Serious Business

  

The American version of Halloween is supposed to be fun - dress up in silly clothing, whip up some mock fear, play some jokes. However, when I was shooting in Maryland Plaza Saturday night, I noticed how dead serious many of the participants were. Grim stares, few smiles. Maybe that was there spin on the scary themes of the day.

By the way, the pun three sentences back was intentional.

The olive harvest is in full swing!

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This is my 6th day living and volunteering at a nice kibbutz in central Israel. 
We are working hard harvesting olives.
The main method to get the olives off the branches is to "comb" them off with a plastic rake thingy. 

We spread long long tarps on both sides of the trees. 
The olives we "comb" fall onto the tarps, making a sweet sound. 

Finally we push and pull all the olives into the center of the tarp, kneel beside the pile and fish out a few twigs, and then pour the beautiful olives into a crate. 

More about life in the big olive grove in the coming days.
If you'd like to learn more about the place and the philosophy, please see one or all of these:
Olives 101
The Olive Blog 
Kibbutz Gezer Olives -- Facebook page 
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Come and join us, there's still a few beds left for more good volunteers! 
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Laissez Le Bon Temps Rouler

The title of this post is a Cajun French phrase most Americans know: let the good times roll. It is often associated with Mardi Gras in New Orleans. However, I'm told it is almost meaningless in France. The roll was amazing in Maryland Plaza Saturday night but it was tough to get all the motion in low light, not to mention understanding how it is done. Being poorly coordinated in general, I could only watch in awe.         

Boo In The Lou

There is a big outdoor party on the Saturday night before Halloween in Maryland Plaza, part of the Central West End neighborhood. I go shoot the monsters and wraiths if I'm in town and the weather is tolerable. Not as crowded last night as some years and everyone is happy to pose. We'll go with this for a while.                

Boo At The Zoo

The St. Louis has been running a children's event during the evening called Boo At The Zoo. Not trick or treating but lots of kids' activities. Madeleine wore what she calls her super bat costume. 

It was fun up to a point but it became unbearably crowded, so much that so that it was hard to just move through the walkways. Our girl loves the carousel but the line appeared to be 45 to 60 minutes long. Ms. M did not get her ride and she was not amused.

Depending on the weather (probably cold), I may shoot our big Halloween street party tonight. It, too, now has impossible crowds. Probably go early, get what I can and then leave before people start getting crushed. 

    

Halloween 2017

Werewolf spotted on Marlboro Street in the Back Bay.

Sing Along

The last performance at the improv festival was led by Laura and Rick Hall, professional comedians who appear on the popular TV show Whose Line Is It Anyway?  They enlisted a number of performers from other groups and non-professionals who had taken their workshop earlier in the day.

One of their techniques was to take an idea from the audience, turn it into a song title and require the performers to make up a couple of lines on the spot, then pass it down the line. To no one's surprise, the content of the songs veered off in strange directions. A lot of pressure on those onstage but the audience loved it.    

More Filler

Too much to do and too little time: my story.  There are lots more pictures to edit from the improv festival that I haven't gotten to.  One of these days...

In the meantime, some shots I took when I went down to the floodwall to photograph the recent Paint Louis work.  This group of motorcyclists surprised me, particularly the one in the top picture. Some people think you should love your country. Winston Churchill said that patriotism is the last refuge of scoundrels. Go figure.       

The Final touches to the Corn Queen

She is truly magnificent this year, the Corn Queen's final touches are applied before the big day.  Apple festival at Borough Market last weekend, a celebration melding both Christian and Pagan traditions.

The event kicked of with the Harvest Thanksgiving service conducted by Southwark Cathedral and  accompanied by the Market's choir.

In true British fashion we were then treated to the quirky festivities probably adapted from past Pagan  rites.  The Green Man and Apple Queen led the procession into the market.

This is the Corn Queen's big moment, centre of the parade she trundles along in her trolley waving to the crowds. Flag waving, bell ringing and a bit of dancing they travel from Bankside to the market.

The afternoon is filled with story telling, conker fights, Morris Dancing (this has to be one of the quirkiest dances ever invented) and of course lots of apple tastings and cider drinking.

A Ninja Turtle problem in East London

I was in East London a couple of weeks ago and noticed the neighbourhood watch board on the guesthouse gate.  Neighbourhood watch groups do an amazing job getting residents together and curbing crime in residential areas and I live in a suburb with a very active neighbourhood watch. Looking at this board though I thought to myself that we're very lucky in our area not to have a Ninja Turtle problem like they do in East London.

Filler

I'm finished with the Artica series and shooting an improv festival this weekend. That will take time to edit so I need something to fill the gap.

T Rex here has been on the blog somewhere in the past but I thought it would shake things up visually. It's in a back corner of Forest Park. You would never come across it unless you were on a certain running and biking trail. Best have your wits about you it if you do.        

Jerusalem tolerance: 2 wheels vs. 2 legs

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Our group of 28 older citizens of Meitar was touring Jerusalem last Tuesday.
We had just exited the New Gate and were trying to get through the narrow passage between the Old City wall on the left and the tramway on busy Paratroopers Road on the right. 
We had to quickly scoot over when a string of segway riders came whirring by! 
I was delighted but one of the oldies voiced his disapproval to the tourists for usurping his space. 
Maybe it's just envy, because I see on the SmartTour website that 
"All participants must be between the ages of 16-70, not pregnant and of a maximum weight of 270 pounds."
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Burn

Artica's grand finale: Our Lady of Artica is put to the torch and reduced to ashes. The crowd gathers in a circle outside the fire control perimeter, gapes in wonder and eventually starts to dance and chant, revolving around the blaze.

In the end, nothing is left but cooling embers. The crowd drifts away. Very Buddhist.    

Beware the Warthog

 

Being from the Eastern Cape we all know that there are areas where you have to be very careful driving at night.  Unlike our friends in the Big Smoke it's not robbers and highjackers we have to be careful of, but rather Kudus.  These big antelope jump fences up to 2 meters tall and come and browse on the side of the road after dark, often jumping into the road and colliding with cars when they get startled by the bright lights.  Because of this Kudu warning road signs is a regular sight on the roads of the Karoo Heartland.

But lately, a new sign has stuck its head out.  A Warthog warning sign.  Now warthogs don't jump fences, for that their legs are way too short.  But they do burrow underneath and they can often be seen on the side of the R75 road towards Graaff-Reinet from Port Elizabeth.  Hence, Beware of Warthog signs. 

For some reason, I just want to sing, "Hakuna Matata! What a wonderful phrase. Hakuna Matata! Ain't no passing craze..." when I drive past them. Go figure...

Anticipation

The center of the Artica fields always contains a wooden structure, sculpture of a sort and different every year. This year's was called Our Lady of Artica, a lumber yard angel and symbol of impermanence. After dark on Sunday night if would burn to ashes. We will wrap up this series tomorrow.        

Player's Choice

There are so many more pictures I could edit from Artica but I have to wrap it up sometime and get to the closing bonfire. For today, a couple more unusual sculptures. The top one seems to be aimed at attracting children, the bottom one gamblers. Nothing is for sale at Artica, so you couldn't start a giant craps game in that field.         

Greater Good

Doors to . . . where? The old wood and Gothic lettering suggest a church entrance but then what lies behind? The words scattered on the ground may suggest an answer. There is a lot going on in this world to be afraid of.       

Light And Dark

More cruising the work on display at Artica. 

The figures above have words torn into the green fabric but even up close I couldn't read much of it. 

The diptych in the second photo represents the scene right behind me as I tool the shot - grassy fields with the wooden structure of Our Lady of Artica (more about which soon), a single Doric column standing there for god-knows-why and the old Cotton Belt Railroad freight terminal, whose long east wall has been turned into a mural by Artica founders Hap Phillips and Nita Turnage. Looks quite Fauvist to me. 

The last is the hardest to understand.It brought back hazy associations with some Japanese cemeteries I've seen.