Monthly Archives: June 2007

Lists

British comedy

I’ve always had a soft spot for British comedy. It’s hard to pinpoint why, but there it is. My favorites are Benny Hill, Monty Python and Mr. Bean. I’ve recently discovered Harry Enfield’s work, and I love his black and white mockumentaries (but only those, not his color work).

Here’s Benny Hill, in “The life of Maurice Dribble, from womb to tomb”:

Or how about this classic hospital scene? There’s the classic Benny Hill twist at the end:

Here’s Rowan Atkinson (Mr. Bean), in a couple of clips from another famous show called “Blackadder”. In this first clip, a secret mission is planned.

In this second Blackadder clip, the origin of WWI is discussed:

John Cleese performs his own eulogy in this clip from the 2006 International Comedy Festival:

Harry Enfield’s comedic genius shines in this clip, entitled “Women keep your virtue”:

While British humor is still likeable nowadays, it has lost its lustre and subtletly. It’s now crude and lewd. Have a look at this clip from a show called “Extras”. This is definitely a few orders of quality below the vintage British comedy I like.

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Thoughts

Goodbye little bird, goodbye

As I was about to walk into work at the start of May, I saw a little bird on the ground, trying to walk but unable to do so. The poor thing was convulsing, and its head kept rotating wildly. Two other birds were nearby, a blue thrush, and an orange-chested robin. At first I thought they’d ganged up on the poor little bird, but no, they were concerned and eyed me with fear, worried that I’d hurt it.

They didn’t have to worry about me. I picked it up and held it in my hands, hoping it would recover. I sat down on a bench and waited for about 10 minutes, and the little bird was thankful. It nested in my hand. Its eyes would close, then open again, and its breathing was heavy while its little beak was wide open. It was obvious that it had problems breathing. What had probably happened is that it flew into one of the windows, but really slammed into it. It seems to happen most every day at work, but the other birds are fine — slightly dazed, but otherwise okay. It wasn’t so with this poor little bird. It had suffered major internal injury. There were little stains of blood on my hand.

The human in me wanted to nestle it in my hands until it recovered, but the photographer in me quickly grabbed the camera and took a few photos. I couldn’t change lenses, and I had to use my wide-angle 24mm, which was already mounted on my 5D. Now I’m so glad I took the photos, because they’re the only things I have left to remind me of it.

Goodbye, little bird, goodbye

Since the little bird wasn’t getting any better, I figured I’d take it upstairs to my office and keep it safe there for at least part of the day. I was worried that it would make a quick meal for cats or hawks. Upstairs, I tried to give it some water, but it didn’t want to drink. Its condition was getting worse by the minute. I held it in my hand as it breathed its last breath. Needless to say, I don’t count that day as one of my happiest. Later, I took it outside and buried it at the root of this tree:

Under the sun

Goodbye, little bird. Goodbye. Rest in peace.

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Thoughts

Click

Meta work can be a lot of fun, and also a little different. I took a recent photo of mine (from January), set it as my desktop background, positioned my mouse, then focused in for a macro shot. I really like how the honeycomb texture of my laptop’s LCD monitor came out. The juxtaposition of the mouse pointer next to a piece of architecture, in the sky nonetheless, makes for an interesting and less than usual composition.

Click

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Lists

Interesting animals

The olm is a cave salamander completely adapted to the dark environment where it lives. It has no eyes, and is completely without pigmentation. Early discoverers thought olms were baby dragons. These salamanders live in a group of caves in the Balkan mountains.

Do you know what animal has the strongest punch in the world? Look no further than the stomatopod, an ocean creature that punches its prey to knock it out.

Have you ever seen a giant snail? Given the various parasites all snails host, I’m not sure I’d play with them. This brave woman’s got a giant snail on her arm. Yuck.

This horse is amazing. It’s called Blue Hors Matine, and the rider is Andreas Helgstrand. I have never seen a horse move like that. Even the commentators are left speechless.

The bower bird is a truly amazing animal. It builds an elaborate nest, complete with assorted objects of various shapes and colors, in order to attract a mate.

If you didn’t think crows could use tools, think again:

Have a look at this fantastic battle between a herd of water buffalo and a pride of lions. If you watch till the end, you’ll see how the buffalo attack the pride in numbers in order to retrieve a captured calf. The poor thing not only has to resist the lions, but a crocodile that grabs onto it from behind as well. It’s a heroic battle, and that little calf is a true survivor.

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Places

In the waking hours

Sometimes, I wake up and skies like this one greet me. How can I pass on taking a photo when I’m faced with such beauty? I cannot, will not, must not.

Rise above

In the waking hours

Taken in North Bethesda, MD.

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