list 112
For 300 years, the novel has detained Author and Reader in separate rooms, shushing millennia of live storytelling. Join me by the fire. Did you bring your Black Bear?
You'll be meeting the Vindictive Goddess.
Maurllan.
Just Right
Rick Rhymes, a grumpy black bear guarding divine stones in his earthen cave, ditches duty for a night of metro mischief during the Blizzard of a Century. While he’s pub-crawling with a fire daemon and electrified by a flirting Thunderbird, two reincarnated mice attempt the heist of the millennium. An Urban Fantasy Comedy-Romance-Adventure where everyone’s naughty, nobody’s human enough, and love conquers the blizzard — eventually.
Reader ideas 112
• Sherry J: Your "Rick's fur turns pink" idea became one of my favorite magick mishaps!
resources 112
"""
The nature of Pluto is similar to that of the Hindu [Goddess] Shiva, the creator and destroyer. Pluto usually begins by breaking down a structure; then [Pluto] creates a new [structure] in its place. [The] entire cycle of death, destruction, and renovation is accompanied by tremendous powers, for Pluto is not a mild or even very subtle planetary influence… ranging from machines breaking down and needing repair to full-scale destruction and death [such as during wars]. Decay at one level or another, followed by new life from the old, is the typical Plutonian process.
Characteristically, Plutonian people are those who seek to change, transform, and take control of everything around them. Often a Pluto transit will signify the arrival of a person who transforms your life… Or [the transit] can symbolize an event or circumstance [which] has the same effect.
For reasons not entirely understood, Pluto also has to do with secretive and subversive elements of Society… [Yet,] only our inner values are within our total control.
"""
HAND, Robert. Planets in Transit : Life Cycles for Living. Copyright ©1976 by Para Research, Inc. Published by Whitford Press, A Division of Schiffer Publishing, Ltd., Atglen, PA.
“””
The only thing men don’t have that women do is: a philosophy that questions gender. -p.273
“””
MORAN, Caitlin. what about men? : A Feminist Answers the Question. Copyright ©2023 by Casa Bevron, Ltd. First published in the United Kingdom in 2023 by Ebury Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House UK.
“””
A novel can best be defined as a long piece of prose with something wrong with it. [American Gods] was a fine, strange novel to have learned how to write… It made me happy… I’d never written anything divisive before. But with [American Gods], people either loved it, or they hated it. The ones who hated it… really hated it… [Even so,] I think it’s fair to say more people loved it, and continue to love it… And the [Goddesses] are waiting.
“””
GAIMAN, Neil. American Gods : Tenth Anniversary Edition : Author’s Preferred Text. Copyright ©2011 by Neil Gaiman. American Gods. Copyright ©2001 by Neil Gaiman. First William Morrow hardcover printing (The Tenth Anniversary Edition): July 2011. An Introduction to the Tenth Anniversary Edition.
"""
She remembered his words at Midsummer — "What will you do, when our war is done, and we withdraw from your life?" She still had no answer.
"""
BULL, Emma. War for the Oaks, Copyright ©1987 by Emma Bull, originally published by Ace Books, Berkley Publishing Group, in 1987.
"""
In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat; it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort.
It had a perfectly round door like a porthole, painted green, with a shiny yellow brass knob in the exact middle. The door opened on to a tube-shaped hall like a tunnel: a very comfortable tunnel without smoke, with panelled walls, and floors tiled and carpeted, provided with polished chairs, and lots and lots of pegs for hats and coats — the hobbit was fond of visitors.
The tunnel wound on and on, going fairly but not quite straight into the side of the hill — The Hill, as all the people for many miles round called it — and many little round doors opened out of it, first on one side and then on another. No going upstairs for the hobbit: bedrooms, bathrooms, cellars, pantries (lots of these), wardrobes (he had whole rooms devoted to clothes), kitchens, dining-rooms, all were on the same floor, and indeed on the same passage. The best rooms were all on the lefthand side (going in), for these were the only ones to have windows, deep-set round windows looking over his garden and meadows beyond, sloping down to the river.
This hobbit was a very well-to-do hobbit, and his name was…
"""
TOLKIEN, J. R. R. The Hobbit : or There and Back Again (Revised Edition), Copyright ©1937, 1938 and 1966 by J. R. R. Tolkien, this edition published by arrangement with Houghton Mifflin Company. First Ballantine Books Edition August 1965, Revised Edition First Printing February 1966, Seventy-fifth Printing August 1980, Ballantine Books, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.
"""
If you love somebody, let them go, for if they return, they were always yours. And if they don't, they never were.
-Khalil Gibran
A principle often associated with Eastern philosophical traditions… Non-attachment encourages Individuals to detach themselves from the outcome of their actions, to let go of expectations, and to embrace [wildness].
"""
-https://www.socratic-method.com/quote-meanings-interpretations/khalil-gibran-if-you-love-somebody-let-them-go-for-if-they-return-they-were-always-yours-and-if-they-dont-they-never-were
-browsed 2025.06.30
"""
ILSA: When I said… Kiss me. Kiss me as if it were the last time… [And] I would never leave you.
RICK: And you never will. But I've got a job to do, too… Someday you'll understand that.
"""
-https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0034583/quotes/
-browsed 2025.06.30
"""
The Tragedy of Macbeth
Act 4, Scene 1
SECOND WITCH
By the pricking of my thumbs,
Something wicked this way comes.
Open, locks,
Whoever knocks!
"""
-http://shakespeare.mit.edu/macbeth/macbeth.4.1.html
-browsed 2025.05.17
"""
ROSALIND: But are you so much in love as your rhymes speak?
ORLANDO: Neither rhyme nor reason can express how much.
-Shakespeare, As You Like It (1600)
"""
"""
DROMIO OF SYRACUSE:
Was there ever any man thus
beaten out of season,
When in the why and the
wherefore is neither rhyme nor
reason?
-Shakespeare, Comedy of Errors (1590)
"""
"""
As for ryme or reson, ye
forewryter was not to blame,
For as he founde hit afore hym,
so wrote he ye same.
-John Russell, The Boke of Nurture (1460)
"""
MARTIN, Gary. Writer and researcher on the origins of phrases and the creator of the Phrase Finder website.
-https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/301500.html
-browsed 2025.05.09
"""
There may be trouble ahead
But while there's moonlight
And music and love and Romance
Let's face the music and dance
-Irving Berlin
"""
-source: various
For a timeless dance:
Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers: Let's Face the Music and Dance in Follow the Fleet (1936)
-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c08wiEyVuak
-browsed 2025.05.07 (excerpt)
"""
Back 2 Good
'Cause everyone here hates everyone here for doing just like they do
And it's best if we all keep this quiet instead…
There's no getting back to good
"""
-https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/matchbox20/back2good.html
-browsed 2025.07.06 (excerpt)
"""
Elephant
Elephant who brings death. Elephant, a spirit in the bush.
With [her] single hand [she] can pull two palm trees to the ground.
If [she] had two hands—
[She] would tear the heavens like an old rag.
The spirit who eats dog, the spirit who eats ram.
The spirit who eats a whole palm fruit with its thorns.
With [her] four mortar legs—[she] tramples down the grass.
Wherever [she] walks, the grass is forbidden to stand up again.
An elephant is not a load for an old man—
Nor for a young man either.
This is an ijala poem - a sophisticated hunting poem of the Yoruba
Anonymous (pre 20th century) Nigeria
Translated by Ulli Beier and Bakare Gbadamosi
Source: Yoruba poetry: traditional Yoruba poems, Ulli Beier and Bakare Gbadamosi, Ministry of Education (Nigeria), c.1959
"""
-https://brucespoems.blogspot.com/2019/11/elephant-anonymous.html
-browsed 2025.07.07
"""
Great Horned Owl… has a grip strength that can easily sever the spine of large prey, and requires a force of 28 pounds to open back up. The owl uses this vice-like grip to sever the spines of it’s larger prey. The Great Horned Owl is well adapted to all weather, as it has extremely soft feathers that insulate against the cold and also serve to muffle the sounds of their flight when in pursuit. A permanent resident of Minnesota and the majority of the United States.
A very adept predator that can take down birds and mammals much larger than itself, even including other raptors like ospreys. When larger prey isn’t available, it will also consume tiny scorpions, mice, and frogs.
If you ever hear a group of American crows get agitated, they may be mobbing a Great Horned Owl, which is their most dangerous predator. They may continue harassing the owl for hours until it finally leaves.
"""
-https://wildlifeinformer.com/owls-in-minnesota/
-browsed 2025.06.29
"""
Two often-misinterpreted forms of black bear communication that can put a hiker on edge are bluff charges and a bear standing upright on its hind legs. Bluff charges are far more common than actual attacks, and are used to scare off a potential threat. They are generally broken off a few feet away, sometimes accompanied by stamping on the ground. A bear standing on its hind legs is simply trying to get a better look with its mediocre vision.
Black bears emit a variety of vocalizations to communicate with other bears and other species. Along with vocalizations, bears use posturing to communicate dominance or subordination, and to express attitudes.
In order to establish dominance, male black bears will often claw trees, with the highest marks on the tree associated with the most dominant male.
Black bears have excellent memories and their sense of smell is unparalleled – more than seven times greater than a dog. They spend their days learning about particular foods and developing their memory about where [food] can be encountered. Some individual bears have been known to so finely tune their knowledge of where garbage cans are located they actually learn the days and routes used by garbage haulers.
"""
-https://westernwildlife.org/black-bear-ursus-americanus/biology-behavior-3/ -browsed 2025.05.10
"""
Pine City Area History Association
Phone Books
We are able to share these phone books because Jerry Lindstrom has graciously shared his collection with us.
April 1994/1995 USWest Direct The White & Yellow Page : East Central Minnesota : Including: Braham • Cambridge • Hinckley • Isanti • Mora • North Branch • Ogilvie • Pine City • Rush City • Sandstone : See page A2 for communities in this directory, © U S WEST Direct 1996
June 1921 Telephone Directory : Pine City, Hinckley, North Branch, Rush City, Northwestern Bell Telephone Co., American Telephone & Telegraph Co., Bell System, Pine City Exchange, WM. H. TUNELL, Local Manager. -page 3.
Example phone numbers:
39-F-2 Last First…………………Farm
89 BUSINESS NAME…………Hotel
34-F-11 Last First…………………Farm
44 Last First…………………Res
168 BUSINESS NAME…………Garage
18 County Attorney……Court House
…etc.
"""
-https://www.pinecityhistory.com/phone-books.html
-browsed 2025.05.17, 2025.07.02
"""
Thunderbirds… are… protectors and destroyers. Storms and chaos… and provide necessary rain… They are intermediaries between humans and the Creator, embodying divine power and wisdom. They are often invoked for protection during important events, guidance in spiritual journeys, celebration of season changes.
The Thunderbirds possess distinct physical attributes and powers [which] set them apart from other beings in the Ojibwe mythology:
- Large, powerful wings that create thunder when flapped… thunder represents strength and power
- Eyes that flash like lightning… symobolizes illumination and knowledge
- Feathers colorful and vibrant, representing aspects of nature
The [oral] legends featuring Thunderbirds are numerous and diverse, each carrying [a] message and moral lesson… the value of courage, the importance of respecting nature, and the need for cooperation.
Thunderbirds have been represented in popular media…which helps raise awareness about Native American mythology and culture.
Thunderbirds also resonate in contemporary discussions on environmental stewardship, as they embody the values of respect and care for the Earth.
"""
-https://nativeamerican.mythologyworldwide.com/the-tale-of-the-thunderbirds-guardians-of-the-ojibwe-sky
-browsed 2025.05.23
"""
Elm firewood varies significantly depending on whether it’s green (freshly cut) or seasoned (dried).
Green elm has a distinct, often described as sour, somewhat pungent odor. Some people find it unpleasant, even comparing it to the smell of manure or urine.
Properly seasoned elm loses most of its initial pungent odor. While it might still have a faint, slightly earthy smell, it’s generally much more agreeable and doesn’t cause the same olfactory offense as green elm.
"""
-https://chainsawnerds.com/elm-firewood-smell-effects/ -browsed 2025.06.26
-browsed 2025.06.26
"""
- Minks purr when they’re content.
- Minks aren’t a loud bunch, but they do use a series of auditory signals to communicate, like chuckling, growling, hissing, screeching, squealing, and barking when they feel threatened. As animals who like to maintain and protect their own territories, minks use odors to communicate their boundaries and reproductive status. (This is known as chemical signaling.) They also have excellent senses of sight, smell, and hearing, so they’re able to stay highly in tune with one another.
- Minks are great at burrowing. Minks often have as many as two dozen dens used for sleeping, resting, eating, and storing surplus food, which they protect with odor secretions and camouflage. (They may line their den with dried leaves, grass, and other items within their habitat.) Minks in their natural habitat can claim up to 25 miles of territory.
- Minks are highly active animals who can swim up to 100 feet underwater and jump from tree to tree.
- Minks are solitary and discreet, and they typically only come together to breed. If forced together where they have no personal space, [the lack of personal space may lead] to violence and cannibalism.
- Minks teach their young how to be independent when they reach around 8 weeks old. Typically, they will travel in single file and mimic their mother’s behavior.
"""
-https://www.peta.org/features/many-marvelous-mink-facts/
-browsed 2025.06.26
"""
Badgers are largely nocturnal, medium-sized carnivores in the weasel family (Mustelidae). Badgers are distinctive diggers with long claws on short, powerful legs [and] have distinctive facial markings: black patches interspersed with white lines, including a white line extending from the nose back over the head. Fur color ranges from greyish to yellow brown.
Larger mammal carnivores occasionally take badgers, but automobiles, poisoning, trapping, and other human activities can be a more major cause of mortality for some populations.
"""
-https://mnmammals.d.umn.edu/badger
-browsed 2025.06.29
"""
Lynx are medium-sized carnivores in the cat family (Felidae). The major identification challenge is distinguishing lynx from bobcats.
A lynx’s tail has a black tip all around, with the appearance of being dipped in a bottle of ink.
Lynx are uncommon prey for raptors and larger mammal carnivores [and] are most abundant in sparsely populated locations, so pose little threat to agricultural operations.
"""
-https://mnmammals.d.umn.edu/lynx
-browsed 2025.06.29
"""
There are two species of [wild] cranberries growing [in Minnesota], in addition to their edible close relatives, lingonberries and blueberries. Large Cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon) and Small Cranberry (Vaccinium oxycoccos) occupy fairly similar habitats: sphagnum bogs, tamarack swamps, fens, etc. They’ll be found alongside other wetland plants like bog birch, leatherleaf, and labrador tea, and sometimes even cattails. Even in the best circumstances, foragers should not expect large harvests.
"""
-https://neveragoosechase.com/2018/10/05/foraging-cranberries/
-browsed 2025.07.05
"""
Who’s on First?
BUD ABBOTT: Well, let’s see, we have on the bags, Who’s on first, What’s on second, I Don’t Know is on third…
LOU COSTELLO: That’s what I want to find out.
"""
-https://abbott-and-costello-whos-on-first.info/whos-on-first-script/
-browsed 2025.06.26 (excerpt)
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