Aug 9 2023 - Secrets Resort

 

Who would guess that a search on secrets brings up the Secrets Resort.  Not just the first page, but every page.  Silly me.  "Discover all-inclusive, adults-only Secrets® Resorts & Spas and indulge in an extra measure of romance in exquisite luxury beachfront settings amid the allure of the Caribbean and Mediterranean. Each Secrets resort offers a unique experience for adults looking to escape the everyday and delight in the warm rhythm of an intimate, tropical getaway." Gives me a sense of the sleazy and not the storyline of what's on the website: "Elegantly appointed suites, pristine pools, and beach views provide the ultimate backdrop for unparalleled pampering, romantic rendezvous and lasting memories. Create your latest storyline at Secrets… we’ll never tell."  What will they never tell?  The google lead promotional question continues the game: "What happens at a Secrets resort?" To find out, head over to trip advisor.ca and all the things associated with "secrets resorts" comes to life - that "never tell" phrase implies that secrets is a swingers place to all the people posting on tripadvisor. Here's a post: "It's very entertaining reading all of the posts. All of the names seem similar Secrets, Desires, Temptations, Dreams and we haven't visited any of them. We aren't into the swinging thing, don't care if someone else is, but didn't want to end up at a resort where we were uncomfortable." And so on... you can even get Secrets resorts on eBay - "Countless new and used items."  Maybe artificial intelligence would be a bit useful on google itself so that its search results make sense.  Here we are at the secrets of the sunrise at Grimsby Beach.

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How Many Genres of Music are there?

 

How many genres of music are there?  One article says that over 1,200 subgenera of music have been defined in the 20th century.  The  main genres vary from article to article, so I guess this isn't a scientific sort of classification, but a presentation of preferences.  We can be confident that there would be  Rock, Jazz, Country, Pop and Rhythm and Blues in the 20th century..  But what about all those centuries before?  This list goes by date giving a name to a time period: 1597 Opera 1600 The Baroque Period (1600 – 1750) 1600s Gospel Music 1750 The Classical Period (1750 – 1830) 1830 The Romantic Period (1830 – 1900) 1899 Ragtime (1899 – 1917) 1900 Blues 1920 Jazz I think that this list might not make it to  a musical encyclopedia.  I expect it would take a fair amount of work to find a reference source, given the listings from google and bing are so varied. The list is notable to me for this entry:  1600s Gospel Music.  I never learned about that in music class in school.   Wikipedia says it is a traditional genre of Christian music, and traces to the 17th century.  The first published use of the term gospel song was in 1874. But the great gospel classic, Amazing Grace,  was published in 1779 by English Anglican clergyman and poet (formerly slave trader turned abolitionist)  John Newton.  "Amazing Grace" was written to illustrate a sermon on New Year's Day of 1773. It is unknown if there was any music accompanying the verses; it may have been chanted by the congregation. It debuted in print in 1779 in Newton's and Cowper's Olney Hymns, but settled into relative obscurity in England. In the United States, "Amazing Grace" became a popular song used by Baptist and Methodist preachers as part of their evangelizing, especially in the American South, during the Second Great Awakening of the early 19th century. It has been associated with more than 20 melodies. In 1835, American composer William Walker set it to the tune known as "New Britain" in a shape note format; this is the version most frequently sung today. This Florida sunrise seems to be appropriate for the song of the day.  Read more daily posts here: marilyncornwellblog.com Purchase works here: Fine Art America- marilyncornwellart.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

Oct 21 2022 - Seeking Pleasure

 

This would normally be considered the topic of Pain and Pleasure.  I think that's because while we seek pleasure continuously, we really attend to pain when and before it occurs.  Wikipedia tells us that "There is strong evidence of biological connections between the neurochemical pathways used for the perception of both pain and pleasure, as well as other psychological rewards." Pleasure as a search term by itself is a very restricted field that ranges from the Title of a movie about the Los Angeles Porn industry to sexual pleasure.   Put pleasure and pain together and the scientific community kicks in with countless studies on the continuum and relationship between the two in human motivation. Scientists have found pain in the same brain circuits that give  pleasure.  That's news for developing better painkillers. Make it pleasure vs pain and then even more articles and research show up.  Some are written by motivational speakers on how to get your audience's attention.  Life trainers explain motivation via pin and pleasure.  There are lots of articles on the top pleasures.  Here's are a few by the timesofindia.com - pleasures that give you much more happiness than sex.  Some of them are pretty silly and yet make sense: Peeing after a long car journey Dislodging that stubborn food from your teeth Getting the right answer to a maths question Finally buying that thing for which you have been saving for so long Listening to an old song you have memories attached to Getting into a warm blanket on a cold winter day Here are some on the list from appliedjung.com. These are definitely general topics to me as compared to the Indiatimes list.   A good coffee Having a child Being in great physical condition Good food Stimulating conversation This is an excellent demonstration of how complex our experiences are.   CNN weighs in on this topic with 10 ways to find more pleasure every day.  What's one of them?  Pet a dog, any dog.  Another one is Look Outside.  And the sun is just coming up so there is brilliant soft peachy orange in the sky.  Perhaps our love of landscapes and sunrise/sunsets is easily explained as a pleasurable experience.  We have  3 choices today.  Are trains loved more than sunrises?

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Nov 16 2020 - American Thanksgiving

 

It is coming soon - American Thanksgiving.  So late in the year, it crowds into Christmas.  They have developed orange Poinsettias to accommodate this cross-over.   The other thing it has in timing that is difficult is the American election.  This sets up difficult and troublesome situations.  For example, Trump has been ruining American Thanksgiving since 2015 when a poll showed he was the politician most likely to ruin the Dinner.  The headlines about Trump and Thanksgiving in 2015, 2017 and 2019 were things like: "How to talk to Trump-Loving relatives at Thanksgiving."  During this election campaign, Trump predicted that if Biden becomes their next president, the Americans will have to bid farewell to Christmas and Thanksgiving.  That is a definite "ruin Thanksgiving" headline. On the other side of the ocean, the UK does have a sort of Thanksgiving - it seems to be November 26th this year.  Here's a quote from a website named wayenglishcourse.co.uk:  "The American thanksgiving is not celebrated in the UK because no one had to be thankful for their new land and good ocean trip." Our picture today is compensating for the diminishing colours of our landscape that November brings. It is a lovely Florida sunrise in 2016.   I wonder when we can expect the best sunrise/sunset colour here in Niagara.  Is there a time of year when it is best?  In terms of locations, Port Dalhousie and Niagara Falls have dramatic sunrises/sunsets.  One dilemma for Niagara Falls is that it has the most dramatic ones during the coldest winter weather.

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A Child's Purpose on Jan 2 2020

Tom Stoppard's words were mesmerizing once I started to read more, particularly this excerpt from The Coast of Utopia.  It speaks to our concerns for this year 2020: “Because children grow up, we think a child's purpose is to grow up. But a child's purpose is to be a child. Nature doesn't disdain what lives only for a day. It pours the whole of itself into the each moment. We don't value the lily less for not being made of flint and built to last. Life's bounty is in its flow, later is too late. Where is the song when it's been sung? The dance when it's been danced? It's only we humans who want to own the future, too. We persuade ourselves that the universe is modestly employed in unfolding our destination. We note the haphazard chaos of history by the day, by the hour, but there is something wrong with the picture. Where is the unity, the meaning, of nature's highest creation? Surely those millions of little streams of accident and wilfulness have their correction in the vast underground river which, without a doubt, is carrying us to the place where we're expected! But there is no such place, that's why it's called utopia. The death of a child has no more meaning than the death of armies, of nations. Was the child happy while he lived? That is a proper question, the only question. If we can't arrange our own happiness, it's a conceit beyond vulgarity to arrange the happiness of those who come after us.” ― Tom Stoppard, The Coast of Utopia Our picture today shows what it would be likeeach morning if our bath mat was a call to action.  This is made possible by Redbubble products.  And our next photos shows what is possible when the sky is perfect every time we take a photo.  This was made possible by Skylum Software - with their  Sky replacement AI tool.

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What do doggies do on Bacon Day?

Why is a dog licking? You will see this explanation all over the internet: this is how the mother communicates with her new puppies. Mostly with domestic dogs, licking is a sign of affection - and means things like I'm hungry, I submit to you and Let's be friends. In comparison to a dog licking, here are things I don't expect a dog to do, especially not Dezi: There's a dog that holds the world record for the fastest 30 metres on a scooter. Another dog has the recognizer for the most number of balls caught in its paws in a minute.  That was Purin who caught 14 balls in a minute. What about Jiff, a 'famous Hollywood Pomeranian' who has several records - two for quickly running on hind legs and also on front legs.  You can see him in a video in the Time article on all these dogs HERE. There's a dog that has the fastest time to pop 100 balloons and another at the fastest 100 metres with a can balanced on its head. There has to be one with the most balls held in its mouth - five tennis balls. And someone has counted the number of bottles recycled by a dog - 26,000 plastic bottles over six years by a labrador in the U.K. in 2010. He would collect them, crush them and pass them to his owner.  I wonder if they used an excel spreadsheet for this and had an independent auditor. We're not anywhere near national dog day - it is August 26th.  It celebrates dog ownership of all breeds.  We are actually at Bacon day, falling needles family fest day, and bicarbonate of soda day. What I like about bacon day is the saying that goes with it:  everything is better with bacon.  Our pictures today show a 2016 Florida sunrise progression.

The Sun Will Rise Again

It is only a few days to the Winter Solstice and then the sun will start to rise again. As we approach Christmas, we focus on its traditions instead of the dwindling light.  In Niagara, we have Dutch Bakeries.  This time of year is when Dutch baking reaches its zenith.   Yesterday at the Old Post was a series of almond baked treats.  The bakery rack was set up in the middle of the store, and piled with these.  One of the bakers gave me a tour of what differentiated the many treats. The most frequent Dutch treat that is available all year round is Boterkoek or Dutch Butter Cake.  It comes in a small round just over an inch high and is a dense, slightly raised cake with almond flavouring and garnished with almonds. A flaky puff pastry that encases a soft, flavourful almond paste centre is made for Christmas.  It is a very small roll, so that when cut is the size of a cookie.  This means there is a lot of almond with just enough flaky pastry. There were many Dutch stollen piled high - it is a cake-like fruit bread with yeast.  The Dutch version has almond paste in the middle. And a Christmas bread was out yesterday - - Kerststol.  It is an oval-shaped fruited Christmas bread - and it what is filled with?  Almond paste. The Old Post is no modern bakery.  It has no relationship to Tim Horton and McDonald's monster size muffins or Starbuck cookies the size of plates. What lines the shelves are dozens of old-fashioned treats.  Cookies like we made when we were small - they are small. Scones, pies, squares, breads, tarts are sized for one person to eat - not for a crowd.  The staff range in age from young to older and all enjoy their products and tell you about them. It is a wonderful experience to enter that world each week. Today's sunrise pictures come from St. Augustine, Florida.  I noticed a pair of dolphins in the lower left of the second image, swimming through the golden waters.

I am Joe Canadian

We find out that it might be Joe Trudeau rather than Justin Trudeau in the U.S.   It seems that Justin was too hard to pronounce for Sean Spicer, the White House Press Secretary.  The hilarity that ensued on twitter was entertainment for most people on Valentine's Day. I enjoyed the tweet that said "not only do we have alternative facts now, but also AlternativePrimeMinisters". We are at that time in February when the Yosemite Horsetail Fall has the optical illusion of the "firefall." The natural effect gives the illusion that bright orange lava is flowing off the cliff at the park in California. This magic trick is a natural occurrence that only happens for a couple of weeks each February and draws hundreds of visitors each night. The "firefall" comes to life when the angle of the setting sun causes light to hit the waterfall just right; making for some amazing Instagram-worthy photos.  You can go to images for yosemite firefall. Today we see some of Florida's sunrise fire in the sky, 2016.

The What's and How's of that Sunrise Colour

There is a house on Mountain Street in Beamsville with a sagging porch.  In comparison, this whole building near Napanee is sagging. I was wondering about the sunrise colours at various times of year.  The sky has been  turquoise and pink at sunrise recently.  Here's a site posting by Robert Bowen that takes the photographs of sunrise colours and shows the colour palette. So I scrolled down and found the match-up. We've been seeing teknorat's sunrise the last few days.   Science sites tell us that it is molecules and small particles in the atmosphere that change the direction of light rays, causing them to scatter in various ways, resulting in colourful sunsets.  I found a great little chart that shows this.  It is at the physics classroom site.

Farewell to the Sunrise

Every day is a different day Our month of sunrises is concluding today.  These are yesterday's spectacle.  The intensity of the coral pinks and reds on the water was an experience. I had thought that sunsets would be more intense than sunrises, and find science is right.  They are equally wonderful.  The beautiful skies concluded with great cloud cover that brought in winds and rain.   View this email in your browser

To Capture Speed

Each Florida day has begun by taking pictures of the rising sun.  Today the sun is behind a veil of grey that is so uniform the camera struggles to focus.  Mist has been floating in and out of the shore and the inland clouds look like they will bring rain.  And then in 10 minutes, everything changes.  The sun rises above the cloud bank on the horizon and a glorious sky emerges.  The ocean and sky are still merged and without a clear distinction.  Because the sun has risen high enough, there isn't the orange or red colours.  What occurs instead is an ocean and sky that look like grey pearl. The camera sees more colour than I do:  As the sun rises into a cloud, there will be oranges in the image which I barely see.  And then the sun is up, and the sunrise picture-taking is completed.   Today's images were taken on the trip down to Florida.  These are motion blur pictures - where the car's speed is faster than the camera's shutter speed to give that wonderful sense of movement.

St. Louis Blue

What colour of blue would St.Louis Blue be?  I haven't found the answer yet, but did enjoy the wikipedia entry for the music. St. Louis blues is a type of blues music. It is usually more piano-based than other forms of the blues, and is closely related to the jump blues, ragtime and piano blues. It is sometimes performed to a "Saint Louis shuffle" beat; a drum rhythm with heavy on-the-beat accents. It can often be made up of a small number of singers, a pianist and a few other musical instruments (used primarily for rhythm) to make up a band, but it is also common for guitarists to take the lead, even to play parts normally played on piano. We're looking at abstracts created from the handicapped parking asphalt during a rest stop on the trip.  These are followed by more sunrise images from yesterday.