web counter

Look to Have Fun with the World

Filed Under Motivation/Inspiration, Successful Blog | 7 Comments

Look to Be Delighted

The Living Web

Some where around age 9 is when our the frontal lobe of brains develop the capacity to take on abstract thought. The new-found ability to shift in and out of literal thinking could make fun out of the most mundane thought.

Signs were particularly fun.

A sign like this meant where a fire would go out.

fire exit


And in 9-year-old humor, a sign like this meant it was time to visit the toilet. Spotting such signs gained “extra points.”

P sign


This pointed out an option among many we might choose.

one_way_sign


Growing up we spent lots of time in cars and signs like these kept us busy while we were awaiting the grownups in our lives. So naturally we got good at finding new meaning almost anywhere we looked.

With eye like that, imagine what I thought when this taxi came into view. Click to enlarge and read the sign on its roof. What route do you suppose that cab’s will take to get there?

Taxi_to_London_by_Liz_Strauss


This weekend I’ll be looking to have fun with the world like that.

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Images top3: sxc.hu taxi: LizStrauss
Work with Liz!!

Like the Blog? Buy my eBook!

Tags: ,

Share This

Oh My!! EVEN MORE Brilliant Link Stories!!!

Filed Under Successful Blog, Writing, ZZZ-FUN | 7 Comments

The Stories Continue . . .

You might remember the A Puzzler for a Fun Post and a Little Labor Day Link Love. I offered you a fill-in-the-blank story and a directory of links with which to complete it. I even wrote one of my own for the fun!

I set up some silly rules and invited you to do the same thing. Then, oh, then I said these fateful words, “I’ll do something creative with the links you leave.” You were fabulous and wrote wonderful tales — each one uniquely belonging in a line with the rest. It was obvious that I had my work cut out for me.

First You Wrote These Stories

You were fabulous and wrote wonderful tales — each one uniquely belonging in a line with the rest. It was obvious that I had my work cut out for me. You might remember I listed them about a week ago.

I was starting to put together a tale from these titles, when more and more started coming in.

Then You Wrote Even More!!

It seems that the idea was a tiny bit contagious. New stories kept showing up at my door. They’re as brilliant and fabulous as the ones the inspired them. So I’m sharing them here too.

Do you think there might be YET AGAIN EVEN MORE?!!!

If you’ve not read any of these, do it now. They are brilliant and fabulous. Really.

Now about that doing something creative part . . . it’s going to take longer than I was ever suspecting.

I’ll be back before the year is out . . .

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!

Related
Liz’s Thematic Links Story: Lorelle’s Blogging Birthday Quest
A List Becomes 301 Links in Story — Chapter 1

Tags: , ,

Share This

Blog Libs Stories — Aren’t You Brilliant?!!

Filed Under Successful Blog, Writing, ZZZ-FUN | 11 Comments

You Make Me Look Like a Piker

You might remember the A Puzzler for a Fun Post and a Little Labor Day Link Love. I offered you a fill-in-the-blank story and a directory of links with which to complete it. I even wrote one of my own for the fun!

Then I set up some silly rules and invited you to do the same thing.

  1. Copy the unfinished story below into your post box.

  2. Fill in the blanks to finish the story. For most of the blanks use a blogger’s name, a trait, a post title, a blog title — get creative. Finish each sentence in an unexpected way. You can find plenty of links to spark your imagination at the A-Z directory.

  3. Link the text you added back to the blog or blogger you’re referencing.

  4. Be creative. Change the words or storyline as you wish in order to fit in the links you like.

  5. When you’re done, leave a link with the title to your version of the story in the comment box below.

Then, oh, then I said these fateful words, “I’ll do something creative with the links you leave.”

The Links You Left

I thought that rather than make you wait for the link love. Since I’ve got a doctor’s thing and a trip to the west coast this week, I’m compiling the list here. I’m starting with my own title and going down the line of those you left.

If yours or another you know about is missing, please tell me so that I can add it.

If you’ve not read them, do it now. They are brilliant and fabulous. Really.

Now about that doing something creative part . . . what was I thinking?

I’ll be back with something creative. After all, I promised.

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!

Related
Liz’s Thematic Links Story: Lorelle’s Blogging Birthday Quest
A List Becomes 301 Links in Story — Chapter 1

Tags: , ,

Share This

Graduation . . . The Signs Were All There

Filed Under Successful Blog, ZZZ-FUN | 2 Comments

Nerd Family on TV

This post is purely for weekend entertainment. I point you to it at my writing blog to give a peek into the guy who graduates today. This is an excerpt from what I call “The Milk Story.” It’s part of the reason I think of the three of us as Nerd Family on TV.

One thing about three-year-olds is that today they’ll eat any thing. Tomorrow you can offer the very same thing, and they won’t go anywhere near it. Our son had a signal for when he was in the latter mood. He would fill up on milk and ignore his food. That’s exactly what he did to his dad’s highly-prepared meal. The young man of three, drank his milk. Looked at his plate. Looked at his father and with angelic politeness said,

“May I have more milk, please?”

“I think you need to eat first,” his father replied.

Our son politely shifted his position, turning his back to his father his face to me, ignoring his food and his father too. He said, “Mom how do you spell refrigerator? . . . chandelier? . . . calculator? . . . spoon?

If we were talking about my son, it’s often the first story I tell about him. It defines our family perfectly. To read the whole story, click the title below.

Nerd Family on TV: The Milk Story

Today that three-year-old boy graduates from college. He doesn’t remember that day. His parents won’t forget it.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Tags: ,

Share This

301 Links in a Story — Chapter 10 The Lost 18 Hours, The Prep, and the Final Round

Filed Under Community, Links, Marketing, Successful Blog, Writing | 20 Comments

Finding Ideas Outside of the Box logo 2

[For those of you just tuning in, this is based on the 301 Lists that Darren Rowse’s List Group Writing Project brought together. You’ll find Chapter 1 here –> A List Becomes 301 Links in Story — Chapter 1 ]

When We Left the . . . Studio

You might remember that at last look, our famed uncontrollable force and unpredictable influence, Lizzie and Amanda Congdon, leaving the studio of the International Blogging List Challenge! for parts unknown. The studio was in chaos after the Blogging 7th Heaven CanCan Dancers had roused the blogging audience into such a tizzy — blogging and applauding at the same time. (Which we have already established isn’t easy, if not completely impossible.)

Robert Scoble videoblogged the entire escapade.

The scoreboard read Arianna 600 Jeremy, Jeremy 200 Dave 200.

Rumor has it that the bloggers and the Blogging 7th Heaven People enjoyed a night of debauchery at 10 Rue Dante — an irony that I’d love to write about, but for once not a single blogger blogged the following 18 hours. They claimed a complete system failure — power, DS, and wireless — all out. Some spoke of eerie MySql errors written on the bathroom walls.

That lost 18 hours has gone down in blogging history as Blog Silence, Dead Feeds, and Dante’s New Level. Even Scoble’s video crew would only say, “We’re glad that MaryAm took you back to the hotel.”

Meanwhile Back at the Hotel . . .

The sun rose on a new day and gave hope to our contestants, the nationally syndicated columnist, author of ten books, international speaker and blogger, Arianna Huffington; the self-described serial entreprenuer, CEO and founder of Blog index Technorati, nationally known programmer, blogger, and blog sociologist, and friend of Janice Myint, David L. Sifry; and author, co-founder and president of b5 media, international blogger, traveler, speaker, and sometimes spy Jeremy, Jeremy Wright.

All three contestants were eating a quiet breakfast in the hotel dining room as they prepared for the show. Each was hoping not to embarrass his or her family, nation, planet, or galaxy — thereby causing an international incident of some sort. One was reading Ten Ways to Build Moats to Hold Back the Competition. Another was studying 5 Ways MyMoneyBlog Can Make You $100. The third trying to find the horoscope in the National Enquirer.

Our uncontrollable force and unpredictable influence were upstairs having their usual room service — a pizza with fresh tomato, a dozen chocolate-covered strawberries, and two bottles of Perrier-Jouet. This time they sat on the balcony discussing what to wear.

“I’ve done the black and white,” said Lizzie. “I think I might live dangerously and do deep, deep purple with a hint of pale pink.”

“That’s it,” said Amanda, laughing. “Blow that Alice-in-Wonderland image! Go for Purple Haze Jimi Hendrix. I’m wearing popurls Pearls from head to toe.”

Finally the Show Was Back On

That one day seemed to take forever. Each group had reasons why it took so long, but finally the lights, the cameras, the music, the announcements had happened and again the International Blogging List Challenge! was on.

Read more

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Share This

keep looking »