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Messages: BookMooch Contests
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(6 years ago) | Today is my 80th birthday, I am new to book mooch, having been on paperback swap for better than 20 years, I felt it was time for a change, I love to read ,obviously, and go to bed with a book nearly every night. Hope to find new authors and friends. I am a crafter, so I am always busy with one thing or another. - dragonfly | (6 years ago) | It’s coming on a Friday this year! - abe | (7 years ago) | Happy early birthday! - Daisy |
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Solving "An Enigma"
Well, the time has come to put this contest out of its misery. Interestingly enough, this puzzle (that I thought was the easiest to solve) was the least attempted so far...oh well. The solution, for those of you who care, is found by paying attention to the line "And now it's time for my game to start...you scope th'title should do." This should have led you to investigate the title of the contest which was "An Enigma"...the same title as a famous poem written by Edgar Allan Poe (his name is, incidentally, also hidden in the poem). Further investigation would have uncovered the fact that Mr. Poe had hidden a name within the poem by using the first letter of the first line, the second letter of the second line, and so on. Were you to have gone through the same process with the contest poem, it would have revealed the message, "Check the second letters of every fifth word." From there, it was a simple matter to do as directed which would then give you the final instructions: "Responses should incorporate two numbers, all letters of the alphabet and the name of any country." All four respondents fulfilled these requirements and thus became eligible for the grand prize drawing. The first correct respondent was AlineM ...she'll be getting her two points as soon as I finish posting this message. One point is also being awarded to dichroic whose 11th hour entry struck me funny. Finally the ten point grand prize (ooh...ahh) goes (after the highly scientific method of assigning each respondent a number between 1 and four and having my daughter pick a corresponding card) to Maverick62 (copious applause and whistles). I hope y'all had fun with it. Given the poor turnout (in numbers, not in quality), I'm not sure if I'll be doing another puzzle anytime soon. Happy New Year everybody, and thanks to AlineM, peter, Maverick62 and dichroic for playing!
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Rebel Sun
12 years ago 3 comments
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(12 years ago) | Thank you, thank you, thank you. Please hold the applause. Congrats to everyone who solved the puzzle. I am forever looking forward to a new and exciting puzzle from the master Rebel Sun. Please know that these are greatly appreciated and always fun to (try to) solve. I don't know where you come up with the ideas for these but I'm happy that you do. I will wait with growing anticipation for the next installment. Hopefully these will get more interest and more regular challenges will be justified. I would donate a few points to keep them coming. Thank you again Rebel Sun and see you all next time. - Maverick62 | (12 years ago) | Congrats to Maverick62 and the other intrepid puzzle solvers (gee, I feel like I've met you all somewhere before...). To Rebel Sun: thank you for another fun puzzle! The forums seem to have been rather dead lately, so I'm not sure the lack of response has anything to do with a lack of interest in the puzzle. Either way, you can be assured that your efforts as puzzle master provide great enjoyment to those of us who do participate. I love a good puzzle! :) - AlineM | (12 years ago) | Hi Rebel Sun,
Thanks a lot for another great puzzle. It was fun. Congrats on the big win Maverick62. I thought dichroic was going to swoop in at the last moment to claim the grand prize. I liked your lovely ode AlineM. Let's all meet up again in the next Rebel Sun puzzle contest...... - peter |
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"An Enigma"
Contest players, gather ye around for this latest challenge here... Christmas time soon coming is, then New Year's will appear. As ends the year, so too this game...yea until the midnight tolls... Erected is within this poem what's needed to join the rolls. Use skills of concentration, maybe ask a psychic friend, Parse the secrets in cat entrails...you can use whatever ends, But with the ending (in old Japan) of January one, I'd like very much to finalize and post the winners and be done. The prizes score will be all in total three...the chooser...me! Prize one belongs to the appointed best response creatively... 'Tis not a blockbuster prize, I grant, but an acknowledgment smooch. Having given out that one, attention goes to two. The second boon goes to first at sleuthing...perchance someone new? Swept has "peter" done every contest mine...will he win anew? Points award? Lowly two...but bragging rights abound. Finally, I'm much pleased to speak about the third prize round. Ten points go to the triumphant soul among responders correct... As wins random selection, winner can from me collect. Now please attend as we move along from pedestrianity... The remains all of ugly rhyme (this here poem, don't you see) Stores within its artless lines at least enough for to get a thread. Eye the writing, seek out words and assemble in your head Data found in clues herein, for of help'll be in goal attaining... Getting past primary hurdle the, follow then step two (hee, hee). After that, you'll have a third (very easy, I'll admit)... Remaining tasks...response append (employing, I hope, wit). Ah, anticipation time...awaiting responses...yahoo! Let the games begin (about darn day)! Participants, "salut"! Lest I forget, the time it almost is for the maker of the puzzle to Announce the beginnin' clue...but add I will first an other word or two. Now's the start of my third year here (of course this in ref. to site). People far and near I've met...Americans, Teutons, Thais... Obliged I be in gratitude to all for the help I've had. Efforts theirs have got me many books I'd wanted bad. And now it's time for my game to start...you scope th'title should do. Enough to start are those words, but I have written you another clue. If it's not at all for ye enough, are you, friend, outta luck. Bye you!
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Rebel Sun
13 years ago 8 comments
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(12 years ago) | Did you know that xylitol is a natural sweetener that may produce laxative effects? Don't mind the bloating. You should chew at least two or three pieces of xylitol gum a day to keep your teeth healthy. Chewing prevents your ears from popping as you fly your high-speed zeppelin to Qatar, or wherever. So, go grab a jar! - dichroic | (12 years ago) | Only about 36 hours to go, and a mere three puzzlers are in the mix. Grab yourselves a leftover turkey sandwich and get those juices flowing...the contest is not quite finished...there is still time! - Rebel Sun | (13 years ago) | Two weeks in and just three contestants have responded. Welcome to the puzzle, my friend from America! Who is going to kick in next? The quest continues for only a few more weeks. - Rebel Sun | (13 years ago) | I will be number two (right behind peter) in asking for maybe a hint to this extremely difficult puzzle. I am getting so very frustrated that I am about to throw my wife's fine china against the wall and break it into a million pieces. Oh well, I guess I will just have to buckle down and quickly go over the clues again. Good luck to all! - Maverick62 | (13 years ago) | Exactly one week in and just two people have attempted the puzzle..not quite the turnout that I'd hoped for. Kudos to the bibliophile from Norway for being the first contestant to solve it. - Rebel Sun | (13 years ago) | Hi Rebel Sun (in old Japan), This puzzle may be the most difficult challenge yet. We still have approximately thirty days left, but is it too early to ask for a hint? or possibly two hints? I know, I should probably quit asking for hints whenever you give us a puzzle. - peter | (13 years ago) | I present to you a short ode to Norway. Oh, land of the midnight sun, where eagles soar over quiet mountain tops while muskoxen graze below. I love to journey through your wild landscapes, and your winter blanket of snow. AlineM, Dec 1st, 2011. - AlineM | (13 years ago) | Well, December has arrived in Japan, and with it my latest puzzle. Hopefully this one will get more than just the six or seven die hards. Just a quick note to clarify - for purposes of this contest, please consider contractions and abbreviations to be single words. - Rebel Sun |
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Summer Puzzle Solution and Winner Announcement
The time has come to provide a solution to the puzzle (for those who remain stumped) and to announce a winner (for those who've been kept waiting for so long). I apologize for not posting this in as timely manner as I would've liked...sometimes life interferes with even the best laid plans. For the solution, it was necessary to start with the poetical section and discover that which was missing. If you looked at it long enough, you might have discovered that every letter of the alphabet was used at least once except for the letter "A". This was the thing that was missing. Then, as per the lines that read: "Zero in its number here, Look to words before this text Where here be none..there every fourth Word with should give your clue next Quickly then…just four, eight, twelve, Continue to the end…" participants were to go to the first part of the forum message (before the poem) and look at "every fourth word with" the letter "A". In so doing the participant's would find the following message: "Answers necessarily contain an author's name and name's anagram, a palindromic 'palavra', and a quotation." From there it was just a matter of following the directions. Congratulations go out to all those of you who completed the puzzle correctly (the names of whom are somewhat familiar to me at this point)...eligible responses were received from (in order of so doing): peter Mary H Maverick62 dichroic AlineM Employing the ultra-random and infallibly objective method of getting my son to draw one of five face-down cards (numbered in order of response), the winner of the contest is ... peter! To this veritable rock of puzzledom, I will be sending forthwith a total of 14 points to do with as he pleases. I will also await with breathe abated (not literally as I enjoy living) the naming of the charity which he has chosen to gift with the other 7 points. Again I thank Mary H for co-sponsoring this puzzle and thank everyone who participated for their time and attention...(malevolent grin unfolds) the next one won't be so easy! (sinister echoing laugh fadeds slowly away)
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Rebel Sun
13 years ago 1 comment
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(13 years ago) | Yay!!! Thanks a lot for another fun puzzle, Rebel Sun. Thanks also to your fine son for choosing my card. Great job, Rebel Sun's son! Congratulations to everyone who solved the puzzle. As usual, Scandinavia was well-represented in the puzzle contest. I'm looking forward to the next puzzle contest already, but a bit nervous about what Rebel Sun might cook up for us next.
I tried to find a solid charity to receive the 7 points...quite a few charities seem to be inactive. However, this charity (blackbird books kosovo) in Kosovo seems to be quite active so I opted for them.
Thanks also to our corporate sponsor, Mary H.
"I stole it from T.S. Eliot" - wonderful anagram, AlineM!
Let's all meet up again in the next big contest. - peter |
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Summer Puzzle
Once again the time has come to offer up a contest. Answers are welcomed from one and all. I must, necessarily and unfortunately, place limits on how long the contest is to run, in order to contain the number of responses somewhat (this has never been a problem before, but I believe in being an optimist). Responses will be accepted until the end of Father's Day (June nineteenth) in the contest author's (c'est moi) country of residence (Japan). Fourteen points will go to the winner with seven more going to support the charity of his or her choice. Ineligible responses will not be included in the prize drawing. If your name is drawn as the winner, I will contact you and send you (and your charity) the awards. If your name's not drawn, then know you have my condolences (Hey…"condolence" is an anagram of "cloned once"…a random thought…here's another: if a vegetarian only ingests vegetables then humanitarians…gets you thinking, eh? Oh, then palindromic words like "level", "bob" and "toot" exist in English…but what is the longest one? Just thought I'd share in the joys of the "palavra" (that's Portuguese for "word")…enough of this randomness…back to the rules). I might give smooches out during the course of the contest, but it is not for sure. The puzzle shouldn't be too difficult and it might even be fun. I hope you enjoy yourselves. A shout goes out to Mary H. for donating the bulk of the points…"A bit of fragrance always clings to the hand which gives the rose." (quotation is a Chinese proverb). Use your imagination in responses. Good luck to all… Here is the text to begin with: Here within this piece of text, The clue for which you seek… 'Tis not to do with rhythm, rhyme, Or hidden words to peek. Look for something missing, Yes, for something found not here Conspicuous being included not, To next clue it'll you steer. Zero in its number here, Look to words before this text Where here be none..there every fourth Word with should give your clue next Quickly then…just four, eight, twelve, Continue to the end… Thus this summer puzzle goes, Write response to here, then send!
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Rebel Sun
13 years ago 11 comments
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(13 years ago) | I must apologize to all...I made a mistake with the competition timeline...Father's Day in Japan is actually on the nineteenth (not the twelfth), so to cover all my bases (and to hopefully wrangle a few more participants) the contest will continue for one more week...my bad y'all. PS - Eligible responses now number 5. - Rebel Sun | (13 years ago) | Another competition, and I almost missed it! I really need to start checking the forum more frequently. Now to enter… Where to start? “The last thing one discovers in composing a work is what to put first.” Clever sentence, but I stole it from T. S. Eliot. This is not going well. For a better answer I must refer you to my bio page where it is very well hidden. Or maybe not. - AlineM | (13 years ago) | Let's begin with a quote from the beloved poet Neruda: "A bibliophile of little means is likely to suffer often. Books don't slip from his hands but fly past him through the air, high as birds, high as prices." How sad is that! There was no BM back then. Only lovers of books are forever. This mooching business of ours would've made Mr. N's eyes pop and his shelves full of ripe, unread, wondrous books. - dichroic | (13 years ago) | ?!?!? I'm hoping that that was an attempted contest entry and not an online confession (scary). If it is an entry, it looks to be incorrect (if you dispute this, please send me an explanatory email...'cause I can't see it) - Rebel Sun | (13 years ago) | The day before yesterday I killed someone and the fact weighs heavily on my mind. I'm a nice person and I have lots of friends. My apartment is small but I like living in a cramped space. I've lived in trailers most of my life, but lately they've been getting too elaborate for my taste, so now I live in one room, a "bachelorette." I don't have pets. I don't have houseplants. I spend a lot of time on the road and I don't like leaving things behind. Aside from the hazards of my profession, my life has always been ordinary, uneventful, and good. Killing someone feels odd to me and I haven't quite sorted it through. - Jenni Canuck | (13 years ago) | Only four days left until the end of the contest and the collective cupboard must be barer than I had thought. Only five people have yet attempted to answer (4 publicly and 1 privately) but only the first three (all public) are eligible at this point (give it another try, Robin). I hoped the level of interest would be higher. That being said, 4 days is still plenty of time to give this puzzle a shot. In the immortal words of Mr. Berra (the only Yankee I'll ever admit to liking), "It ain't over 'til it's over!" Good luck, all! - Rebel Sun | (13 years ago) | Conspicuous shall be noticed in a crowd.
Where the sun shines and they are no clouds.
You shall watch night fall and all is within invisable walls.
For thy shall search why you must choose the path that takes you to the crowd.
You may be heard or very quiet for all is love if you play right the silent will win the smile begins go fly away until another crowd appears.
Within us all the text we see for night and day we have to sleep watch over your sholder for the other wind for they blow in when sun shines in.
The path you take is broad and wide but nothing can hide that one rememberable smile. - Robin | (13 years ago) | I had my doubts about this puzzle from the start, but with a bit of research I now believe it is on the level. It reminds me of my childhood when my friends and I would build playhouses and forts in which we would read poetry for hours on end. One of our favorites was Frost who said "A poem begins in delight and ends in wisdom." Thank you for the puzzle and I hope that I am able to crack it. - Maverick62 | (13 years ago) | Wow, that made more sense with the verses formatted! It was a poem in its original incarnation. - Mary H | (13 years ago) | Here’s a conundrum, a wonder to see
You know it will be just as tough as can be
So I said to myself, hey get up off your duff
And train, or you might tear your rotator cuff
Work your brain and you’ll find solving puzzles is fun
But if you have trouble then ha, use your wand gun
He who fails, he who chokes, he who sulks, he who broods
Can go back to his day job and wash naughty nudes
A champion over the problem has gnawed
And triumphed, just like the guy hath nuns awed
On success, clear your throat, speak out loud and
Say the words of the poet, W.H. Auden
“In moments of joy, all of us wish
We possessed a tail we could wag” (or possibly swish!).
So thanks, Rebel Sun, for this puzzle! I say
I believe I must give you a grade of an A! - Mary H | (13 years ago) | Hi Rebel Sun,
It’s very nice to see you back here with yet another formidable puzzle. I think you deserve either to be deified as a true puzzle master or placed under arrest for your infinite trickiness. Sartre once wrote, “A lost battle is a battle one thinks one has lost.” Well, I’m not giving up the battle with this puzzle just yet. - peter |
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Solution and Winners of the Share the Love Contest
I was somewhat disappointed that there weren’t more participants in this contest, but such is life. As it is now February throughout the world, it is time first to provide the solution to any who would like it and then to announce the winner of the contest. As for the solution, participants were to begin by answering the eleven clues and then to arrange them in a pyramid (like Khufu’s of old) with the shortest response at the top and the longest at the bottom. As the answers are as follows: - Kelvin's zero description…backwards ETULOSBA - A day for pranks and lying APRIL FIRST - "The Silver Bullet"…bottoms up! COORS - Mbomou and Eule's child UBANGI - Bond’s boss M - He lives under the name "Mr. Sanders" POOH - Bingham's lost city MACHU PICCHU - Crichton's referent to my residence RISING SUN - Demi's Jane or Hasbro’s Joe GI - One of Bennie's band buddies JET - Matthew's "Crash"…Track 2 TWO STEP Then the pyramid would look like this: M GI JET POOH COORS UBANGI TWOSTEP ETULOSBA RISINGSUN APRILFIRST MACHUPICCHU After completing the pyramid, it then fell to the participants to “Approach it from the right-hand side And climb it to the sky.” While climbing, they were to examine the “steps” to find the name of a sailor. This sailor’s name is “UTNAPISHTIM”, a “Noah” analogue from “The Epic of Gilgamesh”. Upon finding this name, participants were required to do a little research into this epic and find in which tablet (for the epic is divided into tablets) his name is first mentioned. After examination, they would find him first mentioned in Tablet 9. Using this number, the participants were to code the name UTNAPISHTIM in their responses according to the directions given. All five respondents eventually completed these steps and are, therefore, all eligible for the final prize. The first correct response was that of “peter”, so to him I’ll be sending 5 points. All others will get one point for being the next 4 correct responders. Also, I’ll be awarding “Simon M” with an additional point for his first (and my favorite) response…it may have been incorrect, but it was very well done. As for the grand prize, I assigned the respondents the numbers one through five alphabetically according to their Bookmooch user names like so: 1. AlineM (Norway) 2. Andy Batangantang (Philippines) 3. dichroic (Finland) 4. peter (South Korea) 5. Simon M (Serbia) I then shuffled some corresponding number cards and fanning the cards, I employed my son to draw one of them. He drew the number 1. My congratulations go out to AlineM and to all the participants…I hope you enjoyed the contest. Points will be distributed immediately after posting this message. To AlineM, I await your notification as to where you would like me to send the 25 charity points. Finally, I’d like to again thank Cara and Michelle for donating the bulk of the points (I hope you weren’t disappointed). Have a great day!
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Rebel Sun
13 years ago 4 comments
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(13 years ago) | Wow, I can't believe I won!
I would like to thank Rebel Sun for yet again making a wonderful puzzle, Cara and Michelle for donating points, my cat for decorating my solution pyramid with muddy pawprints ;) and google - I couldn't have done it without you.
For me this was the hardest one yet, but I learned some new and interesting things along the way. I had never heard of Gilgamesh before. At first I thought I must have done something seriously wrong when I looked at what my pyramid said, but google rescued me. :)
So thanks again, Rebel Sun! You are indeed the puzzle master! And congrats to all who solved it. I'm starting to recognize some names...
My chosen charity is Books 4 Kids And Their Providers Project - AlineM | (13 years ago) | Sorry about the mistake, dichroic...a typo to be sure - Rebel Sun | (13 years ago) | Thanks a lot for the awesome puzzle, Rebel Sun! And thanks also to our corporate sponsors Cara and Michelle.
Congratulations to everyone who solved the puzzle, especially the grand prize winner, AlineM. Let's all meet up again in the next puzzle contest... - peter | (13 years ago) | Yeah, I really don't know why more people doesn't participate in these.
What's not to like? Like sudokus or something, nice brain training. Not too hard, if given some thought...
I, for one, love these! Thank you Rebel Sun - again!
Well, I didn't get a perfect pyramid. I didn't solve COORS (I knew it should be something to drink) and APRILFIRST (of course it was that day, but I didn't write it this way...tried "aprilfools" and even "allfoolsday", and then I had to put "vilcabamba" instead of "macchupicchu"...but it made no sense:)
When I finally knew that I should climb the pyramid edge (not inside of it, although starting from right), and even with the two words missing, the answer was clear. Luckily I had read the Epic of Gilgamesh (or at least some kiddie version of it:) years ago. I didn't remember much about the guy, but that absolutely rad name had stuck somewhere in my mind :P
And yes, I also thought it was the 11th tablet at first. By the way, "Uele" was spelled wrong. Was that intentional or not? (otherwise "Eule" is just fine, especially if it's from Germany:)
So, thanks again for the contest and congratulations to Simon, Peter (oh, you were so fast:), Andy and Aline! - dichroic |
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(13 years ago) | Wow! I can hardly believe it...this is like a dream come true. After all the waiting and sleepless nights, I don't know what to say. I always thought that the number 7 was over-hyped, but I now realize that it is truly deserving of its lucky reputation. I want to thank Jenny for having such a great idea and for providing the prize...I've been wanting to read Michael Pollan : The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals for a long time. I want to thank Lola for administering the forum, facilitating contests like these. I want to thank John for creating the website that makes it all possible. I want to thank my wife and kids for all of their support (tearing up) while I worked and hoped for this day to come. I want to thank my parents for teaching me that it is OK to chase your dreams...(voice catches) Mom! I did it! Finally, I want to thank Mentira de Cepcion of the Psychic Friends Hotline for her words of encouragement...she's been telling me for years that my ship was about to come in...I should have never doubted her (stifled sob), and I never will again. Thank you all...I'm the king of the world! - Rebel Sun | (13 years ago) | It's time to pick a winner! There were 12 entries:
1. E Thayer
2. marmalade
3. Jenny
4. LauraTS
5. dichroic
6. Yvann
7. Rebel Sun
8. Belladonna1975
9. Donogh
10. Donogh
11. Quigui
12. Amy Sisson
I posted a message in a LibraryThing thread asking the next person posting to the thread to choose a number between 1 and 12:
http://www.librarything.com/topic/106164#2430400
http://www.librarything.com/topic/106164#2430472
Just in case I didn't paste those URLs correctly, the number chosen was seven.
Congratulations, RebelSun! You mentioned you wanted Michael Pollan : The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals. Please confirm and I will list it for you.
Thank you all for participating in my little contest and for supporting Hercules Invictus. - Jenni Canuck | (13 years ago) | I couldn't find the smooch button (even though I've smooched people before) so I just did it as a "give to charity" to this group. Is that OK?
Like many others, my first choice is Omnivore's Dilemma!
Thanks for the contest! - Amy Sisson | (13 years ago) | A very good idea. I smooched Hercules :D - Quigui | (13 years ago) | Big fan of Hercules Invictus anyway - Smooched and resmooched! - Donogh | (13 years ago) | Have smooched! Would love Omnivore's Dilemma. I would welcome any book that helps me not want McDonald's anymore. :) - Belladonna1975 | (13 years ago) | Great idea! Have smooched. Will cross fingers for Omnivore's Dilemma. - Rebel Sun | (13 years ago) | Smooched! - dichroic | (13 years ago) | I just smooched - have given points to Hercules Invictus in the past, so am glad to do so again. - LauraTS | (13 years ago) | Yep, it's a good cause, so I smooched! :)
I, too, would like Omnivore's Dilemmma.
Happy New Year! - Jenny | (13 years ago) | Oh, I think Hercules is fabulous anyway, so this sound good!!
and either the third or the fourth book is fine for me!! - marmalade |
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Easy-As-Pi Puzzle: Solution
Thanks to everyone for participating. I had fun reading your creatively eclectic entries. There were a total of 14 entries and seven entries were correct. The solution is as follows: The first letter of each word spells out a book title from the Hardy Boys detective series that I enjoyed reading in my younger years. (Actually, I still enjoy reading the series, but I probably shouldn’t admit that.) Also, there is one sentence for each word in the title. Everyone managed to get the first part of the puzzle. The ten clues in order spelled out the titles of the following books from the series: #1 #4 #1 #5 #9 #2 #6 #5 #3 #5 As you can see, these are the first ten decimals of pi (ie the ratio of a circle’s circumference to the diameter). So, for example, if you want to submit clue #83, you would need to spell out the title of book #2, since the 83rd decimal of pi is 2. Congratulations to the following people who submitted successful entries: 1. Rebel Sun (thanks for your additional “ineligible response”) 2. Aline 3. dichroic 4. Andy Batangantang 5. Alicia 6. Simon M 7. Jovan Each person has been randomly assigned an NFL team from one of four games to be played on Oct. 24th. I wrote the names of eight NFL teams on slips of paper and then drew them out one at a time from a ceramic cup. I specifically chose these four games because NFL writer Peter King predicts these four games to be close games on this weekend’s schedule: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/peter_king/10/21/week.7.picks/index.html?eref=sihp. Whichever team wins by the largest margin will win ten bookmooch points for the person who was assigned that team. 1. Rebel Sun (Arizona Cardinals) 2. Aline (New England Patriots) 3. dichroic (Seattle Seahawks) 4. Andy Batangantang (Chicago Bears) 5. Alicia (Washington Redskins) 6. Simon M (San Diego Chargers) 7. Jovan (Tennessee Titans)
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peter
14 years ago 5 comments
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(14 years ago) | Alicia, that's funny stuff....I'm glad that you had a fun (?) experience and you ended up solving the puzzle, too. Is that you in the picture? How does one unfold oneself from such a position?.....Rebel Sun, that's an interesting analysis of NFL team names...I've never actually considered that angle while watching NFL games, but I certainly will in the future....for example, just what is a "charger"? - peter | (14 years ago) | I'll have you know that you nearly drove me cuckoo-bananas with this, peter. There were whole quarters of hours spent pulling my hair crying out, "Why?!? Why would a 32d clue be ineligible? What's the sequence? Fibonacci? Is the answer in the specific words used? Why does he keep mentioning birds in the clues? Should I count the number of feet that belong to the people and animals in the clues? Aaaarrrrggghh!" - Alicia | (14 years ago) | My team lost by the biggest margin...but then, a cardinal really doesn't have much chance against a seahawk...and none of them have much of a chance against a titan (unless armed with a gorgon's head). Congrats Jovan, and thanks Peter for a fun contest. - Rebel Sun | (14 years ago) | 1. Rebel Sun (Arizona Cardinals lost 22-10)
2. Aline (New England Patriots won 23-20)
3. dichroic (Seattle Seahawks won 22-10)
4. Andy Batangantang (Chicago Bears lost 17-14)
5. Alicia (Washington Redskins won 17-14)
6. Simon M (San Diego Chargers lost 23-20)
7. Jovan (Tennessee Titans won 37-19)
Congratulations, Jovan.
Thanks again to everyone for participating. Let's meet up again in the next bookmooch contest. - peter | (14 years ago) | Go Cardinals! - Rebel Sun |
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A New Puzzle
Your Task: Peruse the clues below. You need to submit an additional clue that corresponds with these ten clues. You may submit clue #11 or another clue of your choice. Please note that clues #32, #50, #54, etc…will not be accepted. The winner will be chosen randomly from the successful entries. The winner will receive ten bookmooch points. The contest will end on October 23rd. Good luck. Clue #1: Twelve hippos eat. Tiny owls whistle early rhymes. Thin red eagles and sparrows use rusty erasers. Clue #2: Turkeys howl energetically. Mary is singing songs in nice gardens. Cold hens use muddy shoes. Clue #3: Tom hops excitedly. Tim only watches early ravens. Tammy rarely eats apples sitting under red elevators. Clue #4: Harry unties new ties inside new gutters. Fred orders rutabaga. Hank is dutifully dividing extra nickels. Glowing ostriches lie down. Clue #5: Take heed everyone. Giant rabbits eat awesome tomatoes. Ants in rubber pants orbit round telescopes. Manny yodels seriously toward each red yak. Clue #6: Two hens evacuate. Harvey only uses soft easels. Owls nibble. Thomas has everything. Cats lick icky fluffy flamingos. Clue #7: Turkeys hop everywhere. Some hawks on rocks eat. Really old aardvarks dance. Maybe you should try eating raspberry yogurt. Clue #8: Hogs under nests twirl into nesting geese. Fred’s orangutans rebel. Happy iguanas don’t dance every night. Good old llamas dance. Clue #9: Twisted helicopters elevate. Some elevating choppers really elevate telepathically. Orioles flap. Toads have eggs. Orange leopards dig. Magical invisible lions levitate. Clue #10: Howard usually nibbles tiny inflatable nesting geese. Fred objectifies radiators. Howard is dizzily destroying edible nutrients. Giraffes on leaves demonstrate.
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peter
14 years ago 14 comments
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(14 years ago) | Disregard my previous entry.
15. Tarantulas horrify elephants. Sanguine electors cross reference early tabulations. Optometrists focus. The heralds exclaim. Octogenarians laugh diabolically. Masticating indigestible lemurs lacerates. - Alicia | (14 years ago) | #24 Sunshine halos outlined rusted trailers. Whimsical accoutrements vibrated expectantly. Mystical yogis stretched thoughtfully eventuating random yawning. - Jenni Canuck | (14 years ago) | Clue #11: Wendy has impressive library etiquette. Tom has education. Connie lately observed crested kingfishers. Tad is creating kitschy edible decorations. - Tim | (14 years ago) | Update (October 1st): I've had fun reading your clues. There have been nine entries submitted so far and I think three entries are correct. Please feel free to submit another attempt if you find that your first entry is incorrect. There are about three weeks left in the big contest.... - peter | (14 years ago) | Clue #28: Tiny hairballs excite. Super insane gorgons navigate. Ordained faeries. Truculent hillbillies entice. Cowardly ravens ogle over knightly excited daredevils. Alas, rowdy revelers often wither. - Maverick62 | (14 years ago) | #16 Ahoy! Four indigo goats unleashed random excitement. Invading nymphomaniacs! Happy iambic doublets inspired nervous groupies. - Lola Soleil | (14 years ago) | #11 -For one ought to play right in the stream. Unless nobody dares escape rightfully.There's haughty evil... within its new days over wrought. - Lyssa | (14 years ago) | #32 - I'm not eloquently loquacious...I guess I'd best lightly elucidate.
Rebel enthusiastically salutes Peter's offering 'n says, "Excellent!" - Rebel Sun | (14 years ago) | #64: Trendy hunters etch. Sharks envy creepy raccoons eating truffles. Oxen flail. Timmy hugs escalators. Offend lewd dragon. Manic itching lampreys lisp. - dichroic | (14 years ago) | Clue 27: Turn hairballs east. Save elephants crossing roads even today. One farts. Supine killers unwind like labyrinths. Malted orangutans usurp nine tenets and insurgents nod. - Alicia | (14 years ago) | #23 They had eloped. My enormous lingering trouble echoed dimly. Chase oblivious inky needles. - Aude | (14 years ago) | #17 Terror hinders expression. See everyone create respectable entertaining thoughts. We are really not increasing near greatness.
- Elsewhere | (14 years ago) | Clue #29: Teenagers hoard earwax. Some environmentalists curse rusty ermine traps. Ostriches flirt. Thorns hurt elephants. Chipmunks are very energetic singers. - AlineM | (14 years ago) | Lucky 13: Troubled heads exist. Sometimes eating cannabis renders everyone tipsy. Octopi fly. Their heads explode. Crazy-ass visions enter skulls. - Rebel Sun |
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Interdisciplinary Puzzle Contest Solution and Winner
Well, maybe I overestimated the interest in puzzles. I thought there would be a few more responses, but I guess the puzzle was more challenging than I had imagined it would be. Oh well, c'est la vie! As for the solution to the interdisciplinary puzzle, here goes: Step 1: The given clue for this step was “NE15cN9dE8cNE8pE7eSE7cSW7s(S5-3r)NW9iS2-5-4dW9c”. I was hoping that people would be able to see in the clue a pattern of capital letters followed by numbers followed by lower case letters. Looking at the capital letters, puzzlers should have been able to recognize standard abbreviations for the 8 principal compass directions. Using these directions (N = up, S = down, E = left to right, etc.), the numbers (the number of letters in the words), and the lower case letters (with which the words begin), puzzlers could use the “photo” from my bio page (I'll keep it up for the next week) to come up with the following message: congratulations – discovery – continue – progress - examine – contest – sponsor - (rebel sun) – inventory - da vinci code - condition Step 2: Using this last message, puzzlers were to go to my inventory, select “The Da Vinci Code” (I have two copies listed, but the clue was only on one of them), go to the first step in mooching and then search through the available copies (many, many, many) for the one listed under my name and then read the clue listed in the condition notes therein. This clue read: “(Β, 17) (Ρ, 67) (Σ, 53) (Ο, 29) (Π, 5) (Ω, 2) (Χ, 47) (Θ, 31) (Λ, 71) (Ν, 41) (Τ, 43) (Υ, 3) (Ε, 59) (Δ, 37) (Υ, 61) (I, 11) (Β, 7) (Σ, 23) (Ξ, 71) (Φ, 59) (Κ, 23) (Η, 29) (Θ, 11) (Ψ, 2) (Η, 53) (Ξ, 13) (Η, 3) (Υ, 67) (Α, 41) (Κ, 37) (Π, 31) (Τ, 13) (Ω, 59) (Ο, 11) (Ψ, 23) (Χ, 31) (Ζ, 47) (Φ, 71) (Μ, 37) (Ζ, 17) (Ξ, 7) (Ε, 53) (Υ, 71) (Ο, 43) (Ρ, 2) (Λ, 13) (Η, 5) (Γ, 67) (Θ, 59) (Σ, 37) (Χ, 53) (Β, 5) (Ψ, 19) (Υ, 29) (Μ, 61) (Δ, 2) (Ν, 23) (Ι, 53) (Α, 23) (Ω, 7) (Α, 71) (Φ, 17) (Η, 37) (Ξ, 53)” At the top of the “photo” there is a line offset from the rest of the puzzle that, if read from left to right, says, “x = nth ltr & y = nth p#”. I was hoping that, using their powers of deduction, puzzlers could figure out that the letters were Greek letters (of which there are 24), and that the numbers were the first 20 prime numbers. The “photo” is a 24 x 20 grid, and using the clues above as x, y coordinates, the following message can be parsed: “Answers must be 23 words long containing an author's 7-letter surname & a # >50” From there it was as easy as following directions. Unfortunately, there were only two officially qualifying answers: the first from "peter (South Korea)" and the second from "AlineM (Norway)". There was another response from "dichroic (Finland)" that only faulted on the 7-letter author's name…I decided to include his/her name in the drawing for the winner as well. Using the highly scientific method of assigning a colored crayon to each name and then waiting for my daughter to come draw a picture with one of them, the winner was chosen. Congratulations go out to "peter" and the purple crayon. "peter" was also the first to answer the puzzle correctly and got the two points for that as well. I will wait for him to let me know which charity he wants to get the designated points. The bonus question was probably the easiest to decipher, but it was almost impossible to answer unless you were well on your way to solving the puzzle. The question is in what is called an “Alphabet Shift Cipher” and was simply a matter of realizing that B = A, C = B, etc. As such, the question “XIBU TUBS XBST DIBSBDUFS JT BOESPNFEB MPDBUFE JO?” translates to “What Star Wars character is Andromeda located in?”…(as an English teacher, I almost phrased it with an “In which…”, but decided to bow to colloquial convention). To answer this one, puzzlers had to know (or discover) that Andromeda is also known as “M31”. Thus, using the same x,y coordinate system that was used in the puzzle, people could locate the letter “n”, and with a little looking, could find that the “n” was part of the name “Lando” in the puzzle (referring to “Lando Calrissian”, a character in “The Empire Strikes Back”and "The Return of the Jedi"). An apology goes out here to “peter” who assumed that my comment in the Da Vinci Code condition notes (that the Star Wars references in the puzzle were red herrings) also applied to the bonus question…I'm sorry that I wasn't more clear about that. The only correct answerer of the bonus question and the winner of the 2 points thereby designated was "dichroic". Finally a thank you goes out to our "corporate" sponsors, "Cara" and "Becca", for providing the points for the contest. Thanks to all those who attempted the puzzle...I'll try not to make it so complicated next time.
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Rebel Sun
14 years ago 4 comments
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(14 years ago) | Charity points have been sent...thank you all for the nice words, I appreciate your comments. - Rebel Sun | (14 years ago) | Wow, I've never won anything in my life. This is fantastic. Purple is my new favourite colour. Thanks a lot to Rebel Sun for the great puzzle and thanks to the generous corporate sponsors cara and becca. Oh, and I especially need to thank Rebel Sun's daughter for choosing the purple crayon.
Well done solving the puzzle, AlineM and dichroic. I attempted the bonus question and failed catastrophically, but had fun attempting it. Now that I see the solution, it makes perfect sense (of course). Congratulations to dichroic on solving the bonus question, too.
I'd like the charity points to go to the Chrysalis School in Madagascar: bookmooch.com/m/bio/chrysalis
"An apology goes out here to “peter” who assumed that.... I'm sorry that I wasn't more clear about that."
Absolutely no need to apologize....it's a puzzle after all. I was simply trying out various ideas to solve the bonus question. I suspected that my attempted solution was a bit "out there" and sure enough, when I see the correct answer, your solution is very elegant and consistent with the other clues in the puzzle.
"Thanks to all those who attempted the puzzle...I'll try not to make it so complicated next time."
I hope this means there will be another masterful Rebel Sun puzzle for us to solve (or attempt to solve). Please feel free to make it as complicated as you wish. That's what made this puzzle so much fun. - peter | (14 years ago) | Congratulations Peter! And many thanks to Rebel Sun for providing us with such a brilliant puzzle. I certainly enjoyed it! By the time I came across it, the bonus question had already been answered, so I didn't spend any time on it. Now that I see the answer, I'm glad I didn't. I would never have gotten that! Well done, dichroic.
And Jon, for future reference. If you just click on a bio photo, it opens up large on the screen, making it possible to read the chart. - AlineM | (14 years ago) | This was so fun :)
I already suspected that I had made a mistake somewhere with the main puzzle. If everything were ok, I should have been the first with the correct answer (as peter had previously used numbers smaller than 50).
So...I solved the last text, but with one fatal mistake:
Instead of the part "'s 7-letter" I had ..."teq". What the heck is "teq" anyway? :P I was so confident then. I thought it was like "exempli gratia" or something. Everything else made perfect sense. I should have triple-checked. As I think of it now, I don't really know what on earth happened...oh well.
"The Landromeda Puzzle" was awesome, too!
Rebel Sun, thanks again for these well-thought brain rackers.
Congrats peter, and AlineM too :)
And thanks for including me in the draw. Luckily the pen resembling my lacking answer was not to be picked. - dichroic |
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Interdisciplinary Puzzle Contest
First of all, a "thank you" goes out to becca and Cara for providing points for the prizes. OK...I've tried to make this one a little more challenging. I don't think you need any clues to get started, so I'm not going to give any. The running time for this contest will be from now until the end of the day on August 28th (no special reason except that I have a little more time on the weekends to write). For anyone still interested at that time, I will post the solution at the end of the day (Japan time) on the 29th. At the end, a 10 point prize will go out to a randomly selected eligible participant ("eligible" meaning that the response fulfilled all the necessary criteria...please try to answer in such a way that you do not give away the answer to others). 10 points will also go to that person's choice of charity. 2 points go to the first correct response and 2 more for the first one to correctly answer the bonus question (please email me with the answer to the bonus question so as to not give it away to everybody else). There is 1 more smooch point available in the contest. I also reserve the right to smooch anybody with an especially creative eligible response. All right, enough of the administrative stuff... Please use my bio photo for this contest (you will probably have to copy it and blow it up...and maybe print it out as well). Using the "photo", here is the clue to start the ball rolling: NE15cN9dE8cNE8pE7eSE7cSW7s(S5-3r)NW9iS2-5-4dW9c and the bonus question: XIBU TUBS XBST DIBSBDUFS JT BOESPNFEB MPDBUFE JO? Good luck all, and may the force be with you!
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Rebel Sun
14 years ago 13 comments
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(14 years ago) | I’m still trying to figure out the responses to your previous (supposedly, easy) puzzle. Even with the answer in front of me, I have no idea what any of them mean. - Lola Soleil | (14 years ago) | I am printing out the chart and the clues and taking it with me to DMV (IN So Cal that means hours)I hope to have success by the time I return this evening! - Mary | (14 years ago) | 164,000 members…10 comments… Do I need to give "directions" to increase the "number of letters" (comments)? In Bart Simpson's words: Ai Carumba! - Rebel Sun | (14 years ago) | Sidney Sheldon (1917-2007) once said "The only one who can make you give up is yourself." Unfortunately, I feel compelled to do just that. - AlineM | (14 years ago) | Update: The first correct answer has been given and the bonus question has been answered...Columbo would be proud. Only 693 hours left! - Rebel Sun | (14 years ago) | I've tried...and tried...and tried. I'm giving it up, sorry. - ylef | (14 years ago) | Gareth, I too have deciphered the bonus question, but have no idea what the answer is. I guess I do not have enough background on the subject matter to even make an guess but I will keep searching. I have also figured out the puzzle code but now I am stuck as to what to do next. - Maverick62 | (14 years ago) | That's really very exact Peter... ;-)
I have to confess, I had a look at the main puzzle last night and, even though I think I have an inkling what the clue is about, using it with the chart didn't seem to work. I've deciphered the bonus question but have no idea what the answer is.
I intend to try again this weekend, probably while a bit drunk as it seems all my good ideas come about in that way. - GarethM | (14 years ago) | Hi Rebel Sun,
I still have no idea what the dickens your coded puzzle could mean even though I have tried ninety times. - peter | (14 years ago) | I just found a book called "The Man Who Had No Idea" by Disch. I can relate, at least by one hundred percent. - dichroic | (14 years ago) | "'Tis a lesson you should heed,
Try, try again.
If at first you don't succeed,
Try, try again."
-Hickson (1870)...
Try once more! - Rebel Sun | (14 years ago) | I don't like your chances Peter.
Dan can be a pretty tough Head Master! - Michelle | (14 years ago) | Hi Rebel Sun,
I have no idea what the dickens your coded puzzle could mean.
Could you give us a hint or two? - peter |
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And the winner is...
Alas, the time has come to end the "cryptic message" Bookmooch contest. Eleven participants came up with correctly coded responses. They were (in order of qualifying comments): peter (South Korea) ylef (Germany) Aline M (Norway) Jon Maloney (USA:SC) Alicia (USA:NC) dichroic (Finland) GarethM (United Kingdom) autumnrose (2-for-1) (Canada) becca (USA:ME) Eunira (Brazil) MaryBeth (USA:CA) The solution of the puzzle is as follows: 1. As mentioned in the paragraph, there are two hidden messages. The first is found by looking at the first words of each line. This message reads, "Look at the third letters after the keys to find the next hidden message". 2. Written in the second sentence, it mentions that the third line in the paragraph is "of note"...especially the part about "punctuation is key". Hence any and all punctuation marks are then considered "keys" to finding the next hidden message (as written above). 3. By looking at the third letters after each punctuation mark, you come up with the following message: "The name of the author of QBVII" 4. If unknown you then just have to look up the answer (Leon Uris). Then, send it as a comment using the same code. All of the responses were very imaginative...I encourage you to go back and read some if you haven't already. Also, I made a note to answer each correct response, and used the same code to send another short little message to each correct respondent. Take a look if you have some time. I really enjoyed doing this..it was a lot of fun for me...I have another puzzle in the works if there is any interest (it should be a little harder than this one), but the prize will likely be smaller...I will be down to just over a point after I send out the winnings. That being said, let me announce that the winner (determined by the ultra-scientific method of drawing numbers from a hat)...lucky number 7 was drawn, granting the prize to GarethM, our poetic participant living in Britain. 10 points have now gone to him and 5 to his choice of charity, Hercules Invictus . As for my copy of "The Da Vinci Code"...for the time being I am still burdened with it. Thanks to everybody who played...hope you had as much fun as I did!
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Rebel Sun
14 years ago 4 comments
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(14 years ago) | Congratulations to GarethM!
Rebel Sun, there is definite interest in more puzzles! - becca | (14 years ago) | Hooray for me! :)
Thanks Rebel, that was rather enjoyable. Writing a code in haiku is more fun than you'd think. - GarethM | (14 years ago) | Thanks a lot for the great puzzle Rebel Sun. It was a lot of fun and I'm already looking forward to the next one.
Congratulations to GarethM on the big win. - peter | (14 years ago) | Congratulation GarethM! I still considered myself a winner having FUN solving it. Thanks Rebel Sun! Waiting for the next *grin*. - ylef |
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A cryptic message...a challenge...a prize
First of all, I want to thank Lola for creating this forum...I think it is a lot of fun. I look forward to any and all future contests. There is a multi-faceted paragraph below. If you can (and I don't think it is so difficult that you cannot) piece together the final message, it will lead you to your goal. Step One: Read the paragraph, and using the clues therein, read and define the hidden phrase. Step Two: Take the answer indicated by the hidden phrase and, using the same code, send the answer IN CODE as a comment to this thread. Messages not encoded correctly will be ineligible, and, if necessary, I will ask the forum administrator to delete any messages "in the clear" (not in code) and/or messages that reveal how to read the messages (please don't ruin the contest for other people). The prize: - 10 points for the winner - 5 points for a charity of the winner's choosing - a free copy (provided by me) of (and you may need to sit down for this one) "The Da Vinci Code"! (oooh, aaah, wow, gasp, snicker)...OK, I know, but if you want it, it is yours. The contest will run for one month (until the end of the day on July 20th...I'll close it down on the evening of the 21st, Japan time), and the winner will be decided at random from among all of the correct responses. In the very unlikely event that nobody comes up with the correct response, all points will go to a charity of my choosing (And I will list the book *sigh* in my inventory). ******************************************************************* The solution will be posted just after closing down the contest. ******************************************************************* (If anyone wants to run a concurrent contest, please don't be dissuaded...I like participating in them, too.) Here is the paragraphic challenge (edited on June 21st for clarity): Look closely at all of the words herein, at the letters, at how it is written, even the punctuation is key. Of note is the third line in this paragraph. Read the letters, ruminate on words, chew them up. Anon or after (before being difficult) get to know the layout of it all. In here, where the cryptic keys are found, available are the hints you need to solve the puzzle. Clues are written. In them find what you need to continue. Other than the obvious memo, two more exist. Unravel one and the next will not (I hope) be far off. Requires this (to break hidden codes) revelation or patience. Quit not and the message will come to you. I wish you all luck.
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Rebel Sun
14 years ago 28 comments
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(14 years ago) | "Hail and well met, O MaryBeth!" Come one and come all! I'm glad to see some fourth quarter participants. A tad difficult "codes" may be...troublesome as well, usually...otherwise, players such as yourself might be disappointed (and we cannot have that). So for giving it a go, you have my thanks. -Dan - Rebel Sun | (14 years ago) | Eunira: Um prazer! Brasil e o pais do meu "coracao"! Te agradeco por tua participacao. Embarquei neste projeto e nao sabia como a gente o receberia...e pelos erros gramaticais e a falta de acentos no meu portugues (conseguiste a me entender?) desculpas peco. - Rebel Sun | (14 years ago) | “My list” Koontz, J Evanovich, Greene, and Clark. If People would spend more time cracking codes, Politics would not be a subject! Be aware they show up any way (paying a high price) if I seem puzzled, ignore my confusion. I again slip into my delusion. As luck would have it, I always think Codes are too hard, even kids; who… win (in usual contests) scream with delight (I wish I could win- it seems to be so much fun) - Mary | (14 years ago) | Before BookMooch, my life was a bore.
See, books were never enough, oh not for me!
Found this: worldwide site, it is, yes my delight.
This is the first time I do something like this, I hope I got it right. It was fun and a bit difficult, as English is not my first language. - Eunira | (14 years ago) | becca, to be honest, I really just received the last Firestar book, so coming soon (according to my to-read list) I will be able to start reading it (his series, I mean). I`ll (in good time) slip you a note to give you my tardy but thankfully rendered assessment thereof...so, believe me when I say, please accept my gratitude for the books you have given me. - Rebel Sun | (14 years ago) | Hi! Tell me (please) those books i sent, I know you got them, you marked them received but I am curious about one of them. Seriously is Micheal Flynn's Firestar series any good? So sorry this is not in poetry and the punctuation police are not likely to be happy with me either. - becca | (14 years ago) | Oh, what rapture, all consuming, fills by bosom (other places as well)...what ecstasy engulfs me. I will near faint, will I, if for me the heavens are so kind, to love grant me in she that did address. Though I render thanks forever, so will still my gratitude be insufficient. She is so beyond me...surely Cupid jests, fools with this most unworthy man. I offer up my heart, I offer up my soul! Hear me, my love...call I to the goddess of my idolatry! - Rebel Sun | (14 years ago) | Well, Thankyou Autumn Rose.
I never knew you cared, not that much anyway..... - Michelle | (14 years ago) | To: my love. Sweetheart, I loved you the first time I heard your voice; wanted to kiss you the first time I saw your face. You are my light, my redemption, my inspiration, my soul. - autumnrose (2-for-1) | (14 years ago) | To which I say:
Windfall yours, this Twilight book...I score for you a win.
Pheasants fly the whole year round, to where they will and when.
Above, our golden orb does shine, making flowers grow,
begging of we earthbound lot to adoration show.
Wearing 'dorned with fruits of the vine, the fruit of looms (is tight?)
Otherwise, to my books I go to spend my summer nights. - Rebel Sun | (14 years ago) | Mooching in summer,
hello again bright sunshine.
Pheasant passes by.
Soothed soon by reading,
hands grasp new paper binding.
Yours now are the words.
Surprise of the day,
Twilight received in error.
Disaster has me. - GarethM | (14 years ago) | Wow! I'm firstly (don't blindly assume most importantly, thanks) wonderfully, understandably humbled by your compliments. This was (I assure you) a great pleasure for me...great wordsmithing, I'd protest, it emphatically is not. As surely as I am writing this now, there are those who are more worthy of your praise. Vanity mine thanks you, but I know that really, the accolades are unwarranted. To dichroic my thanks. - Rebel Sun | (14 years ago) | This thing here was, at least, a delightful quest. Though not something I've seen lately. Fun, tour de force, far from ordinary. This I say to you, misses and misters. - dichroic | (14 years ago) | My interest in urns, or the trappings of any culture's...uh...abnegation of the human body, is kind of a sideline to my interest in Romantic poetry. I especially like William Blake: To Tirzah, On Homers Poetry, An Island in the Moon, Visions of the Daughters of Albion, To Winter, On Anothers Sorrow, Ah Sunflower, Infant Sorrow, Couch of Death, London. - Alicia | (14 years ago) | Alicia: Why the urns and amber, I do not know...could you explain? If Greek funerary customs are your thing, I could maybe point you to some good books. To give up on the contest, Alicia, is really a bit premature. Only four days have passed and there is plenty of time left. - Rebel Sun | (14 years ago) | I have no gift for code cracking; all my attempts to solve this have failed. The difficulty level is too high. Though I acknowledge my defeat, I include my comment as a testament to your cleverness. In urns like Keats's Grecian one, my resolve (dwindling rapidly) ossifies like the resin of some ancient tree. - Alicia | (14 years ago) | For Jon: I'd nigh faint choosing which authors to list...McCarthy is good (if evil cannibals are your thing), but I prefer Matheson...my opinion is that he rocks (he's very dated--where McCarthy is more contemporary--maybe that is why I like him). Wholly, truly great authors never go out of style: a Shelley...there's Greene...the list is literally endless. PS - to hear...er...ah...(no kicking myself!) to SEE your words leads me to think you gave up too easily. - Rebel Sun | (14 years ago) | I am going to add some to your list: Knight, Bast, Ashley, Paolini, Trudi Canavan, Galenorn, Dodd, Ashbless, Drake, J Evanovich, Weeks, Lewis, Berberick, Leitich, Litton, Ostrow, Feehan, Hannay, Delacroix, Daiker, Lakey, Coelius, Arthur, Zahn, Leigh, Nash. - ylef | (14 years ago) | Oh! What rapture! Fulfills me it does...pride wells up (wondrous Bookmoochers) deep within me. I am truly aware that (mist in my eye) choice people frequent this site. Allow me, if vanity permits, to earn a place among you. Widen your arms! Bring me in, I stridently implore you! - Rebel Sun | (14 years ago) | I thought I had solved it - stupendous delusion! For all of my thinking, I missed the conclusion. So sad and embarrassed, all I can do is write this confession - poetically, too. I understand now that my one chance at winning is placing the end before the beginning. - AlineM | (14 years ago) | Message: to ylef--I would not deprive you (or undermine your resolve) of getting another crack at this. If often enough you try, either you will get it, or it will get you. Attempt away! - Rebel Sun | (14 years ago) | Can I make another try, a PLEASE? My entry is wrong (wrong answer) I know… so up to you if you let me. Sure now with my answer (being able to find the answer). Master of the code? - ylef | (14 years ago) | My entry:
Okay I got it! Oh Danny boy you gave me a head ache.
Erase and tip is all I have done, non the wiser I am one.
BoB you are laughing hard but know this “rrread” it or you will not get it.
Ok we will see it through, if not just a game then let us go.
Still I gave you my best shot,and you know what you are at.
Charities exist a whole lot, so decide for me and give the shot. - ylef | (14 years ago) | Sorry. I again say, for EVERYBODY, there will not be any more clues forthcoming. I can guarantee, or trust (if judging by the discourse on the forums is an accurate measure) no one will feel cheated when the solution is revealed. In both previous pleas for clues, impatience played too big a part. The contest is only a few hours old. Sit back, break open a beer and try again. Surely you can do it. - Rebel Sun | (14 years ago) | I have hidden the answer. Herein it lies: the old, robed monk & the fair maiden. All were puzzled. Master of codes! Trust you to leave everyone dazed, confused and exhausted. I still don't have a favorite charity, so please choose one for me if I should win. Thanks for a fun contest! - AlineM | (14 years ago) | I deleted my entry...sorry about that. I think I'll wait for your clarification first. - ylef | (14 years ago) | Yeah I think Peter is right! Not sure which answer you want to have...Maybe just a hint of the correct answer. Is it a paragraph with how many lines? How many words in a line...not that we're giving you just the hint and not the right answer...hehe! I'm going to correct my entry if it's become invalid. Thanks! - ylef | (14 years ago) | Rebel Sun, will you give us some more hints if nobody solves this puzzle? I looked at the clues for quite a while, can you give us another clue? The puzzle seems harder than you suggest it might be. For now, as I can't get another clue, it seems too difficult for me to solve. You really gave us a difficult challenge and I am a little mixed up. - peter |
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We have a winner in our Limerick Lollapalooza
Enter for a chance to win 10 points plus 5 points for your favourite BM charity!
Thank you to everyone to entered my little limerick contest. As we already know, Bookmoocher talent knows no bounds!
Before I announce the name of the lucky winner, I’m going to explain my extremely complex and high-tech method for choosing said winner. First, I keyed the names of the 11 entrants. Yes, that’s right: 11 phenomenally talented bookmoochers not only dared to reach for the stars, but were willing to bestow the fruits of their sublime artistic endeavours upon us lesser mortals. Next, (this is the high-tech part), I used MS Word to sort the names into alphabetical order AND to number the lines from 1 to 11. Bet you didn’t see that coming, ha!
Then, (this is the complex part), I hollered through the wall to my colleague in the office next door to choose a number from 1 to 11. After hollering a couple of times, I phoned him. He chose #8 who, BTW, didn’t select a favourite charity leaving that decision instead up to yours truly.
Of all the charities named in this contest thread, bio:comics4kids has the lowest point count at only 8.3, so I will be charity-ing 10 points to bio:blue_windchime and 5 to bio:comics4kids. If you’re feeling so inclined, I’m sure they would appreciate a smooch or two.
And now, back to our winner, an expert limerick writer who skilfully provided us with not one, but three limericks -- a bona fide triple play!
Dear dear bio:blue_windchime, it’s time to start acquiring some of those books on your wishlist. Enjoy your bookmooching spree and, if you manage to score a copy of Maria V. Snyder : Storm Glass before I do, can I have it next?
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Lola Soleil
14 years ago 4 comments
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(14 years ago) | Thanks for the fun contest Lola and congratulations to Meg for winning the limerick sweepstakes. Lola, based on your selection system, I would have been ninth alphabetically. Ninth! That means I just barely missed out on winning the big sweepstakes! It was fun participating in the contest and it's quite thrilling to come so close to the big prize. And ultimately, we're all winners just by being part of this fine bookmooch community. - peter | (14 years ago) | See, I would have guessed it was George Bernard Shaw : Arms and the Man (Dover Thrift Editions) :) Congratulations Meg and thanks, Lola, for a great contest. - Jenni Canuck | (14 years ago) | Wow Lola - Thank you SO SO much! I only had 2 points and I can't wait to spend some! (And yes, if I score Storm Glass you can definitely have it next. I've been checking used bookstores too, but no luck yet.)
@Rebel Sun: The book was Castles in the Air by Christina Dodd - the original edition, I believe. She has a cute story (and a pic of the original cover) on her site about how she discovered the additional appendage to her heroine. :) - Meg | (14 years ago) | Thanks Lola...that was fun. Congrats to Meg...though I'm wondering which romance book has a woman with three hands on the cover? - Rebel Sun |
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Enter for a chance to win 10 points plus 5 points for your favourite BM charity!
To enter the contest, all you have to do is write a limerick, but you do have to post it here on the forum. You've got a week to compose your masterpiece. When it's no longer June 19, 2010 anywhere on earth, I'll toss the names of all entrants in a hat and pick a lucky winner to whom I will charity 10 points. Include the name of your favourite BM Charity and I'll donate 5 points to the winner's charity. Good luck! Never again, said John Buckman This forum work really does suck, man It’s never quite right There’s no end in sight Please bring me more coffee starbuck, man.
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Lola Soleil
14 years ago 11 comments
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(14 years ago) | Here's my entry:
Happily surrounded by books Piled high in all crannies and nooks Though Martha might wail And Hoarders might rail I could care less how messy it looks.
My Charity: Comics 2 Kids! - Jenni Canuck | (14 years ago) | Thanks Lola! I'm brand new to the forums, but your contest sounded like such fun! I don't have a favorite charity, but if I'm lucky enough to win please pick one that another entrant listed. Here goes:
~ I've kept more than 500 romance books
~ They fill the house - all the crannies and nooks
~ I like their bright covers
~ of half-naked lovers
~ And I've only mooched two drawn by schnooks
~ But my favorite is one that I (sadly) don't own
~ A maiden whose long red tresses are blown
~ Holds the hand of a knight
~ she most surely gave fright
~ As her three hands are quite clearly shown
~ If I could find that book in some lucky mooch
~ I'd jump up and down and give out a smooch
~ The lady with three arms
~ and her dubious charms
~ Makes me giggle a little; I love BookMooch! - Meg | (14 years ago) | My charity would be bio:comics4kids
Other charities have hundreds of points, and this one only ten. They're always very low on points.
* My shelves are groaning from their load,
* It won't be long till they explode...
* But I must get just one more book,
* There's still somewhere a vacant nook.
* I know! I'll list 'Da Vinci Code'! - Dovile | (14 years ago) | I already entered, so this one is just for fun:
- Eureka! A book I've been wanting!
- Rats! Lack of points is me taunting!
- I know! List some books!
- (To my shelves for a look)
- But now, my send list is daunting! - Rebel Sun | (14 years ago) | I am fairly new here but I'll give it a go.
Joined bookmooch one day for fun,
No sooner than I had begun,
Stayed inside all day,
Just reading away,
Probably never again see the sun.
My charity of choice would be:
Books 4 Kids And Their Providers Project
user id: bks4kidsandtheirprovidersproject - Maverick62 | (14 years ago) | You are all such great poets. I'm very impressed!
Here's mine:
There once was a moocher named Joan
She had too many books in her home
Then one day
She gave them away
On a wonderful site called Bookmooch
My charity would be the Prison Book Program, user id prisonbook - Kristen | (14 years ago) | My charity is Quinlan Library (USA: TX):
I have got shelves of books==
And can not even stomach to look ==
I was told of this land==
And thought it was grand==
Tradin’ gets me off the book hook== - brandi | (14 years ago) | Very nice idea!
Here is my effort:
~I requested a good book today
~But then they replied just to say,
~"I won't send to your nation"
~I felt such frustration
~But an angel then sent it my way (Yay!)
If I'm lucky enough to win, my charity of choice is Chrysalis School (Madagascar). Good luck to everyone in the big contest. I've enjoyed reading your submissions. - peter | (14 years ago) | What a fun idea! I'm rather new to the forums, but couldn't resist this. My entry is a double limerick:
~ There once was a great kangaroo
~ who felt most exceedingly blue
~ the book he lived in
~ had been put in the bin
~ because it was no longer new.
~~
~ In another book lived a baboon
~ who was singing a happier tune
~ when his book had grown old
~ Bookmooch members were told
~ and he would be read again soon. ~
I had forgotten how much fun it can be to string words together. Nowadays most of the writing I do is for work (scientific articles) and doesn't exactly stimulate my imagination. So thanks for that!
I don't have a favorite charity either. They all seem like good causes, so you may choose one at random. That is of course if I should be lucky enough to win. I'm crossing my fingers, because I'm in need of more points!
Aline - AlineM | (14 years ago) | If you find that your bookshelves are bare
I can offer a cure for despair
Join the Bookmooch site
As It's sure to delight
When new books arrive from everywhere
I don't have a favourite charity, so if I'm lucky enough to win then please choose any charity.
Rob - Rob | (14 years ago) | OK, Lola...I've got two limericks here...the first is just a electronic salute out to all the angels who helped, are helping or tried to help me out over the last 8 months...if I left anyone out, I humbly apologize and beg your forgiveness (the multiple hyphens are to help distinguish between lines in the default comment format):
---1--- Melinda, Joel, Angie, Gio, Cara,
---2--- Peter, Christina, Hope, Sarah,
---3--- Nikki, Rebecca,
---4--- Kathy, Dov, Peta,
---5--- Minerva and Martha Azara.
OK, now for my actual entry:
---1--- Gaiman's books never stick 'roun',
---2--- Classics are gone 'fore they're foun',
---3--- Romances pile thickly,
---4--- While Discworld goes quickly,
---5--- Good luck getting rid of Dan Brown.
My chosen charity (if I am fortunate enough to get my name drawn) is operationpaperback . Thanks for running the contest...What a fun idea! - Rebel Sun |
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