2013 What Discoveries May Lie Ahead

Science and technology have utterly transformed human life in the past few generations, and forecasts of the future used to be measured in decades. But big changes arrive faster and faster these days. So here we’ve shifted our forecast to the near-term, because we’re right on the verge of some extraordinary stuff. These are the trends and events to watch out for in 2013.

Medical Innovations Poised to Transform the way we Treat Diseases

• Targeting tumors with specialized drugs

• Performing your own EKG at home

• Making DNA analysis quick and inexpensive

• Turning gene therapy into reality

• Setting antibiotics loose on cancer

• DNA sequencing for routine checkups

• Letting your body fight cancer

WSJ Reference (You've got to read this article)

First Alien Earth: Many astronomers believe we will find the first Earth-like alien planet will be discovered, an epic discovery that would cause humanity to reassess its place in the universe. Reference

We Are Not Alone in the Universe: No, I’m not talking about aliens. China and India have major space launches scheduled and will join us in space. China will be sending a landing craft to the moon and India will send an orbiter toward Mars.

Dark Matter: dark matter could be found by looking up into space. Scientists analyzing observations of cosmic gamma rays in 2012 discovered an unusual excess at a particular energy emanating from the center of our galaxy. One explanation for the signal is that dark matter particles are colliding and converting into high-energy radiation. This coming year will no doubt bring new data, better analysis, and maybe, just maybe, evidence that pins down dark matter once and for all. Reference

Other possible breakthroughs for 2013: Quantum computing. Robotic limbs powered by the human mind. Exoskeletons. Space probes. Space telescopes. New propulsion technologies for rockets that will allow us to go to Mars in 40 days. All bigger, badder, and faster.

But what’s truly amazing will be the shift from government and corporate research and development to the private sector. Then there are the amateur scientists who practice their craft in their garage or basements. Look for amazing advancements from all three arenas in 2013! 

And I'll be covering as many as I can. Stay tuned!

Blogging Basics: Making Bloggy Friends

As we near the 2013 A-to-Z Challenge, we'll be speaking increasingly on all topics A-to-Z.  In the meantime, though, let's focus on blogging overall.  Today, I thought I'd talk about how to make connections in the blogging world.

Blogging is a social medium, but people's reasons for engaging in the blog world differ.  Some are here to sell books or other products by creating a platform, some want to meet others and hang out, some are more interested in reading than sharing, and some just want someone to hear them.

For each reason to blog, there are dozens of types of blogs.  Parenting blogs, reading blogs, writing blogs, photography blogs, exercise blogs, history blogs, dream blogs, political blogs.  You name it, there is likely a blog for it.  This gives us the ability to visit all manner of blogs, and to invariably find something out there we want to read.

How do you reach out to all of these bloggers and get to know them, though?  How do you meet and forge relationships online?

This is easier than you may think, and really depends upon how much time you have.  Here's a quick rundown of how one might connect with other bloggers:

1. Visit blogs.  Pretty simple, right?  Hunt down blogs you're interested in.  Do a search on the topic you're looking for + "blog."  Head on over and check them out to see if you're interested in what they have to say.

2. Leave comments.  Once you've found a blog you're interested in, read their posts and leave a comment for them.  Make it a real comment, not just a passing "nice blog" type comment.  Address the topic they're discussing and/or ask a question about the topic.

3. Follow blogs.  If you like what they have to say, follow in the way you prefer.  Options include Google Friend Connect, RSS feed, follow by email, etc.  Choose the option you like best and follow it.

4. Have something to say.  It won't matter what you're doing on other people's blogs if you're not talking on your own.  Know what you want to blog about, then do so.  Be yourself, use your own voice, and talk about something that interests you...and that you feel will interest other people.

5. Respond to comments on your own blog and visit back.  When someone happens along and likes what you have to say enough to leave a comment on your blog, be sure to reply in some way.  You can comment back in the comments, reply back to each individual comment (on blogs that allow that), email a response to those who have allowed that possibility, or respond to them on their own blog.  No matter which response you choose, you should also try to visit them back at their blog to return the favor and see what they have to say.

There are many other ways to get to know other bloggers, but these are the basics that will get you started.  After that, you can explore other ways to make connections, such as blog hops/fests, memes, guest posting, guest hosting, interviews, etc.  Most important is that you find out what works best for you and go from there.

May you find your Muse.

Shannon
The Warrior Muse

A to Z Team 2013

Another Challenge, Another A to Z Team! 

        Well, folks, it's official!  The 2013 A to Z Team is in place and we have another great line-up for you this year.   Our Team is here to help you with the Challenge and inspire you along the way.  We will be having some extremely helpful posts from the A to Z Co-hosts in the months to come.  You will want to be sure to check in daily to see what's new as well as reminders about things you may have forgotten.

         Since this 4th annual Challenge is occurring in lucky year number '13, we have thirteen A to Z Team members to help make the Challenge a success.  Most of the team are members from last year who have returned with a lot of experience behind them, while there are three new ones coming on board to take the place of those who couldn't make it for this year's Challenge.

        So without further ado, say hello to The 2013 A to Z Team:

The A to Z Team 2013!

Arlee Bird      Tossing It Out                           @ArleeBird
Damyanti Biswas      Amlokiblogs                    @damyantig
Alex J. Cavanaugh      Alex J. Cavanaugh        @alexjcavanaugh 
Tina Downey     Life is Good                          @TinaLifeisGood
DL Hammons         Cruising Altitude 2.0             @DL_H
Jeremy Hawkins       Retro-Zombie                  @iZombieJMH
Shannon Lawrence        The Warrior Muse         @thewarriormuse
Matthew MacNish       The QQQE                      @MatthewMacNish
Konstanz Silverbow       No Thought 2 Small      @KonstanzS
Stephen Tremp        Breakthrough Blogs            @StephenTremp
Livia Peterson       Leave it to Livia                  @LiviaGPeterson
L. Diane Wolfe        Spunk on a Stick                 @SpunkOnAStick 
Nicole  Ayers      The Madlab Post                      @madlabpost

Who Are the New Team Members?

         Livia Peterson started her blog Leave It To Livia last May, heading full force into the blogging world to make her presence known in many ways including landing a place on the A to Z Team.  Her blogging niche includes movies, entertainment, and, of course, writing.  She's ready to take the blog world by storm so be sure to head on over to her blog and become friends with her now.  We think you'll like Livia.

         L. Diane Wolfe was already in the blogging circle that I fell into nearly four years ago and I feel honored to be a part of her blog circle of friends.  Diane is an expert on writing, public speaking, marketing, and promotion.  In other words, she's a valuable contact to have.  You can find her at Spunk on a Stick.  If you're not following her blog, then now's the time to head on over and do so.

        Nicole Ayers from The Madlab Post is probably a very familiar name to A to Z'ers by now.  In fact you may be wondering, "Isn't she already on the A to Z Team?"   Nicole has been responsible for our Friday posts over the past several months as she sat in as an unofficial Team Member.  Now it's official--Nicole is part of the Team.  If you are looking for some inspiration about A to Z themes you may want to check out some her previous Friday posts on that topic.  And be sure to follow her blog if you aren't doing so already.

Follow The Leaders

      The links to all of the Team blogs can be found in the list above.  If there are any that you are not yet following then hop on over to their blogs and click the "Follow" button.   You will want to check in with all of these bloggers on a regular basis for the latest A to Z Challenge news and for helpful tips about the Challenge and blogging in general.

      The Blogging from A to Z April Challenge Blog is another must for all Challenge participants.  Up until April we will be presenting plenty of information about the Challenge, the participants, and the Team members.  You don't want to miss any of the posts here, especially between now and April.

       If you haven't done so yet, explore the tabbed pages above.  Some are still being updated and revised.  If you need to contact the Challenge administrators or individual Team members go to the "Contact Us" tab.   If you have questions about the Challenge then first read "What Is the A to Z Blogging Challenge?" and if your questions aren't answered there then look at "FAQ" to see if your questions are answered there.  If not, just ask us and we'll find you an answer.

        The sign up list will start on Wednesday January 30th.   We're ready.  Are you?

     

Related articles

• Help With our 2013 Co-Host Questionnaire!
• Getting To Know Me
• Beginnings, Ninja News, The Hobbit Blogfest, Movie Trivia Answers, and the "Cheers Blogfest" Winners and Special Mentions

The #atozchallenge on Twitter: Are You Following @AprilA2Z

Last year one of my duties as a co-host was to support those who're tweeting their A to Z Challenge posts on Twitter.

With its limitation of 140 characters, Twitter can be a great medium to share links: it takes very little time, and reaches a wide audience.

So if you're on Twitter, and are thinking of signing up for the A to Z Challenge this 30th January, here's what you can do:

1. Follow the official A to Z Challenge id of twitter : @AprilA2Z

2. Tweet anything you want to say about A to Z Blogging challenge using the hashtag #atozchallenge

3. Considering retweeting posts by @AprilA2Z which are relevant to the challenge. After all, the more people who take part in the challenge, the better it is for all the participants!

4. If you make a blog post about the A to Z Challenge (I'm hoping some of you will, won't you?) make sure to tweet it with the #atozchallenge hashtag

5. Connecting with other A to Z Challenge participants on twitter will ensure that your posts have lots of visitors : so consider following not only the hosts (once they're announced coming Monday!), but also other blog-friends who say they'll participate.

If you have questions regarding A to Z challenge on Twitter, fire away in the comments.

And if you haven't joined Twitter yet, I can point you to Arlee Bird, the founder member of this A to Z Blogging Challenge, who joined last year (after a fair amount of poking), and now has more than 2000 followers!

Post A-to-Z Road Trip Check-In

Well, hello there!  It's been awhile since we did a check-in on the Post A-to-Z Road Trip, but now that the holidays are past us (well, as much as holidays can be past us since we like to throw out holidays every month or so) this is as good a time as any to see how everyone's doing.

We're officially gearing up for the 2013 A-to-Z Challenge, so time is running out to catch up with all of last year's participants.  How far have you gotten?  Are you able to make any monthly progress?  Weekly?  Daily (you visiting fiend, you!)?

What's your plan of attack as you go through the list?  Do you find that you go in order, or do you randomly choose someone to visit?  Did you go through the Post A-to-Z Road Trip sign-up list first?

What I've found works best for me is to go down the list and open a series of blogs at once (usually ten at a time).  I visit those blogs, then if I find I have some more time I open ten more.  This helps me take little chunks at a time, and to feel like I've made progress.

Let us know how you're doing, whether you're still at it or have given up.  This isn't a competition, so don't feel pressured to have made progress.  Do you intend to keep going?  Were you able to visit everyone already?  If so, what was your secret, and what tips might you like to pass along?

Click here to access the 2012 A-to-Z sign-up list.

Cheers!

Shannon (The Warrior Muse) and Tina (Life is Good)

2013 A to Z Challenge Badge Debut and Upcoming Schedule

Badge debut

        Our A to Z Challenge technical guru and in-house art department, Jeremy Hawkins, is the creator of this years badge.   His array of A to Z badges for last year's challenge proved popular with many participants.  This year we'll keep things more simple with one primary design.  

        This badge in coded form which will direct clicks to the A to Z sign-up page will soon be available on the "Badges and Banners" page than can be accessed in the tabs below this page's header.  When adding the badge to your page, please use either the coded form or be sure to link your badge image to the A to Z Blog.  After all, displaying the badge not only shows that you are a participant in the Challenge, but also should direct others to the place where they too can sign up.

Banners, etc

         A banner similar to what is seen below will also be available on the "Badges and Banners" page.  Jeremy will be doing some adjustments on this soon and will be doing a post about putting the badges and banners on your own sites.    Animated versions of the badges and banners are also in the works for those that like that sort of thing.

Upcoming A to Z News

         Next Monday January 14th the new A to Z Team will be announced.   There will also be a new opportunity for more of you to participate in helping the A to Z Team.   I think some of you will find this to be very intriguing.

         On Wednesday January 30th the A to Z sign-up list will be made available.  Last year we had over 1700 participants on the list and fully expect more this year.   You will want to be sure to sign up right away if you want to be listed toward the top of the list.  But never fear, if you don't make it to the top we still have accommodations to be sure that your blog won't get overlooked even if you are somewhere in the high thousands.

        There will be later posts about sign ups and pre-challenge activities.   Be watching this blog (as we're sure you always do) to catch up on all the latest A to Z news.

Update!

The badge with code is at top of sidebar.  On Blogger Blogs you can copy the code and add it to the HTML gadget on your layout page.

The banner with code can be found at the bottom of the page.  This can be added to your page in the same manner as the badge using the long spaces at the top or bottom of your page.

More detailed instructions will be coming in a future post.

           

           

2012: An Amazing Look Back

Post from Stephen Tremp at Breakthrough Blogs

2012 brought us some of the most awesome breakthroughs and discoveries imaginable. Some could help humanity in the most amazing ways, while others are simply awe inspiring. Here are some of the highlights:

The Higgs Boson: a theoretical particle that is key to the scientific understanding of all matter, has been discovered (but still needs to be confirmed). In time, many physicists expect a new era in physics to open up, a gateway or a portal to a new era that could see humanity unlock some of the universe's great mysteries. Medicine and technology could benefit in awesome and amazing ways. It maybe possible to temporarily reduce the mass of an object. Amazing possibilities in space travel could open up. Check out my post from earlier this year: (CLICK HERE)

Junk DNA: Scientists had thought that a substantial portion of human DNA was junk and performs no function. But now they know that at least 80% of this junk has a function. In the next few years, this discovery will let us design new drugs and other ways of treating diseases.

Stay tuned as breakthroughs with DNA and genome sequencing will be coming at us fast and furious, for better or worse.

NASA’s Curiosity Rover: Landed on Mars in August and has a two-year mission (that has been extended) to investigate and asses Martian climate, geology, and past environmental conditions that may have been condusive for life while preparing for future human exploration.

SpaceX: Private firm Space Exploration Technologies Corporation, otherwise known as SpaceX, successfully transferred cargo to the International Space Station, proving that SpaceX was capable of bringing supplies and potentially U.S. astronauts to the ISS.

Hooray for privatizing space exploration! (Reference)

The Largest Black Hole Ever Seen: 250 million light years away in the constellation Perseus is a black hole that tips the scales at the mass equivalent of 17 billion Suns. It lies at the centre of the compact galaxy NGC 1277, whose diameter is only about one-quarter that of the Milky Way. The black hole is about 59% as massive as the galaxy’s central bulge of stars, a much higher percentage than expected. A supermassive black hole typically has about 0.1% the mass of its home galaxy’s stellar bulge. (Reference)

Who We Lost in 2012:

Neil Armstrong (1930 – 2012) American astronaut and first person to walk on the Moon. Armstrong served as an officer in the U.S. Navy and served in the Korean War. He was also an aerospace engineer, naval aviator, test pilot, and university professor.

Dr. Sally Ride (1951 – 2012) American physicist and the first female astronaut in space. She’s not the first woman in space. She was preceded by two Soviet women, Valentina Tereshkova in 1963 and Svetlana Savitskaya in 1982. Check out this post from last year on Dr. Sally Ride: CLICK HERE

Ray Bradbury (1920 – 2012) American writer of science fiction, fantasy, horror, and mystery fiction. His works have been translated into more than 40 languages while many have been adapted into television shows or films.

Stephen Tremp (no, we didn't lose him) is author of Breakthrough and Opening and blogs at Breakthrough Blogs. His third book Escalation is due for release Spring 2013!

Making Improvements for 2013...

So the date thing... is if our other wonderful host and or special guests post something, it will go beneath this post and you all will know "the changes for 2013" are happening. I turned off my dates on my sites and forgot to look here, sorry for the possible confusion. Please feel free to visit my sites... Wink!

A to Z Co-Host

Jeremy [Retro]

Oh No, Let's Go... Crazy!

Check out the latest reviews, music and scores/soundtracks at Howlin' Wolf Records: On-Line Magazine or find the latest horror sites over at Horror Blogger Alliance. Or last but not least visit My NEATORAMA Store at [Retro-Zombie] there is always something going on and it is one click away!

Coming Soon!!! Blogging from A to Z April Challenge 2013

Be sure to be here next Monday
      January 7, 2013
for exciting 
A to Z Challenge news for 2013!

Have a Happy New Year!

Answers to the Alphabet

These Blogging from A to Z subjects are brought to you by Nicole at The Madlab Post...

Today marks the day that the Alphabet Soup series is going on a hiatus, so I am offering up the following prompts that can be used as themes or topics during the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. It is my hope that these blog post subject ideas will help get those of you experiencing some writer’s block through the entire alphabet with little to no fuss.

Adolescent Art - Scan or photograph one of your favorite (or least favorite) pieces of artwork that you made during your childhood years. This can be a sculpture, collage, painting, drawing, sketch or some other type of art that you made in school, church, at summer camp, etc. you get the picture.

Bake or Broil - Compare different foods that you think are better when prepared one way compared to the other. Does fish come out better when broiled? Is chicken more moist when baked? Do an experiment or share with readers a point of view based on your previous cooking and/or tasting experiences.

Censorship Commentary - Answer the question: Does censorship make you feel like you’re being shortchanged in the context of your ability to enjoy and/or absorb a television show, movie or song that you know has been edited for broadcast purposes?

Doomsday -  If the world was ending at the end of April 2013, how would you spend your time between now and then?

Embarrassment - Describe an embarrassing experience that you once had that would not embarrass you if it occurred today.

Fortune vs. Forbes - Read the current issues of both magazines and write a review on them, focusing on which one you would be more likely to want to read again and why.

Goodwill - Mention an act of goodwill that you received from another person within the last year; Or, mention an act of goodwill that you provided to someone else within the last year.

Hugh Hefner - Identify some things that one group of people (bloggers, parents, business owners, celebrities, seniors, etc.) can learn from the Playboy tycoon. Your post can be comical or serious or inspirational or whatever.

Illuminati - Describe the most absurd “discovery” that you read or hear from someone regarding the activities of this secret group.

Jumping Jacks - Conduct an exercise experiment by timing yourself doing 100 jumping jacks every day for one week and blog about your findings including how long it took you to do them, if you had to stop to take a break and how you felt before and after doing them. Did the exercise make you tired or did it boost your energy?

Killing with Kindness - Share your experiences with the “Kill them with Kindness” saying, focusing on whether or not you think it works in all circumstances; sharing tips, if any, that you may have for others who find it difficult to practice this in their lives.

Lapsed Laws - Blog about a particular law that you think is too old to be still on the books.

Muses - Do you have a muse? If so, what is it? If not, do you think there are benefits to having one or does it really matter?

Neverland - If you could build your own version of Neverland Ranch, what would it contain?

Offensive Oppositions - Blog about a gesture or behavior, etc. that usually offends most people, except you.

Prince and Princesses - Highlight a real-life prince or princess that is little known among the masses.

Qdoba - Compare the quality of two different restaurant locations that you visited, paying attention to customer service, state of the food (did it seem stale, was it hot, etc.) and atmosphere.

Rich Reflections - Define what makes your life rich.

Satirical Secrets to (Fill in the Blank) - List humorous “secrets” to parenting, completing the A to Z Challenge, finding the best parking spot, preventing wrinkles in clothes, aging well or whatever topic you are interested in poking fun at.

Timeless Toys - Highlight a few toys that you believe will never go out of style.

Utterly Unattractive - List some unattractive traits that you find in the opposite sex or in the general population.

Victory - Blog about a time in your life when you felt most accomplished and what it took for you to get there.

Mr. Winkle - Do you think this is a real dog or a marketing ploy? If the former applies, what do you think Mr. Winkle is mixed with? Do you think mixed breeds are a blessing or a curse? Does the Mr. Winkle phenomenon beneficial to the importance of bringing more awareness to animal welfare and animal shelters or does it exploit our western culture’s obsession with stardom, fandom and materialism?

X Games - Blog about a high profile X Games participant or some X Games controversy that might be of interest to sports fanatics.

Yokozuna - Offer some background information on the significance of this particular wrestling rank; Or, just highlight the name of the WWF guy who had this name. Your choice.

Zipcar - If you’ve used this car sharing service, blog about your experiences; If this does not apply, then compare the service to car pooling, focusing on which one you think would be more useful.

Have a Good Friday, Everybody!

Nicole
Also @MadlabPost on Twitter

Letter Play - Over and Out!

The following blog photos are brought to you by Nicole at The Madlab Post...

It’s time for Letter Play - Where DIY activities, cinema and life offline collide!

Marking the very last post for Letter Play 2012 and Letter O in this Friday Fun Time series, here are four O’s that I found on popular consumer goods. I wonder which among you devout Blogging from A-to-Zers can match the “O” to its accompanying grocery store item.

#1

#2

#3

#4

Have a Fun Friday, everybody!

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!

Choose Your Own Apocalypse

Hello out there, A-to-Z'ers!

Perhaps you've heard, or maybe not, but the world is ending Friday, December 21, 2012, or so say the Mayans (or at least the people who have decided this is what the Mayans had to say).  What better way to ring in the end of the world than with a blog fest?  Join Shannon, of The Warrior Muse, and Chuck, of Apocalypse Now, for the Choose Your Own Apocalypse Blog Fest, Friday, December 21, 2012.

Assuming the world doesn't end until later in the day, it should be quite the party!

You see, while many people think the world really is going to end on Friday, the 21st, most of them can't agree on HOW.  Will it be an alien invasion?  Zombies? Collision with a mighty meteor?  The super flu?  Solar flares?  Oh my, there are so many ways the world could conceivably end, but the question is, what do YOU think will happen?

Visit one of the following blogs to sign up:

Shannon: The Warrior Muse
Chuck: Apocalypse Now

Alphabet Remix - Options for Oreos

These blogging prompts are brought to you by Nicole at The Madlab Post....

It’s time for The Alphabet Remix - A Writing Prompt Idea Engine Treating A to Z Blogging Avoidance Disorders

Today, Letter O is for one of the most popular snack items made by the Nabisco company -- Oreos! These classic chocolate cookies with a vanilla cream filling can be the focus of your Blogging from A to Z Challenge blog posts if you need a topic to write about. Here are some quick and easy ways to feature Oreo cookies for Letter O in April.

Odd Oreo Offerings
Review the oddest flavors of Oreos you’ve ever tasted or list varieties of these cookies that were only available for a limited amount of time -- such as Gingerbread Oreos.

Oreo Recipes
Share a recipe that uses Oreos as one of the main ingredients. You can also curate a listing of recipes that other people have created such as Cookies Stuffed with Oreos. If cooking isn’t your thing, you can also write a blog post that covers the history and/or significance of Deep Fried Oreos being served at Oktoberfest celebrations throughout the world.

Outrageously Outspoken on Oreos
Make a list of what you think is proper Oreo-eating etiquette. Go crazy and hold nothing back while writing your rules for eating Oreo cookies:

Is it best to open them and eat one side without the cream and then dunk the other side into milk? Do they taste better eaten dry or should they always be dipped in milk? What is the best flavor of milk to dip Oreos in before eating them -- regular, vanilla, strawberry, chocolate, almond or soy? Do they even need to be dipped in milk -- can they be dipped in other liquids such as Orange Juice? Should Oreos be dipped halfway or are they supposed to be completely covered in milk? What is the best time ratio between when an Oreo is dipped and when it is eaten that offers the less risk for it becoming soggy? Can Oreos be topped with condiments such as whipped cream? Should they be eaten for breakfast or remain as a dessert or snack?

Now onto other business, the winner of the Only One themed Alphabet Soup Game is...

Tina Downey at Life is Good. By correctly unscrambling all of the one-word movie titles that begin with Letter O, Tina reclaimed her title of Alphabet Wizard. Her prize package also includes the choice of a letter for the next Alphabet Soup game and the option to pick a theme for the Monday Movie Meme at my blog.

Congratulations Tina and, Have a Fun Friday, everybody!

NICOLE
Find Me @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!

Special Challenge Participant Feature - Sherry Ellis of Gone Gardening!

Today is the last of our Special Challenge Participant feature! And I’m honored to bring to you Sherry Ellis of Gone Gardening. Her theme was “Gardens Around the World,” which fits the theme of her blog. Ah, but she had to follow the alphabet – added challenge! So, please welcome Sherry!

Your blog is all about gardens, which made your theme natural. Why the interest in gardens?

My interest in gardens and gardening came from my mother, who is an avid gardener. Growing up, I remember all of the pretty flowers around the house. My mom would point out what they were, and tell me all about them. Now that I’m an adult, I like to garden, too, but I have to admit that I don’t have as much time to do it as my mother, because I’m so ridiculously busy.

As far as the traveling aspect of my gardening blog is concerned, I used to do a considerable amount of traveling before I had children. My career as a musician and SCUBA diving instructor took my all over the world. I always made it a point to seek out gardens, because I find them to be very peaceful and beautiful.

What percentage of the gardens you’ve featured have you visited?

I’m laughing, Alex, because now you’re making me do math! I have personally visited 18 of the 26 gardens featured in the A-Z challenge, which makes the answer 69% of the gardens. I have seen all of the English gardens, most of the European gardens, the Canadian gardens, most of the Chinese and Japanese gardens, the Australian garden, and the African gardens.

Which garden is your favorite?

That’s a tough one! I really enjoy English gardens. Of those, I like the Hidcote Manor Garden, in Gloucestershire, England, and the Exbury Gardens, in Hampshire, England.

I’d have to also say that the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens in Capetown, South Africa, are just gorgeous! They have summer sunset concerts there, too – a perfect combination – music and gardens!

You had a real word for X. (As opposed to many of us who make up a fake word!) Tell us about the gardens for X.

Ah, yes – X! My X garden was the Xishuangbanna Tropical Garden in Xishaungbanna, China. It’s China’s largest tropical garden, covering almost 2,000 acres. It’s used for research by the Chinese Academy of Science, and contains over 10,000 species of tropical plants!

What’s the biggest garden in the world?

Okay, Mister Trivia Man, I know how much you like trivia, so here you go: The world’s largest botanic garden is the Shaanxi Botanical Garden, located in Shaanxi, China. It covers over 300 square miles!

What garden would you like to see some day?

I would like to see the Keukenhof Garden in the Netherlands (which, by the way, is the world’s largest flower garden). That’s where all those beautiful tulips and spring bulbs are grown. I bet it’s just gorgeous in the spring!

Do you have a garden? Is it real or plastic?

Yes, I have a garden, and no, it’s not plastic! I don’t do plastic gardens! I actually have several: a shade garden with plants like hostas, astilbes, and ferns, a sun garden, along the front of my house (I think I win the prize in my neighborhood for the most summer flowers), and a vegetable garden.

For the Challenge next year, will you stick with the theme of gardens?

I think I will, and feature gardens in the United States. I’d have to make sure I can find gardens for the letters Q, X, and Z first, before I commit to anything!

Thanks for having me as a guest!

Thanks for being here, Sherry!

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Alphabet Soup - Only One

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

Since Loca4Crafts won the previous Alphabet Soup game, today’s word scramble was going to focus on Letter L. We already covered that letter in all three of the Friday Fun Time series, so I decided to move on to the next one in the alphabet that has not yet been featured in Alphabet Soup -- O. It stands for One, particularly where movie titles are concerned.

Unscramble the following movie titles that make up one word only. The first commenter who is able to correctly unscramble all or most of these one-word titles at best wins this weeks’ Alphabet Soup game. Answers to the game and the name of the winner will be posted here at the A to Z blog during the next Friday Fun Time - Alphabet Remix.

1. bOdoyl is _________________________.
2. Osssebde is ______________________.
3. Opucossyt is ______________________.
4. hOanpr is ________________________.

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: Make sure to satisfy your curiosities about all of the A to Z Co-Hosts by adding a comment to the 2013 Co-Host Questionnaire.

Have a Fun Friday, Everybody!

Nicole
Also @MadlabPost on Twitter

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