Thursday, May 31, 2012

More Awards (and a Hidden Update)


And the awards keep coming...

I.  Stylish?  Me?

Tonja at Tonja's Musings graciously awarded me a Stylish Blogger award.  Thanks, Tonja! I really appreciate it!

For this award, I have to share about the last time I dressed up.

Well, I'll take "dressed up" as meaning in a full suit and tie.  You know, there was a time when I could have  just said, "today at work."  In the early 1990's, I worked for EDS (Electronic Data Systems) at the GM Tech Center in Warren, Michigan and I had to wear a suit each and every day.  One of the old jokes was that EDS used to stand for "Everyone Dresses in Suits" or "Everyone Dresses the Same".  Back then I was doing PC support, and so it was a lot of fun to get to crawl under desks connecting and disconnecting power cords and cables when I was wearing suit pants and a tie.  Thankfully, saner heads have prevailed in the business world, and now my 'work clothes' are pretty much khaki-based "business casual," with jeans on "casual Fridays". So now I only wear a suit when I'm out with the wife on a special social occasion.  It's been a while, but I believe the last time was for a special dinner with my wife  (the last wedding we went to was much more relaxed, so no suits involved other than on the bridal party).

Now I get to award five other bloggers.  Here are five of my favs who don't already have this award (as far as I can tell):



-- Mina Lobo at Some Dark Romantic 

-- Nicole at  Write Me a World  

-- Christine Rains at her self-titled blog   

-- Plus, I'll also award L.G. Keltner at Writing off the Edge because of my next award:


II. Versatile Blogifyin'

As, I just mentioned, L.G. Keltner at Writing off the Edge awarded me the Versitile Blogger Award.  Thank you very much, L.G.!


For this one, I have to list seven random things about myself.  I just shared a bunch in my last post, but I'll try and come up with seven others...

  1. I used to have to wear a suit everyday to work, but no longer do (hey -- that factoid from above can still count towards this list of seven, can't it? It's from the same post after all...).
  2. I've yet to get a story published, but I think I keep getting closer all the time.  I'm currently working on a couple of requested revisions and resubmissions, so hopefully I'll have some positive news for you soon (see, this IS supposed to be a writing blog, so I see no harm in squeezing in a writing update disguised as a "random factoid", right? I even mentioned it in the title of this post).
  3. The first record I ever bought was a 45-rpm record (any of you other olde pharts remember those?) called "Hitchin' a Ride." I was 10 years old and played that record a bazillion times.  And yet, I've never wanted to hitch-hike in my entire life.
  4. The first movie I ever saw in a theater was at a Saturday afternoon matinee that my mom took me to back in like 1965 or 1966.  It was the classic horrible movie, "Santa Claus Conquers the Martians".  
  5. While I was too young to realize how bad that movie was (I thought it was awesome seeing the picture covering a WHOLE WALL!), it would have probably still qualified for "the worst movie I ever saw in a theater" for most of my life, until it was overthrown by the wretchedly horrible Tom Green movie, "Freddy Got Fingered" which I took my stepson to at his insistence in 2001 or 2002.  This is the only movie I've ever been to where there were signs in the auditorium warning you that you would NOT get a refund if you decided to see the film.  This movie made "Santa Claus conquers the Martians" seem like "Citizen Kane".  It's been over ten years and yet my eyeballs still burn.... 
  6. My favorite off-shoot about being a Trekkie?  When I lived in the Detroit area, a good friend and I used to play "Star Fleet Battles", based on the Star Trek universe.  It was one of the best table-top strategy games ever.  The rule books (yes, there were multiple ones) took up a massive three-ring binder. 
  7. My most favorite guitar solo/performance?  How about Jimi Hendrix doing "Machine Gun" with the Band of Gypsies, New Year's Eve 1969/1970 at the Fillmore East. None of what you might expect from Jimi live -- no behind-the-back, no playing-with-his-teeth, no pelvic-thrusts-into-the-amp.  Just a phenomenal range of emotional context -- from screaming, feedback-laced, take-your-head-off intensity, to soft, mournful, ethereal moments.   Simply amazing.

So there you go -- seven more tidbits about me.

Now, from what I've seen on L.G.'s and other blogs, I'm supposed to pass this award on to from 5 to 15 other bloggers.  Well, I like my list of five from above, so I'll double-dose them with awards:



-- Mina Lobo at Some Dark Romantic 

-- Nicole at  Write Me a World  

-- Christine Rains at her self-titled blog  


Be sure to visit each of them and offer your congratulations  -- Twice!



17 comments:

DL Hammons said...

I used to wear suits where I work as well, and we have since transitioned to business casual and casual Fridays. Thank goodness sanity prevailed!

Congrats on the awards!! :)

Christine Rains said...

Congrats on the awards and thank you for passing them on. I've seen Santa Claus Conquers the Martians being riffed on MST3k. It was hilarious! And yes, much better than Freddy Got Fingered.

Georgina Morales said...

Gee, thanks Chris! *holding her awards close to her chest, a tear rolls down her cheek* I want to thank my hubby for allowing me to watch every fashion show on E!, to my girls for not allowing me to step out of the house in my pj's, and to all of those who voted for me. Thanks Academy, you're great!! *she folds her little speech and graciously walks off when her 10 inch heels get caught in the train of her dress and fells off her face*

LOL. I'll post my real thank you speech tomorrow on my blog. Thanks Chris, you're very nice to keep thinking about me. ;)

Brent Wescott said...

Came over on a connecting flight from Mina Lobo's site. Nice to know you. I can't believe the first movie you ever saw was such a famous bad movie. I hope it didn't destroy your ability to appreciate good film. You did apparently pay to see Freddy Got Fingered... :)

Cherie Reich said...

Congratulations for the awards!

Heather Murphy said...

Congrats! Sadly, I remember 45s, but I do like Hendrix :)

Nicole said...

Thanks Chris! Who knew I was both stylish AND versatile? :)

StratPlayerCJF said...

@DL: Absolutely I still like getting all dressed up once in a great while for a special night out or something, but I do not miss it at all for daily work attire, lol! Thanks, Don!

@Christine: You're more than welcome! And EVERYTHING is better than Freddy Got Fingered, lol!

@Gina: Love your acceptance speech, lol! And you're also very welcome!

@Brent: Hi! Nice to meet you! I don't think it destroyed my film appreciation, but it may have definitely contributed to my slightly-warped tastes, lol!

@Cherie: Thank you very much!

@Heather: Thanks! And I do understand about not liking Hendrix -- I get that it's not a universal appreciation. ;^) In many ways he's like Jackson Pollock: An erratic, self-destructive artist who battled with -- and died as a result of -- substance abuse (alcohol in Pollock's case), who is admired by other artists based on his tremendous technical merit and innovative, influential style; but to many eyes, his work is just wild and outlandish swaths of color that don't even show a clear picture.

@Nicole: Well, I did! That's why I awarded ya! ;^)

Mina Lobo said...

OK, Chris - I finally got around to working on this!
Some Dark Romantic

Jennifer said...

Hi. I just awarded you the Versatile Blogger and tagged you with the Lucky 7 Meme at my blog and then I realized you already had both! I guess it goes to show how much people like you that the keep wanting to give you awards.

PS. Good Luck on getting a story published.

Tara Tyler said...

it really is award season, aint it!
showers of em! great for you =)

LTM said...

you are fer sure very stylish and versatile! And your brain is very tasty... *nom nom nom* ;p

Nancy Thompson said...

I love men in suits! My hubby's a blue collar dude so he never gets to wear one. But I think they're sexy! Congrats on all your awards! You deserve 'em. :-)

L.G. Keltner said...

I'm writing to let you know that I'm giving you a Booker Award. Come to my blog to pick it up.

lgkeltner.blogspot.com

Georgina Morales said...

It took me slightly longer than I anticipated, but I got my acceptance speech on my blog today. I have still to name the new recipients, but I'll do soon.

Thanks again Chris!

StratPlayerCJF said...

@Mina: Awesome! You are definitely stylish, lol!

@jennifer: Well, thank you! Even though I've been pre-awarded, I really appreciate your kind generosity!

@Tara: Yes it is -- they're spreading through the writer blogs like a rampant virus, lol! And thanks!


@LTM: Thanks, Leigh. LOL! 'Tasty brain' is a compliment I don't usually get, but I'll take it, Zombie girl!

@Nancy: It's funny -- I might wear a suit on my wife's birthday, but underneath my clothes, I wear my own birthday suit each and every day... odd, huh? ;^) Thanks for the kind words!

@L.G.: Well, thank you again! I'll swing by and check it out...

@Gina: I'll be sure and visit your log ASAP to get the scoop!

farawayeyes said...

OK, know you a little better now.