I seriously cleaned my oven this morning for the first time in about 20 years. It went well. It helped that I put a bowl of vinegar and water in the oven overnight to loosen the goop.

The snow is twinkling down—we’ve had close to 60 inches of sparkly stuff this past season. But let’s think about April because
April is National Poetry Month (NPM)
http://www.poets.org/page.php/prmID/41
see list of events and frequently asked questions

Ways to celebrate
Memorize a poem
Recite a poem to family and friends
Organize a poetry reading
Put a poem in a letter
Eye/visual/sight rhyme looks like it rhymes but doesn’t
love, move height, weight
If the words look different, but actually rhyme, what shall we call it? Ear rhyme?
thyme, rime honey, funny
Near rhyme assonance, the repetition of identical vowel sounds in words
deep green sea
Poetry example: The Bells by Edgar Allen Poe

Eye Rhymes: Visual Art and Manuscripts of Sylvia Plath
another meaning is used for eye rhyme here
http://www.homepages.indiana.edu/092702/text/plath2.html

Symphonic diplomacy http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/27/world/asia/27symphony.html
When the New York Philharmonic played the opening notes of “Arirang,” a beloved Korean folk song, a murmur rippled through the audience. Many in the audience perched forward in their seats. The “Arirang” rendition also proved moving for the orchestra’s eight members of Korean origin. “It brought tears to my eyes,” said Michelle Kim, a violinist whose parents moved from the North to Seoul, South Korea, during the Korean War.
Select recordings of Arirang here
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&sa=X&oi=spell&resnum=0&ct=result&cd=1&q=philharmonic+korea+arirang&spell=1

Jane's Information Services Ranks 50 Most Stable and Prosperous Countries in the World
UK Times Online: "A one-year investigation and analysis of 235 countries by Jane's Information Services has put the UK joint seventh in the premier league of nations with the US at 22nd and Switzerland, normally associated with wealth and untouchable stability, is rated 17th. Here is the full list..."

Richard Widmark (1914-2008) was born in Sunrise, Minnesota and graduated from high school in Princeton, Illinois as senior class president. On a full scholarship at Lake Forest College in Illinois, he played end on the football team, took third place in a state oratory contest, starred in plays and was, again, senior class president. Graduating in 1936, he spent two years as an instructor in the Lake Forest drama department while acting in stage productions.
Then he headed to New York City, where a classmate was producing 15-minute radio soap operas and cast Mr. Widmark in a variety of roles. After a successful 10 years as a radio actor, Mr. Widmark tried the movies with “Kiss of Death,” which was being filmed in New York. He was originally turned down for the role by the director, Henry Hathaway, who told him that he was too clean cut and intellectual for the part. It was Darryl F. Zanuck, the Fox studio head, who, after watching Mr. Widmark’s screen test, insisted that he be given the part.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/27/arts/27widmark.html?ref=obituaries

Social Security's Financial Outlook: The 2008 Update in Perspective
Related to this posting today, Social Security Trustees Release 2008 Annual Report, a new report, Social Security's Financial Outlook: The 2008 Update in Perspective, by Alicia H. Munnell, Center for Retirement Research at Boston College.
 "The Trustees of the Social Security system have just issued the 2008 projections for the system over the next 75 years. The report contains two surprises. First, the 75-year deficit dropped to 1.70 percent of taxable payrolls from the roughly 2 percent it has been for the last 14 years. The decline was driven primarily by a change in the way Social Security projects immigration. Although the Trustees still project that the trust fund will be exhausted in 2041, the improved outlook enables scheduled payroll taxes to cover more than three-quarters of promised benefits after that point. The second noteworthy difference between this report and earlier ones is that it has not been signed by any public trustees. But this omission reflects a failure with the political process, not with the program itself."

To your health Energy Drink
Cool water that you have cooked vegetables in. Use as a drink or use in sauces, soups, stews, gravies.
Variation: Cool pasta water and water plants or use in soup—especially good with bean soup.

http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com