Award Time!

During the A-Z Challenge I was awarded a grand total of seven times! So, obviously, I had to get around to writing an award post.

First:

Jenny Pearson at Pearson Report (a cool blog on all different subjects, and who I met through the A-Z Challenge) awarded me the Classy Blogger Award, which was made by her:

Thank you so much, Jenny!

The Stylish Blogger Award was awarded to me by Josh Hoyt at The Blog That Helps You Diagnose Your Characters (a fascinating blog all about the things that make people tick--and has some great information on making character realistic) and by Ladydragonfly at The World of Julie B. (a fellow A-Z Challenger who has a blog on crafts, writing, and other subjects, and who posts great pictures along with them):

. . . and this one comes with rules:

1. Thank and link back to the person who gave you the award.
2. Share 7 things about yourself.
3. Award 10-15 blogs who you think deserve this award.
4. Contact these bloggers and let them know about the award.

I'll get to those in a moment. A big thank you to Josh and Julie!

I was also awarded the Versatile Blogger Award by Reece Hanzon at the blog of the same name (an awesome SF/writing blog) and Melody Jackson at The Tales of Sirius the Dragon (another great blog):

. . . which comes with yet more rules! (Not that I'm complaining, of course.)

1. Thank and link to the person who nominated you.
2. Share seven random facts about yourself.
3. Pass the award along to 15 new-found blogging buddies.
4. Contact those buddies to congratulate them.

Many thanks for the award, Reece and Melody!

And then there's the I Survived the A-Z Blogging Challenge Award from Elizabeth Mueller, which I just have to smile at every time I see (I mean, c'mon. A zebra! That looks like it's cracking up! It's inevitable):

(This one is free to take for all Challenge participants.)

Thank you, Elizabeth!

And finally, Tiger's Delightful Blogger Award from Tiger85 at Tiger on My Bookshelf:

It's such a beautiful picture. Thank you, Tiger85!

And, of course, there is an addenda:

1. Link back to Tiger85
2. Share your favorite thing about blogging
3. Choose at least 3 friends to give this award to

**********

Now, I suppose I owe you all some facts, don't I? Because I got the Stylish and Versatile Blogger Award four times, and 4x7=28.

Um, let's just stick with 7, okay?

1. I love the fact the sun is shining right now (because there was flash flooding and weeks of rain before now).

2. I wish I wasn't having eye problems (last evening, it was watering like crazy and for the most of the night and morning it hurt. I think it's allergies, although I've never had an allergy reaction like this before).

3. I need to figure out who the heck my characters are supposed to be (as I said to my mom: they're having an identity crisis right now.).

4. I feel weird starting all these sentences with the word "I" (I don't--there I go again--often talk about myself).

5. I hope the royal wedding works out (after all, some of the other marriages ended rather tragically; I also hope I don't hear about them ever again because that will mean they're not involved in some public drama).

6. I love the Vivaldi bassoon concertos playing in the living room right now (they fit my mood perfectly--mostly cheerful, brisk tempo).

7. I am trying to come up with interesting posts now that the A-Z Challenge is over, but the regular schedule now feels strange (I mean, not having to get up every morning and work on a post for hours? Shocker).


To follow the rules of the Delightful Blogger Award:

I already linked to Tiger85, so my favorite thing about blogging? Hmmm . . . for me, that would be the posts.

You're probably thinking "It's not the people?!" but it's through the posts that we get to know people. And I blog not just to get connected (although that's a huge factor). Posts are one of my main sources of information, on various sorts of subjects from people's lives (writing or otherwise--most of you run personal blogs) to the news to other random-ish topics. I also love writing posts and putting my own word in to a discussion on something.

So yeah. The posts are my favorite part of blogging. :)

Now, I guess I'm supposed to pass these awards on now, aren't I? I hope you won't mind it if I postpone awarding others and do it some other day in a second post. Perhaps I'll do it on a rainy day when I don't have any inspiration; at the moment, I've got to finish catching up on Reflections posts, and regular posts on blogs I've sorely neglected throughout April.

**********

So, how's life at your end? Anything happen lately, writing-wise, life-wise, other-wise?

-----The Golden Eagle

A-Z Blogging Challenge: U Stands For: Underground Cities

There's lots of stuff underground. For one thing, if you want to go really far down, there's Earth's core which is approximately 5505 C.

And a bit closer to home there are underground cities, which is what this post is to focus on.

Some notables:

The largest underground city in the world is Montreal's RÉSO, or La Ville Souterraine. It has 30 kilometers (19 miles) of tunnel, spread across 12 square kilometers (4.6 square miles). The 3.6 square kilometers (1.4 square miles) of floor space provide 80% of Montreal's office space, 35% of its commercial space, and during the winter around 500,000 thousand people use the city. There are 10 metro stations, 1,200 offices, 2,000 stores, 1,600 housing units, 200 restaurants, 2 universities, 40 banks, 7 hotels, a cathedral, exhibition halls, and a sports complex.

(SOURCE)

The catacombs of Rome are under and close to the city. There are at least 40 catacombs discovered. They began in the 100s and, due to overcrowding and shortage of land, systems were built on top of each other by the excavators; the catacombs cover 2.4 square kilometers. There are also 6 known Jewish catacombs, discovered in 1918, which extend for 13,000 square meters (140,000 square feet) and are from around 100-200 AD, possibly still used in the 400s.

(SOURCE)

Derinkuyu is the largest excavated underground city in Turkey. It is part of a network of underground complexes found across Cappadocia, which is what the area including the provinces of Aksaray, Nevsehir, Nigde, Kayseri and Kirsehir, is called, in the Central Anatolian region. Derinkuyu has 11 floors, goes to a depth of 85 meters, and could hold between 35,000 and 50,000 people. There were wine and oil presses, cellars, stables, chapels, and, unique to Derinkuyu, a religious school set in a chamber with a barrel-vaulted ceiling.

(SOURCE)

Dìxià Chéng is a bomb shelter under Beijing, China. It was built in the 1970s in case there was a nuclear war with the Soviet Union, and because it was for military defense, it has been called the Underground Great Wall. It covers 85 square kilometers (33 square miles), and is 8-18 meters (26-59 feet) below the surface. There were 90 hidden entrances to the tunnels, but now there is only one at Chongwen Qu. The complex had restaurants, schools, factories, warehouses, theaters, clinics, a skating rink, a mushroom farm for growing foods that don't require much light, and over 70 sites for potential water wells. There was protection from chemical attack, radioactive fallout, and even flood.

(SOURCE)

*****

Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underground_city
http://montreal.streetviewtours.com/attractions/montreal-underground-city/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underground_City,_Montreal
http://www.aviewoncities.com/montreal/reso.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catacombs_of_Rome
http://www.tours-italy.com/rome/catacombs.htm
http://www.cappadociaturkey.net/
http://www.cappadociaturkey.net/derinkuyu_underground_city.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derinkuyu_Underground_City
http://www.stay.com/beijing/attractions/9589/dixia-cheng-underground-city/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underground_City_(Beijing)

*****

Have you ever visited an underground city? If so, which one? If not, do you want to?


I hope you all had a happy Easter!


-----The Golden Eagle

Crusader Challenge: The Lie Is Revealed!

You know yesterday's post?

"Crusader Challenge: One Secret, One Lie, One Interesting Quirk, One Annoying Habit, One Character Trait, and One of My Favorite Things--Not Necessarily In That Order"

Well, according to the challenge rules, I have to tell you what the lie is now.

. . .

. . .

Ready for it?

. . .

. . .

Oh, holding you all in suspense has been fun! *evil laugh*

. . .

Just kidding about the evil laugh.

All right, all right! I'll tell you. Here's text from my original post:

I love riding elephants and camels—the former of which I’ve done a few times and the latter is something I do at any opportunity.

Yes, the lie is the one about the elephants and camels. But not in the way you'd think--I have actually ridden a camel, and a few elephants, but I don't love it. In fact, I'd definitely skip it if I got the chance to do so again, since it's A) bumpy (and the camel was actually kinda painful seeing as a metal bar was digging into me) and B) riding those sorts of animals was fun the first time, cool the second, interesting the third, but that has since worn away into "Ah yes. Elephant. Camel. I'll pass, thank you."

(CREDIT)

The people who came the closest to the answer are Witless Exposition, Devin Bond, Old Kitty, Dezmond, W.B., Sandra Ulbrich Almazan, and J. L. Campbell.

And yes, people, I do eat my sandwiches like it says in the post, in layers, one layer at a time. I cannot swim, and it's likely I would drown. The activity I mentioned is dance, more specifically, ballet recitals and other performances.

;)

So. Now that you know more about me, what do you think?


-----The Golden Eagle

Crusader Challenge: One Secret, One Lie, One Interesting Quirk, One Annoying Habit, One Character Trait, and One of My Favorite Things--Not Necessarily In That Order

To learn more about the challenge, go HERE.

*****

It’s likely I would die if thrown into a pool of dihydrogen monoxide and left without help.

I have occasionally been bloviate about a pastime I seriously enjoy—a pastime that has also demanded I fake being a boy, and an angel, and an insect (among other things) although I have never had the honor of being a rabbit.

I am constantly moving; whenever I’m sitting down or standing, I’m usually twitching, bouncing, or moving in some way and cannot stay still for long.

For me, sandwiches are not to be eaten whole. Top layer of bread first, insides layer by layer, and bottom slice last. Eating everything together in one bite? No way.

I love riding elephants and camels—the former of which I’ve done a few times and the latter is something I do at any opportunity. And while we’re speaking of exotic animals, I’ve also held a lion cub.

I cannot wield a blade with skill; try me with a keyboard instead, since I’m a writer and write practically every day. But I’ve never tried doing using it in a fuliguline manner—just isn’t my style.

*****

One of the above facts is not strictly true. Can you guess which one?

-----The Golden Eagle

Did You Know . . .

. . . that the Empire State Building moored a dirigible?

(Source)

. . . that one of the largest pyramids in the world is in Las Vegas?

(Source)

. . . that the Pentagon once spent $7,600 for a coffeepot, $435 for a hammer, and $640 for a toilet seat?

(Source)

I know I didn't!

(I am not kidding you, in case you were wondering.)

*****

I love trivia. I know I'm not going to rule the world with trivia, but it's fun to know about.

*****

Thank you for all your comments on the Ease or Throw the Reader? post--it was great learning what you thought about that subject!

*****

Anyway, I'm also here to say that RaShelle (who was recently nominated for the Sexiest Female Blogger Award at TheMovie411--go vote for her!) awarded me this lovely mug:

Which I am going to give her a big *hug* and THANK YOU! for. :)

I'm now going to pass it on to these wonderful bloggers:

Summer Ross
Jai Joshi
Rachael Harrie
Old Kitty
Karen Gowan

. . .  and I do think that's all I came to post about today.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!


-----The Golden Eagle