Tuesday, November 27, 2018

Real Life Human Woman Trixie Mattel


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Brian Michael Firkus, better known as Trixie Mattel, is a drag queen who was a contestant on season seven of RuPaul’s Drag Race before going on to win season three of Drag Race All-Stars. Brain is from a small town in Wisconsin, he is half Native American, and he suffered mocking from his stepfather, who would call him "Trixie" when he acted effeminate as a teen. Obviously this inspired his choice of drag name, and his look was also inspired by his childhood hero, Barbie. I chose Trixie for my post because she is breaking down boundaries of the entertainment industry. Her multi talented act is elevating drag from its status as a adult-only nightclub activity and bringing it into the spaces of stand-up comedy and country folk music. The title of NPR’s “The Record” says it all: “Trixie Mattel: America's Next Top Folk-Country Comedy Drag Artist”.
Image result for trixie mattel album cover
It is clear in her interview for NPR that Trixie is very intrinsically motivated with her music. She says of her album “One Stone”: “I hoped that it would sell, and I hoped that it would chart. But when the day came out when it was at No. 1 on the [iTunes] singer-songwriter chart, I was like, Oh my god. I don't write the music to sell it; I write it for my own human fulfillment”. Trixie uses her fame as a platform to do something completely unexpected and completely authentic to her. Her music references her struggles with romance and family relationships, and documents her roots as someone who grew up in rural Wisconsin.
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Trixie’s feature in GQ magazine highlights her youtube series UNHhhh, which she stars in with fellow drag queen Katya Zamolodchikova. This comedy show was so wildly successful on youtube that Viceland decided to turn the show into an actual TV series, now called The Trixie & Katya Show. This article discusses more the collaborative aspect of Trixie’s career, which recalls the article by Uzzi and Spiro that we read earlier in the semester. Trixie and Katya (who both happen to be named Brian) have captured millions of viewers with their unscripted chats, an audience that undoubtedly would be much smaller if they didn’t have each other to play off of. Through their banter, they always end up somewhere unexpected, and it is always hilarious.

Image result for trixie mattel


Along with NPR and GQ, Trixie had been featured in many other major publications such as Rolling Stones and The New York Times. This is groundbreaking territory for a drag queen, to be so successful in so many fields and to capture the interest of people who are normally beyond the reach of the LGBT community. I believe Trixie’s presence in the comedy and country music world set a great precedent for the future, and I can’t wait to watch as more queens blur the lines of “normal”.



Sources:
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Rick Just Keeps on Rolling

Rick Riordan (link)
Rick Riordan’s written works (link)
Rick Riordan is an american writer best known for his adolescent fantasy series Percy Jackson and the Olympians, a series most if not all middle school classroom bookshelves hold by now with over 30 million copies sold in the US alone (link). Riordan began as a middle school English and Social Studies teacher for 8 years, during which time he wrote his first novel, Big Red Tequila, the first in what would become his adult mystery series, the Tres Navarre series. In a genesis story reminiscent of J. R. R. Tolkien, he came up with the story for his breakthrough novel, The Lightning Thief (2005), from a bedtime story he started telling his son one night. Riordan had long brought the Greek and Roman myths and tales from his classroom to bedtime, but that night he had run out of stories and decided to create one of his own. He told the story of a boy in modern day New York City who discovers that the Greek gods didn’t disappear, but simply moved to America, and that he happens to be the son of one of them (link).


A twitter response to an angry parent (link)
Before he was an writer, he was a middle school teacher, and it’s clear throughout all of his works that those young students are who he writes for. Throughout his tenure as a popular children’s author, Riordan has been unabashedly dedicated to creating characters with diverse perspectives, creating characters with identities and circumstances most children’s authors wouldn’t touch, claiming the content is too “adult.” Throughout the Riordan-verse are characters of all races, with only the original Percy Jackson series having predominantly white main characters, with varying levels of physical ability, and of various sexualities and gender presentations. Even from the very beginning, he gave (almost) all demigods dyslexia and ADHD, as a tribute to his son who had recently been diagnosed with both learning disorders, and transformed them from deficiencies to strengths, dyslexia because their brains are hardwired for Ancient Greek and ADHD for better battle reflexes. Although it doesn’t speak as much to his creativity as to his goodness, one of the aspects of his writing that has inspired me since I, myself, was in middle school was his dedication to making every child feel like they could be a hero.

“As a middle school teacher, it was critical to me that all my students saw my classroom as a safe, supportive environment where they could be honored for who they were and express themselves without fear.” (link)

A graphic from his website, depicting two of the main characters of his Heroes of Olympus series (link)
From that first bedtime story, Riordan has gone on to write and publish a plethora of books in the same literary universe reinterpreting not only Greek, but also Roman, Egyptian, and even Norse mythology through a modern lens. Todd I. Lubart in his article “Creativity Across Cultures,” discusses how the Eastern concept of creativity often extols and emphasizes reinterpretation of older traditions, while the Western concept of creativity focuses more on the creation of the novel. I, personally, believe that Riordan does both in his works. He reinterprets and reimagines the old stories and makes them feel new again all while creating his own world with all its quirks and corners. From turning Procrustes into Crusty the water mattress salesmen to creating a character who is at once the daughter of a Norse god and a devout Muslim, he brings together the more magical worlds of old and watches them play out against the backdrop of our own time.
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Superteam

If you have been rooting on the same uncompetitive, inconsistent, unimaginative, tantalizing, agonizing football team for your entire life as I have, you might be wondering how the Rams did it. The answer lies with their wunderkind coach’s process.
Sean McVay is the NFL’s youngest head coach at 32 years old. He was hired at 30 which made him the youngest NFL head coach ever. In 2017, his first year, he led the Rams to an 11-5 record and the best offense in the league. From the NFL abys, St. Louis to the City of Angels. In the process, he managed to rescue the careers of Jared Goff, his QB and former 1st overall NFL Draft selection, and HB Todd Gurley, two top talents who had struggled to live up to expectations since entering the league. This season his Rams have leaped out to an 11-1 record, and McVay has his team in the conversation for their first Super Bowl appearance since the greatest show on turf.
Football is a complicated sport with plenty of variables and moving parts. Rather than dreaming up crazy plays to run that look cool on a whiteboard, his scheme emanates from a central guiding philosophy and is far more reliant on communication and interdependence than hero ball. McVay encourages dialogue with all his players and is eager to hear their concerns about what they are being asked to do. McVay is receptive to these concerns and rather than being arrogant or stubborn, he engages his players and is willing to explain his reasoning behind every assignment. He devotes time to brainstorming with each player alterations to his game plan to make his players more comfortable in their roles. Ensuring all his players are on the same page and understand their assignment on every play allows his unit to act as one body: an extension of his football mind.
In this way, McVay is doing less coaching and more teaching-- even collaborating with his players. His future hall of fame left tackle Andrew Whitworth (who is 6 years older than him) explains it like this: “not only do I understand what to do, I understand why I would want to do it that way”, it’s never “I don’t care if you understand it or don’t, we’re going to run this play’”. This builds trust throughout the organization and helps it flow both up and down the chain of command. When the Rams are in a tight spot, his team knows he will call the right play, and he knows his players are fully prepared to execute.
McVay is not only a good communicator but has a tremendous amount to communicate. Current Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator Matt LaFleur describes McVay as “extremely intelligent, loves ball more than anybody I’ve been around. And he’s just brilliant. I think he might have a photographic memory. He’s just rare”. His ability to orchestrate high powered offenses stems from his uncanny ability to understand how an opposing defense thinks and subvert their philosophy. He knows exactly what his opponent wants to do, pretends he's going to do that, then at the last second with just the most delicate sleight of hand, jukes 11 grown men out of their cleats.
Watching the Rams doesn't really feel like watching football. It feels new.

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Just ROWL(ing) With It


As I was snuggling up to escape into the Magical Wizarding World of Harry Potter by watching whatever movie I could find online for free, after a long couple days of essay writing and studying, I realized I had to write my blog post! So, what better topic than the creator of my happy place?



JK Rowling first got her idea for Harry Potter on a train ride from Manchester to London in 1990. It took her five years of planning on countless scraps of paper whenever she had the chance, in between raising a child alone on government welfare and dealing with the loss of her mother, to finally send out a copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone to publishers. She was rejected quite a few times but once she was picked up and published by Bloomsbury, JK Rowling and the Harry Potter franchise became a fast sensation.  

Rowling has been questioned countless times of how she came up with the magical idea of the wizarding world, and unlike how some people think creativity works, the whole series didn’t just pop into her head. In “Creativity Across Cultures,” Lubart describes the four stages of the creative process in Western Culture: preparation, incubation, illumination (Lumos anyone?), and verification. Rowling’s writing process follows this well with an emphasis on the preparation phase . It took her years of planning on handwritten tables of characters and chapters and subplots and spells before she even started writing the story. She created and meticulously planned a whole world that her stories take place in and has used it to write a seven-book series and multiple supplementary books.  

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Disney’s Live Action Remakes: Creative or A Quick Move for Money?
As I filled up on turkey and mashed potatoes this past Thanksgiving last week, the usual chatter went about the table. We got to the topic of movies and my sister screamed, “HAVE YOU ALL SEEN THE NEW LION KING TRAILER?!” and everyone said yes and expressed their excitement for the movie. I couldn’t help questioning everyone’s excitement considering I can bet you any amount of money we have all seen it a minimum of 10 times each since we were babies. We know exactly what is going to happen, we know the entire plot like the back of our hands, and we know were all going to cry when Mufasa dies… AGAIN. So what is so creative about Disney right now? All they are doing is asking us to rewatch our favorite characters fall in love, die, and learn life lessons in a “higher definition”. So why do we go and spend literally millions of dollars in the theaters?
First let me say that there is no doubt that Disney is one of the most creative, if not the most creative, companies on this planet. It has been for decades. It is a global company that has touched everyone in one way or another. So why do they choose to remake movies that we have already watched in “live action”? Well there are two simple answers: nostalgia or money. Let us go through both answers. Nostalgia, aka that feeling of homesickness or bittersweet memories from the past, gets us all at one point. The majority of the movies Disney is remaking are movies from our (the 90’s babies) childhood. We are all in our twenties now so why do they expect us grown people to run to the theater? Nostalgia. Since we are 20+, we will go with our friends, parents, or younger family members. So we are bringing multiple generations to the theater just to relive that childhood moment. Remember that movie you and parent watched a thousand times and know all of the lyrics to the soundtrack? Disney bets you do. Wouldn’t it be so nice to relive that with them? Disney thinks yes. They are playing on our feelings to get us to enjoy their “new” movie.
The second answer, money, is the more pessimistic way to think about it… or maybe realistic. I can’t imagine all of the members of the Disney corporation are in their feelings thinking about us reliving our childhood. Some are definitely doing it for the money. Like I mentioned in the previous paragraph, the majority of us will drag a lot of people with us to the theaters. These days movie tickets cost around $15. Multiply that by a small family and you have got the answer to why each of these remakes makes millions every time they come out. Disney owns these stories, there is probably little to no money going into creating the plot. They do not have to advertise as hard as they would when creating a new Disney original to get people to the theaters. They put out maybe two trailers, a handful of movie posters, and we are all there because it is familiar to us. Also, these live action remakes bring in new members to the Disney fan club because of their amazing visuals. I would like to mention that I am in no way a finance major or know anything about a huge company and the way it profits. However, there is no denying that Disney definitely makes a good buck from these remakes.

So is it actually creative of Disney to remake these movies into “live action”? Depends on how you view it. We must also acknowledge that no matter the amount of nostalgia or money put into the movie, the audience stays because of the amount of creative work put into the live action remakes. Take the lastest Lion King trailer for example. The amount of creative design that must go into making the animals move, talk, and look the way they do is enormous. Disney brings today’s celebrities into their remakes because they know audiences will be intrigued to see how they play the rolls we are familiar with. Beyonce is literally Nala in The Lion King. BEYONCE! They are smart and in so many ways beyond creative with their process to remake each of these films. In the Lubart reading we were assigned for class, creativity was defined as a product-oriented, originality based phenomenon. In the reading it is discussed that creativity is bound to cultural context. I feel this goes perfectly with this because Disney is being creative through their remaking of their product.


However you view Disney remaking all of its movies, either as a quick way to make money or a creative way to bring back our childhoods, I will see you in theaters on July 19, 2019 to watch yet another Disney classic… again.



https://c-parity.com/global-iot-esim-summit/font-walt-disney-logo/
https://www.instyle.com/news/why-disney-remake
https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/film/2016/05/why-disney-producing-so-many-live-action-remakes-its-most-popular-animated
https://www.listchallenges.com/the-ultimate-list-of-disney-characters
http://www.frugalmouse.com/disney-expert-money-saving-tips/
https://www.altpress.com/news/the-lion-king-trailer-comparison-original/
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/363736107396310446/?lp=true
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Hayao Miyazaki : The Walt Disney of Japan

Hayao Miyazaki
Hayao Miyazaki was born on January 5th, 1941 in the Bunkyo Ward of Tokyo. As a child, he expressed interest in manga and animation. Miyazaki first moved into the professional animation when he joined Toei Animation in 1963. Here, he worked as an in-between artist helping to produce films like Doggie March and Gulliver's Travels Beyond the Moon. In 1973, he moved and joined Nippon Animation and directed Future Boy Conan.

Princess Mononoke 
After going from studio to studio, he decided to start Studio Ghibli in 1985. Here, Miyazaki directed a slew of well adored animated classics such as Castle in the Sky in 1986, My Neighbor Totoro in 1988, and Porco Rosso in 1992. All his films were successful, garnering positive reviews. His first real claim to fame was with Princess Mononoke  which some called "the Star Wars of animated feature."  Princess Mononoke was the first animated film to win the Japan Academy Picture of the Year Award. Princess Mononoke  was also the film to greatly increase the popularity of Studio Ghibli in the West.

Spirited Away 
In 2001, Miyazaki released Spirited Away , his most successful production. It received the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature at the 75th Academy Awards and considered one of the best films of the 2000s.

Miyazaki continued to release films through Studio Ghibli, such as Ponyo, Howl's Moving Castle, and The Wind Rises. He retired at 72.

 Miyazaki entered his projects blind, letting the project grow organically by taking inspiration from multiple places rather than building upon a predetermined narrative skeleton. He drew upon his own life ,especially from his childhood,  and those around him for ideas concerning character creation and events taking place in the movie. For the setting, he would often stare at different landscapes and develop a story just from those pictures. This loose approach to creation can be attributed to how Miyazaki observed children create art. He said," children make great art just by doing. They don’t think, they do and do, make and make, wasting shocking amounts of paper and art supplies, indifferent to quality, but fearlessly making art in a state of playful, Seussian quasi-thinking."
Miyazaki Thinking

While the following statement might seem contradictory to the previous portion, Miyazaki loved just to sit and think. In an interview with Vice, he said ," My [creative] process is thinking, thinking and thinking—thinking about my stories for a long time ... If you have a better way, please let me know."He also utilized the subconscious to resolve writing block he experiences stating ,"I try to fish out my own dreams by dangling a fishing line into my subconscious, but they don't catch very well. When I get stuck on ideas, I have to dig down deep into my subconscious, past the surface of my mind that no longer seems helpful, to find some interesting way to resolve the drama in my films."

 Miyazaki has been extremely successful in his career as a result of his childish approach to creation and deep relationship with his subconscious. For more information about his creative process, check out the documentary Never-Ending Man: Hayao Miyazaki out on December 13. 
Sources
http://thecreativehours.com/thinking-and-the-creative-process/
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/vvyb4m/8-pearls-of-wisdom-from-hayao-miyazaki
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_x9XinXMqw
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hayao_Miyazaki


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A Lucky Pup With a New Skull Thanks to a Creative Vet

A 9-year old Canadian dachshund named Patches had a little bump on her forehead for many years. Her owners were unsure what it was, but not too concerned due to its small size (The Bark). However, once it grew to a huge size, Patches’ owners took her to the vet, who diagnosed her with a skull tumor. It was massive, and removing it would require the removal of 70% of her skull. However keeping the tumor in place would be fatal, as it was pressing into Patches’ brain and eye socket. (Time) Luckily for Patches, she was referred to Dr. Michelle Oblak, a Veterinary Surgical Oncologist at Ontario Medical College. Dr. Oblak knew the tumor had to be removed, but she also knew there had to be some kind of covering over Patches’ brain.
Patches before her surgery 

Dr. Oblak reached a stroke of inspiration. In recent years, large veterinary hospitals have been utilizing 3D printing technology for a variety of treatments from jaw reconstruction to ligament replacement. (New York Times). However, 3D printing has been rarely used in small, private clinics due to cost. However, Patches’ treatment was covered by a private Canadian group, and provides hope that someday 3D printing will be cheaper and more widely available for clinical use. Dr. Oblak reached a very innovative idea for Patches: to 3D print a titanium plate to replace the portion of the skull removed. Dr. Oblak noted the usefulness of 3D printing especially in dogs, “because their skulls vary in shape, from the flat snouts of boxers to the long ones of greyhounds” (New York Times).
A Happy Healed Pup!

Dr. Oblak’s decision to use a 3D printer needed help to be successful. In order to make the titanium plate as effective as possible, Dr. Oblak collaborated with an Engineer. Using the Engineer’s technical skill to make the 3D printing as precise as it could be, as well as Dr. Oblak’s medical knowledge, they were able to successfully make an artificial skull to fit Patches’ head. (Time). Patches even got up and was running around a few hours after her surgery! The collaboration that Dr. Oblak used to successfully help Patches is beneficial, as outlined by Brian Uzzi and Jarret Spiro. Uzzi and Spiro note how creativity increases when collaborators have a “small world,” where connections lead to other connections and deeper collaborations. For example, hopefully the decision by Dr. Oblak to collaborate with a medical engineer will someday lead to a Doctor collaborating with a Medical Engineer to similarly 3D print a skull, and the creative choices will keep snowballing from there.



https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/25/science/3d-print-dog-skull.html






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Steve Martin: That's All I Need



Image result for steve martinI just don't understand people who don't like Steve Martin. This comedy legend has dedicated his life to his trade and I believe he has mastered it. Steve Martin came from humble beginnings, born in 1945 in Waco, Texas. His father was an aspiring actor and moved the family to California. At age 15, Martin got a job at the Magic Shop at Disney's Fantasyland where he learned magic, juggling, and how to make balloon animals. He took some classes at Santa Ana College and joined a comedy troupe at Knott's Berry Farm before attending California State University as a philosophy major. Martin transferred to UCLA in 1967 and become a theatre major. Here's where you're thinking, "Wow! Nobody our age has it figured out. This is so refreshing!" Think again! That same year, Martin won his first Emmy for his writing on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. In 1972 he made his first stand-up appearance on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, performing many times a year and even guest hosting a few times after. In 1976, he guest hosted Saturday Night Live and has now hosted a total of 15 times, one less than Alec Baldwin. 1977 marks the release of his first comedy album, "Let's Get Small." In 1978 he released his second comedy album, "A Wild and Crazy Guy," which sold over a million copies. The laundry list of works he has completed includes The Absent-Minded Waiter, The Jerk, The Big Year, The Pink Panther, My Blue Heaven, and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, just to name a few of my favorites. There are hundreds of other examples of his incredible work, with the exception of Cheaper by the Dozen, not great, but I won't go further into it. But I implore you to invest more time in his work, including his band, Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers. 
Image result for steve martin banjoI am not sure that Csikszentmihalyi himself could not name a more creative personality than that of Steve Martin. I believe "The Ten Dimensions of Complexity" perfectly describe Martin's personality. When you see his characters in his films they are completely different than the man you see in interviews. He is a very down to earth guy that just completely takes on a new persona on the big screen. His writing can be both philosophical and comical. It takes incredible skill to be able to just flip a switch and be someone entirely new. It's not crazy. It's talent.
Martin is intrinsically motivated. In his work, he is unapologetically himself, and that's what makes it great. You can tell he doesn't really care how people respond to it as much as he loves just putting it out there. Luckily, he puts out some pretty amazing things. He is surrounded by other comedians that add to his work, such as Martin Short. These two legends have been friends for a long time and this year Netflix released a standup routine starring the pair: Steve Martin and Martin Short: An Evening You Will Forget for the Rest of Your Life. Nothing is more refreshing than a comedian that isn't in it for the glory. And that's why Steve Martin will always be an idol of mine. God willing he comes out with more gold in the coming years. I need my fix.


https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000188/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm
https://loyolauniversitychicago-my.sharepoint.com/personal/rmorrison_luc_edu/Documents/Forms/All.aspx?slrid=fb8ca69e-c062-7000-ee75-25471d6e4f7a&FolderCTID=0x01200052F973E683B96F4F97B49148A837C07C&id=%2Fpersonal%2Frmorrison_luc_edu%2FDocuments%2FHonr204%2FReadings%2FaWeek%205%20-%20Personality%2Fcsikszentmihalyi_chapter3_REQUIRED%2Epdf&parent=%2Fpersonal%2Frmorrison_luc_edu%2FDocuments%2FHonr204%2FReadings%2FaWeek%205%20-%


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Virtual Reality Could Save Your Life

In an ever evolving technological age, Virtual Reality becomes an evermore relevant platform. It is even finding its way into the medical field where a vast number of clinical applications have been discovered for the technology. VR is currently being used to reduce anxiety, pain, and help treat Post Traumatic Stress (PTS).

The Institute for Creative Technologies at University of Southern California began experimenting with the effectiveness of VR in the treatment of PTS in veterans after tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. The technology was already being used in first-person shooting video games, so researchers decided to apply the same concept to its treatment. The technology puts a patient in a simulated Middle Eastern combat setting, something much like what they would have experienced during active duty, and tries to promote healthy coping mechanisms through something called exposure therapy. Exposure therapy is a proven method of treatment for PTS and other anxiety disorders. Essentially, this form of treatment exposes a patient directly to the exact source for their anxiety without putting the patient in harm’s way. The results of the experiments for this VR Exposure Therapy (VRET) have been exceedingly positive. By putting themselves back into a combat situation, with the guidance of a trained counselor, veterans reported significant improvement in the severity of their symptoms.


Following the results of these tests, medical professionals began incorporating the technology into the treatment for patients in their own specialties. Where some patients cannot tolerate pain medications, doctors are moving more towards VR as a means to manage pain. A scientist at the University of Washington created a game called, SnowWorld, which puts burn victims in an icy world to distract them while receiving treatment. Brain scans of patients undergoing this therapy has indicated a significant decrease in the amount of pain experienced at the time of treatment.

Doctors are also using VR to plan out and manipulate every detail of extremely complicated procedures before ever touching the patient. In extremely high-risk specialties such as heart and brain surgery, the ability of the surgeon to scan a patients anatomy and then put themselves inside he patient using VR, has dramatically increased the likelihood of success for many surgeries.

Researchers testing the various applications of this technology need to possess a considerable amount of creative insight to figure out how to use it. There are a number of hurdles to overcome in order to create a legitimate treatment that is viable to use on human subjects. These researchers also need to learn and build on top of the work of others. They take what one scientist or team has created, and shape the technology to effectively treat and care for their patients. Virtual Reality is becoming increasingly popular, and it is paving the way for other revolutionary tech applications in medicine.

https://www.nbcnews.com/mach/science/3-ways-virtual-reality-transforming-medical-care-ncna794871

http://ict.usc.edu/prototypes/pts/
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Not the Most Regular Show

When you think of a relatable group of friends, you don't think of a blue jay, raccoon, gumball machine, yeti, the ghost of a hand, a green fat guy, and lollipop. This however is the group that Regular Show creator J. G. Quintel brought to life and captured the hearts of millions of viewers.
Quintel's creativity shines through the plethora of unique characters he creates

 Regular Show recently ended its long run on Cartoon Network (2009 - 2017). In that run, the show racked up several awards, including an Emmy, and became one of the main draws of the network. Cartoon Network chief content officer Rob Sorcher when interviewed about the show, stated that, “From JG’s original pitch on post-it notes, through eight successful seasons and more than 250 episodes produced, Regular Show has been one of the most original animated series of this generation creating indelible characters and signature comedy mayhem laced with heart." 
J.G Quintel's Regular Show was also the first Cartoon Network original show to hit 200 episodes

 So how does he encapsulate such creative and relatable characters? Quintel talks about how several of the interactions between the characters were how he himself interacted with his friends in school. When interviewed by Hot Topic, Quintel talks about how several of the fun little reoccurring bits in the show, such as Mordecai and Rigby yelling "OHHHHH!" after a sick burn were just, "me and my friends from school being idiots". Quintel also talks about how much he and his staff cares about the product that they even will individually work on it at home over the weekend. This is in accordance with the novel Changing the World, as Quintel's team's dedication and his imagination culminate as part of his creative process. When touring the Cartoon Network building, he also shows the viewers the marble room and his thought lamp, along with other nifty places and things that helps Quintel generate his creativity when he is stumped or just needs a break. Another theme prevalent in Quintel's creative process is the concept of collecting, a concept that Steve Jobs also conveyed as a big part of his process. Quintel talks about amassing all the little quirky aspects of his friendships and one can really feel the genuineness between the characters as a result. You can also see how Regular Show shares characteristics from several other cartoons. Quintel specifically references The Simpsons as a show he would constantly watch, and it shows with some of the humor in Regular Show. Quintel also talks about how because it is animation, the possibilities are endless. It is this freedom along with encapsulating the craziness of him and his friends which allows Quintel's creativity to shine. Quintel even voices the main character Mordecai with his actual tone of speech.
Quintel voices the main character Mordecai with his normal voice
 He states that Mordecai is a representation of his college years and refers to him as his alter ego in some interviews. The world of Regular Show reflects Quintel's past and his imagination. One can relate to the main characters not wanting to work their minimum wage jobs and then be blown away by some of the hilarious situations that arise in the show. 
Bunch of Baby Ducks 
Whether it is a couple of baby ducks combing into a mega duck to take down evil geese, arm wrestling Death for the soul of your friend, or an Italian meatball sandwich that will kill you if you don't train in Death Kwan Do before eating it, Regular Show makes the viewer feel like they are the one's faced with these situations as we live through the main characters. That's also why I love the title to the show. At first glance, you might not think anything about the show is regular, but the more in depth you get, the more you relate with the characters and realize they're just a bunch of regular guys doing extraordinary things. 












https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wiBa_KauXXg
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/cartoon-networks-regular-show-end-928249
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._G._Quintel
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