Fantasist's Scroll

Yeah, okay, so I’m a little late this week.
Still, I managed to find a fairly decent Friday Fun Link for you all. This comes from Boing Boing and is actually a list of links with a fun, but odd, theme: Animal Games. Basically, just a collection of games that you can play on the web which have animal themes to them. My favorite is worm battleship. Too funny.

Anyway, it’s Friday and you’ve got your link now, so go have fun.

Or, Why Everyone Else Fears Friday the Thirteenth!
I always thought it was because Judas was the Thirteenth Apostle or something like that. No, according to this article on GlobalPsychics.com, it has to do with the plot to suppress the Knights Templar. Hey, stop laughing! That’s what it says!! And, I quote:

The modern basis for the Friday the 13th superstition stems from Friday October the 13th, 1307. On this date, the Pope of the church in Rome in Conjunction with the King of France, carried out a secret death warrant against “the Knights Templar”. The Templars were terminated as heretics, never again to hold the power that they had held for so long. There Grand Master, Jacques DeMolay, was arrested and before he was killed, was tortured and crucified. A Black Friday indeed!

So, there you have it, Friday the Thirteenth is a global conspiracy! Personally, I usually have better luck on Friday the Thirteenth, but, then, I always have been a little out of step with the world. Oh, and here’s a link to some alternate ideas why everyone else is afraid of Friday the Thirteenth.
Enjoy it.

I do not know what this is.
No, really, I’m not quite sure what this is supposed to be. A game? The start of a site? Do they expect us to submit books and reviews to it? If so, they don’t seem to provide an interface to submit “found” books. Perhaps it’s just a thought experiment?
Tell you what, it’s Friday, and if you’re wasting time reading this blog instead of working, you might as well go check out the Interstitial Library yourself. If you figure it out, come back and leave a comment to help the rest of us!

It’s the birthday of one of the most prolific writers of the 20th century, Isaac Asimov, who was born in Petrovichi, Russia in 1920. He came with his family to the United States when he was three years old and his parents opened a candy shop in Brooklyn. Issac grew up to become a professor of biochemistry at the Boston University School of medicine and in 1950 he published his first novel Pebble in the Sky.

About the same time Asimov took part in writing a textbook for medical students and he found that he loved explaining complicated things in ordinary language, and so he set out to write about science for the general public, in language they would understand. He said, “Little by little my science writing swallowed up the rest of me.”
Asimov developed a regimen of working ten hours a day, seven days a week, producing between two and five thousand words a day. Asimov’s method was to write a book about any subject that interested him but which he didn’t fully understand. He used writing as a way of teaching himself about everything.
By 1970 Asimov had written more than a hundred books and he began branching out into areas other than science. He wrote about nuclear physics and organic chemistry, history, Greek mythology, astronomy, religion, in addition to his collections of limericks, mystery novels, autobiography and science fiction. By the time of his death in 1992 he had published more than 400 books.

It’s almost New Year’s Eve, so I thought a link to a New Year’s Resolution Generator would be appropriate.
Yes, I coded it and popped it onto my other site. Originally, I did it to try and cheer up two special ladies who were having a rough holiday season. Honestly, I don’t know that it helped, but at least it kept my PERL CGI skills sharp and, I think, it’s a little bit of fun. And, yeah, the probabilities are weighted toward tequila drinking and kissing strangers. Hey, I’m single, it’s almost New Year’s Eve and if I can’t slant things in my favor, what’s the point of knowing a programming language at all?
Anyway, don’t take it too seriously and have a happy and safe New Year’s celebration!

Hey, are you going into the office today?
Well, you can’t possibly plan to do anything that even comes close to looking like work, so why not check out Christmas Combat and the Christmas Elf Game. And, another game from the Elf Movie last year. Does it matter if they’re any good? NO! It’s just a way to waste time before you cut out early for Christmas.
Oh, and while you’re at it, check out the Hacked Animatronic Santa. It’s a riot!
Have fun and be safe!
Merry Christmas everyone!

(And, yes, this was also posted at my other blog.)

I always love collections of fantasy names.
Of course, I have my own set of fantasy name generators right here, but, sometimes, you need inspiration from other sources. And, frankly, getting fantasy names down so that they sound “right”, but still different and alien, is a big challenge. At least, it is for me. So, that’s why I fell in love with this site: Fantasy Names.
The names are all at other sites, and I don’t think they list mine, but this is about the best collection of links to every kind of name generator, fantasy, science-fiction and otherwise, that I’ve ever seen. If you’re looking for fantasy names, for whatever the reason, it’s worth a look.
Besides, it’s a Friday and if you’re reading my blog, you don’t have anythng better to do anyway, so click the link!

Well, I told you it was part of a series!
So, yes, this is the same thing with the fish, but this time, I’ve added a sunken temple and a boat. But, the temple is way off in the background and the boat is basically invisible, except for the hull in the water. Still, it’s a pretty good composition, I think. (You don’t have to agree.)
And, whatever else it is, at least it’s art!