A photosynthesizing sea slug! Really, it takes so little to make me happy. (via Ann Downer)
I’m probably pretty much the last person on the planet to read Leah Bobet’s “Bears” over on strange horizons. But I liked it lots. “Ninety-eight percent of all fictional deaths are directly attributable to being eaten by bears …” (via supertailz)
Because we only tend to report the news when children are in more danger, not less, and so see only childhood’s perils–Free Range Kids reports that child abuse is down over the past couple decades.
Ever wonder what happens when that scrolling Star Wars text finally gets where it’s going? (via … I forget. telophase?)
jimhines does some remedial publishing math and shows that publishing is not quite so bleak as the quoted numbers sometimes make it seem.
karenhealey on whitewashing and other cover art challenges.
Justine Larbalestier on mansplaining and whitesplaining. Useful concepts, those.
Michelle Zink on writing, marketing, and being who you are.
Finally, I smiled when I saw XKCD’s portrayal of Mars rover Spirit, but tamnonlinear has a point: She has outlasted her original expected lifetime by well more than an order of magnitude, expanded her mission, and accomplished a great deal more than had ever been expected of her. Both of the rovers have done this. They are tough and they are brave and they are courageous. Don’t insult them by portraying them as homesick creatures that have been abandoned. They have impressed the hell out of everyone who followed them. See them as curious, stubborn, resourceful explorers who have gone out to do the best job they can and done better than ever expected.