Race Caller's Night Mare: howdoyoulikemenow?

From ERIC SHACKLE, in Sydney. Australia.

Spare a thought for New Zealand’s harness race caller, when he was confronted by the name of one of the horses: howdoyoulikemenow? It must be one of the longest and strangest names ever bestowed on a horse.

Bred in New Zealand by R E Bright, the nag last started in 2003, after winning three first, three second and one third prizes.

Thousands of miles from New Zealand, in Webster, Florida, another horse sported the same strange name. He was bred by Circle C Farms Ltd. From 28 starts, he won seven first prizes, three seconds and three thirds, with earnings totalling $43,214.

How did those horses get such a funny monicker? A girl calling herself Sinsational wrote: “What is the longest name for a horse? My cousin had a 1/4 Arabian, 1/4 TB, 1/4 TB, 1/4 QH, 1/4 App. She named the poor thing ‘Sheton Mississippi of Brandy Cloud’. She called him Sheton for short.”

The mystry was quicklysolved. “Howdoyoulikemenow?” is the name of a pop song that appeals to horselovers around the globe. You can listen to it on this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVzvRsl4rEM

"How Do You Like Me Now"I was always the crazy one
I broke into the stadium
And I wrote your number on the 50 yard line
You were always the perfect one
And the valadictorian so
Under your number I wrote "call for a good time"

I only wanted to catch your attention
But you overlooked me somehow
Besides you had too many boyfriends to mention
And I played my guitar too loud.

How do you like me now?
How do you like me now,
Now that I'm on my way?
Do you still think I'm crazy
Standin here today?
I couldnt make you love me
But I always dreamed about living in your radio
How do you like me now?

When I took off to Tennessee
I heard that you made fun of me
Never imagined I'd make it this far
Then you married into money girl
Aint it a cruel and funny world?
He took your dreams and tore them apart.

He never comes home
And youre always alone
And your kids hear you cryin down the hall
Alarm clock starts ringin
Who could that be singin
Its me baby, with your wake up call!

How do you like me now?
How do you like me now,
Now that I'm on my way?
Do you still think I'm crazy
Standin here today?
I couldnt make you love me
But I always dreamed about living in your radio
How do you like me now?

Tell me baby...
I will preach on...



 

Pilots Warned: Beware Helium Sharks!

From ERIC SHACKLE, in Sydney, Australia.<ericshackle*bigpond.com>



Sharks are dangerous in the sea, but they're even more dangerous in the air.
The pilot of a passenger jet, thought to be an Air New Zealand flight, was on his descent to Christchurch International Airport on Boxing Day when he radioed ground control with an unlikely sighting -- a shark flying at several thousand feet above the sea.


The fish out of water was identified as a remote-controlled, helium-filled shark that had no doubt been a Christmas present to a youngster the previous day.


A spokeswoman for air traffic control company Airways, Monica Davis, said a pilot had reported the shark and its location about nine kilometres from the airport.


New Zealand Air Line Pilots' Association president Glen Kenny said a helium-filled shark would not pose a serious risk if it was sucked into an aircraft engine.


"The engine probably wouldn't stop, but it would do a bit of damage," he said."Helium is an inert gas, so there's no issue in that regard. The biggest hazard would be startling the pilot."


Wayward party balloons had been an air-safety issue overseas, especially in the United States, Kenny said.


He had heard about the shark incident and had some experience with the toy, having bought his daughter the 91-centimetre clownfish version for Christmas.


The Air Swimmer sharks are 1.4m-long helium-filled balloons directed by a remote control.
They were "extremely popular" Christmas gifts, said the New Zealand online retailer The Warehouse, and reports of their escapes started almost as soon as presents were unwrapped.


One customer, Kim Clarke, said her inflatable fish did not even make it to gift-giving.
"I went to get it filled, got it to the car, made it home - but as I got [it] out of the car, it was very windy. I tried holding on but [it] was gone," Ms Clarke said.


Hamilton resident Brian Thompson lost his shark on Christmas Day, before his grandchildren had had a chance to play with it.


He inflated it in secret during the morning - but it floated through the kitchen and lounge, up a flight of stairs and across a bedroom before leaving through the bedroom's external door.


"They're cunning characters, these sharks," Mr Thompson said.


The four-foot (1.44-metre) long Air Swimmer toy has a radio receiver attached to its underside and can be operated by remote control over a range of 15metres. Each has a small battery which can last for two weeks.


The toy's Californian designer-developer, William Mark Corporation, warns that the shark is for "strictly indoor use only". But sharks can't read!

1. Air Swimmers Remote Controlled Flying Shark And Clown Fish ...
   ► 1:49► 1:49	www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRG4xfJcLF416 Feb 2011 - 2 min - Uploaded by CoolThingsCom you gotta love these flying sharks, I got mine from flyingsharks.co.uk and I also got my helium there too. I know ...

2. Helium Shark Air Ship - YouTube
   ► 1:25► 1:25	www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Nl3_muPW-M6 Jun 2009 - 1 min - Uploaded by jamipoeppel This Air Ship does not work so I am setting it free. Call me if it lands in your yard. Joe.

3. Helium Sharks & Mutant Stunts - YouTube
   ► 2:59► 2:59	www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sjNC928hfo14 Oct 2011 - 3 min - Uploaded by Mindslinger For Channel 12 in Durham Kris reviews Air Swimmers, the helium-filled R/C shark & clown fish, plus gets a ...

Pictorial Journalism Aint What It Used To Be!

From ERIC SHACKLE, in Sydney. Australia.<ericshackleATbigpond.com>


Way back in 1937, when I was a teenage cadet/cub reporter on The Press in Christchurch, New Zealand, I was sometimes called on to hold a metal tray of flash powder high in the air for the newspaper's sole photographer. That was my introduction to pictorial journalism.


Twenty years later and 1200 miles to the west, I was for a brief period pictorial editor of the Sydney Daily Telegraph. I had to assign news jobs to six or seven photographers, select their best pictures, plan a layout for a page or pages, and write the captions.


Cameras in those days were cumbersome Speed Graphics, many times larger than today's dinky digital devices. The photographer adjusted the focus and took a single snap shot. Exactly when to take it required great skill and experience. Today anyone can point a camera in the right direction, and fire off a dozen shots in less than a second.


Those Telegraph cameramen were some of the best - perhaps THE best - in Australia. One of them, Ern McQuillan, now in his eighties, is still taking great pictures as a commercial photographer. In 1998 he was awarded an OAM (Order of Australia Medal) for his services to journalism,  particularly in the field of media photography. 




RELATED  STORIES
Simon Elliott, former Deputy Director, National Portrait Gallery, interviews Ern McQuillan.
http://www.portrait.gov.au/exhibit/ern/interview.htm

Mike McQuillan writes about his Dad: 
http://www.boxingreats.com/html/us.html