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Posts Tagged ‘dragonfly’

Happy 2010

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged Artists Wanted, dragonfly, Eustace Tilley contest, mushroom illustration, New Yorker, Russula, self-portrait on January 20, 2010 | Leave a Comment »

So far this year, the first 20 days of 2010, has been crazy. In my world it is calm, but for Haiti, and those with friends and family in Haiti, it seems like hell. Hopefully by now you’ve donated and donated again to reputable relief agencies and organizations. And also hopefully, you’ve realized how good you have it.

I was reminded again of how good I have it, how much I take for granted, how much people have fought, bled and died for me, through non-violent means of challenging oppression and discrimination. This Martin Luther King Jr. day we went to Brooklyn Academy of Music where there are all day events to mark the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. and saw Soundtrack for a Revolution. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. Then took a long walk in the sun thinking and talking about things.

Anyhow, what’s up? It’s 2010 and I’m still jobless.

I entered 2 art contests, both entries of which are mushroom-related. First, was the New Yorker magazine’s contest where anybody can enter their rendition of Eustace Tilley, the “iconic dandy”, that first appeared on the magazine’s cover in 1925. Guidelines are open, interpretations are broad, anybody can enter online for free. Deadline is today. Do it now if you haven’t already. No prizes, just publication in the magazine if you’re amongst the top 10 selected in the contest.

Here is my entry:

Morning Dew, watercolor painting, my entry for the New Yorker 2010 Eustace Tilley contest

Of which you can comment on here, Morning Dew.

I also submitted photos for Artists Wanted‘s call for entries on The Power of Self, self-portraiture defined widely, also due today. There are 2 prizes attached, one of which is the People’s Choice award ($1,000) so if you have the inclination to vote, please do! I wish there was a way to browse all entries so one could vote what one thinks is best, but alas, it is more of a popularity and word-of-mouth contest and I haven’t gotten the word out yet. I admit I’m a little shy on that, so here’s my big push:

VOTE FOR MY ENTRY! PLEASE!

Thank you for voting! And then there’s the judged competition to win $7,007 or 6 months free in one of those shiny glassy new condos in Williamsburg. I’m vying for the $7,007! One of the judges is Steve Buscemi.

Oh and I won this contest by BBC America so I’m feeling lucky. The Young Ones dvd collection arrived in the mail yesterday.

So that’s it for now until laters!

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Animals

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged animals, cat, cicada, critters, dragonfly, grasshopper, praying mantis, snake, Taiwan, Tokyo on December 12, 2009 | Leave a Comment »


I think this is my last post on Asia for this year. Thanks for bearing with me as I catch up. A note on picture taking: the camera I am using is a point and shoot, Canon PowerShot A470. It was about $115. I leave it on manual and only use supermacro. That’s all I do. I don’t really know how to work a camera more than point and shoot. For mushroom undersides, I slide the camera under the mushroom cap and push the button. I don’t look at what I’m taking because I can’t get down that low for those shots. Anyhow, I love animals. Animals are my first love. So as I look for mushrooms, I’m also keeping an eye out for animals. These are few of animal pictures from Japan and Taiwan. Not enough critter pictures as there are mushrooms. They’re more elusive in the urban space and they flee and hide so one would need a better camera than what I got. Mushrooms stay pretty still so I don’t need more than a snap and shoot to get up close to them. These photos below are from Tokyo and Taiwan. We spent 2 amazing weeks in Taiwan up and down the west coast of the country being with extended family and being on our own. Taiwan is the shit. It’s amazing. It’s independent and should stay that way.

: This cicada dropped outta the tree in Koishigawa Botanical Garden. its wings all askew, it beat them frantically only to turn itself upside down. Tanna japonensis, called higurashi in japanese. the cicada sounds are deafening and delightful.

: bug on bug action

: cicada skin

: Hemiptera, true bug?

: Jeez get a room! on the side of a busy highway across the street from the Grand Hotel in Taipei. We did a 15 mile walk through the city.

: Asian giant hornet, Vespa mandarinia. World’s largest hornet, this thing will F* you up. Taipei, Taiwan but I also saw these in Tokyo CHASING BUTTERFLIES. I didn’t know how vicious these things were until reading about it. Here I am attempting to do the photo thing where I’m behind the subject like the photo at the top of this post. Phil was like, are you sure? Good thing I didn’t do it, this was as close as I got to it. Apparently it’s got a really bad, at times fatal, sting. It’s that bad.

: Asian giant hornet, Vespa mandarinia feasting on a squashed lychee.

: Phil Kaffen took this photo. a good sized snake that found itself on the edge of a very busy sidewalk in tokyo. it mighta fell out of a tree. someone who felt more comfortable about snakes and knowledgeable about what it was coulda probably gently grabbed it safely and put it back in the bushes. but security was called and then came in on bikes with some sweepers to hopefully put it back into the foliage. after that I started looking out for snakes on the sidewalks of tokyo.

: Phil Kaffen took this photo of a red dragonfly in Kaoshiung, Taiwan.

: big ass grasshopper, blurry, sorry, at Keelung Mountain, Taiwan

this giant dragonfly is in a previous post but wanted to bring it back for the animal section here because it is seriously the biggest dragonfly I'd ever seen. It was enormous!

this baby praying mantis was in the National Park for Nature Study, Tokyo Japan.

And finally, this last photo was taken by Phil Kaffen. I just love it. Lots of stray cats in Tokyo. Lots of stray dogs in Taiwan.

a very vocal cat. this cat just kept talking! photo by Phil Kaffen.

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National Park for Nature Study in Shinagawa-Ku

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged Amanita, artist's conk, boletes, boletus, Coltricia cinnamomea, Coprinus plicatilis, dragonfly, Earth tongue, Ganoderma australe, Ganoderma lucidum, Golden Waxy Cap, Helvella macropus, Hygrocybe flavescens, Japanese Umbrella Inky, mushrooms, National Park for Nature Study, Shinagawa-Ku, Shiny Cinnamon Polypore on December 11, 2009 | Leave a Comment »

a monument of a mushroom in a very small park

In late June 2009, the next park I went to in Tokyo was the National Park for Nature Study in Shinagawa-Ku near the Meguro station. To call this park such a name is pushing it a bit. It’s pretty small and tight and like the others, quite cultivated and manicured, but boy was there a variety of mushrooms, some strange ones at that, in such a small acreage. I was walking step by step with my eyes to the ground looking for these treasures which was kinda funny because there were so many people trying to walk the winding tight path that I was creeping along on slowly. Here are some photos of the mushrooms at this park. Click on whatever you want to see bigger.

: I have no clue, National Park for Nature Study, Shinagawa-Ku, Tokyo Japan, late June 2009

: Ganoderma lucidum?, Ling Chih? Shinagawa-Ku, Tokyo Japan, late June 2009

: some kinda Amanita with a really nice cup!

: I have no clue

: I have no clue but it’s a big beautiful mushroom with a white fringy margine

: close up of the one before

: some kind of Earth tongue? gosh I have no idea what it is but it’s cool looking

: these cups might be Helvella macropus. but I don’t know. they were all over but easy to miss.

: close up of these cups (Helvella macropus?)

: so look at this boletus-looking thing! in a city park!

: little brown-grey mushrooms, no clue what they are

: close up of little brown-grey mushrooms, no clue what they are

: whoa! thick conk, is it an artist’s conk?

: this thing was huge, spanned a few feet across on the ground. i think Ganoderma australe?!

: Japanese Umbrella Inky?, Coprinus plicatilis? not sure, but delicate and cute

: strange tubular fungus thingies

: there’s that dark red/brown mushroom again

: look! is this another boletus-like thing in the city park? unbelievable

: whoa, I do believe this is a fungus. looks like styrofoam or insulation.

: big amazing mushroom with a sweeping skirt! some kind of Agaricus?

: big mushroom coming out of the concrete!

: whoa what the heck? is this another kind of Earth tongue? I have no idea but they’re intriguing.

: my guess is that this is Coltreia something. Maybe Coltricia cinnamomea, Shiny Cinnamon Polypore.

Okay, these are some of my favorites from this park:

This is the Ganoderma lucidum?, Ling Chih?. It is also called Reishi. If this mushroom is indeed that, it is brewed as Chinese and Japanese medicinal tea for longevity. I happen to be drinking some right now. Thought I'd give it a try, y'know.

This dragonfly was the biggest dragonfly I'd ever seen.

I love this pose of the Japanese Umbrella Inky, Coprinus plicatilis, if that is indeed what it is. Like I said, I love inky caps.

Golden Waxy Cap, Hygrocybe flavescens. This was a small little golden nugget of a mushroom!

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let's deliquesce

peeking up the undersides of mushrooms, rooting around the fringes of your yard. these and other things, with illustrations and photos.

Posts Tagged ‘dragonfly’

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