According to my online sources, including internetslang.com, bomb can mean “something really bad” or “something really good”.

The urbandictionary.com states that before 1997 it meant “something really bad; a failure”; and that since 1997 it has referred to something excellent, and if preceded by the word ‘the’ it means the best!

My use of the word “bomb” fits neatly into the pre-1997 definition. Perhaps it’s not surprising since I lived most of my life so far pre-1997! Hopefully, should I live long enough, half of my life will be lived after 1997 as well, but I’ve a while to wait to see if that happens!

In my day the word “bomb” was often used to describe an old beat-up car. I bought my first car when it was ten years old. It may have been described by many as a bomb (it burned oil and smoked terribly amongst other things) but I loved it, adorned it with flower stickers and even named it “Ziggy”.

Nowadays cars seem to last a lot longer before they earn the title of bomb. Dare I say our 1997 car has only in recent years earned that title, and really only after it became unsightly due to hail damage and deterioration of the paintwork. It has been replaced by a car we might call “the bomb” but it still sits in the front yard and gets an occasional outing, too precious for someone (other than me!) to part with.

The most common use of the word as a verb was to refer to failure, particularly with regard to exams. After what felt to be a particularly dismal attempt at an exam, various students would bemoan its difficulty saying, “I bombed”. I have talked about failure in previous posts including my “failure” at singing here, and the failure of some aspects of schooling here. The word ‘bomb’ doesn’t appear in either of those posts.

It was Charli Mills of the Carrot Ranch who got me thinking about bombing with her Nov 12: Flash Fiction Challenge to In 99 words (no more, no less) write a photo bomb (serious scene interrupted by something absurd or unexpected).

Now Charlie was talking about photo bombs which she described as an “earnest photograph interrupted by the unexpected”, but I thought I would tackle video bombs. I knew I had made quite a few of those!

In an effort to learn more about making videos, which has been on my to-do list for ages, I also decided to make a compilation of video bombs to accompany my 99 words, while endeavouring to meet both Charli’s criteria and mine:

Charli:

99 words

bombing

Me:

99 words that make sense (always a priority)

find videos to match the 99 words

make a compilation video

record the video and words

My attempt is quite experimental and rather rudimentary at best but I learned a lot in the process. Since my blog is about learning, I decided to share it with you as a checkpoint on my learning journey. I know it’s definitely not “the bomb”, but I hope I haven’t totally bombed.

 

In the words of C.S. Lewis,

“Failures are finger posts on the road to achievement.”

 

Video bombing

Are you a video bomber?

Ever tried making a video but

the subject won’t cooperate,

or turns its back to you,

or perhaps it even disappears Poof! It’s out of view.

You shoot upside down or to the side,

the focus you can’t get right.

You shoot with the camera supposedly off,

then close-up your fingers when on.

You record to capture a photo,

or snap when it’s action you want.

If your answer is ‘Yes” to just one of these

come join the vid-bombers club.

We’ll commiserate

And then celebrate

When your video capture’s “the bomb”!

I appreciate your feedback. Please share your thoughts about any aspect of this post, flash fiction or video.