The Musée du Louvre (French pronunciation: [myze dy luvʁ]), or officially Grand Louvre — in English the Louvre Museum or simply the Louvre — is one of the world's largest museums, the most visited art museum in the world and a historic monument. It is a central landmark of Paris and located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement (district). Nearly 35,000 objects from prehistory to the 19th century are exhibited over an area of 60,600 square metres (652,300 square feet). The Louvre Palace (Palais du Louvre) which houses the museum was begun as a fortress by Philip II in the 12th century, with remnants of this building still visible in the crypt. It is not known if this was the first building on that spot, but it is possible that Philip modified an existing tower. The etymology of the name Louvre is also uncertain: it may refer to the structure's status as the largest in late 12th century Paris (from the French L'Œuvre, masterpiece), its location in a forest (from the French rouvre, oak), or, according to Larousse, a wolf hunting den (via Latin: lupus, lower Empire: lupara). The Louvre Palace was altered frequently throughout the Middle Ages. In the 14th century, Charles V converted the building into a residence and in 1546, Francis I renovated the site in French Renaissance style. Francis acquired what would become the nucleus of the Louvre's holdings, his acquisitions including Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa. After Louis XIV chose Versailles as his residence in 1682, constructions slowed; however, the move permitted the Louvre to be used as a residence for artists. By the mid-18th century there were an increasing number of proposals to create a public gallery with Lafont Saint-Yenne publishing, in 1747, a call for the royal collection's display. On October 14, 1750, Louis XV agreed and sanctioned a display of 96 pieces from the royal collection in the Galerie royale de peinture of the Luxembourg Palace. A hall was opened by Le Normant de Tournehem and the Marquis de Marigny for public viewing of the Tableaux du Roy on Wednesdays and Saturdays and contained Andrea del Sarto's Charity and works by Raphael, Titian, Veronese, Rembrandt, Poussin or Van Dyck, until its closing in 1780 as a result of the gift of the palace to the comte de Provence by the king in 1778. Under Louis XVI, the royal museum idea became policy. The comte d'Angiviller broadened the collection and in 1776 proposed conversion of the Grande Galerie of the Louvre —which contained maps— into the "French Museum". Many proposals were offered for the Louvre's renovation into a museum, however none was agreed on. Hence the museum remained incomplete until the French Revolution. The museum opened on 10 August 1793, the first anniversary of the monarchy's demise. The public was given free access on three days per week, which was "perceived as a major accomplishment and was generally appreciated". The collection showcased 537 paintings and 184 objects of art. Three quarters were derived from the royal collections, the remainder from confiscated émigrés and Church property (biens nationaux). In 1794, France's revolutionary armies began bringing pieces from across Europe, such as Laocoön and His Sons and the Apollo Belvedere, to establish the Louvre as a museum and as a "sign of popular sovereignty". The early days were hectic; artists lived in residence, and the unlabelled paintings hung "frame to frame from floor to ceiling" The building itself closed in May 1796 because of structural deficiencies. It reopened on 14 July 1801, arranged chronologically and with new lighting and columns. During World War II the museum removed most of the art and hid valuable pieces. On 27 August 1939, after two days of packing, truck convoys began to leave Paris. By 28 December, the museum was cleared of most works, except those that were too heavy and "unimportant paintings [that] were left in the basement". In early 1945, after the liberation of France, art began returning to the Louvre. In 1983, French President François Mitterrand proposed the Grand Louvre plan to renovate the building and relocate the Finance Ministry, allowing displays throughout the building. Architect I. M. Pei was awarded the project and proposed a glass pyramid to stand over a new entrance in the main court, the Cour Napoléon. The pyramid and its underground lobby were inaugurated on 15 October 1988. The second phase of the Grand Louvre plan, La Pyramide Inversée (The Inverted Pyramid), was completed in 1993. The Musée du Louvre contains more than 380,000 objects and displays 35,000 works of art in eight curatorial departments with more than 60,600 square metres (652,000 sq ft) dedicated to the permanent collection. The Louvre exhibits sculptures, objets d'art, paintings, drawings, and archaeological finds. It is the world's most visited museum, averaging 15,000 visitors per day, 65 percent of whom are tourists. In popular culture, the Louvre was a point of interest in the book The Da Vinci Code and the 2006 film based on the book. The museum earned $2.5 million by allowing filming in its galleries. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mus%C3%A9e_du_Louvre

Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool has won the 2011 Newbery Medal. The award was presented January 10 at the Midwinter Meeting of the American Library Association in San Diego, California. The John Newbery Medal goes to the "most distinguished contribution to American literature for children," according to the ALA website. The medal awardee is selected by a committee of library professionals from around the country who are members of the ALA. The book is Ms. Vanderpool's first novel and is published by Random House Children's Books. Four 2011 Newbery Honor books were also recognized: Turtle in Paradise, by Jennifer L. Holm, Heart of a Samurai, by Margi Preus, Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night, written by Joyce Sidman, illustrated by Rick Allen, One Crazy Summer, by Rita Williams-Garcia
http://www.examiner.com/literature-in-national/newbery-medal-2011-goes-to-moon-over-manifest-by-clare-vanderpool

Net Neutrality (also known as Network Neutrality or Internet neutrality) is all about creating a neutral internet. The term supports the view that Internet traffic should be treated equally. The term also backs that internet should be an open platform like any other utility used in our home like electricity as Internet has already become part and parcel of our lives and has been indispensable. Net Neutrality advocates no restrictions by Internet service providers (ISPs) and governments on content, sites, platforms, the kinds of equipment that may be attached, and the modes of communication. The proponents of Net Neutrality claim that telecom companies seek to impose a tiered service model in order to control the pipeline and thereby remove competition, create artificial scarcity, and oblige subscribers to buy their otherwise uncompetitive services. On the other hand, critics of net neutrality – mainly ISPs – argue that prioritization of bandwidth is necessary for future innovation on the Internet. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/96852/20110103/what-is-net-neutrality-what-does-this-mean-to-you.htm

What we venerate as the Liberty Bell is actually a replica. After the original bell, which had been sent from London, cracked upon testing, two Philadelphia artisans melted it down and recast it in 1753, then recast it again to get better sound from it. If Philadelphia's founding fathers had had their way, the now treasured relic would have been melted down a third time seven decades later and sold for scrap metal. That means the symbol of American patriotism that ultimately became second in importance only to the Stars and Stripes narrowly missed the scrap heap at least once — and possibly two more times, since it was also threatened during aborted plans in 1812 and 1816 to demolish Independence Hall, the site where the Declaration of Independence was signed and the bell's home. The story begins in 1751, when Pennsylvania leaders commissioned an English foundry to cast a bell for the State House, the meeting place for legislators in Philadelphia, then the capital of the America colony. It's still not clear why the first crack appeared. After melting it down, a pair of local metallurgists recast the bell, adding more copper. Instead of a melodious tone, the second bell sounded "a discouraging thud," so they recast it again, never realizing that their alloy adjustments and recastings would sap the bell's strength and leave it vulnerable to another cracking. Initially, the bell's renown rested on a fabricated distinction: that it tolled on July 4, 1776, for the first reading of the Declaration of Independence. It took four days to typeset and print the document, so the Declaration was not published until July 8, 1776. It was extensive road trips that endeared the Liberty Bell to the nation. Beginning with the New Orleans World Industrial and Cotton Exposition in 1885, the bell traveled more than 10,000 miles to fairs, exhibitions and commemorations via railroad. Initially targeting communities south of the Mason-Dixon line, the trips were designed to "bind the nation's wounds and complete the process of reconciliation following the Civil War." Eventually, promoters used the bell to draw attendance to such events as the Chicago World's Columbian Exposition in 1893, St. Louis' Louisiana Purchase Exposition in 1904, San Francisco's Panama-Pacific International Exposition in 1915 and San Diego's Panama-California Exposition, also in 1915. The pilgrimages ended up lengthening the bell's crack by 17 inches, necessitating the introduction of the two stabilizing plugs (technically called "spiders"), but they cemented the bell's fame. At towns where the train could not afford the time to stop during the night, people lit huge bonfires so that the throngs could see the Liberty Bell as it majestically rumbled through their towns. Not that there aren't enough Liberty Bells to go around. From Berlin to Knott's Berry Farm, there are more than six dozen full-sized replicas that have been cast over the years. One disappeared while touring Russia in the early 1900s; it is said to have been melted down by Bolsheviks for weapons in the 1917 revolution. http://newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/new-ucla-book-tells-complex-surprising-159651.aspx

From Mistress of Justice, a novel by Jeffery Deaver
To play teeth means to play keyboard.
PR firms hired by new York developers called Hell's Kitchen Clinton.
Wall paint looking unfinished as if painters and primed and sanded only is called pickling, an eighteenth century technique.
Rochelle, New York is named after La Rochelle, France.
Theater is the key to litigation: no logic, a little law, a lot of personality, and considerable theater.
Star Chamber was a medieval English court.

ligneous (LIG-nee-uhs) adjective Having the texture or appearance of wood. From Latin lignum (wood). Ultimately from the Indo-European root leg- (to collect), which is also the source of lexicon, legal, dialogue, lecture, logic, legend, logarithm, intelligent, diligent, sacrilege, elect, and loyal. Earliest documented use: 1626.
primrose path (PRIM-rohz path) noun 1. An easy life, especially devoted to sensual pleasure. 2. A path of least resistance, especially one that ends in disaster. From Latin prima rosa (first rose). Earliest documented use: 1604.
It's not clear why "primrose" was picked for naming this metaphorical path. Perhaps Shakespeare chose the word for alliteration -- the word is first attested in his Hamlet where Ophelia says to her brother Laertes:
"Do not, as some ungracious pastors do,
Show me the steep and thorny way to heaven,
Whilst, like a puff'd and reckless libertine,
Himself the primrose path of dalliance treads, A.Word.A.Day with Anu Garg

The Westboro Baptist Church, which is at the center of one of the biggest free-speech cases at the Supreme Court in recent years, is now making a stir in Arizona with its plan to picket the funeral of the 9-year-old girl killed in Tucson Saturday. The Arizona state legislature is weighing an emergency bill to prohibit pickets near funeral sites, according to the Associated Press. State Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, a Democrat, said the law would be modeled on an Ohio law that says people can’t picket within 300 feet of a funeral. The Ohio law was upheld in 2008 by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Click for that opinion. http://www.ca6.uscourts.gov/opinions.pdf/08a0312p-06.pdf In the Supreme Court case, the issue is whether the father of a fallen Marine can sue the Topeka, Kan., church for damages after it celebrated his son’s death with vulgar funeral pickets and a crude online attack. The Supreme Court held arguments in October. http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2011/01/11/arizona-mulling-law-to-keep-church-from-picketing-another-funeral/?mod=djemlawblog_h