Blog Entry: Sivan 7, Anno Mundi 5777 · 7:56am Jun 1st, 2017
So, I've been doing more work on the current chapter, working through several character interactions, stuff I'd planned from the start. I'm still puzzling over the connecting segments, but I've got an idea about how the story proceeds. Now it's a question of putting everything together.
In other news, I've been working on my preliminary research of the papacy. Right now, I'm up to the very beginning of the Counter-reformation, the papacy of Pope Paul III. Once again, there is much weirdness to be had. The latest occurred in the reign of Pope Clement VII, where Rome was sacked by the Holy Roman Empire. Basically, the army of Charles III, Duke of Bourbon, after having not been paid or fed and missing a guide, decided to take their leader raping, looting, and pillaging all over Italy. Their attack on Rome was a resounding success and their whole tour of Italy is credited with the end of the Italian Renaissance. The Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V, was thoroughly embarrassed by the affair, but Clement quickly decided to stay on his good side.
In more other news, I've been continuing with the crew of my imaginary Starfleet ship: the U.S.S. Al-Thalaan. I'm now up to 200 crew out of an estimated 618. I've invented six species (that I remember), created eight hybrids, and defined two new branches of Starfleet: Advanced Search and Rescue (think the MAKOs) and one I don't care to disclose just yet. I have a checklist of roles, but I don't have the nitty-gritty down yet. Basically, the Al-Thalaan's designed to be adaptive quick response, like the Enterprise D wound up being. It has a sciences department and the aforementioned ASARs, plus room, board, and comforts for up to 1000 evacuees.
Anyways, I'm also playing more of The Sims 2, and I'm getting closer to having the firstborn be out of the house. However, like a dumbass, I decided to conceive two more children. And I promptly realized why I hate having twins (in the game). Also, I hate homework. RL homework, too, but also Sims homework. Thankfully, in The Sims 2, if you have a parent help a child with homework just one time, they'll do it faster every time afterwards. One question, though: several items are missing in game. They have the menu option and can be placed, but they just don't show up. Any ideas on how to bring them about.
So, that's pretty much it. I'm reviewing my Spanish over and over, but that's pretty much it. Oh, I watched that tribute to Sir Roger Moore's James Bond in a theater tonight (the first half of which started almost an hour late and the second half of which was cancelled due to technical difficulties). I've come to the conclusion that Moore is a lot like Scott Bakula in Star Trek or Colin Baker in Doctor Who: the representation of a slump, even when they're not the problem and are just doing the best with what the silly stuff got. Incidentally, Moore is possibly my favorite James Bond: he's unflappable, brainy, and he has a lot of range: even in one film he swing from ruthless to tender. Also, the title sequence, more specifically "Nobody Does it Better" by Carly Simon, is one of those moments that brought me as close to tears as I'm ever likely to get, which is part of why I went.