Writing Prompts: The Mahwot

Continuing the theme of an alphabetical adventure through the mythical creatures of different countries, I thought I would settle on Belgium. There is a legend of the Mahwot, a lizard-like creature, purported to haunt the Meuse River, in the Ardennes. The Mahwot is said to ensnare wayward children who stray too close to the water, […]

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Writing Prompts: Sacháyoj

My daughter has inspired this latest line of prompts. I am to take a country, learn of a local legend, and write about that legend. I am also to do this in alphabetical order, so I am starting with Argentina (yes, I know there are other countries ahead of Argentina alphabetically, but this first legend […]

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Writing Prompts: Samurai

Samurai were feted as legendary, high-skilled, and very deadly warriors. In medieval Japan they were the elite soldiers, and often served powerful landowners (such as the daimyo). From the late 12th Century, through to the latter part of the 19th Century, samurai built reputation for honourable combat, a devotion to duty, and unwavering, loyal service […]

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Writing Prompts: The German Trips, P2

Back in December 2009, my then-pregnant wife and I, along with my parents, brother and his future wife, and some family friends, spent a few days in the beautiful city of Berlin. What with it being the Christmas season, Berlin was filled with markets, offering all kinds of festive trinkets, and also something that I […]

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Writing Prompts: The German Trips, P1

You may be wondering why this is part one. Well, that’s because I have been to Germany twice, but in very different circumstances, so it feels fitting to split this prompt into two posts. The first trip was in 1999. I was still technically a cub, not yet even 18, and the trip to Germany, […]

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Writing Prompts: Black Friday

There is a certain irony about the insanity that is Black Friday. The (largely) north American phenomenon sees shoppers go absolutely berserk in quests to obtain incredibly huge discounts off various items. Consumers will literally fight in the aisles to obtain the best bargains, and people have been known to be trampled in a bid […]

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Writing Prompts: 60 Years of Doctor Who

It’s hard to believe that Doctor Who has reached 60 years. The show became infamous for terrifying monsters and sinister stories over the course of its original run, but it declined in the 80s, with the BBC cancelling the series, leaving the titular Time Lord hanging. A TV movie briefly restored the Doctor to our […]

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Writing Prompts: Blackbeard

Today is the 22nd of November, the day that Edward Teach, aka Blackbeard the pirate, died, in 1718. Blackbeard is the source of a lot of classical (or stereotypical) ideas about pirates. He was said to be fearsome in appearance, and he carefully cultivated this image, and it is said he even went as far […]

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Hitting the Nail on the Head

Following yet more serpentine twisting from one David Thiessen of Theology Archaeology (see David, this is how you grant proper accreditation, you name your source and link to them, unlike you), my good friend Bruce Gerencser, who has also been a victim of David’s charlatan antics, wrote a post about how to give credit. Bruce’s […]

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Writing Prompts: Shisha

I have never smoked a cigarette or cigar. I have never partaken in marijuana or cannabis. The only occasion where I have ever smoked, so to speak, was on a hot summer’s night with some colleagues from my sofa sales job, after we had gone out for an Indian meal in the Ilford area of […]

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