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Comments on Puzzle #4585: Ode to a Pixel
By Teresa K (fasstar)

peek at solution       solve puzzle
  quality:   difficulty:   solvability: line logic only  

Puzzle Description Suppressed:Click below to view spoilers

#1: Teresa K (fasstar) on Dec 30, 2008

¤~¤~¤ Ode to a Pixel ¤~¤~¤

Oh tiny little square
How innocent you stare
At me as I strive to make sense
Of your very existence.

Oh pixel, thee I adore,
Oh pixel, thee I implore,
What shall I do with thee?
How shall I solveth thee?

Shall I filleth thee with color?
Or dot thee like thy brother?
Make thee black as the night?
Make thee shine oh so bright?

What have they done to thee?
Did they try to tame thee?
Run thee through a checker?
Analyzer, solver, helper?

And there in the corner, the only one,
On thy bed of white, all alone,
They attack thy right to be there,
And call you a WOT – how they dare!

Numbered rows with tiny dots
All arranged inside the box
Black and white or red-green-blue?
I fill the blanks, now reveal the clue.

Loved ones watch me as I solve,
Blobs and lines as they evolve.
“It looks like a helicopter!”
They all think I’m off my rocker.

Thou defiest all logic – what a mess!
I have no recourse, but to guess.
What to do with thee, I know naught.
Oh no! A red dot! Out damn spot!

Undo! Undo! Again! Again!
(Thank God I didn’t use a pen.)
There, I’ve done it, I’ve set thee right!
Aha! Now I see! The end is in sight!

When I try the line/edge logic
Your image doth appear like magic!
This one done, now on to the next one.
On a quest to find the best one.

Thou keepest me awake all hours.
So small, yet with amazing powers!
I can think of naught but thee,
Perchance dost thou e’er think of me?

Dear pixel, my craving thou hast sated.
Thy puzzle is solved, but my brain’s pixilated!
This should really be an Ode to Jan.
Now he is one amazing man!
#2: juhu! (juhu) on Dec 30, 2008
wow :D
#3: m2 (mercymercy) on Dec 30, 2008
Thank you thank you thank you thank you.
#4: JoDeen Mozena (ozymoe) on Dec 30, 2008 [SPOILER]
Comment Suppressed:Click below to view spoilers
#5: david bryan (bdaved) on Dec 30, 2008
I'm hearing some Blake in there. Might be seeing some soon, perhaps? Thanks for gracing us with your creativity.
#6: Beth (Shasta) on Dec 30, 2008
Wow you are multi-talented! Great picture and very funny poem-i totally get it!
#7: Teresa K (fasstar) on Dec 30, 2008 [SPOILER]
Comment Suppressed:Click below to view spoilers
#8: david bryan (bdaved) on Dec 30, 2008
Such a flower as May never wore...
#9: Ed Donahue (edzoid) on Dec 30, 2008
There once was a pixel so fair
I wondered, be dot or a square?
I began with a dot
But, then again, not
For it looks like it's one of a pair.
#10: doreen (doreenfanning) on Dec 30, 2008
wow! such talent! What a treat to stumble upon this tonight! Thank you!
#11: K Chouinard (codenumerator) on Dec 30, 2008
There once was a pixel from Nantucket
Whose owner left the rest in a bucket
When they're 20 to a row
That's 400, I'll let you know!
And if anyone disagrees, well they can disagree.
#12: Teresa K (fasstar) on Dec 31, 2008
I can surely rhyme but I can’t count
Codenumerator has thusly found me out!

Jodeen denies any adulation.
But her shauts belie her protestations!

M2 gave us just a TY4.
Mayhaps she will share a lytle more?

Thou art granted all poetic license.
Hasten now to grace us with thine two pence.
#13: Mark Conger (aruba) on Dec 31, 2008
Wow, that was amazing.
#14: Barb Edwards (babarann) on Dec 31, 2008 [SPOILER]
Comment Suppressed:Click below to view spoilers
#15: Deana L (ffswife) on Dec 31, 2008
I'm truly amazed at not only the pixel artists in our midst, but now the poets! Creativity abounds in this place....
#16: Jan Wolter (jan) on Jan 1, 2009
I am stuck speechless with speechlessness.
#17: Deana L (ffswife) on Jan 1, 2009
Hey Teresa, your puzzle is famous!! :)
#18: Adam Nielson (monkeyboy) on Jan 1, 2009
OMG at all these "poems."
#19: Sylvain "WCPman" (qwerty) on Jan 1, 2009
congratukation to all the poem writter its amazing

a special bravo to my friend Jusy to start this up

very good, captivating idea
#20: Adam Nielson (monkeyboy) on Jan 1, 2009
Jusy? ???
#21: Petra Lassen (stjarna) on Jan 2, 2009 [HINT]
Comment Suppressed:Click below to view hints
#22: Teresa K (fasstar) on Jan 2, 2009
I figured that out, a wee bit too late.
Immediately did my ego deflate.

Codenumerator was the first to tell:
(Read comment 11, then comment 12)

Let this be a lesson for what happens when
Thou spend too much time on webpbn.

My brain turned to mush after puzzling all night.
On the positive side, my number's half right.
#23: Arduinna (arduinna) on Jan 5, 2009
Wowowow!

Barbarann's poem makes me a little sad-- I recognize my own addiction in it!

Thanks for directing us here from the forum, Jan!

Oh, and Teresa (and any other Blake fans), search for "Fearful Symmetry."
#24: Teresa K (fasstar) on Jan 5, 2009
"What immortal hand or eye
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?"

None other than our Rebelcat
In number ten of Zodiac!

http://webpbn.com/index.cgi?id=2468



#25: Arduinna (arduinna) on Jan 6, 2009
Oh, yeah! I realize now that my comment doesn't make sense. There's an earlier tiger puzzle with the title of Fearful Symmetry.
#26: Teresa K (fasstar) on Jan 6, 2009
Aha! Thou meaneth a search on this site.
Perhaps I shall give it a try tonight!

http://webpbn.com/index.cgi?id=428
#27: Jota (jota) on Feb 11, 2009
Oh God how possible it is
that even when they come from here and there
the same insanity they all appear to share?

Odes to pixels flow here same as rain
what is it that here we obtain?

Some people from creating should refrain
we beg them and we beg them but in vain

Oh God let us know if we are insane
or just different enough to love the pain
#28: Amanda French (Amandarose_20) on Mar 31, 2010
My eyes are red, my brain a mess
And let’s not speak of my hair or dress
Another night spent engrossed in this site
And though I’ve tried with all my might
A prisoner I am to these pixels galore
Perhaps I will solve just one puzzle more
#29: Teresa K (fasstar) on Mar 31, 2010
Amanda, you're caught in pbn mode!
Thanks for contributing to this ode. :-)
#30: Tom O'Connell (sensei69) on Apr 3, 2010
brilliant Teresa :-)
#31: Teresa K (fasstar) on Apr 3, 2010
Blake may turneth in his grave,
But Shakespeare would applaud our stage.

"I like this place and willingly
Could waste my time in it," sayeth he.
#32: Debbie Weidig (dweidig) on Apr 10, 2010
I see how widespread this affliction -
It's a full-fledged pbn addiction!
Solving puzzles while the world sleeps
All you who puzz here are my peeps!

(Thanks Teresa for starting this particular insanity!) ;-)
#33: Teresa K (fasstar) on Apr 10, 2010
:-D
#34: Tom O'Connell (sensei69) on May 4, 2010
All puzzle presented should always do tell,
what we could accomplish or else land in hell.
Our minds are amazing, when we find the key,
the pixels just go, where they're needed to be.
So trust in your feelings and try to let go,
and we who do solve them, will smile with that glow!
#35: Ron Jacobson (shmily999) on Dec 14, 2010
It was a sundae with drizzle
With my appetite about to fizzle
For I was stopping
For a fly in the topping
But wait, it;s just a misplaced pixel.
#36: Teresa K (fasstar) on Dec 14, 2010
:-)
#37: Trudy Lack (kookie) on Mar 30, 2011
Holy Cow such talent I see,
One in particular reminds me of ME.
Call me simple, Call me plain.
I can't stop solving again and again!
Nice poems all.:)
#38: Kristen Vognild (kristen) on Jun 30, 2011
Janis would be pleased.
Take another little piece
Of my heart, baby.

(haiku inspired by the image)
#39: Teresa K (fasstar) on Jun 30, 2011
:-)
#40: Lilly Johns (LJohns315) on Jul 1, 2011
The Ode to a Pixel is very clever indeed,
Thank you, Teresa, for taking the lead.

Great poems everybody! Thanks for starting this, Teresa.
#41: NiGHTS (NiGHTS) on Jul 1, 2011
Upon Teresa's Request

Ode To Pixel -- A Poem:

Pixel.
- had no idea that
-- she said, so then I
--- laughed. Suddenly, it's
---- wore off so I applied more of
----- systematic failure of the respiratory
------ reply to my request as soon as possible
----- having too many warts under my armpit
---- great day? Perfect! Hey can I
--- minding my own business
-- helped her with the
- last day of work
Empty.

Hope you liked it.
#42: Teresa K (fasstar) on Jul 1, 2011
:-)
#43: Edith Clark (eclark) on Jul 18, 2011
I am amazed at all the talent on this site. Artistic, creative, mind-boggling, poetic, . . . and the list goes on.
#44: Lollipop (lollipop) on Jan 9, 2012
A long time ago in memory deep
I would wash dishes, sort laundry, housekeep.
I worked for a living, my nice lifestyle to keep,
And when I went to bed, I counted the sheep.

Now my dishes are dirty and I never sweep,
My lawn's overgrown, my laundry knee-deep.
I'm at the computer and my house is a (bleep)
So I'm logging off now to count pixels in my sleep.

#45: Tom O'Connell (sensei69) on Jan 9, 2012
lollipop ...come here my dear
can bleep till we sleep

or... i can just pout
and just do without

now pixels come damn
i'm only a man

i'm sure I could be
that puzzle for thee.
#46: Lollipop (lollipop) on Jan 9, 2012
Rofl, Tom. I have tears running down my face. Not a good look for me, as I suspect pouting isn't a good look for you.

A PBN tether has bound us together
Your wit I admire so we can conspire
To drink some caffeine as we stare at the screen
And stay up all night till we get it just right.
#47: Tom O'Connell (sensei69) on Jan 9, 2012
at my age, my dear
it would take all damn night
so caffeine won't work, only your grand delight

Now pixels can help when time can be strife
but rather you unwrap your lolipop life.
AMEN
#48: Joel Lynn (furface1) on Jan 9, 2012
Dreaming of pixels, nights without end,
What did we do before WebPBN?
#49: Kai-Uwe Zickerick (conzick) on May 1, 2012
Sorry, but my German is much better than my English. For the German speaking members of WEBPBN:

Was wäre die Welt,
die viel auf sich hält,
ohne die Macht des Spiels.

Sie wäre verloren,
nie neu geboren,
ohne den Kuss des Gefühls.

Die Lust und die Last,
es stets zu versuchen,
Mit Weile oder Hast,
das Feld der Felder zu buchen.

So entstehen die Bilder,
immer schneller, immer wilder
Der Trieb,
er blieb,
mal Lust,
mal Frust.

Solange bleibt die Kraft,
bis auch das letzte Puzzle geschafft.
#50: Tom O'Connell (sensei69) on May 1, 2012
and to you also Kai
#51: Jan Wolter (jan) on Jul 25, 2012
My German is really poor, much worse than Kai's English, but I thought I'd attempt to translate Kai's poem, at least as far as getting the meaning if not the rhyme and grace of expression. I started with Google Translate's version which was, as usual, a mixture of the brilliant and ridiculous, and tried to filter out as much of the ridiculous as I could:
==========================================================
What would be the world,
Which has so much on it,
Without the power of the game?

You'd be lost,
Never born again,
Without the kiss of feeling.

The joy and curse,
Is always to try
With haste or hurry
To tally the field of fields.

So the images evolve
Ever faster, ever wilder.
The drive
It remains
Sometimes joy,
Sometimes frustration.

The strength lasts long enough,
Til the last puzzle is completed.
=====================================================
The "field of fields" bit could have been "array of squares" but the cool bit was that he used the same word twice, "Feld der Felder", so I stayed literal. Google Translate turned "immer schneller, immer wilder" into "faster and faster, wilder and wilder" instead of the more obvious "ever faster, ever wilder". I thought that was remarkably clever of it, but decided again to stick to the literal translation.
#52: Teresa K (fasstar) on Jul 26, 2012
Very cool.
Jan, you rule!
#53: Kai-Uwe Zickerick (conzick) on Jul 26, 2012
Wow, Jan! Thanks a lot. I'm very proud!
#54: Joel Lynn (furface1) on Jul 28, 2012
Good on you both, conzick and jan!
#55: Tom King (sgusa) on Oct 30, 2012
I just read this and my head explodes
WebPBN my brain decodes

(I am so uncreative, but I had to add comment.) Cool thread.
#56: Teresa K (fasstar) on Oct 31, 2012
You are definitely not uncreative.
Oh no, was that a double negative?

Thanks for contributing to the thread.
I hope you can soon reassemble your head.
#57: Norma Dee (norm0908) on Sep 3, 2016
OMG! This was so much fun. (Sorry. Not a poem)
#58: Aurelian Ginkgo (AurelianGinkgo) on Jul 22, 2017
I just discovered this recommendation.
I solved it with no hesitation.
And then I read some poetry;
I'm sure that you all will agree,
That pixels deserve appreciation.

Limericks are one of my favorite types of poetry. Although this one doesn't have the humor to be classified as such, I did want to use the same rhyme scheme.
#59: Teresa K (fasstar) on Jul 23, 2017
:-)
#60: laurpol (laurpol) on Nov 25, 2017
Oh my goodness, this was such fun!
But my husband is calling, "come to bed, hun!"
One more puzzle do I dare even start?
One leads to more and then impossible to part!
So for now, I will go with a smile on my face.
And thank you all for your wit and your grace.
These comments are exactly what I needed to hear.
For I was feeling sad but am now in good cheer!
#61: Teresa K (fasstar) on Nov 27, 2017
Brava!
#62: David Bouldin (dbouldin) on Apr 27, 2020
The end is in sight,
the battle almost fought.
At this time of night,
I'll settle for a dot.
#63: Teresa K (fasstar) on Apr 27, 2020
Good one, David. (✬‿✬)
#64: Bill Eisenmann (Bullet) on Apr 28, 2020
We need a rating box for comments!
#65: David Bouldin (dbouldin) on Apr 28, 2020
i wanted to write more, inspired by all of the wonderful contributions in this thread, but it really was getting late :P
#66: Valerie Mates (valerie) on Jul 16, 2022
Ohmygoodness!!!!!
#67: Claudia (clau_bolson) on Jan 30, 2023
How did I never see this before?
Amazing!
#68: Pam Tucker (grammypam) on Feb 7, 2024
Wow! Just...WOW!

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