Yes or No? Maybe Maybe!

December 23, 2008 5:56 AM

I'm desperately seeking advice, for a friend. As a gift... Help me make a book of answers!

I will be visiting a friend this Christmas, and I bought her a present. It's a small blank paper book and I started writing and drawing answers in it. Like a magic eight ball, opening the book of answers tells you what to do - or maybe not.

Problem is: There are 80 pages, and I have run out of answers. I need yours!

Here are some 'answers' I've come up with:
*Just do it!
*Follow your heart
*It can wait until tomorrow
*Alea Iacta Est
*With a little help from my friends

References to her interests - field hockey, arts, industrial design [her studies], quotes from people, movies or songs - are particularly welcome. Hidden meanings, clever observations, puzzling remarks, and double entendres would be wonderful!

posted by Psychnic to grab bag (26 answers total)

Maybe it will, maybe it won't.

Listen to your gut.

What would your mother do?
posted by Fairchild at 6:05 AM on December 23, 2008

"Forget it, kid."
posted by bondcliff at 6:10 AM on December 23, 2008

Screw it.
Do it.

Ignore it.
Explore it.
posted by kidsleepy at 6:21 AM on December 23, 2008

It will all be okay in the end. If it isn't okay, it isn't the end.
posted by emd3737 at 6:23 AM on December 23, 2008 [2 favorites]

You betcha!
posted by SuperSquirrel at 6:31 AM on December 23, 2008

Difficult things are often the hardest to do.
posted by lpsguy at 6:35 AM on December 23, 2008

I used to send my friend weird riffs on "life is like a box of chocolates". The form might work for your category "puzzling remarks".

Life is like a mango: green on the outside, sticky on the inside.

Life is like a box of chocolates: I like to eat it all.

Etc.
posted by carmen at 6:50 AM on December 23, 2008

Never tell me the odds.
posted by mikepop at 6:58 AM on December 23, 2008

Not if you value your dignity.
Couldn't hurt.
Please try again.
... throw it in a pot, add some broth, a potato. Baby, you've got a stew going. (AD quote)
Ask a stranger!
... not in the face.
That just might work.
Stick with it (get it? field hockey!...ok lame)
Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn (from GWTW)
Don't ask me, I'm just a book.
posted by syntheticfaith at 7:03 AM on December 23, 2008

Seek resolution - not compromise.

Take it easy, but take it.

Real artists ship.

What works good is better than what looks good..

It’s more important to recognize a good idea than to author it..

Good design doesn’t cost, but it pays..
posted by mikepop at 7:04 AM on December 23, 2008

It's five o'clock somewhere.
posted by Janta at 7:16 AM on December 23, 2008

I'm going to pretend you never asked
If you think you can pull it off, then sure
I can't think of any reason not to
Well, are you the gambling type?
posted by agentwills at 7:35 AM on December 23, 2008 [1 favorite]

I enjoy the Oblique Strategies Twitter feed; might be fun to pull some stuff from there to help her solve creative dilemmas.
posted by TochterAusElysium at 8:00 AM on December 23, 2008

It’s easier to ask forgiveness than it is to get permission.

A ship in port is safe; but that is not what ships are built for. Sail out to sea and do new things.

Will this matter a year from now?
posted by BoscosMom at 8:02 AM on December 23, 2008

How hard can it be?
You always regret more what you didn't do than what you did.
Toss a coin - when it's in the air you'll know which side you want it to come down.
Don't Panic! (written in large, friendly letters, of course).
What's the worst that could happen?
Moderation in all things. Including moderation.
You pilot always into an unknown future; facts are your single clue. Get the facts!

The last two are from Heinlein.
posted by Jakey at 8:37 AM on December 23, 2008

I've found that a hit record is like a stew. All the ingredients have to come together just right. Otherwise, it's just soup.

Sometimes everything you've ever wanted floats above sticking out its tongue and laughing while everything that anyone could ever need is down below waiting for you to notice.
posted by chazlarson at 8:57 AM on December 23, 2008

Forgot the credits:

I've found that a hit record is like a stew. All the ingredients have to come together just right. Otherwise, it's just soup. Phil Horace, That Thing You Do

Sometimes everything you've ever wanted floats above sticking out its tongue and laughing while everything that anyone could ever need is down below waiting for you to notice. Ben Folds, Learn To Live With What You Are
posted by chazlarson at 9:00 AM on December 23, 2008

Always do what you've always done and you'll always get what you've always got.
posted by batmonkey at 10:16 AM on December 23, 2008

I'd have one that says

"IRRELEVANT. Go find someone you love and give them a hug."
posted by Spyder's Game at 12:08 PM on December 23, 2008

This sounds kinda like The Book of Ordinary Oracles by Lon Milo Duquette. Not that you can probably get ahold of that one ASAP, but that one has plenty of quirky suggestions like this.
posted by jenfullmoon at 1:00 PM on December 23, 2008

Fortune favors the bold.
When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro.
A bird in hand is worth two in the bush.
The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.
posted by fiercekitten at 2:35 PM on December 23, 2008

Oh and Aude Sapere (dare to know)
posted by fiercekitten at 2:36 PM on December 23, 2008

The most difficult thing is usually the right thing to do
John D Mcdonald

Life is like stew, stir it or the scum floats to the surface
Tim Robbins
posted by Redhush at 2:50 PM on December 23, 2008

Some valuable advice up there! Thanks all!
posted by Psychnic at 3:29 PM on December 23, 2008

Less is More
posted by classa at 4:35 PM on December 23, 2008

Google "oblique strategies".
posted by mjao at 4:10 AM on December 25, 2008