Reviews from

When Problems Multiply

5-3-5 Have I got your undivided attention?

14 total reviews 
Comment from dragonpoet
Excellent
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Lisa,
This poem is true about mathematicians but is not true about being in large groups today with COVID-19.
Congratulations on placing second in the contest.
Keep writing and stay healthy.
Joan

 Comment Written 05-Jun-2020

Comment from Melissa Russell Deur
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Congrats, Lisa! "Safety in numbers" is so loaded. I agree that during this
time of the corona virus, it does seem ludicrous. But when I think about John Nash in a "Beautiful Mind," I think about individuals finding "safety" in their own equations. This "lune" is poignant.

 Comment Written 04-Jun-2020


reply by the author on 06-Jun-2020
    Thanks for your thoughtful review. I saw that movie and related to it very well, even though I am numerically-challenged myself.
reply by Melissa Russell Deur on 06-Jun-2020
    You're welcome!
Comment from Joan E.
Excellent
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Congratulations on having your Lune so well received in the competition. The concept still applies to herd immunity and in coming together for protection--today, we just have to do it while wearing masks and social distancing! Smiles- Joan

 Comment Written 04-Jun-2020


reply by the author on 06-Jun-2020
    Thanks for your review and comments. 'Safety' is being challenged by closeness these days, but we'll soon revert to what comes naturally.
reply by Joan E. on 06-Jun-2020
    Be safe and well- Joan
Comment from Michele Harber
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This is so clever, Lisa May. As you so often do, you show your genius at wordplay. (Oh Geez, even my reviews are unintentionally rhyming.) This is very cute, and I love that you followed your mathematical metaphor in each line ("mathematicians," "sum," "numbers"). The picture you chose is absolutely perfect. Good luck in the contest.

 Comment Written 22-May-2020


reply by the author on 23-May-2020
    Thanks Michele. I get brain freeze with math so heaven knows how this entered my head as an idea.
reply by Michele Harber on 23-May-2020
    Simple - it was a writing exercise, not a math one.
reply by the author on 23-May-2020
    What a simple explanation! I tend to overthink. I hope you are having a nice weekend.
reply by Michele Harber on 23-May-2020
    Thanks, Lisa May. This is a three-day holiday weekend in the U.S. but, for me, since New York City is still so locked down, there's really not much to do to make it seem different. Monday is, unfortunately, just going to be another day, but at least we won't have to wake up early to get Leah signed in for her teleschool classes. I hope you're enjoying your weekend as well.
reply by the author on 23-May-2020
    So you get to have a lie-in on Monday. Small treat.
    My weekend is a writing one - I have committed to writing my motorcycling memoir now that I have a mentor who is keeping me motivated and on track with targets. I joined a writing academy by submitting a proposal and based on my writing was appointed a mentor who is CEO of a publishing company. I met him last week and am very pleased to discover we have several things in common and, more to the point, he thinks I can write! He did warn me that his company might not be the best fit for my book (he thinks I should publish in Australia) but he has international experience and will certainly advise me along the process of getting my book ready for publishing submission. He has said some very useful things to me already about content and style, regarding how to keep it pitched towards the potential readership.
reply by Michele Harber on 24-May-2020
    Wow! That's amazing, Lisa May. I'm so excited for you. I wish I could find a mentor to help me get my children's books published.
reply by the author on 24-May-2020
    It's costing me money - it's a 3 month commitment, but I hope to have my manuscript sorted at the end of it, and I'll see that as money well spent.
reply by Michele Harber on 24-May-2020
    Absolutely - especially when you start getting residuals from a published book.
reply by the author on 24-May-2020
    I am so ignorant I had to check what 'residuals' are.
reply by Michele Harber on 24-May-2020
    Please tell me I used the right word!
Comment from amada
Excellent
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Safety in number, indeed; what an irony, especially in these present times. You wrote a very powerful statement of what it was before, at one time when people meant friends and safety. Cleverly written.

 Comment Written 22-May-2020


reply by the author on 22-May-2020
    Yes, our lives are different now, not in a good way. Thanks for your review.
Comment from Sandra du Plessis
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A very well-written lune poem about finding solutions when troubles seem only to multiply with each passing day but some say we can find the answers in mathematics when times get tough.

 Comment Written 22-May-2020


reply by the author on 22-May-2020
    Thanks, Sandra.
Comment from Lucy de Welles
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HaHa! Right you are. Everything tipped on it's head! But, as they say, numbers are eternal. Will soon come back into vogue. Hmmm. Safety in solitude. Two sides to one coin. I love the way your mind thinks.
Great picture with text.
Thank you so much for the opportunity to view your fine lune.
Well done!

 Comment Written 21-May-2020


reply by the author on 21-May-2020
    Thanks for reviewing!
Comment from Bill Schott
Excellent
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This lune poem, When Problems Multiply, has the proper formatting and brings the obvious arithmetic reasoning into the equation. Your note is funny with its nod to irony.

 Comment Written 21-May-2020


reply by the author on 21-May-2020
    I think quite a few common sayings will need a rethink due to current social changes. Thanks for reviewing.
Comment from rama devi
Excellent
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Good pun in the closing and highly relevant satirical jab at our strange times. A unique Lune. Superb phrasing phonics with consonance of M and and abundance of S sounds. Good work. Fine presentation. Good flow. No nits noticed. Good luck in the contest.

Warmly, rd

 Comment Written 21-May-2020


reply by the author on 21-May-2020
    Thanks for your thorough comments.
Comment from RodG
Excellent
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I have a friend who taught math who would love this lune. Witty play on words in both the poem and the title. But there is an sombre reference to today's quarantine that is ironic as we're told to stay six feet apart. Rod

 Comment Written 21-May-2020


reply by the author on 21-May-2020
    I have no idea why I wrote about mathematicians - I am numerically challenged. Perhaps it is because we are getting bombarded with numbers and distances and statistics at the moment.
reply by RodG on 21-May-2020
    Indeed we are. In America 38 million have applied for unemployment checks; 2.4 million just this week. Other numbers talk about when it will be safe to reopen places. Stay safe. Rod
reply by the author on 21-May-2020
    I am so hugely grateful I live in New Zealand, where we have got on top of the infection rate. Our population is just over 5 million. Many people are unemployed now too and the government is spending billions to help prop up businesses etc. Our tax base is small, so heaven knows where the money is coming from. With no tourism, NZ is screwed. We can all be poor, but healthy in pretty surroundings.