Some Wilderness for your Wednesday
“Kids are so very good at still being shape-shifters, and shifting into feathers and fur. They still understand that we are connected to everything in this world, and that we are part of an incredibly intricate woven web of life and creatures.” – Cornelia Funke With the warmer weather (sort of) hitting my neck of the woods, I’ve been lucky enough to spend some more time writing in the forest…. (Read More)
Five Things About Plants That Should Freak You Right Out (a giffy post)
If you know me and how we do things around here, you know I’m no stranger to weird creatures. There are scary animals, wacky animals, deceptively simple and terrifying animals. It was only a matter of time before I cracked. Because, you see *whispers* animals aren’t the only creepily, jawdroppingly amazing things out there. Today we’re going to talk about PLANTS. You might think, BUT JESS, PLANTS ARE BORING. They… (Read More)
Let’s Get Wordy: Leopards, Ferrets, and a small red bird with an inspired name
It’s high time we had a little word origin fun around here. You already know why flamingos are flamingos and how the crocodile got his name, but now it’s the LEOPARD’S turn. It really is a story about how little humans used to know about science, particularly the mating habits of large cats. See, when first encountering a leopard, people believed it was a hybrid between a LION and a… (Read More)
Rudolph is a Girl (and other things you should know about reindeer)
T’was a week before Christmas and all through the house, Jess was writing about reindeer instead of the mouse. (Annnd that’s as far as my poetry skills go.) So with Santa on his way, I thought it was high time to tell you a little bit about reindeer. You know, in case you run out of conversation at your holiday parties, now you can throw out these little tidbits and… (Read More)
What’s your favorite book of 2012?
Hello my cheeky little reading monkeys! Just a quick post to let you know that the Young Adult Book Central CHOICE AWARD nominations are up! Two reasons for this. One: you should go vote so your favorites can win! And two: if you’re in a bit of a reading slump (it happens), and are looking for the best books ever to finish the year off with, this is a good… (Read More)
Book Shout Out: ENDANGERED by Eliot Schrefer
I don’t review books on here, but every so often a book comes along that is so in line with your heart that you have to shout it out to everybody you meet. This is one of those books. Consider it shouted! Here is the publisher’s blurb, to start: The compelling tale of a girl who must save a group of bonobos—and herself—from a violent coup. The Congo is a… (Read More)
Scary Creatures with Big Teeth!
Halloween is almost here! What better way to celebrate (apart from eating all the KitKats from your box of mini chocolate bars that are SUPPOSED to be for the children) — *ahem* — than by checking out some creepy creatures of the deep? If you want to be freaked out, there is no better place than deep water. First you’ve got your obvious stuff like sharks (the ones with all… (Read More)
A Very Rare Guest Post! And NaNoWriMo!
My cheeky monkeys! I don’t often do guest posts, but there was no way I was turning down the chance to fire off a post for the wonderful Janice Hardy. She’s just too awesome. SO. If you are a writer (or want to be!), her blog is an amazing resource covering everything from drafting and plot tips to hardcore crafting advice that can make your scenes shine. She’s also written… (Read More)
Fruit Salad Trees (or Other Real Things that Belong in Books)
YELLO. How are you? *pulls up chair, hands you coffee and assorted pastry tray* Some of you may recall a post I wrote awhile back called Attack of the Robojelly (or Real Things That Belong in Books). If you haven’t read it, go ahead, I’ll wait. It’s a sampling of the bizarre-o things that seem too strange to exist, but somehow… they do. It’s one of my most visited posts,… (Read More)
When In Doubt, Look Like a Honey Badger
CHEETAHS. You already know that cheetahs are fast. But did you know that cheetahs, especially BABY cheetahs are really great pretenders? I came across this cool tidbit recently and just had to share. So you’ve got your cheetah. It looks like this: And you’ve got your baby cheetah, who looks like this. D’aww… Notice anything? The adult cheetah has a smooth, spotted coat on its back, while the baby has… (Read More)
Shark Week!
FINALLY. The time has come! No, not back to school (although many of you are back this week – good luck with that!) I’m talking about the best week of the entire year. The week to end all others. A time when razor-sharp teeth and menacing hunters are celebrated and awesome power is lauded above all else! IT IS SHARK WEEK, Y’ALL! How can you celebrate? Check out the awesome… (Read More)
The Dark Knight – Why Bats are Better than Batman
Unless you’ve been living under some sort of rock (or perhaps IN A BAT CAVE) recently, you already know that THE DARK KNIGHT RISES RELEASES TOMORROW. This excites me for many reasons. One: Two: Nolan’s Batman movies have been pretty epic, and I can’t wait to see what this conclusion has in store for us. I expect it will be Oscar nom worthy (that’s nomination, not ‘nom’ eating), and also… (Read More)
On Walking – Photoblog!
“The length of his walk uniformly made the length of his writing. If shut up in the house, he did not write at all.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson Ralph was talking about his buddy Thoreau, but he might as well have been talking about yours truly. Everybody has big and small things that feed their soul (or their muse, or their imaginations, or what have you). For me, walking outside… (Read More)
Cocktail Party Trivia: Food Edition
WELCOME to another edition of COCKTAIL PARTY TRIVIA. This time we’re talking food. COCONUTS. They are not nuts. In fact, they are drupes – similar to coffee, olives, mangoes and nectarines. They were named after their wee beady little eyes and faces, which Portuguese adventurers thought looked like GOBLINS. Goblin in Portuguese = coco, there you have it, the coconut is born and has been haunting your fruity drinks since…. (Read More)
11 Things!
I’ve been tagged! You may find yourself randomly wondering, JUST WHO IS this Jess Keating character? WELL WAIT NO MORE. My dear friend Annie has tagged me for the 11 Random Things meme, which means I get to talk about myself! Without further adieu— 11 Random Things About Moi 1. I do accents. Not like é type of accents (although if needed I can do those too). I mean like… (Read More)
Happy Panda Wants You to Read These
1. I’m so close to finishing this draft that I can TASTE IT. And it tastes like a banana Nutella wrap. Coincidentally that is also my breakfast. 2. This blog post by Beth Revis on writing the ‘book of your heart‘ is phenomenal. Go read it, but the take home message is this: the book of your heart may not get published. And that’s perfectly, wonderfully okay. This post will… (Read More)
Welcome to Scotland!
Hello laddies! If you’ve been following this quick blog series of adventures (you can find the London trip here, and the Lake District trip here!), you know that it is now time to journey to the land of the kilts! Welcome to SCOTLAND! Now, if you’re anything like me, when you think of Scotland you think of this: Kilts. Swords. Castles. Mountains. Liam Neeson. Stuff like that. And you know… (Read More)
Ye Olde UK Trip: Part Deux!
We last left our brave heroine in the clutches of posh Londoners and saw enough immaculate buildings to make the Queen slurp her tea with joy. TODAY, we venture to the Jurassic Coast where we see some stunning vistas, and then to the Lake District, which was home to more famous writers than one would think statistically probable. TO THE JURASSIC COAST! First of all, there are no dinosaurs at… (Read More)
World Tapir Day!
The lovely Debbie Ohi has informed me that today is WORLD TAPIR DAY*. Seriously, there’s a website and everything. If you don’t exactly know what a tapir is, let me give you the lowdown. They look like this: And their babies look like this: And their noses look like this: So basically, they’re a pig/elephant/rhino/cow looking creature that live in the jungles and forests of Southern and Central America, and… (Read More)
Ye Olde UK Trip!
Okay, so I know that prefacing something with ‘ye olde’ doesn’t exactly make it authentically English OR olde, I decided to go for it. I went to the UK! Recently! I’ve finally been able to get through some of the seven billion pictures we took. So JOIN ME on a virtual road trip through England and Scotland, won’t you? STEP LIVELY! This is the top of Westminster Abbey. We were… (Read More)
A Great Day for Awesome News!
We interrupt this broadcast with some special news: my friend Jenn Johansson has sold her book in the U.S!!!! (Yes, for very special news like this, I whip out the extra exclamation points.) This means that her awesome book will be available in THREE, yes that’s THREE countries, all in 2013!! Go and shower her with praise and cupcakes! (and check out the wicked PM announcement!) Huge congrats, Jenn –… (Read More)
Vocab Caffeine!
Hello, my cheeky monkeys! We all know things start going downhill once Wednesday comes around, so here are some bizarre words to wake up your Thursday brain. Bonus points if you use them in your WIP. Let this be your hit of vocabulary-caffeine! Gelatologist – someone who studies humor, and the effect of laughter on the body. Tittle – this is the little dot above an i, or a j…. (Read More)
Boy + Bot Giveaway!
Ladies and gents! Just wanted to point your attention to Tara Lazar’s blog, where my wonderful friend Ame Dyckman is giving away an awesome BOY + BOT Prize Pack to celebrate her book birthday TODAY! Not only is her book garnering enough stars to build her own constellation, you just might find something from yours truly over there up for grabs! GO FORTH AND ENTER! (Also, if you’re a children’s… (Read More)
Before Harry, there was another Potter…
Happy Easter, all! I don’t often post random pics of Easter candy, but I had to share what the Easter Bunny brought me this year. Beatrix Potter* Gummis! There is Peter, in his little blue jacket. Cute little scamp**. Below him you can see the nasty fox, decked out in his fancy 3-piece green suit. Jemima Puddle Duck even has on her little bonnet and shawl. HOW CUTE ARE THESE!?… (Read More)
Book Lover’s Giveaway WINNERS!
At long last, the winners for the book pendant giveaway! Thank you all so much for your awesome answers to the question: What author or fictional character would you invite over to dinner? Without any adieu whatsoever, here are YOUR WINNERS! The winner of the metallic blue pendant: Ashelynn Hetland! The winner of the dragon-inspired pendant: Ishta Mercurio-Wentworth! The winner of the red pendant: Annie Silvestro! If you beat me… (Read More)
Today on THIS BIG EARTH:
Beautiful! The Rufous-Backed Kingfisher lives a solitary life, hunting from a lo...
Beautiful! The Rufous-Backed Kingfisher lives a solitary life, hunting from a low perch over water for frogs and insects.
image by Chong Lip Mun
The moss mimic walking stick! Lives in the cloud forest, but not surprisingly is...
The moss mimic walking stick! Lives in the cloud forest, but not surprisingly is very hard to see.
