A Faux-Watercolor

 

A Near Miss?

An hour or so ago I was listening to Ace of Base singing "I Saw the Sign".  I was simultaneously scrolling through my Facebook history and reminiscing about my church choir days, and just as my eyes alighted on the sentence "I saw the light", AoB sang "I saw the sign".  Does that count as coincidence?

Figatzi? Zigatza?

This morning I woke up directly from a dream in which a dignified older man was showing me the interior of a room that was well-appointed with impressive taste, except for two holes several inches in diameter, bored awkwardly through an angled wooden frame high above the mantle, maybe a foot and a half apart.  They looked somewhat like this:

He pointed to them contemptuously and said something that sounded like "Figatzi" or Zigatza".  It seemed a previous occupant of the residence had them done in order to have a light fixture installed.  It was admittedly completely out of place and kitschy-looking (personally I find high, naked light sources to be harsh, much preferring intimate lighting).  As it's unusual to remember words seen or heard in dreams, I tried looking it up using different permutations of the spelling.  After a few unsuccessful tries, I came across "fugazi", which apparently means counterfeit/bogus, or more broadly, messed up or ruined.  I guess that fits pretty well.  And leaves me wondering.

Another "Just Looks Odd"

AND it's a crow again.  A random shot of a flying crow, but it looks for all the world like its wing is penetrating the cloud behind it.  A possible "glitch in the matrix"?  Maybe the matrix engineers should re-calibrate that cloud for proper density.

Related post:  Just Looks Odd

Algorithm? Morphic Resonance?

Probably just about everyone who surfs the web has noticed how online advertisements are tailor-made to suit their personal tastes.  Watch certain types of videos or search for information on a particular matter, and moments later ads appear that address those very subjects.  Well, here's something that's oddly reminiscent of that algorithmic programming, but with a twist.  Minutes ago I was reading At the Edge of Uncertainty by English science writer Michael Brooks.  On page 217 the name Christopher Langton is mentioned.  He is an American computer scientist who coined the term "artificial life".  Then I put down the book and started watching a YouTube video that had to do with glass beads found in the royal tombs of the ancient Korean kingdom of Silla.  They are clearly of foreign manufacture, and an English archaeologist was introduced who was trying to track down their origin.  His name was James Langton.

I had never heard this uncommon name before today, and within minutes of my first becoming aware of it, it was repeated in a different medium in a different context.

Angels (or maybe devils) are watching, algorithms in hand.

Nothing Special, Just

a shot taken down the street during Golden Hour (and slightly color-enhanced) -- it's just that I just love this image.

There, that's three "justs" in just one sentence.

Or five "justs" in just two... OK, infinite sequence commencing. 

A Cloud Bank

matching the contour of the mountain.  Or maybe mist riding up the far side?

Crepuscular Rays Last Evening

A Double Find

Two errant disposable plastic gloves found on one afternoon's walk.

This one

and this one

After finding the second one I wondered for an instant if they were a matched pair, even though the discoveries were separated by more than half an hour's walk, but of course that's not possible -- disposable plastic gloves are chirality-neutral.

Another "Floating" Leaf

 

Related post:  As I Walked Out Of The Bank;

                       Miracles vs "Miracles"

Cicada Shadow

 

What Are The Odds (Again)?

 

The first time, exactly a year and one week ago, was a small example of spontaneous order in nature.  This time, it's looking more like a case of a time loop, but in mirror image.

 

Smeared

 

Modified Photo

 

It Really Must Be A "Thing"

Another clock/mirror combo!

Related post:  Mirrors In Odd Places

Say Cheese!

Those sharp little hooks on their feet dig into the skin as they crawl around on you.  It really tickles!  I've had people look at me because I'd just start laughing out of the blue.

 

So Call Me A Scaredy Bunny

I just happened to look in as I was walking past this building, and this sight gave me a start.  It looked like a floating ghost...

Just Looks Odd

I'll say it again, some clouds are living things.  There are countless creatures filling the earth and the seas that mimic other organisms for protection;  why should the air above us be bereft?

The Pink "P" At The End

 

I was strolling through the neighborhood park yesterday when I became aware of that sign beyond the trail.  The large 'P' stood out amongst the surrounding trees, and for whatever reason, it reminded me of an incident from back when I was a graduate student at UCLA.  I was working part-time at the art library (the art department had its own slide library for the use of art history professors).  It may have been just my imagination due to the fact that I was the lone painter surrounded by art historians every day, but during my stint there I always felt a subtle competitive attitude existed between the fine arts majors and art history majors -- that the art history majors were smug about the academic nature of their field and dismissive about the studio majors as unintellectual daubers and cobblers, and the studio majors considered themselves the creators of things of honesty and lasting value, without which the whole subject of art history would not exist.

Anyhow, one day something happened that was fairly trivial in itself, but it served to cement my belief in the mutual friction.  I don't remember the exact context, but one of the regular patrons, a graduate student, was having a discussion with another member of the staff, and happened to mention that in modern Italian the letter 'J' is not used.  So I chimed in to correct her, pointing out that the Neapolitan dialect does use the letter.  And... she turned to me with a Look of Pure Hatred and said Yes, but it's not pronounced like the English 'J', to which I almost responded Yes, I know that, but we were talking about the letter itself, not its pronunciation, that she had suddenly changed the 'universe of discourse' -- almost, but I held myself in check.  Because... well, she was obviously not used to being contradicted and I didn't want to inflame her further, and besides, what would it have accomplished for me to press the point?  It would only have made me look petty.

Hole In One

 

Pinched Moon

 

Sad

This one never got to experience flight.  Its life ended even as it was struggling to shed its old skin.

Geese On The Wing

A favorite old image, taken on a visit to Daegu, the city my father originally hailed from, many years ago.

Miscellaneous Images From Around The Neighborhood

 

Photobombed

I was photographing this sun halo

 when a cicada decided to insert itself into the shot.