Spell it out in the entries of the Weekly Photo Challenge: Letters.
Across the Bored likes nothing better than to walk around in art museums contemplating the collections. What pleasure to work our way from the ancient to the modern in a few hours, lingering over the Renaissance, idling near the Impressionists, pondering the Cubists… but there are, depending on the curator’s choice of selections, some rooms we pass through at a brisk clip. Those walls where big, expensive panels glare at us in Webster’s best definition of art “expressing ideas and emotions by using elements such as colors and lines without attempting to create a realistic picture” and leave us, essentially, wondering why?
We do recognize most forms of artistic endeavour but there is a trend on many of the sites we visit online, both photographic and otherwise, that elicits the same reaction. One might assume by the number of purple leopards and fragmented flowers in the more purely conceptually dedicated galleries that there were a few who were asleep in Art Appreciation 101. A lot of people don’t get it, don’t care or just refuse to colour that boldly outside the lines. Does there have to be some reference point, some readily identifiable thing that puts it all into perspective and generates that “aha” moment where our brains are more comfortable being led to a conclusion? Or is it just easier?
We much prefer drifting along the stream of consciousness. With no man at the oars as it were, we are often spectators to the unusual, the unasked for, the unexpected. The waters can be idyllically calm or we hit the rapids with such force that it knocks the wind out of us – there are times when we feel like a man overboard but there is always the consolation that we can swim to shore with the best of them. This fortnight the Two Cents Tuesday Challenge guesses that an enjoyment of most things – Abstract – depends on where one has been before and perhaps even how far one is willing to go.
“What is abstract for you” – A concept or theory, an artwork or query, a math problem, a description, philosophy or music, the very universe …
We would love to see your vision.
For all those who are new readers to Across the Bored, here are some guidelines for the challenge: HOW DOES THIS WORK?
Get a view from above in the entries of the Weekly Photo Challenge: On Top.
Visit the imposing in the entries of the Weekly Photo Challenge: Monument.
Could be Worse.
2 Saturdays ago, Across the Bored was feeling very sorry for herself indeed having endured the emergency room and an unnecessarily long wait for a taxi to get ourselves back to the safety of bed and an icepack. We mustn’t have looked in too much distress though for the driver, when he finally arrived and was asked to hurry (because we were “in pain”) remarked “Did you have a stroke?”
Our first thought was “Do we look that old?” and the second was yes, it is true, it could have been worse. He was, of course, trying to lighten the mood and focus my attention on other matters for what, really, could ruin a perfectly good weekend morning for him than having some awful woman moaning or worse, throwing up, in the back of his cab…
We get used to being healthy. Or in pain. And it’s only when we’re not that we realize how much we should count our blessings. We were lucky enough to be able to take a week off from our usual pursuits without much ado. As much as that in itself was a little bit of system shock it brought home the happy thought that there are people out there thinking of us, and more importantly, willing to wait for our return.
In the hours spent offline alot happened no doubt. One hand thumb scrolling is a perilous pastime at best and we didn’t get around to visiting as much or as often as we would have liked to. We did get our work featured in the galleries above though (insert bloated ego here) which does give us the added incentive to keep on keeping on. Like this fortnight’s Two Cents Tuesday Challenge, we are truly – Grateful – that we are appreciated and that all our work in whatever form it takes is having an impact on those who view it. All we can do is say thanks….
“Are you grateful” – For socialized medicine, healing rotator cuffs, a like on your post or tribulations tough, family, friends, the children next door, muddy paws of loved dogs that muck up the floor …
We would love to see your vision.
For all those who are new readers to Across the Bored, here are some guidelines for the challenge: HOW DOES THIS WORK?
See the connection in the entries of the Weekly Photo Challenge: Reflections.
There comes a time when one has to start regulating diets, actually climbing on that exercise bike instead of using it as a clothes hanger and get down to some serious lifestyle adjustment to ensure a healthy segue into the next stage of existence. Across the Bored has been a very, very good girl for a few seasons and is starting to enjoy the rewards of the aforesaid but every once in a while…
It was exactly one of those days where just a bite of heaven was needed to tide things over when the idea sprang to mind that it had been a very long time indeed since we had had any kind of indulgence. Little prodding was needed to get Miss Z to explore a newish patisserie and with the only proviso that she come home with something nice, the mission was set. A long half-hour later, the Two Cents Tuesday Challenge opened a red ribbon-tied, nondescript white box and discovered – Bliss – pure, unadulterated, non-processed just like the old days, ready to be devoured puff pastry delight. Truly a gastronomic manifestation of the divine, we both feel much better now.
“Describe your own form of bliss” – In a box or under the sun, in a soft smile or sweet song, in a bath full of bubbles or a night on the town…
We would love to see your vision.
For all those who are new readers to Across the Bored, here are some guidelines for the challenge: HOW DOES THIS WORK?
Long before the term fashionista was coined, Across the Bored reserved some articles of clothing for very specific occasions. That crew-neck number with the short, short sleeves and neon palm trees splashed across the front? Definitely non-public work-out wear. The grease-stained grey baby with the ragged hem? Saturday washing the car outfit number one. The one-size fits all Betty Boop blowing kisses sent by Mom? Bedtime for baby… Nowadays, with a decidedly different emphasis on comfort in the career department and a shifted view on what’s stylishly acceptable, that white supersoft, silk-thin pima v-neck is just the ticket. Add really good jewellery and a fab pair of shoes and this kind of simple top becomes an elegant option that no one will question.
The earliest record of this cotton coverup dates back to just after the Spanish-American War; what originally started out as part of the regulation uniform for the US Navy in 1913 has now become a billion dollar business. The Two Cents Tuesday Challenge guesses that (apart from undergarments and perhaps jeans) – T-Shirts – are probably the most popular piece of clothing now worn by man.
“Do you have any favourite t-shirts?” – White or bright, graphic or plain, with a strong statement or silly message, baby Ts or oversized gangsta…
We would love to see your vision.
For all those who are new readers to Across the Bored, here are some guidelines for the challenge: HOW DOES THIS WORK?
blame the grandmothersWhen we were very young one grandmother was known for squeezing her tootsies into too tight pumps – size 6 was just not dainty enough in her estimation. In her cupboard among black patent stilettos and dyed to match satin was a pair of clear plastic peep-toe sandals encrusted with rhinestones on the vamp and running up the lucite heel – an exotic object of desire that, to our 4 year old eyes, were fit for a princess. We would slip our tiny toes into the fronts and balance carefully, yearning for the day that they would fit like a glove and carry us across the dance floor in a dream. They taught us the importance of weight distribution (a skill that would come in handy many years later while running for the bus) and in some ways sowed the seeds of a life-long predilection for the embellished.
Our other grandmother had not been blessed with small feet. Her size 11s were the source for many a sailboat joke and fit much better on our forearms or as transportation for our Barbies – deep in our hearts we knew that we would never fit in any of them. There was an upside however in that she had a whole galaxy of choice on the sale racks; all the best brands were marked down to bargain-basement prices for lack of clientele and she would smile ever so slightly as she tried on pair after pair with great success. Lesson number 2: Never pay retail – expensive footwear is much more comfortable at 70% off.
The Two Cents Tuesday Challenge has more than a passing interest in what we protect our appendages with. From cavemen to astronauts, we put them on last and (usually) take them off first – Shoes – love them or leave them, most people (and even some pets) wear them.
“What do your shoes say about you?” – Are they practical and sturdy, coquette with a heel,the pair that won’t be thrown out or a baby’s first, memories of your own or being put into someone else’s, wellies, waders, golfers with spikes, mountaineers, runners, ugly ones no one likes…
We would love to see your vision.
For all those who are new readers to Across the Bored, here are some guidelines for the challenge: HOW DOES THIS WORK?
Our notion of what is truly important is being challenged these days – whether it is the dynamics of a constantly changing interaction with relatives, co-workers and acquaintances, picking out the true from the trite in the onslaught from the media and rampant materialism, right down to the manner in which we deal with the world and the way that the world treats us. No one said it would be easy and the tenets that we have chosen to live by expand and contract as we learn more about ourselves and our place in this time.
Everyday we favour one thing over another, sometimes bad decision-making in retrospect, but nonetheless an often intuitive, instinctual or habitual choice that reflects on who we have become. From breakfast cereal to detergent, religion to life partners, country to cause, when we are not actively seeking out what we hope is the best option then we usually reach for that which has always been there. The rewards can be great or sadly disappointing, the trick is to get the lag-time down to a minimum so that we don’t flail around wasting what little time we can sanely allot to the many things that fill up our days.
The Two Cents Tuesday Challenge suspects that it all boils down to a perhaps selfish sense of – Loyalty – to what extent we are willing to go and how much we feel we need in return. It becomes problematic when one outweighs the other.
“What does loyalty mean to you?” – A pledge of allegiance, personal devotion, a philosophical concept or biblical notion, a dog to his master, the bond between friends…
We would love to see your vision.
For all those who are new readers to Across the Bored, here are some guidelines for the challenge: HOW DOES THIS WORK?
Art – you either love it or hate it, want to hang it on your wall or throw it in the dustbin, mortgage your house because you absolutely have to have it or wonder why someone would pay a nickel for it. It’s all a matter of taste… Our first round of post secondary studies at art school were spent with the idea that the milieu itself would drive us to create works of such beauty and resonance that the critics would fall swooning at our feet. The reality was somewhat colder – yes, we did produce a few good pieces but truth was, at that time, most of the really good artists we saw were young and starving, or old and starving, and the thought of spending the next 20 years following in their footsteps paled to the opportunities presenting themselves in the wonderful world of advertising. So off we went and putting our visions on canvas became a hobby rather than a career.
The years passed and so did our focus. Today those projects which would have taken days, if not weeks, of toiling away can be accomplished in far less than an afternoon, sometimes instantaneously. We have the luxury of technology at our fingertips and switch with ease from one editing application to another, a few swipes and saves here, erase there, rework, restore, recombine and voila, we are very pleased indeed. Our masterpieces may never hang in the Met but we should at least get bonus points for creating them in less time than it takes to properly wash a good set of brushes…
From fingers to spatulas, the Two Cents Tuesday Challenge knows that everyone everywhere has, at one point or another, tried – Painting.
“What does painting represent for you?” – Graffiti on a wall, framed flowers in the hall, a masterpiece old or abstract bold, the sides of a house, finish on a car, commercial or couture …
We would love to see your vision.
For all those who are new readers to Across the Bored, here are some guidelines for the challenge: HOW DOES THIS WORK?
As odd as it may seem, awhile back we had a conversation about the joys fruitcake with a fellow blogger. As a kid, we didn’t see its merits: only the candied cherries were worth picking out of the slices on the sideboard, the rest of it seemed uninspiring. Today, people fall into one of two camps with this traditional holiday fare – most hate it, probably due to the regifting of those tasteless convenience store cardboard bricks fobbed off as “delectable” once-a-year treats or memories of dry slices served up at Granny’s knee – and those of us who truly enjoy a thin slice of vintage, brandy-soaked nostalgia made with our own hands.
Across the Bored became a convert a few years back when a friend bestowed upon us about 5 pounds of very exotic dried fruit. Our first thought was that there was no way we would every be able to eat our way through it and the next idea was why not try to make a real Victorian fruitcake, one that would sit for a few months in a dark place soaking up some really good brandy, just to take the edge off. Consultation of The American Heritage Cookbook provided exactly the recipe we were hoping for and resulted in the absolutely best, sinfully tastiest potential doorstop ever. The recipe follows with our additions in italics….
BLACK FRUITCAKE
This recipe is of English origin and is known variously as Dark Fruitcake, English Fruitcake, Black Fruitcake and Merry Christmas Cake.
1/4 pound candied citron
1/8 pound candied lemon peel
1/8 pound candied orange peel
1/2 pound candied cherries
1 pound candied pineapple
1 pound golden raisins
1/2 pound seeded raisins (we used sultanas)
1/4 pound currants
1/4 pound blanched shelled almonds
1/4 pound shelled walnuts or pecans
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon mace
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
5 eggs
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 cup dark rum, cognac, sherry or Madeira (we used 1 1/4 cups Chemineaud brandy)
We also fudged on the 1 pound ingredients and added in dried prunes, papaya, pear, apple, blueberries, cherries, figs, dates, and cranberries…
The fruit and nuts should be prepared a day ahead as follows: sliver the citron, lemon and orange peel into very thin strips; cut the cherries in half and the pineapple in thin wedges. Set aside. Pick over the raisins and currants to eliminate stray stems or seeds and add to fruit. Coarsely chop the other dried fruit and add to mixture covering. Add rum, cognac, sherry or Madeira and soak overnight (we had so much fruit that 1/2 cup just wasn’t enough and soaked the whole in Brandy for 3 days just to be sure!) Chop the almonds and the walnuts or pecans coarsely. Set them aside, too. The day (of cooking) prepare the pan. Grease a 10-inch tube pan, four 1 pound coffee cans, or 2 bread pans, measuring 9 x5x3 inches (we used 3 vintage round spring-form pans with a side lock). Line with brown paper (there is a very good reason for this…)
To make the cake: Mix 1/2 cup of the sifted flour with all of the fruit and nuts in a large bowl. Sift remaining flour with spices and baking soda (you can add more of the spices to taste). Cream butter until soft, then work in granulated sugar and brown sugar, a little at a time, until the mixture is smooth. Stir in the eggs, milk, almond extract, and, finally, the flour mixture. Mix thoroughly. Pour over the fruit and nuts and work together, with your hands, until the batter is well mixed. Lift the batter into the pan or pans and press it down firmly to make a compact cake when cooked. Bake in a preheated 275 degree oven. A tube pan that uses all of the batter will take 3 1/4 hours; the bread pans, which will hold half the batter, 2 1/4 hours; the coffee cans, which each hold one-fourth of the batter, 2 hours; (the round pans which we used were probably around 2 1/2 hours with lots of checking – being an intuitive cook is why we don’t write a food blog…) Remove cakes from the oven, let stand half an hour, then turn out onto cake racks. Peel off the brown paper very carefully. the four small, round cakes make attractive Christmas presents.
To age the Fruitcakes: Allow at least four weeks (we left ours for at least that many months, poking with a toothpick and watering liberally with brandy once a month, and they are still tasty over a year later). Wrap each cake in several layers of cheesecloth well soaked in rum, cognac, sherry or Madeira. Place in an airtight container, such as a large crock or kettle, and cover tightly (we wrapped ours further in 2 layers of tin foil and placed in metal cake tins). If the cheesecloth dries out, moisten it with a little of the wine or spirits. Do not overdo it. The cakes should be firm, not soft, at the end of the aging period. This will make them easy to slice in neat, compact slices. If you wish to frost fruitcakes after they have been properly aged, cover the top first with Almond Paste, then with Milk Frosting (this can be tricky as my mother and grandmother found out 2 days before our wedding and had to resort to blow-drying the almond paste onto the cake… but that is for another post). To decorate, make a garland of candied cherries, slivered angelica, and blanched whole almonds around the edge of the cake.
And that’s it.
Would We do it again? Probably. It is intensely time-consuming, expensive and requires a good knowledge beforehand of baking and some nursing throughout the aging period but it is also deliciously worth it, once in a very special while. Perhaps when this one is finished or for a wedding… So the Two Cents Tuesday Challenge for this fortnight is – Cook – because we all have to eat, one way or another.
“How do you cook?” – On a griddle, on a grill, on a Bbq in winter still, like a short-order guy, fritters, fish or fry, vegan or carnivore, a little less or a little more…
We would love to see your vision.
For all those who are new readers to Across the Bored, here are some guidelines for the challenge: HOW DOES THIS WORK?
Hmmphh, Calipha they say… those brilliant ideas, where does he think they come from – Divine Inspiration? They don’t waft in like the desert breeze – it is my soft voice in his ear while he sleeps that changes the course of time. If I wore a turban instead of a shawl…
The Bookshelf Gargoyle curates a Fiction in 50 mini-narrative challenge – the current theme is Reflections! Throw it back, ruminate upon it or look into it – but do sit down and write a piece of short, short fiction, send it in and go and have a peek at the other entries – GargoyleBruce writes wonderful reviews on all sorts of kid lit (big and small) with a cheeky tone guaranteed to make you laugh out loud. Wander through the stacks, you are sure to find something you’ll like.
Click on the icon in the sidebar for previous entries…
Sometimes something silly is the only cureAcross the Bored doesn’t subscribe to cable – this is a statement that often elicits reactions of shock and awe to those who couldn’t live without their daily dose of reality TV, sports network or gardening channel. It’s not that we have any ideological issues (well, maybe…) with commercial broadcasting but it was a conscious decision to boycott the usurious rates of the providers and hopefully foster some independent thought in our then-toddlers. Fast-forward 20 years and we realize that time does go really fast when one is otherwise occupied and we actually haven’t missed all that much that we didn’t find out by other means. Anything we could possibly be interested in now seems to be available digitally. Some of it, like the classic Christmas fare that just gets better every year is even, gasp, on VHS tapes made painstakingly before the advent of the internet…
It just wouldn’t be the holiday season without a dose of Chip ‘n’ Dale annoying Donald and Pluto, Burl Ives’ voice from the past placating a sad Rudolph or everyone’s favourite alter-ego, the Grinch. This harmless nostalgic yearning comes at a time of year when we are the most likely to get stressed and should be indulged – so we don’t get that one last thingamabob for Auntie or bake an extra batch of cookies just in case: will anyone notice but ourselves? And wouldn’t we be better served in the long run by telling those around us to do the same, come and cuddle on the couch, just laugh and forget about everything else for a few hours?
These are the Two Cents Tuesday Challenge – Wishes – for the next few weeks, to slow down, reconnect, re-evaluate and relax.
This holiday season maybe we should all take a step to the side and let the hustle and bustle rush past us – “What are your wishes for the coming year?” – Peace on earth, good will to men, more fun, more sun, more hours in the day like way back when, less noise, no batteries in toys, clear sailing or a new adventure …
We would love to see your vision.
For all those who are new readers to Across the Bored, here are some guidelines for the challenge: HOW DOES THIS WORK?
The Ghost has rediscovered his Irish roots, much to both our pleasure, through a series of university courses, lectures and seminars. It is all shaping up nicely to provide him with some sort of tangible evidence for why we sometimes act the way we do, choose to take a particular tack or get misty-eyed over certain strains of celtic viola. Not that our boat landed recently – that side of the family has been in this country since before Confederation, making their way from the shores of Lake Ontario, through the dense forests and up into the wilds to carve a home from the rocky terrain. The lineage we trace, both paternal and maternal, meanders across the map: the reasons for self-imposed exodus lost like the details of their lives.
Ours was never a family to cast their lot enthusiastically with any one nationality, it was as if they willingly became anonymous in their homogeneity, their affiliations resting with the language they spoke rather than the places they came from. But some things are just in the blood – and they resurface, making themselves present in ways we never thought possible. As we follow this backwards journey into a historicity rarely touched upon by those who would have done well to tell us more, the pieces slowly start to fall into place.
Sometimes, the Two Cents Tuesday Challenge surmises, strange – Paths – lead us where we least expect to go.
Everyone today seems to be going somewhere in a hurry – “Where do the paths lead in your world?” – Round in circles, up steep hills, through the countryside or urban jungle, away from family, back into a lover’s arms, down the road to perdition or happily forward into the future …
We would love to see your vision.
For all those who are new readers to Across the Bored, here are some guidelines for the challenge: HOW DOES THIS WORK?
the long slow death of penmanshipOur post box is filled with bills and flyers urging us to consume. The only time something comes in a lovely envelope is for an occasion and even then older family members have to be reminded to send something along so their grandchildren won’t be peeved. Our circle of acquaintances that are able to put pen to paper, don’t. They text, tweet or Facebook. We can’t remember the last time we got a letter on crisp vellum recounting the events of the year, the weddings, births, deaths, milestones of a life lived. We are not blameless either – we get on the phone to bring those closest to us up to date or pop off a funny card when the mood strikes, but it isn’t really the same. We miss getting mail….
Perhaps our blogs have replaced this gentle art – they have become our virtual diaries, daily journals, the place where we expose our secret thoughts and that which we sometimes wouldn’t dare to expose to the light of day otherwise. The code that brings our words to life and sends them off to those who love, appreciate and yes, even wait for, them is both a blessing and a curse. This week, the Two Cents Tuesday Challenge puts it in – Writing.
“What form does writing take for you?” – Feather and quill, a typewriter still, texts and tweets, parking tickets in the street, a child’s first scrawl or graffiti on the wall …
We would love to see your vision…. write something today!
For all those who are new readers to Across the Bored, here are some guidelines for the challenge: HOW DOES THIS WORK?
The passage of time itself has been a bit like that as well – rough, placid, rock ‘n roll, some hours and days so filled with change that we thought things would never be the same and indeed, they haven’t. But on the whole, we can’t complain – like our mantra, “it could be worse” and without divine inspiration and the support and encouragement of our virtual brethren, it might very well have been. Who would have thought that we could last this long? This week, the Two Cents Tuesday Challenge, like our own Miss Z, is celebrating a milestone – Birthday.
“How do you envision birthday?” – With cake and candles, far from home, by the light of a fire with an ancient tome, kiddie balloons or grown-up winks, doggie treats or a nice cold drink …
We would love to see your vision…. and have a slice of something sweet to help us celebrate!
For all those who are new readers to Across the Bored, here are some guidelines for the challenge: HOW DOES THIS WORK?
Look into the distance with the entries of the Weekly Photo Challenge: Horizon.
Young or old, modern life is complicated. Although some may argue otherwise, even if we don’t seem to accomplish much, it does seem as though we are busier than our ancestors. Released from the constraints of nightfall, technology and the miracle of electricity almost dare us to shut down and just go to bed. Our mothers shake their heads, incredulous that we are tuned in to people and places that 50 years ago would only have appeared in National Geographic or Life magazine and that we are turned on (to and by) the vast virtual machine that once was only a mathematician’s puzzling dream. That many drop out is inevitable.
When we get just that little bit too stressed out, start losing it on a regular basis, grinding our teeth in the night or wondering just what is the point of it all anyway, that is the time to stop, take a step to the side and remember what it was like to see as a child. A post-it scrawled in tiny script on the Ghost’s computer sums it up just like this week’s Two Cents Tuesday Challenge: “Regain the – Wonder“.
“What shape does wonder come to you in?” – Swirling leaves and sunlit skies, the grasp of a hand or babies’ sighs, lions that play as cats or cats who would be lions, fireworks, roller coasters, neon signs …
We would love to see your vision.
For all those who are new readers to Across the Bored, here are some guidelines for the challenge: HOW DOES THIS WORK?
Get an idea of how others see themselves in the entries of
the Weekly Photo Challenge: The Hue of You.
Go everywhere and anywhere in the entries of the Weekly Photo Challenge: Infinite.
Get off to a good start with the entries in
the Weekly Photo Challenge: Good Morning!
Although blessed by the bounty the land brings us when you live in a climate like ours, no, we are not thankful that the freedom of hot August days are long gone. Now we have to hunker down, put up, store away, make sure that there is enough of everything to span those months when the possibility of no electricity or heat surrounded by six feet of snow are much more of a reality than any television show. Everyone around us seems off-balance, suddenly reminded that there is much to do before December’s clarion call of familial duty and forced cheerfulness – so throw in one long weekend, a turkey, too many carbohydrates and a few vices of choice and you have a recipe for interesting times.
Did our ancestors feel the same way? Did our French forebears complain about having to go out and shoot one more grouse because ma tante had decided that she was going to grace them with her presence after all? Did our First Nations brethren grumble that it really wasn’t the best time of year for Still Water and his brood to stay for a few days? Did our English and Irish pioneers rue the day they left green pastures and a good cup of tea as they looked out into the wilderness? Perhaps, and like this week’s Two Cents Tuesday Challenge, they also may have been comforted by their new world’s rich – Harvest – one that, in essence, has not changed a whole lot over the course of a few centuries.
“How do you see harvest at this time of year?” – Pumpkins sweet and squash to eat, family near,the holiday blear, pilgrims and the past or things that don’t last, falling leaves or the hopes we retrieve …
We would love to see your vision.
For all those who are new readers to Across the Bored, here are some guidelines for the challenge: HOW DOES THIS WORK?
Experience the most intense entries in the Weekly Photo Challenge: Saturated.
See every manner of configuration in the entries of
the Weekly Photo Challenge: From Lines to Patterns.
Today, when our extended family is swelling and we all seem to take up more than our fair share of square footage, our concerns run to how to juggle (or at worst rearrange) what is gobbling up airspace and ideally get rid of some of it so that we can all breathe a little easier. No easy feat. The thoughts and ideas of large personalities seem to fill the very atmosphere leaving little room for much else.
Every day we are reminded of the proportions and volume of things – from the ways it affects us physically in our health and diets, to how the questionable amount of possessions we encumber ourselves with can sometimes weigh heavily, to the length and breadth of the places we visit, the scope and scale of the projects we work on and the magnitude of the concepts we share.
The Two Cents Tuesday Challenge posits that, contrary to what we have all been told – Size – actually does matter.
Everything is relative – “What does size mean in your world?” – Big cats or little hats, too tight rants or too loose pants, babies in arms with teeny toes, the aristocratic line of a Roman nose, change enough to fill the sky or small wonders that make you sigh …
We would love to see your vision.
For all those who are new readers to Across the Bored, here are some guidelines for the challenge: HOW DOES THIS WORK?
On a bit of a slow-down as far as blog-related endeavours were concerned, more out of suffering from a creative drought than anything else, our meanderings did lead us to an interesting post over at Flickr Comments – Make your tagxedo – in which he provides a link to a nifty site where one can create custom tag clouds. Certainly a good way to pass a few minutes (or hours depending on how obsessive one is) and design a block of text that truly reflects either a specific blog post, archive or just a group of meaningful words, it makes text fun. Why not pay a visit to Tagxedo and whip something up for this week’s challenge?A few of our own experiments yielded radically different results, much like what happens whenever we sit down at the keyboard…
Playing with the tagxedo was the first step in reminding ourselves why we are actually here in the first place – to share a vision through images and the language they engender and vice versa, to see what and how our friends and acquaintances are writing about, how they are documenting their bit of the world for all to see and in the end, communicate. A visit to our friend Cee to check out her gorgeous photography was the capper to getting Tuesday’s posts back onto some sort of regular schedule. She also participates in and runs many challenges and mentioned that WordPress has a new feature – Blog Event Listings – for those of us who just can’t get enough of a good thing. How could we resist?
The Two Cents Tuesday Challenge was lured back in and had no choice but to put it all into – Words.
The floodgates are now open – “How do words manifest for you?” – Are they printed on the page, all the rage, do they make a song or string you along, in a magazine, newspaper, novel or monitor, on the wall or as a sign, manuals long or fonts fine …
We would love to see your vision.
For all those who are new readers to Across the Bored, here are some guidelines for the challenge: HOW DOES THIS WORK?
Taking a cue from others who have done the same, for all intents and purposes, the Two Cents Tuesday Challenge is now – Out.
is it hoarding if it’s organized?☍
Half of our horde has been back in the academic grind for a week now with great success. The courses are inspiring, the professors better than expected and the schedule, well, not everything can be perfect but it is only until December when the collegial masses get a 6 WEEK break. Nice to be young. Across the Bored took the opportunity of one less body in the house to put all the paperwork lying around from the summer in order, file the bills, catch up on correspondence and get back to the arduous process of going through 20 years of accumulated boxed ephemera that has been sitting in the warehouse. Multitasking was going relatively well until the computer stated in no uncertain terms “Unable to save – Memory scratch disk full”. What? How is that possible? Didn’t we just go through this 2 months ago?
Odd that these files seem to take up an inordinate amount of space and much like all of that stuff in the physical storage facility, must be gotten rid of. Story of our life that we save so much that only we are ultimately interested in and then heart-wrenchingly have to dispose of like stale left-overs or unwanted houseguests. Would that there was an easy, Zen way to deal with this phenomenon and not have to wrestle with the body-numbing paralysis that sets in whenever we turn that piece of paper or fiddly bit over and over in our hands wondering “Are we going to need this 3 months after we throw it out”? Or worse still, the dreaded terrors of not being able to find that one thing you really really needed because in a fit of disposal anxiety you didn’t do one last triage on that box you dropped off at the Goodwill….
Do we ever learn from those things that we seem to do over and over again or does it just transform into something different but similar as time goes by? Like this fortnight’s Two Cents Tuesday Challenge, we might need to change our – Routine.
Last week we asked “How does routine appear to you?” – The drive to town every morn, that pair of shoes always worn, wake-up calls or favourite malls, superb meals or special deals, meditation, daily prayer, yoga mats or just a love of all that …
We would love to see your vision.
For all those who are new readers to Across the Bored, some great entries and the guidelines for this fortnight’s challenge can be found here. Need more info – Have a look at HOW DOES THIS WORK.
We would love to see your vision.
For all those who are new readers to Across the Bored, here are some guidelines for the challenge: HOW DOES THIS WORK?
ACROSS THE BORED 