365 Days of Adventure

Adventure 300 ~ Learn The Rules Of Renga

/ intrepidjane

365 Days Of AdventureFor today’s adventure, I set about learning the rules of renga, a Japanese form of collaborative linked-verse poetry. There are now 13 poets involved in The Big Renga Project , and I wanted to put some easy-to-follow guidelines together so that people could get to grips with the rules before the big “renga off” on the 1st December 😛 .

There are many versions of “the rules”. I plumped for a distillation of the traditional rules : I’ve based the rules for The Big Renga Project on Sonja Arntzen’s article (you’ll need to scroll down to the bottom of the article for the rules applying to renga).

I’ve spent 3 hours immersing myself in various forms of the rules today – and now it makes complete sense! I’ve adapted Sonja’s version of the rules slightly so that they work for our 25-stanza poem, and I’ve posted these rules into our group forum.

I can imagine if you haven’t seen rules like this before, you might not think that they’re that simple. That’s why I’ve written the rules well in advance of the start of  December –  the group has more than a month to get its head around these rules! As well as being one of the participating poets, I’ll also be the GRU (General Rule-Upholder 😛 ), making sure that everyone keeps on track and also understands the implications of each verse within the context of the rules. This means that people can relax and have fun, knowing that they’ll get a friendly nudge if need be or some advice if they want it.

I explain some of the rules we’ll be using in our collaborative poetry project in today’s video 🙂 .

Oh – and maybe I should mention that it’s my 300th adventure today! Only 65 days of adventuring left 😦 . I think this calls for a celebratory meal tonight, don’t you?

I’m just going outside and may be some time.
JT

Adventure 299 ~ Learn Some Basic Hungarian Phrases

/ intrepidjane

Do you speak Hungarian?When people hear about my 365 Days Of Adventure project, one of the most common things they say is, “That’s really inspiring, but I just don’t have time for that kind of thing.”

The whole emphasis of the project has been on having a micro adventure everyday. Some of those micro adventures have added up to become mighty big adventures. I’ll also admit that some of my adventures took me a little longer than others ~ in fact, writing the chapters for my unromantic romantic novel seemed painfully long at times (what with all those tragic deaths and no romance whatsoever) 😛

For today’s adventure, I want to show you that it is really possible to integrate daily adventure into your life without it taking too much time. At the moment I am super busy with work, and I’m also keen to tie up the loose ends from some of my larger adventures. And yet, I still have the impulse to break into new adventure territory every day.

My 365 Days Of Adventure project has reminded me that I love to learn new things – and that learning feels really adventurous. When I’m learning something new, I’m pioneering. When I’m learning something new, I’m not sure if I’m going to succeed, I’m not sure if I’m going to bump up against my own edges. When I’m learning something new, I’m learning more about myself.

And now that I find myself in a very busy period, to keep the spirit of adventure alive, I’m going to feed that spirit with learning. A wee taste of learning will be enough to keep the spirit alive. It’s as simple as that!

For today’s adventure, I’m learning some basic Hungarian phrases, helped by Hungarian Pod 101 . What I like about these language-learning videos is that they say that you’ll learn something in less than 3 minutes. My inner adventurer gets excited by that invitation 🙂 . Is it really possible for me to do this? As I’m watching the video, I can feel the thrill of adventure and I can feel the fun of learning too.

You can see if I managed to learn some Hungarian in today’s video. I’m saying “Hello. My name is Jane. Nice to meet you! Do you speak English? I don’t speak Hungarian.”

If you know what brings you to life, I wonder what would happen if you spent 3 minutes a day “feeding” that thing? And if you don’t know what brings you to life, I wonder what would happen if you spent 3 minutes a day experimenting and exploring… until you discovered what brings you to life?

I am just going outside and may be some time.

JT

Adventure 298 ~ Explore My Branding

/ intrepidjane

Jane Talbot ~ Humans ResourcedConsidering I’m such an adventurous gal, you’d think that I’d enjoy a change-about now and again, wouldn’t you? Looking at both my Facebook wall and page for my business, I realised that I hadn’t changed my wall cover image since September 2013 – and I hadn’t change my Humans Resourced page cover EVER!

Jane Talbot ~ Humans ResourcedThis 365 Days Of Adventure project has really got me thinking about what I’m all about, the way I’d like to run my business in the future, and the kind of life I want to live. So for today’s adventure, I’ve been exploring and playing – trying to find images and words that express more of who I am.

Jane Talbot ~ Humans ResourcedFor my Humans Resourced page, I’ve now generated a collection of images around the theme of “Bold Living” – I think that’s the direction my business is headed in right now. I’ve posted my favourites here ~ the peacock image is currently gracing the header spot on my Humans Resourced Facebook page 🙂 .

Henry Thoreau QuoteFor my personal wall, I’ve taken a Henry David Thoreau quote and made it into a cover picture. I think the quote really captures the essence of what I’m about and how I’m living.

I am just going outside and may be some time.

JT

Adventure 297 ~ Learn Some Basic Japanese Phrases

/ intrepidjane

japanese greeting hajimemashite.I think my renga project must be getting to me : for today’s adventure, I learn some basic phrases in Japanese :). I used a brilliant YouTube video to help me to learn the following phrases :

1. Nice to meet you / hello  [something you might say when you meet someone for the first time – and the kanji for this phrase are in the image on the left!]
2. My name is ….
3. It’s a pleasure to meet you [said when you’re bowing]

I am just going outside and may be some time.

JT

Adventure 296 ~ Complete The Big Renga Project Website

/ intrepidjane

For today’s adventure, I finished creating the website for The Big Renga collaborative poetry project. I even learned how to create a contact form for the “Contact Us” page 🙂 I’m just waiting for bio details from the poets and then we’re good to go.

The brilliant news is that there are now 9 of us. I’ve worked out that if we can grow the crew to 12, then the project will work out pretty well. Of course, more than 12 would be fabulous, but 12 is enough.

In mid-November, I’ll be closing The Big Renga Project doors so that the renju (collaborative poets) can spend some time agreeing how the logistics are going to work and also learn a little more about the renga form.

I am just going outside and may be some time.

JT

Adventure 295 ~ Make A Video With A Music Trailer

/ intrepidjane

Today’s a busy day at work for me, but I still have had time to squeeze in a bit of adventuring! For my adventure today, I wondered if I might be able to work out how to create a video with a music trailer.

I created the music trailer image in Windows Movie Maker (I had to learn how to resize an image to make it a full-screen fit) and uploaded it to YouTube. Using YouTube’s video editor, I added music to the this video. I then recorded a second video and uploaded that to YouTube. Again, using the editing facility, I merged the 2 videos and held my breath to see whether the cross-fade function I’d selected for the image also worked with the sound files : turns out it does!

Whilst the result is a little rough and ready, I’m now looking forward to refining the technique 🙂

I am just going outside and may be some time.

JT

Adventure 294 ~ Build A Website For The Big Renga Project

/ intrepidjane

The big renga projectFor today’s adventure, I’ve done a few things to support the success of The Big Renga Project!

I’ve built a website which you can check out here ~ the structure is complete, but the content will take a little time to finish. The project also has its own Facebook page which you can view here , and a private Facebook group to support the renju (the collaborative poets).

I might actually need a wee lie down after today’s adventure!

I am just going outside and may be some time.

JT

Adventure 293 ~ Launch A Collaborative Poetry Project

/ intrepidjane

big renga projectI’m sure you may have realised  by now that I’m a bit of a haiku fan 🙂 . As part of the research for my book Seventeen Syllables ~ Cultivating Presence Through Poetry, I looked at the origins of the haiku form. What is now known as haiku was originally known as hokku, the first verse of a collaborative linked- verse poem called a renga.

The renga form has been around since the thirteenth century, and you can find out more about it here. In a nutshell, groups of poets works together to create a linked poem. The first stanza follows a 3-line 5-7-5 syllable format, just like the haiku. It also contains a kigo (season word) and a kireji (cutting word). The second stanza responds to the first stanza, but this time in a 2-line 7-7 syllable format. The renga then gets handed back to the first poet or handed on to the third who, again, works with what is offered in the second stanza but employs the structure of the first (7-5-7).

This sequence of 3-line and 2-line structures is then repeated until the poem is done!

I thought is would be fun to work with other poets to create a renga poem called “December” to capture the spirit of this month. As December will be the last month of my 365 Days Of Adventure project, it feels like collaborating with others might be a lovely way to end the year.

So, for today’s adventure, I’m launching The Big Renga Project and this is where you come in! I’m putting out a call for a crew of 23 poets to join me in creating a 25-verse renga. Whilst no previous poetry-writing experience is required to join the project, I’m looking for  people who are

  • Up for learning about, and respecting, the renga form
  • Keen to collaborate and be part of  a supportive, playful, creative community
  • Able to keep their commitments
  • Prepared to be responsive and present to the previous stanza
  • Respectful of the emergent spirit of the renga
  • Willing to record their stanza in video format (so I can create a film of the whole renga with all the poets involved)

The project will start on December the 1st and the final verse will be created on the 25th. I will create a private Facebook group to facilitate collaboration and information sharing. Each day during December, the poem will be updated so that people can see the renga grow.

If this sounds like this project could be for you, please drop me an email to jane@janetalbot.com in the first instance. If you know of others who might enjoy being part of  this collaborative venture, please feel free to share this information with them.

NOTE – it is not necessary for the poetry to be written in English. However, to support other poets, a translation into English will be required for a smooth stanza transition! For all non-English stanzas, subtitles will be required for the video 🙂 .

I am just going outside and may be some time.

JT

Adventure 292 ~ Recite Matsuo Bashō’s Most Famous Haiku Poem In Japanese

/ intrepidjane

frog haiku Whilst my year of adventure is coming to an end, I am exquisitely aware of something new beginning in me. I’ve felt it for a while, and I’m not even sure I can put it into words yet, but it has something to do with my haiku adventure and something to do with trees and something to do with Japan.

As I’ve been doing research for my book, Seventeen Syllables : Cultivating Presence Through Poetry, I’ve become fascinated by the haiku form and its origins. The modern haiku form is most closely associated with the seventeenth century poet, Matsuo Bashō.

In 1686, Bashō composed one of his best-remembered haiku. Historians believe that this poem became instantly famous.

古池や蛙飛こむ水のおと
furu ike ya / kawazu tobikomu / mizu no oto
An ancient pond / a frog jumps in / the sound of water

For today’s adventure, I’m going to recite this haiku in Japanese. It’s not only considered to be the most famous haiku poem written by Bashō, it’s also considered to be one of the most famous haiku in the world! I learned how to recite the poem by watching this brilliant video on YouTube.

I am just going outside and may be some time.

JT

Adventure 291 ~ Harvest Larch Seeds And Prepare Them For Winter Storage

/ intrepidjane

larch conesLast week, whilst walking my dog, I noticed lots of larch cones on the forest floor, some still attached to small twigs and branches. I picked a few up with the intention of learning more about larch seeds and of seeing whether I could grow a larch tree from seed.

I consulted a range of sources before beginning the process of attempting to harvest the seeds. I learned that the cones of larch may open and close according to climatic conditions, so whilst the cones may have “dropped” some of their seeds already, it might be possible that the cones I had picked up still held some seeds too.

All sources recommended that the cones be put into a warm room to encourage them to open. I put my cones into a paper bag in the bottom of our airing cupboard.

Today I opened the paper bag and started my larch seed adventure! I tapped and shook the cones gently to see what came out. I didn’t really know what to expect or how to recognise a larch seed. To my delight, some of the cones did yield some very small, light brown seeds with very delicate “wings”. I did a Google search for images of larch seeds, and I was excited to discover that I had indeed managed to harvest a modest number of seeds.

Some sources suggest that these seeds can be planted immediately. My trusted tree bible, Tree Planting And Aftercare , suggests that such seeds are better stored in a polythene bag in a fridge at 2-5 degrees celsius until sowing time (usually around the beginning of March).

Closer to sowing time, I can decide whether I sow straight into a seed tray or use a pre-sowing method like stratifying (as with elder). Should I want to optimise the germination rate, I could also consider “sowing” seeds directly onto a tray lined with moist kitchen paper. The tray would then be placed in a polythene bag and returned to the fridge for 3-6 weeks. After the chilling period, the tray is then brought to room temperature but kept covered with newspaper. The tray needs to be kept dark until the seeds germinate. When the seeds have germinated, they can be planted out!

I am just going outside and may be some time.

JT