What Do You Drive?

Greetings fellow shooters! Tuesday Ambassador Stanley, here welcoming you to another Tuesday. So what inspires you? I know what you are going to say and it is probably pictures. Actually I would have probably given the same answer as well. In this case, though, it is not the answer I am looking for.

Maybe viewing paintings is your soul source of your inspiration. Perhaps you are one who likes a good book or one who fathoms about the layouts of a particular magazine. Usually a great flick is something people never turn down. How about Youtube, music or even video games? What drives you to do what you do? Whatever it may be, it goes to show in the work that you do each and every day.

Key point here is you should always follow the sources of inspiration that drive you to be where you are at today. I mean, without it, what in the world would you create if there is no drive? It does not matter when, where or how you go about to get your dosage of inspiration. Day or night, rain or shine, happy, sad or angry, we all need to keep up with what inspires us. The things that inspire us are what help to keep us creative and for the most part sane, depending on who you ask.

World of Warcraft by Blizzard Entertainment 

So what inspires me? Well I have many avenues of inspiration whether it is music, movies, video games or even other peoples’ work. Perhaps for the longest time my total source of inspiration was from video games. However, for the past few years now gaming has been nothing but a past time for me. I recall playing an overly addictive game called World of Warcraft or World of Warcrack for the fully aware. Now I just call it World of Warcrap because I have my reasons. I am sure the vast majority of you, if not all, have heard about the game or maybe even played it from time, to time and time again. Why did I play it? It was not mainly for the aspect of wasting time, albeit it did, but for the simple fact of the in-game landscapes. Yes, I got photographic inspiration from a silly make believe game because it was a creation of someone’s artistic vision of which I do not play anymore.

So where am I going with this? Let’s just say that I’m writing this to bring to your attention the fact that nobody should completely neglect artists’ creative and highly inspirational works because then you will never know what you have been ignoring. Even if it is just a blog you like to follow, it is a source of inspiration that drives you to think and create. So what inspires you? I would love to read what inspires you in the comments below. And as always, thanks for reading.

- Tues. Amb. Stanley

Image - Entertainment, Blizzard. "World of Warcraft’s Seventh Anniversary! - World of Warcraft." Us.battle.net, 2014. Web. 25 Feb 2014. <http://us.battle.net/wow/en/blog/3968197/World_of_Warcraft’s_Seventh_Anniversary-11_18_2011>

Conducting Research in the Twenty-First Century

                                                                Saturday Ambassador

I was born in 1969. I grew up with 8-track tapes, vinyl records and books printed on paper; I was the remote control when anyone decided to switch between the three television stations we received. Kids walked everywhere or rode bicycles, and we employed our imaginations when we required entertainment. Obtaining information for a term paper or project meant visiting the library – the computer age had not yet arrived, though the first phenomenally-expensive consumer computers hit the market in 1977. For example, the Apple II circa 1977 cost $1298 with 4K RAM or $2638 with 48K RAM. The average cost of a new car that year was $5814. (Computer History Museum)

 

"Apple II became an instant success when released in 1977 with its printed circuit motherboard, switching power supply, keyboard, case assembly, manual, game paddles, A/C powercord, and cassette tape with the computer game "Breakout." When hooked up to a color television set, the Apple II produced brilliant color graphics." (Computer History Museum).

Libraries are wonderful places filled with the philosophies of great scholars, a wealth of technical manuals, newspapers and historical publications and the exquisite imaginings of writers from all genres. You can immerse yourself in history, drama and all manner of exotic subjects. Sadly, these magical realms are becoming somewhat obsolete with the advent of the Internet.

Although libraries will forever maintain a special place in my heart, research was a rather slow and tedious process. Today's internet is a potent tool which places information about nearly everything at your fingertips – literally. Use it! This age of fast, powerful computers and internet availability provides a tremendous advantage. Yet, the pervasive spread of corrupt and incorrect information is staggering. Don't contribute to the problem: Verify your facts, use reputable sources, compare information from multiple sites to confirm validity of the sources, read at every opportunity from a variety of genres, learn from the experience, grow and revel in the power of the printed word.

 

The Reader, Jennifer Zwick, 2005, Archival pigment print, 40" x 32"

~Saturday Ambassador

Sources:

"Timeline of Computer History". Computer History Museum. 2006. Web. September 27, 2013. <http://www.computerhistory.org/timeline/?category=cmptr>