Welcome to yet another Wednesday post. I am embarrassed to admit I skipped last week, so this took two weeks. I know, I know—bad blogger. I feel bad. Can you feel it? 😜 Um…well, guess I owe you some news and a song.

This first story is a gift to atone for my non-posting sin. A journey, he simply wants to go from 2 to 1. https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2020/09/30/Cyclist-rides-2500-miles-from-Poo-Poo-Point-to-Pee-Pee-Creek/7151601491272/

This bug is one hell of an explorer. Do you think they have shareable maps of all the digestive tracts? I heart science! https://www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/article/some-beetles-can-be-eaten-by-a-frog-then-walk-out-the-other-end

My final gift to you this evening is a Pink favorite of mine. Enjoy! See you in seven. Really. https://youtu.be/_Wl5-audkPY

Happy Hump Day, all! Yet another Wednesday has come and almost gone in the year I hope to someday refer to as “the year which shall not be named.” I’m going to stick to news and music tonight, though. It’s the little pleasures. Always.

This first story has the best visual ever. Can you imagine drinking beer from a stuffed squirrel’s mouth? Bizarre food museums never disappoint. https://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_5f526fdcc5b62b3add400d7e

In science news tonight, the beauty of the microscopic world on display. So stunning! https://www.scientificamerican.com/video/this-small-world-is-packed-with-animated-beauty/

That’s all for me tonight. Sit back and enjoy Paper Airplane by Alison Krauss. See you back here in seven. https://youtu.be/2-0drZqMdR4

Happy Wednesday! I know I have been harping on the weather lately, but I have to share. We went from 97 degrees on Monday to snow and a 60 degree temperature drop from Tuesday into today. Really. Parts of the state are still on fire, but the moisture helped. I just don’t know about this year, though. 🤷‍♀️

My first story of the night is the best obit I’ve ever read. She definitely loved Halloween. Rest in costumed-peace, Holly Blair. https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/woman-who-loved-halloween-hailed-22647880

In science news, methanol-fueled bugs are the wave of our search-and-rescue future. I heart science! https://www.sciencenews.org/article/methanol-fuel-beetle-robot

That’s it for me tonight. Enjoy this version of the Pirates of the Caribbean theme song. In addition to science, I heart symphonies. https://youtu.be/6zTc2hD2npA

It is time once again for my monthly posting for The Insecure Writer’s Support Group (IWSG). We’re a fun-loving group of insecure writers who reach trembling fingers through our virtual keyboards to find connection beyond our keyboards. Come join us.

The awesome co-hosts for the September 2 posting of the IWSG are PJ Colando, J Lenni Dorner, Deniz Bevan, Natalie Aguirre, Louise – Fundy Blue and me.

The optional question this month is – If you could choose one author, living or dead, to be your beta partner, who would it be and why?

The truth is the question is hhhaaarrrddd. I love so many books and authors. If I have to choose one (argh, curses), the answer would be: Naomi Novik. I love everything of hers I’ve read. If you haven’t read her, go. Now.

Short but sweet posting this month. Now, it’s time for a news and music snack.

*****

This first story is “unbearable.” 🙂

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/teddy-bear-foul-ball_n_5f3f5a59c5b6305f3255c8d0 

And in science news today, puberty may not be great for your skin or your voice, but it could provide a window to help repair childhood trauma. That matters–a whole hell of a lot for many kiddos out there.

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/puberty-teens-brain-stress-responses-early-trauma

I leave you with a new favorite. See you in seven.

https://youtu.be/g0tuwxWAbWA

Hello all! It is Wednesday once again, and for a change, we are not hot and smoky. It’s raining as I type this. Yes! Also, please send more. I hope some other states in the west can say the same. But for now, news.

This first story gave me all the feels. I heart penguins, and I love to think of the little guy watching TV to “visit” other penguins. https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/penguin-feeling-under-weather-binge-22580510

My science story today also gave me the feels, but in an academic way. Using Schrodinger’s Cat to solve quantum computational error is brilliant. I heart science! https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/08/200812144017.htm

I leave you with one of my favorite Kaleo songs. I’ll see you in seven. https://youtu.be/0-7IHOXkiV8

It is Wednesday… again. Sigh. It’s still smoky and hot in my neck of the woods, and it’s making me sleepy. 😴 A little news break before I head to bed.

This first story has the best driver’s license picture ever. https://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_5f357aadc5b6960c06722d7c

In science news tonight, the birth of a comet. Cool! https://www.sciencenews.org/article/space-rock-comet-centaur-astronomy

The song I’m leaving you with is a cover of Leonard Cohen’s Avalanche. I heard another version in a documentary recently, and it blew me away. Enjoy! I’ll see you in seven. https://youtu.be/LemlPjMfq7E

Hello all! It is Wednesday once again. A hot, smoke-filled, pandemic Wednesday. Sigh. But where there is fun news and music, there is something capable of distracting me. So…

This first story is a nice distraction. Good for the kid. He’ll be telling this story for quite some time. https://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_5f243c86c5b68fbfc8828ea5

It hurt more to be a Neanderthal, and not just because they slipped so much in the human gene pool to be considered extinct. I heart science. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/07/200723115900.htm

To seal the night, an oldie but goodie. If you’ve been on Twitter at all the past week, you know why this song is top of mind. Enjoy! I’ll see you in seven. https://youtu.be/MN3x-kAbgFU

It is time once again for my monthly posting for the Insecure Writer’s Support Group (IWSG). We post the first Wednesday of the month to create a collective web of nervousness and insecurity which smothers the web. Fun, right? If you are compelled by twittering fun, click the image above. It’s what all the really cool basket cases are doing. 😉

The amazing co-hosts this month are Susan Baury Rouchard, Nancy Gideon, Jennifer Lane, Jennifer Hawes, Chemist Ken, and Chrys Fey!

And the optional question is–Have you ever written a piece that became a form, or even a genre, you hadn’t planned on writing in? Or do you choose a form/genre in advance?

I had to think on this one for a minute. Truth is, the idea usually makes quite clear the genre to me. Since the idea is what leads me to the keyboard, I know the genre once I sit down. But, when I really thought back to “ever,” I had to admit that my works-in-progress will sometimes grab a little genre seasoning I had not planned on. And once I looked at it that way, then I had to admit all of my work has been affected. In fact, during first draft of my current WIP I ended up deciding on suspense elements I had not planned on.

Great question! Now, time for some news.

*****

Regardless of politics, this first story is cool. She swore in at the 35-mile mark of her 100-mile ultramarathon. Badass!

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/jill-karofsky-judge-sworn-in-marathom_n_5f282e5bc5b656e9b09e99a3

In science news, rapid 3D imaging from echoes of light. I will not even pretend to fully understand the ramifications of using AI in helping to recreate images, but it sounds amazing. It also sounds like the backstory for a Terminator-type movie, so there’s that. You gotta love science.

https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/08/time-camera-generates-3d-images-echoes-light

I will leave you with a song. See you in seven.

Happy Hump Day, folks! Two more days, they cannot go fast enough for me over here. I heart weekends, and I really heart weekends during this crazy year. Until then, a little fun news and music.

This first story lifted my heart. https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/builder-leaves-sweetest-note-customers-22428005

In science news, the wakening of ancient microorganisms seems cool in abstract. But—this is 2020. https://www.sciencenews.org/article/ancient-seafloor-microbes-woke-up-after-over-100-million-years

My song today is part of my playlist for my current book. I heart Pink. https://youtu.be/_Wl5-audkPY

That’s all for tonight. See you in seven.

I won an ARC of White Trash Warlock from a publisher (Blackstone Publishing) giveaway, and I’m so glad I did. I loved the book, and I can’t wait to see what’s next from David R. Slayton. He is definitely an author worth watching! This book is a definite buy if you like fast-paced Urban Fantasy that is well crafted with a side of romance.

Adam Binder can see beyond the squalor of the trailer he grew up in. He can see beyond the poverty and bias he has to live with day-to-day in rural Oklahoma as a gay boy who doesn’t like to shoot, but what his Sight cannot provide him is answers about how to get over his abusive childhood, and especially, being thrown into a mental institution by his nonmagical brother.

Just as he’s beginning to put his life together and find meaning in hunting down a Warlock who deals in magical pain, the same brother who pushed for his commitment reaches out. He needs help. His wife, a woman with no familiarity with magic, not even the disdain Adam’s brother has in spades, has fallen prey to a magical attack centered on their perfect suburban life in Denver, Colorado.

His brother’s call jumpstarts a journey that tests the limits of Adam’s magic, the boundaries between worlds, and the very definition of love.