10 Reasons Why I Hate Pinterest

Let me get this off my chest: I love Pinterest. I am a total Pinterest addict. I have at least 100 or more pins on every one of my boards (my "Bohemian World" board just reached 600 pins).
So why am I writing this type of post?
Because, despite its charms, Pinterest also contains or promotes a few ideas and concepts that get annoying after a while...

1. 1.    Everything has to be cute. Aww, look at the puppy! Aww, look at the cute little comforter that is in such a lovely shade of pastel! It’s all just so happy and fun and sparkly and wonderful, tee hee!
2. 2.    The women are all yuppies, basically. They love coffee, they take care of the kids 24/7, they gossip about reality TV, they love makeup, and they can’t tell you just how many times they posted about that (terribly boring) outfit on Polyvore because it was just so amazing!!!
3. 3.    There are virtually no men. I am so thankful that there are a few men brave enough to post pictures of Rush. But seriously, maybe this absence of males is actually somewhat of a good thing; if boyfriends saw their girlfriend’s wedding board they would freak out.
4. 4.    The expectation for modern mothers is scary. Sure, I have time to meticulously turn your school lunch into an artsy masterpiece; right after I’m done sewing you those twelve new dresses and cooking those wonderfully elaborate chocolate marshmallow cupcakes. What?
5. 5.    The jokes are repetitive. Aw, look at me, I’m so funny! Who cares that a hundred other people have reposted the same exact joke twelve times? It’s still funny!
6. 6.    Some of the crafts are too complex for the average crafter. Who has time to cover an entire floor in pennies or refurbish an old tire with braided twine and ribbon? Seriously.
7. 7.    Women post exercise routines but also post recipes for chocolate-marshmallow-butterscotch-ice cream. Hypocrisy much? Or too much of living in a fantasy? 
8. 8.    The women believe that they will be in control over absolutely everything about a wedding, including the proposal. Weddings are some of the most annoying things on the face of the Earth, mainly because they are only completed between two families. They are never planned and organized by just one person. Besides, even if they were, what would be the point?
9. 9.    There’s too much, “One day, I will do this” and not enough “I actually did this!”  The heartbreaking facet of Pinterest is that we spend too much time on the website itself instead of actually doing the things we see.
10. 10.  All of the nerd stuff is centered around either a) The Avengers, b) Sherlock, c) Harry Potter, or d) Doctor Who. There are other fandoms out there, and the ones that are given the most attention usually end up being the most annoying. 

Tidbits

  Snoopy couldn't have said it better. Writing, though rewarding, is difficult, even when you have a clear idea of what you are doing. I find the biggest problem to be "substance estimation", a phrase I use to describe when your idea of how long the writing piece will be is off by a lot. You could start a short story and end up with a huge novel (my first piece of work, Shadow's Dolls, turned out like this), or what you expect to be a large chunk of pages can actually be the size of a part-time handbook (my current novel). 

  So here is the solution I came up with: "Tidbits".

  "Tidbits" are random little points, scenes, lines of dialogue, or other things that you just happen to write or think up one day. They may fit in perfectly with a plotline you are already mapping out or have no relevance to your current story at all. But let me tell you, they can be a lifesaver if you have writer's block. Tidbits are great for bridging gaps in stories or building up to major plot points. They can also serve as an inspiration to other subplots if you are stuck or feel the story has no meat on it.  

  To find tidbits, dig through your old scrapped works and try to find ancient ideas that might be relevant to your current work. You may need to considerably clean up and modernize the piece, but try to make it fit. 

  One word about writing with tidbits: they are the icing on the cake, not the cake itself. Relying on them to carry the basic story alone will not work. But if used correctly, they can enhance your writing and your wording considerably.

10 ways to increase your productivity

1. Get off the couch.
2. Get off the bed.
3. Take a walk.
4. Exercise for a bit.
5. Organize your room; include making your bed.
6. Turn off your devices (counterpoint: unless you absolutely need them to work).
7. Turn off the Internet (see counterpoint above).
8. Turn off the TV (counterpoint not needed).
9. Yell at yourself in the mirror.
10. Hire someone to slap you each time you get distracted.


Confession: the reason this post is so short is because I have put my writing off until the last minute since I have been filling my days with Pinterest, napping, and eating (grrrr).

But hey, Bohemians rarely have regular jobs anyway. So while the list above is important, you should also understand that inspiration can't be forced. Perhaps the list will even help you to be inspired.

What's your "dream" fund?

We all have that place we want to go. (For me, it's Saratoga, only because I fell in love with it this past July.)

Or maybe it's something we want to do, like go to an expensive restaurant and buy the best bottle of wine available. Endless possibilities, sure....but what I want to know is, have you started your "dream fund"?

It's a very simple thing to start. For one, think of something you always wanted to do but need money for. Then, find a jar, and label it in accordance with your ambition. Add loose change several times until jar is full, and then go to your nearest Coinstar and redeem the coins for cash.

Now, depending on the expense, you may have to refill the jar several times over. But the thing to keep in mind is that all of that change adds up, even if it doesn't seem like much. And don't tell yourself that your dream fund will never amount to anything.

It has been said, "If your dreams don't scare you, they aren't big enough."

How to annoy people at the airport

1.  Go to the luggage claims and grab bags that aren't yours.
2.  Go onto the moving sidewalk-thing and fall down dramatically.
3.  Put signs on every bathroom door that say "Broken". 
4.  Take up entire elevators by lying down with your arms and legs spread apart. 
5.  Put up a sign that says "Days Without An Accident: 0"
6.  Steal a luggage cart and ride it up and down the terminals. 
7.  Ride around the baggage claim.
8.  Read all of the magazines in the stores but buy nothing. 
9.  Cover yourself with water and run out of the bathroom screaming.
10.  Make a large line of ketchup leading out of the women's restroom. 
11.  Put your hand through the carry-on metal detector and demand that you receive the free x-ray that you requested online. 
12. Stare at a wall without blinking. 
13. Don't wear deodorant when you go through security, as it will require you to lift your arms.
14. Hide in the largest bag you can find. 
15. Do a somersault through the metal detector. 
16. Stare out the window and say, "Hey, what's that smoke?"
17. Go to the nearest restaurant and demand your complimentary meal. 
18. Go to Burger King (or any of the fast food chains) and ask where the drive-thru is. 
19. Randomly say: "Did you hear that siren?" 
20. Ride your luggage.  
21. Attempt to ride the luggage of other people. 
22. Look at mirror reflection and scream. 
23. Jam the moving doors with various items.
24. Go into the parking garage and reroute the streets using traffic cones.
25. Announce that various flights are canceled, delayed, moved to another terminal, etc.
26. Grab a few snacks and read every ingredient out loud. 
27. Keep pressing the "Door Open" button on the elevator when people are trying to go up.
28. Act out a scene from Hamlet.  
29. Plug a charger into every possible outlet. 
30. Open bags discreetly but keep the top down to appear as if the bag is still zippered shut. When the person pulls it upward, everything will fall out.  
31. Take out everything in your bag and repack it. Then take it all out an repeat, several times over. 
32. Play a small instrument in the terminal and keep your hat on the ground. If people toss in money, throw it back at them.
33. Try to get on a plane without a ticket. When you are refused entry, shout, "This is because I'm {fill in ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation}, isn't it?" 
34. When people tell you to have a nice flight, scream, "Don't tell me what to do!" 
35. Glue coins to the floor.
36. Run around singing the 99 Bottles Of Beer Song at full volume. 
37. When a plane is delayed, toss the nearest object as far as you can and scream, "ANARCHY!"
38. Find a bag of gummy bears and put them in odd places. 
39. Ride a toy horse through the terminal while yelling, "The British are coming, the British are coming!" 
40. Put on a wig and wander into the bathroom of the opposite sex. When you're in the stall, take off the wig and calmly walk out.
41. Put on a security uniform and randomly frisk attractive people. 
42. Open people's suitcases and rummage through their things. 
43. Go up to the nearest attendant and inquire what brand of condoms will be available during the flight. 
44. Ask about the nearest flight to places such as the Galapagos, North Korea, Jan Mayen, etc.  
45. Peek inside your bag and say, "Got enough oxygen in there?" 
46. Walk into glass panels several times.  
47. Touch every souvenir but do not buy anything. 
48. Ask if you can open a window on the plane to let in fresh air. 
49. Tell inappropriate jokes over the intercom. 
50. Write out misleading signs in different languages and post them everywhere.

"A Town Called Panic" Film Review

As I have (probably) mentioned in an earlier post, the concept of foreign films either excites people or scares them away. And yes, many foreign films are a bit odd, but we have to also take into consideration that American films have the tendency to be repetitive and bland. It's nice to see a film once in a while that is charming, clever, and throughly enjoyable. A Town Called Panic embodies all three of these characteristics. 

The story centers on the main character known as "Horse", simply because he is a brown horse who talks and can do a lot of other human things, such as drive a weird little car with tiny wheels. He lives in a tall house with two other guys named Cowboy and Indian, who are best friends that mean well but are consistently getting into trouble. Horse eventually meets Ms. Longray, a female horse who runs the local music school and wants Horse to take piano lessons. He sees this as an opportunity to impress her, but when Cowboy and Indian try to make Horse a barbecue for his birthday, they accidentally order 50 million bricks instead of 50, and this sets off a chain of events that cause Cowboy, Indian, and Horse to embark on an epic journey to put things back in order among the rural hills of their town. 

The entire film is stop-motion, which makes it extra cool, because it hints at how the creators of the film truly spent a lot of time on bringing the story to life. Nothing in the story makes a whole lot of sense when you consider it in terms of logic, but that's what makes it interesting, accompanied with the fact that this helps the film to not take itself too seriously. How can you be serious with a bunch of anthropomorphic plastic figurines running around speaking French?

The movie comes off as fresh and exciting, and is thoroughly entertaining. The story is simple enough for children to enjoy, but the handmade feel to this movie will surely impress audiences everywhere. 

Overall Rating: 8/10

"Uninhibited": An Ode to the Bohemian

A poem by me, Elizabeth Mehling

Uninhibited.

I am the one on the edges of society.

I hide in the shadows

I stalk the followers

Not planning to attack...

But I watch.

I am the one who stands in the rain

Who draws symbols on my fingers

In pen

Or with charcoal.

I am the one who drives with abandon

I have no schedule

Even though I may get there

I can wait.

I am the one who keeps the brain going

I speak poetically

Erratically, and sensually

I make you climax

With simple words.

I am the one who starts a conversation

About the creation of the universe

About Dali and Kerouac

And how cats often make

The best muse. 

I am the one who is aware of my presence

I move with grace

Or I tear consciousness to bits

With such force that some wonder

If I’m mad.

I am the one who is mad.

I am the one who observes.

I am the one who dances

And dances

And dances

Maverick, I christen thee.