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Witness the Sashimi Tabernacle Choir [link], an art car that occasionally graces the streets of Houston. It is quirky, eye-catching, and mechanically awe-inspiring.

Neither words nor photos do the STC justice; it must be experienced. But try to imagine the jarring cacophony of Beethoven’s 9th as it blares through large speakers. Meanwhile your eyes are confronted by a platoon of animatronic aquatic creatures - bass, sharks, and lobsters. Fortunately, the platoon flaps and wiggles and sways as a glorious synchronized unit. All obey the head lobster/conductor who wobbles precariously from a vertical pole that telescopes out of the roof.

Those who witness this engineering feat cannot help but cheer and wave. What else can you do when exposed to fish flapping so exuberantly?

This blurry photograph somehow best approximates the stately yet exuberant progress of the STC during the Art Car Parade.

And yes, this is the possible use of dancing fish that I can imagine.

Let the record show: this is the birthday boy, mere days before his __1st birthday.

He really is not a looming giant. But try swinging your standard-issue 50mm lens upwards and this is the kind of slightly distorted perspective you can create.

For me, this perspective was born of laziness. Sitting quite comfortably on the curb, I realized that a birthday portrait was in order.

I photograph because I don't want to be photographed.

So that final photo assignment in my photo workshop tortured me, for a bit. I took a few deliberately out-of-focus shots in the mirror but those were destined only for the trashcan.

While gawking at the festival of ecccentrics that is the Art Car Parade, I found my answer: a certain art car shimmering chaotically in the sun. Eureka!

Camera, meet the art car "Shattered Vanity." Car, meet camera. Camera, here's self.

Voila: another portrait of mug that I like to think of as "Mug Aglow". I must confess that this is a lazy effort on my part; the result would be spectacularly boring if not for the hypersaturation and miami-esque tweaking of colors. That's what I like about mug: the pristine white surface can become any color under the sun with minimal effort.

If you can't get enough of mug and the many moods thereof, here's more: www.pbase.com/transpixt/mug.