Circus of the Spineless #13

Never in my wildest imagination would i have conceived of a Circus decorated with tattoos of our favorite critters. It's a natural though, isn't it? Tattoos and Circuses. Lucky for us, Deep Sea News is on the cusp of that very creative edge. What a fantastic new Circus of the Spineless to begin our second year! Congrats for the fine work.

Sunbeams Does the Circus!

Somehow i failed to timely mention that the newest Circus of the Spineless is up. It's special because it's another rung up the ladder of excellence that every host seems to be climbing AND it's the completion of our first year. Congrats to Steve for a fine, fine issue! You can catch it at Sunbeams from Cucumbers.

Get Ready for Circus #12!

Time to get your submissions together for Circus of the Spineless being hosted at Sunbeams from Cucumbers. Send them to Steve at sreuland@gmail.com

Circus #11 has been posted . . .

And what gorgeous edition it is featuring screengrabs of each of the blogs! With succinct titles and links Roger has continued a Circus tradition by upping the ante for elegance of presentation. Be sure to visit at Words & Pictures.

And if that weren't enough he's created a Flickr companion Group -- you can check out Circus photos here: http://www.flickr.com/groups/spineless/.

Next month's completion of our First Full Year issue (!) will be hosted at Sunbeams from Cucumbers. Be sure to start readying your posts for a celebratory edition. And watch that blog for news from Steve about where and when to send your submissions.

Circus #10 is Up!

On short notice and likely with a barrage of last minute submissions David at Science and Sensibility has put together a fantastic tenth edition of the Circus of the Spineless featuring a cool graphic linked to the various taxonomic groups. The systematic grouping is a natural so to speak but his arrangement and narrative are well thought out and sensitive. All in all it's a wonderful issue for browsing and enjoying our little obsession. Congrats David on a great issue!

Tags: Blogs, Culture, Science, Environment, Bugs, Butterflies, Snails, Circus of the Spineless

We Have a New Host!

Paul Decelles, who's just completed the inaugural issue of his genetics carnival Mendel's Garden, has volunteered to be our December Circus host! Welcome Aboard Paul. Meanwhile check out his fine site at The force that through . . . and if you have something for the next Mendel's Garden check out his call for submissions.

Hosts Lined Up!

Well, we've a great lineup of hosts lined up for the next five months or so, including our next (June) compendium being hosted by Science and Sensibility. Yes, that's right Circus of the Spineless goes to New Zealand! Be sure to get your submission nominations sent off to winda002(at)student.otago.ac.nz

Future Hosts (check 'em out and start writing!):
#10 Jun: Science and Sensibility
#11 Jul: Words and Pictures
#12 Aug: Sunbeams from Cucumbers
#13 Sep: Deep Sea News
#14 Oct: The Neurophilosopher's Blog
#15 Nov: Ocellated

Hosting Notes

It looks like we've got hosts lined up through November! Awaiting confirmations and will post the new lineup once everyone checks in . . . meanwhile if you'd like to host sometime in the future, please drop us an email . . . tg

If you're looking to submit for the June edition, send your posts to me at hurricanetg(at)hotmail.com and i'll forward them on.

Spineless # 9 is up!

Check out the mystery version of Circus of the Spineless, v.9, at Burning Silo. Whodunit?

Circus #Ocho is Up and Flying!

Daniel Morgan has now posted Circus of the Spineless #8. Check it out at Get Busy Livin', or Get Busy Bloggin'!

CotS #8 In The Works!

Daniel Morgan at Get Busy Livin' or Get Busy Bloggin' is gearing up for Circus of the Spineless #8. Check his announcement out here and then get busy submittin'!

Circus #7 is All Keyed Up!

Check out the fantastic key Matt put together for CotS #7 right here!

Circus #7 Submission time

As the month works its way towards April, be certain to post something really great about our little spineless friends, and then submit a link to Matt at Research at a Snail's Pace!

Hosts needed!

UPDATE: Hosts have been assigned for March and April. Anyone wanting to host after that please contact us. tg

Beginning with the March edition (which is published at the end of the month), we need hosts for the Circus. Pick a month, any month, and enjoy the hit parade that is the result of hosting this great blog carnival!

To be a host, just drop a line to: nannothemis AT gmail.com

Soliciting submissions to Circus of the Spineless #6

The next edition of Circus of the Spineless will be at Science and Politics. Send your submissions to Coturnix1 AT aol.com. The month is short, so hurry.

Circus of the Spineless #5 is up!

Head on over to Pharyngula for the fifth edition of Circus of the Spineless. It will leave you speechless.

Circus of the Spineless #4 is up!

A Googlishious version of the Circus of the Spineless is now up at Bootstrap Analysis.

Send in your submissions to Circus #4!

Nuthatch at Bootstrap Analysis is compiling submissions to COTS #4. Send your links to your own posts and photos, or links to those of others you wish to nominate to nuthatch.ba AT gmail.com. Deadline is noon on December 30, for publication on New Year's Eve, just in time to enjoy with your final festive shrimp cocktail of the year.

Circus of the Spineless #3 is UP!

It's UP! A toy store of critters, just in time for Christmas! Check it out.




Well it's time for the third edition of Circus of the Spineless which is going up at Urban Dragon Hunters!

Soliciting submissions to Circus of the Spineless #3

Nannothemis and Stylurus, a.k.a. Urban Dragon Hunters, anxiously await your submissions to COTS #3. Send links to your own stimulating essays and jaw-dropping photos (or links to those of others, we're not picky) to nannothemis AT gmail.com. Deadline is noon on November 29.

Number Two is online!

Aydin at Snail's Tales has posted edition number two of the Circus of the Spineless. Check it out.

Soliciting submissions to Circus of the Spineless #2

The second edition of Circus of the Spineless will be hosted at Snail's Tales. You can send your submissions directly to Aydin at snailstales AT earthlink.net. The deadline for this issue, which will appear on October 31, is October 29 at midnight . . . the witching hour. . . .

Thanks . . .

Thanks to everyone who made the first edition of The Circus of the Spineless such a success . . .

Visitors from:
The Modulator, Blog Carnivals, The Truth Laid Bear, milkriverblog, Bird TLC, Thomasburg Walks, Neurobiology, Pharyngula, Urban Dragon Hunters, Skookum Talk, Science and Politics, TONMO, Bootstrap Analysis, Thoughts from Kansas, The House & Other Arctic Musings, 10,000 Birds, Rurality, The Questionable Authority, The Jer Zone, Night of the Kingfisher, spiderblog, The Nature Writers of Texas, Man Bytes Blog, A WhipPoorWill, Mickey’s Musings, WoodSong, Bloglines, Far Cartouche, Henry’s Webiocosm, Living the Scientific Life, milkriverblog, afarensis, Snail’s Tales, Science and Sensibility, Science and Sarcasm, Botany Photo of the Day, Ben Cruachan Blog, Raven’s Gazette, Firefly Forest Blog, and meanwhile gregor mendel labored in obscurity, Charlie’s Bird Blog, Respectful Insolence, Clicked, Worms of Endearment, A DC Birding Blog, Words & Pictures, Marine Biology Web, and The Fishbowl World’s Friends

SouthwestOdes-L, Mollusca-L, Unio-L, SouthwestLeps-L, TX-Butterfly-L, TexOdes-L, SE-Odes-L, CalOdes-L, Odonata-L, Landsnails-L, CONCH-L, Conidae-L, TX-Naturalist-L, NatureRecordists-L

Albania, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guam, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Russia, Scotland, Singapore, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela, Vietnam, Virgin Islands, Wales, and the European Union

from Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan

and from Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, D.C., Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachussetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming

The News You've Been Waiting For . . .

Here it is!

The first edition of The Circus of the Spineless

is taking place NOW under

The Big Top at milkriverblog!

Come stop by.

Intro to The Circus of the Spineless!

Circus of the Spineless is a joint project of Bootstrap Analysis, Urban Dragon Hunters and milkriverblog.

Thanks to Bootstrap Analysis, who was first to suggest a carnival of blogwriting about invertebrates, here we are.

I've put some research into the idea of carnivals (especially in terms of getting recognition and links -- since my concept is that you want to get the word out so people will READ the posts). In that regard i've found a few opinions that one of the important things to attract both readers and linkage is to have a name that is a) catchy and b) descriptive.

Bootstrap originally suggested the excellent name An Inordinate Fondness. I really liked that, but my thinking has changed somewhat since that was proposed (besides they may want to use that name for a personal project!).

I have seen some carnivals named such that only insiders seem to know what they're about -- hardly a formula for getting a potential audience to bite. So, with that in mind i wanted to name this a "carnival" or a "circus" of something. And one of the first thoughts i had was "the spineless" -- it's descriptive, edgy, provocative, and more than a little nuanced. Maybe it'll work, maybe not, but here goes.

I also have had the experience of hosting I and the Bird and of submitting to The Friday Ark, and am prepping now for The Tangled Bank, and have tracked the effect of those carnivals on my blog. That's led me to try to refine some of the methods for producing a carnival. To that end i'll be adding a number of "hosting" posts to this site (see the sidebar) as tutorials for those who would like to host and need some guidance.

Hope you like the idea, and are willing to contribute. It will be a monthly carnival, it will travel host to host, we'll keep permanent links to hosts here, and i'll always post a summary on this blog.

Upcoming is a list of rules for submissions.

-- tony g

The Rules, Dudes and Dudettes

First, the post MUST be primarily about an invertebrate creature. We had in mind insects, arachnids, molluscs, etc. when we got the idea (actually more like butterflies, dragonflies and snails, based on the people involved). But i see no reason why it can't include lice and gutworms. But a cat with lice is not a subject for us (send it to the cat carnival folks . . . just kidding).

Second, there will be two categories for submissions: a) writing about inverts; and b) pictures of inverts.

Category a) will be for original posts that actually discuss the biology of, tell a story about, or relate important information about, some species or group of species of spineless critters. These posts may include pictures, including ones "borrowed" from elsewhere (copyright issues are yours to deal with).

Category b) will be for posts that are basically about the picture -- some text may be included, but is usually just descriptive of the individual in the picture -- like a caption, or an extended caption. In this category only pictures taken by the author (or a family member, or someone taking a pic at your request, etc.) are allowed -- see, the category is about the photograph. Please make it a good picture -- trying to just gain traffic with fuzzy snapshots is bush.

The host will make the decision about what goes in which category (but see rule #6).

Third, while we'd like this to be about learning something about inverts, we won't be averse to using lighter posts. We do want well-written, spell-checked, entertaining, educational posts though. We're looking to read something that will make us want to return to your blog.

Fourth, we reserve the right to NOT include anything that doesn't meet our simple guidelines. The writing must be excellent work -- we want to showcase the best on the web.

Fifth, and this is just common blog sense, but we've seen a lot of blog carnivals lately where the participants either don't live up to their end of the unspoken community contract, or else are just oblivious to what's going on . . . BUT, we expect that if you submit posts to the carnival that, when the carnival is posted, that you then post an encouraging note on your blog about the carnival and provide a link. If you want us to blare your link to the world, then you should help up the traffic by blaring the link to your personal community of readers. That also keeps the hosts smiling.

Sixth, until further notice (that is when submissions surpass our ability to handle them), you may submit up to two entries (which is waaaay more generous than the usual carnival, but then we're monthly too . . .). And we might make exceptions for more if you have some truly excellent pieces to offer.

Seventh, there'll be more rules when we think of them . . .

Potential hosts should contact tony g at milkriverblog