A Day at The Oatmeal

“Today I don’t feel like doing anything…” What a new song..

 

Yes, I really don’t feel like doing anything today. Supposedly, I am to blog about weird and hilarious internet trends in 2016 but it seems like my focus and concentration to work on it isn’t there for now so what I did is that I browsed sites which I usually stop by: Facebook, Twitter…etc.  In my Facebook profile, I happen to notice this certain page that is included in my liked pages which (kind of) surprised me because I haven’t checked it out before.

The page titled as The Oatmeal. I checked it out, saw the linked website and voila! It fascinates and entertains me. According to the great man named Matthew Inman, the owner of the site, The Oatmeal is a compilation of HIS comics and blogs alone; there are also some of his published books that is already in the process of advertisement. His topics focused on let’s say simple comics/cartoon but with very clever ending. This is what gets my attention. I love clever endings; those with dark humor and whimsy idea but still end up entertaining and …what else?

It makes you think twice before you proceed to the next comic.

I also admire how he illustrates his characters. They don’t look good, the imperfections are there and that’s what I think is amazing maybe because it also what makes the entire site comical. I’ve read some of its comics and so far my favorite among all his works is the “How to be perfectly unhappy” because I relate to it, as simple as that. Let me just share two of Matthew Inman’s comics that really got me.

“My Dog is a Paradox”. After I’ve read this comic, I suddenly thought of my dog (Yes, aside from cats, I now have a dog) Inman is right. Our dogs won’t be there for so long unlike us. Their life span is only around 10 to 13 years and after that death will come and get them away from us. I actually had this sudden realization about my dear pets. My cat has been there for me since I was nine, I have developed a deep relationship with it because of course, and she’s the only thing I had when my parents died. (Let’s cut that, I hate dramas.) And yet now I have a dog, a gift from a friend of mine who I happened to see seldom, I just thought of her through the dog.

It seem strange to me.

Within only three months, I was able to get close with the dog, our favorite playtime was the “fetch-thing” the one they oddly love to play and he’s very clingy I don’t know but I think he’s clingier than my kitty… He licks my face all the time and Inman is right, my dog loves to lick his balls which made me sometimes stay away from him afterwards.

Though we just met and I’ve been with him only three months from now, I already consider my dog as my best friend and I think we should, right?

(This comic is quite long but I can assure you it’s worth the read. Keep reading!)

“Creativity is like breathing.”

This one serves as a piece of advice to me. I am a blogger and sometimes I also feel like everything I do is a mess which occasionally I guess, is right. My mind has to run and run to all the thoughts that I think is crucial just to come up with a topic but then still I have stumbled on writer’s block. There was a time when I really don’t know what to type about… what to tackle, or anything I was simply clueless of what to do. I realized then that I really need to breathe. I need to rejuvenate, get out (which seriously not my thing) and have a bit of fun. Such a good advice for suffocating artists!

 

Overall, The Oatmeal is a good recommendation for those people who wish to brighten their apathetic days. The site does not simple revolve around a single concept but he’s intention to entertain and just create is there, his readers just have to appreciate his works all the time, no matter how simple it’ll be.

 

Check out the site here: http://theoatmeal.com/

Thoughts on Improvements (being MORE CREATIVE than usual)

If you think you’ve got everything in line to be that creative human being, I’m pretty sure you can relate to this “10 tips to be more creative” thing that I got from When In Manila. But why do we need to be MORE creative than usual? Aren’t we satisfied enough with what we have become? Or we just wanted to have some improvements with ourselves?

It says here that in order for you to be more creative you have to:

• Read more. Why read more when you think you’ve known enough? Nope, if that is your perspective, I’ll tell you what, you still need to because even the most intelligent person on this earth reads to gain more. Reading boosts intellectual quality: vocabulary, way of thinking and imaginative skills. You can now put creativity in relevance to this as an addition.

• Listen to people’s success stories. To inspire yourself as simple as that. Start to feign their strategies because there is nothing wrong to that. This is most applicable to people who were lost for a long time. It doesn’t just improve your creativity but your path as well.

• Don’t stop practicing. And here goes again the phenomenal quote when it comes to this matter, the “Practice makes perfect” inspirational saying. True to fact, it takes a lot of practice and patience to achieve things and most of them end up perfect or if not, satisfying. So keep on practicing and don’t stop.

• Write/Draw your idea. To be able to have a precise and efficient output, you need to come up first with a neat structure of your ideas in that way you will be able to conceptualize better.

• Make mistakes. We should always remember that committing a mistake leads us to unveiling new knowledge. The less you make mistakes, the less knowledge that you’ll garner.

• Be curious. Curiosity triggers you to discover new things that would lead you to improve not only your creativity but also your critical thinking skills.

• Be open to criticism. Some people tend to get insulted when being corrected or being criticized. Maybe because they thought that they’ve mastered their line of work or what or probably they’re just not used to it. But let’s be real, criticism will develop your creativity especially when it comes to works that you do. You just have to be open to it.

• Take breaks. Because you’re not a bot, everybody needs a break.

• Break the rules. Spice up your mind. If you are seriously practicing to be more creative get out of that comfort zone and break the rules. More experiments, more outputs.

• Love what you do. Because you should.

 

Now, let me tell you. In my opinion, I do not find any issues regarding one’s improvements but here’s one thing. If you are to seek an improvement with yourself, be prepared with the consequences that you are about to face. What am I talking about?

Improvements take a lot of sweat to work on to because there is no such thing as magic acts wherein you just have to wave a wand and then voila! You have improved. No. Improvement takes time to achieve. You just have to be prepared and aware that for you to be able to improve, you need to learn the hard way. If ever you chose to be more creative than usual, there is nothing wrong to that. That is good to know but again, it takes a lot of sweat, most especially needs a lot of perseverance.

” We cannot learn without pain. – Aristotle”

 

THINGS ONLY ARTS AND CRAFT – ADDICTED PERSON CAN RELATE.

 

Just because it is handmade doesn’t mean it was cheap. Whoever said this obviously never purchased craft and art supplies…Have you checked out Purl Soho (for great fabric and yarns),

Casey Rubber Stamp (for different kinds of rubber stamp) at New York City and also Papemelroti (for gifts and decorative accessories) at Manila, Philippines? Those are just three of the craft stores that you can check-out for different varieties of supply and also offers quite affordable items at its best.

Now, as an artist and also a big fan of crafting, I cited 5 things that only we, Arts and Craft-addicted people can relate to.

 

• Once you passed-by in a craft retail store. You will definitely stop-by and check out all the items that you will need in your latest project. It doesn’t matter if you spend most of your money for it because you feel much relieved once you see the outcome.

 

• You prefer letters or scrapbook when ask what presents you would like. Sometimes a handmade bookmark is enough for you. You think if someone will give you a handmade present, you will gain more ideas for your design even if you think you know enough plus you appreciate the sweat and effort given to you.

 

• During a special holiday, you would rather choose to use your craft supplies than to spend your money in an effortless thing because as an artist and a crafter, you know effort is the best.

 

• You love the fragrance of papers being kept in a book for a long time. Those bookmarks, the leaf that you picked during the season of fall, a sheet of mulberry paper or anything that you hid in between the pages of books calms your mind and soothes your feeling.

 

• You sometimes stay home every weekend to knit or to scrapbook. It is your hobby and for some reason, you can sell it and make money for it. The fact that crafting is your hobby, there will be no activities will get through it unless you’re done with it.

 

“Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while. That’s because they were able to connect experiences they’ve had and synthesize new things.” said Steve Jobs, co-founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Apple Inc.

Let us keep on doing things we like for us to be able to keep on bringing out the artistic side of ours.