6 Surprising Artists

In This Bloutcher

• 6 Surprising Artists
• So Try This
  
• Announcements

I'm often asked which artists have been most important to me. My goodness! How do you answer such a question? After all, there have been so many. But when I think about the ones I keep coming back to, not only for their visual impact but for their insight and inspiration, there are 6 that keep rising to the surface.

Rembrandt (1606-1669)--Rembrandt's life and art are marked by tragedy and growing self insight and wisdom. His beloved wife Saskia died after 8 years of marriage and only one of his four sons lived to adulthood. He went through a wrenching bankruptcy during which he lost his home and his art collection. Yet he continued to work and his self portraits increasingly reveal his growing self awareness and vulnerability. His final self portrait, painted the year he died, brings him wholly and unabashedly before the viewer. No pretense, no ego, no claims. Only the man. Humble. With a slight glint of mischief!





Kathe Kollwitz (1867-1945)--An artist and woman of great courage. Despite threats, first from Kaiser Wilhelm and then, years later, from the Nazis, she committed herself to a creative life that chronicled the lives of the disenfranchised and vulnerable. Despite threats to be thrown into a concentration camp she maintained relationships with former Jewish students. Her commitment to lithography as a major art form led to a body of work so profound and moving that I am often at a loss for words when I am in front of her work.





Berthe Morisot (1841-1895)--On the surface Morisot was a woman who conformed to the bourgeois norms of late 19th century Paris. Yet she hung out with and influenced the greatest avant garde artists of her generation including Manet, Monet, Renoir, Degas and she was a wonderful innovator in her own work. She almost exclusively painted women and their children in a deceptively simple style that conveys both the mysteries and love of her subjects. As result she broke the gender barrier by setting the stage for women artists to gain entrance to the previously and exclusively male Ecole des Beaux Artes.

Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675)--More than any other artist he combined the ability to be precise in his paintings while conveying the presence of ambiguity and change. Vermeer was a prankster wrapped in the garb of a serious painter. His paintings hold both the impression of order and the lurking dangers of change and chaos. His narrative brilliance is both seductive and profound. He is the ultimate above the surface and below the surface painter. Above the surface, order and stillness. Below the surface, change, uncertainty and the threat of mayhem.



Chaim Soutine (1893-1943)--Soutine fled Russia and a stifling orthodox Jewish upbringing and landed in Paris in 1913 at the age of 20 with pennies in his pocket. He hung out with Modigliani and Picasso in The Hive, painted slabs of raw beef and turned his personal anguish into painting as a form of exorcism and expiation. I love his agitated, worked and reworked paintings and the way his portraits leap from the canvas in a reconstituted image that is more real and vibrant than the original subject.








You--What you say? Me? In the same category as these great artist? Now that IS surprising. Yes, you are my 6th surprising artist. Each person I meet is an artist. Deny it as you might. But you are the most important artist you or I will ever meet. And exactly what form of art are you creating? Your life. Now art may not be the same thing as life. And we may not be able to fully create ourselves from scratch as an artist creates an image from scratch on the canvas. But the truth is you do create more of your life than you give yourself credit for and you have much more creative power than you think you do.

So try this:

First, take out a piece of paper and draw a line across the middle of the page. Then, above the line, describe in short phrases how you believe others see you.

Then, below the line describe in short phrases how you see yourself truly, deeply, free of others' expectations, reflecting your core wants and values.

What stands out about these two descriptions?

How can you use these two descriptions to call on your creative powers to bring these two descriptions into complete alignment?

Announcements:

• Kathy Jordan, Donna Krone and I are about to pilot our Coaching for Life Change Artists online training program. We have 13 outstanding coaches from around the country ready to test drive the program. We are aiming to launch the program in the fall.
  We have a mailing list of coaches, mentors and other interested folks to whom we send Action Insights every few weeks as a way to keep you up to date on our progress. Let me know if you would like to be on this mailing list.
• I would like to thanks all the folks at the NYC chapter of the International Coach Federation for their lively participation in my program a couple of weeks ago. I received an overwhelming response to my offer to send out a pdf of my slides. The title of the program was "The Great Masters of Art Reveal the Secrets to a New Coaching Paradigm." Please let me know if you would like a copy and I am happy to send it out to you.
• I am about to head into a rather busy time. I have mentioned that my two very average daughters are getting married in mid July to two very average guys, five days apart from each other and then Karen and I head off to Paris for five weeks. Then, September 19-21 I will be speaking at the Business Innovation Factory BIF7 Summit in Providence, Rhode Island. I will keep you posted on that event.
  

The Effect of Time

In This Bloutcher:

• The Effect of Time
• Announcements

The Effect of Time

I recently received an urgent call to arms from a fellow graduate of the Malverne High School class of 1960. The school board had passed a proposal to rename our high school after a well regarded teacher. You could see the computer screens light up across the Class of '60 Diaspora. From Florida to Indonesia and beyond the cry went out: Do they understand all the memories, associations, friendships, traditions, connections that go by the name of Malverne High School? And what in the world are they going to do with the school mascot: the Malverne Mule. Will they try to come up with a worthy alliterated equivalent? Doubt it!!

And then, in my passionate reaction, I began to wonder about the difference between memory and nostalgia. It struck me that memory is what we recall. The spotty facts of our past. But nostalgia is what we create from this raw material. Nostalgia is the emotional imprint that stamps its full, persistent character on our personal history. It's what cries out to us and calls us back. Memory is the stem and nostalgia the flower.

What are we to with this flower as we get older? Its fragrance becomes increasingly seductive, its call more and more melodic. It would be so easy to let ourselves be absorbed by its power and simply surrender to the richness of our past. After all, the future takes work and effort and energy. And do these capacities not diminish as we get older? So why not give ourselves fully to the nostalgic impulse. Do we succumb? Do we resist? Or do we allow for a few precious moments?

I think of Tennyson's poem Ulysses:

Yet all experience is an arch where through
Gleams that untraveled world, whose margin fades
For ever and forever when I move.

When I look at myself I wonder how much Malverne I still see in me. I acknowledge a great deal remains. And then I catch myself. Allow, allow, I whisper to myself. Allow those precious moments. And then turn, as Ulysses did, To strive, to seek, to find and not to yield. I shift my gaze. New frontiers still call. But I do have a warning. Don't mess with the Malverne Mules!!

(To read Tennyson's full poem Ulysses, click here.)

Below is a photo of me a couple of years removed from high school. And then there is a photo snapped a couple of weeks ago. And then there are a couple of self portraits.












Announcements:

• I will be doing a program for the New York City chapter of the International Coaches Federation on Wednesday, June 15th entitled "What the Great Masters of Art Can Teach Us About a New Coaching Paradigm." To register and receive more info, click here.

• Also, it's not too early to join me for a 5 day program at Esalen, November 13 to 18. I will be holding a Life Change Studio in the breathtaking setting of The Big Sur and will be joined by my co-facilitator Nancy Fernandez Mills. For more information click here. Also, my wife Karen will be holding one of her remarkable 5 day poetry workshops at Esalen during those same dates, entitled Calling Calliope. Click here for more info.

• I also want to remind everyone that I am working on an online training program for coaches with Kathy Jordan and Donna Krone. The program is designed to help coaches integrate the tools, techniques and concepts developed in Becoming a Life Change Artist into their practice. It will be highly interactive and will include an opportunity to join our dynamic online community. We have begun to build a list of coaches who have indicated an interest in learning more about the program. If you would like to be added to this list please let me know. And if you know coaches who you think should know about this program please let me know. We will then ask them for permission to be on our update list. We are planning to launch the program in the Fall.

• An update about my plans this summer. I have two daughter, Hinda and Becky, and they are both getting married this summer. Five days apart from each other. Yes, you heard it right. Five days apart. To two great guys. And, then, five days after that Karen and I are heading to France for 5 weeks. Of course, this was not all planned exactly this way. We had made plans to go to France first. Then Becky decided to get married. And, well, Hinda thought it would be a good idea to jump in since the family would be gathered together anyway. So planning goes just so far. The rest is about being grateful.
  

Fear of Failure Plus

In This Bloutcher

• Fear of Failure
• New versus Knew
• Updates
• Speaking of Aging, or Evolution of a Self Portrait
  

Fear of Failure

I recently heard an interview with Tavis Smiley, the radio host and commentator. He was speaking about his new book Failing Up. During the interview he acknowledged that for most of his adult life he never admitted failure, but at a certain point he realized that by hiding his failures he was leaving out a critical part of his life and how those failures led to his growth as a human being and a professional.

The interview brought home to me the unintended consequences of our culture's worship of success as an ideal and how it breeds not only a fear of failure at the personal level but at the institutional and cultural levels as well. And where there is a fear of failure there is less willingness to take risks. And where there is less willingness to take risks there is less preparation for collaboration. And where there is less preparation for collaboration there is less creativity and innovation.

We are at a time when creativity and innovation need to act as premium difference makers in our lives so we cannot afford to promote a set of values and behaviors that unintentionally undermine these dynamic qualities.

The answer is not to give up on celebrating our successes, but rather to understand that our successes are built on our failures, our mistakes, our willingness to take risks, and how we respond the mistakes. Success and failure are the ying and yang of personal growth and societal innovation. I believe that part of the response needs to be our own ability to model failure successfully. That begins with acknowledging our personal failings and making that part of our conversation.

New Versus Knew

New cannot come from knew. New can only come from unknewn. From exploration, risk, discomfort. New comes from outside the boundaries of what we knew. If it was knewn then it is not new. It's a repeat of already knewn. We need to let go of knew in order to arrive at new. When knew repeats itself it's old. Riddle: Can new come from knew? Only wenk it embraces the unknewn!

Updates

• I am hard at work with co-author Kathy Jordan and nationally recognized life coach Donna Krone on Coaching for Life Change Artists, a highly interactive online training program for coaches and others who would like to develop their creative skills and integrate them into their practice and life. The program will be chock full of tools, techniques and ideas on how to unlock your creative powers and make a difference in your life and the lives of others. We are aiming to pilot the program this summer and release it this fall. Please let me know if you wish to be on the mailing list for alerts on when the program will be ready. Also, please let me know of others you think might be interested in such a program.
  
• I will be heading to France for five weeks beginning July 27th. If anyone will be in Paris during that time, give me a holler.
  
• The International Positive Aging Conference is set for December 7-9 in Los Angeles. If you would like to submit a proposal to present click here.

Speaking of Aging

I will be turning 69 this month. I recently lined up four self portraits I have done over the past 10 years--since I first took up painting. I was curious about how I have changed and how I represented those changes. What do you see? And if you were to create a self portrait today, how might it be different from the one you would have created 10 years ago?

Tradition & Creativity

In This Bloutcher

• Tradition and Creativity

Tradition & Creativity
This past week I attended a workshop conducted by Shefa Gold, an ordained rabbi and healer. The workshop centered on Hebrew chanting and was remarkable. But before I tell you why and how it relates to creativity and life change, let me explain what kind of a Jew I am. We Jews have a primal need to explain. Even when no one may be listening.

I have a strong Jewish identity with a rather loosey goosey set of observances and obvious contradictions. You can't be Jewish without having contradictions. I keep a kosher home yet I eat non kosher meat outside the home. I do not eat pork or shellfish or mix meat and milk, the last for poetic and family history reasons rather than religious reasons. I attend synagogue very inconsistently and would probably do less so if not for my wife's urging. As far as faith is concerned, I am a skeptic. Nonetheless, in a pinch I could see myself siding with Pascal and his wager: since we cannot know for sure we might as well wager in favor of there being a God in case there really is one. This is a more nuanced idea than the one that claims there are no atheists in a foxhole.

In unexpected moments I am taken over by a profound sense of connectedness to all things past, present and future. I am moved to tears by these experiences. I suspect that such moment are intimations of my spirituality, my incomplete self, yearning for a home and wholeness. Yet I consider myself more like Jacob wrestling with the angel without the satisfaction of quite getting to the other side as Jacob did in embracing full faith. So, as Abraham said to God, Here I am. Only not like Abraham meant it. Rather, as a thoroughly modern, perplexed, inconsistent Jew. A mixed bag. And here I was now, attending a workshop centering on Hebrew chanting anchored in Jewish tradition. And I was there only because my wife wanted to attend. She could have gone by herself. I found myself coming along only because I did not find myself resisting.

Shefa Gold told the story of how she came to incorporate many traditions from diverse cultures and religions into her healing. While the workshop centered on Jewish tradition and attempted to create sacred space she also brought in elements of energy healing, yoga, mythic journeys and mysticism. In the workshop she consistently referenced paying attention to our breath, our root chakra and the "egg of light." She talked about chanting not only as a way of connecting to God but as a form of healing oneself and the world. Accompanied by drum and shruti box, her enchanting voice evoked a deep yearning. I could not help but be struck by the way she both embraced tradition and departed from tradition at the same time. The way she expanded tradition thereby creating something new and fresh.

And this made me realize that we in America have an obsession with newness and novelty and the next big thing. This often takes the form of rebelling against tradition a priori--simply because it is tradition. We often do this without even knowing or understanding the tradition.

And so we risk distorting the true underlying dynamics between creativity and tradition. This tendency leads us to think that the great artists rebelled against tradition simply because they believe the role of art is to break with the old and create new forms of art for its own sake. In fact, the great artists honored the Masters before them and understood that their task was not so much to reject them out of hand but rather to reinterpret them. And in order to do this they needed to fully understand them first. The great artists were devoted to studying their predecessors as a required right of passage to full creativity and innovation.

"The Louvre is the book in which we learned how to read," noted Paul Cezanne, the great French painter.

What's my point, you may ask? Understanding tradition is a pre-condition for creativity. Whether it is in our personal lives, in our organizations or in our art. This may make creativity a longer process. Not everyone will have patience for it. But it enables us to develop a sense of empathy which is one of the key ingredients of creativity. Empathy deepens our humanity, and is the basis for seeing beauty. Even in those parts of ourselves we do not understand.

Shefa Gold too understood the Jewish masters before reinterpreting many of their teachings to become a Jewish healer and chanter. And I might not have come to this realization had I not attended what I thought was a workshop in which I had no direct interest!

The things we stumble upon in the most expected ways and places!

Happy Passover and Happy Easter!

84 + 1 & 1/2 =Creativity

In this Bloutcher

• 84 + 1 & 1/2 = Creativity
• A Life Without Purpose 2.0
• Announcements

84 + 1 & 1/2 = Creativity

"The artist...has to look at everything as though he were seeing it for the first time; he has to look at life as he did when he was a child and if he loses that faculty, he cannot express himself in an original, that is, a personal way."

Henri Matisse wrote these words when he was 84 years old in 1953. My grandson Baylor never met Matisse because he just turned 1 and 1/2 this week. But they speak the same language. Well, not exactly, but they are each saying the same thing in different ways. Let me explain.

It was just Baylor and me for a few hours last week. We walked up and down the block, stopping to pick up stones, sticks, whatever caught his fancy. Then we got down and dirty on the floor of his living room, reading books, crashing trucks, throwing balls. We chowed down together, slinging food like we were at a frat party.

And then the playing started.

First, the crayons came out of the box. I was excited to see how Baylor would use them to make markings on the blank sheets of paper. The first crayon went in his ear along with a big grin. The same crayon then made its way into my ear with an even bigger grin. Baylor was quite pleased that I grinned back. The crayon never met the blank sheet of paper.

Then came the big wooden spoon from out of a bowl of toy fruits and vegetables. I was eager to see what Baylor would cook up. He took a plastic orange in one hand, being sure to show me--like a magician setting up his audience--the spoon in the other hand. Then he pressed the keyboard button with the orange to play a reggae tune. The spoon and orange became percussion instruments as he jived to the rhythm of Bob Marley.

I realized Baylor had a very different notion from me about what these toys were for. My expectations logically grew out of my conditioned grown up mind. He, on the other hand, was not constrained by my grown-upness.

By the time I left, the house was a mess. As I drove home I began to wonder if everything strewn on the floor really was a mess after all. Or perhaps it was the raw material of creativity. Maybe Baylor was more Matissean than his artsy grandfather.

And then I began to wonder how my wife would feel if her husband made a creativity at home.

Instead, I finished this painting of Baylor.













Sketch Baylor at One Year



A Life Without Purpose 2.0

In my last bloutcher I wrote about a woman who expressed feelings of inadequacy because she had not found a singular purpose in life. She had lots of interests and pursued them and this made her happy because she felt she was learning. Nonetheless in a culture that emphasizes the importance of living a life of purpose she felt somehow lacking. I offered that the great German artist Kathe Kollwitz suggested an alternative view. "No longer diverted by emotion, I work like a cow grazes," she wrote. Variety versus singularity can also be worthy.

Well, I cannot tell you how strong a response this bloutcher entry received. So many folks out there do not, in fact, have a singular purpose. They identify with the "grazers." And they expressed gratitude that someone acknowledged that such a way of living is just as creative and engaging as one based upon the dedication to a single passion or purpose.

As just one example Mary Anne Haley wrote from Minnesota: "Thank you for the Life Without Purpose article! I certainly related to the article AND felt a sense of freedom after reading it. I too am a person who loves to know a little about a lot and I love my curiosity! With this article I felt an even more "all rightness" with how I do my life."

So I think I touched a cord. At the same time I do not mean to diminish the value and importance of living a life of purpose. There is some terrific work being done in this area. One of my favorite writers and thinkers in this area is Richard Leider who has been inspired by the remarkable work of Viktor Frankl. Check out his recently re-issued and updated The Power of Purpose. Another author to look at is Gregg Levoy who tunes into the sometimes hidden and mysterious ways we are called to do something. His book is Callings.

Of course I ultimately believe we each need to honor each others' very individual and personal journey whether it is one of grazing, singular purpose or "other."

Announcements:

• Please tune in to Careerwell radio program on April 14, 1 pm eastern. I will be interviewed by Elizabeth Craig, MBA, MCDP, and Dr. Sally Gelardin.
  
• If you expect to be in Toronto at the beginning of June check out the Silver Screen Film Festival at Ryerson University. The festival showcases the continued and expanded creativity of adults 50+ through theatre, art, and creative works. I will be keynoting the Festival on the evening of June 6th. Here's a look at last year's program. More details to follow.
  
• For coaches or those interested in coaching in the New York City area, I will be doing an evening program for the ICF New York City chapter on June 15th. Stand by for more info.
  

A Life Without Purpose

In This Bloutcher

• A Life Without Purpose
• Life Change Artists Upcoming Launch
  
• What's been in my head
  

A Life Without Purpose

Last week I gave a talk at the 92nd Street Y Tribeca entitled "What the Great Artists Can Teach Us About Living the Second Half with Creativity, Vitality and Meaning." After the talk a woman came up to me. The furrows gathered across her brow suggested deep sincerity as she shared the fact that she did not have a purpose in life. "I've attended lots of talks about meaning and purpose. I've read the books. But I have to confess I don't have a specific purpose in life. I go from one thing to another. From one interest to another. I learn and enjoy what I'm learning. I even think I am happy doing all these different things even though I have never been able to find a singular purpose. What's wrong with me?"

After staring blankly back at her for a moment I inquired what made her feel something was wrong with her.

"There's so much out there about living your life with meaning and purpose that I feel something must be wrong with me because I don't have a grand purpose in life. On the one hand I really enjoy all my different interests. I am learning stuff all the time, but underneath I am made to feel somehow inadequate because I don't have this bigger thing called a passion."

I have found that there are lots of folks out there with similar experiences, outlooks and senses of doubt. They have not found an over riding purpose that organizes their life. They move from one interest to another and get energized by what they learn. But feel they do not have the right to feel satisfied with that alone. They are made to feel something is missing in their lives. And as Baby Boomers age and come into the potential for a renaissance phase of life many, if not most, have not found a single true passion. As a result they feeling something is wrong with them.

To me the issue is not one of purpose but of creativity. By that I mean the most important dynamic in play is to feel engaged in something or somethings that allow you to think, feel and grow in new ways. This may be a single thing or many things. I like what the great German artist Kathe Kollwitz said: "No longer diverted by emotion, I work the way a cow grazes." Kollwitz Drawing

If we free ourselves from the emotions of how we think we should feel then we are free to poke around where ever the grass is most appealing to us. In other words, learning and growing as a person becomes our purpose. Becoming more complete and whole. For some it may require a singular purpose. For others it might simply mean grazing.

Life Change Artists Upcoming Launch

Since the publication of Becoming a Life Change Artist in August people have been asking me and co-author Kathy Jordan: Can you train us on the concepts, tools and techniques in the book? Can you help me incorporate this rich material into my life and coaching practice? How can I use these great ideas to bolster my leadership skills? We have received these requests from folks around the world.

In response to these requests we have teamed with nationally recognized coach Donna Krone, CPCC, to set up Life Change Artists. We are in the process of developing a unique, interactive on line program dedicated to turbocharging personal and professional creativity and building a dynamic community of people who wish to help themselves and others become true life change artists. We are aiming to have the program launched by later this spring.

Please let me know if you have interested in being on a dedicated mailing list for alerts related to the program. As part of the alerts we are including a short "Action Insight" each week. Below you will find a sample:

What If You Reframed a Client's Problem as a Creative Dilemma?
Creative Dilemmas arise out of a tension between the current state of our lives and a sense that things can be better or different. Creative Dilemmas are sources of innovative breakthroughs in art as well as in life and work. Without them the history of art would be a series of boring reproductions rather than lively bursts of expressive originality. Our lives and work, too, would take on the familiar but boring patina of repetition if it were not for the uncomfortable but necessary tensions that give rise to our creative dilemmas. When we understand creative dilemmas as the entry point into the creative process, we are more likely to face them for what they are, even welcome them, as unsettling as they may be, as opportunities for personal growth and professional growth and reinvention.
Think of a client at the threshold of change. How could he or she benefit from reframing a current challenge as a creative dilemma?

Let me know if you'd like to be put on this mailing list.

What's Been In My Head

I am circling around God, around the ancient tower
and I have been circling for a thousand years,
and I still don't know if I am a falcon, or a storm,
or a great song.

---Rainer Maria Rilke


Please forward this Bloutcher to others you think might have interest.

Egypt

In This Boutcher

• Egypt
• Announcements

Egypt

I couldn't help but be mesmerized by the events in Egypt these past weeks. One item concerning the National Museum especially stood out for me in the reporting.

"The military, which has taken over security duties throughout Cairo and in many other cities, did not arrive on the scene until 10 p.m. In the meantime, ordinary Cairenes, aware of the security vacuum, flocked to protect the museum. The citizens, as well as three police officers who refused to leave their posts, apprehended nine alleged culprits as they tried to flee the museum with their loot, including two mummy skulls and a statue of Isis."

I do not know what will follow in the weeks and months ahead, but reading how everyday Cairenes honored their art and artifact history by risking their lives to protect it has given me a sense of hope.

Why? Because creating meaningful social and political institutions, like creating meaningful and lasting art, is based upon two volatile but symbiotic elements. The first is respect for the best of the past and the second is a willingness to step into the future without fully knowing what that future holds.

Let me explain. The great artists were both great iconoclasts and great traditionalists. They aspired to create newness in art while building on the work of the great artists who went before them. Just listen to Paul Cezanne whom many consider to be the father of modern art. "The Louvre is the book in which we learn to read," he tells us. He and many of the young artists who rebelled against the artistic conventions of the day did not begin from a rebellious stance out of the box. First they paid their respects to those who went before them. They learned their craft by actually sitting in the Louvre and copying the works of the great masters. That is what Cezanne meant when he said the Louvre is "the book in which we learned to read." The Louvre was the repository of tradition, of the standards of great art and before he and other artists could go beyond and create a vibrant new art they had to begin in the tradition, with tradition as the stepping stone into the unknown future.

That is because Cezanne and the others knew that art is a great experiment that stands on the shoulders of a rich past. The past is context for the future.

And this is why I had a sense of hope from the reporting in Cairo. A society where its citizens first act is to preserve and protect the repository of its great tradition understands its importance. They see the future not as a clean break from the past but as rooted in the best aspirations of the past. And while the past is not a prescription for the future it is a critical reference point. And that is where the unknown comes in---.

I don't know how things will turn out in Egypt. But it seems to me that Egyptians have an opportunity to create a vibrant new society out of the interplay between its unique past and its present unknown. Much like the great artists created a new art out of the interplay between the greatly honored old masters and the unknown future. That's the great experiment.

Announcements:

• If you are in New England join me on February 15th from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. for a special program I will be doing for the International Coach Federation New England Chapter. To learn about the program entitled "What the Great Masters of Art Can Teach Us About a New Coaching Paradigm" click here.
  
• I will also be speaking on the topic "Becoming a Life Change Artist" at the 92nd Street Y Tribeca in New York City on March 3rd for their special lunch program. To register and learn more please click here. The program is co-sponsored by the innovative organization The Transition Network--an inclusive community of professional women 50 and forward whose changing life situations lead them to seek new connections, resources and opportunities. Check them out here.