Dec 6 2024 - Sweet Baby Jesus

 

see the expression Baby Jesus in Christmas songs and writings.  It has grown to include Sweet Baby Jesus.   “For us, the name 'Sweet Baby Jesus! ' is a phrase meaning awe or astonishment,” Benfield said Monday. “It's not meant to be offensive by any means. … “Any time you push the envelope, you get a lot of people who love it and people who don't, and that will create the controversy,”  That's in response to a brewing company's name for its chocolate peanut butter porter.  Sweet Jesus is the name for an ice cream shop in Toronto.  There's Sweet Baby Jesus rub for chicken and ribs.  There's a Sweet Baby Jesus hand and body lotion - festive notes of apple, orange, cinnamon, and clove; smells like an stress-free Christmas. A masculine scent is named the same - woody and earthy depth. On Etsy is a sweet baby jesus selection of "the very best in unique or custom"...whatever - fill in with "stuff".  Pajamas for little ones are named Sweet Baby Jesus.  We haven't even looked at the t-shirt selection yet. How did the name Jesus come about? Was it around as a name and common back then?  I hadn't thought about it.   There are religious sites that have all kinds of ideas and myths they have created for the name's origin.  Seems odd to me that they wouldn't reference back to the Bible.  Shouldn't it be  the reference book of all Christian religions, and the Old Testament the reference book of Jewish faith? I am going to use the Bible as a reference with historical information, even though it is said that only two events can be confirmed - his baptism by John and his death. Here we go: Luke 1: 26-28 God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth with a message for Mary who was promised in marriage to Joseph.  The angel told Mary that she would have a son, whom she was to name Jesus. The angel said, “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High God.” Mary asked how this could be as she was a virgin. The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and God’s power will rest on you.” He also told Mary that her elderly relative Elizabeth was six months pregnant, for there is nothing that God cannot do. Mary replied, “I am the Lord’s servant”. Next, Joseph gets word that he has to marry Mary in Matthew 1: 18-25: "19 Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorcenher quietly. 20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” And the name Jesus?   The English spelling of Yeshua is “Joshua.” However, when translated from Hebrew into Greek, in which the New Testament was written, the name Yeshua becomes Iēsous. The English spelling for Iēsous is “Jesus.” The Greek version seems so distinctive, somehow.  Jesus is the most famous and well-known "person" on the planet.

I found this picture amongst the Buffalo Garden Walk images from a few years back.  Looks like something lying discarded or maybe behind a shed.  With the features in Lightroom, the texture, clarity and vibrance can be increased dramatically and at the same time the washed out yellow of the fibreglass turned to black and white.   The landscape has an outer space floating sense to me.

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July 28 2023 - Just Call Me Sprague

 

Where would the name Sprague originate?  I saw it in the Business Section of the Globe in Corporate announcements.  What is noticeable is that it is the person's first name.   It means alert, lively, sprightly vivacious.   Sprague Name Meaning. English: from northern Middle English Spragge, either a personal name or a byname meaning 'lively', a metathesized and voiced form of Spark 1."  So maybe his nickname is Sparky.  He looks like he could be a Sparky. Another site says that it is English - Devon and a nickname from Milddle English Sprag, a variant of spark.  Other people with this first name?  Sprague Cleghorn, former NHL hockey player and Sprague Grayden, American actress born 1980.   There are many Sprague surname entries and there is one place in Canada with the name Sprague, Manitoba.   There's a website that seems to have information about various associated characteristics of people based on their first name.  Here is Sprague's entry:   Your most likely vocation: teacher, philosopher, educator, religious zealot, scientist, minister, instructor, writer, producer of luxury and beauty goods, manager of restaurant, irrigationist, horticulturist, zoologist, shipping magnate. Lucky colors: All varieties of blue except the very bright blues Lucky gem(s): Emerald, turquoise Lucky day(s): Sunday, Monday, and Friday Lucky botanicals: Verbena, dog rose, violets, walnuts, all types of beans, apricot, almonds It even describes people who are friends and enemies by their names.  Now that's a bit strange.  Besides, who knows people with the first name Oxford, Hellene, Jaciej, Jenice, Kahn, Andor, Whitney or Jerree. I guess that Sprague Richardson's grandmother was Muriel Sprague Richardson who made history as the first female company CEO in Canada.  Here's her bio HERE.   A family with a great history.

There are some beautiful gardens in Grimsby and this is a favourite.  Perfection in a very small space.   Read more daily posts here: marilyncornwellblogspot.com Purchase works here: Fine Art America- marilyncornwell.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

Aug 26 2021 - Cat Named Dog

 

Do you remember the 1966 song "Walking my Cat named Dog?" It likely came into my mind with the folk song fund-raiser on PBS. It seems to go with The Rooftop Singers "Walk Right In":  Walk right in, sit right down Daddy, let your mind roll on Walk right in, sit right down Daddy, let your mind roll on Everybody's talkin' 'bout a new way of walkin' Do you want to lose your mind? Walk right in, sit right down Daddy, let your mind roll on The Cat Dog song was written and sung by Norma Tanenga. Norma was a songwriter, singer, and artist.  She was connected to Dusty Springfield musically and romantically. Their romantic relationship was stressful and their professional relationship went poorly for her with a number of her collaborations uncredited.   Dusty Springfield was extremely well known as a top 1960s British pop star.  It turns out that in 1981 she had a romantic relationship with Carole Pope.  Who would guess that?  Gay relationships of any kind were taboo in the 1960s and 1970s.  Britain's press pried into everything and turned it ugly.  So her stardom waned after she revealed she was gay in 1970. Norma's Cat Dog lyrics seemed to be free-spirited and humorous.  Would you call them a bit rebellious or defiant?  Here's the start of the song: "I'm walkin' all around the town Singin' all the people down Talkin' around, talkin' around Me and my cat named Dog Are walkin' high against the fog Singin' the sun, singin' the sun" It concludes with  "That's where I'm at" Such an expression of the social state of things in the 1960s.  Almost "stream of unconscious" lyrics.  The naming of cats and dogs is very complicated today - you can look through and go shopping for any number of most popular dog names.  Would you guess that Lucy is the second most popular female dog name?   Could you name your cat "Dog"? That seems unlikely today - relegated to a novelty song title now. This is the best colour display in the Lilycrest field this summer.

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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May 14 2020 - The Name of a Sound

The air flow from the furnace was making interesting noises this morning - perhaps it was as it was travelling through the ducts.  I went to the practical to find out what the sound might be and what might cause it - I checked out an HVAC site. "If your furnace is whistling, one possible cause is that there may be gaps in the duct. You should try to hear exactly where the whistle is coming from. Often, it will be from a small hole near the connecting point between the duct and the furnace close to the blower. Especially if the whistling has started recently, you may have a clogged filter, causing the fan to suck air from anywhere it can. Even tiny holes or spaces will generate a whistle if any significant air is being sucked through them. To test out this possibility, pull the filter out and see if the whistling stops. If your filter is so caked with dirt that it is clogged and stopping the air flow, you will be better off taking the filter out (while arranging to purchase a new one). This is better not just to reduce the noise, but also to reduce the wear and tear on your fan motor. Another possible cause for whistling would be that the ducts are too small. The furnace may need greater air flow, and thus larger ducts."   But would I call the sound whistling?  I don't think so. Another site on air conditioning said:  "If unusual noises are coming from the air registers (the vents where the conditioned air is blown into a room), ductwork should be inspected. Loose or ill-fitting ducts, as well as debris in the ductwork, may reverberate or echo sounds through the registers into living spaces." I happened upon a website that creates sounds with a noise generator. They say that "the sound of wind is considered one of the most relaxing sounds in existence.  This sound alone eases away stress and makes everything outside look more calm and quiet. The sound of wind is great for helping one to fall asleep and for covering background noises. Wind noise is a natural source of white noise. " I heard their howling wind - and it isn't relaxing.  Perhaps I should have tried desert wind, meadow land or palm garden. You can listen to the wind at https://mynoise.net/NoiseMachines/windNoiseGenerator.php. There are these types: wheat fields, autumn wind, stormy weather, home alone, deserted barn, trade winds and surprise!  At the home page there's Irish Coast, Rain on a tent, Japanese garden, 88 keys, twin black lodges, gregorian chant, waterfall and cafe restaurant.  That last one is likely what we would be interested in right now. After that my research found physics and wave properties.  I am still wondering what the names are for different sounds. Today's leaves are from the Versicolour Japanese Maple in the back garden.

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Eugene and Delilah

The name Eugene and the the field of eugenics trace from the same origin - Greek - to be 'well-born'.  This seems like a vintage name to me. Baby-naming trends remain somewhat stable: Liam and Emma continue to be the most popular names.  Noah, William, James and Oliver and then Olivia, Ava, Isabella and Sophia. But "vintage" names are moving up. Arthur has jumped back into popular names after almost 100 years since it was last listed.  There's Calvin,  Emerson, Amos, Edgar, Chester, Tucker for boys. What about Ada?  It started a comeback in 2018. Then there's Delilah, Ayla, Zoe, Margot and Felicity. Supposedly researchers had found that names influence the choice of profession, where we live, whom we marry, grades achieved, and so on.  The original study took place in 1948 and was widely repeated, always finding that unusual names were more likely to have 'flunked' out of Harvard or to have exhibited signs of psychological neurosis, and so on.   But the link between names and longevity, career choice and success, geographic and marriage preferences, and academic achievement has been questioned and disproven.  What has been proven is that names 'signal' things - like ethnicity, wealth, and country of origin and give a sense of economic status.  And then the receiver treats the person as such.   So the likely question parents should ask is:  What signals does this name send and what does it imply?    That would be useful for parents who name their daughter Delilah. Today's images are of driftwood on the beach in Salt Spring Island.

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A Name for All Seasons

As young people make their way into the work force of name tags at retail checkout, I get to ask them how they got their names.  Most often, these are heart-felt stories - even though the names seem unpronounceable or don't seem like names.  So I thought I should brace myself for what is coming next.  What names should we expect to hear in 2019 for brand new babies?  Good Housekeeping reports that Stormi and Dream have seen a jump after the Kardashian babies.  True and Chicago are also Kardashian children names.  These are considered "Next Jenneration" names after the Kardashian-Jenner clan.  Their boys' names are Saint and Reign. Zen names are more popular than Kardashian names.  Peace, Harmony, Hope and Shanti are the top names.  And Fortnite the online multiplayer game has inspired Ramirez, Leviathan, Bunny and Rogue. I wouldn't have guessed anyone could name their girl Kale, Kiwi, or Maple.  What about these: Clementine, Saffron, Rosemary and Sage are also there. These are food trend names. The prediction for 2019?  Sneaker brands inspire names like Van, Chuck and Taylor.  Each Brand has names associated with it.  2019 will continue with the more traditional naming practice is to mimic Royal families.  Meghan has jumped in popularity, along with Eugenie and Jack. And don't forget just 'plain' celebrities.  We can expect some names after Justin Bieber - he asked Hailey Baldwin to marry him. Another continuing trend is gender swapping.  This has been with us for more hundreds of years.  So this year's trend? Max, Tyler and Ryan are now conscripted into girl names.   There seems to be a human obsession and compulsion around first names.  There are stories after stories of strange, unusual, and bizarre names, and often famous people and celebrities are singled out.  There are many stories about rejected names where governments just can't allow the names.  Perhaps this is because names made it past government officials in the past and into the crazy names hall of fame.  I thought I'd check for trends in pretty and meaningful names.  There are lots of articles on nice and beautiful names.  Scroll through the list at popsugar.com. This is where I get to feel out of touch again. Are Caspian, Idris, Jagger, Kai, Laszlo, Adley, Ireland, and Larkin beautiful names?  And I've picked them randomly.  I checked out more to find other sites do have names that seem more appealing.  Thank goodness! Who knows what will be in place of the  check-out counter in 16 years? We may not have to brace ourselves at all. Today we see the Sundance Layout with the Denver and Rio Grande Western railway making a trip.