Dos Santos Owns Velasquez!!!

I went out with a friend tonight to see Cain Velasquez vs. Junior dos Santos. I had seen Velasquez destroy Brock Lesnar to win the UFC heavyweight championship, and while I was certain that dos Santos wouldn't go down without a fight, I was betting on the champion. So naturally, dos Santo destroys Velasquez in about a minute. Go figure. I still can't believe it. After clocking Velasquez with a right, he pounced on him like a tiger, pounding him until the referee stopped the match. So much for the epic, five-round encounter I was expecting to justify me not watching it at home.

(Image from sports.yahoo.com)

"A Valiant Effort" Takes The Forefront Once More, Fleshing Out Toni's Mentor, Will Zimmerman gets me hooked on "Sanctuary"

BBC Articles Read: “Harry Redknapp and Milan Mandaric in tax evasion trial” (England), “Fermanagh businessman Sean Quinn declared bankrupt” (Northern Ireland), “EIS teaching union threatens strike action” (Scotland), “Ysbyty Ifan honours El Bandito's memory with plaque” (Wales)

BBC Spanish Article: “La muerte de Blake Mora complica el escenario en México” (América Latina)

Make-up Articles: “MoD dismisses wounded soldiers redundancy plan” and “Minister Francis Maude urges '15-minute strike'” (UK Politics), “Free nursery places for 140,000 disadvantaged toddlers” and “Private schools cutting spending in downturn” (UK Education)

Operation Abe Lincoln results: 2 milestones reached.

I made the decision to continue working on "A Valiant Effort." I will still work on "Black Swan Origins: Nineveh" as well, but "A Valiant Effort" is my priority. In other words, if I have another crazy week like this one and only have time to work on one, it will be "A Valiant Effort." I also wrote a small excerpt in which Toni's mentor talks about the new leadership of the gang founded by Sandra's elder sisters. I don't think she's fully come into her own yet, but she is getting there. Basically, she's a free-spirited, happy-go-lucky prankster, but I want her humor to be appropriate to the dark fantasy vibe of the story (i.e. no whoopie-cushions). I'll probably have to write two or three more excerpts before she finally jumps off the phrase and I get to yell "She's alive! SHE'S ALIVE" and laugh like a maniac.

Late last night, after watching WWE Smackdown, I watched an episode of "Sanctuary." My favorite part was the backstory of Dr. Will Zimmerman and his relationship with his father, which was told in flashbacks as he lay recovering in Liberia. The main plot with Dr. Helen Magnus dealing with thieves and smugglers was alright, and it was certainly fun to see the main bad guy be an Irish mobster-type villain. That being said, Will (masterfully portrayed by Robin Dunne) was the one who kept my attention and is my favorite character in the show. I can't wait until next week's episode.

(Photo from en.wikipedia.org. It's being used for Fair Use/Commentary only and its rights are retained by the original copyright holder).

New Strategy for Operation Abe Lincoln, Max's Family Tree Done

BBC Articles Read: “London 2012: Torch relay heading for 1,000 places” (England), “5,402 outstanding arrest warrants in Northern Ireland” (Northern Ireland), “Lamont launches Scottish Labour Party leader bid” (Scotland), “Welsh government urged to justify spending” (Wales)

BBC Spanish Article Read: “Después de Grecia, el blanco del pánico europeo ahora es Italia” (Economía)

Steps Taken In Operation Abe Lincoln: 0

I decided to start reading articles in Spanish to keep my fluency. Also, today will be the last day that I have nothing to show for Operation Abe Lincoln except for a "goose egg." To be more productive, I'm avoiding Barnes and Noble until after I get work done. There are too many distractions there (such as "Steve Jobs: The Exclusive Biography" by Walter Isaacson, which I will buy as my reward when I make the progress that I need to make), so it needs to wait until I get results.

I also did Max's family tree. Her maternal grandmother's name may be changed later on, but for now, I just decided to put something down so that I can get some sleep.

The Consigliere's Family Tree

BBC Articles Read: “Lion sighting reports disrupt rail service” (England), “Lady Gaga dominates MTV Europe Music Awards in Belfast” (Northern Ireland), “QC Paul McBride leaves Tories after two years” (Scotland), “Presumed consent organ donation to be Welsh law by 2015” (Wales)

Sunday Bonus Article: “UK could give £40bn to the IMF, Danny Alexander says” (UK Politics)

Total Steps Taken in Operation Abe Lincoln Last Week: 12

Today I did the family tree of Cassandra's nemesis' chief advisor. I'm going to codename her "the Consigliere" because, if the main antagonist's gang was the mob, that's the position that is the most similar to hers. She's also the cousin of Cassandra's best friend, Schyla, but they get along as well as lions and hyenas. Yangvaadans aren't known for having good family relationships.

Also, since I took karate for seven years, I read an article titled "Fighters in L.A. for BJJ tournament stop a robbery at hotel." Basically, two mixed martial artists named Brent Alvarez and Billy Denney stopped someone from robbing a hotel in L.A.'s Koreatown. However, rather than seriously maiming the burglar, they simply restrained him using holds and talked him into giving up his gun and the stolen money. I am thankful that they have embraced the true spirit of the martial arts (self-defense) rather than use this situation as an excuse to injure someone for the sake of showing off their fighting prowess. When I was student at the American Karate Academy, I once heard a story from an instructor about a teenager who slashed up another karate student with kamas in a dispute over a girl. I am glad these two men chose the higher path, even though they could have done otherwise since they were preventing a crime rather than dealing with a personal dispute. You can read the article here.

http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Fighters-in-L-A-for-BJJ-tournament-stop-a-robbe?urn=mma-wp9093

All In The Family

BBC Articles Read: “Ed Miliband warns of St Paul's protest 'danger signals'”(England), “Lady Gaga set to dominate MTV awards” (Northern Ireland), “Ruth Davidson: David Cameron is not my boss in Scotland” (Scotland), “Tributes to Welsh Jewish leader” (Wales)

Steps Taken In Operation Abe Lincoln: 2

Last night I did the family trees for four of the major characters of "Black Swan Origins: Nineveh." Cassandra's was already done beforehand; all I had to figure out was the birth year of her mother's first husband. Her nemesis' family tree was a pain in the neck, because her father (whom, ideally, I'd like portrayed by Kevin Bacon), loves to sow his seed, so to speak. Her protector's family tree was a little less difficult because it was a two-parent household, and allowed me to kill two birds with one stone since the fourth main character is her cousin. I still have to do a couple more family trees, primarily of male characters and Cassandra's nemesis' cousin. I can't wait. I love choosing names, in particular the challenge of giving conventional nicknames to unconventional names. For example, Toni's full name is actually Latona, not Antonia. On a side note, Latona is also the name of the mother of Apollo and Artemis in Greco-Roman mythology. I have no plans of working that into the series as of yet, although that may change in the future. At any rate, naming my characters is one of the most fun parts of writing, and the family trees allow me to do that, so I'm going back to it right about...now.

Nods To WWE/UFC In "Black Swan Origins"? We Shall See...

BBC Articles Read: “FA appeals against Wayne Rooney's England ban” (England), “Stars arrive for Belfast MTV awards” (Northern Ireland), “Ruth Davidson elected new Scottish Conservative leader” (Scotland), “Flooding hits Newport and stops Cardiff rugby match” (Wales)

Steps Taken In Operation Abe Lincoln: 5 (including 2 made right after last post)

Today I was really busy with work, so I didn't get very much writing done. However, I did get some ideas for how the fighting competitions at Nineveh Academy work. These ideas have not been fleshed out quite yet, but let's just say I am going to integrate my interest in WWE more into my work (cocks the People's Eyebrow). The fighting itself is going to be more UFC-esque, but the hype and drama of WWE is definitely going to have an influence as well.

I need to work out some family trees before I catch up on some sleep. Worldbuilding is definitely tough, but as we all know from "Lord of the Rings", it's totally worth it.

"No Air" Becomes Part of My Series' Unofficial Soundtrack

BBC Articles Read: “EDL Leader Suspended Sentence For Headbutt” (England), “Belfast Gets Ready For MTV Awards” (Northern Ireland), “Parties Urge SNP To ‘Think Again” Over Bigotry Bill” (Scotland), “Wrex Factor Win Lands Kayleigh Lebanon Snow White Role” (Wales).

Steps Taken In Operation Abe Lincoln: 5

I finally found the song that I will use as the unofficial theme for the love between two characters of my series. This couple is eventually divinely inspired to write the majority of the "Song of Solomon" of their God's scriptures, which is completed by a couple of the next generation. Ironically, it's a hip hop song, and I don't particularly care for hip hop anymore, even though I am black and proud of it. Nonetheless, it is freaking awesome, called "No Air" by Chris Brown and Jordin Sparks. I won't say which characters it describes because I don't want to give any spoilers. I will, however, give one hint: neither of them are Cassandra.

I finished reading "Gilgamesh." Epic win, literally (pun intended). That being said, the plot was nothing special. It is, however, redeemed by some freaking cool names, neat background in Sumerian culture and myth, and great descriptions.