All utterances are questionable. All communications are subject to measurement against a standard that one can easily justify even though one has merely pulled it out of one orifice or another. There is a place where this kind of communication is favored, revered, honed and practiced, and imposed by force of will and repetition on those who do not come to the table armed with snark and oppositional in affect.

That place is known…as the blogosphere.

My two favorite historical quotes are, “If I have seen farther than others, it is because I have stood on the shoulders of giants,” and, “I owe my greatness to the smallness of my contemporaries.” Taken separately, each quote has its charm. Together, they explain…well, academia at least.

This month’s submissions to the Circus of the Spineless web carnival represent an astonishing array of organisms, and the full range of the kinds of interests people take in those organisms, and each post is illustrated with at least one, often many, very pretty pictures.

The captain stood and brushed wet sand from her elbow, mouth and hair. Rough hands pawed at her shoulder and…”Yes! I’m fine. On your way!” The captain turned to face the Elitist Bastard, sitting low on the horizon, and tried not to spit.

the 19th edition of the blog carnival Berry Go Round, which is a blog carnival dedicated to writings of any aspect of plant life from the blogosphere.

“Today, I asked Stephanie Zvan of the Almost Diamonds and Quiche Moraine blogs and co-moderator of the session on Science Fiction on Science Blogs, to answer a few questions.”

When we express some of our pain from past experiences, intermixed with excitement, look for the brush strokes that each of us uses to express ourselves in our separate posts. When Greg or Stephanie edit my posts, they don’t remove my brush strokes. In those brush strokes, I often reveal either unwittingly or purposely what I am dealing with and it is often my only way of getting certain things out, if only obliquely, because I don’t have someone close that I trust these days.

The food web is a scary place; Model sued after death for letting her looks go; Banks: Not so good for people.

Army corps no friend to trees; What is killing Chile’s wildlife?; Ecotopia from Anasazi Cliff Dwellings; Strange clouds; Tick population is spreading in Minnesota.

Probing Tiller Killing; Call for Antiabortion Martyrs; National review is misogynist and racist; Perhaps it is time to trust women.