Slightly later this week, because I used all my time yesterday working on today’s Sunday Inspiration. It’s a special edition because it’s a project I have been involved in. As always, some music to listen to whilst you read on – click here to listen to the marvellous Fitzcarraldo by the Frames – a song about the mountains of effort you put in for love – Fitzcarraldo was man who pulled a ship over a mountain to follow the thing he loved.
Now – this weeks inspiration – I am proud to have been involved with a book that has just been released by my Mum – all the details are over here.
A Power Within – Poems of Love is a book of poetry take from the blog of the same name. My Mum has been writing poetry to record her life as she cares for my stepfather, who is suffering from Multiple Myeloma. I was involved in formatting and editing the book – and laying out ready for the publisher.
The book is completely inspirational for me as it shows how love conquers everything – shining through even the darkest days. I’ll leave the poetic writing to my mum, but please consider visiting her site, reading the poetry and leaving some comments – and maybe purchasing a copy of her first self published book. Each sale will include a donation to the International Myeloma Foundation, and the Church in the Village where Mum lives.
That’s my inspiration this week – what has been inspiring you?
By: mattr
Category: books
I’m really pleased to see that the product I worked with for 4 years (I was in the team that supported search advertising), has thrown off the Beta tag today and finally launched.
That means all the great features of Bing are now available in the UK – including Visual Search (previously), Instant Answers (try this) and the ever changing, beautiful home page, are all now live.
The full features of Bing are over at the DiscoverBing site. Congratulations to those in the team that are turning Bing into a decision engine!
From an interview with Alan Whicker in the British Airways magazine ‘High Life’ this month:
“There’s only one phrase you need to learn in any foreign language. And that is – ‘My friend will pay.’ It should be the very first thing you get translated.”
I tend to bank on “Two Beers and a sandwich please” or “Can you speak English?”
What are your key phrases when travelling?
I was 20 years old, Black Box were number one with Ride on Time and we just recently had cable TV installed at our house. I remember watching the news on the evening that the wall was breached, and realising that something really momentous was happening. The morning after, I watched the coverage in awe at the change in Europe.
Since then – I’ve travelled to Moscow and made good friends, and when I walked across Red Square with an American, we both remarked at how this would have been unthinkable before the fall of Communism and the changes in Europe.
This amazing article at the NYT has some interactive pictures that you can see before and after shots of landmarks in Berlin. The BBC also has great coverage.
What were you doing when the Berlin Wall fell?
So, I took a few days off to cope with some family stuff – and then caught some nasty man-flu, which slowed me down – but I’m back up to speed with some sunday inspiration – best taken with morning coffee…
- As always – some music first, on this cold grey November morning (it is here in the UK anyway), a 70’s YouTube classic to get you going. Fire this up in a seperate window and then come back for some more inspiration!
- The worlds number 1 packaging design site – incredible design ideas along with some pretty nifty graphics and artwork – highly recommend this if you are looking for a push with your design.
- After watching them at the EMA’s this week, I was reminded of just how long U2 have been together – then I came across this article which speaks wonders for how good a team can be – we before me anyone? (Via Chat with the Chamber)
- This isn’t happiness – oh, but it is! An amazing archive of random photos and art that contains about 14000 images – and some great inspiration. Like. Like. Love!
What’s inspiring you to greatness this week?
You know the drill by now – some inspirational links for you to click an enjoy as your Sunday spins into life. Best taken with freshly squeezed juice.
- Wichita Lineman by Glen Campbell – fire this beautifully relaxed song up in another window and let it play while you catch up with my other two inspirational links. I’ll wait here for you.
- Thomas Keller cooks his fathers last meal – after being reunited with his estranged Dad, the French Laundry chef cooked a final meal for his father. This story tells how that period of his life transformed him.
- The Book Cover Archive – some of these are truly stunning, I got lost in this site for some time checking out the amazing typography and design. A couple of my favourites : Amsterdam, Auden and Hume.
So, enjoy the Lineman? Where are you finding your inspiration today?
PS – pinch, punch, first day of the month – no returns!
If you are preparing to install Windows 7, or have just finished – then you’ll know what a pain it is to reinstall all your favourite applications straight afterwards. repaving a PC is never that easy.
There is Windows Live Essentials which grabs a few good tools from Redmond (Windows Live Writer being my favourite) – but what about the rest of the useful stuff.
Ninite is an excellent idea – a bulk application installer that simplifies the process of adding some REAL essentials to your PC. Firefox, FileZilla, uTorrent, Skype, paint.NET, Adobe Reader and winRAR are all on my list, and they are ALL included as options in Ninite – alongside many other useful apps.
You just select the application set that you want – and click install – and all of the apps you need are installed quietly and efficiently with the minimum of fuss. Everything is free, and just works with out any intervention.
Genius idea – well executed. Check Ninite out by clicking here.
Ninite – bulk application installer – really useful if you are paving your PC to install Windows 7 this week.
What are your essential applications?
Still with me on this? Another Monday rolls round and I have a bunch of great music that really demands your attention, but don’t take my word for it – click the links to listen to clips on Amazon before you make a purchase of these fine albums to expand your music collection.
- Strict Joy by The Swell Season – there are few sounds as compelling to listen to as Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova – the stars of the lovely film ‘Once’ and now (seemingly) a proper duo on this their third album. A little more upbeat than their previous but still hauntingly beautiful. Miss this wonderful album at your peril.
- Nightbook by Ludivico Einaudi – the follow up to Devenire, contemporary classical music at its finest. This album adds a little bit more electronic soundscape to the mixture. Gentle, ethereal and slightly melancholy – this is beautiful music to relax to, and a great accompaniment to work.
- Swords by Morrissey – at the time of writing, Morrissey has been taken ill during a concert – so I hope he recovered quickly. This isn’t new material – but a collection of b-sides from his solo career. Contains one of my personal favourites ‘Don’t make Fun of Daddy’s Voice’.
What are you listening to? What should I be checking out to build my collection?
Slightly later this week – being posted from my temporary base in Seattle – some Sunday inspiration to check out alongside coffee and papers.
What gives you inspiration today?
Disclosure – this book was given to me as a review copy from the Librarything early reviewers program. Check out my Librarything bookshelves now.
A nice quick read that focuses a good amount of time on the prevention of Getting into Debt – there are some good examples of how the reader can slip into debt.
Later the book shifts focus to the tougher process of getting out of debt, with some good common sense tips about tackling the debt. the examples and ideas are practical, actionable and easily customisable to your personal situation.
I read this in a few hours – it is a bit lightweight, but a good primer if you are facing into a problem of debt.
Buy ‘Getting out of Debt and staying out’ by Tony Palmer at Amazon now
What books are you reading right now?
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