Let's get surreal
July 9, 2010 2:46 PM Subscribe
I would like to step out of my comfort zone and mix it up a little bit here and there. I'm looking for suggestions for improvisational stuff I could do during the day that will "put things into a new light" for me.
I'm open to any suggestions, but I would mostly like suggestions for more casual things I could do on the spot (dance, mime, etc.) and maybe a few things that take a bit of planning (walk around in a bear suit). I'd also like the ideas tend to be stuff I could do in public and maybe are a bit surreal (dance backwards, walk around in half a bear suit, etc.). Any suggestions?
I'm open to any suggestions, but I would mostly like suggestions for more casual things I could do on the spot (dance, mime, etc.) and maybe a few things that take a bit of planning (walk around in a bear suit). I'd also like the ideas tend to be stuff I could do in public and maybe are a bit surreal (dance backwards, walk around in half a bear suit, etc.). Any suggestions?
I briefly read a book while waiting for a friend to get ready to go out that had all sorts of little experiments designed to knock you out of your reality for a little while. It was called "Astonish Yourself: 101 Experiments in the Philosophy of Everyday Life." I can't remember if I ever went through any of the experiments, but it seemed to be thoughtful and interesting.
posted by crunchland at 3:01 PM on July 9, 2010
posted by crunchland at 3:01 PM on July 9, 2010
Or, have you ever been the kind of hung over where you shower in some other order than you always do, or you have to re-figure out how to brush your teeth? I've had some revelations abou the nature of traffic on days like that.
posted by cmoj at 3:01 PM on July 9, 2010
posted by cmoj at 3:01 PM on July 9, 2010
Response by poster: I could always get drunk or high, but I would like to do things that push my boundaries and self-expression rather than than just rely on substances.
posted by P.o.B. at 3:03 PM on July 9, 2010
posted by P.o.B. at 3:03 PM on July 9, 2010
Get a some chalk and draw stuff on the sidewalk. Mathematical equations, body outlines, hopscotch, water cycle...
Get one of those invisible dog leashes and walk around with it. Remember to bring the pooper scooper & bag. Scold your pet for being naughty.
Style your hair to be vertically noticeable, add flair, colored contacts. Visit an art museum and pretend to be one of the exhibits.
Get a deck and learn to do basic tarot card readings. Offer your services to others.
Make a bunch of little origami creatures. Arrange them on a tray and offer them as free samples. Do this on a calm day.
Wear rain gear and use your umbrella on a cloudless sunny day. Tell people that you're expecting rain.
Get some cheap potted plants and leave them at various locations. Insert signage into the soil as you wish: "Take me home!" "HOMELESS NEED WATER GOD BLESS" "Looking for love"
Just do whatever comes into mind as long as no harm is done.
posted by Seboshin at 3:25 PM on July 9, 2010 [2 favorites]
Get one of those invisible dog leashes and walk around with it. Remember to bring the pooper scooper & bag. Scold your pet for being naughty.
Style your hair to be vertically noticeable, add flair, colored contacts. Visit an art museum and pretend to be one of the exhibits.
Get a deck and learn to do basic tarot card readings. Offer your services to others.
Make a bunch of little origami creatures. Arrange them on a tray and offer them as free samples. Do this on a calm day.
Wear rain gear and use your umbrella on a cloudless sunny day. Tell people that you're expecting rain.
Get some cheap potted plants and leave them at various locations. Insert signage into the soil as you wish: "Take me home!" "HOMELESS NEED WATER GOD BLESS" "Looking for love"
Just do whatever comes into mind as long as no harm is done.
posted by Seboshin at 3:25 PM on July 9, 2010 [2 favorites]
Attempt to lead an impromptu sing-along in a situation where people are bored and sitting around (waiting at bus stops etc). Everyone knows "Bohemian Rhapsody." "Hey Jude" is good too.
Just plain talk to strangers. Really talk to them. Have a conversation, if they're willing to engage with you. (Only works if you're confident and can pick up the signals when they are not willing to engage. Otherwise you look creepy.)
posted by titus n. owl at 3:51 PM on July 9, 2010
Just plain talk to strangers. Really talk to them. Have a conversation, if they're willing to engage with you. (Only works if you're confident and can pick up the signals when they are not willing to engage. Otherwise you look creepy.)
posted by titus n. owl at 3:51 PM on July 9, 2010
Go on a vacation (even just for a weekend) to a different place and take on a whole new persona. Put on an accent, make up a cover story, give yourself a different name and nationality entirely.
Spend as much time nude as you possibly can. Walk around the house naked, do your laundry and cook nude. Visit nude beaches.
Crash a wedding reception or go to a hotel and sit in on seminars or business meetings completely out of your field.
posted by misha at 4:54 PM on July 9, 2010
Spend as much time nude as you possibly can. Walk around the house naked, do your laundry and cook nude. Visit nude beaches.
Crash a wedding reception or go to a hotel and sit in on seminars or business meetings completely out of your field.
posted by misha at 4:54 PM on July 9, 2010
Climb a tree in a park and blow bubbles. Watch people try to figure out where the bubbles are drifting down from.
posted by Jasper Fnorde at 7:37 AM on July 10, 2010
posted by Jasper Fnorde at 7:37 AM on July 10, 2010
there's a chapter in the book recipes for disaster that covers mixing it up and trying things outside of your comfort zone.
i can't find the chapter online (i've tried before - i wanted to send a passage from it to a friend) but i will happily type it out for you at some point this weekend. it will make for a lengthy post, so i'll MeMail you.
posted by gursky at 2:47 PM on July 10, 2010
i can't find the chapter online (i've tried before - i wanted to send a passage from it to a friend) but i will happily type it out for you at some point this weekend. it will make for a lengthy post, so i'll MeMail you.
posted by gursky at 2:47 PM on July 10, 2010
When I initially saw your question the first thought to pop into my mind was, "read poems to strangers" -- but for whatever reason, I ended up not submitting a response.
However - this afternoon as I was walking into my neighborhood coffee shop I passed a dude standing on the curb in front and he asked me "Have time for a poem today?" He pulled out a book from what looked like a tool box filled with poetry books, opened it at random and read me a poem that ended with a line the gist of which was "we're all trying to figure out what it all means".
It really hit me. Since last evening I've been in a funk -- after I'd watched that Double Rainbow video and completely loved how much the hiker guy was getting off on the whole experience, I read an article about the BP oil spill and how we're all going to die within the next six months due to a massive release of methane gas. So all day today I've been wandering around wondering, "what does it mean?" and thinking to myself, "absolutely nothing. We're just another blip on the Earth's evolutionary path and are about to go the way of the dinosaurs."
And while all that may be true, I dunno...making a connection with a complete stranger via another complete stranger's words made me feel, if not better, then not so alone in my wandering and wondering.
posted by hapax_legomenon at 3:06 PM on July 11, 2010 [1 favorite]
However - this afternoon as I was walking into my neighborhood coffee shop I passed a dude standing on the curb in front and he asked me "Have time for a poem today?" He pulled out a book from what looked like a tool box filled with poetry books, opened it at random and read me a poem that ended with a line the gist of which was "we're all trying to figure out what it all means".
It really hit me. Since last evening I've been in a funk -- after I'd watched that Double Rainbow video and completely loved how much the hiker guy was getting off on the whole experience, I read an article about the BP oil spill and how we're all going to die within the next six months due to a massive release of methane gas. So all day today I've been wandering around wondering, "what does it mean?" and thinking to myself, "absolutely nothing. We're just another blip on the Earth's evolutionary path and are about to go the way of the dinosaurs."
And while all that may be true, I dunno...making a connection with a complete stranger via another complete stranger's words made me feel, if not better, then not so alone in my wandering and wondering.
posted by hapax_legomenon at 3:06 PM on July 11, 2010 [1 favorite]
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Or maybe offer free dance lessons (or your own unique dance moves) on the spot and see how many people you can get to dance at once.
I would do this even if you are not a good dancer, that would make it all the better.
posted by Kharon of the Mekon(g) at 2:57 PM on July 9, 2010