Hubble and Voyager Prints

A series of four new space-themed prints featuring spacecraft and associated scientists:

Hubble Space Telescope & Edwin Hubble

 

Voyager project scientist Ed Stone & Voyager

Posted on Tuesday, July 23rd, 2024.

The Book of Flaco

I’m pleased to announce that my Flaco print will appear as chapter header art in The Book of Flaco by David Gessner, forthcoming in 2025 from Blair Publishing.

Posted on Tuesday, July 23rd, 2024.

Woodcock Prints

My patron print for April was an American Woodcock. Patreon subscribers got one in the mail as part of their monthly maildrop for April. Prints on fancy paper (pictured above) are available on Etsy, too.

Posted on Sunday, May 5th, 2024.

Kindle 3 Battery Replacement

Twelve years ago I replaced the damaged screen of my 2010-era Kindle 3. I don’t use it frequently, but every so often I dig it out. A few weeks ago I brought it on a weekend trip, and the normally-inexhaustible battery ran down over the course of a few days. So, I replaced it.

For a device with a rechargeable battery, fourteen years – with many long periods of dormancy — is a pretty good battery lifespan. Of course, it is utterly ridiculous for a book to run out of batteries at all, but that’s a separate discussion.


As others have noted, iFixIt’s guide for this battery replacement starts with a poorly-phrased step that advises you to begin prying the cover off at single most vulnerable point. So if you happen to find this post while preparing to replace your Kindle Keyboard battery, read past the first few lines of the guide before you start shoving your spudger into the seam.

 

Posted on Sunday, April 21st, 2024.

Gormenghast Vocabuloot #2

I’m not quite halfway through Titus Groan, the first installment of Mervyn Peake’s Gormenghast. It’s a peculiar book which merits a separate effort to describe. Briefly: the vibes are certainly gothic, but it isn’t edgy or grimdark; in fact, the characters and scenarios are really quite kooky. It reminds me of The Phantom Tollbooth or especially Roald Dahl’s work. What pulls me along is not necessarily the plot but the wry humor lurking in the locution of so many sentences.

Speaking of word choice: I admit I’m a fan of esoteric vocabulary. Here be more of the treasure I’ve picked up from Peake so far:

Posted on Friday, April 5th, 2024.

jimdevona.art update

I updated my art portfolio site so that it, too, is now running WordPress, which will make it easier to update and organize: jimdevona.art

Posted on Thursday, April 4th, 2024.

A Miscellany of New Words

I continue to assiduously note new words I encounter, not unlike a wee gnome giddily gathering charms from the floor of a wizard’s workshop. New spells for my sachet of incantations!

From the NYT:

From chapters by various authors in Field Notes on Science and Nature, edited by Michael Canfield:

From Orbital, by Samantha Harvey:

Miscellaneous:

Posted on Tuesday, April 2nd, 2024.

Mr. Rogers Portrait Print

My printmaking effort for March is this portrait of Fred Rogers. The Patreon supporter edition will go in the mail next week.

Posted on Saturday, March 30th, 2024.

Flaco Prints

My patron print for February 2024 is this Eurasian Eagle-Owl, loosely inspired by the story of Flaco. I’m catching up on art projects: the patron edition of these “February” prints just went in the mail yesterday, but as usual, there are a couple extras floating around ready to go to any new members. (Also available in sticker form.)

Posted on Sunday, March 10th, 2024.

New Word Alert – Gormenghast #1

First, two cultural terms:

A printmaking term:

Last but not least, a big batch of words from the beginning of Titus Groan, book one of Mervyn Peake’s Gormenghast trilogy. I’ve had the omnibus for some time but just started reading it. It’s delightfully strange and surprisingly funny — and definitely rife with unfamiliar vocabulary.

Posted on Wednesday, February 14th, 2024.