You won't catch Annabelle Selldorf browsing a Kindle any time soon. "I know I'm old-fashioned, but there's just something about the act of looking at books versus taking in information on a screen, which is so one-dimensional," said the German-born, New York-based architect. "There's a sense of ownership that you have with books, a physical connection." A visit to her Union Square office reveals that she's an enthusiastic bibliophile; volumes on Russian Constructivism and Shaker design cozy up to one another on wraparound shelves. "I use them as a visual aid," explained Ms. Selldorf, the vision behind the Neue Galerie, New York University's Institute for the Study of the Ancient World and other cultural spaces. Twelve blocks north is another book-filled room that Ms. Selldorf likes to peruse for inspiration: the Morgan Library, built to house financier Pierpont Morgan's weighty collection of rare tomes and manuscripts. The 1906 structure, now part of a multiwing museum that includes Renzo Piano's modernist 2006 addition, was designed by McKim, Mead & White. "The architecture in a way is 'neo,' since it draws on Renaissance style," Ms. Selldorf said. "Yet McKim took liberties with the genre to suit himself. If someone does that today, I find it questionable; I want each era to have its own vocabulary. On the other hand, it feels authentic because he's taken liberties. He drew from history without being a slave to it." A recent renovation restored luster to the library's 16th-century tapestry, Renaissance-era carved-marble mantel, triple-tier Circassian-walnut bookcases and elaborate ceiling murals depicting signs of the Zodiac. "The room is very opulent and yet restrained," said Ms. Selldorf. "There's a lot going on, but it feels unified when you're standing in it. The space always leaves me refreshed and calm." JEN RENZI See picture at: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204652904577193161529753518.html

magazine
1580s, "place for storing goods, especially military ammunition," from M.Fr. magasin "warehouse, depot, store," from It. magazzino, from Arabic makhazin, pl. of makhzan "storehouse" (cf. Sp. almacén "warehouse, magazine"), from khazana "to store up." The original sense is almost obsolete; meaning "periodical journal" dates from the publication of the first one, "Gentleman's Magazine," in 1731, from earlier use of the word for a printed list of military stores and information, or in a figurative sense, from the publication being a "storehouse" of information. http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=magazine

The Eight Rulers of the United Hawaiian Kingdom from King Kamehameha I (c.1753-1819) to Queen Lili‘uokalani (1838-1917) In January of 1893, an insurrection against Queen Lili‘uokalani was led by a small group of United States sugar planters and businessmen backed by 162 U.S. marines from the U.S.S. Boston. They deposed the queen, abrogated the monarchy, and declared a Provisional Government (with the goal of annexation of the Hawaiian Islands by the United States). Hawai‘i’s previous 98 years of rule, under eight different monarchs, was effectively ended.
Find many details at:
http://www.hawaiianencyclopedia.com/part-i.-n257-m333299-hawaiithe.asp

The Panthéon (Latin: Pantheon, from Greek Πάνθειον meaning "Every god") is a building in the Latin Quarter in Paris. It was originally built as a church dedicated to St. Genevieve and to house the reliquary châsse containing her relics but, after many changes, now functions as a secular mausoleum containing the remains of distinguished French citizens. It is an early example of neoclassicism, with a façade modeled on the Pantheon in Rome, surmounted by a dome that owes some of its character to Bramante's "Tempietto". Located in the 5th arrondissement on the Montagne Sainte-Geneviève, the Panthéon looks out over all of Paris. Designer Jacques-Germain Soufflot had the intention of combining the lightness and brightness of the gothic cathedral with classical principles, but its role as a mausoleum required the great Gothic windows to be blocked. See history, images and list of people buried there at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panth%C3%A9on,_Paris

See many uses of Pantheon as a building in various locations, in mythology and as a title at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pantheon_(disambiguation)

More nautical phrases
Three Sheets to the Wind A sheet is a rope line which controls the tension on the downwind side of a square sail. If, on a three masted fully rigged ship, the sheets of the three lower course sails are loose, the sails will flap and flutter and are said to be "in the wind". A ship in this condition would stagger and wander aimlessly downwind.
To Know the Ropes There was miles and miles of cordage in the rigging of a square rigged ship. The only way of keeping track of and knowing the function of all of these lines was to know where they were located. It took an experienced seaman to know the ropes.
Toe the Line When called to line up at attention, the ship's crew would form up with their toes touching a seam in the deck planking.
Touch and Go This referred to a ship's keel touching the bottom and getting right off again.
Under the Weather If a crewman is standing watch on the weather side of the bow, he will be subject to the constant beating of the sea and the ocean spray. He will be under the weather.
Windfall A sudden unexpected rush of wind from a mountainous shore which allowed a ship more leeway.
Find more at: http://www.foreandaftmarine.com/COMMONPHRASES.htm

How to dispose of used cooking oil
http://www.ehow.com/how_15918_dispose-used-cooking.html

Feb. 7 events
1497 – The bonfire of the vanities occurs in which supporters of Girolamo Savonarola burn thousands of objects like cosmetics, art, and books in Florence, Italy.
1795 – The 11th Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified.
1812 – The strongest in a series of earthquakes strikes New Madrid, Missouri.
1904 – A fire in Baltimore, Maryland destroys over 1,500 buildings in 30 hours.
1907 – The Mud March is the first large procession organized by the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies (NUWSS).
1935 – The classic board game Monopoly is invented.
1940 – The second full length animated Walt Disney film, Pinocchio, premieres.
Feb. 7 births
1804 – John Deere, American manufacturer (Deere & Company) (d. 1886)
1812 – Charles Dickens, English novelist (d. 1870)
1837 – Sir James Murray, Scottish lexicographer and philologist (d. 1915)
1867 – Laura Ingalls Wilder, American author (d. 1957)
1885 – Sinclair Lewis, American writer, Nobel Prize Laureate (d. 1951)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_7