Are You Bored Yet?

[curiouswombat]

Are you bored yet? Now that all the festivities of Christmas and New Year are over, the decorations are down, the January Sales have been exhausted, you've been back at work for a couple of weeks and got rid of the backlog... and you want an excuse not to start the spring cleaning.

If you want something to keep you occupied I have a couple of suggestions.

For friends who like to take photos - why not join The Photo Scavenger Community?

A new theme each week for you to interpret as you will and post a picture. Not onerous - but fun. And it would be so much more fun if there were more members... You don't even have to go out and shoot a new pic if you have the perfect one for the week's theme already on file.

For friends who like Tolkien - there are plans to hold the first ever Tolkien Big Bang. If you are like me, you may not know what a Big Bang is - well, I know now, because I read the info!

Writers commit to a story of 20,000 words or more before July, artists to do art work to go with the stories. So if you aren't a writer, but like doing artistic stuff (in which case I admire you enormously), it might be a new and interesting challenge for you. Think of not only the films to help with Lord of The Rings, but all the lovely things you could do with trees, lakes, rivers, jewels.... go on - you know you want something to stop you getting bored!


This was going to be purely a pimping post - but there is something else I really must share, too. I have just had a review of "Return of The Key" left at Twisting the Hellmouth. It starts

After reading AEMI's Serpent In Paradise, it's impossible for me to enjoy any other LOTR fanfic.

Then it goes on to, I guess, quote large chunks of their preferred fic... (here is the whole review if you are interested!)

I was a bit gob-smacked as to how to reply. I settled for Oh, how sad. I am sorry that you didn't enjoy this one .

I came to the conclusion the reviewer must have been bored to have read as far as the epilogue when they found it impossible to enjoy it!

Comments

[bojojoti.livejournal.com]

That was the most bizarre review or comment! I couldn't figure out what the person was trying to convey with the odd snippets and the holier-than-thou attitude. I don't think even constructive criticism is warranted in a case where it isn't requested and the material has been freely given. It makes me wonder if the tale referenced was written by your commenter!

Evidently, serpents not only reside in Paradise, but there are a few slithering about on the Internet, too.

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

I really have no idea what they were trying to convey either - I read it and thought 'What?' and read it again, then decided not to be bothered by it!

It makes me wonder if the tale referenced was written by your commenter! - I hadn't thought of that!

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

I did, but there's no user information for the reviewer so I can't think of any way to check.

[speakr2customrs.livejournal.com]

Prometeus' real name is Richard Kulisz. The author of 'Serpent in Paradise' is Dutch. I really don't think they're the same person.

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

S2C reckons not the same person - but it does look more like a weird pimp than a review. After church I might go and see if he's left the same sort of comment on anyone else's fic.

My first thought was that, if it was a form of pimping, it would make sense to put it on something more recent than Return - but then it's the one with the most hits, so maybe he thought more people would read it...?