The Challenge for 2008

Wow. It seems like it was last year since I posted in this blog... Anyhow, I hope that all of you had a very happy New Year's Eve and that you remembered to eat your black eyed peas and collard greens (doing so is supposed to be good luck). As it is, 2008 has started off on a very good note for me. The Missouri Tigers beat the Arkansas Razorbacks 38 to 7 in the Cotton Bowl (take that, BCS....).

For those of you wondering about the title of this post, it is in reference to a game proposed by Mike of the blog Fevered Mutterings. I found out about it through Beth of Finding My Voice. Here are the rules of the game, in Mike's own words:

"1. You give me a Challenge for 2008. This Challenge is of the 'fun' and 'personally enriching' variety. Yes, that means snide comments along the lines of "Acquire A Life" will be ignored.

2. I mull the Challenge over, and then I decide whether to accept or not.

3. It goes in writing, on this post, in this blog.

4. Then I set YOU a Challenge. Ditto. Ditto.

5. Then, with all Challenges set......I check up on you, and put up an update post every once in a while, to summarise how it's going, including how I'm doing with my Challenges.

It's all a bit like New Year's Resolutions, except with public culpability and reminders.

Those of you with blogs - I also Challenge you to run this game within your own posts......"

Beth set down a challenge for Mike and posted it in Finding My Voice. Beth also invited others to play. I laid down a challenge to Beth that she has to read at least one fiction book a month. It can be any sort of book--mystery, sci-fi, romance--just as long as it is fiction. Beth must then post a review of each book in her blog. My thought in putting down the challenge is that we don't read enough for entertainment these days. I must confess that I am particularly guilty of that--I have about twenty books I've bought lately and have yet to read any of them!

As to Beth's challenge to me, I am to create and post one pop culture quiz a month in A Shroud of Thoughts. The quizzes can have a single theme or simply be a collection of random things. At the end of 2008, the reader who has accumulated the most points throughout the year will win a pop culture related prize (I am considering a cute Shrek and Donkey keychain, although I am not firm on that as of yet--let me know what you think).

As Beth did, I will go ahead and make the offer for others to play. I only have two ground rules with regards to challenges to me. First, since A Shroud of Thoughts is dedicated to pop culture in all its forms, any challenge must be pop culture oriented. Second, challenges should not involve travel outside of any states that border Missouri and Missouri itself. As the rules of the game specify, I have the right to refuse any challenge.

So, any takers?