Bill Murray's Blog, page 160
January 26, 2012
Election Year Politics
"This President has taken a very dangerous course with regards to Cuba, saying we're going to relax relations, we're going to open up travel to Cuba. This is the wrong time for that…."
- Mitt Romney in the NBC Debate, 23 January, 2012
Since anything is liable to be said in an election year, and since this remark was tailored to the Florida Latino community, it remains to be seen how fervently Mr. Romney believes what he said, but a couple of questions:
- What's dangerous? Is Governor...
January 25, 2012
Food Market, Hanoi - Wednesday HDR
People seem to like Vietnam food HDRs. Two of the top five viewer-voted most popular photos on EarthPhotos.com are from the Hoi An, Vietnam morning market.
Check out all these goodies in the meat section of a huge market in Hanoi.
There are 353 more HDRs here , and 384 more photos in the Vietnam Gallery at EarthPhotos.com.
Shot with a Nikon D-700, made HDR in Photomatix, finished with Nik plug-ins and CS5.
January 24, 2012
Winter in Finland - 6
My wife Mirja and I traveled to Finland last month. Here's the last in a series.
And so we've come to Saariselkä, Finnish Lapland, and we see that it's possible to live inside the Arctic Circle. It takes a little more work, bundling up and all, and you need a plan before you go outside. There's no idle standing around out there.
But there are even a few advantages. Dragging your groceries behind you over the ice on a little plastic sled called a pulkka is easier than carrying them...
I'm Gonna Wash Those Ions Right Outta My Hair
At latitudes more northerly than ours, sky watchers are having a great time with the largest solar storm since 2005. Last night I watched an aurora over Yellowknife on the Canadian Space Agency's AuroraMAX. Let's just say it's not quite the same as being there, but it is a chance to see something really awesome, in the actual meaning of the word.
January 23, 2012
Winter in Finland - 5
My wife Mirja and I traveled to Finland last month. We continue our series.
Hyvä asiakkaamme,
Ethän käytä huoneiston takkaa.
Se on tällä hetkellä epäkunnossa
Ja savuttaa sisään.
Dear customer,
Please don't use the fireplace. It is for the moment out of order and the smoke comes into the apartment.
Ärade kund,
Vängligeninte sätta eld på spisen.
Der är ur function och skall röka in I huset.
Now wait a minute! We might need the fireplace. It's LAPLAND and it's -16C outside.
But the nice lady...
January 22, 2012
Big Displays Up North
The big blast from the sun on Thursday, known scientifically as a coronal mass ejection, may bring some excitement for skywatchers today and tomorrow. Having stalked the aurora last month in Lapland, I can testify that it's a thrilling, thrilling moment when you spot the beginning of a display.
Just on the off chance that you can't travel to the far north tonight, here are a couple of web resources: AuroraMAX, from the Canadian Space Agency, has a live, 180 degree view of the sky over...
Break Bread with the E.U.
Croatians vote today in a referendum on the government's plan to join the E.U. If they vote yes, does Croatia get bread with a little butter crown?
That is so thoughtful.
January 21, 2012
Winter in Finland - 4
My wife Mirja and I traveled to Finland last month. We continue our series.
4
A rainy, snowy mix Monday morning. We set out at 6:00 a.m. for Helsinki for an 11:15 flight to Lapland. This weather would shut down Atlanta for a week. Here, we just got in the car and drove.
Through town and onto the highway. Slushy and slippery. We sped along in the dark and I swore we'd slide off the road sooner or later, at a hundred kilometers per hour, with one lane good, the other ice.
Finnish law...
January 20, 2012
Friday Photo Quiz #139 - Where in the World?
Hmmm... Okay, so it's a big city... it's got boats like that, and somehow that doesn't look like an American boat. Or a European boat....
Can you name the city? The country? The answer is below.
And a good weekend to all from Common Sense and Whiskey and EarthPhotos.com.
And the answer is ..................................................... it's the Asian city state, Singapore. Here's an HDR of the view if you pull back some from the tight shot.
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See...
Winter in Finland - 3
My wife Mirja and I have a cabin on her family's land in the Northern Savonia region of Eastern Finland. We visited for Christmas. We continue our series.
3
Tonight it's grown colder. Not by much but you can tell. We've spent the afternoon in Finnish tradition, lighting candles at ancestors' graves. We visited four cemeteries, in Leppävirta, Saahkarlahti, Luttila and near here, at Koönönpelta. We've seen the patriarchs, men who fought in the war of independence, fathers and grandfathers...
