Ask MetaFilter posts tagged with inspiration

Can you recommend some Good Books for my dad?

Metroid Baby — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 10:02:56 -0800

My dad recently read The Shack and really liked it. Can you recommend other books with a spiritual leaning (not necessarily Christian) that he might also like? A bit of background: Metroid Dad lost both his father and his younger brother earlier in the year, and for the past several months he's been fighting an uphill battle with cancer. We're not sure how much time he's got left, but he's been in remarkably good spirits.

As might be expected in this situation, Dad's been waxing a bit ontological lately. Give him a free ear and he'll talk to you about his thoughts on God and the afterlife, on relationships and love and how we'll all meet again. He prefaces a lot of this with "I'm not sure how, but I believe…" or "Now, I don't go to church that much…" or "I know this might sound kinda flaky, but…" In other words, he's not dogmatic or judgmental, but appears to be approaching these questions with gentleness and an open mind. He was raised Protestant, but believes that all religions are really working towards the same thing and concedes that religion doesn't have to be a central part of anyone's life.

He read The Shack a month or two ago and, though he thought parts were kind of lame, on the whole it really spoke to him. Really, a whole lot. (I read it at his urging, and my reaction was more "hmm, okay.")

Given all of the above, I'd really like to find more reading material in a similar vein – stuff that might also speak to him, comfort him, or get him thinking. Fiction, nonfiction, religious texts, any or all of the above. Doesn't have to be Christian, doesn't necessarily have to have religion or God or spirituality as the main focus. I'd like stuff that’s intelligent but accessible (and readable while in the hospital and woozy), so nothing too dry or too schlocky. And I'd like to avoid proselytizing, Kool-Aid, and scary REPENT SINNERS!!!1! type stuff.

He loved the history books I got him for Christmas at your recommendations, and I'm hoping you guys will have some good ideas yet again.

(I doubt it'll be an issue, but just in case: please, no hurf durf Shack reader or hurf durf God believer here. Dad's not reading this thread, and I'm not going to engage him in any metaphysical arguments, so there's not really any point in it. He'd respect your beliefs, so please respect his.)

Thank you in advance, as always.

A Certain Kind of Beauty

divabat — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 17:25:39 -0800

I'm trying to cultivate a certain kind of beauty in life - something exemplified by the likes of Dumbo feather, pass it on and Keri Smith's blog. Where else can I find such beauty? This would be a hard thing to put into words, but essentially I found that I'm tired of the rat-race, having to promote myself every second, get to the top life that I've lived for the past few years. I want to take it slow. I'm also tired of having to define myself by what I do - I'd rather just be me, regardless of my job description.

I'm imagining this new state of mind in pictures - sunsets, blowing dandelion puffs, free and floating, soft and gently. Almost bohemian. Peaceful, somewhat magical, doing good for the world by sharing peaceful vibes.

I'm looking for people, media, resources, etc that inspire that sort of beauty.

Dumbo Feather is an Australian mook that interviews 5 people about their lives per issue - what I loved about it (aside from the great writing) was that while their interviewees did all sorts of interesting things, they weren't defined by their job. Rather, the interviews showcased how they saw and moved in the world. Similarly, this post from Keri Smith affected me deeply as it sums up how I feel, and I find her blog inspiring in the same way.

What else could I read, see, do? Does anyone understand the type of beauty I'm trying to reach out to? What else (or who else) exemplifies that beauty for you?

getbackonhorse music

parallax7d — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 10:20:30 -0800

What are some songs about being disappointed, discouraged, but fighting back and continuing in the face of great difficulty, especially internal struggle. Can be anything from Shostakovitch to Tito Puente - but bonus points for anything heavy rock-ish like punk/metal/hardcore or anything with distortion and power vocals, or just any type of song that's energizing.

Oh man, I should totally make this website when I have a free weekend...

rivenwanderer — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 20:44:41 -0800

How do you keep track of your project ideas? How do you get yourself to follow through on them? I find that I get my best ideas when I have the least time and resources to work on them. When I have to stay at the office all evening or when I'm on a camping trip equipped with nothing but a metal spork, inspiration strikes! I'll have an idea for an amazing craft project, or a neat bit of code to work on, or a way to finally build that workbench cheaply. Then when I finally get some usable free time, I fritter it away on the internet, potential projects forgotten or perpetually stuck on the back burner. Many of my friends have the same problem.

How do people deal with this? Do you have a way to "save up" inspiration and enthusiasm for later, when you have the resources to undertake the projects you've imagined? Can you imagine a software solution for this? (Or, does one already exist?) I'm not thinking of a to-do list, but more of a notebook filled with mental bookmarks to my creative daydreams, with a clever pinch of "hey! go do that awesome thing you thought up!" notifications.

I'm learning Ruby on Rails, and making a website to help me record and pursue project ideas seems like a neat learning exercise. It would be great if it was useful to other people too! So, I'm interested in other people's take on the problem, and I would like to be aware of anything out there (self-help/anti-procrastination techniques, software, physical notebooks, lifehacker-style systems, whatever) that people already use.

Summer program for 15 yr old NYC?

quiverandquill — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 15:45:22 -0800

Can you recommend a summer program, August - Sept, for a bright 15 year old girl living in Queens, NYC? My niece is very smart, loves dance and theater and wants to excel academically. She's starting to make choices that aren't ideal, and (unrelated) do somewhat poorly in Math. I would love to find a program in Queens, or NYC for the month of August that can help her with school, inspire her and encourage her in the right direction. Help?!

Inspiration or entertainment? Both please.

strangeleftydoublethink — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 11:31:11 -0800

Movie recommendations in which the main character gives up his/her own success or place in society to pursue an unpopular social cause or to help unpopular person or people. Bonus points for movies based on actual events. I watched Glory recently but thought it was poorly done. Looking for something to redeem the genre and to inspire me.

Inspirational music for school prizegiving

kg — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 06:14:21 -0800

I am looking for music which would be good for school prizegiving for children between 4 and 12 years old and their parents. We are in Britain so anything in the charts from here would be even better. In the past I have used 'Flying without Wings' - Westlife; 'What have you done today to make you feel proud' - M People; 'Shine' - Take That.

Thanks

Ask me out, please.

Anonymous — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 12:54:25 -0800

I'm looking for ways to inspire my spouse to ask me out. I do all of the social planning in my relationship. This is OK most of the time. I began doing this from the start. I kind of made it my job and spouse followed along.

Now, after fifteen years of being together, I am longing for him to take the initiative and plan something. Even asking me to the movies would be nice. He used to ask me to the movies a lot more often, but sometimes I would say no. The reasons I said no were everything from exhaustion to not wanting to see another action flick.

It seems like he is not interested in doing much. I think if I didn't make plans or do the suggestion, we wouldn't do much. We don't do much as it is. We do go to the occasional movie and dinner out. Maybe once a month if we are lucky, usually a lot less. The last thing he planned was seeing a pro basketball game. I would like something more romantic. I have suggested several times that we get should have a little weekend getaway but he is not that receptive. He has been to places with his friends without me. To Las Vegas and golf trips and such. We have children, but we are not at a loss for babysitters. Both sets on in-laws are in town.

I want him to ask me out. I have told him how I feel, but I can only say it so much. Is this a marriage rut? I'm beginning to feel afraid that he doesn't want to spend that much time with me, although we do get along quite well at home and we always enjoy ourselves when we do go out.

Sometimes I feel too needy and it's making me feel uncomfortable. In the course of one day I can be searching for a bed and breakfast and concert tickets. . All the while asking him if he would like to do this or that, because I am dying to go someplace, just the two of us, even if it is an evening out. His only question is how much is it going to cost when it comes to concerts or hotels. He'll say something like, yeah, we could do something like that. But it's never concrete.

What can a person do to let her partner know that I need more attention and invitations to go places. If he initiates the plans he is always more enthusiastic, but how do I get him to initiate more? Is this possible? Any ideas, advice, or insight is much appreciated.

Goodly drawn girl

self — Sun, 25 May 2008 22:03:52 -0800

Have you ever known someone with so much artistic potential, who does nothing with it? My girlfriend is a very talented illustrator. She will sit and idle doodle amazing little scenes, creatures, and people while talking or sitting with me. I am constantly amazed at how casually she comes up with these drawings, as they rival some of the best stylized illustrations I've seen out there.

However, she has no faith in her own work while also seeming to take her talent for granted. I've tried and tried to convince her otherwise, but to no avail.

I've tried giving her projects- like draw a couple quirky characters for my band's site or CD, but she always puts it off and if I push her at all, she feels like she's under too much pressure. I've also tried using her own ideas as inspiration- she's interested in tshirt design and silkscreening, but when I offer to screen whatever she wants onto a shirt, she shies away.

How can I help her realize her potential without being overbearing?

She has a vague idea for a children's book (though currently sans illustration), and loves Yositomo Nara's work, so I'm going to buy her this as a gift. But I'd love to hear what else I might be able to do.

Any ideas?

Who has succeeded most in bringing people together?

deern the headlice — Fri, 23 May 2008 08:25:21 -0800

What are some powerful examples throughout history of public figures or concepts that have successfully united disparate people?

Where can I find pictures of pretty objects?

Alison — Thu, 08 May 2008 10:25:54 -0800

I really like looking at pictures of beautiful/clever/interesting products. What are some frequently updated blogs that feature good pictures of really cool stuff? I'm talking about pictures of clothing, gadgets, prints, handmade goods, kitchen implements...pictures of almost anything tangible, and the featured items don't have to be for sale. I like making things and I frequently find inspiration by looking at stuff that other people have made. Plus, for some reason I find joy in looking at well designed things.

I already visit a few sites that scratch my product design itch, but I'm always looking for more. A few of my favorites are:

Grain Edit
Readymade Blog
Dress A Day
Etsy (although I would love to see any blogs that attempt to distill the best of Etsy)

Desperately seeking inspiration

punkfloyd — Mon, 05 May 2008 07:41:17 -0800

I'm in a rut. I need information graphic inspiration. I have been creating PowerPoint presentations for more than a decade and need some fresh inspiration for info graphic design for org charts, tables, and other conceptual images for conservative corporate environment. I like to use PowerPoint shape tools and not import from Illustrator, etc... My PPT template is fine, I just want to see online samples of current best practices for PPT info graphics. I subscribe to Before & After, but they tend to focus on printed pieces.

Help me play with my image collection!

apetpsychic — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 17:30:08 -0800

I have a large image collection that I use for illustration reference. Are there any programs (I have a mac, but could get access to a PC if there's something cool) that can play with large collections of images in unexpected ways? Here are two examples of something I'd like to play with. Since the collection is so large that I can never get an overview, one thing that I could use is something that can pull "X" number of images from a folder, and I can just hit refresh, pulling up unexpected combinations for inspiration. Another thing is something that uses math to maybe pull images and slice or rearrange, flip, make a rorsach, a mandala, etc. Basically I'm not looking for something to make art (I don't really have an interest on sorting things by dominant colors or anything like that) so much as something to use to view my images in new ways with very little manual input from me. Just slamming them together. The more random and simpler to modify variables, the better. Maybe I need to learn to make something myself?

Thanks!

How to inspire teenage graduates in 25 words or less?

Elmore — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 16:10:30 -0800

Asking for a friend: I'm looking for a short story/anecdote/or whatever that encapsulates the teacher/student relationship. A sentence, short story, poem, song or novel where the point is that education doesn't end at graduation and that teachers - in their infinite adult wisdom - will always have something to learn from their students.

Fall down seven times, get up eight.

desjardins — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 07:35:05 -0800

I'm looking for really terrible creative works made by well-regarded artists. For example, Picasso's secret crappy drawings, or John Coltrane playing out of tune. I welcome examples from all creative pursuits from all eras: literature, music, art, dance, theatre, film, architecture, graphic design, etc. I've read that in order to succeed creatively, you have to be unafraid to create utter crap, and lots of it, before you find your groove. Practice makes perfect and all that. So I'm wondering, where is this crap? I realize that crap is highly subjective, but surely there are widely-regarded examples from the masters. I'm ideally looking for things created BEFORE they became famous; not AFTER someone had fallen from popular favor.

My aim is to take inspiration from the perserverance and self-confidence of others. Biographies about the struggles of creative sorts are also welcome as long as they have a happy-ish ending.

I have no original ideas! Help!

Eudaimonia — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 01:07:32 -0800

I need to recultivate my artsy hobbies, most specifically my writing and drawing. The problem is that I can't seem to initiate anything - I have no new ideas, nothing to work on. I'd also like to grow as a writer, but I'm my own worst critic and stop before I start (fear of failure and whatnot) - I'd like to hone my skills but I'm petrified of, well, sucking. I feel fairly competent technically. Give me a drawing or photo and I can recreate it ok, or give me a writing exercise ("describe the weather," "recount a defining moment in your life," etc.) and I do ok (...just ok.)

But I just can't make that leap out of learning to actually...making, initiating, and creating. So, Mefites, how do you tap into that font of creativity? And how do you simply get better at your creative endeavors? Any advice specific to art or writing would be much appreciated. Thanks!

How to deal with artistic overload?

farishta — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 02:28:47 -0800

Advice or sources for dealing with inspirational overload? There are some interesting AskMe's that have been related to this, but I have a very specific question, for a friend who is going through the following: increasingly common spells of creative inspiration associated with depression and, in some cases, physical and emotional paralysis. They are usually brought on by other works of art, and culminate in intense bouts of inspiration that never gets 'realized' because they are emotionally exhausting and can sometimes bring about depression. Afterwards she can't remember what she was thinking. Lately it's been going on once a week. Does anyone have a similar experience, and if so, how have you dealt with it? She's an artist, so bonus points for turning this state into something productive. Have any artists written about this experience, or provided general and helpful advice about inspiration and the creative process that might be of us? Thanks in advance.

How can we encourage local bloggers?

stokast — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 12:15:24 -0800

We live in a small town with vibrant arts and music scene. How do we get locals who are passionate about their particular scenes (fine art/punk rock/hiking/environmental activism/whatever) to blog about them on a regular basis? I am the editor of an alternative newsweekly in a small city in Canada. For a long time we've wanted to make blog hosting available (especially to people in underrepresented scenes), but because we're small we don't have money to pay to pay them. Even though we're a widely-read, successful paper, we're in a small town and can't get the advertising revenue to be as big as we'd like -- which means we can't cover everything we like. So, really, we want to inspire bloggers/podcasters to be covering what we can't. How can we do it?

help my diary become dear to me

lucyleaf — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 11:54:04 -0800

Personal journal-keeping - something I've wanted to be consistent with, but haven't. So, what works for you journalers to keep you journaling or at least keep coming back to journaling? For me, I just sometimes feel uninspired to write or overwhelmed by things I want to write. This thread has some great ideas for journal entries based around questions or logging what worked for your day. I like the idea of making lists of things - whether it's specific to things I'm grateful for or something else. What other questions/ideas/ponderings have gotten you to put pen to paper?

How do you keep track of these ideas so you can refer to them when you journal?

Do you go back and read over your journals?

I know too that part of this is making a personal commitment and devoting time on a consistent basis. I have a feeling, though, if I find inspiration, a journal will become indispensable once I get into it.

DIY or...

2or3whiskeysodas — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 10:14:39 -0800

Inspire me, punk-rock style. I've been kicking around ways that I could more directly apply my talents and energy to my adopted hometown's pleasantly/frustratingly insular indie-punk scene. For example, I'm inspired by the history of Dischord Records, a label that started mostly to document the scene in Washington, DC at that time, but grew to be an important force in popular music, all the while maintaining their punk/DIY ethics. Or, like, I'm greatly impressed with The Smell, a decidedly positive performance and art space that has become a lynchpin of LA's latest punk wave.

So then: I'm looking for other examples of grassroots, locally-focused artists/labels/spaces/organizations that have managed to make truly rad stuff happen without straying too far from their DIY principles. I should emphasize that I'm not necessarily asking about stuff directly linked to punk music, but rather stuff that has roots in that culture and mindset.

What short piece of text inspires you?

KathyK — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 10:10:36 -0800

For my public-speaking workshop I've been told to memorize and recite 1 - 2 minutes of text that inspires me, from a story, speech, monologue or performance. All I can think of is silly love poems and scenes from Taxi Driver. Help! Some examples from the instructor: the "I have a dream" speech, lyrics from my favorite song etc. So for the sake of this question not being too chat-filtery, do you have any short pieces of non-religious text that inspires you? Thanks!

Help me get my brain pumped up.

Tbola — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 12:32:12 -0800

I watched "Pumping Iron" again a couple of months ago. I was surprised at how inspiring some the training scenes still were to watch. (Yes, I'm aware it was a docu-drama, not a documentary.) Any recommendations of other good dvds that might be a source of training inspiration? It doesn't have to be bodybuilding training necessarily - just something that will make me want to go to the gym and grunt.

Quotable Quotes

hadjiboy — Sun, 29 Jul 2007 08:56:17 -0800

I’m searching for any good quotes on people suffering with mental disorders, or inspiring ones to help people with mental disorders get over them.

Where Have All The Systems Problems Gone?

gadha — Mon, 21 May 2007 08:12:09 -0800

For CompSci Researchers: Where do you get your ideas/inspiration from? I'm a compsci researcher in a UK institution, specifically doing systems research (more specifically, OS & network research).

The UK model for research is quite different from the American model. Here it is acceptable to pick a topic, ask a question and plug away at it eventually finding an answer -- even if it's totally obtuse and obscure. Hence a lot of the research is good, but very niche... -- and doesn't get published apart from tech reports and internal documents.

I find the American model of pushing-the-envelope very satisfying. Reading the proceedings of every SOSP/OSDI/USENIX makes me reel with wonder at the beautiful and elegant solutions to problems-I-didnt-even-know-existed. I am at the point now where I itch for really good problems in the systems field but can't find any for the life of me. Note that I am in a group where people are doing systems research but these tend to be in the form of yet-another-distributed-file system or yet-another-scheduler etc... nothing that is topical and relevant, or even zany. And our abysmal publishing record proves it.

So my question to all you American CompScis, and systems compscis in particular is -- where do you get the inspiration for your topical and timely research? Is it professors? industry? How could a person sitting in the UK come into contact with these inspirations?

Any help appreciated. Thanks.

Yeah, yeah, I know... another question about blogs and blogging and the blogosphere.

susiepie — Sat, 24 Mar 2007 17:41:38 -0800

When it comes to blogging, has it all been done? I have been blogging for almost 4 years. I have my personal blog which is well-established and I intend to continue writing there because it's fun. However, for a while now, I've wanted to come up with another blog idea that I can delve into. I have an eclectic range of interests and passions, so there's really no specific topic I'm looking to cling to. I don't mean to sound wishy-washy, if I do... It just seems like every idea I come up with, it's already been done.

I just want to start a new blog that's unique, entertaining, fresh, captivating, fun, and/or helpful.

I'm not looking to make much money doing this, if any; it's mainly going to be for my own entertainment, but it would be really neat if other people might enjoy reading it, too.

So here's my question in a nutshell: What do you think would make a good blog concept? I'm extremely open to any ideas you feel like throwing out there, so please suggest anything that comes to mind. Thank you in advance!