ARCHAEOLOGY CHRONICLES 1

day 1 in Virginia City, Nevada. famous for the Comstock Silver Lode. we took a tour of the town today. we will be excavating the 1st opera house that was built there. Maguire's Opera House burnt down in 1875. by then it was no longer the Maguire Opera House because a guy named Piper bought it. Piper also built the Piper Opera House that still stands today. they are renovating the building. i learned the origin of the term "upstaging". the audience floor is flat with removable chairs to accommodate dancing. and the stage slopes upward by about 5 inches from front to back. so a guy in the back goofing around is upstage of the main actor. the ceilings are made of canvas. and the acoustics are really good. every famous performer stopped there from the time it was built until the early/mid-1900s. Mark Twain lived in Virginia city before he changed his name and made a point of coming back (he had moved to California) to the opening of the Maguire opera house and stayed in town until they made him leave. in their day the Comstock Opera Houses were of THE places to go.

next we wandered about the courthouse. also more than a century old. it's all fancy looking and there's an unblind-folded lady justice on the front. it used to be you had a choice between seeing and blind justice. there are a bazillion saloons. most of which are still saloons that sell hot dogs and such. one is an ice cream bar. anyway we saw the odd fellows house and a few others. we walked up what is called Barbary Coast, which is the second site to be excavated this summer. Barbary Coast became a slang term in the 1800s to mean the ghetto of a city. the term comes from the coast in africa when Jefferson decided to get involved in foreign affairs. they showed us some foundations poking up out of the dirt where we will be digging there. there's a grocery and a tin shop (which has 3 standing walls) and residences and saloons and a lodging house across the street. there's also a mansion (can't remember the name) that had a flushing toilet before 1900. they ran water in from Lake Tahoe because the local water was nasty. (still is according to the supervisors).

archaeologically we learned screening today. dump a bucket of dirt in the screen and sift out the dirt and pick out the artifacts. we did this at the maguire opera house that burnt down. we found plaster, charcoal, melted glass, non-melted glass, a rodent tooth (looks more like a claw to me) a few steak bones, a couple of buttons, a suspender hook, a bolt that looks like the ones that hold tires on a car, nails, other metals. all kinds of stuff. then we went inside and cleaned the stuff off and sorted and labeled it.

it's a long day. we meet at 7 am to drive up and come back about 4:30. it's a full-time job. too bad I'm only getting 6 credits (2 classes) for this. this dig is very important for my schooling and my career. i just remembered this dig is a public dig. that means it's a tourist attraction and we have to chatty with them and let them see the site and everything. same with reporters for newspapers and TV. so keep an eye on the news for the following keywords: Virginia City, Comstock, Maguire Opera House and Barbary Coast.

DRAGONS

so my favorite race on my world are the dragons. dragons have always fascinated me. and i have often wished they were real. but if they were in this day and age they would soon be killed by idiots. anyway dragons often crop up in my stories because i love them so much. dragons are a mysterious race that no one (on Orean) really knows much about. they are very powerful. they can change their shape and look like other races. they fly, breathe fire and each color of dragon has their own specialty. when dragon turn to evil they lose their power and become weak. this was set in place by the creator as a protection for the peoples of Orean. an evil dragon with full power could cause serious damage. so all dragons are good because they don't want to lose their power. if they do go bad they can always change and become good again. there are many other things about dragons but they are secret. their origins are old and quite unusual and mostly forgotten. even dragons can't remember how they began. but i know of course because after all they were created in my imagination. but that doesn't mean i am willing to share all their secrets at this point in time. pehaps later when they world sees my stories and can figure out what's going on. i hope to write my stories as movies. i have learned that i am better at writing scripts than books.

OREAN BASICS

ok so i just noticed that my blog title isn't reflecting in my posts lately. so a little more of orean.

orean has one creator, who created the world and the races. he is a creator who cares and is willing to help those who ask. he is sad that the elves and the gnomes have gone atheist so helping them has become a little tricky. he does not come where he is not wanted. he doesn't force his hand. people make their own choices - they are NOT his marionettes.

after the creation of the world he created life and death. life is brown like the earth and she carries a baby blanket for the newborns. death is pale and wears a black cloak. he carries a scythe to reap the souls of the dead. life and death are husband and wife. they have a couple thousand children (they're immortal and in love- what do you expect?)

Then come the races. elves, gnomes, dwarves, dragons, imps and more. they have varying degrees of magic. they all live 4-500 yrs. there are no humans on orean.

FINALS

it is that glorious time of the semester that brings finals. there's always a feeling of great satisfaction that comes with finals. end of semester.... it's such a happy thought. if i could i'd sing you a song about it. finals are so final. i never have to take these classes again. they are done. over. final. this also brings me one semester closer to graduation. by the way i'll be graduating in 2009. now THAT is something to be happy about. i hate school. i'm only going so i can get my bachelor's so i can get a decent job. if a college degree wasn't so vital in the job market i would not be going at all. this explains why i love finals so much. i am ready to be done. more than ready. finals.... they make me happy....

JOLLY HOLY DAY

i know i have mentioned this before, but i just want to say how much i LOVE holidays. they are so happy. everyone is happy and jolly and nice and actually care about others than themselves. ahhhh happiness is a jolly holiday. i think holidays are what keep people sane. i can not imagin a world without them. always working or in school with no breaks from the grindstone. we'd wither away and die without these holidays. it makes me happy that htey are scattered throughout the year. there's a holiday almost every month. thanksgiving is big so we can express gratitude for all the other holidays too. let's be more grateful for our holy days. for indeed they are holy. they brings us together in gratitude for something good. a person. an idea. an act. a remembrance.

HAPPY HOLY DAYS!

PARTIES

so my roommate's birthday is tomorrow, so we had a party yesterday. they started showing up around 7:30 and hit the pool and hot tub. we had refreshments in the apartment afterwards. mostly virgin margaritas daqueris and pina coladas. we made them ourselves. well we had music and nintendo. a bit of dancing. and people sandwiched everywhere. we had about 40 people smashed into our little apartment. good thing we had a balcony for overflow. around 11 we gave the security guy a shock by informing him that there was no alcohol. we were quite loud but not loud and rowdy enough for anyone to complain. our neighbors are really tolerant. things started to die down after that and about 1:30-45 the last people left. i was already asleep. i couldn't stay awake any longer. i tried. it was crowded. it was late. but it was loads of fun. i'm ready to do again... next month after i've recuperated from this one.

CREATING STORY

creating story is up a going! join the fun and get the imagination pumping iron! just do it. the first post for each member is anything they have written... poetry... fiction... non-fiction... we even have a petition! if by some chance you have never written anything that is too bad but repentance is around the corner! write something now! if your imagination is totally dead you can just jump in on our first writing exercise... character maps! (click creating story link on side of blog and read details there) anyway it's fun to see what others have written and what others think of your own stuff. there's no such thing as too many writers in this world.

WRITER'S BLOG

i've been thinking. i know many people who are writing stories or want to write stories. so why not encourage them? i was thinking maybe what we need is a writer's blog like the toon club blog. different writer's submit different stuff and everyone else comments. what you like and what you don't like and why. we can also throw out general suggestions and exercises to become better writers. sounds good to me. let me know if y'all are interested. i think it would be fun.

HOGFATHER

hogfather by terry pratchett is the best book ever written. seriously. read it. it's hilarious. terry pratchett loves to make fun of things and in hogfather he makes fun of anthropomorphic beings like santa clause and the grim reaper. as well as a few others. and yes it does have a definite story line. the first discworld books tend to be random nonsense that are too funny to describe but they soon develop full story content. and they are all hysterically funny. terry pratchett understands people and how they think. and he is good at getting them on the page. anyway in hogfather the hogfather (santa clause) is missing. and death fills in for him. someone has to do it. intrigued yet? imagine a scythe carrying skeleton as santa clause. there's a movie too. read the book. watch the movie. you won't regret it. find out the origin of the tooth fairy. wyrd sisters and soul music are discworld movies too but you have to get those at a library as they are not sold now except for a mint on amazon.

FOOD

i can't believe i haven't talked about food yet. i love food. it's so satisfyingly tasty. also cruel and treacherous. nothing beats a good meat and vegetable lasagna with red sauce. well except maybe an apple cider donut. or a well cooked steak. or possibly even high quality chocolate. mmmmmmmmmmm....... food is great. not only does it nourish the body but it also nourishes the soul. mediocre food fill the stomach but does not seem to satisfy. whereas exceptional food not only fills physically but also mentally and emotionally. you take a bite and savor it in your mouth for as long as possible as your body melts into it. that's where we get phrases like "mmmmmmm........" and "oh that's lovely" (ok so i stole that last from hitchhiker's guide) people who eat good food are happy people. that's why there are so many different foods. so everyone can have what they like best and be happy.
by the way i have to mention something my nephew said. well my brother and nephew and i were talking about food. particularly tomatoes and spinach. and my brother was saying that those things are really blah plain (i disagree) and he was saying that they were good in things like ketchup. and my nephew said spinach ketchup. and i said that's it! hey they've already made green ketchup. why not make the color natural with spinach. sounds good to me.

STORIES

ever get that crazy storyline that won't leave your head? what do you do with it? ignore it? drive it out? write it down you numskull! especially if it's twisted by weirdness. look at me i'm writing a story about the relationship between the grim reaper and mother earth. and another one about a book with a bad attitude. not to mention the fantasy series i've been working on. stories are fun and entertaining. even more so when they are your own. so indulge yourself and put that story in your head on paper... or plastic... or whatever you use.

DECEMBER JOYS

the 1st joy for this month is SNOW! it snowed all day yesterday. i'm happy now. snow is so cheerful.
the 2nd joy this month is the end of the semester. woohoo! hooray for finals! i LOVE finals. final. done. the end. need i say more?
the 3rd joy this month is the Christmas season. everyone is happy and cheerful. people are friendly and considerate.
the 4th joy of December is jolly happy songs that excite the soul.
the 5th joy this month is Christmas decor everywhere to cheer the heart and lift the spirit.
the 6th joy this month is Christmas eve. family. nativity story. hanging stockings. Santa Claus. more Christmas songs and Christmas trees.
the 7th joy of December is Christmas! it's a whole day of joy! presents. candy. family. the savior's birth. woot!
the 8th joy this month is new year's eve. party all night long and welcome the new year!

ME

tag i'm it. so 5 things unknown about me eh? well well well... aren't you in for a treat.

1 i was not born on earth. i was born on a world called orean. (hence the title of my blog)

2 i am not a human... well not human by your definition anyway... on orean the term "human" applies to all of mixed blood. i am half dwarf a quarter gnome and a quarter elf

3 my real name is delemetre (hence the address of the blog)

4 i have magical abilities and no i will not reveal to you what they are

5 i am currently chronicling the lives of my grandparents and the effects they have had on our world (orean not earth)

those are my secrets... the beauty of it is... none of you will believe them

tag to anyone who reads this entry

DISCWORLD

hilarity. the #1 thing to look for in good entertainment. that's why it's called entertainment. it's entertaining. terry pratchett's discworld is the funniest thing i've ever come across. it's hysterically funny and he nails human nature right on the head.
i tell you what. if you read it you won't be sorry. go to this site http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discworld and take a look. each book stands on its own so you don't have to worry about reading them in order (except the 1st 2-read color of magic before light fantastic)
however be aware that different characters show up in multiple stories. therefore i recommend starting at or near the beginning. like i said look at the website above and it will give you a rundown of the books with major characters and themes of satire. so pick a character and start reading! but like i said they don't really need to be read in order--it's just more fun that way because you learn a lot about characters and discworld itself through the course of the books.
my absolute favorite character is death. i laugh myself silly every time he shows up on the page. and i must say that my absolute favorite book is hogfather. which features death filling in for the hogfather (who is a discworld version of santa claus)

FRACTURED FAIRY TALE

I've started a new story. i think it's frankly hilarious and would love to see it made into a movie by pixar. i think it's right up their alley. or dreamworks. they'd love it too. anyway i think the technical term for what the story is is a fractured fairy tale. fairy tales have always intrigued me and i always wanted to write twists to the well known classics. sleeping beauty and snow white and all that. anyway I've got the story started and I'm anxious to see how it turns out. the problem is i still haven't finished my other books I've started. but i do plan this one to be a short chapter book for kids like the Cordelia story I'm working on. anyway I've got snow white, sleeping beauty, Cinderella, Rapunzel, and the last one is a mix of rose red, beauty (and the beast) and the princess from frog prince. and they're all sisters. well some are step-sisters. but they go through life together and have fun with each other's weaknesses and gullibilities. they also all get along well and love each other dearly. they're even loved by their parents. it's the princes that are the problem. well not all of them but some of them anyway. and some of them just can't help it. one is gorgeous but full of himself. one is hideously ugly. one doesn't want to be king. one falls in love with every girl he sees and with 5 beautiful princesses he seems.... well.... i would say 2-timer but he would really be a 5-timer. he doesn't mean to be he's just so in love with all of them that he can't make up his mind. another prince is just your average joe of princes. and another prince is maliciously evil. i may add more of these rescuers of damsels in distress as the story progresses. but that's what i have to start with. i hope it turns out as funny as i think it will.