Call for More Guest Posters!

Greetings fellow A-Zers! I'm just dropping in to remind you that you are welcome to guest post here at the A-Z blog! It can be a post about any topic that would be of interest to your fellow alphabet friends, or if you're feeling shy, I've written a questionnaire that you could answer as your post.

Last year, as we were gearing up for the challenge, each of the co-hosts answered a set of questions so that all of you could get to know us better. This idea is similar, but the questions are a bit different. It's in the vein of Alex's every other Wednesday featuring a participant. However, he interviews them each personally, and this would be something you do on your own.

Guest post go up on Mondays and Tuesdays since we have regular features the other days of the week. If you're interested, please email me (Tina) at tndowney (at) gmail (dot) com. The info@ email address is about to just bounce everything directly to me anyway as we make the transition to the 2013 info@ address.

Here are the questions you can use to base your post on, if you'd like some guidance:

1. When did you start blogging and why? Tell us a bit about the kind of blog you have.  Be sure to include the name of your blog and the link.
   
   
2. How did you find out about the challenges, and how many have you done? What was your favorite part of participating?
   
   
3. What suggestions would you have for visiting new blogs during the A to Z challenge?  What blog visiting strategy has worked for you during the challenge?
   
   
4. What topics or themes would you like to see other bloggers cover during the challenge? What types of content (poetry, short stories, writing tips, photos, reviews, etc.) would you enjoy reading during the A to Z Challenge?
   
   
5. Please tell us something unusual about yourself – don't be shy. Check out my revelation from last year here.
   
   
   
   
6. Are you joining the challenge in 2013? Are you doing a theme? Please share any plans you have. We promise not to steal your ideas.
   
   
   If you'd like to guest, leave a note in the comments AND email me. I'm hoping for a bunch of brave participants so that we can have all our Mondays and Tuesdays filled until 2013. It's always good to have goals...
   
   
   Tina

Alphabet Soup - Cinematic C's

This word puzzle is brought to you by Nicole at The Madlab Post...

As the current Alphabet Wizard, Caitlin at Happy Hootenany won the choice of the letter for Today's Alphabet Soup game. Since there hasn't been a selection at the time of this writing, however, I'm just going to work with the Letter C, as that is the initial of her name. C is for Cinema - Unscramble the following Cinematic terms that start with Letter C. The first commenter who correctly unscrambles all or most of these cinematic terms, at best, wins this week's Alphabet Soup game. Answers and the name of the winner will be posted here at the A to Z blog during next week's "Friday Fun Time - Alphabet Remix."

1. iterapngmhyCoa ________________

2. ctsuCgnhoiCa ________________

3. esdnigirlCsotC ________________

4. Cyitnotuin ________________

5. oiroCtl s________________

Have a Fantastically Fun Friday Everyone!

Nicole

Also @MadlabPost on Twitter

Sign up for the Monday Movie Meme, a weekly group blogging series that inspires discussion about entertainment in a whole new light and provides recommendations for your DVD, on-demand or theater fix. New topics are posted every Monday at The Madlab Post!

Do you Hate Google Word Verification as much as I do?

January next year, I would have blogged for 5 years at Amlokiblogs.

I'm not the most disciplined of bloggers, I post when the mood takes me, I return comments as much as I can, I browse through blogs I follow. I'm mostly content.

But recently, one thing has begun to get my goat: Google Word Verification.

I read a post that is intriguing, and I have something to say. It takes me a minute to type my comment, look at it again to ensure I haven't made any gaffes, and then I hit publish.

Which is when I see the blurry dancing letters of google verification, jostling each other as if in a mad rush to get on that last airship leaving the planet. Approaching middle age, my vision is trying to decide which way to go downhill. So I pore and squint, dance my head about for better perspective, and finally I think I've got it: the magic code, the mantra of numbers and words.

I type it in. No joy.

The word you typed in does not match..blah blah. 

Refresh, repeat, curse colorfully in all the languages I speak, tell myself to keep calm, persist.

By the time I leave the blog I want to curse Blogger, Word Verification, the poor blogger.

Why the hell can Google not make it a little easier on my poor eyes?
Why can the blogger not have Comment Moderation enabled instead of Word Verification?
Why should I be required to jump through hoops to post a measly comment?

When I hosted the A to Z Challenge last year, I posted a message the first time requesting the participant to remove WV. The next time, if they still had it on, I skipped the blog.

But as a visitor, I think it would be rude of me to do the 'pointing out' to a blogger I'm possibly visiting for the first time.

So. Deep Breath. Onward and forward I go, trying to prove I'm not a robot, making my eyes go blind that much faster.

Do any of you feel this way? Any words of advice?

Letter Play - N is for News

The following blog photo (alphabet letter only) is brought to you by Nicole Ayers at The Madlab Post....

First, I apologize for dropping the ball on our regularly scheduled Friday Fun Time program. This post comes a day late because I forgot to write one this week and didn't realize it until last night, as I was at an AMC movie theater in New York, watching "The Girl is In Trouble," starring actor Columbus Short and produced by independent film director, Spike Lee. You see, that's just it -- Letter N is for News today and I'm showing you guys one photo featuring a letter that describes one of the characteristics of news, whether it be on TV, radio or in print. That thing is: URGENCY!

Me with Short Film "Barbasol" Writer & Producer Kiara C. Jones 

More importantly, the urgency of me getting "Letter Play" up to date coincides with other writing duties -- duties related to my field of interest. Right now (read: this weekend), nothing is more Urgent than the 2012 Urbanworld Film Festival. Well, that AND me moving forward with the production of my short film due out later this Fall. So, I welcome you all to bear with me for the next week or so because things will be hectic but that still doesn't meant that I have forgotten about my A to Z Challenge peeps!





Here is a photo that you can use on your blog, if needed, for the Letter U during the A to Z Challenge in April:

Have A Great Weekend, Everybody!

Sign up for the Monday Movie Meme, a weekly group blogging series that inspires discussion about entertainment in a whole new light and provides recommendations for your DVD, on-demand or theater fix. New topics are posted every Monday at The Madlab Post!

NICOLE
Also @MadlabPost on Twitter

NASA: The Latest and Greatest

So what’s the latest and greatest regarding NASA? And why should I care, you ask? Hasn't the shuttling of the Space Shuttle Program and cutbacks in funding and lack of vision from our political leaders made this once awesome organization boring and irrelevant? Well, please allow me dispel these thoughts and take you on a tour of the NASA Web site. 

NASA: The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research. Since February 2006, NASA's mission statement has been to "pioneer the future in space exploration, scientific discovery, and aeronautics research.” 

You can check out the latest and greatest in news, missions, multimedia, apps, and other ways to connect with NASA. You can even plan a visit to some of their eighteen facilities across the United States. 

NASA For Students: Have kids? Are you a school teacher, home schooler, or know someone who is? Then the NASA for Educators, the NASA for Students, and the NASA Kids Club and are worth a navigating and Bookmark or save in your Favorites. 

NASA for Students is broken up into grade groups of: 

K-4 

5-8 

9-12 

Higher Education 

Each group has age appropriate links. Example, NASA is sponsoring the 2012 NASA Space Settlement Design Program for 6th through 12 graders and can join as individuals, groups, or entire classrooms. 

Design a space settlement! Space settlements are permanent communities in orbit, as opposed to being on the moon or other planets. Designing a space settlement involves physics, mathematics, space science, environmental science and many other disciplines. This contest is for 11-18-year-old students from anywhere in the world. Individuals or teams may enter. Grades 6-8, 9-10 and 11-12 are judged separately, except for the grand prize. Submissions must be received by March 15, 2012. Click the link for more details, contest prizes, and certificates. 

And check out the Current Opportunities for Kids link. NASA  also hosts youth ambassadors from around the globe for successful outreach programs. NASA’s Web site is a great site for kids to research homework and for author to research their novels. 

What about classrooms and partnering with other classrooms around the globe? 

Virtual Tours: Can't work out a visit to a NASA facility? Check out their interactive features such as their Interactive Features and Virtual Tours.

Connect with NASA: Yep. There's an app for that. Check out the various apps and social networks NASA has such as Facebook and Twitter. 

What's Next For NASA? NASA is conducting an unprecedented array of missions that will seek new knowledge and understanding of Earth, the solar system and the universe. NASA has observatories in Earth orbit and deep space, spacecraft visiting the moon and other planetary bodies, and robotic landers, rovers, and sample return missions. One example is designing and building the capabilities to send humans to explore the solar system and working toward a goal of landing humans on Mars. 

NASA has a payback on our hard-earned tax dollars, providing great paying jobs, supporting entire communities, and opening doors for incredible future opportunities such as planet colonization and mining asteroids (more on this in a future post).