Mar 12 2023 - It is Oscar Night Tonight

 

This is the Academy Awards night.  It is the 95th year of the awards.  They still give advice on how to watch the Oscars.  I guess based on last year's experience, the advise is don't leave the show unattended in case there's a "live" moment of note.  I had turned off the show by then last year. the Red Carpet Show must go on forever. And to be fair, it is a significant show on its own.  One article says that it starts at 3:30pm Eastern time.  Is that DST or EST?  That's a general time reference to cover those who go on Daily Savings Time and those who don't.   Compare how North-American centric we are.  The Indian News lets us know that while the show starts on March 12 at 8:00pm in Los Angeles, the awards start at 5:30am Monday morning in India.  That reminds me of getting up early to see Diana's wedding.  That was a lifetime "Dress-up" event. Do you want to stream it live? "For cord cutters, the show can be streamed with a subscription to Hulu Live TV, YouTubeTV, AT&T TV and Fubo TV." So there are 3 parts to the Oscars - the Red Carpet, the Show, and the After parties. "Vanity Fair throws the quintessential Oscars afterparty — it’s where Will Smith and family danced the night away after the infamous Slap moment and best actor win last year. The AP will livestream stars arriving for the show beginning at 11 p.m. ET on YouTube."   And isn't the Slap part of the news.  "One Year Later:  A Complete Timeline of the Oscars Drama"... and "The Academy hires crisis team 1 year after 'the slap' - they will deal with other potential surprise moments... We've run many scenarios." I wonder if there can be something that would top last year's surprise moment.

These little flowers haven't come out yet this year, but they will be here soon.

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Mar 5 2023 - Canning Bananas

 

The Answer is:  You can't easily can bananas on their own.  Not safe.  Too little acid. Too dense. Botulism abounding.  If you were to find canned bananas in a store, they would be  high-pressure canned to be safe.  It still seems like a "yuk" to me.  You might as well try to can lettuce, too. But that's not the banana news - it is about banana peels and how they seem to turn into "bacon".  One article introduces the topic with the caution: texture-wise, banana peels can be a little tough and bitter.  A few ideas below: 1. banana peel bacon - it doesn't taste like chicken and it doesn't taste like bacon 2. banana peel thoran - a hot-vegetable stir-fry from India 3. banana peel vegan pulled pork sandwich - the secret? use plantains and 'pull' the skin  4. banana peel cake with brown sugar frosting - instead of mayo ad ripened banana peels 5. banana peel curry - just throw the pieces into the wok with a couple of spices 6. banana tea - first wash off the pesticides and wax... 7. b.l.t. - might I just respond with: ha ha! These all have a bit of a "yuk" factor for me.  So I went checking for what is really going on. It took a bit before I found a real article in the Washington Post.  This would be a source that might be more trusted than typical "hack" news on the web.   The article is HERE. "... two British TV chefs have recently drawn attention for recipes using peels — Nigella Lawson mixed hers with cauliflower, and Nadiya Hussain suggested turning them into a substitute for pulled pork or chicken. The New York Times wrote about the across-the-pond phenomenon, citing a Guardian story that asked, “Are banana skins about to become a must-eat ingredient?” The decision for or against "new bacon" comes down to "bacon essence."  It is simple: there are people willing to go with liquid smoke, smoked paprika and maple syrup on something black and crispy. It is sufficient to make their bacon experience come alive.  That's fair enough. And bananas?  They are the subject of thousands of jokes.  Here are a few: “I am going bananas!” That’s what I say to my bananas before I leave the house. Why did the banana go out with the prune? Because he couldn’t find a date. Why do bananas never get lonely? Because they hang out in bunches. What do you call bananas who are friends with monkeys? A bunch of idiots. And our picture? Here's another orchid from last week's show.   Read more daily posts here: marilyncornwellblogspot.com Purchase works here: Fine Art America- marilyncornwellart.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

Feb 19 2023 - Ice Shelfs and Whirlpools

 

There's an ice shelf forming in Lake Erie - it has made the U.S. national news.  It got me thinking about whirlpools.  The most dangerous is in Japan in the Naruto Straits.  The second is Niagara's, the third is Skookumchuck Narrows, at the entrance of the Sechelt Inlet in B.C..  The fourth is Old Sow in New Brunswick. It is the largest in the world.  Aren't we full of whirlpools here in Canada!  There are videos of Steve Fisher kayaking into whirlpools.  Bye bye if he did that in Niagara.   Whirlpools are phenomena that form when water moving in two different directions comes into contact with each other and interact in an unusual way. They can't continue to travel at the same speed and direction through each other, so they are forced to turn and swirl around each other.  Depending on the volume of water and force of colliding waters, whirlpools can appear in different sizes. Some whirlpools form and disappear over a short period of time, while some water systems keep whirlpools for centuries, according to the Niagra Parks website. The larger and more dangerous whirlpools are called maelstroms. These hold the power to fatally engulf anyone who comes too close. The Niagara Falls River has all classes of rapids - from I to VI along its route.  I couldn't find a visual depiction of the Whirlpool geological formation, but here is one of the Falls.  I am stunned by the depth of the Niagara River at the Falls - 185 feet.   Here's the official story:  "The huge volume of water rushing from the Falls is crushed into the narrow Great Gorge, creating the Whirlpool Rapids that stretch for 1.6 km (1 mi). The water surface here drops 15 m (50 ft) and the rushing waters can reach speeds as high as 9 mps (30 fps). The Whirlpool is a basin 518 m (1,700 ft) long by 365 m (1,200 ft) wide with depths up to 38 m (125 ft).  This is the elbow, where the river makes a sharp right-angled turn. In the Whirlpool, you can see the "reversal phenomenon". When the Niagara River is at full flow, the waters travel over the rapids and enter the pool, then travel counterclockwise around the pool past the natural outlet.   Pressure builds up when the water tries to cut across itself to reach the outlet and this pressure forces the water under the incoming stream. The swirling waters create a vortex, or whirlpool. Then the waters continue their journey to Lake Ontario. If the water flow is low (water is diverted for hydroelectric purposes after 10pm each night) the reversal does not take place; the water merely moves clockwise through the pool and passes to the outlet. Below the Whirlpool is another set of rapids, which drops approximately 12 m (40 ft)." And the ice shelf in Fort Erie? Lots of slushy waves hitting an ice shelf forming on the shore.  Looks like whipping cream.  There was an earlier on at the end of December with icicles hanging from the beachfront houses. Today's picture is a Spring flower - an abstract of a grape hyacinth.   Read more daily posts here: marilyncornwellblogspot.com Purchase works here: Fine Art America- marilyncornwellart.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

Feb 15 2023 - Don't Touch the Polar Bears

 

Libraries have special collections where rare and valuable books are kept, where  collections on "special subjects" are kept together and so on.  I thought of this when I tried to read a National Post story - "Canada is a dangerous, racist and cold place to travel" - a compelling headline, but very circuitous to find how to open up and read. That's what got me thinking about access to special collections.  The internet as open access is over, and we've entered the pay to play age.  Not like public libraries at all.  You don't pay to access a special collection.  You show your intent and credentials to care for the collection. Back to our "Top Story"   Last week, Russia’s Ambassador to Canada issued a travel advisory to fellow Russians, warning them that Canada is a “dangerous,” racism-filled hellscape that is best avoided. “Canada today is a very dangerous country for Russian citizens,” Oleg Stepanov told the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti on Friday. He added that Russians are frequently the target of racism on Canadian streets. “I would not recommend it for tourism, education or business,” he said. The comments add to the official Russian government travel advisory for Canada, which warns of roving street gangs and a “rather harsh climate.” The latter warning being particularly strange given that much of Russia, on balance, is actually colder than Canada." You can read more on the story HERE.  It is considered retaliation for Canada's sanctions against Russian businesses and aid to Ukraine.  We remember the 2019 Meng Wanzhou incident that prompted the retaliatory Chinese detention of Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor.  At that time the Beijing government issued a travel advisory warning that Canada was now arbitrarily detaining foreign nationals.  But the article points out that many countries give stern official travel warnings. “Terrorists are likely to try to carry out attacks in Canada,” reads the official U.K. guidelines on travel to Canada. “Attacks could be indiscriminate, including in places visited by foreigners.”  British citizens are warned that “severe snow storms are a regular occurrence during winter.” The Australian government tells travellers to Canada to steer clear of “dangerous wildlife” and to exercise caution on ski hills. “Winter sports can be dangerous, even fatal”  France, in its Canadian travel advisory, takes special care to warns its citizens of the dangers of snowmobiling. “Given the high number of snowmobile accidents, including several fatal incidents each year, extreme vigilance should be exercised when using them. And what about the U.S.? Wouldn't they get the same warnings and additional ones about gun violence?  Here is the CNN article on what 9 countries warn about the U.S.  So I've checked out our warnings and we're just as cautious as the rest.  Fraud, cybercrime, terrorism, parked vehicles, residential break-ins.  All these things are the stuff of advisories. Isn't this a fantastically coloured flower?  Jade Vine with the latin name Strongylodon macrobotrys.  This one was at Longwood Gardens blooming in early spring.   Read more daily posts here: marilyncornwellblogspot.com Purchase works here: Fine Art America- marilyncornwellart.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

Feb 12 2023 - Super Bowl

 

What is the difference between dangerous sports and violent sports?  Is ice hockey more violent than football? Dangerous sports seem to me to entail deadliest.  Deadliest is countable.   When I look at this chart comparing danger, what should I think?  I laugh because it is hilarious to have fishing on the chart.  A non-contact, mostly non-competitive sport? Fishing injuries seem to be to be self-inflicted from poor use of a knife or simple falling.    The explanation for basketball on the top of the list is because of the many paediatric injuries, particularly the ankle.  But wouldn't football be more dangerous and violent given it ranks high on concussions?  Cycling is up there due to falls and collisions.  I wonder what the comparison of a fishing fall is to a cycling fall?  Again, a laughter reaction to fishing.  I wonder about this as today is the most popular and most-watched show on American screens.  Football.  The Super Bowl.   Guess what seems to be the Number 1 topic?  Surprise me - it is Betting.  The Half-time show - Rhiana.  It is expected to take longer than the minutes of play - likely 14 minutes compared to average of 11 minutes of play. The show's elapsed time is 4 hours.  How long is the national anthem at the Super Bowl?  Will it be short - at a minute and 34 seconds, or long as in two minutes and 35 seconds?  I find it an unmusical melody so am not a fan of having to listen to a long version.   And other things to know about the Super Bowl: 1. second-highest food consumption day 2. advertisements very expensive - this year's top advertiser is a Christianity group with Jesus Gets us at $20 million  3. high numbers watching - often the most watched show of the year 4. why those Roman numerals? they think it is less confusing (!) So many things to consider on this monumental sports day. We're coming up to Valentine's Day - here's a flowering heart.  Read more daily posts here: marilyncornwellblogspot.com Purchase works here: Fine Art America- marilyncornwellart.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

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Jan 24 2023 - That Doomsday Clock

 

What is it about that Doomsday Clock?  I can tell you as it has been around for my entire life.  It has been with us for 75 years, launched in 1947.  The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, comprised of world leaders and Nobel laureates, has given their estimate of how close the world is to collapse due to nuclear war, climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic.   That clock put my childhood under threat from actions I had no power over. Then it was nuclear weapons and the nuclear arms race between the U.S. and the Soviet Union.  That was fire drills crouching under desks.  The image of that clock was very powerful to a child.  Destruction will automatically occur when it hits midnight.  How was I to interact with the threat of nuclear war? To me, a "threat horizon" was a thing - as real to a child as the rising and setting sun. It has always been set at minutes to midnight.  In 1947 it was 23:53.  It has fluctuated over the years, each time based on an event.  For example, the first fluctuation after the start of the clock was in 1949 when the Soviet Union tested its first atomic bomb.  The clock got moved to 23:57 - that meant 4 minutes closer to doomsday. Nuclear devastation was the trigger back then.  in 2018, information warfare threats and other technology dangers were cited, such as synthetic biology, artificial intelligence and cyberwarfare.   Now the clock is in hours, minutes and seconds. What would make it move to include milliseconds?   Significant is the inclusion of the threats of climate change and the pandemic.  These aren't on past clock changes.  They seem to add to the cultural distress. Moving away from catastrophe? They provide a list of  "Immediate, practical steps to protect humanity from the major global threats."   It is a big list.   And what bring this into our horizon? Watch the 2023 Doomsday Clock announcement today at 10:00am EST.  The subtitle on the headlines?  Will humanity tick closer to armageddon?   A child's experience of the Doomsday Clock was stressful back then.  It seems much worse for children now, with the presence of social media to make this a overwhelming visual nightmare.  Here are just some of the google-retrieved images.   Here's the floral clock in Niagara Falls. The warped view of a world shape might be a good interpretation of the Doomsday Clock. But there's lots of time on this clock before midnight. Read more daily posts here: marilyncornwellblogspot.com Purchase works here: Fine Art America- marilyncornwellart.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

Sep 8 2021 - September Project ...for Forty Years

 

September is often the month we start projects.  Here's a project I missed out on - a yearly picture of something over my lifetime.  Oh well.  We can look at other people's versions - today we have  a yearly picture of siblings over four decades.  It is a distinct one, done by a professional photographer, so the images are compelling.   From the  NY Times article covering the story:  "Nicholas Nixon was visiting his wife’s family when, “on a whim,” he said, he asked her and her three sisters if he could take their picture. It was summer 1975, and a black-and-white photograph of four young women — elbows casually attenuated, in summer shirts and pants, standing pale and luminous against a velvety background of trees and lawn — was the result. A year later, at the graduation of one of the sisters, while readying a shot of them, he suggested they line up in the same order. After he saw the image, he asked them if they might do it every year. “They seemed O.K. with it,” he said; thus began a project that has spanned almost his whole career. The series, which has been shown around the world over the past four decades, will be on view at the Museum of Modern Art, coinciding with the museum’s publication of the book “The Brown Sisters: Forty Years” in November." An update in 2021 shows Nicholas Nixon being interviewed about the story HERE.  The identify of the four sisters was not revealed for forty years.  Although, it would likely have been easy to figure out.   You can look at the pictures easily - there are many articles with the 40 pictures shown - there's a YouTube video that has the progression in 4 minutes. It is HERE.  It is a bit strange but as the photographer took such a similar picture each year with each person in the same position, it morphs extremely well.  Another version shows the full pictures in progression - it is HERE. At the end, you will find YouTube's endless versions of 25, 20, etc years of family photos.  It makes me realize this is a popular project.  Watching the progression of the passing of a lifetime, that September Song comes to mind, doesn't it? I hear Jimmy Durante's version.   And seeing the pictures, you can understand why Nixon's is so well known - such expressions he has captured. This is a lily in the Lilycrest Gardens field - such pretty colours and a nice progression of the blooms across the picture.

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Aug 24 2021 - Soda Jerk

 Would you want to be a soda jerk or a soda clerk?  The term soda jerk was a pun on soda clerk, the formal job title of the young male drugstore assistants who operated soda fountains. It was inspired by the "jerking" action the server would implement to drive the fountain handle back and forth when adding soda.  That was in the 1030s and 1940s. Here's the article on the "lost lingo of New York City's Soda Jerks HERE.  

It got me thinking about how anyone would want to be called a jerk rather than clerk.  That's because, in contrast, a jerk is defined as a "contemptibly obnoxious person. " That was American slang that started showing up in the 1930s.  It is thought it developed via  "jerkwater' which dates from the 1860s and came to mean an insignificant or hick town.  It evolved to "small-time, second-rate, mediocre" and was abbreviated to jerk, so was the start of "jerk" the obnoxious person.

But what about "jerk chicken"?  Jerk is a style of cooking native to Jamaica, and meat is dry-rubbed or wet marinated with hot spice. That word jerk comes from charqui, a Spanish term for jerked or dried meat.  That's another world altogether and not to be considered with the clerks and jerks above. 

The original word "jerk" means a quick movement, and then the verb "jerk" meant to strike or lash, so that the noun became a stroke or lash.  Both verb and noun are considered echoic - sounding like what it meant.  

But what about the sexual slang aspects of the word? The grammarphobia.com article chronicles the word's sexual slang aspects through a lengthy history. It repeats the American reference to Alexander Portnoy in Philip Roth's novel Portnoy's Complaint, 1968, as the sexual verb was "so beloved of Alexander Portnoy".   So when I looked through a lot of the "lost lingo" terms for types of sundaes, it seemed to me this might have been a part of the underground world of sexual slang.  Being called a soda jerk might have been considered smirky and rebellious.  When I look at the pictures of those teenage boys, this makes perfect sense.

What do you think?


This wonderful painterly background makes this a pleasing floral portrait.

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Nov 14 2020 - Villains in Port Dover?

 

And what happened in Port Dover? Yes - they (the bikers) 'descended on this otherwise sleepy Lake Erie town'. It was very subdued and quiet - 600 was the number given compared to last year there were 75,000 in Port Dover for September's 13th day. My interest has turned to villains.  The first villain I remember is Lex Luthor - these excerpts are from Wikipedia: "Lex Luthor originally appeared in Action Comics No. 23 (cover dated: April 1940). He has since endured as the archenemy of Superman. Lex Luthor was originally a mad scientist, but since the late 1980s, he has more often been portrayed as a power-mad business magnate, the CEO of LexCorp.  He ranks as number 4 in the 100 Greatest Villains of All Time." "Following Crisis on Infinite Earths (1985-1986), DC reboots its universe yet again, creating the "Post-Crisis" reality. In the 1986 limited series The Man of Steel, John Byrne redesigned Lex Luthor from scratch, intending to make him a villain that the 1980s would recognize: an evil corporate executive. Byrne intentionally chose to base this new depiction of Luthor on businessmen Donald Trump and Ted Turner." There are a number of through-lines to Donald Trump except for the origins of poverty:  "As originally presented in the Post-Crisis version of the DC Comics Universe, Lex Luthor is a product of child abuse and early poverty."   On his character, Wikipedia observes: "Whether he is a mad scientist, corrupt businessman, or both, Luthor's ego is a defining trait in all his incarnations; he believes he is entitled to both popularity and power. While each incarnation initially wants the adoration of others and control over either Smallville or Metropolis, the goal eventually rises to control over Earth and possibly universal domination." I reminisced through the Chrysanthemums at Gage Park last month. What a beautiful creation each one is.

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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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