Isn't the above a fascinating picture? To me it looks like human skin with some very interesting tattoos, but in reality it is a Martian sandscape with swirling marks left by the passage of dust devils. For more incredible Martian scapes, follow this LINK. Lana sent me this last night. If you squint just right at some of these I think you'll see Edgar Rice Burroughs' Barsoom. Or perhaps, as one wag had it, maybe you'll see "worm sign."
In other news, Hurricane Ida barely sneezed on our area. We had some gusty winds and lost power for a couple of hours last night, but we scarcely had any rain and no work stoppages. It has come ashore as a tropical storm over toward Alabama so I hope our friends there are doing OK. It's certainly no Katrina, at least.
I completed a review for a textbook and sent that in, and today will return to put the finishing touches on a Sword & Planet story that has been sitting and waiting for over two weeks.
And, over at Writtenwyrd's Site, I won her Halloween contest. It was a tightly fought battle with only 1 vote separating first and multiple second places. Even if you didn't read or vote previously, you can still read some fine stuff. Every entry was worthy of consideration. Check it out. My piece was called "Lost in Greenery," and appropriately numbered 13.
Finally, I've altered my blog links around a bit to try and make them easier to find. If you're not linked there and have been visiting here then let me know. Or if you think you should be listed under a different heading, let me know as well.
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49 comments:
WOW - those photos are fantastic. Thanks to you and Lana for the link. I'm going to go back to them now and see if I can find signs of life.
Well done, Charles, on your win! The photo does look like a tatoo.
Oooh! I loved that one, Charles! I was afraid to vote. I dunno. It's stupid, which is why I didn't vote, but publicly, I'd vote for the writer who needed the most encouragement, so the fact that it was blind paralyzed me. And plus, since that's an unfair way to vote, I wouldn't have voted. :-)
If it were private voting, I wouldn't be so bleeding heart about it, LOL. Silly Natasha.
They were all an awesome treat to read!
Wow you have been busy. You are mister Organised with those links! I sooooo want to organise like that and never got around to it! Great intentions though....
I am secretly honoured that you consider my blog "writing focussed". And I never can spell focused.
I can see a woman's eyes in that landscape. It is quite beautiful in its own eerie way. :)
PS Well done on your win.
(How could I overlook saying that? *looks sheepish*)
My dust bunnies are shaking in their dusty little boots over the dust devil :)
Ida has come and gone here too. My kids got two extra days out of school for a very uneventful weather event.
Laurie, yes, they are amazing. The detail. The cool landscapes.
Barbara, thankee. Yes so much so.
Natasha, there was definitely a lot of good stuff. Lots of talent showing through. I voted for myself. I don't usually do that but hey it's a plush Chtuhlu.
Thumbelina, thanks. Much appreciated. Those landscapes are very eerie and unearthly. It looks like a woman's back to me, with a shoulder blade showing.
Jennifer, glad to hear Ida caused no problems. We didn't even get out of school.
Yeah, interesting photos to say the least.
The photo is amazing...so curious.
much love
Congrats on the win! And I'm also very happy to hear that Ida breezed through your area. Sounds like others may not be so fortunate ... we'll see.
Don
Very eerie picture. I loved reading the Mars series growing up.
David Cranmer, so when will you open your own blog back up for comments?
staceyjwarner, yes. The universe is an amazing place.
Don, thanks. I heard it didn't do much to Alabama but the rain could be a danger.
BernardL, me too. Those Barsoom books were major influences on the Talera series.
I thought that was a cat's-eye on the left hand side of the picture at first.
Glad to hear you haven't been hit too hard by the weather. Hopefully the rest of season will remain calm too.
interesting photo and glad the storm had blown itself out before striking the coast again.
First, congrats on all that!
And wow, that photo is spectacular. I pretty much imagined the same thing on first glimpse (exposed midriff?)
Finally, I like the new layout changes. Seems like the missing/latent/ceased blogs are growing -- I just noticed another one gone. But new ones emerge, too.
Egad. Ray Bradbury and the Martian Chronicles for real! A truly outlandish scape.
And you're in the winner's circle again. Wonderful stuff all around.
So it wasn't all work and no play then? Good for you Charles.
SQT, this is only the fourth time in history that we've had a named storm in November. So history suggests we shouldn't have any further trouble.
sage, It was certainly unusual to have a named storm in November. I'm sure the season is over now, though.
Erik, the dunes look so much like a close up of skin. I was seeing an upper back with neck myself. Yeah, there are quite a few blogs that have come and gone. I miss some of those but I hope the folks are all right.
ivan, yes, great images. And thanks!
Mark, that one was done before preregistration hit. And one piece of it came from something I did months ago. But you always have to have some fun even in the longest days.
Congrats on your win!
That picture is mesmerizing. I'm off to check out that link now =)
See? This is what happens when I focus too much on one thing. I let everything else go and miss voting for your flash piece. I just read it and that is some beautiful prose. The first line is gorgeous. And, of course, I dug the ending twist. So very glad you won.
Charles, interesting pic indeed. Happy you miss the storm for the most part. Don't think you need that shit right now..
Anndi, thanks, and hope you enjoy the other pics.
Avery DeBow, thanks Avery. I enjoyed that one. Would have been cool if you'd been able to enter.
jodi, yes, I'm glad not to have that to worry about.
ab fab pics, charles!
glad ida was such a wuss...
and grats again to all winners at ww's place!
We've just had a hailstorm here that took out all my basil, jasmine, and parsley and stripped my little lemon tree down to nothing.
Congratulations on your Halloween story!
Did she send them to you from a room away or from another planet?
Photo == Sword'n'planet inspiration for sure.
Good on your win, too!
laughingwolf, yes, they are incredibly neat. And thanks.
Mary Witzl, ouch, sorry to hear that. Those storms can be nasty.
pattinase, knowing Lana, probably from phobos or deimos orbit.
Paul R. McNamee, Yes, I've already tried to work it into a story. And thanks.
I clicked on the link and saw the photos. More interesting than seeing a human face on Mars, actually.
Hey, congratulations on the Halloween story win! Well deserved, brother. And I, too, see Barsoom.
congrats on the win, Charles! I'll check out your story later today.
Congratulations on winning the contest!
The photo is weird. Thank you for sharing the link.
X. Dell, agreed. It's stunning to see both similarities and differences between Mars and earth. It shows many common processes running on both planets.
Rick, I remember well how ERB's stories ignited my imagination and my love for Mars.
Greg Schwartz, thanks. I appreciate that.
Vesper, thanks. Yes, the photos are so amazing.
I see skin tatoos as well, albeit "foldy" skin! Congrats on winning the Halloween contest!
4.55 inches of rain in less than 24 hrs. We're wet, but Alive, lol .
It's good news that you didn't get hit hard by the storm. Congratulations on winning the Halloween contest. I like the way you've divided up your links. Yes, that picutre does look like skin with tatoos. That's amazing.
Evocative photo! I thought human skin too.
Congratulations, Charles, among fierce competition.
Bravo, Charles. Congrats on the story win.
Gaston Studio, I see a back and shoulder area, but it does look twisted, as if something isn't quite right. And thanks.
Heff, well as long as you didn't wash away it sounds OK. Glad to hear it.
Jack, If I ever did get tattoos I think I'd make 'em look like this now.
Bernita, thank. I appreciate that. Good to see you around.
L. A. Mitchell, thankee!
Great photo.
Sounds like you're making steady progress with projects.
Strange photo indeed. Looks like some kind of nappy hair in the nether regions (and is that a can opener I see?).
Congrats on your Halloween story! I'll have to check it out.
congrats on winning the Halloween contest! great entries over there!
Congrats on your continued successes!
Very cool Martian pic - I thought it was a bucktoothed fighting grasshopper. Those things are deadly.
Travis, slow and steady wins the race. I'm very turtle-like.
JR, yes, that landscape creates multiple potentialities.
Sam, thanks. Much appreciated.
benjibopper, a bucktoothed fighting grasshopper? Now that's even weirder than Mars.
That's an amazing photograph. Even after I followed the link my mind still cannot grasp that it is a landscape. My first thought was that it was a hardbook cover.
Congratulations on your win!
Miladysa, thank you. And yes, that picture is just so amazing. I would love to use it for a cover.
Congratulations, hon! You're so talented. :)
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