Networks: Neuronal and Bloggy

"Brain Cell" tatted by Martha Ess
get directions at
TAT'S AMOR…, Martha Ess' Tatting Page

A couple of days ago I heard from someone I went to high school with--and that was a kajillion years ago. Really, I recall trying to learn flint knapping; Nixon was president at the time.


I was happy to hear from her. I was a little surprised when she told me that she had stumbled onto my blog and that she felt uncomfortable about reading it without letting me know. The first thing I need to say is this:


People make blogs because they hope other people will visit them. It makes a blogger happy to even imagine a reader. It's pretty much the same thing for a novelist, judging from my experience.

Giardia lamblia.
The organism that
causes "Beaver Fever."

The second thing I need to say is that I've been thinking about brain cells and memory more than usual, and  I usually think about them a lot. My favorite thing to doodle is neurons: spidery, wonderful cells reaching out to touch each other with thread-like branches. So when I stumbled on this site, with tatting patterns for creating neurons and other nifty things, like Giardia lamblia, I was delighted. Full of light and joy that someone out there loved neurons as much as I do--maybe more. It's enough to make me wish I knew how to tat.

The third thing I need to say is this: This blog is a neuron and it enjoys communication with other neurons because those neurons have interesting things to say. Here are a few of those very interesting neurons. (None of these are writing related. We can save that for another time.)

Take a chance, click on a new connection.

Powerhouse Museum:  This post is about coat hangers. The next one could be about anything. Honestly. Anything. They have an exhibit about AC/DC.

Daughter Number Three: A virtual filing cabinet full of the most amazing stuff like her photos of signs from the Rally to Restore Sanity and the works of Fred Smith, outsider artist.

Stuff You Can't Have: Here is a link to her post on pimping your toilet brush. Really, why should any of us settle for mass-produced mundane when we could have an object of wonder?

The Thoughtful Animal: Psychology and neuroscience (ah, it all comes back to that...) curated by a powerful curiosity. Check out the story of Little Albert and scaring babies for science.