I need models!

Ok, even I'm getting bored with slide shows of scenery. I got into photography after being a model, when I was in my late teens and early twenties. I hated it. The photographers seemed to expect more than just pictures for their money, and were always disappointed. I got bored with being told where to stand/sit/lie etc, it seemed like every shoot I went to followed the same script, switch your brain off at the door, then get your kit off. So I quit the whole thing, and joined the merchant navy.
That gave me plenty of time to think about what I had learned from modelling, there isn't much else to do on a long trip, or when you are anchored at sea for a few days in deep fog. And I decided the best thing would be to start photography, and hopefully one day start shooting models myself, but treating them as I would have prefered to be treated, like a sentient human being! So now I think I'm at that stage. I just need to start finding guys who want to try posing for the camera. Not jaded, already bored models, but real people who want to enjoy themselves, and not take it too seriously. A model who is having fun on a shoot shows their personality in the photographs, they end up looking like a person instead of a slab of flesh.
So that's what I'm gonna do. Start looking for men who want to pose. I don't care if they are young or old, stunning of hideous. It will be my job to make them look special. And feel that they are the vital part of the process that they are, not just a prop.
Wish me luck!

Sunset

I'm just really happy with this photo. I posted it on a image storage site a few days ago, and it seems that a lot of others like it too. Hardly makes me a great photographer, but it's a buzz reading nice comments about a photo I took!

Americans are getting smart!

New Brunswick veterinarians have voted to ban cosmetic surgery such as tail bobbing, dew claw removal and ear cropping by their members.

Association members approved the ban at their recent annual general meeting.

It's a move that's raising some concerns among dog breeders in the province.

But Dr. Jim Berry of the Douglas Animal Hospital said there's no reason for those procedures. He has long counselled customers against putting their pets through the pain of a procedure recommended by some breed standards set by groups.

There's evidence that the procedures hurt animals and can lead to long-term pain.

"Puppies cry when it's done," said Berry, a past-president of the New Brunswick Veterinary Medical Association and the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association's representative on the provincial association's board.

"What we're talking about here is cosmetic surgery. The definition of that is an alteration for purely cosmetic purposes that has no medical or health benefits for the animal."

Dwain McLean is a member of Fredericton Kennel Club, and he's also the Canadian Kennel Club's director for New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.

"Our club was disappointed that the NBVMA even proposed and then passed such a proposal without consulting breeders," he said Thursday.

"We would hope that the decision of the veterinarians would not force breeders to attempt these things at home or have to go outside.''

Tail bobbing and dew claw removal must be carried out when puppies are between three and five days of age, he said.

Having the procedure done by a veterinarian in the province is the safest option.

"That's one of the reasons we're going to a veterinary hospital, to have it done in safe, sanitary standards with a veterinarian there," said McLean, who breeds American cockerspaniel, Yorkshire terriers, and Labrador retrievers.

He said it's his understanding the animals have a higher threshold for pain in the early days of life.

Breeders are passionate about their dogs and shouldn't be painted as acting cruelly, he said.

He noted that an exception to the rules has been made to remove the claws on domestic cats.

Berry said that's because there are concerns about the abandonment and euthanization of cats that aren't declawed.

He said he suspects individuals will have to travel farther to find veterinarians willing to perform the procedures.

He said he hopes the group's move will have an impact on other jurisdictions.

"Personally, what I hope happens is that other veterinary associations pick up on this and do the same," Berry said, noting that in many countries the practices are banned.

Dr. Alice Crook, co-ordinator of Sir James Dunn Animal Welfare Centre at the Atlantic Veterinary College in Charlottetown, said New Brunwsick vets are taking the fore.

"I think that the NBVMA is showing real leadership in this area.

"One of the main reasons I'm excited about it is that many people don't know that many of the breeds we see with short tails, actually are born with long tails."

I'm well impressed with this, I never thoght I would see a story about American vets refusing to dock tails or crop ears! Both are cruel and unneccessary procedures, done for the sake of mindless owners, not for the dog. It took me ages to find a rottweiller with a full tail in the UK, but Zac was worth the wait. He wags his tail like a proper dog. And communicates with other dogs with it, instead of appearing to be showing a defensive posture to them by having his tail hidden, which just encourages other dogs to be aggressive. In fact, Zac has never had a fight, or even come close to having one, because both he and the other dog can read their natural visual communications. And as an added bonus, people who would normally back off when they see a Rottie in the park don't. Because he's got his tail wagging. And now docking is illegal in the UK, as cropping has been for a long time, we will finally see a lot more wagging tails!
Just a sidenote, a friend of mine and her husband spent a huge ammount of money on a Boxer, because they decided to spend their retirement breeding Boxers. They produced one litter, got some woman to cut their tails off, and sold the puppies. Now the docking ban is in effect, and they refuse to ever breed another Boxer again, because they don't want to see one with a tail! I think this is great news. People that stupid shouldn't breed dogs. Ond now they won't be.

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Nice!

Hungry???

Best thing you can make from Lidls.

another recipe. I get everything for this from Lidl, but I expect most places would sell them!

Easy Cheesecake.

1 tub Strawberry Quark
1 tub mascapone cheese
1 pack gingernuts
2oz butter
Kiwi fruit (optional)

Smash the gingernuts with a rolling pin, or a food processer. Melt the butter, and mix it in to the gingernut crumbs, then tip it all into a dish, a tin with a removable base is good, bu hardly vital, and press down lightly with a spoon. Bung it in the fridge.
Whisk the quark and mascapone (or ricotta if you like it better) together with a mixer. Try and get a bit of air into it. Then tip it on top of the biscuit layer, and bung it back in the fridge.
If you have got kiwis, peel and slice them, and stick them on top. Or strawberries, I don't care. When it's cold, cut it up and eat it. It's good.

My favourite Ice Cream Recipe.

Part of me doesn't want to post this, because it's so good, and so easy! But chances are that nobody will read it, so it will stay my secret recipe anyway!

Toffee Ice Cream

ingredients: 1 tin condensed milk
1 pot double cream.

Put the tin of condensed milk into a pan of water, and boil it for 30-45 minutes, depending how strong you want the toffee taste. If you get scared about boiling a tin, pierce the lid a couple times to let the steam out, but trust me, it doesn't need to be done! Don't let it boil dry though.
Once the time is up, turn off the heat, and let it cool.
When the milk is cool, open the tin, and scoop the toffee (thats what it is!) into a bowl, and add the cream. Mix using an electric mixer, until it looks like melted ice cream. Either pour it into an ice cream maker, or a freezer proof tub.
If you use an ice cream maker, just let it work. If you don't have one, put the tub into the freezer for about an hour, then remove it, and give the mixture a quick going over with the mixer again, put it back int the freezer, and repeat after another hour.
The ice cream is fabulous. Make it. Eat it. Love it!

In 2007, the frilled shark was 'rediscovered', after scientists had said it was extinct for the past 80 million years! Looking at it, I reckon it would go a long way towards explaining so many of the reports of sea monsters logged since man took to boats, those things the experts always say are imagination or at best a case of sailors misidenifying a known creature. I love it when scientists look stupid. Hopefully, one day they wil have to do a U-turn on the Yeti, like they did once about the lowland gorilla!

Weird Dream!

Last night I dreamt...
I was working at the hospital, and had to sit with a lady who was about to die. There were no other staff around, and I just sat there chatting away to her for ages, then I suddenly wondered if I should have been at college doing an evening course, I tried to get in touch with my best friend to ask her, because she was on the same course, but couldn't reach her, so I checked my diary, which showed that I was a few years late, then the diary turned to stone.
I hitched a lift to college ( which looked like it was in South America) on a rusty old van, got there early, and watched the fish in the river. There were two fish that I knew, Burt and one called Little 'un. Burt was a white fish the size of a large Koi, he climbed onto a jetty and got inside an old tire that was there. This turned into a seal costume, and he jumped back into the river dressed as a seal.
I knew the river was polluted, and that there was a fish disease in the water. A man from the govrnment turned up, and pourd a bucket of poison into the water, to kill off the fish, so he could get rid of the disease. I ran down the jetty, and grabbed Burt, in his seal costume, which disolved from the chemicals in the water. Then I grabbed Little 'un, but he was dead already, and looked like a dog foetus.
The man from the government took me and Burt with him to his office, and made me go to bed. I knew I was asleep in his bed, but my breathing was really fast. The government man was next to me in the bed, monitoring me, and making notes.
I woke up, the government man was surprised I hadn't died from the poison. I went to look at Burt, he had turned into a dead dog. I felt a huge sadness, and woke up.

I don't usually remember my dreams at all, but this weird thing stayed in my head. Maybe it's a good thing I don't always remember them!
I can work out a lot of the dream, the hospital is where I used to work, the dieing lady represents the hospice I will be working at. Burt is a koi in the pond I looked after at the hospital, and I did a course with my best friend at college a few years ago, I guess my subconcious wants me to do another soon. But the rest of it, no idea!

Frederic Michalak, Dieux Du Stade hottie!

So Far, So Unpromising!

Find more videos like this on orvelxx

Thank god for England

This year's Dieux Du Stade calendar and DVD are not looking very promising, so I'm planning on getting the Beverly Rugby Club one instead. Nice looking guys, not all arty-farty,overly made-up and groomed French pretty boys with their bits locked away!

Insomnia

Tonight I couldn't sleep, so I gave up at 5.30am, and started drinking poteen and blackcurrant. Bad idea. And I watched Black Sheep on DVD. Brilliant film, about genetically engineered sheep eating people! The movie is over, but I'm still drinking. I will regret it in a few hours, but I'm quite happy at the moment, thank you.
My advice,never buy a bottle of poteen in the first place, then you wont drink it. Although it truly is wonderful stuff. I was in the merchant navy many years ago, and once a year, we docked at Portaferry, in Northern Ireland. It's the most beautiful village ever, and the locals are (like everywhere in Ireland) incredibly friendly. And in the pubs and clubs, as well as the spirits on tap, they bung you two litre bottles of home made poteen, and you end up never wanting to leave. And if you wanted to leave, you would struggle to stand up anyway. I remember the crew staggering back to the ship as dawn was breaking, with traffic bollards on our heads. And the Pursar's wife not being able to speak, or look at the sea for two whole days after we set sail again. And I think that might have been the night I had a threesome with the chief steward and a deckhand. I'm a bit fuzzy on that. So don't drink poteen. That's what I'm trying to say. And traffic bollards are best left where they are, as are the people under them.
I probably ought to read this again in the morning, and see if it makes any sense, but I doubt if I will remember that I wrote it. My head is numb.

Here we have Obi. He's at least ten now. I was a bit worried about how he would react to Zac, although he had spent his life up until then living with a great dane. But he always saw the dane as his mother, and used to suckle the drool from her lips. He spent days wandering around looking for her after she died, so I knew he needed company, but he gets a bit stroppy with new animals sometimes. I needn't have worried though. Zac love Obi. They groom eack other, play fight when Obi starts it, if ever Zac tried to start a fight, Obii just walks off with his tail in the air. He is the boss! Zac seems quite happy about it though.

This is Zac. He's my baby. I got him a year ago, after my beautiful Great Dane died. My boyfriend didn't really want another dog, but I can't be without animals, so he made me promise not to gt another big dog. He likes Beagles, but I prefer something that people won't trip over, so I compromised and got a rottie. Weirdly, the boyfriend didn't look amused when I woke him up to say I'd bought one, and that it would be arriving in an hour. In fact, he got dressed, and went out for three hours. Then he came back, saw a 4 month old little black and tan beagle sized cutie running around the living room, and fell in love. But who wouldn't? I can't be doing with little dogs. It may be traditional for gay men to have a pampered dressed up rat/dog hybrid, but it isn't for me. Zac's best friend though, is a westie. He does wear a leather jacket. He is owned by a straight man, who likes to walk with Zac and me, because people tend to think he is gay otherwise. Go figure!

Just to set the tone.

My friends all reckon I'm a good laugh, cheerful and that sort of thing. So Here I will probably be displaying my other side. I'm a dickhead. There, I feel better already. I don't know what sort of blog this will turn out to be, probably a very short-lived experiment, but I expect it will be full of my moaning, so if that doesn't appeal, bugger off, for your own sake!
I will bung up some photos, otherwise it will feel like an empty bedroom in a doss house. Maybe it will turn out to be a photo based blog. But I doubt it.