New Verses

Thanks to a donation from janetmiles, there are 10 new verses in "Only If It Is Embraced" and 21 new verses in "The Tree of Damocles."  

Platform Collapses

 greywash has described a robust pattern in platform collapses.  This is a problem because people put a lot of time, energy, and money into building an online presence.  When those platforms are unreliable as a concept, that wastes a lot of effort every time they collapse, discourages people from investing that effort again, and thus makes cyberspace less functional for everyone.

Taphonomy

I found a fun new word today:

Taphonomy is the study of how organisms decay and become fossilized. The term taphonomy (from the Greek taphos, τάφος meaning "burial", and nomos, νόμος meaning "law") was introduced to paleontology in 1949[1] by Russian scientist Ivan Efremov to describe the study of the transition of remains, parts, or products of organisms from the biosphere to the lithosphere.

The Trans Teen Survival Guide

For transgender and nonbinary youth, and other folks interested in the topic. 

Teamwork in Conflict

This brilliant post explains teamwork in conflict using the set of roles popularized in World of Warcraft and other video games. The approach works well in many other contexts, and highlights something that video games (and tabletop roleplaying games) can teach effectively.

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Light Pillars

My partner Doug tipped me to this spectacular image of light pillars.  This natural phenomenon happens when light passes through frozen fog and refracts through the hexagonal crystals.  They look like trees! 

Poem: "The American Dream"

This poem came out of the December 4, 2018 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by prompts from Anthony Barrette and my_partner_doug. It has been sponsored by Anthony & Shirley Barrette.

Warning: This poem contains political criticism.

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Poem: "Batting Around"

This poem came out of the December 4, 2018 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by prompts from chanter_greenie and Shirley Barrette. It has been sponsored by Anthony & Shirley Barrette. This poem belongs to the Schrodinger's Heroes project.

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Poem: "Cruel Intentions and Difficult Truths"

This poem is spillover from the December 4, 2018 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by a prompt from louisadkins. It also fills the "sidewalk chalk" square in my 12-1-18 card for the Summer in December Bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by Anthony & Shirley Barrette. It belongs to the Not Quite Kansas series. The sequel is "The Ramifications of That State of Mind."

Warning: This poem contains some intense and controversial topics. Highlight to read the warnings, some which are spoilers. It includes a policeman investigating a noise complaint, a college student doing an occult ritual, arguing, both of them getting sucked into an alternate reality, angels and demons, threats, rude language, reference to a consensual but questionably ethical teacher-student relationship, and other angst. If these are sensitive issues for you, please consider your tastes and headspace before moving onward.

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Demifiction: "What Normal Looks Like: Having Fun with Fruit Episode 1"

This is spillover from the November 6, 2018 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by a prompt from technoshaman. It also fills the "good nutrition" square in my 2-28-18 card for the Slice of Life Bingo fest. This demifiction is the bonus material for the December 4, 2018 Poetry Fishbowl reaching its $300 goal. It belongs the series Polychrome Heroics, and is mentioned in the poem "When Circumstances Are at Their Worst" (not yet published).

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