Pretentious nonsense: A simple definition for an almost unfathomable word on its first hearing. How does something taradiddlish suggest humbug, bilgewater, twaddle, hokum, bunk, or meaninglessness? I started trying to visualize an assemblage that could illustrate profound foolishness. I had a wonderful red metal box I think might have once been a home for toys, found in a recycle depot. I added an artist’s wooden sketch hand found in someone’s sidewalk trash. The doll’s head was flotsam found on the beach; the neckless was inherited through a family friend. Once those were installed, I needed to fill the other vertical half-space. A friend had given me a broken wooden wall clock that I left outside to weather. Digging through its debris, I picked up a corroded lump of metal that, upon cleaning, became the former brass pendulum, and a flat, spiraled wire used as the clock’s gong. The last thing added was a retired puppet. As I placed it into the box to check fit, its legs folded into place as if it had chosen to sit there. I added an ornate gold collar to the box, cut from plywood, to add presence. The final touch was to bejewel the upper left corner with colorful buttons.