Tag Archives: Ptera Hunter

Margot Hunt’s Lonely Girls is one of the best reads I’ve had this year.

Lovely Girls by Margot Hunt The book would make a great movie. The bully characters are disturbing and very believable, as are the targets of the bullying. The author has done her homework and understands the dehumanizing nature of bullying and social exclusion. The story could easily have descended into horror, but the author keptContinue reading “Margot Hunt’s Lonely Girls is one of the best reads I’ve had this year.”

Goodreads Gave away of 100 copies of Silent Consent

Between August 28 and Sept 9, 2023, we gave away 100 copies of Silent Consent in a Goodreads Giveaway promotion. We thank all of you who entered and hope you enjoyed the book If you don’t have a Goodreads account, you’re missing out on some great deals.

Kudos to a Great Graphic Artist Rubin Bolling: Alternative MAUS Hits Home

-by Ptera Hunter Among the best responses that I have seen to date about the recent mashugana decision by the Tennessee School Board to ban a book about the holocaust (because a cartoon mouse shows a breast) comes from graphic artist Ruben Bolling (a.k.a., Tom the Dancing Bug.) One of Mr. Bolling’s most recent parodies,Continue reading “Kudos to a Great Graphic Artist Rubin Bolling: Alternative MAUS Hits Home”

Dinner and a Date with a Twist

Organisms lie, exaggerate, and scam their way to food, to territory and to sex. In one species of firefly, females can dine on the males of another species if they send a phony mating signal. The duped male becomes dinner rather than a date. Because of this threat, males will approach females with caution. SometimesContinue reading “Dinner and a Date with a Twist”

Cow Pox and the Propaganda of the 19th Century’s Anti-Vaccine Society

In June 1802, James Gillray published the Cow-Pock or “The Wonderful Effects of the New Inoculation!”  a publication of the Anti-vaccine Society.  It used bald-faced lies and misinformation to discourage people from taking the first vaccine in European medicine.  In his classic propaganda cartoon, he implied that vaccinations would cause people to become more bovine,Continue reading “Cow Pox and the Propaganda of the 19th Century’s Anti-Vaccine Society”

Tough-Guy Elk

Many species of animals use deception to gain an advantage. The elk that signals dominance with a long bray needs to fight less often than the elk that does not signal a tough-guy attitude. With a good bluff, he can usually avoid a costly fight. Learn more about the art of lying in the naturalContinue reading “Tough-Guy Elk”

The Lying Fiddler

Everything lies. For virtually every species, lying and lie detection are essential survival skills. Fiddler crabs that have lost a claw will re-grow a bigger but weaker claw. When challenged by a smaller crab, the weak-clawed fiddler will bluff. It will display a fighting stance that tells the smaller crab that a confrontation would beContinue reading “The Lying Fiddler”

Plastics and Their Role in Silent Consent

A recurring theme in Silent Consent by Circa24 is the damage done to the future generations from the plastics that made much of the carbon era so remarkable. Plastics, as we know them, have become rare strategic materials in the Founder’s States of that book. People seek antique plastic products from the 20th century asContinue reading “Plastics and Their Role in Silent Consent”

The Braggart Goldenrod

Golden Rod and Vespid wasps (Ptera Hunter, Salem IL, 2006). Yellow attracts many pollinating insects, including these vespid wasps.  Bees and wasps have trichromatic vision (three pigments), but they are not the same visual pigments (opsins) that we have. They can see farther into the ultraviolet but less well in the reds.  Their clue toContinue reading “The Braggart Goldenrod”