Diminutive Darts and Tiny Tabasco

Two fantastic new BigLittle Things have turned up over the festive period, to add a little cheer to the BigLittle Hunt. Entering 2008, I realised I still have some way to go to reach the fabled 100 mark. Despite this, I was pleased to receive Number 20 as a Christmas present, and stumbled upon Number 21 not long after New Year. So, without further ado, here they are.

BLT Number 20 is a great miniature dart board, and is possibly my best BigLittle Thing to date. The picture shows you what its all about - a cork board with the standard dart board setup. The darts themselves are a joy howevee - perfect miniature recreations of the real thing. Marvellous. I've had a couple of plays so far and it's good fun, if difficult. Since the darts don't weigh much, their aerodynamics are very wobbly, but you get the knack of it after a time. Great for desktop play - frankly I'd have liked to receive this even if it weren't part of the BLH!


BLT Number 21 is a much smaller affair, but still noteworthy: a tiny bottle of Tabasco Sauce! Now, I know I have already got a bottle of Champers in the collection thus far. But, the way I see it, this is an entirely different use. Condiments are important, even in such small bottles. It was found at a pub restaurant served as an accompaniment to oysters! But it certainly fits the bill.

Getting two new BLTs so early in 2008 is very promising for the new year. However, the lobsidedness of the collection - with the overwhelming majority of items Little Big Things (rather than Big Little Things), I really need to start getting hold of some Bigger items to balance things up. Saying that, any BLT is a good thing, so I'll never say no to one.

Over and out.

Four new BLTs and some overdue news

Alas, time passes quickly in Biglittle Land, and there have been many key developments of late which have not been addressed. But first, let's look at the newest acquisitions:

1 Big Book of Big Little Books

After running a poll to decide whether to purchase said book, and after buying it on Amazon, I totally forgot to upload photos and add it to the BLT Count. So here it is, in all its glory. It's a decent read, all things said. The book charts the history of the Big Little Books, a series of tiny versions of normal-sized books encouraging children to read more, first released in the 1930s. For more information, read my earlier post here or go to their website.

2 Giant Dominoes

Who among you hasn't, at some stage, thought to yourself in a moment alone: I really, really want to play Giant Dominoes. Well, thanks to the power of the BL Hunt, I can. If you fancy a game, let me know. I've included my mobile in the photo so you can see the relative size. As you can see, they're almost as big as the phone, although they are only made of sponge.

3 Tiny Tripod
This was a great surprise. In this year's Secret Santa, my present-giver got me this rather snazzy and very practical little tripod - perfect for steadying my shots or doing timer photos. Whether they knew about the BL Hunt, or whether they just happened to get me this by chance, remains to be seen...

4 Massive Playing Cards
Again, this is a BLT that has been sitting around in my cupboard waiting to be unveiled for quite some time. So here it is - a set of very large playing cards. Simple.

A very kind person bought me this too. Except, I have no idea who that kind person is. For you see, these cards were put in my pidgeon hole by an anonymous benefactor. To say it is intriguing hardly covers it - I am really bemused by the whole thing. I quizzed my friends and none would admit to it. It seems someone has read up about the quest, found my pidgeon hole (goodness knows how) and did their bit to help. Well, good on you, mysterious stranger!

Biglittle News

It's been a while so there's a fair bit of news to catch up on...

First off, I'd like to say a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to the BigLittle Hunt, which turned 1 on 25 November. I really can't believe it's been a year since that first BigLittle thing - the Tiny Wine Bottle - arrived. Since then I've averaged one BLT every fortnight. Well, here's to another year, and hopefully I can hit that milestone 50 BLTs mark soon.

My Mini Radio recently, and happily, accompanied me on a trip around Europe. My friend and I took a summer trip around Northern Europe, passing from Wales to Ireland, France, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Scotland before returning home. The trusty radio had not been used much before the trip, and it was a relief that it worked perfectly throughout the six weeks, providing us with a much-needed source or music on our travels. Although, much of the time, this consisted of bizarre continental hip-hop.

I've been living in Cardiff for the last three months, and just the other day I spotted a truly inspiring sight - two grown men making the World's Biggest Love Spoon for a record attempt, just outside Cardiff Castle. Hats off to those gentlemen. For those uninformed people (a bit like myself until yesterday) a Love Spoon is a traditional Welsh gift given to symbolise (you guessed it) love and relationship. As the banner says, the guys are creating the love spoon as a record attempt. Read more about the record attempt, or visit the project's homepage.

A few BLT ideas seemed to have slipped through my sieve-like mind recently. I refer primarily to the promise to obtain a BigLittle Electric Guitar, something I have totally forgotten to do despite the poll which called for its purchase. Similarly, I mentioned getting hold of the L.A. Guns album, which contains a song called 'Big Little Thing', and the massive calculator I have seen on more than one occasion. Rest assured, I shall be pursuing these BLTs with renewed endeavor. So watch this space.

Well, now I am up to 19 BigLittle Things, which is nearly upon that all-important 20% mark. Unfortunately, the pace has dropped off somewhat. But, with the quest a year old, I'm looking to increase the pace in 2008.

Some Curious Developments...

New BigLittle Thing

We welcome my 16th BLT a good few weeks after I actually received the 'thing. It was one of the gifts given to me by my friend Joe for my 21st birthday over a month ago. He seems to have taken notice of my quest, as his presents included a dinky Finger Laser, a slim Hip Flask, and a Micro Brewery. Well, add to that a Big Little Eraser - not entirely original, by Joe's own admission - but every 'thing is welcome in my quest for 100 BLTs.

BigLittle News

For once, the news of a BLT has been overshadowed by a host of interesting, Biglittle-related leads. Firstly, following Jamie Oliver's decision to steal my ideasa and create a Big Little cookery book, I was rather curious when I found this website appear in my google search. It appers to be an iPod holder, comes in a variety of colours, and seems to exhibit some sort of bizarre-but-cool white pattern. On the Amazon website it is called 'Crumpler Biglittle thing iPod video Leather Pouch'. Don't get me wrong - I actually quite like it. But what puzzles me is the total lack of 'Biglittle-ness' about it. I mean, what part of it is Biglittle? It's not like it looks like a miniature brief-case... at least that would be Biglittle-like. Even more bemusing is the fact its called a Biglittle thing... when the word 'thing' seems to be rather irrelavant in the description. You don't go to Currys and buy a 'Sony Digital Camera Thing' or go to Sainsbury's and buy a 'Stainless Steel Sieve Thing'. If anyone knows why this is called a Biglittle thing, please get in touch. Oh, and no - I'm not getting one. Very strange indeed...

Next, I stumbled upon a rather amusing discovery when I found a Biglittle search engine! No, it doesn't specifically search for Biglittle things (though that would be amazing), it seems to be a little less interesting than that - it searches for local service directories like Yell.com etc. Still, interesting nonetheless.

A random search on the web also yielded this family entertainment theatre production called - you guessed it - Biglittlethings! Hosted at the Imago family holiday centre in the US, it apparently boasts a 'spectacle of escaped raccoons, hitchhiking rabbits, spies in dresses and other mask eccentricities', which, to be honest, sounds completely terrifying. Less like a kids show and more like the worrying hallucinations of a drug user. When I read that it promises that 'the illusions will tickle your sense of reality', I became really worried about the sort of entertainment American kids are watching these days. One to miss, I think. And still, I have absolutely no idea what makes it Biglittle. Perhaps it's the fact that grown adults dress up as escaped raccoons and rampage around the theatre, frightening small children and 'tickling their sense of reality'.

Lastly - but certainly not least - I stumbled upon a real find. I was beginning to give up with my search on the web, after all I'd managed to surface were inappropriately-named iPod accessories, an irrelevant search engine, and strange raccoon-based rituals. However, one link appeared on Google which instantly caught my attention. It mentioned something about laguns (whatever a lagun is), but more significantly it mentioned 'Biglittle' alongside the word 'song'. My mind raced. How cool would that be?! If someone had - with or without the influence of my hunt - actually written a song about Biglittle things? I clicked on the link.

All that appeared was some text on a rather dull grey background. Though the artists' website appeared to lack any kind of artistic flair, that did not bother me in the slightest. The text was lyrics, of which the chorus stood out a mile:

Big little thing
Big little thing
Big little thing
Big little thing

I read more. I soon discovered this to be a rather strange song because, try as I might, I couldn't work out what the song is actually about. There's quite a lot of talk about not talking about something, fear being inside someone's head and, apparently, in their 'big little thing'. Well, you can have a read for yourself, but I can't work out what they actually mean by Big little thing...

Dig it, it's not real
Someone's got your spinnin' your wheels
Cryin' songs to hell
Someone's got you ringin' your bell

I can't help it
'Cause you don't wanna talk about it
All your fears ring in
The back of your head
It's your big little thing
Big little thing

You don't wanna hear it
Baby, it's called reality check
Life is like a bird, life is like a bee
Stuck in the middle and you blame it on me

I can't help it
'Cause you don't wanna talk about it
All your fears ring in
The back of your head
It's your big little thing
Big little thing

Big little thing
Big little thing
Big little thing
Big little thing

Tell me why you won't give
You don't wanna hear it
Why oh why
Tell me why you won't give
You don't wanna hear it

Dig it
Dig it
Dig it

I can't help it
'Cause you don't wanna talk about it
All your fears ring in
The back of your head
It's your big little thing
Big little thing

Big little thing
Big little thing
Big little thing
Big little thing

A further examination of the website exposed the artist of this strange song as the L.A. Guns (not laguns, in case you mistakenly thought they were called that), in an album called 'Shrinking Violet', released in 1999. The reception to the album appeared muted at best, given that the only review I could find on the album was from an Englishman going by the name 'ravenheart' on Amazon's product page. "The L.A. Guns tried to regain their harder edge that had escaped them with their last couple of records," he writes. "Unfortunatly for the boys, this was mostly a failure." He gives the album only 2 stars. Clearly the L.A. Guns have some work to do.


But, importantly, I now have a lead. Though I can't use the internet to get hold of the item - see existing rules - I reckon I can track down a copy somewhere, somehow. Though, finding a copy of a disappointing album by a barely-known American 80s rock band in England could be somewhat tricky...

Not A Lot To Show For Myself

It's been a slow few weeks. The drudgery of work has meant the BLHunt has slowed to a snails pace. I did manage to spot a Biglittle Ship on a market yesterday, but quickly realised that it probably didn't float and as such was only a model. My other leads have dried up, other than the Biglittle Electric Guitar, which I'm still working on.

I did spot a couple of interesting, Biglittle-related things in the media recently however. The first is this photo I found on the internet of a beer-drinking competition:

A finer example of Biglittle Things, I do not think you'll find. Secondly, in relation to the Jamie Oliver cookbook, here's a photo:
Bastard. I deserve royalties for that. You may all think he looks good in that bright red nose holding that tiny cake, but I can see past all that.

Anyway. I need some new leads, so if anyone has any suggestions, let me know via comments below, or the guestbook on the right.

Ta-ta!

Memory Loss

Sometimes it is hard even for me to keep track of the BigLittle Things I've collected so far. Which is why I have to add two BLTs that I have forgotten to mention. Firstly, the little plant pot that Jenn so kindly found for me - a better example of a BigLittle Helper, I don't think you'll find. No idea why I forgot this, but it might be something to do with the rather random assortment of items I now have stashed away in my cupboard, many of which are very discrete.

Secondly, and rather randomly, I stumbled upon a BigLittle Jam Jar, complete with wholesome Jam! My thanks go to Cafe Rouge who stock such an item, and my Dad, who handed it to me when he didn't need it for his Croissant! The Jam doesn't expire until 2008, but will I finish the hunt before the jam expires?...

Which brings me quickly to another point - The Ratio. It's been difficult recently, because although a number of excellent BigLittle Things have been given for my birthday, they were all LittleBig Things (technically, as much as I don't like using the word). Which means at present the ratio is horribly skewed. In fact, of the 15 BLTs so far, only TWO are large items. I'm not mathematics genius (really, I'm not), but I can use a calculator (just about). And instead of being the ideal 50:50 ratio of Big to Little things, in reality it is actually 87:13. So, the next challenge (within a challenge) - to collect BigLittle Things.

The hunt continues...