Marilyn's Photos - Nov 22 2025 - Untold Stories

 

In this age of Social Media, can we really have any “Untold Stories” in the first world?  Because anyone can tell their story today.  There are so many opportunities available.   What makes the title “Untold Stories” compelling?  It seems to point to cover-ups, silenced and suppressed voices and perspectives.  There do seem to be many Untold Stories in our current environment. I am thinking of Jeffrey Epstein and how many untold stories there will be. Or will they be told? Netflix thinks this is a worthwhile area to investigate - it has a series of the same name.  Here is a compelling episode title.  “Untold:  “The Liver King” about Brian Michael Johnson an American health and fitness social media influencer and businessman. The untold part is the revelation of his public persona for selling supplements. The expose is the use of performance-enhancing drugs rather than “devouring raw meat” on social media making him so muscular. Untold Stories might be the original clickbait headlines - it draws us in. So while it seems the phrase has moved on to being about Exposes, these jokes are from a more innocent time for the phrase: You don't want to leave a good joke untold. I'm reading a book about untold stories. It's a real page-turner, but I can't tell you the plot— it's a secret. A writer was working on a historical book, and his friend asked how it was going. The writer replied, "It's about the 'untold' stories of ancient civilizations." "Oh, so it's a history book?" asked the friend. "No," said the writer, "it's a very un-told story!" Why did the librarian refuse to tell the story? Because she said the book contained untold secrets! I can say that when I took photos at the Vineland Car Wreckers, there seemed to be a lot of untold stories - stories without answers and conclusions.  What made me think this was seeing all the things that were left behind in the cars - hanging from the rear-view mirror, in the back seat, and so on. Here is a collage from the visit.  Doesn’t that also speak to a time when cars came in more than 3 colours.

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Marilyn's Photos - Aug 22 2025 - Out of and Into the Blue

 

Out of the blue is still an expression that we see.  It originates with something we don't see - a bolt of lightning out of a blue sky.  The expression means something unexpected and almost impossible.  It is not that uncommon for lightning to strike in a blue sky.  It travels horizontally for miles from clouds that aren't that far away.  About 30% of people are struck by lightning under clear skies.  While lightning strikes before thunder sounds, the rule of thumb is to quickly take shelter when thunder is heard.  It means lightning is close. Jeff Bezos' spaceflight company, Blue Origin,  is named for the blue planet.  He says it is humanity's blue origin.  He "envisions a future where millions live and work in space to restore and sustain Earth."   Go and look at the website - it looks to be about getting hold of the resources in space.  Here's a quote:  "The road to space will be built from the limitless treasures of the solar system. We must learn to "live off the land" to fully realize the promise of space for the benefit of Earth."  There's much more of this pseudo-optimism on the website HERE.  So what made me think of these two expressions as somehow related? They both seem a bit silly to me. Out of the blue seems one of those expressions that is an exaggeration.   Into the Blue seems like an equal exaggeration.

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Marilyn's Photos - Aug 7 2025 - From Sodom to Sodomy

 

How does one get from Sodom the place to sodomy, typically referred to as anal sex and acts against nature.  What did Sodom do to get this permanent infamy?   Way back in Genesis 19, the story goes that the city of Sodom was destroyed by God.  No reason given in Genesis.  The reason came later and was inferred to be because Lot's male guests were assaulted by the men of Sodom.  So the Sodom to Sodomy story is an interpretation.  Other Old Testament books - Deuteronomy and Ezekiel mention Sodom and Gomorrah associating them with sins such as adultery and lying.  Go in the opposite direction and you will find that badminton, the sport is named after Badminton in England.  Bikini?  We know that's the Bikini Atoli where atomic bombs were tested in 1946.  The bathing suit supposedly had an "explosive" effect on the male libido. Cologne the perfume originated in Cologne, Germany.  The duffle coat comes from Duffel, Belgium.  Isn't it a delight that the tuxedo is named after Tuxedo Park in New York.   So back to Sodom and sodomy - why would they name a road Sodom Road in the Niagara Falls area? It started out as Concession Road 3 in the late 1700s - and then somehow it changed names.  "The first written reference to the name “Sodom” for this road appeared in 1851 when Henry Ort applied for a license for his new tavern on the town line at New Germany. His license was dated December 28, 1851."  What a mystery to choose to change it from Concession Road 3 to Sodom Road  - an infamous reference.This isn't anything like calling it Badminton Road.

Start at one point and watch the evolution to something quite different.  Our picture of a watercolour paint palette went through a few versions of Flaming Pear's Flexify - and example is the second picture - and then the various pictures were composed in the Diptich application.

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Marilyn's Photos - July 20 2025 - It is Greek Yogurt for the Greenhouse

 

There is another heat warning map on the Weather Network site today.  I prefer the radar map with the clouds and rain passing over. My greenhouse gets extraordinarily hot in the summer,  even though there's a tree next to it and shades part of it.  When the greenhouse was built, 100 years ago or more, it would have had a whitewash coating in the summer.  It would have been calcium carbonate-based chalk agents and mixed with water then painted on the windows.  I remember the brush strokes on the greenhosue windows of Niagara Falls.  The products are still available and it looks like some of the commercial greenhouses might have shading paint.   So I wonder what the headlines are that one should coat one's windows with Greek Yogurt.   Do you think it might attract insects and rodents? What about dogs - I expect Millie would bark at the smell and want to lick the glass. Do you think cleaning yogurt off a window will be easy?    This is just a silly hack, isn't it?  But it got me thinking about the cooling methods.  Because it is the roof that needs the shading, and that's way up there - 14 feet -  I guess this was just a thought today.  And looking into a silly hack.     Remember yesterday's Mingle Hill flowers?  Here they are as the starting point for a series of abstracts.  There's the original picture, a watercolour version that is abstracted and made high key (brighter).  Then there's an example ofo one of the results of  the Flaming Pear filters. Next are the variations using Diptic for the collage presentation, and one final version with further edits in photoshop with the French Kiss "brushes".   A great distraction for yesterday - another very hot day.

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Marilyn's Photos - July 29 2025 - It is Greek Yogurt for the Windows

 

There is another heat warning map on the Weather Network site today.  I prefer the radar map with the clouds and rain passing over. My greenhouse gets extraordinarily hot in the summer,  even though there's a tree next to it and shades part of it.  When the greenhouse was built, 100 years ago or more, it would have had a whitewash coating in the summer.  It would have been calcium carbonate-based chalk agents and mixed with water then painted on the windows.  I remember the brush strokes on the greenhosue windows of Niagara Falls.  The products are still available and it looks like some of the commercial greenhouses might have shading paint.   So I wonder what the headlines are that one should coat one's windows with Greek Yogurt.   Do you think it might attract insects and rodents? What about dogs - I expect Millie would bark at the smell and want to lick the glass. Do you think cleaning yogurt off a window will be easy?    This is just a silly hack, isn't it?  But it got me thinking about the cooling methods.  Because it is the roof that needs the shading, and that's way up there - 14 feet -  I guess this was just a thought today.  And looking into a silly hack.     Remember yesterday's Mingle Hill flowers?  Here they are as the starting point for a series of abstracts.  There's the original picture, a watercolour version that is abstracted and made high key (brighter).  Then there's an example ofo one of the results of  the Flaming Pear filters. Next are the variations using Diptic for the collage presentation, and one final version with further edits in photoshop with the French Kiss "brushes".   A great distraction for yesterday - another very hot day.

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Feb 25 2025 - Blonde Bombshell

 

Do you know that some words have a masculine and a feminine form in English?  That's what comes to mind with Blonde Bombshell.  When did you hear of a Blond Bombshell?  Don't think so.  The Britannica definition says an attractive woman with blonde hair.   While we think of Marilyn Monroe as "The Blonde Bombshell", the original was Jean Harlow in her film Platinum Blonde.  The next movie was actually named Bombshell.  That was in the 1930s, so could the origin of bombshell be WWI? There's an underlying meaning of Blonde Bombshell  - something in this range: "a blonde with explosive sexuality and is available to men at a price." "exciting, dynamic, sexy woman" So are there any male blond bombshells?  Here's an article that says there are:  Justin Bieber is identified in the article. The article is really about men dyeing their hair blond - platinum blond.  And then there are headlines such as "Blond Bombshells:  Top Shirtless Male Models Turning..."  it says they are setting the modelling industry ablaze.  So much for social trends vs catchy headlines. Go to Quora and there is general refusal there that bombshell can be used to refer to an attractive man.  What to say - go to Quora and you are on your own as far as I am concerned. And other masculine and feminine words in English.  The Wikipedia entry refers to blond/blonde and is considered a distinction stained primarily in British English. It seems to stand alone. Gender neutrality in jobs seems to me to be a social political topic. Blonde bombshell?  I see this as a moment in movie history.

Here's the first pass at working with metallic watercolours.  I tried out a test piece of the colours I bought.  I photographed the page in sunlight in order to get the sparkle and then worked on it in photoshop. Read more daily posts here: marilyncornwellblogspot.com Purchase works here: Fine Art America- marilyncornwell.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

Nov 2 2024 - The Rewards of Winter - Bugs gone

 

All of a sudden it is colder.  A lot colder.  I was thinking about the positives of having a deep freeze in the winter.  Bugs die.   Florida residents worry that a warm winter will mean a lot of insects the rest of the year. If we lived year-round in warmer climates we would have to attend to our bugs.  Not like here - we can swat and squash them away. They are small and bothersome, but not particularly worrisome?  Well we do have a big insect here.  It is the Praying Mantis.  It is up to 18 cm or 7 inches long - that was in 1929 in China.  Somehow we consider them gentle insects.   Praying Mantis are not in the same category as Beetles with those huge pincers.  They can be up to 17 cm and 6.7 inches long,and  they look fierce - there's the Hercules and the Macrodontia cervicornis, Titan, Giant longhorn, Actaeon, Atlas and the Elephant.  They are the size of a large hand.   I wouldn't step on one of those, would you?  Likely to reach out and grab my foot.  There's more. What about the insects like cockroaches?  And there are enormous flies, hornets, wasps, and of course spiders.   The fear of insects and spiders is common among humans.  A general wariness around bugs is normal.  Maybe that explains a good deal of our wariness behaviour.There are 10 quintillion insects on earth. And Scientists say we have both a fear and a disgust for insects.   So I ponder our weather growing colder, as I conclude this article on the "Biggest" insects.  At the bottom (of course) are more headlines and pictures.  There is a scary story of a different sort: "Donald Trump's Makeup Free Face..."  There are 2 pictures  one without makeup and then one with a shiny orange face with hair dyed match.  The article says the pictures have been fact-checked and confirmed authentic.  Which seems more unreal?  Insects 7 inches long or a former US President with orange makeup and hair?  I realized that I have an innate fear and disgust of an orange President.

This picture came from Cuba at the Che Guevara memorial.  The stone walls were embedded with shell and coral fossils.  They made beautiful patterns and abstract images.

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July 12 2024 - Swept Out to Sea

 

That's the headline.  My first thought is to wonder if it was one of those "stories" that gets you to look at advertisements.   It turns out to be an actual news story from yesterday with the introduction "Yes, it's quite an incredible story!" That's because a woman was swept out to sea at a beach in Japan and found alive 37 hours later, having drifted more than 50 miles in the Pacific Ocean.   How did she survive?  Did she float?  Did she swim all that time?  I think she had a floatation device on - "a swim ring".    She was spotted by a cargo ship and rescued by the crew rather than the coast guard.  I appreciate that a cargo ship would be a "life-saving" moment, but to me the vast size of a  cargo ship would scare me,  On the other hand, it might be that the ocean waves would scare me more - they were 6.5 feet high.  Two of the crew members jumped into the water and tied a rope around her and then pulled her up to the tanker. The dangers of being out there that long?  Heat stroke in the day, hypothermia at night, and being hit by a ship in the dark.  So a headline that is circling around the globe celebrating an "incredible story". Aren't these great colours in this water reflection?  It was at the Nathan Phillips Square a few years ago.  It is the TO Sign reflecting in the water pool. Here's what you can do in Photoshop with this kind of image - lots of fun.

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Apr 3 2023 - Rainbows

 

Hawaii has the most rainbows in the world. The Secrets of the Best Rainbows on Earth, has declared Hawaii the rainbow capital of the world. It has rainbow arcs on the license plates. The islands of Kauai, Maui and Oahu are the best places and the Moa Valley is known as the Valley of the Rainbows. Alaska and Yosemite National Park are the next two and then the fourth is Niagara Falls. A triple rainbow is possible there and also a 360-degree rainbow. The rainbow is seen in a circular formation instead of semicircular.  The Skyline Tower deck is the place to see a circular rainbow.  Australia and Ireland complete the list of top places to see rainbows.  What are the world records for rainbows?  The longest lasting rainbow was almost 9 hours in Taipei in 2017.  The most rainbows at once is covered in an article by Country Living and it was 5 rainbows.  That's a Supernumerary Rainbow.  This one was verified by NASA.  But the photo of 8 rainbows in 2014 was investigated by SNOPES and is false.   Which record would you prefer?  To see the longest lasting rainbow or to catch the biggest rainbow trout?  Or perhaps to see the smallest rainbow in the world.  This occurs on the butt of the peacock spider in Australia.   Here's an image retrieved from Pinterest. But it looks more photoshop than photo.  The second one comes with a blog post and appears authentic.    "After being up at Niagara Falls back in 14 I had to come back for more and wanted to be there when the lights on the Canadian side light up the falls. The night we arrived the light were turned up and got to see some amazing rainbows. The lights would change color and it was a sight to see a rainbow being different colors along its length. In addition to the floodlight bows I also got nice rainbows from natural sunlight and using the super wide angle field of view with my GoPro camera I got nice full circle rainbows. For anyone who is a waterfall or rainbow chaser. Niagara Falls is the place to go and falls are BEST on the Canadian side and this is the perfect bucket list item." Author: Michael Ellestad, Ohio, USA This reflection image comes from a few years ago in First Canadian Place.   Read more daily posts here: marilyncornwellblogspot.com Purchase works here: Fine Art America- marilyncornwell.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca