Sunshine Blogger Award and One Lovely Blog Award

We went on holiday, and I managed to get sick (again!), so while I’m recovering from that I thought I’d take the opportunity to answer these two awards I was tagged in. Labelling them awards seems a bit lofty, they were memes back in the old days of blogging (he says, feebly waving his fist in the air), but either way thanks to those of you who thought to tag me!

I’ve been nominated for the Sunshine Blogger Award by Lady Emily Rose over at Knight of Angels.

The Rules
1. Thank the blogger who nominated you in your blog post and a link back to the blog. (Thanks, Emily!)
2. Answering 11 questions that the Blogger asked you.
3. Nominate 11 new bloggers to receive the awards and write them 11 questions.
4. List the rules and display the Sunshine blogger award logo in your post on your blog.

1. Who is your favorite cartoon character and why?
I’m actually finding this one tough to answer, hah! Stumped right off the bat. My first thought was Gir from Invader Zim, but I’m trying to think back to my childhood to a character that stood out, like Pinky from Pinky and the Brain, but I think I’ll settle on Donatello, who was objectively the best Ninja Turtle.

2. Which book most changed your life and how?
This would definitely be The Hobbit. Not so much the story itself, but just what the book meant to me growing up. My dad really sparked my interest in reading when I was a child, which I wrote about briefly after he passed away, and I have fond memories of him reading The Hobbit to me, which I wrote about in my post for the book. Re-reading it just always reminds me of those nights, listening to his creepy Gollum voice.

3. If you had the opportunity to operate alongside any one person in history, who would it be and why?
Not that I think I would be particularly suited for this, but it would be amazing to be at the side of the Celtic chieftain Brennus when he led the army that captured Rome in the 4th century. I described this as part of my post for A Brief History of the Celts, but to be there when he tossed his sword on that gold pile, all ‘Vae victis, bitches’, would be pretty great.

Probably not worth going back in time a couple of centuries just to witness, but whatever.

4. You have to select three fictional characters to join you on a top secret mission before knowing anything at all about what the mission is. Who do you pick and why?
Wonder Woman for the heavy lifting. Indiana Jones for his knowledge of world history and languages. Penny from Inspector Gadget to make sure everything runs smoothly.

5. You are allowed to manifest one superpower. Which one do you pick and why?
Teleportation. I like being places but hate getting there. Also, as someone with Crohn’s disease, there’s something magical in the idea of never being more than a blink of an eye from a washroom…

6. You are allowed to pull one object out of a book that can fit in your hand and through an opening the size of a standard paperback book. What object do you choose and why?
I’m trying to think of something powerful and exciting, but the item that keeps coming to mind is the Turkish delight from the White Witch in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. I’ve eaten a lot of Turkish delight since reading that book as a child, and while I enjoy it, I know it’s not quite the exquisite delicacy that Edmund made it out to be. In this case, I assume I would be getting some of the ‘so good you’ll hand over your siblings to a murderer’ variety.

7. If your life could be summed up in a song, which song is it?
Sometimes it feels like The Bricklayer’s Song is a good representation…

8. What is the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen?
Some of the sunsets we experienced in Maui were pretty spectacular.

9. What is something you wanted so badly that you became unstoppable in pursuing it?
When I started university, I had a very clear vision of my goals. Nothing extravagant, but I knew I wanted a job in software development after graduation, my own apartment without roommates, to live abroad for a period of time, to visit Scotland, and I really jumped into all of that. Once I hit all of those goals in my 20s, I wasn’t really sure what to do with myself.

10. What is the greatest book that has yet to be written?
Once we have the technology, a food travelogue that allows the reader to taste and experience the food. Some sort of virtual novel tasting experience.

11. They’re making a biopic about you. Which actor or actress plays you?
My luck, probably Seth Rogen. Or Michael Cera if I shave.

I was also nominated for the One Lovely Blog Award by Nicole at The Bookwork Drinketh. Thanks, Nicole!

1. If you were to name one piece of clothing that describes you, what would you say?
A tartan toque would accurately represent me from a high level.

2. If you had your human body, but the head of an animal, what animal would you pick?
It’s tempting to go for a fish head and pull off that reverse merman look, but maybe instead I’d go for a lion head. You get added protection with the fangs, a beautiful head of hair, and you’re still irresistibly cute to other humans.

3. What would be your dream job?
A writer who alternates between fiction and food writing while making indie games on the side and reviewing free tech that is sent to him from companies. Or a professional nacho reviewer.

4. If you were to create a slogan for your life, what would it be? (Example: Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow, we may die.)
I was recently reminded of ‘Kill Yourself or Die Trying’, which is fun but obviously not me. Mine would be closer to ‘Protect yourself and Take a Nap’.

5. What part of your daily routine do you enjoy most?
Breakfast is great, followed closely by dinner, but I also think lunch deserves a solid shout-out.

6. If you could Choose your age forever, what age would you choose and why?
I’m thirty-six now, and I think that’s a fine age to be. I could happily remain at this age forever. If, in this question, the state of the world also freezes in time, then not so much. Maybe twenty-six would be good, as I was probably my healthiest at that age. I guess there was a recession back then, but the global narrative was still a bit easier on everyone’s mental health.

7. Choose an imaginary friend, who would you choose and why?
My imaginary friend would be Tom Waits, and he would tell me stories all day long and also play music for me. A slave-ghost Tom Waits.

8. If you could Read one person’s mind, whose would it be?
I can only stand a certain amount of regular spoken communication with people throughout the day, so I don’t know if I could deal with tapping into someone’s mind as well. Also, I want the final draft of someone’s thoughts. I don’t want to be bombarded with first-draft navel-gazing. Maybe I would choose to read my own mind (with the ability to turn that off). I feel like being able to experience your own thoughts with an outside perspective might be a helpful way to keep yourself in check.

9. Would you rather See the future or change the past?
I would never want to see the future. How would you live with that knowledge, good or bad (especially bad)? Changing the past is much more useful. Imagine being able to eat as much cake as you want and then change that later when the regret sets in…I mean, stop Hitler…

10. What do you do to have fun?
Read, play games, cook (or these days it’s really mainly eating), occasionally travel, wander about aimlessly. I’m taking motorcycle lessons soon, so I’m excited to add bike trips to this list.

Phew, done! Thanks for reading. I have one more of these to do, but this post is already a bit long, so I’ll answer that one separately tomorrow. And I’ll look at tagging some people then too.