Complexity photos on Flickr

13 70

Czech Republic - Prague

----

...it's me I can't find

54 93

Anemone Coronaria - Poppy Anemone 'Mr. Fokker' (Common Name - Grecian Windflower). I think I have the right name for this finally!

Explore 21.04.08 (461)

Jupiter's Southern Lights by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center

88

The complexity and richness of Jupiter's "southern lights" (also known as auroras) are on display in this animation of false-color maps from NASA's Juno spacecraft. Auroras result when energetic electrons from the magnetosphere crash into the molecular hydrogen in the Jovian upper atmosphere. The data for this animation were obtained by Juno's Ultraviolet Spectrograph.

The images are centered on the south pole and extend to latitudes of 50 degrees south. Each frame of the animation includes data from 30 consecutive Juno spins (about 15 minutes), just after the spacecraft's fifth close approach to Jupiter on February 2, 2017. The eight frames of the animation cover the period from 13:40 to 15:40 UTC at Juno. During that time, the spacecraft was receding from 35,000 miles to 153,900 miles (56,300 kilometers to 247,600 kilometers) above the aurora; this large change in distance accounts for the increasing fuzziness of the features.

Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI

最新のお知らせ。

以下の僕のTシャツ。無料配布。

コロナの影響で、運送方法は国によって変わります。

1/25

一人目が決まりました。

それはドイツの人です。

m.flickr.com/photos/ute_kluge/favorites/

僕は心から感謝します。ありがとう。

:)

２０２０年１２月３日。発送しました。

船便です。２ヶ月から３ヶ月を要します。

2/25

二人目はタイの女性です。

youpic.com/photographer/Abbozzo/

僕は彼女へ受け取って欲しいとお願いしました。

:)

２０２０年１２月１０日。発送しました。

船便です。２ヶ月から３ヶ月を要します。

3/25

3人目はメキシコの女性です。

www.facebook.com/OvejaDeSion

彼女はfotologの頃からずっと僕を支えてくれました。

彼女は僕の道案内をしてくれました。

ありがとう。

:)

２０２０年１２月１０日発送しました。

EMSです。たぶん１ヶ月から２ヶ月以内で到着します。

4/25

4人目は、セルビア共和国の女性です。

youpic.com/photographer/IvanaPopov/

２０２０年１２月１４日発送しました。

船便です。たぶん２ヶ月から３ヶ月以内で到着します。

:)

5/25

５人目は、インドネシアの男性です。

www.flickr.com/photos/33836533@N04/

２０２０年１２月２４日。発送しました。

EMSです。たぶん１ヶ月から２ヶ月以内で到着します。

１月８日。到着しました。

6/25

6人目は、フランスの方です。

youpic.com/image/18158054/ombre-chinoise-by-ce-pe

www.flickr.com/photos/191604817@N04/

２０２１年１月７日。

僕は発送しました。

:)

7/25

7人目も、フランスの方です。

www.flickr.com/photos/151630891@N07/

www.flickr.com/people/liveworkcreate/

２０２１年１月７日。

僕は発送しました。

:)

8/25

８人目の方はルーマニアの方です。

www.flickr.com/photos/63mr/

2021年１月中に発送します。

:)

9/25

9人目は日本の方です。16歳です。

www.instagram.com/kai.kawazu/

受賞歴

2017 小国町フォトコンテスト2部門

2018 EPSONmeet up selectionデータ部門優秀賞

2020 熊本高文連前期写真コンテスト優秀賞

Webフォトコンテスト協賛メーカー賞

10/25

10人目は、ブラジルの方です。

www.flickr.com/photos/mangelo/

２０２１年２月中に発送します。

:)

11/25

11人目は、アメリカの方です。

youpic.com/photographer/HeathBrunner/

www.flickr.com/photos/181948650@N04/

vmaxrecords.bandcamp.com

soundcloud.com/vmaxrecords

２０２１年２月中に発送します。

:)

12/25

12人目は、イタリアの方です。

www.flickr.com/photos/122700703@N05/

youpic.com/photographer/raffadepa2019/

cacciatoredisogniblog.wordpress.com

２０２１年２月中に発送します。

13/25

13人目は、ロシアの方です。

www.flickr.com/photos/183731920@N08/

youpic.com/photographer/Andjey/

２０２１年３月中に発送します。

14/25

14人目は、フィリピンの方です。

www.flickr.com/photos/44681455@N00/

youpic.com/photographer/Stitch/

２０２１年１１月１１日に発送しました。

Mitsu.

_________________________________

” Lot No.402_ ” に関するお知らせ。

今後、僕は、” Lot No.402_ ”を主催します。

このロットナンバーは、眠っていたレオナルドダヴィンチの作品がオークションにかけらた際に付されたものです。

作品にはサインなどがいっさい記されていなかったため、彼の作品だと断定できませんでした。

しかし、様々な鑑定の結果、陽の光を浴びました。

誰にも気づかれない作品。肩書がなくとも静かに語りかける作品。

僕はこれから様々な形で、多くの皆様に提供できるよう努めてゆきます。

2020年10月24日 by Mitsu - Nakagawa.

_________________________________

プロフィール

2014年11月、たった1機種で世界を塗り替えた携帯電話の広告を請け負った選考者の目に留まり、秘密保持同意書を結ぶ。

drive.google.com/drive/folders/1vBRMWGk29EmsoBV2o9NM1LIVi...

_________________________________

インタビューと小説。

僕の本について。

僕は、昔に本を出版しました。

その際に、僕のインタビューをPDFでネット上へアップロードしていました。

その日本語と英語。

僕は、無料でを公開します。

詳細は、アマゾンのサイトへ解説しました。

小説の書き方。

写真の撮影方法。

作品への距離感。

これらはすべて共通項があります。

僕は、僕が感じたことを文章にして、残しました。

僕のテキストが多くの人に読んでもらえることを望みます。

ありがとう。

Mitsushiro.

drive.google.com/drive/folders/1vBRMWGk29EmsoBV2o9NM1LIVi...

１　インタビュー　英語版

２　小説。unforgettable’ 英語版。

３　インタビュー　日本語版

４　小説。unforgettable’ 日本語版。(この小説は未来のアーティストへ捧げます)

(四百字詰め原稿用紙４５６枚)

　あらすじ

　大学を目指している北見ケイは、SNS上で、6歳年上のイベントコンパニオン、上村香織に出会う。

　上京してきた香織の夢は、有名なアーティストの友達になるためだ。

　そのためにはラジオ局のプロデューサー、大沢亮の存在が必要だった。

　大沢は、ラジオの生放送中、香織へ語りかける。

　「僕には妻子がある。しかし、僕は君に会いたいと思っている」

　ケイの同級生で、彼を想っている三條里香は、香織の動向を探っていた。。。。。

本編

人が海へ向かう理由には、二つある。

　ひとつは、波打ち際ではしゃぐ子供のように、今の瞬間の海の輝きを楽しむこと。

　もうひとつは、その輝きを静かに見据えて、過ぎ去った日々を懐かしむ老人のように記憶の埃を払うこと。

　二つは重なり合わないようではあるけれども、たったひとつの意味しか生まない。

　再生だ。

　明日っていう、曖昧な日を確実なものへと変えてゆくために、自分の存在に向き合う。

　それが再生の意味だ。

　十八歳だった僕には大切な人がいた。

drive.google.com/drive/folders/1vBRMWGk29EmsoBV2o9NM1LIVi...

５　流線形の軌跡。　日本語のみ。

drive.google.com/drive/folders/1vBRMWGk29EmsoBV2o9NM1LIVi...

_________________________________

iBooks.電子出版。（現在は無料）

0.about the iBooks.

drive.google.com/drive/folders/1vBRMWGk29EmsoBV2o9NM1LIVi...

1.unforgettable’ ( ENG.ver.)(This book is Dedicated to the future artist.)

itunes.apple.com/us/book/unforgettable/id1216576828?ls=1&...

For Japanese only.

2.unforgettable’ ( JNP.ver.)(この小説は未来のアーティストへ捧げます)

itunes.apple.com/us/book/unforgettable/id1216584262?ls=1&...

3.流線形の軌跡。

itunes.apple.com/us/book/%E6%B5%81%E7%B7%9A%E5%BD%A2%E3%8...

_________________________________

僕の小説。英語版　

My Novel Unforgettable' (This book is Dedicated to the future artist.)

Mitsushiro Nakagawa

All Translated by Yumi Ikeda .

www.fotolog.net/yuming/

1/9

www.flickr.com/photos/stealaway/24577016535/in/dateposted...

2/9

www.flickr.com/photos/stealaway/24209330259/in/dateposted...

3/9

www.flickr.com/photos/stealaway/23975215274/in/dateposted...

4/9

www.flickr.com/photos/stealaway/24515964952/in/dateposted...

5/9

www.flickr.com/photos/stealaway/24276473749/in/dateposted...

6/9

www.flickr.com/photos/stealaway/24548895082/in/dateposted...

7/9

www.flickr.com/photos/stealaway/24594603711/in/dateposted...

8/9

www.flickr.com/photos/stealaway/24588215562/in/dateposted...

9/9

www.flickr.com/photos/stealaway/24100804163/in/dateposted...

Fin.

images.

U2 - No Line On The Horizon Live in Dublin

www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oKwnkYFsiE&feature=related

_________________________________

Title of my book : unforgettable'

Author : Mitsushiro Nakagawa

Out Now.

ISBN978-4-86264-866-2

in Amazon.

www.amazon.co.jp/Unforgettable’-Mitsushiro-Nakagawa/dp/...

_________________________________

次の小説の予定。

Still would stand all time.(unforgettable'2)

（いつまでもなくならないだろう）

もう少し時間をください。それは日本語です。

_________________________________

２０２３年の展示。

テーマ。

Turing back the time.

場所は、以下のいずれかを予定。

１

DIC川村記念美術館　第１付属ギャラリー。

kawamura-museum.dic.co.jp/

２

東京ビッグサイト。

www.bigsight.jp/

Sponsoring. Design festa.

designfesta.com/

images.

ONE OK ROCK … Heartache

youtu.be/bCIQiTrRMog

_________________________________

僕の作品。

1 www.flickr.com/photos/stealaway/48072442376/in/dateposted...

2 www.flickr.com/photos/stealaway/48078949821/in/dateposted...

3 www.flickr.com/photos/stealaway/48085863356/in/dateposted...

_________________________________

あなたは僕の声を聞きたいですか？

:)

youtu.be/b1o6Xf-Mjhw

1

フリッカーへ投稿した写真の構図について。１種類目。

youtu.be/b1o6Xf-Mjhw

2

フリッカーへ投稿した写真の構図について。２種類目。

youtu.be/b1o6Xf-Mjhw?t=443

3

Fotologを始めた時について。建築家の視点。

youtu.be/b1o6Xf-Mjhw?t=649

4

なぜ、今までカメラを手にしなかったのか？

youtu.be/b1o6Xf-Mjhw?t=708

5

何が一番かっこいいのか？　写真はありのままに。

youtu.be/b1o6Xf-Mjhw?t=776

6

現在のユーチューバーについて。僕も伝え、残したい。

youtu.be/b1o6Xf-Mjhw?t=964

7

日本人の写真家について。日本のユーチューバーはピストルズ。

youtu.be/b1o6Xf-Mjhw?t=1059

8

写真の構図は、感性。ミラノのデザイナーに会って。二つの質問。

youtu.be/b1o6Xf-Mjhw?t=1242

9

良い構図とは？　悪い構図とは？

youtu.be/b1o6Xf-Mjhw?t=1482

10

カメラを向ける時とは？　ファインダーやディスプレイを覗いていては遅い。

youtu.be/b1o6Xf-Mjhw?t=1662

11

家族写真。他人では撮れない。被写体の内面。

youtu.be/b1o6Xf-Mjhw?t=1745

12

ユーチューブの写真家について。カメラの技術等。感性は、本を読むことで磨く。

youtu.be/b1o6Xf-Mjhw?t=2144

13

日本の新聞について。良い新聞の写真はロイター。ダメな写真を見続けるとダメになる。

youtu.be/b1o6Xf-Mjhw?t=2305

14

日本の写真家について。その展示について。

まとめ。僕が書いた小説など。僕が最も伝えたいこと。

youtu.be/b1o6Xf-Mjhw?t=2579

_________________________________

作品制作について 1/2

youtu.be/ZFjqUJn74kM

作品制作について 2/2

youtu.be/pZIbXmnXuCw

１　それまでの写真展。自分は行きたいと思ったか？

２　じゃ、自分が足を運んででも行きたい展示とは何か？

３　原宿デザインフェスタで個展を開くまでに、毎月ひとつの作品を展示することにチャレンジ。

４　作品とは、素材とシルエット。ファッションと似ている。

５　自分が好きなアーティストは誰か？　どんなものなのか？　そこをはっきりさせる。

６　コラージュの作成も写真の撮り方と全く同じ。インタビューに書いたように小説の書き方とも同じ。

７　誰かに見せたい、見せるがために作品は作らない。写真と同じように自分の部屋に飾りたい作品を目指す。

８　パクリとは何か？　昨今、叩かれるパクリ疑惑。ミメーシスとは？

　　https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/ミメーシス

　　https://kotobank.jp/word/ミメーシス-139464

９　個性とはなにか？　オリジナリティってなに？

おまけ　眞子さまについて

という流れです。

お時間がある方は是非聴いてください。

:)

www.youtube.com/user/mitsushiro/

_________________________________

構図の解説２

1.構図の解説２ ... 1/4

2.構図の解説２ ... 2/4

3.構図の解説２ ... 3/4

4.構図の解説２ ... 4/4

_________________________________

僕のシャッター感覚

youtu.be/3JkbGiFLjAM

In the Eurostar to Venice . 2005. shot ... 1 / 2

www.flickr.com/photos/stealaway/49127115021/in/dateposted...

_________________________________

Miles Davis sheet 1955-1976.

drive.google.com/drive/folders/1vBRMWGk29EmsoBV2o9NM1LIVi...

_________________________________

flickr.

www.flickr.com/photos/stealaway/

_________________________________

YouTube.

www.youtube.com/user/mitsushiro/

_________________________________

instagram.

www.instagram.com/mitsushiro_nakagawa/

_________________________________

Pinterest.

www.pinterest.jp/MitsushiroNakagawa/

_________________________________

YouPic

youpic.com/photographer/mitsushironakagawa/

_________________________________

fotolog

www.fotolog.com/stealaway/

_________________________________

twitter.

twitter.com/mitsushiro

_________________________________

facebook.

www.facebook.com/mitsushiro.nakagawa

_________________________________

Amazon.

www.amazon.co.jp/gp/profile/amzn1.account.AHSKI3YMYPYE5UE...

_________________________________

僕の統計。（2021年5月11日現在）

youtu.be/UpezrGm4HYA

_________________________________

Japanese is the following.

drive.google.com/drive/folders/1vBRMWGk29EmsoBV2o9NM1LIVi...

Title of my book unforgettable' Mitsushiro Nakagawa Out Now. ISBN978-4-86264-866-2

_________________________________

” Lot No.402_ ” に関するお知らせ。

今後、僕は、” Lot No.402_ ”を主催します。

このロットナンバーは、眠っていたレオナルドダヴィンチの作品がオークションにかけらた際に付されたものです。

作品にはサインなどがいっさい記されていなかったため、彼の作品だと断定できませんでした。

しかし、様々な鑑定の結果、陽の光を浴びました。

誰にも気づかれない作品。肩書がなくとも静かに語りかける作品。

僕はこれから様々な形で、多くの皆様に提供できるよう努めてゆきます。

2020年10月24日 by Mitsu - Nakagawa.

_________________________________

あけましておめでとうございます😃年末見た2本の動画を紹介します😃

youtu.be/SxldMyq4Amk

#トヨタEV30車種 #トヨタ失態 #EVガラパゴス #EV #toyota #トヨタ #apple #applecar #アップル #アップルカー #テスラ #tesla

下記のEVネイティブさんで、僕の意見がピン固定されていますのでぜひご覧ください😃

ボロクソ書いている人とかトヨタ擁護派って、捨てアカとか多いみたいですね😅

ふたつめのバートさんの動画に、僕は１００パーセント賛成です。

若い人たちは、トヨタを蹴飛ばし、第２のトヨタを目指すチャンス、もしくは、それ以上にもっと統括的な会社を生む大きな機会かもしれません。

遅くはないはずです。がんばってください😃

１　EVネイティブ【日本一わかりやすい電気自動車チャンネル】

【豊田社長、その発言は失礼です】電気自動車ニュース【トヨタ渾身のEVたちは、代理店に急造させた「ハリボテ」疑惑が急浮上・日本市場のEV販売台数は低迷中＆世界はEV爆売れ中

２　バートチグサの未来創造パーク

100年の次が見えた！トヨタの、いや自動車産業の次が見えた！

Complexity #8 by Keith Michael

6

Fort Tilden

Queens, NY

December 26, 2021

Victory of Complexity by André Fromont

16

Complexity of leaf by Pertti Virtanen

14

Complexity - Shasta Daisy (Leucanthemum x superbum) by Kim Toews

106 10

To see in colour is delightful to the eye, but to see in black and white delights my soul! No colour to attract or distract. Only the sensual lines, the shadows and highlights ... Lines, light and shapes repeated. Copyright © Kim Toews and Kim Toews Photography. Please contact Kim Toews for purchasing and publishing options.

Custom prints available.

Complexity by Pete Law

21 2

Prosperous Complexity by Lisa

32 1

Hveradalir by Sigfus Sigmundsson

238 18

Hveradalir Geothermal Area is located in the Highlands, by Kjolur Highland Road, in Iceland. One of the largest geothermal areas in all of Iceland, Hveradalir offers hot springs you can view up close and others that can be admired from a safe distance. The site is surrounded by the rhyolite mountains of the Kerlingarfjoll range, making for some spectacular and colorful surroundings and excellent hiking opportunities. Situated by the volcanic mountain ridge of Kerlingarfjoll, Hveradalir draws its name from the many hot springs in the area. From smaller, bubbling mud pools to larger springs of steaming water, the site offers visitors a glimpse into the stunning complexities of Iceland's geology.

One of Hveradalir's main attractions is the many striking natural formations created by the geothermal energy coursing beneath the surface. The hot waters flowing through the ground have interacted with the minerals, causing chemical changes which often result in unique patterns and colors appearing in the rocks above. Read more here: guidetoiceland.is/travel-iceland/drive/hveradalir

Simplicity Contains Complexity by JamesAnok || ThetaState

19 4

Lady Gerb's Debutant Portrait by In Memoriam: Vidterry

33 377

I must face the hard fact...I really like photographing Gerberas from unusual angles. There is elegance, complexity, hints of color, and lovely curving lines. These blossoms tease with sensuality...the come hither casualness of the drooping petals.

Typical studio exposure settings and lighting setup for this image.

Fence complexity - #1 by Jon Dev

19 1

C. J.R. Devaney

~ Minimalistic Complexity ~ (revised) by Stuart Williams

59 105

How? it's asked quite often. ( direct 5120X5120 full size link for non Flickr visitors)

I'll explain what's going on here and how I did it in just a few steps.

I make a ball.

I copy & paste it a few times in a straight line. (above image, 6 times from center to right)

I attached the straight line of balls together as one unit. (called a group)

I copy & paste it a few times in a fan style until I get 180 degrees, pivoting on the original center ball, now an end ball.

I attach the entire fan shape balls into one unit. (group)

I copy and paste with a slight size reduction and a step back all the way towards the rear of image.

That's about it for the layout. The other details to make the reflections and color along with all lighting are other aspects in getting a good 3D result.

Although it's 3D programs that I'm discussing, the same technique also applies to photoshop and 2D image work.

BIG HELLO & Happy Weekend to you from my little 3D world (in Ottawa, Canada)

Complexity by espinozr

44 41

Hotel in Zaandam, Netherlands

Acknowledging Underlying Complexity by Scott T.

18 4

IMGP7055 by Herman Roes

18

The complexity of life in a Hedge

Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) by Harold Moses

16 3

The adult humpback whale is generally 14–15 m (46–49 ft) long, though individuals up to 16–17 m (52–56 ft) long have been recorded. Females are usually 1–1.5 m (3 ft 3 in – 4 ft 11 in) longer than males.

The species can reach body masses of 40 metric tons (44 short tons). Calves are born at around 4.3 m (14 ft) long with a mass of 680 kg (1,500 lb)] The species has a bulky body with a thin rostrum and proportionally long flippers, each around one-third of its body length. It has a short dorsal fin that varies from nearly nonexistent to somewhat long and curved.

Like other rorquals, the humpback has grooves between the tip of the lower jaw and the navel. The grooves are relatively few in number in this species, ranging from 14 to 35. The upper jaw is lined with baleen plates, which number 540–800 in total and are black in color.

The dorsal or upper side of the animal is generally black; the ventral or underside has various levels of black and white coloration. Whales in the southern hemisphere tend to have more white pigmentation. The flippers can vary from all-white to white only on the undersurface. Some individuals may be all white, notably Migaloo who is a true albino. The varying color patterns and scars on the tail flukes distinguish individual animals.[

The end of the genital slit of the female is marked by a round feature, known as the hemispherical lobe, which visually distinguishes males and females.

Unique among large whales, humpbacks have bumps or tubercles on the head and front edge of the flippers; the tail fluke has a jagged trailing edge. The tubercles on the head are 5–10 cm (2.0–3.9 in) thick at the base and protrude up to 6.5 cm (2.6 in).

They are mostly hollow in the center, often containing at least one fragile hair that erupts 1–3 cm (0.39–1.18 in) from the skin and is 0.1 mm (0.0039 in) thick. The tubercles develop early in gestation and may have a sensory function, as they are rich in nerves. Sensory nerve cells in the skin are adapted to withstand the high water pressure of diving.

In one study, a humpback whale brain measured 22.4 cm (8.8 in) long and 18 cm (7.1 in) wide at the tips of the temporal lobes, and weighed around 4.6 kg (10 lb). The humpback's brain has a complexity similar to that of the brains of smaller whales and dolphins.

The structure of the eye indicates that eyesight is relatively poor, being only able to see silhouettes over long distances and finer details relatively close. Computer models of the middle ear suggest that the humpback can hear at frequencies between 15 Hz and 3 kHz "when stimulated at the tympanic membrane", and between 200 Hz and 9 kHz "if stimulated at the thinner region of the tympanic bone adjacent to the tympanic membrane". These ranges are consistent with their vocalization ranges.

As in all cetaceans, the respiratory tract of the humpback whale is connected to the blowholes and not to the mouth, although the species appears to be able to unlock the epiglottis and larynx and move them towards the oral cavity, allowing humpbacks to blow bubbles from their mouths. The vocal folds of the humpback are more horizontally positioned than those of land mammals which allows them to produce underwater calls. These calls are amplified by a laryngeal sac.

This image was taken from Deck 8 of the Sapphire Princess, which overlooks the bow of the ship, near Paradise Harbour in Antarctica

Garden Complexity by C-Aida

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Bean plant macro.

A young bean plant makes things complicated with its attachment issues in the garden.

Tilden Park 2-8 #1 by ~jar{}

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tender.complexity by Jonathan Castellino

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++++++++++ by dadaguy

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Once again, I didn't know what this common weed looked like until I saw it through a macro lens.

Complexity by Johnny

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urban complexity by Pascal Quéré

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Fluvial Complexity by andressolo

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Cobwebs in the fog by Bill Koplitz

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Complexity by Steven Vickers

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Fi Ramadan by Abd. Halim Hadi

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Complexity is your enemy. Any fool can make something complicated. It is hard to make something simple.

Please contact me at pcdanpen@gmail.com to purchase or to have a permission to use this image. Please do not abuse this image without my consent.

Insight & Image Complexity by Zone Patcher

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Favorite Books of 2020 by Kirstie

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Did you know that cats have favorite authors and genres? Jarvis Cocker prefers non fiction and so his favorite authors are Claudia Rankine, Sasha Geffen, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Ta-Nehisi Coates. Broadcast prefers experimental Asian fiction and so her favorite authors are Haruki Murakami, Ryu Murakami, Bae Suah, Can Xue, Banana Yoshimoto, Kazuo Umezz, Shin Kyung-Sook, Karen Tei Yamashita,Keiichirō Hirano, Yasutaka Tsutsui, Krys Lee and Banana Yoshimoto. PJ Harvey prefers poetry so her favorite authors are Rumi, Hanif Abdurraqib, Naomi Shihab Nye, Ocean Vuong, Nikki Giovanni and Eve L. Ewing. When I asked her what she thought of Nick Cave’s lyrics, you should have seen her reaction! What all my cats can agree on is that Karen Tei Yamashita’s Through the Arc of the Rainforest is a masterpiece and so, I always have to read that one out loud to them during cat story hour. Though I didn’t read Lagoon by Nnedi Okorafor this year either, it’s still a solid second choice for our story hour together.

I have to always preface these lists by making the disclaimer that while no human being can read all of the books in existence put out in one year, I read even less this year having only finished a little under 150 books (I read 365 last year). Not all of these books were released this year and some of these books may be released in the future depending on which alternative timeline of reality you exist in. The pandemic really put a dent into my reading because I typically read while on the elliptical at the gym for a couple of hours every day but, with the gyms closed, I had to turn to memorizing K pop dance moves off of Youtube for my exercise for several months (I am not good at this), which caused me to almost get murdered by my downstairs neighbor until I straight up invested in an elliptical a couple of months ago and saved myself from the sudden doom that would have rivaled any gruesome ending of a Chan-wook Park film.

These books represent a few different genres-nonfiction, fiction, graphic novels, poetry-and are in a general order but I decided not to number them as I kept changing the order depending on my mood and that didn’t seem very efficient (I am not a journalist) Feel free to share your favorite books that you read this year. You may be stuck in a black hole reading books that we don’t even have in our reality. I want to hear about those too!

And, without further ado, my feline fanatic friends and literature lovers, gather around for this is my Favorite Books of 2020:

The City We Became by N. K. Jemisin

Sometimes it’s actually hard to take science fiction seriously….why? Maybe because it’s so fun and engaging….either way, it’s actually quite hard to write something that is very inventive and also relevant in our modern times. In a way, it speaks to the high ability of the author to also be able to make it grounded in reality enough to be just believable but imaginative enough to get truly lost in a unique story. Such is the case for The City We Became, which has all of the NYC buroughs represented by different humans with vivid personalities fitting their areas who have to work together to stop an evil takeover and, of course, have a really tough time with that pesky and racist ignorant Ms. Staten Island. N.K. Jemisin creates a world of actual monsters and proud boy like art dealer/real estate mogul monsters (the kind we don’t actually have to work hard to imagine because they exist in real life). This looks like what will be the first in hopefully a long series of riveting books!

Tropic of Orange: Karen Tei Yamashita

I read Through the Arc of the Rainforest last year and this year Tropic of Orange was my exceptional read by this Japanese American author who is so imaginative in the way she writes both memorable characters and interwoven plots. I can’t predict any endings for any of their lives and that is quite something indeed. If you don’t like magical realism or complex storylines, you may miss out on the brilliance that is Yamashita and the bulk of her work. But, if you find yourself wanting to explore what creative literature is capable of, please look no further!

Pet by Akwaeke Emezi-

Just released this year and highly recommended by me! This book was philosophically engaging from start to finish. Set in the fictional town of Lucille, the residents have conquered all of the “monsters” (who are basically Trump voters and the like) until an angel (who looks like a monster) emerges from a painting to find a “family monster” who is abusing a child. The protagonist is a trans adolescent whose mom reads the great Nnedi Okorafor to her and speaks through sign language. I loved the layers of moral complexity here. Pet gets into what truly makes a monster and how insidious monsters (again, basically republicans) can hide in plain sight and if a monster is redeemable too. I liked Freshwater (Emezi’s 1st novel) but this was 100x better imo

Frankenstein in Baghdad by Ahmed Saadawi

This novel is both imaginative and also heart breaking…its main plot involves a country overtaken by American forces who also can’t trust their own government and a corpse that reanimates from other corpses to seek revenge. Though it delves into a little bit of black comedy and takes on a creature who may seem more familiar to those who enjoy the horror genre, it’s the horror of reality with the violence of the American invasion of Iraq that the novel is actually about. What Saadawi does is to create a vivid metaphor that evolves throughout the book and forces us to think deeply about morality. We must remember that Saadawi may also be coming to terms with his own grief, mortality, and the modern reality of living in Iraq. He has had friends lost through suicide bombs that he narrowly missed being killed in himself, for instance.

Catherine Lacey: Pew

I am always a little hesitant to promote the work of someone who is white when there are many women of color who are under-recognized and struggling to earn both critical acclaim and also just a living. So, I will just say that I found Catherine Lacey’s very recent novel Pew incredibly moving and relevant for our times. She writes about race and gender identity in a way that feels fully realized. This book is about identity that words cannot define and the frustrations that result in a white community (who considers themselves super religious) because they cannot take ownership over human identity. There’s a real sense of the frustration of language and lack of it and of not being in control and the way these humans handle that feeling. It is a postmodern masterpiece and I would highly recommend it. On a side note, it doesn’t really matter or seem worth mentioning the personal romantic life of a female author but, in this case, I must mention that she is currently the partner of one of my favorite authors who also resides in Chicago, Jesse Ball, and has a funny statement about him at the end in the thank-you section that is worth taking a look at.

Elif Shafak’s 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World

This novel is fiercely feminist following so many female friends from all walks of life in Turkey and the way the body lives on after death. This book starts with death but is really filled with life! As our heroine protagonist, murdered yet still filled with extreme senses, dies a little more on each page, we find out a little more about her and what in her life brought her to this point. And therein lies the largest devastation of this novel because we fall in love with dear Leila but it’s too late to save her. Her life was doomed from the beginning because she happened to be born female and poor and did not have any rights to make her own happiness despite having all the ambitions to do so.

Imani Perry: Breathe, A Letter to My Sons:

This book was a little reminiscent of Ta-Nehisi Coates’s “Between the World and Me” but I actually was even more moved by this mothers take on raising her two boys in America with it’s racist past and present. Really wise and incredible. This was such a gift to be added to the canon of American literature and as a resource to help nurture the modern African American family and was both honest and insightful.

Yaa Gyasi: Transendent Kingdom

Yaa Gyasi’s second novel is quite a bit different than her first, Homegoing. This one is about a family from Ghana but one that lives in Alabama and struggles to make their way in the American South. It is a portrait of a family in turmoil as the family unit as a whole is severed in a couple of major ways…and, I am hesitant to say more on that end as I don’t want to spoil the novel. Gyasi writes us a very strong female protagonist in Gifty who is a neuroscientist studying mice and both reward seeking and inhibition in her quest to understand and make sense of addiction. It is one of those soul searching types of books that is well worth reading and without artifice or cliché, which is sometimes quite a challenge to find in literature.

The Liar by Ayelet Gundar-Goshen

In some ways, this was not as profound as an earlier fiction work by this Israeli author, Waking Lions, but is still however very meaningful and relevant about lies that take on a life and storyline of their own between Israel and Poland and between both a young and a much older female protagonist. To me, this book was incredibly relevant especially in these times about how a little bit of dishonesty ends up leading to incredibly different results in the lives of humans. It’s a short read but very worthwhile in the way it makes you think of the role of truth in one’s life.

Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools by Dr. Monique W. Morris

This was a really difficult read by the Founder and President of the National Black Women’s Justice Institute (NBWJI). Yet, it was also an important read for me not just as an educator but as someone who also wants to do right by all students I support. Morris gets into some of the facts behind racial profiling in schools and does well to expose how it is often overlooked what impact early racism in schools has on young women (although, it is often acknowledged and still very damaging for young Black men). The treatment of young women in a place of learning is very important and could be instrumental in nurturing and encouraging these girls to succeed and to set ambitious yet achievable goals but they have to not only be taught skills but believe in their own worth. We also need to recognize signs of trauma and ensure that we are addressing the whole child. We cannot ignore these facts and we cannot assume that every educator before us was kind and acted within the best interest of every student. So, when we consider what a child’s perception of education may be, for a student of color especially a young human who may be Black, there may be a lot of work to do in changing a negative sense of school. What we see in our schools is not “safe spaces” but punishment that sets the stage for a cruel future. Do we really want this as a society? We must accept that we have failed and that we must change.

We must actively change schools across America! It is a gift to be able to teach and nurture and abuses of power are the most heinous kind. On a personal note, I spent much of my time this summer protesting against police brutality and cops in schools. Our mayor and Board of Ed. in Chicago has kept a few incidents of racially motivated violence against students in schools from the public and, instead of hiring nurses and ending our contract with the cops, tax payers are still footing the bill. They’ll make us take a mandatory online training about stopping the school to prison pipeline but, in terms of policy and where our tax dollars are going, Chicago is far from walking the same walk they are preaching.

Brit Bennett-The Vanishing Half

This reminded me of a modern day Passing by Nella Larsen and a great follow up novel to The Mothers. Bennett shows a portrait of two sisters, one who decides to pass and leads a much different life than the other who ends up having a child with a man who has a much darker skin tone than herself and returns to their small town in Louisiana where there is an obsession about shades of skin. This novel is as much an examination about race as it is about the human desperation driven by racism and what humans are capable of denying about themselves and others they love to continue to live safely within a certain space and level of comfort. There is also a second layer that is about transitioning genders that adds to the storyline and characters overall.

The Atlas of Reds and Blues by Devi S. Laskar

The story of racism that a Bengali immigrant family experiences in the American south (in a suburb of Atlanta) is important but what elevates this work is the unique writing style. I literally felt like I was slipping to and fro through time and seeing these glimpses of a vivid life in all its joys and sorrows. Laskar is incredibly poetic in her exploration of police violence and trauma and was also herself a victim of racial profiling. She’s another author who I hope continues to gain readers and write more books. For a debut, this is exceptional and really reads like it come from an author who has written her whole life.

Disability / Visibility edited and FW by Alice Wong

This is nonfiction at its finest because it has the power to open your mind to the struggles of a group of humans you may not have had a clue about before you opened the first page. Wong did an excellent job of finding an incredibly diverse group of perspectives not just in terms of race, class and religion but also in terms of ability level and opinions on ableism and world perspectives. Keah Brown and Haben Girma are probably the most well known authors in this collection but each of these essays is enlightening in a different way-some focus more on technological aspects, others on fashion, others on abortion, and still others on deficits in terms of public transport. All of these perspectives are valid and insightful and should give able bodied humans a clue as to what obstacles need to be examined and removed in our society to make a better world exist.

Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man by Emmanuel Acho.

In an alternative reality where white American born humans also need to pass a citizenship test, this would be required reading. Acho comes from Nigerian parents and grew up in Texas. I didn’t realize he wasn’t just a political science philosopher type of author (He’s also an NFL player) when I started reading as I don’t really follow the actual sports game but he does a fantastic job with these questions, which are actual questions submitted by white people in America. Some of these questions show a huge lack of understanding of history and privilege. Other questions are more related to wanting to help and be anti-racist but not knowing where to start. Acho calmly rewinds and takes us through some background and gives suggestions on how to live differently and be better as well as some valuable resources. And, in order to keep in mind white privilege, I will say that it is definitely not the responsibility of Black or African American humans to educate us but when they do make an effort (and hopefully like Acho are compensated for it), it’s definitely our duty to listen. As ignorant as some of these questions seem, we must all be humble and willing to ask questions and all the more willing to listen to the answers. It’s also worth noting that this nonfiction was written after the murder of George Floyd so it is incredibly current and Acho also writes very calmly and in a way that most people probably won’t find having a huge adverse reaction to when confronting white privilege and entitlement.

A Man by Keiichirō Hirano

What an engaging read! I don’t think I’ve ever read a novel that so effectively skirted the line of experimental fiction in its exploration of identity and story lines before. First, there is the identity based on an exchanged one and a lie for a human being who lives a quiet life as someone else. But, then there is the exploration of identify of what it means to be S. Korean and living in Japan and the xenophobia experienced by humans in this predicament. In some ways, A Man reads like a thriller and mystery novel but in many other ways, it is a deeply philosophical work that cannot be contained by genre but makes you wonder about and question the human stories were are assigned, we tell ourselves, and that we make up altogether. I can’t wait for At the End of the Matinee to be released April 15th, 2021!

Hidden Colors by Nillu Nasser

The book explores the struggles of Syrian refugees in Berlin putting on a magical circus but after a couple of years. the anti-immigrant sentiment rises and politicians and journalists have to choose which side to take. This book feels fantastical in the sense of the circus production but realistic in its depiction of the hardship of existence as a mere pawn in politics and left vulnerable to political whims and opinions of the public. There’s a great deal here about the ethics of journalism as well and the responsibilities in terms of telling of the human story. Though this book is technically a work of fiction, it is highly relevant to our current world.

A Fortune For Your Disaster by Hanif Andurraqib

I didn’t do as much poetry reading this year as I did last year but this one definitely stood out. I read it for book club. Full disclosure-I love everything by Hanif and would recommend Go Ahead in the Rain, his nonfiction regarding A Tribe Called Quest if you are fan of the band. I follow Hanif on Twitter and am a fan of him both in terms of his politically conscious side and his human side where he bakes and talks about his love of music and Columbus, Ohio. He’s also great to see speak. He’s an incredibly lovable human. Anyway, this poetry is so rich with imagery and soul and, though it definitely explores topics of racism, I would also say that it explores the full range of what it means to be human and does so artfully. So many of the lines should be read more than once and contemplated. Read a poem and put it down for a while and think about the full complexity of what Hanif was exploring and picture the photograph he created with his masterful words that appears in your head.

Just Us by Claudia Rankine:

Rankine is an extraordinary poet who is also insightful when it comes to race in America and her observations based on both casual encounters and a whole lot of systemic racism. At the end of the day, Rankine is aware of the damning impact of white supremacy and she wants humans to heal and for the world to become a better and safer place for all human to exist in. And, that isn’t going to happen without some conversations taking place that are sometimes challenging to initiate and to explore. We find ourselves sometimes in situations that might at first seem perplexing but have a history based in reality. If you haven’t read Citizen, the collection of poetry by Rankine, you might be blown away but this work of nonfiction. If, like me, you have read Citizen, you might at this point be more impressed by the fact that with all of the facts and insights Rankine has, she still is willing to have conversations about race and that speaks to the kind of beautiful human being she is.

The Drifting Classroom Volume 1-3 by Kazuo Umezz

This is a riveting 700+ page graphic novel about a school that disappears from the present and travels to a desolate future with a lot of human psychological issues of those trapped in this new reality. I will say one key thing in this epic journey through the minds and choices of these young children is that both the surreal storyline and the art work are captivating and I was soon hooked and couldn’t wait for the third volume to be released a couple of months ago. I devoured it like a piece of decadent chocolate cake while soaking in my bathtub for night after night. I became very invested in these creatures who first had to fight for their lives when there was a struggle for power and then when their dreams came alive and then when there was a plague and then when there was still extreme scarcity of food and water….and somehow our hero and protagonist is able to community at some points with his mom living in the time and reality they came from even though they are far from it. Just a fantastic imaginative series for Japanese graphic novel fans especially.

Myla Goldberg’s Feast Your Eyes-

Tis is a very well done and complex portrait of a photographer living in NYC in the 60s-70s who didn’t actually exist but you’ll be convinced did exist by the way this book is laid out describing her photographs with fictional journal entries and fictional accounts of friends and family. This is a lot about artistic rights and the line between art and child protection. Interesting philosophically and based on several other female photographers who actually did exist like Vivian Maier and Diane Arbus. It really reads like a very engaging nonfiction work instead of fiction, which is an interesting experience for the reader.

Sharks in the Time of Saviors: by Kawai Strong Washburn

I had two books by native authors, this one and Rebecca Roanhorse’s Black Sun become available around the same time from my Chicago Public Library holds list and they couldn’t be more different. But while I did love the imagination of Black Sun overall, I didn’t feel as connected to the characters and just saw it as a starting point for hopefully a long series whereas Sharks in the Time of Saviors feels like a truly stand alone work. This book is, in many ways, a portrait of a native Hawaiian family struggling to get by and having a son with healing powers. There is a bit of a leap in terms of what you can believe here but it is written with enough reality that the surreality is very effective. Our hero Noa is trying to find himself and come to terms with a crucial error he makes. In the meantime, his brother and sister are also floundering between not being the most brilliant basketball star (former) and with same sex preferences (latter) and no one has any money to fly home to Hawaii from college because, of course, it’s just far too expensive even for the natives to get home. What is the most interesting to me is how the relationships between family members is explored and the idea that you shouldn’t ever encourage someone to define their identity with just one main thing or being good at one thing because it destines them to an unhappy sort of life and failure. I found the writing here very engaging and it dealt with some of the real issues Natives face in our country, especially in areas where cost of living has become insurmountable.

A Burning: by Megha Majumbar

This was a very difficult book to read, primarily because Majumbar writes us a story where you easily feel connected to and devastated by the chain of events that bring our heroine, Jivan, a poor Muslim girl in the Indian slums to a prison cell wrongfully accused of being a terrorist. In some ways, it made me think of a modern day Kafka-esque tale where it just seems all odds are stacked against our protagonist and it just keeps getting worse. Majumbar explores the corruption in modern day India but also interestingly enough explores the life and rise of a transgender fried of the protagonist at the very same time. This book is filled with politicians and political opportunists and liars who don’t seem to mind making Jivan a fall girl for their own political agenda and it made me wonder how possible all of this might actually be, especially as Majumdar was born and raised in Kolkata herself though is now living in NYC. This is Majumdar’s first novel and shows a promising career.

All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson

One of the reasons why this nonfiction is so powerful is because these voices are so often not heard or misheard. Johnson takes us through his life and what it was like to grow up with two identities, sometimes at odds with himself and what it meant to be both an African American and one who questioned his gender and preferred humans of the same sex to his biologically given gender. Johnson takes us through his very harrowing struggle to fit in and the relief of finding members in his family who at least partially understood what he was going through. He takes through what it’s like to be sexually abused and have assumptions made about him. It is harrowing and honest and makes you grateful that he has created something that shows us the whole range of humanity and helps some of us find comfort in who we are and others of us understand how to be better and more compassionate humans.

Glitter up the Dark: How Pop Music Broke the Binary by Sasha Geffen

Sasha Geffen is a human who has devoted countless hours to exploring how we came to this exact moment in music history and all of the steps that led us here in an all inclusive non fiction epic journey examining how, in just about every genre of music I can think of, gender identity and transforming gender norms was a part of both image and sound of musicians. I am a huge fan of music and many of these musicians and bands I was already familiar with and own albums by. However, Geffen caused me to view many songs, concerts, and even album covers a different way and I also learned about many artists I was not familiar with. This is a must read for those who love music and for those who seek to accept and appreciate all genders (male, female, and non-binary) and their artistic contributions within this very flawed yet sometimes quite beautiful world.

A Partial History of Lost Causes by Jennifer duBois

This book fascinated me….Irina knows she is going to die and it is going to possibly be horrible and painful when she does the genetic testing and finds out she inherited Huntington’s Disease. She knows what the future holds because she saw her father progressively lose abilities and she starts to lose control in ways that signal to her what her future could hold. And so, she decides she’s going to go on adventure to Russia in order to find a chess master who is an active political opponent of Putin because, after all, what exactly does she have to lose? This book is about the idea of taking your life into your own hands and controlling your destiny instead of letting genetics define you. It is also about trying to make the most out of a life that many others would consider doomed. It also has a really great joke about Adam and Eve actually being soviets and it takes a lot to make me laugh in the middle of a pandemic.

Vivian by Christina Hesselholdt

This work explores all ll different points of view including Vivian Maier’s own on life and photography with interesting narrator interjections and musings based on what is known of this photographer. I have to admit that I have a personal bias of loving many of Maier’s photographic works so this was a very engaging read for me based on my familiarity with and admiration of the photographer that was the focus of this technically “biographical fiction” work. I think it might be a key point to get acquainted with some of Maier’s photographs and read this book if you are enamored. But, you might also enjoy this book if you in general love photography and think often about what might a photographer be like as a human and what makes for a good photographer as well.

Empire of Wild: Cherie Dimaline

This is the first novel I have read by a Métis (Native French Canadian) author and I really loved it. It was definitely wild and centered around the traditional Native myth of the Rogarou as it kills and steals souls. This was as much about human deception and religion and racism as it was about this creature and it was impossible for me to not visualize the horror while, at the same time, see Rogarou as a metaphor for white opportunists who will do whatever it takes to steal Native land. I had my heart in my throat for a lot of this journey and I think the power of the writing really showed its effectiveness.

Well-Read Black Girl: Finding Our Stories, Discovering Ourselves edited by Glory Edim.

Fantastic autobiographical accounts of prominent African American female authors of today and how they were inspired by literature that uniquely spoke to them. This book does well to emphasize the importance of representation and I would advocate that those who define curricula across the country on every level should start considering whether we are really celebrating our current list of authors because they were talented and had something relevant to say then and now or whether it goes within our nation’s history of white supremacy to promote primarily white male authors as the definitive standard even though they had every advantage over their women of color possible colleagues. What is hopeful is that now more than ever talented women of color are being published and truly heard but, in my opinion, there is still a lot of history around celebrating only or primarily only white male authors that should be challenged in this country. In any case, this collection features a great deal of talented contemporary female authors such as Jesmyn Ward, Jacqueline Woodson, Zinzi Clemmons, N. K. Jemisin, Tayari Jones and more and speaks to the power of literature and it’s transformative qualities!

The Nocturnal Brain: Nightmares, Neuroscience, and the Secret World of Sleep by Guy Leschziner.

I thought this was nonfiction about dreams but it was mainly about different sleep disorders…still very interesting and informative though! Did you know you can have something called Restless Chest Syndrome? Yikes! I tend to love neuroscience and yet besides this book and The Telomere Effect by Dr. Elizabeth Blackburn, I didn’t read nearly as many science oriented books in 2020. I read far more nonfiction books about race, gender, and immigrant memoirs. Still, I love to learn about all facets of the human brain and I believe in life long learning. The case studies in this book were especially fascinating and made me feel like my reoccurring insomnia is really not so bad at all compared to what it could be!

Wow, No Thank You: Samantha Irby

This nonfiction collection of essays made me laugh so hard (especially the chapter on cat vs. dog ownership) that I instantly fell in love with Irby as both an author and as a human being and, though she no longer lives in Chicago, it was cool to see what living in Chicago twenty or so years ago was like through her eyes. Irby is happily married and has encountered both homophobia and racism in her life and these essays showed both an intellectual and a quick witted approach to dealing with it. Irby is so candid and does not hold anything back when it comes to her own biology, either, which is almost shocking (and also appreciated) at times in its brutal honesty and well worth reading. Irby is also my age so I could relate to some of these chapters quite a bit because of that. Hello 911, filled with imagined 911 calls as well as Love and Marriage where she answers ridiculous questions are also not to be missed chapters if you want to laugh hysterically.

The Monk of Mokha (Story of Mokhtar Alkhanshali) told by Dave Eggers

I actually led a two hour remote book club on this book last month and, though I love discussing books, what is odd is that I liked the book better before the discussion. This is an incredible story of a Yemeni American man who risks literally his life more than once to bring back viable coffee beans and establish a coffee trade between his homeland of Yemen and the United States. Dave Eggers insists emphatically that this is 100% nonfiction and it is unfathomable the lengths that Mokhtar goes to. There’s an undying sense of the human spirit that can be both courageous and also lucky in this book. There’s also a component of the struggle itself against both the violent conflict situation in Yemen and the racism encountered in America. In any case, if you are interested, here’s an article about the book.

www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/dave-eggers-te...

I Don’t Expect Anyone to Believe Me: Juan Pablo Villalobos

Good, because they probably won’t! This is an adventure in surrealist experimental fiction walking the line between humor and existential dread. In the end, you honestly don’t know exactly what really happened and if the protagonist is even still alive. There are doubling of characters, journal entries, a talking dog, and lots of unsavory types I wouldn’t trust with my favorite pencil (or even my least favorite pencil). Our extremely flawed hero is a Mexican intellectual who wants to study humor in literature in Catalonia, Spain but is side tracked before he can even get there by a group of mafia like henchmen in an impossible scheme his cousin roped him into involving seducing a woman identifying as a lesbian amongst other crazy shenanigans. This is a wild ride! If you’re an intellectual who dislikes thrillers, try this one out to see if maybe it was just the writing style in those other books wasn’t enough for you in the first place.

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

I expected a lot from Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens because of the human (a coworker and friend) who recommended it to me and I did think it was worth reading. I like the sense of looking into isolationism and classism as well as the justice system in the American South plus there’s a courtroom cat! (Sunday Justice) but probably best of all was the fierce individualism of the female protagonist, Kya, the “Marsh Girl” who learns to make her own way in life. Kya’s unusual personality and talents drew me into the story line as a whole but it was the ending that made it truly worthwhile and landed it on my best of 2020 list.

Junji Ito’s Yon & Mu:

This is a super adorable autobiographical #catlife graphic nonfiction about his wife’s 2 cats that he learns to 💕 and who turn him into a cat person. I loved the drawings in this book and the little stories about getting his cat neutered, going on a business trip and missing his cats, cats around his chair where the heater was, cats on his lap, cats in his bed….you know the drill. A lot of these are relatable and silly but sweet and the book also includes photos! I’ve read Ito’s harrowing fiction, graphic horror novels and this was quite a departure but it gave me a glimpse into his lovable human side. Though this was maybe not the best book I read critically, it was still definitely one of my favorites as someone who is a fan of Ito’s graphic novels and cats!

Cats of the Louvre: Taiyo Matsumoto

Full disclosure here that I didn’t really think anyone would take me seriously if I started with these last two books/graphic novels because, honestly, I love cats and so I cannot be objective about extreme cat topics and/or cat protagonists. This one is perfection-a wildly imaginative storyline centered around the cats that live in Le Louvre. What more do you need to know? Ok, there’s a human trapped in a painting and also all the cats take on human traits at night when no on is looking. Is this not a good enough reason to read this book right now?!?! Oh wait, you’re a dog lover??? Well, forget you anyway! 😹

Honorable mentions:

Ok, so again this list only represents about 30% of the books I read this year. I can’t write about 100+ more books but here are the books I would still recommend:

Little Gods by Meng Jin

I’m Afraid of Men by Vivek Shraya

Eatheater by Dolores Reyes

Dear Girls by Ali Wong (so funny!)

Telephone by Percival Everett

The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Daré

Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse

Famous Suicides of the Japanese Empire by David Mura

The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates

The Telomere Effect by Dr. Elizabeth Blackburn

1919 by Eve L. Ewing

**All photos are copyrighted**

complexity by Pan

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'Complexity and elegance of the Iris flower' (Looking inside a Bearded Iris III). Ph. by #WhiteANGEL by Ometz-Ma'ayan-Arela 字母面 Yū-Yū-Shi

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This variety of Iris flowers have upright petals called "standards" and cascading petals called "falls". Running down the center of each fall is a “beard” that resembles a flame or even a furry caterpillar.

Besides the 3 sort of beards, I find very interesting & peculiar the zebra patterns & the texture of the petals, especially the 3 'falls' ones, looking like leather or even shantung silk. The bright yellow petals in the very centre reassemble golden tongues or, again, vivid flames of a flickering candle. Each of those inner petals -actually lobes- hosts and protects a single stamen.

Colours are yellow, some orange, a wine coloured optical animalier pattern, similar to zebra & lots of brown/burgundy tones.

Super Macro photographed out-door in natural light (with my Fujinon 24/624 'telescopic' + hyper Macro lens).

I hope I could render its intricated details. More in my Album in progress 'Callas, Iris & Amaryllis studies'

Published on 52Frames 52frames.com/photographer/whiteangel/photo/806900, collective Album entitled "Details" and

received distinction of the Extra Challenge 'Use A Macro Lens'

#52Frames_details

Ref.DSCF6819 okk copia no trat edit XL VM best DEF. Fujifilm X-S1

#477 > 456 + # 280 > 278

Complexities of Life by dianealdrich - Please read my profile

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Pittsgrove, New Jersey

Complexity by ZeGaby

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Complexity by Giovanni Piero Pellegrini

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Works in the street

Complexity--NYC by Paul Jarvie

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Lower Manhattan

... by thePhotoZoo

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"we struggle with the complexities

and avoid the simplicities."

~ norman vincent peale

Complexity in the Second Sky by In Memoriam: russell.tomlin

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Layers of complexity by Forgotten Industries

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Complexity (Collected Flakes, Feb 14th 2021, #1) by Pascal Gaudette

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Great conditions this morning (around -10C, no wind, fluffy snow), but the snow had stopped falling by the time I got out. Had to "scoop" clumps of flakes onto my wife's fluffy tuque using a wooden spoon and hope for the best...

Laowa 100mm F/2.8 2X Macro and Raynox DCR-250, with off-camera diffused Godox AD180 Flash. 30 frames in this handheld focus stack (!), with a few stacking artefacts remaining... Shot with the lens around 1.5:1, but I still have to measure what magnification this gives with the Raynox...

IMPORTANT:

If you would like to use this photo in a way that is appropriate under its Creative Commons license, you are welcome to do so, but please make sure to credit me by my real name and Flickr handle, and please also include a link to the Flickr page of the photo, as well as a link to the relevant Creative Commons license text. I have put examples of proper attribution on my profile page. Optionally, you may also send me a little note about your use... :)

For any other type of use, please contact me to properly license this image.

Thank you!

(IMGP5100-29_ZSDMapR_CrEtcShrp)

Snowflake-a-Day #31 by Don Komarechka

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Tiny plate-like snowflakes always impress me. Their lack of complexity doesn’t diminish their beauty; I think it only enhances the appreciation of the geometry and the fractal patterns we see. View large!

There is a small bit of “debris” on the crystal in the upper left. Usually I try to clear away obstructions with a small paintbrush to isolate a single snowflake, but in windy conditions it can be hard to get it completely isolated. Finding the snowflake in the viewfinder is also a difficult task, and if I decide to clear away debris a second time, I might not be able to find the snowflake in my frame again before it melts, sublimates, blows away etc. Timing is everything!

Because snowflakes are often hard to find on the black mitten where I photograph them, I sometimes use larger clumps of snow as a “landmark” of sorts. If I take a small clump of snow with the paintbrush and position it nearby the snowflake I want to photograph, my challenge becomes a little easier. I look for the large clump, and then I know where to move the camera to try and locate the snowflake I’m after. This can save me time, and I need to work as quickly as possible.

All of my snowflakes images are lit with a ring flash, usually with a 7:1 ratio of power on one side or the other. Ring flashes allow you to control each half of the ring independently, and I try to get exactly the right amount of light hitting the surface of the crystal from the right angle. This angle is very important; If you choose any “convenient” angle, you are likely to get just the edges of the crystal illuminated. If you carefully rotate the flash and the camera such that the light from the flash bounces off the surface of the crystal and into the camera, you can get all of the surface detail you see in my images. It makes the snowflakes sparkle, and sometimes also reveals colour in the snowflakes.

I shoot all of these images entirely handheld. You need to rotate the camera around the subject being the center of rotation, and you need to work as quickly as possible. For these reasons, no tripod has ever been used in any of my snowflake images. It makes the editing process more challenging, but it also allows for more snowflakes to be photographed when the conditions are perfect.

To learn every one of my secrets to snowflake photography, the entire photographic workflow is explained in comprehensive detail is my book Sky Crystals: skycrystals.ca/book/ - the good snow is about to start falling, so get out and photograph it! :)

To see what happens when you spend 2500 hours across five years working exclusively on snowflakes, the result is “The Snowflake” print: skycrystals.ca/poster/ - all crystals are accurately measured and placed in relative size to one another!

Wishing everyone a great New Year's Eve and a wonderful year to come!

complexity of beauty by Evan Leeson

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large | My top 100

Revisiting a clematis from last year while I wait for this year's to develop.

Have a great Friday everyone.

Simplicity/Complexity by Christian Weber

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August 5, Explore #260

And know because I've been doing nada the last weeks my legs are hurtin'! :P

The picture isn't all to clear... But that stupid thing was all over the place! :D

Have a nice day you guys!

Year of the Rat by FashionDragon

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Integrity/Fashion Royalty/The Luxe Life collection/Kyori Sato//Prosperous Complexity/Jason Wu

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