OVER THE COURSE OF 24-36 HOURS I HAVE TWICE BEEN CONFRONTED WITH a rectangle dilemma along the lines of to square or not to square. And, after careful consideration, I have decided that squaring was the way to go in both cases.
In the case of the sky-clouds picture, I don't believe that the squaring made much of a difference whatsoever in the picture's impression / impact. However, in the case of the kitchen-life picture, the squaring most definitely causes the picture to be perceived as a "Hobson" picture rather than entirely something else / different.
In fact, I "see" the difference between the two kitchen-life picture presentations as, to my eye and sensibilities, two very distinctly different pictures.