Friday 5 for March 29: Spanish Inquisition

Hello, and welcome to this week’s Friday 5! Please copy these questions to your webspace. Answer the questions there; then leave a comment below so we’ll all know where to check out your responses. Please don’t forget to link us from your website!

This week’s questions come from a podcast I like, That’s What She Said with Sarah Spain. It’s ostensibly a sports-themed podcast, but Spain can talk about almost anything with alacrity. She’s a former college track athlete at Cornell and is one of the brighter stars among a new wave of younger sports-talk talent at ESPN. Spain concludes most podcast interviews with a segment she calls the Spanish Inquisition, during which she asks guests these eight questions (there’s a ninth bonus question but it’s specific to her show, so I’m leaving it out). I’m a sucker for these kinds of things, so although a few of them are standard meme-type fodder, I present them here for our enjoyement. Please feel free to choose any five of these questions, or answer more if you’d like. Number 5 is a bit more personal a question than I usually pose in this space, but if you’re game, so am I.

  1. What’s a natural talent you’d like to be gifted with?
  2. What is your ONE desert island album?
  3. If you could switch lives with anyone for a day, who would it be?
  4. What’s the most scared you’ve ever been?
  5. What do you consider your biggest failure?
  6. What habit or quality do you think has contributed most to your success?
  7. What’s the thing about yourself you’d most like to improve?
  8. What three words would you most hope people would use to describe you?

Thanks for participating, and have a wonderful weekend!

Friday 5 for March 22: Clicker is Quicker

Hello, and welcome to this week’s Friday 5! Please copy these questions to your webspace. Answer the questions there; then leave a comment below so we’ll all know where to check out your responses. Please don’t forget to link us from your website!

  1. What’s something you’d like to increase the volume of?
  2. Who would you like to mute?
  3. When was your body (or part of your body) most recently scanned?
  4. What part of the upcoming weekend would you like to skip?
  5. Whose input could you really use right now?

Thanks for participating, and have a beautiful weekend!

Friday 5 for March 15: Beware

Hello, and welcome to this week’s Friday 5! Please copy these questions to your webspace. Answer the questions there; then leave a comment below so we’ll all know where to check out your responses. Please don’t forget to link us from your website!

  1. What’s something people cautioned you against that turned out not to be dangerous or bad at all?
  2. What’s something you wish someone had cautioned you about?
  3. What’s your favorite non-English word of warning?
  4. What’s a really stupid thing you’ve done that could have resulted in your demise?
  5. What should you probably stay away from this weekend?

Thanks for participating, and have a dangerous weekend!

Friday 5 for March 8: Parental Control

Hello, and welcome to this week’s Friday 5! Please copy these questions to your webspace. Answer the questions there; then leave a comment below so we’ll all know where to check out your responses. Please don’t forget to link us from your website!

  1. Where do you think you’re going?
  2. Who do you think you are?
  3. What’s gotten into you?
  4. How do you expect to pay for all this?
  5. When are you going to come to your senses?

Thanks for participating, and have a serene weekend!

Friday 5 for March 1: It Means Everything

Hello, and welcome to this week’s Friday 5! Please copy these questions to your webspace. Answer the questions there; then leave a comment below so we’ll all know where to check out your responses. Please don’t forget to link us from your website!

  1. If you were outside right now, what would you most likely be doing?
  2. Right now, what’s a little too close to you?
  3. Right now, who misses you?
  4. Right now, what’s having its way with you?
  5. What do you most wish you were doing right now?

Thanks for participating, and have a wonderful weekend!

Friday 5 for February 22: Mischief Managed

Hello, and welcome to this week’s Friday 5! Please copy these questions to your webspace. Answer the questions there; then leave a comment below so we’ll all know where to check out your responses. Please don’t forget to link us from your website!

Ohhhhhh. I get what’s happening. When I click PUBLISH in this new version of WordPress, the post doesn’t automatically publish. The software asks me if I’m sure I don’t want to check everything, and I’m supposed to hit PUBLISH again to make the thing post. Got it!

  1. The Mirror of Erised doesn’t show a reflection of you at the moment, but of you and what your heart most desires. If you gazed into it today, what image would you see?
  2. A howler is a blood-red letter sent to signify extreme anger or to convey a message very loudly and publicly. When it is opened, the sender’s voice, which has been magically magnified to a deafening volume, bellows a message at the recipient and then self-destructs. If it is not opened or there is a delay in opening it, the letter smolders, explodes violently, and shouts the message out even louder than normal. If you were to receive one today, who would most likely be the sender?
  3. What model vehicle would be great to turn into a flying car?
  4. What item in your house could use a dose of magic, and what extraordinary quality would you like to imbue it with?
  5. Among people you know, who is most likely and secretly born with magical ability?

Thanks for participating, and have a lumos weekend!

Friday 5 for February 15: QotD

Hello, and welcome to this week’s Friday 5! Please copy these questions to your website. Answer the questions there; then leave a comment below so we’ll all know where to check out your responses. Please don’t forget to link us from your website!

Wherever I’ve worked, I’ve enjoyed surveying coworkers, as sort-of a way to get to know people but also to encourage inclusion. People answer whatever my question of the day is, and I say something like, “Oh, Myrna in accounting said the same thing!” Now they’re thinking of Myrna, perhaps thinking that they have more in common with Myrna than they thought. And maybe they have something to chat about the next time they see each other in the break room. “Hey, I hear you hate Star Wars! Me too!”

Yeah, this weird Friday 5 thing? It’s not just on Fridays for me. And it’s not just in this webspace. 🙂 And I’ve been known to pass around a slam book at grown-up parties. Here are some questions I’ve asked coworkers in recent years.

  1. What kind of drunk are you?
  2. What’s one of your language-related pet peeves?
  3. What would be a good question to ask people you’ve just met, if what you really want to know is what they’re passionate about? You know, an alternative to “What do you do?” or “How do you know so-and-so?”
  4. When you get home super tired and super hungry, do you usually eat first or sleep first?
  5. You’re taking an exam. You aren’t sure about the answer to question 5, but you know it’s either “lions” or “tigers.” You get to question 11 and realize whatever the answer to 5 is, 11 is the other answer. Do you write “lions” as your answer to 5 and 11, thereby ensuring you’ll get one of them right? Or do you write “lions” for 5 and “tigers” for 11, risking two wrong answers but giving you a chance at two right ones?

Yeah, 4 and 5 are unusual for Friday 5 because I stay away from this-or-that questions here, but you’re a writer. Write something! Thanks for participating, and have a wonderful weekend!

Friday 5 for February 8: Salt Fat Acid Heat

Hello, and welcome to this week’s Friday 5! Please copy these questions to your webspace. Answer the questions there; then leave a comment below so we’ll all know where to check out your reponses. Please don’t forget to link us from your website!

Argh. I’m so annoyed with myself. I wrote these questions Thursday and thought I posted them but when I showed up at my desk Friday morning and looked for responses, I saw that instead of publishing, I saved as a draft. Sorry about that, Chief!

  1. What are some very salty foods you enjoy?
  2. What areas of your life could stand a little fat-trimming?
  3. How acid-tongued are you?
  4. What’s an interesting way you’ve burned yourself?
  5. What are your favorite everyday cooking implements?

Thanks for participating, and have a glorious weekend!

Friday 5 for February 1: Then You Begin to Make it Better Better Better Better Better Better Yeah

Hello, and happy Friday! Welcome to this week’s Friday 5. Please copy these questions to your webspace. Answer the questions there; then leave a comment below so we’ll all know where to check out your responses. Please don’t forget to link us from your website!

  1. What’s something you hated as a teen but love today?
  2. What’s something you recently dreaded that turned out not too bad?
  3. How do you feel about February as it compares to January?
  4. Who among people you know is really making the world a better place?
  5. In what way is today better than yesterday?

Thanks for participating, and have a wonderful weekend!

Friday 5 for January 25: Teal This Record

Hello, and welcome to this week’s Friday 5!  Please copy these questions to your webspace.  Answer the questions there; then leave a comment below so we’ll all know where to check out your responses.  Please don’t forget to link us from your website!

This is a bit silly, but here are five questions inspired by the first five tracks on the new Weezer covers album, which I listened to on endless repeat all day Thursday.

  1. Where in Africa would you like to visit?
  2. If you ruled the world, what would you forbid people to talk about in the company of strangers?
  3. In what way do you tolerate (or enjoy) being used?
  4. When did you recently have an a-ha moment?
  5. What’s something you know about turtles?

Thanks for participating, and have a teal weekend!