Ox Ray

All Bovines Deserve A Stable Environment

Photograph copyright: DAVID McMAHON

Yesterday, I was taking photographs at St Paul’s Cathedral when I suddenly noticed this section of a stained-glass window near the main entrance. If you're wondering why a humble cow should be featured in a place of worship, there is a specific reason.

If you remember, there was no room at the inn and Joseph and his heavily pregnant wife Mary were allowed to shelter in the stable. As the words to the beautiful Christmas carol remind us, it was just a "lowly cattle shed" where "the cattle are lowing".

Every year when I was little, our Sunday School class regarded the Nativity Play as the highlight of the year. Every student played a part - and a major highlight of my own theatrical progress was when I made the giant leap from playing the role of a cow to the year I was promoted and played Gabriel.

A few months ago, when I was in northern India for five days, I saw a scene that would have to be fairly rare in the twenty-first century. On a busy national highway, in the mellow light of a late winter afternoon, the flow of high-speed traffic was significantly impeded by a procession of bullock carts carrying heavy loads. You can see the photograph at What A Load Of Bullocks.

Here's a thought. Maybe Hugh Hefner would have had to change his name if he had started a farmyard magazine instead of Playboy. He could have swapped his given name for Hugh Hoofner.

Check out the rules at Camera Critters or go to Misty Dawn.

Stripe Tease

US Air Force Demotes Playboy-Pose Sergeant

The most ironic fact about the whole Michelle Manhart episode is that the former US Air Force sergeant who posed for `Playboy' might have got away with it if some of the shots had not depicted her in USAF uniform, holding weapons and wearing dog tags.
Manhart, a 30-year-old mother of two, was not discharged from the Air Force but she was removed from active duty and demoted. The decision, in effect, reduced her to Air National Guard status, a move which according to BBC, prompted her resignation, she says. The resignation, it seems, is still pending.
Just to refresh your memory, she appeared in this month's edition of `Playboy' in a range of poses, some in uniform and striking a military pose, others while nude. Manhart was a member of the Iowa Air National Guard before going on extended active duty with the USAF. News of her `Playboy' assignment was leaked long before the magazine's release and in January, she was suspended from duties while an official investigation into the incident was carried out.
At the time the USAF released a cautiously-worded but firm statement saying that her actions did not ``meet the high standards we expect of our airmen''.
As an employee of the USAF - and by definition of the US Government as well - Manhart faced an uphill battle to retain her rank. Had she got away with censure, it would have opened the floodgates for similar situations.
Let me present you with a theoretical situation. If you were the CEO of a company and one of your employees posed for `Playboy' while wearing company uniform and holding company equipment, how would you react?

Or let me put it this way. If Michelle Manhart applied to your company for a job, would you hire her?
Either way, I just hope Manhart - whose name has now figured in every major media bulletin around the world - has assured her own future. I'm tippping that Hollywood could come knocking on her door for the film rights. And if she has a good agent, she might even land the role of playing herself on the big screen.
If you have an opinion on the subject, leave me a comment on this post.