A is for Awesome

January 7, 2011 9:26 PM

In this TED talk, Neil Pasricha of the blog 1000 Awesome Things talks about how to have an awesome life.
posted by twoleftfeet (55 comments total)

TED isn't even trying anymore, are they? "How to have an awesome life", seriously?
posted by delmoi at 9:31 PM on January 7, 2011 [12 favorites]

It takes less than five minutes to judge a 32 minute video.
posted by twoleftfeet at 9:44 PM on January 7, 2011 [4 favorites]

Er, 17:32
posted by twoleftfeet at 9:50 PM on January 7, 2011 [1 favorite]

#342 Finding good reading material in someone else’s bathroom

With a cutesy photo of a toddler on the can reading.

Ugh, not even worth a snipe. Well, maybe he'll do something for the Ophra Network.
posted by sammyo at 9:52 PM on January 7, 2011

Ok, I got through about 3/4 of it.

I'm sorry man, but that was one stupid p.o.s. presentation. I defo walked away feeling like life was less awesome because of that guy.

I mean, a book deal for noting the 'awesomeness' of warm underpants? Weltschmertz.
posted by Lutoslawski at 9:53 PM on January 7, 2011 [2 favorites]

22 minutes...

It can be summed up in this song in 2 minutes and 22 seconds.
posted by HuronBob at 9:54 PM on January 7, 2011 [5 favorites]

I'll save you the trouble:

#341 Saying ‘See you next year!’ to everyone on new year’s eve and then laughing hysterically

You crack us up.

Never stop being you.

AWESOME!

Yeah. I'm pretty sure that there's going to be a kitten, claws deep in a branch, with the caption "HANG IN THERE!" real soon now. His voice has a quavering undertone of a man who feels that, if he lets his death rictus slip for just a moment, he'll be eaten alive by wild boars.
posted by adipocere at 9:57 PM on January 7, 2011 [7 favorites]

twoleftfeet...

don't let it get to you... posting a teddy bear on the blue would result in a blood bath on a friday night after midnight EST. There's nobody here but a bunch of geeks that don't have a social life!
posted by HuronBob at 10:07 PM on January 7, 2011

Fourth A: anodyne, in its increasingly negative connotations: dull, superficially healing.

TED talks have taken a nosedive recently. There is less in here to chew on than in an average Oprah show. Nice guy, yeah. Stop and smell the roses, OK. Real cash money needs to be delivered to people with more exciting, strange, and revolutionary stories capable of inspiring people to create real change in the world we find ourselves in today, this world which could definitely use some clarification and new insights.
posted by kozad at 10:10 PM on January 7, 2011

don't let it get to you... posting a teddy bear on the blue would result in a blood bath on a friday night after midnight EST.

That's what makes it fun.
posted by twoleftfeet at 10:10 PM on January 7, 2011 [1 favorite]

Give me all your awesome money.
posted by eegphalanges at 10:38 PM on January 7, 2011

So... despite all the hate here, I just spent the last hour reading the blog.
posted by Night_owl at 10:42 PM on January 7, 2011

so...night owl.. how was it?
posted by HuronBob at 10:50 PM on January 7, 2011

#1 Paying $6,000 to go to a conference of great thinkers and seeing this guy.

AWESOME!
posted by fatbird at 10:50 PM on January 7, 2011 [4 favorites]

Teddy Bear Bloodbath with Horrible Musics
posted by philip-random at 10:52 PM on January 7, 2011

Phillip...had I known, I would have never posted that...
posted by HuronBob at 10:54 PM on January 7, 2011

Long Now > TED.

And not just because I can afford to watch the free SALT lectures.
posted by b1tr0t at 10:55 PM on January 7, 2011

> TED isn't even trying anymore...

To be fair, this is a TEDx talk, specifically TEDxToronto. They use the same format and branding as TED, but are apparently organized independently:

Created in the spirit of TED’s mission, “ideas worth spreading,” the TEDx program is designed to give communities, organizations and individuals the opportunity to stimulate dialogue through TED-like experiences at the local level. TEDx events are fully planned and coordinated independently, on a community-by-community basis..
posted by rh at 11:03 PM on January 7, 2011 [2 favorites]

Yeah, seriously, what's happened to TED? I used to marvel at the things I learned from their videos. They always had experts in their fields who taught you stuff. Now it's just 20 minute videos of people's opinions about things I thought when I was 17.

Did they always have those kind of talks going on but just never posted them?

On preview... ah, it seems rh has it.
posted by dobbs at 11:05 PM on January 7, 2011 [3 favorites]

I don't care: many of those 1,000 things are completely true. And AWESOME.
posted by Windigo at 11:16 PM on January 7, 2011 [2 favorites]

Looks like TEDx intersects the offerings of a Pecha Kucha night, but with longer presentations.
posted by seawallrunner at 11:40 PM on January 7, 2011

It takes less than five minutes to judge a 32 minute video.

Initial reaction: ~2,000 milliseconds, followed by about 10-20 seconds for cognitive confirmation
posted by delmoi at 11:43 PM on January 7, 2011

Did none of the haters make it to the football/needlepoint portion of the talk? Totally worth it for that reason alone.

And yes, this is a TEDx Talk. Set your expectations to 'moderate' and be happier about it.
posted by quadog at 12:40 AM on January 8, 2011 [1 favorite]

I haven't dared to watch a TED presentation since trying to sit through one by the mad bint who wrote Eat, Pray, Love for a bet. I lost
posted by quarsan at 1:31 AM on January 8, 2011

Everything after minute 7... let's just say it's not for everyone.

The whole single-topic gimmick, blog-to-book phenomenon kind of fascinates me though. Thank god that, except for reading, there's still a stigma attached to doing stuff while you're in the bathroom taking a load off. Otherwise the book industry would be even further (insert obligatory pun here).
posted by jng at 1:34 AM on January 8, 2011

It can be summed up in this song in 2 minutes and 22 seconds.

Or a slightly more leisurely take at 4:46 from the late Ian Dury.
posted by Grangousier at 1:39 AM on January 8, 2011 [1 favorite]

First, I knew all about Rosey Grier's needlepoint (he also shared a body with Ray Milland in the schlock horror classic "The Thing with Two Heads") and felt badly when the audience laughed at it. He was a great example of "Authenticity" but getting laughs about him seemed pretty damned cynical to me.

I blame Neil Pasricha for much of the devaluation of the concept of "Awesome". His blog should have been called "1000 Nice Little Things". Now, Nice Little Things are very important to recognize and get happiness from, but treating all the nice little things as awesome is an insult to the truly awesome things, which are rare enough that some of us will never achieve awesomeness. I know I never have, and I'm okay with that, because of the nice little things (and the better-than-nice, partway-to-awesome-but-I'm-not-presumptuous-enough-to-call-them-awesome things).

His "100 Years" is also frustratingly misleading. Very few of us will get even close to 100 years. The Moody Blues song "22,000 Days" is much more accurate (if somewhat of a lowball estimate, it's only about 60 years... but after my heart crisis at 47, I feel lucky to be here at 55).

Even tho' I know
It's only me
And my dreams
That drive me so
Let me go
Please...
Let me go onto tomorrow
One day at a time
Now I know
The only foe
Is time.

22,000 days, 22,000 days
It's not a lot,
It's all you got,
22,000 days.
22,000 nights, 22,000 nights,
It's all you know
So start the show
And this time feel the flow
... and get it right.

Yeah, it's cheezy, but not as bad as Mister Awesome Things.
posted by oneswellfoop at 2:16 AM on January 8, 2011

Metafilter: Set your expectations to 'moderate' and be happier about it.
posted by zippy at 2:42 AM on January 8, 2011 [4 favorites]

She was beautiful when I met her. We talked about silly things and sometimes we danced. We had children and grew old together. There were mornings when we drank tea. I fell in love with her over many days and nights of being together.

Together we had miraculous moments. Sometimes when we were sleeping she pulled the covers away from me because she was cold and because I was cold I pulled them back, and then we met together in our sleep and shared the warmth.

It's not easy to make a beautiful thing. Pretty flowers don't grow in acidic soil. I tried my best to be with her in the small moments. She tried her best too. I miss her.
posted by twoleftfeet at 2:42 AM on January 8, 2011 [4 favorites]

Sounds like a lot of you just aren't having a very awesome night tonight. I recommend you do something to make your underpants warmer.
posted by crunchland at 3:08 AM on January 8, 2011

Look At This Fucking Idea For A Blog-To-Book Deal!
posted by fixedgear at 4:06 AM on January 8, 2011 [2 favorites]

God, people with positive attitudes depress the life out of me.
posted by Decani at 4:20 AM on January 8, 2011 [4 favorites]

I haven't dared to watch a TED presentation since trying to sit through one by the mad bint who wrote Eat, Pray, Love for a bet. I lost
posted by quarsan at 9:31 AM on January 8

Upvoted for use of the word "bint". Oh wait. Wrong site.
posted by Decani at 4:26 AM on January 8, 2011 [1 favorite]

I watched a number of cool TED talks, and then I also, like quarsan, tried to watch the Eat, Pray, Love person talk. Bloody hell, I thought, this woman has serious f'ing issues, and not only that, she's f'ing boring me with them.

Ehn.

There appears to be an increase in authors attempting to flog off their works in TED(x) talks, from chaps espousing how awesome minimalism is--seriously, yawn--to the likes of this chap. Not at all in the league of some of the truly excellent talks of yore.

Better yet, podcasts like RadioLab. Oh yeah.
posted by owlrigh at 5:02 AM on January 8, 2011

TED came pretty close to jumping the shark for me with the talk from the guy who swam across a glacial lake in the Himalayas to raise awareness about climate change (like that was a problem for anyone who attends or watches TED). He tried to make it seem like seem like he was dong something challenging for the Earth, but really he was just showing off.
posted by dry white toast at 5:50 AM on January 8, 2011 [1 favorite]

Ummm, actually, most flowers like acidic soil. Rhododendrons, azaleas, hibiscus ... even sunflowers and roses like a slightly acidic soil. Low pH for the win!
posted by adipocere at 5:52 AM on January 8, 2011 [3 favorites]

Shall we jump the shark?
posted by rmmcclay at 6:12 AM on January 8, 2011

Barbara Kipfer beat him by 20 years and 14X.
posted by O Blitiri at 6:23 AM on January 8, 2011

The list of awesome things cannot logically contain itself.
posted by scruss at 6:41 AM on January 8, 2011 [4 favorites]

I like pancakes. Does anyone else here like pancakes?
posted by briank at 6:49 AM on January 8, 2011 [2 favorites]

If farting anonymously is your idea of an awesome life then there is something wrong you.

It's MEthane. Not SOMEBODYthane.

Also, you will get no favorites for your flatulence if you don't do it under your own name.
posted by srboisvert at 7:22 AM on January 8, 2011

I like pancakes. Does anyone else here like pancakes?

Why, yes, I do like pancakes. Ms. fixedgear is preparing Trader Joe's pumpkin pancakes even as we speak.
posted by fixedgear at 7:24 AM on January 8, 2011

Needs more flair.
posted by pianomover at 7:55 AM on January 8, 2011

I do suppose guileless optimism is an idea worth spreading. And marketing.

Let's get him a sitcom and be done with it.
posted by converge at 8:00 AM on January 8, 2011

I'm an eternal pessimist, cynic, and skeptic... but I liked that. It might not be the most informative, inventive, or inspirational TED talk I've ever seen, but a lot of what he said resonated with me. Sometimes it's all too easy to get swept up in all the amazing, truly awesome things in modern life, and even easier to be brought down by all the misery and sadness that surrounds us.

Appreciating the small things is what makes life worth living. Added up, they amount to more than the few big things we each work so hard to achieve. It's good to be reminded of that once in a while.

Thanks for posting.
posted by Acey at 9:10 AM on January 8, 2011

Late to the party, I guess, but what the hell ...

#344 lazing on the couch after a big holiday feast. The guy's not on a couch. He's in bed with the covers pulled over.

Or #336 Getting the perfect ketchup to fries ratio -- I hate ketchup, and even if I didn't, it's loaded with unnecessary sugar, so it hates me.

Or #338 When the bus driver stops the bus to let you off near your home -- the bus driver doesn't do that in my town, ever.

And that's just from the first page I hit. I've got this sinking feeling if I dig deeper I going to find something like #149 Dancing to 80s Hits with a bunch of your old high school friends.

I guess the benevolent thing is call this guy a glass-is-half-full-type, except if he had his way, the glass would be pure syrup, but not actual Maple Syrup, just that stuff that sorta tastes like it but who knows what it's made of?

Rant, rant, rant. Voltaire would have a field day with this guy.
posted by philip-random at 9:19 AM on January 8, 2011

I hate ketchup
posted by philip-random at 5:19 PM on January 8

Anyone with an adult palate hates ketchup. So do kids with taste. Every time I'm in an otherwise-apparently-grown-up restaurant in America and I see ketchup on the table I am reminded that I am in America. What the blistering blue hell is it with America and this eldritch kiddy condiment? Why do so many people there think that sticky, preternaturally sweet and terrifyingly-coloured gloop that tastes nothing like tomatoes or anything else decent and good in the entire solar system is something that ought to exist at all, let alone on a restaurant table?
posted by Decani at 11:03 AM on January 8, 2011 [4 favorites]

What are we supposed to eat? Marmite?
posted by crunchland at 12:23 PM on January 8, 2011

TED came pretty close to jumping the shark for me...

I think that point came after the fallout from booking Sarah Silverman to do a TED talk.
posted by Gary at 1:18 PM on January 8, 2011

Decani, calling ketchup an "eldritch kiddy condiment" makes me love you forever. However, I dipped some french fries in just a bit of ketchup today in a sun-warmed parked car listening to a radio program about economics and the moment was as least as awesome as a TED-endorsed moment of awesomeness. Bright green Mexican jalepeno sauce is weird-colored, too, but I'll use it if it's the only color to raise the Scoville scale on a plate of Tex-Mex food.
posted by kozad at 2:22 PM on January 8, 2011

I went to a TEDx once, mostly lifecoaches and web designers. Not so many scientists or big idea people. Really dilutes the brand.
posted by Damienmce at 7:04 PM on January 8, 2011 [1 favorite]

Texas Pete just sayin'. Ketchup for rednecks.

Sorry, I liked this, am I banished?

posted by ~Sushma~ at 9:36 PM on January 8, 2011

I also don't much like Star Trek and never cared for the original Star Wars, and Decani is mean to cute little girls, so I'm guessing you're okay for the time being.

but seriously, that ketchup shit just isn't good for anything living
posted by philip-random at 11:32 PM on January 8, 2011

Dandelions at Thanksgiving?
posted by pracowity at 3:35 AM on January 9, 2011

Too much f'ing Christmas on that blog -- seems like he's watering it down to get to 1000
posted by rottytooth at 9:41 AM on January 9, 2011