Skywatch Friday No. 55

Clouds at sunset.

Mellow Yellow Monday #29

I just discovered a very cool free program called Poladroid that transforms digital images into something resembling Polaroid snapshots. The pictures even develop on the monitor before your eyes. This week's Mellow Yellow entry was obtained with a digital SLR and then transformed in Poladroid.

Monochrome Maniacs

Spider and fly captured with Lensbaby Composer and macro attachment (the fly is below and left of the spider--click to enlarge).

The Manly Blogger Guy Award

One of my other blogs, The Marx Brothers, recently received the "One Lovely Blog" award, replete with a logo composed of pink roses, pink ribbons, and a teacup. Obviously, this award was created by a woman to boost the self-esteem of her sister bloggers. One of the requirements of the award is to pass it on to other bloggers, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I toyed with the idea of a more male-oriented blog award, such as a "Blog and Suds" award with a stein of beer for its logo, or a "Silent But Deadly" award, to be awarded only after a blog had received the "Blog and Suds" award. The logo of the SBD award would be an atomic mushroom cloud. I even considered a foldout "Blog of the Month Award." After fellow male blogger Archie also received the "One Lovely Blog" award, I knew it was time for action. Even though Archie graciously accepted and passed on the award, we guys (as men are invariably called in commercials for prostate-shrinking pharmaceuticals) need our own award. Thus I hereby launch the "Manly Blogger Guy Award." The conditions of the award are as follows:

1. The blog receiving the award must demonstrate masculine qualities such as sloth, boorishness, urinary hesitancy, or flatulence. In the interest of equal opportunity, these criteria do not entirely exclude female nominees.

2. No blog which plays background music such as "Somewhere My Love" or "My Heart Will Go On" is eligible.

3. The award should be passed on to as many other blogs as possible, but watching televised sports or taking a nap should take precedence over passing out awards.

For the award logo, I have selected a classic symbol of male self-delusion. Back in the 60s and 70s, Hai Karate aftershave commercials used dialogue like:

GUY: Hey how about a movie tonight?

GIRL: Wow, what's that aftershave?!

ANNOUNCER: New Hai Karate aftershave is so powerful, it drives women right out of their minds. That's why we have to put instructions on self-defense in every package. Hai Karate, the brisk splash-on aftershave that smooths, and soothes, and cools. Hai Karate--aftershave, cologne, and gift sets. Hai Karate--be careful how you use it.

They really did include self-defense instructions with these cheap toiletries. BTW, I bought the product, but never had the opportunity to fight off crowds of amorous girls--or even one for that matter--while wearing Hai Karate.

The inaugural recipients of the MBG Award are:

#167 Dad
Archie's Archive

Congratulations, GUYS!

Skywatch Friday No. 54

Crows perched atop a grain elevator, silhouetted against a foggy sky turned golden by the rising sun.

Mellow Yellow Monday #28

Orchid, Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden

Monochrome Moon and Clouds

Shots taken this morning at sunrise.

Skywatch Friday No. 53

This shot was taken in the morning, with clear blue sky below, a thin veil of clouds over the moon, and another layer of thin wispy clouds blowing by in the foreground.

Click to enlarge.

Mellow Yellow Monday #27

A picture obtained with a Lensbaby Composer and zone plate optic on a Nikon D90.

Chanticleer II

This is a variation on a theme I tried previously, when I photographed a toy rooster illuminated with a flashlight. This is a larger rooster figure, in the sunlight, photographed with a Lensbaby Composer with pinhole optic.

Close Encounter of the Wiener Kind

In a recent post, I marked the passing of Oscar Mayer, the 95-year-old scion of the meat empire established by his grandfather, the first Oscar Mayer.

The Wienermobile has been associated with the Oscar Mayer brand since the first one was built in 1936. A fleet of the seven vehicles now tours the country. I missed one which passed through this area recently, but I did manage to find the picture below, documenting a previous encounter which occurred in the mid 90s.

The lad on the left simulating(?) picking his nose shall remain anonymous. He is not related to us. Sons Dan and Pete are standing next to him.

Morrow's Honeysuckle

This wild shrub has been on our property since we bought it ten years ago, but I never knew what it was. Now I have learned it is a species of Asian bush honeysuckle which is an invasive introduced plant that is considered undesirable. Oh, well.

See more nature pictures at Rambling Woods

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Skywatch Friday #52

More of a skyline view this week--a part of the Chicago skyline reflected in the Cloud Gate (AKA "The Bean") at Millenium Park. This was taken on a cold clear December day without a cloud in the sky.

First Michael Jackson, and Now...

Still reeling from the shock of Michael Jackson's death, Lugubrious Drollery has just received the following sad news:

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Oscar G. Mayer, retired chairman of the Wisconsin-based meat processing company that bears his name, has died at the age of 95.

Mayer's wife, Geraldine, said he died of old age Monday age at Hospice Care in Fitchburg.

He was the third Oscar Mayer in the family that founded Oscar Mayer Foods, which was once the largest private employer in Madison. His grandfather, Oscar F. Mayer, died in 1955 and his father, Oscar G. Mayer Sr., died in 1965.

Mayer retired as chairman of the board in 1977 at age 62 soon after the company recorded its first $1 billion year. The company was later sold to General Foods and is now a business unit of Kraft.

Mayer's first wife, Rosalie, died in 1998. He married Geraldine Fitzpatrick in 1999.

Even more disturbing is the fact that one of the current fleet of Wienermobiles passed through my hometown recently and I missed it.

Mr. Mayer requested that there be no Wienermobile in his funeral procession. More's the pity.

Shadow Shot Sunday #59

A study in geometry taken at the University of Notre Dame today.

Queen Anne's Lace

This flower of Daucus carota reminds me of a burst of fireworks for Independence Day.

Skywatch Friday No. 51

Sunset on the Big Island of Hawaii. The plume of steam on the left is the point of entry into the ocean of the Kilauea Volcano lava flow. Photo taken 1/24/09.

Gaillardia or Blanket Flower

I just realized we have some of these--the emblem of Michelle's Rambling Woods-- in one of our flower beds. This was taken with my new Lensbaby Composer on the Nikon D90.

See more nature pictures at Rambling Woods

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