Dec 1 2021 - The Month of New Beginnings

 

It is December and time for a calendar - I took some of these pictures last year on this day.  For me, December is the start of winter weather - even the start of winter. I seem to be weather-based in my idea of seasons.  December should be the start - it is magical with the landscape's transformation and holiday lights, decorations, mythical and religious stories, themes and colours.  All of the senses are delighted in December.  Many people weigh in that December is their favourite month - Google has determined this with how it interprets the search "december favourite month".  The case seems to be that many people seem to think their favourite month is based on it being their birth month.   That seems perfect given the latest story of birth - Barbados is now a republic. While it did happen November 30th, I am sure December will be a celebration month. While Prince Charles was there to denounce slavery and give it its place as a sin of the past, he is wondering what the price is going to be in reparation demands and negotiations. They now have a ceremonial President as head of state and a Prime Minister who is the head of government.  The last Governor-General is now the President.  The country is a republic within the Commonwealth.  How will that work I ask?  Maybe ask Mauritius as it became a republic in 1992.   It has had turbulent political times since, but then it didn't enjoy good times before becoming a republic.   The UK split off the Chagos Archipelago and other islands from Mauritian territory to form the British Indian Ocean Territory, expelling the local population. I wonder if the UK has obeyed the International Court of Justice decision in 2017 and in 2019 ordering the UK to return the Islands.  This circumstance makes me realize that colonialism is still with us. It isn't surprising that Barbados has been on the republic journey a long time - commissions in 1979 and 1996, and then a planned referendum in 2008 that didn't happen. A proposal in 2015 was made by the Prime Minister that the country would move towards a republic.  By 2020 there was a two-thirds majority in both houses of Parliament, so the vote went through.   And here we are, in what will be the favourite month for Barbados, with their new "Celebrity Queen" Rihanna. The final picture is a second place winner in the Betterphoto contest.  These pretty Cyclamen were at the Niagara Falls Botanical Garden.

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Oct 5 2021 - Captain Kirk in Space

 

Did you know that Captain Kirk is going to space on Bezos' Blue Origin next week?  That's William Shatner, the actor who is 90.  Doesn't that seem a bit strange to think that an actor who pretended he was in space, should go to space?  This isn't like the female astronaut who was denied the opportunity.  He was an actor - that's not in any way related to a scientist or astronaut.  The BBC report says he had a fear of flying so rejected an earlier offer by Branson.  Shatner says he rejected it because Branson wanted him to pay for the flight.   I would have thought this is all publicity for the launch of commercialized space tourism.  Is it, though? It appears that last year The Times revealed that the ashes of James Doohan, who played Montgomery "Scotty" Scott, were smuggled on board the International Space Station in 2008, three years after Doohan's death.   And this fact: while this will be Shatner’s first physical trip to space, his name was one of more than two million that were included on the InSight Mars rover by NASA in 2018. This seems like something else is going on. I consider this to be a leak in the "social time continuum" where we think that television and movies are real, and those episodes happened.   And then another issue: that question of whether actors become the characters they are playing is taken to its limit.  That means the Star Trek "crew" through all those decades, all want to go to space.  Isn't that a lot of people? These Cyclamen were at the Niagara Falls Botanical Garden on the weekend, hidden away under some trees.  There are beds of Autumn-blooming Crocus - Colchicum. The glorious colour is amazing and the sheer number of the flowers catches my attention.  Why?   These are expensive bulbs.

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Winter Blues

I did some indoor photography yesterday with cyclamen.  Indoor work lets you sit down, change the colour of the sky, the amount of light, the position of the flowers.  These are the portraits.




"Winter Blues"
Indoor cyclamen looks out to the blue winter sky, longing for the warm summer days outside.

"Spring Longing"
Indoor cyclamen sees the blue winter skies outdoors, filled with frost and snow. It feels alone and wonders if it will ever see Spring, despite the company of its Kin.