An agent told me that "I'm on the right track." 

Wow, this is the first thumbs up I've ever gotten. 

"Real" Fantasy Creatures

In most of my stories, the magical creatures are based off of mythology from around the world. But there's a place where all of the creatures are things I made up myself. I suppose it probably goes back to elementary school, when we tried to make our own Pokémon? 

It's fun to do. I enjoy figuring out ideas for bodies, heads, frills, colors, and everything else. I'm really proud of some of the designs! 

However my uses for these creatures are less flexible. What I really should be doing is figuring out designs for "real" mythical creatures. Like the creepy demon deer in one of my short stories.  So I think I'll take a break from my own original designs, and work on more official designs. I already have a sketch for the creepy deer! Next I need to do Thunderbird, and Yeti, and many, many others... 

 

Stick a Song on it

I've been finding some more songs that are good echoes of movies. I wish I could make music videos of them all. But I think those can be at risk of getting taken down? And it's not something I really have experience with @_@ 

But maybe some day! For now I'll just have fun with them here. 

 

This one is perfect for Big Fish and Begonia. It's just called, "Dolphin." 

Drifting alone
Where am I to go
The purpose in me
Sadly I don't know

Who'll take my hand
I'm sailing in the sand
Nothing to enjoy
Feeling quite destroyed

But I know a magic dolphin
Swimming above the world
And in my dreams it promised me
That someday I'll find my girl

No one to love
No one to lose
All by myself
This is what I choose

Lovers everywhere
Why should I even care
Will I ever change
That would sure be strange

I found three songs that are good for Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts. In fact, I made blog posts about two of them already. 

Shiny-Scarlemagne

Flamingo

Then you have the "Giant Woman" song, which works for Dr. Emilia:

You might even like being together

And if you don't, it won't be forever

But if it were me, I'd really wanna be a giant woman, a giant woman

All I wanna do is see you turn into a giant woman

And then take a song from Kipo: What we Have is You. And take the same actor that does the dad's voice. He has a role in Frozen 2. And that same song fits his character of Mattias pretty well too! He also doesn't have sunshine or weather... (though it doesn't seem like the people in that forest ever ended up getting along until the spell was broken). 

We may not have sunshine or starlight or weather

But we've got each other and that's even better

You don't need the sun to keep you warm when you've got arms

Wishes come from you and not a random shooting star

We may not have storm clouds but the sky's always blue

We've got something special here and what we have is you

One of the first songs I linked to a movie/book was Lemon Tree. For some reason it really felt like a song that  fit Kvothe, from The Name of the Wind. 

One day beneath the lemon tree, my love and I did lie

A girl so sweet that when she smiled the stars rose in the sky

We passed that summer lost in love beneath the lemon tree

The music of her laughter hid my father's words from me

Lemon tree very pretty and the lemon flower is sweet

But the fruit of the poor lemon is impossible to eat

Lemon tree very pretty and the lemon flower is sweet

But the fruit of the poor lemon is impossible to eat.

One day she left without a word, she took away the sun

And in the dark she left behind I knew what she had done

She'd left me for another, it's a common tale but true

A sadder man but wiser now I sing these words to you

When I first saw Steven Universe, part of the opening song sounded like a bit from "Space Oddity." And the episode "Bubbled" even fit the feel of the song. I'm not the only one who thought this. I've seen a couple videos on Youtube that mesh the two. 

And I'm floating in a most peculiar way

And the stars look very different today

For here

Am I sitting in a tin can

Far above the world

Planet Earth is blue

And there's nothing I can do

Though I'm past one hundred thousand miles

I'm feeling very still

There's an old version of Dr. Dolittle. There's some... questionable things about it, but I've liked the movie since I was little. I mean, a guy who talked to animals. How could I not like it? Plus there are some good songs. I eventually fished out the soundtrack. And when I heard "My Friend the Doctor," I thought it was perfect for "Doctor Who." 

My friend the Doctor says

That every time it starts to rain

And people run indoors again in swarms

If you remain

Out in the rain

You'll think you're drinking pink champagne

And you'll spend your life

Praying for thunderstorms

Maybe what the Doctor tells me

Isn't altogether true

But I love every tale he tells me

And I don't know any better ones

Do you?

My friend the Doctor says

The world is full of fantasy

And who are you or I to disagree?

Let's hope and pray

That that's the way

The life we love will always stay

For my friend the Doctor and me

Okay, okay. I have to say it. Kermit the Frog sings "It's Not Easy Being Green" when he's feeling down. Elphaba, am I right? 

It's not that easy bein' green

Having to spend each day

The color of the leaves

When I think it could be nicer

Bein' red or yellow or gold

Or something much more colorful like that

It's not easy bein' green

It seems you blend in

With so many other ordinary things

And people tend to pass you over

'Cause you're not standing out

Like flashy sparkles in the water

Or stars in the sky

But green's the color of spring

And green can be cool and friendlylike

And green can be big like an ocean

Or important like a mountain

Or tall like a tree

When green is all there is to be

It could make you wonder why

But, why wonder? Why wonder?

I'm green and it'll do fine

It's beautiful, and I think it's what I want to be

Then the commercial for the Logan movie came with a song called "Hurt." The movie was too bloody and depressing for me. But that song really nailed Wolverine's emotions during it. 

And there are a couple music videos someone made on Youtube. They're for characters from Ouran High School Host Club. Tamaki's video is "I Just Can't Wait to be King." And Kyouka's is "Be Prepared." They're great! 

Blogspot is a Menace

I just spent the better part of an hour on a blog post about the making of Star Wars. Only for the blog to completely wipe out every word of text. Not the post itself - just the text on the post. And I'd taken so many notes on it while watching all of the bonus features... 

I know I can't remember everything. Especially the details. And I was almost done with it! I just had one read-through before I finally posted the thing... 

This is the second time this damn blog has wiped out all my work on a post with notes that I can't get back. 

I don't even know if I want to start over. 

Dublin

It's time for another very belated travelogue! This time from my Europe trip.  Part one is Ireland!

 

November 7-November 8 2023

As I boarded my plane, it turned out that my tiny suitcase was too fat for the overhead compartments so I had to check it in. One of the staff said “It will be sent all the way on to Dubai.”

“Dubai?” I exclaimed. “I’m going to Dublin!”

He quickly corrected himself as the other guy laughed.

Once in my seat, I surfed through the movie selection and picked out Elemental. It was my first time seeing it, and I have steadily fallen in love with that movie. I'm mad that my first view of it was on a tiny airplane screen. I hope it returns to theaters at some point. 

In Toronto, I settled down to wait out my 4 hour layover. 

This time there’s a different phone issue. I switched providers after Peru because AT&T has abysmal customer service. But when I contacted Verizon about their international plan. I discovered a new problem. They said it would be $100 per month for an international plan. On top of what I’d already paid for the month. But when I went to sign up for it, the bill was $170. Where did that additional 70$ come from? I was pissed that it was almost twice what they told me. Plus I’d need to pay for 2 months, because I’ll be gone slightly over a month. My longest time away from home yet. So I didn’t pay their fee. They said that if I use my phone while I'm out of the country, it will automatically give me service for $10 a day. I was still skeptical that it would actually work as they said, since they already lied to me about the price. But I left my cell data turned off until needed. 

When I quit work to escape the endless bullying, I tried to find people to travel with while I had free time, and a bit of money. My cousin invited me over, so I rolled with that. Their neighbors take care of rescued wildlife, so I planned to help there.

And thus began a whirlwind preparation for a trip to Europe. Where did I want to go most in Europe? Ireland, definitely. London and Paris would be great too. And Switzerland is right between France and Italy, so that would be a convenient stop – plus I’ve always wanted to see the Alps. As I thought of timing, I realized that I’d better hit some of those places as soon as possible, before snows start in. My final plan was to fly into Dublin and steadily make my way toward Italy. 

It ended up being a pretty stressful week and a half as I tried to book hotels and planes and trains and ferries and museum tickets. I was still pretty nervous, considering I’d be going across most of Europe by myself, and I don’t know any of the language in three of the countries. 

I got maybe an hour of sleep on the plane to Dublin, though I feel like that’s an optimistic estimate. It didn’t help that my legs were getting really cramped from the limited foot room. The flight arrived at about 7 AM. It was cold, of course. I have my nice big down jacket, which is great. Man, I love hearing the Irish accent everywhere. 

Many of the stops along the river come with the name “Quay” - pronounced “key.” I have never been able to figure out the pronunciations that go along with Irish spellings. I should really look into that. 

I couldn't check into my hotel this early, but I could leave my bags. They didn’t have a map of Dublin. They also didn’t have a bathroom for people stuck waiting. Instead they pointed me to the restaurant on the corner, called Wuff. I decided to sit down for a few minutes, so I ordered porridge. It was something I’ve always heard about, but never actually tried. My understanding was that it was like oatmeal. And it was. It was tasty too! Mine came with honey and jelly.

My first plan for the day was to head to the Dublin Zoo. It was within walking distance, so I didn’t have to figure out any busses or trains. 

Phoenix Park is huge. I didn’t realize how huge at first, but at 1750 acres, it’s one of the largest enclosed urban parks in Europe. I walked into the park skirting around the edge and looking for the zoo. I admired the Irish wildlife – squirrels, doves, and magpies. Probably pretty normal around here, but exciting and different to me! Even their crows are different, with cute gray vests. I saw the top of a massive obelisk in the distance. 

There was a little playground, and then a pond. But I didn’t see any sign of the zoo. So I figured I’d finish going around the park. I got to the corner and saw the obelisk. It was way bigger than I realized, because it still looked huge and I wasn’t even that close to it. It's 60 meters tall, and part of it is made from melted down cannons. 

As I walked along, I was startled to find myself back at the same playground. I’d gone in a circle. Still no sign of the zoo. So I doubled back and went outside the playground. I didn’t see anything. Wondering if I could have possibly missed it, I doubled back again. Nope. I turned around again (I’d since passed that playground five times, from both sides). There was a guy who I asked and he pointed up the road. So I continued going. And going. Yeah, the park was a lot bigger than expected-1752 acres, it turns out. And I still didn’t see the zoo. I spotted a guy in a yellow vest. He looked official, so I asked him. He pointed across the street. No wonder. The google map I’d printed didn’t even show the street. It showed the zoo as being right next to that freaking park I’d been walking circles around all morning. I should know better than to trust Google Maps. So I finally reached the Dublin Zoo.  

I got my ticket and headed in. Founded in 1831, it’s close to 100 years older than the zoo I worked at.

They had Asian lions! I’d never seen them before. They were sleeping, as cats love to do. Most people only think of lions in Africa, but they once lived in some of Europe and Asia too. Now all of the European lions are gone, and only 500 Asian lions are left wild, in India. 

An orangutan was making a nest for herself, bundling a pile of Excelsior (a bedding that looks like straw) over herself until she looked like a haystack with a face peeking out the bottom.

At the wolf yard, there was a sign about the wolves that once lived in Ireland. When the English took over, they lead to the complete destruction of Ireland’s forests, aside from a tiny corner of the island. They also made sure every wolf in the country was exterminated by the end of the 1700’s. One of my favorite movies, Wolfwalkers, is about this. 

The Indian elephants were in a big pack together, horsing around. Occasionally one would stop and roll around, huge legs flying in the air. They would trumpet and make funny squealing sounds. 

After the zoo, I ordered bangers and mash for dinner: sausages and mashed potatoes. The potatoes were amazing, though mashed potatoes are one of my favorite foods. 

Finally on to check into my room and rest. I was exhausted.

 

November 9 2023

I woke up before 1 AM. Stupid jet lag. That wouldn’t be enough sleep to get me comfortably through two days in a row. I lay there for a bit, then got up and read for half an hour. Then I tried to go back to sleep. At about 3, I finally succeeded.

My alarm woke me up at 5:30, which was when I hoped to get up for the first part of this trip. Especially since I’ll be passing into a different time zone in a few days. But I didn’t have any appointment until 10 AM, so I trusted myself to wake up again soon and turned off my alarm. When I finally woke, I glanced at the clock and launched out of bed. It was 9:25! I’d slept another six hours.

I shot downstairs, asking how to get to Trinity College. They gave me directions and I hurried to the bus stop. There was no way I could get there by 10:00. I thought I knew the bus fare, and I had some money in my hand. But when I boarded the bus, it was a different fare. I dug into my purse, into the pocket where I’d put change. I couldn’t find it. It must have slipped into the rest of my over-crowded bag. With increasing franticness, I dug around for the bus fare. The driver wanted to pull out, so he told me to just drop in the change I had. I did, though it was only about half the fare. “You’re grand,” he said, handing me a ticket. I finally found one of the right coins, but he waved me away, repeating “you’re grand.”

So yeah. Stressful morning. But the bus driver was really nice. I didn't get anyone else like that during the rest of the trip's public transit. Quite the reverse, in some cases. 

We got to our stop and I hurried through Trinity College campus. 

I got there 17 minutes late. I pulled out my ticket, and the guy told me I’d have to buy a new one for the next time slot. “My phone’s not connected to the internet,” I explained. So he took my ticket and scanned me in. He also told me there was free wifi on campus. So, I got another mercy. 

Relieved, I walked in to see the Book of Kells. I wanted to wind down after the hectic morning, so I connected to the campus wifi and downloaded the audio guide. I listened to the whole thing, and by the time I made my way to the end of the first room, I had calmed down. The first part of the exhibit talks about the history of the book and how it was made, and other books like it.

Pigments were mostly made from local materials, and they remain vibrant to this day. Crushed oak apples were one ingredient, as featured in The Secret of Kells. They also used plants, stones, and lichen. And less appealing ingredients were arsenic sulfide and lead.

Monks would write notes to each other in the margins of the manuscripts. Things like, "I’m tired of this." "It’s cold in here." "I wish this was finished." These were probably younger monks, in their teens. 

Beyond is a darkened room with a large case. The Book of Kells lay opened inside. They change the pages so you’ll see something different with each visit. 

The book was created around the year 800. Book of Kells is a beautifully illustrated version of the gospels of the four evangelists. It was probably started on Iona, but Iona was burned in 802. The book was brought to Kells, where it was finished. But in 806, Vikings attacked Kells too, killing many of the monks. The Chi Rho page is the most famous part of the book. The details are so tiny and intricate that they don't know to this day how the artists managed it. At the end of The Secret of Kells, actually animate the Chi Rho page. hat a brilliant idea. 

Next I headed up to the old library. It dates back to the early 1700’s. Many of the shelves are empty as they do a once-in-a-lifetime restoration project. Dust and other stuff was causing a problem for the books, and the library needed updates to fire protection and control over humidity and such. 

(only those front two shelves have anything on them) 

Statues of famous people lined the main hall, such as Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. At the far end a massive globe slowly revolved overhead. In a display was the oldest Irish harp. Beautiful carvings decorate its sides. In the audio tour, they had a recording of someone playing it. It’s not at all what you would expect a harp to sound like.  

I browsed the gift shop, and heard familiar music playing on the speakers. It was the soundtrack for Secret of Kells. And indeed, in the book section they had a couple books about the movie, as well as the film itself. I love that movie! If you can't tell from the repeated references. It’s a fantasy version of the creation of the Book of Kells. And yep, there are Vikings in it. 

I walked through a little more of the campus, only realizing later that I missed some cool looking stuff. But I thought I had plans for the rest of the day. 

One alumni of Trinity College that you've probably heard of is Bram Stoker. Sound familiar? He wrote the book Dracula. If you've only seen movies, the book is worth reading too! Another alumni is Jonathan Swift, who wrote Gulliver's Travels. 

Then I went to look for the Dublin museums.

It’s weird crossing streets, because in Ireland, the cars drive on the other side of the road. I always look both ways before crossing, which is good because the cars keep coming from places I don’t expect. 

I stopped in the House of Names. They have family information, including my family name. Though I've recently learned that we're not nearly as Irish as I was lead to believe. Our name is spelled a little different than the original. The official pronunciation is a little different too. But people who read my last name say something different again.

I got to the street where the museums are, and found the entire road closed off. I asked one of the guards how to get to the museum. It’s closed. I didn’t see anything about that! So, no museums for me. Curses. I wanted to see the Tara brooch. Dad’s talked about it many times.

I headed to the next stop: St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Or at least I thought I did. I missed a turn and went down a couple blocks in the wrong direction. I grabbed a boba though. 

My stomach was starting to act up – I guess I ate something. Even though I’d just gone to the bathroom a few minutes before. Maybe I’ll blame the airplane food. Though it could have been the sausages. 

I walked back in the right direction, and made it to the Cathedral. I grabbed an audio tour and started walking around. I didn’t have long though – tour busses come every half hour and I wanted to catch the next one. I only got through part of the cathedral tour, listening as I walked around.

St. Patrick first came to Ireland as a slave, captured by Irish raiders. He escaped and got home. Then returned to Ireland after training as a priest, and worked to spread Christianity. No one really knows what St. Patrick looked like, so you’ll see a variety of images of him. Unlike many people who were supposed to convert others to Christianity, St. Patrick worked peacefully. He combined the two religions to make it smoother. 

I dashed out to see if I was in time to catch the bus. I was. I sat on the upper level, front corner. The lady driving gave a commentary on the sites as we drove past the Guinness factory, and eventually across the river and on to Phoenix park and the giant obelisk. But then she stopped talking, and a recording was playing instead. Not as informative. The bus tour was not the best use of my limited time in Dublin. 

Back at the room, I ironed out transportation details for the next couple days (which was lucky – I found some potentially large snags). And then went to bed.

I couldn’t sleep. Not for hours. Hell! With growing frustration. I lay there most of the night. Six hours later, I finally fell asleep.

 

November 10 2023

Two hours later, my 5:15 alarm fired up. Bleary and tired, I got ready to go. This time I had plenty of time, even though the tour left at 6:50. I went out into the dark, freezing morning and waited for the bus. It was supposed to come every ten minutes. I was getting pretty nervous when over twenty minutes passed. I was just about to flag down a taxi when the bus finally arrived. This time I had the proper change ready. I wanted to confirm the name of the stop, and hit a blank. I tried to pronounce D’Oiler and realized that I was butchering it even more. He corrected me, pronouncing it “daleer.” So once again I stood on the bus, embarrassed.

I was lucky. The bus was packed, and at the next stop, they couldn’t even fit in the two people waiting there. One of the guys smacked the bus door in anger when we left him.

Back near Trinity College, I disembarked. The tours met at the Molly Malone statue (a song I’d heard three times on the bus last night). I was kind of beyond tired at this point. All my attempts to prepare for jet lag had derailed, probably because I slept in so late yesterday.

Our tour guide and bus driver was named Jonathan. At first we drove in silence. The sun didn’t come up until about 7:30. Jonathan said we could take a nap if we wanted, and that he’d take one too. One of the others joined in the crack, saying we’d take turns driving.

It turns out that Jonathan has been in a number of movies and shows. He was a riding double in a Vikings TV show, as well as Braveheart. I asked if he missed working with horses. He didn’t. I suppose he had them in excess, while I’ve never really had enough of horses.

After we drove for a while, we stopped at what Jonathan called “A beautiful petrol station.” There was a little café inside, where we got breakfast. I got a teriyaki chicken salad. I hadn’t eaten anything fresh since I left, and was craving green food. I grabbed a little tangerine too. Back on the bus I ate the salad. It tasted so good to me after the potatoes and fried food.

Jonathan started telling us information over the speaker. For example, about festivals. Did you know Halloween was originally Irish? It was called Samhain (pronounced like “saw-wain). They didn’t carve pumpkins, but instead used turnips. They did dress up though. That way when the dead rise up on that night, they don’t recognize anyone. 

Our first destination was the Rock of Cashel. We stopped along the road to take some pictures with the morning sun hitting it. 

We parked at the base of the limestone castle. The walls were covered in curtains of vines. Ferns, grasses, and small bushes sprouted between the stones.

I circled the cemetery, looking out across the Irish countryside. White windmills dotted the distant hills. Lines of autumn-colored trees ran across stretches of green grass. On the other side was the town, with the morning sun lighting it up. The light stretched out the shadows of the gravestones.

In the cemetery, there was a beautifully carved cross. At least it used to be a cross. Now it’s more of a pillar. Cromwell broke the top off it during his rampage of terror. He became “Lord Protector” in 1653. 

 

Oliver Cromwell is the most hated man in Ireland. He’s the main villain in the film Wolfwalkers. In a matter of months, he massacred 20% of the Irish people. And the Rock of Cashel is one of many places that he sacked and destroyed.

On the way to our next stop, I actually managed to nap for a little bit on the bus. Which is something I’ve never done before. Just goes to show how exhausted I was.

The reason I chose this tour was Blarney Castle. My Grandma came here before I was born and kissed the Blarney Stone. Doing so gives you the gift of gab. My dad talks about it often enough that I thought it was common knowledge. But many of the people I've mentioned it to have never heard of the Blarney Stone. 

Blarney Castle is also coated in ferns and mosses. And it’s a surprisingly tiny castle. It’s called a tower house. They were a popular type of castle in Ireland, where most of a lord’s household lived in one tower. They were about four or five stories tall, with a couple rooms on each floor. 

Blarney Castle was owned by the McCarthys. They were the kings of Munster. Ireland used to be made of many small kingdoms, which all fought each other. 

Our group walked in and took the stone stairs up. Originally the castle wouldn’t have been bare limestone, but instead covered with a sort of plaster. The tower would have been white, making it very visible across the countryside.  The front gate faces a cliff, so you can’t use battering rams. Assuming you got through the barred gate, you’d then face murder holes: holes in the ceiling where the castle defenders could pour boiling oil on invaders, among other things. The battlements could be used to similar purpose. In fact, the kitchen is high in the castle, so the hot oil was ready to pour down to lower levels, if needed. The walls of the tower slightly taper in at the top. Not only does that make the tower sturdier, but any projectiles dropped from the top would bounce out and be more likely to hit attackers. And spiral staircases mean that anyone right-handed climbing up would have trouble wielding a sword while those facing down could draw swords without impediment. (And you weren't allowed to be left-handed back then!)

Unbelievable assholes have carved graffiti into the castle walls.

The bathroom was just a slit in the floor, positioned on the side of the castle where wind would be less likely to blow stuff back up. It was called the garderobe, which means wardrobe. Why? Because clothes were kept in the garderobe. The ammonia from the “toilet” would fumigate the clothes. Give your thanks for modern plumbing and washing machines. 

Then there was the banquet hall, for their nights of feasting and partying. They used lots of spices on the meat, for preservation purpose. So they needed lots of drinks. You know, like beer and whisky. Even kids got beer since there wasn’t much else to drink.

Finally I came out on top of the castle, with a great view of the surrounding estate. There was a helpful sign, reminding you to take of your hat and glasses, and to empty your pockets. So nothing flies off the side of the castle as you go to kiss the stone.

The term “Blarney” comes from when McCarthy was trying to deflect demands from Queen Elizabeth 1. It means beguiling but misleading talk. And there are several stories about how the Blarney Stone is said to have gotten its power. Such as a fairy queen that kissed the rock where her dying lover was lying. Whatever its origin, this stone has drawn many visitors. Winston Churchull, American presidents Reagan and Taft, dancers, singers, and actors.Plus plenty of tourists. In the busy season, the line for the Stone can be two hours long. I joked that it was almost as bad as Disneyland. There were only a couple other people up there with us today. 

When it was my turn, I lay back on the mat and grabbed the railings across the gap. There are poles beneath the Blarney Stone, so you won’t fall several stories to the ground. You tilt your head way back and kiss the large stone at the bottom of the battlement. It doesn’t look fancy – just another stone in the tower. But I suppose now I have the gift of gab! 

            The stone is right beneath those two parallel black poles. 

            This is how they used to kiss the stone: By dangling you by your ankles from the outside of the battlement. 

Yes, people sometimes fell.  

I got a print of the photo of me kissing the stone. They’re not very flattering photos. Just the bottom of your chin as you crane your neck back for the kiss.

At the bottom of the castle, we walked around some of the gardens. We went through the Carnivorous Courtyard, full of beds and pots of pitcher plants. 

I walked around the Irish garden, which had native plants. And some lovely ferns. Many native Irish plants are endangered. 

I’d seen a sign for a fern garden. I assumed it was the big patch of ferns along the base of the castle. It turns out I’d missed the fern garden – the castle grounds were much larger than I realized – over 60 acres. And the fern garden was deeper in the estate.

There are caves under the castle, and one was open. I went in, dodging the big muddy puddles. It wasn’t a very long tunnel. The exit was just a narrow slit that opened up through a curtain of leaves. When Cromwell attacked, the McCartheys fled through the tunnel systems. 

The dungeons were closed though. The lesser horseshoe bat is living down there – a very endangered species. 

I misjudged the time and left earlier than I needed to. I could have spent twenty more minutes walking around the castle. Shoot. I’ve ended up wasting quite a bit of the time I have in Ireland. Ugh.

Back on the bus, to our last stop. I napped a little more. The drive through the country was cooler than on the highway. And we had a rainbow! Big, thick, and full. It didn’t stay full, but it did stick around for a couple hours. That’s where you find the Irish gold! 

Jonathan told us about the bogs in Ireland, must of which have been destroyed. They used to cover about 10% of the country. Because of the lack of oxygen and the tannens from the plants, things that fell into the bogs have been remarkable well preserved. Like the Irish elk - an extinct species whose antlers could grow 12 feet across. They were around much of Europe, but they were preserved best in the bogs. 

Bog oak is ancient wood that has been dug from the bogs.  People will use it in art. Ancient people laid logs over the bogs, as roads. The roads eventually were buried and disappeared. Some paths lead to sacred sites where people had buried offerings. They would wrap butter in animal skins and bury it to preserve it. 2,000 years later, some of the butter was unearthed. Some people decided to try it with scones, and apparently it was still good. 

 As shown in Wolfwalkers, Ireland was once covered in forest. Over 90% of it, in fact. Strange, considering it's known as a land of green hills today. Only 1% of Ireland has forest now. 

We learned some about the potato famine as well. It lasted 10 years, and the British tried to hide it from the rest of the world. They made excuses, saying that the Irish were being punished for being lazy. But the English just didn’t want to lower the price of grain. In fact, Ireland was still growing food, aside from the potatoes that the people relied on for most of their meals. But the English took most of the food they did grow. The population of Ireland went from 8.5 million to 4 million. Only the middle class could afford to leave. 

Our last stop was Cahir Castle (it's pronounced more like “care castle”). Unlike the others, Cahir Castle is still in good shape, and has been used in a number of movies and shows, including Excalibur. The great hall is still used for events. 

You can see a couple cannonballs embedded in the castle walls. Cromwell brought cannons during his invasion of Ireland. Castles had stood against former attacks – battering rams, catapults, etc, but they weren’t a match for these new weapons. Not only were the cannonballs powerful enough to crack the defenses, but those firing the weapons were safely out of range of arrows and boiling water. When Cromwell came to take Cahir Castle, he sent a letter saying that the inhabitants of the castle had the chance to take their things and go, or face the cannon. The peopel in the castle left, knowing they didn’t stand a chance. The letter was freakishly polite, and signed, “Your servant, Oliver Cromwell.” After this, he went on to conquer Kilkenny, which gives you the movie Wolfwalkers.

 

(There's the cannonball, next to the window slit) 

The rainbow was still there, though only about half of it. Rising above the castle walls.

Back in the bus, Jonathan sang us a couple Irish songs. He’s a good singer. One of them-the Rattlin’ Bog-was very catchy. I can still hear it. Each verse builds on the one before it until you’re rattling out a long train of lyrics. 

I managed to nap a bit before we hit the outskirts of Dublin. City sounds woke me. I wish I could have done more of these tours. This was awesome. We drove across about a third of Ireland in a day!

Jonathan let us out just around the corner from the Aran Sweater Market. I slipped in and tried a few things on. I found a blue wool jacket. One sweater can take 60 days to make. There’s a variety of patterns they form with their stitches, and they have special meanings. For example, some represent a fisherman’s ropes, farm fields, or zig-zagging pathways. 

After I left my sweater to be mailed home, I had one last stop: Tara Street. I hadn’t gotten to the Hill of Tara, so at least I had to try this. It was underwhelming. There wasn’t even a sign I could take a picture of. Half of the block was under construction, and there wasn’t anything much on the rest of it. The most I saw was a tiny shop sign, which I think said “Tara” in a stylized font. Ah well.

And then finally sleep. At least this time I was tired enough to sleep at the right time.

Frostfall

 I finally drew the unicorn in my story! 

Well, I've kind of drawn her before. I actually recycled Frostfall from a much older story-back in high school, maybe? Or early college. This is how she appears in this story. I wanted something to set her apart from all the other unicorns, so she has little lavender streaks across her face. 

The Uncompleted Mystery

I've almost gone through all of the stuff on my computer, to make sure everything moved over safely from my old computer. I've only found a few things that I need to fix. 

Anyway, it was during this check that I opened up the original Fern story, with her time as an X-Men. I thought I had exhausted my Fern ideas for X-Men. But to my astonishment, at the very end was a story I had started and never finished. And I have no idea what it was going to be! 

It also turns out that I had included Spider-Man in those stories too. At least the first couple times she meets him.  

Man, I wish I knew what that last story was supposed to be! And why I stopped so soon after starting it. 

The Coolest Brief Side-Characters

Every now and then, you'll come across a character who you very quickly like. For example, my whole family likes Dax, even though he's only in Star Wars for about two minutes. Even my Mom likes him, and she doesn't even like Attack of the Clones. 

 

 

I can't think of any other characters who are just really interesting and cool during such a brief role. I might find some more if I kept paying attention though. Maybe Castorp, the nice German guy in The Wind Rises? (Some of my favorite characters are actually not that endearing when you first meet them - you have to get to know them, and see them grow, like Zuko, or Hector). 

Usually when a movie/book makes you love a character so quickly, it's because they have something awful planned @_@

For example (spoilers) in Big Hero Six. They want you to love Tadashi so that you'll be heartbroken when the explosion happens. Or Queen Tara, from Epic. Even Dr. Octavius, who has only a few minutes screen time before he's lost, for a different reason. 

Which brings up another reason they might try to make you like a character quickly. They want you to be horrified to learn that the "cool character" is secretly the villain.