10,000 Brilliant Ideas

My kids when very little, loved Baby Einstein. If you missed the release in theaters and it isn't yet out on Blu-ray in your area, I'll describe it to you.  A camera is locked down (ie doesn't move) looking at infinity space (that white space where you can't tell where walls or floor are). And into this space come or are put, toys and sciencey gadgets that are colorful and repeat. Each thingy is displayed for like a minute at a time (although it seems like 10 minutes), while Mozart plays in the background. The kids love it. (And I'll admit that I have literally watched the whole show with them several times. It's mesmerizing.) Some parents, such as myself, are totally sold on the idea that injecting the high-culture art of Mozart in the kids brains must have some benefit. But perhaps there lurks in the back of some parent's minds, that watching toys is stupid. Or at least can't have the same long-term benefit as Mozart. What are we new-age paren...

This would be way fun to build. The basic idea is a decorative water fountain that has the illusion of perpetual motion. A simple version could be a belt with buckets that brings water up to the top of a cascading waterfall sort of thing which at the end propels a wheel that turns the belt with buckets. Hidden in the water track somewhere would be a pump that would add water to the cascade and make the whole thing possible. But it would seem like it was just going by itself. Of course you could make super elaborate versions, junkart versions, elegant elitist versions. The possibilities are *wink* endless!

This camera you load with polaroid film, It takes a picture straight to print in the classic polaroid style and it also captures a digital version of it. I'm sure with a little imagination there could be a lot of uses for this, but one (where I got the idea) is traveling in poorer places, you could take people's photos and then give them the print and you get to keep the digital. That way you feel like you're sort of providing a service rather than just poaching culture (did I just say that?)

For cheeky cafés who know people come there to discuss their great ideas, these napkins come with notebook paper print on the back.

Attention scrapbooking world: Take your hobby to the next dimension by editing your home videos in our internet cafe style editing house. You come in, let your kids play with some toys in our toy area and jump on the computer making your home videos into beautiful stories with the boring parts and vomitous video removed. You can make video montages set to music or photo montages set to rap. Or just about anything! A helpful staff person will assist you with any programs and will make sure your stuff doesn't get erased. Come give it a try.

The home for street kids in Manila where Alma and I volunteered at had this cool idea where they'd collect paper, shred it, make new paper and then draw a design on it for a greeting card and then sell them for a small profit. Expounding on that idea, have a website where you can set up an account, buy a card, write what you want it to say and where and when you want it sent and a child will write your message and mail it from Manila (or another country). The kids can come up with new designs and fun stuff. The money will go to the children's scholarship fund or something and we'd make whatever precautions necessary that it doesn't become a sweat shop.