Mallie and the Trow - Scotland's Stories In the Shetland Isles the trows are strange and magical creatures. They’re capable of great kindness and also great mischief. Mallie, a young mother, had four wee bairns to feed and a husband lost at sea. She had reached rock bottom and needed help but no-one would help her. Then, as the night drew in, there was a knock at the door. It was a little man dressed in grey with a little grey hat on top of his head. What do you do when a weird small trow appears on your doorstep in the middle of the night? Would you invite him in and share what little you have? Or would you slam the door shut and hide under your bed? Thanks to Mallie’s kind heart and good nature her fortunes were about to change. Click on the image to view a larger version. Ruse of War: 6 Sneaky But Brilliant Strategies War can be tricky—especially when done correctly. It's called Ruse of War, the act of clever tactic or deception on the battlefield. Think Trojan Horse, but less ridiculous. (“After a 10-year siege, the Greeks have given up and disappeared and look—they felt so bad they totally left us a present!”) Here are six commanders who were dealt bad hands, but bluffed and ended up flush. 1. Around 500 years BC, Darius the Great was sweeping through Asia and Africa, conquering everything. One morning the Babylonians rose to see the high ranking Persian at their gates, soaked in his own blood, whipped, with his ears and nose hacked off. And … they totally bought it. 2. In the 3rd century, China was a mess. He opened all the gates of his city. 3. Militia men of the American Revolution weren’t trained soldiers. Morgan’s regiments weren’t made up only of hapless militia men. 5. Philip II of Macedon had conquered enough ground by 338 BC to establish the state of Macedonia. 6.
Irish Fairy Tales: Mongan's Frenzy Sacred Texts Sagas and Legends Celtic Index Previous The abbot of the Monastery of Moville sent word to the story-tellers of Ireland that when they were in his neighbourhood they should call at the monastery, for he wished to collect and write down the stories which were in danger of being forgotten. "These things also must he told," said he. In particular he wished to gather tales which told of the deeds that had been done before the Gospel came to Ireland. "For," said he, "there are very good tales among those ones, and it would be a pity if the people who come after us should be ignorant of what happened long ago, and of the deeds of their fathers." So, whenever a story-teller chanced in that neighbourhood he was directed to the monastery, and there he received a welcome and his fill of all that is good for man. The abbot's manuscript boxes began to fill up, and he used to regard that growing store with pride and joy. The abbot's eyes glistened when he heard that. Said Cairide': "Amen!"
Manuscript Format for Novels by Glen C. Strathy The manuscript format used in publishing has evolved a little over time as technology has changed, and if you grew up with word processors, it may seem rather quaint, old-fashioned, and downright boring to look at. However, if you are submitting your book to agents and/or publishers, it is best to forget about all that and follow the correct manuscript format for publishing that was developed back in the days before word processors existed and professional writers used typewriters. There are several reasons why this format became standard. 1. Think about this. 2. Despite the fact that everyone uses computers, many editors still like to look at a hard copy and make editing marks in pencil between lines and in margins. 3. I know, word processors today can count the words in a manuscript with one simple click. If you use a non-standard manuscript format with different spacing. font size, or margins, you will create an extra headache for the editor you're trying to impress.
Good Structures for Balsa Wood Towers Balsa wood is only the third lightest wood in the world, but it is strong. Engineering students build balsa wood towers (or bass wood towers) to learn how to build strong structures. It is an excellent exercise, and students learn a lot doing it. Four-Legged Towers Balsa wood towers with four legs are easier to build, but they are not usually as structurally sound as their three-legged counterparts. Three-Legged Towers Three-legged towers are harder to build because the angles are more difficult, but they tend to be stronger towers. Wood Grain The wood grain dictates the flexibility and rigidness of the wood as much as the density of the wood. The Design First draw the design on paper before you begin building a tower. More slideshows Childrens Book Illustrators Agent | Book Illustrators | Beehive Illustration
Ani - Ghost City of 1001 Churches Ani – some call it the City of 1001 Churches, others the City of Forty Gates. Yet no one has called it home for more than three centuries. Abandoned by its once prosperous and powerful inhabitants, it is situated on the Turkish side of a militarised zone between the border of Turkey and Armenia. The city of Ani is no stranger to death, destruction and desertion. It is a ghost city today but once its Armenian inhabitants numbered close to 200 thousand. The city is the victim of a colossal and centuries old struggle for power between various factions in the region. Almost each time a faction rose to power the city was ransacked almost to the point of obliteration. The city was originally Armenian and the territory on which it stands is still disputed between modern day Turkey and Armenia. The name of the city seems to have come from Ani-Kamakh, an Armenian fortress but was also known as Khnamk though historians do not really know why. The blockade lasted three weeks. You may also like:
5 myths about Christopher Columbus Today is Columbus Day, time to buy appliances on sale and contemplate other things that have nothing to do with Christopher Columbus. So much of what we say about Columbus is either wholly untrue or greatly exaggerated. Here are a few of the top offenders. 1. Columbus set out to prove the world was round. If he did, he was about 2,000 years too late. Columbus, a self-taught man, greatly underestimated the Earth's circumference. The Columbus flat-earth myth perhaps originated with Washington Irving's 1828 biography of Columbus; there's no mention of this before that point. 2. Yes, let's ignore the fact that millions of humans already inhabited this land later to be called the Americas, having discovered it millennia before. What Columbus "discovered" was the Bahamas archipelago and then the island later named Hispaniola, now split into Haiti and the Dominican Republic. 3. This is hotly debated. 4. Columbus wasn't a rich man when he died in Spain at age 54 in 1506. 5.
mental_floss Blog & 8 Secessionist Movements in American History We all know about the Confederate states leaving the Union. But that was far from the only secessionist movement in American history. Here are some rebellious regions you won't find in too many history books. 1. Beaver Island, a small island in Lake Michigan, became the home of Mormon leader James Strang and his followers—called Strangites—in 1848. 2. Concern over a perceived lack of interest from the Michigan state government, the people of the Upper Peninsula (U.P.), affectionately known as "Yoopers," have been trying to secede and form the State of Superior since as far back as 1897. 3. Rough and Ready, California, was a mining town founded in 1849 by the Rough and Ready Company of Wisconsin. But just three months later, as the Fourth of July approached, The Great Republic of Rough and Ready wanted to have a celebration (which seems odd considering they were no longer, technically, Americans). 4. In the early-1980s, the U.S. 5. 6. 7. 8. See also...
6 Insane Coincidences You Wont Believe Actually Happened America's Freak Luck During the Battle of Midway The Battle of Midway may be remembered as one of the most spectacular naval battles in history and one of the huge turning points in the Pacific theater, but it started out as a pure clusterfuck for the Americans. Despite going into battle with most of Japan's game plan in their pocket thanks to American codebreakers/Bothan spies, the U.S. Navy had little to show for it in the early hours of June 4, 1942. Where it Gets Weird: There was one squadron of American dive bombers lead by Lieutenant Commander C. His squadron started dropping like flies until, in an act of sheer luck that would make even J.K. Where it Gets Even Weirder: While finding the ships at all was luck, by some kind of ridiculous freak luck McClusky's squadron arrived at the precise moment when all three Japanese carriers were reloading and rearming their aircraft. It'd be like this happening four times, and all in one battle. ...when he wasn't busy being a pimp.