Verse And Worse

Random Wit, Errant Rhyme. Not A Literary Crime

Quoth the Lone Ranger to his good buddy Tonto
While planning to break camp and ride off pronto:
"Prepare the horses, without any warning
But not in the morning, while I’m busy yawning"

It's The Fort That Counts

We're Starting To See A Pattern Here

Photograph copyright: DAVID McMAHON

It might look like faux military-style camouflage, but it ain’t. It might look like the door-and-window façade of some old fort, but it ain’t.

It’s just a view of Hosier Lane in Melbourne’s CBD. It's simply a narrow laneway, but it’s acquiring something of an international reputation because of the rich street art that has sprouted on the walls.

If you look carefully at the bottom right-hand corner of this image, you’ll actually see a segment of the footpath. That’s simply because the laneway is on an incline, and I shot this image dead straight to give you an idea of horizontal orientation.

That figure on the left, in the doorway, isn’t painted on the door’s glass surface. It’s actually the reflection of a real person. It was rainy, cold and windy when I shot this image, but there were at least half a dozen tourists and local students braving the weather and trying to shield their cameras from the rain.

That's the real attraction of street art. There's nowhere to hide - for the artist, or for the viewer.

Visit the creative team behind That's My World Tuesday.

Big Bucks

How Much For A Short Back And Sides?

A celebrity hair stylist in London is charging £20,000 for a wash, cut and blow dry. The salon in Covent Garden has Swarovski crystal chandeliers and Japanese shampoo beds. Clients can have champagne on tap and order anything from the menu at the five-star Covent Garden Hotel just across the road.

FOOTNOTE: Trim figures.

the final swan song

I have some Apple Mac Computers.
My old iBook G3 from 2002 (presently only used as a DVD reader on my TV at the cottage), my Imac 1.8 GHz Power PC G5 (not in daily use), my MacBook Pro Core 2 Duo 15" and (my wife´s) MacBook Pro 13" unibody.
Up till last week Mac OS X (Leopard) has been the operating system for all these units. Although we started on the oldest with 10.2 the Jaguar, then 10.4 Tiger before 10.5 Leopard, the compatibility downwards has always given us the same operating system to relate to.

On Friday I upgraded to the latest MAC OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard on my Intel Machines (the Pros).In his article in in SlashGear Michael Galtenberg writes:

I’ve been testing Snow Leopard on a variety of machines over the last few weeks, and so far I’m impressed. Apple has evolved the OS in ways that change core infrastructure while preserving and refining the experience that has differentiated the platform over the years. The result is an elegant, modern OS with some new features that help it retain the status of best of breed in personal computing.

But he also states:

Snow Leopard is a full 64-bit OS and has the caveat that it works with Intel Macs only. This is the OS release that spells the final swan song for Power PC. Not a surprise and let’s face it, if you’re not on an Intel Mac, it’s time to move on.

The Swan song has also reference to Socrates and his last words before being put to death in 399 BC: "You think I cannot see as far ahead as a swan. You know that when swans feel the approach of death they sing, and they sing sweeter and louder on the last days of their lives because they are going back to that God whom they serve." (Plato)

I am not yet ready to let my "old" Macs go back to their god, and will try to find alternative use for the iMac. My 50GB space can be filled up with lots of music, films (from iTunes) and photos and play a slave role in my wireless computing home.
The end of my iMac with Leopard is not yet written, but we are moving on.

the final swan song

I have some Apple Mac Computers.
My old iBook G3 from 2002 (presently only used as a DVD reader on my TV at the cottage), my Imac 1.8 GHz Power PC G5 (not in daily use), my MacBook Pro Core 2 Duo 15" and (my wife´s) MacBook Pro 13" unibody.
Up till last week Mac OS X (Leopard) has been the operating system for all these units. Although we started on the oldest with 10.2 the Jaguar, then 10.4 Tiger before 10.5 Leopard, the compatibility downwards has always given us the same operating system to relate to.

On Friday I upgraded to the latest MAC OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard on my Intel Machines (the Pros).In his article in in SlashGear Michael Galtenberg writes:

I’ve been testing Snow Leopard on a variety of machines over the last few weeks, and so far I’m impressed. Apple has evolved the OS in ways that change core infrastructure while preserving and refining the experience that has differentiated the platform over the years. The result is an elegant, modern OS with some new features that help it retain the status of best of breed in personal computing.

But he also states:

Snow Leopard is a full 64-bit OS and has the caveat that it works with Intel Macs only. This is the OS release that spells the final swan song for Power PC. Not a surprise and let’s face it, if you’re not on an Intel Mac, it’s time to move on.

The Swan song has also reference to Socrates and his last words before being put to death in 399 BC: "You think I cannot see as far ahead as a swan. You know that when swans feel the approach of death they sing, and they sing sweeter and louder on the last days of their lives because they are going back to that God whom they serve." (Plato)

I am not yet ready to let my "old" Macs go back to their god, and will try to find alternative use for the iMac. My 50GB space can be filled up with lots of music, films (from iTunes) and photos and play a slave role in my wireless computing home.
The end of my iMac with Leopard is not yet written, but we are moving on.

Post Of The Day

Today's joint winners are Jennifer On The Verge with Tears and Merisi with Breakfast For The Emperor. The other top contenders were Jo Beaufoix with Painting Pictures With Words; Camikaos with I Am A Child Of Two Worlds; Bateua de Banane with Three Wise Monkeys; Shrinky with Down At The Old Dog And Duck; In The Gutter with I’m No Doctor But …; Sandy Carlson with One Single Impression: Blue and Travelling But Not In Love with Why I Don’t Heart Falling In Love. Do pay them a visit and leave a comment if you have time.

You can nominate a post too. Just leave a comment here with the URL or link - and tell us the name of the blogger you are nominating. Righty-o, then, it's over to you ....

See my photography at Images Sans Frontiers and Red Bubble.

Verse And Worse

Random Wit, Errant Rhyme. Not A Literary Crime

Gardeners, you must never sprinkle
Champagne upon a periwinkle
And spilling wine on a budding dahlia
Will doom them all to tragic failure

Purple Haze

Great Buddleia, Buddy

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

This is one of the common buddleia varieties that grow profusely around Victoria, my home state, as winter starts to draw to a close. This bush isn’t actually on our property, but I watched it sprout its first tendrils of colour about four or five weeks ago – and watched and watched and watched as the colour slowly began to suffuse the actual foliage.

These shots were taken about ten days ago. It was a cloudy day and I figured the conditions would be perfect to shoot some images that captured the striking colour and formation of the tiny blossoms.


Yes, sunlight is a photographer’s ally, but I often find a cloudy sky above me is a great way to capture intricacies that might otherwise be washed out or, on the other hand, saturated in bright sunlight.


How big is each individual blossom? About two to three millimeters across, that’s all. So, since I was using a standard lens (my favourite Sigma 18-125mm) rather than a macro, I opted for a range of views that would depict hue and form, rather than true close-ups.


Visit Luiz Santilli Jr for the home of Today's Flowers.

Home, Home On The Range

Where The Deer And The Antelope Roam

A baby antelope spends her days at an English safari park but spends her evenings in a house in Manchester. Sultana, a Sitatunga antelope, was born at Knowsley Safari Park but was abandoned by her mother, so she now watches TV and sleeps in the spare room of the head keeper’s home.

FOOTNOTE: Deer, dear.

Monastery in the rain

The picture shows part of the ruins of what was once Lyse Abbey, south of Bergen. Wikipedia has this to say:

Lyse Abbey or Saint Mary's Abbey, Lyse (Lyse Mariakloster in Norwegian) is a now-ruined Cistercian monastery in Os in the county of Hordaland in south-western Norway. The name "Lyse" is derived from the Lysefjorden, "the fjord of light", on which the building stood.

Lyse Abbey was founded in 1146 by Sigurd, Bishop of Bergen, on farmland that he owned, as the Christianisation of Norway was nearing completion.^[1] The first monks were brought from Fountains Abbey in Yorkshire, England.

There is not much left of it today, but it is treated as a National Monument.




This Monochrome concept came from Aileni at The Monochrome Weekly

Verse And Worse

Random Wit, Errant Rhyme. Not A Literary Crime

If you were wondering why the ancient Romans
Never had a history of working out with yoga
It wasn’t the Emperor’s or even the showman’s
Insistence on exercising while clad in a toga

Bird Brain

Like Life Skills, It’s All A Matter Of Balance

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

About twenty years ago, on one of our visits to Hong Kong, I was fascinated by the pavement vendors and the wide range of objects for sale. One of the toys that caught my eye was a simple plastic bird that balanced at impossibly precarious angles.

Of course, my scientific background was useful when I checked out one of the birds for the first time. I was struck by how unexpectedly heavy it was and I realised that it was a simple matter of allocating mass unevenly but towards a particular point. In this case, the bird’s head was by far the heaviest part, while the tail was extremely light.


Because of its clever design, the bird was able to balance on a pencil – and as you can see in these images, it does so in a strikingly unique attitude. The point of the bird’s beak acts as a perfectly stabilised fulcrum and it actually looks as though it is diving towards its prey.

It’s one bird that cannot shake its tail feather.


Check out the rules at Camera Critters or go to Misty Dawn.

The Sunday Roast

He Can Close His Eyes And Think Of England

This week's interview is with The Brit,
who writes the blog Spinning The Wheel.

Here's the first of the standard questions. Why do you blog?

I put off having a blog for a long time, I guess I did that out of fear really: the unknown and the fact that having a blog shows every part of you as a person, at that point in my life I wasn’t sure if I was ready to meet the world in close-up as I was going through some tough times. I’m a British guy living in Brazil, far away from my family and friends at home. I do have very good friends here in Brazil, of course, as I have lived here for ten years now but other expats will know that feeling of a kind of loss and detachment from "home" and having a blog seems to connect everyone from all parts of the world in such a wonderful and genuine way, a little bit of "Home Sweet Home" away from home...

The day that I decided to sit down and create my blog I was instantly immersed into a different world, a virtual universe where wonderful caring people reside.

In the beginning I wrote insignificant and quite empty posts, I felt quite lost really, but then I decided to just be open and honest and write about me and my life and then I was hooked, it’s all been a wonderful release, a real lesson in self-therapy. My life so far has been a rollercoaster of incredible highs and devastating lows.

I’ve experienced terrible loss and was buried in a deep black hole for three long years after my Mother passed away suddenly and unexpectedly in the UK. If I could have had a blog back then it would have brought me out of the darkness faster. Blogging and writing my poetry truly has saved me as I was going quite crazy at times, I see that now.

What's the story behind your blog name?

I’m a huge fan of the British singer/songwriter George Michael and one of his greatest hits is "Spinning The Wheel" The words in that song really resonate with me, he always writes such wonderful lyrics and he truly is a poet (you only have to listen to "Jesus To A Child" to know that) his songs are full of wonderful metaphors and meanings; some easy to find and others hidden deep within the verses, I’ve always been a huge fan since forever.

Plus the title "Spinning The Wheel" is like spinning a wheel of fortune and seeing where it will land... fate and not knowing what the future may bring, guided by some unseen force... and I feel, and have felt, that way in my own life many times.

What is the best thing about being a blogger?

Without a doubt all the truly fantastic people I meet! Every day I am so surprised and extremely touched at how many truly wonderful, caring and genuine people are out there in the land of blog! Also how many truly talented writers there are out there just waiting to be discovered! It’s a world of incredible people and their wonderful words, it’s like a huge living library of great personalities!

Some months ago I went through a very bad break-up and it was the people in my blog circle of friends that helped me through it all. People were sending me e-mails of support and concern and I truly did appreciate that and let them all know it. I had more comments and e-mails of support and love from my blogging friends than I got in the real world and it’s at times like these when you really do see how lucky you are to have met such kind, warm, genuine, caring and utterly fantastic people in the blogasphere – people who I never thought existed before I had a blog.

What key advice would you give to a newbie blogger?

This one is easy: Speak the truth and never give up! Just be yourself and write always from the heart. It doesn’t matter if you are writing about some terrible or wonderful experience in your life or if you are just writing about a day at the supermarket, the important thing is to be genuine and write exactly what you feel, from the heart, that way the inspiration comes thick and fast.

And when you read a post on someone’s blog always leave a comment ... remember that they, just like you, have spent a long time to write that post and have let you know a bit about their life. I always leave comments and I always reply to comments left on my own posts too, it’s a mark of respect and gratitude, I guess they call it "bloqiquete" now.

What is the most significant blog post you've ever read?

This is the most difficult question as I have read so many and have found so many wonderful friends by reading so many fantastic blog posts. But I love reading about people’s lives and experiences and one that does stand out in my mind was from my dear friend Maggie May that she wrote in 2008 called RestingPlace, all about the sad passing of her dear son-in-law. That post really stayed with me and I got extremely emotional reading it, and the subsequent posts that she wrote, about this huge loss brought upon her, her daughter and her young grandchildren. The grief and heartbreaking loss just poured off of the page.

What is the most significant blog post you've ever written?

Hummm ... difficult ... but I would have to say "Scenes From Another Room" – My Story: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 and Part 5 as this series of posts are so extremely personal to me and I spent more than four hours writing each one.

I totally poured my heart and soul out onto each and every page, every bit of happiness and extreme sadness that I have experienced over the years. I cried ever such a lot whilst writing it all and especially when I was writing and remembering all the heartache and extreme loss I suffered when I lost my dear Mum to cancer when she was only 56 years old and how I had to return home alone on the loneliest 12-hour flight of my life, knowing that I had already lost her. I just looked out of the window as I flew above the clouds and cried for 12 hours.

But my story continues ... I’m extremely happy here in Brazil, I went through an extremely stressful time over Christmas, New Year and for three months afterwards, when my relationship of 13 years finished, but my life has changed for the better once again and I am living an extremely happy life with a new partner who I absolutely adore and who also adores me.

I haven’t been this happy in many, many years and I’m in a state of well-deserved joy, so it’s a very happy and rejuvenated blogger who is answering your questions right now – I want to thank you very much for this honourable pleasure David! I really appreciate it!

Today's Sunday Roast with The Brit is the 81st in a weekly series of interviews with bloggers from around the world.

Antics And Antiques

Don’t Bottle Up Your Feelings

A man who turned up at the Antiques Roadshow was left red-faced when he was told what he thought was an expensive bottle was an old bottle from Tesco that he had bought for more than £1,000. But a glass expert told him: "It's an empty olive oil bottle, Tesco, circa 2008 - it's worth nothing."

FOOTNOTE: Saucy character.

Painting Summer and Memories

Painting or other forms of performing art needs practice, practice and even more training by doing. Of course is it important to get some understanding of basic principles, but it is only by doing quality can improve and develop.
Competence = (Knowledge + Skills) x Attitude.

Helene has understood that. She knows by being told (and probably by seeing) that the Rainbow consists of Red (rød), Orange (oransje), Yellow (gul), Green (grøn), Blue (blå), Indigo (indigo) and Violet (fiolett). ROGGBIF we say in Norwegian and help ourself (and children) to remember the sequence. What they do in English speaking countries, I don´t know. They even drop the Indigo. The understanding of colors in nature where the sky is grey or pink (not always blue) and that the sun is necessary for the rainbow to let us see the Visible Spectrum, has already been part of Helene´s competence. The understanding of not mixing colors through used and "dirty" brushes became a quick-fix through making, and even easier when granddad has many of these tools.

Mixing colors (Magenta + white = Pink, and Black + white = Grey) and develop shades through the same process became new knowledge, and developing skill by doing. When finishing her work, it gave a wonderful satisfying return and attitude in her mind. "I have done this Painting - Painting is fun".

The summer holiday for our family living in Wales are soon over. Helene will return to her school, Henrik to his playgroup and the parents back to normal life in the Academic Society.

Thanks for the time spent on "Mormor" and "Bestefar". Hope to se you soon. Take care.

Painting Summer and Memories

Painting or other forms of performing art needs practice, practice and even more training by doing. Of course is it important to get some understanding of basic principles, but it is only by doing quality can improve and develop.
Competence = (Knowledge + Skills) x Attitude.

Helene has understood that. She knows by being told (and probably by seeing) that the Rainbow consists of Red (rød), Orange (oransje), Yellow (gul), Green (grøn), Blue (blå), Indigo (indigo) and Violet (fiolett). ROGGBIF we say in Norwegian and help ourself (and children) to remember the sequence. What they do in English speaking countries, I don´t know. They even drop the Indigo. The understanding of colors in nature where the sky is grey or pink (not always blue) and that the sun is necessary for the rainbow to let us see the Visible Spectrum, has already been part of Helene´s competence. The understanding of not mixing colors through used and "dirty" brushes became a quick-fix through making, and even easier when granddad has many of these tools.

Mixing colors (Magenta + white = Pink, and Black + white = Grey) and develop shades through the same process became new knowledge, and developing skill by doing. When finishing her work, it gave a wonderful satisfying return and attitude in her mind. "I have done this Painting - Painting is fun".

The summer holiday for our family living in Wales are soon over. Helene will return to her school, Henrik to his playgroup and the parents back to normal life in the Academic Society.

Thanks for the time spent on "Mormor" and "Bestefar". Hope to se you soon. Take care.

Verse And Worse

Random Wit, Errant Rhyme. Not A Literary Crime

In geometry lectures he was so complacent
He got confused with parallel and adjacent
In algebra he floundered at every equation
In first aid he couldn’t dress an abrasion

Hail Merry

Wasn't It Sunny A Few Minutes Ago?

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

On Wednesday evening it was bright and sunny at 4pm - but things had changed drastically in just over an hour, as you can see from this photograph.

They weren't kidding when a wild weather warning was issued for Melbourne that afternoon. I had had just exited off the freeway when the sleet turned to a fierce hailstorm.

This was shot a few seconds after I parked in my driveway, just as dusk turned to night.

Yes, I live in a city with hugely fluctuating weather. On Christmas Day 2006, it was several degrees colder in Melbourne than it was in London or New York - and December is our summer!

And a few years ago, we had snow on Christmas Day, while Victoria was battling bushfires!

Visit TNChick's Photo Hunt. Today's theme: "Surprise''.

Defusing The Situation

Mortar This Than Meets The Eye

A Chinese man on a get-fit goal was using mortars as dumbbells – until a friend noticed the devices were still live, with their firing pins intact. Police have defused the mortars, and they will be displayed in a military museum.

FOOTNOTE: Boom or bust.

Post Of The Day

Today's joint winners are Alyson with In An Empty Field and Maggie May with The Doors. The other top contenders were Warm Chocolate Milk with A Predatory Animal In My House; Craver VII with Constellation of Starlings; iMac with Dancing Waters; Abraham Lincoln with Black Panther; Mimi with A Trip Down Memory Lane; Louise with The Good, The Bad And The Beautiful; New England Girl with I Wish I Had This Kind Of Talent; It Goes So Fast with Mother's Lesson Re-Run and Hazel Dooney with Left Hanging By A Thread. Do pay them a visit and leave a comment if you have time.

You can nominate a post too. Just leave a comment here with the URL or link - and tell us the name of the blogger you are nominating. Righty-o, then, it's over to you ....

See my photography at Images Sans Frontiers and Red Bubble.

Leading up to 090909

Thursday, August 18 I posted that "the (Apple) event held in San Francisco–most likely at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, where it has occurred in years past, will not involve any discussion whatsoever of the tablet Apple".
However, do we have any other Dreams come true on this magic date?

On August 18 2009 TechCrunch writes

The Beatles are definitely releasing their music in video game form for a new Rock Band game. That’s a first for them, branching out of traditional music distribution. This game is launching on 9/9/09, which happens to be the same day as the rumored next Apple event.

and previously on Cnet March 5 2009

The date (090909) is awfully cute, considering the Beatles' formally self-titled "White Album" contains that song called "Revolution 9," which consists largely of a repetition of the phrase "number nine, number nine, number nine." Conspiracy theorists say that if you play it backward it sounds like "turn me on, dead man" and is hence one of the clues that adds up to reveal that Paul McCartney died and was replaced by a lookalike early in the band's career.

It all started in November 15 2007 when Sir Paul told:

digital distribution of the Beatles back catalog is happening in 2008, and that the legal hurdles were already mostly cleared.

In Cnet´s News Blog on March 9 2008 we could read :"McCartney has given his approval to make The Beatles' song catalog available on Apple's iTunes in the coming months",

and on April 7 2009 we got the Breaking News from EMI

the release of the original Beatles catalogue, which has been digitally re-mastered for the first time, for worldwide CD release on Wednesday, September 9, 2009 (9-9-09), the same date as the release of the widely anticipated “The Beatles: Rock Band” video game. Each of the CDs is packaged with replicated original UK album art, including expanded booklets containing original and newly written liner notes and rare photos. For a limited period, each CD will also be embedded with a brief documentary film about the album. On the same date, two new Beatles boxed CD collections will also be released,

and yesterday Amazon.com clarifies availability of box sets.

We are ready to listen to Steve Jobs keynote announcing The Beatles on iTune.
I am joining the Countdown 11 days ahead. The ipod / iPhone and "iTablet" format is obviously.

Leading up to 090909

Thursday, August 18 I posted that "the (Apple) event held in San Francisco–most likely at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, where it has occurred in years past, will not involve any discussion whatsoever of the tablet Apple".
However, do we have any other Dreams come true on this magic date?

On August 18 2009 TechCrunch writes

The Beatles are definitely releasing their music in video game form for a new Rock Band game. That’s a first for them, branching out of traditional music distribution. This game is launching on 9/9/09, which happens to be the same day as the rumored next Apple event.

and previously on Cnet March 5 2009

The date (090909) is awfully cute, considering the Beatles' formally self-titled "White Album" contains that song called "Revolution 9," which consists largely of a repetition of the phrase "number nine, number nine, number nine." Conspiracy theorists say that if you play it backward it sounds like "turn me on, dead man" and is hence one of the clues that adds up to reveal that Paul McCartney died and was replaced by a lookalike early in the band's career.

It all started in November 15 2007 when Sir Paul told:

digital distribution of the Beatles back catalog is happening in 2008, and that the legal hurdles were already mostly cleared.

In Cnet´s News Blog on March 9 2008 we could read :"McCartney has given his approval to make The Beatles' song catalog available on Apple's iTunes in the coming months",

and on April 7 2009 we got the Breaking News from EMI

the release of the original Beatles catalogue, which has been digitally re-mastered for the first time, for worldwide CD release on Wednesday, September 9, 2009 (9-9-09), the same date as the release of the widely anticipated “The Beatles: Rock Band” video game. Each of the CDs is packaged with replicated original UK album art, including expanded booklets containing original and newly written liner notes and rare photos. For a limited period, each CD will also be embedded with a brief documentary film about the album. On the same date, two new Beatles boxed CD collections will also be released,

and yesterday Amazon.com clarifies availability of box sets.

We are ready to listen to Steve Jobs keynote announcing The Beatles on iTune.
I am joining the Countdown 11 days ahead. The ipod / iPhone and "iTablet" format is obviously.

Verse And Worse

Random Wit, Errant Rhyme. Not A Literary Crime

Alice Cooper
Ain’t a party pooper
But Engelbert Humperdinck
Could sing rock (I think)

Spring Loaded

You've Really Had A Growth Spurt

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

The Australian winter is almost over, with spring only a few days away. Our days are already noticeably longer - and the frosts have receded. It's been a while since we had ice, too.

But of course, because our weather is so unpredictable, we had sleet and hail in a storm on Tuesday night that left our gardens snowy white - a snap change in the weather that had 1400 calls to emergency crews in Melbourne alone.

This shot, taken in a friend's garden, is a simple depiction of new growth and natural regeneration. Come Tuesday and we'll be ushering in the first day of spring.

I shot three frames in this sequence, but I reckon the first one probably says it best, with the tender burgundy shoots appearing tall and proud from a pruned branch. I deliberately chose my angle, to make use of the subtle diagonals in the background and to include the fresh green of the diosma about two or three metres away.


Visit MamaGeek and Cecily, creators of Photo Story Friday.

Bench of the week (23)

Today we are back in the centre of Bergen. We are at a square called Torgalmenningen. It is the main square in the city and is often called "The heart of Bergen". Most of it was built in the 20s and 30s after a great fire destroyed a large part of of this area in 1916. During the the last decade or so much of this square has received a much needed renovation. New benches were of course included.




The benches are made of granite and wood with some supporting steel structures



They are back to back, and there are quite many of them




And they are being used...


My own interest in benches were initiated by the sites published by PERBS and Kerri and the site published by Malyss. Also, others have shown an interest in the subject, so I have started to take photos of benches when I "stumble" across one and post them on Fridays.

It is not a "proper" meme, but if anyone else would like to join me in publishing benches on Fridays (or any other day for that matter), they are of course welcome to do so. I have therefore not made a blog roll, but visits to my former posts (see archives in the sidebar), to the previous mentioned sites and to Gerald's site Ackworth Born, Gone West (he keeps a small tab of benches he finds on his way) might be profitable.

Blue Dawn In Muskoka

Pier Pressure? Nope, There's No Pressure Here

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

Maybe it's because I'm curious. Maybe it's because I never want to miss anything. Maybe it's because I'm thorough. Maybe it's because I have this desire to size up every aspect of a situation before I judge it.

Or maybe it's just because Nature fascinates me.

The truth of the matter is, no matter what I'm photographing, whether it's a stunning sunrise or an amazing mountainside, I always make it a point to look all around me, just to make sure I haven't missed out on any sight that would otherwise escape my attention.

Sometimes you have to look away from your main subject to find unexpected beauty.

This shot was taken in September 2005, while I photographed sunrise at Canoe Lake in Canada’s Algonquin Provincial Park in Muskoka, Ontario. I followed my own simple rule and looked left, right and behind me just to ensure I wasn’t missing out on Nature’s beauty – and I was rewarded with this tranquil scene that was positioned to my immediate right.

The silver-blue dominates the scene, even to the soft light playing across the wooden pier and on the hulls of the upturned boats on the lake’s bank on the right of the image.

Can you the slightest hint of red in this shot? It’s the red-and-white buoy which is barely discernible as it bobs just above the longest of the piers.

And in case you're wondering what exactly was the main focus of my attention that morning, it was simply a sunrise across the lake, as you can see below .....


For other participants in Dot’s concept, go to Sky Watch HQ.

Did They Have A Falling-Out?

Quickest Way To Get Downstairs

A Romanian man escaped with only minor injuries after he fell from a fourth floor window while he was asleep. He was found wrapped in a curtain, on the bonnet of a car, having parked under his bedroom window. He told doctors he could not remember how he got there.

FOOTNOTE: Down, but not out.

.... but mostly introducing Hazel Dooney

I am still working with Colors and Canvas by using Acrylic and Water. The result of today´s process gave this painting which I chose to call "Farm Houses".

However, amateur paintings (my hobby) is nothing compared to my newly discovery of Hazel Dooney.

Her artworks are spectacular, very intriguing and, if my recommendation counts: for every visitor on my blog: a MUST to see.
According to the Australian Financial Review, she "walks the razor's edge between respect and celebrity in today's art-world" (September, 2006).

She says that her blog is about:"What I Think About When I Am Not Making Art", and that recipe should many of the persons calling themselves ."Photo-bloggers" bring into their heart and express through their posts. Her statement (sub-header to the Self vs Self blog) can I copy and hopefully some of you regularly visiting my blog see both the process and the final results.
I "steal" one of Hazels painting to give you an example of her art.
Click on her name if you want to see more of Hazel Dooneys works

.... but mostly introducing Hazel Dooney

I am still working with Colors and Canvas by using Acrylic and Water. The result of today´s process gave this painting which I chose to call "Farm Houses".

However, amateur paintings (my hobby) is nothing compared to my newly discovery of Hazel Dooney.

Her artworks are spectacular, very intriguing and, if my recommendation counts: for every visitor on my blog: a MUST to see.
According to the Australian Financial Review, she "walks the razor's edge between respect and celebrity in today's art-world" (September, 2006).

She says that her blog is about:"What I Think About When I Am Not Making Art", and that recipe should many of the persons calling themselves ."Photo-bloggers" bring into their heart and express through their posts. Her statement (sub-header to the Self vs Self blog) can I copy and hopefully some of you regularly visiting my blog see both the process and the final results.
I "steal" one of Hazels painting to give you an example of her art.
Click on her name if you want to see more of Hazel Dooneys works