Mondo Instante 40 Announcement (Celebrating 5 Years of MI)

Five years . . .  five years? Five years! I keep saying this to myself over and over. The idea for Mondo Instante was hatched 5 years ago on a dark and stormy . . . well, wait. Instead of telling the tale again, the story of how Mondo Instante came about was already told in the post for our second anniversary in October of 2011, so I’ll pause here a moment while you read that if you’re interested in a little short story, otherwise, move on to the next unbracketed sentence.

{here is some intermission music to listen to while you read}

Ah yes, welcome back. So there you have it. Now it’s time to move on and celebrate the heck out of this milestone! This event will be a special 24-hour event. While that departs a little from the “world in an instant” dogma that is central to our usual events, MI40 in 24 hours will allow as many MI players around the world to take part, and to show their faces . . . literally! Our theme this event is “Hello World,” and while you can interpret this however you would like, I really hope you are reading between the lines and hear in your head the word “selfie!” We did a variation of this for the 2-year About Face event and it was great fun. This time around, our pal Genie in New Zealand (foodie/artist/author of Bunny Eats Design blog) made the suggestion we do a selfie event. Fear not, as her idea morphed into one better, that of a yearbook/class photo theme for which I will be assembling the resulting MI40 photos into a yearbook theme of sorts (ie I am toying with the idea of photoshopping all of our heads into one class photo at the end!) (Thanks Genie!)

To recap, here are the MI40 Guidelines:

MI40 Guidelines and Rules for Submission:

1. Event takes place Saturday, October 24, 2015 and is an all day event (meaning you have from 12am-11:59pm your local time to submit to the MI40 event page)
2. Theme is Selfie/Yearbook, take a photo of yourself! You can be front and center, or for the more camera-shy, get creative!
3. Post your image during event time and include:
   * Your location in the world
   * The local time you took your photo
   * A caption that tells us what you’re “Most Likely to . . . ” (in keeping with the yearbook theme!)* Any other information about your photo you would like to share

Have fun with it, spread the word, and invite anyone you know who may be interested in taking part in Mondo Instante!

 

image photo (self portrait): Nikoal in Tacoma, WA for MI21, Saturday, October 27th, 2012

 

Mondo Instante 39 Image Collection

MIers of the world unite!

That’s exactly what we did twelve days ago when participants in spots all around the world gathered together online to take part in the 39th  Mondo Instante event. Some of us were seasoned longtime players in the MI project, and were others brand new (unseasoned, but we made sure they came through with lots of seasoning in the end!), but each of us counted down to the precise moment of 16:00 UTC on Saturday, September 12, 2015 together and the results are 128 amazing photos from Poland, Australia, Brazil, USA, Portugal, France, Italy, Canada, England, Switzerland, Scotland, Serbia, Sweden, China, Lebanon and Argentina, all taken at that exact same moment in time.

In the resulting photo collage, which I have pieced together out of the resulting submissions, photos of places such as Ew Scripps Ranch in San Diego sit nestled between a photo of a puzzle in progress over in Devon, England and series of photos taken by four people crammed together in the same car in Narberth, PA . . . we have a photos of a protest that unfolded outside a hotel window in Warsaw, Poland . . . of Manchester United vs Liverpool via television screening at a bar at midnight in Wuhan, China . . . of a BBQ in progress in Puerto Madryn, Argentina . . . a flamingo at a nature conservancy in Key West, Florida. Sarah H’s view from a train station in Exeter, England echos the image of Sara T’s taken from a train in Glasgow, Scotland, which are in turn separated by a cup of Sara P’s coffee in Pasadena, California. We also have a peek into the Los Angeles theater where Charlie Chaplin premiered his silent film “City of Lights” in 1931.  All of these, and the rest of the photos, each a marvel in their own right, reveal what 128 pairs of eyes in far flung places saw at that exact same moment. The act of synchronized photography unites us all, it  underscores the differences and also the similarities each of us experience no matter how near or far we are from one another, and reminds us of the wonders of modern technology that allows us to converge together at a singular moment to share our personal surroundings.  Each photo has it’s own story, and if you did not take part yourself I invite you to read more about each photo on the MI 39 event page on Facebook where the photos were posted live.

And now it is time for me to say to Dean M in Key West, FL; Mark O in Warsaw, Poland; Christa L in Cottonwood Hts, UT; Yvette E in Queensland, Australia; Ang S in Brisbane, Australia; Polly MV in St. Cyrus, Scotland; Ady O in Narberth, PA; Jim S in Ancorage, AK; Jamie HL in Dallas, TX; Betsy M in NYC, NY; Marcia I in São Paulo, Brazil; Elsa WW in Alcochete, Portugal; Alicia CS in Belleville, IL; JoEllen D in MN; Manda C in AR; Shane F; Elisa RB in Deltona, FL; Brett S in Cleveland, OH; Isaac en route to Hawaii; Ruby R in Paris, France; Kelly CS in Horsham, PA; John M in Philadelphia, PA; Suzanne H in Smithfield, UT; Massimo T in Motta di Livenza, Italy; Arlene O in Belle Isle, MI; Binnie D in Erie, PA; Cathy N in Seattle, WA; Steff G in Los Angeles, CA; Linda M in San Diego, CA; Christine O in Havertown, PA; Lori GB in Eastern Shore, MD; Sara P in Pasadena, CA; Michelle MS in Cleveland, OH; Carl E in Narberth, PA; Sandy R in Calgary, Alberta, Canada; Gregory L in Hollywood, CA; Kris J in Flagstaff, AZ; Karin L in St. Louis, MO; Claire D in Erie, PA; Margaret MP in NH; Felicia M in Logan, UT; Amy VF in Saratoga Springs, NY; Shari G in Erie, PA; Krista BP in NJ; Julie S in San Pedro, CA; Jaina S in Cleveland, OH; Debbie L in Narberth, PA; Casey WA in Raleigh, NC; Kathleen S in Overland Park, KS; Adam G in San Diego, CA; Sara H in Exeter, England; Miranda G in Rocksprings, WY; Wendy D in Cleveland, OH; Cindy H in Brighton, MI; Theresa MF in Tuscon, AZ; Mary H in Roxbury, NJ; Lori B in Cleveland, OH; Stephanie S in Massillon, OH; Cynthia EJ in Tucson, AZ; Valerie B in Dallas, TX; Angela T in Rochester, NY; Brian B in Deltona, FL; Garrick S in St. Louis, MO; Niall Quinn in Villars-Tiercelin, Switzerland; Carla G in Tuscany, Italy; Bethany TM in Orlando, FL; Mikael Richard in Tours, France; Patti SG in Maryland; Paula BW in Warren, MI; Natasha M in Santa Barbara, CA; Paula P in Ashtabula, OH; Justin C in NE Ohio; Teresa M in Elton, OH; Patrick O in Warsaw, Poland; Jason S in Cleveland, OH; Nikoal H in Milton, WA; Johnny SG in Encino, CA; Dawn R in Menagha, MN; Pete A in Dallas, TX; Tatjana M in Belgrade, Serbia; William B in Tuscon, AZ; Angela S in Narberth, PA; Sharon C in Franklinville, NC; Barry N in Glasgow, Scotland; Michael L in Oak Park, IL; Barbara MC in Ann Arbor, MI; Joachim S in Gothenburg, Sweden; Andrea D in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada; Michael M in Phoenix, AZ; Noona O in Glasgow, Scotland, Denholm O in Glasgow, Scotland; Gigi C in Leesburg, FL; Sara T in Glasgow, Scotland; Tristan V in Belgrade, Serbia; Edd P in Akron, OH; Carole R in Tarbes, France; Nancy L in Easthampton, MA; Selina G in Spokane, WA; Erin F on the NY State Thruway; Alexandra D in Devon, England; Martin S in Devon, England; Ben H in Dallas, TX; Sarah S in Massillon, OH; Debra F in Elmwood Park, NJ; Heather E in Portland, OR, Ziggy W in Akron, OH; Carolyn B in Virginia Beach, VA; Victoria H in Devon, England; Meghan A in Phoenixville, PA; Monica P in Akron, OH; Judy S in Massillon, OH; Sylvie A in Bordeaux, France; Dale F in Albion, ID; Lisa S in Montclair, NJ; Derek WL in Pontella, France; Rick S in Centerville, MD; Karen MF in New Hampshire; Patricia I at Prince William Sound, AK; Daniel C in Wuhan, China; Ham C in Palm Island, Lebanon; Mecha G in Puerto Madryn, Argentina; Derek C in Troy, MI; Mark G in Devon, England; Susan C in Erie, PA; Pamela BA in Royal Oak, MI; Crystal M in Tory, MI; and Jeff C in Bryson City, NC . . . thank you, thank you to each one of you! I am flattered and tickled at the same time, and the image below is a direct result of each of you taking the time to remember that fleeting event moment, taking your photo and sharing your world and being part of Mondo Instante! I hope you enjoy the project as much as I do!!

{Please note: if your name or photo is missing or incorrectly listed, please get in touch so I can rectify this, I strive to make sure everyone is properly thanked and represented!}

Finally, a quick mention that next month will mark Mondo Instante’s 5th year in existence and we will of course be celebrating with another big event, details of which will be coming soon! If you are reading this and just learning about MI for the first time, please join us for the next event! It’s amazing and hilarious and such fun to take part, all at the same time. Details will be posted on the Mental Beans Facebook page as well as on this blog. All are welcome, please spread the word!

And now . . . look what we did! Scroll through to get the all in one, world in an instant view, or click on the image to get a closer look at each photo as well as the author and location of the individual photos! Thank you again and ENJOY!

MI39 is dedicated to the memory of George Elliot, who’s birthday fell on the MI39 event day, and reflected in the photo of Yvette E of Queensland, Australia

 

New Group Project Announcement – “Casa”

Puerto Madryn, Argentina (photo by Mecha)

Over the past years Mental Beans has hosted a variety of group projects  such Self, Smoke, Blue, Images From Earth and Character Flaw. These projects have taken a backseat to the Mondo Instante project as of late while I focus my time and energy there. However, when I am gripped by the sudden urge to drum up some crazy idea to inspire activity amongst us mental beans (that’s you, and me of course) I don’t ignore it. That’s what has just happened, and I’ve been tossing around ideas the past few days and settled on reviving the Word series to give a starting point for some creative output.

So, ladies and gents, we now have the Casa Project to tide us over to the next Mondo event, and I invite everybody and their uncle who has the time and desire to take part and have some fun making things!

To contribute—
{See the Casa Project page for full details}

Subject matter: “Casa/House/Home” (interpreted in any way)

Medium: open (includes 2-d and 3-d media: painting, drawing, photography, sculpture, and can even include written poetry or prose, music, audio, video), only limitation is the ability to present the final piece on the blog.

Submissions: See the Casa Project page for formats accepted.

Deadline: By Friday, August 21, 2015 to be included in the blog post presenting the pieces created.

That’s just about three months to plan ideas and create some things . . . a fun summer, or winter depending on your hemisphere, to-do! Spread the word, and hope you play along!