Paid to be Infuriating?

It's just dawned on me. A large part of my job is to ask questions. Who knows this information? Who doesn't? Why not? Do they care? Can I get them to? Is that media device applicable to our organisation? Would it fit into our big-picture? If not, should we change the big-picture?

A communications person needs to constantly examine everything both within a body, and in its external context. I suppose that could get rather annoying... Oh well.

Photography in a Mirror

I've recently been following a fascinating lecture series on the history of photography. (To me, this is the eptiome of the internet, that I can be exposed to big ideas, and significant historical research in a way that obliterates physical boundaries and adds fulfilment to both the instructor's life and mine. Hooray technology!) One thing that has come up again and again is that photography has never been clearly defined.

Even to this day, there is a lingering perception that photography isn't a pure art form as much as, say, painting. That is has borrowed from and lent to painting doesn't seem to help -- it actually makes it more convoluted and less distinct.

Photography was developed by some people that wanted to draw quicker, more efficiently and with more accuracy. What they ended up with was a medium that was vastly different than any other artistic expression. Typically art is creating. You start with a blank, and you work toward a finished expression. Photography is the opposite. You start with the world, and you edit. First you edit what you don't want out of the viewfinder. Then you edit how you want to capture that (viewpoint, lighting, etc.). And then you edit what you want to actually show.

This provides an excellent insight into my own head for what type of creativity I participate in. This realisation frees me to pursue editive creativity in a whole range of media, not just photography.

Movie Review: Kinky Boots

If you were to ask me what my favourite movie is, I'd be stumped. But if you asked me what my favourite movie moment is, it's undoubtedly the catwalk scene in Kinky Boots. (It pre-empts the piano-playing-during-sea-storm from the Legend of 1900.) As per all reviewers, I don't want to build anything up so much that you're destined to be disappointed, but this scene is cinematic genius. Of course it needs the rest of the movie to get there, so let's get on with it.

Kinky Boots is about a shoe manufacturer in Britain that is on the verge of bankruptcy. They make men's high-quality, high-cost shoes which are an anachronism in their marketplace. Craftsmanship is evidently no longer a valued asset in shoes, and cheap shoes at a cheap price have devoured their market. However, one segment that has never been touched is apparel for cross-dressers. What happens when you put a line of bright-red, patent-leather, drag-queens' boots in a staid, traditional British factory? Predictably, shenanigans ensue!

But the comedy (and a killer soundtrack) is only part of the story. All the cliches fit: it's a heartwarming, feel-good, coming-of-age story (for thirtysomethings). But somehow it transcends the cliches. It's inviting without being smarmy. It's catchy without being simplistic. And I came away with a real idea of how close to my home these people live. As the world changes in some pretty radical ways, we need films like this to help us make sense of it all.