Jennifer, over at Paperkutz, has kindly nominated me for The Sunshine Blogger Award. As you probably know by now, I don’t follow most of the rules for blog awards. I don’t pose my own new questions. I don’t nominate other bloggers. But I do really appreciate being nominated and I do thank the blogger who nominated me, so thank you Jennifer. And I do answer the questions. So here goes.

1. Do you have a nice blog or do you have different types of posts?

I think my blog is a very nice blog, but I think the question being asked is whether I have a niche blog. And the answer is no, I have no specific niche, although some readers might think my blog’s niche is to complain about Donald Trump. That’s not the case. I blog about this, that, and the other, or whatever strikes my fancy.

2. If you have a niche blog what is your niche?

See above.

3. How long have you been blogging?

I started my very first blog in October 2005. I started this blog in May 2017.

4. Is your blogging still a passion or has it become a chore?

I really enjoy blogging, so it’s closer to being a a passion than a chore. But I’ll admit that there are rare times when It feels a bit like a chore.

5. When choosing to let another blogger know you are interested in their blog do you just hit like or do you leave a comment?

Both.

6. How often do you post and respond to other blogs?

I post multiple times a day and I try to read other bloggers’ posts every day as well.

7. What is your usual blogging routine?

I don’t really have a set routine for writing posts. I write when I get inspired, and because I use my iPhone, I don’t need to be near a  computer to write and post to my blog. As to reading and responding to other bloggers’ posts, I usually do that either first thing in the morning or at night when I’m in bed before I go to sleep.

8. If you live outside the United States, are you having the same riots that are occurring in the US?

I live in the U.S. and I wouldn’t characterize what’s going on here as “riots.” They are mostly peaceful protests and demonstrations.

9. Where is your favorite place to work on your blog?

Again, because I use my iPhone, my favorite place is anywhere I happen to be.

10. If you still have younger children when do you find flogging time?

Oh my! I assume Jennifer means “blogging” and not “flogging”! I’ve never flogged my kids! Since my kids are all grown up, I can blog (or flog) any time I want to.

11. Have you ever had the feeling that blogging was becoming overwhelming and considered ending your blogging?

In April of 2015 I stopped blogging for a little over two years because I had some personal matters to attend to and felt I couldn’t attend to those matters and continue to blog at the same time. It wasn’t a matter of feeling overwhelmed as much as it was setting and managing priorities.

I want to thank Aahana Aggarwal, the blogger behind The Mystic Wagon, for nominating me for The Sunshine Blogger Award. I don’t follow most of the rules for blog awards. I don’t pose my own new questions. I don’t nominate other bloggers. But I do thank the blogger who nominated me, so thank you Aahana. And I do answer the questions. So here goes.

1. What is your pet peeve?

My current pet peeve is directed toward those selfish individuals who, for whatever reasons, refuse to wear face masks or to maintain social distancing even as the incidence of COVID-19 continues to surge in the United States. These people are inconsiderate and selfish. And at the risk of sounding mean and vindictive, it would serve them right if they all contracted the disease.

2. What is your favorite genre of books?

My reading tastes are kind of eclectic, so its hard to pick out just one. Plus, I go through phases where I’ll read a bunch of books of a certain genre, like science fiction, horror, historical fiction, humor, thrillers, detective stories, or biographies. One genre I never read is romance novels.

3. Do you watch Netflix? If yes, which is your favorite movie/series on Netflix?

Yes. And Hulu and Amazon Prime as well. Again, my viewing tastes are pretty eclectic so I’m hard pressed to pick a favorite. But I really enjoyed the two seasons of “Homecoming” on Amazon Prime and the five seasons of “Black Mirror” on Netflix.

4. Do you prefer street food or restaurants?

I prefer restaurants, but in these days of the pandemic, most restaurants are open only for takeout or outdoor dining. So I guess every restaurant is now a street food restaurant. 😉

5. Would you rather live on a beach such as Hawaii or in a city like New York? Why?

I’ve always been a city guy, so I’d prefer living in a city, to living on a beach. But I like to go to a beach for vacations. At least I used to in the “Before Days.”

6. Which subject do you dislike or hate the most and why?

There’s really no one subject I hate or seriously dislike, but politics has become so divisive that I am beginning to really dislike discussing it with anyone.

7. Have you developed and new skill during the pandemic? Elaborate.

No new skills. Just the same old ones.

8. Why did you start blogging in the first place?

When I first started to blogging in 2005, it was (1) to exercise my writing chops, and (2) to feel the rush of publishing posts in the blogosphere. In 2015 I took a two year hiatus from blogging in order to focus on some personal matters. But by May 2017 I started blogging again because I could no longer remain silent on all of the shit that has been swirling around us since the election of Donald Trump six months earlier.

9. Any obstacle which you overcame to continue your heartiest desires?

My heartiest desires? I’m not sure that my desires are “hearty.” Is the question about my heart’s desires or about my hardiest desires?

10. Which book is your favorite and why?

I would have to say, for sentimental reasons, it would be “Watership Down” by Richard Adams. I had just finished reading this book when I went on my first date with the woman who would ultimately become my wife. I spent much of our first date trying to explain to her why a novel about rabbits was so good and was not just a book for kids. I convinced her to read it and she loved it. I’m sure that’s why she agreed to marry me. Well, that and my prowess in bed.

11. Which creature fascinates you the most? Why?

Um, rabbits? Why? See above answer.

Leigha Robbins was nominated for the Sunshine Blogger Award and she dutifully thanks the blogger who nominated her, answered the questions that blogger posed, and then created her own set of questions. But instead of nominating 12 other bloggers, she nominated all of her followers “cause you are all pretty neato and this will be fun to do!”

Since I am one of her followers, I am going to take her up on her challenge. Here goes:

1. Ok, you write a blog, so do you also play word games of any kind?

By word games, do you mean games like Scrabble? Crossword puzzles? Jumble? I’d say my wife is more into that than I am. The only word games I play are word prompts on WordPress.

2. Do you have any other type of creative outlet besides writing? Art, sewing, photography, jewelry making, etc.?

Nope. I’m not exactly a Renaissance man.

3. Do you listen to anything while you write or does it need to be quiet?

Sometimes music, sometimes the TV, and sometimes just the sounds of nature while writing in my backyard.

4. Are you an avid book reader?

I used to be, but not so much anymore. I probably read 6 to 8 books a year these days.

5. Name a country you would love to visit if the world wasn’t shut down because of the virus.

I’ve always wanted to visit New Zealand.

6. Have you ever written a poem about someone and gave it to them?

Not if I wanted to keep them as a friend!

7. Is there an author (living or dead) that you would love to sit down and talk to for an hour?

Stephen King.

8. Have you ever met a fellow blogger or interacted off WordPress?

Nope.

9. Cake or pie?

Either one will do.

10. Coffee or tea?

My mother gave me tea with honey whenever I was sick. So for me, it’s definitely coffee.

11. What is the strangest movie you have ever seen?

I’ll reiterate my answer to Melanie’s question in her last Share Your World post about the most unsettling movie I’ve ever seen: “The Human Centipede.”