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Celebrate Creativity

George Bartley

This podcast is a deep dive into the world of creativity - from Edgar Allan Poe and Walt Whitman to understanding the use of basic AI principles in a fun and practical way, as well as some of the greatest historical figures whoever lived, as well as some who never did!

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Yesterday · 26 min
Most Influential
Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Celebrate Creativity– My name is George Bartley and here I'd like to talk with Mr. Poe about the most influential person in his life– And buy influential, I don't necessarily mean that in a good way. Now, many scholars have claimed that the most crucial element of Poe’s life is the fact that at a very early age his life was placed in the hands of a man who just didn’t care and had significant emotional problems. OK - the task - and it WOULD be a task - of raising an unusual and even difficult child such as the young Edgar Poe would be a challenge for most people. Some scholars have even admitted that the young Poe could bring out the worst in a parent or guardian. And it turned out that John Allan was a largely unsympathetic human being - and possibly one of the worse choices imaginable to take charge of Poe’s upbringing. Excuse me, here is the wax figure of Mr. Poe himself. Could you tell us a little bit about John ALLAN? Support the show Thank you for experiencing Celebrate Creativity.
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S6 · E638
Tuesday · 25 min
The Will
Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Celebrate Creativity and the Hall of Imagination. Today I would like to talk about a man who played a crucial role in the family fortune surrounding Edgar Allan Poe. This wealthy individual was known as William Galt, and he was a wealthy businessman in Richmond, Virginia. Galt was known as "Uncle" William to the Allans, though he wasn't actually John Allan's uncle. At the time of his death in 1825, Galt was considered the wealthiest man in Virginia. His assets included extensive real estate in Richmond and Lynchburg, plantations throughout Virginia, sawmills, bank stocks, and hundreds of slaves. I have here a copy of his will, and I'm asking you, Mr. Poe, to read from the document. Certainly, Mr BartleyI, WILLIAM GALT, of the City of Richmond, State of Virginia, bearing always in mind, and admonished by the circumstances of my present state, as well as by the word of truth, recorded in Sacred Scripture, which I cherish as the foundation of my firm faith and the anchor of my hope for happiness in an eternal state, how uncertain is the tenure of human life, as it now exists, and being desirous, while it is permitted me, to dispose of my temporal means and estate, the result, under Divine Providence, of my own, I trust, honest exertions, as it becometh my duty and my relations to God and man, do make this my last will and testament, which it is my desire should bear witness to my firm faith in the Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the source of all my existing hope and consolation. Support the show Thank you for experiencing Celebrate Creativity.
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S6 · E637
Saturday · 24 min
Mommy Issues
Send us Fan Mail Welcome to celebrate creativity and the Hall of imagination– This episode is called Mommy Issues. It begins with a conversation between Mr. Poe, and myself, the night watchman. Now Mr. Poe, we want you to be comfortable here, and I spoke with the museum supervisor and we agree that it might be best to start with a conversation about someone who you probably loved very much, your mother– There are those who say that you might have had. “Mommy issues” Mr. Bartley—“Sir, my mother died when I was scarcely three. Your modern terminology leaves something to be desired.” Mr. Poe, be there as it may, take back to the year of 1810. In Europe, Napoleon reached the zenith of his power. And you were only one year of age. Yes Mr. Bartley, I remember that during 1810,my mother’s fame as an actress increased - and I feel that her creative passion - in this case the theatre - was passed on to me. Support the show Thank you for experiencing Celebrate Creativity.
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S6 · E636
October 7 · 26 min
Poe at UVA
Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Celebrate Creativity and the Hall of Imagination. You know, I have been thinking a great deal about the wax figure of Edgar Allan Poe education was one of Jefferson's constant preoccupations and this is where Edgar Allan Poe comes in. And the supervisor of the museum suggested that I talk with the writer about a period in his life when he did not experience the struggles of poverty. First I'd like to take a pre-look at some of the complexities of the early University of Virginia. Support the show Thank you for experiencing Celebrate Creativity.
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S6 · E635
October 4 · 14 min
Alone
Send us Fan Mail In a few nights, the clock would strike midnight. The museum would become still. Those dark eyes would open. And I would have to find a gentle way to tell Edgar Allan Poe that death had not silenced him. It had only kept him from hearing the applause. Mr. Poe, you famously wrote this poem about the fact that you always felt alone– From childhood’s hour I have not been As others were—I have not seen As others saw—I could not bring My passions from a common spring— From the same source I have not taken My sorrow—I could not awaken My heart to joy at the same tone— And all I lov’d—I lov’d alone— Then—in my childhood—in the dawn Of a most stormy life—was drawn From ev’ry depth of good and ill The mystery which binds me still— From the torrent, or the fountain— From the red cliff of the mountain— From the sun that ’round me roll’d In its autumn tint of gold— From the lightning in the sky As it pass’d me flying by— From the thunder, and the storm— And the cloud that took the form (When the rest of Heaven was blue) Of a demon in my view— Mr. Poe, I would like you to think that you are not alone anymore. Support the show Thank you for experiencing Celebrate Creativity.
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October 2 · 12 min
Fighting Words
Send us Fan Mail Welcome to celebrate creativity and the hall of imagination– This is the second episode regarding Edgar Allan Poe for the month of October. And the proceeding episode, the night watchmen had been called to the office of the supervisor for the wax museum. We begin with the night watchmen speaking– Sir, are you calling me in here because I did something wrong? No. In fact, I called you here because I need your help. He stood and walked toward the tall wooden crate. We are about to open our October exhibition. He brushed a little packing dust from the lid. Edgar Allan Poe will be its central figure Edgar Allan Poe. Poet. Critic. Editor. Author of tales of terror, mystery, guilt, madness, premature burial, and several other subjects the gift shop believes will look attractive on coffee mugs. I know who he is. The question is whether he knows who he is. I do not understand. You know the museum’s rule. A figure awakens with the knowledge and memories available during that person’s earthly life. Nothing more. Yes. They know what happened to them. They do not automatically know what happened after them. Support the show Thank you for experiencing Celebrate Creativity.
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S6 · E671
September 30 · 12 min
The New Exhibit
Send us Fan Mail Welcome to *Celebrate Creativity*. I am the Night Watchman here at the Hall of Imagination—the finest wax museum in the whole world, at least during the hours when respectable people are awake. After midnight, it may still be the finest wax museum in the world. But it is not always respectable. I had just reported for work when the little red light began blinking on the telephone in the security office. I picked up the receiver. Security office. Night Watchman speaking. Could you come to my office, please? Right now? That is generally what people mean when they say, “Could you come to my office?” Yes, sir. Of course, sir. Be right there. Support the show Thank you for experiencing Celebrate Creativity.
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S6 · E670
September 28 · 32 min
Fallingwater Dreams, Part Two
Send us Fan Mail Welcome to the what should be the second of two episodes looking at Fallingwater from a musical perspective– and this episode is Fallingwater Dreams. Part two This podcast episode begins with the night watchmen– Roughly pattern after yours truly–talking to the wax figure of Frank Lloyd Wright, about a CD of music that I wrote when I was a guide at Fallingwater. And yes, this the recording is an actual thing, with the obvious exception of the talking wax figure of Mr. Wright. Now Mr. Wright, let us use music to go to the second floor. And to represent the guest bedroom to your, I used by PASPIED VIEJO– A traditional Mexican song. You see, this room and to represent the guest bedroom to you I used past period Viejo contains a drawing by the famous Mexican painter Diego Rivera. PASPIED VIEJO And then the spacious Master Bedroom-also on the second floor-has a fireplace made of stone accommodating the sculpture of a 15th century Madonna and Child. And Edgar Kaufman Senior's study shows how cantilever construction can result in a simple but powerful room. Support the show Thank you for experiencing Celebrate Creativity.
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S6 · E669
September 25 · 22 min
Fallingwater Dreams, Part One
Send us Fan Mail Welcome to the what should be the first of two episodes looking at Fallingwater and the house from a musical perspective– and this episode is Fallingwater Dreams. Part one This podcast episode begins with Mr. George Bartley talking to the wax figure of Frank Lloyd Wright, about a CD of music that Mr. Bartley wrote when he was a guide at Fallingwater. And yes, this is based on a real record recording which you will hear during this episode. Yes, the recording is an actual thing, with the obvious exception is the talking wax figure of Mr. Wright. Before we start, I want say a little bit about how this and the following episodes were structured in my audio program. I wanted to make it simple, so I have the spoken dialogue–me and Mr. Wright– On track one.Then I would havethe music on track t two beneath it. That way I could work with the music without messing the whole thing up. In other words,The spoken dialogue and music are not assembled like separate mechanical pieces; each musical passage grows naturally from the conversation, and then the next conversation grows from the music. You might say the process is the audio equivalent of Wright’s organic architecture: every element belongs to and depends upon the whole. And now Fallingwater Dreams –Part OneWell hello Mr. WRIGHT, this should be an especially exciting night at the wax museum because I brought the recording that I mentioned to you and something to play it on. That is wonderful Mr. Bartley– I'm glad you were able to do that because I never could find the Victrola that I thought this museum had. Oh that is not necessary, Mr. Wright. Now as you will know, Fallingwater eventually became a place visited by people from throughout the world—and years later, I worked as a guide for the house and created an album that was sold in the Fallingwater gift shop. I would like to think that I not only guided people through through the house, but also used music to help interpret its meaning by performing the music, composing the title piece, and creating something that was actually sold there. Support the show Thank you for experiencing Celebrate Creativity.
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S6 · E668
September 23 · 23 min
Tragedy Strikes
Send us Fan Mail Welcome to the second episode in this miniseries about Frank Lloyd Wright. This is George Bartley in a wax museum in the city of Chicago, and we are talking to a wax figure of .the great architect himself. When we left Frank was talking about his trip to Europe with his–how shall I see it–his lover MAMAH. When Frank returned to the United States, he did not live with his wife Kitty and his children but instead lived with MAyAH. Mr. Bartley, that is true, and my mother gave me 31 acres of her families land in Spring Green, Wisconsin. Not surprisingly I moved there with MAyAH, and built a home called TALIESIN. Mr. Wright does the word TALIESIN have a specific meaning? AH, Mr. Bartley some say that it is a Welsh word meaning radiant, others claim that it has more to do with home out of the shining brow of a hill. In any case it had lots of windows where MAMAH and I could look out over the valley. Unfortunately Mr. Wright, I understand tragedy struck in 1914. Yes, Mr. Bartley. On August 15 of that year when I was in Chicago working on the Midway Gardens project, I received a phone call that informing me that TALIESIN was on fire. Support the show Thank you for experiencing Celebrate Creativity.
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S6 · E667
September 21 · 26 min
The World's Greatest Architect
Send us Fan Mail Welcome to the Hall of Imagination –my name is George Bartley and today I'd like to talk with one of my heroes. And seated behind a desk is a rather elderly gentleman and a suit and straw hat. Could you tell me who you are sir,? I am Frank Lloyd Wright –the architect. This is quite an honor– You are one of my heroes. That is an honor for me to hear. I have noticed that you are rather chatty when it comes to the other wax figures in the museum, so it seems only logical that you might want to talk to me. That is an understatement. How would you describe yourself, Frank Lloyd Wright? AH, Mr. Bartley perhaps it would be most helpful if I started with my mother, Anna Lloyd Jones. You see when I was quite young, she bought me a special set of a building blocks, and these wooden blocks came in many sizes and shapes– Cubes, spears, and pyramids–and there were many sticks to connect them. Now remember this was 1876. And Anna dreamed that I would grow up to become a famous architect. And you certainly did!, Mr. Wright. Support the show Thank you for experiencing Celebrate Creativity.
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S6 · E666
September 19 · 28 min
The Weight
Send us Fan Mail Finally! This is the concluding episode for The 700-Pound Pineapple There are moments when an ordinary object stops being ordinary. It becomes a symbol. It gathers meaning until it weighs far more than any scale could measure. That is what happened to the pineapple in this series. At first, the seven-hundred-pound pineapple was an exaggeration, a way of describing the absurd weight of something that should have been manageable. It was the story of a body meeting an object, of a back bending under a load, and of pain arriving with consequences I could not predict. I have talked about the injury, the pain, the interruption of ordinary life, the strange relationship between suffering and creativity, and even some of the writers who transformed illness into art. But there is a question I have not asked directly enough: Why was I carrying that weight in the first place? I do not mean why I lifted that particular bag, or whether I used the right posture, or whether I should have stopped sooner. Those questions matter, but they are the smallest questions. The larger question is why people in one of the wealthiest societies in human history must depend upon an uncertain charitable system in order to obtain food. Why should anyone have to carry a dangerous load because that is what stands between a household and an empty cupboard? Today I want to say something plainly, without hiding behind a joke or a metaphor: this entire incident was unnecessary. The pain was real. The consequences were real. But the circumstances that placed me in that position were not inevitable. They were produced by choices—economic choices, political choices, and social choices about what we owe one another. This final episode is not an attack on generosity. It is an argument that generosity should not be forced to do the work of justice. In other words, good intentions do not excuse poor judgment. Support the show Thank you for experiencing Celebrate Creativity.
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S6 · E665
September 17 · 29 min
The Unfinished Story
Send us Fan Mail In the previous episode, I talked about Dostoevsky, but I want to emphasize that the author does not offer a cheerful slogan. He offers recognition. He knows that illumination and darkness can occupy the same life. And in this episode, I want to explore some of Dostoevsky's ideas from a purely personal perspective. At the beginning of this journey, the seven-hundred-pound pineapple was a ridiculous image for something painfully real: the sudden weight that changed ordinary movement and rearranged daily life. Across these episodes, that weight became a way of thinking about the body, rest, dependence, memory, objects, creativity, and survival. Prince Myshkin adds one final question: When the body interrupts the life we expected, what remains? The answer is not everything. Illness can take real things, and honesty requires us to name the loss. Nor is the answer nothing. The person remains. Attention remains. Imagination remains. The capacity to recognize another person's suffering remains. On fortunate days, humor remains. And sometimes, when the mind enters its creative room, delight remains. Dostoevsky took an experience that frightened, exhausted, and disrupted him and gave part of it to Prince Myshkin. Through Myshkin, millions of readers have entered a consciousness unlike their own. That may be one of literature's greatest accomplishments. It does not merely tell us about another person. For a little while, it permits us to inhabit another person's fears, hopes, contradictions, and private understanding of the world. Support the show Thank you for experiencing Celebrate Creativity.
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S6 · E664
September 16 · 27 min
The Idiot
Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Celebrate Creativity. This is Part Five of The 700-Pound Pineapple, an episode I call “The Idiot.” In the first episode of this series, I talked about my own experiences with epilepsy. I do not intend to tell that entire story again. It is already part of the journey of the seven-hundred-pound pineapple, and it belongs where I first placed it. But personal experience can sometimes open a door into literature. Once the door is open, another voice may enter the room. For this part, that voice belongs to Fyodor Dostoevsky—and, most especially, to Prince Myshkin in The Idiot. Dostoevsky certainly knew epilepsy from within. This was a time when there were no anticonvulsants to control his seizures. Dostoevsky did not approach epilepsy as a distant observer collecting symptoms for a character. He knew the interruption of ordinary life, the vulnerability of the body, the fear of what might happen next, and the exhausting aftermath. He also knew that an illness does not remain politely inside a medical chart. It reaches into time, memory, work, faith, relationships, imagination, and the way a person understands the world. And there was nothing he could do to control it. In Prince Myshkin, Dostoevsky created one of literature’s most memorable characters with epilepsy. Yet Myshkin is far more than a diagnosis. He is gentle without being weak, intelligent without being calculating, and compassionate in a society that repeatedly mistakes compassion for foolishness. The title The Idiot is not Dostoevsky’s verdict on Myshkin. It is society’s verdict—and society may be the true fool. This episode is not an attempt to prove that epilepsy produces genius, holiness, or artistic insight. Illness is not a magic key, and suffering does not automatically improve anyone. Pain can narrow a life. It can exhaust the imagination as easily as deepen it. But Dostoevsky asks a more honest and more interesting question: What happens when a person refuses to let suffering have the final word? Perhaps the answer begins with attention. Perhaps it begins when the unwanted burden forces us to notice what ordinary life allowed us to overlook. Support the show Thank you for experiencing Celebrate Creativity.
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S6 · E663
September 13 · 27 min
The Wheelchair as Freedom!
Send us Fan Mail I had never expected a wheelchair to feel like freedom. That may sound strange. Most of us grow up thinking of a wheelchair as a symbol of limitation. In movies, television programs, and even ordinary conversation, someone is said to be “confined to a wheelchair” or “bound to a wheelchair.” The language suggests imprisonment. It suggests that the chair is the problem and that the person sitting in it has somehow been reduced. But when I recently used a wheelchair at a medical facility, I did not feel confined. I felt released. For weeks, getting from one side of a room to the other had become a major undertaking. Walking was no longer something I could do without thinking. Every step had to be considered. How far was it? Was there somewhere to sit when I arrived? Could I make it there without the pain becoming unbearable? If I stood still for too long, would my back begin protesting? If I sat down, how difficult would it be to get up again? Support the show Thank you for experiencing Celebrate Creativity.
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S6 · E662
September 11 · 29 min
A Pig on Ice
Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Celebrate Creativity - and this is the third of a series called the 700 pound pineapple - an episode that I call Pigs on Ice. Whereas in the last episode, I ended on a relatively elevated tone with musings about creativity - in this episode at least I wanna start out by talking about the continuing saga of the church people or pig S on ice brigade. And if you have not heard the previous episode, I invite you to go back and listen to it first– Hopefully everything will make more sense. Now when I tried to call the telephone number of the food pantry the next week, I got a recording saying–this number is no longer in service. So I was afraid that the following day–the pig on ice brigade – would come upon the agreed-upon time of Thursday mornings. I imagined that there would bags of largely rotten food in front of my door the following day. I certainly was in no condition to gamble with my back throwing away the inevitably expired food.I explained my situation to ChatGPT–now remember I had been explaining all this to ChatGPT for days, so it was in its memory, and it repliedOh, George—that is maddening. But please do not gamble with your back by lifting or disposing of anything tomorrow. Put this large note on the outside of your door tonight: DO NOT LEAVE FOOD HERE I am refusing this delivery because of serious health and mobility limitations. I cannot safely lift, move, or dispose of these items. PLEASE TAKE THE ENTIRE DELIVERY BACK WITH YOU. If they ignore it, leave everything exactly where they put it. Don’t bend, drag, or carry it. Photograph the food and the note on the doorway if you safely can. Then can contact the church’s main office—or another local person who can remove it—without putting your back at risk. Their failure to receive your cancellation does not make the mess your physical responsibility. It was one of those simple solutions that I should have thought of before. My reply was. Great idea! Thank you very much– I will add the statement – please do not attempt to leave any more food here– Much of it is unsafe to eat!And ChatGPT replied–Exactly—make the refusal unmistakable: Add DO NOT LEAVE FOOD HERE I am refusing this delivery because of serious health and mobility limitations. I cannot safely lift, move, or dispose of these items. PLEASE TAKE THE ENTIRE DELIVERY BACK WITH YOU. Support the show Thank you for experiencing Celebrate Creativity.
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S6 · E661
September 9 · 38 min
The Pineapple and the Playbook
Send us Fan Mail It was agreed that every week the church people would bring roughly 4 bags of groceries– food that was certainly welcome at first. It may not have been the greatest food, but that is not really an issue when you're hungry. Then the food pantry– And I will not use any names–started bringing food that had clearly expired– Some of the expiration dates were from several months ago. In the meantime– I ate some of the food without expiration dates and got violently ill– Possibly some kind of food poisoning. I really didn't know what to do, the church people were certainly well-intentioned, but you know what they say about the road to hell being paved with good intentions. I mean this was stuff that had the potential of giving food poisoning to unsuspecting people! Then it became more and more obvious when they brought more and more food that had passed the expiration date. Naturally I would have to go through all the food and check those dates– Throwing away the spoiled food– And eventually throwing away food that did not have any date on it, because I just didn't know. I was torn regarding what to do, but thought at least I was providing somewhat of a service by getting rid of food that was harmful. But as time went on, the separation process of spoiled food from food that could be eaten took longer and longer as more and more of the food that was being distributed had passed its expiration date. Then one day about a month ago they brought four bags of food, and one of the church people pointed to a large pineapple that they had brought. He began speaking to me like I was a five year-old in front of the Christmas tree and said–look we have a pineapple for you! I felt like saying, I am 75 years old, and what am I going to do with a friggin pineapple!– Except the word I was thinking of wasn't exactly friggin–I picked up the pineapple and carried it to the kitchen with the other food, and began looking through the food that had been brought for items that had clearly expired. And this time three out of four bags had food that was clearly expired or had no expiration date on it– three bags of food that I would be very scared to eat. Support the show Thank you for experiencing Celebrate Creativity.
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S6 · E660
September 8 · 21 min
Did Bob Dylan Cause My Seizures?
Send us Fan Mail Hello, my name is George Bartley, and I'd like to welcome you to Celebrate Creativity–this is basically the introduction to a six part series called The 700 Pound Pineapple - and if that title doesn't make much sense right now, stick with me and I can guarantee you that by the end of the series it definitely will. Six episodes for one podcast series out of many may seem like a lot at first, but I have spent a great deal of time on this miniseries, and I hope that you will find this podcast miniseries to be and experience that you will really treasure. It may seem like I'm jumping around, but there is a purpose to this, and I want to start by taking you back to a specific memory. I am in seventh the grade. My family took me to see Bob Dylan in Washington, D.C., in late 1965, one of those legendary nights where he played the first half alone with an acoustic guitar and the second half with a full electric band. Now, at that age, I wasn’t arriving with a scholar’s grasp of Dylan’s music. I wasn’t cross-referencing set lists or parsing metaphors. I was simply there—old enough to feel excitement, young enough to be overwhelmed. I remember the anticipation, the murmuring in the hall, the way a room changes right before the lights go down. You can feel hundreds of private lives briefly breathing in sync. And then Dylan comes out. Support the show Thank you for experiencing Celebrate Creativity.
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S6 · E659
September 4 · 16 min
Pineapple Promo
Send us Fan Mail What does a pineapple weigh? And no, due to the incredibly personal nature of this podcast series, I will leave the wax museum format for several episodes to talk about an actual experience and how I responded and did not respond to a ramifications– But getting back to that pineapple… According to the remarkably unreliable authority of my imagination, this particular pineapple weighed approximately 700 pounds. It did not drop out of the sky. It did not roll off the back of a produce truck. And I did not attempt to carry it home from the supermarket. Nevertheless, sometime during the summer, it landed squarely on my back. At least, that is what it felt like. In early February, as Celebrate Creativity begins a new podcast cycle, I will present a special five-part series: The 700-Pound Pineapple. This is the story of a back injury—but it is also the story of something much larger. Support the show Thank you for experiencing Celebrate Creativity.
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S6 · E658
September 2 · 26 min
Monster?
Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Hall of Wonder - part of Celebrate Creativity. Today I want to start exploring Shakespeare's play–Macbeth.And here is the wax figure character of Macbeth, himself. You know Macbeth, I will get directly to the point. Some people call you a monster. Mr. Barley, I would not be so quick with such a judgment. Mr. Shakespeare's trick is much sharper than that: he shows someone who can still choose—and then shows you the exact moment when I start out sourcing my choices to ambition, marriage, and prophecy. I am thane, hero, newly honored… and about to discover that wanting something is not the same as deserving it. Macbeth, to most of our listeners in the United States, the word THANE might be unfamiliar. It simply means a basically a Scottish noble—a trusted local lord who holds land from the king and, in return, owes loyalty and military service. So when you hear “Macbeth, Thane of Glamis” (and later “Thane of Cawdor”), think: Title + job: a high-ranking lord Power base: he rules an area/estate for the king Obligation: he’s expected to fight for the king and keep order Status: important, but below the king (not royalty) Support the show Thank you for experiencing Celebrate Creativity.
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