52 Projects

The next time you go to a party, leave a note for the host.

Say that it was a great party. That everyone was having a good time. That you enjoyed yourself spectacularly. And be sure to relate some details, like bits from overheard conversations, the reaction to a certain groove, how good the food was, and who drank way too much.

If you happen to have a Polaroid camera, bring it along, take some pictures during the party, and leave the images with the note.

Leave the note (and Polaroids) in a place where the host will find it after all the guests have left, the music has stopped, and the lights throughout the house have been turned off — perhaps near the kitchen sink. That way, one of the last things the host might see before he or she crashes is your note of appreciation.

The Original 52 Projects

Put new photographs in all of your picture frames.

The Original 52 Projects

Make your own anthology. (Why should Norton have a lock on this?)

It’s sort of like a mixed tape, really. And people are always making mixed tapes, for themselves, for new girlfriends, and for friends. Why not do the same with the written word? Spread all your books on the floor, and start making a list of your favorite stories, your favorite passages from novels, your favorite poems. Then, load up all the books which contain your selections in a backpack, get to a copy machine, and make copies. After the copying is done, make a cover. Finally, spiral bind your collection. Voila! Your anthology, volume 1, is complete.

The Original 52 Projects

Get a regular-sized envelope. Address it to someone special. Then, stuff it with as many things as you can: a letter, photographs, ripped out magazine articles, photocopies of poems, a short story, or passages from a novel, recipes, clipped newspaper articles, art work, poems or stories you’ve written… Anything that can be folded up and put in the envelope. Make sure to stuff it so full that you need to use tape to keep it sealed. This envelope should have serious heft. Once it’s sealed, get the proper postage put on it (definitely use stamps) and mail it off.

The Original 52 Projects

The next time it rains, go collect all the discarded broken umbrellas. They litter the slicked down streets and sidewalks, all snapped spokes and sagging shields, left exposed to the elements from which they used to provide shelter. Give them a proper burial. Make sure to document your efforts.

The Original 52 Projects

Take a picture of a kid you know well, your niece, nephew, younger sister or brother.

Then, make a postcard out of the picture and mail it to the kid.

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My photography teacher was reviewing some of my photographs, and he stopped at one that I had taken of my little sister. “You should print this out a little smaller, put a stamp on the back and then mail it to her,” he said. “Kids like getting stuff in the mail, and they’re just blown away when they see a picture of themselves arrive like that… They feel famous, in a kid sort of way.”

The Original 52 Projects