Spreading the Love—A Liebster Blog Award

This past Saturday, I got up, opened my e-mail, all manner of chores needing to get done today rattling through my head, not to mention trying to fit in some novel writing time (which, realistically, rarely ever happens on a Saturday [and didn’t]—Sunday, maybe, but rarely Saturday—because I try to catch up on blogs I follow, maybe post one of my own, that kind of thing…), and find out I have been nominated for the Liebster Blog Award, by fellow blogger, Samir Rawas. This is my first blogging award, and I am truly honored! Reading Samir’s work (and his fellow Cecile’s Writers) and trading comments is often provocative, always informative, and, yeah, just plain fun, so, to have a peer award like this is, well…sehr cool. Thanks again, Samir!

This is how it works, though not sure about sticking to the fewer-than-200-followers guideline:

The Rules

1. Post the award image on your blog. There are several varieties. Google them and find the one you like the most.
2. List 11 random facts about yourself.
3. Answer the 11 questions asked by the person/people who nominated you.
4. Make up 11 questions for those to be nominated.
5. Nominate 11 people to receive the award. They should have fewer than 200 followers on their blog.
6. If you’re nominated, your name and/or link will appear at the bottom of this post. Follow the same script and spread the love.

11 Facts About Myself

1. I’m far more spiritual (not religious)…philosophical…than many may think.
2. I love iced tea, slightly sweetened.
3. I have been my own ghost.
4. I love comedy—Seinfeld, four!
5. I love nature and being out in it.
6. Most cats and dogs love me. The feeling’s mutual.
7. I love the sound of wind.
8. I can talk to anyone who’ll talk back. Even some who don’t.
9. Sure, I can be a bit critical, have definite opinions about things…but, then I throttle back when I catch myself being that steamroller I can be. I mean well…but it’s the analytical part of me that jets off ye old starting block now and then….
10. I never hold grudges…ever…but also realize some people and situations simply cannot be “revisited”; I wish them peace on their journeys.
11. I rarely give a straight answer.

Answers to the Questions Asked

1. Do you prefer literature or entertainment fiction? I have to admit to not reading a lot of literature, lately, so I guess I’d have to go with entertainment fiction. Or cereal boxes.
2. Introvert or extrovert? Ambivert. I’m both. I’m always in my head, but I can extro with the best of them, should the situation call for it. You should see me when I’m beside myself.
3. If you could promote (and succeed) in one cause, what would it be? Realizing that we all create our own realities. That creating a better life for everyone starts with each of us. Don’t blame world events…war, poverty, inequality (a recent topic I’ve been involved in)…on someone else. Those events exist because we all allow that kind of mindset and behavior to exist. From pacifist to warrior. Examine all of your own actions and thoughts, how you treat people, the movies and shows and books you read and watch. The material you write. The words you speak. The thoughts you think. The actions you propagate. Wanna world change? Look in the mirror. But do it with LOVE. Don’t hate the object of needed change, love the needed change. BTW, I’m far from perfect and have many cracked mirrors.
4. Movies or books? Mooks? Boovies? Maaan, I love both! These questions are hard. Okay, books. Except for an exceptional movie. But, then again…
5. Which writer’s books can’t you stand (please be honest)? I’d made a promise to myself I would never do something like this to an author in public, so, with all due respect, I must keep that promise. Es tut mir leid.
6. What’s your favorite cuisine? All roads lead to lasagna. All of them, my friends! I knooow…I picked a food, not a “cuisine,” but you can extrapolate, right? Anyway, when I talk lasagna (I could go on for hours), I’m talking the meaty kind, not the eggplant, the soybean, the veggie versions. I feel all your non-meat-eater pain, but, sorry, none of those are lasagna…not as God intended. :-]
7. Can you tell the most embarrassing thing that ever happened to you? I was a bad boy. Years ago (I’ve since learned better…), I had been working with someone, who, in my at-the-time-not-so-humble opinion, simply was not doing a great job of it. I was so pissed (can I say that on-air?), I was venting it to some at work, when out pops this person from around Cubicle Land, having heard every word….
8. Dreamer or realist? Dreamer. People may think I’m largely a realist, but I’m always dreaming, even when punching that clock and “gettin’ business done.” I know certain things need to “be” when living life in the corporeal existence, but that doesn’t keep my dreaming at bay. I’ll be dreaming til the day I die…and beyond. In fact, I’m doing it right now.
9. Who inspires you? In writing, oddly enough, I can’t seem to come with up anyone! Growing up and through my thirties it used to be Stephen King. For my current conspiracy action/adventure manuscript, I get inspired with X-Files reruns, but for my other work…I really don’t have an inspire…er. This question gave me real pause for thought. Huh. Dammit, Samir! Now, in life in general, top of the list is my wife (please, geeze don’t tell her…). She inspires me to be a better person, to better express gratitude (to myself as well as others), and to better feel what others are going through. See 11 Facts About Myself #9, above. She brings me down to Earth when needed. My parents also inspire me. All their words of wisdom always come back to haunt me—I mean fill my head when—oh, who am I kidding, they come back to haunt me….
10. Favorite sport? Baseball. I’m not a gonzo fan, don’t quote stats, but love the feel and Zen of the stadium on a summer’s day, the smell of food, the murmur of the crowds, the beautifully manicured field, how far removed it is from my daily life, and, ahhh, the crack of the bats….
11. The perfect Saturday night is…? Being with my wife, enjoying whatever it is we’re doing…whether staying in or going out…or spending it with close friends and family. Life gets so busy, working a day job and writing and chores and the gym and what have you. It’s nice to just relax with the ones you love. No judgment, just laughter and conversation and…lasagna. :-]

11 Questions for my Nominees

1. Do you prefer hiking or biking?
2. Do you prefer electronic tablets (not “stone”—I just know someone’ll go there) or hardcopies?
3. What would you do with a sickeningly large sum of moo-lah?
4. What is your favorite childhood memory?
5. If you were to play a musical instrument (still answer if you actually do play one), what would it be, and why?
6. How do you feel when you look at a blank wall?
7. Do you kill spiders…or relocate them?
8. What do you see as Humanity’s greatest challenge?
9. What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever done (keep it legal)?
10. If a train leaves a station at 12:03 p.m., and you start walking toward it 5 minutes later, half a mile away, what kind of animal do you see yourself as, and why?
11. If you were to have a gravestone, what would you put on it?

11 Bloggers I Nominate Are:

1. Shadow and Substance
2. Seeker of Truth
3. Abominations
4. Saturday Morning Post
5. Thinking Banned Thoughts
6. The In-Between
7. Sisters of the Quill
8. Chiseled in Rock
9. Wine And Roses From Outer Space
10. I’m Just Sayin
11. Belle Grove Plantation