Oct 7 - Curious Hockey Circumstances

 

We are all on Hockey Canada and its scandal.  The Prime Minister and the Minister of Sport, the news media, especially the Globe and Mail, the sponsors, the provincial hockey associations and the public. We want something to happen with the executives who created funds to "handle" sexual assault cases to they didn't become public.  The headline today with CBC?  Is the game over for the Hockey Canada brand? Another headline today has an expert baffled by Hockey Canada response to scandals - "Never seen anything like this" in governance.  He's particularly worried about the board. How is it so many people are calling for action and no responsible action is taking place?  This has been ongoing  since the spring.  It points to how corporate organizations have a lot power and can do what they want.    Makes me worry about capitalism as a system.  What leverage does the PM have?  The PM has a $14 million investment over the last 2 years.  That's 6% of the organization's funding .  The PM froze the funding in June.  Not much impact, given an asset worth reported to be in excess of $153 million.   The major revenue streams then would be  sponsors and player fees.  The sponsors who have pulled out - like Esso, Time Hortons, Scotiabank, Canadian Tire are in the top tiers. One article says that "Hockey Canada has several tiers of sponsors, including four premier partners – Esso, Nike, Tim Hortons and Telus – who pay as much as $2 million per year for the association, a source said."  That's good funding, but the real source has to be player fees. Player fees are  just under $50 a year.  They are collected by the provincial organizations and transferred to Hockey Canada.  How many players are there?  There are 630,000 registered players under the age of 18 in Canada.  Who collects the fees?  The provincial organizations. Some of the provincial hockey organizations have started to pull out and others have been sly - withholding the insurance amount only.    What will and can parents do?  There is a Parents Canada organization and canadianhockeymoms.ca  but there appears to be nothing/no one with power.  On the canadianhockeymoms website there is nothing there to see on the scandal - it is about getting your kids into hockey - fundraising and recipes.  That looks like quite a gap to me.   So we will be following the money trail.  Will Hockey Canada melt like the wicked witch of the west?   Today we have the Jordan trail leading to the valley where Jordan Pond and Jordan Harbour are.  Only once have I seen this since moving here - skaters playing hockey i Jordan Harour. No fees involved there.

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May 18 2022 - ABBA Anniversary

 

Do I hear Dancing Queen all the time because it is an ABBA anniversary?  The song must have a good beat as I hear it in the aquafit class.  Songs are played depending on their beats per minute to guide the exercisers in the speed and rhythm of exercise.   The lead story from Rolling Stone says that Abba celebrated the 50th anniversary of their founding by performing onstage together for the first time in 30 years.  That was written in 2016. The next article says that ABBA is celebrating their 50th anniversary by sharing an early permfomance "People Need Love" which was released in 1972.  That article was in March 2022. I assume the latter one is the reason for the ABBA music everywhere.  Digitally de-aged avatars of Abba will be featured in their new release Voyage.  It is their first new album in 40 years.  When they broke up, they were very vocal about never getting back together.   This is a hologram tour.  The Sun (Britain) article says they were offered $1 billion to do a live tour.  So back to Dancing Queen - "a tempo of 101 BPM. It can also be used half-time at 51 BPM or double-time at 202 BPM." Here's the description in full so that you can enjoy that it is given the designation of "somewhat danceable": Dancing Queen is a positive song by ABBA with a tempo of 101 BPM. It can also be used half-time at 51 BPM or double-time at 202 BPM. The track runs 3 minutes and 51 seconds long with a A key and a major mode. It has high energy and is somewhat danceable with a time signature of 4 beats per bar. In comparison, here's the entry of Ymca - considered very danceable.  We also sing along with whenever it is played in exercise class.   "Ymca is a positive song by Village People with a tempo of 127 BPM. It can also be used half-time at 64 BPM or double-time at 254 BPM. The track runs 4 minutes and 45 seconds long with a F♯/G♭ key and a major mode. It has high energy and is very danceable with a time signature of 4beats per bar." from songbmp.com A front lawn meadow on Jordan's main street.  I don't know if the owner is part of the no mow movement, even though I talked to her.  Britain has "No Mow May" to make more flowers available to pollinators.   Read more daily posts here: marilyncornwellblog.com Purchase works here: Fine Art America- marilyncornwellart.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

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Jan 23 2021 - What time do birds get up in the morning?

 

What time do birds get up the morning?  This winter morning the sun is rising and no birds are singing.  But it is bitter cold winter, and birds don't do a lot of singing in January.   I find out that birds generally begin singing 30 – 90 minutes before the sunrise. That's around 4:00am in the spring time.  Different birds will chime in at different times. Blackbirds, robins, and thrushes are among the first to begin singing. Others will soon join them and this chorus will last until the sunrise fades.  Intensity of sunlight makes for earlier wake-up times.  It is winter now, so birds wake up at about 7:00am in winter. They will begin singing their dawn choruses, but not with so large a chorus.  Birds tend to wake up whenever they sense daylight. The time that birds wake up varies a lot among different species and different environments where there is light pollution and changing seasons. Yesterday, it was past 7:30am and there aren't any birds on the feeders out front.  At 7:50am a flock of sparrows come in to the feeder and start their chatter.  But then the sun was shining on the horizon.  Today is an overcast day, so it will be interesting to find out what time they come to the feeder. Yesterday I was alert to the visiting hawk.  I checked that it wasn't out there.  There was one the day before, and Baxter was at the office window staring up at it.  It flew off when it saw me come in  and sit in the chair.  Last year, a hawk was attacking the sparrows in the hedge next door.  It was jumping into the hedge from the ground.  Later that day, I watched Baxter who proceeded to repeat the technique.  Neither were successful - both get my admiration for ingenuity. These pictures are from 2014 - this is Jordan Harbour looking towards the Lake.  It froze over so smoothly that people were playing hockey and ice sailing.  I've not seen this since, although my sister said people were skating on the lagoon pond at Charles Daley Park.  That's just down the road a bit on the Lake side of the highway.

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March 31 2021 - Niagara's Blossom Trail - Apricots

 

It is time for me to track Spring in Niagara for those who want to follow the Blossom Trail. Our calendar photo today comes from May with Magnolias blooming mid-month.  But the Blossom Trail has already started with the Witch hazel and Daphne blooming now.  Lovely little Snow Drops are finishing, typically blooming in March.   Our first orchard blossoms are Apricots, and there is a lovely row of them on Jordan Road in Jordan Station/Jordan.  Just exit the QEW highway and drive up Jordan Road towards the escarpment, and they are on the west side.  I took a picture of the location last year - Pineview Orchards - (pinevieworchards.ca)  just beyond Bayview Greenhouses and before Chestnut Street.  My GPS information from the picture says the trees are between Pearl Morissette restaurant and the Jordan Arena, so just before Fourth Avenue.  I will be at that very spot on Friday - at Pearl Morissette.  Why is that?   Brian (my brother) and I are having lunch at Pearl Morissette on Friday.  It is one of Canada's most innovative restaurants.  We are amazed we are able to get seats for their first opening since Christmas time.  We were able to get in before the lockdown - a big tent had been set up for outdoor dining.  We knew it couldn't withstand winter winds in Niagara, but then the Christmas 'shutdown' happened, and everything closed. The diptych below is what you will see along Jordan Road as the Apricots bloom mid-April.  They are a delicate pinkish-white and these trees seem to be quite young, so will be bearing fruit for quite a few years.   On Jordan Road, and closer to the QEW is the Upper Canada Cheese Company, so stop in.  I am told the Guernsey Girl cows are particularly well-cared for (I am concerned about industrial milk production methods as being inhumane).  Cheese-making happens on site and you can watch through the glass wall. Of course, you can taste cheese.  Restaurants often use their Niagara Gold cheese. This area is full of outstandingly-cared for orchards.  I drive along Honsberger Avenue regularly in any season to see the farms.  Maybe it is Blossom Bakery at 2323 Honsberger Ave - the barn behind the house is the converted bakery and their creative flat bread "pizzas" are highly prized - there is always a fruit version. I am now wondering where more apricot orchards are located.  I see Cherry Avenue Farm listed - they are in Vineland, so their orchards likely stretch between Jordan and Vineland.  There are lots more that retrieve with this search, so I'll do some research for an Apricot Route. This is our last day of March, so time to turn the page and enjoy a foolish day tomorrow!   Our April Calendar image of the Apricots is followed by a diptych of the 13th Street Winery in 2012, and blossoms in the grass. 13th Street has transformed into a modernist palace - white barn and open patio that are beautiful.  What a comparison with the old-style greenhouse behind the ancient Magnolia.   Purchase at: FAA - marilyncornwellart.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

May 29 2020 - On an Underwater Drive

There is a 'most famous' website.  It is worldfamousthings.org is where you will find bridges, castles, facts about animals, towers, tourist attractions, towers in history, roller coasters, floating underwater tunnels in Norway, carnivorous plants.  Underwater tunnels in Norway? Norway's underwater floating tunnel was 'being planned' in January 2019.  It is a $40 billion infrastructure project to make the route between two sites 'ferry-free'. An article written January 6 2020, says the world's deepest subsea tunnel - The Ryfylke tunnel - has opened in Norway.  It is 292 metres below sea level and is 14.4 km long. They are really moving along with these tunnels - the Hundvag tunnel and the Eiganes tunnel were due to open in February 2020 according to a September 2019 article.  The National Post shows the many bridges and tunnels that will/are being built along the Highway E39 route which connects the north and south Norwegian cities. The entire project is planned to be completed in 2025. Here's the article in the National Post HERE.  We're looking at the Creighton House wisteria arbour in Jordan earlier in the week.  It is more than 150 long and is over 100 years old.  Pauline Creighton told me the story of the stone - it was used for horse coaches and would have been on the other side of the sidewalk.  It found its way back to the original house after spending some years on a farm up on the escarpment.

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May 5 2020 - There's a Force for Everyone in being a Jedi

It's a long time since the Force came among us. It's over 40 years.  Since that time, the philosophy of Jediism has developed.  It is based on the depiction of the Jedi characters in Star Wars media.  This got attention in 2001 when a number of people recorded their religion as Jedi on their country's national census - it was meant to be a joke.  I assumed this is mostly Americans. But it turns out that 400,000 people in the U.K. and 70,000 in Australia did this. In 2005, the Temple of the Jedi Order was registered in Texas (of course).  There is also a substantial membership in Britain.  Here's how many people have self-identified as Jedi as of 2011: Australia - 65,000 Canada - 9,000  Czech Republic - 15,070 England and Wales - 176,632 To find out about this philosophy/religion the place to go is the Temple of the Jedi Order.  It is HERE.   The introduction: We are a Jedi church and international ministry of the religion Jediism and the Jedi way of life. Jedi at this site are not the same as those portrayed within the Star Wars franchise. Star Wars Jedi are fictional characters that exist within a literary and cinematic universe.  We are a recognized International Ministry and Public Charity; a tax exempt (donations are US income tax deductible) 501(c)3 non-profit organization founded in 2005. George Lucas says that Joseph Campbell's book The Hero With a Thousand Faces was a major influence behind the Force's creation. In it Campbell draws parallels between the world's myths, arguing that they are all part of one "monomyth". In an interview with Bill Moyers, in 1999, published in Time magazine, Lucas said he created the Force as a device to awaken spirituality in young people. "Not having enough interest in the mysteries of life to ask the question, 'Is there a God or is there not a God?' – that is for me the worst thing that can happen." However, he said he never intended Star Wars to have a religious following. "I hope that doesn't end up being the course this whole thing takes," he told Moyers, adding that he would hate living in a secular world where entertainment passed for people's religious experience. He seems to have accomplished his task of awakening spirituality and needn't worry as the Jedi religion is not following Star Wars.. I found this abandoned farm house last year when I was on the greenhouse tour - the new greenhouses are in the background.  I drove by it last week.  It still stands, with more greenhouses around it. It still stands starkly alone on a bare field.

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