Nov 30
Ancient Egypt, I’ve found, is so fascinating on its own that for fantasy writers and worldbuilders there isn’t a lot that needs to be created from scratch. The amulets above, for example, were created in about an hour using text prompts and various AI art generators. And ancient Egyptians did love their amulets. Any significant …
Nov 23
The civilization of Ancient Egypt has enthralled the Western world ever since Napoleon’s forays down the Nile brought it to the attention of European scholars. Part of that was the indecipherable hieroglyphics that covered its temples, tombs, and monuments. Not until the 1850s were these translated into English, using cross-translations from the Rosetta Stone. In …
Oct 12
The letter D is dandy, dignified, dauntless, darling. Though it looks pregnant, I’d say its gender is masculine. It has a Medieval vibe; J. R. R. Tolkien was fond of using it in the dh combination, meant to be pronounced as a hard th as is found in the word clothing. Dragon starts with D, …
Oct 05
An AI can generate recipes, stories, Halloween costumes… but how about haircuts? A silly list for you to laugh at, though some of these may be plausible in some future setting. Haircuts that don’t, and shouldn’t, exist Aseptic: The haircut is done by cutting short, curly ends of the hair. When the hair is …
Sep 28
The world of boating has its own set of slang: starboard, port, bow, stern, limey, crow’s nest. But there’s always room for more. In some other world, it might be these terms. Newfangled Nautical Slang Ammunition-in: It’s time for a drink because it’s 5 o’clock somewhere Allee: A nearby room or place where one …
Jul 20
One of the weird things about the Narnia world (not just Narnia the country) is that very few Narnian-born human women are mentioned by name. Of them, the nation of Calormen has three: Aravis, Lasaraleen, and Zardeenah. (Perhaps Zardeenah doesn’t count, because she is a goddess.) The males of Calormen are mentioned a lot more …
May 25
As I’m sure every fantasy fan already knows, Dumbledore (full name Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore) is the mysterious but kindly Headmaster of Hogwarts, the magical boarding school Harry Potter attends. In the movie series, he’s depicted in full-on Gandalf mode, with hippy-style long gray hair and a like beard he keeps tied in …
May 18
The letter C has an identity problem: it doesn’t have a distinct sound of its own. You can pronounce it with either the sibilant hiss of the letter S (as in censure) or the harsh spit of the K (as in cocoa.) Only when paired with an h does it come into its own: church, …
Feb 09
After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in the 1990s a slew of new countries came into being that ended with -stan: Uzbekistan, Kazahkstan, Tajikstan, Turkmenistan, and Kyrgyzstan. This Central Asian quintet joins two existing -stans, Pakistan and Afghanistan, bringing the total to seven. They are known collectively as “The Stans.” And what does -stan, …
Dec 15
Like the origin and location of Camelot, the number and names of The Knights of the Round Table varied with who was telling the story. Some writers went with a dozen, others, a cast of hundreds. All of them came with their own extensive backstory, sometimes featuring each other as cousins, sons, lieges, or squires, …