May 26 - Roadmapping

What do you think of this roadmap of American living?  In my work, strategic roadmaps helped organizations transition and transform.  This one is a current state map that contrasts the political and social status of the U.S.   There is a wide spectrum of visual representations, aka maps, now.   We can go to visual complexity.com and find all kinds of projects.  I looked for ones that might reveal things about U.S. politics but didn't see anything that general.  What I did find was a diverse collection of visual representations.  Every one of these pictures expands and shows the results of analysis through visual representation.  You can read about the project and author HERE.  Here is the author's introduction: VisualComplexity.com intends to be a unified resource space for anyone interested in the visualization of complex networks. The project's main goal is to leverage a critical understanding of different visualization methods, across a series of disciplines, as diverse as Biology, Social Networks or the World Wide Web. I truly hope this space can inspire, motivate and enlighten any person doing research on this field.   We found these two historic stone buildings in Delaware, near Mount Cuba.

May 25 - Left and Right

Left and Right have been hijacked in Google and now retrieve left and right wing politics. One has to look for relative direction to find left and right.   I repeated the search and there's some 'smarts' in Google that now retrieves both concepts.  I knew they were watching me. So in relation to my question about direction, Wikipedia says that: "In situations where a common frame of reference is needed, it is common to use an egocentric view."  I had thought of left and right simply.  I find there are many paragraphs in Wikipedia on this.     I was drawn to the paragraph on Geometry of the natural environment: "The right-hand rule is one common way to relate the three principal directions. For many years a fundamental question in physics was whether a left-hand rule would be equivalent. Many natural structures, including human bodies, follow a certain "handedness", but it was widely assumed that nature did not distinguish the two possibilities. This changed with the discovery of parity violations in particle physics. If a sample of cobalt-60 atoms is magnetized so that they spin counterclockwise around some axis, the beta radiation resulting from their nuclear decay will be preferentially directed opposite that axis. Since counter-clockwise may be defined in terms of up, forward, and right, this experiment unambiguously differentiates left from right using only natural elements: if they were reversed, or the atoms spun clockwise, the radiation would follow the spin axis instead of being opposite to it." This means there is proof of the right-hand rule in nature. There are human cultures with no words denoting the egocentric directions. We use backwards, forwards, up, down and left, right.  They might say "move a bit to the east".   Betterphoto tells me that one of my images won second place in the landscape category.  Here it is - a picture from Winterthur a few years ago.  No azaleas blooming so beautifully this year.

May 24 - Dog Tails Know

I am wondering about dog tails, and find these are the four questions that google has showcased: Do dog tails help them balance? How do tails help dogs? Do dogs have feelings in the tails? Do dogs know they have tails? These are hilarious questions.  First the final question's answer:  Here are a few reasons dogs chase their tails... Oftentimes, dogs will chase their tails because they are a bit bored; it's a way for them to have fun and expend some energy. This is especially true for puppies, who may not even realize that their tail is actually a part of their body, but see it as a toy. Balance: Some do, some don't. However, while most dogs technically don't need their tails for balance, some rely on them to do their jobs. Working dogs are often bred to use their tails when performing certain tasks, and in some breeds, that means carefully maintaining balance while performing their particular job. How to tails help dogs? For the most part, canines and felines use their tails to communicate — from the wide, sweeping wag of a happy dog to the quick tail swish of an annoyed cat. In canines, a tail may also serve as a type of rudder to help stabilize dogs in the water.    Here are the other questions from Google.  I must make a side-comment on Google's "grammarisms" such as "? ..." Who decided that? Here are our questions: Why do dogs lick people? ...  Why is my dog's nose always wet? ...  How much better is a dog's sense of smell than our own? ...  Why do dog feet smell like corn chips? ...  Is my dog's mouth really that clean? ...  Are pit bulls actually dangerous? ...  Do dogs get jealous? ...  Who cleans up after guide dogs? Our concluding jokes: Where does a dog get a new tail? At the retail store I just watched my dog chase his tail for ten minutes, and I thought to myself: "Wow, dogs are easily entertained." Then I realized: I just watched my dog chase his tail for ten minutes. Q: How is a dog and a marine biologist alike? A: One wags a tail and the other tags a whale. A country road in Delaware.

May 22 - Please the Fans Finale

The Elevator mystery is unsolved after almost 300 episodes, but the ding of its arrival is a completion for the Big Bang Theory. Once that door opened, the series was allowed to complete.  I had not realized that the most enduring question is Penny's surname.  It remains a mystery.  The show seemed to have a traditional set of resolutions, the highlight being Sheldon finding grace.   I saw part of an episode of the Lucy Show a few weeks ago. The finale of The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour mirrored their real-life circumstances - Wikipedia says it wasn't intentional. In the show Lucy and Ricky were about to divorce and end the show. Edie Adams was the guest star and chose the song to sing without knowing the plot - "That's All".  It is considered prophetic. While the show's finale divorce didn't happen, their real-life divorce was final and they only reconciled many years later. Viewership of finales is very important. The BBT viewership 'grew' to 23.44 million viewers, up from the 18 million who watched it live.  This makes it the most watched non-sports series program of 2018-19.  But it falls far short of the most watched television series finales of all time: M*A*S*H // 1983. 105.9 million viewers Cheers // 1993. 80.4 million The Fugitive // 1967. 78 million Seinfeld // 1998. 76.3 million Friends // 2004. 52.5 Magnum, P.I. // 1988. 50.7 The Cosby Show // 1992. 44.4 All in the Family // 1979. 40.2 Family ties // 1989. 36.3  Home Improvement //1999. 35.5 million Can you imagine these numbers?  The M*A*S*H episode drew 77% of those watching televisions at the time. Only the 2010's Super Bowl XLIV had 106 million viewers. The Cheers episode was watched by between 80.4 million and 93.5 million, with the rise of cable television. We look at a Miltonia orchid today.  Also known as the Pansy Orchid.

May the 4th be with you!

In 1977 Star Wars was released to very receptive audiences.  Line-ups were the norm in Toronto.  But then, back then, line-ups was normal in Toronto for most movies, and even in winter.  It was a movie-going town with lots of great venues with big screens and great sound. Maybe that's how the TIFF festival got to Toronto - knowing the audiences were already there. There are many articles - 20 facts, 30 facts, and so on  - things you didn't know about Star Wars.  These seem to be tidbits for diehard fans. So I have turned to finding jokes, and Reader's Digest supplied some puns: Q: Which program do Jedi use to open PDF files? A: Adobe Wan Kenobi Q: Which website did Chewbacca get arrested for creating? A: Wookieleaks Q: Why did Anakin Skywalker cross the road? A: To get to the Dark Side. Q: Why is Yoda such a good gardener? A: Because he has a green thumb.  Q: How do you get down from a bantha? A: You don’t. You get down from a goose. Luke and Obi-Wan walk into a Chinese restaurant. Ten minutes into the meal, Luke’s still having trouble with the chopsticks, dropping food everywhere. Obi-Wan finally snaps, “Use the forks, Luke.” The Star Wars text crawl walks into a bar. “Get outta my pub!” the bartender yells. “We don’t serve your type here.” These are the gerberas from the greenhouse tour a few weeks ago.   I am so taken by their complex centres with tiny pistols and petals looking like confetti.

I had thought the latest royal baby was expected at the end of April.  Today, at the beginning of May, the stories are still flowing but there's nothing from London yet. Today's news says that they will not be publishing pictures of the newborn on the day of the birth, that they will celebrate privately as a new family.   Harry's itinerary is being scrutinized to figure out the expected date.  The article says he is to make a 'surprise' two-day visit to Holland next week.  I expect that actual surprise would be if he cancels at the last minute.   There are so many questions for a royal birth: where will the family live, will they have a nanny, who will be the godparents, what title will the new royal baby have, where does it fall in the line of succession, and the key question what will it be called and will it be a boy or girl. I can't imagine being a Royal family reporter. Looking for something new to say every day when there isn't any progress.  But then, they self-select for the work.  The articles about royal reporters talk about them being 'friendly-ish' with the royal members.  That likely is the big draw - to be in the centre of the action - even if the action is quotes and gossip.  And of course, the scandal stories that are so sought after.  There's an article on thetalko.com with 16 scandalous pictures the Royal family tried to bury - what a strange work life that would be.  I received a finalist and a second place finish in this month's Better photo contest.  Here's the second place finish image.

Britannia is a girl and so are her boats

A Maritime Museum in Scotland has announced that it has begun referring to boats as 'it'.  While the Museum Director says this had begun earlier, it was announced after continued vandalism of signs - where 'she' has been scratched out of information signs.  This is where everyone got involved.  It is part of the current social frenzy over free expression. The article in the Independent.co.uk demonstrated this with a nonsense sounding quote by the side against the change: "Political correctness is getting out of hand, the few are trying to bully the majority," said Harry Silvers. "There is room in this world for everyone." Not all cultures view boats the way the British do. It turns out that in Russia, boats have the opposite gender. The world authority on boats is a British firm - Lloyd's List. The weekly shipping publication which has been in print for more than 250 years,  abandoned centuries of seafaring tradition by calling all vessels "it" starting in 2002. It did it to bring the paper into line with most other reputable international business titles.   We have a simple black/white decision in English.  The week.com tells me that if we were in Luganda, "there are ten genders: people, long objects, animals, miscellaneous objects, large objects and liquids, small objects, languages, pejoratives, infinitives, and mass nouns. But in Chinese, Finnish, and quite a lot of other languages, there are no genders at all."  It explains this in much more detail for those of you who love grammar.   This same article says this:  The problem is that the Old English word for "ship" (they spelled it scip) was neuter. The Old English word for "boat" (bat) was masculine. So was the word for "whale" (hwæl). And they didn't have a word for "car" (since people a thousand years ago didn't have cars). The use of the feminine pronoun in those instances isn't a holdover at all! It comes from more recent attitudes towards the things referred to.   Little did we know that this week's angry mob would include the Admiral Lord West. Switching topics.  We have continuing news each week on Grimsby coyotes: yesterday two people were bitten by coyotes walking along the street in town.  Coyotes live on the escarpment and above the escarpment - and anyone who has a house backing on to the escarpment hears them howling at night. These biting coyotes are living in the South Service Road and Maple Street area. They started chasing people on the town streets a few weeks ago, so the newspaper reports and warnings have been constant.  People have been pretty surprised - we're supposed to be the dominant species in town.  They don't realize that coyotes have no such rules.  Here's my boat of the day:

Pothole Karma

Somehow I cam upon this remarkable artist yesterday.   It's a good thing as a few ideas were on my mind for today's topic and I might have forgotten this.  It is too good to miss. This is Jim Bachor and here is the story:  "Around 17 years ago I learned the ancient art of the mosaic in Ravenna, Italy. The permanence of the art form is what drew me in first. Marble and glass do not fade. Mortar is mortar. An ancient mosaic looks exactly as intended by the artist who produced it over two millennia ago. What else can claim that kind of staying power? I find this idea simply amazing. Since my experience in Italy, I've devoted myself to changing people's perception of what a mosaic could be. Using the same materials, tools, and methods of the archaic craftsmen, I create mosaics that speak of modern things in an ancient voice. From junk food to coffee to breakfast cereal, my work permanently locks into mortar unexpected concepts drawn from the present." That was on a funding site named kickstarter.  He was asking for funding on kickstarter as all his work was installed - in potholes.  He has subsequently started producing pieces that can be taken home. What a lot of shows and awards.  There are lots of ice creamcicle/popsicles, dead rats, Trump, crumpled candy wrappers, roses.  And then a number of 'This is not a pothole anymore.'  He says that's probably his most popular piece. Here's a video of Jim working in the street HERE.    A story like this is wonderful - full of creativity, fun, engagement and activism.  YThere are some images off the pothole art after much driving.  It appears that one has been 'repaired' with asphalt as it disintegrates into a pothole again.   More pictures from the National Gallery.  I waited until there were some people above me so that I could some pictures of them in the water reflections.  It was a slow day, so this group was it.  Waves make the human form so intriguing.

Blue Lawns Scenario

The most relaxing and peaceful colour is blue.  Next is violet, then pink and then green. The psychological properties of colours website tells us that green is balance - harmony, refreshment, universal love, rest restoration, reassurance, emotion strength, friendliness, creativity.  These sound good. In comparison blue is intelligence, communication, trust, efficiency, serenity, duty, logic, coolness, reflection, and calm.   So my question - what if plants were blue, how would things be different? The nature of chlorophyll is such that it absorbs red light and blue light, and no green, which is why the plants appear green. This seems more like a premise for a fantasy plot rather than a scenario for how we might exist differently on the planet.   It's another Magnolia tree day. Here's the upcoming meet and greet this Sunday in Hamilton on Dundurn St. S.

This Week's Hostage Expression

U.S. Attorney General William Barr's Mueller Report press conference drew a lot of attention.  Why?  Because of the expression on Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein's face.  It is known as the hostage expression.  Something that came to my mind was that this might be an actual state of mind as a result of having worked with the Trump administration. Here's Rod Rosenstein before:   Here he is at the press conference: Don't pictures tell a story!  He's not the first to stand behind Trump with the "hostage expression"  - New Jersey Governor Chris Christie did the same on Super Tuesday in 2016 and then went on The Tonight Show to "explain it."  I wonder who might be next. We approach Easter Sunday with its religious and secular traditions. Supposedly the Germans brought the Easter bunny to America in 1the 1700s with German immigrants in Pennsylvania.  The tradition was an egg-laying hare.  The evolution since then:  This year's White House Easter Egg Roll is on April 22nd.  There were 18,000 eggs in last year's event. Two of our water abstracts from the National Art Gallery in Ottawa.

Easter Relics in the News

The perfect Easter Story timing:  The Crown of Thorns in residence at Notre Dame has been saved.  There are many press stories showing this beautifully gilded artifact - the "supposed and purported" original crown, considered priceless.  

The origins of the crown can be traced to texts dating back to about AD 530 that claim the crown was on show in the "Basilica of Mount Zion" — a hill in Jerusalem just outside the walls of the Old City — where it was believed to have been venerated for some time. 

Move on to the 1500's, with so many relics and so much veneration that  John Calvin, key figure in the Protestant Reformation published his Treatise on Relics in 1543.  He argued the veneration of relics had become idolatry. He pointed out there was no mention of the keeping of the relics of Christ or anyone else in the earliest church writings. The opposite was the case - a deliberate avoidance of these as they were considered idolatry.  

So on to more current authorities.  Professor Euan Cameron writes:

"Then there was the problem that so many relics existed in multiple versions across Europe:  one saint might have up to four full bodies dispersed in various places, besides body parts dispersed here and there."

And what about the relic itself - what is the  authenticity of the plant.  The speculation is that the original band of reeds ws held together by a thorny vine.  Wikipedia says that the bush the thorns came from is Ziziphus spina-christi, more popularly, the jujube tree.  The thorns were removed from the crown and kept in separate reliquaries.  The oldest known Ziziphus is located south of Jerusalem and is estimated to be about 2000 years old, just about the right age to be the 'very tree'. So it too is venerated.

This is a mere snippet of the long story of the Crown of Thorns.  Tomorrow we'll visit the current Easter story:  Where it's all about the bunny and not about the lamb.

Isn't this a beautiful display at the Niagara Falls Greenhouses?  This picture was taken a few years ago.



 

The Exception

I am usually seeing headlines that want me to click to see the top 10, the most beautiful, the best, etc.  Today there's a headline that is an exception: 12 of the work places to live in the U.S. This article made their list considering crime reports, annual median incomes, air quality, climate, poverty levels and unemployment rates.  Their list included St. Louis.  Here are the "worst" 5: Memphis, Tennessee New Haven, Connecticut Cleveland, Ohio Detroit, Michigan Camden, Jew Jersey Forbes has had Camden on their list of "America's Most Miserable Cities" for years. It is known for urban decay and political corruption. Its median household income is $18,000 and 45% of residents live below the poverty line. Its crime rate is 560% over the national average.  I thought:  Maybe in perspective, we'll find that the U.S. is not in dire straits.  So I spread the net to the most dangerous cities in the world.  St. Louis comes up number 13 for murder rates. The 12 cities ahead of it are in Mexico, Venezuela, and Brazil.  I thought, I'd look broader to find the 'most horrible' places in the world.  Even there, we see U.S. cities:  Dhaka, then Mumbai, Detroit, Karachi and Hackensack, N.J. Every day I learn something new:  I could never have guessed these statistics. Today's image shows a beautiful meandering road in Colorado.

Pledges vs Donations

What is the difference between fundraising pledges vs donations?  Over $1 billion dollars has been pledged to restore Notre Dame Cathedral.  The media coverage has boosted the Cathedral's cause.  There's an auction-like atmosphere as each billionaire pledges higher and greater amounts than the last one.  Governments have come together to pledge their support as well.   How much can be expected to actually be donated? Verbal pledges are loose commitments rather than completed actions.  The level of formality of the pledge is to be considered here.  Is a billionaire's  press announcement of $500 million Euros towards the reconstruction of Notre Dame a firm commitment? Is it a written commitment or even a contract? Can you imagine how complicated this is?  A flurry of donor pronouncements and what mechanism and system is in place to keep track of all the information, to confirm it, take details and put forward contracts to make the verbal pledge a real donation offer.   I am cautious about these announcements and commitments - they are being made in the moment of the event and receiving world-wide attention so might be overstated in amounts and actual commitment. I went looking for a default rate on things like this, but haven't found anything quotable.  What I did find is a U.S. example of how corporations feel about their pledges and donations.  Phil Knight, founder of Nike, once announced that he would withdraw a $30 million pledge to his alma mater, the University of Oregon. When Oregon President David Frohnmayer aligned the school with a worker’s rights group critical of Nike’s Asian operation, Knight put his wallet back in his pocket. The $30 million pledge to expand Autzen Stadium was put on hold. The university did not sue. A year later, Oregon ceased its participation and Knight started giving again. Today's image is an invitation to a meet and greet at Hamilton's First Unitarian Church.   There's a show of my work there and this is an invitation to join me on Sunday April 28th to see it.  It would be great to see you there.

Burning Down

World heritage site, Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris has "burned down" and the iconic spire collapsed.  It is considered the finest example of French Gothic architecture in Europe.  There are incredible pictures of the spire collapsing.  The roof was oak wood from the 13th century.  The structure was known as "the forest" because it required a forest of trees to build it. Pictures of it are here on the cathedral website. Important artifacts like the Crown of Thorns and the Tunic of Saint Louis  were saved.  Other artifacts referenced include a fragment of the "true cross" and one of the nails used by Romans to crucify Christ. French billionaire Francois-Henri Pinault has pledged 100 million euros towards the reconstruction.  Another article says France's richest man Bernard Arnault pledged 200 million euros.  and a third article says  $339 million has been pledged.  I expect this is only a portion of what it will take to bring back to use. Experts claim it will take 20 years of work effort.    So our worst-case scenario is to have planned a European cathedral trip of a lifetime and today is the day you visit Notre Dame.  You might be one of the estimated 13 million visitors a year who are going to be disappointed. "We will now visit ten of the best churches and cathedrals in Europe. Notre Dame, Paris. The Duomo, Florence. The Duomo, Milan. León Cathedral, León. Saint Basil's Cathedral, Moscow. Cologne Cathedral, Cologne. Saint Peter's Basilica, Vatican City. Saint Mary's Basilica, Krakow."   Today we look at the ceiling of the National Art Gallery.