Rabbit Punch

Some objects to imagine:

noreply@blogger.com (March Hare) — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 19:38:00 +0000

A sliver of soap
A sharp stone
A length of twine
A scrap of burlap
A subtle hint
A torn handerkerchief
A dried blade of grass
A fragment of mirror
A lingering doubt
A rusted nail
A bent paperclip
A withering glance
A bruised apple
A sharpened stick
A dirty spoon
A fine line
A burnt match

Some personal questions:

noreply@blogger.com (March Hare) — Thu, 28 Dec 2006 23:17:00 +0000

What is your favorite place?
If you could live anywhere, where would that be?
If you could live anytime, when would that be?
What does the concept “home” mean to you?
What does the concept “shelter” mean to you?
What has been the most significant event in your life:
Today?
This week?
This month?
This year?
Ever?
Complete the following sentences:
When I am/was 80 I will be/am/was…
When I am/was 65 I will be/am/was…
When I am/was 50 I will be/am/was…
When I am/was 35 I will be/am/was…

What is your earliest memory?
What did you want to be when you grew up?
What did you think “grown up” meant?
Recall and describe a lost object from your childhood.
Describe a dream from your childhood (actual dream, not hope or wish).
Describe a childhood fear.
Describe a childhood desire.
When did you last believe in (or do you still, or did you ever):
Magic?
Ghosts?
Time travel?
Immortality?
Invisible worlds?
Dragons?

Describe your favorite and least favorite smell.
Describe your favorite and least favorite sound.
If you have ever had a piercing or tattoo, describe the sensation of getting it.
What is the most intense pain (or other sensation) you’ve ever experienced?
What is the most intense pain (or other sensation) you can imagine?

Pull a hair from your head (or arm or eyebrow). Describe it in as much detail as possible.
Choose from the following list several materials you find most compelling—either attractive, repulsive, or both. Describe why:
>Wood, stone, sand, dirt, water, ice, cloud, flame, salt, ashes, mud, leaves, glue, wax, sugar, milk, tears, grease, soap, iron, copper, glass, concrete, aluminum, steel, oil, plastic, rubber.
Is it necessary for people to be honest with themselves? Is it possible?
Are you right or left-handed? How do you imagine life if this was reversed?
Recall and describe an object you possess, the loss of which would devastate you.
Describe an object of your desire that you do not possess. What are you willing to do to get it?
Have you ever seen a birth (of a human or other animal)?
Have you ever seen a death (of a person or other animal)?
Draw a straight line.
Draw a pleasing curve.
Draw an angle.
Do you identify most with:
Light or dark?
Earth or sky?
Land or water?
Sun or moon?
War or peace?
Myth or reality?
Fiction or non-fiction?
Beginning, middle, or end?

Think about a private moment—that is, something that happened to you alone, that was meaningful, and that you have never told anyone else about.
What are you capable of (but would never do)?
What are you incapable of (but would never admit)?
How do you hope to die?
What do you like most and least about yourself?
In what ways are you unfair or unjust?
How do you usually feel when you encounter someone different from yourself?
What is your secret hope or wish?
What is your secret fear?
What do you hide?

Some compounds words starting with "A":

noreply@blogger.com (March Hare) — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 01:38:00 +0000

about face
about ship
aboveboard
aboveground
acid fast
acid test
afterbirth
afterburner
aftercare
afterdeck
after effect
afterglow
afterimage
afterlife
aftermath
afternoon
aftershaft
aftershave
aftertaste
afterthought
afterward
afterword
afterworld
age-old
airbag
airbase
airbrake
airbrush
airburst
air-cool
aircraft
airdrop
air-dry
airfield
airflow
airfoil
airframe
airgun
airhammer
airhole
airlift
airline
airlock
airmail
airman
airmass
airplane
airpocket
airport
air rifle
airshaft
airship
airsick
airspace
airstrip
airtight
airway
alarm clock
ale wife
all clear
all over
all right
allspice
all star
alongside
anchorman
anklebone
anthill
anybody
anyhow
anyone
any place
anything
any time
anyway
anywhere
archway
armchair
armhole
armload
armpit
armrest
arrowhead
arrowroot
artwork
ashcan
ashtray
awestruck
axhead
axman

Some last words and a list of their sources, each arranged in alphabetical order (classics version):

noreply@blogger.com (March Hare) — Sun, 19 Nov 2006 23:53:00 +0000

amen
before
dead
describing
distance
evolved
rewards
shoot
sight
stories
this
vain
vale
***
The Bible (KJV)
Critique of Pure Reason
The Decameron
De Rerum Naturae
Don Quixote
Frankenstein
Hamlet
Huckleberry Finn
Justine
Little Women
The Origin of Species
The Republic
Travels... by Lemuel Gulliver

Some slippery substances:

noreply@blogger.com (March Hare) — Fri, 17 Nov 2006 16:50:00 +0000

grease
oil
soap
wax
bearings
teflon
spit
butter
mayonaisse
truths
silicone
ice

Some sticky substances:

noreply@blogger.com (March Hare) — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 18:27:00 +0000

tar
glue
gum
honey
sap
syrup
magnets
tape
jelly
jam
velcro
blood
flypaper
wickets

Some further pairs of opposites, each with an identical number of letters:

noreply@blogger.com (March Hare) — Sun, 05 Nov 2006 00:57:00 +0000

concrete-abstract
wild-tame
ordinary-peculiar
feckless-valuable
obscure-obvious
degrade-restore
multiple-singular
withered-blooming
disgraced-respected
incendiary-refractory
scatter-collect
cling-avoid
expressive-analytical
anchor-loosen
antecedent-descendant
straight-crooked
arid-damp
angel-demon
reposed-alerted
active-torpid
tumescent-collapsed
famine-plenty
sterile-fertile
orange-indigo
comfort-disturb

Some common substances that melt under ordinary conditions:

noreply@blogger.com (March Hare) — Thu, 02 Nov 2006 16:44:00 +0000

ice
chocolate
wax
lard
butter
gelatin
tallow
snow
grease
plastic
suet
cheese
witches

Some naive concepts:

noreply@blogger.com (March Hare) — Sun, 29 Oct 2006 19:05:00 +0000

The earth is flat.
The universe revolves around the earth.
The universe revolves around me.
The stars are holes in the firmament, letting through light from beyond.
Everything consists of four elements: earth, air, fire, and water.
Time flows like a river.
Our senses are trustworthy.
Our senses are not trustworthy.
The seat of emotions is the heart.
The seat of desire is the genitals.
The seat of intuition is the pants.
Structures and relationships are repeated at all scales, from the sub-atomic to the galactic.

Some compound words which include "punch":

noreply@blogger.com (March Hare) — Fri, 27 Oct 2006 15:24:00 +0000

rabbit
sucker
list
drunk
rum
line
card
up
ball
board
bowl
tape
paper
center
drift

Some more pairs of opposites, each with an identical number of letters:

noreply@blogger.com (March Hare) — Thu, 26 Oct 2006 16:03:00 +0000

force-allow
frozen-thawed
fixed-broke
prolong-shorten
lit-dim
temporary-permanent
clean-dirty
live-dead
mom-dad
rare-done
raise-lower
skinny-rotund
punish-reward
order-chaos
faith-proof
listen-ignore
above-below
rough-slick
cut-fat
home-away
gross-small
grand-plain
more-less
mean-nice
city-farm
her-him
daring-demure
menace-savior
failure-success
routine-unusual
sink-rise

Some pairs of opposites, each with an identical number of letters:

noreply@blogger.com (March Hare) — Fri, 20 Oct 2006 17:10:00 +0000

love-hate

black-white

old-new

violent-passive

play-work

mind-body

brain-heart

head-tail

stupid-bright

yellow-purple

right-wrong

jungle-desert

rich-poor

loud-soft

hard-soft

cool-warm

good-evil

plastic-natural

real-fake

glue-lube

strip-dress

help-hurt

cut-sew

build-wreck

bind-free

good-poor

sick-well

Some comic-book words that represent gunfire:

noreply@blogger.com (March Hare) — Mon, 16 Oct 2006 22:26:00 +0000

pow

crack

zing

plink

blam

bang

ratatatat

kapow

boom

kablam

takatakataka

bam

akakak

takow

Some compound words ending with -head:

noreply@blogger.com (March Hare) — Mon, 16 Oct 2006 16:29:00 +0000

hammer
flat
pin
dead
nail
pan
barrel
red
white
black
axe
bulk
beach
broad
hard
peg
spear
fountain
hogs
logger
bolt
maiden

Some things with a single opening:

noreply@blogger.com (March Hare) — Mon, 16 Oct 2006 00:51:00 +0000

bottles
cans
socks
shoes
bowls
thimbles
vases
cups
bags
boxes
tents
condoms
holes
pots
pans
buckets
drawers
caps
hats
ears
pits
ovens
glasses
jars
wells
lids
pockets
pouches
bins
boots
trunks

Some physical quantities, expressed in archaic units:

noreply@blogger.com (March Hare) — Sun, 15 Oct 2006 01:14:00 +0000

The radius of the observable universe ~ 2.838159 x 10²² leagues.
The diameter of an atom ~ 4.35 x 10^-9 spans.
The average distance between sun and earth ~ 760,000,000 furlongs.
The circumference of the earth ~ 8,095,757 rods.
The volume of the world's oceans ~ 5.29148 x 10¹⁸ hogsheads.
The volume of the Empire State Building ~ 37,000,000 amphorae.
The volume of the world's forests ~ 1.0733 x 10¹³ faggots.
The area of the world's polar ice caps ~ 8.5964-9.7177 x 10⁹ jugerum.
The mass of a uranium atom ~ 6.09 x 10^-20 grains.
The mass of the earth ~ 1.537 x 10²⁷ drachms (drams).
The mass of the sun ~ 6.06 x 10²⁹ talents.
The Planck mass ~ 0.00001399 pennyweight.
Atmospheric pressure at sea level ~ 416,745 scruples per square span.
Density of water at 4 degrees C. ~ 0.86 talents per amphora.
Acceleration due to gravity on earth ~ 22 cubits per second squared.

Some famous box-makers of the twentieth century:

noreply@blogger.com (March Hare) — Tue, 10 Oct 2006 15:44:00 +0000

David Smith
Donald Judd
Eva Hesse
Joseph Cornell
Tony Smith
Mies van der Rohe
Robert Morris
Anne Truitt
Larry Bell
Philip Johnson
Boise-Cascade
Andy Warhol
Jackie Winsor
Weyerhaeuser
Sol LeWitt
Marcel Duchamp
Jasper Johns
Frank Lloyd Wright

Some things that wiggle:

noreply@blogger.com (March Hare) — Sun, 08 Oct 2006 03:07:00 +0000

worms
spaghetti strands
fish
children
lines
eels
jello
rubber
ears
tentacles
toes

Some uncontained things that gradually disappear:

noreply@blogger.com (March Hare) — Fri, 06 Oct 2006 03:04:00 +0000

soap
ice
pencils
candles
suntans
polar ice caps

Some public actions that are inappropriate in private:

noreply@blogger.com (March Hare) — Tue, 03 Oct 2006 06:12:00 +0000

Making speeches
Cheering
Booing
Standing in line
Using a megaphone
Shaking hands
Debating
Acting self-important
Giving orders
Ballroom dancing
Playing to a crowd
Hooting
Hollering
Laughing hysterically
Drinking too much
Professional reserve
Self-consciousness
Heckling
Mocking those weaker than yourself
Pretense
Pompousness
Bowing
Curtseying
Saying one thing when you mean another
Wearing formal attire
Acting like a tourist
Cheating
Tipping
Padding your resume
Feigning interest
General fakery

Some objects meant to be disposed of after a single use:

noreply@blogger.com (March Hare) — Sun, 01 Oct 2006 23:08:00 +0000

toothpicks
facial tissues
toilet paper
tampons
sanitary napkins
bandages
surgical gloves
dental floss
coffee grounds
coffee filters
tea leaves
tea bags
cotton balls
cotton swabs
tongue depressors
hypodermic needles
scalpel blades
diapers
condoms
matches
straws
swizzle sticks
baby wipes
neck strips
nasal strips
dress shields

Some famous dead white people paired with verbs that more or less rhyme with their names:

noreply@blogger.com (March Hare) — Sat, 30 Sep 2006 06:29:00 +0000

Jesus sneezes
Marx sparks
Borges delays
Austen frosting
Sarte farts
Dickens quickens
Trilling thrilling
Van Doren boring
Barthes smarts
West bests
Swift lifts
Twain reigns
Kant rants
Merton flirting
Thomas promises

Some arrangments of objects that emit or refuse to emit light:

noreply@blogger.com (March Hare) — Tue, 26 Sep 2006 15:18:00 +0000

A light, mounted on a mirrored surface.
A light, enclosed in a light-tight mirrored box.
A light, reflected by a series of mirrors, of number such that no light is reflected by the final mirror.
A light, placed on one side of a stack of glass sheets, of number such that no light is emitted from the other side of the stack.
A lamp, actuated by a touch-switch circuit, encased in a light-tight metal box.
A lit lamp, encased in transparent resin.
A lit lamp, emitting heat, encased in a ventilated structure.
A lit LED, attached to the pendulum arm of an operating metronome.
A lit room, the brightness of which is in inverse proportion to the volume of sound within it.
A brightly lit room, occupied by a blindfolded person for twenty-four hours.
A storefront, with people silhouetted in its windows, performing simple activities appropriate to the space.
Tubular fluorescent light fixtures, attached end to end to form platonic solids.
Circular fluorescent light fixtures, attached edge to edge to form platonic solids.
A CRT, placed in a dark space, displaying the black and white image of an incandescent bulb.
A CRT, placed in a dark space, displaying the black and white image of a candle.
A CRT, placed in a dark space, displaying the black and white image of a gas lantern.
A CRT, placed in a dark space, displaying the black and white image of a fluorescent tube or bulb.
Two lamps, one on, one off, embedded in concrete such that no visible light is emitted from either lamp.
Two lamps, one on, one off, embedded in plaster such that no visible light is emitted from either lamp.
Two lamps, one on, one off, embedded in a block of ice.
A lit lamp, immersed in a bucket filled with ice.
A lit lamp, immersed in a bucket filled with water.
A lit lamp, immersed in a bucket filled with milk.
A lit lamp, immersed in a bucket filled with sand.
A lit lamp, immersed in a bucket filled with salt.
A lit lamp, immersed in a bucket filled with earth.
A lit lamp, immersed in a bucket filled with ashes.
A lit lamp, immersed in a bucket filled with sawdust.
A lit lamp, immersed in a bucket filled with crushed glass.
A lit lamp, immersed in a bucket filled with antifreeze.
A lit lamp, immersed in a bucket filled with used motor oil.
A mechanism in a darkened room, which periodically combines lightning bug chemicals in a jar.
A mechanism in a darkened room, which periodically crushes WintOgreen lifesavers.
Fluorescent or neon tubes, arranged as bars over a window.
Fluorescent or neon tubes, arranged as rungs on a ladder.
Fluorescent or neon tubes, arranged as legs on a table.
Fluorescent or neon tubes, arranged as legs on a stool.
Fluorescent or neon tubes, stacked like logs to form a house-object.
A fluorescent tube lit by enclosure in a microwave oven that operates intermittently.
A light bulb enclosed in a hollowed-out book, lit for a duration necessary to destroy the bulb or the book.
A lamp wrapped in bandages, the illumination of which is regulated by a thermostat.
A pile of lamps, sprayed in situ with aluminum paint.
A pair of lamps, with a switch arranged such that turning one lamp on will turn the other off.
A lamp, controlled by a chain of unmarked switches, such that each switch must be on for the lamp to light.
A pair of turn-signals, drifting in and out of sync.
A strobe light, flashing out of time with accompanying sound.
A strobe light, illuminating a whirling drum on which are inscribed significant words.

Some lists that I'm working on for future posts:

noreply@blogger.com (March Hare) — Sun, 24 Sep 2006 02:27:00 +0000

Some little known authors who share surnames with well-known authors
The molecular formulae of some soft substances
Some single-sentence descriptions of well-known works of art
Some substances banned from US mail, and some items to which this might apply
Some locations where a person might expect to encounter an android
Some substances which increase disorder in the world
Some physical quantities, expressed in archaic units
Some objects of arbitrary shapes
Some common tautological situations

Some objects meant to be touched:

noreply@blogger.com (March Hare) — Fri, 22 Sep 2006 03:45:00 +0000

Knobs
Buttons
Keys
Switches
Levers
Dials
Fobs
Latches
Handles
Wheels
Triggers
Caps
Lids
Catches
Clips
Studs
Zippers
Covers
Pommels
Buckles
Releases
Cranks
Cords
Chains
Strings
Hooks
Plungers
Rings
Pins
Grips
Bars
Rungs
Snaps
Hilts
Straps
Toggles
Pegs
Tabs
Stops
Taps
Rests
Reins
Hafts
Plugs