The Runaway Balloon

Posted by Mark on Oct 30, 2011 | 4 Comments

These girls were walking ahead of us enjoying the overcast but mild late October weather along Brighton seafront yesterday. One girl was carrying a balloon and I knew I had to take a picture of it. Just as a I prepared to take the shot the balloon was passed from one girl to the other and… it slipped out of their hands. This, then, is the moment the balloon made its bid for freedom.

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4 Comments

Oct30

Lynda Bowyer

Great capture +Mark Hooper

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Oct30

Mark Hooper

Thanks +Lynda Bowyer.

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Oct30

Gail Sweeney

Perfect timing.

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Oct30

Eric Narvaez

Fly! Be Free!…

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Eurovision Song Contest - Malmö 2013 - Semi Final 2 - »

14:00, 16 May 2013 via FriendFeed

Joe "Bad Guts" Silence , Amir , Eivind , Jennifer Dittrich , and Hookuh Tinypants liked this.

Starting now... - Mark H

Not sure that the hostess likening herself to Mother Teresa is a sensible move unless she's referring to a shared dress sense. - Mark H

She's still in foil. - Anika

That was a good opening, though. Spectacular! - Anika

Latvia first. - Mark H

Jedward are obviously big influences in Latvia. - Mark H

It's quite peppy. - Mark H

This is atrocious and dated. Why are they trying to be hip-hop? - Anika

It's still 1993 in Latvia. - Mark H

Did that guy have an iPad on his guitar? - Anika

Wouldn't surprise me. - Mark H

San Marino now. - Mark H

Valentina Monetta is beautiful, but she also has a Celine Dion quality to her. - Anika

I can see this going through to the final; not sure how it will do there but the faster second half is helping. - Mark H

Macedonia next. - Mark H

And in Romany too, apparently. - Mark H

Oh my. - Mark H

Esma? - Anika

I'm not sure the blend of song styles and languages works but she's full of fun. - Mark H

I like the blend. She has a great voice. - Anika

Azerbaijan up. - Mark H

He has a smile that I'd describe as creepily evil. - Mark H

He looks like Mario Lopez. I was like, "Wait. What?!" - Anika

The music fits his looks. - Anika

Jury vote will probably work in his favour tonight; I'm not a fan, though. - Mark H

The stage theatrics are kind of weird. Or...pointless. What's with the guy in the box? - Anika

Best not to wonder too hard. - Mark H

Finland next. - Mark H

That's a look. - Mark H

I didn't enjoy Finland leading up to this. The video for this song makes the song even worse than it is. - Anika

Apparently, Turkey won't get to see this performance because of the ending. - Mark H

It's awfully memorable. - Mark H

She just ripped off Madonna. - Anika

Hoping to get the Tatu fans from years past. I kinda enjoyed it. - Mark H

You're probably in commercial right now? Online, they show us Linda Woodruff being funny in different countries. - Anika

BBC doesn't have ads; we've got an interview with Lithuanian guy. - Mark H

Malta. - Mark H

Ah. It's funny watching Twitter reactions. Eveyone loves Woodruff, but the UK people seem embarrassed by her. - Anika

This guy is a doctor...I guess when he's not singing. - Anika

Not really a Eurovision-feeling song. Pleasant enough but nothing to get excited about. - Mark H

Music reminds me of Violent Femmes but less rock-ish. TMBG? - Anika

The second semi's been a lot more upbeat than the first. - Mark H

Bulgaria now. - Mark H

Now this is Eurovision-feeling. I like this; just the right mixture of mental elements. - Mark H

Iceland. - Mark H

Missed Bulgaria because of food. - Anika

Sadly, my screen is still stuck on Malta. :( - Anika

Then you're missing the Icelandic Jesus right now. - Mark H

Iceland participating first time in icelandic since 1997. woohoo! - jormu

Good voice but a bit dreary. - Mark H

It's back. He looks like a Southern prosperity preacher on TV. Actually, the music sounds like praise music, so that doesn't help. - Anika

Greece next. - Mark H

It's SKA! - Anika

Indeed it is. - Mark H

Why does everyone Twitter keep posting "alcohol is free'? - Anika

Greece do like their party songs. It's no Opa! though. Alcohol is free is the name of the song. - Mark H

Israel now. - Mark H

Ah, okay. Thanks. - Anika

Israel rocking that Nana Mouskouri look. - Mark H

Wife has pointed out that Israel singer's boobs aren't level. - Mark H

Armenia. - Mark H

Why does the Armenian guy look like my husband? - Anika

Weak Chris Cornell feel to that. - Mark H

Hungary next. - Mark H

He almost seems embarrassed to be there. Commentators were saying that this flight to Sweden was his first trip out of the country. - Mark H

I just read he has a master's degree in Philosophy. #randomfacts - Anika

Norway up now. - Mark H

A lot to like about this. - Mark H

I wish she wouldn't smile so much while singing this song. It seems out of place. I like it. This is the song that won her the spot. - Anika

Yes, I like that. Well done Norway. - Mark H

Albania. - Mark H

So far, I'm partial to Norway and Greece. Much better than anything in the Semi 1, save Moldova and Montenegro. - Anika

Okay, I'm liking this Albanian song. Early 70s rock feel to it; I can almost hear some Led Zep in this. - Mark H

Georgia now. - Mark H

Yawn. - Mark H

Heard it a thousand times before. - Mark H

LOL I thought I was the only one: https://twitter.com/musicforanurse/status/335125180458352640 - Anika

They were a bit unintelligible. - Mark H

Switzerland now. - Mark H

Oh, I remember not liking this song from Switzerland. - Anika

How old is that double bassist? - Mark H

Have they wheeled him out of an old people's home for the night? He looks a bit confused. - Mark H

Oh, this is poor. Vocal range of about three notes between them. - Mark H

He's 95. The whole group is really unimpressive. I couldn't believe they got picked for the semis. - Anika

Romania now. - Mark H

Er. Nice outfit? - Mark H

Oh. Kay. - Mark H

Well, this certainly shows up the lack of vocal range of the Swiss to some effect. - Mark H

What I said about this song back in March: https://friendfeed.com/faboomama/77f9ad34/cezar-it-my-life-finala-eurovision-2013-youtube - Anika

He's talented; I'll give him that. But that's about it. - Mark H

Yup, not a hope in hell for Romania. - Mark H

Someone on Twitter called him Dubstep Dracula. X_____________X https://twitter.com/Its_Matt/status/335127454144417792 - Anika

Favourite three: Albania, Norway, Finland. - Mark H

Here come the winners of the second semi... - Mark H

Hungary - Mark H

Azerbaijan - Mark H

Georgia - Mark H

Romania - Mark H

Norway - Mark H

Iceland - Mark H

Armenia - Mark H

Finland - Mark H

Malta - Mark H

Greece - Mark H

I really don't get how Romania and Iceland got chosen. - Anika

It's irritating. The 50% jury vote in the semis is supposed to offset bloc voting but all it's done is weight the balance in favour of bland entries. Romania were last, which helps, and weird, which helps. Iceland wasn't thrilling, but it was okay; I can see how it got through. - Mark H

105 more comments »

My friend posted this in re: Eurovision voting: http://lyricstranslations.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/eurovision-voting-pacts.jpg - Anika

Ditto. - »

04:50, 15 May 2013 via Flickr Faves

Ken Morley , holly #ravingfangirl , Kelli H. , Mahdi E , and Eivind liked this.

Cascade - »

04:33, 15 May 2013 via Flickr

Eivind and Nils Sandin liked this.

Eurovision Song Contest - Malmö 2013 - Semi Final 1 - »

13:52, 14 May 2013 via FriendFeed

Iván Abrego , jormu , Hookuh Tinypants , sofarsoShawn ~presque... , Maitani , Anika , and کلیـستن liked this.

10 minutes until the first semi final. As usual, I've not checked out the performers in advance; it's far more fun to be surprised and horrified in equal measure as it's performed live on television and the web. - Mark H

Hostess for the evening apparently wearing a dress fashioned from aluminium foil. - Mark H

Austria first. Very 1980s look. Song is pretty unmemorable which is some achievement as it's still going. - Mark H

Birgit from Estonia now and a singer five months pregnant just to be different. Wearing a shower curtain just to be super different. Good to see it not being sung in English. White outfit and wind machine already looks to be the theme of tonight's performances. - Mark H

Hannah representing Slovenia now. I like the futuristic, quasi-military, quasi-avian uniform she's gone for. Quote from wife: "she's winning the shoe contest." Song's typically European disco. Not sure if I like it or not. - Mark H

Croatia. Men! Traditional dress! A song that translates as "misery!" Could be awesome. - Mark H

Not bad. Good harmonies. Pleasant sound, cracking-looking coats. - Mark H

A favourite to win now with Denmark's Emily de Forest. - Mark H

Hey! It's a white outfit and the wind machine's blowing! - Mark H

Oh, it started already? I've been catching the videos on the site, but I'm not dazzled by anyone this year. - Anika

First semi tonight; second on Thursday; final on Saturday. I've avoided all the videos this year as I don't think they tend to do the live performances much justice. - Mark H

Wasn't impressed by Denmark. - Mark H

Wait. Russia is considered part of Europe? - Anika

Dina Garipova for Russia now. As the commentators here just said: she has a certain Kardashianesque look to her but she can't be one as she has talent. - Mark H

Yes, Russia's in Europe. All the cool countries are. - Mark H

Pffft. Also, is it just me or does it seem like more of the contestants are singing in English nowadays? Most of the videos I watched the past few months we in English. - Anika

I'm not a fan of English songs in Eurovision either but it all started when the post-competition race to make money took over. - Mark H

WHOA. Is Zlata tiny or what that a giant dude? - Anika

Ukraine entrant there being delivered on stage by a giant; he's 8 ft tall. And she's wearing white. No obvious wind machine presence but the fog machine is active. - Mark H

She has a Celine Dion quality to her. I'm not a fan. - Anika

Netherlands next. - Mark H

Ukraine song was very meh. Dress irritated my missus as it clearly didn't fit properly. - Mark H

Not a fan of Anouk at all. - Anika

It's quite nice for a dirge. - Mark H

Her set is pretty though. I like the bird lights, there. I also like that's not in a dress. It's so rare to see women in pants during this event. - Anika

Yes, not a winner - or even close - but I quite liked it. - Mark H

Montenegro now. - Mark H

About as different to the last song as is possible. - Mark H

Rapping astronauts. Now this is what Eurovision is about. - Mark H

I still think they need to work on their flow. Their music is good though. It always makes me want to dance. They need to dump the lady though or use her sparingly. - Anika

She looks like she's wearing an early prototype of Google Glass. - Anika

Loved it. Apparently it's very big in the Balkans too. - Mark H

Lithuania. - Mark H

I don't like this guy. I watched his last performance. His music sounds like any 90s era "rock" band. Blah. - Anika

One of the more commercial appeal tracks, though. His looks should appeal to a large demographic. - Mark H

"Because of my shoes, I'm wearing today" is probably one of the worst lyrics I've ever heard. - Anika

Absolutely. - Mark H

Alyona Lanskaya's videos are so horrible. And she's singing that song again. - Anika

But it's a giant disco ball! Giant disco balls are so cool. - Mark H

I'm pretty sure that Belarus will get a phone vote from my dad right now; she has that look he likes. The barely-clothed one. - Mark H

*snort* I say if you're going to wear a shimmy dress, then you be damn well do a lot of shimmying. Don't just stand in it. - Anika

Moldova now. - Mark H

That's some hairstyle. - Mark H

Aliona Moon. She's scary looking, but I saw a video of hers and it was pretty okay. - Anika

It looks like she's bought a shirt and left the card inlay in it. - Mark H

Ooh. Nice dress action. - Mark H

Wow the lightning was cool! - Anika

Ireland now. - Mark H

Topless drummers, good-looking singer but this is average at best. - Mark H

This guy was born 20 years too late. He would've been a hit in the 80s. - Anika

Cyprus up now. - Mark H

That Australian thing was weird. - Anika

Australian thing? Must have been web feed only. - Mark H

That's a very distracting dress. - Mark H

Oh. It was a thing about Australian's love of Eurovision. I guess it was supposed to be funny. - Anika

Stop trying to peep, Mark! - Anika

Can't. Stop. Staring. - Mark H

Belgium now. - Mark H

I suppose it doesn't help that she's a gorgeous woman. - Anika

I didn't notice her face. - Mark H

The Belgian backing dancers are just awful. Truly awful. Hilariously bad. - Mark H

I can't stop laughing at this entry. It's all bad; the dancers the weird faces from Belarossa. - Anika

So funny. - Mark H

I feel he's staring into my soul OVER AND OVER! - Anika

Final act for the night: Serbia. - Mark H

Three seconds into this and I like it already. - Mark H

I don't even have to ask my wife to know that she loves the shoes on show. - Mark H

Is it some kind of Cinderella story they're telling? - Anika

Well, it was no Montenegro but it wasn't dreadful. - Mark H

Those are some healthy-looking women. - Anika

Her dress really is made of aluminum foil, huh? - Anika

It looks like it. - Mark H

Are you voting? Who are you choosing? - Anika

I won't vote but if I did it would be for Montenegro. Croatia and Belarus were thereabouts too. - Mark H

We also want Belgium to go through because of the dancers. Have to see them again in the final. - Mark H

What about you? Any faves? - Mark H

Montenegro because I liked the music the best and Moldova for the stage. - Anika

#LightShowz! - sofarsoShawn ~presque...

Voting results time. - Mark H

Moldova. - Mark H

Lithuania. - Mark H

Ireland. - Mark H

Estonia. - Mark H

Belarus. - Mark H

Denmark. - Mark H

Russia. - Mark H

Belgium. - Mark H

Ukraine. - Mark H

And finally: Netherlands. - Mark H

No joy for Montenegro; the 50% jury vote would have ruled them out before this started most likely. - Mark H

They still haven't annouced it on the web. Meaning there's a 20 second delay online. Maybe I'll try to find it on TV. - Anika

All the former Soviet countries qualified; none of the former Yugoslavia ones. Shame. - Mark H

91 more comments »

Someone on Twitter mentioned that saying that Eastern Europe should have their own contest. I still can't believe Belgium ranked, though. Didn't people *see* that? - Anika

Astronauts Will See 'Star Trek Into Darkness' Before Anyone Else - »

12:49, 14 May 2013 via FriendFeed

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"The three astronauts on board the International Space Station are getting a sneak peak of the latest Star Trek film just before people around the world get a chance to see it in theaters themselves." - Mark H

"Anyone else" and "people around the world" being phrases that mean "Americans". Just got back from watching it; very enjoyable and Benedict Cumberbatch is twice as excellent as you imagine he might be. - Mark H

FUNNY HOW THAT WORKS. - Joe "Bad Guts" Silence

Freints - http://www.freints.com/ - »

17:06, 13 May 2013 via FriendFeed

Zulema ❧ spicy cocoa tart and Rodfather liked this.

"Welcolm into FREINTS! Frients! TV showe of Newyurk wit the Rackel, Rash, Momaka, Chambler, Jobey an Pobe." - Mark H

Is this like CRIMER? - Zulema ❧ spicy cocoa tart

https://mobile.twitter.com/CrimerShow - Zulema ❧ spicy cocoa tart

Same person, yes. - Mark H

Apostrophe now: Bad grammar and the people who hate it - »

14:16, 13 May 2013 via FriendFeed

Maitani , Anika , and Nils Sandin liked this.

"A new grammar and spelling test arrives in primary schools in England this week. It is the first time in a while that such emphasis has been put on grammar. Some of the questions will seem straightforward for many adults, such as where to place a comma or a colon in a sentence. But other aspects - identifying different types of adverbs or distinguishing between subordinating and co-ordinating connectives - might raise eyebrows." - Mark H

"So where do you draw the line between pedantry and slovenliness? Mount says the split infinitive is perfectly acceptable. "To boldly go, sounds better than to go boldly," he argues. The word "whom" sounds archaic so there's no need to worry about who and whom, he says. But anything that damages meaning and clarity should be avoided. For instance, the apostrophe should be defended at all costs, he says." - Mark H

How can you hide from what never goes away? - »

07:33, 12 May 2013 via FriendFeed

Iván Abrego , rowlikeagirl , Steven Perez , babbioncella scherzosa , and Zulema ❧ spicy cocoa tart liked this.

Fantasy architecture by Minoru Nomata - Mark H

Sign - »

08:28, 11 May 2013 via Flickr

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Leading the way, TWA – Retro Posters - »

14:57, 10 May 2013 via FriendFeed

mina_sydney , CarlC, spelling expert , and Jennifer Dittrich liked this.

"They may not be around any longer but their posters remain in perpetuity for us all to admire. TWA, once the glamour-pusses of the airline world, were flying here, there and everywhere and their ad campaigns weren’t afraid to show it either. Even the posters advertising their cargo routes rocked." - Mark H

Philip Stein Wine Wand Collection - »

08:53, 10 May 2013 via FriendFeed

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"Perfect as a wine accessory for home or travel, the elegant wand, made with Swarovski crystals, uses natural frequencies to aerate wine in minutes rather than hours. Tested and appreciated by Sommeliers, this breakthrough collection creates the ultimate experience for wine aficionado and connoisseur alike." - Mark H

And via http://shop.philipstein.co.uk/Wine-Wands-How-it-works - "The elegant wand with encapsulated glass jewels uses natural frequencies to perfectly aerate wine. [...] Philip Stein® is the leader in mind-body wellness using natural frequency-based technologies in luxury products. The Wine Wand has been created to accelerate the aerating process of wine by replicating the natural frequencies of air and oxygen, and infusing them into the wine. [...] All Philip Stein® luxury products are permanently embedded with the natural frequency-based technologies and the Philip Stein® Wine Wand is a beautiful and indispensable part of any oenophile's collection." - Mark H

And only £125 for the cheap one! Wow! - Mark H

Have you heard? The immigrants ruined Britain - »

08:08, 10 May 2013 via FriendFeed

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"You know who mucked up the economy, don’t you? It’s obvious from the laws proposed in the Queen’s Speech. It’s immigrants who don’t have their papers in order, that’s who. It was Somali refugees, popping out from their hostel to the local council to say: “Yesterday, on the way home from the Jobcentre, I whiled away the afternoon by speculating on the American loans market. So this week, as well as my £24 social security, I need a £20bn bailout as I seem to have lost the lot. And a £3m bonus, otherwise I’ll leave the country.”" - Mark H

"Then there’s the £90bn a year lost through tax avoidance schemes, most of which is down to Polish strawberry-pickers. It’s about £8m a strawberry they’re paid, and then they put it all in special accounts in the Cayman Islands and we don’t get a penny. No wonder Ukip is becoming so popular. And of all those cockle-pickers who brought the banking system to its knees – not one has voluntarily given back their knighthood." - Mark H

Tree Lobsters!: #474 Terrible Two - »

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The difference between a client and a toddler. - Mark H

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