Thursday, November 8, 2012

I Spy Something WHITE


This clip from YouTube is 13 minutes long but I think it is worth watching.  The first five minutes or so, you can go away and put the kettle on, or fix yourself a piece of toast and just listen to it but please come back and watch the rest of it.  John Downer is the British filmmaker responsible for this incredible film.  Certain images stay with me...the elephant carrying the fake wood with the spy-cam inside, the camera with the dung plastered over it, the monkey with the inquisitive hand near the eye of the camera and of course, the polar bears. Such amazing shots, you just cannot believe what you are watching.
 
Let me know what you think of this!  And in the USA, we say "I spy something white"...but in England, they say "I spy with my little eye something white".  We must have copied it from England, so why did we drop "my little eye"?   These are the burning questions that keep me awake at night...

And in case I don't get to the Monastery in time to see the beautiful ginkgo trees...here is a photo of me from a few years ago posing with them...presto, I am two years younger! HA!

32 comments:

  1. In Canada, we also say "I spy with my little eye" like the Brits. You Yanks! You always have to go your own way, don't you.

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    1. Of course, that is why...we just have to be different!
      Even if playing children's games!

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  2. Amazing footage! That little cub is precious.
    Love your new header, by the way.

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    1. Incredible film, I was glad to find it on YouTube.
      And that photo is the church built by the monks at the Monastery here in Rockdale County. It is built of concrete and it took them years. It is a very special place!

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  3. We ALWAYS say-I spy with my little eye something....whatever color. I have never heard it any other way. I will pop in and take a look at the film- xo Diana

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    1. We must have left it out in the South, we had to play games with children in a hurry and go out and kill something to eat, perhaps? :-)
      Hope the film works better for you, it is very slow for me!

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  4. My husband, the Euro, he says "with my little eye"....drives me crazy....I'm trying to teach my kids the American way....so when I play with them, they tell me I'm saying it wrong. As if! Hmph. Love your picture with the yellow gingko leaves. Ours are ALMOST yellow ~ we're waiting so we can all run out and take some nice pictures like we did last year!

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    1. Ha! I know just what you mean, Audrey! Richard also said "Peep-bo" and I would say "Peep-eye"! You should have seen us as new parents, talk about a different language! :-)
      Love those gingko trees, so yellow, so perfectly planted outside the church window and beside the walkway, the yellow leaves cascade down and the monks leave them for a while, like a thick yellow carpet.

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  5. Great images there! Some years ago, there was a guy who fixed a tiny camera to his cat's collar and filmed everywhere the cat was going and everything he was doing, and posted those films on the internet. Sometimes it was quite interesting and fun to watch what the cat was up to, while at other times it was rather boring ;-)

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    1. Poor little kitty cat, maybe the cat knew it and did the boring things to be left in peace! :-)
      Loved this film of the polar bears, I have never seen them so close up.

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  6. That was so enjoyable to watch, Kay! What a wonderful job to have, travelling the globe and filming these beautiful animals in their natural habitat. Love the way that polar bear at the end righted the camera herself!

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    1. Me too! I LOVED that the mother bear fixed that in just the right way, it was almost as if she knew the best way to get the best shot of her baby! Glad you liked this too!

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  7. This is one i'll have to watch on the other computer later.

    When i grew up, it was "spy with my little eye," but maybe it's also regional in the US.

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    1. In Audrey's comment above, she also left out "with my little eye", maybe she is related to me! :-) Interesting!

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  8. Hello Kay:
    The private lives of animals, one can only imagine the patience needed to come up with this wonderful film footage. And, certainly, John Downer has been prepared to be extremely inventive and to go to extraordinary lengths in order to achieve these stunning images.

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    1. Hello Jane & Lance!
      So nice to see your comment here! You must have seen a lot of his work on TV, but I just happened to see this and was happy to find it on YouTube so I could share it.
      Hope you are both well! :-)

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  9. Truly fascinating Kay - some very special perspectives on the lives of incredible creatures. I could watch lions and tigers all day - they are so mesmerizing. My husband and I used to play "I spy with my little eye" in bed when we were newly married - I'd almost forgotten (thanks for the reminder :)

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    1. So glad to see you again, Jane! I have missed you!
      I have seen lions and tigers at the zoo, but find it so sad, since I really want them to be their natural habitat!
      So far, only one person (Audrey) says it the way that I do!!

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  10. Great photo of you, Kay. What a beautiful smile! :o)

    I'll have to come back to see your film clip, have to dash right now. But in case I don't get back right away, have a wonderful weekend. Cheers!

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    1. Goodness me, I just saw the little snippet that shows over on the side, and talk about spying something white, I look as pale as a ghost! Oh well, try to look at the yellow leaves and not me!! Thanks anyway! :-)
      Let me know if you are able to see the film, it is truly amazing!
      And I hope you have a great weekend too! Hope you are having nice weather where you are. :-)

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  11. This video is wonderful, Kay! You do share some amazing things. I am in awe with the world of animals, and I love polar bears. I think they are such beautiful creatures. That little baby bear is simply adorable. I can't help but smiling the way he/she is blinking his/her little eyes so rapidly. Just too cute.

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    1. Dear Martha,
      Thanks, I knew YOU would LOVE this! xx
      Like you, I was just amazed at the polar bear cub and his or her little eyes! And didn't you love the image of the monkey reaching for the camera and that hand! (Perhaps most would say a paw, but it looks like a hand to me!)

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  12. I have realised I have never seen film of polar bears swimming around. I always think of them on ice.... isn't that strange!!!

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    1. I found the polar bears to be so amazing in this film. And they are so huge but so graceful in the water, fascinating amimals. I am thankful that they were able to film them with this spy-cam!

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  13. Aren't you the little cutie! Such a lovely pic of you with the leaves! I'll catch the video later and report back! Have a great weekend!

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    1. Well, aren't you the sweetest thing to say that! And I have so many photos of me posing with trees you wouldn't believe it! These gingkos at the Monastery are some of my favorites.
      Let me know when you do have time to see this bit about polar bears, you will love it. Hope you have a great weekend too! xx

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  14. I've seen that video - it is amazing.

    I much prefer "I spy with my little eye". It adds a bit of internal rhyme, and lets the tension build while the listener waits for the riddle. We Americans are too prone to rush into things, even when playing "I Spy". :)

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    1. Oh good, I am glad that you have seen it and liked it too!
      It is true, we very much rush into things, even in our children's games!

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  15. I thought the filming was brilliant, well worth seeing. The polar bears look so cute, yet, as they said, they only see us as dinner!

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    1. I'm glad you liked this too. And I think I would have been 60 miles away when it was filmed too!

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  16. We do say I spy with my little eye but it is something beginning with...not a colour I never thought of playing by colour! Lovely to find your blog through the swap. There are gorgeous colours where you live. Truly beautiful!

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    1. Hey! My husband (who is also from England) just told me that he also did the same, said "I spy with my little eye something beginning with "A". So typical of him, he never told me this until I just read your comment to him!
      Thanks and so happy to "meet" you!

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