A mnemonic to remember the order of the Chinese zodiac signs, with capitalized letters representing the signs: ROTa ReaDS, "HuG Me oR Die, Pig!" Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, Pig. Could also be ROoT, if rota is an unfamiliar word. #mnemonic

With a show currently hanging at Core Art Space, I'm applying my style on a smaller scale by drawing MTG tokens. Ton of fun. Hard to see in a photo, but they combine color pencil and metallic ink for a very cool foil look. Maybe I can sell them? #mtg #mtgtokens #magicthegathering

Ticks that cause an allergy to meat? See, this is what happens when you give Jonathan Safran Foer a CRISPR machine. #meatallergy #vegetarian #vegan ‘Explosive increase’ of ticks that cause meat allergy in US due to climate crisis www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

"Patriotism, n. —Combustible rubbish ready to the torch of anyone ambitious to illuminate his name. Dr. Johnson's dictionary defines patriotism as the last resort of a scoundrel. With all due respect to an enlightened but inferior lexicographer I beg to submit it is the first." — Ambrose Bierce 🌱📷

Really enjoying how our dining room altar is taking shape. Feel like it's finally come to life. #altar #buddha #buddhist #earthwitness #ecodharma

Awakening Microcosms is a new body of work based on the micro-worlds of lichen, fungi and the tiny universes within them. I have fallen in love with them…each painting permeating my being. Thank you @joeltagert.bsky.social for suggesting this exploration. #lichenart #denverartist #interconnectedness

"A boss is a system of mistrust." - Alan Watts

What Are Our Dietary Restrictions?

I got out this ladder to hang some shade sails, and in a few minutes discovered this rash on my arm. Apparently ladders are sometimes made of fiberglass, which can deteriorate in the sun and then be a fucking menace. "Fiberglass bloom," it's called. Like, whose idea was this??

Still waiting for Vanilla Ice to release an anti-fascist remix of "Ice ICE Baby." #abolishice

Get your feet wet!

This deer kindly posed for me on lower Bill's Loop. #ecodharma #colorado #rockymountains #deer

This big fella has been hanging out by the east deck all day, enjoying all that long green grass. #moose

look, I may not agree with everything our president says, but I will defend to the death his right to be impeached, removed from office, arrested, stripped of his wealth, tried for his crimes and thrown straight the fuck into prison

Absolutely slapping remix by Vandelux. open.spotify.com/track/21bMlg...

Was just talking on the phone about the moose when this one literally showed up at my window. #moosewatch

I've never seen Mt Audubon so completely whited out before... #audubon #colorado

First retreat of the season is underway, and...yeah, it's April in the mountains. #ecodharma #colorado

This mother and calf have been coming by regularly to enjoy the new grass directly off the east deck. Calling em Mohawk and Mrs Whitemane. #moosesky #ecodharma

THE RISE OF END TIMES FASCISM My first major piece of the new Trump era, co-written with @astra.bsky.social. The governing ideology of the far right has become a monstrous, supremacist survivalism. Our task is to build a movement strong enough to stop them. www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...

New deck for the lodge!

What Trump wants, simply put, is to turn the USA into Putin's Russia - or Stalin's. www.nytimes.com/2025/04/09/o...

The problem is: they've mistaken correlation for causation. They think their parents and grandparents had a good life *because* of manufacturing jobs. When, in reality, their parents and grandparents had a good life *despite* manufacturing jobs, because of unions, high taxes, and social policies.

These two large friends stopped by the lodge today. The first I've seen this season! #ecodharma #moosewatch

My latest short story in Birdy. Yes, that gasbag. @birdymagazine.bsky.social #denverscifi #shortstory www.birdymagazine.com/featured/gas...

Brand new drawing! OM NAMAH SHIVAYA. Color pencil on illustration board, 32" x 32". The mantra translates "I bow to Shiva," but another interpretation is that the syllables represent the five elements (of earth, water, fire, air and space) and Shiva as their master. #shiva #hinduart #yogaart

Golden demon mask. Color pencil and metallic watercolor paint (another gift from @eadelap.bsky.social ) on black paper. I hope the photo gives some sense of the reflective quality of the paint. #fantasyart #demon #mask

Another recent drawing, a spirit fox with golden demon mask and blue lotus. Color pencil on black paper. #fantasyart

A recent drawing, a golden Kannon Bodhisattva with lotus flowers. Color pencil on black paper. @eadelap.bsky.social gave me a pad of black paper for Christmas year before last and it's really opened things up for me in terms of style. #buddhistart #kannon

“Charybdis” spins and eddies in Birdy 131, November 2024, with art by Chris Austin. A resurrected assassin with a new neuroport finds that nothing is certain when AI superintelligences are involved. www.birdymagazine.com/featured/cha...

“Fiddlywink Sings the Tune” pops up in Birdy 129, September 2024, with art by Jason White. Maya learns that once you have a neuroport, real and unreal aren’t useful concepts anymore–and Fiddlywink heartily agrees. www.birdymagazine.com/featured/fid...

“Children of Ava” appears in Birdy 128, August 2024. Young Maya is on the run in the ruins of Salt Lake City–but her AI companion, Ava, has friends everywhere. joeltagert.com/2024/12/10/c...

Been lurking on Bluesky a while, but figured I'd reboot and introduce myself. I'm an artist and writer, mostly focused on science fiction and fantasy themes. Seven months of the year I'm also the resident manager and chef for Rocky Mountain Ecodharma Retreat Center. Here's a view from the lodge.

Up until now I've continued to believe that when push came to shove, the American people would vote for sanity and competence and again give Biden a narrow win. That faith has now completely collapsed. If the Dems want any chance at victory, it's got to be someone else.

Finally watching Oppenheimer and discovering that I really prefer Peter Sellers' take on the character.

Got a Pixel Watch and kind of surprised to find there isn't an easy way to access ChatGPT or even Gemini with it. I thought this was the future already

My latest in Birdy Magazine, a quick dip into high fantasy and the land of Faerie. joeltagert.com/2024/05/14/t...

Scranton in the snow. He's come by the last four days running, enjoying the young grass by the east deck. #moosewatch #ecodharma

I'm calling him Scranton. Kind of a hipster, determined to be first on the scene. #moosewatch #coloradowildlife

First moose of the season showed up just outside the kitchen window and hung out all day down by the creek. #ecodharma #rmerc #moosewatch

Ordered some back issues of #birdymagazine I was missing along with a trucker's cap and I've rarely been more excited to get something in the mail. Man, these layouts slap!

"Just Another Vortex" storms into this month's Birdy Magazine, inspired by art by @flooko. A lot of lightning and thunder, that kind of thing.

My story "The Devil's Chariot" is hot off the interdimensional highway in this month's Birdy Magazine. Ride or die!

Found this beautiful Buddha in the earth-witness posture at DecorAsian on South Broadway. Love the elfin look of the pointed ears.

Back at Rocky Mountain Ecodharma Retreat Center getting ready for our 2024 season, with the sun brilliant on the peaks and the sound of dripping water everywhere. Working on some minor renovations to the entry area and kitchen, hence the temporary chaos.

Been making some updates to my website. Lots of links to my stories on Birdy with photos of the print layouts and some notes about the writing. Check it out at joeltagert.com

Read my latest short story, "The Familiar," in this month's Birdy Magazine (Birdymagazine.com), inspired by art by Jason White.