Marilyn's Photos - Aug 28 2026 - Effective Immediately

 

I hadn't thought of how that would work - effective immediately.  So Lake Ontario is now Lake America on the other side of the border.  How immediate can that change be?  What are all the things that would change?  I guess there's a process/procedure in place after it was done to the Gulf of Mexico.   The U.S. Department of Geographical Services has 30 days to update everything to reflect the new name. Federal agencies, electronic files and upcoming printed U.S. government maps must use "Lake America."   There is not international recognition of a U.S. executive order.  So like the Gulf of Mexico, there will be varying versions of maps with the differing names.  For example, the Gulf of America shows up on U.S. user maps, etc.  What Google has done is put (Gulf of America) after Gulf of Mexico.  So I guess we'll get a double named lake out of the trade war.  It hasn't happened immediately on Google, as I still see the one name lake.   We join the disputed dual name club - Sea of Japan - East Sea.  Or we can join the weird bodies of water names - B.C. has "Another Lake" and "And Another Lake" - that's my next suggestion.  Lake Erie can be renamed to "And Another Lake America."  And as Trump has declared that there needs to be an American Ocean - which one will be called "And Another American Ocean?" Send that suggestion into the White House Suggestion Box. Here's a watercolour rose from a few years ago. Read past POTD's at my Blog: http://blog.marilyncornwell.com Purchase at: FAA - marilyncornwell.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.com

Marilyn's Photos - Aug 27 2026 - Catalina Island Across The Sea

 

Catalina Island across the sea.  How far was it from the Pacific shore?  In my mind it is 17 miles.  But that's not the case it is 22.3 miles. And the song's lyrics, sung by the Four Preps makes it 26 miles across the sea. I went looking for the song's lyrics and found this song bio at genius.com    "ONE of the sunniest songs about Southern California began in frosty Chicago where a 10-year-old Cubs fan named Bruce Belland watched the movie reels about his team’s spring practices on distant Santa Catalina Island. “I would sit there in the dark and stare at the players and those palm trees waving in the background and wonder ‘How can it be that warm anywhere in the world when it is so cold here in Chicago?’ ” A year later Belland’s family moved west, and he ended up at Hollywood High. At age 15, he tumbled from his bike and broke an ankle, which led to a long, boring recuperation with his foot propped up. He got a gift to help pass the time: A ukulele. He learned four chords that would change his life. “Those chords would be the opening of ’26 Miles,’ ” Belland recalled. The chorus came to him later in the year, though, when he was bodysurfing at Will Rogers State Beach. A pal pointed to the horizon and said he could see Catalina 26 miles away. “That’s where it came from. But those words would haunt me. It’s really like 22.3 miles, but you try singing that. Think about that meter!” Bruce Belland didi everything imaginable in his life - he was the originator of the Four Preps and co-wrote the song with Glen Larson.  With such an interesting story about the song, I went to his website. He grew up as a Pastor's son, living close to Beverly Hills and the Hollywood Studios.  Even as a toddler, he was a church singer, and was involved in singing and the music industry from an early age.  He credits himself in his bio for giving Ricky Nelson his big break.  After his music career, he went on to radio, TV and print advertising, and became a TV executive.  He's still with us at the age of 88. Something that caught my attention was his mother's first name - Hertha.  That was my mother's name, too.   Another one of the Lone Tree images. Read past POTD's at my Blog: http://blog.marilyncornwell.com Purchase at: FAA - marilyncornwell.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.com

Marilyn's Photos - Aug 26 2026 - When Does School Start?

 

Going back to school stays in the mind long after the experience.  Our society has a back to school sort of frame of mind.  September is the start of many activities, classes and personal projects.  It seems it got wedged into the social psyche. Perhaps this happens in Canada and Ontario because Labour Day is the marker of the end of summer vacation and the start of school. Most of the provinces start school after Labour Day.  In Quebec it is late August and Saskatchewan September 1st.  There are all kinds of recommendations for getting into the back to school mood.  Everything from decluttering your workspace to updating your wardrobe - these are the sorts of projects in the "adult syllabus." By this decade, these sorts of advice lists seem silly.  So why not go straight for something that is silly, and enjoy it. Teacher: "If I gave you 2 cats and another 2 cats and another 2, how many would you have?" Johnny: "Seven."  Teacher: "No, listen carefully... If I gave you two cats, and another two cats and another two, how many would you have?" Johnny: "Seven." Teacher: "Let me put it to you differently. If I gave you two apples, and another two apples and another two, how many would you have?" Johnny: "Six." Teacher: "Good. Now if I gave you two cats, and another two cats and another two, how many would you have?" Johnny: "Seven!" Teacher: "Johnny, where in the heck do you get seven from?!" Johnny: "Because I've already got a freaking cat!" Nothing like an excellent example of silly. Here's the latest in the Saltwater Moon series. Read past POTD's at my Blog: http://blog.marilyncornwell.com Purchase at: FAA - marilyncornwell.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.com

Marilyn's Photos - Aug 25 2026 - Ask the young, upwardly mobile professionals at Wirecutte

 

finally thought it was time to find out about "The young, upwardly mobile professionals at Wirecutter."  There is a product review each day in the New York Times referencing Wirecutter.  It turns out the New York Times owns the review service. It does testing and research to recommend the best products.  What might their most famous review be?  It is their guide to the best umbrellas.  And the next is the air purifier - the Coway Airmega Mighty at $319.00 (I assume U.S.).  This is the second most long-running review.  That has been going on for a decade.  The reviews are known for being in-depth, long-form testing guides.  The choices are narrowed to one or two best picks, rather than a list.  The one name we all would recognize in the consumer product review field is Consumer Reports.  This is a non-profit organization, and it buys and tests everything anonymously with its own funds.  It focuses on things like cars, appliances and other physical goods.  Wirecutter earns most of its revenue from affiliate marketing - that means including links to its recommendations. The story goes that the staff who write the reviews are not informed about what the commissions are.  Also these are distinct organizations with a a separation between the news and wirecutter organizations.  That would be needed because of commercial advertisers might want to influence decisions.   There are 3,000 product picks each year, and somehow Wirecutter is famous for its review of this vanilla-looking box - the Coway Airmega AP-1512HH Mighty Air Purifier.   Here are two examples of black in nature - leaves of a Calocasia, or black elephant ears and black tomatoes.   Read past POTD's at my Blog: http://blog.marilyncornwell.com Purchase at: FAA - marilyncornwell.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.com

Marilyn's Photos - Aug 24 2026 - Who is the Luckiest of us all?

 

I wonder if there is some sort of tracking of the "luckiest person in the world."  It continues to be Croatian music teacher Frane Selak.  He survived multiple catastrophic near-death experiences and also won a million dollars in a lottery in 2003.  Luckiest is tracked, but second luckiest?  Not so important.  The person that does come up is Tsutomu Yamaguchi.  He is the Japanese engineer who survived the bombing in Hiroshima and then in Nagasaki. He is the official double-survivor.   There's Joan Ginther a former math professor from Texas who won the lottery four times for a total of $20 million. I consider this the only happy luck story. And remember Vesna Vulovic who survived a fall of over 33,000 feet after the plane broke apart mid-air in 1972.  There's no tracking of  "happy story" luckiest person or for the person with the most happy luck.  I guess that would be Joan Ginther.  We focus on people who have survived death as a version of lucky.  An American park ranger who has been struck by lightning seven times, or a Nigerian ship cook who survived for three days in an air pocket 100 feet underwater after his tugboat capsized.  The strangeness of the circumstances compels us to follow these stories.  OK - here is a good story.  Lena Påhlsson: A Swedish woman who lost her wedding ring in her garden, only to find it 16 years later miraculously wrapped around the root of a homegrown carrot.  The definition of luck? Maybe I should have started there -  the Oxford Dictionary says that luck is success or failure brought on by chance, or the force that causes good and bad things to happen to people outside of their own control, skill, or effort.   What about the record for winning the lottery the most times?  Stefan Mandel has 14 documented wins and he uses a mathematical algorithm to buy every possible number combination when jackpots grew larger than the total cost of tickets. That's definitely not about luck... I randomly selected a picture and got this great Painted Lady portrait.  Visit Grimsby Beach! Read past POTD's at my Blog: http://blog.marilyncornwell.com Purchase at: FAA - marilyncornwell.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.com