The Bloomsbury Bloggers

Tony's prompt!

2008-08-31T07:37:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone:
I hope, since almost everyone started school this week, that things have been going well. In the spirit of continuing our little project, Tony (who has just recently joined!) submitted a prompt for this week, and it follows. But, before I go, I wanted to submit another call for volunteers for next week's prompt (and the weeks after that). Help us keep the dream alive! :)
Tor

Here's Tony's prompt:

"I was reading The Unbearable Lightness of Being today on my roof. I'm at the end of the book, in Part Seven, Karenin's Smile. The section is ostensibly about the death of Tomas and Tereza's dog, Karenin. Sorry if I ruined the book for you. In any event, Tomas and Tereza are living in the communized countryside of Czechoslovakia, when they find out Karenin has aggressive cancer. He has little time left. When Tereza is asked why Karenin is not with her on her daily walk to the local bakery, she starts to cry. The baker says, "Good heavens! Don't tell me you're going to bawl your head off over a dog!" Kundera goes on to explain that the woman's reaction was that of someone forced by the Communist regime to de-love dogs; animals of all types, really. It's more complicated than that, obviously, but I didn't study literature. Nonetheless, I need to frame my question with this little bit of the story because I want to ask:

Have you ever loved something you felt foolish for loving? That's not the real question, but this passage made me think about burying my dog, and I wanted to write about it. Why was it so traumatic? After all, maybe we're simply the animals' administrators as ordained by God. Maybe we're not, but why can't we simply turn off our impulse to love something: a place, time, or pet, despite our minds' ability to understand the logic behind death and decay? I guess I'm asking people to write about that. Just pick something you had to give up, by choice or by the slow movement of time. That is all."

And he's already posted! You can find Tony's blog on our blogroll - it's called "Morumnida - But I'm Trying".

Geez

2008-08-16T21:58:00.000-07:00

I go on vacay and everything goes to pot. Sorry guys! Here is Lisa's prompt:)

In the last week, the olympics for me have been like watching a train wreck--i just can't pull my eyes away. before the games began i said i wasn't going to watch, but i have inevitably been sucked in and find myself watching every night. are you watching the olympic games? why or why not? do you really believe that we are motivated more by the spirit of competition or is it really more about nationalism (as evidenced by NBC's persistence in showing sports that the USA primarily has an opportunity to medal in) and the perceived competition between USA and China as dominant world powers?

Welcome Lisa!

2008-08-07T19:21:00.000-07:00

Lisa Anderson is joining us! Smooth recruiting, Sanchez! You can find Lisa's blog on the blog roll (entitled "What's Your Explanation?"). She'll also be taking the prompt for the 15th. Anyone interested in the 22nd?

Rachel very kindly supplied us with a prompt for tomorrow, which I will be sure to post tomorrow at some point.

Happy blogging!
tor

Sarah's Prompt

2008-07-31T22:21:00.000-07:00

Here's my suggested prompt for this week:

Stolen from McSweeney's (but not really, because I'm citing my source): Write an open letter to someone or some entity unlikely to respond.

Check the link for examples: http://www.mcsweeneys.net/links/openletters/ (I recommend the open letter to orcas).

(From Toria: Thanks again Sarah! Any takers for next week? Let me know!)

Save the Whales

2008-07-30T19:27:00.000-07:00

...and the bloggers!

We don't have anyone to do a prompt for this Friday. Will someone volunteer? (Imagine I'm making my most pathetic, pitiful, sad face while I'm asking this.)

All I'm Saying

2008-07-25T12:55:00.001-07:00

...is that if Paul doesn't write a post for his own prompt (see below), we are going to be in a big fight.

How do you feel a three-toed box turtle (http://www.tortoisetrust.org/care/ctriungis.html) works best as a metaphor in a film?

Rachel's prompt

2008-07-17T14:04:00.001-07:00

I heard the term "fanboy" frequently last semester and i think, as
funny as it was to single people out, that everybody is a fanboy of
something. So this is your mission, if you dare to expose yourself.
you're a fanboy, admit it, right here and now. You can describe of
what and how and why - or you can be a bit more creative. The choice
is yours.

Peter's Prompt

2008-07-08T16:43:00.000-07:00

Write about the most dangerous place you have been. Feel free to interpret this broadly. For example, this dangerous place may have been a geographic location or maybe it was a state of mind. Or, maybe, it is a place you have never been but one you nevertheless fear.

BIG NEWS!!!

2008-07-08T16:26:00.000-07:00

Paulo Muhlhauser (that's Paul's creepy Man-talian cousin) will also be joining us. He will be providing a prompt the week of...July 25th! Any other newbies looking for a week to prompt? July 18th is open, and then anything after the 25th. Let me know!

rachael! rachael! rachael!

2008-07-06T20:34:00.000-07:00

...has joined us! Joined us! Joined us!

I am a little excited, because I miss her a lot.
Rachael's blog is Corkboard Ponderings (see blog roll).

Also, I just got Peter's prompt for next week, so I will post that soon as well.

Happy blogging!
Tor

Donna's Prompt for July 4th

2008-07-04T10:56:00.000-07:00

"Fireworks".

Larry's Prompt for June 27th

2008-06-27T15:31:00.000-07:00

The prompt is: "delicate"

Go forth and conquer!

Talk to the Hand

2008-06-20T17:23:00.000-07:00

I'm kind of being a fruit loop today, which is too bad...because it's my turn to pick out the prompt!

This week, I think it'd be really cool if we all studied our hands (this was kind of inspired by the wordgrrls, and debbie's conceptual map from 521). Here's a link to an article about palm reading: http://www.wikihow.com/Read-Palms

So, your mission (should you choose to accept it) is to check out the article, and see how your own hands stack up. If you went in to see Mystic Meg, and put your hands on the table, what would she tell you? Are you and your hands living different lives? Feel free to embellish!

OR
(since that's kind of a hippie prompt, I feel compelled to balance it out with something really preppy and materialistic)

You recently learned that a long-lost relative died and named you the sole benefactor. The estate is 50 million dollars, but there's a catch: you have to spend the money on yourself. (We'll just assume you were all planning to channel your inner Mother Theresa and donate it all immediately.) What do you buy?

New Peeps!

2008-06-17T14:59:00.000-07:00

I don't know if everyone saw Donna's comment on the last post, but I just wanted to extend another welcome to our new bloggers! We've recently been joined by Lori (Donna's daughter), Peter Chilson (the man, the myth, the legend), and Sarah Weakley (a former student of Debbie's). The links to their blogs are now on the blogroll (their blogs are Travels in Africa and the American West, You Can Spell Lori Using Broccoli, and Sarah with an Air-Uh, respectively . Welcome to Bloomsbury!

Lauren's Prompt for June 13th

2008-06-13T11:44:00.000-07:00

Prompt taken from http://wordgrrls.blogspot.com/

"You win some money and decide to open a restaurant. Looking at the local phone book, there are already over a hundred restaurants in the area. How will yours be different? What will make people flock to your restaurant?"

Consider the food, decor inside and out (lighting, walkways, carpet and walls, tables and chairs or booths, etc.), the wait staff and cooks, the presentation of the food, the dessert list ... whatever you want!

Ben's Prompt for June 6th

2008-06-06T13:46:00.000-07:00

From Toria: Okay, so I totally forgot all my prompt ideas. So, since Benjamin submitted early, we switched! So I'll take his date, and he's filling the June 6th post. And in my defense, (you'll understand when you read his prompts) I didn't suggest that everyone would object to dirtying themselves, I just mentioned I might be too wussy to crawl around abandoned trains/break the law. But maybe I'll watch a little James Bond and go for the gold anyway.

And now, Ben's prompts:

Okay, because I can’t make up my mind ever, about anything, it seemed appropriate to give you all a choice of prompts. Partially because I couldn’t decide which one I like better, and partially because Toria pointed out that quite possibly some people might not feel like putting legwork into the writing of this post, and while I think it would be great if everyone did, I also don’t want to force you to do so.

So here are your options:

1. A lot of you know that I’m really into urban exploration. So I thought it’d be fun if everybody did a little and wrote about it. The label might make it sound a little intimidating, but you can check out the wikipedia entry on it (which gives a pretty good overview) to see that it’s a pretty flexible label and of course doesn’t necessitate any sneaky behavior or even getting your hands (or pants) dirty. What I’m interested in is the root of urban exploration, which is the desire to see everyday urban buildings, sights, etc. in a new light, specifically as a wilderness. So I guess what I’d suggest for this prompt is to just go out walking and try to find something that appears interesting to you, much like you’d do on a hike or a backpack, just in the city instead (or in the case of Pullman or wherever you are, in town) and then write a bit about it – whether that’s fiction or nonfiction it’s up to you.

2. This one’s a little less physically intensive. Just come up with a mix CD of songs, that for you, relate to a particular place. If you want, you can just list the songs and be done with it. If you’re truly motivated, you can offer some explanation/rationale, or even talk about each track individually.

Prompt for May 30, 2008

2008-05-31T20:58:00.000-07:00

Debbie's prompt (following in Emily's thematic footsteps....)
Marina Warner, who calls herself a mythographer, is one of England’s most well-know writers and public intellectuals. She’s also is an excellent dinner host. A few years ago I came across an article called “Marina Warner’s Dinner For Six” where she imagines a dinner party composed of her favorite people from history: Heloise and Henri Matisse; Ovid and Jose Luis Borges; Franz Fanon and Athanasius Kircher (a 17th-century scientist). Marina recommends “pairing” your dinner guests to create the liveliest mixture, and she explains why these guests in these pairs work for her party. Also present, Rossini as head chef and Colette as sous-chef, and, of course, Marina herself.

Who would you invite to your dinner party, and why?

Check out Marina's website: http://www.marinawarner.com/index.html

Future Members and FYI

2008-05-28T15:27:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!
A couple of people have spoken to me about inviting other people, which I think is fantastic. I don't mean to speak for everyone or anything, but as far as I'm concerned, this project is open to everyone. So, if you know of someone who'd like to be added to the hub list, just send me their blog address and I'll be more than happy to add it.

Also, I just wanted to let everyone know (in case you're linking people on your own blog, or using feed readers) that Lauren created a new blog, which you can see if you click on the "from pencils to pixels" link.

Emily's Prompt (for May 23rd)

2008-05-21T21:24:00.000-07:00

"Describe the best meal you've ever eaten."

Anyone surprised by that?:)

Don't forget, there are still prompt spots open!

Let's Rock This Casbah, Shall We?

2008-05-14T19:55:00.000-07:00

First prompt! First prompt! First prompt! (Sorry it took so long.)

Upload a travel picture and describe what made the moment you photographed memorable. Now, remember that it doesn't have to be a picture from your trip to China. It can be from your trip to Avery Hall. Or Idaho. Or whatever. There's no need to get fancy here, peeps. Unless you want to, in which case, go for the gold!

Also, Lauren and I were thinking that we should start a schedule for submitting blog prompts. We were thinking every Friday? So if you could email me to let me know which weeks you might like to take, that would be super awesome. I'll post the schedule up here as soon as I can. Here are the dates:

May 23rd - Emily
May 30th - Debbie
June 6th - Toria
June 13th - Lauren
June 20th - Ben
June 27th - Larry
July 4th - Donna
July 11th- Peter
July 18th-
July 25th -