Marilyn's Photos - June 1 2025 - Another Op'nin', Another Show

 

Another Op'nin', Another Show is the number that opens Kiss Me, Kate.  I saw the start of it on PBS - on Performances.  Written by Cole Porter,Another Op'nin' of Another Show is considered one of the great show business anthem classics - along with No Business Like Show Business, and That's Entertainment. We've heard it so many time, and "American Show Business" is such a vast industry now - the largest in the world worth $649 billion for media and entertainment.  Here are the lyrics: Another op'nin, another show In Philly, Boston, or Baltimo' A chance for stage folks to say hello! Another op'nin of another show. Another job that you hope will last Will make your future forget your past Antoher pain where the ulcers grow Another op'nin of another show. Four weeks, you rehearse and rehearse Three weeks, and it couldn't be worse One week, will it ever be right? Then out of the hat it's that big first night The overture is about to start You cross your fingers and hold your heart It's curtain time and away we go - Another op'nin Just another op'nin of another show! That was 1948 - a world away from here and now.  Such "youthful" and aspiring lyrics then, so much hope for success.   Consider today where the world's richest entertainers are Steven Spielberg, worth $8.3 billion and George Lucas $6.92 billion. The wealthiest actors are listed as Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson or Zhao Wei, depending on which articles you read, then Arnold Schwarzenegger, Shah Rukh Khan, Tom Cruise, George Clooney - all of these have at least $500 million to almost $1 billion. It won't be long before we start into the multi-trillions.  And after trillions, what is it? It's Quadrillion.   The beautiful Paulownia trees in blossom at Longwood at the entrance walkway.

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

Marilyn's Photos - May 31st 2025 - Twin Things

 

Things about twins.  I found out last week about mirror twins - from Harry who ran Cole's Garden Centre - he has a twin and they are mirror twins.  I had no idea there was such a thing.  Here's the definition:  "The term mirror twin is used to describe a type of identical, or monozygotic, twin pairing in which the twins are matched as if they’re looking into a mirror — with defining characteristics like birthmarks, dominant hands, or other features on opposite sides."  How do they figure this out?  It is usually the twins who do. And then the CBC had an interview with an identical twin who spoke on the phenomenon of disputed memories - where the twins argue over who experienced a particular event.  There are many studies and articles on the subject.  This is a subset within the false memory phenomenon.  Who would guess such research areas.  What about this study?  "Twenty sets of twins disputed a total of thirty-six events, twenty-one of which were only discovered to be in dispute during the study." There are lots of "interesting" facts about twins - with more than 11 million identical twins with us today, they've been studied quite a bit.   Given so many twins are about, what are the possible good jokes to enjoy? There seem to be a lot of puns, but not accompanied by humour as in: We’re not just siblings; we’re twiblings! Twintuition: when twins think alike. Twinning is the ultimate form of synchronized living. And so on. Let's take a peak in the shop at the Strasburg Railway.

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

May 30 2025 - Spelling Bees Turn 100

 

Are Spelling Bees a U.S. phenomenon?  They turned 100 this year, or so an article says.  We can't know anymore which articles are news and fact and white are click bait headlines. So I thought this was something to check out. I find that the anniversary refers to the annual United States National Spelling Bee.   I don't remember this in public school. But then, I don't have vivd public or high school memories.  But wouldn't I remember attending a spelling bee? I don't even remember the expression spelling bee.  We had the Science Fair for maths, engineering and science.  There was the Kiwanis Festival Competition for music and the arts.  There were debating competitions.  So it is likely spelling bees were more of a minor activity in Canada. The  U.S. Spelling bee is the Scripps National Spelling Bee and participants came from U.S. and other countries.  It is very complicated now, with many rules, rounds, quarterfinals, semifinals, and so on.   Back in the early days the first place prize was either $500 0r $1000 - that's a lot in 1925.  And today?  First place gets $50,000.  I wonder if that even covers the costs involved.  There's a Spelling Bee of Canada now. It says that over 70,000 children have participated in the competition.  There are 26 regions competing.  The Canadian winner gets around  $10,000.   We older people raise an eyebrow, don't we?  The elevation of a spelling contest as a national entertainment when so many people can't spell simple words with correct grammar.     An abstract today.

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

Marilyn's Photos - May 29th 2025 - Chase the Cheese

 

Quaint - what do you think of?  I think of things from long ago. Old-fashioned would be a synonym.  Do we have quaint traditions here in Canada?  Now that we are considering our identify more, it might be time to roll out the cute things about us.  Maple syrup at the sugar shack is not quaint, but might be cute. Now here's quaint:  chasing a  7 to 9 pound Double Gloucester cheese wheel down a hill in Gloucester, England.  What makes it quaint?  It has been going on since at least 1826.  It happens at Coopoer's Hill each year.  The first person over the finish line at the bottom of the hill wins the cheese.   Notable in the Wikipedia entry is the paragraph on injuries - with the steepness of the hill and its unevenness, there are injuries of participants and spectators every year.  It makes the international news, so likely is one of the top quaint things to do this time of year. Back to Canada, land of newcomers and international students who might want to know what to expect of us, there are lots of headlines on what newcomers should know about Canada that appears "quirky."  Quaint doesn't come up that much.    Consensus has it our May 24th weekend is our quaint and quirky tradition.  This is where 2-4 also means a case of beer, so there is a double meaning in the tradition.  We are the only country to celebrate this as a national holiday.  Even England doesn't celebrate this like we do.  We started the tradition way back in 1845, so this is definitely on the quaint side of things. This cute little koi at the Royal Botanical Gardens pond in the greenhouse looks like it is sleepy time swimming.

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

May 28 2025 - AI the Garden helper

 

What I "took away" yesterday was that there might be fun asking AI questions.  I have a lot of garden questions.  Let's check out a few.   AI ChatGPT is excellent on these sorts of answers - what adjectives would we use to describe them?  Let's head over to the synonym dictionary - how about fawning, unctuous, smarmy and insincere, slimy, even ingratiating.  I like unctuous, as well. At least ChatGPT didn't recommend I put glue in my cheese to make it stick to the pizza better.  That's one of its answers so far. So I thought I'd conclude with this question and find out its reply.   Does this have a sense of Oscar Wilde to you?  Witty and mocking. It is peony season just starting - the tree peonies are blooming.  They last for a day or two and we've had cooler weather so they might bloom a bit longer.  These are the regular herbaceous peonies that go to bouquets for florists.

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