Dec 29 2024 - Houses vs Travel

 

There are competing articles - odd houses vs odd travel places.  Is that because it is the end of the year and beginning of the next one?  Love where you live and if you don't, travel to get away from it.  The clock is ticking on this choice.  We can start with houses.  A lot of the articles on houses are about the tiniest houses. The One-Sqm-House is touted as the smallest house in the world.  Here it is along with others in a house beautiful article HERE.  This article combines travel and tiny and shows tiny houses around the world.   I have to wonder about the tiniest and the opposite end of the spectrum -  the largest house in the world.  I hadn't realized that  residences that are big are named palaces.  It has to be very large, impressive, and especially one which is the official home of a king, queen or president.   Yes, Putin's house is called Putin's Palace.  No, Bill Gates' house is a mansion and not a palace.  Is the White House a palace?  In the past it was named the President's Palace, and Theodore Roosevelt officially gave it the White House name in 1901. It was named the Executive Mansion in 1910 to avoid royalty connotations.  There are a few different listings for the title of the “world’s largest house”.   Palaces take the top spots.  The Istana Nurul Iman Palace in Brunei has over 2 million sq ft and is worth $1.5 billion.  What about the Buckingham Palace - it is 828,820 sq ft and is worth $3.2 billion.  Aren't the tiniest houses within our reach?  We can all downsize.  And in comparison  the palaces are not.  Maybe that is the fascination which causes us to consider the comparison.  We want to know if we could live is such a tiny house.  What do you wonder about the palace?  I wonder if I could find my way around.  I would need a gps map.  I'd be fine in the garden, though. Here's a picture for today - it is Clematis seed heads on the weeping Redbud.  It matches the end of season sensibility - browns and blues in the rain between Christmas and New Year's.

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Nov 17 2025 - Pitfalls vs Fidget Toys

 

There are lots of pitfalls on the internet.  But the word itself - pitfall.  This sounds medieval - falling into a pit.  Perhaps a barbaric punishment.  But no - it is mid-14th century - concealed hole into which a person or animal may fall unawares.  And then another definition is added - a hidden danger or concealed source of disaster. This picture was at the bottom of the definition.   It is much more interesting than 5 pitfalls of something or other.  It says three people bought this for $8.00 in the last 24 hours - on Etsy.  Rock Head Fidget Toy - so creepy we need to find out about it.

There's more - a fidget slug and bowl - no Rock head there.  "These fidget slugs are super cute and super wiggly! They make a slight sound when you move their plastic joints. Each fidget slug is rainbow and may have slight variations in the color of its joints and head. Slugs are 7.5 inches and weigh 8.8 grams." In fact there are a lot more toys like this.   "Fidget toys have surged in popularity not just as trendy gadgets, but also as essential tools that cater to a variety of needs. At their core, these toys are designed to help individuals channel restless energy, improve concentration, and reduce anxiety. "For many, the repetitive motion or tactile stimulation of a fidget toy can serve as a grounding mechanism, helping them stay present in the moment. This is particularly beneficial for children and adults with conditions like ADHD, where maintaining focus can be a challenge." There are all kinds - the fidget marble maze, fidget poppers, fidget spinner, fidget chair band, wobble cushion - a new version of worry beads which have existed for a long time.   And the success?   "The study suggests that while fidget toys might help reduce symptoms of hyperactivity when first introduced, this behavioral effect fades as the novelty wears off. And this relatively small behavioral benefit is outweighed by the devices' significant detrimental effects on attention." Sounds like a Christmas Day present.  Keep everyone busy for a few hours. Here's a new colour rendition of the pretty Sweet Autumn Clematis seed heads in Autumn.

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Sep 25 2024 - What about body waste?

 

We feel guilty about wasting things.  However, our very nature - our bodies - seem to produce lots of kinds of waste.  Should we feel guilty about this basic design?  Take the lungs - air in, oxygen used, carbon dioxide out.  That one seems clear. What about ear wax?  Earwax is meant to keep the dirt and grime out of the ear.   Nasal discharge - Another path for germs and dust to enter our bodies.  Here's something:  "on rare occasions, you might even find an eyelash when you blow your nose." Tears - more cleaning to get rid of unwanted dirt and other objects.   Sweat - sweat is made from waste in your body - urea, salts, sugars and ammonia.  Sweat is about cooling your body by using waste materials.   Vomit - there's a topic - your stomach needs to get rid of some of the contents - maybe spoiled or too much and irritating the stomach. There's a lot in vomit - bile from the intestines, stomach acid, and then the partly-digested food.  Pus - oozing from a cut or scratch..it is dead skin cells, dead bacteria, white blood cells and debris that is being removed to make way for healing.  And then the daily basics of urine and excrement.  Urine is part of the water replacement that happen to keep salts and urea from building up to dangerous levels.  As for excrement, there's a lot of activity to digest the solid food matter that we eat.  Grinding, dissolving, adding chemicals in the stomach, special juices in the intestines to digest fats and neutralize acids so that the nutrients can pass directly into the blood.  Leftover solid parts move on into the large intestine - usually a 24 hour turnaround time. Our modern human-centric experience calls all these things waste.  They aren't waste in the larger context of living. A fascinating article HERE  - it is The Wonders of Bodily Waste.  It outlines the use of bodily waste in scientific practice.  The urine of pregnant women and post-menopausal women is rich in sex hormones and is used in the production of fertility drugs. Distilling urine produces phosphate which is fertilizer - likely we know this.  In the past fermented urine was used for gunpowder production, household cleaning, tanning of leather, and dyeing of textiles.   And that solid excrement?   There's a long list of uses and projects in the Wikipedia topic named Reuse of Human Excreta.   World Toilet Day is November 19th - coming up.   Is it a possible theory that this simple instrument has helped remove us from the bigger, connected world that we live in? We are coming to the end of Sweet Autumn Clematis season.

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May 3 2023 - Tomorrow's The Force Day!

 

Could we guess there would be an encyclopedia for Star Wars?  The Wookipedia tells us about the origin of the famous expression "May the Force be with us." That was in 1977.  George Lucas wrote this as "A film for a generation growing up without fairy tales." Even though it was Episode IV a New Hope it was the first movie in the series.  I guess they decided that Star Wars was a better title.   This quote is listed as #8 of the American Film Institute's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes.  Here they are - the top 8 1. "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn." Gone with the Wind (1939) 2. "I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse." The Godfather (1972) 3. "You don't understand! I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I could've been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what I am." On the Waterfront (1954) 4. "Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore." The Wizard of Oz (1939) 5. "Here's looking at you, kid." Casablanca (1942) 7. "All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up." Sunset Blvd. (1950) 8. "May the Force be with you." Star Wars (1977) The Wookipedia has this to say about the expression:  "The final page of The Adventures of Luke Skywalker, Jedi Knight features the phrase "May the force be with you!" against a backdrop of stars, echoing the final lines of the story: "Luke Skywalker fulfilled his destiny. He became a Jedi Knight and saved the galaxy. More important, he saved his father and found his family. The Force was with him." Which flowers make me think of stars?  Clematis.  Here's the white Autumn Clematis.   Read more daily posts here: marilyncornwellblogspot.com Purchase works here: Fine Art America- marilyncornwell.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

Oct 26 2020 - Halloween Guinness Time

 

The world's heaviest pumpkin happens every year in various countries, but that isn't about Halloween.  These pumpkins come in at over 2,500 pounds.  Here's one that comes in over 2,000 pounds and became a jack-o'-lantern: "The world's heaviest jack-o'-lantern was 2,077 pounds (approximately 942 kilograms), and the record was achieved on October 6, 2018 by the Cosumnes Community Services District at the 24th annual Elk Grove Giant Pumpkin Festival in Elk Grove, California.  The massive gourd was grown by Josiah Brandt. Mike Brown, Deane Arnold, and Brandy Davis carved the lifelike face on the pumpkin." The fastest time to carve one tonne of pumpkins. "Stephen Clarke is the jack-o-lantern master. With a sharp knife in hand, he’s terrifyingly fast when it comes to pumpkin carving. On October 29th in 2008, he managed to carve an incredible one tonne of pumpkins in just 3 hours and 33 minutes while at Harrah’s Casino Resort, in Atlantic City, NJ (USA). " Most lit jack-o-lanterns displayed "A wonderful title to complete the round up, the most lit jack-o'-lanterns on display is 30,581 and was achieved by the City of Keene, New Hampshire. Keene was the original record holder in this category and has now broken it 8 times since the original attempt. The beautiful display of candle-lit pumpkins is the perfect sight to put anyone in the mood for All Hallows Eve; happy trick-or-treating!" I found a series of images with things made of pumpkins.  They look like lego life-size.   And our picture is a Sweet Autumn Clematis floral portrait.  Once they finish blooming the seeds are the pretty display.

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Sep 24 2020 - Meet My Siblings - 600 or so of them

 

This is the story of 600 people, and the number could possibly be higher.  They have the same father.  They call themselves the world's biggest 'family.' How could that have happened?  It happened at a fertility clinic in London, England during the Second World War.  Dr. Mary Barton's husband Bertold Wiesner turns out to be the major donor at the time - between the mid-40s up to the late 1960s.  This was a time when artificial insemination was condemned as adultery and was considered criminal. The fertility clinic's work was secretive.  None of the children were ever told of the procedure that helped them come about.  What made it possible for all these siblings to discover each other?  Ancestry.com and other DNA analysis services.  When submitting the DNA test, one can check a box that allows people who discovered they are related to a person to contact them.  There's a spike each year - typically after Christmas gift tests - from people who share DNA. Wiesner was an Asheknazi Jew and this heritage showed up in the DNA tests of people with no known ancestors to match this background.  This was a distinctive characteristic that has allowed the story to unfold. Barry Stevens, from Toronto, is one of these half-siblings.  That he is a filmmaker is key - he has created a documentary that brings this story to the public.  Here's the CBC Docs POV HERE.  Barry finds out that quite a few are filmmakers or writers, and they share verbosity and a sense of humour.  He is now a member of the Donor Conceived Alliance of Canada, arguing that nobody has the right to deliberately withhold a citizen's significant personal information.  Unlike his story, there are dangers in anonymity of donors, inheriting diseases kept secret by donors, finding out a biological father was a criminal, etc.  Watch the World's Biggest Family HERE.   Today's flower is Sweet Autumn Clematis.  This is a rampant climber - I let it climb the Redbud tree out front.  It is not like other clematis which can be delicate and difficult. Its fragrance fills the air.  This is a perfect September flower - it distracts us from the season ahead.

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June 20 2020 - Apple Time

I think of both the Beatles music company and the computer brand name of Apple as deeply disruptive, as in the Garden of Eden apple and the fall from grace.   Steve Jobs has never referred to this.  What was revealed in 2011 is that it was named during one of his fruitarian diets, Walter Isaacson’s biography of Jobs says: On the naming of Apple, he said he was “on one of my fruitarian diets.” He said he had just come back from an apple farm, and thought the name sounded “fun, spirited and not intimidating... plus, it would get us ahead of Atari in the phone book." There have been no associations with Eden and Apple Records either.  Apple Records was named Apple Corp as in apple core - a pun. It replaced the earlier company Beatles Ltd. This is Paul McCartney's story of the Apple name: In my garden at Cavendish Avenue, which was a 100-year-old house I’d bought, Robert was a frequent visitor. One day he got hold of a Magritte he thought I’d love. Being Robert, he would just get it and bring it. I was out in the garden with some friends. I think I was filming Mary Hopkin with a film crew, just getting her to sing live in the garden, with bees and flies buzzing around, high summer. We were in the long grass, very beautiful, very country-like. We were out in the garden and Robert didn’t want to interrupt, so when we went back in the big door from the garden to the living room, there on the table he’d just propped up this little Magritte. It was of a green apple. That became the basis of the Apple logo. Across the painting Magritte had written in that beautiful handwriting of his ‘Au revoir’. And Robert had split. I thought that was the coolest thing anyone’s ever done with me". Apple Records came first, followed by Apple Computers.  Two creation narratives for their stories.   The significant legal wrangling that went on over the name seems like two snakes fighting over the apple.  Was that before or after it was given to Adam and Eve? Here's my Montana clematis.  The background is the fantastic Tri-colour beech tree in the garden.  It is brilliant pink.  I've used the flexibly filter to turn it into a globe.

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