Mari Ness, writer of things

@mariness

I write things. Occasionally they get published. Also occasionally on other sites, including marikness.wordpress.com, Ko-Fi:

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Mari Ness, writer of things@mariness· May 23

Caturday could not possibly be any cuter:

Face of an orange cat looking astonishingly cute and no that is not a biased description at all.

Mari Ness, writer of things@mariness· May 23

But at least this one is cheerful. Not great art or anything, but cheerful:

Thomas Kinkade Studio print showing Lilo and Stitch dancing on what I assume is a beach somewhere in Hawai'i. The background and foreground are fairly crowded with depictions of surfers, aliens, and houses, and I don't think too many people would describe this as great art, but it's cheerful.

Mari Ness, writer of things@mariness· May 20

Mari Ness, writer of things@mariness· May 13

I heard that a few of you wanted cat pictures, so, here is an ALMOST cat picture (ten months old)

Black cat, sitting on blue-grey couch, staring directly into the camera.

Mari Ness, writer of things@mariness· Apr 23

From the back yard yesterday:

Two orange and black caterpillars industrially chewing away at a passion fruit vine attacking a pineapple plant.

Mari Ness, writer of things@mariness· Apr 10

(pulls picture from Wikipedia) See?

Porta Sempione (aka the Arch of Peace) in Milano, Italy, somehow photographed without a lot of people trying to sell stuff in front of it. The arch is heavily decorated, with three groups of statues on the top.

Mari Ness, writer of things@mariness· Apr 3

Post something random or you will have an awful April

This one is more random - this is a bird perched on a pier, looking out over Lake Apopka.

Mari Ness, writer of things@mariness· Apr 3

post something random or you will have an awful April

Orange kitten twisted up on a blanket. Ok it's not quite random, since this is Mickey Cat when he was about six months old, but it was the first picture that popped up when I checked my phones.

Mari Ness, writer of things@mariness· Mar 24

Moving on. This is INCREDIBLY self-serving, I admit, but i you missed it earlier, here is the list of this year's Nebula Finalists for Best Poem - which all just HAPPEN to be eligible for the Hugo Award for Best Poem:

A list of poems/poets on a purple background with stars, reading "Our Nebula Finalists for BEST POEM," "Though You Always Are," Linda D. Addison & Jamal Hodge (Everything Endless); "They Said Robots Are," Casey Aimer, Penumbric; "The World to Come," Jennifer Hudak, Strange Horizons; "The Morning Robot," Angela Liu, Uncanny; "Care for Lightning," Mari Ness, Uncanny; "To Be the Change," Nico Martinez Nocito, Strange Horizons. No links in the image.

Mari Ness, writer of things@mariness· Feb 23

What in the name of Dante's Inferno is going on here, Publix?

Display of American Easter candy, including multiple flavors of marshmallow Peeps and jelly beans, under a sign saying Flavors of Italy Sale

Mari Ness, writer of things@mariness· Feb 12

Minutes after not being able to grab a single one of those spinning snowboarders with your little paws #Cats

Orange cat at the edge of an ottoman, head just slightly off the edge, looking downwards at the floor. Quite Glum. Behind him on the couch is a small black vortex of evil disguised as a black cat with yellow eyes.

Mari Ness, writer of things@mariness· Feb 2

It took Murphy Cat about five minutes to steal my blanket

Head and paws of a black cat emerging from a white blanket with a holly design

Mari Ness, writer of things@mariness· Jan 24

The world's most beautiful cat has thoughts. Not thoughts she's planning to share with you. But thoughts.

Grey tabby cat with an absolutely adorable white chest and white paws, crouched next to a stuffed panda bear, ready to pounce on the(not pictured) small black and (in her view) very annoying cat.

Mari Ness, writer of things@mariness· Jan 12

OK, look, here's the deal. You can either stay in my writing chair and finish writing up this flash fiction for me, or you can get out of the chair. Your choice, Murphy Cat. Your choice.

Black cat with yellow eyes curled up in blue, grey, and Xmas blankets, looking away from the camera, clearly not intending to move. Not pictured: the sound of purring.

Slightly blurry black cat curled up in blankets, giving some definite side eye.

Mari Ness, writer of things@mariness· Jan 10

It's not exactly peace in our time but it does count as a truce in our early afternoon. #Caturday

Two cats resting on a bed. The grey tabby cat in the back is leaning against a soft grey pillow. The black cat in the front is tangled in a small blanket. A bookcase can be glimpsed in the back, proving that these aren't just beautiful but also well educated cats. The key point here, though, is that the cats are not trying to eat each other which is a huge paw forward.

Mari Ness, writer of things@mariness· Jan 8

Also from today's trike ride:

Smal bit of mowed grass, surrounded by bushes and trees. On the left soar the branches of a live oak. In the center blaze purple and orange flowers. You can just see the garage of an overpriced mansion through the green leaves.

Mari Ness, writer of things@mariness· Jan 8

One of my favorite trees in Florida. #LargeJoys

Live oak tree with a large trunk split relatively close to the base, sending branches everywhere. A small lake and other trees can just be glimpsed through the branches. No size reference points are in the photo, but the canopy/branches extend out about 80 feet or 24 meters.

Mari Ness, writer of things@mariness· Jan 8

Just tried again and the "I am so adorable" expression turned into this:

Mostly black image with a fairly blurry eye on the right, taken just as Murphy Cat wanted to find out if maybe, just maybe, this time the shiny black object was something he could chew. It wasn't but he lives in eternal hope.

Mari Ness, writer of things@mariness· Jan 7

But here's a couple more. The second picture just emphasizes the blurriness problem.

Black Kitten staring straight into the camera lens, with a very definite WTF look. Whether that WTF look is directed at the phone or the human hand scratching him behind the ears is unclear

Somewhat blurry picture of a black kitten sitting on a small cat post in front of bookshelves.

Mari Ness, writer of things@mariness· Jan 7

Realized over the holiday that I hadn't taken all that many pictures of Murphy when he was a kitten, mostly because he's very wiggly so any picture tends to come out as a blurry black void. But here's one, taken with a very tired Mickey Cat:

Large orange cat trying to rest on the upper perch of a cat tree. The perch is obviously too small for him; his tail and two paws are hanging over the edge. One eye is open. The other is half closed. Below him in a cat basket is a considerably smaller black kitten cat, reaching up with a black paw, seemingly ready to strike.

Mari Ness, writer of things@mariness· Jan 1

Fully ready to nap through 2026!

A black cat, a grey tabby cat, and an orange cat resting on a twin bed with Christmas teddy bears, as light streams in through the window. The joy of the picture is slightly marred by all the cat hair on the bedding - which at least confirms that this picture wasn't staged.

Mari Ness, writer of things@mariness· Dec 19

(wow that was a lot of whining) (here's an old picture of Mickey Cat to make up for that!)

Orange cat sitting between two Christmas gnomes on wooden sleds. It's not clear if the cat thinks he is a gnome, is trying to be a ghome, or is confused by the gnomes. It is clear that he's bigger than others, and is not a gnome.

Mari Ness, writer of things@mariness· Dec 7

On a more cheerful note, the Muppet Christmas golf carts

A row of golf carts decorated with lights, tinsel and Muppets.

Kermit the Frog at the front of a golf cart decorated with lights and Christmas wreaths.

Mari Ness, writer of things@mariness· Dec 7

The Christmas Septic Tank Golf Cart after the parade, when it was no longer puffing out smoke. Not pictured: the cauldron of green water in the back of the cart. Owners were reportedly getting drinks at Pilars while I was taking these photos

Golf cart decorated with tinsel and colorful lights. On the side a hand painted sign says SEPTIC +. In the back you can just see a large silver container that during the parade was puffing smoke. Not pictured: the container of green liquid in the back. In the front are two angry eyes

Golf cart decorated with tinsel, lights, angry eyes and a sign reading SEPTIC.

Mari Ness, writer of things@mariness· Dec 5

And whatever you think you are seeing behind those branches and lights it most assuredly is not a Murphy Cat* *according to Murphy Cat

It's a fuzzy image. Can't deny that. But that does appear to be the little head of a little black cat right behind some of the Christmas tree branches.

Mari Ness, writer of things@mariness· Dec 5

The face of a cat who assures you that the large black object spotted on the branches just moments before this photo was taken wasn't him

Small black cat sitting on the floor, next to a gift bag, under a tree. Cat is refusing to look at the camera but also does not look guilty although he totally is

Mari Ness, writer of things@mariness· Dec 4

....well, I almost got all three cats into this photo. Almost.

Two cats, one orange (in the back) and one a grey tabby with a white bib and paws, perched on the top shelves of a cat tree. The basket beneath them no longer has a small black cat

Mari Ness, writer of things@mariness· Dec 1

There's also this, from the same time:

Orange cat underneath a clearly fake Christmas tree, with some stuffed animals behind him. He looks like he's getting ready to leap out and attack something, though - spoiler - he did not. He has a remarkably cute face.

Mari Ness, writer of things@mariness· Dec 1

Since it's now officially HOLIDAY DECORATING SEASON, allow me to share one of my favorite ever pictures of Mickey Cat, taken when he was about nine months old:

Very happy orange cat standing on his hind legs, reaching up into a Christmas tree to grab one of the ornaments. Yes, he'd been told not to do this but he's not very good at resisting temptation.

Mari Ness, writer of things@mariness· Nov 15

Since a few people asked for cat pictures: