Where Did the Dinosaurs Go? | Songs of the Week Update 06/23/2023

Turns out, it has a lot less to do with dinosaurs than you'd think. Everybody stay in your seats, there will probably be a regular Songs of the Week post this week, but I wanted to do a quick update to let everyone know where I'm at currently when it comes to being an Author, Science Communicator, and Creature of the Night, as advertised. You may have noticed (like I did last time science communication came up before promptly never addressing it again), but this site has been a whole lot of "author" and a lot less "science communicator" throughout this past year. Obviously, that's not something I want to demean—I'm very proud of the amount of words I've sunk into this site, no matter what they're dedicated to—but I'm beginning to wonder if they're a true reflection of my intentions as a writer going forward, especially now that I'm more or less working 9-5.

This all started, of course, while on a walk in the morning listening to Hans Zimmer & Andrew James Christie's "Prehistoric Planet Theme" back-to-back with Benjamin Bartlett's "Time of the Titans" from Walking With Dinosaurs, and if you read my last Songs of the Week, you know what an emotional ass blast that was. I think I described it a little prettier on that post, but no matter how niche the feelings tied up in those compositions are, I hope the biblically awesome emotionality of dinosaur music like this can crack through most people's shells. Still, I know it's a pretty niche thing to be sobbing about, and it got me thinking—where did the dinosaurs go? I certainly don't see any of them on Max Todd Dot Com. In my life, I've had so many firm ambitions, and where I'm flexible in most matters, I'll always hold firm to these dreams, which all boil down to creation. Like, my God, I want to create—I want to make art, and not just about made-up worlds but this real one, too. I've been lucky enough to experience a lot of what Paleontological work has to offer, from digging up bones in the sun-beaten field to taking measurements and inventory in the fluorescent belly of museums, and I have to admit—much of it, and much of STEM, almost severs the spirituality I feel when I engage with these things. Of course, working towards a reward is never fun in the thick of it, but where I always feel called no matter how hard the work is not in research, but in teaching... maybe? Or maybe it's that and I just need to find research that really fires my engines? So, if we're keeping score, I want to be a science educator, perhaps even a scientist, and an author who is able to dedicate time to an in-the-works book series, three-season TV series, and a menagerie of other short stories and uncertain worlds that need attending to. Also, family and friends are probably important, right? I have the privilege to let my soul choose where I go, but unfortunately, my soul chose a life path that isn't exactly well-worn, and might take three lifetimes to accomplish. I really do worry I won't have time for everything—half of everything—when it's hard to find time to even begin writing in the first place, and even though I'm splitting my work week between three science communication related jobs, it feels like I'm treading water, and I'd really like to be spending more time in communion with the things I feel like I'm meant to do.

So, all this to say Songs of the Week might have to be a little less... weekly. Don't get me wrong—Songs of the Week has always been a very special tradition to me that's allowed me to talk about something I rarely have a place to talk about. If you haven't noticed, though, I'm a writer who loves to write and write and write and write and write and write and write once I get going, and "less is more" is a little easier said than done for me. What started as a weekly writing exercise has become a multi-paragraph, multi-hour editing process that, especially with the addition of song pairings, has totally grown into the rest of my week's writing time. What I'm pledging here, to my, like, five regular readers, is to still use that writing time every week, but to use it instead on the longer projects I care most about—and that means bringing the dinosaurs back into my life. Songs of the Week won't be going away any time soon—in fact, this current format might be restored once I get the hang of time management (laugh track)—but in order to prioritize the dinosaurs, the dream stories, and everything else that makes making art worth it, it might have to take a backseat. Currently, I have two plans: I'm either going to post weekly song graphic on my putrid twitter and then post them all at the end of the month with five highlights, or simply just switch to "Songs of the Month" until I can streamline my schedule. Since I'm still finishing off some planned posts, I don't think this'll take effect until July. There might be some initial inconsistency as I experiment with this new format, so more than anything, this overly personal diary entry is to make sure everyone is aware of these changes. In the meantime, there's a lot of cool stuff I'm hoping to work on—alongside working with SciAll.org once again this summer, I'm hoping to make some of my own Youtube content, but no promises. Mainly, I'm on the publishing grind right now with a few short stories—I have two I've mainly sent out with six or so more currently cooking (though the pot has not been stirred in a bit, I'll admit) alongside my book, so... plenty to work on. Hopefully there will be more results soon.

Anyways, this has been altogether too long, but I hope it clarifies some of the changes that might occur over the coming weeks. Again, I know my regular audience is super small at this point, but I want to take consistency seriously with this sort of thing. With great ability comes great accountability, or whatever. See you guys next week.