if you're never bored you're not living

[newmistakes]

I firmly believe that our technology obsessed society robs children of something vitally important - boredom. I remember being excessively and repeated bored so many times during my childhood and adolescence. That boredom helped shape who I am. But these days no one is allowed to be bored (freak out alert: I just used the phrase “these days” - I am

Comments

[st_martin_a]

Yeah, a lot of great writers/thinkers (and I can't think of any specific examples right now but trust me on this) spent months in bed ill and I reckon that's had a big impact on where their minds have roamed.
I'm with you on this one!
I'm loosing my faith in the wonders of technology more and more each day.
Turning into a hippy.

[newmistakes]

Elizabeth Barrett Browning definitely springs to mind as a great writing talent who had a lot of sick time to fill in.

The only thing wrong with hippies is the way they often smell - I was on a morning train with a load of them as they headed back from Stonehenge one summer solstice and the pungent ripe aroma of them still makes me queasy when I think on it :P But other than the stink, hey hippies have a lot going for them!

[badoinkle]

I laughed alot at the name of your poem hehe I can see why you won.

[newmistakes]

Thank you! Not to toot my own poetic horn, but I felt I really captured the existential dilemma of that particular bin-liner and truly deserved my win.

[badoinkle]

yea I'm sure you. what were the other peoms like?

[newmistakes]

I've forgotten haha. But they paled into insignificance next to my faux goth poetic brilliance, I assure you!

Like most folks these dayz I have one too

[adman]

Okay 2 of em cause I'm 'Bi' as in 'Bi Country' so one for here and my US of Eh phone

RE: Like most folks these dayz I have one too

[newmistakes]

The menacing glare probably makes them think you are not okay though and miss your phones.

Hey I remember the 90s very well and they weren't that bad! Sure, the music was a bit depressing but it wasn't a terrible time! And yeah, I actually found it quite freeing and relaxing being phoneless for a few months. Of course, the downside is I worried quite a few people who thought I'd been abducted or killed.. so while my stress levels decreased theirs increased haha :)

As for the video, I'm not that limber, rarely wear a leather jacket, and have never made a selfie video of myself in the loos like a total narcissist. Also, my hair is a lot shorter than that at the moment, but otherwise it's uncannily like me :P

[newmistakes]

Yeah we were all told that mobiles and tablets and laptops etc were going to make our lives soooo much easier and less stressed, but that's not what happened. It's like we're enslaved to it. Of course, bitching about technology while using technology has a certain irony, doesn't it? Haha :)

It's great you are getting back into those activities and hobbies you used to love and opened up your creativity! They sound like quite meditative pursuits in a way, very relaxing! The only thing I can make with my hands is a mess - I'm not dexterous like you, so I'm quite envious!

[dreamer512]

I couldn't agree more and I've had this same conversation with a friend just last month. Today we went to my parents' about an hour away, and Steve gave the girls their leap pads for the car. I said they didn't need to be entertained in the car, they do just fine without anything. Last time Cadence made up a song and sang the same 2 or 3 lines continuously for about half an hour. I cringe when I see little kids with tablets while shopping with their parents. When Sienna tells me she's bored, I offer her help in cleaning, or remind her that I can happily sell her 500+ toys in our garage sale next month

[newmistakes]

Haha I'm sure the garage sale threat makes her rethink complaining about boredom :P Yeah I can see how it would be easier and less irritating for parents to give devices - apparently when I was very young and we went on long long long long car journeys I could happily sing "How much is that doggy in the window?" for hours at a time. My dad practically had steam shooting from his ears by the time we arrived at our destinations, I'm told.

Your parents were quite misguided! You just wanted to unleash the sparkle and show the kind of young cooking ingenuity that Bear Grylls would have been proud of!