DK's m..a..d.. d..o..-i..n..g..s........

[DKShrimporium]

Originally Posted by Loachutus

How about Ebirah?

Oh, that is even BETTER! Perfect!

Ebirah, it is.

As a kid, I grew up staying up WAAAAAAAAAY too late Friday nights and summer nights in the concrete basement watching those cheesy Japanese sci-fi movies, so this is all pure nostalgia! I still remember the giant ants scaling the walls of Tokyo skyscrapers and giant blobs of slime oozing out windows with loads of Japanese citizens screaming and running down the streets!

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The shrimp is a fabric print called a furoshiki (text from seller on etsy dot com, search "people" for kyotocollection if you want one to decorate your shrimp space!):

Furoshiki are traditional Japanese wrapping cloths.

I get my furoshiki directly from Hayashi San(Mr. Hayashi), who took over the business from his father, and his company has been making high quality furoshiki like this for over 70 years here in Kyoto. As with many traditional things here, furoshiki are not as commonly used as they once were, and without increased support, both in Japan and abroad, it's inevitable the number of furoshiki companies will keep thinning.

I've been looking for an authentic source for furoshiki for some time now, and was so glad to find Hayashi San. His company is a member of the Furoshiki Study Group, which is made up of Japan's surviving 40 or so Furoshiki companies. They aim to introduce people to the beauty and practicality of furoshiki.

I was also fascinated to learn a bit about the rich history of furoshiki, which is quite long and colorful. As a student of the Japanese language, I was surprised to realize that 'furo' is from the word for bath. I'd never thought to connect the two! And 'shiki' is a thing that is spread on the ground. It seems that In the Edo Period, from the 17th to 19th century, larger sized furoshiki were used to wrap the clean clothes in, carried the just worn clothes home, and in between, were spread on the bath house floor to stand on while changing.

[DKShrimporium]

DK has been busy cross-pollinating with some other hobbyists... should hopefully have some new goodies to show later today or soon...

heh heh....


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[DKShrimporium]

DK has gained 85 pounds in the past 24 hours... silica-based petrified wood... all goodness...


...can't y'all just see teeming masses of shrimp crawling all over these ledges...


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[mordalphus]

Dk, I think we need to have a talk about your recent silica-based addiction. This is two times in as many months that youve come home with a 'score'...

[AlisaR]

Originally Posted by DKShrimporium

...can't y'all just see teeming masses of shrimp crawling all over these ledges...


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I sure hope so!

[dxiong5]

Great looking stones! I can see shrimp crawlin' all over them...particularly them Cardinals and their ever-busy white peds - speaking of which, do you keep Sulawesi shrimp?

[wicca27]

i so need some of that weight in my tanks its very nice looking

[DKShrimporium]

Originally Posted by mordalphus

Dk, I think we need to have a talk about your recent silica-based addiction. This is two times in as many months that youve come home with a 'score'...

Oh, yeah, right, Liam.

I'll bet if we bumped into one another in a dark alley and I slipped you a rock, you'd take it. And come back, and ask if there's any more...

Originally Posted by dxiong5

Great looking stones! I can see shrimp crawlin' all over them...particularly them Cardinals and their ever-busy white peds - speaking of which, do you keep Sulawesi shrimp?

I haven't a single one... their little white claws would look neat, all picking away, though...


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Here's what DK did with them. The biomes are designed to culture biofilms on a large top surface area, and have a viewable large underneath area for partying.


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[wicca27]

looks good is there a secret to where you get it cause i would be interested to know where i myself could find some

[DKShrimporium]

Originally Posted by wicca27

looks good is there a secret to where you get it cause i would be interested to know where i myself could find some

It can be found on ebay and craigslist but beware of sizing; it's extremely hard to tell the size from photographs and weights - look at measurements. Also beware it's expensive to ship as it's heavy and would need good packaging.

The best way is to find a local gem and mineral club and then ask around among members. Tell them you want something inert that won't leach carbonates or other things. This is how I sourced it, and even then I was extremely lucky because my local club no longer has a source of it. Many collection places require a permit to collect, and if you don't have an active permit you cannot collect raw material.

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Pic, tonite - DKMSJ from DKWF 3.0 at work - 5 berried, 1 saddled in this pic


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[DKShrimporium]

Here's something I've been playing with a couple years, now: papaya crystals. They are selectively bred for the "bleed" gene in pigment and have a nearly fluorescent pink/salmon/neon orange overlay. Still working on these...


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[AlisaR]

Why do you show me these things!?!

[wicca27]

those are awsome dk

[DKShrimporium]

Originally Posted by AlisaR

Why do you show me these things!?!

Simple: There are a lot of new masculine heavy-metal head banger (KING KONG, RED WINE) new varieties, and we girls need ours, too.

So something pink and lacey...

Next, DK's gonna develop a shrimp in nude with black lace overlay... that's girly!

Or maybe a snow white with metallic beaded necklaces... or scarlet red rostrums...

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Here's a pic that better shows the scale of rockscape using the petrified wood:


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[DKShrimporium]

And some detail shots of the amazing contours of this petrified wood...

They remind me so much of the water's edge scene in What Dreams May Come...

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