Monday, April 7, 2008

Surfing the Blogosphere

Casting the net further and further out there into the blogging world, I see that it would be very easy to spend every waking hour reading blogs, getting inspired, and responding to posts. MM turned me on to Senior Memoirs and I'm savoring the entries slowly, like a box of Godiva chocolates. Marlys Marshall Stynes's entry from 4/6/08 sounded fun so I'm going to participate right here and now in the "One Word Challenge" (she changed it to one word or phrase) to a series of common questions.

I believe our answers "tell" as my freshman English professor at Cornell, Scott Elledge, always said. Of course, he received his enlightenment from none other than E.B. White who wrote The Elements of Style and preached the following wonderful advice.....

"17. Omit needless words.

Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. This requires not that the writer make all sentences short, or avoid all detail and treat subjects only in outline, but that every word tell."

(from The Elements of Style by Strunk and White)


The Writing Challenge requests answers to the following prompts:
And here are mine.....

You're feeling: uncertain

On your mind: my parents

What you ate last night: penne with spicy sausage (delicious)

You Sometimes Find it Hard To: gain perspective

The Weather: cloudy and cool.

Something You Have a Collection of: miniature tea sets

A Smell that Cheers You Up: hot-from-the-oven cookies

A Smell that Can Ruin Your Mood: cat shit

How Long Since You Last Shaved: none of ur business (face or legs?)

Your Hair Right Now: like Don King's

The Largest Item on Your Work Space Right Now (besides computer): bowl of Easter candy

Your Skill with Chopsticks: sux

Which Section You Head to First in the Bookstore: new paperback fiction

After That?: spirituality

Something You're Craving: an end to insomnia

Your General Thoughts on the Presidential Race: scary, exciting

How Many Times you've been hospitalized this year: none (day surgery doesn't count)

A Favorite Place to Go for a Quiet Time: Tully's in Magnolia

You've Always Secretly Thought You'd be a Good: urologist

Something that Freaks You Out a Little: (a little is what's getting me)....my gas fireplace

Something You've Eaten too Much of Lately: cookies

You Have Never: been to India

Never Want To: skydive

To all; have a good day and if you have a chance, surf the blogosphere and stay ahead of that pesky wave.

1 comment:

  1. I laughed and nodded in agreement to your answers! I have been eating too much ice cream - but I'm sure if I had cookies in the house - they wouldn't last long... I keep hearing about your insomnia, I take ambien every night - we should talk...I just started the sleep clinic at Swedish.

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