This photo’s been chillin’ on my desktop for awhile. It really illustrates my undying lust for chili. Taken during an overnighter on Mt. Tam a few years ago. That was a fun trip.

In a very rare occurrence, a 70 ft long blue whale washed ashore near Fort Bragg two days ago, with an 8 foot gash on its body. If elements were in my favor I would’ve driven up to see it in all its tragic but beautiful majesty. I just can’t get over how saturated and fake the blue looks. Its eye capsule is so fragile. Such an amazing creature to behold.

photos via AP

PS – I can’t even imagine what it would be like to photograph that

if you're a friend o' mind you'll know i'm batty for bats. so i want to share perhaps one of my alltime favorite images ever. thanks every so much to hell hell for introducing this to me. imagine, a zombie me in bed, rheumy-eyed while i groggily check my phone (it's my routine now), and this being the first thing i get in my email. what a great way to wake me up!

big props to anyone who can track down any information regarding this photo. i've tried a variety of google search terms but with no luck. hellen found it on this site but there's no backstory or context whatsoever.

i wish i were the guy holding this adorable creature.

ps – this picture inspired a silly theme for a series of drawings i’d like to do if i ever get the time

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one of my earliest flickr sets was dedicated to random magical moments with friends. not necessarily random per se, but meant as storage for photos that didn’t warrant their own set. i recently started one solely for 2009 in the same vein, since my original one was getting 600+ pix too heavy (it dates back to september 2005!).

flipping through the aforementioned old album is nuts on nostalgia. dang it if it ain’t a new and crazy sensation every time i look at pictures from the past! old hairstyles, clothes, apartments, relationships, etc. everything.

holidays, birthdays, halloween, parties, special occasions, NYE…celebrations like that were documented and had their own respective albums and therefore did not go into this random one.

here are some that i have exumed from the latter.

2006:

a freakin’ CLASSIC. this one’s for his great great grandkids

whale/shark watching at farallon islands. i got so incredibly seasick

that’s our boy

karuna looks so beijing

2007:

i think most everyone in this photo had just gotten their hair did by my roommate masha. enjoy this, cuz you’ll never see derek’s hair this short ever again

can you think of anything better? the only thing missing is a puppy and kitten

sis and i shared a great day in sunny sf

hellen had an uberbadass cut

one of many adventures

imprompty bbq at my place (one of those nice times where we could rally everyone together)

stockton, en route to a morrissey concert

project runway nights. this was probably our last

the day we saw beowulf

by william hundley. he’s a photographer who does interesting things with fabrics and people jumping beneath them, so that the end result looks like ghosts, but with whimsy. you probably saw his work already a year ago when boing boing wrote about it. i’m posting this photo just cuz it has a lovely impact on me. i love burgers, i love dogs. and i ESPECIALLY love wonderful, warm animal expressions. steve buscemi, anyone? for some reason, this photo reminds me of mike.

he’s an uneducated chinese farmer who accidentally burnt down his home and plunged his family into debt. but damnit he creates robots from scratch!

check out how creepy his robot is. do you like the moving eyes, flapping ears, and freaky weird rectum/cephalopod-esque mouth? i love that he’s wearing a hat and got the sweat rag draped around his shoulders. lastly, the wife is spicy, what with her sassy twilly action.

god i love china.

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two of the best xmas gifts in the world were bestowed upon lucky ol’ me last night…

(my new walking outfit!)

a fleece glow-in-the-dark dinosaur onesie. those elements by themselves are all wonderful things, but combined together into one entity, you get an extremely exciting and practical bundle.

fleece cuz that’s your number one ticket to keeping warm; a onesie that actually fits, since “adults” (if that’s what you want to call me) need to feel nurtured and comfy too; soles with grippy stars; and well, dinosaurs AND glow-in-the-dark pterodactyls?! ‘NUFF SAID. and bonus — body pillow! been talkin’ up the need for a body pillow for quiet some time, and apparently my gift-giver listens (or wants to escape the constant onslaught of my repetition). finally, i can sleep better, treat my back right, and spoon something (for the nights peg isn’t there).

behold: exemplary comfort and warmth!

pic by peg

thank you peg. these gifts RULE. i’m gonna make sure that at least the onesie stays in the family for generations to come.

ps – neva and jeff should prob get credit for tipping us off to this fine, fine piece of art in the first place

since my return, i’ve been thinking about how to give lip (text?) service to my incredible travels in taiwan without resorting to my usual laborious and long-winded approach of breaking things down day by day. it’s just boring for all parties involved.

so maybe an okay strategy is to craft a lazy travelogue based on themes…

that said, here are photos of fun, big things. i know, what a specific, categorical assignment, huh?

definitely a highlight of the trip is popping my mister donut cherry. peg has enthusiastically championed this japanese chain since her japan trip a few years ago. there are a whole bunch in taiwan, and i wonder when it’ll land in the states. think krispy kreme but with a strong, stylish, clever brand and donuts that are a million times better and perfect (i apologize for the obvious analogy)

here i am with wasabi. it’s quite fitting. can you imagine if it was real?! we were in alishan national forest, in a region known for its wasabi and tea, amongst other natural resource goodies. it was a magical place, almost like something out of spirited away

this is the national museum of marine biology and aquarium. i really loved it. well done, classy, organized, with at least one cool restaurant. this is where i saw the whale shark (YES YES YES) and beluga. here’s a cool fountain that kids could play in. the huge whales reminded me a bit of pinocchio

the kiddie playground had these awesome sculptures of some of my fave animals, so of course i forced my sister to snap away!

you’ll probably never see me revealing this much ghostly pallored skin ever in person, but i’m a sloppy lazy tourist when it comes to dressing like i care (comfort comes first and taiwan is humid!)

at taroko gorge (home of endless marble and granite), large bronze sculptures of mecha-like insects? yes! i must…

(the more i look at these pix the more i realize how mortified i am with my bad travel outfits. oh well)

this is somewhere on the way to taitung. all along the road were stalls and shops selling this one fruit — the sugar apple — apparently a point of pride and specialty in the area. we stopped at one place, and it was cute how everyone was marveling at the bushels of sugar apples. if you’re wondering, it tastes like all the great things about great fruits, with a creamy texture. very good. if you’ve had cherimoya/custard apples (which are available here), they’re similar

did you know skeletor has a timeshare in taiwan? who knew?! this was in a beach resort-ish area, facing the ocean

that’s it for now. thanks for reading!

tan and steve sample a peculiar dish in seoul (tan was visiting, and steve moved there for school). looks like they’re at a street stand. pretty cray cray! i have so many questions for them…