Kari Maaren
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angrykem.bsky.social
Kari Maaren
@angrykem.bsky.social
1.4K followers 500 following 1.3K posts
Author of 𝘞𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘊𝘪𝘳𝘤𝘭𝘦 𝘙𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 (Tor 2017) and 𝘐𝘵 𝘕𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘙𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴 (webcomic). Plays many musical instruments and takes pictures of every bird. She/her.
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angrykem.bsky.social
I will never accept that there's such a thing as too many pictures of bird breath.

#birds #photography #BirdPhotography #WildlifePhotography #RedWingedBlackbird #BirdBreath #birdsong
A male Red-winged Blackbird clings to a stick as its visible breath floats in the misty air. A male Red-winged Blackbird clings to a stick as its visible breath floats in the misty air.
November 2, 2025 at 6:46 PM
angrykem.bsky.social
"Don't you f*cking make me f*cking come the f*ck over there, you f*cking f*ck!"

In my mind, Pied-billed Grebes get extra sweary when you aggravate them into standing up on their awkward little legs.
A Pied-billed Grebe stands up in a pond and flaps its wings.
November 2, 2025 at 12:19 AM
angrykem.bsky.social
Blue Jays pick the prettiest trees to sit in on purpose.

(⚾️)
A Blue Jay perches in a tree with bright red leaves.
October 25, 2025 at 4:25 PM
angrykem.bsky.social
A Red-tailed Hawk and a Common Raven have a diving contest, as seen from my balcony.
A Red-tailed Hawk chases a diving Common Raven.
October 25, 2025 at 2:04 AM
angrykem.bsky.social
"I. AM A BEAUTIFUL. BUTTERFLY."

#birds #photography #BirdPhotography #WildlifePhotography #egret #GreatEgret #heron
A Great Egret, a large pure white heron, flies upward through dappled light and shade, its wings outspread.
July 23, 2025 at 5:32 PM
angrykem.bsky.social
OH NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

#bird #photography #BirdPhotography #WildlifePhotography #heron #BlackCrownedNightHeron
A Black-crowned Night Heron perches on a branch and lets out a magnificent stream of poop.
July 10, 2025 at 1:14 AM
angrykem.bsky.social
I've often noticed that my wings taste better when I chew on them from beneath with my neck twisted all the way around.

#birds #photography #BirdPhotography #WildlifePhotography #GreatBlueHeron
A Great Blue Heron stands on a small island, its wings outstretched, and preens its right wing by twisting its neck around in a supremely awkward way and coming at it from beneath.
July 8, 2025 at 5:54 PM
angrykem.bsky.social
Let this be a lesson to us all:

1. Don't ask AI to design your lawn signs.
2. If you do, get a human to check the design before you print hundreds of signs.
3. Make sure the human knows how things like spelling and font work.
A black lawn sign decorated with a Canadian flag and a maple leaf with the words "Canada Day" inside it reads as follows (original spelling is preserved): Glamazing Cnanada Day special limited time Offer Dysport $3/unit June 29th-July 5th Address: 863 Broadview Ave., Toronto, ON M4K 2P9 Phone: (437)425-8000
June 27, 2025 at 6:19 PM
angrykem.bsky.social
#TimeTravelAuthors 15:

No AI in either Weave a Circle Round or It Never Rains. I suspect It Never Rains will eventually have some sort of reference to LLMs, which are not the same thing as actual AI.
#TimeTravelAuthors June 2025 1. Tell us about your time-travel story (optional: pitch it like a breezy beach read) 3. Dreams in your story 5. Do/could any of your characters ever meet themselves? 7. Saturday excerpt (optional word: focus) 9. Costumes in your story 11. Wednesday POST-SIZED snippet (optional word: harmony) 13. Oldest character 15. Do your characters ever use/encounter AI? 17. Any companies/corporations in your story? 19. Does anyone get (or need) a vacation? 21. Saturday excerpt (optional word: safe) 23. Alternate history aspects to your story? 25. Wednesday POST-SIZED snippet (optional word: balance) 27. Do your characters trust each other? 29. Author's choice/promo All time-travel authors and published works, WIPs, etc. welcome! To join, just answer the prompts on odd days, using the hashtag #TimeTravelAuthors On even days, post what you like! Questions? @juliebihn@bsky.social @juliebihn@mastodon.social
June 15, 2025 at 8:49 PM
angrykem.bsky.social
#TimeTravelAuthors 13: Oldest Character

Weave a Circle Round: A tie between Cuerva Lachance and Josiah, who can best be described as "super old. DON'T ask Josiah about this."

It Never Rains: Maggie, who beats out Mr. Jones because she travels in time and he doesn't.
#TimeTravelAuthors June 2025 1. Tell us about your time-travel story (optional: pitch it like a breezy beach read) 3. Dreams in your story 5. Do/could any of your characters ever meet themselves? 7. Saturday excerpt (optional word: focus) 9. Costumes in your story 11. Wednesday POST-SIZED snippet (optional word: harmony) 13. Oldest character 15. Do your characters ever use/encounter AI? 17. Any companies/corporations in your story? 19. Does anyone get (or need) a vacation? 21. Saturday excerpt (optional word: safe) 23. Alternate history aspects to your story? 25. Wednesday POST-SIZED snippet (optional word: balance) 27. Do your characters trust each other? 29. Author's choice/promo All time-travel authors and published works, WIPs, etc. welcome! To join, just answer the prompts on odd days, using the hashtag #TimeTravelAuthors On even days, post what you like! Questions? @juliebihn@bsky.social @juliebihn@mastodon.social
June 13, 2025 at 5:20 PM
angrykem.bsky.social
#TimeTravelAuthors 11:

I've never used the word "harmony" in It Never Rains, but Rose says this during an unexpected moment of harmony:

"How can I be mad at you for something a future alternate version of you will do to a past alternate version of me?"

itneverrainscomic.com/20240306.html
#TimeTravelAuthors June 2025 1. Tell us about your time-travel story (optional: pitch it like a breezy beach read) 3. Dreams in your story 5. Do/could any of your characters ever meet themselves? 7. Saturday excerpt (optional word: focus) 9. Costumes in your story 11. Wednesday POST-SIZED snippet (optional word: harmony) 13. Oldest character 15. Do your characters ever use/encounter AI? 17. Any companies/corporations in your story? 19. Does anyone get (or need) a vacation? 21. Saturday excerpt (optional word: safe) 23. Alternate history aspects to your story? 25. Wednesday POST-SIZED snippet (optional word: balance) 27. Do your characters trust each other? 29. Author's choice/promo All time-travel authors and published works, WIPs, etc. welcome! To join, just answer the prompts on odd days, using the hashtag #TimeTravelAuthors On even days, post what you like! Questions? @juliebihn@bsky.social @juliebihn@mastodon.social
June 11, 2025 at 7:03 PM
angrykem.bsky.social
For the June 9 #TimeTravelAuthors: costumes in my stories:

Weave a Circle Round: When Freddy and Josiah become unstuck in time, they collect a variety of innocuous-looking articles of clothing they can adapt on the fly.

It Never Rains: Nope, but Rose picks up a 1950s-style dress at one point.
#TimeTravelAuthors June 2025 1. Tell us about your time-travel story (optional: pitch it like a breezy beach read) 3. Dreams in your story 5. Do/could any of your characters ever meet themselves? 7. Saturday excerpt (optional word: focus) 9. Costumes in your story 11. Wednesday POST-SIZED snippet (optional word: harmony) 13. Oldest character 15. Do your characters ever use/encounter AI? 17. Any companies/corporations in your story? 19. Does anyone get (or need) a vacation? 21. Saturday excerpt (optional word: safe) 23. Alternate history aspects to your story? 25. Wednesday POST-SIZED snippet (optional word: balance) 27. Do your characters trust each other? 29. Author's choice/promo All time-travel authors and published works, WIPs, etc. welcome! To join, just answer the prompts on odd days, using the hashtag #TimeTravelAuthors On even days, post what you like! Questions? @juliebihn@bsky.social @juliebihn@mastodon.social
June 9, 2025 at 12:23 PM
angrykem.bsky.social
On Day 7 of #TimeTravelAuthors, I need an excerpt. Here's an It Never Rains comic that ran during Rose's first inadvertent trip back in time (itneverrainscomic.com/20160318.html). I don't think I have any comics featuring the word "focus," but Rose is notoriously bad at focusing on anything, so...
This is a four-panel comic featuring a teenage time traveller named Rose. She has been thrown back into the past by her sister's experiment. She is dressed in a green nightshirt and nothing else. Panel 1: Rose peeks out the door of the house. From the outside, it looks something like her house, but the walls are maroon instead of yellow, and the door is different. Panel 2: Rose walks along a sidewalk. Rose [thinks]: Need pants. Need to know what year it is. Need pants. Need to know what year it is. Panel 3: Rose stops for a moment. A young woman, passing her on the sidewalk, glances at her warily. Rose [thinks]: ...Wait. Jacqueline kept seeing me at the house on Lone Pine. What if I go there? That may be where I get back from. Panel 4: Rose continues along the sidewalk. Rose: [thinks]: It's nice to know the panic hasn't taken over entirely. Rose [thinks]: I still need pants, though. Comic's Alt Text: Does anyone really NEED pants? #TimeTravelAuthors June 2025 1. Tell us about your time-travel story (optional: pitch it like a breezy beach read) 3. Dreams in your story 5. Do/could any of your characters ever meet themselves? 7. Saturday excerpt (optional word: focus) 9. Costumes in your story 11. Wednesday POST-SIZED snippet (optional word: harmony) 13. Oldest character 15. Do your characters ever use/encounter AI? 17. Any companies/corporations in your story? 19. Does anyone get (or need) a vacation? 21. Saturday excerpt (optional word: safe) 23. Alternate history aspects to your story? 25. Wednesday POST-SIZED snippet (optional word: balance) 27. Do your characters trust each other? 29. Author's choice/promo All time-travel authors and published works, WIPs, etc. welcome! To join, just answer the prompts on odd days, using the hashtag #TimeTravelAuthors On even days, post what you like! Questions? @juliebihn@bsky.social
June 7, 2025 at 3:53 PM
angrykem.bsky.social
I just noticed this was happening. I can do the #TimeTravelAuthors thing for two works, so:

5. Do/could any of your characters ever meet themselves?

Weave a Circle Round: Yes, frequently. Especially Cuerva Lachance.

It Never Rains: Rose meets herself CONSTANTLY. She is not the only one.
#TimeTravelAuthors June 2025 1. Tell us about your time-travel story (optional: pitch it like a breezy beach read) 3. Dreams in your story 5. Do/could any of your characters ever meet themselves? 7. Saturday excerpt (optional word: focus) 9. Costumes in your story 11. Wednesday POST-SIZED snippet (optional word: harmony) 13. Oldest character 15. Do your characters ever use/encounter AI? 17. Any companies/corporations in your story? 19. Does anyone get (or need) a vacation? 21. Saturday excerpt (optional word: safe) 23. Alternate history aspects to your story? 25. Wednesday POST-SIZED snippet (optional word: balance) 27. Do your characters trust each other? 29. Author's choice/promo All time-travel authors and published works, WIPs, etc. welcome! To join, just answer the prompts on odd days, using the hashtag #TimeTravelAuthors On even days, post what you like! Questions? @juliebihn@bsky.social
June 5, 2025 at 8:31 PM
angrykem.bsky.social
Red-winged Blackbirds harmed in the making of this photo: 0

Red-winged Blackbird pride harmed in the making of this photo: all of it

#bird #birds #photography #BirdPhotography #WildlifePhotography #RedWingedBlackbird
A male Red-winged Blackbird, a black bird with red and yellow shoulder patches, hovers next to a shiny pillar imprisoning his nemesis: his own reflection.
May 2, 2025 at 11:41 PM
angrykem.bsky.social
Pine Warbler is all, "Stare at me, photographers! Bask in my tiny beauty! My head is yellow! Suckers."

#bird #birds #BirdPhotography #photography #WildlifePhotography #warblers #PineWarbler
A Pine Warbler, a small bird with a yellow head and greyish underparts, perches on a branch, its wings fluttering and its tail flaring.
April 23, 2025 at 12:31 AM
angrykem.bsky.social
The Brown Creeper: what you get when a bird's evolutionary strategy is: 1) Look like a piece of tree; 2) Never stop moving.

#bird #birds #BirdPhotography #WildlifePhotography #photography #BrownCreeper
A Brown Creeper, a tiny bird whose feathers look like tree bark, clings to a tree trunk.
April 19, 2025 at 9:40 PM
angrykem.bsky.social
It's nice to see that my webcomic, It Never Rains, has been nominated for an Aurora Award in the Comic/Graphic Novel category. Congratulations to all the nominees! I have added a random panel from the comic to this post because I like being baffling.

www.csffa.ca/awards-infor...
In this panel from the webcomic It Never Rains, two young women sit on a couch. The one on the left, Denise, has curly brown hair and is dressed in black. The one of the right, Rose, has bright red hair and is wearing a purple T-shirt and blue jeans. Rose says, "Denise..." in cynical tones, whereupon Denise proclaims dramatically, "What has been prophesied will soon come to pass."
April 16, 2025 at 12:10 AM
angrykem.bsky.social
This is the shape of birdsong. Because the bird is a Red-winged Blackbird, it's also the shape of swearing.

#birds #photography #BirdPhotography #WildlifePhotography #RedWingedBlackbird
A male Red-winged Blackbird, a black bird with red and yellow shoulder patches, calls out in the chill morning air. The shape of its song is visible in its breath.
April 13, 2025 at 6:28 PM
angrykem.bsky.social
My riding's version of the flyer is...not great.
An NDP flyer for the Toronto-Danforth riding in the 2025 Canadian federal election. There are four pages. Page one: Picture of Clare Hacksel, the Toronto Danforth NDP candidate, a smiling brown-haired white woman. Text: Mark Carney and Pierre Poilievre will always put a boardroom table...ahead of your kitchen table. Clare Hacksel, Toronto-Danforth NDP. Page Two: Pictures of Mark Carney, the Liberal candidate, and Pierre Poilievre, the Conservative candidate. Both are middle-aged white men. Carney's picture is tinged dull orange and Carney's dull blue. Text: In the midst of Trump's trade war, neither Carney nor Poilievre will stand up against: -grocery chains that make billions of rising food prices -developers who make billions on housing you can't afford -an unfair tax system that penalizes working people -corporate polluters who are the leading cause of the climate crisis Page Three: A picture of a smiling Clare Hacksel talking to a white woman with short brown hair and glasses. We see only the back of the woman's head. Text: Clare Hacksel and Jagmeet Singh's New Democrats are in it for you to: -Lower your food bills with grocery price caps -Build houses at affordable prices and bring in national rent control -Keep the capital gains tax on millionaires and eliminate the tax on daily essentials and monthly bills -Invest billions of dollars on clean energy and sustainable development Page Four: A Picture of a smiling young family: a red-haired man, a brown-haired woman, a brown-haired teenaged girl, and a little blonde girl. Text: For 10 years, Toronto-Danforth has had the same Liberal MP and the cost of housing, groceries and every-day life has soared. People here need an MP who fights every single day for renters, workers, seniors, families, and our beautiful planet. Clare Hacksel (she/her) will be an MP who is in it for you. At the bottom of this page is Hacksel's contact and social media information.
April 5, 2025 at 12:46 AM
angrykem.bsky.social
This is what our flyer looks like (I've included the whole thing because I find the bits on the first and last pages interesting as well). It's not the same as your flyer, but it's using similar rhetoric. The final page is especially dishonest.
An NDP flyer for the Toronto-Danforth riding in the 2025 Canadian federal election. There are four pages. Page one: Picture of Clare Hacksel, the Toronto Danforth NDP candidate, a smiling brown-haired white woman. Text: Mark Carney and Pierre Poilievre will always put a boardroom table...ahead of your kitchen table. Clare Hacksel, Toronto-Danforth NDP. Page Two: Pictures of Mark Carney, the Liberal candidate, and Pierre Poilievre, the Conservative candidate. Both are middle-aged white men. Carney's picture is tinged dull orange and Carney's dull blue. Text: In the midst of Trump's trade war, neither Carney nor Poilievre will stand up against: -grocery chains that make billions of rising food prices -developers who make billions on housing you can't afford -an unfair tax system that penalizes working people -corporate polluters who are the leading cause of the climate crisis Page Three: A picture of a smiling Clare Hacksel talking to a white woman with short brown hair and glasses. We see only the back of the woman's head. Text: Clare Hacksel and Jagmeet Singh's New Democrats are in it for you to: -Lower your food bills with grocery price caps -Build houses at affordable prices and bring in national rent control -Keep the capital gains tax on millionaires and eliminate the tax on daily essentials and monthly bills -Invest billions of dollars on clean energy and sustainable development Page Four: A Picture of a smiling young family: a red-haired man, a brown-haired woman, a brown-haired teenaged girl, and a little blonde girl. Text: For 10 years, Toronto-Danforth has had the same Liberal MP and the cost of housing, groceries and every-day life has soared. People here need an MP who fights every single day for renters, workers, seniors, families, and our beautiful planet. Clare Hacksel (she/her) will be an MP who is in it for you. At the bottom of this page is Hacksel's contact and social media information.
April 5, 2025 at 12:44 AM
angrykem.bsky.social
Let's just say that I've been taking pictures of
#birds for a while now and have recently developed the misguided urge to make bad drawings of them. Here's my attempt at the #BirdWhisperer #BrownHeadedCowbird. Yes, it's rather smudgy.

#BirdArt
A pencil drawing of a Brown-headed Cowbird, a blackish-grey bird with a brown head, standing on a branch.
March 26, 2025 at 1:48 PM
angrykem.bsky.social
"Yes, I am profoundly aware of my own beauty, thank you very much."

#photography #birds #BirdPhotography #WildlifePhotography #RedTailedHawk
A close-up of a mature Red-tailed Hawk's head in profile. One fluffy white feather clings to her shoulder. Her amber eye glows.
March 23, 2025 at 9:55 PM
angrykem.bsky.social
Even a murderbird needs a little stretch sometimes.

#birds #BirdPhotography #WildlifePhotography #photography #NorthernShrike #Shrike
A Northern Shrike, a greyish-white songbird with a black mask and a hooked beak, perches on a budding branch on a beautifully clear day and stretches out its left wing and leg.
March 10, 2025 at 2:56 PM
angrykem.bsky.social
The Brown Creeper = my favourite bird I hardly ever see but that is probably right next to me 100% of the time.

#birds #photography #BirdPhotography #WildlifePhotography #BrownCreeper
A Brown Creeper, a small bird with greyish-brown feathers that look like tree bark, clings to a tree trunk, blending seamlessly into its environment.
February 21, 2025 at 9:11 PM