A Tree in the Forest

Well, since I last wrote, Monsters in My Backyard got put on indefinite hold. "What?" you might gasp. "Someone on the Internet stopped doing work on a blog?" I know; it's shocking to me, too.

But I was writing the text at the last minute, Wes was squeezing in the drawings between gigs for which he was actually accepting payment, and yeah. It's one thing to be disciplined, quite another to shove out work out of a sense of obligation. I like the idea too much to see it become something we half-ass or roll our eyes about whenever it comes time to do an entry, so we paused before we got to that point.

I've been working on writing stories on my own time, but that means very little to anyone, because they're not yet in a state to be seen. They need feedback, editing, a kick in the tush, everything it takes to get a story to the point at which it means something to someone reading it. If a tree falls in the forest, and no one's around to hear it--if a person writes a story, but no one else has been able to read it, is there really any sound to be heard other than the sound of said person talking out of her ass?

I don't have an answer for that; some mysteries simply are too deep. But this is an article I wrote for work, and this is the item description that's probably going to be my crowning achievement at this job (scroll down a little and check under the "Item Details" tab). And that's my life for the moment.

Woo.

Hairy, Naked Buds

That's what the descriptive URL for today's post on Monsters in My Backyard got shortened down to.

Wes and I are still going with the blog, though I switched to posting on Sundays to give us more time to produce the material needed. The image that Wes drew for today's post is my favorite of all the ones he's done so far.

Do have a look, won't you?

Monsters in My Backyard

So Wes and I started a blog, called Monsters in My Backyard, that combines his drawing and my writing, and we put the first post up today.

The idea is that we look at stuff from the nearby natural world, he imagines and draws a monster based on what he sees, and then I write about some of what science says is actually going on out there.

If you saw me pop up on Instagram as "monstersinmybackyard" a while back--this is what that was about. But we'd love it if you took a look if you're interested and shared it with anyone else you think might be interested, too.

Here's our first post: On Wood Decay Fungi, or, That Dying Tree Is More Alive Than You Think

And here's Wes's illustration for it:

Neuromarketing: Why Your Brain Loves Free T-Shirts

More stuff I did for work. It's pretty nice of them to let me babble on about science all the time, considering that the company's all about producing stress balls and pens.

Neuromarketing: Why Your Brain Loves Free T-Shirts

Science for Your Saturday

Writing about rivers and about a place that most certainly lacks rivers. Science!

Algae's Effects on the Biodiversity of a Stream
Does Venus Have Valleys?

I Depleted Any Ability I Have to Think About Post Titles While I Was at Work

At my new(ish) job, I'm responsible for writing stuff, including product descriptions, social media updates, and blog posts about topics related to the company. The first blog post with my name on it went up this week. Have a look-see:

Nice Plastic Bottle You're Wearing: What You Never Knew About Recycled Fabric 

If the post title doesn't interest you, perhaps the fantastic image set I found for the header will:

Rhapsody in Boo-Hoo

I cried in the car on the way to work today, not because I was upset, but because this song came on the radio, and there's a part in the middle that gets me every stupid time. Today marks the 90th anniversary of its first public performance, where I'm sure plenty of other people also cried like sissies.