Saturday, March 21, 2009

I Appear to be Fabulous!


James Reasoner nominated me for this award last Sunday, and a little later Shauna Roberts also nominated me. I much appreciate it James and Shauna. It’s nice to be recognized.

To accept this award I’m supposed to post five things I’m obsessed with, and also nominate five other fabulous blogs for the award. Now I don’t believe there are five things I’m “obsessed” with in the clinical use of that term, but I certainly can find five things that I spend a lot of my spare time doing. Those will have to do. So, my “obsessions” first.

1. Reading: This is closest I come to an obsession in a clinical sense. I’m virtually a compulsive reader. Last night I was reading a book I’m not enjoying very much. Lana and I were also having a conversation, and I found after a few minutes that I’d read ten pages of the book without actually paying attention to anything more than the bare words. I read everywhere, and anything. Have book? Will read!

2. Books: I suppose this goes hand in hand with number 1, but in addition to reading compulsively, I also really just enjoy being around and handling books. I like rearranging my shelves, and going through piles of unread books to select one that I want to read. I like to see my collection add up as I finish a new book and put it on the shelves. This is one thing that my Kindle 2 will never replace, and it’s a biggie.

3. Food: I rather love to eat. And I eat a lot. I’m no gourmet, though, and I’m no kind of chef who carefully prepares his meals according to some inner creative fire. I want food on my plate. Hearty food. Large amount s of it. And I want to say mmhymmn when I fork those bites to my mouth.

4. Nature: I love living in the country, to awake in the morning to the sun streaming through the trees. I love to get out and hike. I love having living things all around me other than human beings. The natural world is so incredibly beautiful. I couldn’t truly live without it.

5. Imagining: This one is a riff off of Shauna’s selection of “creating.” I simply love the act of imagining things. For the Talera series, for example, I’ve got a large number of plants and animals and cities and landmasses etc. that have not yet appeared in the books. I just loved making them up. And I’ve mentioned my habit of making up stories for myself as I lay down to go off to sleep. Much of my day is spent interacting with my own imagination.

It's hard to choose only five people from among the many wonderful blogs I read. My choices are five blogs that in the past year have expanded my horizons or helped me be a better writer. Thanks to all of them:

Greg Schwartz: Greg is a very fine poet; I have several of his collections. Reading his work has taught me a bit about how to use dark humor in poetry, something I’m not very adept at but which I admire. He also often has great info on markets and I’ve sold a couple of things to magazines he’s linked to.

Hello Ello 2: Ello has funny children, very, very funny children. Or else Ello is funny enough herself to make her children seem tremendously funny. For some good humor, sometimes from what America’s Funny Home Videos call the “naughty file,” check her blog out.

Wayne Allen Sallee: Wayne is an immensely talented writer, and also a friend of mine. Even though we’ve only met once in person. Whether in his blogging or his fiction, Wayne always writes close to the bone.

Sidney Williams: Sid is another friend of mine, and also a very fine writer. I’ve got at least 7 or 8 of his books on my shelves. Sid doesn’t post very often but he always has something interesting to say when he does. He also runs the very interesting Fear on Demand

Heff: Heff doesn’t read much, as he’s happy to tell you. But he talks a lot about food and drink, one of my obsessions, and about heavy metal and hard rock music, which is the only kind I listen too. Whenever you’re tired of reading blogs about writing and writers, hop over to Heff’s for something completely different. Besides, he owns a bar, and where else are you going to go if there’s a zombie outbreak?

44 comments:

David Cranmer said...

Ah, welcome to the Fabulous club!

Donnetta said...

Morning, Charles and congrats on the blogging award. Your blogging friends sound VERY interesting! Also, on the previous post--I'm with you!! D

Travis Cody said...

I'm with you on the book thing. I don't read as much as you, but I do love my books. I'm due for a new bookcase soon...mine are completely full now.

Best Fantasy and Science Fiction said...

Congrats! It is always a pleasure to read your blog Charles and your friends are all amazing as well. Thank you for being a faithful reader of my blog as well!

writtenwyrdd said...

It's nice to get recognition and in your case well deserved. :)

I love being surrounded by books, too. I reread most of my books at least a couple of times.

Issa's Untidy Hut said...

Congrats ... now if we can just get the hat from the picture on to your head in your photograph ...

Seriously, a well-deserved nomination. I've enjoyed the varied topics you cover in the blog and your unflagging perspective.

Lauren said...

Congrats on the award! I love the other blogs that you posted. Thanks for sharing them with us!

laughingwolf said...

grats charles... where else but a bar, indeed? :O lol

Charles Gramlich said...

David Cranmer, is it close to the “Marvelous” club. Lol.

Donnetta Lee, thanks. Much appreciated.

Travis, I just moved some books around last week to make more room on my shelves. But I enjoy that.

Best Fantasy and Science Fiction, thanks. I appreciate that.

writtenwyrdd, I don’t reread books too often, but I refer to mine a lot as I’m writing essays and various kinds of things. Every time I’ve ever sold a book or traded a book I’ve ended up needing to refer to it in the next week or so.

Issa's Untidy Hut, I’ll have Lana let the hat out a little. Or maybe I will just have to get my hair thinned. ;)

Lauren, thanks to you.

laughingwolf, I know that’s where I’m headed in case of zombies.

Lana Gramlich said...

But of COURSE you're fabulous, dahhhhhhlink! Congrats on the award! *big hugs*

I.P.Igo said...

Cannot but agree with all, 12345. Only, you are not saying if you have time for all those things. The statement no 1. can make you awake (in the darkness) which eventually would lead to all sorts of clinics. 2. Beautiful, relaxing state caused by occasional rearrangements has its clinical explanation as well (oohooho). 3. Who wrote the word “beer”? You did not mention it but somehow I can see the word over there. See, you made me reading the word without actually putting it down. 4. Can’t wait for those bastards to lay me off. 5. Did you ever cross the river ;)?… Nonono, not that river; but the one that feeds “the plants and the landmass” ? If you cross it and come back, the clinical definition may awaits you. Hah.

Nice blog. Congrats on the award!

Sincerely,
Igo
www.raxana.com

I.P.Igo said...

Cannot but agree with all, 12345. Only, you are not saying if you have time for all those things. The statement no 1. can make you awake (in the darkness) which eventually would lead to all sorts of clinics. 2. Beautiful, relaxing state caused by occasional rearrangements has its clinical explanation as well (oohooho). 3. Who wrote the word “beer”? You did not mention it but somehow I can see the word over there. See, you made me reading the word without actually putting it down. 4. Can’t wait for those bastards to lay me off. 5. Did you ever cross the river ;)?… Nonono, not that river; but the one that feeds “the plants and the landmass” ? If you cross it and come back, the clinical definition may awaits you. Hah.

Nice blog. Congrats on the award!

Sincerely,
Igo
www.raxana.com

Heff said...

Charles, I've ALWAYS defined you as fabulous. Even BEFORE you started winning awards.

Ok, maybe it was actually after you won a few....

Cloudia said...

"Much of my day is spent interacting with my own imagination."

Well it's such an interesting place, who could blame you.
Congrats. Well deserved!
Now I want to explore your nominees.

Aloha, Charles

the walking man said...

You do have a fabulous blog Charles...always making us think and see things from (to me) a vastly different perspective.

I think from watching the food channel your eating experience has probably been enhanced by living so close to NO.

Charles Gramlich said...

Lana Gramlich, and I feel mavvelous.

I.P.Igo, Thanks for the kind words. I appreciate that. Thanks for visiting.

Heff, humnmm, so how do you mean that? ;)

Cloudia, imagination is great fun for sure.

Mark, I really began to learn what eating was when I moved to the New Orleans area. It has been part of my enlightenment, or my demise.

Gary Dobbs/Jack Martin said...

Arkansas Slim, we already knew you were fabulous.

BIBI said...

Congrats on the award, you are fab!

I am totally with you on the books. Since I have not read a GOOD novel in a very long time due to school, I have yet to find a good book this year to indulge in.

I plan to build a small library of all the books I have thus so far collected. I LOVE BOOKS!!

And you're right, Kindle can never replace that. :)

*BIBI*

MarmiteToasty said...

Oh my, what a thin waste you have..... :)

x

Barbara Martin said...

Welcome to the Fabulous Club, Charles, and well deserved.

Erik Donald France said...

Congrats and right on, man. Those aren't obsessions, that's livin' right!

ivan said...

Very nice indeed.
I keep writing about chinese foot fetishists and lesbian assassins and haven't got anywhere near the luck. :)

Steve Malley said...

Hmmm, I was tempted to just 'ditto' Shauna's, but now I read yours and I'm torn....

Mary Witzl said...

We've got the same obsessions with one small difference: I'm awful about tidying my book shelves.

I love having lots of food on my plate too. And I've got to make that Mmmm sound myself, or it just doesn't taste right.

BernardL said...

Those are five very solid obsessions, Charles. :)

Shauna Roberts said...

Interesting obsessions. I had a hard time deciding whether reading or books should be on my obsession list, but I see you got them both in.

L.A. Mitchell said...

Congrats on your much-deserved blog award, Charles! The toy poodle is SO you :)

Greg said...

congrats on the award, Charles! definitely well-deserved. you've always got something good to say, and i especially like the writing that you post.

thanks for mentioning my blog... glad to see someone gets some use out of it!

Sam said...

Oh congrats for the award! And yes, anything about food is good, lol

Lisa said...

We're definitely obsessed with all the same things. Interesting personal post.

X. Dell said...

Well, congratulations on the award, first of all. Razord Zen is indeed fabulous.

A reading obsession seems to be a good fit with the life of an academic. After all, one could easily join the book-of-the-day club in grad school. But from my own experience, nature and academia are kinda opposites. Then again, my university was a skyscraper.

ZZZZZZZ said...

Congrats!

JR's Thumbprints said...

By the looks of the award pics - You be stylin' and/or walking the dog. Own a Yo-Yo? Congrats.

SQT said...

You ARE so fabulous.

I can totally relate to the book thing. I pretty much have a book in hand wherever I go.

Sarai said...

Congrats on the award!

Vesper said...

Congratulations! You have some very pleasant obsessions... :-)

Charles Gramlich said...

ARCHAVIST, and so slender!

BIBI, thanks. I'm always on the look out for good books, although I've read a few pretty good ones.

MarmiteToasty, I'm a thin waste? well, as long as you notice my thinness. :)

Barbara Martin, thankee

Erik Donald France, you're dead on right!

ivan, you'd think there'd be a big audience for those things!

Steve Malley, don't be a ditto head. Unless you really want to.

Mary Witzl, My bookshelves are the one thing I DO keep tidy.

BernardL, a man's got to know his limitations. And excesses.

Shauna Roberts, two for the price of one. Or is it one for the price of two?

L.A. Mitchell, yeah, my hair looks a little poodlish on a bad day.

Greg Schwartz, thanks. And I'm a regular visitor indeed to your blog.

Sam, speaking of which, I'm kind of hungry.

Lisa, it's good to see a lot of fo9lks still obsessed with books and reading.

X. Dell, I'm all preening and stuff. Well, I always did a fair amount of reading sitting under a tree. My grad school was in a fairly rural area.

Sheila, thankee.

JR, I don't actually own that dress I'm afraid. The one in the pic that is.

SQT, thanks much. I'm known as the reading guy in many places around here.

Sarai, thank you.

Vesper, I get a kick out of them.

NOTE in GENERAL: I've not been visiting blogs because Monday morning at school I found my work computer dead. The harddrive has to be wiped so I'm limited in how much access I have. And since I am now stuck doing all my school work at home it means not a lot of time for blog hopping. I should be back to normal in a few days.

ivan said...

Charles,

I have had fifty hits from all over the world so far since I started reviewing old "Damsel in Destress" Phoebe Zeigeist strips by the late Michael O'Donoghue and artist Jerry Springer.
But wow. There is an audience for the material are talking about. Until recently, all the craze has been over EMPOWERED by Adam Warren


Adam Warren's rarely clad heroine Empowered continues to get stripped, tied up, and humiliated by villains in Empowered: Vol. 2 (Dark Horse), It had been tough to be an empowred superoine in the late ninteties.
Wonder what Volume 3 will bring...At one point Ms. Empowered calls her mom. No Wonder Woman this chick.

Scott said...

Charles,

Congrats on the awards! Fabulous, indeed!

Charles Gramlich said...

Ivan, I can imagine. Sounds cool.

Scott, thankee, dude.

Anne Vis said...

Congratulations, I also enjoyed reading your post! :-) I'll probably see you some day in a bookstore or library ... ? :-)

Charles Gramlich said...

Anna Vis, I spend a lot of time in those places. Thanks for dropping by.

ivan said...

Ode dear.

New virus reported today.

It can take over a zillion PC's and patch them onto a supergrid which will then take over the bugged computers.
Says Officer Flaherty, "These things are sent to try us."

j said...

Your title made me laugh! I hope to visit the blogs you listed soon... too sleepy right now.