Links #1
Another websurfing wave.
Yeah, I spend too much time cruising the net. It's become my default timewaster. Still, there is a lot of good stuff out there. Here are some of my favorites.
Paleontology, etc.
Steven Priestly's Therapsids
It's easy to find a lot of good information on dinosaurs. Unfortunately there are a lot of other fascinating animals in our past that don't get as much attention as they deserve. When I went looking for information on the glorious monstrosities of the Permian this was one of the few websites that delivered the kind of information I was looking for. Hey Steven -- more skeletal diagrams, please!
http://www3.telus.net/therapsid/
Brian Switek's Laelaps
Well-written essays on evolution and paleontology, animal photography, and the occasional squeal of agony from a poor brute clasped in the savage jaws of higher education. Brian's been kind enough to use one of my images on his page but that ain't why he's here.
http://scienceblogs.com/laelaps/
And for my tiny spot on his site...
http://scienceblogs.com/laelaps/2008/04/cambrian_freaks.php
Manubo Sakamoto's Raptor's Nest
Another toiler in the academic vineyards, Manubo Sakamoto's site has a lot of good renderings of dinosaurs, mostly large theropods, in both pencil and Illustrator. I'd like to point out that his drawings, unlike mine, eschew a flat profile. Reminds me that I need to work harder...
http://mambobob-raptorsnest.blogspot.com/
DinoBase
A reference site for Mesozoic mavens maintained by the University of Bristol. A very nice resource.
http://dinobase.gly.bris.ac.uk/
Much to my pleasure they've decided to make use of some of my dinosaur reconstructions. Just click the links and cruise through the galleries.
Coelophysis
http://dinobase.gly.bris.ac.uk/frontend/dinobase_pageViewSpecies.php?id=852
Velociraptor
http://dinobase.gly.bris.ac.uk/frontend/dinobase_pageViewSpecies.php?id=1529
Plateosaurus
http://dinobase.gly.bris.ac.uk/frontend/dinobase_pageViewSpecies.php?id=1268
Protoceratops
http://dinobase.gly.bris.ac.uk/frontend/dinobase_pageViewSpecies.php?id=1300
Literature, Art, and the Like
Swill
Rob Pierce's postpunk neo-noir literary magazine is one of the two venues for my short fiction. Yeah, I'm the assistant editor (and designer and illustrator) but that doesn't mean I get off easily... The story I've got coming up went through thirteen revisions. So far... Rob rejected himself from the next issue. I thoroughly approve; that action made me think of my own promise to nuke a US city if I'm ever made president -- it delivers a message and that message is "Don't fuck with me because I am fucking crazy." Swill has been made part of the University of Wisconsin's permanent collection. Go figure. Between this and the Dinobase I have officially been digested by the Academy. Hell, if they can eat Duchamp's pisser they can swallow anything.
Monday Night
This is the other magazine that features my fiction. A classic small-press literary magazine, elegantly edited, illustrated, and executed. They've got a story of mine coming out this summer; somehow I managed to con them into publishing a long science fiction piece. Suckers!
http://www.mondaynightlit.com/
And if you're curious they have a story of mine on line. It's the first piece I wrote after deciding to take writing seriously. I'd love to fix the paragraphing, redundant and stilted word choices, and dialog tags but I'm still fond of it. A glimpse of my life during the time depicted in my upcoming novel.
http://www.mondaynightlit.com/montana.html
Eat Our Brains
I'm not sure if this belongs in this section but what the hell. A collective blog produced by seven Austin, Texas-based writers with a strong science fiction/fantasy bent. Here's a gruesome confession. One time I walked in on the missus while she was watching Friends. I stood quietly for a couple of moments, taking it all in.
"Why do you watch this crap?" I asked.
She glared at me for a second, then looked down at the floor, shame manifest on her face. When she spoke her voice was wistful enough to quell my tendency to give her a hard time. "Sometimes I feel like they're my friends."
That's what Eat Our Brains is for me. It's friend porn. Listen, folks, I have chronic insomnia and I spend a lot of time by myself in the middle of the night. It's kind of a vulnerable state and honestly, it can get lonely. There are websites that I frequent because they give me a sense of being in the company of people I like. This one radiates good sense, camaraderie, and a warm acceptance of the human condition. It's just plain charming.
Pals, Allies, and Members of the Tribe
Deborah Kuchar
Deborah's a member of my writer's group. 's kind of a funny story -- we posted on Craigslist for new members, she responded and was accepted... ... and she never showed up. A while later I was at Jupiter, a downtown Berkeley beer bar, having a critique session with another writer pal (Maria Chavez, who still hasn't said whether or not I can link -- Google her, she's a great tough-minded poet and you should be reading her stuff.) who had made arrangements to meet with a friend after we did our thing. When her friend showed up he had Deborah in tow. Over the course of the conversation we figured out our connection. Since we hit it off well, Deborah showed up for the next meeting and the rest is history.
Deborah's field of speciality is sustainable garden and landscape design. She's one of the experts -- she fuckin' knows what she's talking about. If you have an interest in the subject she's the go-to gal.
http://www.greenalchemy.com/index.html
Lee Marrs
When the teacher in my scriptwriting and storyboarding class chalked her name on the board it was familiar. I hung out after class for a few minutes.
"Hey," I said, "did you do comics for Epic magazine?"
Sure enough. Lee is, and I know this sounds kind of hifalutin, a significant figure in comix history. She's also an extremely experienced veteren of just about every modality of popular storytelling -- television, movies, comics, videogames...
That's cool and everything but at the end of the day I think of her as a teacher. I've had the privilage of studying under a number of great teachers; Lee is easily in the top five. Not for the sensitive artiste (though certainly not without sympathies in that direction), Lee teaches you how to work in the trenches of commercial art. Taking a class from her is as demanding as working a job -- and the payoff is more than worth it. Every time I sit down to work I find myself making use of something she taught me. If you're interested in preproduction or animation and you live in the San Francisco Bay area look up her courses and attend, my friend.
Sharon McGill
When I first started taking my writing seriously I joined a writer's group. Among the members were the above-mentioned Rob Pierce and Sharon. Sharon is another all-around artist, being an accomplished painter, draftsman, and graphic designer in addition to writing. She's got a strong streak of experimental formalism and is highly conscious of the possibilities inherent in web- and hypertext- based storytelling. I am particularly enamored of her etching/engraving-influenced pen-and-ink work. Go check it out; it's thoroughly modern yet strongly reminiscent of the golden age of illustration -- think Howard Pyle or Walter Crane.
http://www.sharonmcgill.net/alchemy.html
