Mar 242024 - Marilyn's Photos - Stupid Life Hacks

Stupid seems to be a favourite word today. Isn't this is proven by the headline "Stupid Life Hacks?" It doesn't really make sense given the meaning - "having or showing a great lack of intelligence or common sense."   It showed up in 1541 in the English language, but since 2000 it has exploded in popularity. Maybe it is so used because it has so many similar words and comparable meanings.  There are somewhere upwards of 447 similar and opposite words in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary.   I found this list in one of the dictionaries and had to put it into alphabetical order to make some sense of it.    absurd asinine astute barmy batty birdbrained boneheaded bovine brain-dead brainless chuckleheaded clever cock-eyed crackbrained cracked crazy cretinous cuckoo daft damfool dense derpy dim doltish dopey dotty dozy dull dull-witted dumb dunce-like dunderheaded empty-headed fat-headed fatuous foolish fruitless futile glaikit gormless gullible half-baked halfwitted harebrained idiotic ignorant ill-advised ill-considered imbecile imbecilic inane indiscreet inept injudicious insane intelligent irresponsible lamebrained laughable loony loopy ludicrous lunatic mad meaningless mindless moronic muttonheaded naive nonsensical not the full shilling nutty obtuse off one's head off one's trolley Opposite: out to lunch peabrained pig-ignorant pointless potty prudent ridiculous risible scatterbrained screwy senseless sensible short-sighted silly simpleminded slow slow on the uptake slow-witted soft in the head thick thick as two short planks thickheaded unintelligent unthinking unwise vacuous vapid View 2 vulgar slang words witless wooden wooden-headed zany We've found something starting with almost every letter of the alphabet! What do you think of the "view 2 vulgar slang words" that is in there - I wouldn't have noticed this if it wasn't sorted.  And then check out the chart below showing the use of the word stupid over time. I think this is a Google Ngram. More on this feature HERE.  Is this worrisome?  What does it signify?  There certainly are a lot of people asking questions about other people being stupid.   Peter Kaufman's article on the sociology of stupidity proposes how "stupid" actually works: "let’s not forget that the phrase “stop being so stupid” is often followed-up by “because you are embarrassing us.”   We have snow every year rain the last week of March.  This is picture is from 2021 when there was a huge snowstorm in April while the Magnolias were blooming.  The snow melted, and they bloomed.  There isn't any news so far in March on the state of the tender fruit crop.  We had very warm weather and then very cold weather.

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MAY 8 2022 - 12 Famous Mothers Ruling the World

 

OK - that headline got my attention.  That there are 12 mothers ruling the world.   That seems a dream.  I compare that to the place where we are:  Trump, Putin, Elon Musk and Xi Jinping rampaging through the social, economic, and political realms of the entire planet.  Trump is often considered the most dangerous in political commentaries.  And that's in comparison to Putin and Kim Jong-un.  Xi Jinping came in last in a German poll.  I wonder who they would say is the most dangerous now?  So back to the feel-good article on the 12 mothers who are "ruling the world".  Would you consider Michelle Obama up for the challenge of taking on our super-foes?  Can Beyoncé solve the war in Ukraine?  Would you consider f"amous mom Madonna - an icon and also a loving mother," ready to take on Putin right now?  So I got to realizing that these are articles are about famous women who are mothers.  It doesn't look like anyone is  famous for being a mother?  And ask the same question about men - there aren't articles about men famous for being fathers.   So we likely should focus on simple family pleasures for the celebration day.  What to do?  Cook a meal for your mom, plan a picnic in the park and make your mom a gift.  And here are two jokes that fit nicely into Mother's Day. Daughter: Mum, what’s it like to have the greatest daughter in the world? Mum: I don’t know dear, you’d have to ask Grandma. A kid asks his dad, “What’s a man?” The dad says, “A man is someone who is responsible and cares for their family.” The kid says, “I hope one day I can be a man just like mom!”    There seem to always be Magnolias in bloom on Mother's Day.   Read more daily posts here: marilyncornwellblog.com Purchase works here: Fine Art America- marilyncornwellart.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

May 8 2021 - Anniversaries

 

Gerry and I are celebrating our 50th Anniversary today.  That seems like a long time.  It isn't in comparison to Guinness World Records.  Wikipedia has a long list for marriages reported to be over 80 years.  Ninety years is the emerald wedding anniversary, or is it?   At another site, it says that the 90th is stone, the 80th is oak, the 70th is platinum, and the 60th is diamond.  We know the 50th is gold.   There is a list from 1 to 100.  I have to admit that being 120 doesn't appeal to me at my current age of 70.  Do you imagine being 120? Let me know what you come up with. What's the longest marriage? For not verified - which is key to Guinness records - it is 90 years 291 days - it failed verification.  Next is 88 years, also not verified.   Are you ready?  The verified marriage is 86 years 290 days in North Carolina.  It was recognized in 2008 and they passed away in 2011 and 2013. They were married on May 13, 1924. In Wikipedia, there's one at 85 years with both spouses living now.  We should send them congratulations on September 17th. Taking a look at 50th anniversary jokes, I find that they all start with "an elderly couple", so I guess 70 meets the criteria of elderly.  Here's the repeatable one: An elderly couple was celebrating their fiftieth anniversary. The couple had married as childhood sweethearts and had moved back to their old neighborhood after they retired. Holding hands, they walked back to their old school. It was not locked, so they entered, and found the old desk they'd shared, where Jerry had carved I love you, Sally. On their way back home, a bag of money fell out of an armored car, practically landing at their feet. Sally quickly picked it up and, not sure what to do with it, they took it home. There, she counted the money - fifty thousand dollars! Jerry said, We've got to give it back. Sally said, Finders keepers. She put the money back in the bag and hid it in their attic. The next day, two police officers were canvassing the neighborhood looking for the money, and knocked on their door. Pardon me, did either of you find a bag that fell out of an armored car yesterday? Sally said, No. Jerry said, She’s lying. She hid it up in the attic. Sally said, Don't believe him, he’s getting senile. The agents turned to Jerry and began to question him. One said: Tell us the story from the beginning. Jerry said, Well, when Sally and I were walking home from school yesterday ... The first police officer turned to his partner and said, Were outta here!   Today we have a Magnolia couple.  This was blooming in profusion when we got married.  A lovely floral time of year for such a flower lover as I am. Purchase at: FAA - marilyncornwellart.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

April 9 2021 - Niagara's blossom Trail - Magnolias

 

Last week I wrote about the first orchard blossoms - Apricots.  Today we are covering Magnolias and that's because the Star Magnolias are opening up.  Magnolias typically bloom between the end of April and early May.  My garden in Toronto had both white and pink magnolia trees in the back garden overlooking the conservatory greenhouse.  They made for wonderful spring images. We have a great love of Magnolias, and they are located in many front gardens in towns, suburbs and in rural settings.  Royal Botanical Gardens' has several Magnolia dells - at the arboretum and the rock garden, and along the walking trails. The second image comes from RBG. Our stylized images are of the Magnolia in front of the former Vineland Research Centre on Niagara Street, St. Catharines.  Its distinction is that it is an old, mature tree. The weeping Cherry tree is located here, too.  This is a mini-arboretum.  The historical Yates Street boasts several very large Magnolias in front of heritage homes. Our last two images are in Queenston, taken last year at the end of April.  The Bright mansion, perched on the Niagara River, is a stunning backdrop to the lovely collection of trees on the grounds.  And don't forget Niagara Falls - there is a beautiful magnolia alley at the Niagara parks Floral Showhouse.   The oldest saucer Magnolia is considered to be 400 years old.  It is located in China.   If you would like to see the oldest trees - this is the website Monumental trees HERE.  They are located in Europe.   The saucer Magnolia is not native to Ontario.  Our Carolinian native Magnolia is the Tulip tree and the Cucumber tree. There are only eight native magnolia species inNorth America.  And the Cucumber tree is the only native to Canada.  If you would like to know more about the oldest native trees in Niagara - this is the link HERE.  Niagara Glen Nature Preserve is considered to have the champion-size tulip trees - up to 132 feet tall.  My favourite spot is Paradise Grove, easily accessible with walking trails, and fond memories of childhood picnics with family and friends.   A progression of images from the interpretive to the stylized, an heritage home on Yates Street and then two of  last Spring's Queenston homes and gardens. Purchase at: FAA - marilyncornwellart.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

Mar 22 2021 - What makes a puppy snarky?

 

The musical group Snarky Puppy has performed with Snoop Dog.  Michael League started the band as a freshman studying jazz in 2004.  Supposedly he "plucked the band name “Snarky Puppy” from his brother’s discard pile, citing his love of dogs as the reason".   In another interview in Serbia: How did you come up with the name „Snarky Puppy“? – I didn’t expect the band to play more than a few gigs, so I chose this name (which my brother had considered for one of his bands years before). But now we’re stuck with it! And another interview in Ottawa:   Where does the name Snarky Puppy the name come from? Oh, that’s the most uninteresting story, not print worthy at all. My brother was going to name a band that and he didn’t. So I did. And this explanation from the Mercury News: Snarky Puppy: OK, let’s get the band’s name thing out the way first. What does it mean? Nothing, absolutely nothing, says bassist/songwriter/frontman Michael League. “I just thought it was a great name and I love dogs,” he says.    What should the snarky puppy be named now that is grown up?  And does Michael League have a dog? What would he name it?  Here are a few suggestions: Bark Twain Chewbarka Doc McDoggins Droolius Caesar Franz Fur-dinand Fyodor Dogstoevsky Hairy Paw-ter Jimmy Chew Kareem Abdul Ja-Bark Mary Puppins The Notorious D.O.G. Orville Redenbarker Ozzy Pawsborne Prince of Barkness Salvador Dogi Santa Paws Sarah Jessica Barker Sherlock Bones Winnie the Poodle Woofgang Puck If he has a big dog: Binx Bitsy Demi Hobbit Munchkin Nugget Pee Wee Peanut Scrappy Squeakers Squirt Toto Twinkie There are more  dog names HERE

Here we are finally into Spring!

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Betterphoto Winner

Wake Up on the Bright Side What were the best April Fool's jokes in the news yesterday?  According to the bbq they included  1. Trump buys Irish high-rise If you believe the Irish Times, Dublin is to get its very own "Trump Tower". "Trump Dublin is expected to be completed by the end of 2018," it exclusively revealed.  Extra credit should go to whoever completed the joke with a fake tweet from Donald Trump: "Bought a small tower in Dublin, Ireland. We are going to build an awesome hotel in Dublin. It will be totally great. Love Ireland! Great country! #trumpdublin". 2. Russian hackers on demand Inspired by claims that Kremlin-sponsored hackers tried to rig the US election, Russia's foreign ministry shared "a new answering machine for Russian diplomatic missions abroad" on Facebook. 3. Germany to go GMT The scamps at the UK's German embassy tweeted that Germans would shortly vote to "leave, or remain in" Central European Time (CET). "A replica of the Shepherd Gate Clock in Greenwich would be placed atop the World Time Clock in Alexanderplatz, Berlin, in a frivolous symbolic gesture," the writer deadpanned. The clues were there for linguists, however - the surname of the "government spokesperson" quoted - Frau Sommerzeit - translates as "Summertime". Our images today were the two that placed in last month's betterphoto contest - the Magnolias were second place, and the calla lily a finalist. From Betterphoto:  With over 3900 entries in the contest, it is a big honor to be selected among the winners. To see your winning image - Spring Reverie - and the other excellent winning photos, visit:http://www.betterphoto.com/contest/winners/1702.asp View this email in your browser

Let's Go Spring

Spring has started for me.  The snow drops and witch hazel are blooming in my garden and gardens in Grimsby and St. Catharines.  I expect Toronto gardens are abloom with these welcome flowers too.  So to kick off this best of seasons, here are a few 'welcome to spring' images.