I’m A Versatile Lobster!

Since I was suffering from a wicked and crippling dose of Mondayitis I decided that I didn’t want to do any work and that today would be a good day to extend the weekend happy and do a long overdue awards acceptance post.

First up I shall address the Liebster nominations from the wonderful Chris of GEEK BLOGGER UK and Alex of Alex Raphael. My thanks to you both, as a huge fan of both blogs I am, as always when anyone bestows recognition upon The Spew, flattered. I shall now answer the questions they asked of their nominees, and hope they don’t mind that it took me so long.

Starting with Chris, who is positively geeky about film, TV and comics (and a former Liebster nomination of my own, so by that logic, well worth a look if you haven’t already), and his insightful queries.

1. Kirk or Picard and why?
Definitely Picard. TNG was the very first Trek I watched, and it was the series that sucked me into the fandom. There is no replacing Picard for me; as a Starfleet captain he ticks every one of my boxes and let’s face it, Sir Patrick Stewart is a legend.

2. Is the glass half full or half empty and what liquid does it contain?
It’s half empty because there isn’t enough wine in it.

3. What is your favourite film/TV quote and what significance does it hold for you?
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is a favourite film of mine and is filled to the brim with brilliant quotes. My pick though has always been a line that resonated deeply with me, said by the character Tuco (played by the amazing method actor Eli Wallach) to a few of his buddies hiding in a cave. “If you work for a living, why do you kill yourself working?” It’s a sentence that has stayed with me ever since I was a young girl, and a mantra I’ve adopted and use on a daily basis during my work hours.

4. What’s your favourite film score?
I’ve spoken at length about the admiration I have for John Williams before in my blog. I’ve also mentioned how the Jurassic Park soundtrack makes me feel whenever I hear those first opening strains of the theme. There are many, many soundtracks that come close to the emotions Jurassic Park stir inside me, but it is still my all time favourite.

5. A man walks into a bar…
Says, “Ouch!”

6. Jack Daniels or Southern Comfort?
Oh dear, neither. I have had bad, bad experiences with whiskey. When I was about seventeen I drank three slim jim glasses of Southern Comfort rather quickly because I thought it wasn’t working. I woke up a few hours later in a bath tub. I was fully clothed mind, so keep your minds out of the gutter, but I was soaking wet and had no memory of the previous night. As for Jack Daniels, after one too many JDs and cokes one night I decided that it would be a fabulous idea to run around a village at about 3am knocking on doors and falling over the roused residents’ shrubbery in drunken attempt to escape. Whiskey!? NEVER AGAIN.

7. Do you have a film/TV guilty pleasure (or pleasures)?
I have so many of these. The one that comes most prominent and forefront to mind though is Strictly Come Dancing UK (Dancing With The Stars being the US equivalent). I love the costumes and the music and the wonderful dances. I watch it with my mother weekly and we have a great time being on-the-couch judges while enjoying a beverage or two and advising each other on our problems.

8. Who is your idol and why?
This is probably going to sound strange, but I don’t have one. There are plenty of people, both in real life and in celebrity fantasy land that I greatly admire, but I don’t worship anyone, or adore anyone blindly or excessively. I respect my parents a great deal and a few other talented individuals that have inspired me in the past, but that’s it.

9. PS4 or X-Box One?
Once upon a time I would never have hesitated in my response to this question; it was X-box all the way, every day. Now though, with all of the next-gen news and rumours and issues circulating the choice isn’t so clear-cut anymore. I was leaning on the side of the PS4 but then I realised that the Other Half, who is hardcore PS, will be buying one, so now my choice is moot, I can get an X-Box One and he can get a PS4 and we’ll have both! Huzzah for greedy consumers!

10. What makes you laugh?
Almost anything! I laugh at the drop of a hat.  A well-placed pun, funny videos on Youtube, bad jokes, bodily functions, drunken dancing.

11. What makes you cry?
Music mostly, particularly opera. Disney films. Dogs dying in movies. The demise of a favourite character. Beautiful vistas. One time I got so overwhelmed watching one of those charity adverts with the starving children that had those malnourished, bloated bellies and flies all over them that I bawled for about ten minutes, wondering about the injustice of it all. Another time I cried because the nib of my pencil broke and I had no sharpener.

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The second coming of the Liebster today was provided by Alex. His is an unusual but enjoyable blog. With an eclectic mix of fabulous photographs he has taken on his extensive travels, picture film quizzes and an array of his favourite prolific lines from movies, TV and literature, Alex Raphael is an extremely pleasant escape.

1. What were you looking to achieve with your blog?
I always struggle to answer this question because I’m honestly not sure. I wrote a lot in my youth and I suppose I’d like to resurrect that and the feeling of satisfaction that writing always brought me. I would posit that I review because of my brother, who remains the only person in real life who knows I write or has read any of my posts. Recently I went into great (verbal) detail explaining and ranting about a game I’d played. When I’d finished he said to me, “You should start a blog. I’d read that ****.” And that is how it began.

2. What’s the nicest compliment you’ve had on it?
They’re all nice because I never expect any of them. My favourites though I think will always be the ones who claim I inspired them to do something different or the ones who say they look forward to my posts and admonish me for not posting enough.

3. Which artwork do you wish you had painted?
Any artwork. I was never artistic with pencil or paintbrush. Matchstick men ftw.

4. What TV show makes you laugh the most?
I find Game of Thrones hilarious.

5. Which was the first book you read that left a strong impression on you?
When I was very young (perhaps too young, with hindsight) I read a book called Goodnight Mr. Tom. It was about a blossoming relationship between a lonely but kind elderly man and an abused and terrorised young boy set in World War II England.

6. What is the thing you’ve achieved in life that you’re most proud of?
Acceptance. Of myself. Bad bits and all, and there are many bad bits!

7. If you could bring one famous person back to life for present day, who would you choose?
Rory Gallagher. We’d have a few pints then he’d play me a few tunes on his battered, old guitar and we’d have great session.

8. Which fictional character would you most like to hang out with?
It’s a toss up between Tyrion Lannister (for the banter) and Professor X (for the mental chess).

9. Assuming you are alone, what non-electric item would you save if your house was on fire?
Brussels, my teddy who is a duck. He was purchased in (you guessed it) Brussels, Belgium, by my parents thirty years ago while they were on their honeymoon. Sometime later, when I was born, he was given to me and he has been with me ever since. When I first lived alone I carried him around with me everywhere and held conversations with him about pleasant things because the big empty house in which I resided for a time was far too cold and quiet and for that first month I feared I would be driven mental. Brussels has been through the washing machine many times but he’s still intact, held together, I firmly believe, by my undying love and affection for him.

Yes, I am a few slices of bread short of a full loaf.

10. Which place you’ve not visited would you most like to go to?
Argentina, for steaks and tangos.

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Also this week I had the sheer delight and privilege to receive nominations for The Versatile Blogger Award from the amazing team at 1001-Up, the dedicated Drakulus, the inimitable Kevin from The Mental Attic, the inspirational JohnHeatz and the very engaging and entertaining Aging Gamer. If you haven’t checked out these guys yet you’d be nuts not to. They all form the backbone of my gaming community here and I’m a very lucky lady to have their support and extensive knowledge to call upon.

To quote directly from the dedicated award site:

When you consider nominating a fellow blogger for the Versatile Blogger Award, consider the quality of the writing, the uniqueness of the subjects covered, the level of love displayed in the words on the virtual page. Or, of course, the quality of the photographs and the level of love displayed in the taking of them.

Honor those bloggers who bring something special to your life whether every day or only now and then.

Isn’t that lovely? The rules (that I lifted directly from the folks at 1001-Up.com) are as follows:

• You must thank the person who gave it to you, and include a link to their blog.
• You must then select fifteen blogs that you’ve recently discovered or regularly follow, and nominate them for the award.
• Finally, you must tell the person who nominate you seven things about yourself.

For the moment I’m going to skip the last portion of the rules and leave the facts for another time, but my nominees should please feel free to adhere to the rules as stipulated above if they see fit. And again, please remember, don’t feel pressured into responding or carrying on the award. If it’s not your thing I totally understand, instead you should look upon this as my shout-out to you, my way of saying thanks and of telling you that you’re awesome.

My nominees for the Versatile Blogger Award are as follows:

• A Guide To Geekdom
• After Dark Gaming
• Alex Raphael
• Geek Blogger UK
• JF Owen
• Murph Vs Internet
• Sidekick Reviews
• The Otaku Judge
• The PewPew Diaries
• The Sega Collection

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I know that’s only ten and I would have nominated my entire blogroll if I could have, but on a scale of one to potato, most of you already have sacks of awards. And deservedly so.

My thanks again to everyone who saw fit to bestow awards upon me. And my thanks to those of you who continue to read and visit me daily, and also put up with me popping up on your blogs and commenting wantonly on your posts.

I’ll leave you with this:

Brussels is watching you. Or at least he would be if he still had eyes. D:

 

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‹ FEAR & Losing in Las Vegas

[TV] Awkward – Declaring My Allegiances (Opinion) ›

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Categories: Humour, Personal

Tags: Blog award, Blogging, Humour, Liebster Award, Personal, Versatile Blogger Award

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