As you may have noticed, I'm blogging a lot less these days. This is partially Twitter's fault, in that a constant stream of 140-character-or-less updates more or less eliminates the need for a longer, weightier update. But and also furthermore, it's summer, which means: if the sun is shining and I'm not at work, chances are, you'll find me on a quilt, surrounded by a stack of books and a journal, hanging out in a park somewhere. I like writing outdoors, and since I've been trying to write-write by hand, it's kind of happened that I'm journaling by hand again as well. As it happens, it's overcast and raining today, so I'm blogging.
The other reason I've disappeared from the blogosphere is that I've been trying cut down on extraneous writing and focus on The Novel, whis is moving along splendidly. Well... perhaps not splendidly. I'm writing at a leisurely pace, to be sure, but with fewer major hurdles than before. I understand my characters now, which eliminates the aggravating hours spent trying to figure out their motivations/how they would react, etc. The plot is decided, so the question of "what happens next?" only pertains to minor sub-plots. Names have been given, attributes fixed, conversations planned. So, as far as I'm concerned, things are splendid. From here on out, it's just actually writing (and minor details) that stand between me and its completion.
I'm beginning to wish that I had paid more attention in my (earth) science classes, or that I had taken a college-level geology class; as it turns out, rocks and their formations are entirely foreign to me. Thus therefore, a lot of my time is spent researching. "Roadside Geology of Montana" is an amazing read for the similarly afflicted (read: for those whose knowledge of geology is limited to "That rock is brown"), in that it's incredibly informative while simultaneously being incredibly readable.
In other news, I'm currently obsessed with the Nomura's Jellyfish.
As I understand it, Nomura's Jellyfish can grow to over 6 ft in diameter and weigh over 200 lbs. Recently, they've become to Japanese fishing waters what rabbits are to Australia, in that they're overpopulating and completely taking over formally fertile fishing grounds. And hunting them doesn't help. From Wikipedia:
The problem with combating the jellyfish is that when they are under attack or killed, they release billions of sperm or eggs which connect in the water and attach to rocks or coral formations. When the conditions are favorable the creatures detach from their home, millions at a time, and grow into more jellyfish.
Don't ask me why, but this Jellyfish could be my new favorite animal. I think they're amazing.
Let's see, what else? Um... Someone dumped a vat of hot grease on my arm today; I have a pretty little blister bracelet to show for it. Woot woot. Annie got married. I'm completely in Love (capital "L") with Yellowstone National Park. And my cat, with whom I'm not very popular at the moment: Moy rolled in something stanky, which necessitated bathing him. Thus, the blister bracelet is actually covering a series of scratches... Here're some pictures of said feline:
Oh, and I want this:
Ok. That's all, that's it. Have a nice day.
