Vanity Project- Part X

Part 10...where Alan FINALLY uses up those photos...

Is that a collective sigh of relief I hear? I know, my friends, I have pushed your patience to the limit with all of those photos and I promise that this is the last batch and I won't make you endure any more (assuming there is still anyone reading my blog by today...) Thanks especially to Gigi, Cathy and Laurita for hanging in there the entire project and commenting all the way.

This was March, 2010 on one of those double-decker bus tours in Manhattan. One eye is on the camera while the other is watching for low hanging traffic lights...

This was the second part of the same trip last year. Sean and I were preparing to ice skate on the lower deck of the cruise ship we were on. A side note: we will next be able to afford a to take a cruise in 2020. Maybe.


The next three photos were taken on an overland bus tour I took from Sept. 1990 to Jan. 1991 from London, England to Kathmandu. The proverbial 'trip of a lifetime'. I got it into my head to quit my job and give up my apartment and take the plunge. I recommend this type of adventure for those who like foreign countries, camping and travelling on a small budget.

This is on the travertine (limestone) deposit at Pamukkale, Turkey in Oct. 1990. It is part of the Hierapolis, an ancient Greco-Roman city that is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site

A horseback/camel trek in the desert near Giza, Egypt. S%#&! I think I'm wearing the same shirt as in the previous picture!

This is on Christmas Day 1990 in Udaipur, India. Don't even ask me why Aussie Pete and I are dressed that way (notice that one leg of my shorts is longer than the other--hey, I think I still have those in a drawer somewhere). It's TOO long a story...

Vanity Project- Part IX

The silly side of Alan...

My younger sister was here on vacation three years ago. She doesn't always look that grumpy. I think she wasn't feeling very well
.

Father's Day lobster boil up three years ago. This one's called "Smokin' da fish"...where I bite the head off a smoked caplin. They're really very nice...taste like chicken...

Playing cards with my mother on Christmas Day three years ago. Like a boy scout, I am wearing my warm hat and am prepared for anything. Umm...am I wearing that damned shirt AGAIN! Note to self: Go to closet today and throw out brown shirt...

Vanity Project- Part VIII

Just me and the boy...

It occurred to me that in that last family post I didn't include a photo of Sean. I have posted three below from the archives.

This one was shortly after we found the lad in the cabbage patch. I'm sure that 'V' has a different version of how we acquired the boy. Note that I am looking feverishly for the instruction manual that was supposed to be included.

I think this was taken in 2007. We were over on Bell Island and took the tour of the abandoned iron ore mine. Spooky. Whoa, look how short the kid is. It's hard to believe that he's nearly as tall as me now!

On vacation last year. Somewhere warmer and with nicer water than around here. I look very svelt when photographed from the shoulders up. I should insist that I only be photographed this way in the future.

Vanity Project- Part VII

Happy 4th of July to my American friends.

This weekend was the Canada day weekend and a good time to get together with family.

Here's a few shots of the vain one with family in days past.

Yep, with my mum and dad on wedding day back in '94. I just don't have the knees to wear a kilt.

The auld y'ins arms stopped working so I fed him his Christmas trifle.

At the lookout at Grate's Cove, Newfoundland with my mum and 'V' (er...am I wearing the SAME shirt as that iceberg photo from the other day?)

Vanity Project- Part VI

The infamous hair day...

I know, I've gone on a lot about baldness....from the fine fundraising of Laurita Miller of Calling Shotgun to the shaving-of-the-head-to-make-a-buck by the boy...

This is the final word on the hair thing. These were taken by co-workers at the steel plant back in Aylmer, Ontario when I and another employee shaved our noggins to fundraise for a couple of local food banks back in 2003. They stopped production for half and hour and we had an audience of over 100 people...

My mugshot...pre-haircut. I let the hair and beard grow unfettered for about 5 months before the cut.

Look at the hair sticking out like wings. With a bit of white face paint and red lipstick I could look like Bobo the Clown. Or perhaps like the guy below...

Still have the beard to be shaved off. Look at that round, Charlie Brown cranium. Some of the guys at work figured I looked like a biker (no offence to the real bikers out there).

Vanity Project- Part V

Me, standing about by the water...

I've only just noticed the number of pictures of me there are out there with me striking a pose near the water. I bet that a psychological professional could have a field day with me on the couch. That didn't sound right, did it?

In Goa, India back in 2008. Was there to help with training of sub-contractors we used back then (don't get me started on THAT...)

Visting the ecological reserve at Cape St. Mary's here in Newfoundland (and trying to suck in my gut)

Look closely...notice my catch of the day at Gull Island pond. Bait fish...

Vanity Project- Part IV

Would you like some ice with that...

Icebergs are part of the experience when visiting Newfoundland and Labrador...in the right place at the right time. We have been up to Fogo and down the southern shore to see these beauties since moving to The Rock. Prime time is approximately mid-May to mid July. That being said, the only icebergs visible the past three summers have been along the north coast, up the northern penninsula and Labrador. Perhaps there IS something to that global warming business. I'll let the next few pics speak for themselves. They were taken mostly in 2007 and 2008.

Fogo, 2008

Quidi Vidi gut.

Bryant's Cove (notice the size compared to the houses along the shore)

I call this one the Sydney Opera House...

Tor's Cove, 2008

Vanity Project- Part III

A boy and his dog...and I'm not referring to that odd sci-fi flick from 1975 starring Don Johnson (who?)

Looking at icebergs in Tors Cove, 2008. Our greyhound, Jet, is not impressed by the display and is stealthily planning his escape.

Playing with Jet and his visiting greyhound friend (the late Mat) in our back garden.

Greyhounds are described by some as "40mph couch potatoes". Jet is shy and doesn't have much personality. Here he is having a rare moment of what I think is glee. Or perhaps he was getting in better position to pass gas.

Vanity Project- Part II

Then and now...

This gem is one of me and my dad on high school graduation day (aged 17).  Two facts: I can still fit into that suit (Har! Right!) and my dad (avec hair) cleaned up pretty good, though my mother dressed him funny too.

"OK, look...I'll trade you this mitfull of possible winning draw tickets for that half consumed cup of rum and Coke."  Notice the lady behind me. She's either very shy or she's praying for her number to come up.

Vanity Project-part I

In the beginning...

A wee, rosy-cheeked Alan in 1965 with our new fox terrier Tuesday. We had arrived in Canada (Victoria, B.C.) eight months earlier and I probably babbled at the puppy with an undecipherable Scottish accent. Ach!

Flash forward to 1975 where I show off our baseball trophy as playoff champs. I am smiling here. This was not the case a year earlier when our team (a different one) went 0-18 for the season. I look at that shirt and am reminded of the fact that my mother dressed me funny. And don't get me started on the hair!

The Point? I'm Going into Hiding

The last post about the bald-headed boy with a little point on top got me thinking about a cartoon I saw as a kid. Those of you of the same vintage as myself may remember The Point! by the late Harry Nilsson. The animated feature from 1971 is a fable about a round headed boy named Oblio in a land where everything has a point. The original cartoon was narrated by Ringo Starr and Mike Lookinland (Bobby of the Bradey Bunch) did the voice of Oblio. For those of you that don't follow the link to the Wikipedia write up, I'll share the quote from Harry Nilsson that appears there.

"I was on acid and I looked at the trees and I realized that they all came to points, and the little branches came to points, and the houses came to point. I thought, 'Oh! Everything has a point, and if it doesn't, then there's a point to it.'" – Harry Nilsson

Har. They don't make cartoon like THAT any more!

I did a blog post a few weeks back about children's programming (or something like that). It had probably the poorest response I've seen in a long time. Then again, HR Pufnstuff isn't everybody's cup of tea...I hope this link to little Oblio and his dog Arrow proves more entertaining.



I will be buried in work all this week as we near the month end. I also have to finish two flash stories of a 'local flavour' to submit to the annual Cuffer Prize hosted by the Telegram and a local publisher. The deadline is July 9 and I only have one complete (and in dire need of an edit). The other story is only a hazy idea in my head. Perhaps I need to watch some psychedelic cartoons for inspiration.

The bottom line is that I will be 'out of the loop' for a couple of weeks. Therefore 'V' and myself have culled through the Davidson archives and cued up several photos of myself from over the years for your mockery enjoyment (coz you know that I NEVER post photos of myself ;). If you have followed this blog for a long time some of them may be familiar but I think most will be new to you. I think that I will call this the Vanity Project...enjoy and feel free to add your own captions to the daily photos...