Dec 30 2022 - Birds vs Windows

 

Birds hit the corner office windows.  Sometimes a light tap and sometimes a thump.  Mostly little sparrows surprised they can't keep flying.   This is the leading cause of death of birds - hitting windows rather than cats. I recently purchased  "strips" that go on my corner office window to stop this.  These are specially designed to make the birds aware of a barrier, so they don't hit the window.  When we looked at the instructions, the temperature outside needs to be 10 degrees for the strips to stick.   Who would guess that today is the day!  The end of December 2022. We used to put pictures of birds on the glass to warn them.  There's a site called WindowAlert and it has a range of decals - from snowflakes to leaves to birds flying.   But that's not the recommendation from the authorities. What I've purchased from Lee Valley is designed based on the recommendations of FLAP Canada (short for Fatal Light Awareness Program) to warn birds away from glass.  Applied to the glass, the 2" grid of small squares convinces fliers that there are no bird-sized gaps; human eyes, meanwhile, can tune out the squares, similar to the way you barely notice a window screen unless you focus on it.  It is a very precise system is get give tay a tape measure and a grid to apply the grid correctly.   Go to the FLAP.org  website and find out a number of techniques to protect the birds from your windows.  You can take the Homeowner Assessment HERE.  This is what the survey looks like.   What a multi-trunk birch this is.   Read more daily posts here: marilyncornwellblog.com Purchase works here: Fine Art America- marilyncornwellart.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

Jan 22 2022 - Snowflakes vs Raindrops

 

Snowflakes vs raindrops. Snow is gusting past our front garden in little clouds.  Rain doesn't do that very often.  It makes me think how light snow is compared to rain.  I found a wonderful article Raindrops and Snowflakes by Dr. Orville Boyd Jenkins - these are excerpts: "The observed behaviour of rain as it falls fits the event referred to by the common verb "fall."  Rather than rain drops "dropping," we actually say rain falls.  Since the "drops" are discrete bits of falling water, we call them rain drops, but we still say the rain falls.  "Raindrops keep falling on my head."  We don't say raindrops are dropping on my head. Likewise, I believe you'll hear the same usage for frozen bits like sleet or freezing rain (which is a mix of frozen and unfrozen bits of H2O).  As the snow "falls" it is a fluffy, irregularly shaped particle.  The noun "drop" applies only to liquids. Thus the action pictured by "dropping" is not appropriate for snow.  The infinitely variable shape is referred to as a flake, due to the generally flat shape and individuality of the particles.  Like a "flake" of something sliced off the larger part, like a flake of soap. Upon arrival, each snowflake just nestles in among its mates, while waiting the arrival of more falling flakes.  The snowflake, likewise, is caught by drafts of air, and thus gravity acts differently than upon a solid compact bit of water or frozen water.  Think of a snowflake as a wind surfer that gradually comes to ground to rest. We don't say rain drops from the sky, but it falls. Note also that in the same way we do not say snow flakes from the sky, but the snow also falls. Thus the nouns for the physical form of the water in these cases, is not the same word as for the verb used in the action." from Raindrops and Snowflakes by Dr. Orville Boyd Jenkins I went in search of some funny snowflake jokes, and instead found many insulting political American jokes in which snowflake is a derogatory metaphor for a liberal.  They are easily distinguished by their hatefulness.      I find that GQ.com gives us the recent origin of this - a derisive term used in the movie Fight Club (You are not special.  You are not beautiful and unique snowflakes...).  The article indicates that the actual origins are the 1860s as a person who was opposed to the abolition of slavery.  Today the meaning has swapped and been taken on by the far right:  From cartoonist Ben Garrison:  "The special snowflake is a whining millennial who protests instead of getting a “real job” and cries sexism because she’s upset men don’t find her attractive enough. She believed the liberal arts teacher who told her being unique is a good thing. Have I mentioned that she’s unattractive?" And GQ's conclusion:  “snowflake” has become the go-to for enemies on the left. There is not a single political point a liberal can make on the Internet for which “You triggered, snowflake?” cannot be the comeback. It’s purpose is dismissing liberalism as something effeminate, and also infantile, an outgrowth of the lessons you were taught in kindergarten. “Sharing is caring”? Communism. “Feelings are good”? Facts over feelings. “Everyone is special and unique”? Shut up, snowflake. When I first looked through the snowflake jokes, I found one rebuttal joke: Republicans are the true snowflakes...they're white, they're cold, and if you put enough of them together they'll shut down public schools   Here are some birch bark macros I revisited yesterday.

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Jan 4 2022 - The Four Corners Near You

 

The four corners of the earth is still a phrase in use.  Some think it is physical and real, such as the Flat Earthers, and their identification of Fogo Island as one of the corners.  Is there any actual agreement on where the four corners are - either historically in ancient texts or currently by some mathematical calculation?  Wikipedia outlines the history aspect: Several cosmological and mythological systems portray four corners of the world or four quarters of the world corresponding approximately to the four points of the compass (or the two solstices and two equinoxes). At the center may lie a sacred mountain, garden, world tree, or other beginning-point of creation. Often four rivers run to the four corners of the world, and water or irrigate the four quadrants of Earth. Here's a practical answer from study.com that shows the journey of this phrase: "The term 'corner' is often used in mathematics to describe the spot at which two lines or planes intersect. In everyday life, we use 'corner' to describe the place where two streets come together. The phrase, 'four corners of the Earth' means from every direction. Since the Earth is a sphere, it cannot, by definition, have actual corners. The phrase 'four corners of the Earth' comes from the Bible. Some say that it is an erroneous translation that should actually be the four 'extremities' of the Earth. For example, in Isaiah 11:10-12 (New King James Version), the Bible says, '...And will assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the Earth.' What this means is that people from every direction (north, south, east, and west) will be gathered together." This seems similar to how the traditions of Christmas have become based on interpretations and translations of religious texts, particularly the Bible, given how dominant it is as a religion. And we find something very practical about the idea of "four corners", that is, a quadripoint - where four lines meet geographically.  There is only one international quadripoint.  This is a spot in the middle of the Zambezi River, in southern Africa, where Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Botswana all touch. There are 150 different tripoints in the world - where three nations meet.   Within countries, who has the most Tripoints?  China has 16, Russia has 14 and Austria has 9. This is the website with the information HERE.  The website is "Everything Explained".   Here's what it has to say about Canada's quadripoint: The full details are here in Four corners (Canada). The creation of the Canadian territory of Nunavut might have resulted in the creation of a quadripoint between the provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba and the territories of Nunavut and Northwest Territories (NWT). Nunavut was officially separated from the Northwest Territories in 1999, though the boundaries had been defined in 1993 by the Nunavut Act and the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement. Both documents define Nunavut's boundary as including the "intersection of 60°00'N latitude with 102°00'W longitude, being the intersection of the Manitoba, Northwest Territories and Saskatchewan borders". However, the northernmost point of the Manitoba–Saskatchewan border as surveyed is slightly off from 60° north 102° west, therefore the laws are not perfectly clear about whether the Nunavut–NWT boundary, which has not been surveyed, is to meet the others in a quadripoint or not. Here's another manipulated image.  This one might be called "Ascension Towards the Light".  The original motion blur picture is below - it is the birch tree around the corner - the orange is the red brick of the house.

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Sep 19 2021 - Max in Animal News

 

Max the Miracle Dog, who made headlines around the world when he was awarded the PDS Order of Merit in 2021 has had a permanent statue unveiled in his hometown of Keswick, Cumbria.  There's a picture of Max and his statue in the article.  "English Springer Spaniel Max was an online star thanks to his owner Kerry Irving’s regular updates on social media. Photos and videos of their antics in the Lakes, charity walks and public appearances had already made the special spaniel a household name, but when the pandemic hit in 2020 Max’s daily live broadcasts resulted in him becoming the world’s virtual therapy dog, with dedicated fans tuning in from Australia to America. Their daily Facebook Live videos became a lifeline for hundreds of thousands when the world went into lockdown, helping people through incredibly dark times of isolation, grief, loneliness, anxiety and fear.  In February 2021, Max was presented with the PDSA Order of Merit, also known as the animals OBE, for his outstanding contribution to society. Now his statue, which has been designed and made by local sculptor Kirsty Armstrong, is a permanent tribute of Keswick’s most famous dog.  Reacting to the unveiling, Max’s owner Kerry Irving said, “Hope Park is the perfect location as Max has brought hope to so many people. It’s incredible that our little boy, proudly wearing his PDSA Order of Merit, will now be sat there and remembered for generations to come.” The statue was unveiled by 12-year-old Sophie, a local girl who has dyslexia, and who has found great comfort in Max’s stories. The statue was paid for by a crowdfunding campaign, which raised £26,000 in a single day! Kerry was able to donate additional funds from the campaign to vet charity PDSA, which provides free and low cost veterinary care to the pets of people in need." Read Max's Story HERE.   She Max HERE.   The picture today is our motion blur winter study of birches and a wonderful sentiment about our relationship to dogs.  Will Rogers' most famous words are:   "I never met a man I didn't like" When I die, my epitaph, or whatever you call those signs on gravestones, is going to read: "I joked about every prominent man of my time, but I never met a man I didn't like." I am so proud of that, I can hardly wait to die so it can be carved.

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July 28 2021 - Tokyo vs Canada

 

How can this be?   The population of Canada in 2018 is 37.59 million people living on 9.985 million km2 of land. The population of Tokyo is 39 million and the square kilometres are 2,194.  I hadn't realized that Tokyo is the largest city in the world in population.  Nor had I thought about what the footprint of a large city might be.  This make us aware of how we in Canada live in relatively large amounts of space. Tokyo's total population increases daily by 2.5 million workers and students. How many additional people are there for the Olympics? Competitors alone are over 11,000. It is also the largest urban economy in the world by gross domestic product and is an Alpha+ city. It has the world's tallest tower - Tokyo Skytree, and the world's largest underground floodwater diversion facility.  It has the busiest train station in the world.  I guess Tokyo would be biggest, busiest in quite a few categories.  Tokyo consists of 62 municipalities: 23 special wards, 26 cities, 5 towns and 8 villages. In comparison Ontario has 52 cities and 444 municipalities fitting into 139,931 km².   There is a long list of "interesting facts" about Tokyo - for travellers, for kids, things you should know, crazy facts, and on and on.  It has a lot of the biggest, the most, and the best.  What I notice is that every picture is full of people - crowds of people.  All squashed into that "footprint". Today's abstract is derived from motion blur pictures of birch trunks.

April 2 2021 - More Fools

 

Who made fun yesterday? April Fools' Day 2021: Duolingo toilet paper, Velveeta skincare and more pranks Most brands gave 2020 a pass for April Fools' jokes, but Lego, Monoprice, the Canadian Space Agency and others are having fun this year. A deadpan documentary-style marketing video from Porsche introduces a joke option for a patina paint that'll make your expensive sports car look like it's been sitting in a field for thirty years.  Here it is. Here's one for the ski fans. Aspen Snowmass introduced Après Skis that go from the slope directly to cocktail hour. A classy advertising video highlights the joyful absurdity of the product, including a stylish high-heel variation. With toilet paper shortages still lurking in our recent history, toilet repair brand Fluidmaster is offering an evergreen solution: the Emergency Wiping Rock. "Leveraging technology from simpler times, the Emergency Wiping Rock is available in both petite and grande sizes and features either smooth or coarse grit levels," the company says. There's lots more entertainment HERE. I liked the Duolingo toilet role that teaches you a new language - the translated phrase in the picture is: I have this onion,  and I am going to use it.  The three-ply Duolingo roll turns your bathroom into a classroom.    Our picture today is whatever you call a four panel work.  A polyptych  is the generic and a quadriptych is the four panel. It is motion blur of the birch tree trunk around the corner.  All those pretty colours are the lawn, red brick house, and yellow Muskoka chair out front. Purchase at: FAA - marilyncornwellart.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

Jan 24 2021 - CBC on Boredom

 

Yesterday afternoon CBC Radio's topic was boredom.  She wants me to give boredom a chance. I didn't get to listen to the pod cast with Sandi Mann so looked up the summary. Mann's research has shown there's a direct relationship between boredom and creativity. "Boredom gets the creative juices flowing. And when we try to get rid of all our boredom, we're perhaps eliminating our creativity as well. "When we allow ourselves space to be bored, our minds begin to daydream and that's when the creativity and eureka moments occur." That's an ok article, but just below it is the strangely humorous headline.  "Woman with dementia accidentally given Pfizer vaccine after receiving Moderna dose." The article goes on to explain that's because she was transferred to a different long-term care home. It gave rise to worries that would bring this headline back to life: "Miracle cure kills fifth patient" Once you are looking at these headlines, you just have to continue scrolling through - they are so funny! Police arrest everyone on February 22nd Thursday is Cancelled Breathing oxygen linked to staying alive Bridge closure date:  Thursday or October Safety meeting ends in accident Alton attorney accidentally sues himself Hospitals resort to hiring doctors I went in search of trees yesterday and found 3 birch trees at Spring Valley on Seventh Avenue just in from the street.  What a find.  Why is that?  They make for fantastic motion blur images.  Here are three - such different light as the clouds passed over - lots of lake effect clouds.   Purchase at: FAA - marilyncornwellart.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

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Blue is Beloved

Humanity's favourite colours? It turns out that blue is the most popular colour across the board, followed by green for men and purple for women.  I expect you know the most popular colours for a car - black and white.  White is most popular for new cars.  Black, silver, gray and red 'round out the top five'. The "Crazy Christmas" stuff that people do seems remarkable.   I say crazy because the first Guinness record that displays is Canada's Jean-Guy Lacquerer who has a Santa Claus memorabilia collection of 25,104 items.  There is the largest gathering of Santa Clauses:  13,000 participants in the Guildhall Square in Derry City, Northern Ireland, in 2007. And what about the oldest Christmas tree?  Janet Parker of Chippenham, Wiltshire, UK puts 'out' the Christmas tree of her Great Aunt, purchased around 1886. It is 12 inches high so not as creepy as it first seems. There are lots of records - tallest Christmas tree, tallest floating Christmas tree, most number of lights on a tree, tallest Santa, most expensively ornamented tree, the most Christmas sweaters worn simultaneously.  It seems many people want in on Christmas fame. In terms of colour fame, there is the Guinness record for the largest human rainbow - 31,000 students and faculty in the Philippines.