Marilyn's Photos - Aug 20 2026 - Surprise Me Travel

 

Did you know that there's a travel site that takes you on a surprise vacation? The site is srprs.me   We'll take you wherever you're meant to go Stop control-freaking your trip. Just sit back, relax and let us arrange everything. Select a specific theme or put together your own city break. Only accommodations rated 8 or higher will make the final and, of course, you’ll fly with a safe airline. Take the leap and discover your mystery holiday to destination unknown! FLIGHT TRIPROAD TRIPROCKET TRIP Here's the rocket trip option: THIS IS GOING TO BE A PHENOMENAL RIDE We cannot wait for the day that we'll take you on a srprs.trip to space. We have our top engineers working day and night on the srprs.rocket and we have already successfully sent a pork sausage into the stratosphere. So we feel we're getting close. So leave us your email address and we'll keep you updated on our progress, and maybe chuck in some special editions trips and special offers too. Here's another option:  Bucket List - you share your bucket list, we'll make sure you can cross a city off.  From 360 pounds. (We're in the U.K.) How many people have taken srprs trips?  It says the number is over 120,000 people. The global surprise trip planning market reached $1.42 billion U.S. in 2024.   Isn't it so interesting.  At one end of the spectrum is the control approach with a bucket list where things must get checked off regularly. At the other end is the spontaneous and surprising with little control.  We're at the end of August, so if a vacation is on your horizon, you might consider the surprise approach. What about this approach?  Go to Sugar Beach in Toronto and spin the dial.  What if you get Big Brother is watching you. Then you are already there. Sit down and have an espresso. Read past POTD's at my Blog: http://blog.marilyncornwell.com Purchase at: FAA - marilyncornwell.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.com

Marilyn's Photos - Aug 20 2026 - Back to School

 

If it is back to school time, then the CNE is opening this weekend.  The weird food competition previewed on the CBC yesterday.  The hosts didn't find the weird food to be a good news story.  One of them said that if he had to eat any of it, he would go buy a six-pack of Pepto bismol.   Or did he say a 24-pack.  Things like deep-fried pizza, Kraft dinner smoothie, pickle cheesecake pops... none of them sound fun.  Here's the CBC list.   Pickle or bacon-flavoured coffee. "The Szechuan Sizzle" spice cream. Cotton Candy Kickin’ Chicken. Sushi pops.  Blue Heat Taki Tenders. Popcorn falafel poutine. Jamaican beef patty mini pierogies. Lobster on a stick. Footlong butter chicken taquito. Fried S’MOREO. S’more Deep Fried Slice. Brie cheese deep fried Oreos. Dill pickle "pegrolls." Ramen Fried Frog Legs. Smash burger dumplings. The Carnival Cone. Nacho ribs. Steak barrel pork belly. Sweetcorn wasabi lemonade. Maybe this weird and crazy food mix-it-up is a response to the budget-conscious, inflation-biting back-to-school purchases this year.  The fashion news is barrel-leg denim, elevated basics, oversized outerwear and retro-inspired sneakers.  Also healthy-skin beauty routines - I noticed that all the girls had makeup on when Millie and I visited one of the high schools in the spring.  There are way too many fashion-driven items: A Garage shoulder bag, an H&M ball cap, an Indigo water bottle, Roots 2 piece junior backpack set.  AI says that back-to-school costs are $600 - $750 per child.  Here's AI's version of the 1951 vs 2026 back to school trend: The back-to-school landscape in Ontario has shifted from a highly standardized, traditional community experience in 1951 to an individuality-driven, AI-integrated, omnichannel shopping event in 2026.  That comes from fieldagentcanada HERE.  Isn't this an August flower field picture.  Another from Laura's St. Davids garden.  Read past POTD's at my Blog: http://blog.marilyncornwell.com Purchase at: FAA - marilyncornwell.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.com

Marilyn's Photos - Aug 19 2026 - Tariff Day

 

It was Tariff Deadline last night at midnight - well the tariffs were to come into effect at 12:01.  That would be after a normal news deadline for the paper version of The Globe and Mail.  I can imagine what yesterday was like.  Did the Globe and Mail have to wait till past midnight for closure on the story, or was the news story set earlier in the day? Yes it did have to wait.  Trump made the announcement on Truth Social at 11:55pm - five minutes before the midnight deadline.  Front-page print deadlines operate into the "late evening" and final production workflows run deep into the night and can go towards 1:00am or 2:00am to accommodate final regional editions and late-breaking developments.  This isn't a war story, but I suggest it is being treated as one - by both sides.  And of course the drama of an 11th-hour breakthrough would have to be in the headline. What do I see is I look through the headlines from news sources all over the world?  The BBC says that the announcement came less than two hours before the levy was set to go in place.  That would have meant the tariffs would come into effect at 2:00am in the morning.  None of the other news stories say this, so maybe the BBC wasn't attentive to EDT.  I would think that would be considered sloppy work. Mostly, the news coverage around the world - Britain, France, Australia, Japan, and other countries read the same - come from the same feeds.   Maybe CP and AP.  Chinese state-controlled media had coverage of the late-breaking tariff deadline, making the last-minute announcement the main news.  The trade relationship would be of interest to China compared to Russia where there is much tension between our countries.   Let's turn our attention to what the Russian state media covered in the dispute.  "Russian reporting notes how quickly Washington is willing to apply maximum pressure...even against neighbouring partners like Canada."  They highlighted "trade friction within North America as evidence of fractures in Western economic solidarity," and "the late-night pause is characteristic brinkmanship rather than a stable resolution."  Seems insightful and on target, doesn't it?  That comes from AI.  I can't seem to get any articles when I search tass.com.  I do see the Gordie Howie Bridge article where Trump demands half ownership so there is some coverage.  I wonder how the news will go today.  Will there be a lull as people get some sleep? Will there be bits and pieces as the news sources start to reveal details?  I expect Canadian coverage will be the latter, and all the rest of the media will wait for some breaking-news update.  Another watercolour image today - something soothing and calm. Read past POTD's at my Blog: http://blog.marilyncornwell.com Purchase at: FAA - marilyncornwell.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.com

Marilyn's Photos - Aug 182 2026 - The Fondas

 

The Globe and Mail's obituary today is about Mark Rydell, the director of the movie On Golden Pond. Notable in an obituary about one person, it includes information about other people.  None other than Henry Fonda and Jane Fonda an their father-daughter relationship.  It made me think about the public life of celebrities - anyone and everyone could easily know they had a difficult relationship.  That Henry Fonda had an austere, remote personality interspersed with temperamental outbursts.  And that Jane Fonda sought her father's approval all through her life.  The story is that she bought the film rights to the play On Golden Pond specifically so she and her father could play the fictionalized version of an estranged father and daughter.  That this might lead to the real father and daughter being reconciled.  And it worked out. There are dozens of articles on the topic, probably thousands over the years.  Many are Jane Fonda "recalls closure" with her father articles - the dramatic conclusion story.  Anything and Everything private made public is how I think of their lives.  It is the American version of Royalty.  There is Royal Family scrutiny and rabid interest.  We can take a look at the Fonda Family Tree or the Royal Family Tree.  Other comparable headlines are: Henry Fonda's 5 wives in order - similar title to Henry the VIII's 6 wives in order.  And the "how well do the Royal Siblings get along" articles - Jane and Peter's relationship compared to Harry and William's relationship.  We could come up with a chart of areas of interest of the Royal Family, and then fill in with Celebrity comparisons.  I wonder if Henry Fonda had horses or corgis.  Or if Jane Fonda is a strong supporter of organic and natural gardening like King Charles.   But then I don't have a deadline with People magazine to have to really work this stuff out.  This is a Zephyranthes, Rain Lily, in Laura Grant's garden.    Read past POTD's at my Blog: http://blog.marilyncornwell.com Purchase at: FAA - marilyncornwell.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.com

Mairlyn's Photos - Aug 17 2026 - El Nino Coming

 

When do we normally get winter forecasts in the headlines?  El Niño has hit the news this week because it is early and strong.  it is being called Super El Niño.  One headline says there is a 90% chance of a very strong event in the Norther Hemisphere this fall and winter.  The polar vortex expression has entered the prediction conversation.  Another possibility is record highs and above-average winter temperatures.  That's for us in North America.  In other countries such as Australia and southern Asia drought is predicted.  Severe flooding is possible in South America and the Horn of Africa. This has become top news because there is such intensity so early this year, and the temperatures are already higher.  Looking at the specific descriptions, there are expressions that are new to me. I don't think of water piling up.  That's near Indonesia.  Then that pile of warm water will rush back toward South America.  There are normal things like this in the ocean - bulges. I don't think of water forming bulges but the gravitational pull from the moon and sun cause shifts in huge volumes of water that create regional bulges thousands of miles wide.  Lake Ontario doesn't have any permanent water bulges but has tilted slopes of water called storm surges.  Lake Erie is more prone to water pile-ups and bulges.   The biggest permanent sea-surface "mound" of ocean water happens near the Philippines at 6.5 feet higher than the average sea level. It is called a "perennial topographic hill known as the western Pacific warm pool", or a standing water dome. Take worst case scenarios - Storm Eddie in 2024 caused open-ocean waves nearly 65 feet tall.  Southern Ocean Buoy in 2018 measured a 78 foot wave.  Put that through the imagination filters and see a wave that is as high as a building of 6 to 8 stories. Thanks to the CBC video for an illustration.   A garden corner, with a wabi sabi window.    Read past POTD's at my Blog: http://blog.marilyncornwell.com Purchase at: FAA - marilyncornwell.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.com