Sunshine Blogging Award

I haven't been asked to do one of these in awhile but when Kelly puts me on his short list then I must respond. He's a great writer who is living the dream of being a published author. Check out his blog Byzanntium Shores.

1. What do you value more in a story: dialog or plot?

Plot is everything. Building worlds and characters and situations that I can become invested in is key. Once you have that, the conversations kinda write themselves. A bad idea will not be saved by the wittiest banter in the world. The first Lethal Weapon movie was great. By sequel number three the banter could do nothing to overcome boring scripts.

2. Describe the home planet of Lin-Manuel Miranda. (Come on, that dude ain’t human.)

I assume this is the planet where the kitties talk because if it's NOT the planet of the talking kitties then I don't want to know anything about it.

3. If you enjoy watching any sports at all, which ones would you at least like to try just once?

I have been lucky to try most every sport I was interested in. I loved fencing and archery. Those ancient killing arts were fun to learn. I curled for decades. I don't like to run so that eliminates most sports. I have played goalie for years and years in most sports that require one just so I don't have to run that much. I would rather have something shot at me than run. I wish I was part of some low key volleyball league that played weekly games. I bowled for years as a kid and have a box full of trophies to prove it. I also used to love to golf but I have no friends to do that with anymore so I haven't walked those 18 bases for years.

4. Describe the most recent book to which you gave (or would have given) five stars.

I don't read many novels anymore. I look at art books and watch many TV shows and movies. But when I think back to books I REALLY loved as a kid, this one comes to mind. I kept wishing Disney would make a movie about it but sadly they never did. I really enjoyed the mix of Shakespeare and real life plots against the queen and the fact that one of the 'boys' is actually a girl pretending to be a boy so she can play girl parts in Shakespeare plays. Got it??

 

"The novel is set in Elizabethan England at the end of the 16th century.[1] Two young runaways become boy actors, at first on the road and later in London, where they are befriended by William Shakespeare. They become aware of a plot against Queen Elizabeth's life and attempt to prevent it." - Wikipedia

 

5. Do you finish bad books? Why or why not?

I have to know the ending to things. That is why I have to finish the book or movie. TV shows I can drop on a whim even if I really enjoy them. Sometimes a couple seasons of a situation comedy are enough for me.

6. How vexed are you when movies don’t match the books?

I understand that movies are a collaborative process while a book is usually a singular effort. There will always be changes. The trick is to remember and focus on what made the book popular in the first place. Sometimes the movie is better especially when done in a longer form. I found the book Jonathan Strange and Mr Norell to be a slog but I LOVED the mini-series. LOTR is a tough book to read but I will watch all 12 hours of the movies at one time without complaint.

7. Describe your perfect hot beverage. In detail. I’m talking roast of bean or variety of leaves, additives like spices or squirts of citrus, vessel from which the drink is sipped, where you are sitting as you sip it, who is next to you, what music is playing.

Peppermint hot chocolate. Old time vinyl from my collection. ELO has got my toes taping these days. I love all the over production. I remember the John Lennon once said that if the Beatles had not broken up they would have evolved into ELO. I hear it in the songs of Jeff Lynne.

8. Do you watch cooking shows? If so, describe your favorite.

My Kitchen Rules Australia is very good. Pete and Manu can't be beat. Home cooks invite other home cooks and these two chefs to their HOME restaurants to serve a three course meal and then they are judged. Two rounds of teams to get down to the winner. It's on three times a week and kills in the ratings. I like the Canadian version of Masterchef because one of our judges looks like Doctor Octopus of Spider-Man fame. And of course the greatest show ever is the Iron Chef from Japan with the original English translations. My Dad and I loved that show so much.

9. Name a place you’ve visited that you thought you’d hate but you didn’t.

Every place I have been able to visit has been an adventure. I loved it all. Well, maybe not that weekend in Latvia but they started shooting at us first.

10. You know that hobby you had as a younger person that you miss dearly but you know you’ll never do it again? Describe it!

I used to love to make models. Interesting models of interesting scenes. Not just planes or cars for me. I liked the ones where you had to paint something to look realistic and add grass and dirt to complete the effect. War models were fun but I loved the giant killer insect models the best.

 

The boxes on these look pretty ratty but they are complete in my collection and one day I will build them and paint them up right like others have done and I did that one long summer as a 13 year old where I was exiles to Pinawa Manitoba for the summer to stay with my Aunt. Swimming lessons in a cold lake in the morning and nothing but three channels in rural Manitoba for the rest of the day. At least there was a cool basement. I had a few comics to read but I also had money to buy these models when I saw them on the drug store shelf. I went insane having something to do. I probably spent a solid week building three of ones in the series. I even had the paint and my aunt actually spent time with me painting the little people. I left the models there and wonder if they were just tossed. I was so afraid of them breaking on the bus ride home. It's a great memory of a hobby that filled many boring summer afternoons. And at the end I had something to show for my effort and those are the best kind of hobbies.

 

11. On January 20, 2017, the newly inaugurated President of the United States signs a law requiring all Americans to display a coffee-table book prominently in their home. Which one do you put out?

One of the only two copies that exist of Jodorowsky's DUNE with storyboards and art by Moebius and Giger and O'Bannon. I so wish they would produce a copy of that book for mass consumption. It would be amazing to see what could have been the greatest movie of all time.

 

 

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