Fruit Mimicry

The whole great story is here. Happy Valentine's Day.

William Blake

What is it men in women do require
The lineaments of Gratified Desire
What is it women do in men require
The lineaments of Gratified Desire

Birch Bark

Unidentified Fungus

This is neither Jew's Ear nor Chicken of the Woods. Nor is it King Alfred's Cakes or Sulphur Tuft. But what it is, I don't know.

Abai Kunanbayev (1845-1904)

Bard of pre-Socialist Kazakhstan. Sorry he's the size of a postage stamp. He also appears on the 20 tenge note.

Dzhambul, Bard of Socialist Kazakhstan

There's a tongue in cheek web-page to give you all the gen. Including some of his miraculous poems.

Camilo José Cela (1915-2002)

They've reopened the 2001 plagiarism case, in which Cela was alleged to have stolen large tracts of his novel La Cruz de San Andrés from Carmen Formoso's novel Carmen, Carmela, Carmiña.

Given that the novels are set in the same place and have characters with the same names doing the same things, there might be a case for the heirs of Cela to answer. The Independent has a nice article on the case which ends with a few facts about the Franco-supporter Cela, including this gem: 'Famously outspoken, he once boasted on television that he could pump a litre of water through his bottom.'

But Jon, I'd Prefer to Live Here

Kasimir Malevich, Red House 1932

Emerald Ash Borer

An emerald-green insect which bores its way into ash trees. Who needs scientific taxonomy?

Angler Fish