Wednesday 11 March 2009

My blog is fabulous...

...so says Gav from NextRead, who kindly nominated Speculative Horizons as one of five blogs that he thinks are teh secks. W00t. Cheers Gav!

So, as per the rules, I have to reveal five things I can't live without. I thought I'd focus on the smaller, more unusual ones than the standard things (air, food, ipod, books, etc).

Right, let's see...

1) Orange tictacs. Mint tictacs are fine, lime ones are ok, cherry ones should be made illegal and destroyed on sight. Orange tictacs are surely the kings of the tictac world (but why the hell are pure orange packs so damned hard to find?! You can only ever seem to get them in the mixed packs with the friggin' lime ones, and there's always more lime ones than orange! It's a darned conspiracy, I tell you...).

2) Converse sneakers. Not just any converse sneakers, but the black-and-white Chuck Taylor ones. They're just cool. The other night I accidentally ripped a hole in one, and squealed like a pig in distress. I then promptly went and bought an identical replacement pair, although I did try on every colour the shop had, and managed to piss the attendant off in the process. I came dangerously close to buying a purple pair but fortunately saw sense at the last moment. Black converse are the daddies.

3) Bourbon biscuits. I'm addicted to biscuits, and the humble bourbon is my biscuit of choice. Great on its own, or with a drink to dunk it in. Mmmm.

4) Coffee. I am a coffee whore, and a coffee poseur to boot. I don't drink any of that Nescafe shit, it's fresh coffee all the way. Not only does it taste far better, but for some sad reason I enjoy using my little cafetiere thingy. It makes you feel cultured and civilised. Although I must admit I do have some instant coffee hidden away in the cupboard. But it's Carte Noire, so it's allowed.

5) Curry. Food of the Gods. Not the weak stuff like Korma, but the hot stuff. Need I say more?

Right, on to the five blogs that I think are fabulous...some have probably already been nominated, but they're just gonna have to accept being nominated again. I'm sure they won't mind.

1) A Dribble of Ink
2) Realms of Speculative Fiction
3) Pat's Fantasy Hotlist
4) Graeme's Fantasy Book Review
5) The Wertzone

13 comments:

Todd Newton said...

I could definitely not live without 4 & 5... it makes me sad to think how long I lived my life before discovering each!!

Ben said...

I second T.D.: coffee and curry are indispensable!

Anonymous said...

Congrats on your nomination. It's well deserved. BTW, I think you're right on the Orange tic-tacs. We can get them in the US without the nasty little lime ones. I don't think that I've ever seen the cherry incarnation. It must be a Brit thing.

Todd Newton said...

I only like the white mint tic-tacs and only for the first 1-2 seconds while they taste like candied almonds. After that, they can go away.

I prefer gum to tic-tacs anyway, but I don't discriminate in a pinch.

James said...

Rob: Cheers. Yeah, we can get pure orange packs, but they're not very easy to find. As for the cherry ones...they taste like medicine. And for the record, I'm not a fan of the spearmint ones either.

TD: Ha, yeah I know what you mean about the initial taste.

Incidentally - and this is a general question to anyone - how popular are curries/Indian food in America? Us Brits love our curries, but I'm curious as to how popular they are in the States.

Todd Newton said...

Depends on which region of the States you're in. Here in Denver, CO they are hugely popular and we have quite a few Thai/Indian restaurants to choose from, plus some "standard" restaurants even serve curries in addition to their American dishes.

A place like Mississippi or North Dakota, you might be better off just cooking it yourself.

ediFanoB said...

Congrats James!

I don'tlike tictac and I stopped to drink coffee. My heart belongs to black forest gateau.

Gabriele Campbell said...

Pure orange tictacs are pretty common in German stores.

Congrats on the award. :)

Alex said...

Re. #2: I've sort of gone off Chuck Taylors. They must cost a pittance to make, rip really easily, rub your feet, and after a day of walking in them said feet feel like they're gonna drop off - because the sole is so thin. I bought a pair of white leather lowtops which should hopefully stay in good nick a bit longer than the canvas ones but they're still not exactly comfortable. I think I now understand to some degree what women are talking about when they tell me the pain they inflict upon themselves in the name of nice-looking shoes.

Re. #5 - what the USA loses in temrs of curry it makes up for in Dim Sum. You can't really beat a good chicken tikka/tandoori jalfrezi though. King of Indian curries imo.

James said...

ediFanoB + Gabriele: Thanks! ;)

Alex: Yeah, I know what you mean. Converse are not the best shoes to wear if you're gonna be walking around all day. But they're not too expensive - £30 - and my other pair lasted a good couple of years...and it was my fault they got ripped, no real fault of the shoe's design.

Still, gripes aside, they're cool. Very cool.

I'm not that big on Chinese food tbh. As for the best curry, I'm not sure I really have a favourite. As long as it's got a bit of a kick.

But peshwari naan though...now THAT is food of the gods.

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