May 23 2022 - How Clear is that Water?

 

Bing had a recent feature about one of the world's strangest rivers.  The Rio Tinto - Red River - gets its name from the reddish hue of its water, with high levels of iron and sulphur.  That's in southwestern Spain. What about the opposite?  Where is the clearest water in the world?   The clearest water in the world is located in New Zealand - Blue Lake.  What is the visibility?  Up to 262 feet.   "Because it's considered sacred (or tapu) by the Maori locals, humans are not permitted to enter the water, so you'll be forced to either admire the clarity from the shore or check out an aerial view by booking a scenic helicopter flight." No long flights for a while, given our travel challenges.  If we lived in Alberta, Peyto Lake is said to have the clearest water in Canada.  Surrounded by glaciers that keep the lake filled with pristine glacial water, Peyto Lake is situated near Banff, and famed for its clear, deep-blue water. But a short flight is no better.  Let's consider travel by car - closer to home. Where is the clearest water in Ontario?  Tobermory, Elora Quarry, Topaz Lake in Sudbury, Katherine Cove in Wawa, Canatara Beach in Sarnia.  The addresses are HERE.  There are quite a few and the pictures are splendid.  Mostly they show mid to late summer swimmers. I think it might be too cold to go swimming over the next few weeks.  I wold like to settle on Ontario's blue water views that are just like the Caribbean.  There's Lions Head Lookout, Devil's Monument Loop on the Bruce Peninsula Trail, Halfway Log Dump (what a name!) in Tobermory, along with Overhanging Point, and of course, Flower Pot Island loop.  The addresses and instructions are HERE.  But we interrupt these beautiful views with a story on celebrity geese.   Go to Drake's backyard where he's seriously upset because two geese are pooping on his lawn.  He lives in the Bridle Path.  There's an article about the huge mansion and his noisy parties of up to 100 people.   "When asked what he’ll do if the neighbours complain about his huge home and the potential noise that comes along with Drake living next door, he says he’ll buy their damn house! And he’s not joking. He’s already done it in Hidden Hills".   But aren't geese protected? How do you buy out the geese? I have a great idea. He can start up all of his cars.  The noise would drive them out: Bugatti Veyron Bentley Continental GTC V8 Brabus 850 6.0 Lamborghini Aventador Roadster Rolls Royce Phantom McLaren 675LT Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren.

It is Wisteria Weekend and this is the large shrub that lives around the corner.   It is very accessible and I spent some time yesterday morning taking multiple exposure shots.  The top photo is my version of May 24th Fireworks.

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April 25 2021 - Oscars Tonight

 

It may be that most people have become fatigued with, and indifferent to Oscar "Night".  Partly because it has been postponed for so long it seems like it missed its best before date. It is live at 6:30pm ET with the pre-show portion.  The Oscars are about winning - who should win and who will win.  A sports event mentality on who will place first because there is only one winner. The rest are losers.  There is a long list of Oscar losers. There are Oscar loser faces - celebrities who couldn't hide their disappointment.   Attempting to attract an audience, this is the promotional buzz this year: "But it won’t look anything like years past. The Academy is reportedly trying to make the Oscars “an intimate, in-person event," which will be preceded by an in-person cocktail party for all the glitzy celebs in attendance (complete with COVID-safe guidelines like an outdoor venue and reduced attendance)." "The Oscars will look more like a movie, Soderbergh has said. The show will be shot in 24 frames-per-second (as opposed to 30), appear more widescreen and the presenters — including Brad Pitt, Halle Berry, Reese Witherspoon, Harrison Ford, Rita Moreno and Zendaya — are considered “cast members.” The telecast’s first 90 seconds, Soderbergh has claimed, will “announce our intention immediately.” What do you think?  Oscars stay or Oscars go?  I expect I am like many other people who liked the dress-up event, seeing all those celebrities sitting side by side, and a witty, satiric comedian host.  So many decades of Oscar Shows and Bob Hope remains the favourite.  The Niagara Street Cherry tree looks like an evening gown or a wedding dress in these multiple exposure pictures. Purchase at: FAA - marilyncornwellart.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

Jan - 17 2021 - Country Name Mistake? Canada

 

I wonder how country names come about?  That's easy to find out.  This answer was at Kwintessential.co.uk A listing of countries is HERE.   "Most of the time, a country got its English name like this: settlers or traders arrive and either name it after the tribe they encounter or use the name the tribe already have for it. If the new visitors have conquest on their minds, they’ll name a newly discovered land after their leader, the local geography or something reminiscent of their own land. Some are named for people – some are even named by mistake. St Lucia This is one of the only examples of a country named after a woman – St Lucy. Columbus named several of the Caribbean islands he found after saints he was fond of. St Kitts is named for Saint Christopher, his own namesake. Canada “Kanata” means village. It was mistakenly assumed to be the name of the country by 16th century explorer Jacques Cartier, when he encountered the native people. There’s a fascinating trend in country names – countries are almost always named after one of four things: a directional description of the country, a feature of the land, a tribe name or an important person, usually male." And then there's Canada - the mistake!   Here is yesterday's progress on the multiple exposure technique.  What is the field of white sticks?  These are stakes for keeping small trees straight in a nursery crop field.  The ones in the picture are oak trees and are near Brian's Lilycrest Gardens field where Bakker's has a lot of growing fields.. These fields change often -  the rose crop goes to the nursery trade for sale at the end of the first year.  It seems like oak trees might take a bit longer than roses - we'll find out.  Purchase at: FAA - marilyncornwellart.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

Jan 16 2021 - Surname Canada

 

I wonder how many surnames there are that are the same as country names?   The last name Canada derives from the Middle English "cane", a development of the Old French "cane", meaning cane, reed. Secondly, it may be a Norman locational name from the town of Caen, in Calvados, Normandy, named with the Gaulish elements "catu", battle, plus "magos" meaning field, plain. The last name Ireland actually refers to "of Irish origins" and was an ethnic name for an immigrant from Ireland.  The last name France was an ethnic name for someone from France.  The Surname DB says that the country was named from the Franks - the free men, a confederacy of German tribes. The last name Cuba? Portuguese, Asturian-Leonese, Galician, and Spanish: habitational name from any of the places in Portugal (in the provinces of Alentejo and Beira Baixa) or Spain (in Aragon, Asturies, and Galicia) named Cuba, from cuba 'barrel' (from Latin cupa). Variant spelling of Kuba. The last name America?  This is not a happy retrieval - the retrievals want to list the common surnames in America.  The Surname DB has no entry at all.  But ancestry.com has an answer: You can see how America families moved over time by selecting different census years. The America family name was found in the USA, the UK, and Canada between 1840 and 1920. The most America families were found in the USA in 1880. In 1840 there was 1 America family living in Illinois. This was about 33% of all the recorded America's in the USA. Illinois and 1 other state had the highest population of America families in 1840. Then to compare with how countries got their names. Here is yesterday's progress on the multiple exposure technique.  Purchase at: FAA - marilyncornwellart.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

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Jan 15 2021 - That Darned Public Domain

 

What would be F. Scott Fitzgerald's reaction to this? F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel “The Great Gatsby” is now in the U.S. public domain, meaning writers can mine the characters and plot for their own purposes without having to ask permission. The N.Y. Times says: Expect new adaptations — including a graphic novel and a zombie version. This is the famous last line of the novel:     What else to expect?  “The Gay Gatsby,” by B.A. Baker, and, in the tradition of “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies,” “The Great Gatsby Undead,” by Kristen Briggs. (From the promotional copy: “Gatsby doesn’t seem to eat anything, and has an aversion to silver, garlic and the sun, but good friends are hard to come by.”) In the U.S. anything that is more than 95 years old enters the public domain - (works of art not people).  What else entered the public domain on January 1st 2021?  Ernest Hemingway’s "In Our Time", and Franz Kafka’s "The Trial" (in the original German), silent films featuring Harold Lloyd and Buster Keaton, and music ranging from the jazz standard "Sweet Georgia Brown" to songs by Gertrude “Ma” Rainey, W.C. Handy, and Fats Waller. See a fuller list HERE. Canadian public domain is life plus fifty years, compared to many other countries where it is life plus 70 years (beyond the death of the creator). The U.S. has varying copyright time periods because of changing laws.  Here is yesterday's progress on the multiple exposure technique.  The first image is Niagara Falls' Dogwoods in the Spring, then the Charles Daly Park Weeping Willow in the Autumn,  and the big November snow fall, Vineland.  The last image was taken yesterday - looking out the window at the lilac stems towards the house next door.  In this image, one can clearly see the lacey effect of the multiple exposures. Purchase at: FAA - marilyncornwellart.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

Jan 14 2021 - Defenestrate Him

 

Finally a New Year's Resolution:  to start writing down all the verbs associated with President Trump and what democrats and republicans want to do with him.  In the Saturday Globe, the writer said that they wanted to defenestrate him.  Defenestrate has two definitions - 1. to throw someone out a window (that's the formal and humorous definition), and 2.  (informal) the action of dismissing someone from a position of power and authority.   I think political writers are having some fun these days. I happened upon a "grumpy old man" joke yesterday.  And then found a democrat compared to republican joke. A grumpy old man and his wife . . .  While on a road trip, an elderly couple stopped at a roadside restaurant for lunch. After finishing their meal, they left the restaurant, and resumed their trip. When leaving, the elderly woman unknowingly left her glasses on the table, and she didn't miss them until they had been driving for about forty minutes. By then, to add to the aggravation, they had to travel quite a distance before they could find a place to turnaround, in order to return to the restaurant to retrieve her glasses. All the way back, the elderly husband became the classic grumpy old man. He fussed and complained, and scolded his wife relentlessly during the entire return drive. The more he chided her, the more agitated he became. He just wouldn't let up for a single minute. To her relief, they finally arrived at the restaurant.  As the woman got out of the car, and hurried inside to retrieve her glasses, the old geezer yelled to her, "While you're in there, you might as well get my hat and the credit card." Democrat or Republican A little boy asks his mother what the difference is between a Democrat and a Republican? The mother thinks hard and comes up with this explanation for the child. A Democrat is like that very nice aunt you have that always promises to take you to Disneyland. But something always comes up and you never actually go. A Republican is like a grumpy uncle. Every time you ask him about Disneyland he says absolutely not, we don't have enough money.   But then later you find out that he went without you anyway. Yesterday's activities were focused on multiple exposure techniques.  However, there aren't any spring blossoms to capture right now.  So what did I do?  I practiced on previous images on the computer screen.  This is less onerous than getting cold outside.  The downside is the level of precision of movement needed for such a small image.  So here are a few Spring Deleriums.    Purchase at: FAA - marilyncornwellart.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

Jan 11 2021 - It is K9

 

Canine is particularly entertaining with its representation as K9.  There are a lot of words with nine in them, but they don't all pronounce as 9 the number is pronounced.   For the record, there are 334 words containing nine. This sort of information is widely available because of Scrabble. The free dictionary lists all the words with nine in them from 15 letter words down to  five letter words.  There is one word with five letters - nines.  And what if you seem to want to name your child with "nine" in the name?  There are a lot of names with nine in the name - 38 of them.  Nine is a name in Croatia.  And don't forget that nine occurs in various languages, as demonstrated by these two jokes: What if you were trying to say the number 9, But Germany said no During my French Exam, I suddenly couldn’t remember what the number 9 was in French I immediately became very neuf-ous These are the best of yesterday's experiments with in-camera multiple exposures.  I haven't turned the the first one to black and white - this was the natural colour and light.     Purchase at: FAA - marilyncornwellart.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

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