We're Playing Tag

I just finished my preparation for my next blog, but it will be delayed for a couple of days.  I received a Facebook message last night from Jessica Patch stating that I had been tagged (definition: to monitor the whereabouts of (an offender) by means of an electronic device) in her blog.  She had been tagged by someone else who had been tagged by a person before them.  

This tagging consists of several questions to answer about yourself or your writing and to then tag other people who blog.  Participating in this exercise serves several purposes:

1. Apparently, this is supposed to be fun.
2. It could be seen as a writing challenge.  Since I do not get to pick the topic, I am at the mercy of the questions posed to me. 
3. It is dangerous.  This diminishes my usual method of taking several days to self-edit before I post. Look out!
4. Blog-promotion.  I do appreciate being tagged by Jessica.  Jessica has many more readers than I do and her tagging me will bring traffic to my blog.  I have already seen a spike in the numbers for today.  Plus, I get to be promoted without me doing it. (i.e. endless Facebook posts that read, "CHECK OUT MY BLOG!!!")
5. I get to point out the blogs of other people that I enjoy.

TAG QUESTIONS:

Do you think you're hot?
We just moved into a new house and soon discovered that our A/C was not working.  I was hot for a few weeks, but we fixed it.  However, I been told I look mighty fine in a suit.

Upload a picture of the wallpaper you are using.

I can't help it.  I like to laugh and find the humor in everything.  Over time, I have learned, it is always there, but sometimes you have to look for it.

When was the last time you ate chicken?
Yesterday, for Father's Day, my daughter and I shared a buffalo chicken pizza.  It was very good; I suggest you try it.

What were you thinking while doing this?
Why do we have to listen to a 45 second instructional to leave someone a voice mail? BEEP, TALK, we get it!  Condescending phone companies.

What song or songs have you listened to recently?
I don't listen to music regularly, but recently a coworker and I were reminiscing about the popular Christian groups when we were in high school.  This was when Christian music was just starting to break into the main stream.  We found ourselves singing "Holy Rollin'" by Bryan Duncan.

In 1987 or '88, Bryan Duncan was the headliner for the Illinois Christian Teen Convention.  I pretended I was  Bobby Duncan (Bryan's son) to meet girls.  It worked.  I am still in contact with some of them today.  A few are still asking to meet "my dad."

Do you have any nicknames? If so what are they?
I have had nicknames over the years, but don't really have one now.  I was named the "Lone Farter" in the 5th grade after embarrassing myself in front of the class while writing on the chalkboard.  You can figure it out.  Someone started calling me Bert in high school and that one stuck for several years.  Occasionally, when I run into an old high school friend, I will hear that again.  Most recently, my name was NEEDLES.  This was my club name while I was VP in a motorcycle club.  Since I was a professional piercer and owned a tattoo shop, the name made sense. Today, I generally walk away from anyone who tries to speak with me, so who knows what they are calling me now.

Tag 5 bloggers 
This part has been really difficult for me.  I only started blogging last October and haven't really done a lot of blog reading.  Just in this last month have I started taking this a little more seriously and looking for tools and other bloggers.  Therefore, I have very few that I read regularly.  Here is what I have so far.

Jessica R. Patch
She used to call her blog, What are you Doing Here?  I don't know what happened to that.  Now it is just her name, but I guess I can live with it.  Jess is a very talented writer.  She writes entire books, which I hope to try to tackle someday.  In her blog, she interviews Christian authors and writes wonderfully inspiring devotionals.  She blogs three times a week so there is always something new when I drop by.  As kids, Jess and I went to the same school and church.  I had a big crush on her sister for a few years, but I think it was fairly obvious, so I don't think I am revealing anything they didn't already know. 


Pantopragmatic Posturing
This is the blog of Maurice Smith.  You never know what you are going to get at this blog.  It is sometimes funny, sometimes serious, but always thought-provoking.  Maurice knows what he thinks and believes and will educate you on why he sees life the way he does.  Maurice was my youth minister many, many years ago and always challenged us to think more deeply.  He is still doing it.


In Shane's Brain
Several years ago, Shane and I were salesmen at a cell phone company.  He later joined my church and has since moved to New Orleans.  Soon after, he started blogging.  Shane's posts are generally about something that was on his mind that day.  Sometimes an inspiring thought, sometimes it was something that irritated him, and other days it is just a general observation.


God's Comic
This is the blog of comedian Brad Stine.  Always funny, but usually tackling serious issues.  Just like in his stand-up routine, Brad uses humor to illustrate his viewpoint.  Recent posts have covered low-flow toilets, male fashion, nude protesting, telemarketers, and the Green movement.  Definitely worth a read.

I don't know who else to tag. I really need to start reading more blogs.  If we do this again, I promise I will have five.  Get off my back.  Jessica, thank you for the promotion and the opportunity to participate in this exercise.  I really enjoyed it and  I still want to spend a day with you and 'Jane' getting into trouble.