Flora & Fauna Friday - Hibernation

My blogs and Facebook will be (mostly) dark for the next couple of weeks so I leave you with some sleepy creatures to tide you over.  First, check out the wiki entry on hibernation here.

Also, on conservationinstitute.org, have a look at "10 Animals That Hibernate" here.

Finally, on earthrangers.com, check out the "Top Ten Coolest Hibernating Animals" 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 - Ancient Egypt

Most of what we know about Ancient Egypt, what came before Alexander of Macedon conquer Egypt in 332 BC, comes from the archaeological record and even the paleontology.  There are a fair number of written accounts from Egyptian sources as well as from other contemporary kingdoms but the existence of Egypt stretches back so far that much of the history is still rather mysterious.  We get accounts of who was in control and the wars that were fought, and some record keeping regarding building projects, but nowhere near what one might consider detailed history from year to year or regarding all strata of society.  For a brief overview, check out the first half of this article on Live Science here.

Also, on historyworld.net, there's a pretty good timeline here.  The first two-and-a-half pages of their six-page Timeline are devoted to the pre-Alexandrian period.

Finally, on historyextra.com, there are some fun tidbits in their article "The big questions of ancient Egypt" here.

Historical Thursday on GRYMVALD.com

Sifting through History to
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Worldbuilding Wednesday - Lucy's Death

Since 1974, "Lucy" has been perhaps the most famous  Australopithecus afarensis fossil ever known.  This week, everyone is writing about her probably cause of death.  Three such articles include one over on sapiens.org titled "Iconic Fossil Assigned Probable Cause of Death: A Big Fall" here.

Also, on smithsonianmag.com, they ask, "Did Anthropologists Just Solve the 3-Million-Year-Old Mystery of Lucy’s Death?"  They discuss the answer here.

Finally, on asunow.asu.edu, they write "ASU experts dispute study that says Lucy fell from tree" here.

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The Tuesday Sundries - Secret Doors

Over on hideadoor.com, they have a number of idea on ways you can have a secret door in your own home.  Find out more here.

Also, on iliketomakestuff.com, they show you how to make your own secret door bookcase here.

Finally, from the peterjb62 YouTube channel, a clip from Young Frankenstein (1974) showing the late Gene Wilder and the great Teri Garr searching for a secret door with varying degrees of success.  Enjoy!

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Mapping Monday - Earth, Africa, & Mars

Three from io9.gizmodo.com this week with the first being "These Rarely Seen Maps Turn Earth Into A Land From A Fantasy Novel" here.

Also, have a look at "A Map Of Colonial Africa Just Before The Outbreak Of World War I" here.

Finally, check out how "These Insanely Detailed Maps Of Mars Are The Most Accurate Yet" here.

Mapping Monday on GRYMVALD.com

Cartography and Mapping are the order of the day,
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Setting & Society Sunday - Medieval Humor

Over on medievalists.net, they give us "The Fool as Entertainer and Satirist, on Stage and in the World" here.

Also, on historyextra.com, they look at "Kidding/not kidding: a medieval sense of humour" here.

Finally, on cambridgeblog.org, we're shown "Dark Humor in the Dark Ages" here.

Setting & Society Sunday on GRYMVALD.com

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Saturday in Space - Discoveries in Space

Three from Science alert this week with the first being "After 300 years, scientists think they've finally solved the mystery of 'eclipse wind'" here.

Also, have a look at "An Earth-like planet has been found in our closest neighbouring star system" here.

Finally, check out "Astronomers have discovered a massive 'ghost galaxy' that’s 99.99% dark matter."  Learn more here.

Saturday in Space on GRYMVALD.com
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Flora & Fauna Friday - Goners

Over on sciencealert.com, they tell us "The strangest creature just got unearthed from a Siberian diamond mine" here.

Also, on westerndigs.org, we learn "Woolly Mammoths Survived on Alaska Island Until Just 5,600 Years Ago, New Study Shows" here.

Finally, on smithsonianmag.com, they discovered "99-Million-Year-Old Bird Wings Found Encased in Amber" here.

Flora & Fauna Friday on GRYMVALD.com

Examining animals, plants, and the

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Historical Thursday - Ancient Spells & Curses

Over on smithsonianmag.com, a recent article discusses "A Guide to Ancient Magic" here.

Also, on therichest.com, they give us the "10 Creepiest Ancient Egyptian Curses" here.

Finally, ancientcurses.com is described as follows: "Ancient Curses is compiled by Sarah Veale (University of Toronto). The site acts as a companion to her current research on curses, as well as a broader resource for the scholarly community. A constant work-in-progress, it aims to provide information and resources about cursing in antiquity."  Learn more here.

Historical Thursday on GRYMVALD.com

Sifting through History to
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Worldbuilding Wednesday - Medieval Places

Over on thevintagenews.com, they tell us about the "Once a magnificent medieval city and home to 200,000 people, the ghost city of Ani is now completely abandoned and has stood empty for centuries" here.

Also, on historyextra.com, they give us "8 facts about Old Sarum – an Iron Age fort, Roman settlement and medieval city" here.

Finally, on medievalists.net, learn about "Medieval Empires" here.

Worldbuilding Wednesday on GRYMVALD.com
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The Tuesday Sundries - Cave of the Mounds

Since moving north a few years ago, I've been meaning to visit Cave of the Mounds.  It's "a natural limestone cave located near Blue Mounds, Wisconsin" and "is named for two nearby hills."  I've been an RPGer since folks first began publishing RPGs but hadn't until this last weekend been underground in a cave complex.

I'm sure true spelunkers would categorize my experience as touristy, and it was, but being in Cave of the Mounds for nearly an hour was one of the highlights of this year for me.  It's not far west of Madison and anyone in northern Illinois or southern Wisconsin could easily make a day trip of it.

It costs less than twenty bucks and just under ten for kids, though I paid the extra six dollars for a one-year membership with the intention of getting back there a couple more times.  Even if circumstances prevent me from returning, I'll feel it was money spent well for the preservation of this beautiful, natural landmark.  More photos from my trip (nearly 200) can be seen in my Facebook album here and Google Plus album here.

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Mapping Monday - The Lighter Side of Mapping

I recently ran across an article touting an Old School mapping t-shirt deign on thehalfling.com here.

Also, no humorous post on mapping would be complete without a showing by a Tom Wham Old School TSR ad like the one Shared by oldschoolfrp.tumblr.com here.

Finally, although Matthew Lowes collection of Dungeon Symbols isn't meant to be a setup for an actual dungeon, I thought it would be humorous to think of it as such here.

Mapping Monday on GRYMVALD.com

Cartography and Mapping are the order of the day,
from setting maps to battlemaps, it's all good.

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Setting & Society Sunday - Medieval Love

Three from the Medievalists.net this week with the first being "Feminine Love in the Twelfth Century – A Case Study: The Mulier in the Lost Love Letters and the Work of Female Mystics" here.

Also, have a look at "Lovesickness: The Most Common Form of Heart Disease" here.

Finally, check out "The Concept of Courtly Love as an Impediment to the Understanding of Medieval Texts" here.

Setting & Society Sunday on GRYMVALD.com

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Saturday in Space - Rockets

Over on space.com, they share a "Career Launch: 50-Foot Rocket Built By Students Breaks Records."  Find out more here.

Also, on space.com, they tell us "Yes, NASA's New Megarocket Will Be More Powerful Than the Saturn V."  Learn more here.

Finally, on sciencealert.com, we're told "NASA's new camera just filmed a rocket plume so we can see it properly for the first time" here.

Saturday in Space on GRYMVALD.com
What's happening in Space and

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Flora & Fauna Friday - Adorable Deep Ones

Three videos from the EVNautilus YouTube channel of adorable Deep Ones.  First up, a "Dumbo Octopus in Action." Enjoy!

Also, watch as a "Shy Octopus Hides Inside Its Own Tentacles."

Finally, check out this "Googly-eyed Stubby Squid."

Flora & Fauna Friday on GRYMVALD.com

Examining animals, plants, and the

environments we use for our tabletop RPGing.

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Historical Thursday - Medieval Battles

Over on medievalists.net, they share their "Top 10 Strangest Battles of the Middle Ages" here.

Also, on historyextra.com, they expound on "9 medieval battles more significant than Agincourt" here.

Finally, on culture.pl, their article "The Battle of Grunwald Explained" has an excellent interactive graphic here.

Historical Thursday on GRYMVALD.com

Sifting through History to
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Worldbuilding Wednesday - Victoria's Way Sculptures

Over in Wicklow, Ireland, there is a place called "Victoria’s Way Indian Sculpture Park" with some amazingly inspirational sculptures for Gamemasters.  There is a Slate article overview here and a lot more pictures on Atlas Obscura here.

Worldbuilding Wednesday on GRYMVALD.com
The nuts and bolts of Worldbuilding
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