I’m not necessarily talking about really big movies that play a significant role in cinema. I’m just talking about the movies that were likely pretty well known to most kids growing up during the 80s but are probably well-forgotten nowadays. Of course this post isn’t about that but more so just focusing on a thought that crossed my mind the other day about what movies would provoke memories and aspirations of the past — not just a feeling of nostalgia. Sometimes it’s just good to look at how film was imagined then compared to today and how certain movies had an impact on your creativity.
Nothing like The Last Starfighter to focus those aspirations. Sure the movie isn’t that well scripted and the action is not that great — but the idea that one can beat a video game and then end up saving the world? Classic. Yes I know there is Tron as well, but that’s older and well — more like a subtle political commentary.
Of course, who could grow up in the 80s without watching The Goonies? Forget Indiana Jones … this film probably summed up for a generation what it felt like imagining ourselves with friends stepping out on an adventure. Funny thing is that when I watched this as a kid, I always thought the adventure was so much grander. I must’ve been thinking of a totally different movie or my perspective was messed up. Either way — whether it’s your time, my time, their time — this is a good waste of an hour or so.
Lastly for the weekend, I’d say *batteries not included where an old diner manages to survive the redevelopment of an area with the help of the tenants of the building and some extraterrestrial beings — no E.T. was not here.
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Okay okay, so if inspiration isn’t what you seek and fighting back is more to your style then I’d recommend The Warriors. A gang in New York has to fight their way back home after being framed for the murder of the leader of another much more powerful gang. It’s all about survival.
Whew … what a week. Thankfully I did end up processing all the photographs from my recent trip to Colorado. But one photograph has kept me inspired throughout a challenging week sans the Canadian election. I guess it reminded me of the challenge I quite enjoyed as I hiked up the Great Sand Dunes. When I arrived, it wasn’t hot — actually there was quite the cool breeze however hiking on sand was a very different experience. There were times when I thought I’d slip and roll down the sand dune… which could be fun in some sense although I wasn’t intending on trying it out…
Great Sand Dunes of Colorado by Ehren Cheung
There were two kids up ahead who didn’t have any water whatsoever. I did end up providing some water to them but I hope they reached the peak — they were certainly determined to
Of all the week’s that have come and gone — the past week could probably be ranked as one of the most turbulent and toughest for me simply because of daily circumstances that are beyond my control. My week just wouldn’t be fulfilled without a few drops (or waves) of inspiration.
I use a lot of different content management systems these days. However, I use Wordpress … a lot. I remember my first step into publishing a webpage, oh … way back when HTML pages with everything centered on to the page were prominent. One of the things I always wanted was an online publishing system that would be simple enough for anyone to make use of (without requiring a substantial amount of technical expertise) but also allow for people to customize the way it worked and presented content. Over 10 years or so, I’ve had the opportunity to see so many types of content management systems spring up but it has really been the idea of a blog and the Wordpress platform that has had such an enormous impact on the way we communicate. I was just surfing around and happened to notice a video that Matt Mullenweg had posted on his blog.
I like Wordpress
Going off topic for a second — I often remind friends and family that everyone’s selling something out there whether it may be an idea or a more tangible item like a product. What I like to ask myself is whether or not the idea or product has created a ripple effect in the world that will help others. It’s easy to believe that something we create will change the world, but what’s the impact of that change? How does that genuinely help others?
Back to the video that Matt had posted — an introduction to Glenda Watson Hyatt, The Left Thumb Blogger. It’s good to see the genuine impact of those many small yet substantial steps that the many people involved with Open Source initiatives and Wordpress, have made. It’s inspiring to see the opportunities that people around the world have created together for others.
Could My Spine Tell a Story Like That?
Nina Katchadourian’s storytelling via book spines was quite a fascinating discovery via twitter. I know of book covers for series tend to carry a design that cross references the different individual titles but I wonder if marketing departments will ever try to tie together the copy on book spines in a manner that can summarize the plot or topic? The different
I’ll have to try one myself sometime when I can figure out how to work in the overwhelming number of books I own by Gordon Korman and John Steinbeck.
Everyone can be a Hero
I grew up watching cartoons (like many kids in North America have) and the idea of heroism. Although one of my favourites continues to be Osmosis Jones, a white blood cell.
Fun and humour aside, a very important talk that everyone should really watch is one by Philip Zimbardo who led the Stanford Prison Experiment. I should warn that there are some pretty graphic scenes in this talk (below) so it may not be suitable for everyone. While Zimbardo emphasizes that it is the “system” that is flawed and that to prevent future atrocities, we need to inspire future generations to strive to become the everyday hero sans the super abilities and power; I think we need to accept the fact that what we do isn’t always good or bad but rather can often be both good and bad depending on how we look at the consequences and impact. Sometimes we are being influenced and other times we are influencing — I think the following quote summarizes how we should potentially make a decision:
“Do not accept anything by mere tradition. Do not accept anything just because it accords with your scriptures. Do not accept anything because it agrees with your opinions or because it is socially acceptable. Do not accept anything because it comes from the mouth of a respected person. Rather, observe closely and if it is to the benefit of all, accept and abide by it.” - The Buddha to the Kalama People
One of the possible outcomes of inspiring children to become everyday heroes is potentially an eventual change in the way we do business. There are still so many products out there and the goal has always continued to be sell, sell and sell. In my opinion, we need to do better than that — something greater.
“The really important kind of freedom involves attention and awareness and discipline, and being able truly to care about other people and to sacrifice for them over and over in myriad petty, unsexy ways every day.” — David Foster Wallace
Whew! That was quite a bit, but I guess makes up for the past couple of weeks when I wasn’t around.
I’m back from my vacation — sort of. For two weeks on the road, I’ve had plenty of time to ponder and take photographs. In fact, I took over 3000 photographs and now I’m sorting them out so I won’t talk about my adventure on the road yet.
In the meanwhile, I thought I’d post a few things that have really inspired me this week as I struggle to catch up with the two weeks worth of work and decision making that I have on my desk and the top of my mind respectively.
Know Your Math … or not
My dad used to tell me that no matter what you do, where you go, and how you live; you will need math. It was decided then that he would teach me algebra while I was in grade one while all my peers were out playing outdoors. I sucked at math. I still suck at math. But only closer examination, I am primarily bad at arithmetic. Algebra and word problems are no problem! Thank you calculator! Nevertheless as I got further into coding, I gained a greater appreciation for mathematics and the beauty of the mathematical equation and formula. Actually I probably prefer them over chemical formulas. This talk by Robert Lang was stunning and as a fan of origami myself (I enjoy folding action origami frogs), Lang’s illustration of the intimate connection between mathematics, design and origami is brilliant.
Living life in a Carnival
I’ve been to a few carnivals — typically big city ones. I’ve never been to small town carnivals and I’ve never thought about joining the carnival and working the circuit but Globe and Mail’s feature, The Long Summer by Charla Jones, on life in the Carnival, a fading way of life, brought me that much closer to it. It wasn’t the typical article in the newspaper — it was much more than that and for that, I have to applaud Jones and the G&M.
Actions vs. Politics
If it’s one thing that reminds me of working in government, it is the lack of action. There’s nothing bad about it because that is the nature of government, civil service, and hammering out a policy that works for as many stakeholders as possible. But you need patience and a heck of a lot of it. Other times you have to tip toe around sensitive issues — even in businesses. George Ayittey reminds me of how bureaucracy and the reluctance to leap into action — sometimes even corruption, can create disillusion and discontent.
I am reminded of what a number of my friends and colleagues strive for: Get the job done and get it done right.
Connect the Pics
Lastly I had just had to share this because I love photography. David Griffin talks about how photography connects us to our world and how photos can help resolve or identify issues. I particularly liked how he pointed out that amateur photography is now playing a greater role.
Lastly this week, I am inspired by Blog Action Day — coming October 15th when bloggers all around the world are encouraged to examine the issue of poverty from their own perspective. What better way is there for individuals to attempt to tackle a problem that affects so many people, than to begin with looking at the world around themselves and each other.
I believe that we all strive to achieve something on a greater (not necessarily higher) level every day. Whether we are on vacation, dragging ourselves to work, or contemplating why we find ourselves in class every day — there is a common goal. We all want to do something else … something greater.
The unfortunate aspect of this daily life is that it’s tough to see the end of the path or the finish line. That’s because one path typically leads right into another. I think I still wonder every so often how I went from studying bio-medical science to developing online marketing strategy for a book publisher. Everything else is pretty much a blur. If you had asked me what I’d be doing 9 years ago when I was a university student, I never would have guessed that this is where I’d end up. I guess I just fell into it — and I am quite happy about it.
With the exception of my addiction to IRC (Internet Relay Chat) back in high school, never have I felt so connected to so many people around the world until a few years ago — and never have I felt so strongly about challenging the way we live our daily lives and do business from day-to-day — and I am quite happy about that too.
Over the past two years, I’ve had a great friend who works in the same area as I do. We typically share ideas and thoughts on overcoming the problems and issues we face — in addition to simply venting frustration at times. Unfortunately for me, she’ll be going back to school — yesterday was her last day. The funny thing about the connection between my friend and I was that our problems were shared. Similarly, my approach to work in the office is that everything is technically a “shared responsibility”. If my colleagues have a problem — that’s my problem too.
When the people around you who work become less optimistic, enthusiastic, and energetic than you are — then it’s up to you pull them back up if you can. Just try. It happened a couple of days ago to me. What I discovered was that there are two types of optimism:
Those who wield an optimistic energy about life from day to day.
And those who are hopeful.
I think I’m the latter type because I go into work everyday grumbling — but I see the horizon. To work, I need inspiration. I don’t wait for something to inspire me — I seek them out. This week was jam-packed with people and projects that provide me with inspiration. My friends and colleagues really liked what I sent around so I figure I’ll try and provide a weekly compilation of what has inspired me from now on. Maybe it’ll provide that necessary dose of inspiration to someone else in the world.
Don’t worry — next time, I’ll do less talking (or writing).
Unfortunately until I read the Globe and Mail the other day, I did not know who Randy Pausch was — but after watching his Last Lecture — I got a glimpse into what he believed in. It’s a long lecture but very worthwhile to watch — especially with references to the Alice project and “head fakes”.
Chris Abani’s stories revolving around the topic of humanity are immensely powerful and touching.
And Jonathan Harris’ work with stories is purely inspirational and soulful. But you definitely should see WeFeelFine.org for yourself.
Lastly, I am inspired by twitter. I know the conversations are tiny — heck we’re limited by 140 characters, but it really helps to force us to be as concise and to-the-point as ever when we talk with one another. To read these concise statements, questions or exclamations from so many people around the world continues to inspire me — this includes those who permit me to listen to them and those who are listening and responding to me. I would not learn the tremendous amount of what I learn on a daily basis without you.
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