Monday, October 18, 2010

The Answers Come in the Form of a Magazine





* There are two things that give me creative inspiration: the living room television, and a secondhand bookstore filled with magazines. It's like a gasoline station. A convenience store. An ink refill station.

*  I tried the Internet to look for ideas. But the myriad sites that are readily available in a single click overwhelms me. It's too "free". There are so many places to visit. Somehow, I want boundaries and limitations so I can narrow down my options and concentrate on readily available ideas. The TV is limited because there are only a number of channels I watch. I wait for the commercials because that's where you can find the good stuff: background music, 30-second ads, neat trailers, the whole shebang. The local roadside bookstore, on the other hand, is like a personal portal. There's magic in there. It's like the Internet but you can actually touch the pages and roll it up and use it as a weapon, without regret. 

* I've been reading magazines since 1990. My favorite back then was Asia Week. Magazine-reading is a strong Flores family tradition. I go home to San Pablo and read Time Magazine first before watching TV. Sometimes I don't watch TV at all. 

* After a slew of cafe activities, it's time for us to take a break together with the students' sem break. Very fitting indeed. So I said to myself, "Two weeks with no students. It should give us time to think about the holiday season. I need ideas". And it came. The ideas came in the form of a magazine, a single magazine ad. I bought a magazine with Jenny Lewis on the cover. It's actually my second magazine with Jenny Lewis on the cover.

* I won't tell you what magazine that is. But it really helped all of us narrow down a concept and make it concrete.

* So if you're an impatient reader like me, pick up a magazine. It switches topics in every turn. I always start reading from the back page, I don't know why. Pick the most obscure magazine title out there and it may help you start or find a new hobby. Oh yes, magazines never go offline, just out of stock. It's for keeps.




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