Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Yes. You ARE seeing that.

Mmm hmm. Temperatures in the thirties and nineties in the same week.
And no one thinks it's weird.

Monday, March 21, 2011

Mary Oliver! Mary Oliver! MARY-PULITZER-PRIZE-OLIVER!!!

Remember a little over a year ago, when I wrote that I was ROBBED because I didn't know about the poet Mary Oliver until I was 46 years old? An ENGLISH major, for cryin' out loud, who didn't know about Mary Oliver? (Note to self: Ask ACU for a partial refund.)
http://corpuskristy.blogspot.com/2010/03/robbed.html

Well, anyway, the EXTREMELY PRIVATE Mary Oliver opens up to Maria Shriver in this month's O: The Oprah Magazine. (Side note: I have never seen Oprah's tv show. Never. Not even once. Rest assured...I am NOT from the Cult of O.) :-)
http://www.oprah.com/entertainment/Maria-Shriver-Interviews-Poet-Mary-Oliver

That's all. Less important things than poetry...like the details of my life and stuff...can wait until later.

Poetry comes FIRST.


UPDATE: For a behind-the-scenes look at the Shriver/Oliver interview, visit:
http://www.oprah.com/spirit/Maria-Shriver-Interview-Poet-Mary-Oliver-O-Magazine-Poetry-Issue

Sunday, March 06, 2011

Didja' miss the Sunday Puzzle?

I may not have time to blog recent fun adventures (school, work, taking care of Philip after he had a little outpatient surgery on President's Day, feeding cattle on his farm, taking pics of Julie in the park, etc.), but I *make* time to type up the NPR puzzle with Will Shortz once a month. 

Today it was my turn so stretch your brain below!

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

Synopsis of
NPR Weekend Edition puzzle
Lynn Neary and Will Shortz
2011-03-06
 
 
The Current Challenge (given 20110227):
From Merl Reagle: Take a common girl's name that's six letters long. Change the fourth letter to the next letter in the alphabet to get another common girl's name. What names are these? 
 
 
The answers were MARSHA and MARTHA. Lynn said "You know, that seems simple when you see it--like you would get it right away...but I doubt I would have if I had tried. But we DID receive more than 1,400 entries this week." 
 
 
The on-air player today, randomly drawn from those sending in the correct answer, was John LePeau, a retired computer programmer, from Iowa City, Iowa. John says it took 10-15 minutes to solve the puzzle. He found a list of women's names, limited them to 6-letter names, and eventually found MARSHA and MARTHA. Mr. LePeau has been playing since the postcard days; he is a member of Iowa Public Radio and listens to WSEY and KSEY.
 
 
Will invited John and Lynn to play a game where they would put on HATS. Every answer is a familiar two-word phrase, in which the first word starts with HA, and the second word starts with T. For example, if Will gave the clue "a brand of tanning lotion," the answer would be HAWAIIAN TROPIC
 
 
CLUES (hints below clues; answers at the end of this synopsis):
 
 
1.   The President who said, "The buck stops here."
 
 
2.  It may hang over a rod, next to a sink
 
 
3.  Skimpy article of apparel for women
 
 
4.  Part of a mountain road where it doubles back on itself
 
 
5.  Olympic event that involves a 16-pound metal ball attached to a wire 
 
 
6.  To perform a difficult surfing maneuver 
 
 
7.  Traditional luxury wool cloth for sports jackets 
 
 
8.  Period in autumn when crops are brought in 
 
 
9.  If you constantly razz somebody, you're giving them a what? 
 
 
10. Theme song for Roy Rogers & Dale Evans 
 
 
11. Statement that isn't a lie, but also doesn't tell the whole story 
 
 
12. Responding to the slightest provocation, as a temper 
 
 
13. G.I. Joe, Mr. Potato Head, and Lincoln Logs
 
 
14.. Female Abolitionist who helped run the Underground Railroad
 
  
HINTS:
 
3. "It would be worn above the waist."   
"The T is--what's the opposite of BOTTOM?"   
"Lynn, I'm guessing you're not wearing this now."
 
 
7. Nice material for a man's sports jacket
 
 
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
 
The listener challenge for next week:
Think of a two-word phrase that means a time long ago. Move the third, fourth and fifth letters to the end of the phrase, without rearranging those three letters, to get a new two-word phrase that means the beginning. What phrases are these?
 
 
 
Answers must be received by 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time on THURSDAY.  One entry per person.
NPR will no longer receive entries by email. 
Be sure to include a telephone number where you can be reached if you are selected as the winner. 
Entries may be made at the web page:
You might also get to this page by going to:
 
 
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
 
Guest editor's notes from Kristy:
 
It's the first Sunday of the month, and that means it's my turn to type up the puzzle synopsis. HOORAY!
 
 
Serendipitous links for today:
 
The Iditarod begins TODAY!
 
Lynn Neary's NPR bio:
 
 
And two stories that have NOTHING to do with Charlie Sheen. (You're welcome!):
 
http://bit.ly/f3rfdf  (Loved the video.)
 
http://abcn.ws/ikmOG9  Super Granny!
 
 
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
 
Editor's notes:
 
Puzzles, and contents of Weekend Edition/Sunday puzzle segment are copyrighted 2010, by Will Shortz and NPR. Reprinted here with permission.
 
Here's our regular monthly puzzle transcription schedule:
1st       Kristy
2nd      Richard
3rd       Joe
4th       Jerry
5th       Richard
 
 
Email us at:
Kristy Fowler gmail.com>
Richard Renner igc.org>
Jerry Miller muohio.edu>
Joe Wander gmail.com>
 
 
So email for next week's synopsis goes to Richard Renner at igc.org> .
 
 
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
MAILBAG:
 
If you've been racking your brain this week, trying to solve Jerry's challenge from last week (10 3-letter body parts), you'll be 
glad to read the exchange below.
 
Joe Wander <jdwandersr@gmail.com> Sun, Feb 27, 2011 at 5:42 PM
jaw
eye
ear
arm
leg
toe
lid
pit
lip
rib
gut
lat
abs
maw
acl
tmj
 
***

On Sun, Feb 27, 2011 at 6:16 PM, Jerry Miller <jerry.miller@muohio.edu> wrote:
pit: arm pit
lid: eye lid
gut: hmmmm.... I have never accepted that one
lat: abbreviation
abs: same thing
maw: another word for stomach
acl: acronym
tmj: acronym

I am looking for two others.

:)
- Hide quoted text -

 
***
 
Richard Renner <rrenner@igc.org> Sun, Feb 27, 2011 at 6:21 PM

Reply-To: rrenner@igc.org
To: Kristy Fowler Joe Wander <jdwandersr@gmail.com>
Cc: Jerry Miller <Jerry.Miller@muohio.edu>
Attached are two of my files listing body parts.

Richard Renner
Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto, LLP
3233 P St., NW
Washington, DC  20007
202-342-6980, Ext. 112
202-342-6984 FAX
***
Jerry Miller <jerry.miller@muohio.edu> Sun, Feb 27, 2011 at 6:25 PM

Cc: Kristy Fowler  Joe Wander <jdwandersr@gmail.com>
ok, ok...

I wanted to challenge everyone to think. :)


J
***
 
oe Wander <jdwandersr@gmail.com> Sun, Feb 27, 2011 at 7:02 PM

To: Jerry Miller <jerry.miller@muohio.edu>
Cc: Kristy Fowler
Nothing like a rock drill (remember the story about the 'tis bottle?"

How about hip and gum, on the assumption that bum and ass are too colloquial? joe
***
 
Jerry Miller <jerry.miller@muohio.edu> Sun, Feb 27, 2011 at 7:25 PM
To: Joe Wander <jdwandersr@gmail.com>
You got them!

Jerry Miller

Sent from my Sprint HTC EVO.
 
***And for the complete list in one place--here's what Jerry emailed after the synopsis last Sunday morning!***
 
 
Jerry Miller <jerry.miller@muohio.edu> Sun, Feb 27, 2011 at 9:18 AM
To: Kristy Fowler
Kristy,

Here are the answers for the puzzle I gave at the end of the synopsis:

The five easier ones:
1. arm
2. ear
3. eye
4. leg
5. toe

The five more difficult ones:
1. gum
2. hip
3. jaw
4. lip
5. rib (internal)


Jerry
  ***
 
Huzzah for MAIL!
 
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
 
Our group of volunteer co-editors distributes these free weekly synopses of the NPR puzzle segment.  You can read more about this free distribution at:
You can subscribe from this page, too.
 
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to:
 
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If you want to remove your address from the former Topica list, send a blank email from your account to:
 
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or, for more information about the Topica mailing service, visit:
 
NPR posts the weekly challenge (and the previous answer) on its World Wide Web page.  Go to www.npr.org, and "select" Weekend Edition Sunday from the drop-down combo box to the right of the big npr in the top left corner.  You can also pick up a recording of Weekend Edition Sunday program in the Real Audio format, after 1:00 p.m. Eastern time each Sunday.  In the alternative, for the text of the weekly listener challenge and a photo of Will, you can go directly to: 
Podcasts are available at:
 
From:
How do I subscribe to this podcast?
Copy the URL [above this paragraph] into your preferred podcasting tool software (e.g. Odeo, iTunes, iPodder).
You will automatically receive this podcast each time it's published.
 
Follow Liane on Twitter: http://twitter.com/nprLiane
 
Links of interest:
Merl Reagle’s article on constructing crossword puzzles, available at:
World Puzzle Federation:
More of Ed Pegg Jr.'s puzzles are available at:
Joe Wander suggests:
You can join Kathie Schneider's email list for accessible word and logic puzzles. To subscribe, send a blank email to:
For Team USA of the World Puzzle Federation:
 
 
 
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
 
CLUES & ANSWERS:
 
 
 
1.   The President who said, "The buck stops here."   HARRY TRUMAN
 
 
2.  It may hang over a rod, next to a sink  HAND TOWEL
 
 
3.  Skimpy article of apparel for women   HALTER TOP
 
 
4.  Part of a mountain road where it doubles back on itself   HAIRPIN TURN
 
 
5.  Olympic event that involves a 16-pound metal ball attached to a wire HAMMER THROW
 
 
6.  To perform a difficult surfing maneuver   HANG TEN
 
 
7.  Traditional luxury wool cloth for sports jackets   HARRIS TWEED
 
 
8.  Period in autumn when crops are brought in   HARVEST TIME
 
 
9.  If you constantly razz somebody, you're giving them a what?   HARD TIME
 
 
10. Theme song for Roy Rogers & Dale Evans  "HAPPY TRAILS"
 
 
11. Statement that isn't a lie, but also doesn't tell the whole story   HALF-TRUTH
 
 
12. Responding to the slightest provocation, as a temper   HAIR TRIGGER
 
 
13. G.I. Joe, Mr. Potato Head, and Lincoln Logs  HASBRO TOYS
 
 
14.. Female Abolitionist who helped run the Underground Railroad  HARRIET TUBMAN
 
 
 
 
End of NPR Puzzle Synopsis.
 
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Happy Puzzling! Don't forget to submit your answer before Thursday so YOU can play the puzzle on the air with my next ex-husband, Will Shortz!