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Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Getting to Know the Co-Hosts - Matthew MacNish

Name: Matthew MacNish
Blog[s]: The QQQE, Project Mayhem, Afterglow Book Reviews, and, of course, this one.
Other Online Info: Twitter: "@MatthewMacNish," Facebook: "Matthew MacNish"
Publications: My short fiction has been published in the anthology Literary Foray, from Static Movement Press, and the online magazine: Vine Leaves Literary Journal.


10 GETTING TO KNOW YOU QUESTIONS

01. What is the most daring thing you've ever done?
Not something I plan admitting to on the internet ... although, one thing I can mention is: back in high school, in Minnesota, I went to winter camp, and one night, we sat in the sauna for hours, and then jumped through a hole cut in the ice down at the lake - naked.

02. What is your favorite article of clothing?
My shell-toed Adidas, any pair.

03. What is your favorite monster?
Gary Gygax's Gelatinous Cube, from Dungeons and Dragons. I even wrote a piece of flash fiction about it, for Underneath the Juniper Tree, which you can read: Cubic.

04. If you had to dress up as your favorite literary character, who would it be?
Hmm. Normally I would say Gandalf, from The Lord of the Rings, but Jeremy went with that the other day, so I'll say Aang, from Avatar: the Last Airbender (the most excellent animated series, not the terrible live-action film), because I want to ride that glider.

05. What is your favorite fairy tale, urban legend or nursery rhyme?
Beren and Luthien.

06. What is a cause near and dear to your heart?
The environment.

07. What's the strangest item you've used as a bookmark?
Another book.

08. Do you have any nicknames? What are they and how did you earn them?
Big Bird. I suppose that's because I'm tall? Or was it because my friend who made that one up is so short?

09. Name one habit you want to change in yourself:
When I drink too much, I sometimes end up hungover. I'm okay with the drinking part, it's the hangovers I'd like to get rid of.

10. Tell us something interesting or shocking about yourself:
Not sure about shocking, but it's probably interesting that I used to own a small, independent record label in Minneapolis. It was called Butterbeat Records, and we produced 12" vinyl singles, mostly hip-hop, trip-hop, and electro. It was so small, and so before the internet got big, that you can't even find much about it on Google.

SOME A-to-Z QUESTIONS

01. What was your favorite A-to-Z post from 2011?
I'm afraid I have to admit I've never taken part in the A to Z challenge before. The enormity of the commitment always intimidated me. Then Arlee and Alex talked me into it, and now I realize it's not nearly as difficult as it seems. So don't be afraid! Sign up, pick a theme, schedule some posts, and you'll be good to go.

02. What brought you to the A-to-Z originally? Tell us about your first A-to-Z:
See above. I have been following and reading many A to Z bloggers for, what is it now, three years? I've always enjoyed the posts, but this will be my first A to Z!

03. Are you doing a theme?
I am, and it will be revealed in April.

04. Are you writing & scheduling posts in advance?
Absolutely. I can't imagine doing it any other way.

05. What is your favorite letter of the alphabet, and why? What letter do you like least?
I'm not sure. K for Katana? S for Samurai, Sword, Sorcery? M for Magic (and Matt)? I'm not really sure. I love language, and I love letters, but I seem to have an affinity for the crooked ones. My least favorite is probably C. C wishes he could be S or K, and sometimes he tries to be, but he never quite manages it.



Voting for A to Z Video Challenge is now open.  Please click on Voting tab at the top of this page and fill out the ballot.   Links to videos can be found there as well.






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25 comments:

Yadin Bromberg said...

Nice post!!! It's great to meet the fellow a-z people :)

Voting time!
-Yadin

P.S. first comment ;)

Pearson Report said...

Awesomely excellent!
Great answers...particularly the last one. Poor "C" just kan't karry on a konversation without getting kaught up in all the kommotion - silly little letter!

This was fun to read!


Jenny @ Pearson Report
Co-Host of the Blogging from A to Z Challenge.

MISH said...

Thanks for sharing Matt - nice to learn more about the A-Z hosts...

PR said...

A book as a bookmark, that's genius :)

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

D&D geeks are cool. And C is an awesome letter. At least I think so...

Matthew MacNish said...

@ Alex - you would, you Cassan, you.

Unknown said...

Hey Matt, Maybe we went to the same High School, I doubt though we went at the same time :)Maybe I am living in Norway now, but I grew up in Minnesota (mostly) The letter S is totally Awesome!

Christine Rains said...

Great post! I think C is a lovely letter, and Gelatinous Cubes are awesome! I fought a few of them before in D&D games.

Nighfala said...

Beren and Luthien. OMG, so sad.

*sniff*

Arlee Bird said...

Interesting tidbits. I'm with you on the hangovers. I rarely drink alcohol anymore and not in mass quantities, so I haven't dealt with a hangover in a good while. But I've have a few doozies in past years.

Lee

Sarah Tokeley said...

I don't drink anymore, but my goodness I've had some awesome hangovers :-)

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Nicole said...

Matthew, Gandalf is great...it's no surprise that he has come to be quite a popular pick for favorite literary characters. I'd pick him myself, IF I was a guy.

I never heard of a such thing as winter camp. Only summer camp, so I just learned something new while getting to know more about you.

That must have been a very small book that you managed to use as a bookmark. Maybe you could do a future blog post on your experience as an independent record label owner, or a profile on Butterbeat Records 'cause if you do, then people CAN find at least something about it on Google :)

The bit about your friend who calls you Big Bird is pretty funny.

~Nicole
Twitter: @MadlabPost
&
Blog: The Madlab Post

Konstanz Silverbow said...

I think my favorite was your answer to the last question! Wonderful getting to know you.

Konstanz

Beverly Diehl said...

Last year there was a cool "jump to random post" box available, both on the host sites, and as html code we could add to our own blogs.

Can we have that again this year, please?

Michael G-G said...

Didn't know about Big Bird. I take it you are tall but as sweet-tempered as B B?

Unknown said...

Are you as yellow as Big Bird? That would be ironic, considering your avatar is a green dude :)

Laura S. said...

That's so cool you used to own a record label, Matthew. I bet you have some great stories from that experience!

Shannon Lawrence said...

Brrrrrrrr at jumping through the ice hole. I don't even care about the nude part; it's the ice part that gets me!!

I prefer the latter part, that your friend was just that short. Haha!

Shannon at The Warrior Muse, co-host of the 2012 #atozchallenge! Twitter: @AprilA2Z

Joe Lunievicz said...

Big Bird is cool. I was once called stork, though I'm not anywhere near as tall as you. Jumping through a hole in the ice... after sitting in a sauna. That must have been cold. I mean cold. Wow.

Tina said...

Nice to get to know some more about you! I don't know if girls were allowed, but I'd have been right there with you jumping in the icy water, naked. I posted two skinny dipping stories last month...
Tina @ Life is Good
Co-Host of the April A to Z Challenge
Twitter: @AprilA2Z #atozchallenge

DL Hammons said...

When I drink too much I take two aspirin BEFORE I go to sleep. It usually works. :)

Sarah Ahiers said...

awww yeah. Winter in MN is always better when you're naked and rolling in snow or jumping through ice.
YEAH BABY!

Heather Day Gilbert said...

Nice to get to know you better, Matt. And I like your observations about that squirrely (is that still a word?) letter C.

Wasn't brave enough to do the A-Z challenge this year, but I'll live vicariously through other dedicated bloggers' posts.

Anonymous said...

A book as a bookmark? Brilliant!