Sunshine Blogger Award

I Almost Forgot About This

Fandango29 Comments

18F6E43E-9769-4E54-AD14-8A43141AD1C1Simeon Levine, over at The Levine Lowdown, gifted me with the Sunshine Blogger Award a week ago, but I’ve been so busy with this move to a new house, that I’m just getting around to acknowledging and responding to his generous gift.

Mine is an award-free blog, but I do appreciate the recognition another blogger bestows upon me and my blog. And it’s my pleasure to answer 11 his questions. But I won’t be tagging 11 other bloggers nor will I be posing my own questions. That said, I invite anyone who cares to take a shot at answering Simeon’s questions to feel free to do so.

Here we go.

1. Why did you start you blog?

Because I feel like I have something to say and no one would listen to me when I talked.

2. What is your favorite part about blogging?

The interactions with other members of the blogging community.

3. What is one of your goals for 2020?

To acclimate to living in the suburbs after having spent the last three decades being an urbanite.

4. If you could give advice to your younger self, what would it be?

Don’t sweat the small stuff.

5. What is your favorite sport?

To watch: American football. To play: ping pong (table tennis) or pool (billiards).

6. If you could go back in the past to any year, which year would you go back to?

My philosophy is to never look back. Only to live in the present and look forward to the future. Thus, I would not want to go back to any year in my past.

7. What is one country that you would love to travel to?

I’ve always had a hankering to visit New Zealand.

8. What is one thing that not many people know about you?

I’m an open book, so there’s not much that people don’t know about me. Except, that is, who I really am, since I blog anonymously.

9. What has been the scariest moment of your life?

When my son had open heart surgery to repair a defective aorta valve.

10. When does bread become toast?

When it turns brown and becomes crispy. Duh!

11. What is your favorite song of all time?

This is tough because there are so many great songs. But if push comes to shove…oh forget it. Any song by The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Chicago, Billy Joel, Joni Mitchell, Jackson Brown, Eric Clapton, Queen, Stevie Wonder, Pink Floyd, Elton John, and, well, I could go on and on, but you get the drift, right?

Your turn.

More Sunshine

Fandango5 Comments

81BA013E-3FD1-4C3A-A3C0-579F12DC16E8My blogger buddy, Rory, over at A Guy Called Bloke, was kind enough to gift me with the Sunshine Blogger Award. According to Rory, “the Sunshine Blogger Award is an award for bloggers who are creative, positive, and inspiring — people who spread “sunshine” to the blogging world!” So I’m very honored that Rory thought of my blog and me to give the gift of this award.

And now to answer Rory’s five questions.

When looking to create a question and you are faced with a blank canvas – where is your go to for inspiration?

I’ve been posting my Fandango’s Provocative Questions for about a year, and it’s becoming a challenge to come up with new and interesting provocative questions each week. I search the internet for provocative stories, I listen when I hear others talking about philosophical matters, and try to leverage what I see, hear, and read in order to come up with questions that will be compelling enough to prompt other bloggers to respond. It ain’t so easy anymore. But I’ll keep trying until I run out of questions I find provocative enough to ask.

Why do you think politicians feel compelled to lie as blatantly as they do?

Because they know that people want to hear what makes them feel better and voters don’t really want to hear the truth. And politicians pay a surprisingly small price for dishonesty. Look at how frequently Donald Trump has lied and yet more than 40% of voters and almost 90% of Republicans still support him. They clearly don’t care about being lied to.

What is Time?

It’s a magazine.905CCEE0-D2D0-4BBB-BF90-DABA87E84F59

Do you dream? If so, are they in color, black and white, or sepia or indeed a mixture, and what do you think determines the dreams a person experiences if anything?

Yes, I do dream every night. But to be honest, while I think they’re in color, they might not be. I can barely remember what my dreams are about shortly after waking up, much less what color they are. As to what determines what a person dreams about, I have no clue. Most of my dreams make no sense to me whatsoever.

Is success, as Thomas Edison claimed, 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration, or the other way around?

What exactly is success? Well, I look at success as achieving desired visions and personal goals. In my opinion, success does require vision, which some might describe as inspiration, but turning inspiration into achievement requires a lot of hard work. Whether it’s 90% of one or the other or 50/50, I have no idea. If I ever actually achieve my desired visions and planned goals, I’ll let you know. Besides, is how you get there is as important as arriving at your destination?

So, how about you? Do you want to answer Rory’s questions? I pass on his gift to you all!

Credit for image at top of post: jessicanelson1.

There’s the Sunshine

Fandango8 Comments

F8E3889A-538A-4A7C-BAF0-BAA3C0400043Beckie, over at Beckie’s Mental Mess, was nominated for the coveted Sunshine Blogger Award and nominated eleven other bloggers, including me. I think she nominated me because it’s sunny out today where I live for the first time in over a week!

Mine is an award-free blog, but not a question-free blog. So I’m going to congratulate and thank Beckie and answer her questions.

1. Do you search for difficult words in your writing like I do? I have to search for meaning.

I don’t go out of my way to find “difficult” words to use in my posts. I try to use words that are in most people’s everyday vocabulary so that readers don’t need to look them up to understand what I’m talking about.

2. What do you prefer tea or coffee? For any specific flavor, please mention the same.

I’m a coffee man and I don’t like flavored coffee. I take mine black with one packet of Splenda.

3. Most of the time, I am found writing while walking to and fro in my room, on my phone’s notepad. Do you like writing on phones or tablets or laptops?

I blog almost exclusively on my iPhone.

4. Where would you like to live, if not the current country?

New Zealand I think. I’ve never been there but it looks beautiful.

5. How many books do you have in your own library?

I have around 100 books on my Kindle library stored on my iPhone. I took all of my old, physical books — at least a few hundred — and donated them to the library when we moved across country and downsized a decade ago.

6. Have you participated in any protests for any social cause? Which one and why?

Many. When I was a young man, many of the protests I participated in were about the Vietnam War or about civil rights. Once I got married and had kids, I thought my protesting days were over. Then Trump somehow became president and I’ve been participating in at least four or five protests a year since he was sworn in.E7E1149A-DEAA-4146-8801-CCF3AEBF380F

7. A motivating line of your own, if this was an award given to you on stage.

If you’re still looking for that one person who will change your life, take a look in the mirror.

8. What genre do you prefer in movies?

Comedies, mysteries, or thrillers.

9. Are you a bathroom singer?

No, I’m a bathroom stinker.

10. How do you spend your Sunday?

I’m retired. I spend Sunday the same way I spend Monday through Saturday.

11. Do you like watching TV? What do you prefer watching?

Yes, I enjoy watching TV. We watch a lot of HGTV, cable news, and a few TV dramas. I also like watching some sports when my wife lets me.

Image credit at the top of this post: kristiangallagher.

Blogging Insights and More

Fandango17 Comments

Blogging insightsDr. Tanya, at Salted Caramel, published another one of her Blogging Insights posts in which she poses one or more questions about blogging.  In this case, she asked three questions about feeling grateful about our blogs.

And yesterday, Cyranny, the Cyranny who resides at Cyranny’s Cove, announced that she and her blog had been awarded the Sunshine Blogger Award. Congratulations Cyranny!

As part of her response, she asked eleven questions, all about blogging, and then she wrote, “If you are reading this, I pass the award to you! If you should accept it, please make sure to link me into your post, so I’ll notice your reply!!”

Since Tanya’s three questions and Cyranny’s eleven questions are all about blogging, I’m going to double up and respond to each of their questions in this post.

Let me start with Dr. Tanya’s three questions:

1. Are you grateful for your blog?

I am grateful that the technology exists that enables me to share what I write with a large community of bloggers from around the globe.

2. How do you express your gratitude?

By reading, liking, and commenting on the posts of the bloggers I follow and by thanking and interacting with those who comment on my posts.

3. Has blogging added value to your life?

Without a doubt. I’m retired and blogging has allowed me to exercise my mind, to flex my creativity, and to interact with a host of other bloggers. Plus, it keeps me busy and out of my wife’s hair, which has probably saved my marriage.

And now for Cyranny’s questions:

1. How long have you been blogging?

I started my first blog in July 2005. I started this, my current blog, in May 2017.

2. What’s the story behind your blog’s name or theme?

My blog’s name is This, That, and The Other. My blog has no particular theme or genre. It’s basically about whatever occurs to me. In other words, it’s about this, that, and the other.

3. Do your friends and family know about your blog?

My family does, as do a few of my very close friends. And, of course, the friends from around the world that I’ve met on WordPress know about my blog.

4. What do non-blogging people around you think about you being a blogger?

I have no idea and I haven’t asked, but I’d guess that most of them think it’s a waste of time.

5. Have you ever met fellow bloggers, face to face? If so, how did that go?

No. And I probably never will.

6. What would you miss the most, if you couldn’t blog anymore?

The community of bloggers with whom I interact on a daily basis. It’s an incredible group of creative, imaginative, and articulate people.

7. How much time do you spend on your blog, weekly?

I spend three to five or more hours a day, seven days a week, so I estimate between 20 and 40 hours a week.

8. Are there things you thought about trying on your blog, but you still hesitate? (different writing style, adding audio, or video content)

No, not really. I’m happy with my blog the way it is.

9. Who’s a blogger you feel everybody should know?

There is a fantastic blogger that everyone should read and follow. The blogger’s name is Fandango. You should check out his blog here.

10. What’s a post you are especially proud of, and that any new reader should visit?

Why don’t you just ask me which of my children I’m most proud of? I’ve written more than 3800 posts on this blog and I’m proud of each and every one. So if you start now and read each of my posts, you should finish by around the end of the year.

11. What brought you to The Cove today?

I follow your blog, Cyranny, so your posts show up in my reader and I pretty much read them all. You’re welcome!

The Gift of Sunshine

Fandango14 Comments

079FE3C8-9195-4D60-899A-1A342BF8A5EBRory, A Guy Called Bloke, has gifted me with the prestigious Sunshine Blogger Award. The Sunshine Blogger Award is an award for bloggers who are creative, positive, and inspiring people who spread “sunshine” to the blogging world!

Truth be told, in this age of Donald Trump, I’m not sure how positive or inspiring my posts have been or if I’m spreading much sunshine. That said, thank you, Rory, for this very kind and generous gift.

There are rules I’m supposed to follow, having been gifted this award:

  • Thank whoever gifted you and include a link to their blog.
  • Use the “Sunshine Blogger Award” logo on your post and display the Guidance. 
  • Answer the questions from the person who gifted you the Award. 
  • Choose 3 bloggers that you wish to gift the Award to. 
  • Ask 5 questions of your choice. 
  • Notify those you gift the Award to. 

So, to the questions Rory asked:

An event in history that changed your perspective on how we live as a society?

Need I say it? Okay, fine. The election of Donald Trump to President of the United States changed my perspective on what America is…and it’s not great.

Which flower or herb do you find startlingly attractive and why?

To be honest, I’m not really a flower type of a guy. My wife loves calla Lilies, though.8ACEF18C-1ED7-4C79-91B9-7E44543B393F

What is the most extreme thing you’ve ever done?

When I was a freshman in college I spent four days in a shower in order to raise money for charity.

Which one of these dwarfs are you? Doc, Grumpy, Happy, Bashful, Sneezy, Dopey, Sleepy – but more importantly WHY?

For most of my life I was Happy. But since the election of Donald Trump, I have morphed into Grumpy. Need I say why?

What is your most commonly spoken word or phrase? (Honesty required, profanity totally acceptable)

“It wasn’t me!” followed closely by “Bite me!”

Okay, now it’s my turn to gift 3 every other blogger and to ask 5 questions of my choice. My choice is to ask the same five questions that Rory asked.

So the ball’s in your court, every other blogger. Go for it!