|
|
|
May 15th, 2004
12:08 am
I stopped on my way to the bus this morning and checked out all the leaves with the Nymph Shells on them -- now, they're full of Nymph Shells and cicadas. There were more shells than anything else, but there were still bugs latching onto some of the leaves.
People around here seem to be in denial. We've either already gotten the attack and in all the hype we've overlooked it, or it's never coming. Yet, I see more and more cicadas every day.
At Jeff's suggestion, I headed over to Merriweather Post Pavilion, filled out an application, and then was interviewed and hired on the spot (which seems typical). They interviewed us outside, on the picnic benches. The trees were covered in shells and cicadas, despite the fact that over half the shells had fallen to the ground and laid around the tree. We went to check out the cicadas, and they just sat on the tree while we inspected them. I asked Brian -- the guy who interviewed us -- if he expected to encounter problems when dealing with the cicadas in the middle of a show. He said he didn't know. We sat down, and I noticed Nymph Shells lining the underside of the picnic table. Halfway through, a cicada flew out from underneath us. It was large and flew awkwardly, with giant wings that almost reminded me of a bird. It was far from graceful.
|
May 13th, 2004
08:40 pm - Cicada Summer
I don't use this like I'd planned to... The only update I've had since I began it was so that Sara could access her homework later. So I'm going to let you in on a little secret:
I've had another novel planned for a while, and it's called 'Cicada Summer.' I'm not going to tell you what it's about, just that I haven't written it yet only because I want to get through the summer first -- then I can write it even better.
So, for now, this has evolved. It's no longer a stories journal, it is now a cicada journal. This is MY research, MY experiences, and they'll all be about cicadas.
So here it is:
May 13 -- I saw the Nymph Shells for the first time today, and there are a lot of them. I was looking on the tree and didn't see any for a while, but I did see two cicadas squashed on the road. Cars had hit them and crushed them, and their wings were splayed out around an unusually noticeable mess considering it's just a bug. Then I found the weeds by the stream, and saw Nymph Shells hanging off the foxtails and the broken twigs, and I counted six. I figured, "Wow, that's not impressive at all."
And then I looked up, and there was an entire colony of them inches above my head. I stepped back and counted. There were nearly twenty hanging off the branch above me, sometimes five Nymph Shells on one leaf. I looked around. The entire tree was covered in these little batches, and altogether there must have been several hundred shells, just sitting there and weighing down the trees.
I also saw my first cicada. I'd cut a corner and was walking through the grass when I saw it just resting on a blade. It is, by far, the freakiest looking bug I've ever seen. Because of the coloring. What stuck out were it's eyes, which were blood-red and completely empty. Greg hit it with a soda bottle, and there was a stunningly loud 'thwack.' The cicada was knocked over, but it never let go of the blade -- it simply fell back with it. I took the bottle and hit my arm with it -- the sound wasn't as loud.
Sound level: Nothing noticeable.
There. My observations from the first real day of cicadas are complete.
Someday, this'll all be part of a story.
|
May 12th, 2004
01:41 pm
Sara Talvacchio
Period 5
Qué Dice La Edad de Los Músicos
La primera cosa que yo realizé cuando veía la Buena Vista Social Club fue la edad de los músicos. Muchos tenían más que sesenta años. El mayor de ellos nacieron y vivían antes de la revolución del Castro. Eso demuestra la aislación de la cultura de Cuba del mundo que resultó del Castro. Los músicos están viejos porque no hay mucha competencia de nuevos cantores de otros paises, y la música que cantan es viejo también. Pero como el futuro viene más cerca, nuevos músicos y influencias inspiran a los músicos viejos para buscar nuevas audencias y oportunidads para tocar.
La revolución del Castro
|
December 31st, 2003
07:53 pm
I'm starting a new novel.
It's another horror novel, though it'll probably be primarily character-based up until the climax. I came up with the concept in England, and I've fallen in love with it.
And it's a secret.
But I want to make sure it's off to a good start. So here's a preview, just the first chapter, until I'm done the entire thing. Think it's worth continuing?
(Yes)
( Chapter One )
|
07:52 pm
STORIES JOURNAL
by Andrew Adams
|
|
|
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
nightcamequick's journal