Homo Monstrosus

The term "homo monstrosus" was coined by the father of modern taxonomy, Carl Linnaeus, as a wastebasket taxon, intended for those forms of human expression that did not fall under an accepted norm. Of course, Linnaeus meant "human expression" in this case very literally: the physical expression of one's humanity. As opposed to this place, which is something like the digital expression of my humanity. Linnaeus' vast contributions to biology, ecology, and science in general were so significant that he probably deserves better than to be responsible for the name of this place. Then again, we all end up in the wastebasket eventually. Some of us started out here.

Oh well, we can't pick our legacies, can we Carl?

I want a space of one's own on the internet, where I can do as much and as little as I want. Where I can tinker and play. This is part workshop, part garden, part gallery, part archive. It's for no-one but me and for anyone who finds it. This is the culmination of a life spent thinking about how to exist on the internet. Now it's about time I start actually doing it.

Brick by brick, I'm building my cathedral. Ever-changing, I hope. I'll try to keep track of everything. Because that's what this is all about, I guess: keeping track of what I've done. Of what I will do. Of what I'm doing.

May I more often be doing.

This version established Spring 2021. But what is time these days, anyway?

I am a queer, geriatric millennial living in Colorado with my partner and our two cats. By day, I work in the tech industry, which puts a roof over our heads and has given me a set of skills that I abuse to make and obsess over my weird personal web-projects. But other than that, my work is probably the least stimulating part of my life.

I'm much more interested in Godzilla movies, video games, the intersection of art and technology, comic books, tarot cards, and being something of a suburban hermit with my partner. Over the years, I've spent a lot of energy and resources hoarding surrounding myself with great books and movies and games and music. Now, I am finally in the phase of my life where it all feels like "enough", and I can settle in and actually engage with all the treasures I've collected. This means I am usually delightfully out-of-date with whatever the new hotness is, as evident by the fact that I still use phrases like "the new hotness".

It's okay, my cats think I'm cool. (No, they don't, actually.)

Notable influences on my worldview include Walt Whitman, Hawkeye Pierce, Chuck Tingle, and the Tenth Doctor.

Just like I'm finally starting to dig into my own stores of other people's art, I am also developing my own artistic practices after years of half-hearted attempts. What will come of it? Where am I going, and what do I want to do? No seriously, I'm actually asking. Searching for those answers I usually just end up finding more questions, which is slightly frustrating but also quite a lot of fun.

It's a very strange time to be a weirdo on the internet and a human in this world. I'm trying to tend my own garden and be a good steward of the things entrusted to me. And while navigating This Modern Age means enduring so many stories of pain and confusion, I also manage to find such wonderous and exciting things, all via the various windows to the world that I am blessed enough to have access to.

And if I can finally manage to contribute a verse or two of my own to this chaotic, beautiful, terrifying cacophony around me, even better.

Love is real,
Ionesco Monstru

• Suggestion Box via Tumblr
• Email: homomonstrosus@hotmail.gmail.com

If you do want to contact me, that's actually pretty neat. All I ask is that you be both:

1. Interesting
2. Over 18 years old

Please note this is not an either/or situatution!