Marilyn's Photos - Dec 6 2025 - Top Viral Videos 2025

 

I don’t know what the top viral videos of 2025 are.  I just see these silly headlines of cute dogs, guess what happened next, and headlines like finding a homeless person living in a cave on her property.  That last one is unnerving - who has a cave on their property?  Who goes into the cave on their property to find a homeless person?  No easy answers here. The answer:  The top viral moments of 2025 so far include the Coldplay kiss cam video, American Eagle’s controversial jeans ad and the ongoing Labubu pandemonium.   That first one is the few awkward seconds of a couple hugging at the Coldplay concert, with the quick investigation and revelation that they were a tech CEO and executive who are out on an extra-marital date. That’s the top video with over 120 million views. It still makes me squeamish that this was covered with such glee by the news outlets and the public.  We’ve got a mean streak going in 2025. The controversial “eugenics” jeans ad also leans into squeamishness with Sweeney’s “just not true” response, thinking that would solve it. She has a mean streak showing. And then the Labubu phenomenon.  The hashtag #labubu got 1 million posts on TikTok. There have been over 25 billion views on YouTube in 2025.  There’s the star of 2025. It is a modern cracker jack box surprise that is a silly looking doll - that’s all.  What a relief. Wouldn’t a Labubu be a  strange Christmas gift for someone over 70? What percentage of the Canadian population aged over 65 know what a Labubu is?  AI tells me that widespread recognition would be improbable.  Here’s one of my watercolours reinterpreted.

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Marilyn's Photos - July 15 2025 - Never Retire

 

Never retire.  Bob Dylan is still touring at the age of 84.  That seems astonishing.  He's touring with Willie Nelson, and he's 92.   Paul McCartney is coming to the renovated Hamilton Colliseum.  He's 83 years old.  And the Rolling Stones Mick Jagger is 81 years old.  But they cancelled their UK and European tour for 2025 due to logistical challenges.  They are planning a 2026 tour.  What do I think these aged rock singers have in common?  While some of them never sang well, all of them don't sing well anymore.  I can't imagine listening to a concert of Paul McCartney with the quaver of the very old vocal chords.   Even worse, to my ear is Willie Nelson with a voice that has always been unpleasant.  He supposedly has a "songwriter's voice." That sounds like code for writes better than he sings.  Here's one Quora writer's take on his voice: "Like a wonderful blanket crocheted by your favorite relative.  The one you've had for 30-years. Oh sure, there are some tattered corners, mended holes and faded colors;  but all of these things are why you love it so…soft in all the right places." Another quote:  "Mannered.  He doesn't really sing as much as he "talks tunefull'. Does Bob Dylan have a songwriter's voice?  Here's one contribution to Reddit: "I've literally not met one person that likes Bob Dylan's singing. So is it that weird that I think he's a great singer?"   There is a lot of analysis on Bob Dylan's voice. My observation is that Bob Dylan doesn't sing in the key that the band is playing in.   And here's a joke in that reddit post:   "Dylan and Mick Jagger were arguing about who was a better musician. Dylan posited that Jagger could not have written Mr. Tambourine Man, but Dylan could have written Satisfaction. To which Jagger replied "Yeah, but could you sing it?"

Here's the result of yesterday's watercolour class.

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Dec 9 2024 - Outlaw Christmas

 

We are so engrossed in Christmas every year - even during the year- that we can't imagine anything different.   Imagine this:  In North Korea Christmas is outlawed.  It is officially an atheist state.  It seems odd to me that the outlawing was done as late as 2016.  It is likely due to Kim Jong Un's growing sense "godlike status."  Rebecca Pankratz, a researcher is quoted:  “Christianity was viewed as more of a direct threat to the regime … providing hope for living for eternity after life rather than living in fear of death.” Other atheist nations? Cuba banned Christmas starting in 1969. The ban was lifted for the Pope's visit 30 years later, and hasn't been reinstated. Another twist:  Christmas and Christianity are banned in China, but a commercialized version of Christmas is popular.   There are lots off countries that don't have Christmas. This from the World Population Review:  Afghanistan, Algeria, Bhutan, Libya, Mauritania, Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Yemen. "In these countries, Christmas is not considered a day off from work. All government services will be open, and people will be expected to go to work and school. On the other hand, that doesn't necessarily mean that people are not allowed to celebrate Christmas in these countries. People who are Christian can still take the day off and celebrate, provided that the country does not have a law against it. It simply means that people should not be expected to be given the day off from work for free, as the country will still be open." You can go to the site HERE to see the reasons for non-celebration.  Often they aren't Christian countries, the most straight-forward reason. There are several categories outlined on Wikipedia:   1. Christmas observed and public holiday 2. Christmas observed but not public holiday 3. Christmas is neither observed nor public holiday We take Christmas for granted and there's so much build-up in our culture and society.  I wonder what other countries and cultures have for a common celebration event. Here's an example of the Christmas influence:  this one of our cute Christmas watercolour exercises from last year.  What would you do in a watercolour class without such major events?

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Celebrating Pomegranates

Now that Remembrance Day is completed, what is left for  Canadians to commemorate or celebrate in November?  We have used up our turkey Thanksgiving leftovers long ago in October.   For those born in November, Wikipedia says that Scientific studies have found empirical evidence suggesting that November-born children are more likely to become overachievers in their own fields.  Examples include: scientist Madame Curie; writers/philosophers Dostoevsky, Albert Camus, Voltaire and Mark Twain; artists Monet and Rodin; policy maker Winston Churchill; and legendary baseball player Joe DiMaggio. For something light-hearted we can celebrate National Pomegranate Month. I created these images using the watercolours from Shadowhouse - http://shadowhousecreations.blogspot.ca. They are eye-popping and beautiful in their own right.  Here they showcase the graceful petal shapes.

Water Colours

Water is a great subject.  There are so many possibilities.  This one was found at the Monterey Aquarium in the shore birds display area, and was done with a bit of motion blur.