(Goma, DRC)

(Vicenza)

(London, UK)

(Tokyo, Japan)

Firefly symphony

There were thousands.  By the time I got my camera and returned to the spot, the chorus had already peaked and the flies were higher in the trees, drifting towards the moon.   If you could see them blinking, you'd notice distinctive rhythmic patterns exhibited by different groups, and the patterns were performed in exact unison with each other-- it really felt like witnessing a mysterious sacred concert, and we were surrounded in it.  My dad, an entomologist, says this dirt road is one of the best and most active firefly spots he's ever seen, and that the planned development for this area should make efforts at reducing light pollution and maintaining as much of an undisturbed buffer as possible -- or this will be lost.

(end of Penobscot Street, Orono, Maine)

(Paris, France)

Covered up

 Sometimes our island's street art is covered up by confused (unappreciative?) locals, producing a different kind of art altogether.  Rather Rothko-esque, aren't they?

(San Juan, Puerto Rico)

Marks

It's fun to think about the story behind these paint marks.  Purely accidents?  Unlikely on Miles Island (as you know by now).  A paint delivery man with poor depth perception and in need of a new pair of glasses?  A mischievous kid set let loose on the town with a brush and a mission?  An abstract master in exile leaving a secret trail to their hidden abode?   All of the above? 

(San Juan, Puerto Rico)

Stik Door

 

If I had to live in a city, I would like to live at an address like 517A.  Or at least I'd like my door to look like this.  Can you imagine what's behind the door?  And how fun it is to duck into or emerge from that stick leg.  Hmmmm...  Anyhow, Stik is a street artist on the island.  His works brighten, provoke, humor, insinuate, and lively up the city.  He was homeless in 2011 and is now doing his best to raise awareness and promote integration and homeless empowerment.   You can find more of his work here and here.