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I’ve decided to share some of my research on Vikings and Old Norse society. Today you get a brief summary I’ve written on Old Norse magic. Magic was generally the province of women in Old Norse society. Although some men practiced magic, they were looked down upon for engaging in such a feminine activity. Women practitioners were called völva....

I am the only person on the WCB Web site with a word count posted for June 14th. So here’s a general flogging for every single one of the Word Count Buddies. Also, I’ve flogged several of you multiple days in a row. I feel like the repetitious floggings are starting to lose their sting. Kind of like when kids grow out of fearing a spanking. So ...

I’m finally implementing my plan to use my real first name here on my blog and other places around the ‘Net. Just wanted to let you know so as not to confuse anybody. So from now on, Daeruin = Ben.

Edit: See my post about Neil Peart’s death here. According to Blender magazine’s top 40 list published in the November 2007 issue, that is. For those of you who don’t know, Neil Peart is the drummer and lyricist for Rush, one of my favorite bands ever. Apparently he got beaten out of the number one slot by Sting. I was really surprised when I ...

I have to admit that I have not been on top of administering floggings lately. I have been checking some people’s counts daily, but have neglected to flog them for missed days. Others I have not been checking on at all. I feel bad about it, because I felt really disappointed when I missed a day and nobody seemed to notice. The Union isn’t really...

I was asked recently what my favorite fantasy fiction is. I hedged a little bit. I’m always a bit hesitant to commit to favorites. Things aren’t always that clear cut. I like some books for certain elements and not for others. Still, the book that has to come at the top of my list has to be The Lord of the Rings. I recognize that Tolkien has so...

Tolkien is famous for his invention of several imaginary languages. The amount of detail and genuine linguistic principle he put into these languages is practically insane. One of the primary reasons he created Middle-Earth and chronicled its history in The Silmarillion and other works was to provide somewhere for his invented languages to be sp...

So I just finished creating my first character using Holly Lisle’s “Character Creation Workshop.” It was interesting and enlightening. I was able to invent some details about my character that I may not ever have thought of otherwise. I was also able to flesh out two of the most important aspects of any character: what does he or she want more t...