Month: April 2015

Two Glittery Hoo-Ha’s in a Month? What Are You Trying to Tell Me, Universe?

Dana Hunter6 Comments

Coinky-dinks are funny things. I didn’t think I’d ever come across glittery hoo-ha’s again outside of the Dogs and Goddesses deconstruction I’d got inadvertently sucked in to at Raven Wings. For those who are blissfully unaware of it, Dogs and Goddesses is a gawdawful romance book about a bunch of single women, their dogs, and some Mesopotamian goddess, plus a sexy god (of course), and a weird murderous priestess (ditto), and the sexy but assholish math professor (yep), and some other people I don’t even remember, because the bits Yami quoted were atrocious. There is a potion, and aphrodisiac cookies, and one of the ladies ends up with endless orgasm powers, and I just can’t with this.

Look, I only got involved in it because I was reading her This Present Darkness deconstruction. I will tell you about that book someday soon. Then you will understand why I enjoyed watching Yami savage it, and why I accidentally ended up reading a deconstruction of a really bizarre romance novel. Yami’s really damned good at deconstructions and I was powerless, okay?

Anyway. Goddesses. Dogs. And, toward the end the book, glittery hoo-ha’s. Continue reading “Two Glittery Hoo-Ha’s in a Month? What Are You Trying to Tell Me, Universe?” →

Two Glittery Hoo-Ha’s in a Month? What Are You Trying to Tell Me, Universe?
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Why Do I Have So Many Photos of Random Babies? Plus, Baby Me

Dana Hunter5 Comments

I just went on a gallop through my box o’ disorganized photos to find the few pics I’ve got of Misha as a kitten, and ended up wading through twelve gajillion babies I don’t recognize anymore. I don’t even remember people handing me photos of these random infants. I know there must be a reason for most of them, but there’s only a couple I recognize. The rest are just small photos of children I probably never met, handed to me by proud relations I was friends with. It’s weird – but only because in the digital age, when it’s easier to share photos than ever, I don’t get any unknown infant pictures. I guess it’s because the proud relations can do their sharing on Facebook or something. I dunno. Has anyone else experienced this?

I did find my blackmail photo. The person in question has passed beyond the Age of Susceptibility to Mortal Embarrassment and is now old enough to laugh at her silly small child antics, so I shall never get to use it. But it’s totes adorbs. You’ll have to take my word for it, because I’m not putting it on the intertoobz unless she contacts me and tells me to go right ahead.

You’ll have to settle for some other kid’s pictures instead. Let’s see what’s in this mess….  Continue reading “Why Do I Have So Many Photos of Random Babies? Plus, Baby Me” →

Why Do I Have So Many Photos of Random Babies? Plus, Baby Me

Unidentified Flying Dinosaur: Iridescent Duckie

Dana Hunter3 Comments

This one will, of course, be dead simple for ya’ll to get, so he’s just a bonus birdie. But he’s so pretty!

Image shows a black duck with a white chest. His black feathers are mottled with subtle browns, giving him a tortoiseshell cat appearance. There is a lot of iridescent green along his head, back and wings, and just a hint of blue.
UFD I

I love all his colors! B about went ecstatic when I pointed him out – he likes really neato animals and isn’t afraid to show it. Great sense of wonder, that man. Continue reading “Unidentified Flying Dinosaur: Iridescent Duckie” →

Unidentified Flying Dinosaur: Iridescent Duckie

Fundamentals of Fungi: Pantherina

Dana Hunter2 Comments

Let me introduce you to a beautiful probably-Amanita pantherina mushroom that said “Fuck you, lawnmowers!” and popped up this spring. Well, early March. It counted as spring because damn, our March was warm. Must be all that global warming I hear so much about.

Image shows a round-topped, brown, white-spotted mushroom on a lawn.
Most probably Amanita pantherina.

Of course, I could be wrong about the identity, I am not an expert. But it’s somebody from the Amanita family, and pantherina fits the bill. Besides, I love the name. If I ever get a panther, I shall name her Pantherina (spoiler: I will not ever have a panther, because Misha has taught me that having a cat that can’t bite your arms literally off is safest). Continue reading “Fundamentals of Fungi: Pantherina” →

Fundamentals of Fungi: Pantherina

How Feminism Changed My Duck-Feeding Habits. Plus: Epic Food Fight!

Dana Hunter4 Comments

Here’s an interesting thing about becoming a full-bore feminist: it’s changed my duck feeding habits. Seriously. Female birds tend to be pretty plain, and they’re not usually aggressive show-offs like the males. Before I started getting seriously into feminism, I just kind of ignored them. The boys were prettier. The girls were boring. Continue reading “How Feminism Changed My Duck-Feeding Habits. Plus: Epic Food Fight!” →

How Feminism Changed My Duck-Feeding Habits. Plus: Epic Food Fight!

Escape: A Harrowing Tale of Fundamentalism and Freedom

Dana Hunter6 Comments

I’ve been in an easily-distractable mood lately. I keep fussing around with books, picking them up for a few pages or paragraphs before tossing them aside and moving on to something else. I was afraid I’d never finish another book again in my life until I picked up Carolyn Jessop’s Escape. I didn’t even mean to buy it – I was there for Jon Krakauer’s Under the Banner of Heaven, actually, and decided I’d better look around for similar books written by women, because my reading list has unfortunately been skewing too heavily dude. Up popped Escape, and I said “Brilliant,” and placed my order.

Image is the cover of Escape, which is photo of Carolyn Jessop on a black background. She cradles a framed picture of herself as an FLDS teenager in her hands. She is a woman in her thirties with chestnut hair and blue eyes.

This seriously screwed up my already-precarious sleep schedule, and almost ruined my April Fools’ Day plans. Continue reading “Escape: A Harrowing Tale of Fundamentalism and Freedom” →

Escape: A Harrowing Tale of Fundamentalism and Freedom

A Hairy Woodpecker In Your Face!

Dana Hunter3 Comments

I’m having all sorts of awesome good luck with birds this winter/spring, people. I mean, hooded mergansers on North Creek, American coots (which you shall soon have adorbs videos of), an owl(!), some super-cute diving birds I’ll be unleashing upon you soon, and woodpeckers.

You got the ID on our very far away and barely visible woodpecker from Lord Hill Regional Park. It is indeed a hairy woodpecker! Congratulations to all of you who either got the ID. Condolences to those who thought it was a downy woodpecker – I thought it might be, too, hence my laundry reference. Now that I understand the size differences, I agree with the hairy woodpecker crowd. Damn these lookalikes!

Here for your viewing pleasure is a much better video of a hairy woodpecker. Continue reading “A Hairy Woodpecker In Your Face!” →

A Hairy Woodpecker In Your Face!

“There Have Never Been Frontiers Between Astronauts.”

Dana Hunter3 Comments

This is a beautiful sentiment from the first human to walk in space:

“There have never been frontiers between astronauts. The day that this notion sinks into the minds of politicians, our planet will be different.”

Part of me would like to see that world. Part of me wonders if, as Robert Frost’s neighbor said, “Good fences make good neighbors.” I know we need fences even in our own communities. I know sometimes those fences are the only way to co-exist. There are some frontiers between people and nations that need to be there, at least for a time. I just hope that if we do ever get to the point where frontiers dissolve, it’s because we’ve all learned how to treat each other well. Continue reading ““There Have Never Been Frontiers Between Astronauts.”” →

“There Have Never Been Frontiers Between Astronauts.”

Fundamentals of Fungi: Baby Butter! Plus UFD!

Dana Hunter3 Comments

Ermahgerd, you guys, it’s baby witches butter!

Image shows a tree trunk with a tiny patch of bright-orange fungus growing on it. The patch is only about the size of a pinkie nail.
Baby witches butter, with my index finger for scale.

This was at the entrance to the Temple Pond trail at Lord Hill Regional Park. That place has become our go-to spot for winter hiking. There are so many trails we haven’t even seen them all, and we’ve been out there several times. This time around, we did a bunch of the ponds, and it was perfectly lovely. We saw a woodpecker, and heard owls, and visited about a billion ponds (okay, maybe four or five). I’ll be doing up a full guide someday, but it’ll have to wait until after we’ve finished exploring the trails a few times.

Just down the trail, we found a couple of logs loaded with wood mushrooms. Continue reading “Fundamentals of Fungi: Baby Butter! Plus UFD!” →

Fundamentals of Fungi: Baby Butter! Plus UFD!

Bi-Erasure and the Prejudice Against Bi-Oriented People

Dana Hunter3 Comments

Goddamnit, humanity, can we for once just bloody learn to get along? I mean, seriously. You’d think the one safe space for people with bisexual or biromantic orientations would be the LGBT community. I mean, there’s a B, right there, specifically for them. But it appears there’s work to be done breaking down bigotry. K.C.’s post on her experiences coming out reminded me that prejudice lurks everywhere. Continue reading “Bi-Erasure and the Prejudice Against Bi-Oriented People” →

Bi-Erasure and the Prejudice Against Bi-Oriented People