Backyard Journal: Catbirds

Soft clouds of pink alcohol inks with some golden lines for effects. Some text in the lower right corner reads, I couldn't think of a better image, so enjoy some alcohol inks.

I’ve started taking morning walks around the backyard. Some mornings it’s quiet enough to hear the rabbits leaping across the grass. Other mornings I can hear construction in the farmer’s field where new townhouses are being built. One day, this will no longer be a truly rural area and just another extension of the sprawling…

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FOL Finds: The Sexy (Not Really) Edition

Header image showing a variety of books in a wooden cubby.

At my local Friends of the Library, we don’t get terribly unusual donations. But it is springtime, which means we’ll be getting hundreds of boxes, bags, and totes—sometimes in a single week. It gets overwhelming and we don’t know how we’ll store everything until the monthly book sale. After the worrying, we start rifling through…

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The Slow, Steady Return

A close up view of a library bookcase to the viewer's left, leading the eye to a blurry view of shelves and desks in the distance. The header text reads, 'Research, my happy place.'

Or Ellie Has A Lot to Share About Her Recent Journeys The semester is nearly over, and I feel more time being freed up. I’m going to try to enjoy the summer because the fall semester is going to be my busiest, what with two courses and an internship. But if I could survive the…

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78 Little Secret Weapons

Header image of tarot cards featuring Two of Cups, The Lovers, The Fool, Seven of Cups, and The Magician.

Or Tarot for Me, All for Me I was asked recently if I still do tarot as a practice and not just for zine material. Of course I do. It’s one of the ways I know I’m on the right path. It’s not that these little cardboard pieces decide what’s right or wrong for my…

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Look, Ma, I’m a bonafide grad student!

Soft clouds of pink alcohol inks with some golden lines for effects. Some text in the lower right corner reads, I couldn't think of a better image, so enjoy some alcohol inks.

Or Ellie Finally Sets Out to Do Something Besides Writing Papers for Grades Make a sandwich and strap in. This could be the last post I make for a while, though I’m starting to make more micro posts, as you can see in the Bluesky widget (to your right… or near the bottom, depending on…

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Conventure ’25: The Preppening

A close up view of a library bookcase to the viewer's left, leading the eye to a blurry view of shelves and desks in the distance. The header text reads, 'Research, my happy place.'

I thought this was going to be an easy semester, at least until things started ramping up towards May. Turns out I miscalculated. It hit this week, starting with a Zoom meeting I hadn’t even known was scheduled. This university loves its Zoom meetings (part of that “new normal” privileged people feared during the pandemic…

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Twitch Spectating: February 8, 2025

Sometimes chatters say the darndest things. I’m a regular in Rev’s chat, so I’ve seen some shit—but this blew my mind. I was hanging out in a chat of fewer than 10 when the streamer started reading messages from a chatter seeking advice. This person and their friends had apparently been dealing with a stalker…

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YouTubing: Dr. K, Regrets, and Doing Shit to Improve Your Life

A YouTube header image, but it says YerTerb.

Or I’ve Been Doing These Things Before I Knew These Videos Existed, So I’m Ahead of the Game A few days ago, the YouTube algorithm presented Dr. K and his Healthy Gamer videos. I’ve taken a cue from Noble Knight and have started calling myself a hardcore casual gamer, so I don’t really consider myself…

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Zine Material: Balance

Header: A desk covered in zine supplies: washi tape rolls, scissors, printer paper, markers, and tape. On the zine is a line drawing of a mushroom. In the lower right corner is the title, I See You.

Ever since I saw Frankentoon’s Spectral Grains, I’ve been wanting to try out stippling for texturizing my art. I rather like it more than the soft airbrushing I’ve used for ages, and I can see using this style going forward. What better way to try it out in a Two of Pentacles-inspired piece? I like…

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if (curious) { learnCode(); }

A header image with the following Javascript-liked code: if programmer is confused, search for solutions, programmer look up tutorial, let tutorial version equal five-plus years old, if tutorial version is five-plus years old, console log adjust expectations accordingly, else froth at the mouth, programmer bang head on desk.

It’s my first headache of the year. I must be doing something right if it came so late in January. Schoolwork has been merciful… so far. I’ll enjoy this relative peace while I can because I have a distinct feeling things are going to start getting messy—both offline and online. To keep myself grounded, I’m…

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