I for one have had projects that have become too large, and the only way to get it done is to take drastic matters. Over at DeScope Magazine (the Journal of Themed Entertainment), there is a great article called: Muntzing the Creative Gordian Knot. It talks about how when a project has become tangled, the only way might be to cut it down till you have just what will work. It is well written by it’s author Bubbles LaMar.
(note: could not link directly to it due to the use of frames on the site. Its in the current issue (#14) )
A Gordian Knot:
According to the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary (everyone’s favorite edition, I know), a Gordian Knot is defined as “an intricate knot tied by Gordius in the thong that connected the pole of the chariot with the yoke. An oracle having declared that he who should untie it should be master of Asia, Alexander the Great averted the ill omen of his inability to loosen it by cutting it with his sword. Hence, a Gordian knot is an inextricable difficulty; to cut the Gordian Knot is to remove a seemingly irremovable difficulty by bold and energetic measures.â€
and Muntzing:
Earl “Madman†Muntz: to Southern Californians, his company logo was a familiar sight, a funky, angular little figure, his right hand stuck in the breast of his coat, his eyes insanely wide, and his mouth a frozen, deranged-yet-knowing rictus of a smile. And on his feet, dear God! Are those flayed-topped, proto-Brit Mod Explosion Winklepicker boots? Completing this now all-but defunct image of a happy lunatic is a big Napoleon hat on which, rather than the stereotypical “N†is emblazoned a big “M†for Muntz.
Muntz would make his own brand of TV’s and Cars, and they would be the bare bone cheapest thing possible. He would get this by ripping out everything that was not needed, i.e. Muntzing it.
The article is a really good explanation of dealing with problems when all there is to do is something drastic.
