DeepFUN

Mitt Rowdy

April 29, 2013

So, here’s this game. They call it Mitt Rowdy. It’s my kind of game. Silly. Intimate. Competitive, in a loving way. No score, really. I mean, somebody wins, but that’s not the point, actually. Not a game to be taken seriously – not when you’re wearing oven mits and trying to pick up a coin [...]

the fun assumption

April 26, 2013

Suppose you supposed that the only reason birds sing was the sheer fun of singing, of having songs and the ability to give them voice. Or the fun of discovering themselves suddenly landing on a moving branch in a swaying tree in perfect balance. Or the fun of knowing that whenever the wind or whim [...]

Musical Swings again

April 25, 2013

Last year, I wrote about the many conceptual and actual delights of Tous Les Jours playful, inviting, enticing Musical Swings installation in Montreal. Today, prompted by another post in Playgroundology and the realization that this event is happening now, at Montreal’s Promenade des Artistes, from April 17 to June 2; led me to, nay, demanded that I share the [...]

high tech playgrounds

April 24, 2013

There’s a playground company called Kompan that makes things like this: They make a lot of playground things, from the conventional (playstructures and the like) to what they call the “Electronic Playground” that features devices like the Swirl (above) and the Rocky (below) And it’s these things, these Electronic Playground things that interest me the most. [...]

Sculptural playgrounds

April 23, 2013

The Sculptural Playground in Schulberg, Wiesbaden, Germany, designed by ANNABU, is one brilliant testimony to the contribution that public art has to make to public play. It invites a wide variety of play – social, physical, fantasy. It incorporates trees and a huge sand pit and provides enough space for kids who want to [...]

Humor and playfulness

April 22, 2013

Our sense of humor has a lot to do with our ability to stay on a playful path. Joking with a stranger, laughing together, sharing a moment of silliness, we connect, we build bridges across the divide that keeps us strangers. That sense of humor is more interesting to me than humor itself, more than [...]

Johnball

April 19, 2013

The requirements for playing Johnball are: Bats “As long as you use any foam or plastic bat, you’ll be fine. (Obviously, you’ll want to steer clear of all metallic and wooden bats.) These can be picked up at a variety of stores, but it’s highly suggested that you first check out whatever thrift stores you [...]

Games and playfulness

April 18, 2013

Here’s a thought to think about: most games don’t encourage playfulness. Unless you’re talking about the kinds of games kids play. Well, some games. Some kids. Maybe little kids. When they aren’t involved in Little League, or toddler tennis or baby bowling. If by games you mean sports, or games with official rules, or traditional [...]

turning the tables to fun

April 17, 2013

According to the old and oft-repeated (especially by DeKoven) DeKoven adage: if you’re playing for fun, the players are more important than the game. Which, as far as I am capable of interpreting it, is very similar to another old DeKoven adage: it’s easier to change the game than the players. Either of these adages [...]

my ikigais

April 16, 2013

In a recent conversation about the “Inner Inner City” (see video on my Youtube Channel), my Dutch friend Thys Van der Veer used a Japanese word: “Ikigai.” According to the Wikipedist, ikigai is: “a Japanese concept meaning ‘a reason for being.’ Everyone, according to the Japanese, has an ikigai. Finding it requires a deep and often lengthy search [...]

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