Hamlette's Soliloquy. This involves answering eleven questions from the tagger, providing eleven facts about yourself, nominating other bloggers for the award, and providing eleven questions for them to answer. So here goes.
Yes, I do- an earthenware mug which is large enough to hold about a cup-and-a-half of coffee. I usually use it while reading- or blogging- because it means I don't have to get up for refills as often.
2. Are you an adventurous eater?
I wouldn't class myself as adventurous... when eating out, I tend to order things I know I'll like rather than trying something completely different. I did eat haggis when I was in Scotland, and my sister who spent a year in South Korea got me to try kimchi, but that's about it.
3. What fandoms are you into?
I'd like to say I was Sherlock when Sherlock wasn't cool, but let's face it- Sherlock Holmes has always been cool. It is, however, a lot easier to find resources and other fans online since BBC Sherlock came on the scene.
4. What famous author/ book do you not really care for?
I've never been able to really develop a fondness for "Wuthering Heights". I know it's a great novel, but I just don't like any of the characters, which makes it hard for me to love the book.
5. What obscure author/ book are you nuts about?
I'm not sure if this author is really obscure: he was pretty well-known by his contemporaries, but less so today. But I really do like the work of David Dodge ("To Catch A Thief", etc) who wrote from around the 1940's- '60's. There are a few others- like Stuart McLean and Rex Murphy- who are well-known in Canada, but not so much elsewhere. Hmm... this is starting to sound like that old comedy sketch about a game show, where one of the categories was "Dead or Canadian?"
6. What's the oldest movie you've ever watched?
Now there's a question... I watch a lot of old movies. I think that probably the oldest one I've seen is "Wings" from 1927 which, incidentally, won the first Academy Award ever for Best Picture.
7. What did you have for breakfast today?
This morning I had a glass of grapefruit juice, a bagel with blueberry jam, and a cup of coffee.
8. When did you first see your favourite movie?
Hooboy. Which favourite movie? I have quite a few, in different genres and for different reasons. I guess I'll pick one which I've loved since childhood: "The Scarlet Pimpernel" from 1934. When I was a child, every Saturday afternoon on T.V. there was a matinee showing of a classic B&W movie. I saw a lot of movies that way which I still love today: "The Hunchback of Notre Dame", "Gunga Din", "Robin Hood", "Cyrano de Bergerac", and my favourite of these, "The Scarlet Pimpernel". I loved everything about that movie- Leslie Howard's portrayal of the dual nature of Sir Percy/ the Scarlet Pimpernel, the exciting story, the witty, quotable dialogue... it gave me a life-long preference for smart heroes rather than ones who are merely brawny. And it made me seek out Baroness Orczy's original novel (also great).
9.Do you prefer fantasy or sci-fi?
Um, both... or neither. I don't really go in for genres: my tastes are rather catholic (lower case "c")... I'll read or watch anything which is well written and/or made. I like sci-fi by Heinlein, for example, and some Star Trek. But I also love Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Robin McKinley. etc. And there's a lot in both genres that I don't have any interest in, so I really don't have any consistency on this topic.
10. What did you expect your blog to be like when you started it?
Growing up in a large family, I was used to watching movies or reading books, and then arguing- er, calmly discussing- them with my siblings. Now that we are all spread about and busy with our own lives, it's a lot harder to do this, and I found that I missed it. I started my blog to record my thoughts and opinions on whatever I was reading or watching at the time, since I didn't have as many opportunities to do this verbally anymore.
11. Has it changed? If so, how?
I think I'm mostly still doing this, although I have branched out and talked about subjects which I hadn't really considered when I started blogging.
Eleven Facts About Myself:
2. I have eight brothers and sisters.
3. My favourite Little Golden Book as a child was "Charlie", about a stray cat looking for a home.
4. I drink my coffee black.
5. I once spent a night in a castle in Scotland.
6. I sing alto.
7. My favourite colour is green.
8. I once broke a finger playing volleyball.
9. I'm a news junkie.
10. I once knit a cushion cover in the wallpaper pattern from 221B Baker St. in BBC Sherlock, complete with smiley face.
11. My favourite romantic movie is "I Know Where I'm Going!"
O.K., now I'm supposed to nominate other blogs for this award and provide eleven questions for them. The problem is, I'm not really connected with a whole lot of bloggers at the moment, and don't have many that I feel comfortable nominating. So I think that what I'll do is provide the questions and, if you're reading this and are interested, please consider yourself nominated. Or, alternatively, feel free to comment on any or all of them.
Questions:
1. Have you ever named a pet after a fictional character?
2. Where is your favourite place to read?
3. What was/is your favourite children's book?
4. Do you prefer Fitzwilliam Darcy (P&P) or John Thornton (N&S)?
5. Is there a book you would like to see made into a movie?
6. What is the oldest work of fiction you've ever read?
7. What book did you take with you the last time you were on an airplane (or any other mode of transportation)?
8. What is the best movie adaptation of a book you've ever seen?
9. What is the worst movie adaptation of a book you've seen?
10. Who is your favourite fictional sidekick?
11. If there was one book or movie that you could magically experience over again for the first time, what would it be?