Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Weekend Assignment #329: Lost and Found

Hi, folks! I lost an important piece of paper sometime in the past day or two. Don't you hate it when that happens? This week I want to ask about things that stay lost for a long time, only to turn up again.



Weekend Assignment #329: Lost and Found NOW CLOSED!

Have you ever lost something important (or else just really unusual), only to find it again months or even years later? Were you glad to get it back, or was it no longer worth having by then? Tell us your tale of memorable things lost and found. Alternatively, if you never, ever lost anything important, tell us how you manage this nearly superhuman accomplishment. ;)

Extra Credit: If you could choose one missing item to mysteriously reappear in your home tonight, what would it be and why?

Here are the guidelines for participating:

**1. Please post your response no later than than 9:00 PM, EDT, on Wednesday, August 4th. 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.

I hope you will favor us with your "lost and found" anecdote this week. Meanwhile, here are excerpts of what participants said about Weekend Assignment #328: Fan Letters. Click on the name to get to the relevant blog:

Stephen said...
You think I’m kidding, but it’s deeply embarrassing to me to admit that I once wrote a fan letter to the author of the Magic of Xanth books: Piers Anthony. Perhaps because, in hindsight, while they were perfectly serviceable juvenile fantasies, I find that the books are now, save for the first few books, entirely forgettable and entirely unworthy of the level of fanaticism that would drive one to write a fan letter. Frankly, he wasn’t even the favorite author of my youth. That title would go first to Lloyd Alexander, whom I’ve praised on these blog pages effulgently before. And I would be remiss to ignore such a giant of my youth as Tolkien. And it would be a lie if I said I wasn’t a solid fan of Margaret Weiss & Tracy Hickman. So why it is that the Xanth books, retrospectively inferior to almost any of the works by any of the mentioned authors here, were enough to bring me to writing such a thing as a fan letter?

Anne said in comments...
I have never written a fan letter. I thought about doing the Extra Credit, but I can't even think of whom I would write to. So I shall have to take a pass this week.

Karen said...
Also in 1986, I wrote to writer Madeleine L'Engle because I was having theological and literary difficulty with her use of Noah and his family in her most recent book about the Murry family, Many Waters. As it happened, her husband had just died of cancer, but she added a postscript to a form letter about her bereavement, explaining briefly that there was nothing wrong with using the Ark "myth," as she called it, in a fantasy novel, and quoting Karl Barth: "I take the Bible much too seriously to take it literally." Heady stuff!


We had a light week on responses this time out, although Stephen and I between us manage to write quite a bit on the subject. So how about this week? Can you jump in and help us out? Thanks!

Karen

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Weekend Assignment #328: Fan Letters



Weekend Assignment #328: Fan Letters

How about a lighter topic this week? Let's talk about FAN LETTERS. I have never personally written one, because the one time I attempted to, it came off, well, sounding kinda weird! LOL. Apparently I have NO talent for them at all! Nope. Nope. Nope. But how about you? Have you ever written a successful FAN LETTER? If so, tell us about your experience. Did you hear back from the celebrity? Was it a positive experience? Tell us all about it.

Extra Credit: Write a one paragraph FAN LETTER to your favorite celebrity.

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.

Participation list for Weekend Assignment #326: Beat The Heat!

Florinda...

My SoCal-native husband doesn't take heat very well, so when the temperatures go up, we go undercover and inside.

Anne...

At the end of the work day, I just want to open my sunroof for the cruise home.

Stephen...

Well, of course, I stay cool by being cool. Because I’m cool.

But enough about me.

Mike...

The best way for me to stay cool is to stay inside with the air conditioning cranked up. It may not be the most fun, but it's better than heatstroke. See, in the Chicago area when it gets hot, it gets humid.

Karen...

Our monsoon was due a couple weeks ago, so far it's mostly sweltery, and hardly rainy at all.


I enjoyed your responses very much! Thank you for your continued participation. I will be looking forward to your submissions this week!

-Carly

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Weekend Assignment #327: Beat the Heat!

I've had this topic in mind for a while now, but I wanted to wait for things to heat up first:

NOW CLOSED!

Weekend Assignment #327: Beat the Heat!


Summer is well underway now. If you live in the northern hemisphere, the days are long and the sun is on its way to being about as hot as it gets in your particular climate. How do you stay cool when the weather gets hot?


Extra Credit: If you've ever relocated hundreds of miles to a new home, did the climate play a role in your decision to move?

Here are the guidelines for participating:
1. Please post your response no later than than Wednesday, July 21st at 9 PM EDT, 6 PM Pacific. You can do this either in a blog entry of your own or in the comments section below.

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.

Now let's see some excerpts from the participating entries from last week's Assignment, for Weekend Assignment #326: Off To Camp. Please click on each name to read the entire entry:

Kaitlyn said...
My answer to this assignment is suggested by the question itself. What kind of camp is it? Why, it’s a fantasy camp, of course!
OK, in real life, I couldn’t call myself any kind of an expert on fantasy. I’ve read Tolkien, but it’s been years, and I didn’t like it that much....

Anne said...
For a few minutes there, I couldn’t even think of a kind of fantasy camp, other than for one sport or another. Then I remembered Homer Simpson’s Rock & Roll Fantasy Camp. Then I drove by a Sportscaster Fantasy Camp at a park district the other day. And I guess Space Camp would count. The truth is that I don’t even know what Fantasy Camp I’d want to attend.

Stephen said...
So, yes, if I were suddenly transported to a magical world where I was an invited guest-speaker and an expert in anything, it would be something to do with the fantasy and speculative fiction genres. So, the “fantasy camp” in question would probably be some kind of convention where I’d be a panel-speaker or some-such as that. There are a lot of real-world sci-fi-themed conventions, but I’d have to be at one that was slanted slightly more toward the fantasy end of the spectrum. Likewise, it could be a fantasy-themed writer’s convocation, or a writing workshop of some sort.

Karen said...
But let's play this out. How would a fantasy camp for sf geeks be different from a ComicCon, and Worldcon, a Gallifrey One or any number of other conventions? It would be much smaller and more intimate, with more of the one-on-one opportunities that are a challenge for conventions to arrange, if they try at all.
Interesting! Three quarters of us opted for pretty much the same nonexistent kind of camp!

Thanks to all who joined in last week. And if you didn't, well, I hope you jump back in this week! ;)

Karen

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Weekend Assignment #326: Off To Camp



Weekend Assignment #326: Off To Camp NOW CLOSED!

Guess what? You have been offered the chance to be the keynote speaker at a world famous fantasy camp! Great! Tell us what kind of camp it is, and what makes you such an expert!

Extra Credit: Create a special logo for the Fantasy Camp you are speaking at! :) Let's get a little visually creative!

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.

Participation List for Weekend Assignment #325: Tech Savvy

Anne

Sandrine

Stephen

Trevor

Karen

Excellent folks! Have a wonderful week, I will be looking forward to your responses.

-Carly :)

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Weekend Assignment #325: Tech-Savvy

I spent five hours today setting up a friend's cable box, half-broken tv set, cable modem and new computer, and getting them all to work together. That's the inspiration for this week's question.

Weekend Assignment #323: Tech Savvy NOW CLOSED!
When you bring home some new piece of technology, do you usually get it up and running with pleasant anticipation and calm confidence, or is there more likely to be much swearing, wailing and gnashing of teeth? What's the most trouble you've had with a new computer, tv, phone or related tech gadget?

Extra Credit: Who do you call in to help, if you get stuck?

Here are the guidelines for participating:
1. Please post your response no later than than 9:00 PM, EDT on Wednesday, July 7th. 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 his or her entry.

Meanwhile, here are excerpts from last week's responses. Click on each name to read the whole entry:

Anne said...
I have literally never tried to imagine what the world would be like in 50 years. I asked myself why not and my response was: “Because according to Star Trek, we are hip deep in World War III right now and it is going to get worse before it gets better. I don't want to think about it.”

Mike said...
Feel better? Good. Pardon the flicker of my holo, I need to get that fixed. I guess I should explain. About 20 years ago a company designed the holo-projector for business meetings. It was a better option than traveling and videoconferencing. If it seems like the person is right next to you it's much harder to ignore their ideas, or to put it down. It turned out to work really well, so people started using it for everything. Now, nobody leaves the safety and comfort of their house anymore.

Sandrine said...
In 2062, my son Max will be 59. His friends Imogen and Julius will be 55 and 53. My bloggy friends' sons Jacob and HRH will be 59 and 53. Hopefully by then mid to late fifties will count as late middle age! But I'm not so much worried about their physical conditions. I've got some other more pressing questions: where will they be in 2062? Will they be hiding out, alone, in bedsits? Scared to come out in a world they still don't really understand and that definitely doesn't understand them? Will they be shunned by society? These are not crazy worries. This is the world many adult autists live in now, and unless some pretty hefty changes take place in the next fifty years, it's not going to be any different for our kids. And, let's face it, in fifty years' time, we might no longer be around to help them.

Stephen said...
And so, I slip on my time-visor helmet, and prepare to reveal to you the FUTURE! Or FUTURES! as the case may be: The time-visor vibrates, and images start to appear – images of world both familiar and strange. I slip through the time-stream, selecting a moment, a point, a possible future. I close my eyes. And open them again.

Trevor said...
Dear Dad,
I hope in some form you can get this letter. It’s been 20 odd years since your passing. With this new wormhole thing Perry(my husband, who your future self didn’t like until he gave you a grandson) is working on, I think this will show up on your computer in time. Here’s hoping. Otherwise, I’ll leave it with your cryo-account, and you might get it when you wake up, if ever.

Karen said...
So what do I think will actually be around in 2062? I expect that the easy stuff - better, smaller, faster tech toys, solar power and other alternative energy sources, etc. will all continue to be designed, refined and readily available. The energy thing has been on America's and the world's back burner far too long, and I believe that will start to change in light of the Deepwater Horizon disaster, President Obama's priorities and other factors. The other, fun stuff, the flying cars, personal robots and so on, will depend on what's possible, cost effective and provides a benefit that people want. Is a humanoid robot better than a Roomba? Would flying cars scooting around the sky have even more accidents than cars on clearly-defined, well-marked roads? Probably, unless you got really clever with programming them. Maybe monorails for distance and slidewalks or People Movers for short hops will be more practical, but I suspect people will always want the autonomy of their own individual vehicle whenever possible.

Wow, you folks really came through on this one, with some truly outstanding entries. I'm seriously impressed! But can you set the timer on your DVR? ;)

Karen