Man, this is the Mega Edition. Too much cool stuff in one week!

I learned that avoiding suffering is not the path to happiness and how to learn from it instead.

I read the 56 worst most smart-ass analogies used in high school papers and laughed my ass off.

I saw a sweet, beautiful story in art.

I learned that scientists have finally created a parthenogenic lizard species in the lab via hybridization. Sweet!

I howled at the best obnoxious responses to misspellings on Facebook. Oh, god, guys, I died.

I learned that being allowed to struggle is a kindness and a necessity, as it is how we learn and grow best.

I read about some authors’ lessons learned from master worldbuilders.

I learned that being “cool” can be like wearing an emotional straightjacket.

I saw an incredibly beautiful, inspiring image-story on artistic evolution – you’ve got to see this, guys.

I learned that there are two kinds of asking why – the gentle, exploratory kind and the accusatory, perfectionist kind.

I read about best practices for beta readers and was relieved that I seem to be doin’ it right.

I learned how to live deeper, not busier.

I read a beautiful, brilliant post on self-wisdoms.

I learned the importance of a really good wallow (and a really good metaphor).

I learned that Camp NaNoWriMo is coming this summer! NaNoWriMo! In the summer! I squeed.

I was reminded that decompressing between actions is just as important as the actions themselves, and I wish more people practiced this.

And your Friday photo is from my yard, taken yesterday:

I found 50 questions to ask yourself to create the life you want.

I learned some good ways to smite stress.

I learned .

I learned that seemingly embodying opposites is not strange or bad – it’s actually a positive and balanced thing.

I learned that ladies and gents prefer bookworms – bonus lovely photos!

I learned how to help someone who won’t help themselves.

I read about the lion’s mane jellyfish, which can grow up to 120 feet long. So cool.

And I wanted to share an old favorite critter of mine, the coconut crab, the largest land arthropod with a leg span of up to three feet.

And your Friday photo is a two-fer, both courtesy Wikimedia Commons, of the aforementioned jellyfish and coconut crab:

I read something today – a brilliant post from Shanna – that catalyzed a realization in my convoluted little brain.

Go read her post first. I’ll wait. No, seriously, it’s not that long. Done? Okay.

Near the beginning of April, I wrote something in my private journal about instinctively positioning myself as Other in any given group or demographic, especially regarding gender and sexual orientation. It was strongly-worded, so I hesitated to post it on the blog. (Like I often do, I worried that someone will call me out for having no right to speak about such things.)

After reading Shanna’s post, I realized why I do this. It’s not to rebel, or be special or different, or to provoke others, or to get attention. It’s to bring balance, inasmuch as one person in a sea of others can. I try to bring under-represented or entirely lacking qualities to a given group by embodying them myself. These are characteristics I already have, not ones I’m adopting for the moment; I’m just bringing a different facet of my nature to the fore. I place myself in the minority constantly so that the majority doesn’t forget that minorities exist– not only exist, but can bring value to a group situation.

In that light, in recognizing balance, I want to share what I wrote weeks ago, despite still being nervous about it.

Disclaimer: When I mention male/female/masculine/feminine in the following, I’m referring to current stereotypes, not trying to make a blanket statement about all men or women ever. I hate stereotypes, but in order to break ‘em, I have to acknowledge their place in our society’s shared reality.

I am Other. More feminine than a man, more masculine than a woman, gayer than a heterosexual but still not homosexual, neither binary-gendered nor transgendered. And I like being this way.

I bring the qualities of a man into a venue that is feminine. I’m the guy at the table talking just as deeply and rawly about emotions and vulnerability and inequality. I want to let women know that they aren’t the only ones who feel it, who can share it, who want to change it. They aren’t the only ones fighting.

I bring the qualities of a woman into a venue that is masculine. I am the chick that rides her own motorcycle. I am the only woman in a martial arts dojo or a drumming group. I want to fuck up the expectation that women are weak or lesser or objectifiable.

I bring the qualities of genderfunk into the binary of boy-or-girl. I want to remind the cisgendered folks that it’s not all X and Y simplicity.

I bring the qualities of being gay in a venue that is heterosexual. I am visibly not-straight, laughing and free and no less a person for who I love. I want to make sure that GLBTQ is not forgotten or trivialized or dismissed. And it goes deeper and finer: I am the bisexual among the homosexuals, the pansexual among the bisexuals.

I represent the minority within the majority to bring balance, not to stand out. By just being me, not by trying to be what I’m not.

I found a ton of photos of basset hounds running, which are guaranteed to make you smile and/or laugh. Best way to start a Friday.

I found an in-browser program to make your own music – it’s so easy and so incredibly addictive. I love this.

I also found a source of white noise that can help drown out audible distractions while working, writing, or just chilling. The oscillate function can make it sound like ocean waves.

I learned how important and awesome it is to wave your freaky flag and be completely you, authentic and vulnerable.

I read a fantastic letter to women in tech apologizing for doin’ it wrong by not being “meek” and “unambitious.” (I have a fondness for sarcasm. I laughed.)

I read the complete guide to not giving a fuck, which is all kinds of no-nonsense and awesome.

I learned why we may judge others and how to accept them and ourselves.

I learned that making mistakes is actually both useful and a sign you’re doin’ it right.

I learned 23 things I might not’ve known about me through this wonderful little (free) ebook. It was happy-making to read.

And your Friday photo is an exceptionally friendly corvid I met in Colorado:

I really want to resume taking pictures of everything around me. Nevada can be quite beautiful, but I haven’t been keeping my camera around to immortalize some of those moments. So, hopefully, you’ll start seeing more photos from this year instead of a few years back. :)

I learned how to balance the mojo budget by avoiding things that cost me energy and engaging in things that energize me.

I found a LLAMA FONT. Yes.

I read about the allure of the “gay caveman” and the existence of third genders in various cultures.

I learned that you’re never really ready, but you can sure as hell be willing.

I learned that human skin is now being mass-producted in a robot-controlled factory. SCIENCE IS SO COOL.

I learned that scientists managed to teleport Shrodinger’s cat in the form of wave packets of light. Have I mentioned how much I love quantum science?

I read a letter to teenage girls that I wish I could send to every kid in high school.

I learned that we’re all stones in a rock tumbler, and our sharp edges will be smoothed down in time as we touch others and they touch us.

I learned that part of strength is knowing when to let go.

I learned about shenpa and how to deal with it, which is still blowing my mind because this is something I struggle with every day.

I found out that someone made a “Heaven” tetris game based on xkcd’s comic. Oh, it’s addictive.

I read about how future history students will think it’s embarrassing and ridiculous that we took so long to legalize gay marriage. This will probably prove true in time.

Your Friday photo was taken in Colorado a few years back; I still think it’s hilarious.

I learned some great tips on how to start bicycling to work, which is something I want to try once it STOPS BEING WINTER. Any time now, Nevada, really. Only two of the dozen mini-trees outside my office building are even budding. The rest are stylized sticks.

I found the Periodic Table of Storytelling, which is both interesting and entertaining.

I learned that, sometimes, being kind means being compassionate to another person’s troubles.

I found . YES.

And at the last minute, I found a fantastic manifesto that says that the internet is made of people, and people matter, so be nice. So much love for this one.

Your Friday photo is a shot from Colorado. That tiny, long-haired spec down there is my love, J. :)

Apparently, this week was slim pickings! Damn. I feel like I missed most of the awesome posts out there. Got any you want to share, folks?

I learned how to find serenity in an industry that doesn’t want you.

I learned how to steal like an artist.

I was reminded that the incubation time between actions is just as important as the actions themselves, like pulling back an arrow before letting it fly.

I read an amazing statement of queerness from a brilliant person who lives it and writes it. SO MUCH LOVE AND ADMIRATION FOR THIS.

I looked at awesome illustrations of the year 2010, as imagined in 1910.

I learned that doing work – enacting changes in our lives and selves – may very well be the purpose for human striving. Not being happy or content or pious, but Getting Things Done that improve our realities and experiences.

I read about one woman’s thirty-day experiment into health and realized that telling myself “I only have to do this for a month! That’s all!” is a great way to ease into a new habit.

I learned that I want to go bicycling in New Zealand– er, I mean, that breaking a daunting thing down into little steps, starting where you are (which is Being Daunted), can get you through almost anything.

And your Friday photo is a bit of perspective from Discovery Park, Seattle:

I learned that, even though you can’t please everyone, there will always be someone who loves what you do and how you do it. Everybody gets their Right People.

I learned that each person’s experience can be valid and true for them without being the whole, objective, universal truth.

I read a fucking amazing poem called How To Make Love To A Trans Person and wanted to cry because it’s beautiful and visceral and real.

I read about the process of change: about having a path, going through the fires of the forge, and finding yourself on a different path – and adapting to the new road.

I read an article on finding personal freedom, which I mostly want to share because of the first step: don’t take it personally, which is so damn important. (The other three steps are good too, though!)

I read an Interstitial Arts review of two of my favorite creatrixes, SJ Tucker and Cat Valente. I may have squeed.

I learned twenty ways to overcome doubts and found my favorite to be asking yourself, “What will happen if I doubt this doubt?”

And I learned that there’s room for you all of you in what you do – your life, your passion, your work can include all of your facets, not just the ones that other people say are “right.”

And your Friday photo is actually a Friday artwork!

Inspired by the lyrics of Burning Bright by Shinedown:

the more the light shines through me,
I pretend to close my eyes;
the more the dark consumes me,
I pretend I’m burning,
burning bright

Last week, my partner emailed me a small selection of links and said you have to read these. I did so.

And now I am giving you a small selection of links and saying no, really, YOU HAVE TO READ THESE.

First up, we’ve got How to Become a Mars Overlord by Catherynne M. Valente, published by Lightspeed Magazine. The explosive richness of the prose and the vivid snapshots of alien culture and mythos are amazing – reading this is like bathing in a nebula.

Next is Thirteen Ways of Looking at Space/Time, also by Cat Valente, published by Clarkesworld Magazine. I can’t even begin to describe the brain-melting blend of science, world mythology, and personal history that she encapsulates here. I mean, just look at the beginning lines:

In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was a high-density pre-baryogenesis singularity. Darkness lay over the deep and God moved upon the face of the hyperspatial matrix. He separated the firmament from the quark-gluon plasma and said: let there be particle/anti-particle pairs, and there was light.

How cool is that?

Thirdly, we have As Below, So Above by Ferrett Steinmetz, published by Beneath Ceaseless Skies. I am a sucker for stories written from non-human viewpoints, and Ferrett pulls it off with brilliant clarity and easy readability. The worldbuilding is stellar in its subtle detail, and the slow, smooth untangling (or further tangling) of the plot kept my eyes glued to the screen with barely time for a blink.

And lastly, certainly not leastly, the fourth story is from Cat Valente: The Days of Flaming Motorcycles, found in Apex Magazine. This is the most unexpected and original zombie story I’ve ever read, and it packs an emotional punch right next to a fascinating premise.

That’s what I’ve been reading – what about you? Got links to other short stories or poems to share? I’m hungry for more words!

I learned to open up anyways and engage every cell – I truly love this post. It’s fierce and vulnerable all at once.

I learned that we’re all the little man behind the showy curtain, even though we think we’re the only one with a projector.

I learned that science supports the benefits of connecting with yourself; physics students who wrote an unrelated-to-physics essay about their personal values got better grades. For real.

I learned how to survive extreme suckitude by not denying it and not losing yourself in it, either.

I found a 1995 Newsweek article on why the internet isn’t that great or important. I laughed. A lot.

I fell the fuck in love with Catherynne Valente’s mythpunk cowboy poem, which even has an audio recording of SJ Tucker reading it in the best way.

I learned that than constantly war with the me-or-them winner paradigm.

I read about the unexpected, relentless medicine of love and was deeply touched.

After someone complained that Dragon Age 2 was neglecting their main demographic by having non-straight romance options in the game, I cheered my head off when I found out that Bioware responded by affirming their support to their entire audience, not just the traditionally-pandered-to straight males. Huz-fucking-zah, Bioware! I love you. Thank you.

And your Friday photo was taken at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado a while back: