Unfortunately Yes... This is Really Happening........

The headline above probably has you thinking about all the heated debates, and fiery headlines rolling across the 24 hour news cycle like thunder in a supercell storm that just won't die. No my respected readers, the headline of this article is not referencing current events. It is a humble moment of self reflection and criticism. Why would any reasonable professionally minded person link their professional portfolio to a humour blog? How can anyone relate professionalism to interpersonal awkwardness, unpleasant bodily functions, strange odors, morally ambiguous situations involving morally ambiguous people, and many other forms of moral decay. It makes me wonder about what this brings to mind for you, donkeys... Mr. Potato Head.... that weird brother-in-law that smells like onions, and is obsessed with the Mr. T rap album.

Firstly, if I've made you smirk or chuckle in the first paragraph of this post I think I've been able to do something pretty special - share a small moment of pleasure based in plain text framed by the modest web page you've taken a moment of your precious time to consider. So what in the wide world of sports would I be doing trying to make connections between humor, technology and professional writing? Comedic writing gives one a wonderful opportunity to play with conventions, walk away from standard form and structure. These are all key components of the much talked about miraculous power of creativity. To be frank, when I hear HR people and managers speak about creativity I cringe. A note of mystified awe can be heard in their voices, and a whole host of carefully considered language starts assembling itself somewhere in the body that I unfortunately don't think is in any way associated with the creative centers of the brain. If you are one of these wielders creativespeak like visionary, disruptor, innovation, forward-thinking, dynamic, etc. I do apologize, but to the well worn artist your innovation word salad sounds like the random mimicry of a parrot trapped in Steve Jobs board room. The development of true creativity is a long slow crawl. The artists spends countless hours refining fundamental skills through repetitive application of technique to replicate the craft of the masters in their field only to wake up one morning and decide the masters were bums and idiots. The truly creative person enthusiastically throws the fundamentals of the respected traditions of their field into the garbage can with a smile. For those who eulogize creativity without ever engaging in the practical act of creating, I'd like to engage you in a little experiment. If you are sitting please stand up, and take a step in a direction, but rotate your foot to the left or right at a unique angle. Now take the step. Hopefully no injury occurred while moving in a rather strange manner that your co-workers might make jokes about at a later point in time. In your mind's eye create a line on the ground from your starting point to the location of your foot at the end of the step. Now lift your other foot and take another step in a completely different direction. All the while keep track of the mental map of intersecting lines that are forming a shape with each step. After taking several steps stop and consider the mental map you have created. If you like, you can can apply a color to the map such as fuchsia or puce with highlights of silver. Hopefully no lamps were knocked over, and nothing of value from your desk or table while you have engaged in our experiment with personal expression. The creative process is notoriously messy. Lets take a moment to consider this action. A strange set of movements were assembled to form a symbolic form that might or might not change the way you consider your place in the world. Or it could just be the mapping of a very short pointless exercise in silly walking. Regardless, you did it! Welcome to the worldly experience of the modern artist! That was quite exciting, but lets get back to the original points of discussion - humor, technology, professionalism. Humor works in creating and breaking expectations and structure in a really fascinating way. A funny bit of writing relies on keen observation, and a careful analysis of a situation. For instance, we can illustrate some very interesting elements of bio-mechanics and Newtonian physics involved in the process of picking ones nose. You probably don't want to evaluate this process, but it is a valid part of ordinary life. I might have done it yesterday. You have to admit you've probably picked your nose sometime in the last month. Its all part of the complex set of interactions that make up life, and is deserving of at least a moment of thought. Writing with humor allows the writer to engage in a very useful exercise in looking at the mundane from a unique angle, and hone analytical skill while hopefully sharing at least a smile .