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Exercises in creative absurdity

In his book Syntactic Structures (1957) Noam Chomsky used the example below in support of his hypothesis that the grammatical correctness of a sentence does not necessarily make it semantically meaningful. From a purely technical point of view, he might have had a point. From a creative point of view, however, I believe he was wrong. 

Colorless green ideas sleep furiously. - Noam Chomsky

The line between the portions of reality one references and what is possible to express verbally seems to dissolve when one begins playing with incompatible notions. It is in this interplay that the richness of language is fully revealed and original new perspectives arise.

In this post I'm sharing my own linguistic experiments inspired by Chomsky's example. If play can be found at the center of everything we hold dear and call Life, then exploring the language universe and its freshness can add an extra layer of fun to existence.

So here are my quietly rebellious tryouts in creative absurdity.:


- Cheap gold exclusively available for everyone.
- The round triangles didn’t win the argument with the edgy circles, so we are now all back to square one.
- Static motion stirs up my calmness.
- His total lack of charm partially enchants me.
- Mindless thoughts reside in a homeless abode.
- Moderate rebels disobey orderly and regularly.
- Incremental big bangs are shockingly expectable.
- Blankly written pages converse in silence.
- Unspoken words wake up vaguely.
- An abundant lack of slow ideas disturbs the clarity of my confused mind.
- Predictable originality echoes unprecedented tradition.
- Stress is relaxing me.
- Relax can be stressful.
- Absurd logical theories limp confidently.
- Well-rested anxiety peacefully fights for its right to be rightfully rejectable.
- Unfollowable leaders attract people massively.
- Scientific religion is romantically contagious.
- He is escaping freedom by rebuilding his prison.
- Free prisons welcome the enslaved ones.
- Free prisons are built to welcome liberty.
- Derogatory remarks politely apologize for the cute inconvenience.
- Polite derogatory remarks bite cheerfully.
- Unturned pages reveal everything decisively.
- Calming tension obeys exciting pressure.
- Wise lights darken playful skies.
- Poetic philosophy is elusively logical.
- Simple rhetoric is haunted by its own eloquence.


As artists, we all need some support and reassurance when we feel our creative muse is slightly less present. Here is an often updated collection of notes-to-self, ideas and suggestions how to appease our creative anxieties, so that we can keep doing what we love.


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