I Feel Like Bustin' Myth... MythBusters at UMaine

Hmmm... These two must be busting some photography myth (Kevin Bennett of the Bangor Daily News and Jeff Kirlin of The Thing of the Moment - I'd like to mention that I only know who Kevin is because of his appearances in The Thing of the Moment). Or maybe they're plotting how to either save the world or take it over by pledging their myriad of lenses to the forces of good or evil. Or maybe they're just chatting about the weather.

Ah... MythBusters in the Field House at UMaine in Orono. The lighting wasn't particularly good, so I feel bad for the folks who had to sit in the back. Still, it was 90 minutes well spent as Adam and Jamie shared humorous stories, clips and took questions from the audience and shed some light on the inner workings of the MythBusters TV show.

I had a question, but wasn't picked. So, I'll pose the question here. I wanted to ask what myth they had gone the most over-the-edge or applied the most overkill to. My vote would probably be for the Shooting Fish In A Barrel myth where they opened up on the fish with a 50-round per second machine gun. I haven't seen every show, so there may be many other worthy myths that answer that question.

Optimism? Or exercise in futility?

Hey! Snow really does melt!

And there it is! I was beginning to wonder if we were ever going to see our picnic table again. Maybe the snow will melt before August this year! Could be worse, though. At least we're not up in The County and setting new snowfall records.

Photo Friday's "Found Objects" Challenge

This was found on the UMaine campus on November 4th, 2007. That was about a week after the Red Sox won the 2007 World Series and a few days after Halloween. Hard to say whether either of those events or just random drunken students were responsible.

I do think it makes a better picnic table than it does a merry-go-round.

Keys to the highway - or not, depending on what you're opening

Submitted to the Macro Day challenge for "Keys".

Gathering Gloom revisited

Submitted for the 'Bird' theme at Tuesday Challenge and the 'Irish' theme at Moody Monday.

Downed mailbox, but you wouldn't know it from this shot

This was supposed to be a shot of the mailbox that the snowplow had obviously clobbered and knocked off its post. I was in traffic, though, and had to move, so I didn't see what I got for a shot until much later. Wish I knew how to get that lensbaby effect again since that really wasn't what I was trying for.

The mailbox is actually quite visible to the left of the post, but the camera focus didn't figure that out before I had to get moving or incur the wrath of the people behind me.

Submitted to Thursday Challenge for 'Experimental'.

Photo Sunday's 'Y' challenge

I really wanted to find something other than yellow for Photo Sunday's 'Letter Y' challenge, but no Yetis crossed my path, so I'm submitting the above photo(s).

Lens Day challenge - Metallic

Down by the Penobscot River, Orono, Maine, on a cool winter's morning.

Gathering Gloom in a Ghostly Grey Gaelic Graveyard

I wanted to stop and take some shots in this cemetery on the foggy afternoon we had last month. Jenny_WhyMe was with me and expressed sentiment to the effect of "that would be too creepy". I can't say that she would've been wrong.

I'll have to go back to read the threesome of headstones more closely. I can't make out everything in the shot that I took, but the inscriptions all say that they are natives of Ireland and died in the late 1800s. I'm also curious about the fourth, smaller headstone.

MMMmmm...

Submitted for Unique's macro photo challenge 'Just a Little Bit Closer'.

The Samoas just don't quite look right, though, in that Caramel deLites box.

It's been a while since we've seen our deck chair

With a little bit of melting over the weekend it's just barely visible again. Saw about this much of it in January, too, but then we got more snow.

Is the picnic table still there?

Moody Monday challenge - Straight - this one's for the birds!

Anyone want to volunteer to clean either of these roofs? I thought not...

Too bad "Straight, No Chaser" is by Monk instead of Bird or I'd have 'dazzled' you with a (likely very bad) pun.

Macro Day challenge - Odd Toys

Are these odd enough? Is the Easter Bunny in trouble? Why is that bunny smiling? Does he not know who is following him on that bunny trail?

Questions, yes, are still free.

White Rock - Ads from 1940s Brooklyn Dodgers programs

From:

1942

1944

1946

Looks like White Rock wanted to keep the populace fit AND inebriated during the war years!

With the war over, they stopped touting fitness and the mixability of their potion!

1942 shot submitted to See It Sunday's 'Paper' challenge.

As promised, more shots of the 1911 baseball booklet

Front cover, front-inside ad, back cover ad and back-inside ad.

The above pretty much speak for themselves. I probably should've lit these shots better, but they're pretty easy to read for an almost 100 year-old document. It would be interesting to know the history of where this booklet has been. My grandfather was born in 1908, so he would've turned 3 early in the 1911 baseball season. I've had the booklet for about 30 years. I don't recall asking about it when I was a kid and never thought to before he died in 1998 shortly before he would've turned 90.

I realize that numbers aren't adjusted for inflation, but a million dollars is still a lot of money today. It's kinda funky to think that the major leagues were run in 1910 for the same amount of money that Bo Jackson made in 1990. Or less than 1/15 of what Richie Sexson (who hit .205!) made last year. I hope Sexson has a better 2008 season (except when playing the Red Sox!).

Photo Friday's "Surreal" challenge

There are multiple reflections going on in this shot making for, what I consider to be, a rather surreal image. The reflection of the tower and sunset are not only from the mirror, but also from the car window. This was taken on Route 1 on the bridge between Bath and Woolwich on our way to a family Christmas party in December, 2006. My daughter, needing driving time to reach her required amount while under the learner's permit, was driving, thus allowing me to see and take the shot. Submitted to Photo Friday's "Surreal" challenge.

Baseball numbers in 1910 - from a 1911 booklet my grandparents gave me

I'll post more from this booklet later. This portion is being submitted to Thursday's "Games" Challnege.

Witches are right out!

Too many peasants being turned into newts and getting better, I guess.
Submitted to Photo Sunday for the 'X' challenge.