The Word

I am a writer, artist, gamer, and science and technology enthusiast. This blog is all about my passions. I want to share the beauty in these things, the artistry in the environment with the whole world. This blog is for writers first, artists second, gamers third, and everyone else in the process, because we should all have a love affair with science. :D And yes, just in case you're wondering, you're going to see SHIT LOADS of sci-fi stuff on here. Just sayin'. Also. Animals. Who doesn't love adorable animal stuff? If you don't... you've got a problem. Seriously.

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Did you know?

Sakoku was a foreign relations policy in Japan enacted by Tokugawa Iemitsu, the third of the Tokugawa shoguns. Under the terms of this policy, no foreigner could enter Japan and no Japanese could leave under penalty of death. Allowances were made for the sake of trade, though usually only with the direct involvement of the Bakufu (the shogun's house and, by extension, government.) However, individuals were not allowed to enter or leave Japan for any other reason or under any other circumstance.

Instituted in 1633 initially, Sakoku stayed in effect until 1853 when Commodore Perry arrived in Edo (what is now Tokyo) harbor with his so-called 'Black Ships', a squadron of four battleships (Mississippi, Plymouth, Saratoga, Susquehanna) from the United States. This marked the effective end of the non-entry edicts within Sakoku, though it wasn't until the end of the Bakumatsu (Japanese Revolution // 1853-1867) when the Meiji Restoration returned power to the Emperor that the ban on Japanese travel out of the country was lifted. This marked the final demise of Sakoku.

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Did you know?

Both Leonardo Da Vinci and Andrea di Cione, Leonardo's mentor who was also known by the name Verrocchio, worked on the famous painting, The Baptism of Christ. Lore maintains that when Verrocchio saw Leonardo's young angel within the painting, he never painted again, recognizing that Leonardo's work had far outstripped his own.

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Greyhead Monster Concept by Roman Guro

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On January 23rd, 1556, the most devastating earthquake in recorded history hit Shaanxi and Kansu, China. Few methods of magnitude measurement were in operation in the region at the time, but it has since been estimated to have been a 9.0 on the Richter Scale. The quake claimed the lives of in excess of 850,000 people. Following this, the next three most deadly quakes are thought to be Tangshan, China (1976 // 400,000 dead), Kangra, India (1905 // 370,000 dead), and Haiti (2010 // 320,000 dead).

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"Ho Hey" by The Lumineers

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While possible, time travel would be extremely impractical without the additional invention of teleportation or the use of a vessel capable of rapid interstellar travel. The reason for this is that most time travel theories account for a flux in time but not space. Because Earth, the solar system, and the galaxy are all constantly moving, traveling through time without knowing precisely where the Earth will be at the temporal destination is likely to land you in the dead of space millions of miles from home. The DeLorean from Back to the Future is a perfect example of a time travel device which would be ineffective for that reason.

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The popular form of pornography known as Hentai draws its name from two Japanese terms -- 変 (hen; "change", "weird", or "strange") and 態 (tai; "attitude" or "appearance") and can be literally translated to take on a meaning roughly analogous to the English word Perversion. In fact, the term Hentai is a shortened mode of the phrase: Hentai seiyoku, which, translated, means Sexual perversion. It ranks as the most extensive form of pornography world-wide, encompassing and depicting more fetishes than any other form. It has also been jokingly referenced in the show Supernatural, in which the character, Dean Winchester, makes occasional mention of his appreciation for the stuff. In one episode, he even finds a World War II era erotic magazine from Japan.

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Did you know?

Stan Lee, the famous comic book writer, got his start writing obituaries. 

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With the closure of LucasArts, Star Wars: 1313 has been put on hold indefinitely and another game, Star Wars: First Assault, which had been a secret until the closure, has been cancelled altogether. No word yet on whether anyone else is going to pick the game up, but since changing hands mid-development is NEVER a good thing (SEE: Duke Nukem & Aliens: Colonial Marines), there isn't much real hope left. So one last look at a game that had a smidgen of potential...