Dec 21 2024 - Solstice is the New year end

 

Here's what it is like to open the paper and see the sight of the Globe and Mail's full-spread crossword puzzle.  Five-hundred and ninety seven or so clues.  I then looked at how the numbering works and it starts at the top left and ends at the bottom right.  The numbering conventions right to left.  I can't image describing them given the variations on white and black squares, but after a bit of exploration could follow them.  Not that I am interested in doing the crossword - I felt overwhelmed by the massive number of white and black squares. Do they use AI now to create and manage the numbered clues?

I seem to remember the crossword puzzle for was New Year's and not Christmas. I wonder if my memory is fuzzy. Perhaps it has moved to an earlier slot to keep us busy over Christmas. That seems to be the case for the articles about the Year-end review.  Things like what are your best purchases of 2024?  This will take a while to get through if you tune into the New York Times. It is always on steroids, so they have the lists of these things:  best stuff you did  best in culture best changes to routine  best redicovered time of day  best chair  best compliment  best overheard conversation  best new thing learned about your mom  best bug (what's that about?)  best surprise And we aren't even at winter yet - it begins at 4:31pm today.  Why rush the year-end?  The year is not finished yet - a lot can happen in 11 days. It is as though Christmas has been given up on as part of the year's experience.  Or maybe it is about the media's rush to be first.   There is a category of jokes on the theme of cats and crosswords. Compare that to what comes up for dog crossword puzzle jokes.     These little sparkling droplets remind us why we love lights on Christmas trees at this time of year.

Read more daily posts here: marilyncornwellblogspot.com Purchase works here: Fine Art America- marilyncornwell.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

Nov 18 2022 - Tempers Rising

 

Remember the lip readers for the Royals?  Similarly at the G20, there are the news journalists and camera people at the ready for something special.  And it happened.  Xi Jinping got temperamental with Justin Trudeau and scolded him, caught on video.   "At the G-20 summit in Indonesia, Chinese President Xi Jinping chided Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau over what he described as a media leak of an earlier conversation. Trudeau expressed the importance of transparency and a desire to work together."  That quote from the Prime Minister's Office/Reuters. That "leak" was the standard readout that the Prime Minister's Office issues after leader-to-leader conversations.   The Toronto Star's comment on this was:  "Getting a lecture on secrecy from the Chinese leader was a little like getting lessons in diplomacy from Trump." Another verb for the interaction was "rebuke".  That was the headline in Wall Street Journal. But the summary paragraph decided it was "chided".  From the Independent, it was "Awkward exchange between Xi and Trudeau caught on camera.  "The Canadian prime minister was seen responding sharply to the remarks by the Chinese president.  The verb in this one was "confronts".  There we are with a relationship that consists of "scolding" "tantrum" or "slams" and "criticized", chided.  And the last part is the real story: "Xi then added that there could be consequences for Trudeau — but he did not say what those might be. The translator did not convey this remark to the prime minister, but Global News confirmed the translation with three Mandarin speakers." “It’s this last phrase which has a threatening aspect to it, the way it was phrased in Chinese,” said Charles Burton, a senior fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute in Ottawa, who speaks Mandarin and previously worked at the Canadian embassy in China. “He normally leaves those kinds of menacing statements to members of the foreign ministry who seem to specialize in this kind of thing.” The phrase Xi used, Burton added, is the kind of thing “a mafia thug might say to someone to intimidate them.” "The comment from Xi translates to “or else,” or “I don’t know what the consequences will be” of Trudeau sharing the information about his conversation with the Chinese president, Burton said." So there we are with what might seemed to be a straight-forward story. And our picture today foretelling of the darkest day of the year yet to come. Read more daily posts here: marilyncornwellblog.com Purchase works here: Fine Art America- marilyncornwellart.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

Mar 4 2020 - How to Name a Currency

The headlines today include South Korea's measures for the coronavirus.  Here's the headline: South Korea compiled an 11.7 trillion won ($9.85 billion) supplementary budget on Wednesday to strengthen anti-virus measures and prop up its economy as its coronavirus cases topped 5,600. Initially, I couldn't make sense of "won".  To me, it is a verb not a noun.  That got me looking for unusual currencies and I offer these - they come from moneyversed.com HERE. Rai stones: On the island of Yap in Micronesia, if someone asks you for change, you might need to get a slightly larger coin purse. These massive limestones are between five and 20 feet in diameter… and their value may be determined by how many people perished while transporting them. Katanga cross: You’ll find this currency in the Katanga region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. For a short period time, it was used as the primary form of currency. Good thing it was for only brief amount of time, however, seeing as how each one weighed a hefty two pounds! Manchukuo yuan: The Manchukuo yuan was used by Japanese Imperial forces when they occupied Manchuria. These coins were actually made out of cardboard since metal was in short supply during the war. German wooden dollars: In Germany after World War I, inflation was out of control and this led to some towns making their own money out of wood. They called this currency not geld, which literally translated to mean “not gold.” So as we look forward for what will happen in currencies, given our digital journey.  The Moore Global says:  Whilst sovereign fiat currency in the form of physical cash remains the only universally acceptable form of public money, innovations in cryptocurrencies and stablecoins can offer more effective forms of transactions and will continue to disrupt the finance industry. I sure have a lot of images of tree bark.  These are from our trip to Colorado a few years ago - that wonderful pine bark with its rich colours and curving shapes.

Is Christmas Uncommon?

The website uncommongoods.com has a lot of gift ideas for Christmas.  It is full of interesting things.  What about Yoga Joes, Choose Your Dog Breed Socks, Bubble Wrap Calendar, Interstellar Puzzles, Yard Dice, Super Magnetic Putty, Bards Dispense Profanity Game, Crimson Heart Umbrella,  and Emergency Clown Nose. Here are some of the trending most popular: A City Map Glass Created by Brian Johnson Location Massachusetts Take a mental stroll through familiar streets with this rocks glass, etched with your city's distinct grid. “I hope my glasses serve as conversation pieces and fun ways to bring people together.” By day, Boston-based designer Brian Johnson creates high-performance composite products for the medical and military industries. By night, his passion for creating modern, functional home goods takes over. He enjoys working with simple, sustainable materials in striking ways and applying novel approaches to everyday objects. With eco-friendly manufacturing in mind, he selects recyclable and repurposed materials whenever possible and makes every effort to source materials and services locally through other small businesses in the United States.   Avocado Huggers - Set of 2 This silicone cup embraces half an avocado to keep the cut fruit fresh longer. Michelle Ivankovic and Adrienne McNicholas first met 15 years ago working together on fun and fashionable products for the home. Michelle's talents as an industrial designer and Adrienne's marketing and strategy skills were a great mix. Each project polished their teamwork and built their friendship. "Our mission is to design and create tools that make it easy to get the most enjoyment and nutrition possible from the groceries our customers buy and reduce the amount of food that gets wasted in the home," they say.   Personalized Library Card Pillow Check out these pillows personalized with your family's details in a playful homage to a classic library card. With your family name as title and parents' names as authors, children become the borrowers with their birthdays as check-out dates. Fun home decor accents for librarians, teachers, and book lovers, they'll quietly add color to any couch or bed.  Rebecca Rodriguez's background reflects her love of both academics and artistry. She has a B.A. from Yale University in American Art & Material Culture, and a Master’s Degree in American Material Culture (think Antiques Roadshow). She started a small business creating mindful and playful homewares infused with school-days nostalgia. She firmly believes that everyday life can be made better by creating playful and beautiful spaces in which to live and work. We're looking at the amazing bark of a pine tree at the Denver Botanical Garden.

Lucky Dendrites

Lucky 7 has a lot of Wikipedia references.  It has its own disambiguation page.  The DailyMail tells us that lucky 7 really is the world's magic number.   Seven is the most significant number across religions and cultures It also appears in some of the world's favourite fictional works Poll of 30,000 people reveals 7 is overwhelmingly our favourite number  "Our fascination with certain numbers goes back to the dawn of recorded history. For the Ancient Babylonians the most meaningful number was 60. They based their mathematics and calendar around it — and we, many centuries later, have inherited their system. That’s why an hour has 60 minutes, and a minute 60 seconds. In Ancient Egypt, 12 was considered special. In Egyptian mythology there were 12 realms of the dead. Indeed, 12 crops up throughout history — inches to a foot, pennies to a shilling, months of the year, the number of apostles. A day is split into two cycles of 12 hours. "  Read more of this article. However, it doesn't really explain the passion for 7. Psychology Today's article is titled:  Seven Reasons We like 7.  "The first two reasons for our love affair with 7 are linked to the mystical, spiritual, and superstitious: 1. 7 is magical. The religious and spiritual associations to the number 7 go back through the millennia, ranging from the 7 deadly sins to seventh heaven. The ancient world was declared to have 7 wonders in it although there were obviously countless others that deserved this designation. 2. 7 is lucky. The prototypical lucky number, 7 is a heavy hitter in the gambling world. Slot machines often offer three 7's as the big payout. Our brain feeds off positive associations, and "Lucky 7" gives us an automatic preference for the number itself. The next three reasons relate to 7's quality as a number: 3. 7 is a good playoff number. You will never have a tie when there are seven events needed for a deciding outcome. When 5 doesn't seem like enough and 9 like too much, 7 is the perfect halfway point. 4. 7 occurs throughout nature. There are 7 seas, 7 continents, 7 colors in the rainbow, and 7 days of the week. The number 7 has interesting properties, including the fact that it's the total of all opposite sides of a single die. 5. 7 sounds good. As NPR commentator Frank Deford pointed out, 7 is the only single digit number that has two syllables. "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" rolls off the tongue. "Snow White and the Eight Dwarfs" just doesn't work quite so well. The final 2 reasons involve our brains and the way we process information. We may literally be programmed to like the number 7 because our brain is hard-wired to clump things in 7's. 6. 7 is the size of a memory chunk. The psychologist George Miller observed many years ago that our short-term memory remembers in units of 7 plus or minus 2.  You can remember an infinite list of words, tasks, or facts if you organize it into 5 to 9 (but ideally 7) chunks. 7. 7 is a neuron's favorite number. For years, scientists were mystified about the reasons for Miller's "magical number 7 (plus or minus 2)." Now we may know why. A 2008 study on neurons in the memory input unit of the brain, the hippocampus, showed that they produced the best information when their dendrites (the branches that receive stimulation) numbered 7. Perhaps we remember best in 7's because that's what our brains are best able to store."