IPhoto says "Your computer is not connected to the internet"

Question

For a few days now, iPhoto has repeatedly refused to do things (e.g., show a Help page) because it claims the computer (a Macbook Pro, OS X 10.9.5, iPhoto 9.5.1). isn't connected to the internet.  I have a bunch of terminal windows and half a dozen different browsers running, and they all agree that the internet is available and working just fine.
Why would iPhoto do this?  Or more to the point, how can I fix it, and convince it that the machine is indeed connected to the internet? 
(Yes, I did try iPhoto's Help tool.  It told me that the computer wasn't connected to the internet, and to try again later. ;-)

Answer 1

If an app has access to a very big database of images with known locations, the reverse image search can "guess" at what or who it is... here's a little test (you can try it with your photos too)
Save this image to your computer
(cheating because we know it is an image from Organ Pipe National Monument
BUT it is also a screenshot with NO EXIF data attached )
http://images.google.com
hover for the "Camera Tool"
choose Upload and do so with "Picture 3.png"
Google does several things -
Guess at the content
Find matches on the web for its guess's search terms
Find 'similar' images  <<<===============THIS IS WHAT iPhoto SEEMS TO HAVE DONE!
show web pages that have the image on them
Remember, although a trick question test, it is a legitimate proof of the ability of the Guess Engine
I believe that the "buildings"(environment) in your old timey photos are the key to location guessing - if place is guessed, GoogleMaps can locate it w/ GPS coordinates from its database's cross reference
All that said, what Engine iPhoto is using is unknown to me - that's just how it works
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