PostSecret

Well, I'm a ways behind the curve in discovering this one, but here's a public art project that I really like:

http://postsecret.blogspot.com

It's an amazing concept, people (anonymously) mail this random guy in Germantown, MD their secrets on homemade postcards. Secrets that they've never been able to tell anyone. Some are mundane, some are funny, some are very creative postcards, some are very sad or very scary, and some are really inspiring. I may be a hopeless romantic, but I really think this is really neat. Perhaps it's because that's the kind of gesture I could have resorted to in high school when I had no idea to tell a girl that I had a crush on her.

I just bought his first anthology of secrets; apparently a third anthology is coming out within the next week (the second one was only published in October!).

The book is very well done, for every few terrible, sad secrets, there's one that will make even the most pessimistic person think "Maybe I do have a chance."

So I bought a book, because I thought it was great and some of the proceeds do go to The National Hopeline Network (a suicide prevention hotline). Sure, it seems like the guy may be cashing in a little on this whole thing (getting on Dateline, The Today Show, etc.) but then again, perhaps he deserves it for having a great idea.