Wednesday, August 25, 2010

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

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Weekend Assignment #332: Back To School



Weekend Assignment #332: Back To School

In just a couple weeks, students will be heading back to school. Share with us what that means in your life. Are you currently shopping for school supplies for the students in your life? Are you planning on going back to school? Maybe everyone around you is rushing to get ready for the new school year, but you can sit back and relax. Tell us what that's like.

Extra Credit: Tell us what you liked the most and disliked the most about the first day of school!

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.

Here are the results for last week's assignment #331: Cake v Pie 08/12/10

Let's Eat Pie...

Kaitlyn

Let Them Eat Cake...

Mike

Florinda

Stephen

Carly, hey, that's me! :)

Karen

I don't usually quote you guys when I provide your links, but this week I really enjoyed something Stephen said, mostly because I agree with him completely! So, in breaking with my usual style, here is the quote of the week!

"(Thinking outside the box, though, I go with brownies and cookies. So there :P You can’t beat the warm, fresh-baked gooeyness of brownies and cookies.)"

-Stephen

Yep! :)

-Carly

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Weekend Assignment #331: Cake v Pie ( Scalzi Flashback)



Weekend Assignment #331: Cake V. Pie (A Scalzi Flashback) NOW CLOSED!

Which is better -- cake or pie? Explain your reasoning. Will you choose the moist sponginess and frosting-topped goodness of cake? Or will you side with those flaky crust-adoring, fruit-filling fanatics of the pie nation? You must choose one -- and only one! No trying to suggest that Boston Creme Pie is really kind of like a cake, or how cheesecake is actually not unlike a pie. Take a stand! Be true to your pastry orientation!

Extra Credit: Having chosen cake or pie, now admit your favorite variety of the dessert you did not choose. So if you chose cake, tell us your favorite pie. Prefer pie? Tell us your favorite cake. - J.S.


Originally assigned by John Scalzi, of the blog, By The Way, August 12th 2005

**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.

Here are the responses for last week's Weekend Assignment #330: Op-Ed 08/05/10

Stephen

Karen

(1) and (2)

Thank you Stephen and Karen for your responses this week. I appreciate it a lot. Okay, on to our next assignment! See you all next week!

:)

-Carly

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Weekend Assignment #330: Op-Ed



Weekend Assignment #330: Op-Ed NOW CLOSED!

Time to flex your writing muscle again, because for this week only, the Weekend Assignment blog is being changed to The Weekend Assignment Chronicle! Now, we need some Op-Eds to make things a little more interesting around here. Your assignment is to pick a current event and write your opinion regarding it. Anything goes. Write about politics, the economy, or maybe even your opinion about an incident in pop culture. It's all good. It's good to exchange opinions, especially when it's done with respect. So, feel free to speak up here!

Extra Credit: Do you read the Op-Eds? Yes? No? Tell us about it!

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.

Here are the results of last week's Weekend Assignment #329: Lost and Found

(Brought to you by Karen)

Anne

Stephen

Kaitlyn

Sandrine

Karen

Thank you so much for your continued participation! Karen and I appreciate a lot. I will be looking forward to your responses this week. You have really come through with some impressive approaches to the assignments so far, and I just know this week will be no exception! See you next Wednesday everyone!

:)

-Carly

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