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What Inspires You? Here’s a List of 26 Awesome Projects and Stories

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By Cmglee (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons
By Cmglee (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons
The world is full of fun, creative people. Every day, I hear about awesome projects. They’re so cool, I want to share them here. Though they’re not all book-related, they are media related, and since technology is bringing all kinds of different media together, it’s good to know what kinds of things different kinds of creators are making. (Also including some stories that are just plain inspiring.)

  1. Cardboard Box Office: This family recreates family-friendly, yet realistic, scenes from famous movies, using cardboard boxes.
  2. Classic Programmer Paintings: Funny software engineering captions for famous pieces of artwork.
  3. “An afternoon at Pettingell Book Bindery in Berkeley“: A master’s craft of book binding.
  4. “30 Writers’ Invaluable Advice to Graduates“: Writers’ advice to college graduates.
  5. “Beverly Cleary, on Turning 100“: A look at Beverly Cleary’s life, and what inspired her to write such memorable children’s books.
  6. “BJ Novak“: Observations about the successful actor, comedian, author, and tech entrepreneur.
  7. Co-op: Ways to collaborate and use archived material.
  8. Collaborative Knowledge Foundation: Open source community for scholarship.
  9. “Create a Stunning Combination Coptic Long-stitch Archival Book“: Tutorial on how to create art with an archival book.
  10. “Diary of a somebody: could I solve the mystery of 148 lost notebooks?“: The story of one man’s obsession with discarded notebooks and his search to find the writer.
  11. “Does Craig Mod’s Narrative Map of the World Really Have to Close?“: How Craig Mod will archive Hi.co, an experiment in international “narrative mapping.”
  12. “Why some of us don’t have one true calling“: A TED talk on how it’s okay to have more than one passion.
  13. Field Trip to Mars: A VR experience that takes a group of kids on a field trip to Mars.
  14. Free Museum Day: A site that lists days you can visit museums for free in cities near you.
  15. “Get Sh*t Done — One Hashtag That’ll 10x Your Output…It did for me.“: Using #FlightTime to block out time in your schedule to get more work done.
  16. “Guy Takes Fake Book Covers Onto Subway To See How People React“: One man made fake book covers (like “How to Hold a Fart In”) and read them conspicuously on the subway to see people’s reactions.
  17. “Hand Drawing in Digital Publishing“: 3 ways to draw for digital publications: pen and paper, digital canvas, and coding.
  18. “In-Ear Device That Translates Foreign Languages In Real Time“: A tool that brings the Babelfish from Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy to life.
  19. “Indie Author Finds Niche with ‘Geek Cookbook’“: A self-published cookbook that has intricate drawings of TV, books, and movie characters.
  20. Kompoz: A way to collaborate with musicians.
  21. “Mitchell Kaplan Opens Book-Bike Shop Hybrid in Miami“: A 10,000 sq. ft. bookstore/outdoor lifestyle shop/gallery in Miami that sells nothing digital.
  22. “Oakland’s Most Defiant Book Vendor“: The story of Lighthouse Books in Oakland, California.
  23. “1927: The Diary of Myles Thomas“: “An experiment in storytelling, the core of which is a diary of a pitcher on the 1927 Yankees. Though no “real” diary exists, our historical fiction is based on factual research and chronicles baseball immortals, jazz pioneers, Prohibition, bootleggers and gamblers, as well as race, sex, morality and the meaning of heroes. True to the era, the diary will occasionally include mature language and subject matter.”
  24. Smithsonian Learning Lab: A platform to help people find and share the Smithsonian’s resources and help teachers.
  25. “Watch: Airbus made a completely 3D-printed plane that actually flies“: “Airbus unveiled THOR (short for “Test of High-tech Objectives in Reality,” rather than anything to do with the Norse god of thunder), a 13-foot plane made entirely out of 3D printed parts. THOR is essentially a proof-of-concept that it’s possible to make something that really flies, other than a tiny drone.”
  26. What3Words: An accurate way to share addresses, especially in remote locations.

This post was originally published on July 28, 2016.

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