The Liebster Award 2019!!!

Joshua G. J. Insole nominated me for the Discover New Bloggers Liebster Award! I’ve really enjoyed his “Bite-Sized Horror” series. Perfect little tales of terror if you’ve only got a few minutes for a scare. He’s also got some great short stories up, worth the read if you’ve got a little more time on your hands. Thanks Josh!

The Liebster Award is a blogger to blogger award. It’s intended for bloggers with under 200 followers, to spread the word on smaller blogs.

The basic rules of the award are:

You can find more details about the Award entry here.

On to Josh’s questions:

1) If money were of no importance, what would you be doing with your life, right now?

Sweet, sweet, nothing. To be honest I would probably be traveling and writing more.

I’d like to put my stuff in storage and spend time visiting every stop on every Amtrak route (a personal goal of mine), writing on the train while traveling across the country.

2) What’s your favorite genre, and why? (This can be for books, movies, or music!)

This is a difficult question. I find there are pieces of work in any genre that I really love, and some that I really hate. I jump around a lot, that’s true of everything from music to movies.

As far as literature goes, I always enjoy a well-crafted or entertaining story, or dynamic and interesting characters. But the stuff I like the best is the kind of thing that makes my brain itch. Have you ever read The Castle of Crossed Destinies by Italo Calvino? Whatever genre that is. That’s probably my favorite. Makes me want to buy a deck of Tarot Cards and plan out plots for short stories with the Arcana.

I really like anything that prompts me to want to create or write something myself.

3) If you could take credit for one piece of work in history, what would it be? This could be a book, a song, a movie script, etc.

None. I wouldn’t want to take credit for something I didn’t do. Wouldn’t mind owning the licensing rights to The Beatles canon though.

4) If you knew you would die in a year, what are the top things you’d like to do before kicking the bucket?

Honestly, this is probably going to be a boring answer. I’m not much for big, flashy moments or anything like that. The things I’d like to do before I die, like write a novel, run a Brussels-Griffon rescue out of a solar-powered geodesic dome house, make a life-size butter sculpture of Buckminster Fuller–these are things which require time to accomplish and even time to bask in their buttery completion.

Realistically, if I thought I only had a year left, I would just spend more time with friends and family.

I might take my Grandma to Vegas though. That woman loves buffets and slot machines, and clearly, I would have no need to save for retirement. We’d live it up!

5) Tell me something that I (probably) don’t know! 

The United States recognizes “the right to a decent burial, which is a right that accrues in one’s lifetime, and is exercisable only after death.” (Customs Ruling H235506). This translates to the “quasi property rights” of survivors with regards to the dispensation of human remains but is only applicable insofar as it applies to the duty of survivors to carry out the burial.

This means that if you donate your body to science the people who hold your remains in trust for research are still required to provide a “decent burial” to your remains (burial in this case can include cremation). In some cases, remains are returned to family members once the research is complete. But in many cases, especially if no survivors exist, the organization holding the remains is required to dispense with them appropriately after their use in research has ended. Many research facilities and medical schools even hold memorial services for their cadavers.

Now, here’s what I want to know—

1. Have you? Can you? If you could, would you? (Be creative)
2. Pineapple on Pizza, yes or no?
3. Assuming you had the skill to paint anything, what would you paint on your version of the Sistine Chapel? (I would paint an inception chain of Bob Ross painting Bob Ross painting Bob Ross painting Bob Ross painting Bob Ross…with the tiniest Bob Ross painting Potato Jesus.
4. What tiny superpower would you want? Like something that made your life marginally easier but would probably be useless in fighting crime or saving the world. (For example, being able to never misspell a word. Or being naturally tick-repellent. Or being able to change the color of your fingernails at will, etc.)
5. What’s the last sentence of your favorite book? (Don’t say which one, and do not provide context).

While I would love to see your answers, I recognize that some people don’t have the time for these chain tags or feel that it doesn’t mesh with the content they want on their site. Please take it as the compliment it is intended to be–there’s no pressure to participate. With that being said, here are my nominations:

Phantasmagorium—A delightfully odd site run by Elyan White full of reviews, poetry (Plague Doctor is my favorite poem of 2019), creative writing, writing tips and prompts, and the weird, wonderful world of power metal album art.

Scherezade’s Labyrinth—Both funny and thought-provoking, Scherezade writes about everything from mental health and politics to the trials and tribulations of everyday life, and sometimes even includes original poetry and photography. Check it out!

Seanarchy–Sean C. Wright is an author and freelance editor. Her blog is full of flash fiction, writing and editing tips, and book reviews. You can also find more information about her published works, one of which was even adapted into a film short!

In conclusion, Opossum Lady:

Thanks for reading!