Entertainment
Book review
By Aoun Khan
"Creativity Inc"
by Ed Catmull
President of Pixar Animation Studio
Do you ever embark on a creative endeavor and suddenly lose the ability to produce, hit a creative block? Ever become so frustrated with the process that you look for a way out, feel compelled to seek inspiration in anything and everything? Good news is, I can tell you that the book Creativity Inc: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration, does not address any of these conundrums. What it does, marvelously however, is tell the story of how one of the most influential startups of our time, Pixar, came to be where it is today. Pixar is undoubtedly one of the very few studios that has only ever produced big hit feature films. Though I do not plan on work in the creative industry, nor do I manage a multibillion-dollar firm yet (which seems to be one of the intended audience of this book), being able to get a manager’s perspective on projects such as Toy Story, Finding Nemo, Up, etc. was incredibly insightful and interesting. After reading the book, one of my biggest realizations was that stories, that carry so much emotional weight and value for us, were once, as Catmull calls them, “ugly babies” that needed to be protected and nurtured. These movies were a product of someone’s creative imagination, and the selfless input of hundreds of workers. The core of this book, what Catmull wants the reader to know about his success, is how he learned about and molded the creative culture at Pixar Animations. Of course, he begins by stating cliché tenets such as “fortune favors the hard working” and “selfless dedication” to your goal, but what I grasped from Catmulls version was, that people often take these statements as “handles to a suitcase” (you take the handle and leave the suitcase behind). People repeat these catch phrases as mantra, but fail to see that it is delusional to take solace in repetition of the phrase, rather than the action it asks to implement. You have to clearly define hard work and selflessness, find ways to incorporate them into your work rather than repeating the catch phrase. You motivate yourself not only by setting a goal for yourself, but by reminding yourself what makes it so special. You set a standard of production for yourself, and when you embark on achieving or creating something, you hold yourself to that standard every time, without exceptions; because aiming low on any one thing, will have a systematic negative impact on everything else that you do. And when faced with many challenges at once, create a list of the problems; otherwise, there is an illogical perception that everything is wrong. The book was not what I expected from the title, but I thoroughly enjoyed the perspective it provided regarding the challenges as a manager in Pixar, some of which were ironically similar to challenges I have faced as a college student. Personally, my favorite aspect of the books was Catmull walking the reader through the process of Pixar going from a single office software developer, to a leader in animation production for the industry. The book is a definite read if you enjoy an inside perspective of creative or business collaborations.
Restaurant Review
By Shifa Khan
Indie Café
Indie Café is a Thai and Sushi place located between the Granville and Thorndale stop on Broadway, past Lickity Split. India Café is a Thai place better than Summer Noodles or The Thai Grill, Indie Café looks trendy and has a pleasant ambiance. There is a wide variety of sushi and other dishes such as noodles, curry, and rice dishes for those that dislike sushi. The dishes are about an average of $9. I ordered the Pad Thai and crab rangoons when I was there with a friend this past weekend. Both dishes were very good and came fairly quickly even though the place was packed and there were people coming in often to pick up orders. I would highly recommend Indie Café to anyone in the mood for Thai food. Indie Café even delivers within the area if you plan to spend the night in
Click the image above to check out their menu!