Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Gravity and Tom Shannon's TED Talk: Anti-Gravity Sculptures

So, my TED Talk Tuesdays are happening every day except Tuesdays. What can I say? It's summer.

Yesterday, Superman (9-yrs old) asked me, "Mom, do you know what Law I hate?"

I reviewed the laws that I thought he lived by. It was a short list. "Nope, I can't guess."

"I hate the Law of Gravity."

:)

Knowing my son's love for movement in all directions, I definitely should have guessed that he would actively dislike one that restricted his ability to fly.

And recently, I catch myself frowning. Not because I am feeling emotions connected with the facial expression, but because lost in thought, or in my busy day, I forget to defy gravity. Which allows it to pull my lips down into the frown.

When I googled things that defy gravity, I came across Tom Shannon's Anti-Gravity Sculptures, which are amazing and beautiful and all anchored in some science fiction and some fantasy. As well as science AND gravity. :) So I'd thought I'd share it with you, in case you also forget to defy gravity today.



My favorite quote? "It's sort of surfing on a magnetic field at the crest of a wave."

Poets, eat your hearts out! :)

And without gravity, we wouldn't have enjoyed the "Goblet of Fire" last night (think of what a mess that would have made):
Papa J enjoying gravity.
Last night, at the Writers' Loft, we had a great chat, led by author Anna Staniszewski, about all things Character. We discussed how to build a character with depth, whether a character needs to be likeable, what are some of our favorite characters in literature, and what an agent might mean when they say that they didn't connect with your character. We even had a high-five over the day's agent rejections.

I think that leads to one of the best ways to defy gravity--as writers, we need to extract the best understanding we can from a crit to make our ms better and not get bogged down by negativity and rejections. Which would keep us too tethered to write the way we need to. Dealing with criticism/rejections in a positive/proactive way is an essential act of defying gravity for us all. :)

A shout out to everyone who chooses to defy gravity, but enjoy it as well. :) How do you do it?

5 comments:

  1. “The Guide says there is an art to flying", said Ford, "or rather a knack. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss.”


    ― Douglas Adams, Life, the Universe and Everything

    ---------------------------------------------

    I think having not only a place for writers to be able to write, but also discuss writing is a fantastic idea. There should be more places in the world like that!

    -- Tom

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  2. Oh, what a wonderful quote from Douglas Adams! It expresses the idea perfectly.
    Perhaps we don't want to repeal the Law of Gravity entirely -- just learn to bend it a little!

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  3. That is one of my favorite Douglas Adams quotes! That and "It can hardly be a coincidence that no language on Earth has ever produced the expression 'As pretty as an airport.'" :-)

    By the way, Heather, I'm impressed with your photography skills. You've really captured the punch bowl glow.

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  4. Tom--Thanks, great quote! I love the Douglas Adams perspective on almost anything. :)

    Dianne--Yes, bending may be in order. :)

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  5. Anna--LOL. Another funny quote. Had we dimmed the lights, the ambiance would be even more lovely. :) Thanks again, Anna, for the great craft chat last night!

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