T13 (11/∞): 200 BlogExplosion Credits

Thirteen Items Scavenger Hunt

Welcome to my 11^th T13 (that's Thursday Thirteen)!

Please use my "Mr. Linky" to leave a link back to your site (more traffic!)

This week I'm asking you to join in for a scavenger hunt!

I am giving gave away 200 BlogExplosion credits to the first person who submits a comment that provides the answers to all of the thirteen questions below. [And congrats to our winner: ers35 from Visual Guides] All the answers are based on the state of the blog at the time of this posting, and these answers can be found anywhere on this blog, which includes everything about me that hosted on Blogger.

Regarding the comments:

• Posts with PARTIAL answers will NOT be published until someone wins the credits!
• You do not have to answer the questions to leave a comment; comments with no answers will be published as soon as I can approve them!

1. Countries: What country did I live in before Germany?
2. Son: What is my son's name?
3. China: If I had to dig a hole to China, where would I start?
4. Favorite Short Story: What is the name one of the two short stories that just might be my favorite?
5. Favorite Book: What is my #1 favorite book of all time?
6. Books Rated 10: Name all the books I've rated 10.
7. Last Book Reviewed: For which book have I last posted a review?
8. "My Other Web Site": What is the name of "my other web site"?
9. Thursday Thirteen: On what date did I publish my first Thursday Thirteen post?
10. Post Formatting: What is the last item in each of my posts (even after the labels)?
11. My Handle: Under which alias did I begin my blogging?
12. School: Where am I currently enrolled?
13. Blogging History: What is the date of my very first post?
    
    
    
    

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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Matière du jour:
Blood
(Category: Science)

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T13 (10/∞): Some Of My Favorite Short Stories

Thirteen Of My Favorite Short Stories

Welcome to my 10^th T13 (that's Thursday Thirteen)!

Please use my "Mr. Linky" to leave a link back to your site (more traffic!)

This week I'm listing thirteen of my favorite short stories:

1. Happy Ending by Henry Kuttner
   This is a neat little science fiction story that I've loved forever!
2. Fat Farm by Orson Scott Card
   This is one of Uncle Orson's science fiction/horror stories that I found very enjoyable.
3. All You Zombies— by Robert A. Heinlein
   This one is possibly my all time favorite science fiction short story!
4. Light of Other Days by Bob Shaw
   But then again, perhaps this story is my favorite science fiction short story; it's one of these two, for sure!
5. Nightfall by Isaac Asimov
   The Grand Master of the science fiction short story has to be on the list—and he is (twice!)
6. The Raft by Stephen King
   This horror story is, without a doubt, the one that freaked me out the most by any author—it just figures that that author is King!
7. Star, Bright by Mark Clifton
   Every parent wants a gifted child, right? Right? Hrmm. This is a great story, not quite science fiction, not quite fantasy per se, but definitely a story that has stayed with me forever, too!
8. Sandkings by George R. R. Martin
   It's been forever since I read this science fiction story, but I clearly remember how wowed I was by it.
9. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty by James Thurber
   This story needs no introduction I believe, and if you need do need the introduction than you need it in the first person! Get ahold of this story immediately and read it!
10. It's Such a Beautiful Day by Isaac Asimov
    The Grand Master of science fiction strikes again in another memorable story.
11. The Lottery by Shirley Jackson
    Another story that needs no introduction, you either already know it or you need read it!
12. The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien
    I tend, as I suspect most American men who turned 18 just after the Viet Nam war ended, to find anything about that war far from enjoyable, and tend to hide from it when I'm confronted with it. This story, right from the war itself from a man who lived it, is an amazing feat of storytelling that anyone who considers themself a reader (or wannabe writer) must read!
13. Plains of Abraham by Russell Banks
    This is one of those stories that I read, somewhat enjoyed, and then checked the book back into the library. Months later, still frequently thinking about that story I read a while back, oh, what was it called I had to begin an intensive search for the book I'd seen it in—and without recollection of the story's title, author's name, or what book I'd seen it in! And I succeeded anyway. Don't make the mistake I made. Remember the story's title and the author's name! This is a story that will keep coming back to you!

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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Matière du jour:
Sleep
(Category: Science)

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T13 (9/∞): Thirteen Books

Thirteen Books With Thirteen In The Title Welcome to my 9th T13 (that's Thursday Thirteen)! Please use my "Mr. Linky" to leave a link back to your site (more traffic!) This week I've decided to follow up on last week's theme—if you recall, last week I found 13 books with the word Thursday in the title. This week I found 13 books with the word Thirteen in the title:

Thirteen by Richard K. Morgan Lean Mean Thirteen by Janet Evanovich Thirteen Moons by Charles Frazier Thirteen Days: A Memoir of the Cuban Missile Crisis by Robert F. Kennedy and Arthur Schlesinger Jr. Thirteen Petalled Rose: A Discourse on the Essence of Jewish Existence And Belief by Adin Steinsaltz Thirteen Moons on Turtle's Back by Joseph Bruchac The Thirteen-gun Salute by Patrick O'Brian Thirteen Senses: A Memoir by Victor Villaseñor Thirteen Steps Down by Ruth Rendell LUCKY THIRTEEN: D-Days in the Pacific with the U.S. Coast Guard in World War II by Ken Wiley Thirteen Ways of Looking at the Novel by Jane Smiley Thirteen White Roses: A Biography by Janie Carol Worley Thirteen At Dinner by Agatha Christie

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants View the Thursday Thirteen Blogroll

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Matière du jour:
Circadian Rhythms
(Category: Science)

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T13 (8/∞): "Thursday" Books

Thirteen Books With Thursday In The Title Welcome to my 8th T13 (that's Thursday Thirteen)! Please use my "Mr. Linky" to leave a link back to your site (more traffic!) This week I've decided to go a bit strange on you—I found 13 books with the word Thursday in the title:

The Man Who Was Thursday by G. K. Chesterton Sir Thursday (The Keys To The Kingdom, Book 4) by Garth Nix Sweet Thursday by John Steinbeck Thursday Next: First Among Sequels (A Thursday Next Novel) by Jasper Fforde Thursdays At Eight by Debbie Macomber Every Other Thursday: Stories and Strategies from Successful Women Scientists by Ellen Daniell Thanksgiving on Thursday (Magic Tree House #27) by Mary Pope Osborne Gettin' Through Thursday by Melrose Cooper Make Four Million Dollars by Next Thursday by Stephen Manes Thursday's Child by Noel Streatfeild Theft on Thursday (Lois Meade Mysteries) by Ann Purser Bright and Early Thursday Evening: A Tangled Tale by Audrey Wood and Don Wood The Thursday Club by Lee Martin

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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Matière du jour:
Electromagnetic Spectrum
(Category: Science)

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T13 (7/∞): Movie Songs

Thirteen Songs That Will Forever Be Associate Specific Movies Welcome to my 7th T13 (that's Thursday Thirteen)! Please use my "Mr. Linky" to leave a link back to your site (more traffic!) Let's face it: there are certain songs—you know the ones—you hear them and you can't help it, you are thinking of that specific movie! Well, here are thirteen that will always remind me of a certain movie. I'd make this a contest, but most are way too easy! Instead, when you leave a comment (and please do!), why don't you share your favorite quote(s) from these movies. Oh, and if you don't know the movie the song is from, just put your mouse pointer over the song title to see the movie's title:

13. Old Time Rock And Roll 12. As Time Goes By 11. The Power Of Love 10. Raindrops Keep Fallin On My Head  9. Day-O  8. Twist and Shout  7. Don't You (Forget About Me)  6. Sh-Boom  5. Do Wah Diddy Diddy  4. Iris  3. I Say A Little Prayer  2. Mrs. Robinson  1. Over The Rainbow

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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Matière du jour:
Stem Cells
(Category: Science)

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T13 (6/∞): Places I've Lived

Thirteen Places I've Lived Welcome to my 6th T13 (that's Thursday Thirteen)! Please use my "Mr. Linky" to leave a link back to your site (more traffic!) Here is a list of the eleven U.S. states and two countries outside the U.S. I've lived in (my parents moved around a lot when I was very young):

New York (1956-1957, 1958-1962): I was born on Long Island and we lived on Long Island whenever we lived in NY; my earliest memories are of NY Massechusets (1957-1958): Taunton, MA is where I took my first step; Dad had stood me up against the side of the house to take my picture and I took a step toward him to grab the camera, so he took the picture right away Connecticut (1958): a place for which I have no memories Rhode Island (1958): yet another place for which I have no memories New Hampshire (1962-1963, 1963-1975): though I haven't set foot in the state since 1982, this is the state I think of as home (or it was until I got married and moved to Minnesota) Maine (1963): I have a few memories of living in Maine, but they truly are few and even more vague than they are few Texas (1975): As with all USAF Airmen, I went through basic training at Lackland AFB (that's Air Force Base to you civilians) in San Antonio Mississippi (1975-1976): After basic training, I got my technical training as a Telecommunications Specialist at Keesler AFB in Biloxi Turkey (1976-1977): I spent my first year after "Tech School" in Turkey Germany (1977-1979): I spent two great years near Kaiserslautern Maryland (1979-1981): the last two years of my six year commitment I spent at Andrews AFB—home of Air Force One Virginia (1981-1995): upon my discharge I took a job working in Virginia Minnesota (1995-): after getting married, we fled the D.C. area—well, I fled (Julie just came with)—and settled in this house in Eagan in August 1995

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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Matière du jour:
Reproduction
(Category: Science)

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T13 (5/∞): Keeping Riley Busy This Summer

Thirteen Ideas for Keeping Riley Busy This Summer Welcome to my 5th T13 (that's Thursday Thirteen)! Please use my "Mr. Linky" to leave a link back to your site (more traffic!) School's out for Riley for the summer, but not for me. Here are thirteen things we've got planned to keep him occupied this summer:

Vacation Church School mornings, Jun 11-Jun 15 Sports Mania Camp afternoons, Jun 11-Jun 15 at Life Time Fitness Swimming Lessons mornings for 30 minutes, Jun 25-Jul 6, at Life Time Fitness Visit cousins whenever Extreme LEGOS and MatheMagic mornings, Jul 16-Jul 20 Go For The Gold "Super Summer Camp" all day, Jul 23-27 at Life Time Fitness Go to the Minnesota Zoo whenever Go to the Park whenever Visit friends whenever Minnesota State Fair sometime during August 23rd to September 3rd Go to The Blast on one or more rainy days Go to the Minnesota Children's Museum whenever Go to the Science Museum of Minnesota whenever Fortunately for moi, number 6 on the list—the all day camp at Life Time Fitness—takes place during the last week of my "semester long" class they've managed to cram into eight weeks.

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen ParticipantsView the Thursday Thirteen Blogroll

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Ooopps! Forgot already!
Matière du jour:
Cognitive Dissonance
(Category: Science)

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Thursday Thirteen (4/∞)—TV Show Edition

Thirteen Television Shows I Will Always Love In no particular order, here they are:

Star Trek: The Next Generation Joan Of Arcadia West Wing Studio Sixty On The Sunset Strip Two And A Half Men Six Feet Under Monk Brothers & Sisters House The Class Friends Numb3rs Star Trek

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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Thursday Thirteen (3 of ∞)

Thirteen Of My Favorite Fictional Characters This week I present 13 of my favorite fictional characters:

Ender Wiggin (Ender's Game, Speaker for the Dead) Hercule Poirot (Murder on the Orient Express) Billy Pilgrim (Slaughterhouse-Five) Shalmanezer (Stand on Zanzibar) Capt. John Yossarian (Catch-22) Sherlock Holmes (A Study in Scarlet, The Hound of the Baskervilles) Christopher Boone (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime) Lazarus Long (Time Enough for Love) Jubal Harshaw (Stranger in a Strange Land) Atticus Finch (To Kill a Mockingbird) Eeyore (Winnie the Pooh) Frodo Baggins (The Lord of the Rings) Myron Bolitar (Deal Breaker, Drop Shot, Promise Me)

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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Comment Friday: 5/∞ (Read About My Contest)

It is Comment Friday here at Love All Books and at BAYB (where I grabbed the idea from initially).

So, on that note, as long as you're here . . .

Please post a comment while you're visiting and tell me what you're up to. Tell me what you're reading and what you think about it!

Before I forget: I decided to make this week's Thursday Thirteen into A CONTEST.

I'm still reading How to Read Literature Like a Professor: A Lively and Entertaining Guide to Reading Between the Lines by Thomas C. Foster and I'm still reading A Spot of Bother by Mark Haddon—which I've almost finished—and will have a review up soon.

Have a great Friday.

Oh, and head over to BAYB and leave a comment there!

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Thursday Thirteen (2 of ∞)

OK! I hope I'm not violating anybody's TOS, but I've decided to make this into A CONTEST:

I will transfer fifty BlogExplosion credits to the first BlogExplosion member (follow the link to BlogExplosion to sign up now) that:

1. leaves a comment to this post
2. that correctly names all the movies where I got these quotes

To keep it fair, I will not publish comments that contain the names of the movies until I have a winner or until next Wednesday afternoon (U.S. central time); I'll still link to you though.

As soon as I have a winner, I'll post that information. I'll post the full list of the movies next Wednesday.

Thirteen Things Of My Favorite Movie Lines I love movies, and I love quoting the best lines from them. Here are my favorites (can you name the movies that these lines are from?):

As you wish. Your reality, sir, is lies and balderdash and I'm delighted to say that I have no grasp of it whatsoever. When some wild-eyed, eight-foot-tall maniac grabs your neck, taps the back of your favorite head up against the barroom wall, looks you crooked in the eye and asks you if ya paid your dues, you just stare that big sucker right back in the eye, and you remember what ol' Jack Burton always says at a time like that: "Have ya paid your dues, Jack?" "Yessir, the check is in the mail." So you're my Uncle Joey. Better get used to these bars, kid. Five is right out. What Jefferson was saying was, Hey! You know, we left this England place 'cause it was bogus; so if we don't get some cool rules ourselves - pronto - we'll just be bogus too! Get it? A man with priorities so far out of whack doesn't deserve such a fine automobile. Does Barry Manilow know that you raid his wardrobe? See if you can guess what I am now. We're on a mission from God. Oh, Abigail, Abigail, I have such a desire to knock heads together! Alligators in the sewers. That's the bedroom, but nothing ever happened in there.

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here! The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted! View More Thursday Thirteen Participants Amy’s Blah, Blah, Blogging West of Mars Going Crazy Slowly Jen's Horde You are next!

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Thursday Thirteen blogroll

Here is a very long post (it's the Thursday Thirteen blogroll):

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Thursday Thirteen (1 of ∞)

Thirteen Things Books Read By The Neighborhood Wives Book Club For a while now I've been thinking I should get involved in some memes—I started doing a Comment Friday a few weeks back—and I think Thursday Thirteen is another one that I can handle weekly, so I'm gonna give it a try. Since I'd like this to be, first and foremost, a book talk blog, here are thirteen books—in somewhat chronological order—read by the "neighborhood wives book club" that Julie has time to make it to some months (the books I've read, as a direct result of her participation there, are in bold): Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs. I'm amazed that this book, a memoir, was ever written (a phrase which here means: "I'm sorta amazed Burroughs was still alive to write it!") A very strange book about a very strange childhood in a very strange family. I liked it, if only because it made my family seem somewhat normal by comparison. The Color of Water by James C. McBride. I enjoyed this book (subtitled A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother) even though I'm not black, not jewish, and not so many other things McBride is. In fact, it might be for that very reason that I did enjoy the book. To be honest, it has been a while and I don't recall it as well as I wish. What I do remember is that—as a wannabe writer—I found the following snippet of description worth keeping in my writer's notebook: You could see him coming from a distance, appearing out of nowhere like an angel, his silhouette seeming to rise from the ground in the simmering heat . . . The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. Now here's a book I highly recommend. It reminded me a bit of Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut (so it goes!) Only different. Read them both and decide for yourself. Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man by Fannie Flagg. I don't read all the books they choose for the book club. But there must have been something on the book jacket of this one, or something said at the bus stop when I saw Riley off to school one morning. Or perhaps I had Riley with me at the Library when I picked it up for Julie and (Riley being Riley) he was playing one of the games on the kid's computers there, so I just started reading it while I waited for him. But I did read this one when it really isn't something I would normally have picked for myself. I don't recall it completely, but I do recall enjoying it. Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks. Another book I probably would have avoided for myself (or not—I do have a fascination with history, after all). A book about the plague? Yeah, that sounds like fun. But it was a surprising great book. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon. I have reviewed this book a while back (I rated it a 9), so I'll let that stand for itself. The History of Love by Nicole Krauss. I also reviewed this book a while back also (and, again, rated it a 9). Frangipani by Célestine Hitiura Vaite. The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards. The Red Tent by Anita Diamant. A Widow for One Year by John Irving. Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd. The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold.

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

1. West of Mars
2. Going Crazy Slowly

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