kimlajevardi

Happy Wednesday! I’m here, even though 80 mph winds tried to blow me and my house away yesterday. Seriously. No hurricane. No tornado. We just lived through a massive movement of air, really massive.

Today is a little different in my news quest. I have a protag in my current WIP who is an artist, which is making me take even more notice of art links and stories. There’s so much cool art out there that I decided to share.

This first one is so cool. I love the floating silver. Stunning!

https://mashable.com/2017/08/03/giant-kinetic-sculptures-create-waves-in-air/

This next one makes me want to cut, roll, and fold paper creations of my own, but we all know mine would look like a fifth graders.

https://www.boredpanda.com/quilled-paper-art-yulia-brodskaya/

Last but not least, art crafted by the earth itself. Science and art. Love!

http://discovermagazine.com/galleries/2013/nov/earth-from-space

That’s all for tonight. Take some time to check out art whether you’re playing Dorothy in your own wind storm or not. 😉

Hello all! It is time once again for my blathering about randomness. I like randomness. If you’ve read me before, you know this. I think it’s a positive quirk. 🙂

This first story could start a war if I dropped it into the midst of a writer’s conference. Proof that the Oxford comma has a role. Can you tell which side I’d fight on?

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/think-commas-don-t-matter-omitting-one-cost-maine-dairy-n847151

This is so cute. The sheep let the rabbits hitch a ride, and the rancher gave them a pass since they were smart enough to figure out such a solution. Good all the way around. This gave me the feels.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/australasia/rabbits-surfing-sheeps-backs-photograph-floodwaters-rising-new-zealand-farmer-rain-a7860806.html

In science news, the weirdest condemnation of putting on all the colors to attract a mate. Apparently, it increases the risk of extinction. Intriguing, but also a bit humorous.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/04/180411131646.htm

That’s all for me tonight. See you back here in seven.

It is time once again for the Insecure Writer’s Support Group monthly posting. A far-flung group of writers whose portals have clickable entry points embedded in the image above. Try it. You know you want to.

The fantastic co-hosts for the April 4th posting of the IWSG are Olga Godim, Chemist Ken, Renee Scattergood, and Tamara Narayan!

The question today is – When your writing life is a bit cloudy or filled with rain, what do you do to dig down and keep on writing? 

For me the methods to dig deep depend upon why I’m stuck. As with where I am now, in the early building stages of a WIP, butt in chair is my main coping device. Sit, even if I only accomplish 100 words. Sit, even if I only add more to my research. Sit, even if I only manage to figure out a character or plot point. Just sit and point face at screen. Time matters.

The trick changes during second, third, fourth, fifth, etc … drafts. Then, it helps to chunk write. Do a burst, then read. Do a burst, then eat lunch. Do a burst, then go for a run. Work, think, repeat.

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Time for some news.

This first story just cracked me up. Dilly! Dilly! Don’t say it, Kim. It’s forbidden. Dilly! Dilly! 😉

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/dilly-dilly-masters-bud-light_us_5ac4de0ee4b0ac473edc266d

This is one very determined drunk guy. I’m glad no one got hurt.

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/russian-man-armored-vehicle-ram-window_us_5a565e20e4b03bc4d03d7507

Solving issues of food and water contamination is fantastic. Using phage tag to do it is proof scientists are freaking rock stars.

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/nanobot-viruses-tag-and-round-bacteria-food-and-water

That’s it for me tonight. See you back here in seven.

Yet another Wednesday has swooped in to replace an outgoing Tuesday, a rapidly outgoing Tuesday. Speedy calendar switches. Stealth like. Day ninjas–that’s what they are–day ninjas. I really have a strange relationship with time. 😉

Time for some news.

This first story is a big ol’ really, dude? I guess it’s normal for a family of gator wranglers, but … really?

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/alligator-gender-reveal-party-louisiana-t-mike_us_5aba9af1e4b06409775ada39

That’s not how this works. That’s not how any of this works. *Facepalm*

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/punxsutawney-phil-arrest-warrant_us_5ab964f9e4b0decad04d10bf

In science news, this new discovery could be a game changer for studying and treating disease, aging research, and so much more. Turns out we should never ignore the in between. Fluid in the gaps as organ. Who’d a thunk it?

http://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/researchers-accidentally-discover-what-could-be-an-entirely-new-organ-in-the-human-body/

That’ll do it for me tonight, folks. See you back here in seven.

Welcome to a springy Wednesday! It’s bouncy and alive and carrying equal day and night into our lives. Sunlight, friends, sunlight. No flowers yet, but we’re close. I love spring. Can you tell? 🙂

Time for some news. Can’t have me getting all gushy and sappy now, right?

Up first, a big old facepalm. How drunk did he have to be to think this would work?

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/fake-homer-simpson-driver-license_us_5aaceecae4b0c33361b0b256

That one’s mine and that one. Oh, that one too. Mine. They are all mine.

https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/03/15/594003407/dozens-of-gold-bars-reportedly-fell-from-an-airplane-in-siberia

Lastly, the coolest science story I’ve read in a while. A black hole chomping on a star. Wow!

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/03/180319115845.htm 

That’ll do it for my Tiggery self. Time to boing away from the keyboard. See you in seven, folks. Boooiiinngg! 🙂

Welcome back one and all! This week has ushered in spring in weather and light if not yet calendar. We’re close, so very close, but I’m feeling it now. Time for some news about stuff in no way related to spring, sun, or shorts. You just never know which direction my brain will go. 😉

This first story is the first of two to show that the machines are beginning their rise to take over. Beware of cackly laughter, my friends. The wicked witch is masquerading as a helpful computer.

https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/03/08/591831871/alexa-please-stop-laughing-amazon-says-its-fixing-device-s-unprompted-cackles

This next one makes me wonder if our kids are co-conspirators in the rise of the machines.

https://www.npr.org/2018/03/09/592196614/toddler-locks-iphone-for-47-years

In science news this week, progress in understanding autism.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/03/180314144927.htm

That’ll do it for me tonight. See you back here in seven.

Welcome back to the monthly meeting of twitchy writers. Wait! I think the image above may have it right. Welcome to another gathering of insecure writers ;). We are a motley mixture of people reaching through keyboards toward the collective–no, not that collective. There are no Borg representatives in our group. Although  … I haven’t visited every blog. Let me know if you find them.

The fantastic and definitely non-Borg co-hosts for this posting of IWSG are Mary Aalgaard, Bish Denham, Jennifer Hawes, Diane Burton, and Gwen Gardner!

Time for me to stop playing and get serious. There’s a question to answer. *Giggle*

Okay, okay. Here goes. How do you celebrate when you achieve a writing goal/finish a story?

Hmm. Celebrate is a strong word. I write novels. So, finishing means pulling my head out of my editing-induced fog to remember that I’m a member of the human race and that I may need to clean my house, tend to the wobbling stack of to-do tasks, and actually take in sensory data from the world. Does that count as a celebration? I suppose it is if you consider housekeeping a celebration. But, truthfully, it’s what I do. I take a few weeks to actually attend the enormous stack of things that I ignored during final edits and add in a dash of TV binges. Send in the balloons. 😉

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Time for some news.

This first story was handled with good humor and poise by both anchors. I may have been a little more shrill myself. Can you imagine having a bird land on your head during a TV broadcast?

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/nichelle-medina-pink-bird-on-head_us_5a94513ae4b01f65f599075b

These people take their KFC very seriously. The joking about it was worth a belly laugh. Here’s an LOL for the grocery-store prank. Nice.

https://www.npr.org/2018/02/21/587731907/kfc-store-closures-in-the-u-k-prompt-calls-to-police-with-complaints-of-chicken-

And in science news this week, nerds rule. I want a floating brain. Please. I’ll clean my room and do all the laundry. Please.

https://www.livescience.com/61909-cimon-floating-brain-iss.html

That’s all for me this week. See you back here in seven.