The Stupid Brilliance of Star Wars

So I've been sifting through a bunch of public speaking videos of my boss in order to create a demo reel for future public speaking opportunities. She really is a fantastic public speaker and I've included a couple links to her stuff here - but you can watch at your own risk (most of them are classroom settings and kinda slow - but excellent advice for entrepeneurs). ANYWAY, a point she keeps emphasizing is that we should never consider our brilliant ideas too stupid to make realities. So, with all this indoctrination in my head I started watching Star Wars again last night and it's amazing how the stuff we do/think about in our day permeates into everything we do. I was wapped upside the head with the thought "how crazy would this concept sound?"

"Um...it's a story about a space farmer who wants to go to the space academy with his friends and discovers he's one of the few survivors of a long line of space knights - who use swords called light sabers to fight against lasers and a mysterious power simply called "THE FORCE"."

I know, we all think - THAT'S BRILLIANT now. But what about pitching that in the 1970s when there was no Star Wars - what a kakamamee idea! But, what incredible execution - and there's the rub. My boss uses a bunch of examples to point out that execution turns the bizarre into the brilliant including the book "Everybody Poops", the web business Laser Monks, doggles for dogs, and the Wovel (a must see). I quickly realized that I was not the only one who had recognized this bizarre success story:
George Lucas in Love
Robot Chicken (there's some language in this one :( but it's really funny) ()
etc.

Isn't it funny how crazy ideas make such killer products? (Wii...ahem)

edit: Thanks for pointing out that I didn't add these Mom. Here are the links to my boss' presentations:

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=3401672

http://ebusiness.byu.edu/video/Winter2008/amy_rees_anderson_27_feb_2008/flash/index.html Feb. 27, 2008

http://www.podtech.net/home/2047/mediconnect-global-ceo-amy-rees-lewis-on-entrepreneurship Feb 6th, 2007

http://ebusiness.byu.edu/video/FALL2006/amylewis.wmv Dec. 1, 2006

http://ebusiness.byu.edu/video/Winter2006/AmyReesLewis.wmv Apr. 7, 2006

http://ebusiness.byu.edu/video/Fall2005/AmyReeseLewis.wmv Sep. 23, 2005

http://ebusiness.byu.edu/video/March2005/AmyReesLewis.htm Mar. 25, 2005

http://ebusiness.byu.edu/video/AmyLewis/AmyReesLewis.wmv Oct. 22, 2004

http://ebusiness.byu.edu/video/AmyLewis/AmyReesLewisquestions.wmv Oct 22, 2004

http://ebusiness.byu.edu/video/AmyLewis/01-16-04.ppt Jan. 16, 2004

http://ebusiness.byu.edu/video/AmyLewis/01-16-04.wmv Jan. 16, 2004

http://ebusiness.byu.edu/lectures/presentations/Amy%20Lewis.ppt Oct. 23, 2002

http://ebusiness.byu.edu/video/AmyLewis_files/default.htm Oct 23, 2002

Art

Art is meant to reflect our attempt to capture the divine. Often I have found that art, good art, that is, springs from confusion, questioning, and the artist's attempt to answer the basic Gospel questions of who we are, why we are here, and where we are going. 'Search for truth' infuses the artist's work with passion and feeling. Of course, the obvious problem for a man of faith is this: I know the answers to these questions, my 'search for truth' is minute within the light of the Gospel and the source of answers is developed through my relationship with my Heavenly Father, not my work. SO, back the the thesis statement - the way for a man of faith who is at peace with his surroundings to still find that passion and feeling in his work is a burning desire to not only appreciate the works of God but to reach out in earnest effort to imitate them. To recreate the heavens and the mysteries of the earth. We may know the answers to the 3 big questions but we don't know what they look like, sound like, FEEL like! I want my art to explore those worlds that are just beyond our reach knowing that I can never truly recreate their beauties, but, if for only a moment, I can touch them then I have accomplished what art is truly supposed to do - elevate us beyond the mortal.

Mouse Trap

I killed a mouse that has been holed up in our storage room last weekend which brings my Richie vs house rodent score up to 2 & 0. I'm trying to decide if I should feel bad about that. Apart from Jacque and Gus Gus constantly running through my head from the millionth viewing of Cinderella with Alex :), I just listened to a talk by Hugh B. Nibley where he quotes Brigham Young inviting the grasshoppers to come - he says as long as he has sufficient then he is more than happy to share his excess with the beasts of the earth. Am I wacko for thinking that he might be right? Should I be more than happy to share with a mouse? I mean, we want him out of our house because of diseases carried by rodents and what not - but is it a bad thing to kill him?

On a completely different note, if you are looking to catch and kill a mouse in your house then traditional spring loaded traps with a glob of peanut butter do a great job - just about cut the poor mouse's head in half - yikes!

Books I've Read More Than Once

• The Standard Works by well…you know.
• Jesus the Christ by James E. Talmage
• Dune by Frank Herbert
• Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clark
• Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling
• Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
• The Original Mossflower Trilogy by Brian Jacques (I LOVED this stuff when I was a kid)
• A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens – I read this every Christmas
• Gadiantons and the Silver Sword and Daniel and Nephi by Chris Heimerdinger
• Dracula by Bram Stoker
• The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkein
• The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

Is there something else that should be on this list?

I Am Legend – a Real Vampire Novel

I read Twilight a little while back and (sorry girls) it wasn’t a great book. Ever since reading Dracula, the definitive vampire novel, I’ve yet to find another satisfying vampire tale. Most, Twilight included, portray the vampire as an attractive, tragic character so full of beauty and mystique that the opposite sex goes gaga anytime they are in their presence. Hence the rise of Gothic fantasies and bile-inducing romances. Sad. Anyway, back to I Am Legend. I haven’t seen the movie yet but the book can sit comfortably on my bookshelf next to Bram Stoker. It takes a much more scientific approach to vampires while giving them an unquieting appeal and redemption in the end. Having said that, the book is just as much a zombie novel and classic science fiction as it is vampyric. It’s short (170 pages) and well worth the read.

Edit: Just saw the movie last night - it was really well done. Totally different from the story in the book though. I understand why you would have walked out Mom. You probably wouldn't like the book either but it's not as graphic, strangely. But, I think that has a lot to do with a picture says a thousand words. You don't 'see' the zombies in the book. The most disturbing part of the I am Legend experience for me was actually the animated comics included with the DVD about the other survivors. The one that takes place in New Dehli, India and was written by Orson Scott Card was so disturbing, in fact, that I had to watch an episode of the office before going to bed at 1 in the morning. It's not for the faint hearted.

News: Palm (as in Palm Pilots) has one Foot in the Grave

It’s sad but true. Palm, the makers of Palm Pilots for over a decade is facing some serious financial issues. If the Palm Pre doesn’t slam dunk the market like they are projecting then the aging PDA (remember that acronym) maker may disappear. It has posted some severe losses in the first quarter this year and it’s Palm Pro for business didn’t do nearly as well as they probably hoped. Everyone is holding out for their promised crown jewel: the Palm Pre. Let’s hope it’s awesome!

For me, if Palm goes, it would be the passing of an era for sure. I remember when businessmen all carried the latest Palm device, sitting in airports with their trendy stylii and bluetooth headsets. Sad to think that those days have given way to iPhone totin’ and blackberry emailin’. Dad and Rob still swear by the Treo and, to be quite honest, I have to swear by my Tungsten. Apart from appearance (which Apple dominates), Palm offers some of the best media software out there, IMO. TCPMP, Palm Fiction, and Astroware/Popcap are apps I still use almost every day. It does everything (well almost everything) that all of the new media players do; just without the glitz and touch-y screens…wait, it pioneered the touch screen. With a plethora of excellent applications already available from third party vendors, Palm could probably be saved if the Pre delivers. If not, well…it’s been a fun run Palm.

Your Head A 'Splode!!!

It’s appropriate that this blog is about my brain because right now I feel like it is about to explode. Over the last couple of days I have started trying to tackle twitter, facebook, youtube, rss, and blogging. I kinda feel like that Nazi woman at the end of the Indiana Jones – so much knowledge my head ‘splode! Honestly, right now there is a DILUGE of information available to us. I was telling Carolyn about all this news/networking garbage and she asked the simplest question ever: “Do you really need all of this stuff?” It got me thinking – I’m trying to keep up with all of the morphing media outlets to stay on top of what’s going on in our world but maybe that’s impossible (and, quite frankly, stupid. I mean look at what happened to that Nazi Galadriel!). Is it worth trying to stay on top of all this stuff??? Why can’t I just get the morning paper and read it over breakfast…

…I’m going to go take some advil.

Parsley - herb or garnish?

We recently bought a bunch of cilantro for cooking (salsa mostly, but also for offsetting raw kale flavor in salad – try it, it’s yummy!). Upon opening the bag when we got home we discovered that we had bought a bunch of parsley instead of cilantro and had no planned recipes to use it. AAAAaahhh!! For some reason I was yoked with the task of not wasting all of this fresh green so, I have now added it to hamburgers (in the meat), beef rice stuff, and roast turkey rub. Not bad…but probably not the best. Does anyone know of a really good use for parsley besides on the side of your plate at Denny’s?