iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

The Corodon @thecorodon.wandering.shop.ap.brid.gy · 19/09/2026

Finally, I didn't have a chance to visit the Lusterweibchen in the European Art wing, but I couldn't leave you without smother picture of a weird mermaid.

Set in a natural oyster shell, surrounded by silver seabirds and gold fish and turtles, suits a good figure of a mermaid of sorts. It has a dour, masculine face and two fish-tail legs. The mermaid is adorned with a crown, earrings, necklace, and bracelets of pearls, and gold a trident, but honestly looks pretty done with all of this.

The placard read:
Mermaid
1933

Franz Xavier Zirnkilton
American, born Germany,1851-1934

Gold-lip pearl oyster shell, gold, platinum, zircon, diamond, seed pearls, and semiprecious stones

010 1

The Corodon @thecorodon.wandering.shop.ap.brid.gy · 19/09/2026

More from Violet Oakley, who I just really liked: The Wise Virgins and Foolish Virgins, and the Weavers of New Hope (New Hope being a town in the county just north of Philadelphia).

A painting in the shape of two stained glass windows, showing several young women processing in the street at night with lighted clay lamps. In the background, several women whose lamps ran out of oil hood their faces in shame. It features text of two Bible verses and is made out to the memory of Mary Anna Bonnell.

This painting has more impressionistic brushwork. It features a sturdy middle-aged woman holding up a piece of blue textile, while a man works on a loom behind her.

101 1

The Corodon @thecorodon.wandering.shop.ap.brid.gy · 19/09/2026

Some stunning stained-glass-like paintings by Violet Oakley. First, Hamlet and The Tempest. More later...

Art the top, the play scene from Hamlet. Polonius, Gertrude, and Claudius look shocked as Hamlet lays his head on Ophelia's lap. Ophelia glares arrestingly directly out at the viewer.
At bottom, a young man and woman play lutes.

A scene from The Tempest with Prospero, Miranda, and the other guy look out over the beach.
At bottom, two men play a lute and a harp.

Violet Oakley

Best known as a mural painter. Violet Oaklev also created designs for stained glass windows and other decorative arts. Most of these works were inspired by medieval models that Oaklev had seen on her
frequent trips to Europe. Her stained glass was also influenced by contemporary British arts and Crafts artists such as Edward Burne-Jones's neo-medieval designs for stained-glass windows made by
Morris & Co. The Wise Virgins and Foolish Virgins, taken from a Christian parable, was intended for Saint Peter's Church in Germantown; the scenes from Shakespeare's Hamlet and The Tempest were
designed for Maybrook, a residence in Wynnewood.

100 1

The Corodon @thecorodon.wandering.shop.ap.brid.gy · 19/09/2026

Got to see an interesting exhibit on the Arts and Crafts movement in #Philadelphia at the at museum yesterday.

An elaborately decorated door lock, knocker, and key.

The upper corner the backboard of an extravagantly carved dresser. Carvings include a sphinx at the top, a lion's head holding a ring joined to a spiked ball, a cherubic figure, and a duck.

The top of a brass Japanese urn-type container. The whole thing was about 7 feet tall. At the top you have a guy doing some kind of balancing act while another person looks on with concern. Beaked, winged dragon-ish beasts climb the sides of the urn. At the bottom childlike figures look up, sitting among the legs holding the urn up.
This was a piece Japan sent to the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia in 1876.

Close-up of an inlaid Japanese desk, also sent to the Centennial Exposition. A tree is inlaid inside a circle of a fish scale pattern. Two dark drawers below are painted with gold plant life.

112 2

The Corodon @thecorodon.wandering.shop.ap.brid.gy · 04/09/2026

I do this when it comes around every few years, and wish I'd held onto my previous results. I feel like you used to see more of my influences (Long Island, dad from NC, college in PA, several years in Seattle). But it seems like since I moved to Philadelphia, so has my accent.

An accent heatmap from the quiz at mydialect.us
My dialect is concentrated in a red band centered on Philadelphia, New Jersey, and the Finger Lakes part of Upstate New York. There is of course a warm spot in Florida, where Long Islanders go to complete their life cycle. And Hawaii, for some reason. I don't sound like I'm from the Pacific Northwest anymore. I sound least like I'm from Iowa or Idaho.

000 0

The Corodon @thecorodon.wandering.shop.ap.brid.gy · 02/09/2026

From yesterday's Anthropeum, a 1,200-year-old Moche bottle decorated with bean warriors. www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/se…

A light brown ceramic bottle, round at the bottom, with a ring-shaped handle-spout combination called a "stirrup spout."
It's decorated all over in brown paint with spotted bean patterns. In this side there is one large figure of a spotted Lima bean with a human face and legs. He has a headdress, and is carrying a spear and a round shield. He looks so happy to be there.

010 1

The Corodon @thecorodon.wandering.shop.ap.brid.gy · 20/08/2026

Ancient Egyptian writing board with spelling mistakes marked in red. 19th or 20th Century BCE. www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/se…

An ancient gessoed wooden board covered with early Egyptian hieroglyphics in black ink. Red symbols are written alongside some of the black ones. The Met museum's description says, "The main text is a wordy model letter that the student copied—and surely also was expected to memorize. His many spelling mistakes have been corrected in red ink by the teacher." Harsh.

000 0

The Corodon @thecorodon.wandering.shop.ap.brid.gy · 18/08/2026

Random cat photo with the new phone came out looking like a painting and I'm not sure why.

Close-up of Lita the tortoise-shell calico cat, rolled onto her back with her paws curled. The way her fur is unfocused in the picture looks a lot like brushstrokes to me.

031 3

The Corodon @thecorodon.wandering.shop.ap.brid.gy · 02/07/2026

Yesterday was a cross-state road trip to help sell an inherited marble bust of young Augustus.

A marble bust of Octavian Caesar, partially robed in orange bubble wrap and secured by a seat belt in the back seat of a car. The picture is a screen grabfrom a text chat and accompanied by the message, "Haul Caesar."

020 2

The Corodon @thecorodon.wandering.shop.ap.brid.gy · 19/06/2026

Enjoying this new game at anthropeum.com where you guess the date and geographic origin of 10 artifacs from the Met collection. Let's just say I was way off about this one.

A painted image on an earthenware jar depicting a blue anthropomorphic wolf.

010 1

The Corodon @thecorodon.wandering.shop.ap.brid.gy · 16/05/2026

New resident cat Lita is still figuring out how things work around here. #Caturday

Lita the tortoiseshell calico cat looks skeptically at a dangling wand toy shaped like a rainbow colored piñata horse.

After some consideration, Lita decides to chew on the string holding up the colorful toy.

081 8

The Corodon @thecorodon.wandering.shop.ap.brid.gy · 23/03/2026

Spotted in Philadelphia. Can't tell if the satire is intentional, but it tells a story.

010 1

The Corodon @thecorodon.wandering.shop.ap.brid.gy · 07/02/2026

Who's got no thumbs, one eye, and a clean PCR test for ringworm? This little guy. Ricardo was a hissy little scrunglefuzz when we got him but he's cleaned up and figured out that pets are nice. Almost ready to adopt! #Caturday

Ricardo in the same pose, but turned quizzically toward the camera. He only has one eye; his left eye is shut.

010 1

The Corodon @thecorodon.wandering.shop.ap.brid.gy · 29/01/2026

Me: I think that's enough. Am I done shoveling? Shovel: I don't know about you but *I'm* done shoveling.

A snow shovel lying on the snow, with its aluminum handle bent at almost a 45-degree angle.

006 6

The Corodon @thecorodon.wandering.shop.ap.brid.gy · 14/01/2026

Nothing reassures me about installing Linux on my main laptop than opening up my Windows 11 backup laptop.

A Windows 11 login screen. All the text is the wrong size and garbled. The text "Updates are underway" is partly displayed.

000 0

The Corodon @thecorodon.wandering.shop.ap.brid.gy · 01/01/2026

Pippin's new year's resolution is to remain flawless.

Pippin the orange cat, curled up against a throw pillow on a brown couch, looking comfy and handsome.

020 2

The Corodon @thecorodon.wandering.shop.ap.brid.gy · 06/12/2025

Introduced some new terrain today for the cats to stalk/ambush each other around. #Caturday

At the base of an undecorated Christmas tree, Merry the orange cat is running, a blur except for her hind feet. Pippin the other orange cat is a face amid a blur of legs, about 2 feet in the air mid-startle-jump.

010 1

The Corodon @thecorodon.wandering.shop.ap.brid.gy · 08/11/2025

I spent a few minutes debating whether these would really be safe to eat before I realized it's the *bag* that glows in the dark.

A small bag of Goldfish crackers. It features a pair of white Halloween ghosts on it and the text "Glows in the dark."

100 1

The Corodon @thecorodon.wandering.shop.ap.brid.gy · 13/09/2025

It's #Caturday morning, and Merry has a new box for receiving her breakfast scritches.

Merry the orange cat is curled up in an open-topped pink produce box labeled "peaches." She sticking her head over the edge to be scratched under the chin by my hand, which is just in the bottom of the panel.

021 2

The Corodon @thecorodon.wandering.shop.ap.brid.gy · 23/06/2025

It's a good day to stay inside the house.

Merry the orange cat sticking her head out of a cardboard cat house shaped like a Tudor-style townhouse (very similar to the ones on Queen Lane, if you know the East Falls area). The windows are bright behind her, but covered by white and blue curtains.

010 1

The Corodon @thecorodon.wandering.shop.ap.brid.gy · 10/05/2025

Merry knows it's important to try new things. #Caturday

Merry the orange cat lying by a window on a green kitchen table. She is curled up in a brown cardboard box for cans of cat food. Next to this is the orange mango box she normally uses.

000 0

The Corodon @thecorodon.wandering.shop.ap.brid.gy · 13/10/2024

Happy #Caturday to former foster kitten Henrietta, who just went home with her family for the first time.

Henrietta the little calico cat, dozing in the crook of my arm, with one white pad sticking out.

1251 25

The Corodon @thecorodon.wandering.shop.ap.brid.gy · 10/10/2024

What came in the mail? Oh, it's a cat pillow.

Henrietta the calico kitty lies in the sun on a cushion. Her head is resting on a package in one of those plastic shipping bags.

000 0

The Corodon @thecorodon.wandering.shop.ap.brid.gy · 02/10/2024

The War on Christmas Lowe's, October 2 My Dearest Booliza, The Christmas decorations have arrived in force and sooner than anticipated. They have occupied the entrance and driven the Hallowe'en decorations to the corner. The men worry that the supply of […] [Original post on wandering.shop]

The Christmas display that greeted me when I walked into Lowe's on October 2nd. It consists of lighted artificial trees and inflated Santas, and an archway consisting of presents, a mailbox, an elf, and snowmen.

000 0

The Corodon @thecorodon.wandering.shop.ap.brid.gy · 30/09/2024

If you're in Philadelphia and need a cuddly, climby calico kitty in your life, Henrietta is now up for adoption through Philly PAWS. phillypaws.org/adopt/animals-for-ad…

A 6-month-old calico kitten is lying on a lap, rolling over to expose a white chest.

022 2

The Corodon @thecorodon.wandering.shop.ap.brid.gy · 25/09/2024

Henrietta's absolute favorite toy right now is this pack of ankle socks my poor wife left unattended. I don't think there's any saving it. #CatsOfMastodon