I go to sleep, because I never remember them the next day. That wasn’t so, although it runs a close second. I should keep a notepad and a pen on my bedside table so I can write those things down, and then I won’t forget them. In fact, I’m

I’ve started coming up with game ideas for my role-playing group. The following conversation is adapted from the notes I write as I think through the possibilities. Annotations are in italics. Jon, Brian, Doug—warning, spoilers ahead! Everyone else--geek alert! Jeb: I want a new campaign for my group. What would be cool to run? Ordinarily, I would involve my players in this discussion, so that it would be something they would find cool to play—but I can’t fit everyone in

Mission Control, this is Ticonderoga 2; we are go for creative launch. Commencing countdown at T minus 4… 4...) FUEL PUMPS ARE GO. Everyone knows that without fuel, a rocket just sits on the launch pad like a high-tech grain silo. The same is true for creative people, and the fuel is called IDEAS. Ideas are highly volatile, evaporate quickly if exposed to the open air, and sometimes they stink. 3...) OXYGEN TANKS ONLINE. Take a whole bunch of rocket fuel into outer spac