Stephen Baker, over at BusinessWeek’s Blogspotting column
(”Where the worlds of business, media and blogs collide”), has posted an entry about reading blogs that are totally outside your traditional interests to spark your creativity.

Baker cites Dan Pink’s book, A Whole New Mind, which argues that creativity will be more important than ever in a world of cheap foreign labor and cheap computing. Pink recommends going to a newsstand and buying 10 magazines you wouldn’t normally read, then looking for new ideas. Baker suggests reading blogs that “have absolutely nothing to do with business, news or technology.”

I guess that leaves Upstart Blogger out of the running, but Baker is looking for nominations. So if your blog isn’t about business, news or technology, you might want to post a comment to his entry.

Personally, I make a habit out of both ideas. I regularly scan the magazines at Borders and buy magazines in different categories, though I mostly pick them because there’s something I appreciate about the design.

Here’s a sampling of magazines I’ve bought recently:

Breathe Magazine. The “modern lifestyle magazine that helps sophisticated readers sculpt a richer, more meaningful life.” Picked it up at Whole Foods Market. Beautiful design.

Grafik. UK graphic design magazine, purporting to be a “journal of the best in international graphic design.”

(mused). This was a freebie, printed on newsprint, that I picked up in Santa Barbara on a recent vacation. Nice design. Maybe it’ll grow into a glossy. I wish them luck.

Esopus Magazine. Described as a “twice-yearly arts magazine featuring fresh, unmediated perspectives on the contemporary cultural landscape from artists, writers, filmmakers, playwrights, photographers, architects, designers, musicians, and other creative professionals.” Featuring “long-form artists’ projects, critical writing, fiction, interviews, and, in each issue, a CD of specially commissioned music.” This is the most beautifully, and creatively, designed magazine I’ve picked up. A work of art you can hold in your hands.

influence. This rag “aims to highlight the protean dialogue that spans disparate forms of creativity and has come to identify the face of cutting-edge artistic expression in recent years.Influencewill discuss the amorphous definitions and fluid interactions between what have previously been considered as discrete categories: various forms of media, distinctions between past and present, ‘high’ and ‘low,’ sublime and ephemeral, the meaning of original gestures, and ultimately the value of the individual in a hyperspeed society.” Yeah, whatever. Fascinating, if pretentious. A coffee table magazine with gorgeous production and design, and great photographs. A bargain at $10.

(Not Only) Black+White. Features “nude pictorials of Australian celebrities and international stars, plus interviews and entertainment news and reviews.” We’re talking stunningly photographed, artistic nudes here. Very tasteful, but not workplace safe (unless you work at home, as I do most of the time).

I’m going to stop about halfway through the recent stack because most of the others are typical graphic and design magazines. Then, of course, there’s a tall stack of Macworlds, photography magazines, TIME magazines, and Wired magazines. I also peek at my wife’s women’s magazines (they’re full of useful tips, you know).

Excuse me a minute…

Wow, just looked through my subs in NewsMac Pro. I’ve got 106 channels in there (I recently weeded out many more that I wasn’t visiting) and I have to confess that most of them relate to business, news and technology (if you include graphic design and web design in there).

Oh, here’s one: Citizen Joe. Not sure why I bookmarked this one, but it looks good. Now I’ll have to take another look.

Wait, this one is great! artificialbutter. I love this guy. Great writing. Some of the stories choke me up. I even bought his book, home, sweet, heart.

Here’s another favorite: The Morning News.

And don’t forget Boing Boing: A Directory of Wonderful Things.

Oh, and Ask MetaFilter. This is a good place to learn about the all important questions, like the age-old question: Did you, as a kid, find porn in the woods? Why the porn in the woods? Where does the porn in the woods come from? (There were no woods near where I grew up, but my friends and I usually had good luck snooping around in basements).

And when I absolutely have to get out of my box, I turn to dooce. It’s my favorite blob. This woman can write, and she’s hysterical (I mean, funny).

Well, Baker (remember Stephen Baker, over at BusinessWeek’s Blogspotting column (”Where the worlds of business, media and blogs collide”), says that Dan Pink got some new ideas from baking and lawn design magazines. Clearly, I’m reading the wrong stuff. Maybe I should be reading Modern Baking.