1. How does your character think of their father? What do they hate and love about him? What influence - literal or imagined - did the father have?
2. Their mother? How do they think of her? What do they hate? Love? What influence - literal or imagined - did the mother have?
3. Brothers, sisters? Who do they like? Why? What do they despise about their siblings?
4. What type of discipline was your character subjected to at home? Strict? Lenient?
5. Were they overprotected as a child? Sheltered?
6. Did they feel rejection or affection as a child?
7. What was the economic status of their family?
8. How does your character feel about religion?
9. What about political beliefs?
10. Is your character street-smart, book-smart, intelligent, intellectual, slow-witted?
11. How do they see themselves: as smart, as intelligent, uneducated?
12. How does their education and intelligence – or lack thereof - reflect in their speech pattern, vocabulary, and pronunciations?
13. Did they like school? Teachers? Schoolmates?
14. Were they involved at school? Sports? Clubs? Debate? Were they unconnected?
15. Did they graduate? High-School? College? Do they have a PHD? A GED?
16. What does your character do for a living? How do they see their profession? What do they like about it? Dislike?
17. Did they travel? Where? Why? When?
18. What did they find abroad, and what did they remember?
19. What were your character’s deepest disillusions? In life? What are they now?
20. What were the most deeply impressive political or social, national or international, events that they experienced?
21. What are your character’s manners like? What is their type of hero? Whom do they hate?
22. Who are their friends? Lovers? ‘Type’ or ‘ideal’ partner?
23. What do they want from a partner? What do they think and feel of sex?
24. What social groups and activities does your character attend? What role do they like to play? What role do they actually play, usually?
25. What are their hobbies and interests?
26. What does your character’s home look like? Personal taste? Clothing? Hair? Appearance?
27. How do they relate to their appearance? How do they wear their clothing? Style? Quality?
28. Who is your character’s mate? How do they relate to him or her? How did they make their choice?
29. What is your character’s weaknesses? Hubris? Pride? Controlling?
30. Are they holding on to something in the past? Can he or she forgive?
31. Does your character have children? How do they feel about their parental role? About the children? How do the children relate?
32. How does your character react to stress situations? Defensively? Aggressively? Evasively?
33. Do they drink? Take drugs? What about their health? 
34. Does your character feel self-righteous? Revengeful? Contemptuous?
35. Do they always rationalize errors? How do they accept disasters and failures?
36. Do they like to suffer? Like to see other people suffering?
37. How is your character’s imagination? Daydreaming a lot? Worried most of the time? Living in memories?
38. Are they basically negative when facing new things? Suspicious? Hostile? Scared? Enthusiastic?
39. What do they like to ridicule? What do they find stupid?
40. How is their sense of humor? Do they have one?
41. Is your character aware of who they are? Strengths? Weaknesses? Idiosyncrasies? Capable of self-irony?
42. What does your character want most? What do they need really badly, compulsively? What are they willing to do, to sacrifice, to obtain?
43. Does your character have any secrets? If so, are they holding them back?
44. How badly do they want to obtain their life objectives? How do they pursue them?
45. Is your character pragmatic? Think first? Responsible? All action? A visionary? Passionate? Quixotic?
46. Is your character tall? Short? What about size? Weight? Posture? How do they feel about their physical body?
47. Do they want to project an image of a younger, older, more important person? Does they want to be visible or invisible?
48. How are your character’s gestures? Vigorous? Weak? Controlled? Compulsive? Energetic? Sluggish?
49. What about voice? Pitch? Strength? Tempo and rhythm of speech? Pronunciation? Accent?
50. What are the prevailing facial expressions? Sour? Cheerful? Dominating?

If a Sailor spots something like an enemy warship, or a headland, he expresses its position as a “relative bearing”, which means its position relative to the direction his own ship is pointing. During the age of sail they were given as either ahead, astern, abeam, on the bow or on the quarter. Ahead and Astern means directly forward or aft. Abeam was directly to one side. On the bow was an angle between ahead and abeam, while on the quarter was the similar angle, midway between abeam and astern. These general relative bearings were effectively compass bearings, relative to the direction the ship was travelling in, each ginven in 45° increments.

General relative bearings (x)

They could also be fine tuned, down to roughly 22 1/2°. For example, a lookout might describe an enemy vessel as being fine on the port bow / on the port bow, which meant she was off the port side, somewhere between ahead and on the bow. The word fine was also used for targets spotted between astern and on the quarter. If a target was spotted midway between abeam and on the quarter, or abeam and on the bow, then it would be described as being broad on the port beam or broad on the starboard quarter. There was a further division between board on the port bow and abeam, which was then foreward of the board beam. Between Abeam and board on the port quarter was then aft on the port beam. Or starboard, if the other side was meant. 

All relative bearings (x)

The aim was to creat a system where anyone on board a ship knew exactly where to look in order to spot the enemy or convoy vessel. If a lookout yelled out “sail fine on the port bow” , the captain shouldn’t have to yell “where does she bear ?”, as he’d already have trained his telescope in the right direction, and was probably giving the orders to send the shipt to action stations if necessary.

“You must safeguard your self-respect. Self-respect is at the root of all purposefulness, and a failure in an enterprise deliberately planned deals a desperate wound at one’s self-respect. Hence I iterate and reiterate: Start quietly, unostentatiously.”

— Arnold Bennett, How To Live On 24 Hours a Day

what kind of light are you? by dreamsxcomextru

brightness up, brightness down, turn the lights off, turn them on again. the sun at dawn, the sun as it goes down. starlight, moonshine. which one are you?

Keep reading

Moonlight

People think you’re calm and level headed, and incredibly smart and calculative, but really you’re just doing what you think is right. You’re generally quiet, but there are times when you step onto center stage and claim some attention onto yourself - the way the moon is of subdued light, until the times when it occasionally turns full. You prefer staying on the sidelines until it’s essential for you to come out, and when you do, you find out that having all eyes on you isn’t that bad. People find your balance in personality intriguing or even irritating, and you get tired of having people try to put labels and definitions on you when really, you’re just you.

Zheng He was a Muslim born in China’s mountainous province of Yunnan in 1372. Much of his achievements and adventures are, unfortunately, mainly folk tales and have not often been written down. Therefore, much of it should not necessarily be taken at face value.

Zheng He on one of his voyages (x)

The Ming Dynasty had been established in 1368, bringing to an end Mongol rule. At the Age of 11, Zheng He (his name was actually Ma He) was captured as a servant and castrated when Ming forces were sent to Yunnan to destroyed the last stronghold of the old regime. His reputation for bravery had be noted, however, and he was assigned to a royal household where over time he became very powderful. As an adult he was described as brave and quickwitted, a tall, heavy man with clear-cut features, long earlobes and a stride like a tiger.

When his master seized the Dragon Throne and became Emperor Yong Le, he made Ma He to Zheng He “ Admiral of the Western Seas”. Over the next three years an incredible flotilla of sailing ships was built under his direction, ushering in a golden period of exploration and trade for China as well as Tribute payments, and making her the most advanced seafaring nation in the world. Seven great exploration fleets commanded by Zhend He set sail between 1405 and 1433 to seven voyages, they were the mightiest the world had ever seen.

Reconstruction of the Fleet, by Ward Sarah, 2006 (x)

The ships of various designs, including huge junks, the famous treasure ships,  which according to ancient Chinese chronicles measured up to 120 m long, 50 m wide, nine masts, red sails, 24 bronze guns and huge eyes of the bow and as well as a crew of 1000 Men. However, modern research on the treasure fleet suggests that these size figures are probably greatly exaggerated and that the largest treasure ships were only about 59m to 84 m in size. In addition to sailors and soldiers there were merchants, astrologers, craftsmen and priests on board.

Dimensions of Zheng He’s treasure ship (120 m) and Columbus’s Santa Maria (31 m), Illustration: Gregory A. Harlin/National Geographic Stock (x)

Zheng He’s fleet had a number of technological innovations, including magnetic compasses and watertight compartments, which would not be seen in European vessels for hundreds of years. He sailed to western Asia, Africa and Arabia, visting 40 countries. Some speculate that he reached America and even circumnavigated the world, others believed that he sailed off the shores of Australia. It is assumed today that he was actually only in Asia, Africa and Arabia. Of all the wonders he brought back, the most exciting to his countrymen was a giraffe from Somalia.

Tribute Giraffe with Attendant, by Shen Du, 1357 - 1434
In contrast to the other references, the Philadelphia Museum of Art considers this to be rather a later work by an unknown painter from the 16th century (x) 

The Admiral of the Western Seas died in 1433 on the return voyage of the seventh expedition, other sources said that he died 1435, at least his Tomb lies near Nanjing. However, the large sarcophagus made of light-coloured stone in the Ox Head Mountains, which is officially considered a tomb and memorial, is demonstrably empty. Thereafter there were no more heroic voyages, for the journeys brought the imperial court no profit at all - on the contrary, they cost too much. New Chinese ruler ushered in 500 years of isolation; the logbooks of these seven voyages were destroyed, and the giant treasure ships abandoned and left to decay.