A Wonderful Poem for David Bowie

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"... in order to be heard, I must not repeat myself, nor must I depend on anyone listening..."

Today would have been David Bowie's 70th birthday. I have to be honest and say that I only really started opening up to Bowie's music in the past five years or so, encouraged by two friends who are both superfans. I visited the David Bowie Is exhibition with one of these friends and it had a huge impact on me. I love learning about people's stories and their paths to their creative goals. I thought a lot about how Bowie reinvented himself over and over again. How he made it 'ok' to do so. Which is just hugely inspiring for any creative almost in a way I can't even put into words.

This morning Mary Anne Hobbs celebrated Bowie on her breakfast show, including a conversation with Lavinia Greenlaw who wrote a poem for him on the day he passed away. You can listen to the poem by clicking on the link below. The quote at the top of this post is from the poem. It really resonated.

Sunday Song - Kissing A Fool

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"But remember this
Every other kiss
That you ever give
Long as we both live
When you need the hand of another man
One you really can surrender with
I will wait for you
Like I always do
There's something there
That can't compare
To any other."

I chose this song for today's Sunday song because the lyrics of the bridge mean a lot to me but I could have also picked Careless Whisper for being the song me and my sister played endlessly on my nana's Dansette record player... Or Everything She Wants for being the song that me and my flatmate in my first shared house used to sing... Or Freedom for being the song that I played loud and danced round the lounge to... Or... All of them.

Bless you George Michael. Thank you.

Writing Inspiration - Mindy Kaling

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"The way I learned it was just by watching with a really obsessive eye..."

I love Mindy Kaling and found this brief interview snippet this week about how she started comedy writing. My friend and I have been writing a sitcom script for about seven years. It's a project we always come back to, trying different ways to improve our writing and to share it with others... I love hearing about how people's passion for their creativity stays with them from childhood and eventually breaks through.

Illustration Inspiration - Alex T Smith

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You may have heard of Alex because of his fabulous and very amusing Claude series or because of one of the many other wonderful books he has written and illustrated. He is something of a legend on Twitter, live tweeting along to the Great British Bake Off, making jokes with a nod to Victoria Wood and Larry Grayson and posting impossibly cute pictures of his three mini dogs.

About three years ago I tweeted Alex to let him know how wonderful I thought his drawings were and how much I WISHED I could draw. At the time I hadn't really tried to draw and it was something I felt quite wistful about...

For some reason, his reply really made me think. Try it, I thought. So I did... I practised and practised. And three years later drawing has become part of who I am. I draw every day and I partly put that down to Alex's encouragement.

Here's a wonderful video I found today of Alex inspiring young illustrators. What a magical thing to do.

Imagination Illustrated by Jim Henson

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I began to be more and more interested in Jim Henson's creative process a couple of years ago and received this fantastic book as a Christmas present. At the time I was struggling to make sense of the connection between creativity and money. Money was very much a thing you had to WORK for. It seemed out of reach to earn it by doing something purely creative. I read a brilliant article on Brainpickings.org about how Jim Henson had made the connection that if he made money from art, he could make more art... and something clicked. I wonder if this shift actually went some way to fuelling my creative ambitions and believing in myself more.

The book, Imagination Illustrated, contains an detailed insight into Henson's story, ideas and sketches. It's like looking into his mind. I loved finding out that the Muppet Show was turned down flat by American television and found its first home in the UK. I had never thought before about the fact that doing something that brings you so much joy will also bring joy to others. Now there's a thing.

Christmas As Seen By Wes Anderson

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There's always tough competition for who is going to produce the best Christmas advert in the UK. This year, the clear winner has to be H & M who have engaged the wonderful Wes Anderson to direct their Christmas masterpiece.

Oh my goodness, it's beautiful. Wes Anderson has the most perfect eye for detail and symmetry. It's so pleasing to the eye with every square inch of the frame considered. Enjoy.

Heroes - Zach Braff

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Reader, I married him. Well, no, I didn't. But I did get *eye contact* when I attended a wonderful Q & A session with Zach Braff a couple of years ago. For me, Zach is a hero because of his tenacity, his passion for his art, his love of writing and music and his humour.

Zach ran one of the most successful Kickstarter campaigns ever to make his film Wish I Was Here which he directed and starred in. The film follows the story of Aidan Bloom, a struggling actor, father and husband who is trying to look after his family while finding his own purpose in life. It has echoes of his brilliant first film Garden State with a warmth and poignancy (and great soundtrack) that is unique to his style.

As Zach quotes Thomas Edison on his Kickstarter campaign page, "Hell, there are no rules here - we're trying to accomplish something." Yes.

Scroll down to see the trailer for Wish I Was Here and one of my favourite ever scenes from Scrubs : )

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Geno Washington

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Another confession, I had heard of Geno Washington but didn't know too much about him and his story. Until yesterday, when he was interviewed by Lauren Laverne on BBC 6 Music. Geno's sense of joy and love of life was so infectious I had to share the interview here. That man has stories to tell and a laugh you won't forget! I tweeted about how much I loved the interview and had to giggle when the man himself retweeted my tweet and followed me. Life is beautifully random and fun sometimes : )