The Liebster Award!... Or, An Insanely Long and Self-Indulgent Post

This is your last chance to turn away because this post is going to be - as the title suggests - really long and self-indulgent because I have to answer all these questions about myself for this here award. I can't help it, I love these blog awards and answering random questions. It's fun times for me.

I really don't deserve any kind of award or recognition because of my total lack of commitment lately but I'm thinking that the Liebster Award is for those blogs that you love because you love the person behind them and support them in their blogging endeavors. So I have to give a mega-thanks to the people who passed this on to me - The Screaming Goregasm at Jenny's House of Horrors, Alex Jowski of Alex Jowski Movie Reviews, and Kaijinu over at Sticky Red: A Bodycount Compendium. Mushy stuff to follow: Your sites are all great and you all bring something really interesting and fun to read to this large blogging community that makes you stand out and makes others keep coming back for more. I appreciate all you do!

Rules for the Mutated Liebster Award:

1) Each person must post 11 things about themselves.

2) Answer the questions the tagger has set for you.

3) Create 11 questions for the people you have tagged to answer.

4) Choose 11 people and link them in your post.

5) Go to their page and tell them.

6) No tag backs.

11 Facts About Michele, The Girl Who Loves Horror 

1. I have a secret desire to be an interior decorator. 

2. I recently started riding a bicycle for exercise and now have these visions of becoming one of those hardcore cyclists that ride for like, 11 hours a day or something.

3. It seems to be physically impossible for me to sleep past 7:30 am on my days off. 

4. I'm a girl and I have never had a massage, facial, pedicure or manicure. And I really don't want to do any of those things.

5. I have a small collection of $1 bills that have been signed by the bands Gravity Kills and Ludo, and one signed by comedian Bill Engvall.

6. Fall (or "autumn" if you want to get sophisticated) is my favorite season.

7. I love Ancient Roman history.

8. At an amusement park one time, this pregnant lady stopped the ride we were on because she was worried about her baby because I had supposedly pushed her earlier while we were in line. Draaaaaammmmmmmaaaaaaa.

9. I absolutely hate it when people paint the walls in their house yellow.

10. I have carpal tunnel syndrome in my right wrist.

11. I am really hungry right now.

Now since three different people passed this award on to me, I thought it would be fun to answer EVERYBODY'S questions that were set up for the people they tagged. Oh gosh, here we go...

11 Questions from Jenny's House of Horrors

1. Which horror situation would you least like to be stuck in?

Um, all of them?! Probably anything in the Animals Run Amok category that includes an animal that could eat me alive. Not the way I want to go. 

2. What grosses you out the most?

Vomit. I hate the smell, the taste, the sound of someone vomiting, I hate the feel of doing it myself where you have no control over it and you have to just let it happen... UGH... so disgusting.


3. What is your dream job?

Actually, I kind of already had my dream job. About six months out of college, I got a job at a local TV station directing the 2 hour morning newscasts Monday through Friday and I LOVED it and I was good at it. But then the economy tanked and I became a victim of "downsizing." Ever since I started doing the blogging thing, though, I'm thinking that this would be a dream job - getting paid to watch movies and give my opinion of them. I'm pretty sure all bloggers are thinking this way, though! Admit it!

4. What do you think was the best decade for horror?

I think most fans would probably say the 1970s because of the change it brought about to the genre, but  I'm going to say the 2000s. This decade showed the genre really reinventing itself again and becoming yes a bit more graphic and in-your-face but also a lot more artistic and respected amongst fans.

5. Describe your personality in three words.

Sarcastic, fun-loving, unmotivated. 

6. Do you have an idea that you would like to see made into a horror movie?

You know, for the longest time I did have a great idea that I thought would make such a fun horror movie and I'd never seen that idea in a movie before. And then I watched this random movie one night that was almost exactly my idea. Needless to say, I was pissed.

7. What is your favorite non-horror movie?

Oh gosh, seriously? You're asking a movie buff to name their favorite movie? Why not just ask a mother which child she loves the most? 

8. Who is your favorite author?

No surprise here - Stephen King.

9. What was your biggest fear when you were a kid?

The dark. 

10. What's your biggest fear now?

The dark.

11. Describe your dream home.

Okay, I've known the answer to this for years - My dream home is a huge old Victorian style with a wraparound front porch and some kind of turret on one or both sides. I will have a library with bookshelves that go floor-to-ceiling and wall-to-wall on three sides and in the middle of the room will be the comfiest chair in the world. My dream home will also have a movie theater, of course. And to highlight my quirky and fun-loving side, I would love to have secret passageways in my dream home even if I have to gut the place and build them myself. Wouldn't that be awesome?!

11 Questions from Alex Jowski

1. What do you enjoy most about blogging?

Honestly, what I enjoy the most about blogging is having a place to voice all my thoughts and analyses about movies because I don't really have anybody in my real life that I can talk seriously about movies with. To everyone else, movies are just entertainment to be forgotten about after you've watched them, but I really get into them and I love that there's a place where I can talk about and discuss them with other fans. 

2. What movie do you end up recommending to people more than any other movie?

Revolutionary Road. It's really uncalled for how much I love that movie.

3. What celebrity or artist have you met who has inspired you the most in your life?

There was a girl in my sorority in college who was an art major and I just loved her personal style, her dedication to her art, and the unique voice she had in her art that was all hers. She inspired me to find my niche in the world and go at it full force with no fear about what others thought.

4. What is your favorite "bad" movie?

Pieces. Such a huge turd in terms of good movie-making but also ridiculously awesome at the same time.

5. What is a movie that offends you - a movie you hate for moral reasons.

I cannot in good conscience say anything nice about the movie Deadgirl. The situation is horrible, the characters are horrible, and I felt so wrong after watching that movie. I hate it.


6. What are two of your favorite books that have NEVER been adapted into a movie?

I've said this before I think, but I would freaking love to see all four of the MEG books made into movies. They are these insanely entertaining stories about a gargantuan prehistoric shark coming back into our world and the scientists that fight it. The scale of the story just gets bigger with each book and I think all of them would make fantastic summer blockbusters.

7. Whose opinion do you trust more in deciding if a movie is good or not? Critics in magazines/newspapers, fellow bloggers, or the general public (like imdb scores, etc.)?

I trust my fellow bloggers the most to let me know if a movie is at least worth a look. Now, whether or not I like it based on what they say is always different than what I think, and vice versa, so I'm still a little iffy, even though I respect their opinions a lot more than professional critics. You just never know what movie is going to affect you and you can never judge what you think another person will like even if you think you know their tastes inside and out.

8. Which game from your childhood do you wish you could play again? (Could be a video game or a playground game like Tag.)

Four Square was my game! We played it on the playground and with our neighbors at home and I miss it so much! Great memories.

9. Do you have a nickname? How did you get that name?

Honestly, I don't have a nickname other than people playing with my first name - "Michele-y," "Meeshell," that kind of thing. I put a stop to people calling me "Shelly" right quick, though. I've always hated that nickname. 

10. What was the first thing you posted on your blog and why? (Initial "Welcome to My Blog" posts don't count.)

The first thing I posted was about Stephen King, specifically about one of my favorite books of his, The Long Walk. Not original at all, I know, but I felt like I had to start with something I knew pretty well so that I would sound confident and like I knew what the hell I was talking about.

11. What is your favorite beverage?

I love a good, hot cup of Colombian coffee with hazelnut creamer. 

11 Questions from Kaijinu

1. Have you ever daydreamed about something and what's the most memorable one you ever had?
Honey, I daydream every day. The daydreams of late usually involve me finally getting a place of my own and having somewhere to display all my shit. *Sigh* It'll happen soon, I know it.

2. Who's the one comic book hero you NEVER want to see made into a movie out of respect and fear of flopping?

Sorry, dude, but I'm the wrong person to ask about this! I have no idea!

3. Will you try to dance Jamie Lee Curtis' disco scene in Prom Night (1980) with a partner?

Haha, this is funny because that is actually the only thing I remember from that whole movie. So, yes, I would love to try to see if I can get jiggy like Jamie Lee did.

4. Name one of the least likely movie franchise entry that suddenly became your number one fave?

I have a hard time getting into any of the Nightmare on Elm Street movies (aside from the first one) because they are so ridiculous a lot of the time, but I completely love Wes Craven's New Nightmare. Definitely my favorite of the whole franchise, even more than the first film.

5. What's the weirdest experience you had involving a movie? (theaters, DVD releases, etc.)
Weirdest experience was going to the movies with my sister's ex-boyfriend (scandal!) to see Star Trek: Nemesis (his choice, not mine). We're sitting there watching the trailers which are weird themselves because they're all for like, kid's movies, and then when the movie itself was supposed to be starting, the theater started playing The Wild Thornberry's Movie instead of Star Trek! So then we had to wait for them to get the right movie and everything and it was just a mess, but kind of fun at the same time.

6. Did you ever have a crush on a fantasy character in your teen years? If yes, who?

I'm not sure what you mean, really, but I've only had crushes on normal guys so I guess the answer is no!

7. If a movie character out of one of your fave flicks suddenly appeared on your doorstep, who would it be and what'll you do?
It would be Miss Scarlet O'Hara from Gone with the Wind and she and I would get gussied up in the biggest hoop dresses we could find and get twirled around the dance floor at a grand ball by all the beaux in the county. Because sometimes, I want to feel just a little bit girly.

8. WATCH OUT! EXTRA TERRESTRIALS! And you have a tool shed behind you! What'll you do?

I'll invite them to play with the croquet set that I keep in the shed.


9. With all the news on rocket launches, disease outbreaks and people killing each other, how close do you think we are before things go 28 Weeks Later?

I'm very surprised that it hasn't happened yet, to be honest. 

10. If you had the power to change yer appearance, who's face yer gonna try first?

Angelina Jolie. Not just because of the lips, either, but because her face has such awesome angles that photograph so beautifully - completely different from my face which is just plain and flat and boring.

11. Worst tasting delicacy you ever encountered?

I am not a fan of oysters. Yuck.


I'm thinking it's going to be impossible to keep track of who has already received this award and who hasn't, so if I tag you and you've already done this or you just don't want to do it at all, that's totally cool. BUT, if you do want to do it, here are my 11 questions for you (and how did the number 11 get to be the magic number for this award anyway?):

1. How did you come up with the name for your blog and are you still happy with it now?
2. You decide on where you're going to go for a 3 week vacation by throwing a dart on a map. Where do you hope the dart doesn't land?
3. Can you trill, or "roll your r's"?
4. What is your favorite breakfast food?
5. What celebrity of the same sex do you think is totally hot?
6. Have you ever had a horror-movie related dream? If so (and if you can remember), describe!
7. I'm getting my new Poltergeist movie poster framed and I have limited wall space. Which poster should I take down to make room for the new one: Kill Bill, Pulp Fiction, Resident Evil, The Evil Dead, or Saw?
8. What was Robert DeNiro's best movie role?
9. Do you think children should be allowed to watch horror movies and why?
10. What is the most visually stunning film you have ever seen?
11. What was the last thing you ate?


And my Liebster blogs are!:

Cinema Du Meep
CineMarvellous! Movie Reviews by Nebular
Gaming Creatively
Horror Movie A Day
Let's Get Out of Here!
Mandy's Morgue of Horror
Porkhead's Horror Review Hole
Ramblings of a Honk Mahfah
The Film Connoisseur
The Horror Digest
The Zed Word - Zombie Blog


Okay, somebody SHUT ME UP.