Firstly, thank you. Coming from you, that's saying something. Secondly, we had no idea. This was a party for a good US friend visiting his family in Australia and the host was someone I'd never met. It was one of the stranger meet and greet parties I've been to, I'll grant you that.
'What a night, honey! I kept a houseful of Australians entertained with my canning anecdote, all night, can you believe that? And a business card for each one of them. Honey...honey?'
No, like our hero she suffers from the Bovine Spongibobifus, and zombie stamps the planet regaling in her wisdoms...
Sandroigs are a world cultural heritage as defined by UNESCO, done by the indigenous people on Vanuatu even today. The drawings in sand consist only of lines and are not only pictures but far more: a language that is telling stories, history, lessons, and offers spiritual guidance.
Turns out that Rome was NOT a moustache twirling evil empire ruled by rich jackasses that spent all it's time raping slaves, crucifying slaves, making slaves fight for their amusement and burning down peaceful villages. I had thought them to be the Mongols of the West, but seems like they were far saner and while still did all the above, but also had ideals of liberty, republics, and personal honour. Along with pretty cosmopolitan culture. Also, I revised my Chinese expy culture when I realised the Zhongguo actually has a pretty brilliant record of wars, and even the PRC has lost only a single war in it's history, with total victory or partial victory in all others.
My novel takes place before the breakup of the U.S.S.R.. My MC, who attended the Leningrad Conservatory, was born in Kiev, Ukraine after his father was sent there as a member of the Soviet Army. Sorting out my MC's Ukrainian, Russian, and Soviet cultural influences has been...interesting. The food from each of those cultural references is different, and food appears a lot in my novel. I ended up giving my MC a Ukranian mother to help cover my ass.
I'll bet! The tastiest foods I've found during my research of blanket term "Russian" cuisine were all actually Ukranian.
