A Blog Award.

My, my. How very delightful! Teresa, over at Occasional Randomness, has presented me with the Liebster Blog Award. Aww. Thanks Treski!

So, according to the rules, I am supposed to do the  following:

1. Post eleven facts about myself.

2. Answer the eleven questions the awarder has given me and make up eleven questions for my awardees to answer in turn.

3. Tag eleven fellow bloggers

4. Notify them that I've awarded them

5. No tagging back

6. And the eleven blogs you tag must have less than 200 followers.

Well... I can oblige with the first two steps. Unfortunately, I do not know 11 people to whom I might present this award, and the few people I would normally pass it along to, already show up amongst Teresa's list. That being the case, I shall merely deliver myself of a good deal of trivia, and leave it at that. First, here, in no particular order, are 11 facts about myself:

1.) In case it is not obvious from this blog, I shall come right out and say it. I collect scores of pointless trivia. I am the Trivia Queen. Would you like to hear about the life cycle of a jelly fish? I can tell you all about it. From memory.

2.) I can knit. My very first project was an Aran Sweater. Yes, it was ambitious, but I figured if I had to go to all the bother of learning the craft (and I did have to, it was related to Work.) I wanted to produce something I would actually wear. Here is it:

And having achieved that, I decided that I had about all the knitting I could take, and have not completed another project since... But I can knit.

3.) I have a sword, and I know how to use it. Actually, I have two swords: the lighter foil, with the tip capped off, so that I may merely 'kill' my opponent, but not hurt him; and the hand and a half sword with a live point. I took fencing classes for a number of years, and got to be pretty good at it. My favourite style was to fight with two short swords.

4.) I am exceedingly fond of popcorn, lightly buttered and salted. I cannot resist the stuff. Do not ask me why. I cannot tell you.

5.) Coffee has no effect on me whatsoever. It does not wake me up, nor keep me awake. I can drink cup after cup of it, day after day, (and believe me, I do.) but if I give it up cold turkey - for Lent, for example - I do not suffer the usual withrdawls that afflict most coffee drinkers.

6.) I have a funny accent - a Canadian accent, apparently; and a Canadian once mistook me for a Newfie. When I am being particularly earnest, this accent thickens up a bit, and comes out as sounding like and uneasy compromise between an Irish brogue and a Scottish burr. It confuses people.

7.) I do not feel the cold very easily, and I love soft, grey days... and mist... and rain... and snow. I am happiest during wild weather.

8.) I have been known to gad about the landscape, draped in a long green cloak of my own creation. Cloaks are cosy and practical, and a lot of fun to wear. And they make a great off-hand weapon during a swordfight.

9.) There is a misconception floating about, that I can fix anything. This is Not True, and I thank you to crush those rumours wherever you hear them. However, if you are desperate, and ask nicely enough, I will give it my best shot... unless it involves computers.

10. I once translated The Song of the Sword of Alan (from Stevenson's Kidnapped) into Quenya. It seemed The Thing To Do.

11.) Rumour has it that I have a secret identity. Opinion is divided as to whether this alter-ego is a grey, gloomy creature, who knows all about the Grand and Glorious 'A', or a big-headed android named Marvin.

And now for Teresa's questions:

1.) Who's you're favorite musician and why? (Does not include singers this time.)

     Seriously? One single, solitary favourite musician who is not a singer? Goes through The List: James Galway, whose flute technique is so distinctive, you know you're listening to him before you here his name mention? Alasdair Fraser who does the same thing for fiddle? Mark Knopfler, who change my mind about whether an electric guitar can be beautiful? Paddy Maloney, who make the Chieftains what they are? The piping instructors at Balmoral School of Piping and Drumming, who are all insanely talented, but who treat us lowly students like equals, because we are All Pipers in a Glorious Tradition? I can't decided. Take your pick.

2.) Do you think the Beatles overrated?

     Definitely. I find the modern adoration of the Beatles odd and somewhat disturbing. I really, really, really don't care for John Lennon on any level. The heathen.

3.) Did you ever want to be a Ginger?

     Sadly, yes. But then I met a Ginger and got over it.

4.) QUICK! PICK A NUMBER BETWEEN ONE AND TEN! Now, why did you chose that one? Why!? WHY?!?

     Gah! Too much pressure! I refuse to participate.

5.) How much wood would a woodchuck chuck, if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

     42. It is The Answer.

6.) Who started the American Navy?

     John Paul Jones. He was a Scot. It probably explains a lot: 

 
7.) What's your favorite music genre?

     Anything I consider Good Music, and opposed to that other stuff that is Not Good. But if you are going to pin me down to a definite answer, Irish and Scottish music - think Clancy Brothers and Corries, Chieftains and bagpipes. God save us from that generic "Celtic" stuff.

8.) Have you ever played baseball? (even in the backyard with friends works.)

     Yes. My Nono, after all, was largely responsible for the Little League program in town. It would be considered in Very Bad Taste, if I hadn't played it. Now that I'm grown (or as grown as I am going to get), I prefer football (non-American) and hockey. I like speed and violence in my games.

9.) What are your top five favorite books? (because I know that I can never chose just one)

     Oh, boy... I hate this question. I am going to presume that you mean fictional titles, which will cut out a couple of contenders. So, The Lord of the Rings obviously. The Sherwood Ring is one of my go-to books when I want something to cheer me up. I love Kidnapped, by Robert Louis Stevenson. Alan Breck Stewart is one of the most incorrigibly likable characters in fiction. The Outlaws of Ravenhurst has been a favourite since I was yea-high, and when I re-read it recently, I remembered why. It is good. The Hands of Cormac Joyce because it is a sweet, beautiful and wise book.

10.) What is your favorite accent?

     Ye canna tell frae a wee glance o th' blog? Actually, tis a toss up. Irish accents are lovely, especially South of Ireland. And then there are Scottish accents, and the Glasgow accent in particular... Ehm, if I am being honest, I will just out and admit that accent are never-endingly fascinating, and I love them all.

11.) Do you know the answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything?

      Yes. But since I have not yet calculated the Ultimate Question, alas, it does me no good.