Another Glove

THE SUBJECT OF "THE OBJECT"

My creative writing teacher once said that in writing fiction 'what' you say is not as important as 'how' you say it.  I believe the same rule applies in visual arts as well.  Grand topics and universal themes are great, they have their roles, but one of my favorite things to do is to take humble, common things in everyday life - little trivialities noticed by no one else but me - and modify or present them in ways that imbue them with special significance - or "dignity", as I call it.

(Made with a straw cover)

Leaf David standing in my way, automatically putting me in the

Goliath position - or maybe it thinks it's a midget Sumo wrestler

Dark Wings Over Seoul

In one of the chapters of Man and His Symbols, a collection of Jungian essays, reference is made to a woman who dreamt that she was standing on a hill overlooking Jerusalem, when suddenly the wing of Satan darkens the sky.  That's what I thought of, when I saw this cloud.

Related post: Bright Wings Over Seoul

Two Smiles

Members of my unending lifetime project, "Avidya".

Once I was actually asked why I don't make more happy faces.  And someone else asked me why there are so few female faces.  I hadn't noticed.

Dreaming Lucid

UFO Over La Cienega Blvd., L.A.

I'd forgotten about this one.  From January, 2019.

It occurs to me that I've caught quite a few UFOs on camera over the years.  Are there many people who have had multiple encounters like me?  Perhaps I've been a member of an exclusive club all this time without realizing it..?!

Glove

I've Invented Two New Literary Devices

One is an aphorism, the other is an insult.

I think they're both pretty good, if I do say so myself.

The aphorism:

"Words - seeds of deeds"

The insult:

"My a$$hole is prettier than your face"

Another "Seen In A Seoul alley"

Wildfire III

 

Gull Checking Out Man Checking Out Gull

From another one of my many weekend excursions to Venice Beach.  I just happened to catch this gull as it flew by, inspecting me out of the corner of its eye. 

Errant Balloon

 

In A Somber Mood

Yet another image that reminds me of the "Isle of the Dead" paintings by Böcklin. 

Maximum Security Pigeons

 

How Appropriate

"The Covenant"

Related Post:  Another "How Appropriate"

"Train To Busan"

On a whim, I took a train ride to Busan.  I was rather surprised to see much of the city is quite hilly, almost like San Francisco;  I had naively expected it to be all flat, being a big port.  And some of the streetscape actually made me think of Japan, with all the crowding and the old vertical shop signs.  But then, Busan is at the southeastern tip of Korea, where it's the closest major city to Japan (it's common knowledge that the southeastern dialect of Korean sounds rather like Japanese in pitch-shape and accenting;  it could be due to the historical fact that in olden times this was the area where Japanese merchants were allowed to set up shop and do business - at least some of them must have settled for good, married and left progeny that spoke both languages).

Anyway, I had some time to kill before the return trip, and as chance would have it, there was a bus tour of the city that fit right into the schedule.  This shot was actually taken through the bus window as the vehicle wound around a cliff road.

Cold Air

Russian Orthodox Church Near Hollywood

I miss L.A.  I think I'll go back some day.

Huckleberry Gulls

FROM ONE OF MY MANY VISITS TO VENICE BEACH

"Yo' feets, dey sho' am big 'n flat."

"Hunh!  So am yo's!"

ANXIETY

Vanitas

"VANITY... ALL IS VANITY"

A Scold

LAST LIGHT OF THE DAY

Scaredy Fish

Believe it or not, that's an actual dirigible -- a funny-painted one -- in the far distance, accidentally juxtaposed with the scary dark tree just as I came along.

THE SINISTER DARK THINGS ALONG THE WAY

Nostalgia

FOR SOMETHING THAT NEVER WAS

Does anyone else ever feel like this?  Wistful, melancholy, and kinda sorta sad and longing for something, but not quite knowing what it is that you miss.  

In Korean folklore, a human being (and also our beloved pets like dogs and cats) is a star that came down from heaven and became embodied on Earth.  When the body dies we go back to the sky and take our place among the stars again.  You might say that when we feel a vague longing without knowing the cause, it's our soul longing for our old home in the heavens.

EDIT:  Someone told me that the musical style of Japanese composer Joe Hisaishi (born Mamoru Fujisawa), longtime collaborator of animation director Hayao Miyazaki, has been described as making one "nostalgic for things that never were".  Come to think, that description really does fit much of his music. 

Related post:  I-Witness: 2 Angels

Flower on the wing

I'm not normally much about conventionally "pretty" shots, but I have to admit this is a really, really pretty shot.  And all the more precious because it's, well, impossible to duplicate.  It's just one of those once-in-a-lifetime moments.