Heartfelt Expressions

What are the expressions we take for granted that relate to the heart? Dailywritingtips.com has 70 idioms with Heart. Here's what they say:  "Idioms that refer to what is the fanciful seat of our emotions as well as the factual core of our circulatory system are understandably numerous. Here’s a list of phrases and expressions that include heart and, for the most part, pertain to human feelings".  We don't even get to the letter 'c' with the first 10: 1. a big heart: said of someone kind and loving 2. after my own heart: said of someone with similar preferences or values 3. a heart of gold: see “a big heart” 4. a heart of stone: said of someone without sympathy 5. all heart: see “a big heart”; sometimes used sarcastically to mean the opposite 6. at heart: basically 7. bare (one’s) heart: share one’s feelings or thoughts 8. bleeding heart: said of someone who is conspicuously or excessively generous 9. break (one’s) heart: cause someone emotional distress 10. by heart: from memory Their listing of popular articles is intriguing so I checked out   100 small but expressive interjections. Here are some new ones for me: Hamana-hamana, variously spelled, and duplicated as needed, implies speechless embarrassment. Hup, from the sound-off a military cadence chant, signals beginning an exerting task. Neener-neener, often uttered in a series of three repetitions, is a taunt. Zoinks is an expression of surprise or amazement popularized by the cartoon character Shaggy, of Scooby Doo fame.

There in the Heart of Niagara

We continue on the Heart theme for February.  Is there a 'heart' of Niagara, as in: 'located in the heart of the Niagara Peninsula?' The West Lincoln Chamber of Commerce considers itself 'In the heart of Niagara' and is known as the "Hub of the Niagara Peninsula'.  West Lincoln consists of 'a number of hamlets and provides quaint settings for residential and small business development. The hamlets are Abingdon, Allen’s Corners, Attercliffe, Basingstoke, Bismarck, Boyle, Caistor Centre, Caistorville, Elcho, Fulton, Grassie, Kimbo, Port Davidson, Rosedene, Silverdale, Smithville, St. Ann’s, Vaughan Station, Warner, Wellandport, Wilcox Corners and Winslow'. That seems like a sprawling group to be a 'heart'.  We could consider a number of other claims for the 'heart of Niagara': Legends Winery - on the lake in Beamsville Foran's Marine - on the lake in Grimsby Ball's Falls - in the 'heart of Niagara's Greenbelt' - in Vineland off Victoria, with an historic village Peninsula Lakes Gold Courses - in the 'heart of the Niagara escarpment' - Pen Lakes is known as the 'jewel of Niagara' St. Catharines considers itself in the heart of Niagara Numerous airbnb listings in the 'Heart of Niagara' This seems like a common expression, and yet there doesn't seem to be a heart of Ontario, or heart of Quebec, or a heart of Canada (there is - but it's a poem).  One of our national heroes is listed as: 'Terry Fox:  Running to the Heart of Canada.' Or what about 'Discovering the heart of Canada in Ottawa', a sort of 'thought of heart.' Heart of America is a strong brand name for many things - movie title, charities, a beverage company, medical centres, etc.  The Boy Scouts of America are listed under the Heart of America Council.  The American Red Cross is listed that way as well. There is even a Heart of America Shakespeare Festival.  And where is the heart of America located?  Kansas City has made this claim. So our images today - the first shows the view of Hamilton from the Legends Winery.  The second shows the view of Toronto from the Mike Weir Winery (which claims the best view of Toronto).

Window Whimsey

February is heart month and there are many articles on heart myths, heart facts, and heart health.  The fact I found interesting is this one: FACT: A Broken Heart is a Legitimate Medical Condition Broken heart syndrome (or Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy) is a legitimate medical condition that was discovered by Japanese doctors in the early part of the 1990s. Today, cardiologists recognize broken heart syndrome on a global scale. Cardiologists refer to this cardiac syndrome as “takotsubo,” which describes the ballooning (or bulging) of the heart in Japanese. The syndrome is brought on by severe physical or emotional stress (i.e., death of a loved one, partner abuse, or extreme debt) that triggers the discharge of stress hormones, obstructs blood flow, and mimics a heart attack. Take the assessment questionnaire "here" to find out about your heart health from the Heart and Stroke Foundation. Our picture today is a wonderful symbol for heart health.  This is a roadside stand on Highway 8 that has seen better days.

Valentines on my Flag!

Is there a heart symbol on the keyboard?  How would I place a heart in the text here?  On my MAC one presses control, command and space keys and up comes the character chart in a pop-up window.  There are many symbols available - this is the first time I've looked at them.  So our Valentine's Day is celebrated with these keyboard curiosities: Here are  'frequently used' symbols of hearts: 💑 👨‍❤️‍👨 💔 💓 ♥︎ ♥️ 💟 💕 👩‍❤️‍👩   Here are some 'smileys and people' images with hearts with distinctions of man to man, woman to woman, etc: 💑 👩‍❤️‍👩 👨‍❤️‍👨 👨‍❤️‍💋‍👨  These are some of the 'symbols' with hearts: ❤️💛💙💔💕💓💖💟 This is in the 'symbols' for playing cards: ♥️ This is from the 'pictographs' symbols: ♥︎ I don't see the flag of Friesland  (a Dutch province)  in the flag symbol list - it has diagonal blue and white strips with red hearts - except the names of the hearts are seeblatts representing the seven regions along the coast.   I wonder what else has hearts in unlikely places.  I found thingiverse.com with all kinds of 'things' made in the shape of hearts via 3D printing using the MakerBot Desktop 3D printer.

Friday the 13th and now Valentine's Day

Friday the 13th and then Valentine's Day

Friday the 13th Then Valentine's Day I don't have any 'scary' images like the conceptual artists that bring together stock figures, etc and make brooding and dark images reflecting the human 'condition'.  So I turned to the Lily on Fire image and to my HeartsFelt Portfolio on Redbubble for the Valentine's Day hearts. So here we are with a Friday the 13th followed by Valentine's Day. I went to the internet for a bit of entertainment, and of course found it right away.  Here it is from:  http://www.syracuse.com/living/index.ssf/2015/02/friday_the_13th_phobias_friggatriskaidekaphobia_7_valentines_day_fears.html There are going to be three instances of Friday the 13th this year. If you've got friggatriskaidekaphobia—literally the irrational fear of Friday the 13th—you should probably just go hibernate for the rest of 2015. If three instances of Friday the 13th isn't enough to get you suspicious, EarthSky is ready to make you a believer: "February 13, 2015 is a Friday. And that's just the beginning of this year's epic Friday the 13th trilogy. We'll have a Friday the 13th in March, too - exactly four weeks after February's Friday the 13th! Then we'll have a Friday the 13th in November - exactly 39 weeks (3 x 13 weeks) after February's Friday the 13th!" Don't forget that two days after the Friday the 13th in March is the Ides of March. So game over, we are all clearly doomed. Actually, it's not an uncommon occurrence at all. In fact, according to EarthSky, any non-leap year beginning on a Thursday will include the same Friday the 13th sequence. The last year was 2009. Including that year and this year, there are a total of 11 years in the 21st century that will have Friday the 13th three times. We don't want to jinx anything, but tomorrow's Friday the 13th unfortunately leads into Valentine's Day 2015. It's also looking very cold and possibly snowy all weekend. Having any of these 7 phobias would put a real crimp in your weekend plans: Triskaidekaphobia - Friggatriskaidekaphobia's less specific cousin is a fear of the number 13. Experts have debated whether it counts as a legitimate phobia, or more of a superstition. Fear of the number 13 is rooted in both Christian tradition and Norse Mythology. Philophobia - The fear of falling in love definitely does not go well with Valentine's Day. This phobia usually comes from a traumatic experience, sometimes involving past relationships, and those who suffer from may avoid attachment, and recoil from starting new, loving relationships. Anthophobia - You'll need to get a little creative with a gift if your date has this fear of flowers, a Valentine's Day staple. Stems, petals and leaves can all trigger this phobia. Maybe try a box of chocolate, unless they also have... Xocolatophobia - An irrational fear of eating chocolate. Yeah it's a real, and unfortunate, thing. But there are plenty of other delicious Valentine's Day treats you can work with. Erythrophobia - Fear of blushing could definitely be an issue on Valentine's Day, but this can also refer to a general fear of the color red. Sufferers might want to just spend Valentine's Day at home, since colorful red hearts will be everywhere. Rosy red cheeks might also be a side effect of cold weather... Frigophobia - In CNY, it could get down to -3 degrees on Friday, 0 on Saturday, and -11 on Sunday. On top of that, the wind chill could make it feel like 20 to 30 degrees below zero. It would not be a good weekend to have this fear of cold. Chionophobia - This fear of snow often goes hand in hand with other phobias, including hydrophobia (water), hypochondriasis (illness), and Cleithrophobia (being trapped). Watch out for 2 inches on Saturday.