Sep 20 2023 - No News Now

Metroland is the publisher of community newspapers across Ontario - and it is moving to a digital-only model with only six of its papers in print.  These daily publications include the Hamilton Spectator, St. Catharines Standard, Niagara Falls Review, Peterborough Examiner, Welland Tribune, and the Waterloo Region Record.  Isn't that an ouch! We'll still have NewsNow in Grimsby as it is independent. But Niagara This Week will join the online group.  And how did I find that out?  Only by looking at Wikipedia.  The other reports from various newspapers and sources did not give a list. And the Globe and Mail?  That print subscription will be heading towards $1,000  in 2024.  It currently is listed as costing $10.99 per week – not including Sunday ($43.96 per month) for the digital and daily delivery. I looked up the subscription rates for the newspapers.  This is hard work.  There are so many different costs listed.  The Toronto Star is $19.90 per week for the digital edition.  The National Post?  Tuesday thru Saturday 1 month at $45.50/month.  The digital edition is $14.00. And finally, the New York Times?  It is hard to figure that one out - there are so many listings of different rates.  In Canada, it is distributed by the Globe and Mail.   All in the span of 50 years - from the zenith of prestige and the elite, to barely existing.  Our steam engine reminds us of how fast technology changes.

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Feb 21 2023 - Fat Tuesday

 

Who would think a holiday named Fat Tuesday is a religious holiday? Mardi Gras is French and translates to Fat Tuesday.  It is the last day to feast before the fasting of lent.  That's why it is always 43 days before Easter.   When I look up gras French to English, the translation says bold, but as an adjective it is fatty, greasy and oily.  So it could be Greasy Tuesday or Oily Tuesday.  I like Fat Tuesday a lot better, but shouldn't it be Fatty Tuesday?   Another tradition of Mardi Gras's meaning comes from Frenchtoday.com:“Mardi Gras” comes from the tradition of using up all the food before Lent begins. And another translation: "Gras is also what we use to say “bold” as in font type." There are a lot of Mardi Gras in Europe and all of them have the same name which translates to Fat Tuesday.   For the rest of us, Shrove Monday is the day before Fat tuesday - it is the day of pancakes.  I guess we missed that yesterday.  New Orleans has a big festival - the schedule seems to go from January till after today.  It is HERE. Why did the chicken cross the road during Mardi Gras? To get to the other parade! Here's a print from 2018 that I named Carnival. Read more daily posts here: marilyncornwellblogspot.com Purchase works here: Fine Art America- marilyncornwellart.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

White Space Ahead

What is white space? It's not blank space.  It has a purpose.  In design is is also called negative space.  Wikipedia tells me that in the print and web world, it is the negative space where the page is left unmarked - margins, gutters, space between columns, etc.    A more recent application is to represent the minimalist life. Jocelyn K. Glei says that if you analyze your daily schedule with an eye toward design, you will find out if you have preserved enough 'white space' within your daily workflow.  I wonder what the visual representation is for a day that is "extremely busy and cluttered".  Another author, Brian Gardner is clear on what to do.  He suggests we declutter our physical space, paint our walls white, designate a quiet spot, get enough sleep, and hide the screens (the phones, etc).   I wondered if there is a relationship between connecting dots and white space, but found myself in unchartered territory.  It is only unchartered from a 'tag' point of view on a google search.  Whenever I go after more complicated search terms and relationships, google reveals its limitations. I found a wall art app the other day, and had a lot of fun with it. You drop your image into a room setting of your choice. Here are a few applications.  This is the Lake Effects Series followed by the Dark and Stormy Night Collage.