The Beauty in Simple Stories

This does make the saying “A picture is worth a thousand words” ring true. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_picture_is_worth_a_thousand_words
The comments that go with the picture are very interesting.

How do you find these gems? There are so many items out there and yet you seem to track down the most interesting ones. This could be used as post about social media or just about anything.

All effective story, heck, all communication, is simple. But it takes an “attentive eye”: one that recognizes the compositional value of contrast and juxtaposition, irony, suspense and foreshadowing, and above all a thirst for meaningfulness.

Recalling the beauty of Hemingway six words short story, which I’m sure many have heard. For those that haven’t read it: “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.”

All effective story, heck, all communication, is simple. But it takes an “attentive eye”: one that recognizes the compositional value of contrast and juxtaposition, irony, suspense and foreshadowing, and above all a thirst for meaningfulness.

Recalling the beauty of Hemingway six words short story, which I’m sure many have heard. For those that haven’t read it: “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.”

In our business, complexity breeds invisibility.

The simple pleasures in life is what makes it worth living. In anticipation of my post today, I wanted a picture of a particular building in downtown LA, so yesterday afternoon, a friend of mine and I went. After spending time our LA’s lovely freeways, we made it there, I took the pictures I wanted, and I thought we were heading back home.

However, my friend decided to surprise me by taking me to the entrance to the Paramount Studios, which I’d never seen and which also worked great in my post today.

So, we stopped by for a few minutes while I took some pictures there, too.

A small surprise made by a friend that made my day. Yes, I love the simple things in life.

The simple pleasures in life is what makes it worth living. In anticipation of my post today, I wanted a picture of a particular building in downtown LA, so yesterday afternoon, a friend of mine and I went. After spending time our LA’s lovely freeways, we made it there, I took the pictures I wanted, and I thought we were heading back home.

However, my friend decided to surprise me by taking me to the entrance to the Paramount Studios, which I’d never seen and which also worked great in my post today.

So, we stopped by for a few minutes while I took some pictures there, too.

A small surprise made by a friend that made my day. Yes, I love the simple things in life.

Everything can be simple. Like Seth Godin said ” Google didnot make any new or creative, it just made simple and easier”.

I’m 57. As one gets older, you begin to appreciate that simplicity (aka purity) has incredible power.

You’ll find that applicable to music, food, communications, and many other things.

I’m 57. As one gets older, you begin to appreciate that simplicity (aka purity) has incredible power.

You’ll find that applicable to music, food, communications, and many other things.

I find on those days when writer’s block kicks in, looking at pictures can set the creative juices flowing towards a decent blog post that may have otherwise laid dormant within the grey matter. :)

Thanks for sharing.

Karl

@Richard Reeve: Both the beauty and the problem with the Hemingway short story is that is doesn’t suggest one meaning. There are thousands of stories that it tells at the same time. “An entrepreneurial shoe store employee buys his former boss’ outdated stock and tries to build a new life one pair of shoes at a time.” is as valid an interpretation as “Parents grieving the loss of their baby make the courageous decision to move on.”

How is that helpful in conveying specific meaning?

There is a time and a place for brevity. However, boiling something down really means boiling something away. The world is a complex and subtle place. This incessant need to compress all of it into easily-digestible chunks leads to the headline journalism that is shaking our democracy, and the black-or-white thinking that continues to fuel conflicts like Israel/Palestine.

If we stopped filling our lives with nonsense, then maybe we’d have room to consider the important things in the proper depth and context.

@Richard Reeve: Both the beauty and the problem with the Hemingway short story is that is doesn’t suggest one meaning. There are thousands of stories that it tells at the same time. “An entrepreneurial shoe store employee buys his former boss’ outdated stock and tries to build a new life one pair of shoes at a time.” is as valid an interpretation as “Parents grieving the loss of their baby make the courageous decision to move on.”

How is that helpful in conveying specific meaning?

There is a time and a place for brevity. However, boiling something down really means boiling something away. The world is a complex and subtle place. This incessant need to compress all of it into easily-digestible chunks leads to the headline journalism that is shaking our democracy, and the black-or-white thinking that continues to fuel conflicts like Israel/Palestine.

If we stopped filling our lives with nonsense, then maybe we’d have room to consider the important things in the proper depth and context.

Oh yes — simple stories (photos, paintings, writing, music) allow me to think, to imagine what comes next. Or to embrace something too big to capture in words or pigments. (Hemingway’s 6 words, for example, noted from comment above.)

I paint for story, often from much-loved photos, as exemplified here: http://paintedgenerations.com/blog/2008/10/painted-for-story-people-photo-inspires-an-oil-painting-on-canvas/

Thanks for making this point, Chris. I thinks it’s a critical one — people come back for stories — especially as they can relate to them, and possibly benefit in some way from having read them.

Barb

I simply agree.

I can’t claim full credit for the image, although it was taken with my camera and under my direction, and the story accompanying it is all mine. But I am quite flattered to find it here, and you folks have brightened my day considerably. Thanks, everyone!

You might want to check out my blog while you’re at it. The link is provided here, and I hope you enjoy it, although it isn’t as good as this one. :-)

I can’t claim full credit for the image, although it was taken with my camera and under my direction, and the story accompanying it is all mine. But I am quite flattered to find it here, and you folks have brightened my day considerably. Thanks, everyone!

You might want to check out my blog while you’re at it. The link is provided here, and I hope you enjoy it, although it isn’t as good as this one. :-)

Simple or not, stories are a powerful way to communicate anything, from complex ideas to motivating the listener to join a cause. We’re hard-wired for stories. This goes way back to the fire in the cave.

I would also be interested in this picture if the woman were reading the book and the man was standing there smiling at the camera. How would you interpret it then? So much of our world is interpreted through men’s eyes. What if either the man or the woman were gay? That reminds me, I want to read that book he’s reading!

I would also be interested in this picture if the woman were reading the book and the man was standing there smiling at the camera. How would you interpret it then? So much of our world is interpreted through men’s eyes. What if either the man or the woman were gay? That reminds me, I want to read that book he’s reading!

I assure you that the man in question is most definitely not gay; in fact, it takes a lot to distract my attention from a pretty woman, and this book managed to do exactly that! So I do encourage you to read it when you can. Robert Caro is one heckuva good writer!

@Garry – I’m so glad you came by. I think your storytelling was what drew me to the piece in the first place. The picture alone was nice, but the story mattered.

I’m glad you came by. I had no doubt that you weren’t gay. I’m often distracted in such ways.

I agree with Michael Calienes above. “Complexity Breeds Invisibility.” In the same thread, I think Da Vinci’s famous quote rings true “simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.”

I agree with Michael Calienes above. “Complexity Breeds Invisibility.” In the same thread, I think Da Vinci’s famous quote rings true “simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.”

I agree with Derrich
;-)