Lucky! She is so badass.

Hey, hey, hey from rural route Bloomfield, Iowa.

(you said to say "hey")

Glad to see the F(eminist)-word is alive and well in the blogosphere.

I'm from Nebraska, is that close enough? :D

Even in glamorous coastal South Florida, we love Leslie and the Lys. Rock on, shimmering sistah!

I'm originally from Ottumwa, and I just realized how badly I need my own "I'm from Iowa, bitch," look. I know what I'll be working on tonight . . .

Gem Sweater has seriously changed my life. Even if I am from Maryland.

Yet precisely at the moment when the world acknowledges creativity, decisions are made that operate in the opposite direction. For example, the arts, a key area within which creativity is fostered, remain relatively undervalued in the school curriculum and by parents.

The expression of creativity in an individual, an organization or a city are different, but the essential attributes and operating principles are the same. Every city should ask itself very honestly, ‘How creative am I?’ ‘What specific forms of creativity am I especially proficient in?’ ‘Where is this creativity to be found?’ It is very difficult to assess how creative a city is. There must be no self-delusion, and the desire to find out how good other cities are must be repressed.

For instance, merely holding festivals does not mean a city is creative; it may mean it is good at attracting creative people from the outside to perform in the city. On the other hand, I concluded after my work there that Adelaide is perhaps very creative in fashioning warm welcomes. Festivals and events feel good in this city. Adelaide’s strengths may therefore lie in organizing and generating the setting. These attributes have great financial potential and the fact that Adelaide punches above its national weight in conferencing and conventions is evidence of this capacity.