Apr 5 2024 - Pickleball - What's in a Name?

 

Pickleball is a recent sport - created in 1965 by Joe Pritchard a U.S. Congressman. It possibly was named after his dog Pickles. Or maybe the dog was named after Pickleball.  Or the game was named after the pickle boat where the crew is made of leftover people from other crews, and pickleball was created from leftover stuff from other sports. But who ever heard of that expression? Supposedly a reporter doing a story on it told the Pritchards that people would remember the game better if it was named after the dog.  So I guess the history of the game came a bit later than the game and covering it in the news.  That's because someone did some fact checking and confirmed that the dog Pickles was born after the game had been named.  The Pritchards have gone on record saying that the dog was in fact named after the game.   But never mind fact, many people seemed to have weighed in over the naming of the game and vote for the dog. There are more "facts" that have been accumulated to strengthen the dog story:   "According to the McCallum family (as well as the Browns (neighbours) – who were also some of the first pickleball players), the new sport was definitely named after the dog. They say they remember the exact night they named it after “Pickles” the dog while sitting in the living room of the Prichard cabin, they even remember cheering with excitement at the revelation of this funny name for their new game."   There are even more possibilities.  The authors of the book on the History of Pickleball went sleuthing and found a third claimant to the name:  "Bill Bell claimed that he had named the game because he enjoyed hitting the ball in a way that would put his opponent in a pickle." Poor Pickleball - the game seems to be about how it got its name.  This is a sign of our times - where opinion is more fun than facts - don't worry about the facts:  "If nothing else, the contradicting stories make for interesting conversation regarding the early history of the sport." Everyone seems to love pickleball - an Olympic sport?  Sports Illustrated concluded the game wouldn't likely get to the Olympics before 2032.     What about this idea as our conclusion on   the story today.

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Aug 27 2022 - Grandma's Cleaning Tricks

 

I don't remember my grandmother being a cleaning expert, giving all kinds of advice on cleaning tricks.  Somehow grandmothers have become the experts of  housekeeping and cleaning.   They start with 'back in the day' and end with 'hacks that still work today'  and pretty well all of them want you to wash walls from the bottom up.  I browsed through them to find some strange ones and here they are: 'I remember watching my grandma pour plenty of dried tea leaves over the entire rug or carpet, then waiting 15 minutes before clearing them away with a vacuum to get rid off all the dust and stale odors." 'Notoriously hard to clean, the inside of bottles can be rinsed out with a mixture of sand and water. After a good shake, the abrasive combination will clean out all those hard to reach corners. Just make sure to rinse out the bottle afterwards and leave it to air dry." "After cleaning windows with your usual cleaning spritzer, or better still, a diluted white vinegar solution, use an old sheet of newspaper to wipe away streaks on the window pane glass. The paper and ink act as a light abrasive when you wipe in a circular motion and the results are flawless." Once you have your house clean with these old-fashioned methods, you can engage in old-fashioned slang sayings such as: That's My Cup Of Tea  "Kick Up Your Heels "I'll Be There With Bells On "I'm Head Over Heels "You Look Happy As A Clam "Pardon My French  "Bring Home The Bacon Next, I went over to Mental Floss for some thoroughly strange old slang sayings: "Happy cabbage" is a sizeable amount of money to be spent on self-satisfying things. You know, like cabbage.  "Pang-Wangle" is to live or go along cheerfully in spite of minor misfortunes, like Mickey Mouse who goes along cheerfully despite having a dog who's a friend and also a dog who's a dog. "In the ketchup" means in the red or operating at a deficit "Whooperups" were, quote, "inferior noisy singers."

As I browsed through these websites with all kinds of "cleaning" content that ranges from stupid to the absurd it made me want to find an image that matched the sentiment. So here it is.  Read more daily posts here: marilyncornwellblog.com Purchase works here: Fine Art America- marilyncornwellart.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

Feb 13 2022 - Surplus Trucks Are Almost Being Given Away!

 

The CTV news coverage of the truck convoy protests has a header ad that shrieks irony.  What is the headline?   Surplus 2021 Trucks Are Almost Being Given Away  How perfect for the trucker convoy protest coverage.  While this irony is probably coincidental, there are many ironic headlines that can't be accidental.  Check out the ones in bored panda HERE.  These are their top two: Homicide victims rarely talk to police - The Express Times We hate math, say 4 in 10 - a majority of Americans Here's a list from the Morning Call located in Allentown, Pennsylvania.  This was from 2018. -- Worker suffers leg pain after crane drops 800-pound ball on his head. -- Homicide victims rarely talk to police. -- Barbershop singers bring joy to school for deaf. -- Miracle cure kills fifth patient. -- Bridges help people cross rivers. -- City unsure why the sewer smells. -- 17 remain dead in morgue shooting spree. -- Starvation can lead to health hazards. -- Man accused of killing lawyer receives new attorney. -- Parents keep kids home to protest school closure. -- Federal agents raid gun shop, find weapons. -- Statistics show that teen pregnancy drops off considerably after age 25. -- Bugs flying around with wings are flying bugs. -- Man with 8 DUIs blames drinking problem. -- Marijuana issue sent to a joint committee. (This one comes from the Toronto Star in 1996) There's nothing like irony to bring a laugh.  What makes it so?  Quora says that irony is unexpected.  It is used when something ends in a way that is not what is expected, yet entirely related to what comes prior to it. Isn't that a perfect answer.  I thought this Ringling Circus picture might work with today's theme.

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April 1st 2021 - Foolish Fish Day!

 

What do you do for Aril Fool's Day? Do children do things at school?  We adults don't seem to do much anymore.   However, major product brands do things every year, and we reported on them last year.  This year I found an April Fool's Quiz from the Guardian, and it is most entertaining.   Here's my favourite question: In 1972 researchers claimed to have found the body of the Loch Ness monster. What, in fact, was it? A dead bull elephant seal  A prop left over from filming the Doctor Who Terror of the Zygons serial, which was set around Loch Ness  The results of a local school craft project  A giant eel    This particular April Fool's joke has been told a number of ways - the first is via News:  DUNFERMLINE, Scotland. April 1 1972 (AP)—The director of an English zoo said a young scientist explained today that a private joke had set off police chase through Scotland in search of the Loch Ness monster. Don Robertson, director of the Flamingo.Park Zoo in Scarborough, reported that the zoo's education officer, John Shields, had given him statement saying that he had tried to hoax a few friends on April Fool's Day, which happens to be Mr. Shield's 23d birthday, The joke was to dump frozen bull elephant seal in Loch Ness for seven monsterhunting colleagues to find, the statement said. But it got out of hand yesterday when the team tried to rush their discovery back to the zoo on England's northeast coast. The police chased their truck, slopped it and brought the “monster” to this Fifeshiro County town where two scientists identified it as a),South Atlantic seal. The second version is a much longer and more entertaining rendition HERE.     Our picture today was taken at the Ringling Museum - it was a beautiful wall mural of all the famous clowns.   Purchase at: FAA - marilyncornwellart.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

Feb 23 2021 - Common Myths

 

There are so many myths - 50 easily in many articles.  We will just have to pick our favourites today.  This is an interesting topic as myths are considered to be misconceptions today.  They seem true because they've been repeated so many times and in so many places.  In fact, one would call these false facts. Here are myths that I have just learned are false.  I found them in this article HERE. The odds are always 50-50 in a coin toss A group of Stanford University researchers proved this common misconception wrong in 2007 when they flipped a lotof quarters and found that a coin was more likely to land on the face that it started on. The researchers put your actual odds at closer to 51-49, so pay attention to which side of the coin faces the sky when you make your call! Every living thing dies While yes, most living things do die eventually, there is one species of jellyfish that doesn't technically perish. Known as the Turritopsis dohrnii, this essentially immortal sea creature reverts back into a juvenile state after adulthood—so it can live out yet another life alongside its offspring! The sun is yellow According to the Stanford Solar Center, "it is a common misconception that the sun is yellow or orange or even red." In reality, "the sun is essentially all colors mixed together, which appear to our eyes as white." The reason we see the sun as yellow or orange most of the time is because those colored wavelengths, which are longer, are the only ones that make it to our eyes. The other short-wavelength colors—green, blue, and violet—become scattered by the atmosphere, which is what makes the sky look blue during the day!   In celebration of National Walking the Dog Day, let's walk some elephants dressed as clowns.  You can throw them a biscuit as it is also National and International Dog Biscuit Day. Purchase at: FAA - marilyncornwellart.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

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Feb 20 2021 - Children who are "ripped"

 

Little Hercules - this is the name of a Ukrainian-born child body builder.  He became famous in the U.S. where he developed a showcase muscular physique at a very young age.   Isn't that a strange picture of him?  Born in 1992, he became famous by the age of 6 when he was able to lift 180 pounds. He held the title of the world's strongest boy and posed in many bodybuilding shows. It was said that he did up to 600 pushups and 300 squats a day. Fast forward with all that media coverage of his diet (meat, vegetables and fruits regimented by his pizza-eating father), his father's abuse of his mother and subsequent prison sentence, and finally his transition to being and looking like a normal adult.  The catch-up stories were late 2020, identifying that he now works as a stunt man.  The articles sensationalize his physique and minimize how it is that other children don't have muscles like this. Medical experts argued that such muscular development would require levels of testosterone that were simply not present in a child under 10. They speculated that steroids must have been administered, which Sandrak's mother strenuously denied.  On that theme, I wanted to find out about normal muscle development.  I found an article outlining many child body builders with these freak bodies and these extreme training regimes.  It's HERE.  So there are children training at these intense levels.  And who knows about the possibility of supplements.   We need a light-hearted image to go with our post today. This clown was at the Ringling Circus display.  The French advertising is for chicory vs coffee - with lots of milk in one's "coffee". Purchase at: FAA - marilyncornwellart.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

Whoa on Cupid as a Cherub, Please!

Where would a name like Valentine come from?  It isn't really a name anymore - it is a "thing" - a card or gift on the specific day of Valentine's.   However, it is also a sweetheart that is chosen on Valentine's Day. Vanlentine originates as a name -  a unisex given name.  It is derived from the Roman family name Valentinus - from valens, meaning strong and healthy.  It turns out to be the name of a few Saints who were martyred and are commemorated along with Saint Valentine from the third century.  Supposedly he died on February 14th.  I say that wondering how 3rd century documents on dates can match up with our current calendar. And how does a cupid come into the scene for Valentine's Day? Cupid comes from Roman mythology, son of Venus who was the goddess of love and beauty.  Would Venus still be with us today given she's a goddess - and I should write "is the goddess of love and beauty."  His representation as a little boy can be traced. The Italian painter Raphael who was known for creating characters called "putti" - they looked like male babies or toddlers.  They represented the presence of pure love around people - often with wings like angels.  Cupid started out as  being portrayed as a young man - but he got "converted" to being a baby or young child, and often with angelic wings.   Cupid is a little angel-like boy - but that isn't a "cherub".  Cherubs were known as cherubim.  That was a heavenly "rank" and have the role to protect God's heavenly glory.  This religious designation got swept up into being associated with Cupid and similar depictions.   The through line from St. Valentine the martyr to celebrating Romantic love is still to be outlined - I think we might accord that to Chaucer.  In the meantime, let's enjoy a few more Ringling Circus images.

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Feb 8 2020 - Quarantine Cruising

This is the Lantern Festival Day.  The full moon was out last night.  I experienced it when Baxter went to the greenhouse instead of outside in the night.  This is now a ritual for him.  He bangs on the window blinds in the bedroom, races off to the dining room for the exit, I pick him up and take him to the greenhouse where he has a basket and extensive view of everyone in the back garden.  I think there are also mice in the greenhouse, as sometimes he is reluctant to come out in the morning. The full moon through the curved glass ceiling is amazing.  It seems like a lantern with the diffusion caused by the slightly frosted glass.  And then there is the magic of shadows in the night.  There is one stunning picture of the lantern festival that is repeated over and over - so I screen clipped it for you. You can see that the posting was made on December 25th.  Without the presence of the coronavirus outbreak, it was a delightful article on the traditions of the New Year celebration.  The scenario changes so quickly:  There are more than 28,000 confirmed cases in China, with a worrying 15% daily growth. The sensational news is about a quarantined Norwegian cruise ship, Dream Cruises World Dream, with more than 3,600 passengers and crew onboard.  They will be isolated in their cabins for about 2 weeks - that will be a story told for a while.   Social media makes it possible to send out news and messages easily - these are things like people not getting meals, pictures of the miserable-looking meals, and concerning stories of a diabetic not getting any meals.  This meal theme makes sense, because people always come back from cruises boasting about food and meals. There's news that impacts all of us -the closing of factories - global automakers are the first to suspend operations.  The world supply chain is laid out clearly - the world's biggest maker of smartphone chips Qualcomm has sent out the alarm of interrupted supplies.  According to a study by the World Bank, a severe pandemic could cause economic losses equal to nearly 5% of global GDP, or more than $3 trillion. Losses from a weaker flu pandemic, such as the 2009 H1N1 virus, can still wipe 0.5% off global GDP.  But then - Wait!  Incoming news not surprisingly based on yesterday's topic:  The 2020 hourly rates of lawyers in Grimsby might surprise you!  (Sponsored: Top Lawyers/Sponsored Listings).  What's the picture?  A glass head with one of those 'lawyer/judge' wigs on it.  Continuing our Valentine's theme - our Valentine today comes from the Sarasota Ringling Museum display.

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Blue is a Group

Blue Man Group (there's no "The" in the name) played in St. Catharines yesterday and we saw a performance. I had thought the theatre group started 20 years ago - it was actually in 1987.  This Group started as a street performance/disturbance event in NYC.  It was so creative that it immediately developed into small shows and by 1991 full performances.  It took the creative word by storm and continues to enchant with its disturbances. 

Cirque du Soleil now owns Blue Man Productions. The performance was definitely in the Cirque clown tradition with innocence, nativity, self-consciousness and the outsider - where one of the group of three performs in a manner inconsistent with the other two.  The Wikipedia entry covers the Blue Man dynamic.  The themes centre on science and technology - especially plumbing, fractals, human sight, DNA and the Internet.  Then there are the themes of information overload, innocence, self-conscious, naivety, the outsider, and rooftops (!).  All of these themes were in the show yesterday.  

At the end of the shows everyone was heading up the stairs rather than down the stairs to the outside.  They were heading to the boutique where blue man stuff is for sale - blue ducks, ponchos (as worn by the front section of the audience), lunch sacks, t-shirts, their albums - lots of stuff.  There aren't any products on their website. If you want to see some great images - this is the website.  The website content is very limited:  One can audition to be a Blue Man performer in Los Angeles at the end of March - Height Requirement 5'10" to 6'2", Body type:  Athletic build.  One can buy tickets.  The website is geared to selling tickets and hiring Blue Men. 

My iPhone is an earlier model so the noise and pixelation is always present.  Many of the kids around me were looking at their phones for messages from 'afar and away.'  My phone was looking into the room to get these inside messages. They were visually amazing.

Susan Sontag and a Valentine

"Beethoven never married, but in his early forties he feel deeply in love with a mysterious woman who remains known as “immortal beloved” — the eternally enchanting term of endearment by which the great composer addressed her in his letters. Her true identity has spurred entire books, but historians currently believe she was Antonie Brentano — a Viennese aristocrat married to a Frankfurt businessman. Beethoven’s missives to this “immortal beloved,” which include the only known love letter of his to use the informal German du for “you” rather than the formal Sie, were found among his personal effects; they were never mailed — a beautiful and tragic testament to the fact that their affair, like all affairs, was both bedeviled and vitalized by the awareness that the two lovers could never fully have each other." The paragraphs above was written by Maria Popova, who was referencing the book "The 50 Greatest Love Letters of All Time" edited by David H. Lowenherz.  The fifty authors and recipients are listed HERE.   All famous writers or historical figures.    Maria Popova is interesting.  Going through her blog brainpickings.org, I find a special post.  It is Susan Sontag on Love:  Illustrated Diary Excerpts.  What Maria did was to sieve through Sontag's journals for her most poignant, most private meditations on love.  These were published in As Consciousness Is Harnessed to Flesh: Journals and Notebooks, 1964 - 1980. Then Maria had artist Wendy MacNaughton hand-letter and illustrate them exclusively for Brain Pickings as a poster.  This became so popular that numerous editions were printed and published.   It is HERE.  Wendy MacNaughton's collaborated with Maria a lot and her work is shown with the articles HERE. But head over to her website and see a compelling display of her drawings  - wendymacnaughton.com. Our Valentine Day images come from the Ringling Circus in Sarasota.