Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with diaries

What/where are the old episodes of "Doctors' Diaries"?

jytsai — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 08:00:07 -0800

So in the next two weeks Nova, a science program on PBS, is airing the conclusion of a series that followed doctors from when they were medical students (1988) to today. I know that there was 2 previous episodes (1988 & 1998). Being a stressed out med student in the middle of midterms, it would be awesome if a bunch of classmates and I were to be able to watch all of the episodes (from 1988 to present) in a Nova marathon after exams. So... Does anyone in the hive mind know how I can get my hands on the first two parts of the series, or at least the titles of the old episodes?

The best of genius at work, in their own words and pictures?

fire&wings — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 17:25:56 -0800

I'm looking for books featuring (first hand) the creative processes, influences, daily routines and preparatory works of creative people - visual artists, film makers, novelists, poets etc. It dawned on me recently that I often enjoy insight into the creative process of great minds even more than I do their completed, published works. The letters of Samuel Beckett, the manuscript facsimile of 1984 by Orwell, the theories of Robert Bresson, to name a few.

I'm looking for the best books - diaries, letters, collected preliminary designs or sketches, written manifestos - by great creative minds. Preferably behind the scenes of their great works or their career, rather than especially notable works in their own right. They needn't be direct documentary insights into the creation of certain works, I'm also interested in reading diaries and letters relating generally to the formative experiences/periods of these lives. I am only interested in "primary evidence" - actual documents transcribed or reproduced, rather than biography or speculation.

Stories about WWI/WWII home fronts

booksandlibretti — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 12:30:21 -0800

Please recommend me some great books about the home front during WWI or WWII. I'm really interested in stories, not academic histories or anything. Novels, diaries, collected letters, and memoirs would all qualify -- basically, I like stories, fictional or not.

Again, I'm looking for a home front setting, not for soldiers' stories. England, Canada, and America would all be obvious choices, but stuff about noncombatant residents in contested areas (like A Woman in Berlin) is also fair game.

I'm especially interested in the London Blitz and the evacuated schoolchildren, so bonus points for books including those elements. Other examples of what I've enjoyed are The Night Watch, by Sarah Waters, and L. M. Montgomery's Rilla of Ingleside. Heck, even the Chronicles of Narnia qualify around the edges.

Thanks in advance!

Blogs by night shift workers?

jayder — Thu, 16 Mar 2006 19:35:04 -0800

I am looking for blogs written by low-wage, night-shift employees (such as convenience store clerks) who use their blogs to chronicle interesting experiences from their working lives. Any suggestions?