A highly sought-after West Coast delicacy.

Two lines of dialogue preceded this image. Feel free to guess what they were.

Thank you so much to everyone. I’m absolutely amazed at how many people responded to PlunderZOO, both with purchases and with RTs, blog posts, and other signal boosts.

All of this really makes me appreciate technology more than before. If it wasn’t for the fact that we can open up a dog and put pins and wire into its bones, my puppy would be literally crippled for the rest of his life, walking and acting like an old dog before he even finished growing. It wouldn’t even matter how much money anyone had, or whether or not they would put it toward what he needed. And if it wasn’t for the free information on the Internet, I wouldn’t know how to draw (seriously). And most importantly, if it wasn’t for the way people use the Internet, the way we take cold, hard code and use it to build warm, sharing communities, not nearly as many people would know about my venture or have the means to join it.

Our zoo is going to look so cool when all those animals are captured, folks. (: Thank you for being a part of this.

Our pet landshark when he was a wee little beastie! (Before we had him.)

Which is why you should check out The Plunder Zoo.

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In 2010, the retreat managed to continue the “family reunion” atmosphere of the two prior years with the presence of strangers–we didn’t all know each other this time, and yet it felt like we did. We split into two groups for the critique part of the workshop, and I was impressed by such unexpected professionalism in the analyses of my work. This people aren’t all pros yet–but they’re going to be. If I have the cash, I will definitely attend in 2011.

And now, on to the photos:

...Starting with Seamus, Hanzo, and me. Apparently in 1948, before they invented color.

It looks like a stock image in a paranormal YA book cover

I like imagining Hanzo as a were-pitbull a la the old Buster Wylde webcomic.

And the next image in the series is entitled, "Randy Shrugged."

Just kidding. There’s no next picture.  Randy Henderson is still there on the beach, holding the moon and shivering. He was yelling, “Come on you guys, someone else do it now–seriously, my arms are getting tired,” but we all laughed and climbed the excessive number of stairs and went to bed. I bet he really has to pee.

When I'm crapping myself in a nursing home, this is one of the things I will remember.

…So before it slips too far behind, I’d like to photographically chronicle a recent hike I took. We went on Excelsior Pass. I gotta tell ya, that hike is a pain in the ass. I had to crabstep sideways during long stretches because it was uncomfortable to take a forward step when it meant my foot was going to be at a 45 degree angle to my shin.

You can see, though, that it was worth it. Not just to lay in a waterfall, with hot sun on my belly and face and cool mountain water soaking the sweat out of my t-shirt. There were lots of tiny details to enjoy.

They must be poisonous, or there'd be more than one bite taken out. hehehe

One of those photos you take because you know it'll make a good LOLcat some day...

Favorite photo I took on that hike.

We didn’t make it up to the top because of time and heart attack constraints, but we’ll go back again some time. I know this because we need to dangle a camera down The Hole.  Neither WTA.org nor Google can tell me what this mystery hole is for or how it came to be.

John threw a rock and it made noise for a long, long time.

He eats everything he can fit in his mouth, plays in mud, and LOVEd these little guys. I think he's a pigbull.

Hanzo saw the piglets from about twenty feet away and perked up, wagging his tail, just like he does for other dogs. We took him up to the fence and he touched their noses with his, then licked their faces like he does with people. He was pretty happy to just sniff and lick, but the piglets of course have a different agenda. They’re only curious until they find out whether there is food involved; Hanzo didn’t feed them, so they became disinterested and wandered away. Hanzo uttered a heartbreaking whine, just the way he does when there’s a dog he likes behind a fence he can’t play with, or a child in a stroller he can’t lick.

It was one of the most adorable things I’ve ever seen.

I don’t have a car, and I strongly prefer not to be late/miss part of the (expensive!) writing workshop because I screw up the bus schedule. So I need a place on Capital Hill–then I can walk there! If you live on Cap Hill, or if you’re staying in a hotel for the Locus Awards, please consider having me.

Reasons you should offer to house me for two nights:

1. I won’t get cooties on you or your stuff. I will bring my own bedding, and I definitely want the floor. (It’s possible I would even prefer your porch/balcony.)

2. You won’t have to see me, speak with me, or acknowledge me unnecessarily. I’ll either be at the workshop, or doing homework from the workshop for the entire weekend. (If you like, I’m sure we can arrange to have dinner and hang out a bit… after all, I don’t make a lot of social trips outside Bellingham, and whoever you are, I probably like you! I just mean you won’t be obligated to entertain me.)

3. I’m perfectly capable of wearing a pair of headphones as I sleep (or all the time) to tune out whatever it is you’re doing with that jackhammer and those aardvarks.

4. I don’t expect charity. I don’t have much $$$ left after the workshop tuition, but I can pony up about $30 a night. Or we can trade slave labor! I can brush your teeth for you or something.

5. Being in my near vicinity is scientifically proven to give you super powers. And not shitty Aquaman powers, either, but like, laser eyes.

6. You can gawk at my gorgeous new hairstyle/color(s). No, I’m not showing you a photo. That takes away incentive!

* A few people have already offered to house me, but I’m hesitant for various reasons–they live too far away, they already have company, etc. So I probably won’t have to sleep in an alley, but my options at the moment, in spite of the fantastic spirit in which they were offered, are less than optimal.

(Dark as the inside of my dog's leg...)

Usually, this happens to small breeds like Yorkshire terriers or pomeranians, in which case it’s congenital. Sometimes, it happens to larger dogs, especially active jumpy ones like our spazzy little pitbull. We don’t know how it occurred. It could have been trauma that we didn’t witness (or that we underestimated the impact of), or it could have been uneven development in his hind legs that stretched out the ligament. Apparently sometimes dogs with muscular legs get a slightly bowed bone as they develop, and that creates sideways pressure on the patella.

He’s going in for surgery tomorrow morning. If I understand correctly, the vet is going to deepen the groove in the femur (top white blob) where that little bean-shaped thing (patella) is supposed to go, then stuff it back in, and attach the loose ligament to a pin in the tibial ridge (poky bit on the right of the bottom white blob)  so it doesn’t come loose again. Captain Jumpytron will have to remain quiet and mostly still for six weeks.

Because if he doesn’t, he’ll have to have surgery again, and then be still for twelve weeks. (As you can see below, that is going to be impossible without a boatload of tranquilizers.)

Poor Hanzo.

My dog has an ugly nudibranch for a mouth.