Unpopular Opinions

We all have our likes and dislikes. Most of the time, people have likes and dislikes that are pretty common. But sometimes, we may have some unpopular opinions. Let’s start with some literary ones:

• My favourite fantasy series is Terry Brooks’ Shannara series. That’s probably not a very common opinion. I just love the series.
• My favourite science fiction series is Anne McCaffrey’s Dragonriders of Pern series. Many people think it’s fantasy, but it’s not. I will argue that it’s science fiction, because it is! But I doubt that it’s a common favourite.
• I loved Shakespeare in high school. Pretty sure most people didn’t like it.
• My favourite book read in school was The Chrysalids, by John Wyndham. Despite the blatant deus ex machina, I really enjoyed this book!

And now for some non-literary opinions.

• I love Marmite. Really. A lot.
• I loved Star Trek: Enterprise. Well, mostly. A lot of people thought it was the worst series, but I enjoyed it a lot, and I wish it went the full 7 seasons.
• I enjoy earthquakes and typhoons. Weird, huh?
• I can’t stand crab and lobster. I love shrimp, but I don’t want to touch their bigger cousins.
• I hate tomatoes so much, I can’t eat pizza that has tomato sauce. It’s just gross.

Anything surprise you? How about you? What are some likes and dislikes of yours that are uncommon? Let me know in the comments below.

Weird Facts About Me

Life is boring if you’re normal. I like being able to do weird things. I like that I can embrace the weirdness. So, what’s weird about me?

1. I have a double-jointed left thumb. It looks weird when I bend it backwards. I can’t do it with my right thumb, though.
2. I can roll my stomach. I’ve been able to do it since I was a kid. My daughter can do it, too!
3. I can’t touch an invertebrate, unless I’m eating a shrimp tail. But if it has legs and a head, I can’t touch it.
4. I play around with words all the time and I think it annoys people.
5. I can’t sleep on my back. I have to fall asleep on my right side, though sometimes on my left side. However, I sometimes wake up on my stomach, and find it easier to fall back to sleep on my stomach.
6. Watching pimple popping videos is a weird and sometimes disgusting thing, but I find it oddly satisfying.
7. I hate tomatoes, cooked or raw. I can’t stand tomato sauce or pizza sauce. However, I like ketchup, barbecue sauce, A1 sauce, and HP sauce.
8. When I was a kid, I wore a Superman cape whenever I watched Superman movies.
9. I once had a dream where I turned into Homer Simpson, and I was being chased by the troll king Ned Flanders.
10. I used to eat cans of shrimp drenched in Worcestershire sauce.

Do you think these are weird? What’s the weirdest? And how about you? Tell me something weird about you.

What Defines a Successful Blog?

Blogging can be a hobby, a platform for selling something, or it could be a job. But what makes a blog successful?

My short answer: You enjoy doing it. That’s it. The numbers don’t matter.

But, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t care about the numbers. The numbers are fascinating for me. I like to see them go up, but this isn’t because I have an ego to stroke. More views and more followers mean my network grows and my ability to get my books out to more readers improves. It’s an important factor for my future livelihood.

If we look at the numbers, there are several to consider: views, followers, likes, reblogs, and comments. They all show something positive.

• Views: The more you have, the more popular your blog may be, or you’re just good at marketing your blog.
• Followers: Another measure of popularity. Or maybe you follow a lot, so they follow back.
• Likes: If they like the post, then they click on like. Or they click on like merely because they saw it in their newsfeed without even reading it.
• Reblogs: Someone really likes your post! But I find that these aren’t nearly as common as the other factors.
• Comments: People want to talk about what you posted. What you said inspired someone to say something. It means your message is getting out to people and they want to engage with you.

Personally, I think the most important measure is comments, especially if many of them are your own. This means you are active, interested in your readers, and attract readers. They want to talk to you. Views are good, especially if you have a lot of return readers. You can easily tell this by your comments section. You want people to return. But I believe comments are the greatest indicator of your blog’s success.

What do you think? Let me know in the comments below (see what I did there?).

Who Am I?

This is in response to Solveig Werner’s interesting post. She described herself in the form of a poem, and it was a nice and simple way to state who she is. I’m not a poet by any means, so I’m not going to tackle this with poetry. That would just be awkward coming from me. I’ll do it in my own way.

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I am…

a father, a husband, a son, a brother, a cousin, a nephew, an uncle, a friend, a man, a Canadian, an Albertan, an Edmontonian

I am…

a teacher, a mentor, a writer, a blogger, a YouTube content creator, a tourist, an explorer, a worldbuilder, an artist, a thinker, a planner

I have…

a daughter, a wife, a mother, a father, a sister, a niece, many friends, many cousins, many aunts, many uncles, many students

I study…

science, life, writing, languages, the land, the sea, the sky, the mountains, the planets, the stars, the universe

I was…

an elementary school student, a junior high school student, a high school student, a university student, a classmate, a data entry operator, a call centre team leader, a tour guide

I am…

a walker, a hiker, a birdwatcher, a photographer, a nature lover, a lifelong learner, a book lover

I was…

a golfer, a skier, a hockey player, an ice skater

I love…

good food, summer, animals, plants, a starry sky, thunderstorms, science fiction, fantasy, art

I hate…

tomatoes, injustice, bullies, the cold, false accusations, bad drivers, arrogance, know nothing know-it-alls, the smug

I had…

a dog, a Sega Master System, an Apple II/e, an Atari 2600, a ladybug record player, a Superman cape

I will be…

published, an author, a father again, a grandfather, a world traveler, bilingual, trilingual, multilingual

I could have been…

a palaeontologist, an astronomer, a scientist, an architect, an artist, an athlete

I have…

hopes, dreams, desires, goals, regrets, fears, worries

I am a human. I am only one, but I have the power to affect many, even if it’s in only a small way. I respect others by default, but I will not respect them if they disrespect me. I am sympathetic and empathetic.

Small gestures can make my day. A hug from my daughter, a thank you from a friend, a kind comment from a reader.

When it comes down to it, I only need a few things. My family, my friends, a home, my writing, and the world.

I am Jay Dee

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Who are you? I can’t wait to see your responses. But please link back to Solveig’s original post if you write a response. Comments are always welcome.

Getting to Know You – Favourites

I like to know my readers. It’s a great way to make new friends, and discuss things that we like. So, I’m asking a few questions about you. What are your favourites?

• What’s your favourite colour?
• What’s your favourite food?
• What’s your favourite hot dog condiment?
• What’s your favourite ice cream flavour?
• What’s your favourite TV show?
• What’s your favourite movie?
• What’s your favourite fruit?
• What’s your favourite fish?
• Who’s your favourite actor?
• What’s your favourite drink?

My answers:

• Colour – Blue. Especially cobalt blue. I loved looking at Copper II Sulfate.
• Food – Difficult to answer. Maybe beef stew. But I also love sushi.
• Hot dog condiment – Relish. I don’t like ketchup on my hot dog.
• Ice cream flavour – Mint chocolate chip. Chocolate is close behind.
• TV show – Star Trek: The Next Generation. Love rewatching it.
• Movie – The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King. Absolutely incredible.
• Fruit – Blueberries. Or raspberries. Or saskatoons.
• Fish – Salmon. Wild Pacific salmon.
• Actor – Robin Williams. I was shocked when he died.
• Drink – Iced tea, or as they call it in Japan, lemon tea.

So, what are your answers? Looking forward to seeing them.

Unusual Likes

Is there something that you like but most people don’t? It could be food, sports, weather, and so on.

I like eating Marmite, snakes, thunderstorms, and earthquakes. That’s right, I like the feeling of earthquakes. But I love thunderstorms.

How about you? What do you like that most people don’t like?