Memes for a Monday

One or two of these may give offence to some of my readers of a more delicate nature; however that doesn’t mean I won’t post them anywhere.

Let’s get this one out of the way right now.

This one caused a bit of a ruckus on FB when I posted it. Ruckus scores for 12 by the way.

I must admit this photo does make the Sistine Chapel look a trifle OTT.

I must be a first class hero then.

Left over from Easter or maybe All Hallowstide.

Since the Stone Age kids have been disappointing their parents.

Hmmm…. not sure that was ever the case but it’s a thought.

How can you tell he doesn’t live in Canada?

I don’t think I ever used it but I’m going to try from now on.

A coincidence? I think not.

Reason #22.

Punctuation is important.

I knew I shouldn’t have gone to see Little Wicked Letters – Olivia Coleman is a bad influence.

The word for April 22^nd is:
Offence /ə-fĕns′/: [noun]
^1.1 The act of causing anger, resentment, displeasure, or affront.
^1.2 The state of being offended.
^1.3 A violation or infraction of a moral or social code; a transgression or sin.
^1.4 The portion of a team dedicated to scoring when in position to do so; contrasted with defence.
From Latin offensa (“a striking against; displeasure; injury”).
I believe our American friends spell it “offense” but it’s the same thing.

Memes for a Monday

A gaggle of s..ts and giggles for a Monday morning. Many of them related to those damn electronics we love to hate but we are glued to right now.

And to receive scam calls that we ignore because we don’t recognize the phone number.

For Doctor Spo and others – no we’re not laughing at you but with (ach)you.

AI is easier.

And those of us who don’t garden depend on that.

If only ….

This is for one special person – you know who you are.

You try to help people and they get all pissy. Honestly!

Hmm. Am a traitor to my generation if I call “overstating”?

Well thank god for nerds!

But how else do I get my windows cleaned?

I thought the skies were not cloudy?

When I worked at Ottawa Airport a pilot once told me that he navigate to Toronto by following the telephone poles and turn right at the Lake.

I wore shorts for a skit at the Club the other evening they didn’t have to use the lights!

My work for the week.

The word for April 15^th is:
Meme /mēm/: [noun]
^1.1 A unit of cultural information, such as a cultural practice or idea, that is transmitted verbally or by repeated action from one mind to another.
^1.2 Any unit of cultural information, such as a practice or idea, that is transmitted verbally or by repeated action from one mind to another.
^1.3 A self-propagating unit of cultural evolution having a resemblance to the gene (the unit of genetics).
^1.4 A thought, idea, joke, or concept that spreads online, often virally. Can be in the form of an image, a video, an email, an animation, or music.
1976, introduced by evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins in “The Selfish Gene,” coined by him from Greek sources, such as mimeisthai “to imitate” and intended to echo gene. Digital Age sense of “an image or snippet of video or text considered witty or incisive that is spread widely and rapidly by internet users” is by 1997.

What’s Cooking

In checking the statistics on my blog the other day I saw a title that didn’t ring a bell. A tad unusually it had been visited five times in one day. On checking I discovered it was a recipe – for an aphrodisiac. I can’t attest to its effectiveness as I my local purveyor of diasatirion and ambergris is currently out of stock.

Intrigued? Just click below.

Not Your Usual Biscotti

Odds and Sods Around Our House

On my first visit to Copenhagen back in 1975 (?) I encountered the work of Bjøn Wiinblad. His creations reminded me of my beloved Emanuele (Lele) Luzzati: colourful and baroque in a childlike manner. Popular in Scandinavia and Northern Europe he had been introduced into North America in the mid-fifties and worked designing posters, ceramics for Rosenthal, fabrics, and catalogue covers for Neiman-Marcus and other important clients – particularly in the Dallas area.

Here he is in his atelier in the Blue House in a suburb of Copenhagen surrounded by some of his work.
As always a left click will enlarge any of the pictures on the post.

I will admit looking at it now much of his work strikes me as being “twee” and I wouldn’t necessarily want to have it in my home. However – you know me and my “howevers” – I do have four of his bisque porcelain pieces around the house.

My four Wiinbald ceramics – a flower bowl, two ashtrays, and a vase.
A left click will enlarge

At one time I lusted in my heart after his “The Magic Flute” dinner service. Created in 1968 the service is unique in that the relief surfaces are not glazed but smoothed and polished, in a complex procedure, after the second firing. This produces the delicate, matte effect of the relief in contrast to the glazed surfaces. The elaborate, and expensive, service came in white or with a wide 24K gold band (see two above lower left). Don McGill, a friend from my younger days in Toronto, had the gold service and I was always nervous every time we dined on it. I didn’t have the $350.00 to replace a chipped plate! But Don firmly believe that “if you have it, don’t just show it, use it!”

However – there’s that word again – I did end up owning a small part of the service. And I mean small: three ashtrays that I picked up at the Rosenthal shop at Frankfurt Airport in 1975. One was broken in one of our many moves, but I still have two of the characters from The Magic Flute: The Queen of the Night and Papageno. As well as that unique unique look to the relief images the verso indicates the character pictured and is signed in 24K gold by Wiinblad. I noticed that one of the ashtrays has a cigarette stain on it – no doubt from one of my mother’s cigarettes. Needless to say the ashtrays have not seen the light of day in many a year.

The other two are in white but are figured with his little wide-eyed female faces nestled amongst foliage and flowers. The vase was a gift to myself from a long ago Horchow catalogue. It is not often used as the design shape is a little awkwardly balanced.

The bowl is another story and holds a special place in my heart. Laurent knew of my fondness for Wiinbald’s work and our first Christmas together (1979) this flower bowl found its way under our Christmas tree. To say I was surprised is an understatement. It has graced a table in every place we have ever lived.

Close ups of the designs on the Wiinblad ceramics.
A left click will enlarge each image.

I never did get that dinner service – but I’m content with a few examples of Wiinbald’s creativity at what is perhaps its simplest and most elegant.

The word for April 9^th is:
Twee /twē/: [adjective]
^1.1 Overly precious.
^1.2 Overly quaint, dainty, cute or nice.
^1.3 Affectedly dainty or refined.
From a childish pronunciation of sweet. The Oxford English Dictionary records the first use in 1905 in Punch.

Memes for a Monday

It’s been a crazy weekend so these are just a tad late. And of course given the big event today (we will have almost totality here in Charlottetown) there are a few eclipse memes scattered about.

Hell there’s one in our parking lot just waiting to swallow the UPS truck.

This past week encapsulated.

I think he’s on to something.

I’ll just leave this here.

Or any other delivery service for that matter.

Yet there is that lingering doubt – we didn’t sacrifice a virgin.

A sign of the time’s.

And yet the chances are this kid survived.

Mine too!

And our weekly groaner.

Just waiting until 4:38 pm to fill in that fifth spot!

And this would be worse in what way?

For my friend Pammy.

Okay! Now I get it.

The word for April 8^th is:
Event /ĭ-vĕnt′/: [noun]
^1.1 Something that takes place, especially a significant occurrence.
^1.2 A social gathering or activity.
^1.3 A contest in a sports competition, such as a meet.
From Latin ēventus (“an event, occurrence”), from ēveniō (“to happen, to fall out, to come out”), from ē (“out of, from”), short form of ex, + veniō (“come”).