Loot Bag Etiquette

What was the value of the loot bag for the Oscar nominees?  Forbes came out on top of the retrieval list with:  "Inside the $100,000 Oscars Gift Bag of 2018." It is named the "Everyone Wins" Nominee gift bag.  It went to the 25 nominees in the acting and directing categories.  The participating companies donate the items and pay a promotional fee of at least $4,000 to have their products included.   Distinctive Assets is the company putting this all together.  It has 'toned down' the extravagance - in 2016 the bags were worth $230,000 each.  In this year's bag, there are three vacation packages - Greece, Hawaii, and the big one to Tanzania:  12-night Tanzania vacation for two This package from International Expeditions is the most expensive gift, costing more than $40,000. The journey includes spa services, a private safari guide, wild game drives and a hot air balloon safari with champagne breakfast. Here's a summary of what's included:  'This year’s offerings include a slate of skin-care, weight-loss and anti-aging products designed to fend off the inevitable progression of human life, as well as something called “Chao Pinhole Gum Rejuvenation.” The bag features fancy chocolates from Chocolatines in flavors unknown to the proletariat such as “Champagne Diamond” and “Ginger Sake Pearl.” We sampled the “Pomegranate Balsamic Ruby” but couldn’t taste the ruby'.  The full list is on thesuns website. What happens afterwards to the dozens of products?  I wondered about whether they are transferable - can they be given away as gifts?  Another article says that occasionally, celebrities are required to turn down gift bags because they have signed conflicting endorsement deals.  Others give theirs away; George Clooney opted in 2006 to donate his bag to a United Way charity auction, where it sold for $45,100. And still others object to the mere idea of gift bags on moral grounds — in 2007, Edward Norton called them “disgusting and shameful,” suggesting that the Academy instead make a charitable contribution in winners’ names.  Is there a downside to this windfall?  Yes - a big tax bill.  From time.com:  "But while these giveaways are usually thought of as freebies, that’s not how the IRS sees them. The tax man considers everything in the bags to be income, and therefore subject to the same tax rates as wages and other windfalls like gambling or lottery winnings".  That's how the Oscars/Academy got out of the business and Distinctive Assets took over.  After 2005, the contents were taxed. We're looking at another beautiful orchid from the Royal Botanical Gardens orchid show in February.

First Place - Nouns or Verbs?

Are there bizarre facts about the Olympics?  Yes there are.  Here are some things I found out: In the 2004 Athens Olympics a new medal was distributed to winners at the Athens Games.  It replaced the long-standing design by Italian sculptor Giuseppe Cassioli that incorrectly depicted the Roman Colosseum rather than a Greek venue. Olympic medals now feature the Panathinaiko Stadium in Athens, one of the world's oldest stadiums and the site of the first modern Olympic Games in 1896. This is a Reader's Digest article on surprising facts about Olympic medals.  Here are two more from the article: After Australia removed their one-cent and two-cent coins from circulation in 1992, thousands were melted to make bronze medals for the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. These are brilliant uses for your spare U.S. pennies. Five art categories—painting, literature, music, sculpture, and architecture—were introduced in the 1912 Olympics as the “Pentathlon of the Muses,” and remained official events until 1948. Other artsy pursuits that could once earn you an Olympic medal: town planning, epic poetry, statues, watercolors, chamber music, and plaques. I scratched my head on this one - given how far the Olympics has travelled in the direction of sports, sports and sports. Back to the arts, the Word Lady is an expert on language and dictionaries who lives in Toronto.  She says there's a test of nouns vs verbs - which came first. You can do the test HERE.  It is fun. She says: "Oh, and by the way, if you're tempted to quote Calvin and Hobbes "Verbing weirds language" as someone always does when this topic comes up, please don't. Verbing enriches the language, and it's perfectly normal. Not weird at all".  The Orchid Show is on at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Burlington this weekend.  Perhaps some of these will be on display - their common name is Pansy Orchid.

Two of a Kind

Jazz FM knows a lot of musical stuff.  The other day I found out that Paul McCartney tried to meet Johnny Mercer to collaborate with him in the 1970's.  But Johnny Mercer was already ill and near the end of his life.  Johnny Mercer had remarkable musical accomplishments besides being a composer- he was the co-founder of capital Records, where the Beatles were signed in 1963.  JazzFM frequently plays is Mercer's "Two of a Kind" - and Mercer sings it with Bobby Darin. This is the most famous version. Two other American vocalists sang this - Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin.  Recently I think John Pizzarelli and Harry Conick Jr covered it.  Here are the delightful lyrics of this American classic. Two of a kind For your information We're two of a kind Two of a kind It's my observation We're two of a kind Like peas in a pod And birds of a feather Alone or together you'll find That we are two of a kind What's so wrong thinkin' life is a song and reachin' for a star And who's to say if we'll go the whole way - at least we got this far Sharin' our lot, our vittles and viands, we're two of an ilk Say, what if we've got rare Chateaubriands or crackers and milk Makin' it plain Explainin' it fully We're simila-la-larly inclined Because we're two of a kind Two of a kind When he's out of rhythm, I'm singin' off key (I never heard ya do that, John) Say, never you mind, cause I'm stickin' with 'im, to C above C (He's-a for me) Oh, need we explain When he warbles sweetly, I'm flat and completely behind Because we're two of a kind I get kicks when I meet the cute chicks who hang around this lad And especially when they whisper to me, "Hey, honey, who's your dad?" Two of a sort Like two pomegranates from off the same tree I'm with ya sport, whatever you plan it's-a goes double with me (It's-a goes double with you, huh?) (Yeah!) Yeah, I got a terrible thought Most frightfully upsetting And yet we are getting resigned To being two of a kind We're two of a kind We like workin' single Or workin' in twos Keep us in mind, give us a jingle, we've got taps on our shoes (We'll dance!) We're both of us like, the Tower of Pisa I'm-a lean-a like he's-a inclined Because we're two of a kind Because we're Two of a kind So our pictures today show the CosMic orchid growing facility in Beamsville.  More than 800,000 orchids in production with Mike in front of their well know branding.  Maybe Orchids and Poinsettias are two of a kind.

Snow in the Headlines

Today's weather headlines:   Blizzard barrels towards northeast Snowstorm slams northeast Here are more great headlines about snow: Ice Scream! Now, Melt! The Brrrfect Storm From snow to whoa Gee bliss - New York socked by snow Snow fly zone No-mageddon:  The Washington, D.C. snow hole Snow Maggetin' Gipped The Snow Must Go On S'no Foolin' BONUS:  Have You Been Plowed? How many snowflakes are in a blizzard?  Is there a number big enough to represent a snow storm's parts?  Of course there is, and someone has created a table to show us this at thealmightyguru.com.  Here's the introduction: "Ever wonder what a number with 228 zeros after it is called? No? Well who asked you anyway? Actually, it's called a quinseptuagintillion. Duh! Here is a list of all the big numbers up till the infamous centillion. Just some more incredibly useless trivia for you from TheAlmightyGuru." I scrolled to the bottom and clicked on Pointless to see a page with  "all the useless knowledge I've posted over the course of my page. I've been told many times that I know too much about everything, and not enough about anything. As you can see from this page, it's pretty much true. I'll continue to update this page with more and more pointless data just so you'll know all sorts of things you never really cared to know in the first place. I'm doing this as a public service. You're welcome."

The Intensity of Vanda

Vanda Orchid

Vanda Orchids   Of all the orchids, the Vanda has the richest most intense colour of purple in the large flowers.  It is thought to be the most highly evolved of the orchids.  We enjoy it for its fragrance as well as large exotic flowers. The Marie Selby Garden has an extensive orchid collection with unusual species on display in the conservatory.

Orchids in Niagara

Niagara's Winter Crop

Niagara's Crops There are acres of greenhouses in Niagara.  Some stretch as far as you can see as you drive along the QEW or the Niagara Stone Road into Niagara-on-the-Lake.   We're looking at the orchid 'crop' growing in the Cosmic Greenhouses, in Beamsville.  I stopped in last week to see if they would allow photography and got a quick tour.  Plant production is efficient and scientific:  The orchids we see for sale in the grocery stores and florists take 19 months to grow from tissue culture sprouts to blooming plants. They start in warm greenhouses below, where they receive water and nutrients on a rigorous schedule.  When large enough, they are moved to the next greenhouse where it is cool.  Cool temperatures are needed to make phalaenopsis (what you see here) spike and bloom. And then they are off to our houses.  While it is great to see in winter, this isn't just a winter crop.  These orchids are grown year round, with the greenhouses heated and cooled to match the growing conditions needed.   Our third picture is at Niagara College in the learning greenhouses of the horticultural program. The usage instructions to students include 'maintaining a clean environment and no food or drink in the greenhouse'.  It looked like a cucumber crop in this special greenhouse, and in the larger greenhouse where we are allowed to walk around, begonia seeds will sprout for this summer's gardens.