Blog Bling

Thanks to my new friend Ashley, I have another prestigious award with which to decorate the ramblings of my brain.

First of all, thank you very much! It's always good to know that folks are enjoying the scraps of thoughts that my clumsy fingers manage to stitch onto the screen.

Now, to the Nitty and the Gritty, not necessarily in that order.

The first part of the process is for me to list ten things that make me happy, so here we go:

1. My sons, Hunter and Blake. God has blessed me with two wonderful, loving, laughing children. Their intelligence, sense of wonder, and outright fearlessness (except for werewolves, and let's be honest, they scare all of us) both keeps me young and makes me so very old. I almost lost them once, and I thank God for them and enjoy them every day.

2. Monkeys. C'mon, you knew that one was coming. Nothing says comedy like our simian cousins. One of the few things I ever wanted out of life was for monkeys with blue tuxes and roller skates to usher my wedding. This did not happen. I am no longer married. You do the math. Of course, if I ever get married again, I am willing to give this up. I have matured, you see, and now realize that a far more worthy goal is to have my own island resort, staffed by monkeys with tuxes (I'm not giving that part up; monkeys + clothing = hilarity) to bring me drinks, and juggle flaming bowling pins when I get bored.

3. Music. I listen to everything from Mozart to Metallica. October Project is a personal favorite of mine, and though they haven't been together for over a decade, their two albums are treasures that still brighten my days. Their lead vocalist, Mary Fahl, went on to a brilliant solo career.

4. Star Wars. Yes, I'm a geek, and I love every minute of it. I saw Star Wars in 1977, when I was six, and it was the biggest thing I had ever seen. It started me on my life-long love of science fiction and fantasy, and helped inspire my goal of becoming a professional writer. I loves me some Star Trek, too, and there are lots of other quality films and books that inspire me, but Star Wars will always be the first and biggest.

5. Wasted days. A chilly, rainy day spent indoors reading (or just doing whatever it is I feel like doing) is a boon to the soul.

6. The art of Arthur Rackham. You've seen his art, you probably just don't realize it.

7. Stuff like this. I can't help it; it makes me laugh every time I see it.

8. That moment of excitement and joy that comes when you get a great idea for a story, or when you break through with a bit you've been having trouble with. That burst of creativity is one of the main reasons I love telling stories.

9. The folks at the sci-fi/fantasy forums at Writer's Digest. Not only have I learned a great deal about honing my craft from the amazingly talented writers who frequent the forums, I consider them friends, and value the sense of community I found there.

10. A quiet, starlit night.

I'm supposed to pass this on to five others whose blogs I enjoy, so here we go, in no particular order:

Nicole--a relatively new acquaintance, I've come to enjoy her story-telling and her voice.
Amber--Amber is going to Korea soon, and will be posting the experience on her blog. I look forward to vicariously visiting another country.
Mr. Door Tree--I'm a big comic book fan (surprising, innit?)as well as many other types of illustrative story-telling, and this blog has been a fountain of wonder.
Brandi--Quite honestly, one of the best writers I've had the pleasure of meeting.
Kim--Kim is a wonderful, caring person, and I enjoy her views on life and literature. Plus, she has the word "dystopian" in her blog heading, and that's just cool.

There are several other folks I would like to mention, but most of them have already been given this award by someone else, plus I could only pick five.

So now you know a little bit more about me and the things that make me happy. Some of you may find this interesting, some may find it disturbing.

But I hope it makes most of you happy.
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Thanks for reading my ranting,
Brad