Imaginaerium, Day 21 - Dawn of the Prompts

If you wait for inspiration to write you're not a writer, you're a waiter.

— Dan Poynter

The new prompts have dropped - and they look like they are going to be a lot of fun! I'm really looking forward to seeing what everyone are writing for them, especially the Conspiracy theory one.
What about y'all? Any prompt you are particularly excited about? Or any you think you'll have trouble with? If the latter, come join us on the Discord for some brainstorming! :D
Also, I want to give a special thanks to everyone who showed up for my stream! It was a lot of fun and there were so many great ideas running wild in the chat. We'll see when I stream again!
If you want to watch the stream, it's on VOD for another 14 days or so. You can find it here: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/675753959
Please excuse the start! The stream proper starts about 15 minutes in, so skip to there! <3

Book Recommendation

Explaining his filing system to capo George Zappola, Casso noted that he catalogued top-notch car thieves under the letter C. Gaspipe's sharp wit deflated Zappola when he asked for his classification. "Under U for useless."

— Selwyn Raab, Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires

Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires is pretty much what you see on the tin, a story about the American mob. I wanted to include it in this Imaginaerium due to some of the prompts that were released in the second wave. Reading about organized crime will give you a lot of ideas for things like secret code, symbols, and of course organizations that operate above the law.
It's a big book, but very good. Find it here: Amazon

"When the haughty Mussolini rose to deliver a speech, the main piazza was empty except for a collection of seedy beggars and village idiots collected by the mayor. At a reception in another town, despite the vigilance of his bodyguards, the Mafia managed to steal Mussolini's hat."

— Selwyn Raab, Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires

Video Recommendation

Less related to the prompt (but who says that athletes can't use secret symbols? Black gloves means we're throwing down to the death, for example!) and more from personal interest, I have some combat-sport videos.
The first one is sport psychology - why do some fighters embrace alter egos for their fights?


The Modern Martial Artist also has a lot of fight-style and technique breakdowns, which is a great resource for anyone writing about combat-y type things!

Podcast Recommendation

The Last Podcast on the Left deals with every gruesome, bloody, and weird topic under the sun. From serial killers and cults, to aliens and cryptids, "there's guaranteed to be something to satisfy your bloodlust"
It's another one of those Podcasts that comes with a viewer discretion advised disclaimed, though. A lot of their humor and jokes could be generously described as "crass" and I can definitely see how it's not for everyone. If you get past that, it is a goldmine for interesting, strange, and terrifying bits of lore - and often quite funny, too!

Music Recommendation

For this one, the music videos are required to get the full impact.


BONUS OF THE DAY
The founder of the World Order band used to be a combat sports athlete, before he became a author, musician, composer, philosopher and a whole bunch of stuff. Almost everything about the guy is some flavor of crazy (and interesting), like his win over Craig Oxley to his walks out into the ring.
Remember, this is what he chose to do before getting into a cage to fight someone. Enjoy:

Article Recommendations

Images to Inspire

by Jeff Brown

by Karl Simon

by Science Museum

by ~unded

by Dave Bolton

by Harvey Bunda

by Gabriel Yeganyan