Marilyn's Photos - June 15 2025 - Father's Day Humour

 

There are many Father's Day Joke headlines. They get attention and get clicked on.  What are the most popular types of Father's Day jokes?  They don't seem to think about that much. I guess research in this area would be sparse.  Research on jokes in general seems sparse.  Perhaps there are lots of Departments of Linguistics or Philosophy rather than a Department of Humour.  Although the University of Colorado Boulder has the Humor Research Lab, where they are researching the benign violation theory.  Doesn't that sound like a university sort of topic? As I sorted through various Father's Day jokes, this one came up and is  appropriately "groanful" even if it doesn't relate to Father's Day. Hey, I can’t stop singing the ‘Green Green Grass of Home’ “That sounds like Tom Jones syndrome” “Is it common?”   “It’s not unusual” And here's a visual selection of typical groanful Dad jokes. I suggest groanful is the most popular type of Dad joke.

I went to the Royal Botanical Gardens yesterday to see the Rose Show and the Rose Garden. This picture is from a few years ago during COVID when there were few people and the roses weren't as tall.  The sky comes from Skyrim - a nice colour match with the flowers.

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June 14 2025 - Father's Day Dad bod

 

There's a recent science article on Dad Bods - just in time for Father's Day.  I had to look this up as I hadn't noticed it until a science program covered it.  Like any other expression, its origins are tracked - first occurred in 2003. That's a long time for me to ignore the term. A "dad bod" is a slang term describing a male physique characterized by a less toned or muscular build, often with a noticeable layer of body fat around the midsection (a "beer belly" or "spare tire") while the arms, legs, and chest may still appear relatively fit.  It's commonly associated with men who have become fathers or are middle-aged, and who may have once had a more athletic build. ( One article says the "dad era" is between the late 20s and late 50s. That's quite a "spread" for middle-aged.) I guess they thought it was timely for Father's Day as the science article was complimentary on the hormonal and behavioural changes that went with a dad bod. I don't think we had a similar topic for Mother's Day.  That might be because of the comparison/contrast between the dad and mom bod that one article described this way: Awww, he chooses to spend time with his kids instead of living at the gym! He's a keeper! vs Is she ever going to lose the baby weight? Good thing mom bod isn't something we talk about before Mother's Day.   Here's our Trillium garden of the week in Grimsby.  This has won a Trillium over the years, so I have taken numerous pictures of this house with its harmonious architecture and garden design. AI tells me this is a modern interpretation of Tudor style - and I thought it was a sort of Italian design.  My interest is that I took a panorama with my iPhone, and then straightened it in Photoshop with the transform tool, also giving it a nice sky (this was 5:30 in the morning before the sun rose)  There was a little bit of adjusting of the sidewalk and grass, and I can see the issues that still are there, but impressed with the final result of the transform tool.  It is great when technology is smart and not sassy.

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Marilyn's Photos - June 12 2025 - Brian Wilson

 

Alice Cooper's story about John Lennon and Brian Wilson:  “I was sitting backstage after the 1974 Grammys with Bernie Taupin (Elton John’s lyricist) and John Lennon. This was when Brian was really having some mental issues. During the course of the conversation, I kept seeing Brian out of the corner of my eye, just kind of staring at us from different angles.”  "So I merely said, 'Brian Wilson, this is John Lennon. John Lennon, this is Brian Wilson. ' Lennon was very cordial and polite, saying things like 'Hello Brian, I've always wanted to meet you. I've always admired your work, and Paul and I considered Pet Sounds one of the best albums ever made." “About ten minutes later, Brian came by our table again, leaned down and whispered something to Bernie, and all of a sudden, Bernie was saying ‘Brian Wilson, this is John Lennon. John Lennon, Brian Wilson.’ Lennon was just as cordial and polite as the first time, saying essentially the same thing about always wanting to meet him. As soon as Brian walked away, John looked at both of us and casually said in his typical Liverpudlian accent, ‘I’ve met him hundreds of times. He’s not well, you know.’”   This was a poster in Toronto around 2010.  I wonder what it was about - all that's left is John Lennon.

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Marilyn's Photos - June 11 2025 - Picnic Potlucks

 

Eating outside has obviously gone on since we began.  Pictures of what we call picnics date ack to the 15th century.  The term picnic is something that was documented in the 18th century.  It meant something like a potluck - everyone would contribute something to the feast.  It was the wealthy who had elaborate movable feasts.  Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Management described all the components of an outdoor meal.  There were plenty.  Victorian times seemed tough to me - a lot of standards and rules.   What do we think of picnics today? Ther will always be the potluck picnic guide describing things like etiquette, what culinary contribution to bring,  serving utensils, keeping food safe in the cooler, labeling the serving dishes clearly. Perhaps we have Victorian traditions still in us. Being a post-Victorian, the major change that has happened in my lifetime is that  it is acceptable to bring things from the grocery store in the grocery store packaging, especially Costco, a brand that has a  religious-like following.   My potluck mentality goes back to my childhood.  We made all the food that we put out on the picnic table. I do remember lots of jello, which today would be a great novelty.  The only thing prepared would have been things like the condiments and the hot dog buns.  What would happen today if everyone had to make a dish for the potluck?  It might be chaos.  That's a very funny scenario. Considering our technology today, I would expect the "smash hit" of a potluck would be a 3D-printed cake.  That would be very exciting.   So considering how things have changed, I found a few potluck jokes for my generation:  I brought weed and poker chips to a potluck picnic last week. Apparently I missed the memo on what a "potluck dinner" was. And this joke about a church potluck written in "baby boomer slang": A man calls his friend to remind him about a church potluck coming up. "Ok," he says, "My wife and I will bring the cheese, and you and your wife need to bring the bread." His friend, who is kind of an anxious mess says, "Oh man, that's a lot to remember. I'm kind of freaking out. I don't know how I'm going to keep all of this information straight!" "Woah woah woah," the first man says to his friend. "Take it easy, man! Just remember: cheese us loaves you."

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Marilyn's Photos - June 10 1015 - Spin the Wheel

 

I can hear the clicking when I say the expression "Spin the Wheel" in my mind.  It must be from my childhood at the circuses/carnivals.   The spin wheel game has been on the record since ancient Greek and Roman times.  Each segment had its own outcome and the game has risk and excitement and in only a few seconds.  That's what we like about chance and fortune.  The Roman goddess Fortuna's wheel of fortune determined people's fortunes.  Wikipedia says she spins it at random, changing the positions of those on the wheel:  some suffer great misfortune, others gain windfalls.  And that it was already a cliche in ancient times. The origin of the word is from the "wheel of fortune"—the zodiac, referring to the Celestial spheres of which the 8th holds the stars, and the 9th is where the signs of the zodiac are placed. The concept was first invented in Babylon and later developed by the ancient Greeks, with early references from Cicero's In Pisonem.  Hamlet know about the wheel of fortune: to "break all the spokes and fellies from her wheel."   I find there are many references in his plays.  From this philosophical context, the wheel of fortune in modern day generally refers to a casino game.  There are lots of them - but wouldn't the most famous be Roulette? And there's the Wheel of Fortune Game Show where (I had to look this up) contestants solve world puzzles to win cash and prizes that are determined by spinning the wheel.  Such a journey for the wheel of fortune.  From the serious philosophies of ancient times to now - where it has become a source of fun and pleasure.   We can buy a spinning prize wheel with 10 - 14 slots sitting on a table top.  Amazon, Temu and Wayfair Canada all have them.  Why don't we all have one?     This is the Port Dalhousie Carousel.  I guess it makes me think of the Wheel of Fortune, going round and round.

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