May. 7th, 2011
This is from the "21 Days of Dreamwidth" meme:
13. Do you have any unique interests on your user profile? What are they? How'd they get there?
Yes, they are:
alien dice, brightware, family skills, fossil languages, pagan fiction, spaceship earth, synthetic energy, syntropy, threatened languages, yardening
Obviously, I put them there. I like having at least a few uniquities. Five of these are actually terms I coined:
brightware -- magical jewelry (I later learned there is a word for this in Hawaiian, palaoa)
family skills -- simply my description of posts about making a family work properly
synthetic energy -- a flavor of magic related to technomagic
syntropy -- a force that creates order, the opposite of entropy
yardening -- a combination of "yard" and "gardening," for working with plants not necessarily confined in a formal garden
The others are collected from various sources.
alien dice -- a webcomic I enjoy
fossil languages -- languages no longer spoken but preserved in recordings or dictionaries
pagan fiction -- stories written about Pagan characters, often by Pagan writers
spaceship earth -- the idea that we're on a small fragile planet and should care for it as crew would a ship
threatened languages -- languages spoken by very few people, especially if they're all elders
13. Do you have any unique interests on your user profile? What are they? How'd they get there?
Yes, they are:
alien dice, brightware, family skills, fossil languages, pagan fiction, spaceship earth, synthetic energy, syntropy, threatened languages, yardening
Obviously, I put them there. I like having at least a few uniquities. Five of these are actually terms I coined:
brightware -- magical jewelry (I later learned there is a word for this in Hawaiian, palaoa)
family skills -- simply my description of posts about making a family work properly
synthetic energy -- a flavor of magic related to technomagic
syntropy -- a force that creates order, the opposite of entropy
yardening -- a combination of "yard" and "gardening," for working with plants not necessarily confined in a formal garden
The others are collected from various sources.
alien dice -- a webcomic I enjoy
fossil languages -- languages no longer spoken but preserved in recordings or dictionaries
pagan fiction -- stories written about Pagan characters, often by Pagan writers
spaceship earth -- the idea that we're on a small fragile planet and should care for it as crew would a ship
threatened languages -- languages spoken by very few people, especially if they're all elders
Serial Poetry Updates
May. 7th, 2011 02:32 amLinks are now up for the new poems on the "Serial Poetry" page: "Until the Cows Come Home" and "Mending Fence" in "Monster House," "ongaeshibanashi" in "The Origami Mage," and "Prezzemolina" in "Poems about Fiorenza, the Italian Herbalist."
Serial Poetry Updates
May. 7th, 2011 02:32 amLinks are now up for the new poems on the "Serial Poetry" page: "Until the Cows Come Home" and "Mending Fence" in "Monster House," "ongaeshibanashi" in "The Origami Mage," and "Prezzemolina" in "Poems about Fiorenza, the Italian Herbalist."
Serial Poetry Updates
May. 7th, 2011 02:32 amLinks are now up for the new poems on the "Serial Poetry" page: "Until the Cows Come Home" and "Mending Fence" in "Monster House," "ongaeshibanashi" in "The Origami Mage," and "Prezzemolina" in "Poems about Fiorenza, the Italian Herbalist."
Serial Poetry Updates
May. 7th, 2011 02:32 amLinks are now up for the new poems on the "Serial Poetry" page: "Until the Cows Come Home" and "Mending Fence" in "Monster House," "ongaeshibanashi" in "The Origami Mage," and "Prezzemolina" in "Poems about Fiorenza, the Italian Herbalist."
Crowdfunded Illustration: "Faerie Wedding"
May. 7th, 2011 12:25 pm Check out the update of "Faerie Wedding" by ![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
meeks , showing a scene from wonder_city. Maelstrom has developed into a very fine Morgan horse, and there are lots of nifty new background details too. I think this looks like an illustration in a book of fairytales -- which is essentially the context of the scene, although the main serial is more of a superhero soap opera.
meeks , showing a scene from wonder_city. Maelstrom has developed into a very fine Morgan horse, and there are lots of nifty new background details too. I think this looks like an illustration in a book of fairytales -- which is essentially the context of the scene, although the main serial is more of a superhero soap opera.A Look at Steampunk
May. 7th, 2011 08:48 pm This article examines steampunk as an outgrowth of science fiction, with attention to genre roots and history.
Leafsnap is a smartphone app that lets you identify a tree by taking a picture of a leaf from it. The image is automatically compared to other images in a database, then the program responds with the tree's name and other details. This is far simpler than previous "field guide" apps where you had to key in the features of a plant or animal to identify it.
Regarding the questions at the end of the article ...
I wonder what impact this software will have on children today when they know they can identify something within a matter of a few seconds without any real effort or engagement? Will that help to educate and inspire them? Or, conversely, will it tune them into things they might have otherwise simply ignored?
Nature is pretty awesome. I think that once people start paying attention to it again, they will be intrigued enough to learn more. Just using the app repeatedly should teach leaf/name associations if people actually read the name once the ID rings up. Of course, some folks will just use this app as a toy, and not pay much attention to nature itself. But I suspect more will get hooked, and go deeper.
Regarding the questions at the end of the article ...
I wonder what impact this software will have on children today when they know they can identify something within a matter of a few seconds without any real effort or engagement? Will that help to educate and inspire them? Or, conversely, will it tune them into things they might have otherwise simply ignored?
Nature is pretty awesome. I think that once people start paying attention to it again, they will be intrigued enough to learn more. Just using the app repeatedly should teach leaf/name associations if people actually read the name once the ID rings up. Of course, some folks will just use this app as a toy, and not pay much attention to nature itself. But I suspect more will get hooked, and go deeper.
A Fracking Problem
May. 7th, 2011 08:56 pm This article talks about a proposed panel to analyze fracking., and argues that what we really need is a moratorium on fracking until it can be scientifically studied to see whether it is actually safe. Since the corporations started out by getting their fracking process exempted from the Clean Water Act and several other laws intended to protect human beings and the environment, it's pretty clear that they intended to frack those laws to pieces. Fracking has subsequently blown up people's houses, set wells on fire, poisoned people, contaminated groundwater, and caused minor earthquakes. This does not reassure me as to its "safety." Moratorium? Good idea. Figure out a way to extract natural gas without creating disasters in the process, or quit doing it.
May's theme was "folk tales." Prompts arrived in a steady trickle throughout the day. I didn't get to all the ones I wanted, and may eventually double back for some; I've already written one extra poem, "Mending Fence," based on comments about a fishbowl poem. There were 55 comments on the fishbowl post. I worked from 12:50 PM to 1:20 AM, so about 10 hours 30 minutes, accounting for breaks. The length clustered snugly in the middle; most were medium with a few long. There were no epics, and the only short was the after-hours "Mending Fence." I wrote 19 poems, plus that extra one. Most were free verse but there were several forms: ballads and quatrains, a terza rima, and one written in haiku verses. Most of the poems derived from a single prompt; a few used multiple prompts.
A total of 16 people sent prompts. Welcome to new prompter![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
idhren24, who's partly responsible for second freebie poem.
The serial perk qualified a second time. Donations reached the $150 goal. The perk poll chose Fiorenza to get the free serial poem. Donors have been invited to offer a prompt for that.
Read Some Poetry!
The following poems from the May 2011 Poetry Fishbowl have been posted:
"Backwater Tales"
"Chasing the Rain"
"A Cryptic Zoology"
"Folk Tales in 4/4 Time"
"The Library at the End of the World"
"Mending Fence" (a Monster House poem)
"Moral Traditions"
"Old Husbands' Tales" (a Torn World poem)
"ongaeshibanashi" (an Origami Mage poem)
"Prezzemolina" (a Fiorenza poem)
"Slashing Through the Undergrowth"
"Supersized"
"Threads of Magic"
"Until the Cows Come Home" (a Monster House poem)
Buy Some Poetry!
If you plan to sponsor some poetry but haven't made up your mind yet, read the list of unsold poems from May. That includes the title, length, price, and the original thumbnail description for the poems still available.
All the sponsored poems have been posted. Backchannel copies of other poems have been sent to their respective prompters. The May perk-post for donors is on folklore. I've also updated the "Serial Poetry" page on my website. There will be a poll on Monday to choose which poems get published out of the general fund, which currently contains $20.
Donors for May include:marina_bonomi, the_vulture, ladyqkat, quennessa, janetmiles, laffingkat, natasiakith, and eseme. Please give a cheer for new donors quennessa and natasiakith, who are partly responsible for the second freebie poem. Thank you all for your support and enthusiasm!
The Poetry Fishbowl project also has a permanent landing page.
A total of 16 people sent prompts. Welcome to new prompter
idhren24, who's partly responsible for second freebie poem.The serial perk qualified a second time. Donations reached the $150 goal. The perk poll chose Fiorenza to get the free serial poem. Donors have been invited to offer a prompt for that.
Read Some Poetry!
The following poems from the May 2011 Poetry Fishbowl have been posted:
"Backwater Tales"
"Chasing the Rain"
"A Cryptic Zoology"
"Folk Tales in 4/4 Time"
"The Library at the End of the World"
"Mending Fence" (a Monster House poem)
"Moral Traditions"
"Old Husbands' Tales" (a Torn World poem)
"ongaeshibanashi" (an Origami Mage poem)
"Prezzemolina" (a Fiorenza poem)
"Slashing Through the Undergrowth"
"Supersized"
"Threads of Magic"
"Until the Cows Come Home" (a Monster House poem)
Buy Some Poetry!
If you plan to sponsor some poetry but haven't made up your mind yet, read the list of unsold poems from May. That includes the title, length, price, and the original thumbnail description for the poems still available.
All the sponsored poems have been posted. Backchannel copies of other poems have been sent to their respective prompters. The May perk-post for donors is on folklore. I've also updated the "Serial Poetry" page on my website. There will be a poll on Monday to choose which poems get published out of the general fund, which currently contains $20.
Donors for May include:
marina_bonomi, the_vulture, ladyqkat, quennessa, janetmiles, laffingkat, natasiakith, and eseme. Please give a cheer for new donors quennessa and natasiakith, who are partly responsible for the second freebie poem. Thank you all for your support and enthusiasm!The Poetry Fishbowl project also has a permanent landing page.
May's theme was "folk tales." Prompts arrived in a steady trickle throughout the day. I didn't get to all the ones I wanted, and may eventually double back for some; I've already written one extra poem, "Mending Fence," based on comments about a fishbowl poem. There were 55 comments on the fishbowl post. I worked from 12:50 PM to 1:20 AM, so about 10 hours 30 minutes, accounting for breaks. The length clustered snugly in the middle; most were medium with a few long. There were no epics, and the only short was the after-hours "Mending Fence." I wrote 19 poems, plus that extra one. Most were free verse but there were several forms: ballads and quatrains, a terza rima, and one written in haiku verses. Most of the poems derived from a single prompt; a few used multiple prompts.
A total of 16 people sent prompts. Welcome to new prompteridhren24, who's partly responsible for second freebie poem.
The serial perk qualified a second time. Donations reached the $150 goal. The perk poll chose Fiorenza to get the free serial poem. Donors have been invited to offer a prompt for that.
Read Some Poetry!
The following poems from the May 2011 Poetry Fishbowl have been posted:
"Backwater Tales"
"Chasing the Rain"
"A Cryptic Zoology"
"Folk Tales in 4/4 Time"
"The Library at the End of the World"
"Mending Fence" (a Monster House poem)
"Moral Traditions"
"Old Husbands' Tales" (a Torn World poem)
"ongaeshibanashi" (an Origami Mage poem)
"Prezzemolina" (a Fiorenza poem)
"Slashing Through the Undergrowth"
"Supersized"
"Threads of Magic"
"Until the Cows Come Home" (a Monster House poem)
Buy Some Poetry!
If you plan to sponsor some poetry but haven't made up your mind yet, read the list of unsold poems from May. That includes the title, length, price, and the original thumbnail description for the poems still available.
All the sponsored poems have been posted. Backchannel copies of other poems have been sent to their respective prompters. The May perk-post for donors is on folklore. I've also updated the "Serial Poetry" page on my website. There will be a poll on Monday to choose which poems get published out of the general fund, which currently contains $20.
Donors for May include:marina_bonomi, the_vulture, ladyqkat, quennessa, janetmiles, laffingkat, natasiakith, and eseme. Please give a cheer for new donors quennessa and natasiakith, who are partly responsible for the second freebie poem. Thank you all for your support and enthusiasm!
The Poetry Fishbowl project also has a permanent landing page.
A total of 16 people sent prompts. Welcome to new prompter
idhren24, who's partly responsible for second freebie poem.The serial perk qualified a second time. Donations reached the $150 goal. The perk poll chose Fiorenza to get the free serial poem. Donors have been invited to offer a prompt for that.
Read Some Poetry!
The following poems from the May 2011 Poetry Fishbowl have been posted:
"Backwater Tales"
"Chasing the Rain"
"A Cryptic Zoology"
"Folk Tales in 4/4 Time"
"The Library at the End of the World"
"Mending Fence" (a Monster House poem)
"Moral Traditions"
"Old Husbands' Tales" (a Torn World poem)
"ongaeshibanashi" (an Origami Mage poem)
"Prezzemolina" (a Fiorenza poem)
"Slashing Through the Undergrowth"
"Supersized"
"Threads of Magic"
"Until the Cows Come Home" (a Monster House poem)
Buy Some Poetry!
If you plan to sponsor some poetry but haven't made up your mind yet, read the list of unsold poems from May. That includes the title, length, price, and the original thumbnail description for the poems still available.
All the sponsored poems have been posted. Backchannel copies of other poems have been sent to their respective prompters. The May perk-post for donors is on folklore. I've also updated the "Serial Poetry" page on my website. There will be a poll on Monday to choose which poems get published out of the general fund, which currently contains $20.
Donors for May include:
marina_bonomi, the_vulture, ladyqkat, quennessa, janetmiles, laffingkat, natasiakith, and eseme. Please give a cheer for new donors quennessa and natasiakith, who are partly responsible for the second freebie poem. Thank you all for your support and enthusiasm!The Poetry Fishbowl project also has a permanent landing page.
May's theme was "folk tales." Prompts arrived in a steady trickle throughout the day. I didn't get to all the ones I wanted, and may eventually double back for some; I've already written one extra poem, "Mending Fence," based on comments about a fishbowl poem. There were 55 comments on the fishbowl post. I worked from 12:50 PM to 1:20 AM, so about 10 hours 30 minutes, accounting for breaks. The length clustered snugly in the middle; most were medium with a few long. There were no epics, and the only short was the after-hours "Mending Fence." I wrote 19 poems, plus that extra one. Most were free verse but there were several forms: ballads and quatrains, a terza rima, and one written in haiku verses. Most of the poems derived from a single prompt; a few used multiple prompts.
A total of 16 people sent prompts. Welcome to new prompteridhren24, who's partly responsible for second freebie poem.
The serial perk qualified a second time. Donations reached the $150 goal. The perk poll chose Fiorenza to get the free serial poem. Donors have been invited to offer a prompt for that.
Read Some Poetry!
The following poems from the May 2011 Poetry Fishbowl have been posted:
"Backwater Tales"
"Chasing the Rain"
"A Cryptic Zoology"
"Folk Tales in 4/4 Time"
"The Library at the End of the World"
"Mending Fence" (a Monster House poem)
"Moral Traditions"
"Old Husbands' Tales" (a Torn World poem)
"ongaeshibanashi" (an Origami Mage poem)
"Prezzemolina" (a Fiorenza poem)
"Slashing Through the Undergrowth"
"Supersized"
"Threads of Magic"
"Until the Cows Come Home" (a Monster House poem)
Buy Some Poetry!
If you plan to sponsor some poetry but haven't made up your mind yet, read the list of unsold poems from May. That includes the title, length, price, and the original thumbnail description for the poems still available.
All the sponsored poems have been posted. Backchannel copies of other poems have been sent to their respective prompters. The May perk-post for donors is on folklore. I've also updated the "Serial Poetry" page on my website. There will be a poll on Monday to choose which poems get published out of the general fund, which currently contains $20.
Donors for May include:marina_bonomi, the_vulture, ladyqkat, quennessa, janetmiles, laffingkat, natasiakith, and eseme. Please give a cheer for new donors quennessa and natasiakith, who are partly responsible for the second freebie poem. Thank you all for your support and enthusiasm!
The Poetry Fishbowl project also has a permanent landing page.
A total of 16 people sent prompts. Welcome to new prompter
idhren24, who's partly responsible for second freebie poem.The serial perk qualified a second time. Donations reached the $150 goal. The perk poll chose Fiorenza to get the free serial poem. Donors have been invited to offer a prompt for that.
Read Some Poetry!
The following poems from the May 2011 Poetry Fishbowl have been posted:
"Backwater Tales"
"Chasing the Rain"
"A Cryptic Zoology"
"Folk Tales in 4/4 Time"
"The Library at the End of the World"
"Mending Fence" (a Monster House poem)
"Moral Traditions"
"Old Husbands' Tales" (a Torn World poem)
"ongaeshibanashi" (an Origami Mage poem)
"Prezzemolina" (a Fiorenza poem)
"Slashing Through the Undergrowth"
"Supersized"
"Threads of Magic"
"Until the Cows Come Home" (a Monster House poem)
Buy Some Poetry!
If you plan to sponsor some poetry but haven't made up your mind yet, read the list of unsold poems from May. That includes the title, length, price, and the original thumbnail description for the poems still available.
All the sponsored poems have been posted. Backchannel copies of other poems have been sent to their respective prompters. The May perk-post for donors is on folklore. I've also updated the "Serial Poetry" page on my website. There will be a poll on Monday to choose which poems get published out of the general fund, which currently contains $20.
Donors for May include:
marina_bonomi, the_vulture, ladyqkat, quennessa, janetmiles, laffingkat, natasiakith, and eseme. Please give a cheer for new donors quennessa and natasiakith, who are partly responsible for the second freebie poem. Thank you all for your support and enthusiasm!The Poetry Fishbowl project also has a permanent landing page.
May's theme was "folk tales." Prompts arrived in a steady trickle throughout the day. I didn't get to all the ones I wanted, and may eventually double back for some; I've already written one extra poem, "Mending Fence," based on comments about a fishbowl poem. There were 55 comments on the fishbowl post. I worked from 12:50 PM to 1:20 AM, so about 10 hours 30 minutes, accounting for breaks. The length clustered snugly in the middle; most were medium with a few long. There were no epics, and the only short was the after-hours "Mending Fence." I wrote 19 poems, plus that extra one. Most were free verse but there were several forms: ballads and quatrains, a terza rima, and one written in haiku verses. Most of the poems derived from a single prompt; a few used multiple prompts.
A total of 16 people sent prompts. Welcome to new prompteridhren24, who's partly responsible for second freebie poem.
The serial perk qualified a second time. Donations reached the $150 goal. The perk poll chose Fiorenza to get the free serial poem. Donors have been invited to offer a prompt for that.
Read Some Poetry!
The following poems from the May 2011 Poetry Fishbowl have been posted:
"Backwater Tales"
"Chasing the Rain"
"A Cryptic Zoology"
"Folk Tales in 4/4 Time"
"The Library at the End of the World"
"Mending Fence" (a Monster House poem)
"Moral Traditions"
"Old Husbands' Tales" (a Torn World poem)
"ongaeshibanashi" (an Origami Mage poem)
"Prezzemolina" (a Fiorenza poem)
"Slashing Through the Undergrowth"
"Supersized"
"Threads of Magic"
"Until the Cows Come Home" (a Monster House poem)
Buy Some Poetry!
If you plan to sponsor some poetry but haven't made up your mind yet, read the list of unsold poems from May. That includes the title, length, price, and the original thumbnail description for the poems still available.
All the sponsored poems have been posted. Backchannel copies of other poems have been sent to their respective prompters. The May perk-post for donors is on folklore. I've also updated the "Serial Poetry" page on my website. There will be a poll on Monday to choose which poems get published out of the general fund, which currently contains $20.
Donors for May include:marina_bonomi, the_vulture, ladyqkat, quennessa, janetmiles, laffingkat, natasiakith, and eseme. Please give a cheer for new donors quennessa and natasiakith, who are partly responsible for the second freebie poem. Thank you all for your support and enthusiasm!
The Poetry Fishbowl project also has a permanent landing page.
A total of 16 people sent prompts. Welcome to new prompter
idhren24, who's partly responsible for second freebie poem.The serial perk qualified a second time. Donations reached the $150 goal. The perk poll chose Fiorenza to get the free serial poem. Donors have been invited to offer a prompt for that.
Read Some Poetry!
The following poems from the May 2011 Poetry Fishbowl have been posted:
"Backwater Tales"
"Chasing the Rain"
"A Cryptic Zoology"
"Folk Tales in 4/4 Time"
"The Library at the End of the World"
"Mending Fence" (a Monster House poem)
"Moral Traditions"
"Old Husbands' Tales" (a Torn World poem)
"ongaeshibanashi" (an Origami Mage poem)
"Prezzemolina" (a Fiorenza poem)
"Slashing Through the Undergrowth"
"Supersized"
"Threads of Magic"
"Until the Cows Come Home" (a Monster House poem)
Buy Some Poetry!
If you plan to sponsor some poetry but haven't made up your mind yet, read the list of unsold poems from May. That includes the title, length, price, and the original thumbnail description for the poems still available.
All the sponsored poems have been posted. Backchannel copies of other poems have been sent to their respective prompters. The May perk-post for donors is on folklore. I've also updated the "Serial Poetry" page on my website. There will be a poll on Monday to choose which poems get published out of the general fund, which currently contains $20.
Donors for May include:
marina_bonomi, the_vulture, ladyqkat, quennessa, janetmiles, laffingkat, natasiakith, and eseme. Please give a cheer for new donors quennessa and natasiakith, who are partly responsible for the second freebie poem. Thank you all for your support and enthusiasm!The Poetry Fishbowl project also has a permanent landing page.
The May Fishbowl Report is now posted on my LiveJournal. It includes links to all the published poems plus the list of unsold poems.
Not long ago, melannen wrote a terrific post, "101 Asexy Sex Scenes." This involved creating an imaginary fandom for an apocryphal show. Much discussion ensued about what the characters, the show, and the fandom might be like. So then I got to thinking that the one form of writing I've never done much with is script writing, and maybe it would be fun to play around with that. I fiddled around with ideas, character thumbnails, episode summaries, and fannish trivia. And then I scripted a few of the advance advertisements for the show. This is the first one...
[A faint humming sound provides a background to the dialog. No scenery is visible, just a black screen with the voices of Alex and Bailey.]
Alex: "It's awfully dark in here."
Bailey: "Now don't you start that again."
Alex: "But it is."
Bailey: "That's because you accidentally locked us in a closet, genius."
Alex: "Well, there's an auxiliary fuse box for the superconductor in here and I needed just a little more power --"
Bailey: "Alex. You do theories and software. I do practicalities and hardware. This is a crucial distinction."
Alex: "-- and now we're running late for the first big experiment."
Bailey: "You're the brains of this outfit. I'm sure you'll think of something."
Alex: "Yeah, if I can just fit this penny in here--"
[A loud POP goes off. The faint humming sound in the background fades away with a pathetic little wheeze.]
Alex: "Oops."
Bailey: "Any other bright ideas?"
Alex: "We could stay here and cuddle until someone comes to find us?"
melannen wrote a terrific post, "101 Asexy Sex Scenes." This involved creating an imaginary fandom for an apocryphal show. Much discussion ensued about what the characters, the show, and the fandom might be like. So then I got to thinking that the one form of writing I've never done much with is script writing, and maybe it would be fun to play around with that. I fiddled around with ideas, character thumbnails, episode summaries, and fannish trivia. And then I scripted a few of the advance advertisements for the show. This is the first one..."Alex and Bailey in the Closet"
[A faint humming sound provides a background to the dialog. No scenery is visible, just a black screen with the voices of Alex and Bailey.]
Alex: "It's awfully dark in here."
Bailey: "Now don't you start that again."
Alex: "But it is."
Bailey: "That's because you accidentally locked us in a closet, genius."
Alex: "Well, there's an auxiliary fuse box for the superconductor in here and I needed just a little more power --"
Bailey: "Alex. You do theories and software. I do practicalities and hardware. This is a crucial distinction."
Alex: "-- and now we're running late for the first big experiment."
Bailey: "You're the brains of this outfit. I'm sure you'll think of something."
Alex: "Yeah, if I can just fit this penny in here--"
[A loud POP goes off. The faint humming sound in the background fades away with a pathetic little wheeze.]
Alex: "Oops."
Bailey: "Any other bright ideas?"
Alex: "We could stay here and cuddle until someone comes to find us?"