Apr 24 2025 - Japan's Tiny Apartments

 

Where to focus one's attention?  That's a good question.  I read the Globe and Mail this morning with an article talking about so many American tourists in Mexico apologizing to Canadians and saying they are not "one of them."  I am dismayed. Is it OK to say sorry and then go on with things?  As in: So sorry Ukraine, but I have expensive eggs to buy rather than you getting a fair peace deal.  Or returning scooped American residents back from El Salvador mega prisons. Talking without acting.  And we are similar, so we can get there too. Talking without acting.  Oh dear... So let's move on to a curious and interesting topic.  One that is so non-North American.   It is the size of our houses.  You might know that tiny condos in Toronto are languishing for lack of buyers.  But in Japan?  The average house is 121.7 square meters - half of North Amerca's average size. Even smaller, there are apartments of less than 20 square metres. There are many.  We are transfixed by their tiny size.  There are dozens of YouTube videos showing us all the details.  Here's a viral article on Japan's tiny apartments located under train tracks.  It is HERE.  My first thought is that they have quieter trains than we have.  Well, maybe.  I see a Reddit quote from someone who says they leave near rails in small-town Japan and can hear the trains and feel the vibrations.   We have tiny homes in Canada.  In Toronto, there is a housing movement to help the homeless.  Ryan Donais heads up the initiative. There are a number of videos covering his work.  One is HERE.   I wondered how far tiny homes have expanded into the social consciousness.  My test is how many jokes I find.  Here are the two repeatable tiny home jokes: The bedbugs are hunchbacked. Welcome! Here’s just enough space to change your mind It seems likely and surprising that tiny homes as a solution to homelessness has more momentum.  That's because I found lots and lots of (stupid) inspiration quotes by the same person - unknown.  Are they stupid?  What do you think?   The smaller the house, the larger the life.”  “Simplify your life, simplify your home.”  “Tiny houses are not just about looking cute; they’re about simplifying and living bigger.”  “Living small means appreciating what you have instead of wishing for more.”  “In a tiny house, you only have room for what matters most.”  “Tiny living doesn’t mean lesser living; it means fuller living.”  Let's see how our Monarch Movement goes this year.  There were a lot of people planting midweek last year...

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June 28 2024 - Time is Wasted on the Young

 

Youth is wasted on the young - that's attributed to George Bernard Shaw.  I find this to be no longer applicable to our current North American society. Youth today is not what it used to be. From the 19th century to the end of the 20th century there has been a transformation in what is considered young within the lifespan of humans.   How long might a human live in the 18th or 19th century? By that I mean to natural old age and not a life span cut down by war, plagues, epidemics, and childbirth. Life expectancy is now defined by whether a person survived the first year, the fifth year and the tenth year.   You could expect to live to around 40 in 18th century England.  For the elite it approached 50.  Wikipedia says: "Only half of the people born in the early 19th century made it past their 50th birthday. In contrast, 97% of the people born in 21st century England and Wales can expect to live longer than 50 years."   How old was Shakespeare when he died?  He was aged 52. Now 52 is an age that is still in its prime.  our current definitions of youth embrace a substantial span - 15-30 (some places 35) years.   And informally in North America - we consider a person in their forties to be in their prime - and not past their 'best before' dates. We look young and behave young.  We have ample opportunity/time to experience youth. So while this sense of the peak period of human living has expanded significantly, the idea of youth including the early stages of social development remain part of the definition.  By 34, one would expect to have a sense of a person's life choices in action. But then, don't we see  numerous life choices now happening at all ages? That seems to be expanded, too. So back to George Bernard Shaw and this quote - I wouldn't want to wear that as a legacy.  He later is quoted as expounding further:   “they’re brainless, and don’t know what they have; they squander every opportunity of being young, on being young.”   Sounds more like a rant than a wise saying.  It would be interesting to read the full text.  There's a picture of him in Wikipedia from a younger time - 1911 - and he doesn't look that grumpy when he was young.  When was he quoted? In February 1931 - the actual words: “Youth,” he replied, “is the most beautiful thing in this world—and what a pity that it has to be wasted on children!”  A good investigation of the phrase is HERE.  Here's another watercolour interpretation of the Monarch image.

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Mar 15 2024 - Pi Day Yesterday

 

Yesterday was Pi Day.  What is the news of the Pi Day events?  Pizza Hut had free pies.  Pizza pies.  NASA had a Pi Day Challenge. An Ann Arbor boy can recite 1,300 Pi digits.  I wonder how long that takes?  It doesn't say, but there's a video of the boy in the corner of the news article.  But some other person who is 6 years old memorized 1200 digits and it took 8 minutes.  And how long would it take to recite all of pi?  Well, that's a silly question, as we now that pi never ends and it never repeats itself.  the first 62.8 trillion digits have been computer by computers and if one digit is said every second, it would take 2,000,000 years to recite all 62 plus trillion. There follows many people who have recited pi to various numbers of digits.  1,200 is a common choice. Here's that butterfly from yesterday with a watercolour treatment.

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Mar 14 2024 - Butterfly for a Day

 

The first butterflies to watch for in the spring are mourning cloaks, eastern commas and Milbert's tortoiseshells.  The adults of these species hide in leaf litter during the winter, emerging to look for mates in spring when the temperature is warm enough.  So while I am tempted to move the leaves around, I have to leave them for a bit yet.   Our picture today is a Monarch butterfly.  What about the monarch migration?  We are too early for Monarchs to be coming through in March.  There is a  facebook page called monarchs migrating through Ontario - it is about all things Monarch in Ontario and tracks where they are.    https://www.facebook.com/groups/711833448865330/

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Feb 28 2024 - Leap Day Tomorrow

 

If your birthday is tomorrow, February 29th, would you celebrate today or March 1st?  There's a special name for those born on Feb 29th - leaper or a leapling.   It does seem interesting that its been 4 years - since 2020 that a person will be able to celebrate their birthday on its day.   Is it a rare birthday?  Yes. There's a one in 1451 chance of being born on February 29th and it is the rarest birthday.  Compare that to June 1st - that is the most common birthday. When does the person reach legal age?  For example, driving, voting, etc.  Supposedly it is March 1st.  It is considered the legal birth date in non-leap years.   And what about this tidbit - that February 29th is not considered a "valid day" by many companies and make their leapers choose Feb 28 or March 1 as their birthday.  That seems like a human resource system deficiency to me.  Anthony, Texas and Anthony, New Mexico both claim the title "Leap Year Capital".  I wonder what having the name Anthony has to do with the declaration.

This happy Monarch image keeps showing up in search lists.  I guess it is migrating in my files. Read more daily posts here: marilyncornwellblogspot.com Purchase works here: Fine Art America- marilyncornwell.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca