STUDY of SEX and DEATH

"Study of Sex and Death (Window Web)" by Troy's Work Table. Carport chalking for Friday 30 September 2016.

Sidewalk chalk and charcoal.

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One evening this past week, our dinner "entertainment" was watching a male cross orbweaver spider attempt to court a much larger female. She spurned his advances. He would tug on a line leading to the center of her web and she would eventually cut it away so that he couldn't "call" her. Or she would charge him and he would drop a foot or so down and crawl back up and start "calling" again. Or she would half-heartedly charge him and then retreat to the center of her web once more. We never got to see the conclusion: mating, followed by the male likely being eaten. But we did get to see the beauty (and accompanying horror) of nature on display, as these two arachnids lived their lives as thousands upon thousands of generations before them.

CROSS ORBWEAVER

The cross orbweaver spiders are out and about!

DANCE of the TARDIGRADES

"Dance of the Tardigrades" by Troy's Work Table. Carport chalking for Friday 23 September 2016.

Sidewalk chalk, charcoal, and chalk pastels.

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This is actually one of the little-known dances from Tchaikovsky's first draft of The Nutcracker.

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This piece was inspired by reading about these fascinating creatures and their ability to survive extreme conditions better than most other creatures.

 

THE BOX of WRITING

I'm organizing in the home library and come upon "the box of writing." I pull out a hefty folder labeled "2000s" and begin to dig through it. It is filled with poems and drafts of poems; beer tasting notes; shot descriptions of the movies Lost in Translation and Punch-Drunk Love, as well as the times that these scenes appear on each DVD as they are played; reading notes of various books; ruminations on religion, politics, and cultural issues; letters; to do lists; and much more.

Before the "2000s" folder, there are folders for the "1990s" and various college courses in film and literature. After the "2000s" folder, there are individual folders for "2009," "2010," "2011," and "2012." It appears that I have some additional exploring to do.

DESCHUTES HOPZEIT

Deschutes Brewery continues to fascinate and intrigue me with its stellar selection of beers—a solid stable of year-round beer and seasonal brews to which it has recently added to in abundance. And it has done so without sacrificing quality.

Here is one of the new seasonals, and easily a new favorite beer for me...

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Hopzeit Autumn IPA, an American IPA by Deschutes Brewery.

12 ounce bottle served in shaker glass.

7.0% abv.

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The pour is a clear golden-orange, capped with a finger-thick off-white head.

The nose is fruity—more so than I expected, primarily because of the "IPA" of its name.

The tongue is a bit of unsalted pretzel (or perhaps lightly salted pretzel) + caramel + a light spicy bite in the middle + some light hoppy bitterness and fruit notes. The latter are mostly a light citrus flavor and some hint of melons (honeydew? musk?).

The mouthfeel is medium, with a slight bite.

This is subtler than I expected, likely due to the "IPA" that I keep expecting. The "IPA" is there, in subdued form, as is the "Autumn." It really is a best of both worlds.

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This really is more Märzen/Oktoberfest than IPA for me, but less watery and weak than many of the former that I've encountered over the years. It reminds me a bit of my "gateway" beer, Paulaner Oktoberfest Märzen Amber, which makes it an even better drinking experience for me.

This is an excellent all-around beer that will pair well with most everything. I need to stock up!

NEXT GENERATION

"Next Generation" by Troy's Work Table. Carport chalking for Friday 16 September 2016.

Sidewalk chalk, charcoal, and chalk pastels on concrete.

Fauvist-flavored rendering of house centipede, inspired by my coworker's "nightmare."

METAL HEN

This old Polish hen is more metal than you!

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At the Washington State Fair on Friday 09 September 2016.

POP JAPETELLA

"POP Japetella" by Troy's Work Table. Carport chalk art for Friday 09 September 2016.

Sidewalk chalk, charcoal, and chalk pastels on concrete.

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A pop-art-flavored version of Japetella diaphana was in order, since I've been sketching, drawing, and chalking various versions of this small cephalopod.

COPRA 27

I am not a fan of most comics, especially those of the superhero variety, and especially those from the big publishing houses (DC, Marvel, Image). But I love the titles and/or strips that favor the weird, the independent, the lone creator, and are obvious passion projects. Anything by Charles Burn. The dream imagery of Jim Woodring. The individual panels of Matt Kish. Hark, a Vagrant by Kate Beaton. The large-headed tiny caricatures of Ivan Brunetti. The miniature scenes of Sergio Aragones. The illustrations for Archy & Mehitabel by George Herriman (Krazy Kat). And now, even though I am rather late to the party, COPRA by Michel Fiffe.

This is issue 27 and both the storyline and art are wonderful. Fiffe's work is a love letter to comics and illustration that is a great serial artwork in its own right.

GHOST CHICKEN

Ghost chicken materializes at the Washington State Fair in Puyallup.