Here's a milestone I didn't see coming -- I just added the 500th Extinction Blog story over at Plenty Magazine's web site.

A little over half of those stories are archives from the days when I was publishing the blog myself, but I have written 238 new stories since moving to Plenty last June.

Writing Extinction Blog is often challenging, always rewarding, and frequently depressing, but it remains the assignment I am most passionate about. I wish there was no need for it to exist at all, but I'll keep writing it for another 5,000 entries if I have to.

At last, a new Platt short story! My tale "Dream Girl" is the first story in the new anthology, Dark Territories, from the Garden State Horror Writers. Other authors in this fine book include F. Paul Wilson, Charles Grant and Kathy Ptacek.

The GSHW will be scheduling several book signings for Dark Territories soon. Tragically, I won't be attending, since they're a few hundred miles away from my current digs in Maine, but I encourage you to go all the same.

In other writing news, I have a new article online in this month's issue of Today's Engineer: "Marketing New Technologies to Green Customers (and Beyond)". I hope you'll check it out.

BTW, I'm a much happier environmentalist than I was last week. My cable system is carrying the new Planet Green TV network -- it just took them a few extra days to get it into their channel lineup. Yay!

In other green-writing news, my article "Wildlife lawsuits, as far as the eye can see" got a lot of buzz last week, as did several of my recent "Green Tech" columns. It feels good to see readers responding to these articles.

More news to come. Stay tuned!

Oops! I actually fell for this news story about an "extinct bird" rediscovered in Japan after eight centuries. I even started writing it up for Extinction Blog before I found out it was a gag. Good thing I figured it out before it was too late!

On Monday, a Yamato hinotori (Latin name: Oyacou domburicus), believed to be the first to set foot in Japan in nearly eight centuries, was unveiled to the media at the government's Alien Wildlife Quarantine Shelter in Ushiku, Ibaraki Prefecture.

Long thought extinct, the bird is nevertheless a familiar sight to almost every Japanese, as its image, since November 2004, has appeared on the reverse side of the nation's ¥10,000 note.

It's a pretty darn convincing fake news story -- even going so far as to say the bird was smuggled out of secretive North Korea, and documenting an 1,100 year history for the species.

Turns out the Yamato hinotori is a pop-culture icon in Japan -- a figment of the imagination of Astro Boy creator Osamu Tezuka. I guess if I read more Japanese comics, I might have known that!

This month's stories bring good news, awful news, and not much in between:

Endangered species: The new "blood diamonds"

Whale watch

Kenya: No tourism = no wildlife

The woes of the wandering wolverine

Six wins for endangered species

The economics of endangered species

Six losses for endangered species

Tiger populations plummet -- down 50% in 25 years

Study: Endangered chimps are no laughing matter

Reintroducing one of the world's rarest insects

The sad saga of the saiga

Fish recovery plan sets a precedent in Canada

CITES takes action against Nigeria's trade in endangered species

Group sues to protect 681 endangered species

China turns to "sexercise" to encourage panda breeding

Japan takes quick action to protect rare beetle

Wolves lose protected status today

Man meddles, nature suffers

Allergies are out of control after last week's flood. Luckily, our landlord is awesome, and contractors will be here tomorrow to start ripping up rotten wood, replacing damaged sheet rock, and start treating for mold. A massive new dehumidifier will also soon arrive, courtesy of said awesome landlord.

Meanwhile, our new vacuum and bread maker have arrived. Glory!

Also arriving last week, my contributor's copies of BOUND FOR EVIL, the new anthology from Dead Letter Press, containing my short story "Flames in the Night." Man, this is a beautiful book! I'm proud to be included in its pages.

The mail also brought a great rhino drawing I commissioned from cartoonist Pat Lewis (lunchbreak_pat). I've been holding off on buying much art since going freelance, but adding this to my collection makes up for it.

In writing news, last week brought news that one of my regular clients wasn't going to use me any more, but they were quickly replaced by another client, offering more money and a contract for eight feature-length articles. So that worked out nicely!

My Green Tech column at RiverWired.com is off to a good start. It's getting lots of Diggs and a few comments. Extinction Blog is also heating up, with last week's post on chimpanzees in entertainment generating lots of email. I really, really like that some of my work helps to make a difference.

New fiction is going slow, dammit. The flood messed with my mojo, and now the allergies are making my joints ache like they're made out of barbed wire. Hopefully I'll get one or two more stories finished soon so I can announce the secret project I've been working on.

I haven't been drawing any new cartoons, either, because my hands hurt too much to hold a pen for long enough to finish a drawing. But in good news, the webcomic will break 2,000 page views in the next few days. I have enough finished cartoons to keep it going through March; after that, we'll see.

Okay, time to take a break from the computer. New breadmaker = homemade bread = great-tasting sandwiches!

An interesting month, full of controversy, anger, debate, victory, failure, and ever-present change.

"Sexual harassment" endangers rare Mexican fish

Save an endangered species by domesticating it?

Too many endangered species, too little time

A win for whales

Homeowners vs. endangered species

Twists and turns in polar bear protection saga

Flying free

Warming worries for wildlife

Yes, no, maybe

Food or bait?

Shark fin soup: extinction in a bowl

Endangered species news updates

One tiny, tiny, tiny step for endangered species

Anyone know how to make bulletproof vests for wolves?

Brazilian state aims for "Zero Extinctions"

Can a species be "evil"?

Can one man save the world's smallest snail?

Elephant conservation too successful, culling to begin

England protects voles, other endangered species

End-of-the-month endangered species news wrap-up

As we approach a snowed-in weekend (one foot and counting!), I thought I'd take a moment to reflect on a pretty good week:

• I actually wrote an entirely new short story on Tuesday, something I haven't done in months. Yay me!
• I have also started a new story collaboration with one of my old partners in crime. It feels good to have the old creative juices flowing again.
• I launched my webcomic on Monday -- and it's already getting pretty decent readership. More yay!
• Speaking of which, I went through my cartoon archives and found enough finished gags to keep it going for four to six weeks already, which gives me time to finish some new drawings without too much stress.
• Unfortunately, I can't find some good drawings that I know I should have around here somewhere. They're probably still packed in a box after last year's move, which makes me want to tear the entire house apart until I find them. But even the thought of doing that makes me tired, so I think I'll just draw new cartoons instead.
• Getting my cartoons ready for the webcomic has taught me a lot about computer graphics, which has been both fun and frustrating.
• I'm very happy with this week's Extinction Blog entries, which covered some really interesting topics. (Now if I could just get people to start commenting more on the blog...)
• Man, I wrote a lot of press releases this week!
• Just as I was afraid a start-up I did some marketing work for had already gone under already -- without paying me -- a check arrived. One more yay!
• I started brainstorming six articles that are due next Friday, and they're going to be really fun to write. (I'll start the actual wordsmithing on Monday.)
• Rural life means no at-home mail delivery, and heavy snow since Wednesday means no driving to the post office. Man, I'm itching for some mail, but I might have to wait to pick it up until Monday. No fair!
• I won $200 in the Lions Club's annual raffle on Super Bowl Sunday -- but I donated it back to the club. I hope I don't need that money later this month!
• I'm having a lot of fun helping to start up a new Interact Club for the local Rotary. It's intended to teach high-school age kids how to do good in their community and internationally by raising funds and running charitable projects. We're just in the organizational phase now, and will start up for real in September. I think we'll be able to do some good and I'm looking forward to working with the kids.
• And now I'm hungry for lunch!

How was your week?

It's the end of the month, so here's another big batch of new "Extinction Blog" entries from the pages of Plenty Magazine.

Wind vs. Wings

There's Oil in Them Thar Polar Bear Habitats!

Biofuels' Potential Danger to Biodiversity

Chinese Scientists Save the "Floral Panda"

Polar Bears, Butterflies Get Lawyers

Endangered Species News Roundup

Endangered Japanese Crane Outgrowing Its Habitat

Endangered Turtles Bring Higher Profits for Pet Dealers

Six Foreign Birds Get Protection in U.S.

"Year of the Reef" Launches Today

A Bad Week for Endangered Species in the U.S.

Global Warming: Bad News for Pugs and Bulldogs

Save the World's "Weirdest" Amphibians

Common Cold Killing Chimps -- Researchers to Blame

Britain's Rarest Fish Gets Rarer

Kenya "Anarchy" Threatens Wildlife

Fear Dominates Wolf Delisting Debate

It's that time of the month again -- here are the latest "Extinction Blog" stories from the pages of Plenty magazine:

The Gift that Keeps on Giving: Endangered Species Poop

"Extinct" for 150 Years, the Petrel Returns

Can Two Lone Turtles Save Their Species?

Science and Coral: It's Alive! It's Alive!

At Last, Hope for Endangered Orangutans

Parasite Preying on Pandas

Another Rare Species, Another Disease Killing Them Off

Bad News for Birds

State Fish of Texas Breeding Its Way to Extinction

Genetics Redefining What Makes A Species

Rare Duck Now Rat-Free and Loving It

"Say No to Shahtoosh"

Panda-fu?

Another month, another few dozen species at risk. Here are this month's newest articles, written for Plenty Magazine's web site:

Kenya Aims to Quadruple Black Rhino Population in 25 Years

I'll Have the Fish and Chips (Hold the Fish)

Butterflies May Be the Canaries in the Environmental Coal Mine

Plant Extinctions Will Speed Up Global Warming

Natural Gas vs. Endangered Species

Endangered Species News Roundup

The Long, Sad Saga of a Tiny, Tiny Mouse

A Hybrid in Wolf's Clothing

162 Million Species Still to be Discovered?

Border Fence Threatens Endangered Species, Says Mexican Government

Rare Porpoise Faces Two-Year Window to Prevent Extinction

Congo Moves to Protect Endangered Bonobos

Post-Thanksgiving Endangered Species News Catch-up

Gray Wolves on the Rebound (But There's Bad News, Too)

Good News for Endangered Species

25% of U.S. Bird Species Risk Extinction

Here we go: 19 new articles from the pages of the Plenty magazine web site:

Courts Rule Against Endangered Species

Endangered Species News Roundup

Rebels in Congo Seize Gorilla Sector

Twenty Years of Repopulation Efforts Down the Drain...

937 Swiss Mushroom Species Facing Extinction

Can the Polar Bear Save the World from Global Warming?

Dam Removal Helping to Save Endangered Minnow

2007 Red List: 16,306 Species Threatened with Extinction

Just How Well Off Is the Pacific Gray Whale?

Save the Giant, Spitting Earthworm!

Alabama Business Coalition Fights Against Sturgeon Protection

Do Hybrid Species Have Value?

Too Little, Too Late?

Tax Credits Could Benefit Endangered Species -- Eventually

Saving Species by Moving Them

Endangered Species Trade Brings Meth Plague to South Africa

Birds of a Feather Recover, Breed or Die Off Together

New Bill Will Try to Ban Airborne Wolf Hunting

Breeding Under the Microscope (and Under Water)

Wow. It's been three years since I started writing Extinction Blog. In that time, I have written more than 750 stories and covered more than 1,000 different species. And yet my work is far from done.

Year 4 starts today. I hope you'll stop by, read the latest news, and help take action.

World's Largest Freshwater Fish Threatened with Extinction

Illegal Pet Trade, Poor Water Quality Put Ozark Hellbender at Risk

Poor Lonesome George...

Borneo Rhinos Suffer from Low Sperm Count

Want to Help Endangered Species? Be A Taxonomist

How We Killed Off the Woodrat

Happy Feat: 10 Penguin Species Could Gain Endangered Species Protection

Mussel Fitness

Nearly 300 Species Await Endangered Species Act Protection

Release the Dingoes?

Will Soda Ash Plant Have Us Saying "Ta-Ta" to Flamingos?

Super-fast Evolution Saves Samoa Butterfly from Extinction

Birds vs. Beaches

Coal Mining: One More Threat to Orangutans

Group Aims to Keep India's Bustards from Going Bust

Just 38 Devil's Hole Pupfish Remain

Newspaper Finds UK Zoos Selling Healthy Tigers to Skin Trade

18 Endangered Species Get Second Chance for More Protection

The Battle for the Beluga

Uganda's "Sex Tree" Risks Extinction

How Nuclear Power Helped Save the American Crocodile

Mountain Gorillas Slain in Congo

Endangered Bighorn Sheep Could Get 400,000 Acres of Protected Habitat

World's Largest Feshwater Fish Feared Extinct

Nepal's Elephants Face TB Threat

Thai Amulet Craze Creates Threat for Dugong

Monkey Theft Kills Chance for Breeding Program

Climate Change Puts New Zealand's Tuatara at Risk

Does the Wolverine Need Endangered Species Protection?

Extinct Catfish Rediscovered in Suriname

Tiger Population Decline is "Catastrophic", Says WWF Scientist

CITES Criticized for Decision on Ugandan Leopards

Trade Talks Fail to Protect Two Shark Species

Orangutans vs. Logging: Habitats Could be Gone in 10 Years

Should Ivory Trade Ban Be Relaxed?

Chinese Turtle May Be Extinct in Ten Years

The announcement I have been hinting at is now here...

Starting today, Extinction Blog, my newswire about endangered species, is being published by Plenty Magazine, an environmental news and commentary magazine for people wanting to live a greener life. The move brings a much bigger audience to the blog, and their financial support gives me the freedom to devote additional time and resources to telling stories that need to be told.

Anyway, I hope you'll check it out, and click around the rest of the site while you're there. It's a pretty damned good magazine.

Brrr... I just heard that the wind chill's supposed to get down to -15 tonight. Such exciting news!

***

I drove down to Portland earlier this week to meet with a client. What a great city.

Except for the sidewalks. They could clean those better.

***

Speaking of which, I need new shoes.

***

I wish I'd brought my camera for the drive the other day. Man, this is a beautiful state.

Of course, I couldn't have actually used the camera while I was driving, so it's probably a good thing I didn't bring it with me. It just would have sat on the seat next to me, mocking me.

"Gee, John, that's a beautiful waterway. It sure would make a great photo. Too bad you're driving 65 miles an hour. Oh look, it's already behind you. Maybe next time."

***

Earlier today, I attended my first meeting of a local writers' group. It's nothing like my beloved GSHW, but it was nice to hang around with a few other writers for a couple of hours.

***

Readership at Extinction Blog has gone through the roof lately. I love looking at my visitor stats to see how people found the site. So far this week, readers have come from the UK, Canada, Spain, Mexico, Russia, Ireland, Japan, Vietnam, and a half-dozen other countries.

But strangely, no one ever leaves any comments!

***

Speaking of which, I had a feeling that no one would comment on my last entry. And I was right!

Happy National Thylacine Day, everyone!

Yes, today, September 7th marks 70 years since the carnivorous Australian marsupial known as the thylacine (aka, the Tasmanian wolf) was hunted to the point of extinction. The last known thylacine died in Hobart's Zoo on September 7, 1936 -- 70 years ago today!



And in other September 7th news, actor Corbin Bernsen is 52 today. Just thought you'd want to know.

extinctionblog has now officially moved to its new location, and readership is already up more than 400%. The LiveJournal site won't go away, though; I'll keep using it for updates and maintaining the Friends list. 

Meanwhile, though, I hope you'll visit the new site, update your RSS feeds, and let me know how it all looks.