Clean up, fix up, paint up” used to be the springtime motto. After a long winter of laziness and neglect (or was that just me?) the air is warm, the sun is shining, and everyone feels energized to spiff things up.

For the past day or so, I put a scaffolding around this old blog and started making some long-needed repairs and and improvements. Have you noticed? Let’s see…

• I finally got around to putting rounded corners on the top image. Now it matches the graphic below it.
• A drop cap (i.e., an oversized first character) has been added to the first word in each post, thanks to a nifty plugin by Rodney Campbell (Remorhaz). Elegant, no? Like a magazine… (Update: Hey, it didn’t show up in this post!) (Update #2: Got it!)
• I changed the body font to Calibri and bumped up the size one click. I liked the font that came with the theme, but this one is much easier to read. And hey, this blog is all about your comfort!
• I finally got the Photo Dropper plug-in working. This is a terrific blogging tool that lets you to search for Creative Commons-licensed photos on Flickr by keyword, right from your Wordpress post page. Highly recommended!
• Technorati tags now grace the footer of this and all future posts, via Will Garcia’s plugin. (I installed and auditioned about five others before finding this one. Nice work, Will!)
• Finally, I added a Share this button so you can email my posts, or send them to any of the big social networking sites. Ahem. Of course, that’s assuming I ever write something worth sharing.

And that’s coming, too. Buckle your seat belt. I’ve got big plans for this old blog home!

Photo by… me!

It’s ironic, because it’s spring. The azaleas are blooming and the forsythia are absolutely blinding in the sunlight. Nature is busting out all over, so you’d think this would also be a time of soaring creativity and output.

Maybe it is for you, but not for me, I’m afraid. I’m only just plodding along. After a very long, cold winter, the work and the words are coming slowly. I’m working on several larger- than- usual projects simultaneously (including a couple of information products that will be of great use to small business marketers like you and me. More on that later.)

But the creative work is taking a lot more time than usual. A lot more time than I’d like. But now I think I’ve finally figured out the problem.

Mental exhaustion. I haven’t had a real vacation in years. I’m self-employed, so I work every day. I love what I do, so sometimes it’s hard to push myself away from the computer. I desperately need to take some time off and just. have. fun.

It’s easy to forget that relaxing, recreation and fun are essential ingredients in a balanced life. Julia Cameron, in The Artist’s Way, calls the process “refilling the well.” Our storeroom of creative ideas and images eventually runs dry and must be replenished regularly. I haven’t been doing that. All work and no play, etc.

As the great George Bernard Shaw said:

“We don’t stop playing because we grow old. We grow old because we stop playing.”

So let me ask you… how do you stay refreshed and effective? What kind of leisure activities would you recommend? I really need a kick in the butt to get started.

Am I the only one who gets mesmerized by those ultra-simple UPS commercials? Apparently not, according to Slate’s Seth Stephenson, who gives a great behind-the-scenes look at those ads here. (You can watch the whole series of UPS spots here.)
You can’t take your eyes off them. There’s something about all that white space, and the guy’s mastery of the dry erase marker, and the quick, simple stories he tells. It’s hard to look away. (The long-haired guy, by the way, is not an actor, but Andy Azula, the creative director of the ad campaign. Bravo, Andy.)

Other companies are trying a similar approach. “Companies are increasingly using simple pictures to distill complicated concepts into easily shared, easily remembered nuggets,” says Fast Company in a piece called The Napkin Sketch. FC quotes Tuft’s Neil Cohn, a researcher in cognitive psychology and linguistics at Tufts University:

“Graphic expression and visual thinking are a central part of human cognition… These ideas are spreading from how companies sell what they do — as in UPS’s “Whiteboard” ad campaign — to plotting strategy.”

Just for laughs, my wife, who’s a talented artist, did a quick sketch of me when I first hung out my shingle as a freelance copywriter in March, 2001. I was amazed. It was quick and funny — the T-shirt reads “Will Write for $.” It’s also probably closer to the “real me” than anything a brand artist could come up with.

I’ve never shown it publicly before, but if quick and simple sketches are the latest thing in branding, maybe now it’s time.

What do you think? Is it too silly and frivolous for an (ahem) “professional” like myself? Or should I start using it as part of my identity and brand? Tell me in the comments. I really would appreciate your input.

How the heck did Time mag miss this one in their list of Top 25 blogs? (No, I didn’t forget a link — I’m talking about the blog you’re reading!)

I mean, really, what has the Huffington Post or Lifehacker got that I don’t got? Besides worthwhile content, I mean. Which is sooo overrated.

You honestly think TechCrunch and Boing Boing are better than my crummy rag? I suppose you also think Godiva dark chocolate tastes better than Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, too. God, there’s just no accounting for taste.

Obviously, there’s some hanky-panky going on. I mean, I was assured I had a lock on Time’s stupid list. I mean, hell –  they cashed the damn check.

Heads will roll for this. I guarantee it. Stay tuned.

Who says winters in Maine are boring?