(Dead) June Bug In July

Found a June bug on the pavement that had been partly crushed (I had to blur out its spilled-out innards;  it was just gross).  I guess June bugs are pretty much the same everywhere -- it looked just like the ones I remember from back in California.

Pareidolia

of a somewhat eerie kind.  Reminds me of a pirate flag.  Or even the "Yorick's skull" scene from Hamlet.  If this is the effect the builders were going for, I guess they succeeded.

Five Days Later

Today was supposed to be -- if not cool, then at least less hot, so I decided to set out on foot in the middle of the day (haven't done that in a while) to revisit the flower I liked so much last week.

It was no longer alone.

Lake Spider

For one who experiences the "normal" aversion to spiders and such, I've posted quite a few spider and other bug images.  Could it be that I actually find them interesting and attractive -- under some circumstances at least? 😏

Bug On A Leaf

Some subspecies of tiger beetle, I think.

 

More Spontaneous Order

A paper cup that somebody crumpled and thoughtlessly tossed on the market floor, flattened under the wheels of many a cart pushed along by inattentive patrons...

The fold along the rim of the cup alignes perfectly with the edge of the vinyl floor tile.

Escher Would Be Proud (I Think)

As usual, I was going about at random, checking out whatever happened to strike my fancy.  So I happened upon this rundown old building (natch), I entered, and I started photographing the interior, paying particular attention to the stairwell (also natch).

I had a feeling about this particular shot.

So I got rid of the most obvious visual cues to its original orientation, turned it upside down, and it became quite disorienting.  In fact, there were moments while I was playing with the image when I actually became confused as to which direction was the true "up".

Then I got the bright idea of reversing the chiaroscuro, and the confusion became compounded.

Because in actuality the top photograph is the upside-down one;  the second one is the right-side-up original!  The sequence starts with the image "flopped" (not to be confused with "flipped"), but it sure looks normal, doesn't it -- at least to the casual gaze -- especially in the negative version.

Another "So Random"

First a bag of leeks, and now a sack of onions.

Lone But Tall

Today I visited a stone shop, to see what I could see and maybe pick out a gift for someone.  It looked to be within walkable distance on the map, so I set out on foot despite the afternoon heat.  As it turned out though, the place was a disappointment.  The stones displayed for sale were not all that interesting overall -- in fact I can say they were really kind of "meh" -- but as I left the shop feeling I'd wasted the whole sweaty trip, I saw this lone tall flower and immediately realized the trip had not been a waste after all.

True Sun (And 2 Pretenders)

One of the would-be usurpers, at least, is mounting an earnest campaign to try and outshine the original, but the other one has recognized the hopelessness of the challenge and is not even bothering.

The Ghost Of A Leaf

I unthinkingly walked past it while crossing the street, then a moment later it registered in my brain and I had to turn back and photograph it.

Looks like some inattentive worker painting the crosswalk stripes laid down the paint over an "errant"😉 leaf.

Zoom

Related posts:  Untitled IV

                         Urban Hawks

Lonesome Moon

 

The Three Stodges

Taken on November, 2021, which falls within the fallow period of this blog.

Related post:  Seen In A Seoul Alley

Funny Moon

Fresh from this afternoon/evening.

Entering A New Sky

(Click to enlarge a must!)

Drama Queen

This evening's sunset.

 

Boy, I sure do love me some apocalyptic-style imagery^

Related posts:  "Heaven's On Fire"

                         The War In Heaven

Creepy Cloud (And I'm A Nerd)

The instant I laid eyes on this rather odd-looking cloud,

I was reminded of the "salt vampire" from the original Star Trek TV series.  The creature bears the distinction of being the "starring m̶o̶n̶s̶t̶e̶r̶ creature" of the very first regular episode of the series to air, titled "The Man Trap".

It was supposed to be the last of its kind, a race of beings who may have created a civilization on an earthlike planet (fandom opinion seems to be divided between those who hold that these creatures are the actual builders of the civilization and those who counter that these are the predators that killed off the true owners of the civilization), and who are capable of creating illusory images of themselves to seduce the perceiver.  The result is that different crew members of the starship Enterprise see the creature differently -- as either the person they most fondly remember or the one they most naturally expect to see.  Thus, Dr. McCoy sees it as the woman he once had a crush on long ago, and who amazingly "hasn't aged a bit" since then;  Captain Kirk also sees it as that same woman, but a sensibly older version of her, due to the passage of time;  and a crewman (the first to die, natch^) sees it as a sexy blonde he'd met a short time before on shore leave.  The result:  disaster. 

Modified Photo

While checking out some recent images I realized "Modified Photo" plus a number cannot serve as a formal title, as there are many past posts that included modified images but were not included in the numbered series.  So from now on it will just be "Modified Photo" without a number.

Yet Another Errant Umbrella

The bushes on either side of it are withered and dessicated, but the umbrella "takes a licking and keeps on ticking", because... it's non-biodegradable plastic.

New Moon

 

I was born long after the heyday of the Hollywood movie musicals, but I grew up watching them on television -- Gigi, Showboat, Easter Parade, South Pacific, My Fair Lady, Singing' in the Rain, West Side Story, The Sound of Music;  the list goes on and on.  And of course, New Moon.  Kathryn Grayson became famous for her rendition of "Lover, Come Back to Me" from the movie (although it was actually sung by Jeanette MacDonald in the movie).

During my time at USC I won a CD of Kathryn Grayson's hits in a contest, autographed by Kathryn herself.  To show my appreciation I sent her an origami flower in a box;  I don't know if her people ever passed it on to her, because I never received an acknowledgment.

Evening