Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Bernard Pivot Blogfest


To celebrate passing the 500 follower milestone, Nicole Ducleroir from One Significant Moment At A Time is hosting the Bernard Pivot Blogfest today.  Check out all of the entries at her site.

Okay, here's Bernard Pivot's "famous" questionnaire with my answers following each question:


What is your favorite word?       I love words and can't necessarily say that any one word is a favorite so I'll pick one that I like:   "CYNOSURE".    I found this in the dictionary when I was in high school and liked it, but I don't know that I've ever actually used it in any context.

What is your least favorite word?    "MAYBE"-- Maybe is so ambiguous and it's not enough of an answer.


What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally?     More than one thing, but especially good music (primarily classical) and all of God's Creation.

What turns you off?        Anger and excessive profanity.

What is your favorite curse word?      Did you notice the answer to my last question?  And besides my mother and my kids (who are all adults) sometimes read this.  But if I'm going to pick one then I'll say "CRAP".   It's one of those all encompassing words that can be used in various contexts.  My ex-mother-in-law used to hate it when I said "Crap".   I guess I could have said worse things.

What sound or noise do you love?      Babies laughing.

What sound or noise do you hate?     A dentist's drill.   Agggghhhh!  Hearing it or even thinking about it makes me tense up.

What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?      When I was going to college back in the early 1970s, I had the intent of becoming a teacher.  I still would like to try teaching although I don't know if I'd like the way the state education system ties the hands of teachers. 

What profession would you not like to do?   I am not very fond of any job that requires repetitive actions day after day after day.....  I like to have a variety of activities in my work schedule.

If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?    "Well done my son, now grab a harp and go play in the band."


             Now go back to Nicole's blog and check out the other participants.

              Don't forget my special Friday post and special announcement!



****

51 comments:

Ellie said...

Cynosure. No idea what it means but it sounds cool! A band in Heaven sounds like my kind of heaven!

I'll be back on Friday ;)

Her highness, Samantha Vérant said...

babies laughing. yeah, that's good. : )

Tabitha Bird said...

Cool.

I hate the word maybe too. I want the person to commit already.

Jessica Bell said...

LOL! Go grab a harp. Cute. Fun answers! Seeing as you hate profanity. Close your eyes when you reach 'the question' on mine :o)

KO: The Insect Collector said...

Great ones. I'm dying to know what cynosure means now.

Diana said...

This was great Arlee, I love learning new things about people. My favorite word would be "Flurries".
I love the way it sounds! Love Di ♥

Talli Roland said...

Great answers, Arlee! I love the sound of babies laughing, too.

DEZMOND said...

who's Bernard Pivot?
Ahahah :) I'm sure you would be the best harpist one day, Lee :))I wonder which instrument would I play in a heavenly band?

The Old Silly said...

I stopped doing blog meme tag games a long time ago, but have to admit I enjoyed your answers. "Cynosure"? - sheesh, never heard o' THAT one, lol.

Looking forward to your special Friday post/announcement!

Laura Eno said...

I'll have to go look up "cynosure" now. :) Fun answers!

Jennee said...

Babies laughing is a wonderful sound. Great answers.

~Nicole Ducleroir~ said...

GREAT answers! We tend to say "crap" a lot in our house, which my 10 yo daughter hates. Since we both recently read The Maze Runner, by James Dashner, my daughter and I now say "klunk" instead of "crap." :))

Go play in the band. Loved that!

Thanks for playing along!!

Jess said...

I love the sound of babies laughing too--you can't hold back a smile when they do that :)

Mysteriousrose said...

Really fun answers^^ Thank you for stopping by my blog.
I'm a new follower.

Lisa Potts said...

My kids hate the word maybe, probably because I use it too often in response to them.

And a baby's laughter? Wonderful.

Stephen Tremp said...

This looks like a fun blogfest. I hate the word maybe too. I look at people and ask them a second time and tell them maybe is not an option.

Jen Chandler said...

I'm not a fan of the word maybe either. I love your answer to number 10 :D And I'm with you on number 9. I work a very repetitive job. Most days, I feel like running out the door screaming!! Perhaps I should...it would be entertaining!

Oh! I'm looking forward to the A-Z Challenge. I heard about it on Alex's blog!

Cheers,
Jen

L.A. Colvin said...

I'm convinced chldren laughing will bring world peace. ;) Great answers!

RosieC said...

You are the king of special announcements, aren't you? :)

Crap is a very versatile word. And anything that upsets a mother-in-law is fun, right?

You're a brave guy for wanting to teach. Perhaps this also falls into the "too much pressure regarding other people's lives" that I mentioned in my answers. *shrug* That and kids can be mean.

I like your twist on #10. :)

Doo said...

Lol I agree with most of his answers! Good interview :)

Cherie Reich said...

Great answers! And, dentist drills are scary.

Candyland said...

Yes! Maybe is WAY too ambiguous!!! Great answers:)

Holly Ruggiero said...

I had to look cynosure, interesting word. I adore babies laughing it is so pure!

Jules said...

What a word to like, glad you spelled it out :) Good answers, Lee. Maybe I'll be back Friday :D
Jules @ Trying To Get Over The Rainbow

Nate Wilson said...

Like many others here, I'd never heard of "cynosure" before, but I do like its meaning. You're right, though: I doubt I'll ever have any reason to ever use the word in context... that is, unless I find some reason to channel Nabokov in one of my stories.

gideon 86 said...

Hi, Lee,

I'm so with you on #9... Doing the same thing day in and out would drive me nuts.

And you'e right about "Maybe".....

I went with NO.... I hate to be told that.

Michael

Stephen T. McCarthy said...

"CYNOSURE"? Isn't that a type of extinct dinosaur? (I mean, as opposed to the extant variety?)

And gee, LEE, wouldn't you rather be playing the drums in God's band? Or maybe even lead electric guitar? The harp is so... wimpy, and He already has millions of harpists.

~ D-FensDogg
(future tenor saxophone player in 'The New Jerusalem Band')

Jessica A. Briones said...

Yikes! i never thought of the dentist drill, it's the worse I was just there an hour ago...

Elizabeth Mueller said...

I get chills from anything that sounds remotely close to the dentist drill. *Shudder* I do LOVE the sound of baby laughter!

Guess what? You have an award! ;)

LTM said...

great stuff here! I like the part about grabbing a harp. And yes. Dentist drill... argh!!! :p <3

Lynda Young said...

Aaahh!! Dentist drill!!! Horrible!

N. R. Williams said...

I'd like to be in a band that plays harp music. Love you answers.
Nancy
N. R. Williams, fantasy author

Rachel Searles said...

I say Crap a lot too. When he was a teenager, my brother used to express his frustration by saying "Ma, cripe!" He said it so much that she made a joke out of it and called herself Ma Cripe.

Susan Gourley/Kelley said...

I hope I get to hear that band play one day. I'm getting very curious about Friday.

Kristin Rae said...

Dentist's drill!! AHHH!! And what stinks is my laptop I'm doing surgery on has been making a similar noise all day!!

J.L. Campbell said...

Why is it that the coolest words are the ones we can't insert in ordinary conversation? Great answer @ number 10 and yeah, I love the sound of a baby's laughter too. Visiting you reminds me that I need to get the A-Z Challenge link up.

Pat Tillett said...

I'm right there with you on the word "maybe." It's too iffy for me. I guess it ties right into my control issues!

Jamie Burch said...

Great answers! Your last one is my favorite. The sound of the dentist's drill is the worst. I'm cringing just thinking about it!

Wendy Tyler Ryan said...

Playing in a band wouldn't be so bad.

DiscConnected said...

Lee-

You mean if you hit your thumb with a hammer, "Crap" is all you're going to say?

Of if you spend all morning soldering a pipe, then turn on the water, and water sprays everywhere-"Crap" does it?

The pipe thing even once coaxed the F bomb out of my father. And he NEVER cursed.

Larry

Ella said...

I liked your answers; Fun to read~
Would you really want to play the harp? Me I want the drums, if heaven will allow. If not, then you will know where to find me, lol~

Mason Canyon said...

Great responses and I've learned a new word today, cynosure (neat word).

Mason
Thoughts in Progress

Jemi Fraser said...

Great answers Lee! Come to Canada - we teachers have a fair amount of freedom in trying to hook kids into being life long learners! I adore my job :)

Karen Peterson said...

Fun answers! Crap is definitely an all-encompassing word. It's one of my most overused.

Arlee Bird said...

Thanks to everyone who took the time to visit and leave a comment. This was a fun event and I enjoyed everyone's answers (I'm still trying to get thru the list!)
In case you didn't look it up and are still wondering, "CYNOSURE" means "something that strongly attracts attention".

Theres just life said...

Dentist drill...my teeth hurt just reading it.
You know that is some band they have in heaven...I'm looking forward to hearing it.

Pamela Jo
http://theresjustlifeyaliveit.blogspot.com

Heather M. Gardner said...

Ahh. Maybe. I'm afraid I do use it quite a bit.
Thanks for sharing your answers.

Arlee Bird said...

Heather -- I also use maybe quite a bit. I don't like it when others use it when answering me--I like to get definitive answers. Maybe I shouldn't use that word so much. Maybe, maybe not.

carolsnotebook said...

I like the word maybe. It's stops me from saying no before I've thought something through.

I don't use curse words, either. I think "darn" is about as close as I get on a regular basis.

HowLynnTime said...

Ahhhh the north star - a place of guiding light and the ledgenday city of Cynasura - good word.

I am with you on the dentist drills...ick!

Crap is the word I use the most, but that isn't a curse word.

An unorganised valueless assortment of junk. It's like shouting - Trash. It's my vanilla curse word - lol!

I love the harp.

HowLynnTime said...

Lol but as a literary agent, you have to break up with 300 puppy-eyed prom dates a week. I just don't have enough 'No Thank You' in me to last very long. Although looking back, I do have to change my answer - The guy who has to pick up pee-bottles out of the truck stops - Is the worst job I can think of now.