Wow, can you believe Wordcraft has been going for 7 years now? How time flies. It has been an amazing ride, and I hope to see it continue. Here is a salute to our 5th year anniversary. We started with a paltry 4 of us and amazingly grew pretty quickly, in part because of our friends from England...and Jennifer.

We used to have a photo gallery when we used MSN chat software, but both of those functions have been integrated here on Wordcraft. Our Saturday morning chats have been a fun way to stay in touch. They used to be every other week, and then every 2nd and 4th week, but 5 week months got confusing. Also, if you missed one week, it was a month before you could chat. So now the chats are every week, which means some of them are a bit scanty (like the week before this Saturday's, which included me, arnie and Shu), but generally there's a nice group there.

We also went through a major change in the look of the site, with input from our members. I remember rebelling against that. Yet, now I like it a lot (though the WoBoGro forum looks a little Woebegone, in my humble opinion). I really like our logo with the books and candle; it used to be a mundane Infopop logo.

We've also had some sad times. Morgan, who was integral in starting this site, died at the young age of 44. We've dedicated our Community page to her. Then our friend missann, who used to post and chat with us, died. She posted some of her art here. And how can we forget our dear Jerry, who just died this year? He was here nearly as long as Morgan, having been urged to post after contacting Wordcrafter, saying he knew the answer to his quiz .

But, we've had happy times too. We've had several Wordcraft Gatherings where we've met each other, talked about words, and drunk a little (?) beer. We've celebrated each others' birthdays, and we've played games. We were the birthplace of OEDILF. While we miss CJ's fun posts (often very long, if I recall!), we wish him and his colleagues well as they limericize the definitions of words.

We've been slow and we've been active. We've had a few tiffs from time to time. For example, we've learned not to ask what the definition of art is. Because I was irritating everyone with posts about my favorite word, I had to take it to a blog (not that I write about the word that much!). Yes, humans misunderstand each other and perceive things differently, and that happens in this community as well. But generally we are a good group of people who enjoy each other.

Thanks to Wordcrafter for posting the weekly themes. I can tell you, it's not an easy job, and he takes it quite seriously. If anyone ever has an idea for a theme, just let either me or Wordcrafter know.

But most of all, thanks so very much to each and every one of you who take time out of your very busy days to post with us. Without you, we'd not exist.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Kalleh,

Seven years, eh?
Congratulations are certainly in order.
It illustrates nicely a distinction in the way that we perceive time that I first encountered in a televised lecture by Jonathan Miller, many years ago. We perceive two different kinds of time: "time passing" and "time passed".
"Time passing" proceeds at a slow, leisurely pace. Over the seven years of wordcraft our debates have often ebbed and flowed through weeks or even months of steady measured discussion. Starting from the nominal topic posted they have veered off on new courses, following all kinds of relevant and irrelevant currents. There has been no special urgency, even in our games where the deadlines are frequently extended until enough people take part.
But "time passed" is another matter. Suddenly someone says, "Hey, did you know it's been seven years since we started" and straight away that seven years shrinks to seven seconds. Seven years have gone in a moment solely because our attention has been drawn to them. Seven years ago I was a different me and although I can enumerate the things I've done and seen in that time I have no emotional grasp of the period. It's gone. Lost in a single lightning-bolt moment of saying "Hey, did you know it's been seven years."

No matter how slow the time was in passing, it was too quick when viewed from here, too quick once passed. The fact is driven home by the loss of some of our members, most recently Jerry. It's a gloomy thought but we are all seven years older, seven years slower and seven years closer to death. But when all is said and done perhaps the time passing is more important than the time passed. Having known Jerry and missann and Morgan is more important than having lost them.

Seven years from now someone will say, "Hey, did you know it's fourteen years since wordcraft started" and, assuming I'm still here, I'll suddenly feel seven years older again, but in the meantime there will have been seven more years of time passing.

Incidentally whatever happened to the 5-year anthology. It's referenced all over the place in other threads but I can't find the thread that actually has the work in it. Anybody know where it went?

Are you taling about this thread? So far as I can remember no-one contributed to the thread directly, although there is some mention of you having received submissions by Jerry and Richard by email or PM.

I'd forgotten about that anthology. I submitted quite a number of works as I recall.

No. There was another thread that had work from me, jerry, Richard and a couple of others.

I'll do some searching tonight. Was the work poetry, Bob?

As I said in my latest PM maybe I'm misremembering (it wouldn't be the first time) but I'm almost sure that there was something, I can't believe that I just threw away all the stuff people had sent.

Zmj has found your thread, Bob!

It's the Wordcraft Anniversary Submissions thread.

Hurrah!
And jolly fine it is too, it would be a real shame to lose that work. Especially as it contains one of jerry's excellent pieces.

Anybody up for a new anthology this year?

Incidentally where was it? When I lose something it usually turns up down the back of the sofa. Is that where zm found it?

Incidentally where was it?

It was with all those lost, single socks. But, seriously, I find it using the search mechanism. I searched on the title of one of my entries: Visum Proculae.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: zmježd,

OK. Could you let me have the socks as well? Quite a lot of mine are missing.

Quite a lot of mine are missing.

I wish you'd've asked me before. Now I can't find them.

And do you know, I've not had a single offer yet for my picture. Obviously Charles Saatchi hasn't yet discovered it, so busy has he been buying portraits without faces.

You need to create a few more and hire a gallery space. Even a man of your boundless talent can't build a reputation on a single work. Get out to that potting shed... er studio... and work!

Vincent van Gogh only sold one painting in his lifetime, and that was to his brother Theo. I agree with Bob. If you want to make money as an artist, you need to up your production and get shown.

When we were in Toronto with goofy, we saw some very interesting pieces of art at the Art Gallery of Ontario, such as a beautiful display of golf bags that were made to look like totem poles. Quite creative, really.

[Edited because I got a little too enthusiastic about the Toronto museum and forgot about good manners on the Board.]

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Kalleh,

quote:

Or my favorite...a stack of folders on the floor. Quite creative, really.

I didn't realise that my office is a work of art...