I watched another castle documentary that talked about Arundel Castle. Arundel is a section of Wessex that is fertile and rich and it is the oldest earldom in England. The families who held that castle traditionally held the titles Duke of Norfolk and Earl of Arundel. These two titles make the owners of the castle twice as important and prestigious than an average noble. Like Warwick Castle, Arundel’s wealth was based on two things: the spoils of war and loyalty to the crown. The wealth of this castle was so great that the owners traditionally held three percent of all the wealth in the kingdom every year. That made the owners the wealthiest nobles in England second only to the king himself. The first owner of the castle was one of William the Conqueror’s most trusted lieutenants, who maintained order in Normandy while William was busy sacking England. As a reward for his loyalty, this lieutenant was given the most fertile patch of land in Wessex, where he initially built a motte-and-bailey castle before replacing it with a stone fortress. For almost a thousand years, Arundel Castle has been the property of many Dukes and Earls. One Duke was an avid art collector and he decorated the castle’s walls with all the art he gathered from Europe. The immense wealth of the castle meant that this Duke had access to the best of the best in European art. There was another flamboyant Duke who would routinely get so slobbering drunk that his servants waited for him to pass out before changing his clothes or giving him a bath. Over time, Arundel Castle become a mixture between an impregnable fortress and a pleasure palace. Overall, I think this castle is overflowing with potential inspiration for future fantasy works.
I started reading a new book, The Rage of Dragons. From the looks of it, it combines traditional fantasy elements with African mythology, which should provide a very interesting and unique story. I look forward to reading it as soon as I am done with Operation Red Dragon.
I continue to expand and refine my Kaiju story and I can see a noticeable improvement from the original. There have been new chapters that further elaborated the story and unexpected twists and turns that will make the plot more engaging. I also included more action with my Kaiju in it without going too far. Overall, this is becoming a much more tightly knit story than it was before. Also, I am thinking of making more stories that include my characters and Kaiju. This is only the beginning of a new series.
I write this post not as a Democrat, but as a concerned citizen of the United States. I am terrified and disgusted with how America is under Trump’s rule. Since he had taken office, my country has become increasingly more divided. I have seen peaceful protests being attacked by angry drivers in Charlottesville, I have seen hate crimes, I have seen the media being attacked, I have seen children being stolen by our so-called “border guards”, I have seen our “President” destroy our relations with our NATO allies and kissing up to our enemies in Russia and North Korea, I have seen farmers’ livelihoods destroyed by Trump’s senseless trade war, I have seen Trump and his minions try to take healthcare away from countless American citizens 70 times, I have seen our First Amendment rights violated over and over again, I have heard hateful and toxic rhetoric from Trump and his allies day after day, I have seen sexist Senators bully and belittle rape victims, I have seen Senators violate proper protocol while attempting to appoint Brett Kavanaugh just to consolidate their party’s power, I have seen a mad bomber who was brainwashed by Trump’s words try to murder political officials and the free press, and now I have seen Trump fail for the billionth time to be a real leader and seek to further divide us. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!!! You can say the economy may be good, you can say his policies are good, you can say the tax cuts are good, but at the end of the day, Trump and his self-proclaimed Republicans are unworthy of their offices. The TRUE Republican Party died with John McCain and the Party and Cult of Trump is all that’s left. From the blood of my heart and the very center of my being, I am begging anyone who will listen to help stop this madness. If the Democrats win the House and the Senate, then Trump and his “Republicans” will be brought to heel and we can have some sense of stability and normalcy in our country. I am not asking you to change parties or beliefs. I am asking you to help stop a madman and his sycophants from dividing us any further.
For the past couple days, a series of bombs attempted to assassinate the Obamas, Clintons, CNN, and other critics of Trump. Fortunately, none of the bombs went off and the FBI received an ample amount of evidence to hunt the suspect down. However, I fear this crisis is far from over. Trump may not have made the bombs or sent them in the mail, but his hateful words started the whole damn thing. He has been spreading so much fear, hatred, and distrust that this was inevitable. Trump was given an opportunity to unify the nation in the wake of this crisis and he failed. He may have called for unity, but his words were hollow because shortly afterwards he went back to his usual self by attacking the media. He could try to calm his base down, but it is too late. Pandora’s Box has been opened and I don’t know if it can be closed again. The American people want unity in the wake of this crisis, but they will NEVER find it in Trump because spreading fear and hate is all he is good at. All of this madness has to stop NOW!!! Trump better pray that all of the bombs have been found because if there are more and they explode and kill people, then Trump will have as much blood on his hands as the bombers themselves.
I found another video that depicted a real life lightsaber. Instead of a blade of energy, this lightsaber was a rob made from multiple metals with high melting points. Once the rod was superheated to around 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit, it would glow and cut through pretty much anything. However, while the Star Wars lightsabers either cauterized or melted through anything they cut, this lightsaber not only melted and cauterized things but also set them on fire. Another feature that set it apart from Star Wars lightsabers was that its power came from a cable and power pack it was hooked up to. This was similar to the protosabers in the Legends continuity. They do not have the technology to make the lightsaber self sufficient like in the movies so they have to make do with the cable and power pack.
I found this video on Youtube and it showed a bunch of guys building a real life laser gun that was based on a weapon in the game Overwatch. The end result was quite frightening and fascinating at the same time. They showed how real life technology can create a real life science fiction weapon. I wonder how this technology would develop as its flaws are worked out.
While writing my revised and expanded Kaiju story, I brainstormed and researched on how the world would react if Kaiju were real. How would the human race cope with the fact that god-sized monsters roamed the Earth? I can imagine that we would feel like ants under their feet. The film Shin Godzilla probably depicted the most realistic reaction of how a nation would react to a Kaiju attack. Like any natural disaster, there would be a lot of bureaucracy that would slow down the government’s response. However, since a Kaiju would be something no government ever faced before, I can imagine their reaction to be even slower than usual because they would have no idea how to respond. The economy and trade would be thrown into disarray and insurance companies would go bankrupt as the threat of Kaiju grows. With few resources available due to lack of stable trade, people would resort to tribalism and survival of the fittest mindsets to survive as they turn on one another. Some may develop cults that worship Kaiju as gods while others would perceive Kaiju as a sign of the Apocalypse. Overall, the coming of the Kaiju would bring all-out chaos to the world and I plan to explore it in my revised story.
Today, I entered the lottery at my local theater yet again and won three FREE trips in a single day! I won two trips to Hawaii and one trip to Las Vegas. In total, I won FIVE free trips since I started participating in this lottery. One trip to Orlando, two trips to Las Vegas, and two trips to Hawaii. Lady luck was on my side today big time! Once I figure out how their system works, I plan to give one of these trips to my parents as an anniversary gift. I only need one of each of these trips so I will give out the extras to my family and loved ones.
What happens when you combine magic and technology? The end result is complex machinery that is powered by sorcery instead of electricity or nuclear power. Imagine building an army of metallic soldiers that are given life by magic. Such soldiers would be immune to conventional medieval weapons such as swords and axes. Now, think of a type of bomb that is fueled by magic that is powerful enough to destroy castles. It would be a fantasy equivalent of a neutron bomb! These innovations will look like something out of a steampunk universe, but they will be powered by magic instead of steam. As factions grow in strength and power thanks to sorcery, new abilities to wage war will be invented that would ravage the land. I will be exploring this in greater detail in my fantasy series.
Grady P Brown - Author 