Oct 3 2023 - InTime for Halloween

 

Do you remember those scary movies where people's heads were in the ground like cabbages, and supposedly their bodies were buried below?  I don't remember if they were alive or dead.  But I found a product yesterday that seems in the theme of growing body parts. Organovo is creating full-fledged human body parts.  This organization is basically printing living human tissue. Currently, the technology can produce tissues of about twenty or so cell layers thick, comprised of multiple cell types. Already, they’ve created a functioning human liver; there’s no telling what else might come of this technology. Pretty soon, we might even be able to replace lost limbs and organs." So I went to the Organovo website and here's one of their article introductions, entirely in line with my initial reaction: "Remember when movies like The Island seemed like a scary yet foreseeable future? In 2005, the sci-fi thriller introduced a compound inhabited by clones used for organ harvesting, as well as surrogates for wealthy people in the outside world."   You can read more HERE. These are Halloween pictures from a few years ago - by chance I came upon a house in St. Catharines that was wildly decorated.  What about the dogs going out for a walk?

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

Nov 2 - Will Smith Oscar Arrives at Halloween

 

I was wondering about Will Smith and what's the impact of the slap after seven months.  I find out that this will likely be a forever repeated story.  How does it get interpreted on Halloween?  As a costume on "The View": 01/11/22 07:36 The child was dressed in an all-gold suit, gold mask and face paint to resemble an Academy award - and the outfit was completed with a red paint handprint across their face. Smith triggered a furious backlash when he slapped Rock for making a jibe about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, at the Oscars ceremony in March. Some who watched The View took issue with the joke, which was part of a segment featuring several children dressed in costumes to reflect hot topics of 2022. One said: 'Not a fan of that Oscar slap costume.' Another added: 'The Oscar Slap? Really? (rolls eyes).'  Celebrities seem to dress up as other celebrities and movie characters on Halloween.  It is a good thing there are stories to tell you who they are supposed to be.  You can scroll through them HERE. There's a lot of money spent on strange and vulgar Halloween costumes by U.S. celebrities.  So I guess the  "The View" is consistent with the times. Here's our picture of Peninsula Ridge in the fog earlier in the week.  And then what we can expect by the end of November.  What different scenarios! Read more daily posts here: marilyncornwellblog.com Purchase works here: Fine Art America- marilyncornwellart.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

Dec 6 2020 - Santa's Costume

 

I was out yesterday to the Dollar Store and got some Christmas clothes for Millie.  A Santa hat and looks to me like a jester skirt.  At the Dollar Store they are $2.00 and at the pet store they are much more.  Given that Millie tried to each the clothes, $2.00 was the right price.  Rather, she tried to chew them.  Of course if I were to put the hat on Baxter, he would try to eat my hand.  He looks at my little finger as a mini-mouse treat, and that's just in a normal day. How many people have a Santa, Mrs. Santa, or sexy Santa girl outfit?  Is this a costume for Halloween?  Then it would get two wearings a year. Here's a response on Quora: "As a professional Santa portrayer for well over 20 years, I always portray Santa on Halloween. I visit one or two Halloween parties in full (depending on the weather) Santa regalia. When I am asked why, I usually answer with, “HoHoHO! Halloween is my FAVORITE holiday!” When others say they thought Christmas would be, I answer, “No, I have to work on Christmas! hoHoHO!!!” Another recommendation is to adapt Santa to match the scary Halloween themes - make him a zombie or an axe murderer.  I would think that is a pretty clear indication to not dress up as Santa on Halloween.   Santa and Mrs. Santa are pictured below at the Grimsby Museum Fantasy of Trees event in 2019. We're looking at our John Street pear trees - first the spring and then last week in the snow.  What a contrast of shapes.

Read past POTDs at my Blog: https://marilyncornwell.blogspot.com Purchase at: FAA - marilyncornwellart.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

Nov 1 2020 - Peter Pumpkin Treater

 

Someone has figured out a festive event for children at Halloween that doesn't need crowds.  it involves Peter the Pumpkin, carving the pumpkin, planting some of the seeds in a pot or the garden, marking it with a smile outline, and the next morning Peter has delivered some candy to the spot. That was devised by Julie Georgas who is the managing director for PR firm  Zeno Canada.  Her picture is on the home page of the website.    Here's her Peter Pumpkin Treater's Poem: Peter Peter Pumpkin Treater Makes Halloween even sweeter On the night before Halloween Carve a pumpkin and save some seeds Plant them in your garden or a special pot  And draw a smile to mark the spot  The seeds will grow in Peter's magic pumpkin land  And he will thank you for lending him a hand  A candy surprise awaits when you wake  For all the pumpkins you helped Peter make. So we've got Halloween covered for next year (that's my forecast imbedded in there).   Now it is time to figure out November's festivities - ahead of Christmas red and green.  Maybe it is time for a theme of blue and silver.   I'm thinking we spray paint the pumpkins blue and set them in pots with the white birch and juniper branches.   This grey squirrel from Gage Park  will deliver the chocolate covered nuts that are part of the November Festivities.

Read past POTDs at my Blog: https://marilyncornwell.blogspot.com Purchase at: FAA - marilyncornwellart.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

Oct 31 2020 - On Holiday Time

 

This year's Halloween feels like gridlock: it is Halloween on a Saturday with the time change from daylight savings time tonight - and if you look up - it is a full moon.  Isn't it even supposed to be a blue moon? How often does the time change with Halloween? It looks like the last one was And a full moon!  A full noon on Halloween is around every 19 years.  And the time change on the same day? It looks like the last one was 2015, and then before that 2009.  In 1982 Toronto, Saskatoon and Halifax made kids go trick-or-treating on the Saturday October 30th so they wouldn't be in the dark.  There's a movement to make Halloween on the last Saturday of October to extend the party time, etc.   Perhaps with the Pandemic, we aren't used to so much happening at once.  And with the Pandemic, there's so little happening that this seems like a lot.   Who helps the little pumpkins cross the road safely? The crossing gourd. What type of plants do well on all Hallow’s Eve? Bam-BOO What do you call a witch’s garage? A broom closet. What kind of food would you find on a haunted beach? A sand-witch! What was the witch’s favorite subject in school? Spelling. Here we are with the ever-lasting supply of Chrysanthemums from the Hamilton Gage Park Show. Its theme was First Responders - so there was a bus, and an ambulance as backdrops.

Read past POTDs at my Blog: https://marilyncornwell.blogspot.com Purchase at: FAA - marilyncornwellart.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

Oct 30 2020 - Dogs have the best costumes

 

With Halloween on a Saturday, there is an unspoken, clear message to adults to participate in the fun.  What a dilemma as our enthusiasm seems to have diminished over time.  Even to figure something simple out - and then looking through ideas for seniors turns out to be a stroll through unfunny and then poor taste. The pet ideas, in comparison, are hilarious. We don't need to tell you who they are dressed up as.   Today's stroll through history puts things in perspective, sort of. It was this day in 1995 when the Quebec referendum happened with 93.52% voter participation and a narrow defeat with 50.58% voting no and 49.42% voting yes.  Do you remember the relief back then?  I hope the same will happen next week over the U.S. election.   There was lots of enjoyment yesterday with the big display at the Hamilton Gage Park Chrysanthemum Show.  With pre-booked timed entries, it wasn't crowded.  It was so much more enjoyable than in past years.  Here is a small sampling of the beautiful flowers and displays.

Read past POTDs at my Blog: https://marilyncornwell.blogspot.com Purchase at: FAA - marilyncornwellart.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

Oct 28 2020 Halloween Colours - A Retail Decision?

 

What makes for Halloween's black and orange theme colours?  It seems obvious:  pumpkins and fall colours, along with the darkest night of the dead and ghosts arising ancient ritual.  There's a website to answer this question:  Isle of Halloween.  I took a look and it doesn't say much more.  I guess the commercialization of Halloween cemented the colour combination.  The Irish are credited with bringing Halloween traditions to the US in 1840. Postcards and die-cut paper decorations started in the 1900s and costumes appeared in stores in the 1930s and my generation remembers candies available in the stores in the 1950s.   What the Daily Mail calls a 'department store invention' seems to be the standard development of all of our purchasing holidays.   The marker for Halloween is Anoka, Minnesota, known as the Halloween Capital of the  World since 1920. It is the first city in America to officially hold a Halloween celebration, in an effort to divert kids from pulling pranks like tipping outhouses and letting cows loose to run around on Main Street. The town organized a parade and spent the weeks prior planning and making costumes. Treats of popcorn, peanuts and candy to any children who participated in the parade, followed by a huge bonfire in the town square. The event grew over time and has been held every year since 1920.  So here we are in the COVID year, finding out that Halloween turns out to be the most popular celebrated holiday of the year. More of the leaves images today.  The scanner is immense fun and very restrictive in space.  It demands simplicity in design.

Oct 27 2020 - Halloween and the Darkest Night Fun

 

NASA is going to share an exciting new discovery - it is something about there being more water on the Moon than previously thought, including water in a sunlit region.  The announcement is at noon today. At the other end of the spectrum, we have this weekend's celebration of the darkness of the haunted corn mazes and farms in Ontario.  They are open after dark for a night full of Halloween terror.  Fonthill boasts the Howell Family Pumpkin Farm.  I found it by accident one year on a drive for fall foliage.  There were hundreds of cars parked along the country road and in the field with people everywhere.  They are open this year - they have removed the live show and the hay play but have kept the corn maze, train ride, and jumping pillow. You will see lots of little children and families at this attraction. Niagara Falls is lit up for Halloween this year with vivid orange illumination.   Niagara Falls tourism includes a number of Lundy Lane attractions on the scary theme. Even Niagara on the Lake has Ghost Walks and Ghost tours of Fort George. Our picture is Witch Hazel leaves  on the scanner.  They look like flames of fire.

Read past POTDs at my Blog: https://marilyncornwell.blogspot.com Purchase at: FAA - marilyncornwellart.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.

Read past POTDs at my Blog: https://marilyncornwell.blogspot.com Purchase at: FAA - marilyncornwellart.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

Oct 25 2020 - Halloween Countdown with Celebrity Costumes

 

What can surpass the Elton John fun outfit yesterday?  The answer is Hollywood celebrity costumes.  I say "sort of" as some of these are creepy and some are hysterically funny. I took a look through 2018 and found Kim Kardashian and Jonathan Cheban as - who else?  Sonny and Cher. Isn't he perfect?       This one makes me curious about how the whole costume works:  Heidi Klum as Jessica Rabbit.   These pictures are from 2018, you can see the 2019 highlights at US News HERE.  And it will only be a week before we see this year's highlights. Our story today is a day with Baxter and Millie.  You can see Baxter in Millie's basket, then the two of them about to go outside, Millie wrestling with the Japanese Forest Grass, and then having a rest back on the sofa. There were leaves to chase, hostas to sit on (squash), and circles to run around in.

Read past POTDs at my Blog: https://marilyncornwell.blogspot.com Purchase at: FAA - marilyncornwellart.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

Oct 24 2020 - Halloween Costume Countdown

 

Halloween costumes have come a long way from gypsies and cowboys and princesses.  I find this out more this year than ever before.  Halloween is the favourite holiday of the year, but in the past Christmas has gotten more attention.   Psychology Today weighed in on Halloween being the best holiday back in 2010.  They say that people have the most fun as a group on Halloween. The reasons are pretty clear, according to the magazine:  "If we agree to define major holidays by the following criteria—1. How many decorations are bought by households of all social strata; 2. how many unusual food items are consumed; and 3. how many non-immediate-family members must be dealt with in a friendly manner—it becomes obvious that Halloween wins on all counts." Their answers: Halloween doesn't have any heavy-handed sentiment. You get to get extraordinary food items - candy.  You get to knock on the door of strangers and expect them to give you a gift and then you get to leave. Today we're looking at the crimson colour of Virginia Creeper. Our image today shows a portion of the Rusty Shed at Calamus Winery.

Read past POTDs at my Blog: https://marilyncornwell.blogspot.com