Friday 27 July 2012

Introducing ... The Height of Summer

Hello.

I'm not the Wizard of Oz.

In fact, come to think of it, the Wizard of Oz wasn't even the Wizard of Oz!

He was just a regular man tinkering away at a machine behind a curtain creating a larger than life persona for himself.
I couldn't find a better picture + can't find the original source. Sorry!
And to some extent ... that's what we, bloggers, tweeters, Facebookers, forum members etc etc are all doing too!

Sure through sharing our stories, our hobbies, our preferences, dreams, craft projects, outfits, family news, recipes, fears, obsessions and cat photos we learn an awful lot of wonderful things about one another. And we get close and we make true friendships. Invaluable friendships. Supportive friendships. Oh-my-goodness-someone-else-understands-my-notebook-fetish friendships.

But unless we ever meet up in 'real' life there remains [at least] one thing you and I can never truly know about each other via our online existence and that's ...

Which one of us is the tallest?

Seriously.

 I'm going to take an educated guess and say you are. Because most adults - and many children - are. But, for the sake of argument ... I'll stick to my original point and say that we can't know for sure, unless ...

... unless during August 2012 we all step out behind the curtain for a minute or two to reveal ... our true stature in a little series I'm calling:
Are you in?

How this came about:
I was chatting to a friend on Twitter who, while attending the recent Craft + Hobby Association Show in California met up with someone who, having previously only seen her online, was surprised at her petite stature. And, conversely, my friend agreed that the other lady appeared taller than it appeared in her online avatar.

I suggested that - in the crafting public interest - she ought to go around the show photographing all of the other well known creative ladies so we could all see where they all fitted in a Usual Suspects-like police line-up!

I don't think she did it ... however, this silly, throw away, idea took a hold of me ... and wouldn't let me throw it away.

And I began to think ...
  • I remembered how surprised I'd been to learn that my long-time online pal Kirsty Neale was a tall specimen of a thing! I think I'd always assumed that, as we have so much else in common ... we must look alike too! Yet we don't.
  • And I remembered how, in an established group of forum friends I'm part of, when the topic of height comes up now and again, we've all been surprised to learn of the mistaken assumptions we've been making about each other based on avatars  ... or simply our imaginations! 
And, you know me ... wherever I start to see a pattern forming ... I tend to want to turn it into an interactive series for us all to play along with.

So here I am. A girl asking the online world how tall - or not - it is ... and hoping someone will join in!

How to get involved with The Height of Summer:
This is entirely up to you ... but here are a few ways you could consider:

Simply reveal your true height:
  • take a full-length photo of yourself and share it on your blog; 
  • who knows, if I get enough takers on this I could even list us all in height order in my sidebar!
  • If you're not comfortable with sharing actual photographs of yourself - don't be put off! Simply find a creative / alternative / crafty way to share your statistics [collage? art journaling? model? sketch? stick man? photo of a mark on the wall?]
Share any photos you have which feature an interesting or funny play on scale in it:
  • Maybe you've been dwarfed by standing next to something [a tall building, animal, tree etc -- I'm going to dig out some of me with the impressively vast Angel of the North]
  • Maybe you've met up with a friend or someone who towered above you, or who you towered above;
  •  Maybe you've been to a theme park where the characters made you feel like a small child again ... or maybe you've felt like Gulliver wandering among the Lilliputians.
Discover where you fit with the height of someone or something else.
  • maybe you have one of those height charts which tell you which animal you're as tall as;
  • maybe you know how big a particular celebrity is and whether you could look them in the eye! etc
Share tales of :
  • where your height has played a role in the action or the outcome.
  • ales from childhood where your size might have felt like a gift or a curse.
  • If you join in with Sian Fair's 'Storytelling Sunday you could combine the two and tell your height of summer tale on Sunday 5th August and link it up to Sian.
Encourage your children to tell a story about their height or share photos of their height charts / pencil lines on doorframes etc

If your size means that you struggle, in whatever way, to find clothes, shoes etc to fit:
  • maybe you could blog about those shops or brands you've discovered which do cater for non-'standard' sizes;
  • or maybe you could ask your blog readers for recommendations and tips.
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I'm sure there will be many, many more ideas and ways you could join in so ... have a think and see what you come up with.

 Then, once things begin in August [next week]:
  • If you link to this series in your own post - and if you mention to your [no doubt baffled] readers what it is you're playing along with then ...
  • I'll be happy to pin any of your Height of Summer posts to the Pinterest board.
Also ... I encourage you to share this idea with any and all of your online friends.
  • Because i'm certain that the more of us who participate, the more pleasantly surprised we'll be to find that whatever our height, shape or size ... we're not the only ones.

I for one am sure there's another 5'2" Wizard of Oz on the other side of this virtual curtain just waiting to be revealed to me.

I can't wait to see how we all measure up!

Julie :-)

36 comments:

  1. Sounds fun....though I'll be 'the short of the summer'....never mind the height...."what height" I think is more apt!!

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  2. For a minute there I thought you were organising a crafty bloggers reunion and wondered how THAT would pan out! I am a relatively short 5"4 but have an interesting pic with the world's tallest man (statue) in LA that I may need to scrap now!

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  3. now I know what I'm going to post on Monday - great family photo where height is the story

    love the way your mind ticks

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  4. What a fab idea - its funny how you build up a mental pic of someone - its like putting a face to the voice on the phone

    Dont know if I would impose a full length pic of me on the world but I will now give it some thought

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  5. Well you ain't seeing me in the real world! And that's that!

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  6. Love it! You're so entertaining to read, Julie!

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  7. Hauuarh! Thanks for embracing my crazy idea already ladies!

    @Effie Ha! It's a bit late for that! I think you should make a lifesize doll / bird instead!

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  8. Love this, at 4' 11" I'm looking up to you Julie :)

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  9. Brilliant idea and love your title! I think I might just be able to look you in the eye ... :).

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  10. Love this! This should be fun.

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  11. I'm in! Height is a big self-identifier for me. I'm 6'0" so height is very defining for me. You should put all the pictures in a row according to height.

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  12. @Effie Ha! It's a bit late for that! I think you should make a lifesize doll / bird instead


    There's not enough paper clay in the whole world!

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  13. Ha! Which one of we two is the taller? I wouldn't put money on it if I were you..even TSO is taller than I am now.

    And thanks,yes, it would make a perfect subject for a Storytelling Sunday post :)

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  14. This is a great post ... I remember being surprised at a celebrity's height once :-)

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  15. What fun - I'm always amazed at how short other people are!
    Have pinned you to my "Things TO Join In With" board while my brain starts ticking over!

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  16. It's a funny thing isn't it, how we perceive other people. I met an online friend irl last year and she told a mutual friend that I was tall, which I'm not! She is in fact 3 inches taller than me!
    Will have a think about how I can join in with your great idea :o)

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  17. This is such a briliant idea! Thanks for giving me the inspiration for some blog posts, a couple of scrap book pages and a few photos! Here is my first blog entry
    http://juliaheald.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/2012-summertime-photography-scavenger.html

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  18. I've added a photo and my short (ha!) story of disappointment in the growth stakes

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  19. Julie I'm enjoying your height post - just posted one too http://helenascreativemaven.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/height-of-summertall-cousins.html
    thanks for the idea

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  20. I've just found this post (through Helena)..lovely idea!
    Alison xx

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  21. I just read Abi's post which led me here :) I know exactly the photos I want to use so will dig for them this weekend. Thanks for the inspiration!

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  22. Just added mine to my blog!

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  23. I just posted my height story! http://marciabeckett.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-height-of-summer.html

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  24. I have posted my lack of height on my blog!

    http://talesfromthescrapheap.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/how-low-can-you-go.html

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  25. I've just posted about my height on my blog - great idea:-)

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  26. Have arrived via Karen's blog and done my own post here

    http://soojjay.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/height-of-summer.html

    Good luck with all the data collecting :) ;)

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  27. Finally did my post:
    http://gallorganico.blogspot.com/2012/08/a-few-tall-tales.html
    Thanks for the great idea!
    Rinda

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  28. Hi Julie :-)
    These posts have been a lot of fun to read - mine is up, at last!

    http://overatourplace.blogspot.com.au/2012/08/the-long-and-short-of-it.html

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  29. Oooh! Fashionably late as usual. heres mine
    http://miriamrogers.co.uk/?p=6505

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  30. I reckon I'll be somewhere in the middle of the height range. Am considering a Steward's Inquiry re Mel's claim to be over 5'7" ~ I was convinced I was taller than her!

    http://suburbansahm.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/losing-inch.html

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  31. Hi Julie..I've just posted my contribution
    http://alisonslife-in-the-slow-lane.blogspot.com.es/2012/08/the-height-of-summer.html
    Thanks for organising this bit of summer fun!
    Alison xx

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  32. This is a really fun idea, I like the comparison to the wizard of oz! Thanks for mentioning this on Facebook today, as I kept meaning to join in and forgetting. I've just written a post before I forgot again! Here it is: http://jennifersjumbles.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/the-height-of-summer.html

    Thanks for starting this up - I look forward to seeing the 'chart'! x

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  33. This series has been fun. I just posted my contribution :-)

    http://hotfudgesundaewithacherryontop.blogspot.com.au/2012/08/the-height-of-summer.html

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  34. I've posted my thoughts here http://scraphappens-dawn.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/the-height-of-summer.html
    Looking forward to seeing who's the tallest and shortest!!

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  35. Lol how silly of me to take part and not publish my height. I've edited my post now and I'm 5' 10.
    Thanks Julie!

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  36. You give really valuable information on Height Growth Supplements for Kids in an easy-to-understand manner, giving important insights and knowledge. You can count on You to provide a variety of valuable and relevant information.

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