Apr 2 2025 - Changing Your Mind

 

The expression comes to mind with all the political activities going on:  "Change your mind."  As if you can order up a new brain.  Or some part within the brain?  But really what the science article says is that the mind uses the brain, and the brain responds to the mind.  Well, the question immediately gets into what is consciousness.  The scientific articles say something like: the mind is energy and the mind generates energy through thinking, feeling and choosing.  We build thoughts, which are physical structures in our brain. And then it gets very complicated, very quickly. We've been changing our mind for a long time. The Oxford Dictionary show the expression showing up around 1500.  English has evolved a lot since then. Here's the entry for 1475: My mynde is now nott most vppon bokys. J. Paston in Paston Letters & Papers (2004)  vol. I. 484 Isn't that a double negative sentence?  And what is "bokys? Looks like the plural of bok - any collection of sheets or leaves, bound or unbound.  Our current word is book. OK, old and middle English is too hard, too.   Turning to something straight-forward, I wonder about is why Sophie, our cat, eats the brush when you brush her.  The answer says this:  "Your cat might bite the brush during grooming due to overstimulation, discomfort, or a negative association with the brush or grooming process."  There's another answer - she enjoys it. Quite happily chewing away on the plastic bristles.  And she's purring.  But then purring isn't particularly well understood either. It does seem that trying to find the plural of an old english word "book" is not an easy search.  I should look up the celebrity of the day - Val Kilmer's obituary, and join the millions who have searched on his name.

Here's another of the reflection pictures of the Canadian Tire store.   Read more daily posts here: marilyncornwellblogspot.com Purchase works here: Fine Art America- marilyncornwell.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

April 11 - All's Well that ends well

 

The oldest English surname on record is Hatt, from East Anglia  It was mentioned in a Norman Transcript, identified as a pretty regular name in the county.  Hwita Hatt was a keeper of bees. The oldest surname in the world is claimed to be Katz - considered the initial of the two words Kohen Tsedek.  Every Katz is a priest, descending in an unbroken line from Aaron the brother of Moses, 1300 B.C..  This comes from Ripley's Believe it or not, and has no evidence.  It does seem more of a mythical sort of story. What if all the English names ending in "well" were related?   "Well - This surname suffix or word well has an English origin. It refers to a good or proper manner, affluent, satisfactory, and comfortable. Well can also mean a deep hole, that can bring water and therefore, life. The suffix is gender neutral. It can be either male or female or neither. Some of the examples of the suffix well are: Atwell, Baswell, Blackwell, Caldwell, Cromwell, Crowell, Honeywell, Hopewell, Howell, Maxwell, Newell, Powell, Rockwell, Stilwell, Stockwell, Whitwell and there are many others." Perhaps in a manner of understanding, they are all related. Here's the website -  Surname Prefixes and Suffixes.  So many interesting stories.  Let us continue on  our Canadian vs American view of things through the lens of jokes: An avid Canadian fisherman decides to cross the Peace Bridge and go over to Lewiston and fish the American side of the Niagara river. He settles down on a quiet dock and begins to fill his bucket with some nice fish when an American game warden approaches him. "Could I see your fishing licence please?".  When he hands him his licence,the game warden laughs and says that it is no good because it is a Canadian fishing licence. At this point the fisherman replies "but I'm only catching Canadian fish". The warden scratches his head for a moment and says "what do you mean?"  The fisherman reaches in his bucket and pulls out a fish and asks the warden "what kind of fish is that?". The warden looks and says its a small mouth bass, to which the fisherman replies, "See what I mean, if it was an American fish it would be a Large mouth bass." This sculpture is in Burlington on the harbour.  The last few years, the Latow Photography seminar has been online.  Previously it was at the Burlington Art Gallery, and lunch time was a walk along the waterfront where children were playing and kites were flying.

Read more daily posts here: marilyncornwellblog.com Purchase works here: Fine Art America- marilyncornwellart.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

Sentimental Journey

Is Christmas-time a sentimental journey for you?  What a great definition this word has:  of or prompted by feelings of tenderness, sadness, or nostalgia.  You can ask anyone their memories of Christmas and you will be treated to a sentimental journey. The phrase "Sentimental Journey" comes from a song written in 1944.  Les Brown and Ben Homer wrote the music and Bud Green the lyrics. It was Doris Day's first #1 hit. For me, its lyrics aren't overly poetic. In combination with the melody, the song seems to be remarkable at bringing forth the emotions that make up the sentimental experience:   Gonna take a sentimental journey Gonna set my heart at ease Gonna make a sentimental journey To renew old memories A second Jazz standard that seems to fall into the Sentimental Journey category is Canadian Sunset.  It was written by Eddie Heywood in 1956, with lyrics by Normal Gimbel. The lyrics that I easily remember are the 3rd verse: A weekend in Canada, a change of scene Was the most I bargained for And then I discovered you and in your eyes I found the love that I couldn't ignore Our photo today speaks to the lyrics of Sentimental Journey.  The journey in the song is a train trip back home - "Countin' every mile of railroad track".  Our railroad is the Silverton and Durango.

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Convert to Canadian!

I found this yesterday as I was researching British and American sports humour. We Canadians look so tough that it makes me want to 'convert' everyone to being Canadian.  Enjoy this comparative story. Canadian Hockey Conversion Table 50° Fahrenheit (10° C)  New Yorkers try to turn on the heat  Canadians plant gardens 40° Fahrenheit (4.4° C)  Californians shiver uncontrollably  Canadians sunbathe 35° Fahrenheit (1.6° C)  Italian Cars won't start  Canadians drive with the windows down 32° Fahrenheit (0 ° C)  Distilled water freezes  Canadian water gets thicker 0° Fahrenheit (-17.9° C)  New York City landlords finally turn on the heat  Canadians have the last cookout of the season -40° Fahrenheit (-40° C)  Hollywood disintegrates  Canadians rent some videos -60° Fahrenheit (-51° C)  Mt. St. Helens freezes  Canadian Girl Guides sell cookies door-to-door -10° Fahrenheit (-73° C)  Santa Claus abandons the North Pole  Canadians pull down their ear flaps -173° Fahrenheit (-114° C)  Ethyl alcohol freezes  Canadians get frustrated when they can't thaw the keg -460° Fahrenheit (-273° C)  Absolute zero; all atomic motion stops  Canadians start saying "cold, eh?" -500° Fahrenheit (-295°C)  Hell freezes over  The Toronto Maple Leafs win the Stanley Cup source: http://www.jokes4us.com/sportsjokes/hockeyjokes.html Our pictures today glow with the Topaz Filter Restyle intensifying the sunset colours of Florida's Lido Beach.