Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Wednesday, July 30, 2008 - ABC Wednesday, B is for ball and busker and blue

073008_ball_ABC
When Mama and I took the MAX on Saturday, we knew we'd see plenty. We didn't expect to see this busker sort of gently juggling this ball.

073008_ball_ABC_busker_blue_sunglasses
While we're on ABC Wednesday, B, here's a close up of the busker, the ball, and his blue-tinted sunglasses.

073008_ball_ABC_busker
And here's the entire young man. The first time I saw his performance, I put some money in his can, and he stopped to quickly shake my hand! Right after I took these photos, someone dropped something in, and the busker shook his hand, too.

As the MAX car started up again and we rolled away, I asked Mama, "Wasn't that neat?" She said, "Sure was," and had trouble believing he was not a robot!

UPDATED TO ADD:

Here's the last photo I took, just before the doors slid shut and the MAX train left the intersection on the green traffic signal.
DSC_0019

And here's Merriam Webster online's take on busker:

Function:noun
Etymology: busk, probably from Italian buscare to procure, gain, from Spanish buscar to look for
Date: 1857

chiefly British : a person who entertains in a public place for donations

19 comments:

Janet said...

Gosh, what an unusual form of entertainment! Neat photos.

Olivier said...

je trouve la première photo magnifique et très poétique. superbe reportage. bonjour à FS.

I think the first picture beautiful and very poetic. superb reportage. Hello to FS.

Alan said...

Very cool. I've only seen that sort of thing in amusement parks.

brian stout said...

very cool pictures! hopefully that body paint is tested and is non-toxic =)

Anonymous said...

Very cool!

KOSTAS said...

Marvellously pantomime and very original!

Anna said...

I love this! I really appreciate the effort street performers make. The closest I've ever seen to something like this was a "robot Elvis" in gleaming silver and sparkling jacket at last year's local Street Performers Festival.

A very free spirited way to make a living!

A.

Rune Eide said...

Very special. The term "busker" was unknown to me.

Meead said...

Interesting :)

Harry Makertia said...

It's a great photo series. Love it. What he used to paint his metallic skin?

Jim Klenke said...

If not for the hair on his arm, I would have guessed the top photo was a statue.

He would have been upset with me though. I would have been waiting for him to drop the ball into the can, not me to drop money into it.

AphotoAday said...

Cool... We have a bunch of those metallic guys in the tourist areas of San Francisco...

Steve Buser said...

Lynette, I had never heard the term busker either. They has several of these guys around the French Quarter in New Orleans and I think their technique is getting better and better. But I never saw one with the ball thing.

Great ABC "B" day.

Anonymous said...

Nice post. I enjoyed reading it and the pictures are great.

Abraham Lincoln
—Brookville Daily Photo

ft. lauderdale daily photo said...

Oh, wow. What a shot and what an entertainer!

Barbara said...

Very different and difficult to do I imagine.

Sara at Come Away With Me said...

I think your B post is the most unique one yet....

Jill said...

Oh my, what did he use on his body? I remember seeing someing like him at the State Fair one year. He would stand very still, then move his arm whenever a child stopped and stared. Of course, they would all jump back screaming and then laughing.

Great shots of this guy!!

btw, I just this morning put on my todo list 'look up busker'. I have seen it on many European sites and references to Paris, etc., but didn't know from where the term came. So thanks for that!

btw2, I left Eric an official invite to dinner at Three Doors Down -- HERE

Chris said...

Hey, Lynette!

Thanks for sticking with me while I've been at school and trying to recover.

These buskers always amaze me. I had to use silver makeup once for a college dramatic production, and the stuff just about killed me. I don't know how they stand all that stuff on their bodies.