Podcast appearances and mentions of Ursula Vernon

Fans of science fiction, fantasy, and horror are converging once again as LuxCon opens its doors this weekend in Luxembourg. Long-time organiser of the event Gérard shared his excitement and a sneak peek at what attendees can expect from this beloved pop culture celebration. LuxCon, now in its 12th official year, has grown from a passion project into a major annual event. For Gérard, the convention is all about bringing together people to celebrate and share their fandoms. He compares fandom apparel to sports shirts, as a visible badge of shared identity. Whether it's Star Trek, Star Wars, or Babylon 5, everyone has a place. This year's convention boasts a packed program: roundtable discussions, board games, an artist alley, and literary presentations. Notable guests include award-winning author and illustrator Ursula Vernon (aka T. Kingfisher), podcast creators Alyssa Stewart and Margaret Canner from The Magnus Archives, and RPG designer Jason Durall of Call of Cthulhu and Dune fame. Cosplay remains a major draw, with high-level craftsmanship on full display. From seasoned crafters to first-time creators, the event welcomes all, costume or not. LuxCon continues to expand with its inclusive, DIY ethos. “If something's missing, we invite people to help make it happen next year,” said Gérard, reflecting on the organic growth of the event. Tickets are available at the door for €5 per day or €9 for the weekend. The full schedule, guest list, and FAQs are at luxcon.lu. With geek karaoke, a pub quiz, and more planned, LuxCon 2025 is set to be unforgettable.

It's March, so by the rules of podcasting, we must do a draft. On this episode, each host drafted eight characters to come to a new world as its new protectors (or rulers, depending on their disposition). You can decide via the poll below whose eight would be the best protectors or make the best stories. The poll will be open for one month.https://forms.gle/PJGc9m5cVHQYjBMW6Here are each host's eight:Joshua:1. Thurvishar D'Lorus (A Chorus of Dragons by Jenn Lyons2. Kaul Shaelinsan “Shae” (Green Bone Sage by Fonda Lee)3. Richa Langyun (Book of the Usurper by Erin M. Evans)4. Adolin Kholin (The Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson)5. Kihrin D'Mon (A Chorus of Dragons by Jenn Lyons)6. Peralon (The Sky on Fire by Jenn Lyons)7. Caul Shivers (The Age of Madness by Joe Abercrombie)8. Bayaz, First of the Magi (The Age of Madness by Joe Abercrombie)Steph:1. Queen Neveranimas (The Sky on Fire by Jenn Lyons)2. Gideon Nav (The Locked Tomb by Tamsyn Muir)3. Arasgon, the Fireblood (A Chorus of Dragons by Jenn Lyons)4. Samwise Gamgee (The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R Tolkien5. Captain Teveri az-Ḥaffār (Running Close to the Wind by Alexandra Rowland)6. Senera (A Chorus of Dragon by Jenn Lyons)7. Kaladin Stormblessed (The Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson)8. Nynaeve al'Meara (The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan)Christina:1. Dr. Ayda Mensah (The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells)2. Brother Qown (A Chorus of Dragons by Jenn Lyons)3. Asshole Research Transport (ART) (The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells)4. Anahrod (The Sky on Fire by Jenn Lyons)5. Abigail Pent (The Locked Tomb by Tamsyn Muir)6. Tyensto (A Chorus of Dragons by Jenn Lyons)7. Digger-of-Unnecessarily-Convoluted-Tunnels (Digger by Ursula Vernon)8. Avra Helvaçi (Running Close to the Wind by Alexandra Rowland) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How being a career creative is an ongoing process of discovering how we work and create, and why - if you're an intuitive writer like I am - you might need to write from a character's POV to understand them. RELUCTANT WIZARD is out now and audiobook is live!! https://www.jeffekennedy.com/reluctant-wizardYou can preorder STRANGE FAMILIAR at https://www.jeffekennedy.com/strange-familiar and MAGIC REBORN at https://www.jeffekennedy.com/magic-rebornThe posture-correcting sports bra I love almost more than life itself is here https://forme.therave.co/37FY6Z5MTJAUKQGAJoin my Patreon and Discord for mentoring, coaching, and conversation with me! Find it at https://www.patreon.com/JeffesClosetYou can always buy print copies of my books from my local indie, Beastly Books! https://www.beastlybooks.com/If you want to support me and the podcast, click on the little heart or follow this link (https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/jeffekennedy).Sign up for my newsletter here! (https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/r2y4b9)You can watch this podcast on video via YouTube https://youtu.be/9f6FACChhAkSupport the showContact Jeffe!Find me on Threads Visit my website https://jeffekennedy.comFollow me on Amazon or BookBubSign up for my Newsletter!Find me on Instagram and TikTok!Thanks for listening!

S20 Ep17: In Which Mur Reflects on Creativity and Ambition "It's really easy. It's so relaxing to not be creative."- Mur Transcript This week, Mur shares her journey through book edits, the struggles of low energy, and the comforting realization that creation is often less comforting than consumption. Mur explores the myriad of creative opportunities available today—from writing novels to making music videos—and the emotional weight that comes with each creative endeavor. She also touches on her admiration for hybrid creators like Ursula Vernon and the spontaneous creativity of the band, The Garages. Mur reflects on her past as a sports journalist and how it shaped her writing, offering insights into finding the right angle for storytelling. Whether you're struggling with a boring main character or the challenges of prequels, Mur provides thoughtful advice and personal anecdotes to help you navigate your creative journey. Links: Ursula Vernon Kobo Evergreen Links Catch the show LIVE on Twitch Thursdays, 3pm, Eastern time! Like the podcast? Get the book! I Should Be Writing book. My newsletter, The Hot Mic, and my Patreon. Supporting either of those will get you perks like access to the discord, exclusive content, and early, ad-free episodes. Socials: Bluesky, Mastodon, TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Focusmate. Theme by John Anealio Savor I Should Be Writing tea blends Support local book stores! Station Eternity, Six Wakes, Solo: A Star Wars Story: Expanded Edition and more! OR Get signed books from my friendly local store, Flyleaf Books! All books featured in Season 20   "Navigating Novel Noodling and New Ideas" is brought to you in large part by by my supporters, who received an early, expanded version of this episode. You can join our Fabulist community with a pledge on Patreon or Substack! Some of the links above may be affiliate, allowing you to support the show at no extra cost to you. Also consider leaving a review for ISBW, please! CREDITS Theme song by John Anealio, art by Numbers Ninja,and files hosted by Libsyn (affiliate link). Get archives of the show via Patreon. July 1, 2024 | Season 20 Ep 17 | murverse.com "Navigating Novel Noodling and New Ideas" by Mur Lafferty is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

"If you want to make money, you have to think about it like a job."- Mur Transcript (This post went live for supporters on June 26, 2024. If you want early, ad-free, and sometimes expanded episodes, support at Patreon or Substack!) Welcome back to Ditch Diggers! In this episode, we kick things off with a fresh start and a new co-host. The mighty Mur Lafferty is joined by the fabulous Ursula Vernon (aka T. Kingfisher) as they dive into the nitty-gritty of the writing business. Ursula shares her personal journey of overcoming cancer and getting back into the writing groove, while Mur talks about the realities of making deadlines and the business side of writing. They also discuss the recent Hugo Awards controversy and the implications for authors involved. Highlights include: - Transition to Ursula as the new co-host - Ursula's health update and return to writing - The Hugo Awards controversy and its impact - Backing up your work and the Google Drive debacle - The pros and cons of attending conventions Links: Ursula Vernon/T. Kingfisher Mur Lafferty Hugo Awards Legends and Lattes Babel by RF Kuang Supernova Con Devo Spice Backblaze JoCo Cruise FenCon RavenCon NASFiC World Science Fiction Society Robert's Rules of Order Evergreen Links: Mur on Focusmate! Mur on Twitter, Instagram, Youtube Newsletter, The Hot Mic Support via Patreon! Or Substack! Theme song by Devo Spice (check here for all mentioned books) Support Local Book Stores! Ditch Diggers credits:theme song by Devo Spice, art by Numbers Ninja, site hosted by Libsyn (or Patreon). June 28, 2024 | Season 10 Ep 1 | murverse.com "Ursula Vernon Takes Over New Beginnings and No More Cancer." by Mur Lafferty and Ursula Vernon is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

The 17th annual RavenCon Science Fiction and Fantasy Convention will take place at Virginia Crossings in Glen Allen April 26-28. The event will feature a range of activities for fans of all ages, including autograph signings, panels, workshops, readings, and concerts. Two well-known science fiction and fantasy writers and curators will be in attendance: Ursula Vernon, also known as T. Kingfisher, who has written more than 15 books for children, more than a dozen novels, and the webcomic Digger; and Ellen Datlow, who edits sci-fi and fantasy short fiction for Reactor.com and Nightfire Books and has won numerous awards for her work....Article LinkSupport the Show.

The 17th annual RavenCon Science Fiction and Fantasy Convention is returning to Virginia Crossings in Glen Allen April 26-28. The event is anticipated to draw a crowd of more than 1,000 attendees and will feature a range of activities for fans of all ages, including autograph signings, panels, workshops, readings, and concerts. Two well-known science fiction and fantasy writers and curators will be in attendance: Ursula Vernon, also known as T. Kingfisher, who has written more than 15 books for children, more than a dozen novels, and the webcomic Digger; and Ellen Datlow, who edits sci-fi and fantasy short fiction...Article LinkSupport the show

The Literary Edition Vi fortsätter summera skräckåret 2023 i gammal beprövad Vargtimmen-tradition men med viss försiktig slagsida åt litteratur; bara Patreon-mecenater hänger med hela vägen fram till utmärkelsen årets film. Tomas kräver David Gordon Greens omedelbara avgång efter att han först – Gordon Green alltså – slaktat Halloween och per förra året gett sig på Exorcisten-varumärket, och Lars är mikrofonkåt utöver det acceptabla på tal om Ariel Helds Blötdjur. Eller som vi brukar säga: *Blötdjur…?*. Vi pratar också om: hundar som slåss i öknen, Evil Dead Rise, Mats Strandberg, Pestblommor, Lina Arvidsson, Vertigo Förlag, Anders Fager, Kaitlyn Dever, No One Will Save You, Disney+, Whitley Strieber, Mel Gibson, Signs, det att äta och gråta samtidigt, Konferensen, nervösa Stanley Kubrick-influenser, Josefine Bornebusch, Katia Winter, Solsidan, Johannes Johansson, @krj_johansson, det att göra en vinst på bortåt 1100% på något som Insidious: The Red Door, Patrick Wilson, Leigh Whannell, James Wan, Ghost, The Devil on Trial, talking heads men inte bandet Talking Heads, Ed och Lorraine Warren, American Nightmare, Brenda Tent, V/H/S 85, Exit, American Psycho, Skam, sub-sub-genren man vs. beast, Cocaine Bear, Elizabeth Banks, Bridesmaids, Cocaine Bear: The True Story, Kristoffer Noheden, Gravdikter, Alexandra Nedstam, John Donne, the graveyard school, Malte Persson, Enys Men, Skinnamarink, Cornwall, Pink Floyd, Piper at the Gates of Dawn, J-horror, New Religion, Eraserhead, Donnie Darko, Maniac-remaken, Birth: Rebirth, Marin Ireland, Hanteringen av odöda, Thanksgiving, Death Proof, Planet Terror, Eli Roth, Green Inferno, Black Friday, Scream, Misfits, Where Eagles Dare, det att fuska med Nazareth-låten Love Hurts, Död snö 2, David Renklint, Huggormars högland, Doppelgänger Förlag, Joni Huttunen, home invasion-genren, True Detective, Emelie Estling, Ola Larsson, Five Nights at Freddy's, Blumhouse, Willys Wonderland, Nicholas Cage, FromBeyond Podcast, How to Sell a Haunted Hause, Grady Hendrix, Paperbacks from Hell, Hemnet, Paul Austers New York-trilogi, The Deads och naturligt nog något litet om det utmärka hardcorepunkbandet Atrocious Madness från Portland, Oregon. Bakom Patreon-väggen kan alla höra oss fortsätta skrika om allt möjligt från skräckåret 2023, bland annat den fågelfixerade T Kingfischer (pen name för Ursula Vernon) som ägnar en stor del av inledningen till A House With Good Bones att beskriva en gam och låta huvudpersonen biologen resonera kring varför mammas gata är döpt efter en gam som inte finns varken i North Carolina eller i Nordamerika. (Mamma är konstig och huset är konstigt och boken är en habil, om än inte i den konkreta bemärkelsen beboelig, southern gothic av dussinsorten.) Med mycket mer: besök för all del gärna www.patreon.com/vargtimmenpodcast för mer information. Nostalgi, löst tyckande och akademisk analys.  

SPOILER ALERT: This episode includes spoilers for Volume 9 of The Wandering Inn.  Please skip this episode if you have not completed chapter 9.64 BH.  Today, Oshi and Dragonus are discussing Volume 9 and making predictions on the finale. Bookish Things  - Tor.com (Science Fiction and Fantasy publisher), The Sunlit Man by Brandon Sanderson, Digger webcomic by Ursula Vernon, Nettle and Bone by T. Kingfisher (Ursula Vernon), Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree; Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto, Yumi and the Nightmare Painter by Brandon Sanderson, The Cinder Spires series by Jim Butcher, Dead Man's Hand by James J. Butcher, An Inheritance of Magic by Benedict Jacka, Alex Verus series by Benedict Jacka, Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits by David Wong, Defiant by Brandon Sanderson, Oscar Wars: A History of Hollywood in Gold, Sweat, and Tears by Michael Schulman; Superman vs. Hollywood by Jake Rossen, Speed-Reading Book Nerd Reviews (a blog), Defiance by C.J. Cherryh, The Expanse by James S.A. Corey

Hi folks! Ursula is resting this week, but somehow she still managed to make word count AND finish the edits for a book that y'all are eagerly awaiting. On my side, we have updates on my side project, my other productivity, and some odds and ends. After all that, we talk to Sam DeMase about how she stays productive! Links for this Episode: Charty Spotlight: Ali Forney Center A Power Mood About Sam DeMase Power Mood Book on Amazon Maintenance Phase If Books Could Kill Jury Duty She-Ra and the Princesses of Power Nurk, by Ursula Vernon

Mary Anne interviews Ursula Vernon, a.k.a. T. Kingfisher, about her work, with an interest in how Vernon pivots from writing for adults, to creating children's fiction. Is writing for certain ages really all that different? Mary Anne is also interested in how Vernon approaches worldbuilding in her imaginative work. This interview is a part of the Portolan Project, an initiative to provide a wealth of exceptional creative writing courses and resources. Episode show notes: speclit.org/ep-49-show-notes

Original broadcast date June 29, 2022. The original podcast post is here: https://pixelatedgeek.com/2023/06/binary-system-podcast-368-wtnv-230-carlos-explained/https://pixelatedgeek.com/2023/06/binary-system-podcast-368-wtnv-230-carlos-explained/ Welcome to the first Vacation Edition of 2023! Recording on location in a tropical resort (otherwise known as our sister's old room in our parents' place) with state of the art equipment (Elizabeth's phone balanced on a pillow) and atmospheric sound effects (paper rustling, squeaky chairs, and the cat jumping on the bed), it's nothing but the best for our loyal listeners. (All five of you.) ANYWAY. This week we're recapping the finale of the latest Night Vale arc, as Carlos the Scientist goes toe to toe with Dr. Lubelle of the University of What It Is. (Short version: someone really needs to drop a house on Dr. Lubelle. Or something similar. She's the WORST.) After that we briefly discuss the (freaking brilliant) recasting choice in Solar Opposites. (We've included a tiny clip of the Solar Opposites teaser trailer, but if you want to watch it before we discuss it you can find it here.) This week's outro is a clip from Hard Love by Beat Mekanik. Buy us a coffee Here's the thread from Ursula Vernon about how coming up with the idea isn't the hard part. (In response to people saying A.I. will come up with the ideas and humans can “just clean it up a bit.”) Looking for a present for that hard-to-shop-for person? Want to buy them (or yourself) a square foot of a castle in Scotland? Look no further! You can support the restoration of Dunan's castle, legally call yourself Lady or Laird, AND if you use this link to get there, you can support this podcast too! www.scottishlaird.co.uk For updates, fan art, and other randomness, come follow us on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and Instagram!

Get your beverage of choice ready because we finally manifested our own drinking game into existence. We welcome the fantastic Ursula Vernon AKA T. Kingfisher onto the show to discuss caterpillar inflaters, ghost kangaroos, and A House With Good Bones. You can find Ursula on Twitter @ursulav where you can find Josh MacDougall (@FourofFiveWits), Christina …

In this episode, Jonathan and Gary have a long overdue extended discussion with the wonderful Ursula Vernon (aka T. Kingfisher), whose excellent horror novel A House With Good Bones appeared in late March, and whose thoroughly original imagining of the Sleeping Beauty story Thornhedge, is forthcoming in August. We also touch upon some of her best-known works like Nettle and Bone and A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking, what she read while growing up, her career from webcomic artist to children's author to fantasy and horror novelist, the role of humour in horror, and why even stories involving murder priests, child abductions, and gruesomely reanimated corpses are actually sweet romances. As always, we would like to thank Ursula for making the time to talk to us, and we hope you enjoy the episode.

And that's year six in the can! This week we'll give updates on our productivity, code, progress on signing things, and the latest of Ursula's book progress. And after all that, we have your yearly catch-up interview with Kevin Sonney, with guest interviewer Ursula Vernon! Links for this Episode: Charity Spotlight: 988 Lifeline Charity Spotlight: American Foundation for Suicide Prevention Charity Spotlight: Suicide Prevention Resource Center Charity Spotlight: Trans Lifeline Kevin Sonney on Twitter Kevin's ChickenCam on Twitch What is Site Reliability Engineering? Ologies Chickenology Episode(s) PatBoard Noteplan Bravestorming Movers Erase ReMarkable2 Staedtler Norris Digital Pencils John Wick Chapter 4 Prehistoric Planet Diablo IV Horizon: Forbidden West John Scalzi on Productivity Alchemy Wheaton's Law Jee Veerey by Bloodywood

Unstacked with Sarah (Bay County Public Library) and Stephen (Huntsville-Madison County Public Library). Join us for an interview with award-winning bestselling author, T. Kingfisher aka Ursula Vernon. We'll discuss her new contemporary Southern Gothic horror novel, A House with Good Bones. Unwind with Ursula as she shares her writing and research process, love of pulp novels, gardening, RPG tabletop games, libraries and more! For more information about T. Kingfisher/Ursula Vernon, visit her website at: https://www.redwombatstudio.com/. Stay safe and read my friend. It's good for you! #TKingfisher #UrsulaVernon #SouthernGothic #Horror #AHouseWithGoodBones #WhatMovestheDead #NettleandBone #LiteraryRetellings #PulpFiction #Libraries #NWRLS #HMCPL #WritingProcess #Author #AuthorInterview #TorNightFire #GraphicNovels #Illustrator #Gardening #Irises #GiantPalouseEarthworm #TheUndergroundChildren #RPG #TabletopGames

The Mamas are serving up short and sweet stories for your snacking pleasure in the 67th episode of the Two Lit Mamas podcast, a kidlit book review show, highlighting light-hearted short story collections that are perfect for the Middle Grade classroom.  Book Chat:Super Puzzletastic Mysteries an anthology edited by Chris GrabensteinThe Ice Cream Machine by Adam Rubin Pick 6: The Mamas fave short stories for grown upsThe Space Between the Trees by Jo Kaplan from the anthology Into the ForestThe Lake by Ray BradburyJackalope Wives by Ursula Vernon from Jackalope Wives and Other StoriesThe Falling Girl by Dino BuzzatiThe Other Side by Jaqueline WoodsonCurrents by Hannah Bottomy Voskuil www.twolitmamas.com

Original broadcast date April 20, 2023. The original podcast post is here: https://pixelatedgeek.com/2023/04/binary-system-podcast-358-wtnv-226-creditors/ It's no fun being the new Station Management for Night Vale Radio, as Cecil's finding out in this week's episode. Apparently Station Management was relying on being an eldritch horror to avoid paying bills, and now the chickens have come home to roost. And by "chickens" we mean "creditors", and by "roost" we mean "repossess and eat everything in the building including two of the advertising personnel." Things get even more chaotic when you add in a bunch of Shawn's whining about their breakroom, and eighteen pallets of lukewarm scallops. (We'll give you this for free: nobody in the episode gets violently ill from eating un-refrigerated seafood. You're welcome.) Once things settle back down, Elizabeth talks about Ted Lasso Season 3 (verdict: it's good, but it's not surprisingly good yet). Kathryn hasn't managed to watch anything new, but she's been thinking about seeing Beau Is Afraid and the new Dungeons & Dragons, so that kinda counts? The episode wraps up with a detailed rundown of MidJourney, the Adobe Firefly beta, and how we're cautiously optimistic and kinda terrified about the upcoming arms race that is AI art generators. This week's outro is a clip from Parasitic Satellite, by CRUXORIUM. Correction: Bill Lawrence, the creator of Scrubs, Ted Lasso, and Shrinking, isn't doing any of the writing in Ted Lasso season 3, which may explain the difference in tone. Ursula Vernon's twitter thread about Adobe's Firefly AI starts here. The last outtake at the end of the episode may be a little hard to hear, but that's Kathryn's very sensitive mic picking up the sound of Nathan sneezing. From downstairs. On the other side of the house. With a closed door in between us. Elizabeth's comment, "Nathan's sneezes can break glass." She's not wrong. Looking for a present for that hard-to-shop-for person? Want to buy them (or yourself) a square foot of a castle in Scotland? Look no further! You can support the restoration of Dunan's castle, legally call yourself Lady or Laird, AND if you use http://www.scottishlaird.co.uk/#_a_2gk to get there, you can support this podcast too! For updates, fan art, and other randomness, come follow us on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and Instagram!

John is jetlagged, Alison is working, and Liz is under pressure. Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk and tag @OctothorpeCast (on Twitter or on Mastodon) when you post about the show on social media. Content warnings this episode: Eating octopus (chapter 1), N*zism (chapter 8) Letters of comment Mark Plummer Nicholas Whyte Ian Hillman They Called Us Enemy (Forbidden Planet, Amazon) Gwen Frazer Briardene Books Karen Schaffer Chengdu is a shower Their website is back! Picks: John: Digger by Ursula Vernon (read online, Kickstarter) Alison: The Eastercon programme (not quite yet online, keep an eye on their website) Liz: Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin (hardback, epub, audiobook, Amazon) Joe Manganiello's D&D campaign Eastercon Programme coming soon Discord now available! Corflu Craic Credits Cover art: “Intelligent Spider Aliens” by Sue Mason Alt text: Spiders looking like John, Alison and Liz hang from the top of the art on webs, with “O80” written on their abdomens. Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

T. Kingfisher (aka Ursula Vernon) stops by the show to talk to Craig about a favorite childhood book of hers: Tailchaser’s Song by Tad Williams. Check out Ursula’s stuff here: https://www.redwombatstudio.com/ Support the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/legendarium Check out the archives at https://www.thelegendarium.com/ Join the Discord community: https://discord.com/invite/FnCSsxx Twitter: https://twitter.com/LegendariumPod

T. Kingfisher (aka Ursula Vernon) stops by the show to talk to Craig about a favorite childhood book of hers: Tailchaser's Song by Tad Williams.   Check out Ursula's stuff here: https://www.redwombatstudio.com/   Support the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/legendarium Check out the archives at https://www.thelegendarium.com/ Join the Discord community: https://discord.com/invite/FnCSsxx Twitter: https://twitter.com/LegendariumPod 

Fun, yet clever books for college kids  Jen joined us again from Still North; and, Sam and Allie were still unable to be with us. But Jen, Kari, and Emma discussed great ideas to answer a question from Laura looking for great books for her kid in college. Their picks included, but were not limited to, The Idiot by Elif Batuman, Bunny by Mona Awad, Long Way To Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers, Hamster Princess by Ursula Vernon, and What Moves The Dead by T. Kingfisher. We all remarked we were grateful we had an actual college student - Jen - recommending today.Shelf Help is a podcast where booksellers help you answer one of life's trickier  - and we'd argue extremely important - questions: what should you read next?  If you've got a reading dilemma, you can email us a question or voice memo at shelfhelpuv@gmail.com. We're here to help your shelves. Shelf Help is a collaboration between the Book Jam, a nonprofit designed to inspire readers; CATV Upper Valley media community (NOW LOCATED AT JAM, Junction Arts & Media); three Upper Valley bookstores: Yankee Bookshop in Woodstock, VT; the Norwich Bookstore in Norwich, VT; and Still North Books & Bar in Hanover, NH.  

My guest this week is writer, artist and illustrator Ursula Vernon! Ursula and I talk about talk about gardening, Ursula's love of anthropomorphic animals, and writing the books we want to read. We discuss just how weird early science fiction and fantasy could be and what happens when a beloved series that goes off the rails. We also dig into the business side of what we do – travel, making money, and the complications of printing and self-publishing. Enjoy my conversation with Ursula Vernon!Find Ursula on Twitter and her website.Find Brian McClellan at his website, on Twitter and Instagram, or find his books on Amazon, direct from his bookstore, or wherever books are sold!Don't forget to support the show on Patreon, or pick up some swag on Redbubble. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Matt had a family emergency so Ursula stepped in to talk about the gross topic of grooming, and whether any one person has the power to make or break your career.    Links Mur on Focusmate! Mur on Twitter, Instagram, Youtube Newsletter, The Hot Mic Support via Patreon! John Anealio on Bandcamp I Should Be Writing tea blends Support local book stores! Station Eternity, Six Wakes, Solo: A Star Wars Story: Expanded Edition and more! OR Get signed books from my friendly local store, Flyleaf Books! Twitch schedule Oct. 17-Oct 21 (Eastern time): M 12:00p,: Ditch Diggers with Ursula Vernon T 3:00pm: I Should Be Writing with Eden Robins W 3:00pm: Gaming TBD Th 3:00pm: I Should Be Writing with Jule Selbo October 10, 2022 | Season 8 Ep 19 | murverse.com Copyright 2022, Mur Lafferty and Matt Wallace | CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 License

The GET TO WORK HURLEY podcast is a monthly rant about the hustle of making a living as a writer of All of the Things. You can support this podcast each month as a Patron or make a one-time donation. EPISODE TWENTY THREE: Ursula Vernon (aka T. Kingfisher) joins us for questions from Twitter and a game of “Name of … GET TO WORK HURLEY: Episode 23. With Guest Ursula Vernon! Read More » https://www.kameronhurley.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/AUG-POD-.mp3 Podcast: Play in new window | Download The post GET TO WORK HURLEY: Episode 23. With Guest Ursula Vernon! appeared first on Kameron Hurley.

Ursula Vernon, aka T. Kingfisher is the author and illustrator of far more projects than is probably healthy. She has written over fifteen books for children, at least a dozen novels for adults, an epic webcomic called “Digger” and various short stories and other odds and ends. Kevin Sonney is a technology professional, media producer, and podcaster. A Linux Sysadmin and Open Source advocate, Kevin has over 30 years in the IT industry, with over 20 years in Open Source. Kevin hosts the weekly Productivity Alchemy Podcast. D&D Game Designer Dan Dillion returns for another edition of Meet Your Monsters, this time discussing Neogi. For general inquiries or show messages, please email dragontalk@sirensound.co Dragon Talk is executively produced by Greg Tito, Shelly Mazzanoble & Wizards of The Coast. Show production by Lisa Carr & Ryan Marth of Siren Sound. Podcast recording, editing, mixing and mastering by Ryan Marth & Siren Sound.Here's your guide to when each segment begins:Show open with Greg Tito and Shelly Mazzanoble - 0:00Meet Your Monsters - 06:02Interview - 26:29Outro - 1:29:10Greg Tito Twitter - twitter.com/gregtitoShelly Mazzanoble Twitter - twitter.com/shellymooUrsula Vernon - twitter.com/ursulayKevin Sonney - twitter.com/ksonneyDan Dillon Twitter - twitter.com/Dan_Dillon_1Dragon Talk Show Page - https://dnd.wizards.com/dragon-talk/podcast-hubSiren Sound - www.sirensound.coRyan Marth - bio.site/ryanmarthLisa Carr - twitter.com/yelizavetacarrLatest D&D Products - https://gtly.to/SVs8W_2f8D&D Newsletter - dnd.wizards.com/newsletterDragon + - https://dnd.wizards.com/content/dragonD&D Official Discord - https://discord.com/invite/dnd

Back to Basics  S18 Ep46 Good News Good News Team Rejection count: 215 Main Topic: Steffanie Moyers Author & Editor Steffanie Moyers talks about her new ebook, What Happens In… Staging and shooting professional and fun photo shoots Fiverr and working that freelance hustle to more leads Writing the stories in your head (pantsing all the time!) Vonnegut Love https://www.steffmoyers.com https://www.tiktok.com/@steffaniemoyers https://www.instagram.com/steffaniemoyers https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCz1CL4w4mdgggJ1nIi0G--A https://twitter.com/steffaniemoyers Check out the official ISBW merch! Mur on Twitter, Instagram, Youtube Newsletter, The Hot Mic Support via Patreon! John Anealio on Bandcamp I Should Be Writing tea blends Twitch schedule for July 18-22: 11th Monday 12pm: Ditch Diggers with Ursula Vernon 12th Tuesday 3pm: I Should Be Writing 13th Wednesday 3pm: Thousand Year Old Vampire Solo RPG, 9pm (POSSIBLE) Stardew Valley stream with friends! 14th Thursday 3pm: I Should Be Writing July 7, 2022 | Season 18 Ep 46 | murverse.com Copyright 2022, Mur Lafferty | CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 License

Dark Side of the Library Minisode #57: "Nettle and Bone" by T. Kingfisher (Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, we will receive an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you) Nettle and Bone https://amzn.to/3OdHqjT   T. Kingfisher: http://www.redwombatstudio.com/     Follow Dark Side of the Library on Facebook and on Instagram! Dark Side of the Library Website

Back to Basics S18 Ep45 The first in our twelve episode Back to Basics series! But did you know you could pre-order signed copies of my new book Station Eternity?  I'm going to be covering basic writing advice for the next twelve episodes. Open STATION: ETERNITY will be out October 4 2022  2022 Word Count: 120k Upcoming changes to ISBW: themed limited series are the new normal Good News Good News Team Rejection count: 204 Main Topic: Back to Basics Addressing the imagined fears that sneak up on you when considering a creative career Fear of failure when starting a project, Fear of success and its link to impostor syndrome Having the courage to say “yes” or “hello” There are a few real concerns when walking the path of a creative career Perfectionism: It's A Trap! Refer to: Ira Glass, “The Gap”: https://www.thisamericanlife.org/extras/the-gap Comparison to others: It's A Trap! Links Check out the official ISBW merch! Mur on Twitter, Instagram, Youtube Newsletter, The Hot Mic Support via Patreon! John Anealio on Bandcamp I Should Be Writing tea blends Twitch schedule for July 18-22: 18th Monday 12pm: Ditch Diggers with Ursula Vernon 19th Tuesday 3pm: I Should Be Writing 20th Wednesday 3pm: Thousand Year Old Vampire Solo RPG, 9pm (POSSIBLE) Stardew Valley stream with friends! 21st Thursday 3pm: I Should Be Writing Coming in August: Return of podcasts, and a live RPG play of Brindlewood Bay! July 5, 2022 | Season 18 Ep 45 | murverse.com Copyright 2022, Mur Lafferty | CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 License

“When you're writing a children's book, it shares much relation with horror, because it has to be usually very immediate and very visceral and gripping. Because otherwise the kids are gonna get bored. And your window of opportunity to grab the reader is … longer with horror, you can do the slow creeping dread better, but you have to grab the reader, metaphorically, by the throat.” Whether you know her as Ursula Vernon or T. Kingfisher, one thing is for sure—this Hugo, Nebula, and Locus award-winning author always pulls us in with her captivating fantasies and chilling thrillers—which remains true of her two new books, Nettle & Bone and What Moves the Dead, both releasing this year. Ursula joins us on the show to talk about the fine line between writing children's books and writing horror and her love for gothic stories, the artwork that inspired this stunning cover, mycology, the lesser-known life of Beatrix Potter, what she's working on next and what games she's playing, and much more with guest host, Kat Sarfas. And we end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Becky.   Featured Books (Episode): What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher The Fall of the House of Usher and Other Writings by Edgar Allen Poe The White People and Other Weird Stories by Arthur Machen The Willows by Algernon Blackwood The Angel of the Crows by Katherine Addison The Haunted Mesa by Louis L'Amour   Featured Books (TBR Topoff): The Initial Insult by Mindy McGinnis The Pale Blue Eye by Louis Bayard   This episode of Poured Over is produced and hosted by Kat Sarfas and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).   A full transcript of this show is available here.

S8 Ep9 Streamed live, May, 2022.   Whoops, I told you I needed a break this past spring. I never got this out to folks. Recorded mid-may I believe.  Links Ursula Vernon   Mur on Twitter, Youtube, website  Matt on Twitter, YouTube, website Support via Patreon Twitch schedule for July 11-15: 11th Monday 12pm: Ditch Diggers with Ursula Vernon 12th Tuesday 3pm: I Should Be Writing 13th Wednesday 3pm: Thousand Year Old Vampire Solo RPG 14th Thursday 3pm: I Should Be Writing All times EDT May something, 2022 | Season 8 Ep 9 | murverse.com Copyright 2022, Mur Lafferty and Matt Wallace | CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 License

S8 Ep8 Streamed live, July 5, 2022.   I'm joined by Grant Baciocco and we talk about video and TikTok and how to know what kind of content to make, if you're digging ditches!  Links Toiley on TikTok, Youtube, Twitch  The Toiley's Christmas Album  Mur on Twitter, Youtube, website  Matt on Twitter, YouTube, website Support via Patreon  Twitch schedule for July 11-15: 11th Monday 12pm: Ditch Diggers with Ursula Vernon 12th Tuesday 3pm: I Should Be Writing 13th Wednesday 3pm: Thousand Year Old Vampire Solo RPG 14th Thursday 3pm: I Should Be Writing All times EDT   July 5, 2022 | Season 8 Ep 8 | murverse.com Copyright 2022, Mur Lafferty and Matt Wallace | CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 License

Some recommended resources for organizations fighting abortion bans and advancing reproductive justice:https://secure.actblue.com/donate/bffforaccesshttps://secure.actblue.com/donate/supportabortionfundshttps://www.abortionfinder.org/Tiffany Aching, a 9 year old living on a sheep farm in the rolling grassy lowlands of the Disc, is not your ordinary child. However, we saw a lot of ourselves in her. This meditation on loss, childhood, and what it means to be someone who actually THINKS and LOOKS in a world full of people too busy just getting by is a beautiful, scary, and hilarious story written by, as our guest puts it, "possibly one of the greatest authors of the last thousand years".Ursula Vernon, aka T. Kingfisher is the author and illustrator of far more projects than is probably healthy. She has written over fifteen books for children (many of which Aaron has read to his children multiple times with great enjoyment), at least a dozen novels for adults, an epic webcomic called “Digger” and various short stories and other odds and ends.She has won Hugos, Mythopoeic, Locus, Sequoia, Nebula, Lodestar, Dragon, and numerous other awards, often repeatedly. She can be found at Red Wombat Studio, on twitter at @ursulav and probably more than a few other places.***Check us out on twitter at @atuin_podHelp us keep the lights on via our Patreon!Follow individual hosts at @urizenxvii, @The_Miannai, and @JustenwritesWe can also be found at www.compleatdiscography.pageOur art is by the indomitable Jess who can be found at @angryartist113Music is by Incompetech and used under a Creative Commons 4.0 Attribution license.Take a Chance by Kevin MacLeodLink: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4457-take-a-chanceFuzzball Parade by Kevin MacLeodLink: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5044-fuzzball-paradeLicense: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

We did it! Five years of Productivity Alchemy all done! And after we talk about our productivity for the week, we have our annual catch-up interview with host Kevin Sonney, conducted by co-host Ursula Vernon. Links for this Episode: Charity Spotlight: Tango's Extra Life Kevin Sonney on Twitter Kevin Sonney on OSDC ReMarkable2 Gather Virtual Space Official Productivity Alchemy Planner Pages by Reagan Earl

Jennifer Nestojko, writer, poet, teacher, and bard discusses some of her new works with us and recommends some excellent reading. She schools John with facts on writing, and highlights symbolism, women, and disability, though not all together. We had a very good time talking with her, and you will have a good time listening to her! … Continue...Episode 147 – Interview with Jennifer Nestojko

Streamed live, April 11, 2022. Ursula was recently asked "what's selling right now?" and we discuss that and why we HATE that question. Next week: Matt is back! Links Mur on Twitter, Youtube Matt on Twitter, YouTube, website Ursula on Twitter, website Support via Patreon or Ko-Fi! April 11, 2022 | Season 8 Ep 2 | murverse.com Copyright 2022, Mur Lafferty and Matt Wallace | CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 License

Streamed live, April 4, 2022. Matt and I have fun talking about publishing, and catching up for the last several months. Next week: Ursula Vernon co-hosts. Links Mur on Twitter, Youtube Matt on Twitter, YouTube, Website Support via Patreon or Ko-Fi! Twitch schedule for April 18-30: Mon: Ditch Diggers with Matt Wallace 12pm Tues: ISBW 3pm Wed: Gaming (Inscription) 3pm Thurs: ISBW 3pm Sat: Spoilers Club: One for All 6pm All times EDT April 4, 2022 | Season 8 Ep 1 | murverse.com Copyright 2022, Mur Lafferty and Matt Wallace | CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 License

Original broadcast date April 14, 2022. The original podcast post is here: https://pixelatedgeek.com/2022/04/binary-system-podcast-310-raised-by-wolves-and-beastars-in-spanish/ Since Lore Olympus and Peaky Blinders aren't back yet and the next issue of Saga doesn't drop till next week, we're going to catch up on Raised By Wolves, finish up some fan art, and watch Beastars with the Spanish audio for funsies, how's that sound to you? This week's outro is a clip from Council of One by Eaters. You should definitely check out Kathryn's Lore Olympus Fanart. https://www.instagram.com/p/CcJGYV4vGdp/ Here's the instagram post where Superman photobombs the Bat Family. https://www.instagram.com/p/CcEJSxcP6h5/ Correction: Elizabeth said The Hollow Places was written by Ursula Guin. She meant Ursula Vernon! (Ursula says that happens a lot.) Looking for a present for that hard-to-shop-for person? Want to buy them (or yourself) a square foot of a castle in Scotland? Look no further! You can support the restoration of Dunan's castle, legally call yourself Lady or Laird, AND if you use http://www.scottishlaird.co.uk/#_a_2gk to get there, you can support this podcast too!

The fantasy romance novel Paladin's Grace by T. Kingfisher blew Jennifer away when she first read it, and now she recommends it to everyone…except for Heather, apparently! Paladin's Grace introduces us to Stephen, a paladin who's struggling to find a new purpose until the day a tempting woman runs into his arms and shakes up his world. Can a fake makeout solve all their problems? Survey says: Yes!Trigger warnings: View a list of trigger warnings for the Saint of Steel series via BookTriggerWarnings.com or on T. Kingfisher's website via redwombatstudio.comArticles and shows referenced in the episode, by timestamp:00:00 - Learn more about Paladin's Grace by T. Kingfisher on Goodreads or the author's website.52:00 - The K-drama Heather refers to here is technically titled Guardian: The Great and Lonely God, but really is most commonly known as Goblin.

Open 2022 Word Count: 39600ish Ursula's word count today: 1120 Good News Good News Team Rejection count: 93 Main Topic: Ursula Vernon. ‘Nuff Said. A Wild T. Kingfisher Appears! Here There Be Cursing… Sushi Good, deep fried fish bad… wait, what? Nah, really? Book Club: We Fear No Spoilers Here (or, Don't Talk About Spoiler Club) The dietary habits of oxpeckers Story time: Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking Evil Mur and Evil Ursula Appear! Ursula's new project: Steven Universe meets Silence of the Lambs The discovery of birdwatching Bonus Content Pitching & Selling books on Twitter How Live Hate-Tweeting Midsommar led to a sale Top Three Tips for Writing Middle Grade Stories March 17, 2022 | Season 18 Ep 23 | murverse.com Copyright 2022, Mur Lafferty | BY-NC-SA 3.5 License

Join Amy and Emily as we discuss The Twisted Ones by T.Kingfisher aka: Ursula Vernon. It's a thrilling horror worth the read for sure!

Ursula joins me and we talk about body organs and just how important they are to a writing career. We reference this debacle. HEY check out my Speakeasy class on NaNoWriMo coming up on October 12, 8pm EDT! Twitch schedule for week of Oct 10 Mon: 1pm Gaming (Dream Daddy) Tues: 3pm- I Should Be Writing Wed: 5pm Gaming (TBD) Thurs: 3pm- I Should Be Writing

Ursula joins me and we talk about body organs and just how important they are to a writing career. We reference this debacle. HEY check out my Speakeasy class on NaNoWriMo coming up on October 12, 8pm EDT! Twitch schedule for week of Oct 10 Mon: 1pm Gaming (Dream Daddy) Tues: 3pm- I Should Be Writing Wed: 5pm Gaming (TBD) Thurs: 3pm- I Should Be Writing

I had some last minute changes come up, but the awesome authors Ursula Vernon and Diana Rowland ended up calling in and hanging out to talk about the tools we use in our careers, from Scrivener to assistants. 

I had some last minute changes come up, but the awesome authors Ursula Vernon and Diana Rowland ended up calling in and hanging out to talk about the tools we use in our careers, from Scrivener to assistants. 

Original broadcast date April 30, 2020. The original podcast post is here: https://pixelatedgeek.com/2020/04/binary-system-podcast-219-still-no-plan-social-distancing-edition/ No Night Vale episode this week, so after the usual sitrep (Summary: More ways to say "everyone's fine") we talk about about the Netflix series "Beastars" (Odd bit of trivia, Elizabeth watched the dubbed version and Kathryn watched it with the Japanese-language track. Both are excellent, but the difference in voice actors really made a difference in how much we liked some of the characters.) We've also got information on the freebies you can get by signing up to be Patreons for Adam Warren and Megatokyo. And we may be doing some research to see if Chris Evans looked as good in 2007 as he does in last year's movie Knives Out. (It's a tough job, but we do this for you, listeners. All five of you.) Ursula Vernon's twitter handle is @UrsulaV, and someone helpfully compiled her insanely entertaining Swiss Family Robinson live-tweets here. https://twitter.com/i/events/901828894952538113 This week's outro music is a clip from Technopop 7b by TeknoAxe. https://youtu.be/ja9nTdQpA7s

Featuring a reading from Quippet, the Shaman's Apprentice by Ursula Vernon. Imposter syndrome hits us all and sometimes the right person for the job isn't the perfect person, it's you.   Podcast introduction music composed and played by First Parish Music Director Emeritus, Kenneth Seitz: “Amen, Blessed Be;" number 14 in the First Parish songbook, Singing Toward Justice. Introduction language is the Mission Statement adopted in 2010 spoken here by First Parish lay leaders and Rev. Marta Morris Flanagan.

John and Dave interview Joel Righetti about his storytelling podcast. Tales from the Dungeon is a fantasy fiction podcast that will immerse you in a mystical world filled with swords and magic, heroes, and villains. … Continue...Episode 112 – Tales from the Dungeon

Hello, and welcome to Linguistics After Dark! I'm Sarah, and this not really an episode—it's another teaser for next week's live show at CrossingsCon: Slipping Sideways. At 7pm New York time, Tuesday August 3rd, we'll be doing a live episode with real questions from real audience members! That's you! The convention is free to attend, and throughout the rest of the week, your beloved podcast team (that's us!) will be participating in several other cool events as well! On Wednesday August 4th, at 8pm New York time, Eli will be running a pub-quiz-style general knowledge trivia game for anyone who wants to attend. On Friday August 6th, at 6pm New York time, Eli will also be joining writers CB Lee, Ursula Vernon, and Cat Valente to play Baron Munchausen, a wild and ridiculous semi-cooperative story-telling game. Then I'll be hosting and Jenny will be appearing on a panel about the creation and use of conlangs, currently scheduled for 8pm New York time on Friday August 6th. That one might change, so keep an eye on the website. And finally, as promised in our last live show, Eli and I will join our friend Dash to talk about the linguistics and archaelogy of the game Heaven's Vault. We'll be doing that on Saturday August 7th, at 7pm New York time. We hope to see you at as many of these events as possible, and we welcome you to check out crossingscon.org/events to get a full run-down of the whole convention. Thanks! And if you weren't consciously aware of your tongue in your mouth… now y'are :)

Ursula Vernon, aka T. Kingfisher (the winner of the Andre Norton Nebula for YA and the Locus Award for YA) joins us to talk Ditch Digging, Wizards and Baking*, and, uh, a lot of other things. Awards. Cover Art. Juggling many projects for hybrid publishing.  Wizards Guide to Defensive Baking audiobook And Then There Were (N-One) by Sarah Pinsker Vellum Productivity Alchemy Draft2Digital Atticus * affiliate link  

Ursula Vernon, aka T. Kingfisher (the winner of the Andre Norton Nebula for YA and the Locus Award for YA) joins us to talk Ditch Digging, Wizards and Baking*, and, uh, a lot of other things. Awards. Cover Art. Juggling many projects for hybrid publishing.  Wizards Guide to Defensive Baking audiobook And Then There Were (N-One) by Sarah Pinsker Vellum Productivity Alchemy Draft2Digital Atticus * affiliate link  

Ursula joins us from her lovely back yard, and we hope to not be rained out. 

Ursula joins us from her lovely back yard, and we hope to not be rained out. 

There are writers who can take one genre and then turn it into multiple genres before they're done - and you can't put the books down. We sat down one of our favorites who gets away with it all the time. Charles Stross, unrepentant Pantser, as he labels himself, tells us all about his books, his inspirations, his process, and his latest projects. … Continue...Episode 86 – Charlie Stross, Harbinger of Our Times

This week, Patrick and Tracy welcome Hugo, Sequoyah, and Ursa Major award winning author and illustrator T Kingfisher (aka Ursula Vernon) whose latest book, The Hollow Places: A Novel is available now. About The Hollow Places: A Novel: Pray they are hungry. Kara finds the words in the mysterious bunker that she's discovered behind a […] The post Episode 466-With T Kingfisher appeared first on The Functional Nerds.

Jeannie, John, and Raymond Miller wish they were at the Bean Scene, and run through a creative writing site for paranormal Authors. Being delighted by the find, our intrepid writers click on the random generator and talk out how to use this to create a story treatment. … Continue...Episode 57 – Scene it, Done that!

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times. Hugo and Nebula Winning author and artist Ursula Vernon, along with her alter ego for adult readers T. Kingfisher, chats with Gary about the comfort of reading historical romances and horror fiction that doesn't seem too close to home, the classic fantasy of Robin McKinley and Terri Windling, and the sometimes arbitrary distinctions between adult and kids' literature, especially given the occasional disconnect between who buys the latter and who reads it. Books mentioned include: The Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher (forthcoming) The Twisted Ones by T. Kingfisher The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher Swordheart by Ursula Vernon The Damar Series by Robin McKinley Deerskin by Robin McKinley The Wood Wife by Terri Windling Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz       

So here we are, three years later. This week we'll discuss how our week has gone productivity-wise, and then dive in to the yearly interview of Kevin conducted by Ursula Vernon (the Wombat Co-Host). Thank you all for listening for the past three years, for the letters, the interviews, and the support. Links for this Episode: Kevin Sonney on Twitter Chicken-Cam Twitch Kevin Sonney on OpenSource.Com OmniFocus Apple Watch iPhoneSE 2020 Habitica

Support Topic Lords on Patreon and get episodes a week early! (https://www.patreon.com/topiclords) Lords: * Chris will find you. He is working on Core Editor. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RyUjnpyJY4 * Chris is @MrChrisLHall on Twitter and is working on https://www.adventurelab.fun/ Topics: * 2:07 Wikipedia descriptions of fighting game stories * The Rad Project. http://web.archive.org/web/20070406100535/http://www.flammie.net/vse/things/rad/index.htm * 13:05 Is there a 21st century version of the thank-you note? * The Double Disappearance of Walter Fozbek. http://bookembob.blogspot.com/2011/07/double-disappearance-of-walter-fozbek.html * The Selective Attention Test. https://youtu.be/vJG698U2Mvo * 26:27 I'm pretty sure I could write a book about anything * Dolphin flip in slow motion. https://youtu.be/37C1KOSgTAk * 32:49 Kevin asks: "Tom Nook: Robber Baron or Captain of Industry?" * 38:37 Melodica purchased online * 48:43 Ursula Vernon is rad * Weird fruit gallery: https://www.deviantart.com/ursulav/gallery/7872409/weird-fruit * 57:01 Peering in on skateboard culture from the outside * So Deep + juggling pins. https://youtu.be/9pvzWY-lSRw Microtopics: * Risking sounding like a corporate shill. * Whether or not Wikipedia is pretty great. * Wikipedia's editorial tone when describing ridiculous stories. * Finding a video embed in the middle of a textbook page and trying to press it. * A book with squiggle underlines wherever the author screwed up. * Having to come up with narrative justification for 500 one-on-one fights in a row. * The guy you just kicked off a cliff offering you cakes because nobody should have to fight on an empty stomach. * Your pet frog jumping on a box in your back yard marked radioactive, growing to massive size, then jumping down a huge hole that is also in your back yard for some reason. * The Japanese version of the wacky frog tank story just being factions at war in the post apocalypse. * Mega Man except you are a gnarly wizard instead of a robot. * A floating Buddha named "Surprise" shooting you in the back. * If Astro Boy were a mailman. * Merging the wacky frog tank story and the post apocalyptic war story into a single canonical timeline in the new Switch release. * Writing on paper made of trees with a pen and it's 2020. * Writing a thank you note when a relative hands you a twenty dollar bill. * Writing a jam game for every special occasion because it's more fun than writing a card. * The correct plural of Magnum Opus. * Returning to Lazy Land. * The videos you like best inevitably being taken down due to copyright strikes because that's the world we live in now. * YouTube telling you that some videos have been removed from your playlist but not telling you which. * A digital representation of what it's like to grow old. * Making a USB drive ark and taking two of every genre of music. * Your Google ad profile gaining sentience and making credit card purchases behind your back but also getting a job and making your credit card payments on time. * Going to work and nobody remembering who you are. * Going into the office wearing a gorilla costume and eventually sending in a gorilla to do your job and it turns out the gorilla is better at your job than you are. * Using a gorilla Snapchat filter on a gorilla to make it look like a human who's trying to look like a gorilla. * Waking up in parallel dino world where everyone is a dinosaur and your dinosaur twin waking up in human world where everyone is a human, because you both had a mad scientist neighbor. * Making a note of how to disguise yourself as a dinosaur because you never know when you'll end up in dinosaur world. * Doing a face swap with your cat during the conference call so everyone is too horrified to notice the gorilla in the background. * A pedalboard except it's Instagram filters. * Chaining Instagram filters to create a truly epic fursona. * Reverse college, where you get paid to forget things. * Getting paid a dollar per paragraph about skateboard tricks. * A varial kickflip except instead of splitting the axes of rotation between your feet, doing all the rotation with your front foot. * Writing a book with your 18 month old and it's just the words poop, ball, bath and meow over and over and over. * Your toddler growing up to discover axes and cops, like leaves changing colors in autumn. * A raccoon who is very friendly and has taken a lot of your money. * Whether Tom Nook is a slum lord. * A dog with five fingers, an apron, and a whole lot of bells. * Being in debt forever because your landlord keeps building you a bigger and bigger house. * A 100% speedrun of Adobe Photoshop. * Adding achievements, particle effects, and screenshake to Visual Studio. * Two melodica players coincidentally bringing their instruments to the same party and locking eyes from across the room. * Cheap, portable musical instruments you can have with you at all times and practice with at the drop of a hat. * A tube with six holes in it. * Penny whistles always being in D because it's one more than C. * Wikipedia diving deep into the lore of each musical scale. * The cute face of the otamatone being almost assuredly more entertaining than the notes you play with it. * Penny whistles with a conical bore staying in tune better than cylindrical ones. * The monomyth of the boy who sneaks up on a seal while she's bathing and steals her skin and she turns out to be a beautiful human woman and now she has to marry him. * The origin of the pear-with-teeth meme. * The Biting Pear of Salamanca. * Whether anyone named Ursula is still alive today. * An interesting reaction to discovering that your daughter is made of birch bark. * A dead whale falling to the ocean floor and feeding scavengers for years. * Spending your whole life waiting for a whale to die. * Zombie worms growing like flowers in the lightless garden of a sunken whale corpse. * A tiny kobold fondling an eggplant. * Giving your wife a picture of a fruit with teeth for her birthday. * Your skateboard being stolen twice in the same day. * Angsty skateboarders lashing out at the world around them via sick kickflips. * Fighting everyone around you being morally equivalent to fighting no-one. * A nine year old girl in a tutu doing a double heelflip. * The cost of skateboarding being measured in hospital visits, especially when you are 40 and overweight. * Wearing an inflatable dinosaur suit and skateboarding in a bounce house for maximum safety. * Wanting to get into skateboarding but you're scared of dying and none of your friends have trucks. * Hacky sack looking fun but actually it's a lie built on a throne of falsehoods and pain. * Narrowing an artefact's origin down to the Century of the Fruitbat. * Musicians dancing while they play just to show off that they are good enough at music and dancing that they can do both at the same time. * Being entirely out of both topics and lords.

Alex rejoins Joshua and Joe to run down our roughly 14 favorite books and cartoonists of the 2010s: Eleanor Davis, Rosalie Lightning by Tom Hart, Anders Nilsen, John Hanciewicz, Digger by Ursula Vernon, My Favorite Thing Is Monsters Vol. 1 by Emil Ferris, Marion Fayolle, Frank Santoro, Joe Sacco, the comics journalism of The Nib, My Friend Dahmer by Derf Backderf, Daytripper by Gabriel Ba and Fabio Moon, and Marcelo D'Salete.

Matt-replicant Alasdair Stuart and I bring you live Ditch Diggers with Gail Carriger, Ursula Vernon, and the game Superfight!

Matt-replicant Alasdair Stuart and I bring you live Ditch Diggers with Gail Carriger, Ursula Vernon, and the game Superfight!

John, Jeannie, and guest host Raymond Miller sit down to talk about how to organize ideas … Continue...Episode Four – Ideas & Encouragement

The Event Horizon

The gang discusses Sun, Moon, Dust by Ursula Vernon, and The Martian Obelisk by Linda Nagata.

This week we will talk about the difficulties our Wombat Co-Host (artist and author Ursula Vernon) is having with design and fonts, and how that is actually an Agile process. We don't dig too deep into Agile and Scrum, but we do give a brief summary of what they are and how they are (and aren't) used. We also check in with the Teenage Test Subject, and then talk to Sandra Tayler about how she stays productive. Links for this Episode: Sandra Tayler on Twitter One Cobble at a Time Planet Mercenary Hold On To Your Horses The Agile Manifesto The Wallington Pro font Scrum.org Kevin's Articles on Opensource.com

Welcome to the monthly letters show! This week we will be reading your feedback and letters, as well as answering questions. We'll also talk about the challenges brought on by the weather, and the impending return of the Wombat Co-Host! Links for This Episode: Timbuk2 Backpack of Holding Tilley Convertible Knapsack (Kevin's choice) Osprey Bags Zotero Privacy Badger Ghostery Mint by Intuit Swordheart by T. Kingfsher (aka Ursula Vernon aka the Wombat Co-Host)

A brooding young man is captivated by a magical creature who dances in the firelight. This story appears in JACKALOPE WIVES AND OTHER STORIES by T. Kingfisher. This episode is sponsored by Sierra Club (www.beyondcoal.org/stories), Bona Floor Cleaners (www.bona.com), Calm (www.calm.com/LEVAR), and The Great American Read.

We spend a lot of time this week talking about talking - or rather, talking about speaking in public - since WorldCon is just around the corner and the Wombat Test Subject (author Ursula Vernon) has to prep not one, but two speeches she probably won't have to give. We follow that up with Kevin's initial foray into Bullet Journalling, and wrap it all up with your letters and comments! Links for this Episode : Toastmasters International Time & ToDo Planner Bullet Journal Leonardo Da Vinci's To Do List Antidepressant Microbes in Soil PlannerPads Getting Nothing Done: a misguided quest for productivity Confessions of a recovering lifehacker I read Cal Newport's DEEP WORK so you don't have to

Hi everyone! This week the Wombat Test Subject (author Ursula Vernon) finally tried out Trello, and we'll have her thoughts on this tool. We also have brief overview of Zoho One, discuss the needs of a convention display, and wrap up with an interview with Friend of the Show Elizabeth Bee. Hope you all have a Productive week! Links for This Episode: Trello TickTick You Need A Budget iMood Journal Habitica Headspace Unf*ck Your Habitat Pomodoro method The Life Changing Magic of Not Giving a F*** (TEDx talk) The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up ("KonMari" method) How to Manage Your Home Without Losing Your Mind Calm app Download this Episode

After a great time at OpenSource 101 in Columbia SC, the Wombat Test Subject (author and illustrator Ursula Vernon) and I will talk about using Kanban boards. We also start to discuss burnout (which will be an ongoing discussion), and Kevin takes some time to talk to Alan Wexelblat about how he stays productive. Links for this Episode: Google Calendar Boomerang for GMail Roll20 Obsidian Portal Trello TED Talks on YouTube TEDx Talks on Youtube

This week we'll talk about cleaning up after someone else, that is the situation where you have taken over for someone else and for every thing you get done, you uncover two things that need to be fixed. We'll also check in with our Wombat Test Subject (author Ursula Vernon), and see if she is back on track. And then we talk with author Kevin Hearne, and find out how he keeps himself organized. Links for this Episode: Kevin Hearne's Official Website Hounded (Iron Druid Book One) on Amazon Kill the Farm Boy (w/Delilah Dawson) pre-order on Amazon Scale the Summit Polyphia Kavalan Whisky  

This episode we have some big news, which we will talk about first thing. Then we follow up with a discussion of how our Wombat Test Subject (aka Ursula Vernon) did with re-integrating to-do lists into her life. As a part of that, we'll talk about the value of task grooming and pruning, which is something we should all do every so often. Finally, we have an interview with Lydean Kenzall, who also has a giveaway for us this week! Links for this Episode: Lydean on Twitter A Heroic Moment podcast Lydean's Creatives Low-Energy Planner LydeanWorks on Etsy Transcranial Direct-Current Stimulation A Soft Murmur App Cooking is Terrible by Mischa Fletcher Sleep as Android TiddlyWiki Download this Episode

Tingeling! LÄS HÅRT spränger igång 2018 med ett enastående avsnitt om T Kingfishers (aka Ursula Vernon) självutgivna (?) fantasydänga CLOCKWORK BOYS. Till nästa avsnitt (som kommer i början av februari) läser vi DEADMAN'S CROSSING av Joe R Lansdale! Andra saker som nämns  "Conan the Barbarian" (1982) ● Per Hagman ● Simon Stålenhag, "The Electric State"/"Passagen" ● Kickstarter ● "Forbidden Lands"/"Rov & Ruiner" ● "Archie"-rebooten ● Kurt Busiek, "Astro City" ● Bill Willingham, "Fables" ● Brian K Vaughan, "Saga" ● "Scooby Doo" (2002) ● "Suicide squad" ● Grady Hendrix, "Paperbacks from hell" ● Duane Swierczynski, "Charlie Hardie"-trilogin ● George RR Martin ● Joe R Lansdale, "The Thicket"

"Origin Story," by Ursula Vernon (writing as T. Kingfisher) -- published in Apex Magazine, issue 104, January 2018. Read it here: http://www.apex-magazine.com/ Ursula Vernon is the winner of the Hugo, Nebula, and Mythopoeic Awards. She has written a number of children’s books, short stories, and comics, and writes for adults under the name T. Kingfisher. She likes fairy-tale retellings, gardening, and has strong opinions about heirloom beans. You can find more of her work at redwombatstudio.com. This Apex Magazine podcast was produced by KT Bryski. Music in this podcast included "Virtutes Intstrumenti," "Vanishing," and "Long Note Four," all by Kevin MacLeod, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution License. Find out more at www.incompetech.com. Other sounds in this podcast provided by the Free Sound Project; learn more at www.freesound.org. Our narrator for this episode is Blythe Haynes. Blythe is a Toronto-based actor and voice talent. Select theatre credits include, "In His Name" (Canadian History Project), "The Killdeer" (Alumnae Theatre), and "Mary's Wedding" (Toronto Fringe Festival). Select podcast credits include "Campfire Radio Theater," "Six Stories, Told at Night," "The Drabblecast," and "Tales from the Archive." With KT Bryski, Blythe is one of the co-founders of Gangway! Theatre Co. She looks forward to returning to the Toronto Fringe in 2018, with a stage adaptation of KT Bryski's "Six Stories, Told at Night." Apex Magazine podcast, Copyright Apex Publications. Apex Magazine is a monthly short fiction zine focused on dark science fiction, fantasy, and horror. Find us at http://www.apex-magazine.com.

Hej! Årets sista LÄS HÅRT! är 28 minuter stenhårt snack om agentporr från 60-talet. Mer specifikt pratar Johan och Magnus om "LUST, be a lady tonight", den första av 23 romaner om Eve Drum, "Super-seductive Secret Agent Double Oh Sex". Nästa avsnitt, som kommer i början av januari, kommer att handla om T Kingfishers purfärska "Clockwork boys". Den verkar hur skoj som helst! Andra saker som nämns  Johan Wanloo, "Kapten Klara" * NK Jemisin, "The broken earth"-trilogin * Foz Meadows, "An accident of stars" * Kengo Hanazawa, "I am a hero" * "The walking dead" * Minetarō Mochizuki, "Dragon head" * Hawkman * James Bond * "Snobbar som jobbar" * "Helgonet" * "Batman" (1966) * Cassandra Khaw, "Food of the gods" * Ursula Vernon

Episode 13 The Inanimae: Playful Things Join Victor and Simon as we discuss and try to do the complicated, messy, world of the Inanimae justice. We get into the Phyla of the Inanimae, their Empires, storyline, and motivations and ways to make Inanimae blend better into a broad Changeling: the Dreaming game.   The readings from this conversation were from Dark Ages: Fae, Inanimae: the Secret Way, and Wooden Feathers by Ursula Vernon. The music from this episode was “LSD” by Mon Plaisir.  To purchase Changeling the Dreaming as well as a wide array of other Role Playing texts go to DriveThruRPG.com. We have a blog now! If you liked today's conversation and want a more in-depth look at how both Victor and Simon think of and use the Inanimae, come visit Parting the Mists and take a gander at Victor's Refinement of Form and Simon's Playing at Hearts posts. Portions of the materials are the copyrights and trademarks of White Wolf Publishing AB, and are used with permission. All rights reserved. For more information please visit white-wolf.com.

This week, our Wombat Test Subject (author and illustrator Ursula Vernon) and I will talk about being ovecommitted, and some of the challenges that come with it. We will also read and answer your letters! Enjoy! Links for this Episode: Unfuck Your Habitat My New Me (aka Productivity Lady) Notebook Video Levenger Circa Daily Agenda Pages

Jackalope Rabbit Breed - Wolpertinger - Skvader - Al-Miraj - Mayan Folktale - Knowledge - Lobelia Learn more about Rabbit Breeds, history, superstations, news, folk tales, and pop culture. Discover cool facts, Rabbit Care, resources and Rabbit Breed Info at the website http://www.hareoftherabbit.com/ If you would like to support the project, you can support through Patreon for one dollar a month. Patreon is an established online platform that allows fans to provide regular financial support to creators. you can also support the podcast, and help keep the lights on, whenever you use Amazon through the link at Hare of the Rabbit on the support the podcast page. It will not cost you anything extra, and I can not see who purchased what. The jackalope legends of the American Southwest are stories of a more recent vintage, consisting of purported sightings of rabbits or hares with horns like antelopes. The legend may have been brought to North American by German immigrants, derived from the Raurackl (or horned rabbit) of the German folklore tradition. http://www.terriwindling.com/blog/2014/12/the-folklore-of-rabbits-hares.html Jackalope The jackalope is a mythical animal of North American folklore (a fearsome critter) described as a jackrabbit with antelope horns. The word "jackalope" is a portmanteau of "jackrabbit" and "antelope", although the jackrabbit is not a rabbit, and the pronghorn is not an antelope. Also, many jackalope taxidermy mounts, including the original, are actually made with deer antlers. Jackrabbits are actually hares rather than rabbits though both are mammals in the order Lagomorpha. Wyoming is home to three species of hares, all in the genus Lepus. These are the black-tailed jackrabbit, the white-tailed jackrabbit, and the snowshoe hare. The antelope is actually a pronghorn (Antilocapra americana) rather than an antelope, although one of its colloquial names in North America is "antelope". Some of the largest herds of wild pronghorns, which are found only in western North America, are in Wyoming. The adults grow to about 3 feet (1 m) tall, weigh up to 150 pounds (68 kg), and can run at sustained speeds approaching 60 miles per hour (97 km/h). Tall tales The jackalope is subject to many outlandish and largely tongue-in-cheek claims embedded in tall tales about its habits. Jackalopes are said to be so dangerous that hunters are advised to wear stovepipes on their legs to keep from being gored. Jackalope milk is particularly sought after because it is believed to be a powerful aphrodisiac—for which reason the jackalope is also sometimes referred to as the ‘horny rabbit.’ However, it can be incredibly dangerous to milk a jackalope, and any attempt to do so is not advised. A peculiar feature of the milk is that it comes from the animal already homogenized on account of the creature’s powerful leaps. Stores in Douglas sell jackalope milk, but The New York Times questioned its authenticity on grounds that milking a jackalope is known to be fraught with risk. One of the ways to catch a jackalope is to entice it with whiskey, the jackalope's beverage of choice. Once intoxicated, the animal becomes slower and easier to hunt. The jackalope can imitate the human voice, according to legend. During the days of the Old West, when cowboys gathered by the campfires singing at night, jackalopes could be heard mimicking their voices or singing along, usually as a tenor. When chased, the jackalope will use its vocal abilities to elude capture. For instance, when chased by people, it will call out phrases such as, “There he goes, over there,” in order to throw pursuers off its track. Reportedly, jackalopes are extremely shy unless approached. If you encounter a jackalope, quickly fall to the ground, and remain calm and still while humming the Roy Rogers song, “Happy Trails to You.” It is said that jackalopes, the rare Lepus antilocapra, only breed during lightning flashes and that their antlers make the act difficult despite the hare's reputation for fertility. Whether the jackalope actually exists or is simply a hoax popularized by a Douglas, Wyoming resident in 1939, is still hotly debated today. For those who believe, the jackalope is said to be an antlered species of rabbit, sometimes rumored to be extinct. One of the rarest animals in the world, it is a cross between a now extinct pygmy-deer and a species of killer-rabbit. However, occasional sightings of this rare creature continue to occur, with small pockets of jackalope populations persisting in the American West. The antlered species of rabbit are brownish in color, weight between three and five pounds, and move with lighting speeds of up to 90 miles per hour. They are said to be vicious when attacked and use their antlers to fight, thus they are sometimes called the "warrior rabbit.” History: Origins Plate XLVII of Animalia Qvadrvpedia et Reptilia (Terra) by Joris Hoefnagel, circa 1575, showing a "horned hare" Stories or descriptions of animal hybrids have appeared in many cultures worldwide. A 13th-century Persian work depicts a rabbit with a single horn, like a unicorn. In Europe, the horned rabbit appeared in Medieval and Renaissance folklore in Bavaria (the wolpertinger) and elsewhere. Natural history texts such as Historiae Naturalis de Quadrupetibus Libri (The History Book of Natural Quadrangles) by Joannes Jonstonus (John Jonston) in the 17th century and illustrations such as Animalia Qvadrvpedia et Reptilia (Terra): Plate XLVII by Joris Hoefnagel (1522–1600) in the 16th century included the horned hare. These early scientific texts described and illustrated the hybrids as though they were real creatures, but by the end of the 18th century scientists generally rejected the idea of horned hares as a biological species. The Jackalope was first encountered by John Colter, one of the first white men to enter what would one day be the State of Wyoming. Thought to be a myth by many, the jackalope is alleged to actually exists in remote areas of Wyoming. The New York Times attributes the American jackalope's origin to a 1932 hunting outing involving Douglas Herrick (1920–2003) of Douglas, Wyoming. Herrick and his brother had studied taxidermy by mail order as teenagers, and when the brothers returned from a hunting trip for jackrabbits, Herrick tossed a carcass into the taxidermy store, where it came to rest beside a pair of deer antlers. The accidental combination of animal forms sparked Herrick's idea for a jackalope. The first jackalope the brothers put together was sold for $10 to Roy Ball, who displayed it in Douglas' La Bonte Hotel. The mounted head was stolen in 1977. Mr. Herrick made only about 1,000 or so horned rabbit trophies before going on to other things. His brother kept churning out jackalopes. Mr. Herrick grew up on a ranch near Douglas and served as a tail gunner on a B-17 during World War II. He worked as a taxidermist until 1954, when he became a welder and pipe fitter for Amoco Refinery until his retirement in 1980. Once he (and soon his son) began to produce jackalope mounts, it seemed to take only moments for the world to embrace this weird icon of the West. By the time Herrick senior passed away at the age of 82, the two men had fashioned thousands. The jackalope became a popular local attraction in Douglas, where the Chamber of Commerce issues Jackalope Hunting Licenses to tourists. The tags are good for hunting during official jackalope season, which occurs for only one day: June 31 (a nonexistent date as June has 30 days), from midnight to 2 a.m. The hunter must have an IQ greater than 50 but not over 72. Thousands of "licenses" have been issued. In Herrick's home town of Douglas, there is an 8-foot (2.4 m) statue of a jackalope, and the town hosts an annual Jackalope Days Celebration in early June. Before discovery of uranium, coal, oil and natural gas doubled the town's population to about 7,500 in the mid-1970s, Douglas specialized in selling jackalope souvenirs. The Herricks fed the increasing demand for the stuffed and mounted trophies. Tens of thousands have been sold. Proud city fathers later added a 13-foot-tall jackalope cutout on a hillside and placed jackalope images on park benches and firetrucks, among other things. Building on the Herrick's success, Frank English of Rapid City, South Dakota has made and sold many thousands of jackalopes since retiring from the Air Force in 1981. He is the only supplier of the altered animal heads to Cabela's, a major outdoor-theme retail company. His standard jackalopes and "world-record" jackalopes sell for about $150. Stuffed and mounted, jackalopes are found in many bars and other places in the United States; stores catering to tourists sell jackalope postcards and other paraphernalia, and commercial entities in America and elsewhere have used the word "jackalope" or a jackalope logo as part of their marketing strategies. Folklorists see the jackalope as one of a group of fabled creatures common to American culture since Colonial days. These appear in tall tales about hodags, giant turtles, Bigfoot, and many other mysterious beasts and in novels like Moby-Dick. The tales lend themselves to comic hoaxing by entrepreneurs who seek attention for their products, their persons, or their towns. But here’s the kicker: rabbits with horns are real as rain! Dr. Richard E. Shope, discoverer of the vaccine for HPVIn a strange twist of fate, around about the time that Herrick was becoming the Frankenstein of the bunny world, Dr. Richard E. Shope was hard at work in his lab. He had seen prints and drawings of horned rabbits going back to the 1500s and wondered if there was anything to them. References to horned rabbits may originate in sightings of rabbits affected by the Shope papilloma virus, named for Richard E. Shope, M.D., who described it in a scientific journal in 1933. Shope initially examined wild cottontail rabbits that had been shot by hunters in Iowa and later examined wild rabbits from Kansas. They had "numerous horn-like protuberances on the skin over various parts of their bodies. The animals were referred to popularly as 'horned' or 'warty' rabbits." He had a hunch that a virus caused rabbits (and other animals) to sprout crusty protrusions that looked like horns. He even had samples of the “horns,” and his tests showed they were made of keratin, the same stuff that our hair and fingernails – and animal horns -- are made of. Turns out Dr. Shope was right. His experiments proved that the horns appearing on rabbits were created by cells infected by the Shope papilloma virus (you discover it, you get to name it, I guess). And they could appear anywhere on the animal, not just the head. In addition, a version of the virus can produce the same effect in humans, called “cutaneous horn.” So yes, there are horned human beings trotting around! Shope’s discovery lead to research into the development of the human papilloma virus vaccine, which is based on the rabbit virus. Legends about horned rabbits also occur in Asia and Africa as well as Europe, and researchers suspect the changes induced by the virus might underlie at least some of those tales. In Europe actually various species of rabbit who have become unfortunate victims of Shope papilloma virus, which causes cancerous horny growths upon the animal. Cases in humans are almost unknown, although we have one example within the collection. This rabbit specimen shows one single large horn from the top of the cranium, and several smaller horns protruding from its spine. Analysis of this specimen did show however that the growths did not afflict the animals ability to live a normal life, were not cancerous and there is evidence that the virus would easily be transmitted to its young. According to Merrylin, a colony of rabbits infected with a unique strain of the virus were found in Lucerne, Switzerland, and all animals lived healthy lives despite their horns, which were apparently “strangely uniform.” Merrylin hypothesised that it would be possible to consider this as a benign inherited mutation caused by the virus, because the growths themselves were not malignant or life threatening, and appeared in all generations. In Central America, mythological references to a horned rabbit creature can be found in Huichol legends. The Huichol oral tradition has passed down tales of a horned rabbit and of the deer getting horns from the rabbit. The rabbit and deer were paired, though not combined as a hybrid, as day signs in the calendar of the Mesoamerican period of the Aztecs, as twins, brothers, even the sun and moon. Official recognition In 2005, the legislature of Wyoming considered a bill to make the jackalope the state's official mythological creature. It passed the House by a 45–12 margin, but the session ended before the Senate could take up the bill, which died. In 2013, following the death of the bill's sponsor, Dave Edwards, the state legislature reintroduced the bill. It again passed the House but died in the rules committee of the Senate. In 2015, three state representatives put forth the jackalope proposal again, this time as House Bill 66, and again it passed the House but died in a Senate committee. One of the co-sponsors, Dan Zwonitzer, said, "I’ll keep bringing it back until it passes." In 2014, the Wyoming Lottery adopted a jackalope logo for its lottery tickets and marketing materials. Lottery officials chose the fictitious animal, which they named YoLo, over the bucking horse and other state symbols. In popular culture The town of Douglas, Wyoming, has declared itself to be the Jackalope capital of America because, according to legend, the first jackalope was spotted there around 1829. In 1965, an eight foot concrete statue was erected in downtown Douglas and today billboards, and jackalope images can be seen all over Douglas -- on park benches, fire trucks, motel signs, and a 13-foot-tall jackalope cutout on a hillside. The city is also very good about warning visitors of the "vicious” animal’s propensity to attack, so tourists will see a number of posted warning signs throughout the town: "Watch out for the Jackalope." Jackalope Country, now plans to build yet another giant jackalope. Towering over I-25, the giant fiberglass jackalope will stand 80 feet above the plains. The student magazine of the Santa Fe University of Art and Design in New Mexico is called The Jackalope. On the other side of the world, The Hop Factory craft beer cafe in Newcastle, Australia, uses a leaping jackalope as its logo. In 1986, James Abdnor, a senator from South Dakota, gave U.S. President Ronald Reagan a stuffed jackalope (rabbit head with antlers) during a presidential campaign stop in Rapid City. Many books, including a large number written for children, feature the jackalope. A search for "jackalope" in the WorldCat listings of early 2015 produced 225 hits, including 57 for books. Among them is Juan and the Jackalope: A Children's Book in Verse by Rudolfo Anaya. The WorldCat summary of Anaya's book says: "Competing for the hand of the lovely Rosita and her rhubarb pie, Juan rides a Jackalope in a race against Pecos Bill." A short story, "Jackalope Wives" by Ursula Vernon, has been nominated for a 2014 Nebula Award. Musicians have used the jackalope in various ways. R. Carlos Nakai, a Native American flute player, formerly belonged to a group called Jackalope. In the late 1980s, it performed what Nakai called "synthacousticpunkarachiNavajazz", which combined "improvisation, visual art, storytelling, dance and dramatic theatrical effects." Nakai said he wanted people to dream as they listened to the music. Jakalope is a Canadian alternative pop/rock group formed in 2003 by Dave "Rave" Ogilvie. The band Miike Snow uses the jackalope as its logo. Band member Andrew Wyatt said during an interview in 2012 that the logo was meant to signify experiment and adventure. Of the 225 Worldcat hits resulting from a search for "jackalope", 95 were related to music. Jackalopes have appeared in movies and on television. A jackalope named "Jack Ching Bada Bing" was a recurring character in a series of sketches on the television show America's Funniest People. The show's host, Dave Coulier, voiced the rascally hybrid. In 2003, Pixar featured a jackalope in the short animation Boundin'. The jackalope gave helpful advice to a lamb who was feeling sad after being shorn. Jackalopes have appeared in video games. In Red Dead Redemption, the player is able to hunt and skin jackalopes. Redneck Rampage, jackalopes, including one the size of a bus, are enemies. Jackalopes are part of the action in Guild Wars 2. A low-budget jackalope mockumentary, Stagbunny, aired in Casper and Douglas in 2006. the movie included interviews with the owner of a Douglas sporting goods store who claimed to harbor a live jackalope on his premises and with a paleontologist who explained the natural history of the jackalope and its place in the fossil record. Beginning in 1997, the Central Hockey League included a team called the Odessa Jackalopes. The team joined the South Division of the North American Hockey League before the 2011–12 season. An Odessa sports writer expressed concern about the team's name, which he found insufficiently intimidating and which sounded like "something you might eat for breakfast." Jackalope Brewing Company, the first commercial brewery in Tennessee run by women, opened in Nashville in 2011. Its four craft beers are Thunder Ann, Rompo, Bearwalker, and Leghorn. Scholarly interpretations Folklorist John A. Gutowski sees in the Douglas jackalope an example of an American tall tale publicized by a local community that seeks wider recognition. Through a combination of hoax and media activity, the town or other community draws attention to itself for social or economic reasons. A common adjunct to this activity involves the creation of an annual festival to perpetuate the town's association with the local legend. Gutowski finds evidence of what he calls the "protofestival" pattern throughout the United States. Common to these tales, Gutowski says, is the recurring motif of the quest for the mythical animal, often a monster. The same motif, he notes, appears in American novels such as Moby Dick and Old Man and the Sea and in monster movies such as King Kong and Jaws and in world literature such as Beowulf. The monster motif also appears in tales of contemporary places outside the United States, such as Scotland, with its Loch Ness Monster. What is not global, Gutowski says, is the embrace of local monster tales by American communities that put them to use through "public relations hoaxes, boisterous boosterism, and a carnival atmosphere... ". He traces the impulse and the methods to the promotional literature of colonial times that depicted North America as an earthly paradise. Much later, in the 19th century, settlers transferred that optimistic vision to the American West, where it culminated in "boosterism". Although other capitalist countries advertise their products, Dorson says, "...the intensity of the American ethos in advertising, huckstering, attention-getting, media-manipulating to sell a product, a personality, a town is beyond compare." The Jackalope also appears to have a European cousin, in Germany, known as the wolperdinger, and in Sweden, a related species called the skvader. Illustrations of horned hares go back as far as the 16th century in scholarly European works. Wolpertinger In the Bavarian Alps, a strange-looking creature with antlers, fangs, wings and a tail roams quietly through the forests - according to folklore, that is. This mythological creature is what Germans call a Wolpertinger - a hybrid species that you've probably never seen before. Some kids in Bavaria grow up believing in the Wolpertinger and may even search for the rare animals when walking through the woods. Bavarians have done a pretty good job at making the myth believable: tourist shops sometimes sell stuffed animals that look like Wolpertinger and the Deutsches Jagdt- und Fischereimuseum in Munich even has a permanent exhibit on it. It is not known exactly when or where the myth of the Wolpertinger originated, but the museum in Munich suggests that it may have come from a town called Wolterdingen, where glass makers created shot glasses in the form of animals and called them Wolterdinger. This could in fact be true, since different regions have different names for the creature, ranging from Woipertinger to Woiperdinger to Wulpertinger. Bavarian folklore tells of the wolpertinger (also called wolperdinger or woiperdinger), a mythological hybrid animal allegedly inhabiting the alpine forests of Bavaria in Germany. These mythological creatures are known by every Bavarian as being mischievous. Description Germans don't have a clear definition. A Wolpertinger is basically a creature made up of many different animal parts. For example, it could have a squirrel's body, a rabbit's head, deer antlers and wings. Some might have the head of a fox; others may have the feet of a duck or a pheasant. Stuffed "wolpertingers", composed of parts of actual stuffed animals, are often displayed in inns or sold to tourists as souvenirs in the animals' "native regions". The Deutsches Jagd- und Fischereimuseum in Munich, Germany features a permanent exhibit on the creature. Images of creatures resembling wolpertingers have been found in woodcuts and engravings dating back to the 17th century. According to folklore, the hybrid animals are shy and difficult to catch. They primarily eat other small animals, herbs and roots. But no matter how hard you try, the chance of finding a Wolpertinger in Germany are about as slim as finding a jackalope in the United States. The best way to catch a Wolpertinger, according to legend, is to be a beautiful young woman (or be in the company of one), since Wolpertingers have a weakness for female beauty. The woman should go out into a forest at night while the moon is full and find a secluded nook where a Wolpertinger is likely to be. Hopefully, the creature will soon reveal itself. When it does the woman should expose her breasts. This will cause the Wolpertinger to instantly fall into a stupor, allowing it to easily be bagged. In popular culture Wolpertingers feature in the MMORPG RuneScape as creatures that can be summoned. It is depicted as a combination of a rabbit and a wolf. Wolpertingers are the main characters in the novel Rumo by Walter Moers. The novel depicts them as anthropomorphic dogs with small horns. Wolpertingers and Skvaders appear in "Adventure Path #61: Shards of Sin" for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game as encounters and also as new familiar options for spellcasters. A wolpertinger features on one of the special animal tiles in the Winter Edition of Carcassonne. The wolpertinger features as a monster in Here Be Monsters. The game can also be found on Facebook. Wolpertingers are an obtainable pet in the MMORPG World of Warcraft during the Brewfest event. Wolpertingers are an obtainable mount in the MMORPG Tibia. Wolpertinger is the German translation for jackalope in the game Guild Wars 2. The Wolpertinger is a monster encountered in the jungle in the text-based MMORPG Improbable Island. Wolpertingers are common background creatures in the Land of a Thousand Fables adventure in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Blood and Wine. The San Francisco storytelling group Odd Salon uses a Wolpertinger (named Harvey) as their mascot. Wolpertingers are usually found in the forests of Bavaria. (It is common for Bavarian pubs to display stuffed wolpertingers.) Variant regional spellings of the name include Wolperdinger, Woipertinger, and Volpertinger. They are part of a larger family of horned mammals that exist throughout the Germanic regions of Europe, such as the Austrian Raurackl (which is basically identical to the wolpertinger), the Thuringian Rasselbock (which looks more like the American jackalope), and the north Hessian Dilldapp (kind of hamster-like). They're also related to the Swedish Skvader, as well as being a European cousin of the Jackalope. Also in other cultures, you can find such animals just like the “Jackalope (or Jackrabbit)” in the USA, the “Skvader” in Sweden and the “Dahu” in France. You can find a stuffed specimen in the Deutsches Jagd- und Fischereimuseum (German Hunting and Fishing Museum), located in Neuhauser Str. 2 near Marienplatz (city center) and Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady). So if you’re in Munich make sure to have a look at one of the Wolpertingers. Either in the Hunting and Fishing Museum or in traditional Bars and Pubs. Skvader skvader The skvader is a species of winged hare indigenous to Sweden. According to legend, this unusual animal was first discovered by a hunter named Håkan Dahlmark in 1874. Eventually a stuffed specimen of the creature was put on display in the Historical Preservation Society in Sundsvall where it remains to this day. Visitors report that the animal looks rather like a cross between a hare and a wood grouse cock. A statue of a skvader was also erected in a small park in Sundsvall in 1994. Although the skvader is much beloved in Sweden, the term itself is often used colloquially to mean "a bad compromise." The skvader [ˈskvɑːdər] is a Swedish fictional creature that was constructed in 1918 by the taxidermist Rudolf Granberg and is permanently displayed at the museum at Norra Berget in Sundsvall. It has the forequarters and hindlegs of a European hare (Lepus europaeus), and the back, wings and tail of a female wood grouse (Tetrao urogallus). It was later jokingly given the Latin name Tetrao lepus pseudo-hybridus rarissimus L. The name is a combination of two words, and this is the explanation provided by the Svenska Akademiens ordbok (Dictionary of the Swedish Academy): "The prefix skva- from 'skvattra' (quack or chirp), and the suffix -der from 'tjäder' (wood grouse)". Origins The skvader originates from a tall tale hunting story told by a man named Håkan Dahlmark during a dinner at a restaurant in Sundsvall in the beginning of the 20th century. To the amusement of the other guests, Dahlmark claimed that he in 1874 had shot such an animal during a hunt north of Sundsvall. On his birthday in 1907, his housekeeper jokingly presented him with a painting of the animal, made by her nephew and shortly before his death in 1912, Dahlmark donated the painting to a local museum. During an exhibition in Örnsköldsvik in 1916 the manager of the museum became acquainted with the taxidermist Rudolf Granberg. He then mentioned the hunting story and the painting and asked Granberg if he could re-construct the animal. In 1918 Granberg had completed the skvader and it has since then been a very popular exhibition item at the museum, which also has the painting on display. A strikingly similar creature called the "rabbit-bird" was described by Pliny the Elder in Natural History. This creature had the body of a bird with a rabbit's head and was said to have inhabited the Alps. A road sign on the approach to the museum warns drivers for skvaders on the road. The skvader has since then often been seen as an unofficial symbol for Sundsvall and when the province Medelpad was to be given a provincial animal (in addition to the provincial flower) in 1987, many locals voted for the skvader. The final choice was a kind of compromise, the mountain hare, which is the front-end of the skvader. Other uses The term "skvader" is nowadays used colloquially in Swedish to mean "a bad compromise" or "a combination of contradicting elements". "Skvader" also became the nickname in the 1950s and 1960s for a combination bus and lorry (truck) which was commonly used on small bus routes in Norrland; the front-end was a bus taking passengers and the back-end was an open loading bay, often used for delivering milk from small farmers to the nearest dairy. "Skvaderns" is also an herbal liqueur made with herbs from the forest Lunde Skog, the place Skvaderns first were shot at. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackalope http://www.legendsofamerica.com/wy-jackalope.html http://www.jackalopearts.org/jajackalope.html https://yeoldecuriosityshop.com/blogs/news/17793604-are-jackalopes-real https://jackalope.com/the-legend-of-jackalope/ http://www.merrylinmuseum.com/jackalope/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolpertinger http://hoaxes.org/animals/comments/wolpertinger http://www.germany.info/Vertretung/usa/en/__pr/GIC/TWIG__WoW/2014/40-Wolpertinger.html http://munich-greeter.de/en/2014/10/was-ist-ein-wolpertinger/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skvader http://hoaxes.org/animals/comments/skvader Folktale: Al-mi'raj From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Al-mi'raj (Arabic: المعراج al-mi'raj) is a mythical beast from Arabic poetry said to live on a mysterious island called Jezîrat al-Tennyn within the confines of the Indian Ocean. Its name can be broken up several different ways, though is generally seen truncated as Mi'raj, Mir'aj or just Miraj. Its name is also synonymous with Muhammad's ascent into heaven. Al-mi'raj is a large, harmless-looking yellow rabbit with a single, 2-foot-long (0.61 m), black, spiraling horn protruding from its forehead, much like that of a unicorn. Despite its docile appearance, Al-Mir'aj is actually a ferociously territorial predator known to be able to kill animals and people many times their own size with a few stabs of its horn. It also has an immense appetite and can devour other living things several times its size without effort. Al-Mir'aj frightens other animals and they will always flee from its presence due to this. The people of the island were so terrified of Al-Mi'raj eating them and their livestock that they would turn to witches to ward them away as soon as the rumor of a Miraj met their ears. It was reported that only a true witch would charm the Miraj, rendering it harmless so the people could remove the Miraj from the area. It is possible this myth originates from observations of the effects of any one of several diseases in rabbits that can create horn-like growths upon the bodies of animals, most commonly Fibromatosis and Papillomatosis. Papillomatosis is the result of a virus infecting the skin, causing a large, red, swelling growth on the skin of the subject. These red marks may have appeared to be where horns had broken off or were shed. Fibromatosis is a similar virus which infects the skin and causes the flesh of the rabbit to mat with hair, hardening into long, hard horn-like protrusions. Both diseases could account for the appearance of wild, fierce (with pain) rabbits with "horns" as infected specimens have been found, catalogued and are well documented. Now this is a MAYAN tale about the rabbit http://www.kstrom.net/isk/maya/rabbit.html Translated and edited by Fernando Peñalosa and Janet Sawyer RABBIT AND HIS CAP OF ANTLERS Once when the rabbit, that is, the mayor, still had his antlers, he met a deer. The rabbit said to the deer: "Brother, look at the cap [antlers] Our Father gave me." "Come here, brother," said the deer, "Lend it to me," said the deer to the rabbit. "You're too small, it doesn't fit you, but I'm big.Maybe your cap will fit me, I'm going to try it on my head." The rabbit handed his cap to the deer and the deer put it on his head:. "Look brother, how nice it looks on me. I'm going to dance so you can see. Then I'm going for a walk and afterwards I'll come back here to you and I'll give you your cap back," said the deer to the rabbit. The deer went off and didn't come back with the rabbit's cap. The rabbit was waiting for him, just waiting and crying because he didn't have his cap any more. It occurred to him to get up from where he was crying and go notify his king. He came before the king: "Father!" said the rabbit to the king. "What have you come to tell me, my son?" the king asked the rabbit. "My brother went off with the cap you gave me, father. My brother, the deer told me he was just going to try it on, and I gave him the cap you had given me, father." "'Why did our father give it to you?' the deer asked me. 'Our father should have given it to me, because I'm big. Your cap fits me well,' my brother said. I thought he was my brother. So I gave it to him, but he just went off with it any way. He left, and I just sat waiting for him to come back with my cap. He didn't come back and I got tired of waiting for him so long. That's why I have come to ask you, father, to give me another cap in place of the one my brother took, and also make me taller because my uncle deer said I was too little." "'That cap doesn't fit you,' he told me, father. That's why I want to grow as big as my uncle deer." "All right, I'll make your taller, my son. I'll make your body grow. If you do what I say, I'll give you what you ask for," said the king to the rabbit. "What shall I do for you, father?" asked the rabbit. "Now I'm telling you that if you want to be as big as your brother the deer, I'm going to grant your wish," said the king to the rabbit. "Now, go and bring me fifteen loads of skins. If you bring them to me I'll make your body grow and I'll give you your cap back." "All right," said the rabbit, and went off to the fields, to the mountains and to the sea. The rabbit bought himself a guitar. When he came to a plain he sat down to rest. He had been playing music with his guitar for a while when an old snake came up to him. "What are you doing, brother?" the snake asked brother rabbit. "I've come to play music for you, uncle," said the rabbit to the snake. "Oh, your song** is sad, uncle," said the snake to Uncle Rabbit. "Yes," said the rabbit to the snake. "May I dance a little?" the snake asked Uncle Rabbit. The rabbit answered: "Of course you may dance. That's why I came to play a song for you. But I would just like to ask you, uncle, where is your weak spot? Because my marimba stick*** might reach your weak spot. Show it to me, so I can see where it is," said the rabbit to the snake. "All right, brother," said the snake. "Here's my weak spot, right at the end of my tail." "All right, brother, now that I've noticed where your weak spot is, you can dance without worrying," Uncle Rabbit told the snake. The rabbit needed to collect skins, but the snake didn't suspect what the rabbit was planning to do to him. "Dance! Go ahead and dance. Enjoy your dance," said the rabbit to the snake, " because that's why I came to play near your house. Dance, enjoy, and don't be afraid. Here, come close to me." When he saw him nearby, the rabbit thought: "He's mine now. I know where his weak spot is." The snake danced and came near the rabbit. "Bring your tail near," said the rabbit to the snake. The snake raised his tail near the rabbit. The rabbit saw that the snake was near him and he killed him. Then he skinned him and went off with his skin. The rabbit came to a mountain and began to play his guitar once more. Shortly after he had come to the mountain a big old lion approached Uncle Rabbit. He was playing his music when the lion arrived. "Hey, uncle, why have you come here to play?" the lion asked the rabbit. "I've just have come to play, brother," the rabbit said. "Do you like music?" "Yes, I like music." said the lion. "Do you like to dance?" the rabbit asked the lion. "Yes, I like to," the lion answered. "If you'll play a song for me, I'll be wanting to dance," said the lion. "I'm going to play some music for you, because the reason I came to your house was to play music. Dance, enjoy your dance. Don't be afraid, Good, dance, only tell me where your weak spot is. I'd just like to ask you where your weak spot is. Dance, enjoy your dance," said the rabbit to the lion. "All right, brother, here's my weak spot, right here, on the back of my neck." "All right brother," said the rabbit. "Dance uncle, dance, dance, dance. Don't be afraid, come closer, come here beside me. I know where your weak spot is, so I won't hit you there. I know where it is. Try to dance a little bent over." The lion became careless while he was dancing, and the rabbit hit him on the head. The lion died, the rabbit skinned him and took away two more skins, two large skins. The rabbit walked, and walked and walked. He took his skins to a place on the beach, and played there once more. An alligator heard the rabbit playing a song and came up to him: "Is that you playing, Uncle Rabbit?" the alligator asked. "Yes, I'm the one who is playing for you," said the rabbit, "for I want you to dance. I thought maybe uncle would like a song. So I came to play a song for you." "Oh, is it true what you say? I like songs and I would like you to play one for me," said the alligator. "All right, I'll play you a song, but you have to dance." "Yes, I'll dance, for I really like to," the alligator told Uncle Rabbit. "I'd like to ask you where your weak spot is. Just tell me where your weak spot is. Don't worry, just show me where it is. If my marimba stick hits you, you could die," said Uncle Rabbit to the alligator. "All right, brother, my weak spot is here, right at the end of my tail," said the alligator. "All right, so dance. Dance with all your might and stretch out your tail." While he was dancing the alligator became careless and the rabbit hit his weak spot. The alligator died and the rabbit skinned him. The rabbit left the beach and came near a plantation where there was sugar cane, where there were bananas, where there were oranges, where there were sapotes. Near the plantation there was a house with monkeys and coatis, as well as two other households. He came to one of the houses bringing bananas. "Ah," the monkeys said to him "do you have bananas, uncle?" "Here, have some." said the rabbit to one of the monkeys. "All right," said the monkey. The monkey ate the bananas. Then the rabbit said: "Here you're just starving, but I have a plantation nearby where there are a lot of good things to eat. There are bananas, there is sugar cane, there are oranges, there are sapotes," said the rabbit to the monkeys. "All right, uncle, give us some," said the monkeys to the rabbit. "There's a lot of food, and it's just going to waste, because there's no one to eat it," said the rabbit to the monkeys. "Tomorrow we'll go to my plantation, all of you and your families, and if there are some others they can come with us too. Aren't there some other friends of ours here?" the rabbit asked the monkeys. "Oh, if you please, there's another family of our friends that are hungry; they have no food," the monkeys told the rabbit. "Tomorrow you're all going to go with me," the rabbit said to the monkeys. The next day all the monkeys and all the coatis set off for the plantation and arrived there. "Eat, brothers, enjoy the food," said the rabbit to all of them. "All right," they said and they were happy. That day passed. "Are you all satisfied?" the rabbit asked them. "Yes, we're fine, brother." "So let's go. Each one of you can take something along," the rabbit said to them. "All right, uncle," they said and set off. They came to a plain. "We're going to rest," the rabbit said to them. They rested on the plain. The monkeys were playing with the coatis and didn't know that the rabbit was plotting against their lives. The rabbit said to them: "Bring two nets, brothers." "What are you saying uncle, are we going to play?" "I want you to make me two nets," the rabbit said to them. "Why?" they asked. "I'm going to weigh you, so we can see who weighs the most," said the rabbit. "All right," they said, and got into the nets. "All you monkeys, get in there, and all you coatis get in over there. Push your snouts out through the net so you'll be able to breathe and won't suffocate." "All right," the fools said. The rabbit closed up the nets and went to look for a club, saying: "When I come back you'll get out of the nets." But when the rabbit came back with the club he was ferocious, and struck them on the snout: "Now uncles, you're going to pay for the bananas you ate." He killed the uncles in the two nets. All those that were in the two nets died, and he skinned them all. He used an armadillo as a pack animal, the armadillo carrying the skins for him. He had collected them as the king had ordered, so that he would increase his height and give him back his cap. He returned and came before the king with fifteen loads of skins. The king didn't believe the rabbit was going to succeed, and so he didn't realize he was bringing all those skins. When he came before the king with the skins, the rabbit said: "See, father, I have brought the skins." The king was astonished. "Did you really go and get them?" he asked. "I don't believe you." "No father, they're here." "Let's see them," the king said. "Here they are, father." He took them out of his net one at a time and the king saw him take out the alligator's skin, the lion's skin, the big snake's skin, the monkeys' skins and the coatis' skins. "Oh," said the king," getting angry, "What do you want in exchange for these skins?" "I want you to make me taller and give me my cap back." "Oh," said the king, "what a shameless rabbit you are. In spite of everything you want to be big. You actually killed your own brothers. You actually killed them. You're so small. If you were larger, if I made you bigger, you'd kill all your brothers. Look here, you killed the lion, the alligator, and the snake, even though you're real little. "Well, now, you're going to have to forgive me, my son, but this is the punishment I've decreed: Bring me your ears so I can stretch them. You shameless thing, you already killed your brothers who are bigger than you. Now never come back here again. You're going once and for all, I'm just going to make your ears grow." Word of the Week: Knowledge Plant of the week: Lobelia   © Copyrighted

Amy Muse, comics fan, joins us to talk about comics… 1) The Imitation Game: Alan Turing Decoded 2) Wonder Woman: Rebirth 3) Ursula Vernon 4) Soviet Daughter: A Graphic Revolution 5) Question Time: Who's your favorite warrior? 6) What we're looking forward to next

This week on Productivity Alchemy, we will check in with our Wombat Test Subject, and discuss how a simple to-do list works for her. We will also look at using a calendar as part of her organization. Our interview this week is with Author, Illustrator, and Test Subject Ursula Vernon, and after that we'll talk about how you - yes YOU - can earn badges for listening!  Links for this episode: OpenBadges.org Backpack Depression-Busting Exercise Tips For People Too Depressed To Exercise Productivity Alchemy Badge How-To Download this Episode

I don't have a recording of my son, from when he was alive. So I went to a specialist in pediatric phantasmic attachment disorder--ghost children--and a professor of alternate realities, to see if I could, just maybe, talk to him one more time. The result was a visitation I never could have anticipated.   The Voice of Free Planet X is written and produced by Jared Axelrod. This episode featured music by bensound.com. The Voice of Free Planet X theme is by Russell Collins. This episode could not have existed without the performances Sonia Williams, Taleisha Bowen, Whitney Strix Beltrán and the support of listeners like you. You can support the Voice of Free Planet X at patreon.com/axelrod. The T-Shirt of the Month for March is Ursula Vernon's fantastic Reverend Mord portrait. You should get one. Keep up to date on everything Voice of Free Planet X-related by subscribing to "The Voice of Free Planet X-tra" at tinyletter.com/planetx.  The Voice of Free Planet X is distributed by Galactic Public Radio.

CROSSOVER WITH THE HIDDEN ALMANAC!!! My wife and I venture into the heart of an unnamed land to meet with a man who has all the answers. In fact, one might say that he has more answers than he knows what to do with.   Special thanks to Ursula Vernon and Kevin Sonney of Dark Canvas Media, who allowed me to romp around in their world a bit. You can find out more about The Hidden Almanac at hiddenalmanac.com. This episode featured music by Kosta T. The Voice of Free Planet X theme is by Russell Collins. Artwork for the episode was done by Ursula Vernon. This episode could not have existed without the performances of J.R. Blackwell, Kevin Sonney, Urusla Vernon, and the support of listeners like you. You can support the Voice of Free Planet X at patreon.com/axelrod. Keep up to date on everything Voice of Free Planet X-related by subscribing to "The Voice of Free Planet X-tra" at tinyletter.com/planetx.  The Voice of Free Planet X is distributed by Galactic Public Radio.

To tide you over until Season 2 of The Voice of Free Planet X begins, here's the time J.R. Blackwell and I visited the home of our dear friends Ursula Vernon and Kevin Sonney and appeared on their show, Kevin and Ursula Eat Cheap. We ate...well, I'll let them tell it:   Our dear friends Jared Axelrod and J.R. Blackwell were visiting this weekend, and brought us a present: a box of hand-made candies shaped like animal poop! Sharing is caring, so we all sat down and shared those. But no show is complete without beer and wine, flavored potato chips, and things best left in the freezer section of your local market, so we had some of that too.  Plus a rye from the wilds of PA, heat-and-eat noodles, and something called "Stage Planks" when We Eat It, So You Don't Have To!

Hugo and Nebula award winning Ursula Vernon joins us for a tangent-filled extravaganzaaaaa!

Hugo and Nebula award winning Ursula Vernon joins us for a tangent-filled extravaganzaaaaa!

King Tideby Alison WilgusSome particular trick of the moon, the weather, and the Earth's closeness to the sun had pulled the tide all the way to 5th Avenue, a good half-block further uphill than usual. The city had put out an alert, so Jordyn knew to clear out the basement ahead of time. Their landlord was smart enough to have the foundation sealed years ago—that would be fine—but there wasn't much to be done for cardboard boxes and old futons. Those had to be kept above the tide line, or they were garbage.Full Transcript appears under the cut:----more----[Intro music plays]Hello! Welcome to GlitterShip episode 10 for June 11, 2015. I'm your host, Keffy, and I'm super excited to be sharing this story with you.It's only been a few days since I uploaded last week's episode, but I'm back. One of the other things that happened last weekend is that the Nebula Awards were given out. If you're not up on a lot of the science fiction awards, these are given out by the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America and are voted on by the professional writers who are members of that organization.I'll provide a link to the complete short list in the transcript, (Nebula Awards) but I'd also like to congratulate the winners on the show.So!The winner of Best Novel was Jeff VanderMeer for Annihilation.Novella - which is like a really short book - went to Nancy Kress for Yesterday's Kin.Novelette - which is like a really long short story - went to Alaya Dawn Johnson for "A Guide to the Fruits of Hawai'i"And short story went to Ursula Vernon for "Jackalope Wives."The Andre Norton Award for Young Adult SF&F went to Alaya Dawn Johnson for Love Is the Drug.Congratulations to all the winners!Our story this week is "King Tide" by Alison Wilgus.Alison Wilgus is a writer of comics and prose, and currently working on nonfiction graphic novels for First Second Books. She also draws her own comics about space, cats, monster hunting, and very occasionally herself. She lives in Brooklyn.She is also one of the co-editors at The Sockdolager, which is a semiprozine at sockdolager.net. You may also remember the comics anthology called Beyond, which is an all-ages queer science fiction and fantasy comics anthology edited by Sfé R. Monster and Taneka Stotts. Alison wrote one of the comics for that anthology, which was illustrated by Anissa Espinoza. You can find more information about Beyond at beyondanthology.comKing Tideby Alison WilgusSome particular trick of the moon, the weather, and the Earth's closeness to the sun had pulled the tide all the way to 5th Avenue, a good half-block further uphill than usual. The city had put out an alert, so Jordyn knew to clear out the basement ahead of time. Their landlord was smart enough to have the foundation sealed years ago—that would be fine—but there wasn't much to be done for cardboard boxes and old futons. Those had to be kept above the tide line, or they were garbage.Her girlfriend, Mia, had paused on the first floor landing to breathe, a disintegrating tomb of Jordyn's family albums clutched in her hands. Its weight eased for a moment as she rested an edge on the railing. "We should toss these," Mia had said. "You digitized them years ago.""Oh, but it's not the same," Jordyn had said, and it wasn't.Now she sat cross-legged on their bed while Mia showered, a stack of albums on the duvet beside her and another open in her lap. She peered at the careful handwriting under each photograph, names and dates and in-jokes, most of them incomprehensible. The photos had been taken with cell phones and carefully printed out, an anachronism even then. Her grandmother had pressed hard when she wrote, and as Jordyn ran her fingertips over the pages she could feel indentations beneath the ink. The album smelled of dust and old glue and a worrying hint of mildew.Jordyn had copied one—taken a photo of a photo, found a place up in Bushwick that still did small print jobs, bought a silver frame secondhand at the Brooklyn Bazaar—and set it on the wooden dresser beside their bed. Her grandmother had taken it decades ago, when her mother was a little girl and the Gowanus canal only rarely ventured out onto the streets.In the photo, a small, smiling version of Jordyn's mother sat on the stoop of her grandparents' house. She was an almost-copy of herself: curly black hair, brown skin, freckles on her cheeks and bare shoulders. The house was yellow brick, with white-washed iron bars over the windows and a little flower garden tucked between the concrete stoop and the stairs down to the cellar. Her grandparents had bought it in the 1970s for very little money, and, at the time the photograph was taken, were rightly smug about their foresight. Back then they could have sold it for a million dollars to developers who'd have cheerfully replaced it with a narrow stack of condos.They'd stopped using the cellar after Hurricane Oscar. Hurricane Andrea had ruined the curtains and the carpets on the first floor, and they’d been forced to sell the house for little more than it cost to buy a new car.Jordyn lived just up the hill, now. The yellow house in her picture wasn't large—two stories and a basement—but on most days, its top story rose out of the lagoon. She liked to look at it from her roof in the late afternoon, when the warm golden sunshine made it look buttery and romantic. Like it had sounded in her mother's stories, back when she was still alive to tell them.The pipes thumped as Mia turned off the water. She walked out the bathroom in a cloud of steam, her stout brown body naked and dripping as she toweled off her hair. "Moon's out," she said.Jordyn closed the album in her lap and set it on top of the others. The bed creaked as she slid to the edge, tucked her feet into her slippers, stood up; she stretched her arms above her head and her muscles resettled. "It's a King Tide," she said. "Highest this year. By a lot."Mia pulled her head through a cotton tee shirt. "We should drink a couple beers on the roof.""Hah! In winter?"Mia shrugged.Jordyn opened the door to their apartment, then turned the lock so that the deadbolt would catch on the frame and keep the door ajar. Theirs was the top floor; they climbed one flight of steep marble stairway to the roof. Two bottles clinked together in Mia's hand, held by their necks between her fingers.The winter had been mild, but little mounds of rotten snow hid in the shadows, and Jordyn rubbed her arms through her sweatshirt as she walked across the tarpaper. Through the steam of her breath, she looked out over a city of brick and stone and water. Behind her swelled the high-rent higher ground of Park Slope, dry townhouses climbing up the hill to Prospect Park, Flatbush, Windsor Terrace, Crown Heights. Neighborhoods that emptied this time of year, when everyone escaped to their condos in Georgia.Before her, an archipelago.Real estate agents had started calling it "Gowanus Beach," which Jordyn thought was pretty misleading, even by real estate standards. At least when people said Red Hook was "The Venice of Kings County" that evoked a useful image: water-stained townhouses and floating wooden walkways, plastic kayaks tied up in front of corner bodegas, tanned women in sundresses puttering around in little zodiacs with outboard motors, the East River lapping at second story windowsills. "Gowanus Beach" implied sand, maybe sea-smooth stones, even the muddy shore of a lake. Nothing about "beach" said crumbling asphalt, or concrete gnawed away by the tides, or exposed rebar skeletons crumbling into rust, or the bloated carcasses of cheap student furniture bobbing up from drowned garden apartments.The wind was wet and heavy. Jordyn shivered and looked down at the rippling gray water. The tide had swallowed her grandparents' house entirely.Mia popped their bottles open on the low brick wall of the facade. They stood in the cold and looked at the city, at the full moon in the blue evening sky, at the waves. A trash barge puttered along the street below, pausing every half-block for building supers to add to its load. Jordyn could hear the siren of a fire boat, but couldn’t see the boat itself, nor the smoke.Jordyn took a sip from her beer, which was warm and tasted of hops and cardamom. "The tide's supposed to drop all the way down past Fourth Ave," she said. "I thought I might go for a walk."Mia pursed her lips. "It'll be dark.""It hasn't gone out this far in years.""Still." Mia nursed her beer in silence for a while, time measured out in the swish-pop of her sips. "When was your last tetanus shot?""Couple years ago. Remember? I fell off Madison's dock."Mia sighed. "Wear your reef shoes, all right?"The sirens faded. Jordyn stepped into the warm space beside Mia's body and slid an arm around her thick waist, tucking her hand into the far pocket of Mia's coat. "I'll be fine," she said.Anticipation kept Jordyn from sleeping soundly, and she woke before her alarm. She had dreamed about riding the old subway system her mother had told her about. She dressed by the amber light of the street lamps, pulled a coat on over her wetsuit, slipped her feet into her reef shoes. Kissed Mia on the forehead and closed their bedroom door.Mia had set the big flashlight to charge before they'd gone to bed. Jordyn took it, and her set of keys, locked up the apartment, descended the stairway in rubber-soled silence, and stepped out onto the empty sidewalk. The water was gone, but the tree wells were frozen with mud.As Jordyn walked downhill toward Fourth Avenue, below the usual tideline, she had to pick her away around soggy timber, hunks of old insulation, rusted soda cans, tangled knots of plastic shopping bags—the usual trail of city detritus left behind by high tide. She passed under the elevated boardwalk running along the east side of the avenue, a tourist attraction some mayor had built when she was a little girl. The wreckage of a gull had caught on one of the pilings.Beyond the boardwalk, crumbling asphalt dissolved into a sort of coarse black gravel, bits of the roadbed mixed in with the sand and soil and stones that had once supported it. In places, the steel tubes and concrete cylinders of the old infrastructure were exposed—gas lines, water mains, sewers, electricity. Round black holes gaped open, liquid noises echoing up from underground. Most of the old manhole covers had been stolen by trophy hunters years ago. Jordyn chose her steps carefully, eyes on the ground.Once she reached the buildings on the far side of the avenue, she paused to look behind her. Only the foolish or the desperate would eat anything fished out of the Gowanus lagoon, but the boardwalk was crowded with seafood restaurants hoping to capitalize on the maritime atmosphere. Their neon signs still winked at her from above shuttered doors and windows, criss-crossed by the black silhouettes of utility lines.The canals of the lagoon were lit, but not well, and the low tide made the landscape unsettling and strange. Buildings were taller than she remembered; boats moored in shallow water now rested on the ground.The lagoon had retreated to a few yards below the avenue. Jordyn switched on the flashlight and waded in one cautious step at a time, careful not to shift her weight forward until she was sure of her footing.The water was cold. Her toes were numb within half a block, but that was fine. The soles of her shoes were tough enough for nails and glass, and she didn't have far to go.In the LED glow of her flashlight, the yellow brick house looked almost white. For a disoriented moment, she wondered if she'd gone down the wrong street, or misremembered which side of it the building was on. Someone—a thief, an interim owner, the tide—had taken the bars from the lower-story windows. And the brick was striped with stains, each line a marker of the lagoon's creeping progress uphill.But the black iron numbers hanging above the door were the same. This was thehouse, reclaimed from the tide, if only for tonight. From this stoop, her mother had watched the water come.Jordyn was up to her waist in the lagoon. Her feet still had some feeling left, and she poked around with them under the night-black water, looking for the first step. Finding it, she climbed the uneven stairs, water running down the legs of her wetsuit and dripping from the saturated hem of her coat, to finally sit on the stoop, her back against the font door. Her feet were still in the water, and it tickled as it lapped around her ankles.She dried her hands off on her hair, then tugged her phone out of a waterproof pouch in her jacket. She held it up in front of her, looked into its little black eye, and smiled.END"King Tide" was originally published by Terraform in December of 2014.This recording is a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license which means you can share it with anyone you’d like, but please don’t change or sell it. Our theme is “Aurora Borealis” by Bird Creek, available through the Google Audio Library.Thanks for listening, and I’ll have another story for you on June 18th.[Music plays out]

Derek and Andy W. are back for another of their monthly webcomics episodes, and for April they discuss three exciting titles, two currently ongoing webcomics and one completed series. They begin with Kristen Gudsnuk's Henchgirl, the story of a young villain trying to find her way (and her fortune) in a world of super-powered crime. However, her heart and her relationships keep getting in the way, making her a unlikely and often-torn protagonist. As the Two Guys point out, this is more of a relationship-based story than a superhero one, and Gudsnuk is adept at showing the unglamorous and untold side of villainy. Manga-influenced and reminiscent of the style and tone of Scott Pilgrim, Henchgirl is probably a story aimed at a younger (Millennial?) readership, but it's humor and playfulness can be enjoyed by all. Next, the guys, not intending to be alliterative this month, discuss another H-heavy webcomic. Huge Hana is a relatively recent title created by Ian Burns, with a first installment posted on December 30, 2013, and an active Patreon campaign underway. As Andy describes it, it is a scientific science-fiction tale with a bit of Attack of the 50 Foot Woman thrown in and complete with devastating meteors, mutations, and enough of a medically based premise to set the Center for Disease Control on edge. It's the story of a young woman transformed into a giant and in search of answers to her dilemma, all the while trying to navigate a world that now sees her as a monster. Finally, the guys look at what could arguably called a "classic" in webcomics, Ursula Vernon's Digger. Running from February 2007 to March 2011, Digger is an epic that may have you reaching for your copy of Joseph Campbell's Hero with a Thousand Faces. It involves an anthropomorphic wombat far from home and in an unlikely team-up with the Hindu deity, Ganesh -- or at least a wooden statue of the god. Accompanied by an exiled hyena skin painter, a mentally unstable worshipper of Ganesh, and a shadow born of a white bird that just may be a demon, the story's hero, also known as the Digger-of-Unnecessarily-Convoluted-Tunnels, reluctantly undergoes a journey to uncover the source of evil magic that is gumming up the world. If you're a fan of such quest narratives as Tolkein's The Hobbit, Dave Sim's Cerebus, or Jeff Smith's Bone, then Digger is definitely a webcomic for you.

Rachel Manija Brown and Sherwood Smith talk to me about their YA novels (Stranger and Hostage), and C.S.E. Cooney talks to me about her music project, Brimstone Rhine.First, a congratulatory note to all the Nebula nominees this year! Many OA members on that list, which is full of awesome people and awesome stories! Special congratulations to Katherine Addison (Sarah Monette), Ann Leckie, Ken Liu, Richard Bowes, Rachel Swirsky, Sarah Pinsker, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Aliette de Bodard, Alyssa Wong, Sam J. Miller, Usman T. Malik, Carmen Maria Machado, Ursula Vernon, and Eugie Foster (who passed just after her last story was published). Hugo nominations are open until the 10th of March. If you are an attending or supporting member of Sasquan, or if you attended or supported LonCon last year, you should be eligible to nominate! I (Julia Rios) personally am eligible in Best Editor Short Form for my work with Strange Horizons, and on Kaleidoscope: Diverse YA Science Fiction and Fantasy Stories. I'm also eligible in Best Fancast for this very podcast as well as for The Skiffy and Fanty Show, and Strange Horizons is eligible in Best Semiprozine. There are a bunch of other super worthy OA member projects, but I wanted to give another special shoutout to Catherine Lundoff's series on LGBT SF History over at SF Signal. I believe she's eligible for best fan writer for that series. Stranger and Hostage are the first two books in the Change quartet, set in a post apocalyptic LA. Rebel and Traitor (books 3 and 4) should be out later this year and early next year respectively.Prisoner, Partner, and Laura's Wolf are Rachel's three books featuring werewolf marines, hot sex, and PTSD. You can download Prisoner for free.Angel in the Attic is Rachel's lesbian werewolf romantic comedy.Brimstone Rhine is C.S.E. Cooney's made up rockstar alter ego, who is crowdfunding two EPs right now on indiegogo. Rewards include things like Claire's books (in addition to the music of course). For a free taste of Claire's Witch's Garden world, you can read "Witch, Beast, Saint" in Strange Horizons. The books that are part of the Brimstone Rhine campaign rewards include The Witch In the Almond Tree, The Breaker Queen, The Two Paupers, and Bone Swans. The Banjo Apocalypse Crinoline Troubadors are one of C.S.E. Cooney's other music  and storytelling projects, which, if Brimstone Rhine ends up hitting far beyond the initial funding goal, might also produce an album of Distant Star Ballads.

Last year, Ruth Graham published an article in Slate arguing that adults should feel embarrassed to read young-adult fiction. This episode, Emily and Kyle weigh in on the debate and talk about how to balance reading what you like with finding material that challenges you. Plus, they talk about what books they've been reading and Kyle gets much too excited about Robert Jackson Bennett's fantasy novel City of Stairs.  Episode Breakdown: 0:00 – 8:00: What We're Reading 8:00 – 45:00: The Adults-Reading-YA Debate What Emily's Reading: Geek Love by Katherine Dunn What Kyle's Reading: City of Stairs by Robert Jackson Bennett "Pocosin" by Ursula Vernon. Click here to read the short story. Other Works that We Discuss: Zone One by Coulson Whitehead The Fault In Our Stars by John Green Submergence by J.M. Ledgard Instructions by Neil Gaiman His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman The Lives of Christopher Chant by Diana Wynne Jones Buying books at Powell's by using these affiliate links helps support the show! Do you have thoughts on the adults-reading-YA debate? Email the show at portablemagicpodcast@gmail.com or tweet us @PortableMagicPC! 

"Pocosin" by Ursula Vernon -- published in Apex Magazine issue 68, January 2015. Ursula Vernon is the author of the Hugo Award winning comic “Digger” and numerous children's books. She writes for adults under the name T. Kingfisher. She lives in North Carolina and gardens, if you can call it that. Find her online at www.tkingfisher.com. This Apex Magazine Podcast was performed and produced by Lisa Shininger. Music used with kind permission of Oh, Alchemy! Apex Magazine Podcast, Copyright Apex Publications

"Jackalope Wives" by Ursula Vernon -- published in Apex Magazine issue 56, January 2014 Ursula Vernon is the author and illustrator of the Hugo Award–winning graphic novel Digger as well as the author of the Dragonbreath series of children's books. She blogs at Red Wombat Studio, and podcasts fiction at The Hidden Almanac. She lives in North Carolina and does weird things to plants. This Apex Magazine Podcast was performed by Windy Bowlsby and produced by Erika Ensign. Music used with kind permission of Oh, Alchemy! Apex Magazine Podcast, copyright Apex Publications

Jared Axelrod sits down to talk with Ursula Vernon about her Hugo-winning comic DIGGER,  and how awesome it is. ursulavernon.com www.diggercomic.com This episode also featured music by The Masochist Monkey Circus

Welcome to a new Indeed Sketchbook. Today we have on the sketchpad the Award "Soon to be" Winning, super creative Ursula Vernon of the Graphic novel DIGGER. A Graphic Novel about A Wombat, A Dead God, and a very peculiar epic. As we go over story development, Characters , and the world in general, we understand the world is Digger is not done by planned execution, but a world of chance. We also dive into the other works of Ursula including both Dragonbreath and Nurk. Both works providing content for all ages to learn and enjoy. Not only will the Hyenas be hunting you, but I think a few others may be watching, including a biting Pear. Also vist her other sites over at RED WOMBAT. Come and enjoy our time with Ursula and don't forget to support all of our artist. Go and visit our friends over at SOFAWOLF and check out all the other books and graphic Novels there. The have a amazing assortment of titles, and growing more everyday. Don't forget to visit vtwproductions.com forum boards and join our art and writing contest. Every month you can compete and show off the talent that makes you who you are. Post and awe us, and don't forget to tell them Indeed Podcast has shown you the way! Thanks all who listen and keep us going, remember to email us with questions or comments at indeedpodcast [at] gmail [dot] com or find us on Facebook, iTunes, and VTWproductions