Dr. Filomena

Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.
~ Mark Twain

All different, all equal

A short video clip from the Cow Ball in Bohinj last weekend.
Enjoy.

A full report from the Cow Ball in Bohinj will follow, but here are a couple of photos to start with.

Some things are bound to change…

…but thankfully, some will always stay the same.

In my line of work (real estate agency and investments) I have the pleasure of meeting many interesting people from all walks of life. Each and every one of them has a story to tell and can make for entertaining company, but some are extra special. Yesterday, I was lucky enough to spend some time with Ugo Furlan, an Italian illustrator and multimedia artist. He does beautiful work with drawings used in anything from comic books to calendars and business gifts, but I was most impressed with his little foamy sculptures.

Above is an illustration from a ‘where and how to dine in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region’ book. A very rough translation of the waiter’s words to the customer: Menu? I don’t know that word, Madam. This is a restaurant, not a library, maam. Come on, just eat. Afterwards, you can read the bill.”

Like I said, I loved Ugo’s little hand-painted dolls made of a sort of a hard rubber combined with silicone, quickly frozen to produce the effect of special effects’ material used in movies. The one that really drew my attention was the little triceratops blowing his toenails dry after careful application of nail polish. It seemed completely unaware of the fact that its purpose in life was to serve as a book stopper and too cute for words. It wasn’t difficult to spot my enthusiasm and kind Ugo let me adopt the cutie pie after branding him with a proper autograph. I’m calling him… Bob 🙂 And no, I don’t think he’s going through a gender identity crisis. Back in the days, all triceratops, both boys and girls, kept two right-foot toenails nicely trimmed and painted red.

You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty.
-Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869-1948)

Spines may prevent enemy assault,
But make friendly hugs equally challenging.
(I took the photo of the above Eryngium two weeks ago in Croatia.)

He who would make his own liberty secure must guard even his enemy from oppression; for if he violates this duty he establishes a precedent that will reach to himself.
-Thomas Paine (1737-1809)

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. What may look like an ugly fly trying to end its miserable life in a glass of Shiraz to one person, may be a fascinating creature to another.

Similarly, sometimes the ugliest little worm may blossom into a conventional beauty. Case in point being this tiny thing photographed just a few hundred metres from the red-eyed fly. Apply a touch of make-up, a blue gown, add some butter and here’s what you get:

Oh what a tangled web we weave,
When first we practice to deceive.
(Sir Walter Scott)

Some graffitis embellish buildings, others are no more than vandalism. This one in Ljubljana is a bit of a word play. In Slovenian, “bi?” means “would you?”.

Would you?

This photo is dedicated to Morska
~hugs from dr. filomena~

This large Swallowtail butterfly (Papilio machaon) has several bits of its beautiful wings missing. The decor has already served its purpose by deceiving predators into attacking the wrong part of the insect.

Love of photography seems to run in our family. Here is a photo my “Aunt Vida” took of a burning tree during one of Etna’s moments of mischief. Vida has lived in Catania for the past 60+ years. More from her coming soon.