Watch your background on Zoom! Unintentional Humour. Intentional Humor.

On Zoom you can create virtual backgrounds showing yourself in front of famous landmarks, or on the beach with the waves rolling in behind you. A moving background can be distracting.

Even worse is a real life moving background. It is not new for passers-by to accidentally walking across behind a live reporter, or to stand behind making silly faces. The technical term is photobombing. Wikipedia found me these.

 Many people turn off their cameras at home for good reason. They are eating. They are half naked.

Others do not check their backgrounds. You can see all sort of personal stuff. 

 What is on the wall behind, you, on the desk, or cabinet. An interview candidate for a job had to quickly remove empty bottles of alcohol, kept as souvenirs and decoration. He was applying for a job in Pakistan.

Children and Pets

Hilarious moments from the early days of working from home and meetings on zoom included backgrounds of dogs or cats which wanted to read the news or express their reaction. Others included children bursting into the room, dragged out by a crawling mother.

Bedrooms

At my Toastmasters meetings, I was once mesmerized by the speaker's girlfriend, lying in the bed behind him, every now and then turning over. My mind was inventing what she could do, alone, or if he would later join her, unaware that the back of the room was on camera.

Toilet, Bathroom and Shower

One Toastmasters International member frequently tells the story of how she went to the toilet wearing a pin-on microphone.

Recently I watched a visitor yawn, move the camera, get up and disappear into the shower at the back of the bedroom. The shower water started to run down the glass.

I was waiting to see a silhouette. It reminded me of Psycho. Would an evil stranger creep in? If so, we could not contact him.

I was unable to concentrate on my speeches and roles. Why? Because I was watching to see whether he would emerge wearing pyjama bottoms, a towel, or neither.

Some of the professional Zoom applications allow you to set up your group shots of audience faces in settings such as a classroom of tiered seating, or even mirror photos with frames. For single individuals, yourself, add humorous hats, moustaches and glasses. Key words to search for are: facial effects, studio effects, and make up filters.

Useful Websites

Zoom on facial effects to enhance

https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/115002595343-Enhancing-your-video-in-Zoom

https://shotkit.com/funny-zoom-backgrounds/

https://www.ricotta.team/blog/zoom-memes

Humorous zoom effect tutorial

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3v0Y9b--zBM

Please share links to your favourite posts

Jurong Point Shopping Mall

Huge Shopping Mall in North West Singapore, an area known for its malls. This one is busy and crowded.

Jurong Point shopping mall. Central indoor atrium. Photo by Trevor Sharot.

Seating for eating. Tall palm trees (real or fake?) stretching up to the light from the transparent ceiling. 

Two levels visible here. But add in the basements. As you can make out on the right, it gets quite crowded, even midweek.

In Singapore we have had eating out allowed only for two but now the numbers allowed have increased. But with the latest bad news, enjoy eating out whilst you can.

This mall is not the largest but has the greatest number of outlets. The mall has been extended twice. Once was when the MRT railway station was built alongside.

 

What can you find here? Starbucks. Courts.

Useful websites.

https://www.jurongpoint.com.sg/

About the author

(About the Author of this blog, Author Angela Lansbury)

BIOGRAPHY

Angela Lansbury B A Hons ACG ALB PM5 EH5 DL5 VC5 
The Author of several books, including  Etiquette For Every Occasion. Wedding Speeches & Toasts. How to be the Best Man. Quick Quotations. Who Said What When.

Blogs travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com

dressofthedayangela.blogspot.com

translateforfun.blogspot.com

Braddell Heights Advanced Toastmasters Speakers Club Vice President Public Relations (VPPR), Previous President

Join BHA 1st Wednesday 7pm and 3rd Saturday 2 pm Singapore time 

Vice President Public Relations (VP PR) of Tampines Changkat Advanced;

Secretary of weekly online Singapore International Dynamic Toastmasters Speakers’ Club;

Member and past president of Harrovians toastmasters club, UK; Past member of HOD Toastmasters, London. Past member in Singapore of: Toastmasters Club of Singapore (TCS); Tiarel; and Senja Cashew.

More details from Toastmasters International find a club.

Regular attendee at annual Swanwick Writers’ School, England.

Regular attendee at annual Writers’ Holiday, Wales.

Contributor to poetry readings, and after tea courses on: Speaking On Radio To Promote Books; and Plots And Character.

Winner of many club and area speaking contests in the UK and Singapore.

Language advisor to Empire Toastmasters club in Indonesia.

Language and speech workshops in Singapore.

Speaker on radio and TV in England, Scotland, the USA, and Australia.

Compiler of a school course on public speaking for teachers to prepare pupils for school open days with attending ceremonies before government ministers, Singapore.

Former member of Harrow Writers’ Circle, London, and two writing groups in Singapore.

Angela is on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Twitter. She would be delighted to link up with new friends.

I  also have a blog on comic poems.

 Please share links to your favourite posts.

How To Take Photos With Masks - And Protect Your Phone or Camera

I haven't seen any instructions on taking photos with masks.
A week ago, a month ago, things were worse. You could not sit outdoors.

Now, in Singapore and many places, we can go out. Are masked people spoiling photos? How can we photograph ourselves and take good photos?

1 Take Masked Photos To Make A Dated Topical Point
First, let us look at the benefits of masks. Masks are useful in showing the date of photos. Like wartime gas masks. We will look back with interest. We will say, 'Hey - that was a photo taken in 2020!'

2 On screen no masks.
My first attempt with a green screeen.

You can take a holiday photo or locality photo to show your location using the photo as a background on Zoom.

Talk to people at the place you will visit, showing both groups without masks.

3 Start a holiday or trip slide show with photos of yourself and family at home beside your suitcase, maybe in your holiday clothes.

Wear a tee-shirt showing your location. So the emphasis is on the tee-shirt rather than the face.

My tee-shirt says Los Angeles. I have others saying San Diego and Singapore.

4 Show two photos alongside.
Superimpose your silhouette (unmasked at home) on the edge of the photo of holiday scenery or the beach or seaside.

5 Or put the holiday photos in an album frame, with yourself alongisde or behind as the person reading the book.

6 Take Photos Where Being Unmasked Is Allowed
What about eating and exercising?

In Singapore, currently, July 2020, you can remove your mask whilst eating or exercising. You could have a photo taken of yourself eating or exercising.

If you don't want to hand your camera or phone to anybody else, to avoid contamination, use a wet wipe or take a selfie.

a) Eating
Some places are extra strict. You cannot have your mask off for the whole meal, only whilst eating. So take a photo of yourself with the spoon lifting the strawberry towards your lips.

Or just take the food.

b) Exercising
In Singapore July 2020 the swimming pool and gym are open. You wear your government supplied mask walking to and from the pool or gym. But you can take a photo of yourself afterwards or show one from last year.

Take a selfie photo of yourself alone on your hotel or home balcony. As soon as the sun is out, you go out.

Keep your mobile phone handy to take photos. You can still take photos of people back view, of animals such as cats and dogs, or wild animals, insects and birds. 

You can take photos of your family in the swimming pool. Your whole family. Your spouse. Your children.

7 Indoors you can still photograph food.

8 Back view photos of workers in masks can be quite effective. No need to ask permission.

Finally, how do you protect your camera or mobile phone? I have read that mobile phones because you constantly touch them are often covered with bacteria, or viruses, let's just say germs.

When I pass a sanitiser I make sure I disinfect both hands, and then run my sanitised hands over the mobile phone. Hm? Doesn't that undo all the work of santising the hands, rather than helping the phone? If in doubt, do it a second time.  

Whatever you decide to do, remember that your phone also needs your care.

Stay Safe. Happy Photos.

About the Author

Google Local Guide eg Braddell Heights Community Centre, Singapore, and worldwide activities

Club Tampines West, Singapore. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Problem
How do you give brief but useful information about a Community Club in Singapore or anywhere?
First, how do you find it? Google maps. The map on the nearby MRT station. Look for a large building with the sign club outside.

Answer
I wrote this about Braddell Heights Community Club in Singapore and the nearby MRT underground station.

DIRECTIONS
From Serangoon MRT take escalators to exit F (fewer escalators than the other set of escalators which exit to the shopping mall). Along the corridor you emerge by bus stops. The Community Centre (changed name to Community Club in 2018 to sound more friendly) is a large building, same side, to your right, on the corner. Compact building with office, signboards and lift the lobby.

ACTIVITIES
Open to all. Non-members pay slightly more. Many activities are courses such as martial arts, Lion Dance group, singing, crafts, for children or adults, seasonal events. However, you can often drop into either the Mandarin speaking Toastmasters' International speaking club or one of the three English speaking Toastmasters clubs held on three of the five Saturday afternoons each month.   

EATING
No eating place is inside but a hawker centre is diagonally across the road junction beyond the HDB housing block; or go back to Nex shopping mall beside Serangoon MRT railway station. 

I could say much more for the Google reader, but the text would be too long for Google browsers. What else have I not said? This community club is one of my two favourites, because of its nearness to the MRT (trains every three to five minutes) and the number of English language activities. My other favourite is Cairnhill, near Newton MRT, with about nine English language Toastmasters clubs plus one Mandarin and one bilingual English and Malay.

You could also check out the Community clubs website which lists the clubs all over Singapore. 

PHOTO
I am in two minds about putting up a photo.

Inside the atrium of Braddell Heights Community Club. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Useful Websites (Alphabetically by country)

EUROPE / GERMANY
The Rathaus, not a rat house but what we in the UK call a town hall. Normally the historic building is on the main square of each city. The big basement with columns and carvings usually has a bustling cafeteria serving reasonably-priced local food. Signs on walls and tables tell you about activities and local events.















Bremen town hall or Rathaus. Source Wikipedia article on Bremen. Photo by Pederec.

I remember that Bremen in north Germany has a typical, striking basement cafeteria.

In France the town hall is called the hotel de ville.

SINGAPORE
https://www.pa.gov.sg/our-network/community-clubs
TOURIST INFORMATION
https://www.visitsingapore.com/see-do-singapore/socialiser/?cmp=SEM_LEISURE-EATDRINK-NIGHTLIFE
SINGAPORE AIRLINES
singaporeair. com

CLUBS
toastmastersinternational.com/find-a-club

UK
Cities have events and activities in town halls, Arts Centres, churches, church halls, colleges, public libraries, pubs (the whole pub or a room upstairs), restaurants, schools, and theatres.  Look for the free newspapers in racks outside railway stations, in Tourist Information Centres, 
and in supermarkets and outside newsagents and the shops of estate agents (property agents).

USA
Just google 'community centres near me' and you will get suggestions for each city.

Author 
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Please share links to your favourite posts.

How To Preserve The Joy of Photographing Pets And Wildlife On Trips

Spider. Photo by Trevor Sharot.

My husband's photo of a forest was short-listed in a photographic competition run by National Geographic magazine contest for photos of forests. He was runner-up, with his photo displayed at the shop in Regent Street (shop now moved location). The outright winner won with a photo including a small living creature, contrasting with the giant trees.

Add Animals
You can enhance a photo of nature by adding a human being - your companion, a dog, or cat, or a car to get the scale of a tall tree. For a video add something moving such as a fish, or still, such as a spider. If nobody else is around, try a selfie. But in case you are too ugly, or your movement creates camera blur, have other photos without the living creature. 

Before And After Photos
You can also do before and after pictures. Present them side by side as a pair. Or as a threesome. The scene changes when the visitor arrives. The scene is enhanced or destroyed by the happy campers. When they are gone, it is empty again.

Animals Facing Obstacles
I watched a video of a small porcupine eating a slice of banana. I had never seen a porcupine close up. 

We would simply peel a banana. We would eat a small piece in one gulp. The little porcupine makes a five-minute meal out of a small slice. The little darling is struggling to hold it with teeny hands. A major challenge for the baby porcupine is to extract and eat the banana off the inside of the peel.

The Challenge For Animals
We have loads of things to do and for us often food is merely fuel. In one sense we eat to live but a cow lives to eat, eating all day, as does a bird (except when singing for a mate.) You could also argue the reverse. We eat to live. But the porcupine is totally engrossed, living to eat.

Analysis
A friend, Jane on Facebook, asked a question I have previously asked: Why do we find these animal pictures so appealing? She used the lovely word enchanting.

My first answer was: They concentrate so hard. They seem to be enjoying it. Their eyes are wide open. It's funny because they eat so fast, as if scared you will take it away.

Animals are oblivious to table manners. They eat with their mouths open. 

Humans are trained not to be obsessed with food. We speak. We say please and thank you. But animals are wholly expressing their hunger or pleasure by gestures which exaggerate what we would do. 

We also gain the voyeur's delight. They are concentrating on the food and don't realise we are sneaking up with an ulterior motive and secretly making a film. 

We get vicarious satisfaction from their joy at eating the food. Plus the joy of being let into their secret world, never before seen. 

We have a sense of power, control. They are tiny. Easily pleased. Kept in one place, in front of our camera. Put down a tiny piece of banana and we have a porcupine which is thriving, happy, obedient, devoted, the perfect camera model.

Animal Or Insect Alone
You can get over your fear or disgust at seeing a spider or a line of ants if you are concentrating on another task, getting a good photo. Instead of the wild word encroaching, invading, spoiling your day, the wild world has enhanced your experience and provided an opportunity for camera work.

Spiders
I never knew a spider's legs could come in three colours. I can identify the spider in Wikipedia, and be sure it is a 'normal' indigenous spider, not a dangerous spider. 

Leave it outside, busy with its valuable work, catching flies. It sits patiently, waiting for the prey, as patient as a photographer.

Sharing With The World
If you have a great photo, you can share it on Facebook and numerous other websites. If you are wondering how to locate and sign up for Pinterest or another website, simple go to a news story on the BBC or another page and click on share. Up pop half a dozen media outlets and you can sign up for a new one.

Angela Lansbury
Travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.
See my other posts on this blog and my new blog
http://luxurytravelforless.co.uk

Please share links to your favourite posts.

Where to find real 100 per cent Maple Syrup, Maple Farm Visits, and Maple Gifts

Maple Syrup, 100% pure and Canadian, with maple leaf design label, on kitchen worktop, showing it is popular and nearly used up! Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Problems To Solve
My maples syrup is nearly finished so I need to stock up with another. What's 'real' maple syrup? Where can I buy it? Can I see it being made or learn more from the source?

Answers
Maple syrup which is 100 per cent maple syrup is obviously, well, probably, best, but what's the difference?

Maple flavour syrup will have less maple syrup and more of other ingredients. Read the label.

The real test is to buy one of each and see if you like the difference. Do a blind test.

Story
We did a blind test in Singapore. Maple syrup and other imported food products are expensive in Singapore. So when the Canadian one hundred per cent maple syrup which we had brought with us from England ran out we tried the cheaper American maple flavour syrup from a local Singapore supermarket. The real maple syrup won the taste test in our family.

Sugars and Syrups
Flavour apart, is maple syrup good or bad? Is eating maple syrup adding sugar to your diet or removing it? That may depend on how much you are consuming.

Also consider whether you are using it as a substitute or addition to your diet. Other factors include: whether you are overweight, or dieting.

A separate issue, if you are a healthy weight, is whether you want to reduce your risk of cancer. Another question is who produces the tests, are they independent and who do you believe?

What Colour and Grade Is Your Syrup?
I was very interested to see that grading is even more detailed than a simple percentage of maple syrup used. Maple syrup comes in different grades. As far as I can tell, in the US a darker grade comes from syrup taken later in the season (a bit like late harvest grapes producing sweet wine). The darker, stronger flavour syrup is used in cooking.

Quality Needed For Cooking
I have often had ice cream supposedly flavoured with vanilla and foods supposedly flavoured with maple syrup and not detected much taste. Maybe the restaurant owner or cook or supplier has either used maple syrup as a selling point and not cared or not realised that you get a stronger flavour with a different kind of maple syrup.

So, if you are cooking, as well as eating, check what you are getting. In restaurants I frequently ask to see the bottle of the house wine and the bottles of any unusual ingredients used. I usually ask because I am impressed with the good quality and want to compliment the sommelier or chef and am curious as to what produces better results.

However, a discussion on whether a cheaper or different ingredient produces equally good results or 'good enough' results is also worthwhile. In my experience cooks and chefs are keen to show off their knowledge and expertise.

I used to be shy about discussing production. But if you are friendly most people are friendly back. If staff are young and inexperienced and know less than you do they may well be grateful to be given new knowledge and choices.

Maple Syrup Photo
I was sitting thinking: "Where do I find a picture of maple syrup? I don't want to take one from a website without permission, even though they will probably allow it, writing will waste time. Wikipedia is a source of free pictures but people can go straight to Wikipedia and read (admittedly no longer short articles in popular style, increasingly authoritative, detailed and too long for a quick read)."

I raised my eyes from my screen and saw my breakfast maple syrup sitting on the shelf in front of me!

I took a picture of the front from close up and it was distorted. I called to a friendly professional photographer, "My photo's distorted! What do I do?"

He answered, "You're too close."

So I took a picture from further away which meant I had to spend time cropping it.

The picture did not show much information.

I turned the bottle around and took a photo of the label on the back. Then I read it.

I had probably read it the first time I bought the product, a year or so ago. I would have been looking for the ingredients.

This time I read every word. Firstly an interesting story about the origins of maple syrup production. usefully If found  and the reason behind the company name - which I had not remembered. Now I have a memory aid for the company name. When looking in a supermarket, even when not buying, I can check what they stock and whether it is the brand I bought before or another one. The brand I bought was Buckwud. W U D  for wood. I shall create my own memory aid, "This buck would buy Buckwud.'

Maple syrup bottle on kitchen workshop showing Bukwud label. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Refrigerate or Not?

I noted something else. The label says keep the syrup refrigerated (only after opening?). That's interesting because we have a constant dispute in my family. I want to refrigerate everything. Others in my family says that honey goes solid. Websites tell me not to refrigerate eggs - then another website or consumer says you can or should. I would always go by advice from the producers. In this case the producers say refrigerate.

Maple Syrup Visits and On-Site Shops, Vermont
Canada produces the majority of the world's maple syrup.
You can visit producers for rmont/maple_sugarhouses_open_year-round.aspx

Where to buy maple syrup? Everywhere worldwide. Look for real maple syrup. I've tried the almost maple syrup and it doesn't taste the same. In addition to maple syrup, the factories have websites selling all kinds of products, maple butter, BBQ sauce, and candies.

Tips

General article on Maple syrup:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maple_syrup

For a discussion on maple syrup and sugar see:
https://authoritynutrition.com/maple-syrup/

Visits
CANADA
https://www.todaysparent.com/family/activities/best-maple-syrup-farms/
USA
http://www.visitvt.com/about_ve
Vermont is in the USA.

For Products To Buy
Canadian producer has products including maple leaf shape bottle and recipe pages.
https://www.maplesyrupworld.com/pages/maple-syrup-recipe.html

http://www.dakinfarm.com/Pure-Maple-Products.html
(Ten minute video, changing exhibition of photos, display of evaporator. Large shop with farm produce.)

https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=maple+leaf+tshirt

Action To Take
1 RESEARCH LOCAL SUPERMARKETS Check out brands and label of maple syrup in my nearest supermarket.
2 HOLIDAY TRIP PACKING NOTES Remember to buy Maple Syrup when going overseas to live or stay. Add shopping note to top of packing list.
3 WISHLISTS Note names and websites of farms offering maple syrup visits for next family visit or business trip to Canada or northern USA. Make a travel wishlist, add notes in my diary, email myself, or bookmark websites so I can find the information on my next trip. If leaving laptop behind, make note in mobile phone.

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. See also previous post on Canada. Please share links to your favourite posts.