Saturday Urban Life and Farming

Saturday Urban Life in the capital of Norway, Oslo, can offer a variety of activities. Within a few hours we will use the beautiful sunshine today for a city stroll, including a glass of wine at Aker Brygge which is only 30 minutes away.
Urban life with the advantage we feel, having a cottage almost in the middle of the city, can also give us time to relax, time to be close to nature, time to make paintings, knitting production, BBQ activities (Grilled Trout today) and harvesting the Growth of the Soil although not dreaming to be Isak and Inger.
Everything here are Organic food The red and black currants are almost mature and ready for eating directly from the bush and home made jam production.
From the top of the trees the apples have started to drop to the ground making repeatedly documentations of Newtons headache when hit by one of the falling apples, and got the idea of his theories about Universial Gravitation
The plums are also in the late maturing process, and will be ripen in the beginning of September. Large yellow sweet plums with a name I have forgotten.
These photos are taken yesterday after the first autumn storm has passed and are my contribution to the meme
Visit Luiz Santilli Jr for the home of Today's Flowers.

Verse And Worse

Random Wit, Errant Rhyme. Not A Literary Crime

Just when you think you’ve got all the answers
You find you’re not one of the world’s best dancers
You can twist, waltz and tango and master the jive
But failure at the limbo means there’s no high five

Friday night

With Venus in the south, we say goodnight to the blogger world.
Tomorrow the urban farmer is on the line again.

Ha, Ha Monica

For Me, This Performance Struck A Poignant Note

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

Sometimes a face just stops you in your tracks. Then, despite the fact that you have a camera around your neck and media credentials in your wallet, the debate begins. Do you have the right to intrude? I always ask the person if it’s all right to photograph them. Always.

When I photographed a harp player in Quebec City, it was with his permission. When I photographed a pavement piano player in Melbourne, it was with his permission. When I photographed a costumed belly dancer, it was with her permission. When I photographed a blind busker, it was with his permission.

So when I saw this street performer in Singapore two years ago, I asked if I could take some shots of him and he nodded his assent.

Just for the record, I wasn't in his face when I shot these images. My normal lens is a Sigma 18-125mm, so I always have plenty of options. Both these images were shot at the maximum focal length, so I wasn't even within touching distance when I photographed him.

If only I’d had an interpreter, I would have asked many questions.

I really wanted to know how old he was and why there was such depth of emotion in his eyes. Yes, he had a funky haircut. Yes, he had a great shirt. But I wanted to know why he sat there in the tropical heat, apparently without any teeth, playing the harmonica as if it were his only outlet for creativity.


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

It’s A Good Thing They Had Plenty Of Dough

Is It A Citroen Or A Ferrari?

Two friends have crossed a Citroen 2CV with chassis and engine of a speedy Ferrari F355 Berlinetta - and produced a bread van which can do a staggering 180mph. The bizarre hybrid took the pair five years and cost more than £150,000 to put together. It goes from 0 to 60mph in less than five seconds.

FOOTNOTE: Van go.

It's Friday! Have fun everyone!

Source: i can read

"The phone rings in the middle of the night,

My father yells 'What you gonna do with your life?'

Oh,daddy,dear,

You know you're still number one,

But girls,

They just wanna have fun!"

Sky Watching and Bandar Raja

"At Chitradurga in Karnataka, they call me 'Kothi Raju', meaning the Monkey King in English or 'Bandar Raja' in Hindi. I got this name when I started imitating maneuvers of monkeys while jumping and climbing up trees and walls," says Jyoti Raju.Maybe some of the other Sky Watchers this Friday would try to copy these watching positions shown on this Video.

Please visit Sky Watch Friday's own site for more.

Post Of The Day

Today's joint winners are Med Kamera Pa Tur with Sky Watch; Fireblossom with Tales Of Shocking True Crime and French Fancy with Yes, I Once Stole. The other top contenders were Cooking Blind with Some Of This Is True; And I Still Think So with Those Sultry, Sticky Tennessee Williams Days; San Merideth with Dreaming It Forward; Jenny Mac with Sculpture: It's An Art Form; Powell Power with A Helpful Letter ...; Heavenly Housewife with Liberty Cream Tea; Incense And Peppermints with In Which I Humiliate My Mother; RedMummy Rambles On with About Not Being Menopausal At All; Saturday's Child with Blue Hairs Returning To School; Nikon Sniper with After The Storm and As If C'est What with Gordon Waller. 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

Columbus declared the Huns were too clannish
And even worse, "they couldn't speak Spanish"
But amidst admiration for the joy of migration
He applauded each nation that conquered inflation

Head Start

The Great Aussie Salute

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

The word "G'day" is instantly recognisable around the world as the quintessential Australian greeting. Over the years, I’ve seen many great depictions of the word, but this one was unique. I was at the Temora Aviation Museum in early June, watching an air show, when I noticed this person in the crowd ahead of me.

Have you ever tried taking a photograph of someone’s head when they’re watching fighters go screaming past in the sky? Let me tell you, it’s a mighty tough gig. It’s a bit like trying to do the same thing at a tennis match, when people’s heads constantly move side to side.

The weather was foggy at the start and the light wasn’t great later on, when the pilots got the all-clear, and to add to my problem, this gentleman was actually sitting under cover and a long way away from me. However, I had a long lens (70-300mm) on the camera, so this is as natural a shot as I could produce in the conditions – and it’s as Aussie a sight as you’ll ever see.

And to answer your question, G'day is simply a contraction of the phrase "Good day".


Visit MamaGeek and Cecily, creators of Photo Story Friday.

Bench of the week (19)

Some may say that this week's bench is not a bench, but a seat - indeed a row of seats. But is not that the definition of a bench? However that may be - this is what I have chosen to present today. It may at the first glance look like an ordinary row of seats at some kind of ordinary sports arena. Nothing could be farther from the truth, as will become clear as you scroll down.

It is in fact from an outdoor theatre: Agder Teater-Fjæreheia.

This theatre is situated outside the town of Grimstad, Norway. One unique feature is that it is built in a closed quarry, where a characteristic red granite was mined. Before WW2 there where several small quarries here, but Albert Speer, Hitler's infamous "Minister of Armaments and War Production", dedeceided after the Nazi invasion of Norway to use this granite to build a new gigantic stadium in Nuremberg. Thus a new quarry was opened and much stone was mined, but none of it reached Germany before the war was over. Instead it was used in various local constructions after the war.

Agder Theatre bought the quarry in 1995, and in the summer of 1999 built a new amphitheatre with 1000 seats. Since the opening in 1999 there have been many different types of arrangement at Fjæreheia. There has been everything from musicals such as Jesus Christ Superstar to film presentations and readings of the poem "Terje Vigen" and rock concerts. (Wikipedia) .

If you look closely at the photos you will see actors and dancers practising on ledges and ladders before a performance. You really have to look before you leap in this theatre.

And that the granite is red is obvious from these steps.

My own interest in benches stems from the site 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, they are of course welcome to do so. Give me a hint and I'll come visiting - summer permitting :-)

Sign, Along The Dotted Line

The Concept Is Up In The Air

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

These two shots weren't really planned. They were shot a couple of weeks ago when I was walking towards Southbank in the afternoon. I was squinting up at the bright sunshine, to see which way the cloudbanks were moving.

As I did so, I noticed that I was on the "wrong" side of this giant sign above the Melbourne Exhibition Centre, so of course I had to take a shot because the quirkiness of the lettering appealed to me.

And in case you're wondering, this is what the sign looks like if you're on the "right" side looking up at it.


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

Wild And Woolly

I've Got A Trombone To Pick With You

Classical composer Gustav Holst was once ticked off by a Cotswold farmer for playing his trombone too loudly and making his sheep lamb early, researchers have discovered. They revealed: "An irate farmer came rushing up to him and said, 'You are causing all this trouble with our sheep. They are lambing too soon, with this noise going on'."

FOOTNOTE: Very sheepish.

Graffiti Trailers

Absolut Revolution Trailer


Ramblin' Trailer


Graffiti Magazine TV 1.2

The Northern Summer Sky 2 - Looking South

Alversund. The outskirts of Bergen in the distance. The Northern Summer Sky 1 is here

PS Please visit Sky Watch Friday's own site for more.

Planning dispute delays air conditioned Tubes

There could be a longer wait for air conditioning on the London Underground as Westminster council don't like the "crude" design of an electricity substation needed to power the Metropolitan, Hammersmith & City, Circle and District trains.


The substation is due to be built near Edgware Road Tube station but Westminster Council are likely to refuse permission tonight as they reckon the building will be "injurious to the amenity of the neighbourhood", said the Evening Standard.

Wow how bad can it possibly look? Has anyone seen the plans? It's not as if all the buildings around Edgware Road Tube add value to the skyline or neighbourhood.

Verse And Worse

Random Wit, Errant Rhyme. Not A Literary Crime

Music gets my vote
Since we must always take note
And art's not a medium
That could ever cause tedium

Which Pokemon Are You?

And Why Are You Guarding This Doorway?

Photograph copyright: DAVID McMAHON

Doesn't this artwork remind you of the famous Pokemons? Remember the pocket monsters that took over the world a few years ago?

This is not really one of them. The image was shot in Hosier Lane, in Melbourne's central business district, about a fortnight ago. It's a narrow thoroughfare dating back to Melbourne's early development, but it has been transformed by urban art into what I call "a street of a million images".

Just when you think you've seen the most striking piece of art, another one forces you to re-evaluate.

If you look really carefully at this image you'll actually notice that this is actually a doorway and you can see a small silvery lock in the dead-centre of my frame. And do you see the lettering that says "CTCV" on the top left?

Interesting story, that .... the graffiti actually says "Sod CTCV". Well, okay, so it doesn't really say "Sod"; it uses a four-letter synonym. And whoever scrawled the message must have meant to write "CCTV" for closed-circuit television, instead.

For earlier posts in this series, check out The Doors Archive.

Quit Clowning Around, Dear

With This (Circus) Ring I Thee Wed

A Welsh clown gave his most nerve-racking performance - by proposing to his girlfriend in a circus ring in Colwyn Bay. He said going down on one knee in front of 500 people was tough. "I was really frightened she’d say no, but luckily after a few seconds she said yes, and the audience clapped and cheered."

FOOTNOTE: Tough act to follow.

Post of the Day, second time

Thanks, David, for your nomination of my Tuesday post about my World / girls / family. I am reading the post of your chosen winner and visiting the top contenders every day too.
Being on your list is an honor, and striving for the podium is a challenge. I know that many Norwegian blogs are good enough for nomination, but first they have to change their use of text language to English.
The blogging world is Global, and although English is only used by 4.68% (Mandarin 13,22%) of the world population, global text should be English.

David Mcmahon is a Melbourne-based journalist and internationally-published photographer. His first novel, Vegemite Vindaloo, was published in April 2006 by Penguin Books India and was on the bestseller lists from July to December.
David was born and educated in India, where he finished high school at St Joseph's College, North Point, Darjeeling and University at St Xavier's College, Calcutta.
He has lived in Australia for 20 years. Welcome to Dave's Outback Cafe, where the menu is different every day!
Visit his Blog Authorblog and become one of his daily visitors - as I am, and get easy access to some of the most interesting blogs world wide.

B is for Both

First Photo taken with my iPhone 3G.
Second Photo taken with my Canon Digital IXUS 960 IS.
ABC Wednesday = B has to accept Both.

But another important event took place on this day (july 29) here in Norway.
The Battle of Stiklestad in 1030 (called Olsok) is the most important day for the birth of Christianity in Norway.
B is for Battle of Stiklestad.
If you want more ABC Wednesday posts go to:ABCW Round 5 Year 3

Post Of The Day

Today's winner is Pinkerbell with Bye Bye Baby. The other top contenders were Arne with Madonna and Michael Plus Trine And Rikke; Willow’s Cottage with Day At The Beach, La Jolla Style; Visual Norway with Boat And Buoy; Bumpkin Bears with In The Footsteps Of Beatrix Potter; Brookeville Daily Photo with Rain On Saturday; Kym with Judge Ye Not and The Victorian Parlor with Good Morning From Terra Cottage. 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

When they voted to replace the age-old thimble
As the town's much-loved corporate symbol
The ladies stormed the hall and shut out the gentry
And chanted slogans near a sign saying "No entry"

"Points of Interest" Tube Map

Haven't seen many spoof or alternative London Underground maps for a while, so it was refreshing to see a work in progress, sent to me by the good folk at LDN Interesting. It takes the Tube map and replaces station names with "main points of interest" for the area. I like how these main points interest should be taken with a massive pinch of salt:


If you look on the whole map, you'll see all of the Heathrow stations simply saying "To other places". Limehouse seems to be just known for Ian McKellen, Camden Town for Goths, Canonbury for Guardian Readers and Kentish Town for Struggling Indie Bands.

Dan Zambonini who came up with the idea is looking for people to help him complete the map, so please leave suggestions in the comments or reply to him on Twitter!

It's interesting to see the suggestions already being made and how people can associate a whole area of London with an actor or a bunch of restaurants.

B Is For Buddy Holly

Like They Say, Folks, The Show Must Go On

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

A couple of weeks ago, I was walking towards Southbank when I noticed a vivid pink bus. I quickly grabbed the camera from around my neck when I realised it was actually heading towards Crown casino – and if I was quick enough, I’d be able to shoot a couple of frames.

Now it’s time for a confession – I stood behind the bus as its driver reversed slowly but carefully down a thoroughfare shared by pedestrians. No, it’s not as stupid as it sounds. There was a set of bollards prominently placed, so that no traffic can pass a certain point. I made sure the bollards were between me and the reversing bus.


At that point, I realised that the bus was actually the tour vehicle for "Buddy The Musical", the latest theatrical production on the life of Buddy Holly – and that the personalised number plate actually proclaimed BHOLLY. That’s why the first frame in this series is deliberately composed to include the blue-and-white number plate which you did notice, didn’t you!

On another note, yes, it’s still six months away from the traditional decorative use of holly. But you have to remember that it’s still winter here, so if you’re going with the Christmas In July theme, there’s nothing better than some extra Holly!


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

Lock, Stock And Crisis

Going Into Lockdown Mode

A retired prison officer and his wife became a historic jail's first inmates in nearly a century when they were accidentally locked in by staff. The couple were still exploring Britain's Ruthin Gaol and arrived at the souvenir shop to find it deserted with all the windows and doors locked.

FOOTNOTE: Key sera, sera.

Tuesday's Inspiration

Source: nerdy, pero trendy, Knightcat

I wish I had one of those band tees to pair it with a bf blazer and a chunky necklace. Currently I'm seeking for a black bf blazer but the searching seem to be never-ending. Another item on my wish list is a new bold necklace. I was always looking for golden ones but meanwhile I'm pretty fond of silver bling jewelry like the beautiful one above.

B is for Boat and Buoy

Shot at the Break of dawn

Today's post is an entry in the FIFTH round of ABC Wednesday, the meme initiated by Denise Nesbitt.

For more, you can log on via the MckLinky enabled site

South African Train Graffiti (2002 - 2009)

Nom Nom Nom Voting & Charity Raffle

Some of you will know that I helped to organise Nom Nom Nom again this year, which was basically a blogger's version of MasterChef. It's now time for the public vote and there's some familiar faces to this blog to vote for. L J Rich (you'll remember her from my fab trip on the Orient Express last year) & Jemimah (fab blog post on the day) who made up Team Bork Bork Bork & Cowfish (the evil clue master of the London Transport Museum Flickr Scavenger Hunt) & Eater. I'm sure they would really appreciate your votes!




You've got till this Friday to vote!

Also we've got lots and lots of scrumptious foodie goodies up for grabs in a charity raffle in aid of Action Against Hunger. They include meals out at Le Gavroche, hampers, wine, BBQ sets, fudge and even a lesson at the Cookery School where the event took place. Tickets are only a fiver and as not all of the prizes have been bid on yet, you're in with a good chance of winning. Good luck!

Post Of The Day

Today's joint winner is Jennifer Harvey with The Leaving. The other top contenders were Shadow with Diamonds In The Sky; East Gwillimbury Wow! with The Web She Weaves; Sylvia K with Close To Home; Cheltenham Daily Photo with Remembering Alex Ross; Tranquility And Turmoil with Sunflower Fields And Wine Tasting; Deborah Godin with Summer Days And Summer Nights; Joy Is My Goal with Antiques In Weatherford and Sandy Carlson with Nighty Night, Woodbury. 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.