Weekend Assignment #351: What Are You Doing New Year's?

Let's do one more short, seasonal Weekend Assignment to take us into the new year:

Weekend Assignment # 351: What Are You Doing New Year's?
Where do you typically spend New Year's Eve? What are you usually doing when the big moment arrives? Will this year be as usual, or are you doing something different?

Extra Credit: To the best of your recollection, have you ever managed to keep a New Year's resolution for more than a week?

Here are the guidelines in case you'd like to participate - and I hope you do!

1. Please post your response no later than than 12:01 AM on Thursday morning, January 6th, your local time. You can do this either in a blog entry of your own or in the comments section of the assignment entry. No submissions will be accepted after that time unless I want to.

2. Please mention the Weekend Assignment in your blog post, and include a link back to the original entry. Using one of the logos shown here is encouraged but not mandatory.

3. Please come back here after you've posted, and leave a link to your entry in the comments to the assignment. Don't forget, or I'll probably miss out on linking to you!

4. Visiting other participants' entries is strongly encouraged!

5. I'm always looking for topic ideas. Please see the "Teacher's Lounge" page for details. If I use your idea, you will be credited as that week's "guest professor." Help me out, folks, because sometimes I run dry when doing this week after week!

6. I reserve the right to remove rude or unpleasant comments (not to mention comment spam), and to leave entries off the linking list if the person has been rude or unpleasant, or fails to mention the Weekend Assignment in the entry.

For Weekend Assignment # 350: Best. Gift. Ever., I asked about awesome gifts given or received. Most folks were too busy giving and receiving them to write about them, but we we did get a few responses. Please click on each person's name to see the full entry:

Anne said...

One Christmas, my parents gave me a car. They didn't wrap it in a bow in the driveway or anything. They wrapped a new key chain in a box and included a note the box that said, "we'll start looking in January". I didn't get the message. I had lost my keys several months before and they had been on a gorgeous Gucci key chain. Did they mean they would help me find a great new key chain? Random.

Karen said...

My best gift ever given, I was hoping, would be the one I was putting together for my brother Steve for Christmas this year. John and I have put many hours into putting it together, but we can't quite seem to get it right. It's meant to be a book, or at least a pdf file, if we can ever get the pages to appear in order with no duplications or superseded versions. The title page reads, "The Ruth Anne Johnson Songbook - Version 2.2."

That's it for now. I realize it's a busy time of year, but please jump in with an entry if you can. Happy New Year!

Karen

Weekend Assignment # 350: Best. Gift. Ever.

This week's Assignment is short and seasonal--again!

Weekend Assignment # 350: Best. Gift. Ever.
What is the best gift you've ever gotten from anyone?

Extra Credit: To the best of your recollection, what is the best gift you ever gave someone else?

Here are the guidelines in case you'd like to participate - and I hope you do!

1. Please post your response no later than than 12:01 AM on Thursday morning, December 30th, your local time. You can do this either in a blog entry of your own or in the comments section of the assignment entry. No submissions will be accepted after that time unless I really want to.

2. Please mention the Weekend Assignment in your blog post, and include a link back to the original entry. Using one of the logos shown here is encouraged but not mandatory.

3. Please come back here after you've posted, and leave a link to your entry in the comments to the assignment. Don't forget, or I'll probably miss out on linking to you!

4. Visiting other participants' entries is strongly encouraged!

5. I'm always looking for topic ideas. Please see the "Teacher's Lounge" page for details. If I use your idea, you will be credited as that week's "guest professor." Help me out, folks, because sometimes I run dry when doing this week after week!

6. I reserve the right to remove rude or unpleasant comments (not to mention comment spam), and to leave entries off the linking list if the person has been rude or unpleasant, or fails to mention the Weekend Assignment in the entry.

For Weekend Assignment # 349: Party Hardy or Party Hardly?, I asked how much of a partier you are. Please click on each person's name to see the full entry:

Julie said...

When I do party, it's generally when I'm at a convention. I enjoy hanging out at room parties, catching up with old acquaintances and making new ones. And if it's an out of town event (or a local one where I take a room at the hotel for one night) I can stay as late as I want and even indulge in a drink as I'm not driving home.

Florinda said...

I've never been a party girl. The fact that I was already married and a mom while I was still in college means I missed out on some of the prime partying years, so I haven't had much practice.

Anne said...

I generally enjoy a party. Sometimes, at this time of year, I just want to hole up and do nothing. It is dark so early, and cold and often the streets are terrible and the traffic is worse. In fact, that is the secret to getting me to a party: starting it as early in the day as possible. The later people start gathering, the less likely I am to show up. But I always enjoy myself.

Karen said...

Let's see - what was the last party I attended? It was a friend's birthday party in September 2009. That one was bearable, even fun, because several of the people attending were friends from the old Doctor Who club whom I hadn't seen in years. Also it was in a beautiful setting in the Tucson Mountains foothills, and well organized with a fun Disney theme.

That's it for now. I realize it's a busy time of year, but please jump in with an entry if you can. Have a great holiday week!

Karen

Weekend Assignment # 349: Party Hardy or Party Hardly?

This week's Assignment is short and seasonal:

Weekend Assignment # 349: Party Hardy or Party Hardly?
This is the time of year for office parties, family reunions, New Year's Eve parties and holiday parties in general. Are you a party animal or a party avoider? Do you go to parties because you want to, or out of obligation, or not at all?

Extra Credit: How many parties are you likely to attend between now and New Year's Day?

Here are the guidelines in case you'd like to participate - and I hope you do!

1. Please post your response no later than than 12:01 AM on Thursday morning, December 23rd, your local time. You can do this either in a blog entry of your own or in the comments section of the assignment entry. No submissions will be accepted after that time unless I really want to.

2. Please mention the Weekend Assignment in your blog post, and include a link back to the original entry. Using one of the logos shown here is encouraged but not mandatory.

3. Please come back here after you've posted, and leave a link to your entry in the comments to the assignment. Don't forget, or I'll probably miss out on linking to you!

4. Visiting other participants' entries is strongly encouraged!

5. I'm always looking for topic ideas. Please see the "Teacher's Lounge" page for details. If I use your idea, you will be credited as that week's "guest professor." Help me out, folks, because sometimes I run dry when doing this week after week!

6. I reserve the right to remove rude or unpleasant comments (not to mention comment spam), and to leave entries off the linking list if the person has been rude or unpleasant, or fails to mention the Weekend Assignment in the entry.

For Weekend Assignment # 348: Trendsetters, I asked how much of a car buff you are. Please click on each person's name to see the full entry:

Anne said...

[Oprah] taught us that a woman can be a great success with or without a man. She can be happy without being married and have cocker spaniels instead of children. She doesn't have to be a size four (although she ought to try to be healthy). She can cover real stories of adversity and survival and heroism and then do the celebrity gossip with the best of them.

Karen said...

My first letter to Harlan [Ellison] began, "I used to be a Democrat for Nixon," and went on to credit him for my political education. In college, I applied to a writer's workshop Harlan had written about and taught at, and would be teaching at again that summer. He and Peter S. Beagle, also teaching that year, were the main reasons I applied. As some of you know, that workshop was where I met my future husband, and was encouraged by Harlan to "go after him, girl!" I did, and we've been married for 31 1/2 years so far. Celebrity influences don't get much more consequential than that!

That's it for now. I realize it's a busy time of year, but please jump in with an entry if you can. Have a great week!

Karen

Weekend Assignment # 348: Trendsetters

Watching tributes to John Lennon this week was my inspiration the the latest Assignment:

Weekend Assignment # 348: Trendsetters

Musicians, writers and other artists frequently have an impact on their fans that goes beyond simple enjoyment of their work. Many rock stars have had an influence on fashion or politics or both, and fictional characters sometimes inspire real people in their opinions and career choices. [I'm not going to try to prove these assertions here; just go with them, okay?] Has an artist or artistic work ever inspired you to do or believe something that might never have occurred to you otherwise?

Extra Credit: Do you think it's appropriate for artists to be political activists? Does such activism have a positive or negative impact on your respect for that artist?

Here are the guidelines if you'd like to participate.

1. Please post your response no later than than 12:01 AM on Thursday morning, December 16th, your local time. You can do this either in a blog entry of your own or in the comments section of the assignment entry. No submissions will be accepted after that time unless I really want to.

2. Please mention the Weekend Assignment in your blog post, and include a link back to the original entry. Using one of the logos shown here is encouraged but not mandatory.

3. Please come back here after you've posted, and leave a link to your entry in the comments to the assignment. Please post the URL itself rather than a live link.

4. Visiting other participants' entries is strongly encouraged!

5. I'm always looking for topic ideas. Please see the "Teacher's Lounge" page for details. If I use your idea, you will be credited as that week's "guest professor." Help me out, folks, because sometimes I run dry when doing this week after week!

6. I reserve the right to remove rude or unpleasant comments (not to mention comment spam), and to leave entries off the linking list if the person has been rude or unpleasant, or fails to mention the Weekend Assignment in the entry.

For Weekend Assignment # 347: Car Crazy , I asked how much of a car buff you are. Please click on each person's name to see the full entry:

Anne said...

I am not, however, a connoisseur.  I fancied that I could be.  I once had posters of Italian sports cars in my bedroom.  (Next to Walter Payton and James Dean.)  But in reality, my love is more of an open-road, wind-in-my-hair, independent Americana kind of love.  In fact, all of my cars have been SUVs - Ford or GM. 

Florinda said...

However, I now live in the birthplace of “car culture,” Southern California, and am married to a man who’s absorbed that all his life. Tall Paul is a sub-species of “car guy” that I didn’t know existed until I met him: the “car nerd.” (But he’ll tell you his best friend Larry is the real car nerd.) Car nerds aren’t constantly covered with grease, working on their engines and adding after-market accessories to their cars; yes, I realize that’s a stereotype, but until five years ago I thought that’s what a “car guy “ was. Granted, the car nerd might do more of his own maintenance if modern cars weren’t so computer-driven (no pun intended) - and while he may appreciate some things about vintage, classic automobiles, the car nerd is a techie at heart and has an eager interest in the new. Among other things, car nerds like new-car magazines.

Karen said...

Still, I do notice neat old cars on the street, and occasionally some unusual new car if it's strangely shaped or exceptionally sporty. I'm probably right more often than not when I identify something as an old Chevy, Cadillac or Model T--well, maybe. And once I got a car dealer to give me a test drive in a Corvette, with the car salesman at the wheel. I also watch Top Gear on BBC America, not because I have an opinion about expensive Italian sports cars, but because the three hosts are amusing, and do crazy challenges involving cars and other vehicles all over the world.

That's it for now. I realize it's a busy time of year, but please jump in with an entry if you can. Have a great week!

Karen

Weekend Assignment # 347: Car Crazy

The presence of extra traffic on the streets (at least near Best Buy) this time of year inspires this week's Assignment:

Weekend Assignment # 347: Car Crazy

Some people are car connoisseurs, able to discuss the finer points of 1960 Corvette engines, find or build replacement Model T parts, or argue the merits of the latest high-end Italian sports car. (Okay, maybe it's not the same person in each of these scenarios, but you get the idea.) Other people know a lot about their own beloved car and its automotive brethren, but not much about other cars. Still others are mostly just concerned whether their car still gets them to work and back safely. How about you? Do you pay attention to automotive trends, or quickly identify the unusual car sitting next to you at the light? What is the extent of your knowledge and interest in cars?

Extra Credit: If a long lost rich uncle insisted on buying you any car you wanted, as long as you promised to keep it and drive it around, what kind would you get?

Here are the guidelines if you'd like to participate.

1. Please post your response no later than than 12:01 AM on Thursday morning, December 9th, your local time. You can do this either in a blog entry of your own or in the comments section of the assignment entry. No submissions will be accepted after that time unless I really want to.

2. Please mention the Weekend Assignment in your blog post, and include a link back to the original entry. Using one of the logos shown here is encouraged but not mandatory.

3. Please come back here after you've posted, and leave a link to your entry in the comments to the assignment. Please post the URL itself rather than a live link.

4. Visiting other participants' entries is strongly encouraged!

5. I'm always looking for topic ideas. Please see the "Teacher's Lounge" page for details. If I use your idea, you will be credited as that week's "guest professor." Help me out, folks, because sometimes I run dry when doing this week after week!

6. I reserve the right to remove rude or unpleasant comments (not to mention comment spam), and to leave entries off the linking list if the person has been rude or unpleasant, or fails to mention the Weekend Assignment in the entry.

For Weekend Assignment #346: Holiday Shopper (yes, I've corrected a numbering error or two since posting), I asked you about your holiday shopping strategies. Please click on each person's name to see the full entry:

Julie said...

I prefer to shop in person, particularly for things that the recipient might want to exchange because it's the wrong size or color. Or, if I give a gadget that's DOA, they - or I - can exchange it at a store rather than go through the hassle of shipping. My main strategy is to shop during "off" times of the day.

Carly said...

Black Friday, which I believe is the "official" shopping start of the holiday season is a big deal in our house. We don't do much shopping that day, but we do people watch! We begin the day in Union Square, in San Francisco, and after enjoying a Mocha for Alan and a Hot Chocolate for me, we walk the square, then its down to Maiden Lane. It's gorgeous this time of year, from the decorations, to the wonderful street performers singing opera. It's a unique time to be in San Francisco, and something we don't miss, come rain or come shine.

Karen said...

It's not that I hate to shop, but I have limited patience with lines, and even more limited funds to spend. I'm not likely to get in line to buy anyone a new tv or computer at a deep discount. The only person I can afford to spend significant money on these days is my husband, and frankly we have a history of returning his "big present" to Best Buy (or wherever) immediately after Christmas or his birthday. We do this almost every year, it seems.

Anne said...

Besides rocking the gifts, I have another goal: to avoid setting foot in a shopping mall from Thanksgiving until New Years.  I do quite a bit online:  Barnes and Noble, Amazon, Toys R Us, Drs. Foster and Smith, FTD, these websites have all worked out nicely for me.  The deals can be found and I am not buying too many gift cards.  While I have never gone to Best Buy at 4am, I do believe I have lived the Black Friday experience enough times to know better. 

That's it for now. I realize it's a busy time of year, but please jump in with an entry if you can. Have a great week!

Karen

Weekend Assignment # 346: Holiday Shopper

Continuing with the seasonal theme:

Weekend Assignment # 346: Holiday Shopper

Ack! The holiday shopping season is upon us! What is your shopping strategy for this time of year? Do you spread out your shopping over weeks and months, or try to get it all done at once? Do you mostly shop online or in person? How heavily, if at all, do you rely on gift cards, gift certificates or plain old fashioned cash and checks?

Extra Credit: Do you enjoy shopping the Black Friday and after-Christmas sales?

Here are the guidelines if you'd like to participate.

1. Please post your response no later than than 12:01 AM on Thursday morning, December 2nd, your local time. You can do this either in a blog entry of your own or in the comments section of the assignment entry. No submissions will be accepted after that time unless I really want to.

2. Please mention the Weekend Assignment in your blog post, and include a link back to the original entry. Using one of the logos shown here is encouraged but not mandatory.

3. Please come back here after you've posted, and leave a link to your entry in the comments to the assignment. Please post the URL itself rather than a live link.

4. Visiting other participants' entries is strongly encouraged!

5. I'm always looking for topic ideas. Please see the "Teacher's Lounge" page for details. If I use your idea, you will be credited as that week's "guest professor." Help me out, folks, because sometimes I run dry when doing this week after week!

6. I reserve the right to remove rude or unpleasant comments (not to mention comment spam), and to leave entries off the linking list if the person has been rude or unpleasant, or fails to mention the Weekend Assignment in the entry.

For Weekend Assignment #245: Give Thanks, I asked you to publicly thank someone for something. Please click on each person's name to see the full entry:


Florinda said...

Given the way the second half of 2010 has gone, it wasn’t hard for me to decide who deserves special thanks this year, and the fact that I dislocated my shoulder AGAIN last weekend just reinforced it. I have operated at a diminished one-armed capacity at times, and I have been fortunate to have people around who’ve accommodated and tried to make things easier for me. I especially appreciate their putting up with me because I'm an annoying combination of neediness and control issues; I'll ask for your help, but I hate to keep asking, so if I've been waiting a while I'll go ahead and do it myself anyway (even if I probably shouldn't).

Anne said...

At the risk of making my mother cry, I am going to go with Thanking My Brother.  Here is a totally non-comprehensive list of stuff Scott has done that has made my life better, easier or more fun:

1. He has three children.  So I am not required by either family, guilt or maternal instinct to produce my own.  And they are lots of fun. [...]

Karen Funk Blocher said...

I'm part of something, a community with common purpose, not just worshipping God and drinking coffee together, but helping the poor, fighting for social justice and so on. It's not really within my character to go out on protests or travel to Guatemala with Ila Abernathy to help displaced Mayans, but I'm very proud to be at least tangentially associated with such activities. So thank you, people of St. Michael's.

That's it for now. I realize it's a busy time of year, but please jump in with an entry if you can. Have a great week!

Karen

Weekend Assignment # 345: Give Thanks

NOW CLOSED!

Here's another simple, seasonal one:

Weekend Assignment # 345: Give Thanks

Thanksgiving is upon us, the time of year when we're asked what we're thankful for. Let's take the opportunity to interpret this literally, and actually thank someone! Tell us about someone in your life, past or present, whom you would like to thank for what they did, and why.

Extra Credit: Suggest a Weekend Assignment topic, because I'm running dry! Also: would you prefer that the topics be mostly literary, or is a variety better?

Here are the guidelines if you'd like to participate. Please note that while Carly is on hiatus I've loosened up the deadline just a little.

**1. Please post your response no later than than 12:01 AM on Thursday morning, November 24th, your local time. You can do this either in a blog entry of your own or in the comments section of the assignment entry. No submissions will be accepted after that time unless I really want to.

2. Please mention the Weekend Assignment in your blog post, and include a link back to the original entry. Using one of the logos shown here is encouraged but not mandatory.

3. Please come back here after you've posted, and leave a link to your entry in the comments to the assignment. Please post the URL itself rather than a live link.

4. Visiting other participants' entries is strongly encouraged!

5. We're always looking for topic ideas. Please see the "Teacher's Lounge" page for details. If we use your idea, you will be credited as that week's "guest professor." Help me out, folks, because sometimes I run dry when doing this week after week!

6. We reserve the right to remove rude or unpleasant comments (not to mention comment spam), and to leave entries off the linking list if the person has been rude or unpleasant, or fails to mention the Weekend Assignment in the entry.

For Weekend Assignment #244: Fall Favorites, I asked what you like best and least about this time of year, a topic which apparently failed to inspire most of you. Please click on each person's name to see the full entry:

Anne said...

This year was kind of a bust, because it was raining, but I look forward to picking apples at the orchard. There is a place on the border between Illinois and Wisconsin that does the pick-your-own thing that I have been doing with my brother and nephew every year. Then at the end, they have the shops with cider, meats and cheeses, and cider doughnuts.

Karen Funk Blocher said...

First off, autumn is my annual chance to pursue my "pumpkin anything" obsession. Pumpkin bread, ice cream, yogurt (frozen and otherwise), butter, pies, tarts, cookies, and variations on most of the above have all passed my lips at some point in recent years. Last weekend I combined the remains of my pumpkin steamer from the Starbucks counter at Safeway with a small vanilla shake from Whataburger, and made myself a pumpkin shake. It was good, too. Overall, though, I haven't indulged in much Pumpkin Anything this year.

That's it for now. I realize it's a busy time of year, but please jump in with an entry if you can. Have a great week!

Karen

Weekend Assignment # 344: Fall Favorites

NOW CLOSED!

Let's do this:

Weekend Assignment # 344: Fall Favorites

Some people like autumn leaves. Others like foods associated with this time of year, particular holidays, sports, weather, or even the run up to Christmas and Hanukkah. What is your favorite thing about Fall? (Note: if you're in the Southern Hemisphere, tell us about Spring instead!)

Extra Credit: What do you like least about this time of year?

Here are the guidelines if you'd like to participate. Please note that while Carly is on hiatus I've loosened up the deadline just a little.

**1. Please post your response no later than than 12:01 AM on Thursday morning, November 17th, your local time. You can do this either in a blog entry of your own or in the comments section of the assignment entry. No submissions will be accepted after that time unless I really want to.

2. Please mention the Weekend Assignment in your blog post, and include a link back to the original entry. Using one of the logos shown here is encouraged but not mandatory.

3. Please come back here after you've posted, and leave a link to your entry in the comments to the assignment. Please post the URL itself rather than a live link.

4. Visiting other participants' entries is strongly encouraged!

5. We're always looking for topic ideas. Please see the "Teacher's Lounge" page for details. If we use your idea, you will be credited as that week's "guest professor." Help me out, folks, because sometimes I run dry when doing this week after week!

6. We reserve the right to remove rude or unpleasant comments (not to mention comment spam), and to leave entries off the linking list if the person has been rude or unpleasant, or fails to mention the Weekend Assignment in the entry.

For Weekend Assignment #243: Read It Again, I asked about your re-reading habits, if any. Please click on each person's name to see their full entry:

Julie said...

Haven't had much of a chance to participate in this lately, but this one is timely for me as I just exhausted the last new book in the stack and I'm up tonight with asthma issues. (Oh, I'll be fine. I started in on what I hope will become a new fitness routine today and I was over-enthusiastic. I just need to take it slow.) So yes, I frequently scour the bookcases for things to read again when I've hit the bottom of the TBR stack.

Anne said...
I love re-reading. I love to re-live a plot and take another look at the characters and see the things that I didn't see the first time when I just wanted to know what happens next?! However. If I had the luxury of three lifetimes, I would not get to all of the books I want to read. So I don't indulge in it as much as I'd like.

Florinda said...

I was a frequent re-reader for much of my life - up into my early thirties, actually. As a kid I re-read my favorites often; as I got older, I didn’t do as much of it, but there were still a few books I took back off the shelves every few years. Some had become literary comfort food, while I was hoping to find something new in revisiting others.

Karen Funk Blocher said...

Once I buy a book, I am almost certain to read it more than once, probably three or more times over a period of decades. In fact, aside from a basic collector's mania, that's why I buy all the books I read, and have borrowed a total of one book (I think) from a library in the past two decades. I figure, if it's worth reading, it's worth owning, so that I can read it again at a moment's notice. I mean, really! If I'm thinking about the Harper Hall Trilogy at three in the morning, I can go right to the shelf my Pern books are on, and start reading it again.

That's it for now. I look forward to reading about your favorite fall celebrations. Have a great week!

Karen

Weekend Assignment #343: Read It Again

NOW CLOSED!

Hi, folks! Did you think I forgot?

Weekend Assignment # 343: Read It Again

Some people like to read a book once, and then they're done. The plot is resolved and they know whodunnit, so it's time to move on to the next book. Other people reread a favorite book every few years, and still others keep it on their shelves in case they may want to read it again someday. Are you a frequent re-reader, an occasional one, or are you "one and done"? How do you decide what to reread, and when?

Extra Credit: What was the book you reread most recently?

Here are the guidelines if you'd like to participate. Please note that while Carly is on hiatus I've loosened up the deadline just a little.

**1. Please post your response no later than than 12:01 AM on Thursday morning, November 10th, your local time. You can do this either in a blog entry of your own or in the comments section of the assignment entry. No submissions will be accepted after that time unless I really want to.

2. Please mention the Weekend Assignment in your blog post, and include a link back to the original entry. Using one of the logos shown here is encouraged but not mandatory.

3. Please come back here after you've posted, and leave a link to your entry in the comments to the assignment. Please post the URL itself rather than a live link.

4. Visiting other participants' entries is strongly encouraged!

5. We're always looking for topic ideas. Please see the "Teacher's Lounge" page for details. If we use your idea, you will be credited as that week's "guest professor." Help me out, folks, because sometimes I run dry when doing this week after week!

6. We reserve the right to remove rude or unpleasant comments (not to mention comment spam), and to leave entries off the linking list if the person has been rude or unpleasant, or fails to mention the Weekend Assignment in the entry.

Last week's Weekend Assignment #242: How Do You Do Halloween? inspired just two responses, which surprised me a bit. Please click on each person's name to see their full entry:

Anne said...

I spent the afternoon on the couch, flipping between football, The Rocky Horror Picture Show marathon and the marathon of something called The Most Terrifying Places in America, on the Travel Channel. Apparently, a devil baby once lived in Jane Addams’ Hull House. Here is what Ms. Addams had to say about that.   And I handed out candy to the few trick-or-treaters that bother to come all the way down my street.

Karen Funk Blocher said...

Last year I made a wizard's study, wore the purple cloth as a cape and put on a wizard's beard, or possibly the one mask that I did manage to find this year but did not wear.  I had real occult books and fake potions. And by the way, I injured my shoulder tripping as I carried my chair outside. Another year I had a spooky forest, with spiders and snakes as well as my squeaky plastic rats. There was a year in which I made and wore a Tiki mask to go with the two Tikis we still have on display out there. Still another year we had a Styrofoam graveyard, and twice we had Black Rose Kate come to visit, pirate flag and all. But this year was our make-do Halloween, and I think I'm the only one who was really disappointed.

That's it for now. I look forward to reading about your re-reading habits. Have a great week!

Karen

Weekend Assignment #342: How Do You Do Halloween?

NOW CLOSED!

Hi, folks! It's that time of year again!

Weekend Assignment # 342: How Do You Do Halloween?

Each year at this time, we are told that Halloween is second only to Christmas in its commercial impact. Once an amalgam of religious holidays, it has grown over the years, at least in the U.S., and it's not just for children as it may have been half a century ago. What, if anything, do you personally do to celebrate Halloween? Have you ever participated in an alternative or related holiday, such as the Dias de Los Muertos, Samhain, a church Harvest Festival, etc.?

Extra Credit: What was the last Halloween costume you wore, and when?

Here are the guidelines if you'd like to participate. Please note that while Carly is on hiatus I've loosened up the deadline just a little.

**1. Please post your response no later than than 12:01 AM on Thursday morning, November 3rd, your local time. You can do this either in a blog entry of your own or in the comments section of the assignment entry. No submissions will be accepted after that time unless I really want to.

2. Please mention the Weekend Assignment in your blog post, and include a link back to the original entry. Using one of the logos shown here is encouraged but not mandatory.

3. Please come back here after you've posted, and leave a link to your entry in the comments to the assignment. Please post the URL itself rather than a live link.

4. Visiting other participants' entries is strongly encouraged!

5. We're always looking for topic ideas. Please see the "Teacher's Lounge" page for details. If we use your idea, you will be credited as that week's "guest professor." Help me out, folks, because sometimes I run dry when doing this week after week!

6. We reserve the right to remove rude or unpleasant comments (not to mention comment spam), and to leave entries off the linking list if the person has been rude or unpleasant, or fails to mention the Weekend Assignment in the entry.

Last week's Weekend Assignment #341: Overexposed inspired three responses. Please click on each person's name to see their full entry:

Anne said...

Anyone who was ever made “famous” by a reality TV show. I am pointing in particular to The Hills and the Housewives shows. I have not watched any of them, but I have seen enough commercials. I will also throw in Paris Hilton, Omarosa, and whatever show “The Situation” is on.

Florinda said...

I couldn’t limit myself to just one response to this, and I suspect I’m not the only one who has a list of people they wish would just go away. There are some I hope will go away by November 3rd, but that’s not really what this question is addressing, so I’ll stay away from the politics today.

Karen Funk Blocher said...

Frankly, by the time Twilight became ubiquitous as bestselling books and movies, I was so sick of the whole thing that I never gave the franchise the chance. What I've read or heard about Edward and Whatshername does nothing to entice me. So to tv producers and book publishers, here's my plea: don't you think this vampire glut, and by extension the zombie glut, has reached the point of diminishing returns? Can we have something else now please?

That's it for now. I look forward to reading about your Halloween celebrations, or lack thereof. Have a great week!

Karen

Weekend Assignment #341: Overexposed

NOW CLOSED!

Hi, folks!This week's WA question is a simple one:

Weekend Assignment # 341: Overexposed

Some things (or people) explode into the culture, are really big for a while and then overstay their welcome. Who or what are you really tired of seeing, hearing or reading about these days?

Extra Credit: What discarded bit of pop culture do you remember fondly?

Here are the guidelines if you'd like to participate. Please note that while Carly is on hiatus I've loosened up the deadline just a little.

**1. Please post your response no later than than 12:01 AM on Thursday morning, October 28th, your local time. You can do this either in a blog entry of your own or in the comments section of the assignment entry. No submissions will be accepted after that time unless I really want to.

2. Please mention the Weekend Assignment in your blog post, and include a link back to the original entry. Using one of the logos shown here is encouraged but not mandatory.

3. Please come back here after you've posted, and leave a link to your entry in the comments to the assignment. Please post the URL itself rather than a live link.

4. Visiting other participants' entries is strongly encouraged!

5. We're always looking for topic ideas. Please see the "Teacher's Lounge" page for details. If we use your idea, you will be credited as that week's "guest professor." Help me out, folks, because sometimes I run dry when doing this week after week!

6. We reserve the right to remove rude or unpleasant comments (not to mention comment spam), and to leave entries off the linking list if the person has been rude or unpleasant, or fails to mention the Weekend Assignment in the entry.

Last week's Weekend Assignment #340: How Far Would You Go? inspired three responses. Please click on each person's name to see their full entry:

Anne said...

Oh, am I sorry to say I am in the “don’t even bother” category. It starts with music – I had really bad concert luck at an impressionable age. I live outside of Chicago and went to college in Washington DC. So inevitably, any time that a band I loved was touring at home, I was at school. Also, the only artist I loved more than Bono was Freddie Mercury, who died just as I was coming-of-concert-age. I would have gone pretty far to see Freddie Mercury live.

See also Anne's response to the previous Weekend Assignment, newly-added to the entry below this one.)

Stephen Watkins said...

Who’m I kidding?  I’ve never really gone anywhere to see anyone even remotely bordering on famous.  Heck, I’ve lived in Atlanta, now, for four years, and yet I’ve never even taken the time to go to Dragon*Con - a fantasy and sci-fi convention that regularly draws celebrities of various kinds (writers, actors, directors, etc.) involved in the production of many of my favorite fantasy and sci-fi entertainments.  That’s right… I’ve never even gone to the trouble of driving downtown to catch my favorite writers, actors, and characters.

Karen Funk Blocher said...

Back in 1990 through 1993, I used to drive the 500 miles or so to the Los Angeles area a couple times a year, indulging my Quantum Leap and Doctor Who habits. I think there were two years in which the Gallifrey One and Quantum Leap conventions were the same weekend, and my friends and I scrambled to attend both. Other times we drove to Universal Studios and managed to talk to people in the production office, interviewing writers, actors, producers or directors, or some combination thereof. On one of our last Leap trips, my car's transmission died forever north of Palm Springs. I sold the Capri to a junkyard and we flew off to Los Angeles, where we watched filming on the Universal lot, and interviewed Scott Bakula for the first and only time. Oh, and I lost our return airline tickets and hard to borrow money to buy more. It was a heck of a weekend, but absolutely worth it.

That's it for now. I look forward to reading what you're sick to death of, and what you wouldn't mind seeing back again. Have a great week!

Karen

Weekend Assignment #340: How Far Would You Go?

NOW CLOSED!

The stars of my favorite tv show, Doctor Who, are coming to the U.S. next month for five days of location shooting in Utah, a mere 600 miles from my home in Tucson. My urge to drive to Utah and find them is the inspiration for this week's Assignment.

Weekend Assignment # 340: How Far Would You Go?

Some people travel hundreds of miles (in extreme cases, thousands of miles)  to see a concert by a favorite performer, or to meet their favorite writers at a convention, or to attend some other kind of public appearance by someone they especially admire. Other people don't even bother to go downtown to take advantage of such an opportunity. How far would you go to meet one or more of your favorite writers, actors, musicians, comedians or other artists, and to attend a performance by him or her or them?

Extra Credit: What is the farthest you have ever gone in a similar situation?

Here are the guidelines if you'd like to participate. Please note that while Carly is on hiatus I've loosened up the deadline just a little.

**1. Please post your response no later than than 12:01 AM on Thursday morning, October 21st, your local time. You can do this either in a blog entry of your own or in the comments section of the assignment entry. No submissions will be accepted after that time unless I really want to.

2. Please mention the Weekend Assignment in your blog post, and include a link back to the original entry. Using one of the logos shown here is encouraged but not mandatory.

3. Please come back here after you've posted, and leave a link to your entry in the comments to the assignment. Please post the URL itself rather than a live link.

4. Visiting other participants' entries is strongly encouraged!

5. We're always looking for topic ideas. Please see the "Teacher's Lounge" page for details. If we use your idea, you will be credited as that week's "guest professor." Help me out, folks, because sometimes I run dry when doing this week after week!

6. We reserve the right to remove rude or unpleasant comments (not to mention comment spam), and to leave entries off the linking list if the person has been rude or unpleasant, or fails to mention the Weekend Assignment in the entry.

Last week's Weekend Assignment #339: Happy Endings inspired only a few responses. Please click on each person's name to see their full entry:


Stephen Watkins said...

It was spent frantically packing.  My roommate, a buddy of mine, had just gotten married.  I was renting a room in his house, but he was coming home with his new bride, and I needed to vacate the premises, and pronto.  This was another reason why I felt that the time was right for my move to “A-town”.  If I was going to have to move out of my buddy’s house anyway, why go back to renting a small apartment in a dead-end town?

Karen Funk Blocher said...

I thought that, this being my last day in the F-M school district, it would be nice to visit a few teachers from when I was younger - much younger. The school in which I went to fourth through sixth grades was long gone, and the junior high had moved even further toward the edge of town several years earlier. But Manlius Elementary still existed, and was right across the street from Temple's Dairy Store in the village of Manlius, about a mile from my house. So that's where I went.

And oops! We missed out on Anne's entry!

I had mismanaged my on-campus dining funds, such that I had a couple hundred dollars left on my i.d. So we went over, ordered pizzas and I let the kids go grocery shopping in the cafe. That was a lot of bags of Doritos. Then we sat down to eat, and figure out how the heck we would manage to keep in touch: with me going home, Christine going home to St. Louis, etc. The difference this year was that Christine and I weren't coming back to school in the fall.

That's it for now. I hope some of you will take the time to tell us how far you would go, or have gone, to see your favorite celebrities. Have a great week!

Karen

Weekend Assignment #339: Happy Endings

NOW CLOSED!

A week ago Wednesday was my last day, at least for now, as an independent contractor helping out with the accounting at St. Matthew's Episcopal Church. That's the inspiration for this week's Weekend Assignment:

Weekend Assignment # 339: Happy Endings

Tell us about the last day of anything: the last day of school or a job, your last day as a smoker, the last day before you moved or got married, the last day before you got that car you always wanted, or even the last day of a particularly memorable vacation. Here's the catch: I'm looking for happy memories here, happy endings rather than tragic ones.

Extra Credit: What happened the next day?

Here are the guidelines if you'd like to participate. Please note that while Carly is on hiatus I've loosened up the deadline just a little.

**1. Please post your response no later than than 12:01 AM on Thursday morning, October 14th, your local time. You can do this either in a blog entry of your own or in the comments section of the assignment entry. No submissions will be accepted after that time unless I really want to.

2. Please mention the Weekend Assignment in your blog post, and include a link back to the original entry. Using one of the logos shown here is encouraged but not mandatory.

3. Please come back here after you've posted, and leave a link to your entry in the comments to the assignment. Please post the URL itself rather than a live link.

4. Visiting other participants' entries is strongly encouraged!

5. We're always looking for topic ideas. Please see the "Teacher's Lounge" page for details. If we use your idea, you will be credited as that week's "guest professor." Help me out, folks, because sometimes I run dry when doing this week after week!

6. We reserve the right to remove rude or unpleasant comments (not to mention comment spam), and to leave entries off the linking list if the person has been rude or unpleasant, or fails to mention the Weekend Assignment in the entry.

We had a great response to last week's Weekend Assignment #338: A World of Their Own. Please click on each person's name to see their full entry:

Anne said...

However, there are a bunch of other variables depending on whether the planet is inhabited by sentient beings.  Can we communicate with them?  Do they welcome visitors?  What do we know about their history and culture?  Do they have wi-fi?

Florinda said...

It's funny that someone would ask that question, actually. There have been several times recently when current events - and the public response to some of them - have provoked me to tell my husband "That's it. I want to move to a new planet." Beam me up, Scotty - there's no intelligent life left on this one. Yes, I am well aware that's a Star Trek misquote...but it was one of my favorite bumper stickers once upon a time.

Stephen Watkins said...

Yeah, I’m a huge sci-fi nerd, and I’m a huge proponent of actual space exploration and all that jazz.  But I’m also terribly, personally, risk-averse.  And I like being alive.  I figure, the chances of survival for those first few colonists on this brave new world are… somewhat less than my chances of survival on my native rock.

Sandrine said...

I'm just not. It's silly. Plus they almost certainly won't have WiFi. And I bet getting pork products and the teas I like will be even harder there than it is in Turkey. So no. I'm staying put. Now if someone actually handed me a free ticket, promised exciting alien historical artifacts,decent housing, welcoming extra-terrestrials, cheap booze, and good schools for the kids, I might just reconsider.

Mike said...

If you asked me this question as a kid, there would be no doubt, I would have been on the first ship. I'd probably sleep out for tickets. I assume that would be necessary if we really could go out there. The tickets would sell out in 26 seconds and all be bought by brokers who then sell them on Space-Hub for 1000% more than face value. Am I right?

Karen Funk Blocher said...

So let's say the conditions are right. We're healthy and wealthy and bored, and we can even take our dog Ponsonby with us. Okay, then we're going! But for how long? I don't know about you, but I find the ends of vacation trips rather frustrating and depressing. I never feel we've done and seen everything there is to do and see. And a whole new planet - there should be a lot to do and see, right? If this is a human-friendly environment, there's a good chance that Horton has as much environmental variation as Earth - hot places and cold places, oceans and rivers and desert, mountains and plains, and a whole new set of flora and fauna to admire. Yeah, I think we'll take the one year package, please.

That's it for now. Thanks to everyone who wrote entries about their planetary wanderings, or lack thereof! I hope some of you will also jump in this time with an earthbound tale of your personal happy endings. Have a great week!

Karen

Weekend Assignment # 338: A World of Their Own

NOW CLOSED!

 

On Wednesday, someone shared a link of Facebook about the discovery of a "Goldilocks planet." That's a planet whose orbit around its sun makes it not too hot, not too cold, but potentially "just right" for life to develop. Within an hour the link attracted a large number of comments, some humorous, some political, about who should pack their bags and move to this other planet, twenty light years away. That's the inspiration for this week's Weekend Assignment:

"Goldilocks planet" illustration by Lynette Cook, 
National Science Foundation.

Weekend Assignment # 338: A World of Their Own

Even as astronomers discover planets that may be capable of supporting life, such destinations remain out of reach of would-be human colonists, even if the world is "only" twenty light years away. But if some science fictional technology were discovered in the next year or two (warp drive, matter transmission or whatever) that made it possible to leave Earth behind and go live on another planet, would you be tempted to do so? If you choose not to relocate, would you be interested in just visiting the place instead?

Extra Credit: If you did go, whether on vacation or as a colonist, and you were only allowed to bring one small suitcase with you, what would be in it?

Here are the guidelines if you'd like to participate. Please note that while Carly is on hiatus I've loosened up the deadline just a little.

**1. Please post your response no later than than 12:01 AM on Thursday morning, October 7th, your local time. You can do this either in a blog entry of your own or in the comments section of the assignment entry. No submissions will be accepted after that time unless I really want to.

2. Please mention the Weekend Assignment in your blog post, and include a link back to the original entry. Using one of the logos shown here is encouraged but not mandatory.

3. Please come back here after you've posted, and leave a link to your entry in the comments to the assignment. Please post the URL itself rather than a live link.

4. Visiting other participants' entries is strongly encouraged!

5. We're always looking for topic ideas. Please see the "Teacher's Lounge" page for details. If we use your idea, you will be credited as that week's "guest professor." Help me out, folks, because sometimes I run dry when doing this week after week!

6. We reserve the right to remove rude or unpleasant comments (not to mention comment spam), and to leave entries off the linking list if the person has been rude or unpleasant, or fails to mention the Weekend Assignment in the entry.

A few brave souls responded to last week's Weekend Assignment #337: Lone Wolf, or Part of the Pack?. Please click on each person's name to see their full entry:

Anne said...

Myers and Briggs will tell you that I am an extrovert.  I talk with people all day long and you can't shut me up.  I think out loud and sometimes I say too much.  My mother will tell you that I become more introverted every year.  I go to lunch by myself and want the world to shut up and let me read my book.  The last two vacations I have taken were by myself (which the Canadian at Customs refused to believe).

Stephen Watkins said...

Personality tests were an inconstant source of insight on the issue as well.  They often indicated that I was an Introvert – but not always.  There were times when the results were a little more inconclusive.  I accepted that I was, but at times I didn’t really feel like I was.  I wanted to be a part of the pack.  It was when I took the Birkman test at the start of my Master’s degree that I came to better understand my relationship with the group.

Karen Funk Blocher said...

It probably won't come as a huge shock to you if I identify myself as basically an introvert, a mildly shy, socially awkward person whose emotional life is largely inside my own head. I very rarely go to any sort of party, I don't go out clubbing or drinking, and I don't currently belong to any active fan clubs or other social groups. Even the annual Doctor Who convention in Los Angeles, Gallifrey One, which I attend as often as I can, is nearly as painful to me as it is rewarding. I'm just not all that good at making social connections. My social life consists of online stuff, hanging out with my husband (mostly at home), and taking a few friends to lunch on Sundays.

That's it for this week! I hope you'll join in this weekend, and tell us about any planet-hopping you would or would not do, given the chance. Be seeing you - and watch out for that wormhole!

Karen

Weekend Assignment #337: Lone Wolf, or Part of the Pack?

NOW CLOSED!

 

This week it's crunch time for me, trying to finish sorting out and carting over our many boxes of donations of items for the English Faire at St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church, catalog them all for tax purposes and price everything for sale this weekend. That's got me thinking about my degree of involvement with the church, and whether it means that after all these years I'm more gregarious than I once was. Thus:

Weekend Assignment #337: Lone Wolf, or Part of the Pack?

Some people are happiest when they're part of a group. They may be leader of the pack, or actively contribute to the group's efforts, or simply hang out with the others for companionship, and any scraps they may get. Other people are more the lone wolf type: the explorers, the loners, given to solitary effort and independent thought. Where do you prefer to function in human society: as part of a group, or your own, or in some combination of the two?

Extra Credit: Is there a group with which you're currently affiliated that is especially important to you? What is your relationship with that group?

Here are the guidelines if you'd like to participate. Please note that while Carly is on hiatus I've loosened up the deadline just a little.

**1. Please post your response no later than than 12:01 AM on Thursday morning, September 30th, your local time. You can do this either in a blog entry of your own or in the comments section of the assignment entry. No submissions will be accepted after that time unless I really want to.

2. Please mention the Weekend Assignment in your blog post, and include a link back to the original entry. Using one of the logos shown here is encouraged but not mandatory.

3. Please come back here after you've posted, and leave a link to your entry in the comments to the assignment. Please post the URL itself rather than a live link.

4. Visiting other participants' entries is strongly encouraged!

5. We're always looking for topic ideas. Please see the "Teacher's Lounge" page for details. If we use your idea, you will be credited as that week's "guest professor." Help me out, folks, because sometimes I run dry when doing this week after week!

6. We reserve the right to remove rude or unpleasant comments (not to mention comment spam), and to leave entries off the linking list if the person has been rude or unpleasant, or fails to mention the Weekend Assignment in the entry.

We had a limited response to last week's Weekend Assignment #335: History. Please click on each person's name to see their full entry:

Anne said...

I am sure there is an answer here involving world peace and saving the whales and feeding the homeless.  But I am feeling selfish today. The easy answer is that I want a magic button to give me money. Every day. $1,000 should do it – don’t want to be greedy. I have a long, long list of things that I would do with an extra $1,000 each day.

Stephen Watkins said...

If I had a magic button, it would stop time.  Heck, I’ll even give myself a limit on it.  Let’s say it stops time for only three hours (though I’d surely take longer, but let’s be modest in our impossible wishes, shall we?). I figure there’s got to be a time-limit because I only get one button-press a day, but if I press the button and stop time, then I don’t get to press it and start time again until the next day, except that since time is stopped it’ll never be the next day so time would stay stopped forever…

Karen Funk Blocher said...

I'd love to hit a pause button, and have time moved forward only locally around me. I would go to bed, sleep until I'm not even a little bit tired, read, take a bath, watch a DVD, eat lunch, read the email and message board stuff that was already there when time was paused, and get some serious writing done. When I had finally done all the sleeping, reading, writing, housework and hanging out that my body and mind craved, I would hit "unpause," jump back to real time without losing the benefits of my actions in "local time," and get on with my day.

That's it for this week, but I'm really looking forward to seeing where you see yourself in our little wolf metaphor. I have a theory about where the results will skew, but I need data. Please jump in with your entry this week, and prove me right or wrong. I promise not to growl or bite!

***

In other meme news, I've decided to give up on

at least for now. For both weeks of this meme, which was meant to fill in for the Ellipsis Monday Photo Shoot while Carly is on hiatus, only Jama and I participated. Thanks, Jama!  I may give this, or something like it, another shot later. For now, though, when I'm really busy with other things, a meme with almost no response isn't really worth my time. Sorry!

Karen

Weekend Assignment #336: Magic Button

NOW CLOSED!

This one is based on a question posed by Michele Agnew on http://micheleagnew.com, way back in 2005.

Weekend Assignment #336: Magic Button

If you could have a magic button that would do one particular thing for you, up to once a day, what would that function be?

Extra Credit: Would your answer to the above change if it were a person doing the task (for free and without complaint, using ordinary human abilities) rather than a magic button?

You know how to do this, right? Here are the guidelines. While Carly is on hiatus I've loosened up the deadline just a little - but don't push your luck! ;)

**1. Please post your response no later than than 12:01 AM on Thursday morning, September 23rd. You can do this either in a blog entry of your own or in the comments section of the assignment entry. No submissions will be accepted after that time unless I really want to.

2. Please mention the Weekend Assignment in your blog post, and include a link back to the original entry. Using one of the logos shown here is encouraged but not mandatory.

3. Please come back here after you've posted, and leave a link to your entry in the comments to the assignment. Please post the URL itself rather than a live link.

4. Visiting other participants' entries is strongly encouraged!

5. We're always looking for topic ideas. Please see the "Teacher's Lounge" page for details. If we use your idea, you will be credited as that week's "guest professor." Help me out, folks, because sometimes I run dry when doing this week after week!

6. We reserve the right to remove rude or unpleasant comments (not to mention comment spam), and to leave entries off the linking list if the person has been rude or unpleasant, or fails to mention the Weekend Assignment in the entry.

We had a great response for last week's Weekend Assignment #335: History. Please click on each person's name to see their full entry:

Duane said...

I actually do live near the site of a battlefield (several, in fact), and I'm very aware of the area's history. I live in northwest Georgia, just south of Chattanooga, Tennessee. The region's main moment in the historical spotlight happened nearly 150 years ago during the Civil War. Chattanooga was an important railroad center, where several lines met that connected most of the South. There were several battles fought for control of the town and there are historical markers and monuments scattered all over the region.

Anne said...

Off the top of my head..I can tell you that Glenview was founded in 1890, but our landmark dates back a bit further.  Our park district still maintains the estate of "one of its most famous sons" Robert Kennicott.  He was a (oh, hell.  Now I have to go look this up) naturalist and explorer.  The Grove is part history museum and part nature preserve and our school classes would visit about once a year for one reason or another.  Sometimes it was about pioneer history - churning the butter and that kind of thing.  Sometimes it was about the nature trails and native plants and insects.

Stephen Watkins said...

In Atlanta, you can’t throw a stone without hitting a sign for a historical marker declaring the site of “so-and-so’s last stand” or “the charge of somesuch brigade”.  It’s part of the fabric here.  Heck, this is largely true of much of the American Southeast.  In the rest of the U.S. the Civil War is an important historical event.  It’s something that happened.  It’s important but it’s over.  The good guys won, the bad guys lost, Honest Abe freed the slaves and everyone lived happily ever after, the end.  Except, in the South, it’s not over yet.  It’s a living part of the culture and personality of this part of the world.

Sandrine said...

Of course, I love the ancient ruins. Who wouldn't? And I do spend a big part of my professional life talking and writing about people who lived in those ruins, so I have more cause than some to find them fascinating. Some of it is disappointing because there's so little left, some of it is done up too heavily and looks like a movie set, and some of it is simply charming. But it's all over the place. Even Ankara has its sites. There's a big column and some Roman Baths.The column used to be topped by a giant nest inhabited by all sorts of birds.

Mike said...

According to what I can find out here, this is an actual working Dutch windmill that was assembled in 1875 in what is now Lombard, Illinois for two farmers. It was Dutch-built prefabricated kit that was shipped out there to be put together. I guess houses aren't the only things that you can buy prefabricated. It was bought in 1915 by General Fayban and moved in 1917 to its current location. Again, it was disassembled and re-assembled. Not unlike a big Erector set. It stood, and was used, in the current location until 1937 when the county acquired it after the general passed away.

Karen Funk Blocher said...

On January 22, 1934, a fire started in the hotel basement and spread upward. After John Dillinger and his gang escaped down a ladder, one of them bribed two firemen to retrieve their luggage, which included "a small arsenal and $23,816 in cash," according to the hotel website. One of the firemen later recognized the gang members in True Detective Magazine, which soon led to their capture in a private home nearby. Although Hotel Congress is also known these days for its music venue, Club Congress, for good food and for general coolness, the whole Dillinger thing is kind of a point of pride in Tucson even today, even though the legendary robber later escaped from authorities using a fake gun carved from a piece of wood.

Julie said...

You might wonder (as we all do) whatever possessed someone to name a town "Plano." Well, with many stories, we must reach into the mists of time, to the deep, dark past of the town history. Essentially, the town needed a Post Office. And in order to get a Post Office, a town had to have a name. So a guy (after whom many public buildings and parks have been named) decided that it would be a good idea to name the speck on the map after the current resident of the White House. The current resident at the time was named Millard Fillmore, and so it came to pass that the town Postmaster suggested the name of Fillmore....

Carly is taking a well-earned break from the three memes she's been hosting or co-hosting, although she may jump in as a participant from time to time. She'll be back at the beginning of January. I'm holding down the fort on the Weekend Assignment and the The Round Robin Photo Challenges, so please help me keep things going while she's gone, okay? I've also started another Monday meme as a fill-in for Carly's Ellipsis Monday Photo Shoot. You may be interested in this one. It's partly a writing prompt - a very short writing prompt! I call it:

The second one is already posted, and it's about shoes! Please stroll over and take a look!

I look forward to seeing your entries on both memes, plus the Round Robin if you're into photography. See you soon!

Karen

Weekend Assignment #335: History

NOW CLOSED! Thanks for participating!

Hi, folks! I don't quite remember what my inspiration was for this one. I hope you like it:

Weekend Assignment #335: History

We don't all live near the site of a battlefield or other world-famous event, but any place has its own history: political, cultural, even natural history. How aware are you of the past of the town, city or state where you live now? Share with us a story of local history.

Extra Credit: Have you ever participated personally in an historic event? (This doesn't have to be anything earth-shattering.)

You know how to do this, right? There are the guidelines, as usual.

Here are the guidelines for participating:

**1. Please post your response no later than than 9:00 PM EDT on Wednesday, September 15th. You can do this either in a blog entry of your own or in the comments section of the assignment entry. No submissions will be accepted after that time.

2. Please mention the Weekend Assignment in your blog post, and include a link back to the original entry. Using one of the logos shown here is encouraged but not mandatory.

3. Please come back here after you've posted, and leave a link to your entry in the comments to the assignment. Please post the URL itself rather than a live link.

4. Visiting other participants' entries is strongly encouraged!

5. We're always looking for topic ideas. Please see the "Teacher's Lounge" page for details. If we use your idea, you will be credited as that week's "guest professor."

6. We reserve the right to remove rude or unpleasant comments (not to mention comment spam), and to leave entries off the linking list if the person has been rude or unpleasant, or fails to mention the Weekend Assignment in the entry.

Meanwhile, for last week's Weekend Assignment #334: What Are You Looking Forward To?, three us us told Carly what we're looking forward to. Please click on each person's name to see their full entry:

Anne said...

I am looking forward to lots of things, thank you very much. Let’s see:

1. September Apple picking with Alex. My brother and I have taken the nephew to Oriole Springs Orchard to pick apples every year.

Sandrine said...

Scroll back to last autumn. Max and I taking our weekly walk around campus, picking crab apples on our way. Then forward to December. The apples are scarce, but if I shake the trees, there's still a few that will drop to the floor....

Karen Funk Blocher said...

Last night I spent the evening pasting together every chapter of my unsold first novel, Heirs of Mâvarin, into one large document for the first time ever, reformatted it all in Courier New and started breaking my chapters into smaller size. This is all in preparation for one more revision and sending it out again, this time to a publisher that Sara G. told me about. I hate to look forward to that; I've been disappointed too many times to want to get my hopes up now.

Carly is taking a well-earned break from the three memes she's been hosting or co-hosting, although she may jump in as a participant from time to time. She'll be back at the beginning of January. I'll be holding down the fort on the Weekend Assignment and the The Round Robin Photo Challenges, so please help me keep things going while she's gone, okay? I've also started another Monday meme as a fill-in for Carly's Ellipsis Monday Photo Shoot. You may be interested in this one. It's partly a writing prompt - a very short writing prompt! I call it:

The first one is already posted, and it's about bunnies! Hop over and take a look!

I look forward to seeing your entries on both memes, plus the Round Robin if you're into photography. See you soon!

Karen

Weekend Assignment #334: What Are You Looking Forward To?

NOW CLOSED!
Weekend Assignment #334: What Are You Looking Forward To?

We are about to begin the last quarter of 2010, tell me what you are looking forward to. Will it be the coming holiday season? The cooler days of autumn? The kids going back to school? Family gatherings. Tell us all about it!

Extra Credit: Tell us what you are least looking forward to in the upcoming months.

Here are the general guidelines for participating:

**1. Please post your response no later than than the deadline day and time given in each week's original assignment entry. You can do this either in a blog entry of your own or in the comments section of the assignment entry.

2. Please mention the Weekend Assignment in your blog post, and include a link back to the original entry. Using one of the logos shown here is encouraged but not mandatory.

3. Please come back here after you've posted, and leave a link to your entry in the comments to the assignment. Please post the URL itself rather than a live link.

4. Visiting other participants' entries is strongly encouraged!

5. We're always looking for topic ideas. Please see the "Teacher's Lounge" page for details. If we use your idea, you will be credited as that week's "guest professor."

6. We reserve the right to remove rude or unpleasant comments (not to mention comment spam), and to leave entries off the linking list if the person has been rude or unpleasant, or fails to mention the Weekend Assignment in the entry.

** This assignment closes at 9:00 PM, EST, next Wednesday. No submissions will be accepted after that time.

Last week, we took on Weekend Assignment#333: The Writing On The Wall. Here are your responses...

Anne

Trevor

Karen

Carly


**This will be the last Weekend Assignment I will be doing for 2010. I am officially on vacation until the first week in January. I will be stopping in from time to time to see how things are going and maybe participate, so be good while I am away! :)

-Carly

Weekend Assignment #333: Writing on the Wall

Hi, folks! I had an interesting time recently in an unexpected place: the restroom at my local Safeway. That's the inspiration for this week's Assignment.

NOW CLOSED!

Weekend Assignment #333: Writing on the Wall

Have you ever written on a bathroom wall, or left graffiti anywhere at all? Confess! I promise we'll go easy on you! How do you feel about the ethics of graffiti, and the level of discourse sometimes found in illicit art and messages in public places?

Extra Credit: If you were to leave a message to the world on a public wall, what would it be?

Here are the guidelines for participating:

**1. Please post your response no later than than 9:00 PM EDT on Wednesday, September 1st. You can do this either in a blog entry of your own or in the comments section of the assignment entry. No submissions will be accepted after that time.

2. Please mention the Weekend Assignment in your blog post, and include a link back to the original entry. Using one of the logos shown here is encouraged but not mandatory.

3. Please come back here after you've posted, and leave a link to your entry in the comments to the assignment. Please post the URL itself rather than a live link.

4. Visiting other participants' entries is strongly encouraged!

5. We're always looking for topic ideas. Please see the "Teacher's Lounge" page for details. If we use your idea, you will be credited as that week's "guest professor."

6. We reserve the right to remove rude or unpleasant comments (not to mention comment spam), and to leave entries off the linking list if the person has been rude or unpleasant, or fails to mention the Weekend Assignment in the entry.

Where or not you've ever written on walls, I hope you'll write in your blog this week about the possibility of writing on walls.

Last week for Weekend Assignment #332: Back To School, we asked whether the beginning of the new school year has any impact on your life. Here are excerpts from your responses. Click on the name to get to the relevant blog:

Anne said...

I don't have kids and I finished what I expect was my final degree program last January. I am sitting for a certification exam in December, though. So perhaps I should get moving. I have already bought my books and a new notebook. I love new notebooks.

Stephen said...

Dear little B.T., of course, is still new to the world – he won’t be heading “back to school” for many years yet. You know, he’s got to go to school for the first time before he can go back to school. I sometimes try to imagine what that day will be like… but except for the fact that he’ll be older and speaking relatively coherent English, I suppose rather little will have changed.

Karen said...

The last time I was in school was November 2002 to February 2005. My school supplies at the time consisted mostly of a laptop computer and textbooks in book or pdf form. Conventional school supplies are so far in the past for me that I remember buying them at Weber's, a three room department store in Manlius, NY. I haven't lived in Manlius since 1975, and Weber's is long gone.

Florinda said...

Our kids are back in school now. The 10-year-old starts fifth grade today, and the high-school junior started classes almost two weeks ago (her school follows a different calendar than the rest of the district). My son was usually back in school by mid-August; for some reason, Southern schools tend to start the year while the summer heat is still going strong (but they're generally out by the end of May). It's been a good twenty years since I lived anywhere that started school after Labor Day.

Thanks, folks!

Karen