SoulPancake

[LIFE'S BIG LISTS]

The temperance movement’s coup de grâce was the failure of prohibition, but their mantra (an ancient Greek truism thanks to Xenophon)—”Temperance may be defined as: Moderation in all things healthful; total abstinence from all things harmful,” might be beneficial if applied, well, moderately.

List 3 aspects of your world that you think could benefit from a dose of moderation.

1. Lost. Sorry, I just don’t find it interesting and yes, I know that makes me the world's biggest douche.
2. Holiday hype. The mall is already putting up Christmas decorations—while I’m still rotting my teeth with Halloween candy.
3. Abstaining due to supposed food allergies. Dear friends, hearing about all the nuances of your various gastronomical situations is just a bore.

:: signage stating the obvious spied by justpat

[CHALLENGE: FRUGAL ARTIST]

:: photographs and art by Mui-Ling Teh

Artist Mui-Ling Teh, at the ripe age of 23, hasn’t yet made 2,000 micro-origami cranes from just one piece of paper, but she estimates she’s about halfway there. Teh folds cranes from 5mm x 5mm squares clipped from a single sheet and uses the end origami as inspirational subject matter for her photography. It’s fantastically tedious but wonderfully original, making us wonder what else could emerge from a single sheet of paper, a pair of scissors, and the artistic mind.

1. Get a piece of paper and scissors. (Tweezers are OK, but no tape, glue, pens, or markers.)
2. Transform 2D into 3D and create art.
3. Take a photo, and link to it here. (Don't embed or YOU will get microfolded.)

[LIFE’S BIG LISTS]

It’s cheesy but true: We go to the movies to escape, to laugh, to love, to cry. And there are plenty of movies that smack you with all those feelings simultaneously. But for every Shawshank Redemption and Little Miss Sunshine, there are just as many films that you wish had never played at your local cineplex. Maybe it was far too sick and twisted. Maybe it was unbearably pointless. Maybe it’s the hysteria left in its wake (we're looking at you, High School Musical). Whatever the case may be, what film do you wish you had never personally encountered?

List 3 movies you wish you’d never seen.

1. Gone With the Wind. Convinced me that a screwed-up relationship is a prerequisite for passion.
2. The Shining. I’ve never been able to look at hotel bathtubs the same way since.
3. American Psycho. So disturbing it made sense. And that was the most unsettling part.

:: @golriz

Memo to Ikea: You may be spatially conscious, but your stamina sucks. We'll take a hand-crafted log chair like this one any day.

List 3 things you wish the world could go back to doing the ‘old-fashioned’ way.

1. Move over, eHarmony. I want a real date, not a flirtatious two-month text-athon.
2. Throw out the elliptical, treadmill, and rower. What ever happened to putting Adidas to asphault or kayaking on an actual river?
3. I've forgotten where my mailbox is. Don't send me an e-mail. Write a damn letter.

:: @golriz

[LIFE'S BIG LISTS]

:: photo by Malcolm Browne

Back in 1963, prior to the whole Vietnam War sh*t hitting the fan, Thích Quang Duc, a Vietnamese Buddhist monk, wanted to send a message to South Vietnam's Ngo Dinh Diem regime about their oppression of Buddhists. Instead of creating picket signs, Thích Quang Duc chose to pour a can of gasoline over his body and light himself on fire. He didn't move or make a sound during the ordeal, and he died from severe burns to his body. In the aftermath, images of Thích Quang Duc's self-immolation and act of extreme sacrifice called world attention to the policies of South Vietnam. President John F. Kennedy withdrew support of the Ngo Dinh Diem, and the regime fell four months later. We're not advocating flaming, public suicide, but what extreme sacrifices would you be willing to make in order to bring about change?

List 3 sacrifices that would cause you to stretch your boundaries in order to make a difference.

1. Sell my car and donate the proceeds to job counseling for the homeless. I'll figure out another way to get to the job I'm lucky enough to have.
2. Join Big Brothers/Big Sisters. My real family gets on my nerves anyways.
3. Stand up and say something to right a wrong on someone else's behalf. Even if everyone turns and stares.

:: Todd Steinberg

[CHALLENGE: QUICK WRITE]

“Every man’s work, whether it be literature or music or pictures or architecture or anything else, is always a portrait of himself.” —Samuel Butler

:: moleskin-me by hawktrainer

Whether it’s that new guitar riff you’ve perfected, your masterful french toast recipe, or your trusty moleskin filled with unfinished sketches and scribbles, describe one of your ‘creations’ that could best stand in as your self-portrait.

BONUS: Snap a picture of it and post the link below.

[LIFE'S BIG LISTS]

“Amazing tradition. They throw a great party for you on the one day they know you can’t come.” —Jeff Goldblum (as Michael Gold in The Big Chill)

Eight college friends search for lost ideals following the death of their mate Alex in Lawrence Kasdan’s The Big Chill, and brilliantly setting the stage is Kasdan’s iconic opening scene, where JoBeth Williams (as Karen Bowens) starts playing “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” by the Stones on a booming church organ. Each of the characters knowingly smiles at the first chords of the song. And a minute later, Mick Jagger’s rendition joins the soundtrack. In an instant, you’re thinking about love and life, memories and friendships, as well as your own death. So, thinking about the group of people that will likely come together over you one day, what songs sum up your life and would bring smiles to those left behind?

List 5 songs you would add to the playlist for your funeral.

1. Junk (Paul McCartney)
2. April Come She Will (Simon and Garfunkel)
3. Don’t You (Forget About Me) (Simple Minds)
4. If You Leave (OMD)
5. It’s A Long Way To The Top (If You Wanna Rock and Roll) (AC/DC)

:: @CSW

[LIFE'S BIG LISTS]

:: leashed together by @jenilee

Depending on where you live and what you believe, this question has many answers. In North Korea, your Dear Leader owns you, even if he uses a different term. If you’re a conspiracy theorist, then you believe the Illuminati run the world like a global plantation. And if you’re a smoker, it might be Phillip Morris.

List three people or entities that you’re loathe to admit have power and control over you.

1. Sallie Mae: Doesn’t matter how many times you “defer.” Grad school payback’s a bitch.
2. AT&T: Damn you and your monopoly over the iPhone.
3. Mom: To this day, if she starts a sentence with “If you don’t get up right now…” we all cower.

:: Todd Steinberg

[CHALLENGE: QUICK, WRITE]

We were inspired by this great site, which creates short one-liners about discarded grocery lists. Our take? Channel the person who lost it in the first place.

Step 1. Find an object. Anything. Anywhere.
Step 2. Write a portrait of the person who last held it. Post it here, along with a photo of your find. (Don’t embed.)

BONUS: If you have the guts, discard one of your own artifacts (along with a note about SoulPancake). Who knows? Someone might write a portrait about your lost object.

Here's our take, based on an old resort key I found at the city beach last year, from an old '50s mountain resort that's long closed: