Some Pics of baby Charley

So dad, here is some pictures of Charley and us over the last few days.  Hope this works.  We will post things here periodically or use dropbox...
here you go!

We are having a baby GIRL!

Early this morning we (Kara and Kelvin) went to the doctor's office.  Upon a very revealing ultrasound we found that we are having a baby GIRL!  The tech that did the ultrasound finally got in a good position to best see male or female organs and said, "Do you see those three dots? That means its a girl."  Personally I wanted a boy first, but I couldn't be more happy at the moment.

We went and did some more registering stuff at Babies R Us tonight.  We have to be prepared for the Provo, UT and Chino, CA baby showers!

We couldn't hold the news in, so some of you have already heard by text.  We hope that you are excited with us.  We are both very excited for this next chapter in our lives and becoming parents.

Create Actively

Creativity is all around.  Where do you look?  What do you see and hear?  I grew up in a fortunate house where both parents had graduated from college and where successful in their fields.  My mother is very "theatrical, innovative, and crazy". (that's the best way to put it mom...)  My father is a very open minded engineer.  Now from my mom doing something with scrapbooking (or at least wanting to) and my dad's problem solving skills, I have grown up all around creativity.

At a young age I developed a liking to drumming, hitting pots and pans on occasion.  My parents would turn on the dish washer as they went into their room after putting the kids to sleep and I would make up beats in my head to the rhythm of the machine.  And although I haven't been in any part of a musical group since high school, I still walk to a beat and compose percussion music mentally.  When you hear an obnoxious kink in the dryer from a pair of jeans, I hear a rhythm.  When you hear the loud construction work on you way to work, I am tapping out a funky beat.  And when the engineering side of me comes out (just ask my friends... or my wife, who hated my concrete canoe and never let me forget it) construction is cool!  Blue prints are someones innovation and creativity waiting to explode into something much, much bigger.

The very first post of this blog comes from a take home essay test I took in a class called History of Creativity.  The post explains the question well.  Take a look, it is much different from my normal creative niche.  Expand your horizons.  Take a different stance.  Enjoy the world around you!

So, I repeat my initial questions: Where do you look?  What do you see and hear?  "And if I don't?" you ask... MAKE something!

Creativity in Schools

While meandering through some of the most watched TED talks, and having my history of creativity class still going through my mind from last semester, this talk was rather stunning. It brings to light the changing social stereotypes for kids (mostly). During one class period, it was discussed whither the public school system prohibits creativity. So then what is more important? Creativity or kids only doing what they are told in a mainstream world?

Watch the following video and decide for yourself.

I'll post my thoughts a little later.

for the first post to this blog, I would like it to be a good one. Recently, I had a take home test for a History of Creativity class. The Last question of the test asked for a Sonnet with at least 10 key terms from the chapter covered by the test. Here is my Sonnet and explanation:

More and his Utopia, describes earth

In its perfection. Richelieu’s rule today

Brings pow’r to Louis, France’s noble birth.

Thirty years ‘til Majesty’s Letter say

“Be peace” ye Protestant and Catholics.

See beauty, el’gant Hands drawn by Dürer.

See splendor and be ye not hypocrites,

St. Bartholomew not Mary Stuar’.

De Vinci saw the future of mankind

And sought to give all that he could his part.

Create a better outcome with the mind,

With Ninety-five good reasons from the heart.

Ideas flow. They need no restoration.

Creature, take note with consideration.

The main theme of the sonnet is having a better world. There is a standard that Thomas More established with his book, but that standard has yet to be met. Thus, all we can do is strive to be good, look to the future, and creatively change the present. With the last line I suggest that humans have yet to reach their full potential and should look to others who have shown big “C” creativity (creativity that has changed the world) in the past. The last two lines vary from the usual emphasis because they are my main argument. The world will become a better place, but only with the help of great ideas from many sources.