tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-139893552011-04-22T04:49:00.754Ztempvs fvgit et verba volant sed scripta manent... abovt history, writing, classics, and historical fictionExcaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.comBlogger1511100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-10576118251995899762009-03-04T19:13:00.000Z2009-03-04T19:13:00.804Z

Well, March has arrived and with it, Nanotional Novel Editing Month! www.nanoedmo.netRevisiting Wishes is quite a challenge, and doing 50 hours of editing in one month is not an easy task, but I'll try my best.And for April, probably, Revolt! will be brought back to life. No promises, though, but... :-)Kallisti!

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-78096668985876423642008-11-30T19:14:00.002Z2008-11-30T19:22:09.035Z

OK, the NaNoWriMo is over and we won... Most importantly, though, I finished the novel!It was a little bit anticlimax writing that 'The End' ("Fin" in Galician) but, well, for the first time I have a novel ready for revision (next year ;-)Thanks to all for your support... My next projects will be revisiting Wishes and finishing Revolt!... :-)KALLISTI!

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-5455949552627809682008-11-23T00:09:00.002Z2008-11-23T00:31:08.536Z

Yeah, I did it!:-)I went over 50K words this evening, during our write-in in Madrid.Now I only have to keep writing until I finish the novel...I'll keep you updated!Good luck to you Nanowriters!Kallisti!

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-74692520424477504672008-11-12T12:34:00.000Z2008-11-12T12:34:00.239Z

Alright!At day 11th, I've written 22,300 words (+44%) which I'd say it's pretty good.Besides, I'm really enjoying writing the book, I'm loving the plot, the characters, and writing it in Galician!As an interesting note, last week already sprouted an unexpected new character! Little buggers, hehe... :-)An aditional benefit this year (besides the fun) is that I don't have to carry around a big,

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-65372525652180106462008-10-31T19:34:00.003Z2008-10-31T19:39:27.081Z

It's a little over three hours CET for the start of Nanowrimo 2008.I can barely wait! :-)I'll try to keep this up-to-date, although my main blog will be my galician one, O gume da espada.Finally, my novel will be a kind-of urban/phylosophical/onirical/discordian fantasy novel, Wishes.I'll post less about it, as it's not based on event, and thus some things really are a surprise... :-)Good luck to

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-43216866251083707682008-10-18T10:37:00.002Z2008-10-18T11:54:56.751Z

Apparently, this year was not called for Shipwreck, or so it seems...Two weeks to go on nanowrimo, and I cannot find all my documentation for the book... One of the trouble of moving, I guess... I know it's in here, but in which box?Well, as all my books are well packed, I cannot easily retake any of my old projects, Historical Fiction is hard without data!I may, in this case, attack a plotbunny

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-23213848220857556182008-10-06T13:42:00.000Z2008-10-06T13:42:00.468Z

OK, I have just updated my Nanowrimo writer profile.As you can see there, my next Nanovel is titled "Shipwreck" and it's set in 1810, during the Spanish Independence War.It'll tell the story of a joint naval operation between the Spaniards and Englishmen in Northen Spain. The operation was pretty important, but after some initial success, it went awfully wrong.As the main (read as 'the actual key

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-59172634124391367662008-09-17T19:06:00.000Z2008-09-17T19:06:00.174Z

Well, what have I been doing as of late?Well, several things. I've been reading, studying and writing.Reading what? Well, for instance, several different things: some History books I got during the Summer in book fairs and bookstores, mostly related to the Spanish Independence war, specially as related to my countryland, Galiza.As it's somewhat related to my nest Nanowrimo, it seemed fit to have

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-68937016657029952372008-08-29T15:17:00.000Z2008-08-29T15:17:01.031Z

Well, still around, although not very active... After vacation at my home town, I came back and a couple of weeks ago I was at Brussels and Brugges... It was very interesting, indeed!In the meantime, I'm working on my next Nano, and trying to keep up with the last one :-P I'll let you know better shortly.Laters!

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-29143355657213564102008-06-24T07:56:00.000Z2008-06-24T09:18:47.310Z

Well, it's been a long while...I've been pretty busy studying for my Irish exam (it was a bit disastrous but I think I showed a little bit of dignity, at least) and then doing some relaxing reading and what not...There went my b-day, a trip to beautiful, gorgeous, wonderful Menorca (as a b-day gift :-) and the Book Fair of Madrid.I got a couple of interesting books (besides the Irish version of '

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-74062042996386152022008-04-09T06:49:00.001Z2008-04-14T22:22:01.351Z

Well, not that much northern, but, anyway, it's further than we were last time...I'm going slowly, after some hyatus (writing on the move means that if you go by car you cannot write!), and Fate keeps tangling its tentacles around our characters, weaving its way towards the inevitable path (at least as inevitable as History permits, anyway :-)Our good Doctor has moved from the San Martín,

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-75764497387213467772008-03-04T19:48:00.000Z2008-03-04T16:59:31.614Z

Well, yes, Psionic and not psyonic, because I have rescued my old, trusty Psion Series 5mx and a new writing philosophy, so I can keep on writing despite my slightly hurting arm (both the PDA and the philosophy are lighter than they were before, during Nanowrimo...).Thus, I'll retake Invicta, I'll keep you appraised...And that's all, basically. On a more anecdotic vein, I finished my pal's novel,

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-45220706276612145952008-02-13T18:45:00.000Z2008-02-13T16:17:07.501Z

My doctor told me that the slight pain I am feeling on my arm may be a tendinitis, and recommended not carrying so many books and Alphie (my trusty AlphaSmart Pro) around for some days, thus it's write-at-home time for me, which is very, very slow...Therefore, I'm slowing down a little for for a couple of weeks, which will destroy my Febrewrimo goal, but, well, I'm on it, okay?I'll take the

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-4322298323793864172008-02-07T08:07:00.000Z2008-02-07T11:08:33.054Z

Chapter 8 is well under way. It's not, by far, as long as Chapter 7, which is a good indicator that things are going back to a more normal storytelling rythm.Chapter 8, I also nickname it 'Chapter Blood'. The reason is that Chapter 8 is the Battle of the Gravelines, where the whole of the Englishe Fleete (in the writing of the time, and about 150 ships, at least 40 of them big galleons and as far

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-85969697544339648062008-01-31T08:12:00.000Z2008-01-31T08:38:08.296Z

Well,It's been long, but I'm still around. I'm getting ready to get my driving license, it's been some dozens of practical classes, and I'm about to be ready to go to the exam. I'll let you know.What I haven't been doing is writing.I've been readying, and I'll be doing so in the close future, specially since a coworker has just published his first novel, a Historical Fiction novel set in the fall

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-74121532695998326482007-12-25T13:59:00.000Z2007-12-25T14:01:05.794Z

Ditto, have a great time and may MMVIII get us all closer to happiness...KALLISTI!

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-6992864522737106992007-11-29T23:55:00.001Z2007-11-30T00:03:07.160Z

wordcount widgetsBy the end of the looooooooong Chapter 7, during the night of the Sunday, August 8th 1588 to Monday (Gregorian calendar already working in Spain), the English have launched their best strike to the moment, while the Armada is stationed at Calais.Now, we'll go on from here, this time to finish the damned novel... :-)I'll keep you updated.Jay! :-)KALLISTI!

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-58691194633917521042007-11-27T22:26:00.000Z2007-11-27T23:42:10.407Z

wordcount widgetsThings are going pretty well this year, I think, and I'm confident about this year's Nano... We'll see!Meanwhile, I have updated my Nanowrimo Author's Profile with an excerpt from Undefeated's First Chapter.It's in Spanish, sorry.Anyway, if you can read it I hope you can enjoy it: it's not exactly brilliant, but I think it offers a different point of view from what you may have

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-79324225841804159012007-11-16T22:10:00.000Z2007-11-16T22:51:09.423Z

wordcount widgetsEnd of July, 1588 (Gregorian Calendar)The first exchange between the Spanish Armada and the English Fleet has just happened. Things have finally started to heat up in the Ocean.The second part of this chapter will set up some very dramatic happenings that will set the tone for the rest of the expedition through the Channel.Meanwhile, Flanders is boiling up, with almost 20,000

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-20218117539346027582007-11-06T23:32:00.000Z2007-11-06T23:38:34.939Z

wordcount widgetsSo far, things are going pretty well, I'm having lots of fun, learning lots of things, and, well, Chapter 2 is happening in July, so in a month (novel time) we'll be ready for the action!:-)I have just seen that a movie about Elithabeth I will be released this Friday in Spain, and it's bank holiday in Madrid... Hmmm... Well, the images I have seen from the Armada in the trailer,

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-69870170810194625132007-11-02T07:47:00.000Z2007-11-02T07:34:56.257Z

Don't you love those words? :-)Well, we have made a discreet start in Nanowrimo this year, 1900 words, which is more than necessary for day one, but less than I would had hoped.However, I had the typical distractions of Samhain and New Year, and of starting the novel, you know, selecting the starting locations precisely and so on.One thing I'm particularly proud of: almost finishing page 4 and I

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-85095724592994682822007-10-27T15:36:00.000Z2007-10-27T16:15:36.560Z

Well, 5 days for Nano and counting!I am almost ready to start. There are some things still to fix, but nothing that cannot be solved through the writing or even during the revision. And, well, most of it will need to evolve, anyway.I offer you the 'synopsis' of Undefeated, that is, what you'd read on the back cover (I am thinking it may have a proper term, but I cannot recall which one).

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-81044522106870974572007-10-17T20:15:00.000Z2007-10-18T20:25:28.570Z

Can you possibly guess what was the best (by far) consequence of Emperor Napoleon's worse nightmare?Yup, you guessed: the metric system.Those unblessed with traditional measurement systems (which, well, it's just the USA, Libya and Burma) know perfectly well what I mean. But, well, most countries still keep some traditional measurement units in common-day use, although not in any formal written

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-48216479160368450522007-10-03T19:31:00.000Z2007-10-03T09:52:18.308Z

"I sent my ships to fight against the English, not against the elements."Phillip II (1588, allegedly),King of Spain, Naples, Sicily, Portugal and the AlgarvesWell, finally I'm showing off:During Nanowrimo 2007, I'll be jumping 21 centuries to the future, and I'll be writing a Historical Novel (not Science Fiction, eh?) about the events of the:Spanish Armada (so-called "Invincible"), what

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-22876627060958280892007-10-02T07:34:00.000Z2007-10-03T11:06:35.163Z

Well, new Fall and new Nano!I have signed up for NaNoWriMo once again.My novel will be Historical Fiction, with working title Undefeated (in Spanish, Invicta), which is not very informative (yet) but it has some strength, uh? ;-)I'll let you know more about it when I get closer, and fear not, I'll keep on my other novels, it's just that I need a fresh start, and this is my first HF novel project

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-75587121025546496802007-09-26T18:43:00.000Z2007-09-26T08:43:23.988Z

I cannot fail to note that, for a seaside boy like me, I do like infantry formations, specially in ancient times.I love to depict, describe, and play with phalanxes (both classical and Macedonian), legions, and other similar armies, with mixed arms (light and heavy infantry, light and heavy cavalry, if available, and so on).However, most of my novels (or novels-to-be, anyway) happen near, and

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-81737493389647345822007-09-19T06:03:00.000Z2007-09-19T07:40:34.941Z

... approaches quite rapidly. The weather starts to reflect rather strong variations in night and day temperatures, cloudy skies, chilly winds, nightfall arrives suddenly at unexpected times (at least until we get rid of the Summertime Daylight Saving +1 hour)...The Second Harvest approaches, the Equinox that balances light and darkness (Good and Evil as well? naaah). It's a time for our moods to

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-30689409048965419402007-09-12T17:21:00.000Z2007-09-12T11:20:13.541Z

Or Ponferrada (entry on English Wikipedia), in the Spanish region of O Bierzo (roman Bergidum), close to the frontier between Gallaecia and the Tarraconensis province, and western borderline between Province of León (from the old Legio VII Gemina fame) and Lugo (of Lucus Augusta fame), at about some 60 km from Astorga (old Asturica Augusta; the remaining capital town of Gallaecia being Bracara

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-58395803898205325292007-09-04T16:28:00.000Z2007-09-04T12:00:53.350Z

Yep, I returned to Ávila (Roman Avula) this weekend, to the Three Cultures Medieval Fair.It was fun and very instructive, as I managed to test a mail armor (lorica hamata) and do some bow firing, and visit the local museum, which I managed to miss the first time I went.Ávila is a very nice city, declared Humanity Patrimony by the UNESCO, with a full medieval wall which is mostly walkable.Here's

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-44516884442215616392007-08-30T16:37:00.000Z2007-08-30T07:45:31.769Z

Efike, kaj kiel unu da mia vivpasioj (lernanta lingvojn), ĉi tie vi havas retĉeneron al tre interesa video, subtitolata en la Angla lingvo, ĉirkaŭ kio estas Esperanto kaj kio estas ĝia uzo (komparata kun kelkaj naturala lingvo, tio estas).("Esperanto is a language with many features/uses"). Effectively, and as one of my life passions (learning languages), here you have a link to a very nice video

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-25409749911783383232007-08-28T07:04:00.001Z2007-08-28T13:14:03.093Z

Well, while Revolt! keeps moving ahead over the 60Kw boundary, and we are getting ready for some fun, I'm revisiting an old theme with a fresh look, and I'm afraid I'm getting fond of my digital camera, so it's picture time!This is the Romantic conception of Attawulf, or Ataulf, the first Visigothic king, founder of the Kingdom of Tolossa, in Gallia. It's displayed in the Oriental Gardens in

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-81949790760808294242007-08-19T14:00:00.001Z2007-08-19T14:59:21.712Z

One of the things that I like the most about my little town is that it has a wide variety of oddities in a very little place.I have shown you the medieval bridge built à la roman fashion, now I'll show you a naval mine that appeared floating along the fishing ships in the harbor before I can remember (and considering I arrived to my town around 1978-9...) I can't really tell you a lot about it,

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-83144520059842282422007-08-07T16:43:00.000Z2007-08-07T11:45:17.586Z

Well, you probably know by now about my fascination for stones (specially those made by our fellow humans of yore).These are some samples of some stones I have photographed in my last safaris: This is a ponte romana do Bao (the Roman Bridge in O Bao), in my hometown, a medieval bridge constructed following the examples of Roman bridges in the Province, like those in Lugo (Lucus Augusta) and

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-89262860784085863992007-08-01T21:09:00.000Z2007-08-01T21:43:07.753Z

Well, more or less, anyway...My first Potter book was the Spanish edition of ... and the Philosopher's Stone. Then followed the second and third books, and then I switched to the English editions, as they were --obviously-- released sooner (way much sooner, I'll add).Then I got Harrius Potter et Philosophi Lapis, the Latin version of the book. It's gorgeous. I haven't actually read it yet, only

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-92095405566634295442007-07-27T07:18:00.000Z2007-07-27T10:31:54.298Z

Well, that's me!Back from holidays, I can tell you that I am exhausted. I slept about one order of magnitude less than I had planned! Yawn!Anyway, it was nice to be back to my hometown, I made a safari to the local Art Factory, Fábrica de Sargadelos and got a handful of books, about linguistics, galician and even some Sherlock Holmes adventures (in galician, nod)... Hehe :-)It was nice to be back

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-52055428130912622362007-07-06T20:30:00.000Z2007-07-06T20:42:29.200Z

Well, actually back to Ulysses and Odysseus...Over there, a Greek visitant left me his input after so long (isn't the Internet wonderful?): Dear friend,I have read your interesting story about how Odysseus became Ulysses by a linguistic mistake. Thinking that you should like to know alternative theories, I suggest that you examine the possibility of a non mistaken change of (Δ = delta) to (Λ =

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-26491821965840105382007-07-05T19:30:00.000Z2007-07-05T16:56:51.984Z

Indeed, slowly but firmly.Last status update: 50,119 wordsRight Now: 56,223 wordsThis is, in a DIN/ISO-A5, Times New Roman, 10pt format, roughly 160 pages (YMMV)Not much but more than before, huh? :-)I'll keep you updated... :-pKallisti!

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-67089878119521922162007-06-28T19:00:00.000Z2007-06-28T15:47:43.614Z

Well, yes, and proud of it.Spain has leapt light-years ahead in provising all her citizens with the same rights, no matter their sexuality (or, in a lesser way, their sexual identity).We still have lots to fight, and in other fronts as well, to make Spain a just country, and a place where one can be proud to be from.In the meantime, let's fight, and let's celebrate (jay for this kind of fights,

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-12360657976803647062007-06-26T22:20:00.000Z2007-06-26T21:41:33.023Z

While I am in the process of having something new to tell you about my novels (I can tell you that I have decided to finish Revolt!), I think I can tell you something about the novels I've recently read, just to keep you interested in my blog (hehe) and because I think they can be interesting for you.The Lover of Pilatus, by Gisbert Haefs (German title is Die Geliebte des Pilatus and in English

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-78838883126764423322007-06-21T07:44:00.000Z2007-06-21T09:34:52.575Z

That is, the Sun Standing in the Summer or Winter.The longest day is almost upon us (the longest night for those in the Southern Hemisphere of the planet), a magical time of change, a pivotal point in our yearly round trip with our beautiful, magnificent, astonishing, yellow dwarf star, Sol.Things come and go, and while for some creatures, specially the smaller ones --bacteriae and other

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-61205684461287990842007-06-10T20:44:00.000Z2007-06-10T20:49:36.309Z

You thought it was over, uh? :-)Well, somehow, in the middle of the fuss, I forgot to tell you about a book I was gifted from the Fair...La amante de Pilatos, (Pilatus's Lover, Die Geliebte des Pilatus) by Gisbert Haefs!I've been after this one for a good while, but I got tired of waiting for the pocket edition: it's time to do some weight pushups... :)I'll let you know, anyway, as there are many

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-68590485179409496782007-06-09T22:14:00.000Z2007-06-09T23:40:22.503Z

Well, it's almost gone, but I think it's over for me this year.I went there on Friday and again on Saturday.It's was a nice bounty (hehe):¡Devuélveme mis legiones! (Give Me My Legions Back), by Spanish writer José Manuel García Torres, about the Varus's Disaster; it looked interesting, I'll let you know.A nice 1958 pocket edition of Poema del Cid, (Poem of Cid) which is an ancient Spanish and

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-16124290496414434402007-06-06T07:00:00.000Z2007-06-06T07:40:13.967Z

Yup, I was there (again), just for a while, last Friday...I saw a couple of jewels, like a special edition by the Ministry of Culture of Alphonse X, the Wise's, Cantigas a Santa Maria, poetical work exaltating the Virgin Mary, written in Galician, with wonderful, color plates with partitures and text, accompanied by 2 CDs with the songs; it was really appealling!The second one is an anniversary

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-76155245403955445892007-05-30T08:54:00.000Z2007-05-30T12:14:52.053Z

Well, it's already here, the 2007 edition of the Book Fair of Madrid...It's fantastic, 344 book booths, from ministries and other official places editors, editorial booths and many, many bookstores... A huge offer and lots of authors signing in their books, round tables, etc... Really stimulating!I was there yesterday, but in the two hours I was, I barely managed to see (or should I say 'glance'

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-47163687599499475182007-05-20T19:38:00.000Z2007-05-20T17:39:57.451Z

Yep, that's mine... :-)Let's aim for a new year full of History and writing!For a starters I got a nice food, picnic-like bag to take my food to the workplace, really nice... :-DThen I gifted myself some books:Rubicon, by Tom Holland, about the End of the Roman Republic and the Beginning of the Empire, one of my favourite time periods...The Sword of Attila, by Michael Curtis Ford, which looked

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-6313437466549080692007-05-17T15:00:00.000Z2007-05-17T12:37:26.617Z

Today is a very special day, so please allow me to get a little bit patriotic and endure a bit of multilingualism with braveness and patience... If I get enough requests (or I have some free time) I'll provide an English translation, but the subject is the celebration of Galician culture and language, May 17th is our Day! Thanks!Hoxe é o Dia das Letras Galegas. Os galegos de todo o mundo

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-57881476946886638402007-05-15T19:50:00.000Z2007-05-16T15:46:09.978Z

Well, I warned you, and, finally, I did it!Today, bank holiday in Madrid (also a catholic festivity to St. Isidro, the town's saint), I went to the Old and Sale Book Fair in Madrid, last day!There were 46 shops in a beautiful, sunny avenue, a classical Paseo de Recoletos, with trees and, right when it starts, the spectacular statue to the Cybeles Goddess, one of my favourites!Some locals were

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-80961265497002964102007-05-07T19:00:00.000Z2007-05-07T14:28:38.872Z

Yup,I've been most of the weekend home-bound, with a stupid cold/cough that won't let me go, and feeling pretty miserable.It was a good time, thus, to rescue my favourite games and install them in my less-than-brand-new laptop and play in the sitting room, while cudling my cat and watching some movies.Thus, I rescued from oblivion Praetorians, Chariots of War, Gates of Troy, Centurio, and Rome:

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-89392979367045402682007-04-24T21:11:00.000Z2007-04-25T16:07:46.605Z

So, how was yours?Mine was a bit of a rush, but nice, overall: after Irish class, we walked down to the town center, where the main bookstores were open until midnight, and music concerts and bands were playing, among many other cultural acts related to books.We got some books and comic-books: Green Lantern Corps: Recharged (how can't you love a superheroes comic-book where you have all the

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-38513816839999035102007-04-17T19:42:00.000Z2007-04-17T20:27:12.103Z

Long time no see, yes, my fault.Life's got some kicking, I won't moan, though, but... :-PI've been re-reading my current WIP, Revolt!, to get the twist of it, and I must say I've really enjoyed my description of the battle of Lade! (even if it may be wrong that I say so myself, but what the...) I'll have to review it, of course, but it's got rythm, it's got intensity, the personal twist I learned

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-7953114041756899702007-03-21T09:00:00.000Z2007-03-22T09:22:04.556Z

I.e. 'what character doesn't give, Salamanca (i.e. culture or study) won't provide'.This is the motto of the town I've been at this last weekend, the old Salmantica (nowadays Salamanca), the oldest University in Spain (founded in 1218) and one of the oldest Universities around...It's a very nice motto in a really beautiful stone city. Character can't be learned, and attitudes come from our fabric

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-59816463624868499582007-03-02T09:00:00.000Z2007-03-02T09:44:34.934Z

No, I'm not reading C. Iulius Caesar's De bello gallico, but Rex Warner's Imperial Caesar.It's pretty interesting! Gaius Iulius has always been one of those historical personalities that irremediably attracts me and, at the same time, I absolutely repel. I am, after all, and despite my efforts to stay socioculturally and anthropologically neutral whe studying History, a product of my times.When I

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-60779403513534756442007-02-26T08:54:00.000Z2007-02-27T09:38:03.922Z

(what a stupid use of such a deep concept, but it's kinda standard, anyway...)So, what's been of me? Not much, sadly, lots of reading (wonderful reading) but not much writing... Gotta take the thing by the horns, as they say, but I'm too emotionally tired as of late to get my hands on the keyboard... I will probably skip an entire chapter on the novel and simply keep pushing, the missing parts

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-46923138816854167982007-01-25T22:30:00.000Z2007-01-25T23:10:50.893Z

Well, I promised to tell you what other books I got in Lisboa, and here I go:As naves de Calígula, by Maria Grazia Siliato, an italian writer who I've also seen published in Spanish, sporting the original book title, Caligula. It looks pretty interesting and, well, I guess I felt appealed...Os Guerrilheiros da Morte ("The Guerrilla of Death") by Manuel Pinheiro Chagas, a Portuguese writer,

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-16752667290313327402007-01-24T19:00:00.000Z2007-01-24T16:52:29.417Z

Where have I been?I have been in Lisbon! :-)And I loved it! I have declared myself lisboeta at heart.Really.I took a ton of pictures, including a lot of St. Jorge Castle, with its impressive views over the Tejo (in Latin, Tagus) river; Belem's Tower, which is really beautiful! (and we had a misty day, it was pretty magical watching the ships and the huge bridges slowly appear through the mist

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-73360222627736040582007-01-02T08:59:00.000Z2007-01-02T13:41:47.708Z

Happy New Year everybody!This I found on Gab's livejournal, and I thought: "hey, why not give it a try?"Thus, as this year first post, here you are, my magnificent score (ahem! :-) Daedalus 66% Extroversion, 66% Intuition, 27% Emotiveness, 71% Perceptiveness You are most like Daedalus. You are extremely clever and inventive, but your methods can be very unorthodox. When

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-74088552605399755862006-12-31T19:13:00.000Z2006-12-31T19:21:39.739Z

Dear all,I wish you all the best for the year MMVII!Let us work harder to recreate lost worlds and to help this one to be found, and make it so Humanity is, then, and now, our priority (though the rest of living beings will certainly appreciate some efforts, right?)Blessed be all in 2007! KALLISTI!

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-82575198134596336172006-12-18T13:07:00.000Z2006-12-18T12:07:51.972Z

While I keep on writing Revolt! I am doing two Historical Fiction projects in parallel:(re)searching for information about aboriginal African culturesreading La Ŝtona UrboThe first one comes from my desire to project current Africa abhominable situation in all economical, medical and cultural fronts, I'm absolutely horrified and I wish to make my bit from my poor, dried ingenuity to help raise

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-12814373175953419362006-12-01T19:57:00.000Z2006-12-01T20:05:06.470Z

I did it :-)It was really hard, work kicked in really hard the last 2 weeks, and I am literally exhausted.But I did it.:-)Revolt! has finished Part Two (the Antithesis) and it's right in the start of Part Three (Synthesis). The last (long, over 11,000 words!) chapter of Part Two, with the clymax of the Battle of Lade was particularly cool to write, I tried to follow my own advice and instinct

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-67872324482870943052006-11-27T20:50:00.000Z2006-11-27T21:09:02.692Z

I'm still here, yepBeen working around the clock all the weekend and I'm some thousand words behind my wordcount. I'll try to recover, if my headaches allow my writing...So far, I'm writing the Yaunâ track again (2 of 3) where Aristagoras runs away, Histiaeus arrives to bribe the Persians into a 'civil war', so to say, and the remaining Yaunâ cities join forces to stop the Persian advance on

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-35525524284056257832006-11-17T10:07:00.000Z2006-11-17T11:48:05.703Z

I'm a bit behind on the wordcout, I mean, yesterday I was okay, today I'll have to write my share, but I'm happily going pretty fine, although I'd like to have a little bit more of a wordcount buffer to spare, but anyway...At 27 Kwords, I'm about to write the Battle of Ephessus, where the Persians manage to deal a defeat to the Yaunâ that attacked Sardes (Athenian, Eretrian and Ionian hoplites).

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-1162820952043959232006-11-06T09:00:00.000Z2006-11-10T22:44:57.323Z

After the serious discussion I had with my characters (in Spanish, in my livejournal, and yes, Gab, that's what all that was about :-) the novel is going on nicely and at a good pace.I'd have loved to add some more words during this weekend, but time is a luxury one rarely can enjoy... Oh, well, anyway...I have added to the sidebar a Nano counter, which I try to update daily with my progress, it

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-1162313548478684912006-10-31T22:00:00.000Z2006-11-10T22:44:57.188Z

Nanowrimo is about to start, yes.What? You ask if I am nervous?Nah.Why would I?I mean, do I look nervous?I thought so.Because . . . Well, just because my main character (MC) doesn't yet have a name? Because his younger brother, which is the initiator (narrator character that starts and ends the whole thing) doesn't yet have a name, either? Because their father doesn't yet have a name? Because the

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-1161853150079400552006-10-26T09:00:00.000Z2006-11-10T22:44:57.115Z

Herodotus was a great narrator. Reading his books is really entertaining, and he manages to simply estate things and give quite a good deal information without it becoming a burden. He has some agenda, but I find him more trustworthy than Ktesias, for example!What I have gathered from him and other sources, for the time being, is that, as Pierre suggested--and until I can read Briant's book to

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-1161529372074109192006-10-23T09:00:00.000Z2006-11-10T22:44:57.033Z

First things first: thanks a lot, Kris! Really!Now let's get down to bussiness: Some months ago, Kristopher Reisz gave us the good news, he had found an editor for his novel, Tripping to Somewhere!About a month ago, Kris started an experiment: he would hand free copies of his book to some readers, provided they posted a revision of the book on their blogs. I offered myself for such an experiment,

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-1160120674095149102006-10-06T07:30:00.000Z2006-11-10T22:44:56.946Z

From Artaphrenes, to Dârayavahu, Great King, King of Kings, King of Many Lands and their People, Blessed of Ahura Mazda, Atar's Sacred Arm, Protector of the Earth and Water,Dear brother, may the Lord bless you and our family for many years.I write you to let you know of matters of utmost importance.The Yaunâ cities are in revolt. After sending along men and ships to help the Yaunâ Aristagoras, of

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-1159796551200867062006-10-02T13:30:00.000Z2006-11-10T22:44:54.856Z

Iskander...What had Alexander the Great (or Magnus, as it has derived in Romance languages from Latin; known as Iskander to the Persians) that still mesmerizes us, in the XXI Century?Iskander...What could a youngster Makedonian king, son of a Warrior king, of the IV BCE Century, 24 and a half centuries ago!, have made that we wouldn't be able to do today? And faster, and better, and more reliable

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-1159353429925059122006-09-27T13:30:00.000Z2006-11-10T22:44:54.782Z

I haven't written a lot as of late, as I'm embarked in some overdue reading, and novels and research are sucking up quite a lot of time. I'm advancing on the Battle of Memphis, however, and I hope to post some good news about it not too far from now.In the meantime, I have finished David Anthony Durham's Hannibal. Pride of Carthage, which I got following a positive review written by Scott Oden in

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-1158271325564733652006-09-14T21:28:00.000Z2006-11-10T22:44:54.708Z

I have finished reading Scott Oden's Memnon, and it was about time!The veredict? It's very good. Scott has a way of conveying the meaning and feeling of a scene that fills all your senses, you can imagine the whole, re-create it in your mind in full color, sound, smell, and timing.He's also pretty good at feeling the characters, they look really credible and consistent, you can walk along them

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-1156276728820549882006-08-22T19:58:00.000Z2006-11-10T22:44:54.639Z

I'm on holidays!Be back in September! I've passed through the 100,000 words boundary! (Over 400 ms pages!)And I'm reading Scott Oden's Memnon! Whoo! I love holidays, don't you? :-)Laters (I may have intermittent Internet access, like right now...)!KALLISTI!

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-1155811694999791892006-08-17T21:12:00.000Z2006-11-10T22:44:54.570Z

I have travelled to the web site of Ursula K. Le Guin. For those who doesn't know, she is a writer. A wonderful writer. She was the one that introduced me into Science Fiction, with her The Left Hand of Darkness and later with her The Dispossessed. Those are wonderful books, indeed. She also wrote Fantasy, the Earthsea saga. And lots of other wonderful stories (one that comes to mind is The

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-1155143299992071582006-08-09T20:46:00.000Z2006-11-10T22:44:54.441Z

Update: $ perl Meta/wc.pl Inaros_more_20060809.txt 2>/dev/nullW: 97925 (MP: 391.7, PP: 195.85), %: 81.6041666666667gilgamesh@uruk:~/personal/Inaros/2006$Almost at the 100,000 words boundary... :-)And, yes, how do you, as a general, manage to lure your enemy into battle? Because the enemy wants not to go, he's not, after all, silly, uh? ;-)OK, this is the dilemma that Megabyzos is facing at the

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-1154362755951894372006-07-31T21:30:00.000Z2006-11-10T22:44:54.344Z

Nod.Almost 4,000 more words to add to the counter, I'll let you know when I upload them, but the grand totale is approaching the 100,000! (around 95,000).As this is a happy-happy joy-joy moment, I'll post the promised, fine-grained battle-plan of the Battle of Memphis, as I originally (re-)created it a little over one month ago, when I was celebrating Litha in Alicante.Ladies and gentlemen, the

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-1153327007712795082006-07-19T16:32:00.000Z2006-11-10T22:44:54.277Z

This is a funny web comic about the writing bussiness and stuff... I also love chocolate too! :-) Will Write For Chocolate Enjoy and wait for some update in the following days, although I've been reading and thinking more than writing as of late... KALLISTEE

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-1152607059379385322006-07-11T20:33:00.000Z2006-11-10T22:44:54.201Z

Interesting blog entry about a subject I wrote yesterday (BTW, that blog hasn't been updated in a year, which is a pity): Weblog - A Don's Life - Times Online: Does Latin "train the brain"? ΚΑΛΛΙΣΤΗ ΚΑΙ BELLISSIMAE

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-1152560838259093612006-07-10T22:16:00.000Z2006-11-10T22:44:54.118Z

Writing tools? Mmm...The blosphere has made lots of bells and whistles about a Mac application, WriteRoom... It's a full screen application and a simple text editor, to write without distractions.The boardbox/laptop equivalent of the AlphaSmarts, only simpler. Other offers have quickly sprouted here and there. Dark Room is a .NET equivalent for the Windows OS (I don't think it may run on the Mono

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-1152525534301698992006-07-10T21:54:00.000Z2006-11-10T22:44:54.053Z

Salue, I felt a little bit fluffy, a LJ friend arrived in full, Latin force, and I thought: why not? This looks like a pretty interesting blog, I've added it to my links bar as well. BlogLatinNo more news related to the novels, except that I have managed to get a Spanish, recent edition of Xenophon's Kyropaedia and that I got a really cheap, pocket-but-hard-cover edition of Valerio Massimo

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-1151579112668248162006-06-29T22:00:00.000Z2006-11-10T22:44:53.981Z

Scott Oden, fantastic Historical Fiction writer, has posted on his blog his process of writing a scene. Go over there and read, it's fascinating!Replying, I started exposing mine, and thought it was worth an entry of their own, even when I have already written about this, let's go into a little bit more detail!My writing process, once a story bites me and doesn't let me go, is the following:First

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-1151418658170285552006-06-27T14:21:00.000Z2006-11-10T22:44:53.880Z

Yup! Apparently of some 2,500 years of age, they are believed to be from the XXVI Dinasty! That's Inaros's daddy's Dinasty! :-)http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=scienceNews&storyID=2006-06-25T162857Z_01_L25651705_RTRUKOC_0_US-EGYPT-SARCOPHAGI.xml&archived=False">Reuters reports that one of the sarcophagus bears the name Neb Ra Khatow, while the other one was inside the first one

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-1151318649941035862006-06-26T22:14:00.000Z2006-11-10T22:44:53.767Z

After considering lots of interesting possibilities, and weighting the different combinations, this is, probably, what's going to go into the book. More or less, anyway... Hehehe... :-)I'll show you the Real Thing, but in the mean time, I can't wait to show you the battle of Memphis!That's right, to show you! I have recreated the Battle of Memphis! Nod...Now, this is a low scale, poor resolution

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-1150463626790181222006-06-16T18:32:00.000Z2006-11-10T22:44:53.680Z

Ahem!OK, the crisis is over, sort of. My long time reader and collaborator, Pierre (pacal), has shaken a bit my foundations and self-pityness, and he was about right, anyway.So, I'm back into The Libyan. I'll update the sidebar of this new layout to contemplate this one of these days.Where were we? We were in Memphis (Libyan rebellion army and Delian League, Greek navy) and in Pelusion (Persian

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-1150128311736159972006-06-12T23:02:00.000Z2006-11-10T22:44:53.610Z

Alright, maybe as a result of the small crisis, or jealousy of Scott's new image, I have decided to revamp a bit this blog... a bit ahead of time for the incoming Summer Solstice, but anyway...I am using a new template file, but I'll probably make up a new one one of these days, though maybe not.

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-1150123447203354742006-06-12T21:19:00.000Z2006-11-10T22:44:53.540Z

Yes, reconsidering...What? My current WiPs, specially The Goth.Why? Because I am starting to see I can't enjoy writing down a certain detail level I --at least at the moment-- have to deal with writing novels for such lengthy periods of time. I tend to become wandering and disillusioned. I enjoy reading those kind of novels, but I'm no Gisbert Haefs of Gore Vidal to write them, and I can't seem

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-1149250228275041752006-06-02T22:07:00.000Z2006-11-10T22:44:53.479Z

A little update in The Goth:$ perl ../Meta/wc.pl alarico_2006062.txt 120000 2>/dev/nullW: 12937 (MP: 51.748, PP: 25.874), %: 10.7808333333333This is small step ahead, but I think I have broken a certain barrier, conceptually speaking. We'll see how things move along after my exam next Monday.Great weekend to everybody in the meantime.ΚΑΛΛΙΣΤΗPS- Edited to correct some typos.

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-1149097861078522842006-05-31T15:02:00.000Z2006-11-10T22:44:53.415Z

Recent comments by my dear readers have made me decide to post my view on characters and Historical Novels.From a H.N. POV there are two types of characters: historical and non-historical, or fictional ones. Both of them, though, must be realistic and believable characters, this is, not overtly fantastic (like, say, a Dragon, or a honest lawyer... ahem! :-)Historical characters are the ones

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-1148485924024275652006-05-24T15:11:00.000Z2006-11-10T22:44:53.348Z

And now it's my turn... As many others have done (in Gabrielle's blog you have the grand totale so far, at Historical Persons Me Too's, I hate this use of the concept of 'meme', it's so limited...) I have found the courage to do this.This is -- so far -- the Alaric of my novel, The Goth, as faithfully credited by his confessor and biographer of sorts, presbyter Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus:I am:

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-1148377346960688932006-05-23T20:27:00.000Z2006-11-10T22:44:53.281Z

Yes, gentle reader... This weekend, yours truly had a wondrous birthday spent in celebration in the town of Ávila, in Castilia, Spain.The town features a wonderful, intact, medieval wall and lots of churches! From the Vettonic town Obula, it became the Roman Abula (or Abela)... Among many other attractives, in Ávila was born the (in)famous queen Isabel I of Castilia, the supporter of Christopher

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-1147424392445030402006-05-12T20:19:00.000Z2006-11-10T22:44:53.212Z

Ah, the joys of research!Do you know why the famous character, slayer of Troy, maximum deceiver, and greatest traveller of all times, inmortalized by Homer in his Odysseia is called Ulysses?Well, it's a story worth knowing, trust me. The Greek name is Odysseus, son of Laertes, which in Greek is written Ὀδυσσεὺς Λαερτιάδης. The funny thing is that Homer didn't write in this elaborate, cool Greek

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-1146874090026325672006-05-06T00:04:00.000Z2006-11-10T22:44:53.147Z

Things keep moving in the novel, and while I get more info to write from Valentis point of view, I have just introduced a new character in The Goth.Please, meet my, for the time being, new Roman POV character, Paulus Cornelius Ruber Theodoricus.He's a tough and mean (OK, it's actually an overall good guy, but he's Roman, and this is a novel about Alaric and his People) military praepositus in the

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-1146873783826178602006-05-05T22:50:00.000Z2006-11-10T22:44:53.056Z

Gabrielle has just published in his blog, Lost Fort, an interesting post about Roman and Celtic names in the Antiquity.My contribution was to offer a couple of examples to add to hers, and one of the examples was my Roman name.Romanly speaking, I'm called Publius Lilius Frugius Simius Excalibor f. Iosephi n. Johannis tribei Palatinae and I'm going to explain why.(yes, I'm of noble origins ;)

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-1146753641794184812006-05-04T13:48:00.000Z2006-11-10T22:44:52.966Z

$ perl ../Meta/wc.pl alarico_latin1.txt 120000 2>/dev/nullW: 9347 of 120000 (MP: 37.388, PP: 18.694), %: 7.78916666666667That's it, an update... :-)I have calculated, however, that if 9,300 words are, roughly, the first 1/3 of the first chapter, I will need about 200,000 words to tell this story! Whoah!I'll be optimistic, though, and keep the 120,000 words goal for the time being.Right into the

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-1146597720897773792006-05-02T19:08:00.000Z2006-11-10T22:44:52.883Z

Against stupidity the very gods themselves contend in vain. Friedrich Schiller (1759–1805)It's the only thing I can say about this news (which, of course, I haven't seen in the Spanish news, anyway).Spain destroys lost Roman city for a car park, by Jon Clarke in Malaga, (TimesOnLine).Go read it and cry. I'm stupefied by yet another display of Spanish dead-brainness... It doesn't matter if it's

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-1146223873983157312006-04-28T11:20:00.000Z2006-11-10T22:44:52.766Z

Gone are those cynical, intelligent dialogs.Yep! I finished the book of Lucian of Samosata containing many of his Dialogues.Fantastic, truly fantastic, like anything else I have read from him. People should read him nowadays, indeed.I am also finishing Julian, by Gore Vidal. Pretty cool. After it, will I read Stephen Pressfield's Alexander? Gisbert Haefs's Alexander? Or will they spoil the joy of

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-1145822420822379402006-04-23T19:35:00.000Z2006-11-10T22:44:51.840Z

April 23th... Cervantes, Shakespeare...OK, I didn't get any book by those monsters. But I got:A couple of little books for documentation: "Late Paganism and Julian the Apostate", and "The Times of the Valentinians and Theodosius", by Spanish scholars, published by Akal, they are thin, but a great introduction and quick look-up guides to have around when writing.... Pretty handy. :-)Lucian of

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-1145621564266799452006-04-21T20:00:00.000Z2006-11-10T22:44:51.767Z

Ah, the joys of naivety...Yesterday I wrote about walking to Antiochia, for our noble Embassadors.Today, I have made some calculations if they took a ship at Constantinopolis. Silly me.There are about 870 nautical miles (about 1000 miles) from Constantinopolis to the harbor of Antiochia, the town of Seleucia Pieria. A fast merchant ship, could maintain a sustained speed of 4 or 5 knots, and with

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-1145549539629389992006-04-20T14:03:00.000Z2006-11-10T22:44:51.697Z

As I write this lines, probably millions of eyes are carefully watching the waltzing river, afraid of its waterline and the floods that are trashing Romania, Moldavia, Bulgaria and other countries in the Danube water basin.Almost the same difficulties would have found the Vesi tribes (Tervingi Goths and others) had they tried to cross it near the delta. Therefore they headed accross the Pyretus (

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-1145376068515379442006-04-18T21:31:00.000Z2006-11-10T22:44:51.628Z

I was at Alicante last week, during the Christian holidays, and took up the chance to visit my family and do some tourism as well.I had, however, a nasty cold, which I still have, and despite the sunny weather, it was cold and windy to my (sick) taste. So, when I went to the beach, I basically sat myself where there wasn't too much Sun or Wind...I took the chance, however, to go visitng Lucentum,

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-1145280566768740322006-04-17T13:20:00.000Z2006-11-10T22:44:51.560Z

OK, I posted my last entry in the Allies & Enemies of Rome forum at R.A.T. (Goths: Moving Whole Populations) and I got a handful of very useful comments and insights.This is a modified form of my final post over there, and the basis of my next calculations, etc... More comments or help will be welcome!Kallisti!Yes, I guessed the Huns would just be the warriors and maybe their slaves. If the Alans

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-1144701211927627372006-04-10T19:48:00.000Z2006-11-10T22:44:51.461Z

It really is astonishing, but, sometimes, you must do the Math just to start believing it...Tervingi. About 100,000 children, women and men, plus mules, oxen, etc. led by chiefs/kings Alavivus and Fritigern.They walked to the Danube, then they walked to Marcianopolis before starting to walk around Dacia and Tracia for a while. A Roman road allowed a two oxen cart to move comfortably (depending on

Excaliborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03198846967026271989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13989355.post-1144149091104261922006-04-04T09:05:00.000Z2006-11-10T22:44:51.394Z

I've been reading a lot as of late (so much that I haven't yet started to write for my April Fool's Challenge!) and I got thinking... What's in a name?Alareiks is ala(kjo) reiks, all's king (in modern English, well, kind of), which is the name of my starring, and which, as names go, looks suspiciously a title as well.I mean, when he was acclaimed and raised on the shield by the chief warriors of

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