No 13 2020 - It's Friday the ...

 

My guess is that such a time as this has gone by: In the late-19th century, a New Yorker named Captain William Fowler (1827-1897) sought to remove the enduring stigma surrounding the number 13—and particularly the unwritten rule about not having 13 guests at a dinner table—by founding an exclusive society called the Thirteen Club. The group dined regularly on the 13th day of the month in room 13 of the Knickerbocker Cottage, a popular watering hole Fowler owned from 1863 to 1883. Before sitting down for a 13-course dinner, members would pass beneath a ladder and a banner reading “Morituri te Salutamus,” Latin for “Those of us who are about to die salute you.” Four former U.S. presidents would join the Thirteen Club’s ranks at one time or another. We should celebrate the 12th day of every month as we western cultures consider this number to represent completeness. Wouldn't it be great to know what's next in American politics at the cross road of democracy - and for it to be a peaceful solution? Looks messy outside this window.

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Mar 23 2020 - The 96 year old lady sells house and guess what's inside story

The NY Times today:  "If it were possible to wave a magic wand and make all Americans freeze in place for 14 days while sitting six feet apart, epidemiologists say, the whole epidemic would sputter to a halt." There is one of those 'leadlines' that has been appearing and reappearing for months - like"Best Lawyers in Grimsby." The picture was a decaying American farm house overgrown with trees and weeds, or a witch-like old woman close-up.  So I didn't pay attention.  Then yesterday, the picture was a nice house that looked like a Toronto house.  So I searched and got the dailymail.co.uk story.  I checked it out, as the daily mail is a newspaper and not one of those sites with names like this:  dailymotion.com, doyouremember.com, littlethings.com, finance101.com, trend-chaser.com, travelfuntu.com, and so on and so on - pages and pages.  Its own industry of ads. The story was in 2014, and the house is in Bloor West Village, one article says the house is on Jane Street.  That's my shopping neighbourhood when I lived in Toronto and I still visit.  The picture of the house in the collage shows a typical Toronto two-storey - located all over Toronto - and considered a nice house to live in. The story is about the interior as a time capsule of the 1950s/1960s, specifically, a pink palate interior, with a little turquoise thrown in.   Every room is perfectly decorated in the time period - completely and totally.  It was extremely well-maintained,  so one walked into a time capsule.  The article starts:  "It's as if I Love Lucy could have been filmed in any room."  Other articles say:  "Opens front door to reveal masterpiece lost in time."     So our "open the door and guess what they found" is revealed. Time capsule homes - this is a popular trend now:  finding homes that are time capsules of decorating styles.  Here's an article with an extensive gallery of examples, including our pink palace above. Each one has a name - Retro ranch, Illinois, 1960's fab four-bedroom house New Jersey, 1970s Palm Springs relic, 1960s holiday cottage, Australia.  I never got to the end, there were so many. Amongst these was an article with another 1960s time capsule home in Toronto - built by Toronto architect Gardiner Cowan.  This one was quite splendid, of natural materials,  grand spaces and light pouring through windows. It was listed for $2 million.  It wasn't far from Jane Street - Edenbrook Hill - just north of where we lived - two time capsules so close and so different.  The Edenbrook Hill house is on the Google Map and does not appear to be replaced with a grand modern house.   Our Jane Street house was listed at $699,000.  I wonder what the interior is now.  I like the pink breakfast nook, complete with pink African Violets. Our pictures today take on the time theme. The first comes from the Chinatown district along Broadview in Toronto.  The calendar was used to block the front door window.  And the second reminds us of Carl Sagan's words:  “We are like butterflies who flutter for a day and think it is forever.”

Like a Rolling Stone

What used to be a counterculture magazine covering rock music and political reporting is now a popular culture magazine that focuses on entertainment.  This happened in the 1990s.   The original Rolling Stone magazine is said to have gotten its title from the 1950 blues song "Rollin' Stone" from Bob Dylan's hit single "Like a Rolling Stone"and from the expression  "A rolling stone gathers no moss."  Its founders were Jann Wenner and writer Ralph J. Gleason and the first issue came out in 1967.  The most likely inspiration was Bob Dylan's song - it was revolutionary at the time, hostile in tone, and intensely direct.  That seems to be the style the magazine took on. It defined itself a counterculture news magazine.  Especially with Hunter S. Thompson's political section.  Thompson's highly subjective blend of fact and fiction became known as gonzo journalism.  Fear and Looting in Las Vegas first appeared in the Rolling Stone magazine in 1971.  And then there was Annie Leibovitz and her provocative photographs covering musicians and celebrities.  The first issue featured John Lennon - as a British soldier in Richard Lester's 1967 film How I Won the War - that wasn't an Annie Leibovitz photo. Looking at the meaning of the old proverb, a rolling stone gathers no moss  - the traditional meaning is that a person who does not settle in one place will not accumulate wealth or status, or responsibilities of commitments.  The modern meaning is that a person must stay active to avoid stagnation. And so Rolling Stone magazine has fulfilled its destiny, moving on to become a more standard entertainment and popular culture magazine to avoid stagnating in its past.  Our picture today was taken at the Seattle ferry dock.

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Patch Work in the Sky

I found this on Temperance Street in downtown Toronto last week.  It is a new building with some window damage.  The opposite building is in the reflection, so created an amusing image.  This was a few floors up, with floor to ceiling windows, so the damage must be substantial.

The Garden Ladder Story

The garden elements that signal a romantic garden include the garden path, the rendezvous and enticing sights, smells and sounds along the way.  I hadn't considered what story would be told by a man vs a woman.  This garden seemed to immediately be a garden story told by a man.  When I looked at the ladder to the barn window, what comes to mind is the story of Rapunzel, or an enticement to come out to rendezvous.  Perhaps this is the garden story of sneaking out a second floor window:  Here are the steps from wikiHow: 1. If there is no sturdy tree right outside your window, go to the garage or storage shed when your parents are not home. Look for anything that can help rappel you out your window (i.e. long, thick ropes, tall ladders, anything that act as a rope or ladder). You should only use the rope if you know its strength, a safe limit for most ropes that is about 1 inch (2.5 cm) is 150 lbs. Tests your limits- better safe than sorry. 2. Bring the rope or rope-like objects back to your room and hide them. Test the ladder: put it under your window. It will work if you can crawl out your window and onto it safely. Put the ladder or ladder-like objects somewhere in your backyard where they are easily reached and unnoticeable. 3. Check to see if your parents and other family members are asleep (preferred), or in their bedroom with the doors closed. You may just be able to sneak out the front door. If they are not, and you just can't wait, and you have a sturdy tree right outside your window, climb the tree. If the previous things apply but you don't have a tree, follow the rest of these steps: Make sure you have at least one friend who is willing to come to your house and stand beneath your window in case you fall. Two-three friends is optimal, but make sure they are strong and you can rely on them to come quietly at the designated time. Have them bring a flashlight. 4. Have your friends go get the ladder from its hiding place and put it under your window. These friends should have a pretty good idea of your backyard and they should be very quiet. Put on sports shoes or go barefoot; socks will make you slip. Have your friends hold the legs of the ladder steady and crawl out the window, down the ladder. Once you're safely down, stash the ladder somewhere nearby. 5. Walk away from your house or have someone pick you up a block away, or push your car at least 100 feet (30.5 m) away and go have a great time. 6 . Come back at least one hour before you expect your parents to be up. It will be easiest to come in through the front door. If this is unwise (you have a loud dog downstairs/alarm/etc), then use the same method you used to get out. Put the ladder back under your window, climb up, have your friends place it back into the hiding place. Replace your screen, close your window. Have your friends hoist you up on their shoulders and climb back in your window. Untie the rope, replace the screen, and close your window.

Today's Quote about Life

Kim Klassen's Week of Inspired Quotes.  My contribution: