#will probably use the case for an art project and hold onto the battery and speaker

[sunlightbouquet]

accidentally broke something in an attempt to fix it, my fingers are covered in burns, and i probably inhaled enough fumes to kill a small rodent maybe my life will turn out okay. most fun i've had in ages. should turn on the lil fume thing next time though probably

[ddaengyoonmin]

Chapter one

Pairing: Jungkook x reader, eventual Ot7 x reader in later chapters

Genre: Angst, fluff, uhh maybe smut eventually??

Theme: Based kinda on sword art online a lot of similar ideas and themes kinda combining the idea of them trapped in the game, but the world is closer to ALFheim online

Word count: 2.1k+

Warnings: Swearing?..I swear a lot it can’t be contained. Giant Bees?? Not too much to warn about for this chapter but future chapters might get crazy

*check my master list for the prologue, I suggest reading it first*

Next -> Chapter 2

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A bright light shone in from a missing blind.  One of your bothersome, but too cute to be mad at cats must’ve broken it, you made a mental note to fix that later. It woke you up earlier than usual for a Friday, probably not a bad thing, you had a big day ahead of you.  Working from home had its advantages such as being able to create your own schedule.

You had set the day aside to mentally prepare for and then try out your dreaded birthday gift you had received just the day before.

The clock read 8:00 am. You sighed as you pulled yourself out of bed, startling the young calico cat who had been sleeping on your stomach throughout the night. “Sorry velvet” you mumble sleepily.  Though she should be used to the rude awakenings by now, given that you on the other hand had not gotten used to having a cuddly cat and always seemed to accidentally throw her off your lap in the mornings.   Your other cat Tiger always kept to herself and usually slept on the top of her cat tree or on a top shelf in one of your closets.

Last year when you bought your new apartment you had marveled at the spaciousness of the classy two bedroom layout.  You debated on turning that second bedroom into a room for Tiger to have all to herself, but decided that would only feed into your family’s idea you were becoming a crazy cat lady hermit. Instead it became your office, and today it was the room you decided you would try out the full dive gaming experience headset in.  You had a comfortable black leather office chair that you usually spent most of your days in while you worked on your designs.  You figured that would be fine to recline in while you went into the game.

After getting yourself a filling breakfast you fed Velvet and Tiger a little extra, not knowing how long you’d be in the game.  Part of you hoped that your mom would be satisfied if you just tried it for 30 minutes or so, then you could get back to the practical reality you preferred to live in. But you still wanted to be prepared in case the impossible happened and you actually enjoyed yourself.

You picked up the sleek looking packaging that held the headset and the game you had been given. You let out a sigh and looked over to your pets, “lets give this a shot huh?” you said, looking at them as if they could understand you.

When you arrived to your office you plopped down into your comfy chair and finally opened the packaging.  The headset was shiny and heavy, looking similar to a motorcycle helmet.  In the back by the base of the neck there was a long wire the same shade of silver as the rest of the headset.  You pulled out the instructions from the box and skimmed it over.  

“Internal battery, internal memory to store data, in game items, and achievements”

“Pre-programmed with Faerie Realm installed, no updates or installation required”

“To enter the game is simple, put on the headset and click the large button on the side of the headset and say the command ‘LINK START’”

You felt skeptical of this whole thing, but you reasoned that they wouldn’t sell it to the public if it was unsafe.

With one last see ya later to Tiger and Velvet you plugged in the headset and carefully placed it over your head.  It was a snug fit and there were straps to secure it underneath your chin.

A small wave of nervousness ran over you, you took a few deep breaths and put your pointer finger to the side of the headset and held the button. Loud and enunciated so as not to mess this up somehow, you said the command…

“LINK START”

Almost instantly, like falling asleep suddenly, everything went dark.  It only lasted a few seconds until you were standing in a bright, white, empty room with no doors or windows.  You looked to your left and right in a slight panic, you felt like you could hear some music start to play.

Then, catching you off guard a giant holographic screen projected onto the wall in front of you.

“Welcome new player!” A chipper voice rang out from the direction of the screen “It’s time to chose your fairy race, and dive into the world of Faerie Realm! Point your hand straight out fingers spread out to the screen and swipe to the right to scroll through the choices, make a fist for 10 seconds at the screen on the page of the Fairy race you choose and you will move on to the next step!”

On the screen an example character popped and you giggled at it.  It was an image of you, but not totally you.  Your hair was longer than in real life and it was dyed a turquoise shade of blue, you were wearing a tight royal blue and white dress that was much shorter than anything you’d ever worn before.

 You had to admit from a designers point of view, that it was pretty interesting how they’d managed to do that.  The thing that really caught your eye was that coming from behind your back was a pair of beautiful shimmering turquoise wings matching the hair, they were slightly transparent and had a light blue glow coming off of them. The title under this character “Water Fairy”

You scrolled over the other choices shortly, five options of fairy races each with different styles, perks and nerdy sounding stats you didn’t even bother to read. You were mostly focused on the look, and none stood out as much as the first you had seen and you settle on the Water Fairy, holding out a fist to the screen as it instructed.  

The next step you were prompted to complete was to choose a username.  You decide on “Velvet Tiger” in honor of your bestfriends at home. Once you held out your fist again to declare that you were sure of your name, the room turned dark again.  Next you felt like you were falling, falling falling, and the perky voice echoed around you “Have fun in Faerie Realm!!”

With a loud thud you felt yourself hit grass, strangely you felt no sort of pain from your fall, odd.

You picked yourself up from the ground and brushed the dirt off of what you now realized was the same blue dress from the screen.  You pull your now extremely long hair in front of your face to see it was indeed also the hair you had seen on yourself in the preview.  “Color me impressed” You chuckled aloud.

You started to look around to get a bearing on your surroundings.  “Umm...what exactly am I supposed to do?” You spoke aloud again, not sure if you were hoping someone would answer or that some sort of screen would pop up at your question.  But nothing happened.  

You were alone in the middle of the most perfect flowering field you’d ever seen in your life, it was beautiful, cream colored daisies scattered all around you.  It was sunny and bright and the temperature was perfect. You could feel a light breeze press on your cheek, you brought your hand up to your face.  “Woah…” you muttered.  It was crazy to think none of this was real.  

A noise suddenly snapped you out of your state of awe.  You cocked your head to the side slightly.  It was a humming noise getting louder and louder by the second.  

To your surprise and horror the objects in question made themselves visible.  “What the fuck!!!” You scream, and immediately start to book it in the opposite direction.

BEES? But not just regular bees, a swarm of GIANT bees about the size of your cats were headed straight towards you.  You found yourself screaming out a series of fucks and holy shits as you tried to outrun the swarm, they were catching up faster than you could run.  ‘Thanks mom, this is real fun’, you thought.  

You were about to get to a treeline that was up ahead when you tripped and fell flat on your face, you winced, not because it hurt, (you realized this game must not let you feel pain, which is nice), but because you were just embracing the fact that giant bees were about to be your ‘game over’ only 5 minutes into the game.

A loud POW sounded out right behind you and you covered your ears and buried your head into the ground.  A crackling noise like fireworks followed. And then...a beautiful sound.

“You okay miss?” A silvery voice spoke from above you.

You uncovered your ears and lifted your head up from your embarrassing position you had assumed when you thought your demise in this game was upon you.

What you saw when your eyes met the figure standing over you took your breath away.  You had to try and keep a straight face and contain your awe so as not to further embarrass yourself.  

The man standing over you looked like an angel covered in black.  He had on a tight fitting black shirt with a gray jacket that was styled fitting to the theme of this game draped over top, and tight black skinny jeans to go with.  From behind his back you could see a pair of shimmering translucent wings similar in design to yours but the color was a charcoal black.  

He extended a strong looking hand towards you, but you were still frozen in a combination of awe and embarrassment.  He retracted his hand, chuckled, and ran his fingers through his pitch black hair. You scurried to get up on your own  snapping out of your daze and standing eye to eye with the man you asume must’ve just saved your ass from the killer bees.

“Um, thank you” You nervously mumbled his way.  His eyes were kind as he met your gaze with a smile.  You had to force yourself to keep your eyes on his as they seemed compelled to trail over all of his body.  “You’re welcome” His smile grew bigger than it previously was.  “You’re lucky I got here when I did! They were gearing up for some power stings that definitely would’ve sent you to a black screen at your level”

“At….my level?” You said with confusion.  “Yeah, I can see your level right there” he pointed just to the left of your face.  You for the first time notice a small screen was there that had your username, level, health and an option for ‘menu’ listed.  “Oh..” you managed an awkward smile.  You realized you could see his too, ‘Kookie, level 10, full health’ listed on the screen hovering next to him.  

“I’ve been here since 12am when it opened” he said sheepishly running his hand through his hair again.  “Games are kinda my thing and when I heard this was coming out I wanted to get ahead right away...did you just get here or something?” He questioned.

“Yeah, literally just a few minutes ago” you laughed “That was about to be a real short run” you winced at the not too distant memory. “I...uh..games aren’t really my thing”

He smirked at your comment “You don’t say?” he teased.  You stuck your tongue out at him, then immediately felt embarrassed.  Not totally sure what came over you to do that to a total stranger, but hey, it is just a game and he started it right? So you shook off the awkward feeling and decided to just go with it.  He laughed a full belly laugh at your action and shook his head “Ok, I like your style ma’m, so I’m gonna take pity on your and show you the ropes here” He spoke cockily.

“Oh? And what makes you think I need your help?” You tried to come back with, only eliciting further laughter from him. “You’re right,” he put his hands up in fake defeat “those bees were completely defenseless to your ‘duck and cover in the middle of a field’ fighting methods”

You pouted slightly at the mention of that embarrassing part of the incident that had just occurred you are hoping to just pretend didn’t happen.

“Fiiine” you sighed “I really don’t know what I’m doing here, but don't take me for some damsel in distress that's going to worship you as her hero now or anything like that”  His eyebrows raised high taken aback by your bluntness.  “Of course. I have no doubt you take care of yourself well in the real world, on first impressions you seem to be a strong, independent woman…I admire that in a lady” he assured in an honest and serious tone, but then He stopped and took a few steps closer to you standing so close it sent a shiver up your spine.  

He leaned in to your ear, tone changing from his previous statement into a more smooth and sultry whisper  “But this isn’t the real world...you’ve stepped into my world now.” He pulled away, a smirk on his face.

Your eyes widened.  What have you gotten yourself into…

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[huangels]

up to snow good - renjun

request: i’m not sure if anyone’s requested this yet since i just found your blog but can i request a renjun cuddle scenario please?

a/n: happy krimas (idk if this counts as a renjun cuddle scenarios but-)

summary: You set out to the supermarket to purchase as many Christmas related decorations as you can to bring the holiday joy to Renjun’s dorm, not knowing it will spook the both of you later at night. 

genre: fluff?

word count: 2.1k

"Is this really necessary?"

Renjun arches an eyebrow just as he opens the front door to his college dorm room. Standing on the other side is you, decked out in an ugly Christmas sweater that says "up to snow good" in giant green letters and a Santa hat that is slightly too large for your head. In your wobbling arms is everything you could find at the supermarket that has anything to do with Christmas: decorations, fairy lights, stockings, animated stuffed animals, and more. And lastly, weighing down your entire back is your backpack filled with Christmas snacks, soda, chips, cookie mix, and other things essential to this joyful holiday.

"Yes, now please help me before my arms give in."

The latter grabs whatever he can, being about 5 boxes of fairy lights and extra wall decorations. You shuffle into the familiar small space of your boyfriend's apartment dorm, carefully depositing all of the stuffed animals and decorations onto the couch before plopping down next to the pile. "It was not easy walking up those flights of stairs with all of this blocking my view."

"Why didn't you use the elevator?"

"I couldn't find the button."

The latter shakes his head.

Renjun's home, the same as last week, is deserted of jolly colors and holiday spirit. You gave the boy a week to get at least a small Christmas tree and surprisingly he had obtained one. However, it is just a plain and short pine tree sitting by the couch, no festive lights or cute ornaments hanging from the branches. Not even a bright star to top it off.

Disappointed, you set out to the supermarket to purchase as much as you can to upgrade his dorm, especially since Christmas is in only two days.

It is not that Renjun does not enjoy Christmas or celebrate it, he has just been quite busy with his art projects, both for his courses during finals week and for his personal studies. Holidays like Christmas have a way of sneaking up on you without you knowing and boom, all of a sudden the radio is playing "All I Want for Christmas," fluffy blankets of snow cover the pavement, and everything is discounted in stores (which actually aren't bad things at all). Without your constant reminder, Renjun would probably not even know what day it is today or even the time.

"Okay, before we start, I have something for you!" you dig around in your backpack, pulling out the snacks in the meantime and setting them on the coffee table. Finally, at the bottom of the bag, you find another Christmas sweater with a knitted red and green pattern, stitched with the words "Resting Grinch Face" in white on the front. "We can be matching!"

Renjun flashes a small glare once he read the words displayed on the sweater, a perfect example of the resting 'Grinch' face. Nonetheless, he takes it and tosses it over his simple stay-at-home t-shirt. It is a size or two too large for him, so it reaches just to his midthigh, the sleeves entirely engulfing his hands. If Renjuns is not wearing jeans right now, he would have looked bottomless in this pullover.

With how small Renjun looks in the large sweater, you cannot help but envelope him in a giant hug. "Oh, how cute!"

Renjun lets out a soft chuckle, encircling his arms around your neck. Your face is squished up on the sweater, the soft fabric of the knitted wool tickles your nose. You look up without delinking your arms that are resting around your boyfriend's waist. Renjun shares a tender smile that causes his eyes to bend into crescents. The cold temperature of the winter weather paints a layer of pink across his cheeks, making the latter look extra fluffy and lovable.

Standing on the tip of your toes, you steal a kiss from Renjun, catching him off guard. "Let's start decorating."

You unravel a box of white fairy lights before the latter can react, a large smile stretched upon your face. Renjun joins soon afterward with a blush redder than before. How adorable...

Putting some batteries in the lights, you string it around a tiny bookshelf to the left of the couch. It illuminates the books and other nick nacks with a warm hue, making Renjun's home look even homelier.

Renjun starts lacing the more colorful lights around his Christmas tree. You join him to add some wacky ornaments you bought that do not have any color theme or concept. As you hang the ornaments, you also show each one to Renjun and provide an explanation of why you purchased it. For example, you present a Moomin ornament, who is wearing a Santa hat and beard, explaining that it reminded you of Renjun because of his love for the cartoon character. Along with that, you show him space related ornaments, sweets related ornaments, and others.

Once the small space is fully decorated, the sun has already set and the lights hanging around the room illuminates up with radiance.

"You know what, it actually looks pretty cute," Renjun admits, scanning over the hours of work the both of you put in today.

The first room is the main living area with his two-seater couch and projector (since a television is too expensive and too large for the room). Laying on the couch is a Frosty the Snowman themed blanket with matching Christmas snowman pillows. On the table in front of the couch is an arrangement of dancing and singing stuffed animals and Christmas scented candles. The bookshelf also holds many stuffed animals and animate decorations.

"I don't trust all of these stuffed animals," your boyfriend eyes them with a suspicious squint.

You laugh in question, "What? Why? They're so cute."

Renjun squeezes the hand of a reindeer toy and it starts to wiggle around while singing "Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer."

"What if it just turns on in the middle of the night?" he shivers at the thought of it. "Wouldn't that be scary as hell?"

"Who would turn it on? A ghost?" you tease your boyfriend with a grin, hands mimicking the movement of a ghost.

Renjun's eyes widen, "Oh my god, what if? What if my dorm is haunted? I have nowhere to go."

"Okay first of all, you can come to my dorm. And second, don't worry there are no ghosts to turn on the stuffed animals and your dorm is not haunted."

- ☾ -

Maybe you spoke too soon. Maybe Renjun was right. Maybe his dorm really is haunted.

The alarm clock sitting on Renjun's nightstand table ticks 1:46 AM. Your arm is slung over Renjun's chest as your head rests in the crook of his neck, legs tangled with his. You bask in the warmth of your boyfriend through the soft long sleeve of his nightwear, listening to his steady heartbeat. His chest slightly rises up and down from his breathing, you can even hear it in the dead silence of the night. It is a cute little inhale of breath and a long exhale.

However, the peaceful tranquility is broken by a strange yet familiar tune outside the door.

"Rudolf the red nose reindeer...Had a very shiny nose..."

The lyrics are barely audible, the melody of the mysterious song echoes into the bedroom.

Renjun is the first of you two to hear the tune, jolting awake from the horror-movie-like music. Though his body is frozen from fright, his eyes frantically scan the room. It is dark, the only light peaks from the edge of the curtain covering his window and the dim fairy lights that line the perimeters of the room. He can already feel his body get warm with more horrid thoughts of ghosts, monsters, and possibly death that are just waiting for them behind the door of his bedroom.

"Y/N...," he whispers in a hissing tone. You stir in your sleep but do not respond, arms tightening around your boyfriend. He tries again, using the hand that is wrapped around your waist to tap you awake. "Y/N, wake up!"

"Hmm, wah?" you look up at Renjun through hooded eyes, face painted with sleep.

"Do you hear that?" Renjun whispers again, nodding towards the bedroom door.

You pick up your head and wait, eyebrows scrunched in confusion.

"...Then one foggy Christmas Eve, Santa came to say..."

"Holy shit." Now you are sitting up, along with Renjun. The both of you look at each other with fear in your eyes. "Who is that?"

"How the hell would I know?"

Renjun and you hold a silent battle to see who should bravely go into the other room and check out the cause of the noise, not using any words but only exaggerated gestures and looks. This goes on for some time, with back and forth "not you go" motions. It would have gone for even longer if not for a loud crash from behind the door. You and Renjun jump into each other's arms, both agreeing to go together.

After the crash, there is a silence. Renjun opens the bedroom door slightly, peaking out into the dark living room. The fairy lights are all turned off to save power and battery life so the only light available is the window near the couch. You sneak your head under your boyfriend's to also get a good look at the scene. There is no sign of any movement or noise afterward.

The both of you squeeze past the door, cautiously tiptoeing around the small space just in case there is a murderer or even a ghost.

You find the singing and dancing Rudolf toy on the floor. It seems like it fell down from the dancing since it could have shimmied its way off the coffee table. You pick it up to examine the toy, there is not a sign of danger from it.

A large cold breeze pushes your hair back and your take refuge wrapping your arms around your chest. The window near the couch is opened, allowing air to flow in.

"Renjun," you motion for your boyfriend to come. He leaves the area he was investigating to stand beside you, a questioning look upon his face. You point at the window, and as if on cue, another long breeze enters through. It seems to be strong enough to blow a stuffed toy off of a table.

"See, there's nothing to worry about. It was just the wind," you explain.

Renjun huffs, "It's not like I was the only one that was scared."

"Whatever, let's go back to bed."

You take Renjun's hands, lacing them around yours before leading him back to his bed. The worries have already left you as your adrenaline decreases, replaced by the demand for sleep. On the other hand, however, Renjun is still paranoid and slightly shakened up, his hands are colder than usual. He is always the easier one to get scared between you two.

You plop down onto your side of the bed as Renjun warily lays down next to you. His eyes are still trained on the door, and even if his back is facing you, you know he is not even blinking.

With a soft sigh, you lace your arms around Renjun's waist, pulling him into your embrace. "Renjun, it's okay. There's no one there."

You plant a gentle kiss on the nape of his neck before hooking your chin over his shoulder. Your head comfortably rests by his. Renjun's tense shoulders relax upon your contact. You lightly run a hand up his arm and across his shoulders. Then, you start peppering his neck and jaw with more kisses. Renjun explodes into quiet giggles, complaining that it tickles, but the smile on his face meets no objection. Your arms return to their original place around his waist as his own hands hold them under the blanket.

The buzz dies down as the two of you bask in the silence of the night. You can feel Renjun drifting into sleep as his hold on your hands loosen.

Renjun becomes so small cuddled up in front of you between your arms. All you can see is his soft brown hair, casually tussled in the cutest spots. You resist the fighting urge to run your hands through his long and smooth hair.

Before you fall asleep yourself, you place one last kiss on his shoulder.

- ☾ -

[bonus]

"Do you think they heard us?"

Jisung turns to Chenle, the multitude of chip bags almost falling from his arms. The younger is wearing his pajamas just as the older is. Chenle readjusts the two soda bottles in his hands, becoming heavier the more he stands around.

"No duh, you literally made so much noise," Chenle accuses with a squint of his eyes. If he had a free hand, he would have slapped Jisung's arm for thinking they got away with it.

"It's not my fault, how was I suppose to know that reindeer would sing AND dance."

[turtlespaintedonrocks911-blog]

29°37′S 30°23′E and 35°42′N 51°25′E Rock Painting Ideas

Advice To Have An Optimal Crafts And Arts Experience

Rock Painting Ideas

Have you been enthusiastic about dazzling your friends and relations with new and different crafts and arts projects? Maybe you want to try something totally new and decorate your own home. You could always apply certain new fresh concepts for the field of crafts. This post provides some great tips.

Do you require craft supplies? You will find everything required on the web. Go online to get the most effective deals out there on crafting supplies. Some stores even give you free shipping, for greater savings.

Search for fabric along with other crafts and arts supplies online. A lot of the time, you may compare costs and look for coupons on the Internet much more easily than going from craft store to craft store. While you shop online, you can get exactly what you need through the comfort of your home.

One of the better places to locate crafting materials is Amazon. You may get shipping and delivery for an entire year, by getting started with an Amazon Prime account. Additionally, several of Amazon's sellers offer Free Super Shipping items. To be entitled to Free Super Shipping you must spend at least $25 dollars in merchandise.

Messes are inevitable when kids do crafts. If messiness stresses you, protect your surfaces having a paper covering. You may also deal with washable markers, other and adhesives things that could be washed away.

Likely to the local crafts and arts fairs are a fantastic way to meet individuals that prefer crafting. You might find those who much like the same craft while you but express it in the totally unique and new way. You will also find out where they look for supplies or where they obtain their good plan.

Try beginning with acrylics instead should you be thinking about taking on oil painting the first time. Oil paints could possibly get expensive, as can the canvas upon which you will paint. Get the cheaper paint first, have a little practice within your belt, then dive into the real thing.

If you are enthusiastic about your crafts, but don't know what to do with the finished products, consider selling them! You could easily and affordably have the capacity to set up a table at the local market. Alternatively, simply use a yard sale. This will help perfect your craft, as well as get you a little extra spending money as well.

To obtain the family associated with a fun craft, enable your children to create a personalized food bowl for family pet. Just pick up a bowl then draw upon it with permanent markers. This produces the perfect gift.

Though it may cost you more initially, it is recommended to purchase good quality crafts and arts material. You will discover a higher probability of your piece to collapse or break if you are using cheap materials. In the long term, it would just cost more if you should start from scratch with new materials.

Then get rid of the cloudy appearance from your mosaic, through a little glass cleaner to wipe it down. It could be tough to find the mortar powder out otherwise, and it's never a good thing to possess that powder ruining your final project.

Incorporate some destination to put the pets when arts and crafts happen to be in progress. Cats are very curious and obtain into everything. Dogs are renown for scarfing down nearly anything dropped from a table. Ensure that your arts and crafts afternoon doesn't find yourself with a vacation to the vet, or worse.

Ensure you're using the best adhesive materials for the job. The same kind of tube of glue won't benefit everything. Rubber cement or possibly a spray on adhesive might be more effective. Take note of what you are using and locate out what works best on it. You don't would like your projects to fall apart.

And also hardwearing . painting hobby from overtaking an entire room, consider purchasing a collapsible easel. Doing this, if you are done dealing with your masterpiece for a day, the easel goes directly into the closet, together with your canvas. That leaves your bedroom free throughout the morning.

Try and keep the crafting area organized. There exists nothing more frustrating than to have to wade by way of a pile of scraps to find what you need. In the event you keep things organized, you will find your supplies faster. Furthermore, your crafting area will look a lot nicer.

Check online auctions for deals. Among the best ways to save money on crafts and arts supplies is as simple as considering online auctions. Many businesses do their liquidations on the internet currently, and auctions are one of the most effective ways for them do this. Employ this and also you could save big.

You should use your natural ability to create wall art for your own home should you enjoyed art class when you were in school. Visiting your nearby craft and art supply store provides you with ideas and give you any materials you require. Really the only other thing you need might be a inspiration and serious amounts of be imaginative.

To maintain pumpkin carving safe should you be hosting small children at the Halloween party, cut the lids from the pumpkins and have the innards out a number of hours just before the guests arrive. Then, hold the kids draw their desired cuts onto the pumpkins by using a Sharpie, and have adults make all the cuts.

Now you should be willing to begin. The sky will be the limit. Then, get the entire family involved. You can expect to all love the final product and the experience of creating it together.

I'm A Beginner Camper - What Do I Need To Know?

It had been not too long ago that camping was the vacation associated with preference among families. Packing the tent, the cooking utensils and also the car filled with food and going to your natural spot to enjoy lots of outdoors, non-electronic games and in some cases a spot of fishing. Please read on for some great ideas for your next camping trip if this sounds like not much of a treat you have yet enjoyed.

Probably the most important areas of your camping gear can be your tent. The tent you purchase should satisfy your desires and how big your camping party. When you have children, it is likely you want to purchase a large tent to enable them to sleep within the same tent with you. In case your youngsters are old, get them their particular tent so that they don't need to bunk with the adults.

Once you decide to travel camping you want to ensure that you bring a flashlight with a bit of batteries. You need to be able to see in the center of the night just in case you need to get up and proceed to the bathroom, or just to maneuver.

Should you be traveling with children, consider staying in a campground which is specifically designated for families. If you have a cranky toddler or even your children would like to run play, scream and around, Campers within these areas know what to anticipate and can not have an issue. You will probably be a little more relaxed because of this and also have a better time.

When going camping, make certain you bring the correct sleeping bag with you. Some sleeping bags will not help keep you warm when the temperature dips below 40 degrees, while others may have you sweating through the night long because they are too hot. The label about the bag usually will tell you what sorts of temperatures are right for each sleeping bag.

Bugs will not like fire whatsoever, therefore it is a great idea to keep your fire burning through the night while you are sleeping. In the event that you will find a huge bug problem throughout the day, it would help to keep a fire burning in those days as well.

When going camping, try to buy non-perishable things to eat. There are no refrigerators inside the wild, so whatever you bring needs to be kept in good order. You are able to certainly bring a cooler to place food in, but the cooler is going to be added bulk on the trip. Therefore, try and bring more non-perishable foods than perishable.

Take along a box with essential supplies when you go camping. Include stuff like stick matches, a flashlight, cooking tools and hand cleaner. Prepare in advance. Think of all the things you may need days before you leave in your trip, specifically if you will likely be far away from any store.

When youngsters are within your camping party, you should make sure they know precisely what the rules are once you get there. They have to have strict guidelines to go by, or they may get hurt or annoy others. For instance, talk with them about screaming and exactly how their voices could disturb others. It is actually more difficult to enforce rules after you have been there for a while, consider getting going early.

Incorporate swimming into your camping trip. Many people miss a good warm shower while camping. Spending some time in cool water can assist you stay neat and refresh your spirits, so a bit swimming can soothe the element of your heart longing for the bath.

Giving yourself enough time to enjoy your camping trip is key. Prepare your trip far in advance and obtain a few days off from work if at all possible. You would like to have fun camping for around two or three days, doing this you sense as if you got the complete experience from it.

Know the climate of your camping area. You will need to get the proper clothing packed to the trip. Discovering how cold the nights get or how hot the period are will help you dress best. You will not have to get caught in the great outdoors with inadequate protection.

For easier food preparation with a camping trip, prepare ingredients in your own home, and pack them in plastic zipper bags. You might want to chop, and other ingredients might be cooked easily and quickly if the prep work is done before hand. Throw several bags of meat and vegetables right into a pot more than a fire, and you will have soup or stew!

Ensure your sleeping bag is fit for that environment by which you are going to camp. In warmer weather, you will probably require a lightweight sleeping bag, whereas in cooler weather, you will likely want a heavyweight sleeping bag. Be certain the bags you bring hug your whole body so that your body heat is contained.

Make sure to learn how to regain if you decide to leave your campsite to participate in pursuits like fishing or hiking. Lots of people become lost when performing these matters and it can be hard for you to be found remember, most mobile devices usually do not are employed in these areas.

Learn how to mark the trails that you are currently exploring. It might be really simple to have lost from the woods. Marking the trails that you will be walking is likely to make it readily accessible the right path back to camp. If you achieve lost, it may also help others find you.

Because the tent is amongst the most important parts of your camping trip, be certain the one you will get is appropriate. See how lots of people are coming about the trip so you can get a large enough tent. Also, be sure the tent you get prevents moisture from getting inside.

Wherever you pitch your tent or park your camper, camping must be a calming, refreshing strategy to take and unwind life a tad bit more slowly. Furnished with the ideas and tips presented in this article, you could make your following camping trip a prosperous, stress-free outdoor adventure. Visit the website

[nofomoartworld]

Failed banks, quantified self and addiction to the infinite scroll. An interview with Michael Mandiberg

Michael Mandiberg, Quantified Self Portrait (One Year Performance), 2017. Installation view at LACMA’s Ray’s & Stark Bar

In 2008, as the U.S. was going through the Great Recession, Michael Mandiberg noticed that when a bank failed, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) would erase its visual identity from the internet. The whole disappearing act was taking place over the course of one weekend; on Friday the bank was there and by Monday morning all traces of its visual identity were gone. Mandiberg started monitoring the weekly updates to the FDIC Failed Bank List and downloading the logos of the banks in advance of their public wipe out. With his collection of over 500 logos, Mandiberg is now probably the greatest archivist of failed U.S. banks.

The second part of his work consisted in using a laser-cutter to burn the name of each bank and its logo onto the covers of investment guidebooks. Total Money Makeover, The Holy Use of Money, Success Is a Choice (my favourite!), etc. The titles of the books are as grand as their fate is humble: Mandiberg bought them from the dollar racks of the Strand bookstore in New York city.

Michael Mandiberg, FDIC Insured (First Georgia Community Bank, Jackson GA, December 5, 2008), 2009-2016

Michael Mandiberg, FDIC Insured Documentation

I would normally say that i have absolutely zero sympathy for the fate of banks. Yet, i found FDIC Insured incredibly moving. At first, all you see are mundane logos and bank names. A moment later, you start visualizing the employees who lost their job, the hundreds of thousands of individuals dispossessed of their savings… Maybe you even knew some of these people. Do check out the book and the web archive of the project. The sheer banality and repetition that FDIC Insured exposes make the Great Recession all the more crushing and incredibly tangible.

There are many reasons why i wanted to interview Mandiberg. He is an artist whose work i’ve admired for years, the founder of New York Arts Practicum and the co-founder of the brilliant Art+Feminism Wikipedia Editathon which invites women artists around the world to fight gender gaps online by updating Wikipedia entries on subjects related to art and feminism.

Michael Mandiberg, Quantified Self Portrait (Rhythms)

And right now, Mandiberg has a year-long show at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). Titled Workflow, the exhibition and project explore the changing definition of labor in the digital age by pushing self-tracking technologies to their most invasive limits.

Quantified Self Portrait (Rhythms) sonifies a year of the artist’s heart rate data alongside the sound of email alerts. The other work, Quantified Self Portrait (One Year Performance), is a stop motion animation composed of webcam photos and screenshots captured from Mandiberg’s computer and smartphone every 15 minutes for an entire year. Perhaps the most shocking aspect of this project is that it actually echoes current practices for monitoring staff productivity.

I’m so happy the artist found a moment to answer my many questions about Workflow and FDIC Insured:

Michael Mandiberg, Detail of “Quantified Self Portrait (One Year Performance)”, 2016

Hi Michael! Quantified Self Portrait (Rhythms) is played in LACMA’s Pritzker Parking Garage elevators. Is the location meaningful? Why parking garage elevators?

I wanted an enclosed space to hold people in the sound. These elevators are blood red, like a beating heart or a womb. Elevators are small, and the Pritzker elevators are glass and metal, so they become a resonant box: the sound feels like it is coming from all around you. Some people say the feeling is comforting; others report feeling claustrophobic.

Elevators have become spaces where people routinely check their mobile phones; the 45 seconds provide just enough time to take a quick glance and satisfy our addictions, but not long enough to do anything meaningful. Elevators are places where we are willfully trapped, though only temporarily, for the most part. (Have you ever been stuck in an elevator? I have. Kind of frightening!)

In Los Angeles, where the vast majority of people commute by car, parking garage elevators are liminal spaces between the outside and inside. They are a kind of lobby that precedes the lobby. In this case, they mark the threshold between the bustle of the outside world and the contemplative space of the museum. At LACMA, the “lobby” is actually an outside pavilion (because it almost never rains in LA, and when it does rain, practically no one goes out). Also, Quantified Self Portrait (One Year Performance) is installed directly across the pavilion from these elevators.

Michael Mandiberg, Quantified Self Portrait (Rhythms), 2017. Installation in LACMA’s Pritzker Parking Garage elevators

The work sonifies a year of your heart rate data alongside the sound of email alerts. How did these two connect? Did your heart jump with each email alert?

I spent time in the installation when I was documenting it, and noticed times when my heart started beating fast in the lead up to the sound of a sent email. I imagine this was because of the concentration and stress that accompany a difficult email. At the same time, the email alerts are staccato, erratic: jarringly disconnected from the rhythmic pulsations of my heart. I’m working on a series of slightly more conventional visualizations for the project, however in this case, I used sound as a form through which the data would speak on an emotional and psychological level.

Michael Mandiberg, Quantified Self Portrait (One Year Performance) – Documentation

In an interview with Unframed, you say that the works you’re showing at LACMA, Quantified Self Portrait (Rhythms) and Quantified Self Portrait (1 Year Performance), directly pay homage to Tehching Hsieh’s work. His yearlong performances were famously challenging physically, emotionally, and psychologically. Quantified Self Portrait sounds like a very stressful performance, too (at least to me). One year is a very long time and not only can things go into unexpected and unpleasant directions, but they can also wear you out or maybe unnerve you over time.

What were the challenges and difficulties you encountered over the course of this performance?



I experienced challenges tracking my life (which was time-consuming and stressful), but the performance also made me acutely aware of the challenges that were already present in my life. By giving my life a visible framework, the performance brought frustrations and difficulties that I previously regarded as mundane, or didn’t notice, into focus. This is a significant difference between Hsieh’s performances and my work: Hsieh imposed onto himself simple but exaggerated or absurd gestures that reflected daily actions. By repeating these gestures, he reframed their meaning. They weren’t necessary gestures—they referenced necessary gestures. I imposed on myself a system of tracking externally imposed, necessary gestures and actions: the things that I tracked are gestures required of me.

So, the challenges I experienced didn’t arise from imposing an abstract disciplinary system on myself, but resulted from noticing and recording the ways in which my life is already a tightrope act of internalized self-discipline. The year made it visible that, in a sense, I bring my prison everywhere I go.

I also used a more complicated mechanism of marking time, which introduced more possibilities for failure when the system breaks down. Once a month, I would have some kind of technical crisis. This is, of course, normal in projects that use technology. So these moments of failure end up embedded in the record itself, like my journal entry from March 22, 12:41 a.m., which reads: “I can’t sleep. I realized that my Fitbit battery was dying. I went to transfer the data before the battery died, out of fear the data would disappear. I killed the battery AND it didn’t transfer.” At 1:11 a.m. on the same day, I write: “I am going to bed now. I couldn’t find the charger. My Fitbit is dead. I assume I will get to sleep around 1:30–1:45” After five and a half hours of what I imagine was pretty bad sleep, I wrote at 9:06 a.m., “I woke at 7:17. After an hour of searching, I found my computer bag. [Which held the charging cable] Fitbit is charging.”



Was your relationship with your computer and with internet altered by this year-long performance? Did you self-censor when you knew the system was about to take the screenshot of your computer screen, for example? Or try to adopt a more relaxed expression or rearrange the space right behind you when the camera was about to take your portrait?

For the first few days, I was self-conscious. I remember looking at the clock and thinking “I should wait one more minute, until it takes a photo, before I go to the bathroom.” I remember noticing where the light source was in the room, and positioning myself so that I wasn’t backlit. I remember my partner, Jackie, would ask if the system was about to take a photo before sitting next to me to look at something on my computer. Within a week or two, though, I became accustomed to it and then forgot about it. I grew so accustomed to it that I didn’t notice when the software on my laptop crashed and stopped working for a while.

The software on my iPhone actually required me to press a button, because iOS doesn’t allow software to automatically take photographs in the background. So I always knew when those photos were happening, but I just took them wherever I was, in whatever pose I was in, bad posture and all. Toward the end, Jackie started trying to photobomb the iPhone photos. 


Self-monitoring technologies promise users that they will gain some “self-knowledge” through this voluntary accumulation of data.  Did you get some of that? Learn something about yourself? Useful or not?


I went into the project intending to make a critical Quantified Self Portrait, which would articulate the possibilities and limitations of the aspiration for self-knowledge through data.

I learned some things, but if I’m honest with myself, they’re all things I already knew but didn’t allow myself to articulate: I don’t sleep enough. I work too much. I spend a startling amount of time on my iPhone. Most of my time in the studio is spent in what might be considered a producer role: planning, writing emails, applying for grants, documenting the work, traveling to install the work, etc. I spend little of my time making, whereas my assistants spend almost all their time making: writing code, editing video, laser cutting to make the work. But seeing these realities rendered in a fairly conclusive way was a bit unnerving.

I also learned things that I hadn’t been seeking, that I didn’t know I wanted to know. In an effort to get some “qualitative” data, I wrote in a journal almost every evening, and then distilled these entries into a few sentences that I typed into a piece of software on my phone. These short texts form the third channel of the video as it is installed at LACMA. These texts reveal to me just how much physical pain I was experiencing, the level of stress my day job causes me, how happy a bike ride or a trip to the beach makes me feel. They also chronicle my uncertainty that I’ll unlock any kind of self-knowledge through this data. 



The work makes remote computer labor very tangible. It also made me realize how present and invisible it is in our life—how intrusive and grim it is for workers, too. Could you tell us about the weight this online labour has on our work culture? How much place it takes in our everyday gestures and how much more importance it might take in the future?

This is a big question. There is no one answer, because we don’t have a single work culture across countries or across industries and classes. But the weight is there. Here are a few points in the constellation: In the US, big-box retailers and restaurant chains have installed self-checkout kiosks which remove human contact, put people out of work, and extract involuntary surplus labor from customers. For over a decade, we’ve all been solving reCaptchas for Google, performing micro-labor by training AIs (yes, that’s what we are doing when we “prove we are human” and identify all the cars in the photo—directly or indirectly, we’re talking to AIs). An entire industry of content moderators, often based in the Philippines, have major psychological trauma from repeated exposure to ISIS beheading videos, dick pics, animal torture videos, etc. as they review posts that have been flagged by AIs or by humans. France has implemented new laws protecting workers from having to check email after work hours; yes, it’s for a limited segment of the workforce, is still a step forward.

Part of the problem is that this techno-speedup produces a kind of addiction. An addiction to working. An addiction to the infinite scroll. An addiction to the quantitative rewards of social media metrics. I don’t use this word lightly: research indicates that it is an actual addiction, triggering the same neurological rewards as cocaine or gambling.

As I was writing that last paragraph I impulsively checked social media. Four keystrokes: Command-Tab, Command-L, one “f” which autocompletes, Enter, and I scroll through more of the same about American neo-Nazis and our abusive, gaslighting President. I compulsively return again and again, hoping to get my high, except everything I read makes me miserable. As with any drug, the more you do it, the more it takes to feel high, and without it you feel incomplete. My partner and I have a practice of asking each other, “Is that making you happy?” when we see each other caught in the hypnosis of the infinite scroll. I think you know what the answer is.

Hunched over my laptop, my wrists are sore as I write this. I go in and out of cycles of repetitive strain injuries. I’m in the trough of one now. That instinctual four-keystroke sequence hurts, twisting my wrists into contorted positions, over and over again.

Michael Mandiberg, Quantified Self Portrait (One Year Performance)


In the video interview with LACMA Unframed, you mentioned that you were recreating one of Charlie Chaplin’s movies shot by shot with the help of online workers. Are you still working on that project?

Yes, I am still working on the Chaplin film. I made some headway this summer. I had to pause working on it when Quantified Self Portrait, which had very distinct and unavoidable deadlines, kind of took over my life. I also experienced unexpected hurdles working with online labor platforms: Fiverr.com kept rejecting my posts, and I was unable to get anyone on Mechanical Turk to complete even a three-second clip, even when I offered $40 per clip. It seemed that the Turkers were unwilling to leave their houses or set up a camera on a tripod. In response, I made a piece where I asked two hundred Turkers to take photographs out of the window in the room they were working.

As I said in the LACMA Unframed interview, I view all these works as part of a larger project exploring contemporary digital labor. The Chaplin film and the windows look outward, representing the lives of others, while Quantified Self Portrait looks inward, using myself to show that conventional representations of how an artist works bear little resemblance to reality.

Michael Mandiberg. Installation view of “FDIC Insured”, Denny Gallery, 2016

Michael Mandiberg, FDIC Insured (Corn Belt Bank and Trust, Pittsfield IL, February 13, 2009), 2009-2016

Michael Mandiberg, FDIC Insured (Bear Sterns, New York NY, March 16, 2008), 2009-2016


How did the whole FDIC Insured project start? When did you realize that the failed banks’ identities were being erased? And when did you get the intuition you would collect such an impressive collection of logos? 

When I started collecting the logos in 2008, I had just completed Digital Foundations with xtine burrough. I was thinking a lot about design, engaging in free culture activism that often centered around archives, and making work with found books as a material. FDIC Insured pulled from each of these threads.

My work with books began on the street. Walking around Brooklyn in 2007, I began noticing the books people had started to leave on their stoops. I collected these books, although I didn’t know what to do with them. I was trying to think through what it meant for these objects, which had been so important for so long, to be discarded at that precise moment.

We all felt the breakdown of the financial system. I was thinking a lot about these banks, the failures of the system, and the contraction between this failure and the purpose of the modern logo. I started collecting logos, unsure of what I would do with them. At some point in the winter of 2008–09, I connected the dots.

Michael Mandiberg, FDIC Insured (Merrill Lynch, New York NY, September 14, 2008), 2009-2016

Michael Mandiberg, FDIC Insured (Washington Mutual Bank, Henderson NV, September 25, 2008), 2009-2016


You’ve now seen, recorded, and laser-cut hundreds of bank logos. What can you tell us about their design and aesthetic?  What do they communicate about the banking system and its values, for example?

Many of the logos are inspired by classic American Modernist logos from the 1950s, like Paul Rand’s IBM logo or Chermayeff & Geismar’s NBC logo. Characterized as “corporate design,” this particular flavor of Modernism aims to be timeless (both immediate and eternal), as well as being legible in different languages and cultural contexts.

These logos manifest timelessness by seeming to erase history: they remove whatever might have come before, and have rarely been changed since. These banks chose a style that was meant to exude stability, permanence, trust, and confidence, and yet they failed.

The logos also seek to evoke a sense of permanence through their iconography. The US economy and banking system were built on slavery and settler colonialism, obscured by myths of manifest destiny and white supremacy. It’s no mistake that these logos include iconography of land (oceans, lakes, mountains) and the fruits of the land (wheat, grapes). For a country with a relatively short history—both in relationship to the nations of the many continents its citizens immigrated from, and the indigenous nations they conquered—these logos claim power from the past by using historical iconography: Greek columns, statehouses, and references to the antebellum South. The word “first” is repeated again and again: there are multiple First State Banks, First National Banks, First Community Banks. Everyone wants to be first, and thus oldest. Of course, there is no Royal Bank(!)

Color plays a significant role. Many of the logos include blue: the color of honesty, the color of the Virgin Mary, the color of suit lawyers advise that their clients wear in the courtroom. Some logos are green, the color of the dollar bill. Very few include any red, which is associated with stop signs and Communism, unless the color is explicitly themed around the red, white, and blue of the US flag.

Michael Mandiberg, FDIC Insured (Sherman County Bank, Loup City NE, February 27, 2009), 2009-2016

Michael Mandiberg. Installation view of “FDIC Insured”, Denny Gallery, 2016



I was actually very surprised by the fact that the visual identities of the failed banks are erased from the web. I recently had a long discussion with people from various parts of Europe about the fact that failure is actually valued in the US far more than here in Europe. We try to hide our failures, whereas in the US it seems that failure is part of the experience gained, and it’s not something to be ashamed of. Do you know anything about the rationale behind this complete erasure of the visual identity of the banks?

I don’t know if I can speak to the comparative cultural value of failure. When you say that the US values failure more, I think of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “There are no second acts in American lives” on the one hand, and also Samuel Beckett’s “Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better.” on the other. Maybe the closest contemporary example might be the way Silicon Valley embraces failure as the moment of “pivot.” The Venture Capitalist pivot, in a sense, is the latest turn in the American ideology of entrepreneurship, where risk and failure serve as mileposts on the road to self-appreciation of one’s “human capital.” This narrative tries to convince the 99% that we haven’t succeeded because we haven’t risked enough, not because of clear structural inequalities.

I do think that the symbolic value of this erasure is telling: we have to erase the history of these repeated failures in order for society to accept and trust this economic system, despite its repeated cyclical pattern of near-catastrophic failure.

But I don’t think that the banks have an explicit or rational policy mandating erasure of these visual identities. Rather, it’s more a byproduct of the effort to maintain structural continuity and visual branding, combined with something akin to linkrot on a corporate scale. 

From a pragmatic User Experience (UX) design point of view, the organizations that take over these failed banks are faced with thousands of customers visiting www.oldbank.com that need to be absorbed into www.newbank.com with as little disruption as possible. I regularly observed the new bank redirecting everything on www.oldbank.com (including the legally required FDIC transfer notice) to a specific landing page to welcome the new customers (e.g. http://ift.tt/2eOGw2U.) This redirect also means you can’t access any of the logos that might have been there. 


In a less pragmatic and more symbolic way, the new bank needs to manifest its own visual presence throughout the virtual and physical sites of the old bank. While the interior design of the spaces cannot be completely changed in one weekend, they change what they can in such a short time (the signage on the outside of the building, the employees’ uniforms) and complete the remainder of the work soon thereafter.

You might think that these logos are all archived somewhere, but they aren’t. The most prominent ones, like Washington Mutual or Lehman Brothers, are archived on websites that collect the logos of Fortune 500 companies. Some but not all of these banks had a presence in the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine, but most of these records don’t contain images. 


Any upcoming work, field of research or event you could share with us?

FDIC Insured will be included in POST FAIL at Fotomuseum Winterthur this winter. The Dutch language version of Print Wikipedia will be included in The House of the Book at the Koninkelijke Bibliotheek this fall. Michael Mandiberg: Workflow is up at LACMA through New Year’s Eve, and work from these projects will be included in a solo show at Denny Gallery this fall. 


Thanks Michael!

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