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December 27, 2014 by tomdalzell

Of the sea

 

Of the sea – this was a name for a post that was instant and obvious.  How does that happen, a phrase appearing in the mind, establishing itself as the Right Phrase?  I surely don’t know.

2229 Roosevelt

2229 Roosevelt

These photos depict artistic depictions of ocean creatures, real and imagined.  Imagined is Oh So Much more fun than real, so let’s start with the imagined – mermaids.  Mermaids have appeared in the folklore of many cultures for many centuries.  They have fascinated us for many years.  I’ll bet that Gabby has mermaid postcards, not that we need to see them.

Atagaris

An early mermaid in folklore was Atagaris, an Assyrian goddess.

li_merma

Waterhouse_Hylas_and_the_Nymphs_Manchester_Art_Gallery_1896.15disney-little-mermaid

Through the ages – Hans Christian Anderson, John William Waterhouse, and Disney.  My oldest daughter Julia was four when the Disney “Little Mermaid” was released.  We went to see it at the Oaks on Solano.

The-Little-Mermaid-Urusla

It didn’t end well.  Ursala the Sea Witch terrified her.  “This movie isn’t for kids!” is exactly what she shouted.  She felt betrayed.

Now – the mermaids of Berkeley.

"Just some mermaid."  1309 Walnut

“Just some mermaid.” 1309 Walnut

2219 Marin. Photo: Colleen Neff

2219 Marin. Photo: Colleen Neff

 905 Contra Costa

905 Contra Costa

2815 Benvenue

2815 Benvenue

2233 McKinley

2233 McKinley

2233 McKinley

2233 McKinley

1509 Juanita

1509 Juanita

65 Sunset

65 Sunset

To the depictions of the real, starting with fish:

Quirky Berkeley Walk IMG_5998

527 Woodmount

527 Woodmount

2219 Marin

2219 Marin

2219 Marin

2219 Marin

1315 Henry

1315 Henry

1074 Spruce

1074 Spruce

1074 Spruce

1074 Spruce

25 El Camino

25 El Camino

2375 Cedar

2375 Cedar

7 Virginia Garden

7 Virginia Garden

1004 Merced

1004 Merced

731 Virginia

731 Virginia

Fish 1204 Cedar

1204 Cedar

 

1318 Talbot

1318 Talbot

Urban Ore, 900 Murray

Urban Ore, 900 Murray

Whales:

3000 block Bateman

3000 block Bateman

1640A University

1640A University

1020 Grizzly Peak

1020 Grizzly Peak

60 Halkin

60 Halkin

374 Vassar

374 Vassar

1431 Spruce

1431 Spruce

1736 Rose

1736 Rose

Octopi:

1309 Walnut

1309 Walnut

937 Grayson

937 Grayson

And other creatures:

Mosswood Lane

Mosswood Lane

2721 Shattuck

2721 Shattuck

2127 Blake

2127 Blake

A lobster!  Do you speak Crustacean?

 2809 Grant

2809 Grant

1605 6th

1605 6th

1029 Pardee

1029 Pardee

1029 Pardee

1029 Pardee

The Happy Clams described themselves as a “Geezer Punk” band that is the “clear favorite in unpopular music.”.  They play at the Missouri Lounge on San Pablo.  Perfect!

1315 Santa Fe

1315 Santa Fe

And tardigrades.  You know –

tardigrades_06-600x514TardigradeDiagram

Segmented sea animals.  And –

Fish-1

 

The Tsui “fish house” at 2727 Mathews Street.  Which is not a fish but a tardigrade.  With an obvious resemblance:

Screen-shot-2013-09-04-at-4.49.27-AM

And then there are murals of the sea and her creatures, at the former aquarium store on Shattuck that is now a medical marijuana dispensary:

3033 Shattuck

3033 Shattuck

3033 Shattuck

3033 Shattuck

3033 Shattuck

3033 Shattuck

At the Willard Pool:

"Quirky Berkeley " "Quirky Berkeley " "Quirky Berkeley "And at the Cedar Market:

1601 California

1601 California

1601 California

1601 California

1601 California

1601 California

This is, I submit, a respectable collection of material culture of the sea.  Some of the photos leave a little to be desired, but – you get the picture, a good dose of sea things.

I went to show the photos to my friend.  He was preoccupied going through a collection of advertisements for Paramount’s “race records” of the 1920s and 1930s.  He stopped, stretched, and went through these photos.  His verdict?

IMG_3677P.S.  Also of the sea – boats.

We have the occasional boat in a driveway.  Mostly kayaks, but the occasional suggestion that we are not in Berkeley:

1409 Allston

1409 Allston

And a few artistic depictions of boats and ships:

771 San Luis

771 San Luis

 742 Cragmont

742 Cragmont

1825 Marin

1825 Marin

 635 Santa Rosa

635 Santa Rosa

And a couple stunning anchors:

2001 Francisco

2001 Francisco

Posted in Uncategorized. RSS 2.0 feed.
« Gabby’s Mermaid Postcards
The architecture of Friedensreich Regentag Dunkelbunt Hundertwasser »

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