Mar 20
BIG NEWS from the whale world! A group of cetacean experts identified and took a DNA sample from a mysterious sub-group of killer whales living in the Southern Hemisphere. The mysterious whales, called Type D, have been photographed in recent years, but not studied. They are slightly smaller than genotype species and have a tiny, …
Mar 13
Sometimes, when you’re writing, you need to stick in a mention of a haute couture suit or award ceremony gown, but don’t want to date the piece by using a contemporary designer. Here’s some names that will fill that role. . Fashion Houses August Brunaut Angeroli Hilbocher Saint-Melrant Ravaux de Vistrenzi Perschino Astraux Igneus Carmacci …
Mar 06
Sometimes you don’t want a name that’s too long or complicated for a gaming character… something short and easy to say. Here’s a few. Short Names Ghanin Choart Armsin Opan Zasn Chard Chaer Othan Torzan Milven Gandrud Jandal Zulsh Lurth Krind Marn Vitchun Amun Uvan Sephin Chars Gyrn Charl Joforn Elz Seph Dazsh Olans Pantch …
Feb 27
I’ve always thought Chicago had a special ring to it. It’s both soft, and hard, and rolls easily off the tongue (as I also noted for the name Christopher.) It improves any other word it’s paired with. The Chicago Cubs. Chicago pizza. Chicago Transit Authority. It’s the subject of a famous poem that is famously …
Feb 20
The inhabitants of Seattle drink more coffee than in any other American city, and we also boast more independent coffee houses than other American city. The trend began when Starbucks opened its first store in Pike Place Market in 1971, and really began to take off in the late 1980s and early 1990s. As a …
Feb 13
I still can’t get enough of Salome and her yen for peacock feathers. There were other powerful women in the Good Book, some judged as “wicked” by past moralizers: Jezebel, Delilah, Herodias. Others acted just as strongly, but because they weren’t pagans, were forgiven, like Deborah and Judith. Judith in particular has inspired as many …
Feb 06
No matter how you feel about God, you have to admit the Bible contains a lot of interesting proper names. Some are used today, like David and Joshua; others belong to previous centuries, like Uriah and Nimrod. Some, like Chushanrishathaim, may never be popular at all. But they fairly easy to imitate, which is what …
Jan 23
I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream! Fifty years ago, when you walked into a grocery store, you did not see the many flavors of ice cream available these days. No, fifty years ago, there was only chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry, or all three of them packaged together, in a cardboard box …
Jan 16
What is the difference between a fruit and vegetable, anyway? Traditionally, fruits taste sweet, and vegetables savory, that is, not sweet. But this doesn’t account for the tomato (sweet) being in the vegetable section of the supermarket, or the melon family being divided in two, with some members (cantalope, watermelon) being fruits, and others vegetables, …
Jan 09
To come up with some exotic fruit for a fantasy kingdom it is not necessary to look beyond this world. The strange-looking fruit above, known as a Buddha’s Hand, is a cultivar (a genetic variant encouraged by fruit growers) of the citron tree, and in the same general family as oranges and limes. It looks …
