Italy

 Some friends are in Italy at the moment and I'm sure they are following this proverb.

Sunsets, wonderful sunsets

 Anyone who reads my blog knows how much I love sunsets. This one is from Linda's blog and taken while they are on an Alaska cruise at the moment.

Glastonbury

Richard went to this festival when we were doing a house /car exchange in Yorkshire. After the festival he came to visit us for a while. It had rained a lot and his clothes were so muddy I had to hose him down. He had a great time and saw lots of famous bands he would have paid megabucks to see otherwise. He was very appreciative of getting decent meal. It seems he had been living on beer, crisps (potato chips) and hot dogs. 

https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/music/my-first-time-glastonbury-b1008456.html?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=News%20email%2028/6/2022&utm_term=ES_News_Daily_CDP 

A few of the new words for the Oxford English Dictionary

 I guess if you were cut off from all news you could get a pretty good idea of what's been going on in the world.

• cyah, v.: “‘Cannot’, ‘can’t’. Cf. cyan, v.”
• cyan, v.: “‘Cannot’, ‘can’t’. Cf. cyah, v.”
• daebak, n., int., and adj.: “Something lucrative or desirable, esp. when acquired or found by chance; a windfall, a jackpot.” and other senses…
• dandy shandy, n.: “Originally: (a brand name for) a type of non-alcoholic fizzy drink. In later use also: a drink consisting of a mixture of beer and ginger beer…” plus one more sense…
• decarcerate, v.: “transitive. To free (a prisoner or prisoners) from incarceration, now often as part of a wider initiative to reduce the prison population by…

Adrian gets it right once again

 

Gallery: Adrian Raeside cartoon: That big space at the museum

Adrian Raeside about 9 hours ago

about 8 hours ago

Burkini Ban

I've found this issue rather interesting to follow. I guess I'm sympathetic to women being able to wear what they feel comfortable with. While the hygiene issue does make some sense I think it should be dealt with as a separate issue and I think some solution could be found to allow women to wear their burkins if they wish to.

I found this report from a local newspaper rather concerning. Surely you can wear what you want.

"The photographs emerged as a mother of two also told on Tuesday how she had been fined on the beach in nearby Cannes wearing leggings, a tunic and a headscarf.

Her ticket, seen by French news agency AFP, read that she was not wearing “an outfit respecting good morals and secularism”.

A really fun lunch yesterday

 We met Donna, Linda, and Cec for lunch today. Always lots of stories and talk of old times.

There is nothing like old (well, we're not really old are we?) friends.

Always fascinated by blimps

I have always loved the idea of flying in a blimp and what a cool way to get to Seattle. We have gone to Seattle by hydrofoil, ferry, plane, seaplane, bus, and car. This is when we lived in Victoria. Well, the world of travel will have to get back to normal before we think of doing anything like that. Let's hope that day is sooner than we think.

 https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/travel/blimp-airship-possible-travel-air-line-between-seattle-and-vancouver-5498473?utm_source=Vancouver+Is+Awesome&utm_campaign=9c3e6b3442-Daily+062122&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f592a7afc0-9c3e6b3442-136521497

More Michael Callas

 

Michael Callas...like his style!

"Michael Callas is a Los Angeles based visual artist known for his architectural and renaissance works. He was raised in Southern California, where he started his career in the late 2000’s after leaving architectural school. Rooted in pop art, street art, and graphic design, Callas’ paintings consist of spray paint and precise stencil work. Intricately produced through a rigorous process of drafting, mapping, and hand-cutting individually cut templates before being transposed onto canvas with spray paint. Callas creates a surface that is uniform and rich in color. His unique process and work have captured worldwide acclaim."

A wonderful Fathers' Day

 We had a great lunch at Bells and Whistles then Richard did all sorts of stuff fixing our technology.

Thanks so much....you are a wonderful son!

Amazing facts about male nightingales

Happy Fathers' Day everyone! I do miss the songbirds in Palm Springs although they did begin very early in the morning which wasn't always great sometimes.

"Male nightingales advertise their skills as fathers through song. If you know anything about nightingales, it’s probably that they sing. Written about by the likes of ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes and English poet John Keats, they’ve also inspired such composers as Beethoven and Stravinsky to pay homage to their melancholy warbling. But not all of their songs are mournful: In fact, male nightingales use some of them to advertise their skills as fathers. One of the many factors female nightingales consider when assessing prospective mates is their suitors’ paternal potential, and a 2015 study on the subject showed that better male nightingale singers are known to feed their children more often than their less-talented peers. “Better” here means singing in a more orderly fashion — repeating the same song types over and over — and varying their song choices, with plenty of buzzes, trills, and whistles. Whereas it was previously thought that the size of a male’s repertoire was the sole criterion a female considered, in nightingales, the kind of song is crucial as well. Overall, male nightingales are known to be doting fathers — they visit their chicks’ nest as many as 16 times every hour, which is about as often as their mothers do."

Dispatch from LA

Always fun to read... https://dispatchfromla.com/2022/06/captain-moss-has-pushed-off.html

Ah....the joys of street art

There is so much posted on the Internet that I will always find something to fufill my commitment to post every day. Born to a Lebanese Christian father and a Moroccan Muslim mother, Combo officially began his career as an artist in 2012. This committed street artist decided to pass the forbidden zone of Chernobyl in order to stick up his advertising posters. In 2015, he was inspired by a Polish logo created by designer Piotr Mlodozeniec: COEXIST. Coexist is illustrated through different religious symbols: the crescent, the Star of David and the Christian cross. This street art calls for the tolerance and the respect of all beliefs. Since the attacks against Charlie Hebdo, Combo has displayed his art in the streets of Paris. Unfortunately, he has already been attacked whilst creating his art.

What a great idea!

Get Your Free Book in NYPL Branches! Join us in your nearest branch in the Bronx, Manhattan, or Staten Island starting June 9 as we give away 500,000 books for kids and teens! Drop by one of our friendly neighborhood locations anytime to choose one of the new diverse books we’re giving to kids and teens, from birth through 18, to take home and keep forever. A lifelong love of reading—and your own home library—begin with choosing your first book. Come to the Library and choose yours!

Just loving stories about conversions of the UK red phone booths

At least 1,400 of the U.K.’s iconic red phone booths have been saved from closing There is one that was was converted into a "mini-disco" and asks for donations for charity. Many are mini-librairies and many house defibrillators. And many were kept as phone booths that have working phones after people complaining not everyone has a cell phone and there isn't cell phone coverage everywhere. I have posted about this before but there are lots more stories out there now so go exploring if you are intrigued by the idea. Read more here but if the link doesn't appear (seems to be happening these days) use Google.

Fireflies

I've always been fascinated by fireflies perhaps because they aren't local to the West Coast they seem so very exotic. We saw them on our summer trips to Montreal and Quebec City. Richard loved them too and was disappointed when we had to tell him he wouldn't be seeing them at home. I would have never guessed in a million years that robots and fireflies would be connected.

MIT’s Latest Tiny Robot Invention Gets Its Inspiration from Fireflies

For many, fireflies bring about memories of late summer nights and childhood innocence. For one group of scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, though, the bioluminescent insects are the inspiration for their latest project: tiny robots that can fly and light up. The small devices, weighing a bit more than a paper clip, will hopefully one day serve in search-and-rescue missions, using their flashing lights to signal for help in remote or dangerous locations. “If you think of large-scale robots, they can communicate using a lot of different tools — Bluetooth, wireless, all those sorts of things. But for a tiny, power-constrained robot, we are forced to think about new modes of communication,” one of the engineers, Kevin Chen, said in a press release. And the robots’ similarities to real-life fireflies are numerous. In addition to being able to flash their lights on and off to communicate with each other, they have wings that can flap when voltage is applied. This was a pretty amazing fact I came across while reading about them. I think it would be  rather disconcerting to see one of these! "The biggest fireflies are huge. Females of the Lamprigera firefly can grow to be the size of your palm. They are much larger than their male counterparts and lack wings. Two large light organs on their abdomen produce their characteristic glow."

Firehalls and libraries

I don't think we've been to this branch that is in a firehall. We'll have to give it a try just for fun. A great combination...two fantastic civic services in one place. 1475 West 10th

1455 West 10th https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/local-news/5-things-you-probably-didnt-know-about-vancouver-firefighters-5470737?utm_source=Vancouver+Is+Awesome&utm_campaign=4582f74beb-Daily+061322&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f592a7afc0-4582f74beb-136521497

Art makes street crossings safer

What a win-win for everyone...safety, cool art, and money for artists. "Since the painted crosswalk — which highlights the Jackson Ward neighborhood’s Black culture and legacy — was finished in September, the intersection became safer for pedestrians and motorists, with episodes of cars braking quickly to avoid pedestrians and other close calls reduced by eight incidents, a decline of more than 56 percent, data shows. The overall changes were fairly small but still significant in the community, and part of a larger study in various cities that showed far fewer crashes at the art intersections compared with the prior year. While the initial purpose of the asphalt painting was to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Jackson Ward, it came with an unexpected benefit: The mural has encouraged pedestrians and motorists to “slow down and take safety into consideration,” said Visions, 37, a local comic book artist and muralist." - from The Washington Post

Old times at The Sylvia yesterday

We had a nice beach walk and a burger and beer and a nice chat with a woman we ran into. We felt we needed some cheering up and that did the trick.

Makes me feel old

I guess I will never find tattoos attractive but I think it's a good idea not to have us "old-timers" dictating what people should do "Cabin crew for Virgin Atlantic will now be allowed to display tattoos, after the UK airline announced a relaxation of its policy ahead of a fresh recruitment drive. The airline, founded by British billionaire Richard Branson, had previously prohibited uniformed employees from displaying their tattoos. “But now, employees can show off their ink to the world, while still representing Virgin Atlantic in their uniform,” the airline said on Tuesday, claiming to be the first UK carrier to allow visible tattoos."

Librarians...amazing people!

Jack Knox and baseball...a winning combination

We do love our baseball and I love the musings of Jack Knox. Baseball is a respite in a tense world and also from the sex and violence that so many films and TV series seem to think are necessary to hold an audience.

https://www.timescolonist.com/local-news/jack-knox-baseball-offers-respite-of-calm-in-a-tense-world-5429272

Queen Elizabeth, Paddington Bear a corgi and a marmalade sandwich!

From Linda's blog. It seemed a very charming and fitting ending to the celebrations.

More on Lucy Sparrow

I was rather inrigued by her artwork in felt and wool. BIO Instagram sensation Lucy Sparrow is widely known for her bright, to-scale replicas of everyday items found in common retail stores, all meticulously reimagined in felt and wool. While she is best known for her freestanding sculptures, she also creates wall arrangements of felt objects in grid-like configurations. In dialogue with Andy Warhol and Claes Oldenburg, her Pop art-like soft sculptures are sold individually but have first been shown in highly constructed, immersive environments. In 2014, Sparrow became an overnight success after she created The Cornershop, an East London installation of nearly 400 felt works that simulated a customary convenience store. Another blockbuster followed in 2017 at The Standard, High Line hotel in New York City, where Sparrow installed 8 ’Til Late, a recreation of a classic corner bodega that sold out of its 9,000 pieces in just over a week. Sparrow, who works with a team to hand-stuff, sew, and stitch each piece, explores mass consumerism, notions of convenience, and perceptions of craft.

Father's Day

A great Father's Day with Richard. We had an enjoyable lunch out at Bells and Whistles in Dunbar and he brought frozen Chicken Enchiladas from Las Margaritas for Jim...one of his favourite foods!  

And then he spent several hours getting all our technology upgraded and working. You are a wonderful son, Richard. We are very blessed.

A wonderful dinner with Richard and Grace yesterday evening

We went to The French Table on Main Street...wonderful food. Having some problems with my phone camera these days. Will have to concentrate more :)

Artist Lucy Sparrow created this "felt" lunch

Another amazing tribute and I hope it finds a good home where people can enjoy it in the years to come

So happy for this young writer to win this award!

Pik-Shuen Fung has won the 2022 Amazon Canada First Novel Award for her novel Ghost Forest. The $60,000 prize honours the best first novel in English published the previous year by a citizen or resident of Canada.

Pik-Shuen Fung, author of Ghost Forest (Strange Light) is the winner of the forty-sixth annual Amazon Canada First Novel Award, which celebrates first-time Canadian novelists. How do you grieve, if your family doesn’t talk about feelings? This is the question the unnamed protagonist of Ghost Forest considers after her father dies. One of the many Hong Kong “astronaut” fathers, he stays there to work, while the rest of the family immigrated to Canada before the 1997 Handover, when the British returned sovereignty over Hong Kong to China. As she revisits memories of her father through the years, she struggles with unresolved questions and misunderstandings. Turning to her mother and grandmother for answers, she discovers her own life refracted brightly in theirs.

New Scottish banknotes have otters on them

I love these and think I'll ask my bank if they can get one for me.

Platinum Jubilee

An installation on Stonehenge for the Platinum Jubilee. Celebrations begin today.It should be fun to watch some of it.I wish Queen Elizabeth all the best on this very special milestone. She's done a great job and navigated well through many difficult situations.

https://people.com/royals/queen-elizabeth-platinum-jubilee-celebration-everything-to-know/ Another link that I found very interesting that makes the point that Queen Elizabeth is the "ultimate performance artist" in her role as Queen. https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2022/05/30/is-queen-elizabeth-ii-the-ultimate-performance-artist?utm_source=The+Art+Newspaper+Newsletters&utm_campaign=0a4e728c17-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2022_05_31_12_49&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c459f924d0-0a4e728c17-62269122

Etel Adnam

Another artist I'm very attracted to.

The poet, novelist, journalist, and artist Etel Adnan was born in Beirut in 1925. She grew up speaking Arabic and Greek at home, and was educated in French and English. In the late nineteen-fifties, while working as a philosophy professor in Northern California, Adnan began to express herself in a new language—painting—making luminous abstractions of the view of Mt. Tamalpais from her home in Sausalito. On Oct. 8, the Guggenheim opens the exhibition “Etel Adnan: Light’s New Measure.”