Instead of a single animal, I’m going to share some pictures of creatures that have see-through skin. A lot of fish, invertebrates, and reptiles. This is actually rather common in juvenile fish. So, enjoy all these Google Image Search pictures.
Barreleye Fish
Cyanogaster Noctivaga
Ghost Shrimp
Glass Frog
Glass Octopus
Glass Squid
Glasswinged Butterfly (Lot of Glass names here)
Pharaoh Ants
Salps
Tortoise Shell Beetle
This week started off going well, but things abruptly fell apart yesterday. To the point where I’m genuinely starting to believe I’m cursed. Started to feel like I had energy and got a little hope in my heart. Then . . . fucking nightmare on steroids that I can’t even talk about here. All I can really say is that it’s bad enough that the slightest addition of stress makes me feel like I’m going to puke, dizzy, and my shoulders hurt like they’ve just been stabbed. Yay!
I want to talk about the good stuff that happened, but it’s so hard for me to really dive into it. So much work has to be done this weekend, which was supposed to be easy. 90% of it was unexpected or not mentioned until it became urgent. Needless to say, I’m not going to get any writing done this weekend. Last weekend my have been a glitch before the Matrix remembered that I’m supposed to be suffering through my existence. God knows, I couldn’t even get close to my writing once the week started again and my plan to get a little in this weekend has been destroyed.
You know, I’ve never struggled this much with writing a goal post. This blow to my psyche and nerves feels different. Is it because completing almost 3 chapters of a new book made me happy and gave me hope? Prior to that, I was being crushed in a way that was more like the grinding of a boot that was already on me. This time, it feels like I was allowed to stand for a moment and then smashed back down. I’m scared to feel that hope again until there’s fewer things that can batter me. It’s even more extreme than what I felt throughout the school year when I could predict what was going to happen, so I was able to soften the blow. This time just hit so hard and suddenly that it feels oddly personal. Not by those involved, but by whatever entity controls our fates.
As I said, I finished the first 2.75 chapters of Darwin & the Halfling Hunt. It was slow going at first. Then, I got into a groove and made good progress before things got too crazy to continue. I thought I’d get that last chapter section done, but it didn’t happen and who knows when I’ll get another chance. That’s probably another thing that’s making me upset. I hate leaving a chapter unfinished because I worry that I’ll screw up the tone and flow of the events. This one might not have as high a risk as the others, but I’ll still need to check things and might lose more time than I’d like going back. Since I’m still looking at getting very limited writing time, it could end up with me checking the previous stuff and then failing to write until a week passes and the cycle continues. If I can get a little time this weekend and my head together then it might work, but it’s not looking good . . .
WOULD PEOPLE STOP TEXTING ME FOR A MINUTE! Seriously, my phone just went beeping left and right for a whole minute. I see messages from eight different people right now. None are urgent.
Not much else to talk about since I barely touched the TV. Vaguely remember finishing the second season of ‘Arifureta’ and enjoying it, but it’s like that was a lifetime ago. I tried to start ‘Restaurant to Another World’, which seemed like a fun, short story type of series about a restaurant that opens once a week to allow those from a fantasy world to come in for food. It was a random choice, but it might be the best to put on while my brain is steeped in misery. No drama or complicated plot from what I can tell. Just characters doing stuff, finding a door, and getting a meal.
Goals of the week:
Philip J. Fry
Zoning out can be pretty useful. It can also come with several risks if you do it in the wrong place. Should you avoid it? No, but be careful by following these Pros and Cons.
That’s what I came up with. Anybody have other pros and cons of zoning out?
Universal Monsters
(Think I was trying to write about the Windemere orcs here. This one is definitely a big mystery.)
Opposites in nature
Attracted to their cores
The genders
Like night and day
Differences dueling
In an endless dance
Where one is nothing
Without the other
*
Hairy beasts
With eyes composed of want
Ready for action
To impress the other side
Physical trials
Forged of pure testosterone
Designed with little thought
*
Silken sylphs
Watching the bestial acts
From corners of their eyes
Playing games
Scarring hearts
Leaving flesh intact
The feminine animal
Hidden by the goddess guise
*
Strength of men
Bring power to the floor
Grace of women
Enough to tame the beast
The demur
Drawn to the brash
Burning in the heat
Continuing the dance of natures
Yahoo Image Search
Did the title work? Maybe not, which is one of the challenges with analogies. They’re like jokes in that they depend on the audience and don’t always hit their mark. You can share an analogy that has one person nodding in agreement and another scratching their head in confusion. Why is that?
Well, the big thing is that analogies require pre-existing knowledge. I remember one from the animated X-Men that was ‘Nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs’, which I’ve been told is a Southern expression. Pretty simple to understand as long as you know what a cat and a rocking chair are. You also need to know how painful that experience would be. If you’re missing any of those elements, you’re going to have to explain what you meant. Again, this is like a joke where it loses its impact if you have to explain it.
I’ve noticed that I use analogies a lot. People may have picked up on that in comments over the years. By analyzing myself, I tend to use an analogy for one of two reasons:
Both areas have shown analogies to be useful in getting a point across. This is because it simplifies and familiarizes things. If a person doesn’t understand a concept then it can be made clear by connecting it to something they do know. It won’t give them an intricate understanding of the details, but they can get the general idea. This opens the door to introduce the more nuanced and difficult pieces. Take the Big Bang example where the person now gets that something exploded outwards. Now, you can explain how this created the galaxy (mess) and the planets/stars/etc. (burrito pieces) exist individually instead of connected. Eventually, you can phase out the comparison and they’ll be left with the information as well as a simple way to explain it to others.
Analogies can be used in writing too. They’re really useful in non-Earth fiction. As the image states, they can be used to pump up your stories. Narrators can explain things in a fictional world by connecting it to the real world. Characters can explain magic systems, historical events, and other unfamiliar pieces of world-building with a simplification for those who don’t know. It helps the readers know what is going on without getting an info dump or being talked to directly. Analogies are so common in our lives that this tactic makes them feel organic.
This doesn’t mean analogies are perfect and safe. As I said, they depend a lot on pre-existing knowledge. There’s also an issue where a person might not like analogies and see them as idiotic. I’ve met many who are able to grasp concepts easily, so they see analogies as ‘dumbing down’. Even if they’re not the target, they will feel like they are and the analogy can come off as insulting. Doesn’t matter with some people that others might need it, so you can inadvertently rub someone the wrong way. Can you do anything to avoid this? Only by not using analogies, but then you’ll have people who don’t understand. Best to weigh your options on which scenario you would rather deal with if you have to.
Another challenge with analogies is just coming up with them. They aren’t easy regardless of the time we take to craft one. A long time can lead to us second guessing our connections and making a mess. Too little time can create an analogy that makes about as much sense as playing chess on a highway. I’ve found that there’s a balance between instinct and conscious thought with these things. Rush into it to see what comes up first and then come back to it later. A first shot at an analogy is rarely on point. If you can’t understand it a week later then you need to do it again.
So, what do you think about analogies? Got any favorites?
Hi SErs! It’s a day of Harmony here at Story Empire 🙂 Today, I’d like to talk about prologue dos and don’ts. Here’s a link to the previous post on …
How to Use Prologues, Part 3, Prologue Dos and Don’ts
Yahoo Image Search
Yahoo Image Search
Welcome to the magic flower shop. Each of our flowers bestows a special ability if you wear it. These last until they die, so work hard to keep your purchase alive for as long as possible. Please be aware that if any of our flowers crosspollinate with those around you, the offspring will have no magical properties. We learned the hard way that you need such a safeguard. So, what would you like?
So, today is the National Pink Flamingo Day, which is about these guys:
Not Real Flamingos
I thought it would be more interesting to do a post about the real thing. After all, flamingos are one of the most identifiable and popular birds around. Their pink coloration, long necks, and how they stand on one leg are practically iconic in the animal kingdom. They’re also filter feeders and eat by straining food from mud, which involves eating with their heads upside down. Really cool.
Also, none of the 6 species are endangered. That means, we can dive right into the pictures (all found with Google Image Search) and videos.
Greater Flamingo
This is the Greater Flamingo, which has the greatest range. It’s also the largest. They’re found in Africa, Southern Europe, and South/Southwest Asia.
Lesser Flamingo
The Lesser Flamingo is found in Sub-Saharan Africa and western India. These are actually the smallest flamingo species.
Chilean Flamingo
Found in South America, the Chilean Flamingo is considered near threatened. This is because they live in salt lagoons and soda lakes, which are at risk of pollution. Some have been introduced to the Netherlands.
James’s Flamingo
The James’s Flamingo has more yellow in its beak than other species. The live in the higher altitude plateaus of the Andes like in Peru and Bolivia. They were thought to be extinct until a colony was found in 1956.
Andean Flamingo
The Andean Flamingo is closely related to the James’s Flamingo. They live in the same region too. You can see in the pictures that they differ in beak color. This one also has a deeper mandible than other species. Mining has made this species vulnerable.
American Flamingo
The American or Caribbean Flamingo is the only one that inhabits North America, but it isn’t exclusive to the continent. It can be found in the Caribbean, Florida, Belize, Colombia, Brazil, and Venezula.
Here’s an informative video to learn more:
Legends of Windemere 