Archive for the ‘Mr Bunny Chow’ Category

A giveaway for your help and advice!!!

Posted: 18/04/2013 in Bunny Chow, Mr Bunny Chow, photography
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Well the amazing news is that I’ve been offered the opportunity to exhibit some of my photography at a local gallery.  Unfortunately there are costs involved in this honour and I need to weigh them up – the obvious costs being printing and framing, but I also need to hire the wall space (the lowest cost being a  6′ x 6′ area of wall) which has a two-week minimum hire charge.

My ego says hire the whole hall, print hundreds of pictures, leave them for six months and you’ll be a millionaire by then.  The reality is more like hire one 6′ x 6′ area for a month to six weeks and print out six strong images.

But how do I decide which pictures? Am I going to sell any of them?  How much will people be willing to spend on them? How much do I spend on framing?

This my dear friends of the blogosphere is where I am seeking your help…..

Please look through the pictures and let me have your comments on any or all of the following:
* which six prints I should go with;
* whether you would have them on your wall;
* how much would you be willing to pay for a framed copy of approx 10″x 8″ inches;
* should I go with a theme, wildlife as a whole/owls/big cats/Brighton etc. etc. etc.?

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Please share this post around your friends – I will be giving away one personalised signed print (of your choice) to whomever writes the most helpful comment (not in the least bit impartial but it’s my competition) wherever in the world you may hail from.

I need to make some decisions in the next fortnight so that’s how long I’ll keep the initial run open for. Don’t forget to mention which print number you’d like as your prize.

Please feel to leave your comments below or you can go through the Facebook page or email them directly to rantingmrbunnychow@gmail.com

You see I am agonising over every aspect – I need your help!

Take care and thank you in advance

TTFN

Mr Bunny Chow

P.S. I reserve the right to ignore all advice and take more pretty pictures between now and when the exhibition happens.

more reblogging

Posted: 06/03/2013 in being dad, Kids Say the Darndest Things, Mr Bunny Chow
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I’m sure I’ve written before about the genius who is Amber of http://www.crappypictures.com her insightful and hilarious posts are well worth following whether you are a parent or not, but today she has published the post I’m re-blogging wholesale below, I’m sure that every parent of toddlers can relate.

P.S. she’s got a book coming out, go and buy it from amazon

Enjoy

TTFN

Mr Bunny Chow

(Attention: If this is the first post of mine you’ve ever read you might think I’m one of those bitter parents who don’t seem to like their kids very much. You might even be inspired to say nasty and judgmental things in the comments. Dude. Get a grip. The rest of this blog isn’t like this. Well, not usually. But everyone snaps at some point. This week? I’ve snapped.)  

Jobs.

You know what the best part of having jobs always was for me? Quitting them. Sure, I had a couple jobs I actually liked, the best being an indie video store in college(Bongo Video in Madison, WI – now closed, sadly) but I had plenty of really crappy ones. Glory was found in quitting.

One of my first jobs as a teenager was so horrible and demeaning that I pissed on the uniform* and then returned it in a grocery bag. When I handed the bag over I said, “This job sucks. I quit.”

It was that bad.

So now I’m a parent. People have long compared parenting to having a job. You hear quotes all the time like “the hardest job you’ll ever love” and stuff like that.

Well you know what? Parenting isn’t just hard.

This job sucks. I quit.

Ahhh, there’s the rub. You can’t quit. Ever.

Oh but I daydream about it sometimes. Don’t you?

When I’m at the bottom of the pit of despair (otherwise known as circling the drain)I daydream about quitting. I envision myself walking out the front door, down the front steps and onto the street. From there I hitchhike and somehow wind up backpacking across Spain. There are wildflowers and country villas and all kinds of lovely things. Complete freedom. Alone.

I’ve even gotten so far as to actually walk out that front door. Course I don’t get past the steps. Instead I collapse onto them and cry my eyes out.

Parenting can be brutal.

Endless.

And I try really hard to be a “good” parent. To give my kids attention and respect. But you know what?

Sometimes I just want to tell them to fuck off.

Sometimes, this is what I WANT to say versus what I REALLY say…

 

 

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Oh and those toys that NEVER get picked up? That are covering every surface of my entire house no matter how many times I ask them to pick them up?

Well…

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Sigh. And they still rarely help.

In addition to the “I don’t like you” thing, he also says “Go Away!” all the time.

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And we all know there is nothing worse than a kid who won’t go to sleep.

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The pee denial annoys the crap out of me. (This was age 3-4.5 with Crappy Boy. And currently with Crappy Baby. Yay.)

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And that contradictions thing they do?

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And this happens almost daily…

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He ignores me. Followed immediately by him falling.

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And after all of these things happen in just one day…

Crappy Papa comes home.

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Then I usually hand him something with pee on it.

Some things never change.

 

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*Yes, I really peed on the uniform. True story. It was a gas station. 

And admittedly, sometimes I do say what I want to say. Not perfect. Especially during weeks like this. Haven’t set fire to any toys yet though. Yet.  

2012 in review

Posted: 02/01/2013 in Mr Bunny Chow
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The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

600 people reached the top of Mt. Everest in 2012. This blog got about 6,200 views in 2012. If every person who reached the top of Mt. Everest viewed this blog, it would have taken 10 years to get that many views.

Click here to see the complete report.

why all of a sudden?

Posted: 13/12/2012 in being dad, Bunny Chow, Christmas, Mr Bunny Chow
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We’ve always been very lucky when it comes to our kids sleeping patterns, by and large they have slept through the night and well into the morning from a very young age with nocturnal disturbances normally only brought about by illness.

I am a good father and not at all like the father in this post by the genius demigod of parenting Amber Dusick

http://crappypictures.com/what-it-is-like-to-not-sleep-at-night-illustrated-with-crappy-pictures/

Whaddya mean you’ve never read her site, go there now, come back here later, I’m pretty boring anyway.

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Oh good you’re back now as I was saying for the last four nights in a row though our very nearly three-year old Monkey Boy has fought us over going to bed to the point where one of us is forced to sit with him until he eventually falls asleep. This would not be so bad if he didn’t then repeat the process and awaken his younger brother with vast amounts of wailing and sobbing again at two in the morning.

I don’t know if he has picked up on the impending changes in his life or if he’s just over excited about Christmas or simply over tired. I do know though that these late night thrombies are fraying the nerves of both Mrs BC and I.

We’re at a loss as to what to do, threatening him doesn’t work, the naughty step doesn’t work, removing Scooby Doo doesn’t work, smacking him doesn’t work, ignoring him makes him louder and disturbs his brother even more, begging doesn’t work, shouting doesn’t work, crying doesn’t work, cajoling doesn’t work, I’m out of things to try short of putting my pillow over my head and hoping Mrs BC comes up with a solution but even that doesn’t work because it results in acts of violence being meted upon me.

Any tips for a fractious sleep deprived family gratefully accepted.

TTFN

Mr Bunny Chow

Kids Say the Darndest Things # 2

Posted: 10/12/2012 in baby preparations, being dad, Bunny Chow, Christmas, Kids Say the Darndest Things, Mr Bunny Chow
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I was planning on using these posts purely for comic effect but I have to report on this one and anyway sod it it’s my blog I can do and say what I please.

after last weeks chaos with children’s lurgy induced stay at home dad before I’m supposed to be a stay at home dad the return of the boys to nursery and me to my penultimate Monday in the office was a little rushed this morning and as such I probably didn’t handle or deal with this utterance with as much excitement or deference as I should have done at the time, in fact I think my response to Mrs BC when she pointed it out to me was something along the lines of “that’s nice Dear, but we’re late”. This has weighed rather heavily on my mind all day and I’ve realised that I’m a complete arse and should instead have lavished said child with praise and adoration.

What can I say, I’m a prize arse who’s not much good with mornings, especially mornings when I’m running late.

I hear you cry from the peanut gallery “what was this darn utterance from your progeny?”

I stress again, I’m a total arse, who should be strung up by his short and curlies by the gods of karma.

Todays utterance came from my youngest and was quite simply “Dad”

God I’m a prize arse.

He’s been babbling for some time now and we’ve had plenty of “mamamamama’s” and “dadadadadada’s” but this was quite clearly “Dad”.

I cannot wait until the end of next week when I remove myself from the rat race and can properly dedicate my heart and soul to my dear sweet innocent boys to the extent that they so rightly deserve.

Sometimes we just have to slow down and consider what’s important in life, would it really have mattered if I was two minutes later for work? No not really, I’m the boss anyway and even if my boss who’s not been in today had queried it, what was he going to do, fire me?

Sometimes in life you do things you wouldn’t dream of doing if you thought about them.

I really hate myself today.

What an arse I am.

TTFN

Mr Bunny I’m an Arse Chow

time for a ramble

Posted: 30/11/2012 in Africa, being dad, Bunny Chow, Christmas, Mr Bunny Chow
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it’s been a while since I’ve done any random waffling and warbling in these pages and I thought it was about time I changed that.

Christmas is rapidly approaching and as usual I am woefully unprepared, Mrs BC is impossible to buy for that only guidelines I have are that kitchenware is out for some reason, things that smell nice are out, clothing is out, jewellery is out. That doesn’t leave me with a whole bunch of choices, never mind that fact that all of our friends will also turn to me for guidance as they too are fully aware that she’s impossible. I’ve even tried the hugely unsubtle, “what do you want for Christmas dearest, sweetcheeks?” the response was the very helpful ”A present”.

The boys should be easy but are proving equally frustrating, they have so many toys and the youngest at 16 months is clueless about christmas, I have no doubt he’ll enjoy ripping up paper and playing with boxes but as yet he has no concept of sharing or ownership, basically he see’s the world with everything being his. The Monkey on the other hand just wants everything, his obsession with Scooby Doo is still showing no sign of abating and whilst I can think of worse things, I mean he could be obsessed by a purple dinosaur or the teletubbies, there are only so many Scooby Doo related accessories and toys one very small house can hold.

It is now only three weeks until I finish paid employment for the forseeable future and I’m beginning to panic about how I’m going to entertain the boys day in and day out, I know I’ll never be fully prepared it’s just one of those things I’m going to have to practice and work on. My only starting point is that there will be no daytime television. Thankfully they are both great readers and I have at least a couple of art projects in the back of my head to get us started.

It’s all very daunting and exciting though.

My other news for the week is that the sweet little disease ridden darlings have been kind enough to bless Mrs Bunny Chow and I with colds. I’m not a fan waking up feeling like I’m still a smoker (I haven’t been for years) or that I’ve been inhaling pure pollen through my nose through the night, seriously I’ve spent the day leaking from every upper orifice whilst hawking up crunchy stuff from my lungs, I mean surely that can’t be good.

I know winter has arrived (Canadian readers I know you’re tough) but I don’t approve of having to scrape ice off of my car in the mornings or the fact that there is still frost on the ground at lunchtime. I’m from Africa though, I can deal with cold as long as it’s safe for T Shirts and shorts to be worn by the middle of the day, in fact I don’t like anything below about 20C (70ish F). I’ve lived on Mud Island for fifteen years by the end of this year and I still struggle with winter. I mean seriously is global warming such a bad idea, can I afford a V8?

Ok that’s enough whining from me.

I hope you have a great weekend

TTFN

Mr Bunny Chow

god I’ve been hopeless

Posted: 23/11/2012 in being dad, Bunny Chow, Mr Bunny Chow, photography, Project 52
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I disappeared there for a while, I am truly sorry about that but I will be back properly soon but I think it’s about time I gave an explanation or two as to where I’ve been.

Are you ready for it?

Are you holding your breath?

Are you excited?

Ready?

Wait for it!!!!

Wait for it!!!!

Bugger I’ve got you all worked up now and the honest truth is I don’t have much of an excuse short of work pressures and a blown up laptop which I could have gotten round by just getting off my fat lazy arse and using the desktop PC that lives on the other side of the room. I have also been very bad about reading and commenting on many of the blogs that in the past I’ve been very good about spending time interacting with, sorry.

I haven’t abandoned photography though, I’ve still been taking pictures almost every day but again plead the above when it comes to editing and sharing.

I do have some news though, I’ve decided to retire, like soon, like at the end of the year.

Well I call it retiring, Mrs Bunny Chow tells me that I will be something called a house husband or her cook, clean and junior bottle washer (she’ll always be the chief) which amounts to much the same thing in my book.

It’s a decision I’ve been putting off making for sometime as because as much as I like to pretend that I am a modern metro-sexual man the reality is I’m rather boorish and scared of being trapped in a small home with two little people who will look to me for entertainment once I have banned daytime television as I don’t want them to grow up as Croydon oiks looking to loot and pillage for entertainment as they age.

Still economics have forced my hand and I’ve had to suck up my ego and accept that Mrs BC is smarter and wiser (read earns more) than me and as such it is my duty to voluntarily remove myself from the world of the gainfully employed and insert myself fully functioning as some sort of domestic god/children’s entertainer and educator. In theory once the boys are older and the costs of childcare reduce I will be able to re-insert myself back into the world of the employed. I have certainly discussed the possibility or reemployment in the future with my current employer and he was at least mildly enthusiastic if understandably unwilling to make a guaranteed commitment.

Well there you have it.

I don’t promise to improve the frequency of my posts in the coming month but normal service will hopefully resume once I have settled myself into a routine of art projects, duplo and visits to places that dads go, MacDonald’s shamefully sprang to mind ahead of the library and park, thankfully I don’t like MacDonald’s.

TTFN

Mr Bunny Chow

 

Project 52 Week 34

Posted: 22/08/2012 in Africa, Mr Bunny Chow, photography, Project 52, Rhodesia, Zimbabwe
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I’ve been neglecting you my friends, and I’m sorry, sometimes the creative juices just don’t flow beyond my own four walls and I don’t want to keep boring you with near identical pictures of my kids as cute as they may be to me I’m sure that despite my bias to the world at large they are just kids with foppish hair and silly grins.

This weeks theme was portraits and my initial intention was to do some portraits of Mrs Bunny Chow’s cousin the very talented rapper Twig who we had a braai (barbecue) with on Saturday, I really did have good intentions, I got my camera out, I snapped some pictures of the kids in the garden, we talked about lenses and aperture and geeky stuff and then the sun got to me and reminded me that I was unfairly hung over (it was unfair I honestly didn’t have that much to drink the night before and can normally get away with plenty more, sometimes hangovers are just like that) and all good intentions went out the window with nothing useable captured.

Hmmmm well with that one out of the window I was left with either begging Mrs Bunny Chow to pose for me (slim chance of that happening) or utilising my amazing Mother who thankfully flew in to attend the Alzheimer University a fantastic course designed to help Alzheimer’s Societies from around the world. She’s very honoured to be representing the Zimbabwean Alzheimer’s Association and I’m very proud to be her son as she continues to give of her time to this wonderful organisation.

Still we’re here to talk about photography and pictures so here is my chosen portrait of my mother.

portrait of mum

I know it’s becoming a bit of a cliché at the moment but I’ve given a light retro twist to the edit.

I may have to get creative again next week as the suggested theme is sunsets (yes I know they happen every day) and I’m not sure if  or when I’ll have the opportunity to capture a new one as currently sunset falls smack in the middle of bed and bathtime and I don’t want to reach back in to the archives for an older picture to share in this series.

I hope that you’ve all had a great week and I promise that I’ll be making more time for you in the coming weeks.

TTFN

Mr Bunny Chow

A rambling response to some questions on buying a new camera

Posted: 27/07/2012 in Africa, Mr Bunny Chow, photography, Zimbabwe
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I just wanted to share the below email exchange between an old family friend and myself as I think the rambling advice I give may be of some use to others out there.

Hi Mr Bunny Chow,

I will be over to the UK in Oct!

My plan is to buy another camera – only a point and shoot as I can’t afford a DSLR and the lenses to go with. Have been pounding round the internet as one cannot walk into any shop here to see things in the flesh.

My choice is between a Canon SX40HS, Nikon Coolpix P510 and Fujifilm Finepix HS30EXR.

They all have pretty good zooms – the Nikon is 42x. They each have similar features/capabilities – Fujifilm is the only one with RAW, which I know absolutely nothing. Nikon has GPS. Canon has the reputation.

None seem to have a socket for remote triggering of shutter.

Prices are much the same.

In all the reviews there are people who rave about their choice, and those who can’t find anything good to say about rival cameras.

I tend to favour the Nikon, because of it’s 42x zoom and from reading the reviews. I would mainly use it for birds and game photo’s.

Do you have any thoughts and/or is there anyone in your circle who could advise?  I know you like your Fujifilm Finepix HS20EXR.

Cheers Hwange

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Hwange,

I’ve been very happy with my Fuji as I was with it’s stolen predecessor an S5000 which gave many happy years of service, saying that I’d be happy to recommend any of your three choices below, Canon and Nikon are the two biggest names in Digital Photography and choosing between them is a bit like choosing a Merc or BMW, i.e. which badge do you want. Fuji do things a little differently, one of the reasons I chose the HS20EXR over some of it’s rivals was the advantage of it using standard AA batteries rechargeable’s are cheap and replacements can be found anywhere even Zimbabwe, I believe the HS30EXR has a proprietary battery so that’s no longer a consideration but what ever choice you do make then I’d highly recommend buying a spare battery or two at the same time.

RAW is basically the file that the camera sensor captures in its entirety so will be aesthetically unpleasing to the eye straight out of the camera and you will then need to use digital post processing software like photo shop, the advantages of this are getting perfect colours and tonality etc, but in reality my life’s too short and jpeg compression software is pretty good at approximating colours as we see them anyway, unless you really want to play with photo shop then don’t consider it as a concern.

Next up is zoom 30x is the equivalent of a 720mm zoom lens in old money, without a tripod you’re going to be on pretty shaky ground at this range so also consider whether you need the extra especially considering that you should be able to get teleconverters for all three.

Have a read of http://www.safari-guide.co.uk/fujifilm-finepix-hs20exr-digital-camera-review.php#teleconverter which is one of the reviews that led me to buy the Fuji in the first place.

He’s also reviewed the HS30EXR and he’s a Zimbabwean.

http://www.safari-guide.co.uk/fujifilm-finepix-hs30exr-digital-camera-review.php

If you can I’d highly recommend trying to find all three camera’s or at least similar models from each brand in your hands and feeling which is the most comfortable for you, some may have fiddly buttons or just feel wrong, I know this can be difficult and I bought my HS20EXR blind although I had handled it’s predecessor.

Now going off on a tangent I completely understand why you are scared of DSLR’s my Fuji is technologically light years ahead of my 6mp Canon EOS 10D which is now nearly 11 years old and battered, scratched and tired, yet it’s simplicity and solidity give me so much more satisfaction to use every day even if the pictures don’t look as good. The current lower end DSLR’s are very plasticky in comparison to my old magnesium alloy beast though and lenses are hideously expensive, especially seeing as you need at least a 300mm for birds etc, I’ve only got a very cheap plastic 50mm fixed length lens and am hanging on to the Fuji for it’s flexibility of zoom.

Still saying all of the above if making the choice today for a superzoom camera today I’d still think like most men and go for the Nikon with the biggest willy.

Hope some of that above waffle makes sense and hope you’ll pop in for a beer or seven in October.

TTFN

Mr Bunny Chow

now what do I do?

Posted: 27/07/2012 in Mr Bunny Chow, ouch
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oh bloody hell now what do I do, I’ve been nominated for a blog award and whilst I’m very grateful to MarantoPhotography for nominating me to receive the One Lovely Blog award I’ve always felt these sorts of awards to be one step short of being chain letters.

Here’s some recognition now you have to think of fifteen other people to nominate for this same reward.

Well I’ve spent my life being pretty anti-establishment so I’m going to thank Maranto Photography as I know her intentions were pure and instead of nominating anyone else I’ll just mention a couple of blogs that I regularly visit and enjoy in the hope that some of you too will find pleasure in them.

I stress that there is no pressure or obligation on their part to respond, I just enjoy their Blogs.

In no particular order.

Bassas Blog the diary and adventures of a Caucasian Shepherd Dog

Yoonanimous the often hilarious misadventures of Yoona a mother of two young boys.

2Summers the adventures of Heather an American (don’t hold that against her) expat making a new life in Jo’Burg, her tale is often heartbreaking but always told with good humour and warmth.

Crappy Pictures  The woman is a genius, she draws my life and makes me giggle.

Japan Camera Hunter I check in on Bellamy and his eclectic mix of camera porn on a daily basis, just to remind myself of all that I can’t afford. His regular in your bag feature is a particular favourite.

now I’m supposed to list seven things about myself, see I told you this whole thing was a bit chain letter like didn’t I, still at least it’s not lying to me about poor billy who’s been dying of leukemia since 1984 while his Nambabwean uncle is trying to get out of the military and would like to deposit millions into my bank account if I could just send them the details.

  1. I can’t grow a beard, I just get patchy stubble which is ginger, blonde and greying, I wouldn’t mind if I didn’t have to shave but I do so it irks me.
  2. My eyes creep me out and I gag if I try to put contact lenses or drops in, this is ok because I don’t mind glasses.
  3. I’ve just noticed that I’m wearing a lilac shirt and am not actually all that embarrassed, I guess you reach a certain age and just don’t care anymore.
  4. I won the National Schools Wildlife Quiz when growing up in Zimbabwe (a bit like mastermind for kids)
  5. I have a weakness for all things mechanical but especially watches.
  6. I spent six months of my life living like a hippy on a Kibbutz in Israel.
  7. I own a gas braai (barbecue) and prefer it. I should probably qualify this before my family disown me, charcoal in Britain is invariably soaked in paraffin and makes your food taste crap, proper hardwood is unavailable.

That’ll have to satisfy your cravings for knowledge about me.

 

Having my stitches removed this afternoon, it can’t happen any sooner, as they’re starting to itch and pull now.

have a great weekend and

TTFN

Mr Bunny Chow

 

 

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