The Penguin

( A brief word on the illustrations I used here - the main "plates" are lightboxed from Google image results; the reference photos are linked below each image. I point this out to ensure that none of my readers say, "Wow! These are incredible renderings!" since I essentially traced them. I used this technique because I felt just using the original photos was a bit lazy, and also to isolate the bugs from the backgrounds and make their characteristics stand out). Let me spin you a nightmare scenario: you and your friend are enjoying a beautiful summer day, when suddenly your friend gets stung. Immediately he begins to swell, showing clear signs of deadly anaphylaxis. You quickly spring into action and inject him with an EpiPen, saving his life. But one aspect of the incident continues to haunt you, sending your life into a downward spiral of shame. One question that, had you brushed up on your entomological knowledge, wouldn't make you sit bolt upright in a cold ...

 Good Lord, what could that title mean...? Not actually from my woodlot, but a nice huge old oak behind a Biggby. But seriously folx, as you know I'm a bit of a tree geek*, and as such I'm endlessly fascinated by these woody giants and always want to experiment with them. Today I investigated the properties of five different hardwoods: shagbark hickory, American beech, American basswood, eastern hophornbeam, and musclewood. So background: I've been low-key obsessed with making my own bow and using it for hunting. You may think, "Well gee Rick, go get a stick and some string!" but oh no no, my sweet summer child, it's much more involved than that. The first part of the process is to find a log of the correct length, then split it lengthwise into two or more "staves" that then form the basis for the bow.** The trick is to find the kind of wood that's flexible, long-grained, straight, and without any big knots. Really the best wood for this is found...

Feature-length animated films are so ubiquitous now, we rarely stop to wonder where the concept came from. From the dawn of animation in the late 1800s until Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937 , this art form was considered far too time-consuming and labor-intensive to extend beyond short one-reelers, shown as the opening act to live action movies. Disney changed all that. And aside from the bright anomaly of Don Bluth Studios, Walt Disney Studios utterly dominated the field right up until the 21st century. But what is less well-known is that, in the beginning, Disney faced serious competition from another animation group: Fleischer Studios. Brothers Max and Dave Fleischer developed their own distinctive style of animation and storytelling, one that was (at least at first) heavily influenced by a gritter, more urban humor and exciting jazz sensibility than Disney's rather tame offerings. And when Disney achieved success with its first animated feature films, Fleis...