Abysmal Nominated Me For The Liebster Award!

So Lyn from JustSomethingAboutLynLyn nominated me for this thing last week and then MadokaSwagica at Abysmal turned around and nominated me again! Thanks!

I’M SO HAPPY

I’m not sure that I can nominate anymore people for this award right now, just because I haven’t been at this for long enough to have a really big list of cool small-scale bloggers. When I do, maybe I’ll come back and add more. I have a list already made on my previous Liebster post that I will add to as I find cool people. Either way, here’s my answers to the eleven questions from Abysmal!

1. What made you start blogging?

   I asked this question to the people I nominated as well. It was also the first question.

   … oh dear…

   I started blogging because I wanted a place to collect my expository bullcrap about video game politics and anime and then, somehow, it just became an anime blog? I wanted a place where I could write what I wanted to write and barf out my feelings about media. A lot of my meatspace friends get a little irritated when I constantly overanalyse everything and end up talking forever without letting them get a word in edgewise. (I call that “being smart at someone.” That’s where the name comes from.) I decided I would try to be smart at the internet just to see what stuck.

   And I guess, in the future, if I want someone to give me money for putting words together, I just thought it might be cool if I could say “Hey, look at these dumb and smart things I’ve written over the years.”

2. What is your favorite book of all time and why?

   Small Gods by Terry Pratchett. I love everything Pratchett ever wrote, but Small Gods has a really cheerful kind of cynicism that can’t be explained. It’s a book about religion and political intrigue, told from the perspective of a young initiate and the talking turtle that used to be God. That should be enough for anyone.
   That answer may change by tomorrow. I’m really bad at that question.

3. Coke or Pepsi?

   Pepsi, but really I just drink whatever happens to be in my fridge or at the vending machine.

4. Do you write anything outside of blogging?I write papers for school. I’m working on a paper right now about medieval history and how Assassin’s Creed is just really dumb and kind of racist to present at a conference. Sometimes I’ll write fan-fiction or just fiction-fiction. Most of my writing for the past month and a half has been for this blog, though.
5. Are you in a career/what is your ideal career?I’m still in college, so I wouldn’t say I’m in a career. My ideal career would be something where I could make people laugh and make people think and wear a black t-shirt and jeans everyday. I’m not entirely sure on the details yet, but I’m working on it.
6. What is your favorite genre to listen to while writing, if any?J-Pop and anime OPs/EDs. I like GARNiDELiA and Ayumi Hamasaki. I guess in general, I like anything with a lot of energy and buzz. I can’t listen to slow music like jazz or classical when I’m writing. Writing isn’t something I can do while I relax: it’s a lot of work to make a blog post as good as it can be and it takes a lot of energy out of me.

   Get pumped.

7. Favorite series (of anything)?

   Anime: Kill la Kill
   Live Action: Parks and Recreation
   Books: Discworld

8. Have you ever learned or tried to learn a second language?I have tried and am still trying! One of my super long-term before-I-die goals is to be fluent in a bunch of languages. Also, if I wanted to go to graduate school, some kind of non-English language proficiency would be helpful. I took a semester and a half of Spanish before switching to Japanese like a proper weeb. I’m trying to keep up with Spanish once in a while, but I’m mainly trying to learn at least a little bit of French and Japanese. I don’t think I’m going to get anywhere very soon but I really haven’t got much better to do in my free time.
9. Fictional crush?

   [REDACTED]

   But for real, I’m not going to say for fear of the judging eyes of the internet.

   And because I honestly can’t think of one…

   MOVING ON.

10. Favorite bad piece of media/literature (so bad its good)?

    Some of the absolute garbage licensed Star Trek novels of the past forty years. Also, I cherish Adam West’s Batman. It was a simpler time, for simpler folk, the nineteen-sixties. When a man can put clown make up on over a full mustache and stand in front of a television camera, something has gone terribly right.

11. Do you prefer immersing yourself in something or keeping an outsider’s perspective?

    …
    This is deep. Real deep, man.I don’t think that it can be reduced to an either-or statement. I prefer to take things on their own terms. “Does it follow its own rules?” That’s my basic premise when I talk about games or anime or TV. But things don’t exist in a vacuum. Keeping with the theme of analyzing media, shows and books and movies influence each other in different and complex ways. It’s important to understand how they relate to one another. Context is the thing, I suppose. I always want to make sure everything is understood in the right context, whatever perspective you take.

    And there you have it. My second shot at one of these things.

    I’m tempted to nominate Abysmal again just to keep this crazy train on it’s tracks but I’m not going to be that guy. Abysmal is an awesome blog, crazy smart, and crazy funny. If you like anything I’ve written even a little bit, go check out Abysmal, and I promise it will be as good or better.

    —
    JoJo Feels
    My Beef With JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders

    More Liebster Award
    LynLynSays Nominated Me For The Liebster Award!