When you've got to write something moderately entertaining each week but your head is raging with stabby thoughts, what's a poor fool to do? I am uncomfortable with unloading the contents of my often dark brain matter on an unassuming audience.

Lately, Life seems to be getting in the way of Life. Can you feel that? Having feelings that are so dodgy, I'm struggling trying to cough up an amusing lighthearted blog post.

I had a conversation with someone I respect creatively about forced inspiration. We concurred this is a deadly predicament. We tried offering each other ideas to jump-start our respective juices. I immediately thought of recommending to him a few documentaries I've recently consumed that lit a fire under my arse.

Remembering the Artist: Robert De Niro, Sr.

This short film has stuck to me like Gorilla Glue. The actor Robert De Niro's father was a well-respected New York painter in the 1950s whose work fell out of fashion when the Pop Artists moved in.

Imagine that for a moment: Feeling as though your life's passion and expression of creativity is suddenly not of the moment and irrelevant. That hurts just typing that thought aloud for me.

De Niro Senior's work was more European influenced and seemed to get lost amongst the Warhols and Jasper Johns who were taking over the New York art scene. He also suffered from depression and social anxiety, trying to come to grips with his sexuality. He kept journals which were the key for his son to learn about who he really was as a person and not just his father.

Nothing Left Unsaid: Gloria Vanderbilt and Anderson Cooper

Another documentary that rattled my cage is Nothing Left Unsaid, a revealing look at the life of Gloria Vanderbilt as seen through the eyes of her son, CNN reporter Anderson Cooper.

Vanderbilt is a fascinating woman: an accomplished artist, entrepreneur, socialite, and mother. The intimacy of her life shared with her son is wondrous. The unimaginable tragedy of the suicide of a child seems to have strengthened the bond these two share.

Both stories are about the importance of really knowing who your parents were as simple human beings when they were mentally tortured and tested, ultimately preserving their stories and legacy.

And my final source of inspiration comes from the incomparable Studs Terkel, writer, radio host and activist who, at age 96, offered me these sage words of advice: "The most important thing in life is to feel needed."

He also countered with, "Sometimes the only answer to a question is, 'BUGGER OFF'."

What's inspiring you these days?

Resources

Remembering the Artist: Robert De Niro, Sr. - official HBO site

Nothing Left Unsaid: Gloria Vanderbilt and Anderson Cooper - official HBO site