The Bucket Lift

Where's Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman?

Photograph copyright: DAVID McMAHON

I took this shot in December, during my five-day visit to India. It was taken, like so many others during that journey, with my Pentax pointing out of the open window of a four-wheel drive. In case you’re wondering, no, I wasn’t driving; I was just a passenger! We were on our way from New Delhi to Dehra Dun, a journey of several hours, and I kept the camera around my neck all the time, so I would be ready to shoot any scene that caught my fancy.

Steel buckets are pretty much a standard part of Indian life, in the city as well as the rural areas. Even now, I can still conjure up the distinctive clanking sound of the bucket rim being placed on a floor and then, a split second later, of the sound of the steel handle being dropped and striking the top.

We were passing through one of the many little towns on the highway when I saw this sight. In hindsight, it’s interesting to look carefully at the framing of this shot. Even if I’d been on foot, I don’t think I could have composed the shot any better.

Will You Have Fries With That?

What Happened To Checks And Balances?

Police in three western Pennsylvania towns are looking for a man who pretends to be a basketball coach and scams McDonald's restaurants out of food and money using bad checks. Police say the man drives up in a school-type bus and enters the restaurants ordering about $50 of food for his "team". The man then pays with a $150 check that appears to be from a school district and takes his food and his change, in cash. The stores learned they were scammed when the checks bounced.

FOOTNOTE: Just a ball-park figure.

Parking Space Invader

Coming Home To Roost

State troopers are used to chasing motorists they suspect of drunken driving but say this one came right to them. Staff noticed someone pull into the Washington State Patrol parking lot west of town and watched as the person backed into an unauthorized space and sat tight with the headlights on. After about 15 minutes, a trooper arrested the man in the driver's seat, for investigation of drunken driving. "How often do the drunks come to you?" a trooper asked.

FOOTNOTE: Under the affluence of incohol.

Post Of The Day

For a few days, I've handed this segment over to you, my faithful readers. You (yes, you) can nominate any post that you think is worthy of attention. All you need to do is post a comment here with the URL or link - and tell us the name of the blogger you are nominating. The post needs to be recent, published in the last 48 hours. You can nominate more than one post. And yes, you can even nominate your own work. Righty-o, then, it's over to you ....

Cash-22 Situation

Money Makes The World Go Round

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

This was the money shot, in more ways than one. It’s one of the photographs I took during my highway journey from New Delhi to Dehra Dun in December. However, hindsight is a wonderful factor. Let me explain. When I took the shot, the four-wheel-drive was travelling fairly quickly through a little town and I thought these were garlands hanging outside a little shanty shop.

It was only the next day, when I backed up the shots onto my laptop, that I realised the significance of the image. Yes, they are garlands, with sparkly golden tinsel by which to hang them, but take a closer look. Examine the image below - which is simply a cropped version of the original photograph - and you might be able to discern that the garlands are made from crisp, new currency notes.

When I posted the first images during my India trip, some readers asked how I managed to keep the camera steady and shoot from the open window of a moving vehicle. I simply improvised. I held the camera in my right hand and supported it in my left hand, trying to use the left hand as a sort of fluid tripod, rather than a metal, rigid tripod. Worked fine, most of the time!

(The Odd Shots concept came from Katney. Say "G'day" to her.)

Weekend Wandering

Please answer today's question on your own blog, any time until next weekend. Just link to this blog (or to this post) so I can follow the progress of the discussion.

The question is: How strong is your faith?

The Sunday Roast

Chronicler Of A Life In Many Hues

This week's interview is with Mushy,
who writes the blog Mushy's Moochings.

The first of the standard weekly questions: Why do you blog?

There was a sincere effort, in the beginning, to document my life and the things I remembered, was told, and experienced. I always loved it when my parents and family members sat around and retold old stories of how I acted on occasion, or things that happened years before I was born. I was afraid I would someday forget those stories, and wanted so badly to tell my grandchildren about them.

However, like all grandchildren, they are young and too busy to listen to Papaw discuss the past. Heck, they won’t even watch black and white movies, so why should I expect them to listen to stories from a “black and white” time! I had written several pieces ten or fifteen years early, mostly the really funny things, and kept finding them stuffed in closets under other old papers on the top shelf. I was afraid these would be lost to the ravages of time, so those were the first things I posted. Even though they were out of sequence chronologically, they made for a few quick posts in the beginning.

However, no one was reading my blog in those days, so I later reposted them in the general time frame they occurred. After I built some readership, I realized that I should start at the beginning and so I rearranged my priorities in posting. After reaching the Vietnam era, I then knew that I was about to run out of memories, at least those I could post without hurting feelings, so the “blook” idea hit me. I had already self-published a fictional piece with Lulu.com, so I proceeded to post everything I wanted in my “autobiography” and it is now published and sitting on my computer desk. I feel as though a great weight has been lifted from my shoulders.

I will now continue to write about my past, refining and detailing some episodes, but I will also continue to chronicle my expanded family’s daily life. They enjoy life so much and are a joy to me…they have a lot to say as well.

What's the story behind your blog name?

“Mushy’s Moochings” seemed only fitting in the beginning. It was about Mushy, a nickname I picked up from a rather large-breasted girl my junior year in high school. I liked her a lot and fooled myself into thinking I had a shot. Turned out she was leading me along to make the boyfriend that just dumped her jealous. One evening there was a bunch of us walking through a neighborhood on Halloween when she suddenly blurted out “Mushy” after I had said something nice to her. The crowd overheard and “Mushy” was born!

I tried for years to live that name down, hoping for something a little more masculine, but it never happened. Even today I’m greeted locally with a rousing “Mushy” from across a parking lot or sales floor! The blog helped me realize that being Mushy was not a bad thing. It’s been great being “Mushy” and I realize that I am a one of a kind! What is the best thing about being a blogger? Friendship and fellowship has to be the best perks in blogging. Like I posted once, it’s the new CB radio of our times!

My blogroll is full of friends, not just “reads!” I have met so many of them and love to spend time finding out about their lives and what makes them “them” and how all the stories tie in to their blog title. Of course, there is satisfaction in creating something in which you can be proud. The “writer” in all of us needs an outlet even if it’s just blogging to a few select friends across the world. Their feedback, through comments and emails, makes it all worth the time we spend sitting in front of the computer.

What key advice would you give to a newbie blogger?

Write about something close to your heart, something you’re passionate about, and something you enjoy more than anything else in the world. Share your heart and wear it out there on your “cyber” sleeve. You will be comforted, supported, encouraged, and even loved! One warning - do not let blogging replace your family, friends, and life! Just document the life you have on the blog…control the blog, don’t let it control you! What is the most significant blog post you've ever read? Wow, this is the hardest question of all! There is nothing profound or life changing that I remember reading right now, though it will probably hit me after I send this.

Suffice it to say that finding and first commenting on Fat Hairy Bastard's blog the first time, in August of 2006, was the beginning of a great friendship. Back in those days, Jeff was prone to posting crude jokes and pictures of fat naked girls! However, his blog has matured into many posts about family, friends, loves, food, outdoor interests, and others with a thought provoking take on world history. Jeff is important to me…hell, he’s a brother to me!

Meeting Ruby, the wonderful elderly lady that Les Becker writes about, was important to me as well. Les can write and does a wonderful job of making Ruby’s past life live once again. Les can take a story from anyone and hold you spellbound until she’s finishing telling the tale. I’m also drawn to Lin's daily adventures on a desert ranch. Her words even give more color to the landscape surrounding her world, and I long to visit that world and explore it and her mind. I also long to blow up one of those nearby oil wells!

One of the best writers I was drawn to was Carol Cooper. And, David, you have done wonders for a lot of us. You began by posting the “blog of the week”, and now you do a similar service by posting “post of the day”! You have even attempted to teach us how to blog and how to plan and arrange our writing, but we continue to fall short of your expertise and praise. However, I do find myself thinking, “I wonder what David will think of this one!”

How could I leave without saying a line or two about Rebecca, My Goddess! She is standing in that short photo line along with Ruby, who detests photos of herself. We may never know what she looks like, but we know what she wants to look like…a frumpy old married woman, with sixteen kids living paycheck to paycheck, in a trailer in Pennsylvania! I seriously doubt it; she does have us guys all by the “cajonies” and keeps us straight about everything we encounter in our daily lives!

The Goddess has been with me from the beginning, and I appreciate her guidance and counseling.

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

I’d like to think that I have not written that post yet. I’d like to think that tomorrow I will write something so profound, so touching, that I will cry writing it, and world will be a much better place. Ain’t gonna happen! I have already cried writing a post about My Dad, my My Step-Dad, Lacy, the best damn dog ever, and about Leaving Vietnam!

There is a post on the horizon, distant I hope, that I’m dreading and it will probably concern my brother-in-law Ron. I have already alluded to the fact that our happy number will someday be fewer, in a post called One Less Set Of Feet!

Thank you David for this opportunity to analyze “why I blog”, I think I needed it. We often need to sit down and contemplate the reasons we do anything. Even though there are a lot of bloggers in the world, blogging is still only special to a select few of us. Therefore, we need to understand why we do it.

Today's Sunday Roast with Mushy is the eighth in a weekly series of interviews with bloggers from around the world.

Post Of The Day

For a few days, I've handed this segment over to you, my faithful readers. You (yes, you) can nominate any post that you think is worthy of attention. All you need to do is post a comment here with the URL or link - and tell us the name of the blogger you are nominating. The post needs to be recent, published in the last 48 hours. You can nominate more than one post. And yes, you can even nominate your own work. Righty-o, then, it's over to you ....

Remorse Code

These Figures Are Music To My Ears

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

There is no remorse like buyer remorse. Hmmmm, yep. But having pondered that profound statement, I think I can take it one step further. There is no remorse like buyer remorse when you are overseas and your suitcases are filled to capacity and you know that every item you buy is going to add an obscene amount to what you will shortly have to hand over to the airline in overweight charges.

With today's Photo Hunt theme being "Metal", this episode bears tellling. So there we were, the whole Authorblog family, in Bangkok at the tail end of a six-week holiday. First we had shopped well but not wisely in Hong Kong, then we had shopped well but not wisely in three cities in India, and now we had a week in Thailand before returning home.

The suitcases were splitting at the seams. The order was out, in triplicate. No shopping in Thailand. But we bought a few things on the first day. And we bought a few things on the second day. And we .... oh, you get the general idea, don't you?

On the second last day, I made superb use of my scientific background. I got all the Thai purchases and stashed them all together, the better to calculate the cubic capacity of the extra - yes, extra - suitcase we had no option but to buy. Let's just say it was a large suitcase.

Then the order went out again, this time in deadly earnest. No more shopping.

On our second-last day, we walked into this bric-a-brac shop. Big Mistake. BIG Mistake. So we bought a reclining Buddha, some big (but very light) masks, a beautiful carved wooden mirror and some other odds and sods. Finally we saw these three figures of traditional Thai musicians in full regalia. They weren't very big - not quite 15 centimetres. So we agreed to buy three. And then I realised how incredibly heavy the metal was. Each figure, despite being so compact, was about two pounds or almost a kilogram.

In for a penny, in for a pound - literally. Or maybe that should be "in for a baht, in for a pound". We bought the figures and took them back to our hotel. Next day, it was my solemn duty to wheel the trolley laden with more suitcases than a rock band towards the airline counter, whistling nonchalantly to create the impression that they were light as a feather.

Let's cut a long story short. The woman at the Cathay Pacific counter just gave us our boarding cards, didn't ask if we were part of a travelling circus - and didn't charge us overweight either. After the episode of the three Thai musicians, yes, that was music to my ears.

Post Of The Day

For a few days, starting today, I'm handing this segment over to you, my faithful readers. You (yes, you) can nominate any post that you think is worthy of attention. All you need to do is post a comment here with the URL or link - and tell us the name of the blogger you are nominating. The post needs to be recent, published in the last 48 hours. Yes, you can nominate more than one post. And yes, you can even nominate your own work. Righty-o, then, it's over to you ....

The Lazy And The Tramp

Don't Air Your Dirty Laundry Here

A laundrette in England has moved a tramp in - to act as overnight security. The homeless man, 50, keeps vigil in the shop in Crawley, West Sussex, after a window was broken last month. Owner Daniel Capstick refuses to have it mended, after claiming the council broke it. He said: "You get yobs hanging about outside, so Barry gives us a bit of security."

FOOTNOTE: Synchronise your washes.

Last Splash Of Dusk Colour

There’s No Such Thing As A Mundane Sunset

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

We're just recovering from the hottest March fortnight in about a century. Normally the last of the paint-blistering heat starts to recede by the end of February. Sometimes the first week of March can produce the odd hot day or two, but generally the nights bring very cool relief from about mid-February onwards.

This year, though, everything's been drastically different. Not only have we had no rain, we've had an extraordinarily long spell of days where the mercury has hovered between 35-40 Celsius, which is far too close to topping 100 Fahrenheit for my comfort. Then on Tuesday evening came the long-awaited cool change that the Weather Bureau had predicted.

Just before dusk the breeze swung around to the south and the gentle caress of cooler air embraced this parched city. Around sunset I was playing tennis, as I do every evening, when I kept monitoring the sky for photo opportunities. Nix. Nada. Zilch. Just overcast conditions. Don't get me wrong, I was happy to see the impenetrable cloud cover, because it had brought cooler conditions.

Then, I saw the first hint of wispy, delicate pink in the east. Yes, the east. Then very rapidly over the next five or six minutes, a long but slender patch of sky in the west, where the sun had long since set, began to produce every conceivable colour.

Over the next four of five minutes, my tennis racquet lay abandoned. Instead, I had my camera strap around my neck, trying to capture the dramatic colours being daubed swiftly across the sky. No sooner did I nod and say to myself that I had the definitive shot of the evening's sunset than a new shade or colour appeared in the sky.

As you can see from the last shot in this series, the vibrant orange, mauve and red were quickly and seamlessly eroded. And I just stood there, fascinated, as the colours you would normally associate with a lava flow down the side of a volcano just vanished, to be replaced by delicate pastel shades.

I used whatever silhouettes I had at my disposal to try and give you an idea of the sheer power of Nature's display. I consider myself fairly well versed on cloud and weather conditions and what sort of light will bring me great pictures. But this was one occasion where I had made up my mind there would be nothing to photograph, other than varying shades of grey.

Just goes to show, we should never under-estimate the great power of Mother Nature.

Change Gang

Paid Back In Their Own Coin

Shops in the Chinese city of Kunming say they are so short of coins that they have to get change from beggars. Retailers complain that banks don't provide enough coins to maintain their businesses. And it seems even the beggars are make money on the deal, charging 105 yuan for 100 yuan in coins. The city's Wal-Mart is even giving small presents to people who give them 20 yuan coins in change.

FOOTNOTE: Beggar my neighbour.

Post Of The Day

Let's give it up for San Merideth, with the post Blossom. And the other contenders were Jennifer H with The Reading; Mrs Nesbitt with an inspirational tale about children from a disadvantaged school on the post ABC Wednesday; House of Lime with Answers Go Marching Two By Two; Casdok with Homeschooling; Hilary's Mobile Warming; Cowgirl's Never Look a Gift Horse In The Mouth – Shoot The SOB!; DarylE with Consistent; John-Michael with The Rear-View Mirror Couple and Kathryn with Flattery Will Get You Everywhere. Do pay them a visit and leave a comment if you have time.

From tomorrow, you too can nominate posts for this segment.
(Yes, you!) Watch this space for details.

Heaven Scent

Don’t Look Down Your Nose At This Bloke

A French wine maker has insured his nose for almost $8 million. The unique policy was created for Ilja Gort, the Dutch owner of Chateau de la Garde in Bordeaux, to cover the potential loss of his nose and sense of smell. Jonathan Thomas, lead underwriter at Watkins Syndicate who co-insured the policy with Allianz Nederland had the last word: "This certainly is an insurance policy not to be sniffed at."

FOOTNOTE: Olfactory worker.

I Is For Imax

Free-Dimensional View of Montreal

Photograph copyright: DAVID McMAHON

Two years ago, I was fortunate enough to do a photographic assignment for the Canadian Tourism Commission and I got to travel to Quebec City, Montreal and several places in Muskoka. This shot of the Imax cinema was taken on my last night in Montreal.

I did a lot of walking on that trip, especially in Quebec City and Montreal. As far as possible, I did not want to worry about a rental car. Why? First of all, I wanted to be able to concentrate entirely on the photography and I wanted to be able to stop on any street at any time and take as many shots as necessary.

Had I been driving, I would not have been able to focus entirely on the sights and I would have been more worried about finding a parking spot.

It was a balmy evening and I could have put my feet up in my hotel, the beautiful Queen Elizabeth, where members of royalty and heads of state have stayed. But I just wanted to soak up as much of the city as I could, so I had dinner, put on my stout hiking boots (so wisely chosen by Mrs Authorblog) and headed out again.

I was using a Canon EOS 3000, shooting film, but I also had digital technology slung over my shoulder as well. I took this shot with a little Pentax Optio 33 LF. I was literally standing on the pavement outside the theatre and I didn't just want to take a stand-and-deliver shot, so I composed this frame, for a "different" view. Looking back at my Montreal folder now, it's interesting to see I only shot one image of the Imax theatre. No, it's not arrogance - I think I was just satisfied that I had an unusual angle.

The vertical and horizontal neon strips worked perfectly, a great foil against the darkness. But I was also lucky that a street light was in just the right spot, so by shooting upwards (and without a tripod) I was able to use its glow to give character to what would otherwise have been a relatively bare corner of the frame.

If you take a close look at the street light, you'll actually see the reflection of its soft glow across the ridged metal surface of the pole as well. It's a value-added extra that just gives a little more dimension to an image that is basically a very simple shot. As I always say to budding photographers - don't always shoot the first view that comes into your mind, try and see if there are minor add-ons that could enhance the quality of the scene you're trying to capture.

A number of my work colleagues have used my photographs as the background on their computers. One of them, a sport-crazy bloke, has had this shot on his PC ever since I came back from Canada. Why? Because his name's Max - and he reckons I partially obscured the "I" in the Imax sign for his benefit.

Now that's really a case of taking it to the Max.

For the home of ABC Wednesday, go to Mrs Nesbitt's Place.

The Milk Of Human Kindness

The Cow Jumped Over The, Er, Water Bed

Yes, it's true - happy cows produce more milk. That's why Geauga County farmer Bill Timmons has put 200 waterbeds in his barn - for the herd. He spent nearly $40,000 doing it, too. But he says daily milk production jumped more than 20 per cent after just two weeks of the cows relaxing in their new beds. He's one of the first northeast Ohio farmers to invest in the bedding, a trend that began in the United States about ten years ago.

FOOTNOTE: Turn the udder chic.

Post Of The Day

Today's winner is Leendalu with What Not To Wear - Toilet Paper Edition. Among the other posts that caught my eye were Jennifer H with A Day In Sedona; Mama Geek's Altitude is Everything; Seamus with It's Here; Sandi McBride's If There Are No Ambulances of Helicopters ...; Nicole P with Good Karma?; Mushy's First Kill; Jeff B with Comment Story: Nuckin Futz; Kimberly's The McMahon Meme; Holly with Anatomy of Love; Camikaos with Family – It’s Relative and Jamie Dawn with St Paddy’s Day, Arkansas Style. Do pay them a visit and leave a comment if you have time.

From Good Friday, you too can nominate posts for this segment. (Yes, you!) Watch this space for details.

Surgeon Fails To Crack The Case

Would The Queen Call This An Annus Horribilis?

A German pensioner is suing a hospital after she checked in for an operation on her leg – but was given a new anus instead. The clinic in Hochfranken, Bavaria, has suspended the surgical team after they apparently mixed up the notes for two patients. The woman complainant was expecting an operation on her leg, while another patient, suffering from incontinence, was scheduled for surgery on her sphincter. The pensioner , who still needs to have the leg surgery, is looking for another hospital to perform the operation.

FOOTNOTE: Bummer.

Precision Time

The Best Balcony View On The Island

Singapore, December 2007. Photograph copyright: DAVID McMAHON