Tuesday, April 19, 2011

The conference was great, but...

...the weekend with Philip, Angela, Troy, Falisha, and Bethany was even better. Photos and story to come as soon as life settles down a bit.

This clever Passover video was featured on a friend's blog (thanks, Heather).

Friday, April 08, 2011

Wednesday, April 06, 2011

This is what happens...

...when i go to the store without a list.


I went to HEB for milk. Milk. One item. (I left with wine, flowers, jalapeno chips, habanero cheese, and a bunch of other stuff...)

The same thing happened two Saturdays ago when I went to Hastings for Where the Wild Things Are for Colten's birthday. After buying him the book and a Matchbox kit of vehicles (with a farm theme! how cool is that?!),  the sale racks sang their siren song, and I left with:

Audiobooks!
 *3 for $2.99 each from the clearance rack (Angels in the Gloom, No Graves As Yet, and Kay Bailey Hutchison's Leading Ladies)

Books!
*Revenge of the Paste Eaters: Memoirs of a Misfit
*Sleeping Arrangements
*a biography of Thomas Merton
*Shaggy Muses: The Dogs Who Inspired Virginia Woolf, Emily Dickinson, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Edith Wharton, and Emily Bronte
*The Wind in the Willows

DVDs!
*Zombieland
*Willow
*SNL: The Best of Jimmy Fallon
*Bandits
*Jim Carrey's A Christmas Carol
and
*Date Night

I don't have a smart phone so there was no checking of reviews. Who knows if they're any good? (So far, I *hate* Angels in the Gloom...bleah! And it's NOT the narrator I despise. What's up with all the EMOTION that is painstakingly, excruciatingly explained to the reader? Seriously! Just make the dialogue convincing, make your characters layered and genuine...and let the reader sort it out for herself). 

It's not very often I quit an audiobook, but this one's fixin' to get the boot if it doesn't improve pronto! 

Hopeful that the rest will be winners,
Kristy


 

Monday, April 04, 2011

Puzzle people!

Didja' miss the NPR puzzle yesterday? Need your Will Shortz fix? Read on, puzzle enthusiasts, because it was my week to transcribe the puzzle. :-)

********

Synopsis of
NPR Weekend Edition puzzle
David Greene and Will Shortz

2011-04-03



The Current Challenge (given 20110327):


http://www.npr.org/2011/03/27/134888910/a-step-in-the-right-direction
From puzzle writer Francis Heaney: Take the word "calm" and flip the letters A and L to get "clam." Take the last name of a film director known for using profanity, and flip two pairs of letters in place to get a word used as a substitute for profanity. Who's the director, and what's the word?


The answers were TARANTINO and TARNATION. David played a brief clip from a Tarantino movie (the famous "Royale with cheese" conversation) and asked Will if he could name the movie. Will could not come up with the title _Pulp Fiction_ and confessed he was not a fan of profanity.


The on-air players today, randomly drawn from more than 2,500 correct answers, were Jaxon and Arlene Teck of Rockaway, New Jersey. David asked this "package deal" what they did for living; Arlene replied that she writes brand names for pharmaceutical products, and Jaxon is a logistics planner. They've been playing since the postcard days. Jaxon confessed that "it's primarily Arlene who does the submitting...I just sort of watch as it goes by." David joked that Arlene does "the heavy lifting," and Jaxon agreed. Jaxon & Arlene listen to NPR on member station WNYC (FM 93.9).


Will welcomed Arlene and Jaxon, saying that today's challenge "is a good puzzle for two people." Every answer today was a familiar proverb or saying containing a word that starts with the letter T. Will gave David, Arlene, and Jaxon the T word, and they were to come up with the saying. (Some of the words had multiple correct proverbs/sayings, but Will assured them that any familiar answer "would be counted correct.") For example, if Will said TRY, the answer might be a saying like "If at first you don't succeed--try, try again."


CLUES (hints below clues; answers at the end of this synopsis):




1. THOUSAND




2. THROW




3. TURN

 4. TREAD






5. TALES




6. TWICE




7. TIME




8. THINK






HINTS:

2. The first word is "people."



3. Will said, "It's got to be a proverb or saying, though, rather than just an expression."




4. Will's answer starts with "fools."

 6. There are several possibilities, but one of them starts with the word "measure."




8. Will says, "This is so appropriate for today. Your first word is 'great.' "




* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
The listener challenge for next week:


From http://www.npr.org/2011/04/03/135076213/try-one-on-for-size :


Assign every letter of the alphabet a numerical value: A=1, B=2, C=3 and so forth. Think of a classic work of literature that has eight letters in its title. When the letters are given a numerical value, they add up to 35. What's the title? Clue: The title has two words.




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:


http://www.npr.org/templates/contact/index.php?columnId=4473090


You might also get to this page by going to:


http://npr.org/puzzle


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


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:



David Greene's NPR biography page:


http://www.npr.org/people/4510160/david-greene




The Japan/Haiti photojournalism project from today's _Weekend Edition Sunday_ (audio available after 12 p.m. Eastern):


http://n.pr/fzPqT2

 ONLY for fans of Rebecca Black or Stephen Colbert:


http://n.pr/i8OkRh






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


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








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


MAILBAG:





No 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:


http://groups.google.com/group/nprpuzzle/topics


You can subscribe from this page, too.






To unsubscribe from this group, send email to:


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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:


http://www.npr.org/programs/wesun/puzzle/


Podcasts are available at:


http://www.npr.org/podcasts/










From:


http://www.npr.org/rss/podcast.php?id=4473090&uid=3ba205bf25adca5af473ab1102e03b75


How do I subscribe to this podcast?


Copy the URL [above this paragraph] into your preferred podcasting tool software (e.g. Odeo, iTunes, iPodder).


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Follow Liane on Twitter: http://twitter.com/nprLiane






Links of interest:


Merl Reagle’s article on constructing crossword puzzles, available at:


http://www.crosswordtournament.com/articles/inq031697.htm


World Puzzle Federation:


http://www.worldpuzzle.org


More of Ed Pegg Jr.'s puzzles are available at:


http://www.mathpuzzle.com


Joe Wander suggests:


http://www.wordsmith.org/awad


You can join Kathie Schneider's email list for accessible word and logic puzzles. To subscribe, send a blank email to:


blind-puzzle-@googlegroups.com


For Team USA of the World Puzzle Federation:


http://wpc.puzzles.com/














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






CLUES & ANSWERS:














1. THOUSAND


("A picture is worth a thousand words.")










2. THROW


("People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.")










3. TURN


("One good turn deserves another.")










4. TREAD


(Will's answer: "Fools rush in where angels fear to tread." Jaxon's answer: "Tread softly, but carry a big stick.")










5. TALES


("Dead men tell no tales.")










6. TWICE


("Measure twice; cut once." "Once bitten, twice shy." "Lightning never strikes twice in the same spot." "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.")










7. TIME


("A stitch in time saves nine." "Time will tell." "Time heals all wounds.")










8. THINK


("Great minds think alike.")














End of NPR Puzzle Synopsis.