Connecting Dots

Keep Ears + Eyes + Hearts + Minds Open

Feb 27, 2025

Creativity is a game of connections—one idea sparks another, which leads to something unexpected, and before I know it, I’m off on a new creative adventure.

For me, inspiration isn’t just about waiting for a lightning bolt; it’s about keeping my ears, eyes, heart, and my mind open to those little sparks that come from the most random places.

Case in point: During a phone reunion with one of my exes—who also used to live in Texas—last night, he mentioned an antique dealer I’ve been thinking about recently. Synchronicity!

Finding out our mutual friend is still alive and kicking got me to thinking about a new type of video I might be making soon: bios, interviews, and/or tributes of the famous and not-so-famous living LGBTQ pioneers. Not to replace my beloved montages, but to complement them with our shared histories…the tragedies and the triumphs.

I didn’t go into last night’s phone call expecting inspiration, but that’s the thing about creativity: it shows up when you least expect it. The trick is being ready to catch it.

Looking back, so many of my creative projects have started like this—one seemingly small thing setting off a chain reaction of ideas. Sometimes it can be as simple as a photograph or a poem I stumble across while researching various virtual rabbit holes. Other times, it’s a quick chat that plants a seed. However inspiration shows up, the key is to recognize when it does and capture as much of it as possible.

So, will this new idea work? Who knows. But that’s part of the fun.

Creativity is about exploration, about connecting the dots between seemingly unrelated things and seeing where they lead. And if nothing else, it’s a reminder that every interaction, every experience, has the potential to spark something new.

Inspiration isn’t a rare gift—it’s everywhere. You just have to look for it.

Keep your eyes, hearts, and minds…OPEN!
Clint 🌈✌️

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ON THIS DAY = FEBRUARY 27

BIRTHDAYS

1807 = Henry Wadsworth Longfellow = American poet and educator
1847 = Ellen Terry = English actor
1880 = Angelina Weld Grimké = American teacher and writer 🌈
1891 = David Sarnoff = American businessman and RCA founder
1892 = William Demarest = American actor
1897 = Marian Anderson = American singer
1902 = John Steinbeck = American writer and Nobel Prize laureate
1907 = Mildred Bailey = American singer
1913 = Irwin Shaw = American author and screenwriter
1923 = Dexter Gordon = American saxophonist, composer, and actor
1925 = Kenneth Koch = American poet, playwright and professor
1930 = Joanne Woodward = American actor
1940 = Howard Hesseman = American actor
1932 = Elizabeth Taylor = English-American actor and humanitarian
1951 = Walter de Silva, Italian car designer
1953 = Libby Davies = Canadian politician 🌈
1957 = Adrian Smith = English guitarist and songwriter
1960 = Johnny Van Zant = American singer-songwriter
1962 = Grant Show = American actor
1969 = Juan E. Gilbert = American computer scientist, inventor, and academic
1980 = Brandon Beemer = American actor
1980 = Chelsea Clinton = American journalist and academic
1981 = Josh Groban = American singer-songwriter, producer, and actor
1983 = Kate Mara = American actor

EVENTS

1812 = Poet Lord Byron gives his first address as a member of the House of Lords, in defense of Luddite violence against Industrialism in his home county of Nottinghamshire.
1814 = Beethoven's Symphony No. 8 in F major premieres in Vienna.
1996 = The multimedia franchise Pokémon was launched with the release of the video games Pocket Monsters Red and Green.
2017 = When We Rise, an ABC mini-series created by Dustin Lance Black, premiers.

HOLIDAYS + OBSERVANCES

PORTRAIT + QUOTE OF THE DAY

John Steinbeck: Biography, Author, Pulitzer Prize Winner

“And now that you don't have to be perfect, you can be good.”
John Steinbeck, East of Eden

“Try to understand men. If you understand each other you will be kind to each other. Knowing a man well never leads to hate and almost always leads to love.”
John Steinbeck