What's the Buzz?

November 14 was the first birthday of the beloved Jodo Bee, the official graffiti insect of the East Village!

I first became aware of the bee back in April, in this post. Since then, there have been others.

This is the most recent, since it contains this van, seen on October 12, on East 4th Street:

Jodo Bee van.

…and this mural, from ten days ago, on a wall in the First Street Art Park, on East 1st Street:

Jodo Bee mural.

A year old already — time sure flies!

#eastvillage #4thstreet #jodobee #vans #1ststreet #firststreetartpark

Jodo Bee Mural

Last night after work, I took a trip outside the East Village, to the Lower East Side!* I had been invited through Instagram to see the new mural by the illustrious JodoNYC!

It's not easy finding one's way around outside the East Village, but after putting my sleuthing skills to work I eventually found the beloved Stanton Social. I asked the greeter inside if she knew where the bee was, and she showed me — and now I will show you:

Giant Jodo Bee.

They grow so quickly — I remember when this bee was knee-high to a grasshopper!

______
* This is in an area known as Hello Square — people here are so friendly, they welcome you with a resounding Hello!

#daytrips #greeter #hellosquare #instagram #jodobee #lowereastside #murals #stantonsocial

Looking Good in Summer Pink

Recently, I reported on the disappearance of the inspirational Jodo Bee (it was the second one I saw, but the one that inspired me to write about the first one I saw)!

This led to a comment on Instagram by none other than JodoNYC herself:

I know!! All the bees are dying!!! Firecracker Sad-Face
Bee Firecracker Bee Sad-Face Firecracker Sad-Face

Well, I am happy to report that reports of their death are greatly exaggerated!

I was walking down East 3rd Street recently, when I passed by the beloved Corlears. The color of the message scribbled on their table caught my eye:

Pink message.

Not an unusual color for the East Village, but when I turned to keep walking…

A Jodo Bee… in the same color.

It was a Jodo Bee, in the same color as the scribbled message!

Coincidence? Who can say?

Looking good in summer pink!!! Upside-Down-Smiley-Face Hearts Firecracker Hearts Firecracker Bee Stars Heart-with-Stars Bee

#eastvillage #3rdstreet #corlears #graffiti #jodobee #jodonyc #pink

Throwing Out the Baby With the Bath Water

East Villagers love to beautify the East Village — it's what they do best!

Unfortunately, sometimes they're overzealous, as can be seen in these pictures taken on East 6th Street.

This was taken back in April:

Back in April.

…and this was taken this past weekend:

This past weekend.

No Jodo — oh no!

#eastvillage #6thstreet #graffiti #jodobee

It's Jodo, Not Dodo

UPDATED 5/5

* * *

After further investigation, I have concluded that the graffiti heretofore known as the DODO bee, is in fact the JODO bee!

Behold definitive proof, spotted on an East 4th Street lamppost:

Definitive proof.

I don't think it's a stretch to suppose that the graffitier herself saw the earlier post in East Village Today, and took a step towards better legibility!

Promoting bee awareness, and good penmanship… in the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #4thstreet #graffiti #jodobee #lampposts

The doDo Bee

I was walking across East 6th Street, oh, about nine days ago, thinking to myself: "What can I write about the abandoned cup with a straw in it that I saw on top of a trash can receptacle on East 7th Street yesterday?"…

Abandoned cup with straw.

… when suddenly I saw this:

What's that?!

"I've seen that face before", I thought to myself, and then I knew: "I don't have to worry what to write about the abandoned cup, I can write about the doDo bee graffiti off to the side of the cup, that appears here as well!"

So, this is a post about the doDo bee graffiti.

If you look closely at the doDo bee, you'll see that its body is a heart:

Heart.

And the signature is hard to read. Maybe it's JeDo. Or deDo. I don't know. For now, I'm calling it doDo!

Then tonight, I saw this, also on East 6th Street:

This.

I announced to my Snapchat followers that this was another doDo bee, but on closer inspection, I see that this is not the doDo bee, but an imposter!

The doDo bee graffitier is going to have to start putting a registered mark beside his work.

Sound advice, from East Village Today®!

=-=-=-=-=

UPDATE 4/29

After discussing this in the comments below, I am prepared to say that the last picture is a genuine doDo bee!

#eastvillage #jodobee #graffiti #abandonedcups #6thstreet #7thstreet #registeredmark