“Creative Peak is an honest assessment of personal integrity and dedication to creativity.”
— Matt Deframe, author of Acid-Free Pictures
[sings] "She rode a burrow up the mountain..."
By Chris Dunmire.
Yes, best-selling author and mountaineer Rhoda Burrow was an April Fool's Day joke. I did not design her book cover/dust jacket for "An Artist's Guide to Creative Peak", because best-selling Rhoda Burrow doesn't exist, and neither does her book nor blog, except in my own humorist imagination (wait, let me go Google that...nope, there are other Rhoda's, but not one that fits the "best-selling author of 19 books" bill.) And what about that testimonial from Matt Deframe (mat the frame) — ah, I slay me! In case you're wondering, yes, this is healthy creative expression, even if nobody else cares (my mind = my playground).
To be clear, I did design the above book cover to the fictitious, made-up "An Artist's Guide to Creative Peak", patting myself on the back for the clever use of the mountain-climbing metaphor (anyone need a mountain-themed book cover design? I suddenly have one in stock...) And that delightful puffy-clouded, blue sky photo is courtesy of my Southwest Arizona snapped-from-the-passenger-seat-through-window collection. "Rhoda" came to me for the 'rode a burro', inspired by many Netflixed Mary Tyler Moore shows from the 1970s (I'm catching up on all the groovy 60s & 70s TV shows broadcast before my time).
Further explanation: Rhoda Burrow is just one of the gags I played on subscribers included in Creativity Portal's April 1, 2010, NewZine, in which I hinted to readers that there might be some fake features embedded within, inviting them to find them all. Here's the complete list which you see in context in the archived April Fool's Day issue if you're not a subscriber:
 Fake Things in the April 1, 2010, Creativity Portal NewZine:
- The link to the Prize Claim Center for The Amazing Creativity Tool! humor writing contest.
- Everything related to Rhoda Burrow ("Creative Peak" book, "Hanging On, Climbing High blog", book excerpt).
- Seven Stories of the Boston Library Link (in the Creativity Clips section)
In other noteworthy April Fool's Day happenings... I received some fun e-mails from students and parents in regards to my World's Impossible Puzzles. Teacher's really seem to love these puzzles, raving about the great April Fool's set-up at the Something Awful and A-Z Teacher forums. One student told me the entire class was mad at the impossible-to-solve crossword puzzle (but she figured out the pattern). Fun times! It's great to see the humor ripple-effect from these free, harmless printable jokes. Pranks a lot, everyone! •
© 2010 Chris Dunmire www.chrisdunmire.com. All rights reserved. |
