Falconry

I"m gonna be a falconer when I grow up! Did you know that falconry has been a favored sport of the English monarchy since the dark ages? These birds were really expensive, basically a status symbol. Only the super rich could afford them and the training for them.
Elizabeth I was a huge fan of falconry. She loved to hunt, and falconry was just one form of hunting.

Is it bad that I don't care how popular the name Olivia is? I love the name Olivia, and I think it's one off the best names ever.
It obviously comes from the name Olive, which comes from the tree that produces fruit that only taste good pitted and dyed black in a can. Go figure.
I drew the pic above after seeing the greatest movie ever! you guessed it, Gangs of New York! No, I'm just kidding. Love me the Mad Hatter.

Baths

Hi everyone!
Did you know that the Romans had a pipe system to move water and such? Like at Bath, in England, the bath is fed with water out of lead pipes, which is one of the reasons people can't swim in it anymore. They'd die of lead poisoning.
Men used the bath every afternoon during it's time. Men worked in the mornings and got off in the afternoons, played a little sport, then went to the baths to chill with the 'dudes'.
Romans were very clean, and they believed that was one of the reasons that they were superior to other cultures. The woman used cosmetics like blush and powder. Pretty neat huh?

Roman Wine

Did you know that the cheapest drink in Rome, affordable to all classes, was wine? No matter what you ate with it, all the Roman classes drank wine. The water probably wasn't too clean, just like in London for most of its modern history.
I thought that was rather interesting that something that can cost so much nowadays was so commonplace back then. I'm sure that there were different qualities of wine and such, but it was all something that tied every class into a huge empire.

Which got me thinking, how did the Romans communicate effectively over such a massive empire? Were there messengers, did they have anything like a modern mail service? Did they send letters to each other?
If you were a Roman, what would you write to another Roman about?

Rome

What's your Latin name? Okay, Rome is officially my new obsession. I can't believe how much of our lives now are affected by a society that died out 1500 years ago. Its just crazy. SO I've got an Idea for a story, and I think it's kind of a neat Idea.

Victoriana

It's Kira!
Alright, well, I think that today I'll tell you all a little about Steampunk! I always try to capitalize that word, IDK why. Same with Idea.
Anyway, Steampunk is a growing little subculture, and in my interpretation, blends the sooty romance and certain values of the Victorian era with Edwardian steam-power, and modern punk and some Goth fashion.
I am a big huge poser of Steampunk, being only in it for the romance and the fashion, just like most other things in my life. But really, who is ACTUALLY in it for the punky-ness? You see the clothes, you like the Victorian, I think that constitutes Steampunk.

Evenings...

When one wakes up in the morning I think the most industrious thing a person can do is to have a cup of coffee, and if one were so inclined, work on one's next novel. It is such a good way to wake in the morning.
This morning I woke up and looked out my window and said Hey, no going back to sleep! I got up and went downstairs, turned on the computer and wrote a bit, edited a bit, and listened to some very good music. I enjoy the Cold War Kids, a very good bluesy rock band.
But evenings are lovely too.
Later!