Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Bernard Pivot Blogfest Is Today!

Welcome to the Bernard Pivot Blogfest!  We have over 105 bloggers playing along, but if you've come by for a visit and you're not on the list, feel free to jump aboard!  Mr. Linky is at the bottom of this post.

We're having fun with Pivot's ten question questionnaire, made famous in this country by James Lipton of Inside the Actor's Studio. (Blank questionnaire found here.)  Blogfest participants have filled out the questionnaire and pasted it with their answers on their blogs today.  Hop from blog to blog and read everyone's answers!  I hope you learn something interesting about your blog friends and meet some new people.

Here are my answers.  And below that, you'll find Mr. Linky pointing you to other blogs involved in the fest.  Let the fun begin!


  1. What is your favorite word?  Torque.  The word means,The measured ability of a rotating element, as of a gear or shaft, to overcome turning resistance.” ...But who cares?  It just sounds cool.  And even without playing it on any premium squares, ‘torque’ will earn you 15 points in Scrabble.  J
  2. What is your least favorite word? Vain.  Vanity is such selfish, inward focus – the polar opposite of the humility I strive for and my desire to project positive energy outward.  I also hate vain’s homonym.  Having my blood drawn is a traumatic event for me.  If I even think too hard about veins, I start to get light-headed.  Ack.  Next question!
  3. What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally?  Beauty in Nature.  Seashores, mountain trails, deserts, rain forests.  These are the places I always feel the most spiritually aware and creatively inspired.
  4. What turns you off?  Prejudice.  I have an innate aversion to any idea or statement that advocates Person ‘A’ is less capable, intelligent, or worthy than Peson ‘B’ on the grounds that Person ‘A’ is of a different gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or political or religious persuasion than Person ‘B’.  I don’t care how wealthy, powerful, or educated you are; if you hold prejudiced beliefs, I believe you just don’t get IT. 
  5. What is your favorite curse word?  Fuck.  I love its versatility and its humor.  Fuck effortlessly illustrates how passionate you are feeling in a moment.  But, fuck also has the unique ability to diffuse a serious situation, with a splash of campy shock-wit.
  6. What sound or noise do you love?  The first M&Ms to rain down from the just-opened bag into a glass candy bowl.  Such a delicious sound!
  7. What sound or noise do you hate?  The land line phone ringing.  The land line is primarily for our Internet connection, so its phone ringing rarely preludes a pleasant phone conversation.  My friends and family use my cell number to call me.  When the house phone rings, it’s bound to be a sales call or an organization trying to raise money.  I dislike both interruptions.  Maybe I should turn that ringer off…
  8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?  Graphic Artist.  I love web design, creating images with Paint Shop Pro, and fiddling with HTML and CSS coding.  It’s a hobby I would have loved as a career.
  9. What profession would you not like to do?  Nursing.  All that drawing people’s blood... and assisting doctors as they perform procedures or attend to injuries on patients like me, who are totally freaked out and feeling nauseous from the sheer anticipation of someone wiggling and then opening their veins…  Thank God for Nurses!  And thank God, for all my would-be patients, that I’m not one.
  10. If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?  Welcome back.

Thanks for stopping by!  I look forward to visiting all the participating blogs today.  Join me as I hop around! Here's the list of peeps playing along.  And remember, add your name if you want:






Post Script:  Patti Nielson's link is broken in the Mr. Linky list and I haven't been able to fix it.  Her blog is Patti Nielson.
Also, Ink Pots 'n' Quills may have a broken link.  Just in case, here's the correct link: Ink Pots 'n' Quills.
Here's another one with a possible broken link:  Michael @ In Time...
And another :))  Jolene Perry
                                    

97 comments:

Alexis said...

Good words! We are curse word buddies!

Lindz Pagel said...

#3 all the way. And the way you described opening an M&M bag just sparked a huge chocolate craving. Whoa! Thanks for hosting!

Jolene Perry said...

I love the word fuck - it's a noun, a verb, an adjective... you name it. It's there :)

Roland D. Yeomans said...

Glad to join in the fun, Roland

Arlee Bird said...

Mmmmm! M & M's are a nice sound.
Good answers. Seems to be a prevalence of the word "fuck" which in reality is my favorite but I just didn't say so.

Lee
Tossing It Out

Samantha Vérant said...

I'm a nature girl too!

Al said...

I have to say I prefer the word 'bugger' to fuck. But Aussies tend to ascribe a somewhat different meaning to the word.

Margo Benson said...

Ooh, I like 'Torque' - thanks for hosting, this is going to be a lot of fun today!

J.C. Martin said...

Great answers! Great choice of sound: M&M's! Oddly, but perhaps fortuitously, I currently have Internet connection, but my land line phone doesn't work! It was a mix-up when I changed ISPs that the first cancelled my phone line. :)

J.C. Martin said...

P.S. Sorry for posting twice, but forgot to say thank you for hosting this cool blogfest! :)

Jessica Bell said...

Haha! Oh my gosh I have the same thing with the landline phone.Every time it rings I grimace and curl up into a ball. LOL thanks for hosting this! It's really fun! :o)

Tony Benson said...

Nicole, thanks for hosting this wonderful blogfest. Wow! over a hundred participants.

I like the word Torque too. It has a unique ring to it. I love your 'welcome back' that's really nice.

Louise Wise said...

Great blog! Are the names a list of fellow crusaders?

KatOwens: Insect Collector said...

Great answers- and M&M should totally kick something back to you. I think their sales are going to jump today as we all go to recreate that totally delicious sound!

Christine Danek said...

How fun. I totally opened a bag of peanut butter M &M's yesterday. You nailed the sound. Now I have to go and eat some.

Talli Roland said...

I love these questions, Nicole - and I love your answers! :) Thanks for hosting the blogfest. And the word 'torque' is fantastic!

Vicki Rocho said...

Great answers! I use torque as in "He really torqued me of when he stole my phone"

Claire G said...

Hey Nicole! I'm one of your Crusade group-mates :) Lovely to "meet" you- I'm so with you on number 7 of your list. Invariably it's not only someone annoying, but they always seem to call when my toddler is having her nap, and it drives me mental. Gah! But then there's always my other favourite- the sound of those M&Ms (aw yeah) to make it all better.

Looking forward to hanging out a little over the coming couple of months :)

Aleeza said...

i think im a bit late to sign up...but better late than never, eh?
and the landline phone ringing--ahhhh, I HATE it. And M&Ms pouring down into glass bowls--that totes made me want to go out and buy some. tempting sound, that is, lol.

Unknown said...

Such detail!! I love it!! Nicole this blog fest couldn't have been more fun! Thank you so much for giving me a heads up weeks ago (not that it's needed - look at all the participants!!!)

Congrats on all your accomplishments!

Shannon said...

I love your responses, Nicole (we have a lot in common with our curse word, attraction to nature, and fear of blood)! This is a great blogfest idea! Thanks!

Alison Pearce Stevens said...

We're pretty similar on #s 3-5. Ah, M&Ms...

Charity Bradford said...

Love all your answers! The m&m sound is pretty nice, and I'm right there with you on the nursing bit. Thank goodness there are others out there who are really good with bodily fluids willing to take care of the rest of us.

It's going to take me the rest of the week to read all the entries, but this is a wonderful way to get to know each other better. Thanks!

Erinn said...

M&M sounds, perfect and awesome. Thanks for hosting!

Eliza said...

Thought I'd have a go at this thanks :-)

Jennifer Hoffine said...

Good stuff. I almost picked nursing for the same reason...I'm a complete needle-phobe even when watching it done to others.

Also, have you read Tom Wolfe's treatise on the multiple uses of *uck in the novel I AM CHARLOTTE SIMMONS? It's well worth reading the book for.

Jennifer Hoffine said...

Oh, I forgot. Thanks so much for hosting! This is fun!

Jen said...

I laughed at your reasoning behind your favorite curse word. "Campy shock-wit"...too funny!

And I totally agree with you on the land-line ring. I hear it all day at work and it's one of my least favorite sounds in the whole world!!

Great answers and thanks for hosting!!
Jen

Summer Frey said...

Oh, I love the M&Ms answer! That IS a great sound.

I don't particularly like having my blood drawn either, but trust me--it's totally different on the other side of the needle. :)

Angela said...

Torque, awesome! A unique word I've yet to see.

L.A. Colvin said...

Your M&M's make it to the bowl? Now that's self control. This is so fun, thanks for doing this.

Summer Ross said...

LOL- love your last answer! "welcome Back"

And Your favorite curse word is mine to!

Rebecca T. said...

I see we both have an aversion to nursing! this is a fun blogfest, can't wait to get around to a bunch of the other questionnaires!

Lisa Potts said...

Thanks so much for hosting this blogfest. It looks like a big success!

You and I agreed on a couple of things and I never even thought about M&Ms hitting the bowl. Brilliant.

Luna said...

Great answers, Nicole! Oh, yes, M&Ms being poured in a bowl sounds lovely. Now I wish I had some. You know, you would make a fantastic graphic artist!

Thanks for hosting this awesome blogfest! And congrats on all the followers and the many more to come. *Hugs*

Laura S. said...

I love the sound of M&Ms poured into a glass bowl, too!!! Yum! Great answers, Nicole. Thanks for putting together this fun blogfest!

RosieC said...

Beauty in nature is an excellent answer. And I too love the sound of M&Ms dropping into the bowl. There's so much promise in it :)

Thanks for hosting. This was so much fun :)

Wendy Tyler Ryan said...

Really detailed answers. Thanks for hosting.

John G Ward said...

Liked the M&M answer thanks for hosting this.

Heather said...

This is brilliant! I love that I am not the only one who says "fcuk" a lot. I'm not always proud, but I have found it is the only word appropriate for some situations.

Thanks for doing this!

Jen said...

What a great turn out for your bloghop! I love the m&m sound. why didn't I think of that!

Linda G. said...

Great answers! Yeah, the Anglo-Saxons sure gave us a great, versatile swear word there. ;)

Tracy said...

Great job Nicole...that was fun hearing more about you!

J.L. Campbell said...

I'm wanting some M&M's right now and can actually hear the bag rustling, and the candies falling...okay, I'll be right back...after my M&M fix.

Carolyn Abiad said...

Torque! Good way to get rid of a q! Although zephyr gives me pretty good points too! :)

Lola Sharp said...

I adore your M&M answer, Nic. :)

Prejudice is ugly and sad and ignorant.

Love you,
L

Lenny Lee said...

hi miss nicole! fun blogfest!
me and you are just the same on creativity. i closed my eyes on that swear one. ha ha.
...hugs from lenny

Shannon O'Donnell said...

I almost said nursing as my least favorite profession - I think I even had it typed for a few seconds! :-)

Susan Oloier said...

Nursing for me, too!!! When I read your post about veins, I could totally relate.

Cherie Reich said...

I'm loving reading everyone's answers! Now, I want M&Ms, though. *grins*

Southpaw said...

I’m like you it’s all about how a word sounds. I adore your favorite sound. It is a good one.

I’ll sure be busy today visiting all the blogfest participants!

Kristin Rae said...

ugh.. i started to feel a little sick at your least fav word too! i won't even say it!! :)

Thanks for hosting!! This is fun :)

Anonymous said...

Love how you corresponded vein and vain! And it is perfectly clear why nurse would not be your chosen profession. Me too!

Abby Minard said...

Great list! Love your explanation of your words. Mmmm, that is a wonderful sound m&m's make. And I hated our landline so much we got rid of it ;p

Creepy Query Girl said...

Great answers! -congratulations on the followers Nicole! What a turn-out! SOrry I missed this one!

Adriana Noir said...

Torque is an awesome word! Torniquet is pretty cool too. I have to agree with you about veins. That grosses me out more than anything when you are eating chicken and you look down and see veins in it...buh... *shudders* thanks for hosting such a fun event!

Jules said...

Love your words but we will have to compare notes on your ideal career position. :)

And thanks for hosting, it has been a real treat reading everyone's answers.
Jules @ Trying To Get Over The Rainbow

Stephen T. McCarthy said...

"TORQUE"
Good answer! I like certain words for the way they look, sound, or feel in the mouth. "Torque" looks good - I tend to like to see X, Z, and the combinations of OU and QU. And "Torque" sounds good too, because it has that hard "KUH" at the end, like a natural exclamation mark.

Thanks for sponsoring this blogfest!

~ D-FensDogg
'Loyal American Underground'

Ann said...

I totally get the vein thing. I hyperventilate when having blood drawn. The sight of that needle sends me into panic...and those holding the needle are in desperate need of body armour.

Great blogfest Nicole. Congratulations on all your followers.

LTM said...

Our #4s are very similar, and ooo!!! I love love love your #6... now I want some M&Ms... Our #9 is also the same. hmmm... :o) Thanks, Nicole! This is fun! <3

Corinne O said...

oh what fun this blogfest is! I love your fave sound.. I will be more mindful of the tinkling of my m&ms when they rain down into the empty bowl. I might, i fact, insist ob glass bowls for M&Ms from now on.

Gail said...

Hi Nicole,
I'm late to the party but wanted to join the fun even if I'm too late for the giveaways! I'm a new follower (found you through Lydia Kang) and guess what? I'm an Atlanta girl too! Maybe see you at SpringMingle!

Mara McBain said...

Fuck really surprised me! I can't even imagine you saying it. LOL And here I was afraid I would offend.

Jessica A. Briones said...

Love everybody's curse, what a great idea this blogfest was, a great way to meet people.

Louise said...

I have finally got my entry up...it was fun :) Thanks :)

http://hereshesat.blogspot.com/2011/02/getting-to-know-you.html

May Torres said...

This was so much fun! I just finished mine. I'm going to go blog hop now! Yay!

Myne said...

Congrats on a successful blogfest. I love your answers too.

Pat Tillett said...

Great answers!
You've got a great turnout here!

Sarah McCabe said...

That was fun. I learned a lot from my first blogfest and have a lot more blogs to read now! Thanks for hosting this. :)

Laura Eno said...

Great fun, Nicole! M&Ms sound good right now.

DiscConnected said...

Very interesting answers.

Funny, but I kind of had to scrape for the favorite/least favorite words.

Thanks for hosting,

Larry

Unknown said...

Torque is a word - all guttural and throaty. :)

Silent Screams: A Blog About Life said...

Thanks for hosting. It's fun discovering little facts about my favorite writers.

I wish I had more talent with art, graphic or otherwise. Great answers! Take care Nicole.

Hart Johnson said...

Torque! Excellent! I like the word AND the meaning, actually (I am sort of a geek)--it's a very SPECIFIC meaning, and I love words that mean exactly one thing but can be used to mean another thing... I use Oblique a lot for similar reasons... it has a mathmatical meaning that I LOVE as a social meaning *shifty*

And oh, the M&M sound is a nice one... sadly, it doesn't happen at my house. If we had a bag of M&Ms they would all be GONE, straight from the bag!

Julie said...

One of my favorite sounds is ALSO the m&ms!!! My goodness, I really could go for some right now.
Thanks for the blogfest, this was fun!

Anonymous said...

So...say I cut myself pretty badly, like, deep enough to sever a vein, and blood's spurting all over the place. I shouldn't call your landline to ask for your help?

;)

Happy blogfest day, good lady!

John Wiswell said...

How many times are you hoping you've been to Heaven? Seeing as you're going back and all.

Anonymous said...

So...say I cut myself pretty badly, like, deep enough to sever a vein, and blood's spurting all over the place. I shouldn't call your landline to ask for your help?

;)

Happy blogfest day, good lady!

Christopher said...

I completely forgot that I signed up for this! I need to put put mine up.

Ellie Garratt said...

F**k is a fun word!

Thank you for hosting such an awesome blogfest - it's been great fun.

Heather M. Gardner said...

Yeah for M&M's and the word Fuck! Awesome.
Great idea for us to all get to know one another. Thanks for hosting!

BK Mattingly said...

Perfect with the M&M's. It's a wonderful sound.

Denise Covey said...

Hi Nicole thanks again for this cool 'fest. Love your answers. It's true, fuck is everything. Saves thinking anytime! Thanks for visitng and your kind words about my little piece of Paris. BTW I'm off over there on another trip in the next few months. Tres cool!

Denise:)

Brigitte said...

Thanks for the follow and comment. :) Really honored! xoxoxo

Shelley Sly said...

I love this blog fest and I love your answers! I couldn't be a nurse either. Too much blood. But I like the sound of M&M's. :) Thanks so much for hosting, this is an awesome idea!! <3

lifenbits said...

You can go on and read my answers. Curiously, I meant to write you a comment when I input my URL and name. Once in the list I didn't have any other option than posting my answers. It was fun.

Margo Berendsen said...

Oh my, the M&M thing has me watering in the mouth now! Really loved your beauty in nature and prejudice answers too. Great set of questions!

Michael Di Gesu said...

Hi, Nicole,

I love the m&m thing. It does sound DELICIOUS!

This is a great blogfest! It is so cool to really find out about our blogging buddies in a fun setting.

Thanks for hosting this...

Michael

Theres just life said...

We share the same answer for #3 and #5. Graphic Artist yip that would work for me as well. Vein for me isn't so bad, it's the damn needles I hate, as one Dentist found out much to his dismay.

Thanks for hosting this blogfest, I am having a blast.

Pamela Jo
http://theresjustlifeyaliveit.blogspot.com

Lydia Kang said...

Ah, our #3 answers are identical! And cusswords are nearly the same. I like how you gave them a whole paragraph of explanation. F*** deserves that.

VR Barkowski said...

Love the sound of M&Ms hitting a glass bowl, I'd recognize it anywhere.

Thanks for hosting a fun & fabulous blogfest, Nicole!

Raquel Byrnes said...

This was so fun...thanks! And I DO think that theme music should play when I enter a room...can't decide which though. Maybe the one they use for Darth Vader? =)

Corinne O said...

hello again! Holy hysterical blogfest! I am only on #70 and will get through them all... really enjoying all of the entries. Thanks Nicole. :)

Jemi Fraser said...

Fabulous blogfest Nicole! Love it! :P

I would also love to be a graphic artist - :)

Sherrie Petersen said...

Would you believe I'm a graphic designer for a living? It IS a fun career and a fabulous outlet for my creativity. Except when clients don't agree with my brilliance :)

HowLynnTime said...

Thanks for hosting! Sorry I was late to the party, but I arrive in fashion....grin. I love the F word too. Torque is great, a classy twisted, with specific preasure sort of word. I have no fear of needles so nurse is not as bad to me.
I could sure do that before being the poor guy who has to pick the pee bottles up from the truck stops!
Welcome back? Why did you kick me out in the first place! Look what I brought home Dad... Its a feather plucker....gonna have to sneak up on me to send me back this time! Hey who's up for a little cloud racing?

J.L. Campbell said...

Nicole,

It's been a real blast!
Think I've stopped in with most bloggers and said howdy.
Thanks again for hosting.