Category: Thoughts & More

A hodgepodge of different topics, “Thoughts & More” is where you will find posts about animation and baking to pop music and wild life.
i.e. Everything.
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Wuthering Heights (2026): A Cheaply-Made Piece of Cake🍰

Wuthering Heights in 2026

When I heard that Wuthering Heights was going to be made into a film again, I was excited to say the least. For one, it’s one of the most beloved classics in English literature, adored by readers worldwide for almost two centuries. And it happens to be one of my favorite novels ever since I picked it up in my teenage years. But the biggest reason was that I had researched over ten different adaptations of Wuthering Heights for my old blog post back in 2021:

Wuthering Heights: What Does Heathcliff Look Like?

I couldn’t wait to see how Heathcliff was going to be portrayed in 2026!

Premonition…After Premonition

After excitedly searching online for the latest news, I learned that the film was going to be written and directed by Emerald Fennell. She had written and directed Promising Young Woman (2020) and Saltburn (2023). I didn’t watch the two, but I had heard great things about Promising Young Woman: about Carey Mulligan’s acting and the film winning Best Original Screenplay at the 93rd Academy Awards.

Director Emerald Fennell. From: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtgTAuJQDTo

I also found out that the latest adaptation of Wuthering Heights would star Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi as Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff, respectively. It’s not that I have anything against the actors or their acting but I couldn’t help being disappointed. I had hoped to finally see Catherine and Heathcliff (especially Heathcliff) played by actors who closely resembled the descriptions written by Emily Brontë. But as if blatantly laughing at such wish, even the actors playing Edgar Linton and Nelly Dean didn’t resemble the characters – not even remotely!

Here’s a brief overview of the cast:

Photo by Eva Rinaldi. From: flickr.com/photos/58820009@N05/28074883999 Photo by JoshPopov. From: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:JacobElordi-TIFF2025-01_%28cropped%29.png. Photos from Wuthering Heights’ official IG account.
Photo by Sidewalks Entertainment. From: vimeo.com/245631051. Photo by Gage Skidmore. From: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Shazad_Latif_by_Gage_Skidmore.jpg. Photos from Wuthering Heights’ official IG account.

But I still remained hopeful. Though there had been over 10 different Wuthering Heights starring Caucasian Heathcliffs and though I had hoped to see an actual “dark-skinned gypsy” Heathcliff on the screen as written by Brontë herself, the latest adaptation might still be good. And though the brown-haired Catherine was now blonde, the blonde Edgar was now dark-haired, and the English Nelly was now Vietnamese American, I thought that these actors and actresses might bring about refreshing new takes on the characters.

Alas, when I watched the official trailer and teaser clips, I wasn’t so hopeful anymore.

This trailer was one of the more decent ones out there.

It wasn’t the actors or their acting that were foreboding. It was the direction of the film itself: from the trailers and teasers, it seemed as if the classic had been reimagined into some flashy, trashy romance.

Yet, I decided to watch Wuthering Heights to not judge a movie by its trailer.

Valentine’s Day Viewing in Seoul

Wuthering Heights made its screen debut this January at the TCL Chinese Theatre but was released in theaters on February 13, 2026 both in the U.S. and U.K. I think the release date was purposely set right before Valentine’s Day, since Fennell’s movie is being marketed as a tragic romance.

And since the first post on their official IG account was this post above!

I happened to be in Seoul, South Korea, where the movie premiered on February 11. To participate in Valentine’s Day events the Korean theaters were hosting with Warner Bros., I decided to watch the film in the evening on Valentine’s Day.

There was this photo setup for the release of Wuthering Heights, modeled after the Lintons’ estate, i.e. Thrushcross Grange:

…Where free prizes were being given out!

A single rose (made of soap), mini bookmark & calendar.

Plus I got these goods given out only to those who purchased tickets for the evening of Valentine’s Day:

Wuthering Heights postcard set & chocolate (made in the image of the movie poster).

I have to say, theaters in Seoul host such fun events and offer merchandise not offered in the States! (From what I hear, theaters in Tokyo also offer fun movie events and merch.) I hope AMC Theatres and Regal Cinemas start offering these kind of events, too.

Inside Megabox, a South Korean multiplex cinema chain, in Gangnam District, Seoul.

Now here’s an honest review of Wuthering Heights…

🥀Honest Review (Spoiler Alert!)

👎A Wuthering Heights That’s NOT Wuthering Heights

Okay, so my premonitions were right: the new adaptation was NOT good. To begin with, it wasn’t Wuthering Heights at all. Not only did the characters of Wuthering Heights (2026) physically not resemble those in the classic written by Emily Brontë, but the content of the film was also unrecognizable. The only things I could recognize were the basic names of the characters; neither the characters nor the plot could be called those of Wuthering Heights!

Here’s a list of the characters from the classic, with those that appear in the film in yellow:

  • Mr. Lockwood
  • Heathcliff
  • Catherine Earnshaw
  • Edgar Linton
  • Ellen “Nelly” Dean
  • Isabella Linton
  • Hindley Earnshaw
  • Hareton Earnshaw
  • Cathernie “Cathy” Linton
  • Linton Heathcliff
  • Joseph
  • Mr. Earnshaw
  • Mrs. Earnshaw
  • Mr. Linton
  • Mrs. Linton
  • Frances
  • Mr. Green
  • Zillah
  • Mr. Kenneth

​As you can see, over half of the characters in the novel don’t appear in the movie. I understand the minor characters not appearing, but for important characters like Hindley, Hareton, Catherine’s daughter Cathy, and Isabella’s son Linton, it’s inexcusable. They’re central to the plot, even if the plot is cut in half (I’ll explore this issue again later below.)

Photograph by Zoe.

👎Characters Disassembled & Disfigured

Let me elaborate on just how unrecognizable the characters in the film were from those in the original novel:

  • Edgar Linton – In the novel, Edgar falls in love with his neighbor Catherine and even after their marriage he is a gentle, loving husband. He is portrayed as a responsible father who tries to protect their daughter, Cathy (named after his late wife) from Heathcliff’s devilish design. But in the film, he is portrayed as someone who had liked Catherine only for her looks.
  • Ellen “Nelly” Dean – Nelly is a witness who relays the story of the two households (Earnshaws and Lintons) to the narrator of the story, Mr. Lockwood. While she is a simple character who stands on the sidelines in the novel, Nelly in the film is depicted as someone more actively involved, feeling intense emotions like jealousy and spite. She plays a pivotal role in separating Cathy and Heathcliff, and hence, triggers their tragedy.
  • Isabella Linton – From a well-brought-up lady, Isabella plummets into a girl who is quite literally mad. I could not believe my eyes when I watched her bark like a dog (I’m not joking!) as Heathcliff’s dog…
  • Joseph – He’s a twisted old servant who acts pious in the novel. For some reason, he’s young in the movie.
  • Zillah – She’s a servant at Wuthering Heights who nurses Isabella and Heathcliff’s son, Linton. For some reason, she appears as someone who has a fling with Joseph.
  • Mr. Earnshaw – In the novel, he is the late father of Cathy and Hindley who, albeit not so responsible, loves Cathy and Heathcliff. But in the film, he’s transformed into a drunk alcoholic and does what Hindley does to Heathcliff.

​As someone who has avidly read the novel multiple times, I have to say: the film has destroyed – nay, disassembled and disfigured – the characters as unrecognizable, especially when it comes to Isabella and Mr. Earnshaw. I think it’s ruining the brilliance of Brontë’s original work; it’s outright disrespectful to distort her characters like that, in my opinion. I wonder what Emily Brontë would think and say if she saw the film herself.

Photo by Mrika Selimi.

Also, I have a word to say about the physical discrepancies of the characters, too. The film’s casting director, Kharmel Cochrane, has stated: “But you really don’t need to be accurate. It’s just a book. That is not based on real life. It’s all art.”1

​She says “it’s just a book.”

Just a book? We’re talking about classic literature here! The movie Wuthering Heights only exists because of the original novel, and people worldwide are heading to the theaters to watch the film because of the novel! Of course, you can’t cast exactly the way Emily Brontë imagined her characters. But isn’t following the descriptions written by the source material’s author the least you can do?

Of course, if you obtain permission from the author, that’s another story (i.e. Netflix’s Bridgerton series).

But Wuthering Heights (2026) can’t, and therefore didn’t, obtain permission. And with reckless abandon, the characters and plot carefully crafted by Brontë were disassembled, disfigured, and recreated, save for the names of the characters and places…

👎 “50 Shades of Heathcliff,” Indeed

Aside from these stellar YouTube comments above, there is one that I have to cite as it perfectly summarizes Wuthering Heights (2026):

In an interview with Fandango, Emerald Fennell said: “The thing for me is that you can’t adapt a book as dense and complicated and difficult as this book…I can’t say I’m making Wuthering Heights. It’s not possible. What I can say is I’m making a version of it. There’s a version that I remembered reading that isn’t quite real. And there’s a version where I wanted stuff to happen that never happened. And so [this film] is Wuthering Heights and it isn’t.”

She justifies the liberal changes she’s made to the source material by adding quotation marks around the title of the movie, stating that an adaptation of a novel should have quotation marks around it.2

But as Katie Behron, one of ELLE’s beauty editor, and Erica Gonzales, deputy digital editor, said, I think the movie shouldn’t even be called Wuthering Heights.3 In my opinion, the movie was more like a Fifty Shades of Grey franchise, as pointed out by the YouTube comment. With all the explicit sensuality, the movie should be titled 50 Shades of Heathcliff.

👍Visual Extravagance At Its Height

But to give credit to the latest “adaptation” of Wuthering Heights, the film was gorgeous visually. Despite being historically inaccurate, the set and costume designs were a delight to view and true feasts for the eyes:

👍Young Actors

Another thing the movie did well in my opinion was the depiction of Cathy and Heathcliff’s childhood. While Mr. Earnshaw was the alcoholic abuser and there was no Hindley, the film did a great job showing how Cathy and Heathcliff depended on each other to survive in a broken home. Charlotte Mellington and Owen Cooper were brilliant as young Catherine and Heathcliff. I think they physically resembled their older counterparts and so were believable as the younger versions of Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi. And their acting was excellent, drawing sympathy from the viewers and helping them understand why the two would share an unbreakable bond.

From: Wuthering Heights’ official IG account.

My Final Take

Just as Emerald Fennell described it herself, Wuthering Heights (2026) isn’t Wuthering Heights at all. It isn’t the Wuthering Heights written by Emily Brontë; it’s not the classic readers around the world have loved for nearly 200 years.

Wuthering Heights (2026) is Fennell’s version of Wuthering Heights: a visually stunning, highly sexualized version.

If I were to compare Brontë’s Wuthering Heights to a high-quality, dark chocolate cake made with the best ingredients, then Fennell’s Wuthering Heights would be a cake based on the same recipe but with lots of liberal revisions to the recipe, made with cheap ingredients and topped with extravagant icing and whipping cream. And since it has omitted more than half of the characters and plot of the novel, it would only be a piece of the cake.

I would not recommend the film to those who have read the novel and cherish Emily Brontë’s story of generational trauma, revenge, and recovery. But I do recommend it to….

  • those who haven’t read the book,
  • those who are fans of Margot Robbie and/or Jacob Elordi,
  • and to those who like Fifty Shades of Grey.

That’s all I have to say about Wuthering Heights (2026)! 👋

P.S. Here’s my review of the classic by Emily Brontë, focusing on the greatest victim in the story – Edgar Linton:

Wuthering Heights: Sympathies to Edgar, the Greatest Victim
  1. https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/apr/29/wuthering-heights-casting-director-margot-robbie-jacob-elordi ↩︎
  2. https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a70006349/wuthering-heights-quote-marks-title-explained/
     ↩︎
  3. https://www.elle.com/culture/movies-tv/a70346113/wuthering-heights-review-book-movie-changes/ ↩︎

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In the Desert

“In the Desert” is a poem I wrote back in college after being inspired by a gospel song written by a Korean singer-songwriter.

In the Desert

By The Time Traveler

As everyone knows,

There is nothing but

Heat and barrenness

In the desert.


It is a dismal place

Surrounded by the bleak view

Of endless sand dunes.

During the day, one has to endure

Unquenchable thirst and oppressive heat

While at night one is tortured by

The piercing wind,

Darkness,

And uncertainty of a tomorrow.

It is a miserable, lonely place to be.


But also in the desert

There is nothing but

The glistening stars above

There is nothing but

Hope for an oasis somewhere

Nothing, no one to turn to but

Jesus

There is no water but

Rivers of living water

There is no one else but

Ourselves to look at,

With all our

Weaknesses,

Hurts,

And flaws

That only God alone

Understands,

Heals,

And envelopes.


We become closer to God

In the desert.
Photos by Rolv Skjærpe, Andrea Caramello, and Kaya Arro.

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BART Appreciation Art – BARTolomew

A few months ago, there was a call for artworks on the Bay Area Rapid Transit system. The BART Art Program invited local artists to submit their artworks to be shared in various public spaces like train stations. Though I learned about this exciting opportunity too late, I still created an artwork to show my appreciation for the public transit system that I’ve frequented these past several years since coming to the Bay Area.

BART train, September 2025.

Voila! Ladies and gentlemen, I present you, BARTolomew:

BARTolomew, Digital Art by The Time Traveler, 2025.

P.S. Aside from the art event, BART hosts other fun events throughout the year. This September, special stickers were given out for the All Aboard Transit Day on Tuesday, September 23, 2025. But they weren’t handed out at every BART station, and I had to search hard to get one of these:

If you want to participate, I suggest following BART on social media for all the details & latest updates. Here’s the link to their Instagram Account: https://www.instagram.com/sfbayarearapidtransit/?hl=en

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Lick Mill & Mansion: Remnants of History Amongst Apartments

Mansion Grove Apartments

I traveled to Santa Clara, CA for the first time recently. And while down there, I visited an apartment complex called Mansion Grove. It’s located near the VTA Headquarters, Samsung, Cisco and other big companies.

The gated community features fountains, pools, a community garden, playground, tennis and basketball courts, and a fitness center. It even has a quaint cottage that residents can borrow for their families and friends. (With a fee, of course!)

Mansion Grove’s leasing office.
Little park and fountain by the leasing office.
Community garden and tennis court.
Fountain and the Cottage that residents can rent for their guests.

I was walking around this peaceful and rather large apartment complex when I spotted the following:

On the left is a circular brick building and on the right is a white wooden structure that looks like a mansion.

Even at a quick glance, these buildings didn’t seem like they belonged there. Though they sit right inside the gated community, something about them had too much of that historical charm. But the most I imagined was that they were old facility buildings from a previous apartment company. Never did I imagine that they were buildings of the richest man in California back in the 19th century!!!

The Lick Mill and Mansion.

James Lick: The Man

Portrait of James Lick
 (August 25, 1796 – October 1, 1876). Ca. 1870.
From the Library Company of Philadelphia.

When I finally got down to researching about the mysterious buildings, I was surprised to find that they were built and owned by a man named James Lick. According to Wikipedia, he was an “American real estate investor, carpenter, piano builder, land baron, and patron of the sciences.”

He was born in 1796 in Fredericksburg (née Stumpstown) in Pennsylvania to Pennsylvanian Dutch parents. His grandfather was a German immigrant who served in the Revolutionary War and his father was a carpenter. After learning the family trade and how to make pianos in Baltimore, Maryland, he built his own shop in New York City. In 1821 at the age of 25, he moved to Argentina, where his piano-making business was successful.

Old photo of Main Street in Fredericksburg, Pennsylvania, circa early 20th century.
From the Matthews Public Library.

His Early Years

As I researched on, it was astounding to see all the drama he faced so early on in his life! Not only did he fall in love with a woman named Barbara Snavely, have his only child with her and never marry, but he also was taken as a prisoner of war at one point. He was coming back to Buenos Aires from his trip to Europe when the Portuguese captured the ship he was on. He had to escape on foot!

After the dramatic escape, he moved from Argentina to Chile due to the political instability at the time and then from Chile to Peru. He then decided to settle in California. In 1848, just a few days before the historic discovery of gold, James Lick arrived in San Francisco.

How the City’s Mission Bay looked like back in November 1848. Illustration by Bayard Taylor. From the British Library. 

What’s also fascinating is that James Lick’s friend and neighbor back from his time in Peru was Domingo Ghirardelli! And apparently, Lick told Ghirardelli to move to San Francisco. Ghirardelli made his name and fortune selling chocolate while Lick made his buying real estate.

Portrait of Domingo Ghirardelli by Gustavo Luzzati.
c. 1899. From the National Portrait Gallery.

Feats of the Richest Man in California

Illustration of the hotel Lick House by William Laird MacGregor, c. 1876.
Published by the S.F. News Company. From the California History Society.

James Lick was at one point the richest man in California, owning large areas of Santa Clara County and San Francisco, land around Lake Tahoe, a large ranch in Los Angeles County, and all of Santa Catalina Island!

He built a grand hotel called Lick House, which sadly burned down in the fire following the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Aside from the ostentatious hotel that was destroyed by the fire, Lick had also…

  • donated to the University of California for the construction of the Lick Observatory,
  • built free public baths called the James Lick Baths,
  • founded the California School of Mechanic Arts,
  • erected bronze statues before the San Francisco City Hall,
  • built a memorial to Francis Scott Key (author of the national anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner”) in the Golden Gate Park,
  • and contributed to the Conservatory of Flowers. (Lick had intended the Conservatory of Flowers for San Jose but it ended up being purchased by San Franciscans and placed in the Golden Gate Park.)
Photo of the Conservatory of Flowers in Golden Gate Park in 1895.
From the Western Neighborhoods Project.

The Lick Observatory

Photogravure of the Lick Observatory, c. 1900. From D. Appleton & Company.

The Lick Observatory was “the largest philanthropic gift in the history of science.” It began its operations in 1888 (Regents of the University of California). It was “the first permanently staffed mountain-top observatory” and “the world’s largest refracting telescope” at the time (University of California). There were groundbreaking discoveries and innovations made at the Lick Observatory, including…

  • “Albert Michelson’s use of interferometry to measure the size of Jupiter’s moons,”
  • Edward Emerson Barnard’s discovery of Jupiter’s fifth moon,
  • creation of a “photographic atlas of the moon,”
  • James Keeler’s study of the spectra of stars,
  • the discovery of “unimaginably large numbers of galaxies,”
  • Robert Trumpler’s “confirmation of the general theory of relativity,”
  • “studies of star clusters,”
  • and the discovery “that dark matter absorbs light in space.”

The Lick Observatory sits on Mount Hamilton, east of San Jose. Surprisingly, it’s also where James Lick is buried. The observatory sounds like a must-visit spot for historians and scientists alike!

Photo of the Lick Observatory by C. C. Pierce, ca.1904-1909.
From the California Historical Society.

The James Lick Mill

Per the City of Santa Clara website, this mill is a “a four-stone, water-powered flour mill” built in 1855.

Here’s a plaque placed by the order of the Santa Clara City Council:

According to the plaque, the flour mill was powered by the water from the Guadalupe River. It was converted into California’s first paper mill in 1873 and in 1882, a fire destroyed the original mill. So, the building standing today isn’t the original built by James Lick. In 1902, the newly-built mill became a plant for alcohol manufacture and in 1987, the building was included in the historic trust zone.

Photo showing how the Lick Mill and its surrounding area looked like back in 1905 on an information board in the Ulistac Natural Area.

The James Lick Mansion

Next to the mill stands the mansion. It was “constructed in 1858 and contains a lovely mahogany interior,” which I could not see as the mansion is not open to the public.

The front door. I SO wanted to get a good tour of the interior! For the time being, I am content with finding these photos shared by the Library of Congress.

It was a well-built, pretty structure with decorative yet simple designs.

And near the mansion was another plaque specifically for the Lick Mansion:

Here’s a close-up of the plaque “placed by order of the Santa Clara City Council”:

Per the plaque, this mansion has been built in “Italianate” style and with native redwood. And all 24 rooms have “imported marble fire places”! 👀

Reason Behind the Mansion

The mansion was large, even by today’s standards. And that got me thinking how, perhaps, James Lick would have felt lonely living in it by himself. When I read about the reason why he had built the mansion, I really think he would have been.

Once the construction of the mill was completed, Lick invited his only son, John Henry, to live with him in a small cabin he had. His son was 37 year’s old and had never met his father before! When he arrived, he let his estranged father know that his mother, Barbara Snavely, had passed away a few years ago.

Portrait of John Henry Lick (1818-1891),
only son of James Lick. Dated 1863.
From Matthews Public Library.

According to this snippet from James Lick’s biography, The Generous Miser, (shared HERE), James Lick couldn’t marry her because her father, a local miller and farmer, deemed him too poor at the time. The source shares that James Lick sent photos of the mill to Barabra’s father after it was built, which just shows how he never got over the refusal.

So this man couldn’t marry the woman he wanted to marry, met the child they had together when the said-child was 37, and never remarried. What’s all the more sad is that apparently, he built the Lick Mansion “in hopes of improving their [he and his son’s] relationship” (Misch and Stone 1998). It’s heartbreaking to read that their relationship didn’t improve, and so Lick didn’t bother to furnish the house properly.

John Henry went back to Pennsylvania in 1863 and only returned just before his father passed away.

Next to the Guadalupe River

Various sources mentioned that the Lick Mill and Mansion were located next to the Guadalupe River. I didn’t know just how close the two actually were to the river! They’re literally right next to it:

The Guadalupe River and the Lick Mansion in 2025.
There’s a biking trail and gates of the Mansion Grove apartments in between.

The Rich Yet Lonely Man

Guadalupe River up close.

Despite the wealth and opportunities James Lick had, he lived such a lonely life. He had someone he wanted to marry but couldn’t and a child he couldn’t become close to.

After reading about the reasons behind the construction of the mill and mansion (and the negligence of the latter), I can’t help but think how affected James Lick was by the things that weren’t granted to him.

One might say he would have had his friends. But apparently, many of his contemporaries thought him eccentric. On top of that, rich people are fully aware that most people approach them for their money. So I think it’s likely that he didn’t really have deep friendships.

James Lick was granted uncommon wealth, power and influence but not what he may have truly longed for: a family.

Ephemerality of the World

Chancing upon James Lick’s mill and mansion in the middle of the Mansion Grove apartment complex just made me realize, again, how transient everything in the world is. Yes, there are schools (i.e. James Lick High School, James Lick Middle School, and Lick-Wilmerding High School), as well as a street, park, freeway, and light rail station (i.e. Lick Mill Blvd, Lick Mill Park, James Lick Freeway, and Lick Mill Station) named in his honor.

VTA light rail station.

I mean, there is a crater on the Moon, an asteroid, a village, and even a species of lizard commemorating him! But most people don’t even know who he was. I chanced upon his mansion and mill in the middle of a modern apartment complex and only found out about his life after doing research on my own.

It doesn’t matter if someone was or is the richest person in California. Everyone fades into obscurity, albeit some leave behind names and/or contributions. James Lick did both, leaving behind his name and making big contributions to the public and to the sciences. And yet, he had also become a part of the oblivion of everyone and everything that once was and were.

Lick Monument, ca. 1876.
In Cedar Hill Cemetery in Fredericksburg, PA.
From Matthews Public Library.

As a practicing Christian, this reality affirms my belief: nothing in this world prevails except for God’s Word that continues to change minds, hearts, and souls:

The grass withers and the flowers fall,
    but the word of our God endures forever.”

Isaiah 40:8
Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

Matthew 24:35

Historical Site Neglected

And as a historian, seeing the mill and mansion of someone so significant to California’s history left as they are in the middle of the apartment complex (next to a parking lot!) is just sad to say the least.

Well… At the very least, the mansion and mill are noted in the apartment map.

P.S. I just realized – it’s called “Mansion Grove” because of the Lick Mansion! 🤯

P.P.S. Here are more posts where history and travel intersect:

P.P.P.S. And here are some aesthetic photos of the Lick Mansion to finally wrap up this post:

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From, The Time Traveler

I wrote a piece for The Fool’s World magazine at the Raleigh Review Playhouse Office. As “The Time Traveler,” I thought my writing on time travels would be perfect to submit as a travel story. Alas, it was rejected by the “literary travel guide.” Nonetheless, I thought I’d share it here on Lit Time Travel since it sums up why I call myself “The Time Traveler” and why I continue to and aspire to write.

Photograph by Jordan Madrid

From, The Time Traveler

            As countless many others dream of doing, I would love to travel to wherever I want at any given time of the year. I would go everywhere, from cosmopolitan cities to rundown historic sites, and do everything I want to do, from sipping dark roast drip at my go-to café to witnessing nature at its purest and its grandest. And maybe one day, I will be one of those lucky globetrotters who get to go everywhere and share their journeys while everyone else sit in their homes and view the world through their eyes. But until then, I’ve decided to resort to time traveling.

            It was actually a decision made quite early on in my life, when I was mature enough to realize my (and most everyone else’s) reality. We’re planted like little seeds in the wide round pot of the world, given light and rain to sprout and connect with the other sprouts around us. It’s a wonderful thing, really, to be given a tiny spot in the world to learn, grow, and spread roots. But some seeds like me want to move around. And when one’s dreams and desires don’t match one’s reality, it can be frustrating to say the least. So, what can a seed that wants to explore the world do when it can’t? Time travel.

            As an experienced time traveler, allow me to share some of the ins and outs of the art. First, there are different modes of time traveling. Yes, you heard that right. One mode is the time traveling done through recollections and imaginations. Everyone has done this, though some have more mastery over it than others. It’s when a person is taken back in time within one’s mind, reliving the words and emotions stored inside, or when a person is propelled forward to the hopes and/or fears of the future. What I mean by mastery or the lack of is that most people do this time traveling involuntarily and unexpectedly, when a word or an image triggers their memories or stirs images of days to come.

            To be honest, I haven’t mastered this mode of time travel: I go forward in time without my realizing and sometimes I have to grapple my way back to the present. But as for the going back in time, I feel quite confident. I can close my eyes and go back to my favorite place: my hometown in Seoul that I left when I was eight. Though it still physically exists exactly where it was twenty years ago, my hometown that I had left has since disappeared. Though I can still look it up online and enjoy satellite photos of the place from different angles, the air is different, breathed by people I don’t recognize. The apartments that are lined up like books have new paint on them, and everything that was so familiar and comforting – my favorite stationery store, our village playground that was literally just a crude and very dangerous metal installation, and my favorite TV programs that aired in the evenings – they’re all gone. And I’m as unfamiliar to my hometown as it is to me.

            But I still have the place inside me, and so I go back to it sometimes. When life becomes quite hard to bear, I close my eyes and go back. Pretend that the helicopters outside the townhouse I’m living in are the helicopters that roamed above the apartments. Imagine that outside my door isn’t the hallway to the building but the dining room of my childhood home, where my mom is cooking dinner and setting the table at the same time. Standing in her view is my dad, who has just come home from work. It’s dark outside and I think the first snow of the year is falling beyond the glass window that’s decorated with Christmas lights. Red, green, and yellow lights blink to the sound of my sister and I, who are giggling and jumping around my dad, who is smiling his gentle and kind smile. I see myself, the younger and livelier version of me – running to my mom and telling her what Dad just said. Then I see the little girl sliding her way back to the living room where my dad and sister are, where the big box of a TV is on, near a Santa doll that moves when you clap at it. And I see that this girl, who is as tall as my waist, is overwhelmed with something that is unmistakenly pure joy as she moves her body side to side like she’s dancing to silent music.

            There are side effects to this mode of time travel. For one, it may cause melancholy and nostalgia hard to get over. So, the other mode of travel that I find myself leaning towards more often is the mode done through words. It’s the travel done when a person reads words on a page and is, as testified by so many bibliophiles, transported mentally to a different era, location, and world, even. For instance, I’ve traveled all over the place across all time periods, including Ancient Egypt, Rome, Judea, and colonial Connecticut, thanks to history textbooks, historical fiction, and even sources like diaries, journals, and letters. Some words, like those found in science fiction or fantasy, introduce the reader to new places of endless possibilities: a world where there’s a school for wizards and witches, a world engineered to have no pain or suffering, or a dystopian world that’s worse than the one we’re living in. This type of time travel really has no side effects aside from the fact that the traveler might lose sense of time. But how great is it that you can visit the Incan Empire all from the comfort of your home, sitting on a sofa? No flight tickets, things to remember to pack, or any other thing to consider; just an hour or two to delve inside the words on the pages. Another perk is the fact that you can visit the Incan Empire at its prime, without all the ruins, and meet people from the era when it thrived.

            I think another great aspect of this mode is that it allows one to travel inside another’s mind, not just to a place, time, or world. The words take one inside the thoughts of the writer or the narrator and in the process, one gets to explore experiences and perspectives one never knew or even thought about. What better way to learn to empathize and become aware of others and not just yourself? And what great way to realize that the world is so much bigger than just yourself and those around you and to find out that you are not alone in your experience, whatever it may be? But if your life is truly a one-of-a-kind story, how wonderful is it that you can write and share to the world and connect with those who felt something from your words? And so, I propose that we all learn to time travel, not just to travel anywhere at any time but so that we empathize, understand, and connect.

            From,

            The Time Traveler

Thanks for reading!

Photographs by Annie Spratt

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Game of Shrooms 2024: Review & Tips for Future Artists & Hunters

Game of Shrooms 2024 Review

The Game of Shrooms has, once again, come and gone. And I must say…What whirlwind of fun that was! I had a blast creating mushroom-themed art and hiding them out in the world like some secret shroom Santa. Plus, I got to find more than one shroom this year! Here are my reflections & takeaways after participating in the 2024 Game of Shrooms.

Experience as a Shroom Artist

Photo by Steve Johnson.

After having participated in last year’s Game of Shrooms, I was determined to join in on the art-n-seek again. And so, I took my own advice from my previous blog post (tip #1) and started early, about two weeks before the day of the event (June 8, 2024).

My pin on the official 2024 Game of Shrooms Artist Map.

Not as early as I had wanted or planned (which was preparing months beforehand), but it was still early enough that I was able to follow my tip #2 and create more than one artwork:

The five shroom art I create for this year.

Thanks to listening to my own advice, I also had enough time to create promotional Instagram posts and reels for all my artworks:

It was so fun to choose the songs to go with my promotional IG posts!

I also created this promotional video a day before June 8th to spread the word online about my shroom art:

Where My Shrooms Were

As I did last year with Shroompoleon, I scattered my shrooms throughout the UC Berkeley campus. These were where I hid them:

  • Faith Series: “Hanging by a Thread” – under this mushroom shaped tree with lots of holes in the Faculty Glade area.
  • Faith Series: “Redeemed” – I hid it with “Hanging by a Thread,” as it was meant to complement the first art.

  • Praying for You – this was hidden along the Faculty Way (pathway between The Faculty Club and Hertz Hall), along mushroom-shaped lights.

  • Queen of Shrooms was hiding under a bed of yellow roses in front of Dwinelle Hall.

  • Can’t Take More Shiitake was under the Abraham Lincoln statue below The Campanile tower.

To my pleasant surprise, all my shrooms were found within a few hours. Thank you to all the wonderful shroom hunters! 🙌

This was a reel that I created for my hint reveal – it was shared around 9 AM on the day of.

Experience as a Shroom Hunter

Photo by Geeky Shots.

I didn’t initially plan on hunting for shrooms. But when I saw that a cute shroom was going to be hidden somewhere near The Cheeseboard Collective, I decided to go for it. I thought I was sure to find and keep it, as I went out to look for it early in the morning on the day of the game. Alas, another hunter had found and claimed it a day before!

I got to the place where artist HH hid her shroom (per the hint she shared via Instagram), but the shroom had already been picked up! 😞

After which, I tried to get to other shrooms nearby, but to my utter dismay, hunters were really, really good at finding the shrooms. Just as it was last year, shroom hunters were dedicated and competitive, determined to find and keep shroom art. Realizing that at the rate at which I was searching I would be shroom-less this year (as I almost was if it weren’t for the artist Tina Banda‘s lit (literally lit, too, as it glows in the dark!) shroom art that I got to find a day after the 2023 Game of Shrooms), I deciphered the location shared by a shroom artist using her hints, lyfted myself to the restaurant/bar and started searching with the fervor of other shroom hunters.

And lo and behold, I found 2 shrooms at the location – a 🍄 magnet and a 🍄 sticker!

Special shoutout to the friendly associate at Mother’s Tongue for helping me find this cute sticker by The Inkcredibles! 🙌

More Shrooms!

I lyfted myself to another location where some shrooms were going to be dropped (per Instagram) and was so very lucky to find more shrooms and even meet the artists as they were dropping off their shroom art!

Adorable shroom pebbles by Saffuric and Francesca Sapien:

Aesthetic shroom art by Eli Wild:

I was able to find more aesthetic artworks by Eli Wild at The Compound Gallery in Emeryville. Here’s one I purchased:

Noctua C3 by Eli Wild.
The Compound Gallery
in Emeryville, CA.
Inside The Compound Gallery.

Game of Shrooms 2024 Review

For the most complete experience, I think it’s best to participate as both shroom hunter and artist. As an artist, you get to experience the joy of creating and sharing your art with those around you. It’s quite an experience to have your art seen and appreciated by people you’ve never met, to have your shroom be picked up and kept by someone you don’t know. And it’s equally wonderful to go on a mushroom hunt, find beautiful, cute, aesthetic, or fun art by an artist you knew or didn’t know about and to keep the treasure of a shroom for free. And I think the whole searching and finding experience makes the shroom art really special. You get to have a fun story to the shroom art you’re keeping!

Game of Shrooms is such a unique experience celebrating creativity and community in a fun way. Not only is it an outlet for creative expression, but also it’s a way for artists to showcase their works to audiences around the world.

Plus, it’s a great way to spotlight and support local businesses, as done by The Inkcredibles. I mean, what a fantastic idea to feature local businesses while participating in an art-n-seek?

Game of Shrooms Tips: For Artists

  • Start Early, Make More Than 1 Shroom Art, Create Promotional Materials (Same Tips as Last Year). A year goes by more quickly than one expects! I highly suggest that you start as early as you can to create great shroom art with leisure. And as there seem to be more eager hunters than artists in most neighborhoods, it’s great for artists to create more than one artwork so that 1) they can promote their art more 2) there are more hunters who successfully find shrooms! And as this event is operated mainly via Instagram, promotional materials are key to spreading the word about your shroom to all hunters out there. And if you start early and share your promotional materials early, they might be shared by the Game of Shrooms IG account!

I was absolutely thrilled to find my reel shared by the official Game of Shrooms Instagram account! 😆

Plus, don’t forget about business cards/artist info to hide with your shroom art!

  • Collaborate with Local Businesses. I think it’s such a great idea to work with local businesses to promote both them and your art, as The Inkcredibles and Tina Banda had done.
  • Hide Early. I suggest hiding your artwork(s) at least an hour earlier than the time you tell your hunters and IG followers that you’ll hide your shroom, as you might run into hunters eager to find your art. This happens quite often!

Game of Shrooms Tips: For Hunters

  • Be Quick & Early. If there’s a shroom you really like, then start following the artist’s Instagram account as soon as possible and get all the hints as soon as you can! Sometimes artists start giving out hints a few days before the day of the Games. Don’t wait for the day of to look for it (like me); if they give out hints, go out there and find it! I had seen clues, yet I didn’t start looking until the day of the Games, and so I ended up losing the shroom to another hunter, who had searched for and found it a day before.
  • Best Chances of Finding Shrooms are in Your Own Neighborhood/Places You Know. Amidst the competition, you have the best chance of finding a shroom for yourself in your own neighborhood/places where you’re familiar enough to quickly use the hints to hunt down shrooms.
  • Vehicle & Comfy Shoes. It’s all about speed when it comes to shroom hunting! Walking and taking public transportation will NOT be quick enough (as I learned sadly last year). You have to have your own car/bike/electric scooters/Lyft/Uber to get to the shroom ASAP.
  • Let Artists Know If You’ve Found Their Shrooms. This saves everyone’s time! Plus it’s a great way to show appreciation for the artists’ works.

    The Countdown Begins!

    Another thing I so very much love about the Game of Shrooms is that the date of the next game is set right away. It has been announced by Attaboy that the next Game of Shrooms will take place on Saturday, June 14, 2025. So… Let the countdown begin!

    P.S. Here are some local Bay Area artists who participated this year and whose shroom art I really wanted to find!

    1. unconcealedbliss
    2. Cluster Mush

    P.P.S. I’ve noticed that not all artists from the 2023 Game of Shrooms participated in this year’s game. Hopefully they come back next year! Here are their wonderful shroom arts from last year:

    1. Sombean
    2. craftybish
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    It’s Back! 🍄Game of Shrooms 2024🍄

    Photograph by Anya Chernik

    It seems like just a few months ago when I wrote my review for the 2023 Game of Shrooms. I can’t believe it’s been practically an entire year! And hence, in just 2 days, mushroom hiders and seekers will once again emerge to celebrate the Game of Shrooms.

    If you’re new to my blog or to the “Game of Shrooms,” it’s an annual art scavenger hunt that will take place this Saturday, June 8, 2024. Created by Attaboy, this fun art event is a chance for artists around the world to create mushroom-themed artworks and hide them anywhere around the world for eager art hunters (?) to find and keep.

    For FAQs and more on the Game of Shrooms, visit: https://yumfactory.com/gameofshrooms/

    Or if you’d like to read my previous blog posts on the Game of Shrooms, click HERE!

    🍄My Shroom Art #1

    Last year, I created a mini portrait titled, Shroompoleon, of (you guessed it!) Napoleon Bonaparte. This year, I created a 2-piece artwork called the Faith series, which consists of a piece titled, “Hanging by a Thread” and another piece titled, “Redeemed.”

    Faith series: “Hanging by a Thread,” 2024
    by The Time Traveler
    The back of “Hanging by a Thread”
    Faith series: “Redeemed,” 2024
    by The Time Traveler
    The back of “Redeemed”

    To whomever finds and keeps these pieces, I hope that they give you comfort and hope.

    🍄My Shroom Art #2

    Listening to my own advice from last year’s Game of Shrooms (again, which you can read all about HERE), I created more than one artwork to hide this year. My second shroom art for this year is: Praying for You. Voila!

    Praying for You, 2024
    by The Time Traveler
    The back of Praying for You

    I was inspired by this image of two mushrooms on Britannica. For some reason, they reminded me of two rappers posing together and hence came to be Praying for You!

    🍄My Shroom Art #3

    My third shroom art is, in a way, a continuation of last year’s Shroompoleon. Ladies and gentlemen, I present you Reine des Champignons, aka Queen of Shrooms.

    Reine des Champignons
    aka Queen of Shrooms, 2024
    by The Time Traveler
    The back of Reine des Champignons,
    aka Queen of Shrooms

    I was inspired by this Marie Antoinette drawing by an unidentified artist from Wellesley College Library’s Special Collections, shared by this cool journal Journal18.

    I really like how this piece turned out!

    🍄My Shroom Art #4

    Lastly but not least, here is my piece, Can’t Take More Shiitake.

    Can’t Take More Shiitake, 2024
    by The Time Traveler.

    And this piece comes with a mini easel! 😁

    🍄Clues to Finding My Shroom Arts

    Clues to the whereabouts of the above mushroom-themed artworks will be shared via my stories on Instagram. Tune in on Saturday morning at: https://www.instagram.com/littimetravel/

    Good luck and happy creating, hiding and hunting! 🍄

    ← Back

    Thank you for your response. ✨

    P.S. Which of the 🍄 artworks do you like most? (More than one vote is more than welcome!)

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    Game of Shrooms 2023: Review & Tips for Future Artists & Hunters

    Photo by pure julia.

    Well, Game of Shrooms has come and gone! It was my very first time (ever!) participating. As expected, it was exhilarating and exhausting to join in as both artist and shroom hunter. For this year’s game, I created one mushroom-themed artwork titled, Shroompoleon (aka Napoleon Shroomaparte), which was claimed by a mystery hunter within a few hours.

    Shroompoleon before and after getting wrapped.

    Shroompoleon out in the wild.

    I don’t exactly know how long it took Shroompoleon to find his forever home, as I wasn’t notified. Meanwhile, I ran around the East Bay for over 4 hours looking for shroom arts but found 0 to keep! 😭

    *6/12/23 Update: I found a shroom art two days after the Game of Shrooms officially ended! Special shoutout to my colleague for notifying me of the lovely shroom art created by Tina Banda:

    Beautiful shroom art by artist Tina Banda. Click HERE to view the artwork on her Instagram page.

    Needless to say, I was so unprepared for this event despite hearing about it from my colleague months before. My colleague had successfully found multiple shrooms in the previous Game of Shrooms. Allow me to share what I learned from her and most importantly, from experiencing the games firsthand.

    But before I share any lessons/tips, here’s a brief overview of Game of Shrooms 2023!

    Game of Shrooms 2023 Review

    The anticipation was quite exhilarating. As the day drew nearer and nearer, more red mushroom pins started to pop up on the Artist Map. This was what the map looked like in the evening on Friday June 9, 2023, just a few hours before the game officially began:

    Screenshot of the Artist Map (global view). Note: There was a shroom pin in Antarctica! 😂
    🍄 Limited to a Few

    Although there were so many mushroom pins on the map, the number of shrooms you can actually look for is way fewer as you are limited to where you live and the areas around it. You also need to be lucky to be living in the same area as the talented artist(s) whose work(s) you want to find and keep. For instance, I loved the shroom arts created by Dana Paints Co., especially this artwork shown on Instagram HERE. (If I remember correctly, the official Game of Shrooms Instagram account featured this artwork!)

    And these mushroom earrings by moonlightingnz!!!

    Alas, the paintings were going to be hidden away in Old Town Fort Collins in Colorado while the earrings were all the way in New Zealand..

    🍄 Shroom Art by Bay Area Artists

    Shroom pins that showed up in the East Bay.

    Luckily for me, there were several artists in the East Bay whose works I really adored and wanted to find:

    Not to mention the gorgeous shroom paintings by Eli Wild, this locket with shroom art inside created by Stephanie Silk, unique shroom earrings by Kelly, and various shroom goodies by The Inkcredibles! And I didn’t even get started on the shroom works created by artists from the City, like these glow-in-the-dark shrooms by Arcanist Union.

    🍄 Experience as a Hunter: 4 Hours of Desperate Search 👀

    So the day before the hunt began, I made a list of artists whose works I wanted to find and keep (see above). Then I followed their Instagram accounts for the latest hints shared and wrote them down on my phone. I thought this was enough preparation. Boy, was I wrong!

    When the day of the Game dawned, I leisurely ate breakfast and headed outside. To my utter surprise, when I opened Instagram on my phone, I saw that many of the artworks had already been found! I tried to keep my calm as I went on to look for other artworks. But as I made my way to the locations hinted at by the artists, those shrooms were being claimed as well!

    I began to panic a little as I desperately tried to find remaining shrooms. But as I walked around the East Bay huffing and puffing in search of shroom art, I was notified by the artists that all their works had been claimed.

    After over four hours of searching and finding nothing, I resigned and admitted my defeat.

    Photo by Bacila Vlad. This was me looking out the window after coming back home. I had completely failed as a shroom hunter.

    🍄 Experience as a Participating Artist: Consolation & Gratitude 🎨

    I utterly failed as a shroom hunter this year, finding not a single shroom art even after over 4 hours of searching. But I was glad to know that my shroom art, Shroompoleon, had been claimed with all its packaging and message. Knowing that Napoleon Shroomaparte had found his forever home was a consolation. If it weren’t for the art I had hidden, I don’t think I would have felt like I participated in this year’s Game of Shrooms.

    Below is the reel I made for shroom hunters looking for Shroompoleon:

    Game of Shrooms Tips: For Artists

    Here are some useful tips for artists who want to participate in the next Game of Shrooms:

    1. Start Early. I’d say you should take ample time to create artworks that people would want to find and keep. This is an excellent opportunity to share your passion, your creativity, to the public! Make the most out of it.
    2. Make more than one artwork. You can certainly create just one shroom art, but I’ve noticed how popular artists make more than one. I think it’s great for them to do that, as it creates more chances for those who want to find and keep their works.
    3. Create good marketing materials. Utilize social media to build anticipation leading up to the day of the game, and prepare business cards/flyers to hide with your work. Again, this is your chance to share your art and bring joy to others via your art!
    4. Beware that your art will be found very quickly. As I found out this year, shroom hunters are very competitive and eager to find artworks! This will be especially true if you are a talented artist. I know one artist whose shrooms were claimed minutes after they were hidden!
    5. Understand that people might not tag or mention you. Although I’ve asked hunters to tag me if they found Shroompoleon, I wasn’t tagged/messaged that my art was found. And I’ve heard from other artists that they also didn’t get notified. Though some hunters most definitely will tag you in Instagram or send you a message to let you know and thank you, understand that not everyone will for one reason or another.

    Game of Shrooms Tips: For Hunters

    They say failure is the mother of success. Here are the most important things I learned this year for a more successful hunt next year:

    1. Know thy neighborhood. You will have the most advantage in the neighborhood you are familiar with, whether that be the town you grew up in or lived the longest in. One might think this won’t matter but it does, when there are numerous hunters vying for shroom art.
    2. Vehicle, vehicle, vehicle. You need wheels for this event! Unless you want to walk around cities on foot like me and dejectedly watch everyone find shrooms before you do. Public transit won’t get you far either. At the very least, get an electric scooter, with which you can race to shrooms before others.
    3. The game is no joke. I had no idea people were this passionate about shroom art! The competition is fierce, especially for popular artworks. So set out early, have a plan, keep tabs on artists and follow them to get the latest hints.
    4. If you feel comfortable, please do let the artist(s) know. Please do let the artist(s) know that you’ve found their artworks! It helps them keep count of their works yet to be found and keeps others from looking for shrooms already found. Also, it just makes the artists’ day if you let them know and show appreciation. 💜
    5. Comfy shoes are a must!!! The reason why I survived the approximately five hours of walking and running was my tennis shoes. If it weren’t for them, my feet would have been covered with blisters. Even if you plan to drive around, I say comfortable shoes are a must – you never know when you’ll have to run to your destination!
    6. Divide & conquer. Work as a team with friends/family members interested. With different shroom artworks hidden across an entire neighborhood/city, it’s best to divide and conquer.

    Final Words

    Last but not least, stay safe! As it says on the official Game of Shrooms page, it is an “at your own risk event” in which you will be participating with total strangers. Practice safety!

    Equally important, watch where you’re going! Due to the excitement and fear of losing yet another art to another shroom hunter, I was impatient to cross roads and sometimes running to get to places. Beware of cars, pedestrians, and whatnot!

    There you have it – tips for hunters and artists for the next game of shrooms. And guess what? Attaboy, the creator of Game of Shrooms, announced the date of the next game already! Game of Shrooms 2024 will be on June 8, 2024.

    🍄 Let the countdown begin!!! 🍄

    P.S. To view my post on the Game of Shrooms before the 2023 event, click HERE (feat. all the excitement & anticipation).

    P.P.S. Did you know that Tina Banda’s shroom art glows in the dark? It’s stunning! 🤩

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    Game of Shrooms: It’s Time to Hunt for Artsy Shrooms!

    It’s finally June… Which means Game of Shrooms is almost here! Next week, the 2023 Game of Shrooms will commence. What is “Game of Shrooms”? It’s an annual art hide-and-seek that takes place all over the world for just one day; and this year, it’ll be on Saturday June 10, 2023. It’s a day when artists around the world hide their original art of/about/inspired by mushrooms out in the public. Participants use clues given by the artists to find their artworks, and finders get to keep the artworks! According to the official website HERE, this festive event was created by Attaboy in 2019. (For more on Attaboy, aka Daniel Seifert, visit his bio HERE.)

    Photo by Irina Iacob.

    Until this year, I had no idea that such a thing even existed! I guess that’s because it’s only been 4 years since it began (this is only the fifth Game of Shrooms event to have ever taken place!) and because it’s an “underground holiday,” per Attaboy’s website. I only found out thanks to a colleague of mine who had participated last year.

    And so here I am, joining in on this year’s Game of Shrooms!

    🍄How to Participate

    Photo by Michael Fousert.

    Want to join in on this year’s Game of Shrooms? You can do so by simply searching for a mushroom artwork hidden nearby (to view the map of all the participating mushrooms, click HERE. Scroll down and refer to the interactive map to find your nearest/favorite mushroom art!

    Screenshot of the interactive Global Map featured on the official website.

    Or, you can do so by hiding a mushroom! To participate as an artist, you’ll need to create an original artwork(s) featuring mushroom(s). Then, submit the form on the Game of Shrooms website HERE. *Scroll down until you see this form below to fill out:

    This is the electronic form you need to fill out if you are hiding your artwork for others to find!
    Some info you’ll need to fill out on the form.

    After filling out the form and clicking on the “Submit” button, this page should show up:

    Your pin should appear on the map sometime later (it says it’s not added instantly). The final step is to promote your mushroom art via social media and give hints to those who want to find your artwork! 🙂

    *Some important guidelines for the event include…

    1. Not hiding artworks in protected areas.
    2. Not damaging private property.
    3. Not leaving any trace after the event, i.e. picking up after yourself. If no one finds your art, you need to retrieve it from the hiding place.

    For more guidelines and useful hints, visit the official website at: https://yumfactory.com/gameofshrooms/

    🍄My Shroom Art

    Photo by Margaret Jaszowska.

    It took me a while to even decide what to create. As I scrolled through the official Instagram account of Game of Shrooms, I saw unique artworks that were painted, sculpted, quilted, felted, and even carved. I was tempted to craft something out, as it looks (and is) like an original souvenir. But as I know the limit of my crafting skills, I opted in to do a painting. But to keep the souvenir-like feel to it, I decided to paint on a tiny canvas. It’s harder to find, easier to take home, and cuter, I think, to keep!

    I initially imagined painting cute little mushrooms, but after seeing this incredibly artistic shroom portrait of King Henry VIII (click HERE for the artwork featured on Instagram) I changed my mind. As someone who loves history, I was way too inspired to go back to painting tiny mushrooms.

    And hence, my art for this year’s Game of Shrooms was born. I present to you, Napoleon Shroomaparte, aka Shroompoleon!

    Napoleon Shroomaparte, aka Shroompoleon (The Time Traveler, 2023)

    Clues to Finding “Shroompoleon”

    Shroompoleon will be hidden at the University of California, Berkeley – somewhere in the southern part of the campus. Here is the mushroom pin on the Global Map:

    More hints will be disclosed on June 10th via Instagram. Stay Tuned… Happy hunting!

    P.S. If you find Shroomaparte, please tag @littimetravel for a special shoutout. 😉

    6/10/23 Update #1: Happy Game of Shrooms Day! Hints have gone live on Instagram. Here they are:

    6/10/23 Update #2: Shroompoleon was found and taken to his forever home by a mystery shroom hunter sometime before 12 PM. Thank you all for your interest & support! ❤

    6/12/23 Update #3: I found a mushroom art to keep!

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    The Passing of Powell Cat, A True UCLA Icon

    Did you know that there was a cat named “Powell Cat” at the University of California, Los Angeles?

    You probably didn’t.

    Because not even everyone who attended or visited UCLA knew “Powell Cat.” Only some of the hundreds of thousands of alumni and friends knew. And of those who knew that such a cat had existed, even a fewer number of people had had actual interactions with him.

    I was one of the lucky few who got to know Powell Cat. And so, when I had learned back in early March that he had passed away, it hurt. Very much. It felt as if I had lost a friend that I had known from back in college.

    In a way, that was what Powell Cat was to me.

    Powell Cat, circa 2021.

    Powell Cat’s Life

    The Powell Library and Janss Steps at UCLA seen from Glorya Kaufman Hall.

    Powell Cat appeared in my life sometime in 2018, but he was spotted by others long before that. According to Daily Bruin, he had been seen on campus since around 2015. And according to his Instagram account, he was born sometime in 2013. People said that his name was “Powell Cat” because he was spotted first near UCLA’s Powell Library. Sometime later, he moved his permanent residence from the Powell Library to Glorya Kaufman Hall (located down below the Janss Steps), but the name had stuck and he would always be referred to as “Powell Cat.”

    Glorya Kaufman Hall.

    A group of student volunteers called, “The Powell Cat Feeder Friends,” started giving food and water routinely to the cat while a campus librarian took care of his vet visits and vaccinations. He received toys and treats from students and enjoyed further popularity with his own Instagram account.

    Food and water bowls placed outside the Kaufman building.

    My First Encounter

    Powell Cat wasn’t the only cat I had met while studying at UCLA. In fact, I’m pretty sure he wasn’t even the first. The first cat I ever spotted on campus was, I think, a black cat roaming around the Library. Maybe it was the Powell Cat. But there were several cats spotted near the library every once in a while, so I’m not 100% sure.

    I don’t remember the exact date, but I met Powell Cat while going to or coming back from a class held on the northern side of campus. Looking back, he was always hanging out in front of the Glorya Kaufman Hall. He would be loafing next to the entrance or chilling by the steps. Wherever he was at the Kaufman Hall, his black and white tuxedo colors would stand out from the earthy, red building behind him.

    Sometimes he would be doing his own thing, like licking himself clean or closing his eyes to fully enjoy the warm sunlight.

    Other times, he would recognize me and come forward to me for me to pet him. Whatever he was doing, it was such a treat to spot him and spend a few minutes with him. He wouldn’t say a word but his company was enough to brighten my day.

    My Memories

    I remember this one incidence that made me appreciate Powell Cat even more. It was during our regular meet and greet session. I was stroking his head as well as his back when suddenly the cat startled and bit me. But he put just enough pressure on my hands with his teeth so that I wouldn’t bleed. I was startled, too, at his sudden change in behavior until I saw the reason why: he had a fresh scar on his back (hidden within his black fur) and I had accidentally brushed the area. He was in pain so he was telling me to stop, to not touch the area.

    He could surely have bit me as I had hurt him. But he didn’t. It was as if he knew that I didn’t mean to hurt him. I was amazed at Powell Cat’s thoughtfulness. And from that experience, I am, to this day, astounded by how deeply animals can think – specifically at how considerate cats can be.

    But my favorite memory of Powell Cat was when I had visited him back in 2021 with a dear friend of mine from Switzerland. Much time had passed since I had last seen my friend and Powell Cat, so it was all the more special to meet them again. My friend hadn’t known about Powell Cat; she had never seen him while studying at UCLA. So I introduced her to him and he was just as sweet and friendly as he had been since the last time I had seen him.

    After spending time with Powell Cat with my friend, I tried to visit UCLA multiple times to see the cat again. But every time I went to the steps in front of Kaufman Hall (with a custom-made cat bed for him), he wasn’t there. I only saw his food and water bowls along with some of his toys. There would be traces of him, like scattered bits of cat food or a toy played with a while ago, but he wasn’t there. Each time I missed him, I thought to myself that I would see him the next time I visited.

    Traces of Powell Cat.

    I didn’t know that my visit back in 2021 would be the last time I would ever see him.

    A UCLA Icon

    Powell Cat passed away on March 9, 2023, but my memories of him will live on.

    Powell Cat napping. Circa 2019.

    He was an important part of my UCLA experience. As a part of my daily walk to and from classes, he brightened my mood even as the small speck of black and white he was from afar. Honestly, he means more to me than the official mascot, the Bruin Bear, that adorns all UCLA swag or the unofficial mascot, the infamous squirrels, that have invaded the entire campus.

    He was a true UCLA icon to the lucky students and friends who got to know him.

    May he be resting in heaven.

    P.S. The Instagram account of Powell Cat can be found HERE. And here is everyone’s message to him on Kudoboard HERE. It’s incredible how many lives Powell Cat had touched during his lifetime…

    P.P.S. There was a memorial ceremony held on campus in front of the Library, as detailed in the Daily Bruin HERE. And there have been petitions to build a statue in his memory. I don’t know how I feel about the statue. Because although Powell Cat was special to me and others who knew him, not everyone knew him. And I think the fund that would go to building a statue can be utilized elsewhere to help students in need.

    P.P.P.S. I visited UCLA very recently (December 2023) and spotted these items made in memory of the iconic cat:

    It was so nice to see the Powell Cat commemorated in the store! 💙💛