Saturday in Space - Planetary Pluto, Ceres's Bright Spots, & Earth's Other Moon

Over on the blog of discovermagazine.com, there is an article asking a question and suggesting an answer "Pluto a Planet Again? It May Happen This Year" here.

Also on nasa.gov, an article tells us "'Bright Spot' on Ceres Has Dimmer Companion" here.

Finally, io9.com tells us "The Story Behind Earth's "Other" Moon And Its Completely Whacked Orbit" here.

Saturday in Space on GRYMVALD.com
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Flora & Fauna Friday - Entish, Sheep Eaters, & Killing Coral

Over on educateinspirechange.org, they have a sound file letting us know "What A Tree Sounds Like When Played On A Record Player" here.

Also, io9.com tells us "Why You Should Find This Plant Absolutely Terrifying" here.

Finally, don't worry that Rick Grimes has had enough of his son's antics.  The National Geographic YouTube channel has added a video titled "Ocean Dredging Is Killing Miami’s Coral."  Watch and learn.

BTW, if you recall seeing a lot more of the Monarch Butterflies when you were younger, and would like to see them again sometime in your lifetime, consider signing the petition here.

Flora & Fauna Friday on GRYMVALD.com

Examining animals, plants, and the

environments we use for our tabletop RPGing.

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Historical Thursday - Antarctic Notebook, 15c Crusade, & a 16c Gandalf

Over on archaeology.org, an article from late last year heralds a "Photographer’s Notebook Found in Melting Antarctic Ice" here.

Also, on the Medievalists.net website, an article from 2011 takes a look at "Writing and Imagining the Crusade in Fifteenth-Century Burgundy: The Case of the Expedition Narrative in Jean de Wavrin’s Anciennes Chroniques d’Angleterre" here.

Finally, Boing Boing tells us that "John Dee was the 16th century's real-life Gandalf" here.

Historical Thursday on GRYMVALD.com

Sifting through History to
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Worldbuilding Wednesday - Forgotten Ruins, Egyptian Gods, & Your Campaign Backbone

Over on the Medievalists.net website, they take a look at "Forgotten Ruins? The castles of the Welsh Princes" here.

Also, recently on io9.com, they explored "10 Lesser-Known Egyptian Gods That Are Absolutely Terrifying" here.

Finally, in the space on Wizards of the Coast reserved for the Behind the Screens GMing advice, they had it filled by Richard Whitters, DM and art director / artist for Dungeons & Dragons, with his article on your "Campaign Backbone" here.

Worldbuilding Wednesday on GRYMVALD.com
The nuts and bolts of Worldbuilding
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The Tuesday Sundries - D&D Designers, Medieval Misconceptions, & Middle Ages Feuds

I wanted to get this in as soon as I heard, since I know some up-and-coming adventure writers might be interested in this.  The D&D Adventurers League is having an Open Call for Adventure Designers.  What this means in terms of pay, I do not know.  There are forms, though, including an Adventure Design Application and a 5E Template to show how to format your adventure for submission.  At the least, they're showing you how they'd like to see it for their purposes.  Learn more here.

Also, as if to help prep submitters for what they should never, or maybe what they should always, add into any submission, io9.com had an article about "10 Worst Misconceptions About Medieval Life You'd Get From Fantasy Books" here.

Finally, some plots might also raise the question, "Was there Really Such a Thing as Feud in the High Middle Ages?"  Find out here.

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Essentially, a clearinghouse for topics on GRYMVALD.com
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RPG Media Monday - The Isabella Breviary, Scheide's Collection, & Hirst's Vikings

Three from the Medievalists.net this week, as certainly happens often enough on various corners of the CMG Blog Triad, but first is an article featuring "The Isabella Breviary" here.

Also, an amazing "$300 million library donated to Princeton University includes thousands of medieval manuscripts and early printed books" and they intend to digitize it over time.  Huzzah for GMs everywhere and learn more here.

Finally, with the new season of Vikings starting up this week, they had a "Q&A [with] Michael Hirst, creator and writer of Vikings" here.  Let me also take a moment to say that I think Donal Logue is one of the hardest working actors currently around.  I hope he gets more recognition for all his efforts this year.

RPG Media Monday on GRYMVALD.com

What can be gleaned from Media

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Setting & Society Sunday - Crusaders’ Military Medicine, Negev Grapes, & Islam’s Medieval Underworld

Over on the medievalists.net website, an article from some time back features "Military Medicine in the Crusaders’ Kingdom of Jerusalem" here.

Also, on archaeology.org, they tell of the "'Wine of the Negev' Grape Seeds Found" here.

Finally, on smithsonianmag.com, an article highlights "Islam’s Medieval Underworld" here.

Setting & Society Sunday on GRYMVALD.com

Looking closer at Setting and Society

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Saturday in Space - Red Dwarf Planets, Close Call, & Earth 2.0

Over on Space.com, they recently shared that "Planets Orbiting Red Dwarfs May Stay Wet Enough for Life" here.

Also, on Phys.org, they told us of "A close call of 0.8 light years" here.

Finally, on NASA.gov early last year they featured an article on how "NASA's Kepler Discovers First Earth-Size Planet In The 'Habitable Zone' of Another Star" here.

Saturday in Space on GRYMVALD.com
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Flora & Fauna Friday - Mantis Mimics Flower, Insect Zoo, & Deadliest Bugs

Over on the National Geographic YouTube channel a recent video shows an "Incredible Disguise: Praying Mantis Mimics Flower."  Keep your eyes open!

Also, if that wasn't enough to give you the willies, Nat Geo warns you "If You're Scared of Bugs, Don't Watch This" video.  Watch out under your desk!

Finally, the World 5 List YouTube channel shares a video on the "Top 5 Deadliest Bugs."  My skin is now officially crawling!

Flora & Fauna Friday on GRYMVALD.com

Examining animals, plants, and the

environments we use for our tabletop RPGing.

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Historical Thursday - Turf Wars, 1717 Blizzard, & 700-Year-Old Murder

Over on laphamsquarterly.org, they have a nifty graphic showing "The gangs of New York" from 1840 thru 1910 here.

Also, from newenglandhistoricalsociety.com, comes an article "Remembering the Great Snow of 1717 in New England" here.

Finally, the folks at the Telegraph claim "Italy's 700-year-old murder mystery of Dante's warlord patron solved" here.

Historical Thursday on GRYMVALD.com

Sifting through History to
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Worldbuilding Wednesday - Flying Buttresses, Iberian Neanderthals, & Using Fake Words

Over on the Medievalists.net, they recently discussed "Salisbury Cathedral and Its Diversity of Flying Buttresses" here.

Also, on archaeology.org, some new information suggests "New Dates for Neanderthals in the Iberian Peninsula" here.

Finally, on mythcreants.com, there is an article on "The Four Rules of Using Fake Words" here.

Worldbuilding Wednesday on GRYMVALD.com
The nuts and bolts of Worldbuilding
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The Tuesday Sundries - Gunpowder, Medieval Friendship, & an Influenza Pandemic

Three from the Medievalists.net this week including "The Pre-History of Gunpowder" here.

Also, they share "A Medieval Guide to Friendship" here.

Finally, from late last month an "Eyewitness accounts of the 1510 influenza pandemic in Europe" here.

The Tuesday Sundries on GRYMVALD.com
Essentially, a clearinghouse for topics on GRYMVALD.com
not covered elsewhere or wanting a particular focus.

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RPG Media Monday - Medieval Manuscript Images

There is a wonderful slideshow of "Medieval Manuscript Images" you can check out on the Medievalists.net website here.  Some of them are quite bizarre but might inspire an RPG idea or two.

RPG Media Monday on GRYMVALD.com

What can be gleaned from Media

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Setting & Society Sunday - Ancient Migration, Cryptographic Systems, & Medieval Demographics

Over on archaeology.org, a recent article discusses "Today’s Europeans Rooted in Ancient Migration From Russia" here, summarizing an article from Nature.com here.

Also, on the Medievalists.net website, they check out "Cryptographic Systems Used in the Romanian Countries between the 15th – 19th Centuries" here.

Finally, if you've never seen it, be sure to immerse yourself in a page on the website of S. John Ross titled "Medieval Demographics Made Easy" here.

Setting & Society Sunday on GRYMVALD.com

Looking closer at Setting and Society

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Saturday in Space - DSCOVR Launch, Submarine to Titan, & Mars One Volunteers

According to a recent video on the SpaceX YouTube channel the window for launch of the Falcon 9 which will deliver the "DSCOVR satellite to a 187 x 1,241,000 km orbit at 37 degrees" "will open at approximately 6:10pm EST on Sunday,"  Enjoy.

Also, on io9.com, they detail "NASA's Plans to Send a Submarine to Titan" here.

Finally, from boingboing.net, they'd like us to "Meet the people who have volunteered to die on Mars" here.

Saturday in Space on GRYMVALD.com
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Flora & Fauna Friday - Tropical Parasite, Zombified Ladybugs, & Asian Giant Hornets

On the blog of scientificamerican.com, a recent article details "Giving Birth To A Tropical Parasite" but warns readers that the "Video [is] Not For The Squeamish."  See more here.

Also, in the news on nationalgeographic.com, an article this week highlights how a "Wasp Zombifies Ladybugs Using Virus as Bio-Weapon—a First" here.

Finally, the Asian giant hornet is small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, but not by much.  Read more about it on wikipedia here.

Flora & Fauna Friday on GRYMVALD.com

Examining animals, plants, and the

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Historical Thursday - Bird Eaters, Bedlam Cemetery, & Medieval Punishment

Over on phys.org they suspect "Fowl play: Neanderthals were first bird eaters" here.

Also, on archaeology.org, a new article is "Identifying the Buried at London’s Bedlam Cemetery" here.

Finally, on the Medievalists.net website they ask "What Was Your Medieval Punishment?" here.

Historical Thursday on GRYMVALD.com

Sifting through History to
enhance our tabletop RPGing.

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