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.

Gilgamesh: Overhyped Story, But Really Cool Names/Descriptions

Four Articles Read Today: "DJ and TV Presenter Jimmy Savile Dies, Aged 84" (England), "Belfast Talent Agent Banned For Not Paying Young Actors" (Northern Ireland), "Scottish Labour Leader Candidates Warned of 'Ugly' SNP" (Scotland), and "Cymdeithas Drops BBC Licence Fee Boycott" (Wales).

Obviously, the above titles retain their UK spelling.

Moving on, I am almost finished with reading "Gilgamesh." That's not exactly saying much; the footnotes and introduction of the book are longer than the epic itself. It's really a bit of a letdown and, in particular, there's one ridiculous section where a heroic figure is caught in what I will tactfully call an "excremental deluge" from a giant bull while he and his friend are trying to kill it. Never piss off Ishtar if you value your hygiene. However, I am getting some really cool names out of it to use in my stories, such as Humbaba, the monster that Gilgamesh and Enkidu kill in the Cedar Forest. Plus, when I'm done, I'll get to brag to everyone that I read "Gilgamesh." I guess that counts for something...

The description of the underworld, however, was really cool, and I'll definitely be borrowing some ideas from that. I already have incorporated Ereshkigal (whom I read about on the internet before starting this epic) and look forward to adding more Sumerian mythology into my series. It's going to be awesome!

Bucking the Royal Trend

While doing my "Four a Day" regimen to keep informed about what's going on in the UK, I discovered that they are changing the law of succession. Now the eldest child is the heir to the throne, regardless of whether they are a boy or a girl, and the royal monarch is allowed to marry a Catholic (although they themselves have to remain Anglican because the monarch is the head of the Church of England). Way to stick it to Henry the VIII, David Cameron! (see the announcement at this url: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-15493227)

It's great to see that gender quality is being recognized in the monarchy of what was once the largest empire in world history. This truly is amazing.

I do, however, realize just how ignorant I am about Britain's politics and monarchy. I have no idea who the 16 Commonwealth nations are (I would guess Canada, New Zealand, and Australia are among them, but that's all it is, a guess). Nor do I have any idea exactly how they were involved in this decision. I'm going to need to do more research...

Four Articles A Day Keeps Ignorance At Bay

Now that I remembered that I actually have a blog, it's time that I start using it again. So what have I been up to since September? I discovered Twitter (@blkprincerising), which is freaking awesome! I've also made more progress in my book, "Black Swan Origins: Nineveh." About 105 pages worth of progress! It's awesome! I was also able to sneak in a character called Otter (braces for "Animal House" jokes). I'm actually going more for the Norse myth regarding Otter, a magician-farmer's son who was accidentally killed by Loki. However, I'd be lying if I said that I didn't first hear the nickname from that hilarious movie. I figure I'll be safe as long as I don't wind up with a character named Bluto...

I've also been reading four articles a day about Great Britain, one each from England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. To say that I love British culture is an understatement: not a day goes by without me daydreaming about my next vacation in that wonderful country of direct and bluntly honest people. I stay in touch with all of the friends I made there and can't wait to see them again, which will hopefully be sometime next year. I actually read an article tonight about Phil Stead, who won the best overall blog award at the second Wales Blog Awards. I can see why his blog, Ffwtbol, won: it actually made soccer (called "football" overseas) seem interesting. Anyone who can not only get me to finish a whole article on soccer, but actually get me to enjoy it, has God-given talent. Pure and simple. Take a look at it here: http://ffwtbol.co.uk/