Membracidae

Although this may look like a thrown away, trampled piece of gum photographed from up close in the shrubs, it is in fact an insect. A member of the family Membracidae (or Treehoppers or Thorn bugs), to be more precise. Their surreal looks have a camouflage purpose and their remarkable outgrowths discourages predators to eat them. There are 3200 known species in over 600 genera -all over the globe except for Antarctica- and these creatures are the Lady Gaga('s) of the animal kingdom;
Sources and photo's: Wikipedia, Why Evolution is True, and this wonderful PDF with many more photo's. First photo; Cladonata Benitezi (Male).

Ceresa Taurina

Heteronotus Maculatus

Umbelligerus Peruviensis

Heteronotus Delineatus

Enchophyllum cruentatum

Bocydium Globulare

And this moustachioed cutie is a larvae of Anchistrotus.

Below some drawings of Membracidae, found on the Italian Wiki page;

Curious Photographs Of People I Don't Know

Ah, old photographs... Part of me thinks it's kind of sad, those abandoned old snapshots of people and places that once were important to somebody but the other, say 99 percent of me, feels sheer joy when I find a pile of old pictures for sale! Boring landscapes, awkward family moments, unwilling pets and/or/with little kids; it's all gold to me. They just breathe stories. Some examples;
First photo, above; Man on the porch of the Wichita Fertilizer Inc. warehouse -or at least, so sez the sign- posing with two black cats. Lucky shot or two very chilled out cats, by the El Noodles standard. (Or... fertilizer fumes=mellow cats?).

A girls choir reunion? The annual hydrangea breeders meeting? The real Pink Ladies?

Those pale birches and black pine trees in the background, the bold looking car and the fence/bridge railing makes my cinematic heart beat faster; is this an innocent photo of a couple on a day trip or is it the last photo before something tragic happens? Those trees whisper the latter, I think.


Composition and subject wise I find this photo very intriguing. The contrast is wonderful and balanced and I love the (unintentional?) movement-blur and the aware/unawareness of the (costumed) people being portrayed.
'Sauda, Norway, May 17th, 1957' reads the back of the photo. More precisely; on the 'Syttende Mai', Norway celebrates Constitution Day and people wear a traditional costume called the 'Bunad', on the photo worn by the two ladies in the middle/right.

'Tom took a walk...-unreadable text-, Dec. 65'. To me it feels like everything is cut out of cardboard on this photo.

This one will be high on my Most Curious Photographs list. It is the mix of awkwardness that makes this photo stand out; the blond youngster with the Bieber haircut and the 'like I care'-attitude, the older guy on the stairs and the childish way he sits, the camera viewing point that makes the stairs guy look like a midget or garden gnome at first glance and the orderly categorized plants in the garden.

The Bone Shaped Bone, The Final Chapter

Seattle. City of The Needle, good food, nice people and crowded and exhilarating (and sold out) exhibition opening nights! Thanks to all the visitors who came by Friday 12th to see the new works of the 'The Bone Shaped Bone' show at Roq la Rue Gallery -I enjoyed the evening immensely. Thanks to all my colleagues -great to talk to you in person. And a special thanks to Kirsten, owner of the Roq la Rue gallery, who made it all work once again. Hooray and thrice hooray!

BTW, I was busy as a bee Friday night the 12th and I did not make one photo of the opening night. If you have a nice one to share, let me know!

Above and below, some snapshots of my visit.
First photo; skyline of the Seattle harbour. (Click photo to enlarge).

Roq's fine vintage neighbour; Damaged Goods! For all your old school vinyl, clothing, posters and other bric-à-brac's.

Photo right; Photo doors at the hotel. Wished my room was the pineapple room...

The diva shot. (L to R; me, Kirsten, Jane). With three different hair colours we look like a shampoo ad. (Photo by Jane).

L to R; Jane (who came over from Reno to see the show!), myself, Ryan Heshka and Kirsten of Roq la Rue. We went for a nice pancake breakfast at Cyclops. (Photo by Jane).

The art place to be; Roq la Rue. (Click photo to enlarge).

(Photo by Jane).

A detail of 'The Quiet Battle' and on the right; 'The Sea Queen', by fellow Roq artist Ryan Heshka.

Fremont= cool market, cute shops and lot's of vintage sweetness. And Lenin. Of course.

Roq Show Sneak Peek, #4

Amsterdam, November 2010; my garden blanketed in moist yellow leaves, my floor spotted with muddy cat paw prints, those tacky blue Christmas ornaments adorn the shop fronts in the neighbourhood again, Noodles delivered me a red-eyed white mouse as a beautiful yet questionable gift, I'm sneezing my head off but luckily my flu has passed, slowly restoring the balance of my house from a 100% work shed to the live-work space it originally was and I'm getting more and more ready for my visit to Seattle's finest next week.

This will be my last post for now, people. Above the last sneak-peek-in-progress-detail you're going to get out of my pencil smudged fingers; it's a drawing entitled 'Footpad Felids'.
All you non-Seattleites can view the works online just before the show starts. But when you're in Belltown this Friday it's much nicer to see the works in person at the opening night. ...Drop by! It'll be worth the trip!

'The Bone Shaped Bone' new work by Femke Hiemstra & 'Super Things' new work by Ryan Heshka, at Roq la Rue Gallery, Seattle, WA, USA. Opening night: November 12, 6-9 pm. The show runs to December 4, 2010.