Loose Leaf Notes

The answers to Tuesday’s Loose Leaf InQUIZiton are as follows:
1. This past year I wrote about winning what? On May 30th I wrote: On the night of the day that my essay aired on WVTF public radio, I participated in a poetry slam at The London Underground in Blacksburg and won $100 gift certificate to buy books at The Easy Chair! Initially, I was leery about reading my poetry in such a smoky, chaotic atmosphere where rowdy guys holding onto mugs of beer seemed to be waiting for the dartboards to be available again. While I did write about being nominated for a blog award, I only made it as far as a finalist. The answer is a Poetry Slam. Read more…
2. Besides a trip to the South Carolina coast, what other vacation destination did I go on this year and write about? On October 3rd I wrote: It takes longer to boil water in high altitudes, which is hard for a tea lover like me. The high altitude also effects nail polish remover. It dries before it can do what it was made for. The answer it Aspen. Read more…
3. In the year 2000 I voted for: On September 16th I wrote: Far-right Republicans, like President Bush, have shown little interest in preventative programs that help people and solve problems, like the UN or FEMA. Their answer to everything seems to be privatization, which sets the stage for corporate cronyism and greed. The only government program they clearly support is the military. For years, Republicans complained about the Welfare Program, less than 1% of the federal budget, while spending for the military under their administrations skyrocketed and deficits rose to record levels… This is the only one in the group where the exact answer is not revealed on my blog, but most readers made an educated guess, in that no one said Bush. The correct answer is Gore. Read more…..
4. I usually play Scrabble with: On February 2nd I wrote: While playing scrabble last week with my friend Mara, at one point she confessed, “I want Sy Safransky (editor of the Sun Magazine) to love me.” I think I can work that line into a poem. Mara is the correct answer. Read more…
5. My husband likes to play: On March 16th I wrote: My husband loves to play golf to the point that some people might perceive me as a golf widow, but I think he, as the husband of a writer, was a widower first. Recently when he told me that he was going to play golf, I said, “You dog!” He looked dejected by my comment until I added, “No, I don’t mean you’re in the doghouse, I mean you lucky dog! Go for it!” Golf is the correct answer. Read more...
6. What 2005 Floyd Fest performer did I write about? On August 4th I wrote: Ani tells it like it is. She’s petite but her stage presence is big and I haven’t been so impressed with songwriting/poetry since the early days of Joni Mitchell. “Joni Mitchell revolutionized,” I turned to my husband and said, while she was changing guitars. Her life work is sharing her talent, not only to entertain but to raise consciousness. The correct answer is Ani DiFranco. Read more.…

7. The alias I used while answering my husband interview questions for his human sexuality class: On February 23rd I wrote: On two occasions recently I’ve served at an interviewee for my husband’s Masters in counseling assignments. The last interview was on sexuality. My interview alias is Ann. (A reader then commented, “How fun is it to be Ann?”) The correct answer is Ann. Read more…

8. My brothers, who are the subject of my book, names are: On June 3rd I wrote: When my brothers, Jim and Dan, died a month apart in 2001, the reality of impermanence hit me hard. I’ve been reading about death and contemplating it ever since. Although I’ve experienced firsthand how it feels to have a loved one die, I still don’t understand death. Most of us don’t. We know it happens, but when it happens in our own family, our innocence is shattered and our understanding is reduced to that of a child’s. Where do we come from? Where do we go? How do you lose a person? The correct answer is Jim and Dan. Read more…

9. My sister’s blog name is an alliteration that begins with the letter: On July 10th I wrote: My sister Kathy’s blog, “A Particularly Persistent Point of View” made its debut a couple of months before “Loose Leaf” did. It covers a mix of political and metaphysical topics, and is set up via a dialogue with her inner critic, which in this incarnation is a tiger. I don’t think I ever could have guessed so many years ago when she was first discovering the world wide web of the internet that we would both end up being so “online,” blogging side-by side. The correct answer is P. Read more...
I meant to post 10 quiz questions to make it easy to score percentages, but mistakenly only posted 9; so I gave everyone one free answer just for playing. The top best scorers at 90% go to two non-bloggers, Tammy! and Sherry! Others who scored 80% are: Deana, Kathy, Janet, Trish, Ivy, and Chris-sea. Thanks to everyone for playing! You can view the Quiz in its entirety here.