Euro language

A chuckle and a relief from flower photos… something I found at the bottom of my email inbox from three years ago when housecleaning…source unknown. Enjoy!

The European Commission has just announced an agreement whereby English will be the official language of the European Union rather than German, which was the other possibility.

As part of the negotiations, the British Government conceded that English spelling had some room for improvement and has accepted a 5- year phase-in plan that would become known as “Euro-English”.

In the first year, “s” will replace the soft “c”. Sertainly, this will make the sivil servants jump with joy. The hard “c” will be dropped in favour of “k”. This should klear up konfusion, and keyboards kan have one less letter.

There will be growing publik enthusiasm in the sekond year when the troublesome “ph” will be replaced with “f”. This will make words like fotograf 20% shorter.

In the 3rd year, publik akseptanse of the new spelling kan be expekted to reach the stage where! More komplikated changes are possible. Governments will enkourage the removal of double letters which have always ben a deterent to akurate speling. Also, al wil agre that the horibl mes of the silent “e” in the languag is disgrasful and it should go away.

By the 4th yer peopl wil be reseptiv to steps such as replasing “th” with “z” and “w” with “v”.
During ze fifz yer, ze unesesary “o” kan be dropd from vords kontaining “ou” and after ziz fifz yer, ve vil hav a reil sensi bl riten styl. Zer vil be no mor trubl or difikultis and evrivun vil find it ezi TU understand ech oza. Ze drem of a united urop vil finali kum tru.

Und efter ze fifz yer, ve vil al be speking German like zey vunted in ze forst plas.
If zis mad you smil, pleas pas on to oza pepl.

Get Out

GetOutimage04.jpg

Go here to see this fabulous award-winning short animation film with a stunning surprise ending. You will enjoy it!

Found at Chris Tyrell’s Blog.

This gives me the opportunity to mention that Chris Tyrell is a well-known arts advocate in Vancouver. I’ve long enjoyed and admired his editorials for the Opus Art Supplies monthly newsletter. He’s also author of Artist Survival Skills: How to Make a Living as a Canadian Visual Artist. I was pleased to discover that he has a blog.

Gardener’s Night Before Xmas

zygo.jpg

I have mixed feelings about the return of rains
after two lovely weeks of frost and even a bit of snow,
but this made me smile…

A “garden version” of The Night Before Christmas:

Twas the night before Christmas and all through the yard,
Not a vegetable was growing, not even Swiss chard.
The hoses were stored in the cellar with care
And I, rest assured, knew they wouldn’t freeze there.
The perennials were mulched, all snug in their beds
While visions of springtime danced in their heads.
The new planted shrubs had been soaked by the hose
To settle their roots for the long, winter’s doze.
And out on the lawn, the new fallen snow
Protected the roots of the grasses below.
When out in the drive there arose such a clatter,
I ran with my hoe to see what was the matter.
And what to my wondering eyes should appear
But a truck full of useful gardening gear.
Saint Nick, the driver, so plump and so jolly
Jumped out of his truck with a sack full of holly.
I’ve brought trimmers and clippers and tubers and seeds
And landscape fabric to eliminate weeds;
Well-aged manure, strained finely for spreading,
Just what you need for your annual flower bedding;
And colorful flagstones for a new garden path;
And for birds and bird watchers, a feeder and bath.
I’ve an insect pest guide to help you to know
Which of the bugs will cause plants to grow slow;
A new sprayer to fill with safe soap and oil;
A floating row cover – there are insects to foil!
For gardening with ease, I’ve a new rototiller,
Pads for your knees and organic bug killer.
For pH detecting, here’s a soil-testing kit
For soil preparation that’s sure to be a hit;
A new mulching mower for grass blade clipping,
And a long soaker hose that saves water by dripping.
With jolly Saint Nick’s gift-giving complete,
He started his truck and took off down the street.
And I heard him exclaim through the motor’s loud hum,
“Merry Christmas to all, and to all a green thumb!”

Found here.
Poem courtesy of the Ohio State Extension Service. According to them, the poem was written by Jack Kerrigan, an Ohio horticulture educator, and is an organic gardening version of a poem written by Charles and Janice Jensen and published originally in The New York Times in the 1950’s

sing your complaints

HelsinkiComplaintsChoir.jpg

The Helsinki Complaints Choir at the stairs of the Lutheran Cathedral in Helsinki.
Photo taken from the complaints choirs website

The first time I heard of complaints choirs was over three years ago and later blogged about how amusing they were to me.

A few days ago, I read on a Finnish culture blog about an article in The New York Times by Phyllis Korkki (the last name sounds Finnish): Turning Complaints Into Art. Here’s a snippet:

The idea started in Finland, where there is a word for people who complain simultaneously, valituskuoro, which translates as complaints choir. About six years ago Oliver Kochta-Kalleinen and his wife, Tellervo Kalleinen, both visual artists living in Helsinki, began discussing the possibility of turning this metaphorical concept into something quite literal. People spend so much energy complaining, they reasoned, so why not harness all that energy into something positive?

In 2005, with help from arts-related organizations in England and Finland, the two organized their first complaints choir, in Birmingham, England.

The Tokyo choir, which performed last month, is the eighth that the couple have worked with. But others have formed choirs in other cities, and, Mr. Kochta-Kalleinen said, more than 60 performances have occurred worldwide — from Melbourne to Singapore to Philadelphia to Florence.

This is all a surprise to me! The interview of the Finnish artists who started it all was interesting and I enjoyed hearing that Finnish accent!. There’s even a website for complaints choirs worldwide along with videos of their performances that I’m slowly going through, looking and listening and smiling! I hope you will too.

February

snowdropsFeb11th2009.jpg

February was named after the Latin term februum, which means purification

Historical names for February include the Anglo-Saxon terms Solmonath (mud month) and Kale-monath (named for cabbage) as well as Charlemagne’s designation Hornung. In Finnish, the month is called helmikuu, meaning “month of the pearl”; when snow melts on tree branches, it forms droplets, and as these freeze again, they are like pearls of ice.

I may be biased, but I love the Finnish name. The cabbage name tickled me as purple as the red cabbage I’d scanned the other day!

February is the also the month of Valentines (though we ignore it) and some years Leap Day. Many famous folk have February birthdays. Today is the 200th birthday of both Abraham Lincoln and Charles Darwin, imagine that, born exactly the same day and year!

And last but not least, yesterday, February 11th was my (not-so-famous) birthday. I took pleasure in the mostly sunny day, the snowdrops that are finally (a month late) blooming in my garden, and in our walkabout and delicious dinner on Granville Island. To come later is my husband’s birthday, so it’s a great month!

P.S. Unrelated, but here’s a music video to make you smile: The Mom Song, with thanks to Viides Rooli.

99 things to do

redcrochet.jpg

I rarely do memes any more but this looked like fun.
The rules are simple: bold the things you’ve done.
* NOTE: Edited Dec.2013 to use stars instead because Bold does not work in WordPress)
Explanations are optional. Fun is guaranteed.

1. Started my own blog – (surprise!)*
2. Slept under the stars * (tried for about an hour but could not sleep)
3. Played in a band * (does piano accompaniment for a quartet count?)
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower*
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world *(Legoland in Denmark count?)
8. Climbed a mountain * (on trails)
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo (played piano solo though)
11. Bungee jumped (never never!)
12. Visited Paris (maybe next year) (*did it in 2009!)
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea (can’t remember, but I have seen many on the prairies)
14. Taught myself an art from scratch*
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning* (bad shrimp at a lunch counter)
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables*
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France (see #12*)
20. Slept on an overnight train* (the last time was from Frankfurt to Prague, and back – a rickety, shaky old train it was, so not much sleep actually!)
21. Had a pillow fight* (with my brother)
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill* (on a bad “time of the month”)
24. Built a snow fort*
25. Held a lamb*
26. Gone skinny dipping* (love it after sauna!)
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice (does a vaporetto count?)
29. Seen a total eclipse*
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset*
31. Hit a home run* (when I was a kid)
32. Been on a cruise* (Helsinki to St. Petersburg, Russia)
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person* (the Canadian side)
34. Visited the birthplace of my ancestors* (in Finland)
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language* (does English immersion at the age of five count?)
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied*
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person*
39. Gone rock climbing* (not the extreme kind)
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David* (I cried)
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal in a restaurant*
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight*
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted* (sketched only)
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person* (wow!)
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris (*see # 12)
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain*
53. Played in the mud*
54. Gone to a drive-in theater*
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business (being an artist count?)
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia* (see # 32)
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching* (on the west coast of Vancouver Island)
63. Got flowers for no reason*
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving (no way!)
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy* (my children’s)
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar* (what’s so special about it?)
72. Pieced a quilt* (a jacket, vest and pillow covers)
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job* (had a job disappear under me)
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone* (twice)
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle* (terrified, with a Finnish cousin)
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican* (the museum only, amazing!)
82. Bought a brand new car* (my first was an orange 1970 VW Beetle)
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had my picture in the newspaper* (a few times)
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating (unless fish count)
88. Had chickenpox*
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous (define famous)
92. Joined a book club (I’m not a joiner)
93. Lost a loved one* (several)
94. Had a baby* (three times)
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a lawsuit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee*

First found at Finnish blogger Anniina’s Mischievous Muse, then seen at Pica’s place.

UPDATES: Kate of Wombat’s World and Wandering Coyote have done this too!

And here is Black Pete’s

big green caterpillar

greencaterpillar.jpg

greencaterpillar2.jpg

On a recent walk around our neighbourhood, we spotted this brilliantly coloured BIG caterpillar moving slowly along the street. We’d never seen one like it. Husband picked it up gently with a leaf while I found a discarded takeout cup in which to carry it home, showing it off to some young children we passed by. At home, husband took many photos and I googled for its name.

It looks like it may be a Polyphemus Moth Caterpillar – Antheraea polyphemus, which transforms into a giant tan colored silk moth with an average wingspan of 6 inches (15 cm)!

Oh, and what happened to our captive? Husband put it back in the cup with leaves and a blackberry and placed it under the brambles just outside the corner of our yard. The next morning, the leaf and the caterpillar were gone. We hope it survived and metamorphosed into that lovely moth. I would have liked to have seen that moth.

lovely links

yukon.jpg

The Yukon Delta taken 5/26/2002 by ASTER
Image courtesy of USGS National Center for EROS and NASA Landsat Project Science Office

1. Our Earth as Art – Landsat-7 and ASTER satellite images of the earth that look like fabulous artworks. Thanks to artist Joanne Mattera, do check out her favourites. I’d seen these somewhere before and am so pleased to see these again so that I can save the link here. Inspirations for my own work?

2. This is an amazing must-see short film: Lena Geiseke’s 3D Exploration of Picasso’s Guernica**

3. Mark your calendars! The second annual International Rock-Flipping Day is on September 7th! Read all about it and plan to participate.

** UPDATE March 4th, 2014: Previous link had expired. Replaced with another that I just came across at Open Culture.

urban wildlife

raccoon.jpg

I had some excitement at the home front this afternoon. I was in the kitchen about to prepare some vegetables when I spotted some kind of bushy furry creature crawling along the garage roof. I couldn’t believe my eyes – a raccoon! It sauntered up to and along the edge of the solarium glass, a rather treacherously steep and slippery path. A couple of crows came by to raucously scold it while I dashed for the camera.

I took numerous photos of its adventure from indoors, but there was too much reflection for good pictures. Once it hit the end of the line, I was able to go out on the deck and capture a few better shots like this one. I was feeling sorry for it then as it was trying to find a way down or up, a bit nervous seeing me. When I went back inside it returned the way it came, going around to the far side of the garage from where it made a leap to the woodshed roof and from there down into the neighbour’s garden.

raccoononshed.jpg

We haven’t seen too many raccoons around for some years so they must be coming back again. Did I ever tell you about the mother raccoon that spent the winter in our attic during our renovations and had a baby there? Our youngest was a baby then too, and the two would set each other off with their crying.

wallpaper

A laugh for rock art aficionados…

tundrawallpaper.jpg
© Tundra. Scanned from Vancouver Sun, Dec. 29th, 2007

More from the archives here and here