I admit it. I’m still struggling to get things done. Normally, my inability to get household chores done is due to the excessive amount of work that I have to do. Now, I’m feeling relatively caught up when it comes to work and teaching. (Don’t worry I’m sure that will change by Tuesday, at the latest.) No, the problem is my lack of concentration. I push myself to get up, get moving and do something. After I finish whatever task, I then sit back down and waste time doing I don’t know what. I find myself seeking out tasks that distract me and are filled with a little fun. This week, two activities that fit that description popped up in my social media.
First on Duran Duran’s social media, DDHQ posted a little word search to occupy your time. You can find both the word search and an answer key here! I decided to give it a try and found that it took me longer than I anticipated. On top of that, it sufficiently helped me focus on that task alone, which I always appreciate. For awhile Rhonda and I were posting games and activities like that here. If you do a simple search for the tag, “games,” you should be able to find them just fine. If you all like that sort of thing, we can certainly do more. I might even go back and revisit some of those as I’m enjoying tasks like that. One of my new routines is to color a little before I go to bed. It has helped quiet my mind down so that I can go to sleep easier and faster.
The second game/distraction/activity this week came from Buzzfeed in the form of a quiz. Now, I suspect that I’m not the only one who is a sucker for those kind of quizzes that ask things like, “Which character are you most like” or “Which band member are you most like etc.” This one was a little different in that it asked how obsessed you are. My first thought, I have to admit was to begin to overthink it. What do they mean by obsessed? What about the fact that some fans don’t have as much money or time on their hands? What about fans who are new? Are those factors taken into consideration? (You know. In thinking about my questions, I wonder if I do that because I have to ask similar questions all the time about lessons I create. Can all students access this material? What about students with lower reading levels or struggle with English? Am I thinking about how this material might be triggering, emotionally? Yeah, this probably has made overthinking totally normal. ) Anyway, let’s take a look at the questions:
- I own one physical album.
- I own more than one physical album.
- I own all their albums, singles and even rarities.
- I have posters of them in my room.
- I follow all of their social media accounts.
- I have attended a concert.
- I have attended more than one concert.
- I have attended more than 10 concerts.
- I have traveled to another state or country to see them.
- I have met them in person.
- I have met them in person several times.
- I have been a fan for most part of my life.
- I have seen their interviews so many times I can recite them.
- I rewatch their music videos at least once a month.
- I have seen all their documentaries.
- I have seen all their documentaries more than 10 times.
- I listen their music almost every day.
- I have made friends because of them.
- All my friends and family know about my love for them.
- I named one of my children after something related to them.
- I changed my own name to something related to them.
- I have had dreams about them.
- I often daydream about them.
- I have read fan fiction about them.
- I have written fan fiction about them.
Apparently the idea is that if you can answer yes to at least 20 of these questions you are obsessed. So what do we think about these questions? Are they solid? Are there questions that don’t make as much sense? Are there other ones that you would include?
Now, before I dive into what I think, I again want to acknowledge that this is supposed to be for fun. Therefore, it does not need to be completely scientific, right? The quiz starts out focusing on albums and music. This is a good place to start. That said, there seems to quite a jump between one physical album and owning everything. I also took note about the physical aspect. Does that matter??
Then, the quiz asks about posters. That makes sense for Duran Duran, specifically, but there are other merchandise questions that could be asked. For example, what about t-shirts? Tote bags? Mugs? Towels? I think the question could have asked about a bunch of merchandise and asked people to check it if they have two types of merchandise or something like that.
Next, the quiz goes on to ask about social media. Do you follow all of their social media accounts? All? So, does Duran have a Snapchat? If so, I don’t follow it. I have tried that multiple times with no luck. Tik Tok? Again, I’m not there and have no clue about the band. Couldn’t it be a broader question?
The quiz moves on to concerts, which again is a logical series of questions. I think for the most part this section of the quiz is good as it starts out small and builds up. There could have been way more questions about just that. Maybe that would be a fun quiz to create.
I really enjoyed the questions that focus on friends, family, etc. as many people can relate to those even if they are busy, have limited chances to go to concerts or meet the band. That said, it took a weird turn, I thought, when it asked about naming children after something related to Duran. How many people can really click that one? Some fans don’t even have children. Then, the ones that do have to go with the idea of naming them something related to the band. What about pets? I think that could have been added to make the question more common.
The last parts that I wondered about include the documentaries one. How many documentaries is the author considering? What about DVDs that the band created? Do those count? Should they matter more than documentaries that others made? Where were the questions about the videos? Then, the questions about fan fiction felt odd to me, too. How many fans read fan fiction about Duran Duran? How many write? I could see those questions for fandoms related to TV shows and movies but Duran? I’m not sure.
So, what do the rest of you think? Do you want to take the quiz yourself? Go here!
-A
Smiled when I learned you color. Me too. It’s even more fun than when I was a kid because the pictures are more detailed and I have a ton more variety in markers and color pencils
Well, quiz is fun and yeah, I am def obsessed. Since my pets are my children I can even check that off. Abigail Rio Von Puppykid Hall is my oldest, and Chelsea Mayhem is the youngest.People have asked about Chelly’s name and I tell them it’s a reference in a Duran song and the responses range all the way from ‘who?’ ( a teenager at work) to ‘Wow, I used to listen to them all the time. What song was that in?’
Fanfiction is fun to read and write and I’m also guilty of that.But possibly they left out the biggest question:’Do you write a daily blog for them?’and ‘Do you read a daily blog about them?’ yeah. We’re obsessed.
Maybe it’s me, but this reminds me of the old “who’s the biggest fan”. Those always annoyed me because there are so many factors that go into being a fan, especially money and time. Looking at the list, I can’t say yes to most. I do have a poster on my wall but threw out a few older, ripped ones (and have posters of other bands), I’ve seen them in concert many times and met them once. Never named my animals after them (I don’t have kids) or changed my name. I own all of their albums, and a couple of singles as well. I follow some of their social media accounts, not all. I have a few friends because of the fan community and do watch their videos often (especially now being at home).