Marilyn's Photos - Mar 6 2026 - Victoria's Blossom Count

 

There is spring somewhere on the planet - probably all the time.  The fact that Victoria - on the other side of Canada will have more than 44 billion blooms counted by March 12th seems amazing compared to the view out my window.  Yes, the Snowdrops are starting to bloom in my garden.  the Witch hazel bush has little yellow flowers.  So  the Snowdrops would make my personal garden’s flower count around 100 blooms right now.  Isn’t that paltry in comparison to the winning class last year?  Margaret Jenkins Elementary School counted 11 billion blooms, with one classroom doing most of the counting to win the Bloomingest Classroom.  I didn’t know we had that kind of attention span anymore.  It gives one hope for our future.   The current count right now is over 31 million.  Here’s something new this year:  the counting guidelines: “To manage the massive numbers (tens of billions), organizers provide a guide for counting: small tree: 250,000 medium tree: 500,000 large tree: 750,000 smaller heather bush: 500 medium heather ushers: 1,000 large heather bush: 2,000” And here’s a post from the Greater Victoria Flower Count 2 years ago: Flower Fun Fact: Did you know there are three different blooming, pink trees in Victoria?  Plum blossoms, peach blossoms, and cherry blossoms all bloom in Greater Victoria, and generally in that order. Here are some ways you can tell them apart:   Cherry blossoms bloom downward, and have a notch at the tip of their petals.  Plum blossoms have round petals, and only one flower per node. They are also the most fragrant.  Peach blossoms produce two flowers per node, and are the only ones to produce leaves at the same time as blooms. Isn’t that so much more fun and interesting than regular news.  I am getting ahead of myself, though. We will have to wait more than a month for this show, but when it comes it is splendid!

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Mairlyn's Photos - Mar 5 2026 - Twinkies the Urban Legend

 

find out that Twinkies have a shelf life of 45 days. The article says that Twinkies “in fact, contain real food."  And goes on further to proclaim:  “They are truly baked.”  All 500 million produced each year.  The urban myth is that Twinkies could survive a nuclear war.  I remember this at the time. This was perpetuated when a science teacher in Maine supposedly kept a Twinkie on top of his chalkboard in the 1970s - and kept it there for 30 years.  I guess he must have opened it after that - the teacher claimed it appeared fresh and edible.  That’s the story in the news summaries sorts of stories. Now onto some of the actual facts of the story: The teacher was Roger Bennatti, a chemistry teacher at George Stevens Academy in Blue Hill, Maine. He started the experiment in 1976.  It stayed in his classroom for 28 years until he retired in 2004.  When he retired he passed it on to Libby Rosemeier the Dean of Students and a former student in the class where the experiment began.  The Twinkie is still with us in 2026. It turned 50 years old in January. It has not decomposed, but it has turned hard, sort of like stale bread or an over-size crouton.  I think it  resembles a giant Italian biscotti. The experiment originator has looked at it a lot longer than I have and he calls it a Twinkie mummy. While the article says that it did not remain “palatable” there’s no indication that the world’s oldest known Twinkie has been the subject of any formal laboratory analysis or when the taste-testing occurred to designate its quality.  It doesn’t seem to have made it to the Guinness World Records.  Twinkies aren’t a normal record subject - the official records have to be verified and generally relate to human or cultural activities and feats.  For example, on the oldest food topic, Guinness says there is a restaurant in Madrid that has been serving roast suckling pig for nearly 300 years.  And what about the tombs in Egypt where 3,000-year-old honey as found and was “fully edible.” Twinkies turns out to be quite the ‘term’ for things racist, sexual, and so on. Here’s the one joke that is OK, and perfect for today’s post. “If there was a great joke about Twinkies, it would never get old.”

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Marilyn's Photos - Mar 4 2026 - That Locker Room Quote

 

t was difficult for Canadians when they lost hockey gold at the Olympics.  Now, just a few weeks later, it looks like maybe winning the gold at the Olympics isn’t “The Greatest.”  The U.S. Men’s Hockey Team has been in a whirlwind of controversial news for their post-win off-ice activities rather than their medal-winning plays. I guess one spends much more time off the ice rather than on it.  Which means a lot more opportunities for mistakes that lead to penalties.  Or whirlwinds that lead to tornados.  The windstorm picked up with Trump’s reference to the women’s team during the now-famous locker room telephone conversation. That added to the fact that they did not receive a congratulatory call from the president, and their invitation to the White House was timed after the men’s win.  It was sufficiently late that travel arrangements and next steps were complete.  It really was the misogynist nature of the comments that made for all the reaction. That means that the post-victory locker conversation with Trump is going to have a long  shelf-life.  Like a Twinkie in a bomb shelter. This was just one of the post-win “missteps.” How many?  I got stopped when the list got to 14 things they did wrong - AI provided a well-prepared list.   AI asked at the end of the list:  “Would you like to see a comparison of the media coverage between the Men’s and Women’s teams following their respective gold medal wins?  Isn’t that the actual controversy - how extensive gender discrimination is in USA Hockey.   It turns out it goes right to the top of the political system.  And how do we know that?  Today the Globe and Mail revealed in an article that the American Ambassador, Pete Hoekstra, says he is “disappointed and outraged “over Cathal Kelly’s column on the U.S. men’s hockey team at the State of the Union Address.  Hoekstra demanded an apology.  (This is in sharp contrast to the person who chastised Canadians over being too sensitive to the 51state threats, over the Prime Minister being called a governor, the border being referred to as “just a line”, increased tariffs, along with the demand to close down the Gordie Howe Bridge, and so on.) The Globe and Mail responded by asking what the consequences were of not apologizing. I guess the Globe and Mail knows a thing or two about escalation in the U.S. The hockey gender gap controversy is gaining momentum.  Forbes has an article on this.  The author says the post-win missteps showcase that USA Hockey is in a crisis and needs to reset to get back on track. Given the gender war in the US is political, this doesn’t seem likely.  The article is HERE.  We lost our mid-March flower show - Canada Blooms - to COVID and financial constraints.  I will miss the wonderful displays.  Here’s an Alice in Wonderland themed one - perfect for our topic of the day.

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Marilyn's Photos - Mar 3 2026 - A loaf, a lettuce and an ox's head

 

What do you want buried with you?  The Egyptians had a soul house - a miniature clay building with an open front space.  Sounds good - ensuring you have a house in heaven. And then what does the article say is put in the house? Loaves of bread, lettuce and an ox-s head?  Where there leftovers they could identify? Who wants an ox’s head buried with them?  Or an anything head?  What a distance of cultural norms  when you think of it.  The actual news was the finding of a complete handprint underneath the soul house.  That would be an archaeologist’s dream. So a small news items on the Antique Roadshow seemed on topic.  Things that have immense value.  This was about a couple who brought in a painting . The appraiser told them the backstory that the painter was a celebrity artist in the Victorian age. Next, was that the painting was of Dr Thomas Bond who did research on Jack the Ripper. And then the valuation between 10,000 to 15,000 pounds.  That’s over $18.000 Canadian. A great Antiques Roadshow moment. Isn’t that the fun of the British Antique Roadshow?  Things in the back cupboard for 50 or 150 years, passed down the generations, being ignored except for this single moment. And the consistent story the owners seem to repeat this simple phrase:  “It’s not going anywhere.”  Gerry thinks they rehearse this with the show staff ahead of time. Ha, ha.  And what about Antique roadshow jokes: I brought in my great-grandmother’s 19th century vase, and the appraiser said it was in excellent condition, “especially since it’s actually a 1990s souvenir from a gift shop.” The most terrifying words on the show aren’t “This is a fake,” but rather, “…and because you cleaned it with furniture polish, you’ve removed almost all the value.” Or what about this? Guy walks into an antique shop…and asks:  “What’s new?” Here’s an antique shop in Port Credit…makes you wonder what old sewing machines might be worth.

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