swishism

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The pre-show gremlins are whispering. “They will not come.  They will not ‘get it’. If it can go wrong it will go wrong.”   This is what I’ve been hearing the last 48 hours, along with the bass-line from MJ’s ‘Billie Jean’.   Funnily enough watching the ‘Billie Jean’ routine has inspired all kinds of hope; it’s pretty clear that MJ worked his tail off to get it down pat.  If you put the work in, those gremlins are pipe down quite a bit.

And even if they we’re to be right with their predictions, I’m comforted by the fact that Thriller was miles better than Off the wall, and if the best can go Onwards and upwards, that means the likes of me have got plenty of room to grow. Ch’amon!

That said I know it’ll be a great show; if your in London, swing down to OnWords & UpWords  this Friday@ The Horse Bar. Full Deets are here:

swishism entry

A personal fav for a few reasons,
1) I’m a sucker for inner meter

2) I often say things I  wish I could rephrase.  I’m learning to appreciate that there is grace in being allowed to catch yourself saying something dumb. This won’t go away completely, but hopefully it will happen less  (the dumb stuff, that is–not the grace)

3) Hubris can seem an occupational hazard in hip-hop; as Shad put it like this in addressing his dejected self on the instructive ‘New School Leaders‘.

[master] …but you got to have confidence,
[mentee] but what about humility?
[master] well I’m not saying be pompous, kid
just recognise your ability / ’cause a real emcee knows if  he’s competent / you feelin’ me?

I’ve been giving out flyers over the last couple weeks for O&U, outside gigs and the like - been trying to do more than just thrust A6 bits of card into the flames of gig afterglow, but I have to say it’s extremely hard work. I find myself chattering, striking up conversations and putting my foot in my mouth.  Add to that the arkwardness of being a creative**, and the oh-your-not-a-wasteman relief that comes across some faces when they discover you are not just a ‘flyer guy’ and it can seem daunting.  But heck, can’t complain I got a swishism out of it, eh? Plus, I’ve realised that what I’m actually doing is networking (thanks Kamau), the icing on the cake is getting to share with someone a beautiful piece of artwork (the flyer, thanks Inua) and some imperfect words from a dude on the grind. ‘I aint no perfect man, I’m tryin’ to do the best that I can…‘ - D.Smith.

I know I’m quoting a lot, remember that imperfect thing.

**’Wanting to be “creative” is a bit like wanting to be loved. It’s a universal desire, but for SOME REASON it’s something we’re embarrassed to talk about’ - Hugh Mcleod

swishism entry hubris, humility, love, words

We all do it. It doesn’t matter whether what we’re doing is particularly messy work, if we’re wearing something with sleeves, we roll or shrug them up. Maybe it’s a sign to ourselves and to others that we intend to do work. Maybe just a habit. Either way I think it’s important to shrug sleeves for our own sakes. We live in times where it’s easy to paper-shuffle, clock watch, and well… sleeeve shrug because someone is watching/or because it’s expected.

I think something different happens when we consciously shrug them, we acknowledge that this could get messy or sweaty or paint splashed… that mistakes are likely.

For me, not being able to start the day, or a task with this kind of approach is  a serious loss. At least that’s my take. [Shrugs]

Picture by Clearly Ambiguous, Creative Commons License

swishism entry attitude, creativity, habit, preparation

I couldn’t put it any better than this Lao-tzu poem I found (via  Johnnie Moore)

Thirty spokes share the wheel’s hub,
It is the centre hole that makes it useful.
Shape clay into a vessel,
It is the space within that makes it useful.
Cut doors and windows for a room,
It is the holes which make it useful.
Therefore profit comes from what is there,
Usefulness from what is not there.

swishism entry elegance, emptiness, minimalism, scissorhands, usefulness