Live List

Wordle.net

Somehow, SOMEHOW, this fantastic online tool has escaped my attention until now—and I honestly can’t remember how I came across it since I became immediately mesmerized. I realize that this will definitely overtake the number one position on my list of great ways to waste the time I don’t have in actuality, but I’ve already rationalized it over to the list of things conducive to productivity.

For instance, though I spend eons of time re-coloring and changing fonts, the single second of inspiration that can be withdrawn from the disorder is (meaning I have convinced myself this is fact) worth all the wasted moments. Let me explain…

I write. At times. Sometimes—regularly—the thought is there, the idea is a good one, the words, the content, all there but I just can’t get started. The opening or closing—these are usually comparable to me—is floating around somewhere other than in my mind, same goes for the middle. Yes, I too, wonder how I ever produce anything useful at all.

If only I had a tool that could help me when I’m stumped… some kind of muse that would rearrange the words into phrases… something that could connect the important parts together… TaDa, Wordle!

I think that if you are a writer you’ll understand what I’m getting at. If you’re not, well, the damn thing is addicting anyway—it’s apparent that no point, really, needs to come from it. Just try it. Either type—copy-paste—a whole bunch of words in or enter a URL and Wordle will create a tangled mess of the words, which can then be tweaked—color, font, size, shape, order, direction—to your liking.

If it’s not a time-eraser for you like it instantly was for myself… congratulations, you obviously get much more done than I do.

Here is an example of what happens over in Wordle world. This is the art my words from my last post 160 Love Letters produces:

And one for this post:

Thank You, Jonathan Feinberg, for your creation. My procrastination will send you a medal when it gets around to it.

c’est tout

I think I found my new favorite…

Introduced to me by my first love Mashable. Who now owns this wonderful revelation Blippr. Congrats to both parties!

This addictive site is kind of a delicious combo of  Twitter (short & sweet—review character count = 160—clean & effective) + Mashable (info I give a flying ant about that actually makes my life easier with helpful hints from users ) + LibraryThing (books reviewed by readers, not reviewers, & ideas for new books to read you never knew about ) + Amazon (because lets face it, comparing computer applications and software, while bagging a pile of books relating to the 15 movies you purchased earlier because you downloaded the soundtracks and loved them, is just something they’ve got covered. And as always, the omnipresent Amazon is just a click away on Blippr, so no worries)

A quick and simple place to read a whole bunch of very short takes on why so many people don’t like the application that you love but they don’t have enough characters remaining to go into enough detail to wholly prove you wrong so you can still depart feeling lucky you came across such a helpful “time vacuum” tool and continue on your way rolling your eyes in pity at the “professionals.”

I obviously have trouble fitting the things floating in my head in those boxes that count down my keystrokes I have assumed, now, that these stubborn text boxes are really an omen and I must, at all costs, learn to trim my thoughts… no matter how much time it takes away from the necessities of life.

It is lacking that obnoxiously cute, irresistible bird that Twitter has let loose, though. Perhaps they could use a hippo or something…

I’m done.

Cheers!