When Inspiration Strikes - 71823

"Engage" - Jean Luc Picard

Writing the first line of these always starts with asdfjkl; until I can find a good way to say “Let’s jump in.” Consider it my inspiration input.

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The Daily Rabbit Hole: Salvador Dali would use a metal key to keep himself in limbo between being awake and asleep.

“Take this appropriately absurd image for example: Salvador Dali, the master of surrealism, is slouching in his chair. In his right hand he holds a key. Beneath his hand is an upside-down plate. Once he falls into a deep sleep, his hand releases the key which clangs onto the plate and the painter awakes with a start, refreshed and ready to get weird.”

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The inspiration for Patrick Stewart’s character Jean Luc Picard in Star Trek is none other than Jacques Piccard, an explorer who set the original record for the deepest ocean dive. During the voyage, the only experiment that was being conducted at the bottom of the Mariana Trench was whether or not it was possible to get there. At around 30,000 feet below sea level they heard a loud crack, but still continued another mile (roughly 7 in total) until they reached the seabed and started seeing undiscovered marine life. As they were observing the new creatures, they also saw cracks in the lookout windows and made a wise decision to hurry back up to the surface.

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The ‘Wait, What?’ Vortex: Agatha Christie would sit in a bathtub eating apples and lined the rim of the tub with the leftover cores to inspire her writing.

Seriously, what??

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The Piccard Family …

Just as Jacques Piccard held the record for the deepest dive, his father Auguste had held the record for highest altitude achieved by a human 30 years earlier as a famous balloonist.

Jacques’ grandfather, Jules, was a renowned chemist. His Aunt and Uncle (Jean and Jeanette [lol]) were also well-known balloonists, aeronauts, and chemists. His son Bertrand became the first person to go all the way around the globe in a balloon. To put it lightly: this family is intense.

In an interview Bertrand summed up his lineage well, “The family's attitude … is that being told that something is impossible is ‘exactly why we try to do it.’”

I’m just imagining the dinner conversations at Holiday gatherings. Everyone has their head in the clouds except for Jacques who buried it in the sand.

My bad jokes aside, I have to give credit to Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry for naming a character after this family. It’s a better inspiration source than surrounding yourself with apples.