Attack of the Killer Pine Cones

Everything is bigger in Australia.  In this case, 20-pound pinecones falling from on high can injure or kill people underneath.

Who else is thinking it would be fun to drop one on the Spectrum?  Because obviously they're not going to mind the signs.  :D

Bloomington Native Plant Sale

 There will be a sale of native prairie plants in Bloomington, IL on May 21.  I would love to catch this; their tentative list of plants for sale is ... basically everything I ever wanted in prairie landscaping. <3

The Phylogenesis of Folktales

 Using biology to study folklore to study sociogeography.  I love how science sticks to itself!  This is like a hot fudge brownie delight of scientific goodness.  :D

The Moon Door: Sequencing in Progress

For reference, I've been trying to sequence the poems as I go along.  Here is my best guess of series chronological order so far ...

"Wolfsboon" 10-6-15

"Forgotten How to Feel" 1-19-16 (fishbowl) SOLD

"Trail Magic" 1-20-16 (fishbowl spillover) SOLD

"Opening the Door" 

"Stable Lunar Orbit" 1-21-16 (fishbowl spillover) SOLD

"Red Moon Waning" 1-20-16 (fishbowl spillover) SOLD

"Lupus in Fabula"  1-19-16 (fishbowl) 

"Elsewere" 1-19-16 (fishbowl)

"The Strength of the Wolf: Scenting" 1-19-16 (fishbowl) SOLD

"The Strength of the Wolf: Howling" 1-19-16 (fishbowl)

"Void of Course" 1-20-16 (fishbowl spillover)

"Lunacy" 1-20-16 (fishbowl spillover)

"Neither Impossible to Escape" 1-25-16 (outside fishbowl) SOLD

"Grandmothers Moon" 1-19-16 (fishbowl)

New Verses

Thanks to a donation from lone_cat, there are new verses to read!  "Like a Shag on a Rock" has three new verses. Blastwave misses Limestrike.  "Holding Hope and Love" has two new verses.  Cheersquad asks Catalina what she is good at doing.

Poem: "Lupus in Fabula"

This poem came out of the January 19, 2016 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by prompts from janetmiles and helgatwb. It also fills the "dusk" square in my 10-2-15 card for the ladiesbingo fest. It has been sponsored by janetmiles. This poem belongs to The Moon Door series.

Warning: This poem contains some touchy topics. Highlight to read the warnings, some of which are spoilers. There are canon-typical discussions of messy medical details, chronic pain, lupus, emotional angst, introversion, social anxiety, exhaustion, lycanthropy, fear of persecution, disability issues, feeling useless, poor quality of life, struggling to make improvements, difficult decisions, and other challenges. While Randie isn't very good at this stuff yet, the other women are much more experienced in dealing with chronic pain and illness of all kinds. They apply appropriate coping techniques and support as needed. If these are sensitive issues for you, please consider your tastes and headspace before reading onward.

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Poem: "Drawing Out the Feelings"

This poem came out of the January 2016 crowdfunding Creative Jam. It was inspired by prompts from dreamwriters, shiori_makiba, beasts_of_homeworld, and dialecticdreamer. It also fills the "confused" square in my 11-3-16 card for the Disaster Bingo fest, and the "relax" square in my 8-1-15 card for the As You Like It fest. This poem has been sponsored by beasts_of_homeworld. It belongs to the Shiv thread of the Polychrome Heroics series. It comes after the story "Drawing It Out" by dialecticdreamer.

WARNING: This poem contains some intense topics. It's also got a common trigger that can be serious, but people rarely think of this one in the context of trigger warnings: past reference to bad teachers. If that's an issue for you, definitely highlight the spoilery warnings. The inside of Shiv's head is a mess, and this poem lays out more reasons why. He had some truly terrible art teachers, and other people who mistreated him for trying to express his emotions. Yes, what he feels is often scary, but that's typical of abused children, and punishing them for showing their damage just makes it massively worse. The poem also includes references to past child abuse, extremely negative self-talk and self-recrimination, fear of punishment, resignation, One True Wayism, bad tape, discussion about the meaning and purposes of art, hesitation, intense art therapy, intrusive thoughts and horrible emotions, minor mistakes, panic attacks, prolonged duress stress disorder, talking about feelings, educational suppression, past bullying, insecurity, past bad therapy, and other challenges. Current environment is supportive. Please consider your tastes and headspace before reading onward.

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