A connoisseur (French traditional (pre-1835) spelling of connaisseur, from Middle-French connoistre, then connaître meaning "to be acquainted with" or "to know somebody/something.") is a person who has a great deal of knowledge about the fine arts, cuisines, or an expert judge in matters of taste.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connoisseur

Brooklyn Museum   200 Eastern Parkway  Brooklyn, New York   718) 638-5000

February 8–August 4, 2013  Morris A. and Meyer Schapiro Wing and Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Gallery, 5th Floor  The first solo exhibition in a New York museum by the globally renowned contemporary artist El Anatsui, this show will feature over 30 works in metal and wood that transform appropriated objects into site-specific sculptures.  Anatsui converts found materials into a new type of media that lies between sculpture and painting, combining aesthetic traditions from his birth country, Ghana; his home in Nsukka, Nigeria; and the global history of abstraction.  Included in the exhibition are twelve recent monumental wall and floor sculptures, widely considered to represent the apex of Anatsui’s career.  The metal wall works, created with bottle caps from a distillery in Nsukka, are pieced together to form colorful, textured hangings that take on radically new shapes with each installation.  Anatsui is captivated by his materials’ history of use, reflecting his own nomadic background.  Gravity and Grace responds to a long history of innovations in abstract art and performance, building upon cross-cultural exchange among Africa, Europe, and the Americas and presenting works in a wholly new, African medium.  Gravity and Grace: Monumental Works by El Anatsui is organized by the Akron Art Museum and made possible by a major grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. The Brooklyn presentation is organized by Kevin Dumouchelle, Associate Curator of the Arts of Africa and the Pacific Islands, Brooklyn Museum.  http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/exhibitions/el_anatsui/

A.Word.A.Day with Anu Garg

serendipity  (ser-uhn-DIP-i-tee)  noun:  The faculty of making fortunate discoveries by chance. Also, an instance of such a discovery.  Coined by novelist Horace Walpole based on the fairy tale The Three Princes of Serendip.  The Princes were supposedly making these happy discoveries they were not looking for. From Persian Sarandip (Sri Lanka), from Arabic sarandib.
Earliest documented use:  1754.
mithridatism  (MITH-ri-day-tiz-uhm)  noun:  The developing of immunity to a poison by taking gradually increasing doses of it.  After Mithridates VI, king of Pontus (now in Turkey) 120-63 BCE, who is said to have acquired immunity to poison by ingesting gradually larger doses of it.  Earliest documented use:  1851.
elysian (i-LIZH-uhn)  adjective:  Blissful; delightful.  From Latin Elysium, from Greek elysion pedyon (Elysian plain/fields). n Greek mythology, Elysium (or the Elysian Fields) was the final resting place for the souls of heroes and the virtuous after their death.  
Earliest documented use:  1579.

icarian  (i-KAR-ee-uhn, eye-)  adjective: Of or relating to an over-ambitious attempt that ends in ruin.  After Icarus in Greek mythology who flew so high that the sun melted the wax holding his artificial wings.  Icarus plunged to his death into the sea.  Earliest documented use:  1595.

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From: Jonathan Cohen  Subject:  Mithridatism  This is central to the plot of one of the Lord Peter mysteries by Dorothy Sayers.  The murderer builds up tolerance to arsenic and then eats an arsenic-laced omelet, I believe, along with the victim who dies while he is OK.
From:  Ann Bietsch  Subject:  mithridatism  In The Princess Bride, the Dread Pirate Roberts (secretly the princess's true love, Wesley) has taken small doses of "iocane poison" for years to build up an immunity.  This mithridatism saves him in a battle of wits with the Sicilian.  Because of his far-thinking action, Wesley is able to survive the poisoned wine and free the princess.  This is an excellent modern application of an ancient concept.
From: David Martin  Subject:  mithridatism  The word reminds me of A.E. Housman's great philosophical poem, "Terence, This Is Stupid Stuff", that ends, "Mithridates, he died old."
From: Andrew Pressburger  Subject:  Icarian  The most notable illustration of the fall of Icarus is probably the painting by Brueghel Landscape with the Fall of Icarus, while its most poignant exegesis is the poem by Auden, "Musée des Beaux Arts".

NEWARK, Ohio —Stephen Jones, now 47 and working in commercial real-estate finance in New York, is fighting valiantly to save a Louis Sullivan masterpiece in Newark.  Jones didn’t know much about the bank when he was a kid.  It took a move to Chicago to show him the architectural jewel that sits along Newark’s downtown square — the building he bought and now hopes to sell to a careful owner.  Louis H. Sullivan, born in 1856, was a passionate, difficult Chicago architect often credited as the father of the modern skyscraper.  He was Frank Lloyd Wright’s mentor.  He’s the guy who said “form follows function.”  And toward the end of his career, he started building banks.  Eight of them.  They’re compact, square but ornate — often described as “jewel boxes” — and they pop up in places most people have never heard of.  There’s one in Owatonna, Minn., and one in Columbus, Wis. Iowa has three:  in Grinnell, Algona and Cedar Rapids.  They’re also in West Lafayette, Ind., and Sidney, Ohio.  Jones  bought the building for $225,000 in 2007.  He has spent the time since trying to restore it to its original condition.  He hired workers to stabilize the basement, which had water damage, and to remove the dropped ceiling, revealing the well-preserved murals.  Bit by bit, the beautiful bank is emerging.  But as Jones restores the building’s form, he wants to re-establish its function as well.  He recently listed the building, which made the National Register of Historic Places in 1973, for sale.  He could see it becoming anything from a craft brewery to a company’s headquarters.  “We’re looking for that special person,” he said. “I’m optimistic we can find them.”  He’s asking $750,000.  The deal comes with about $775,000 in historic tax credits for a buyer willing to complete the restoration, which Jones expects will cost around $1.5 million.  He’s also willing to lease it out long term and complete the restoration with his own money.  http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/11/18/banking-on-a-new-life.html
 

Brad Meltzer (born 1970) is a bestselling American political thriller novelist, non-fiction writer, TV show creator and award-winning comic book author.  According to his website, his first novel Fraternity garnered 24 rejection letters, but he then sold his second novel, The Tenth Justice, while in law school.  In 1994, he co-wrote the original swearing-in oath that is taken by all AmeriCorps members, and has been delivered by Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brad_Meltzer  Raised in Brooklyn and Miami, Brad Meltzer is a graduate of the University of Michigan and Columbia Law School.  The Tenth Justice was his first published work and became an instant New York Times bestseller.  Dead Even followed a year later and also hit the New York Times bestseller list, as have all eight of his novels.  The First Counsel came next, which was about a White House lawyer dating the President's daughter, then The Millionaires, which was about two brothers who steal money and go on the run.  The Zero Game is about two Congressional staffers who are - literally - gambling on Congress.  The Book of Fate, is about a young presidential aide, a crazed assassin, and the 200 year-old code created by Thomas Jefferson that ties them together.  For authenticity, The Book of Fate was researched with the help of former Presidents Clinton and Bush.  The The Book of Lies , is about the missing murder weapon that Cain used to kill Abel, as well as the unsolved murder of Superman creator Jerry Siegel's father.  Brad is one of the only people to interview Jerry Siegel's family about the murder and, with his charitable site www.OrdinaryPeopleChangeTheWorld.com, has been the driving force behind the movement to repair the house where Superman was created.  His newest book, The Inner Circle, is based the idea that George Washington's personal spy ring still exists today. A young archivist in the National Archives finds out the spy ring is still around.  He doesn't know who they work for -- but the greatest secret of the Presidency is about to be revealed. While researching the book, former President George HW Bush also gave Brad, for the very first time, the secret letter he left for Bill Clinton in the Oval Office desk.  Brad has played himself as an extra in Woody Allen's Celebrity, co-wrote the swearing in oath for AmeriCorps, the national service program, and earned credit from Columbia Law School for writing his first book, which became The Tenth Justice.  http://www.bradmeltzer.com/brad-meltzer.aspxhe t ction letters for his true first novel, which still sits on his shelf, published by Kinko's.BBeore all of that, he got 24 rvel,

Among the top children’s books of 2012 — as chosen by a Columbus Dispatch-selected panel of judges — are two that couldn’t be more different.  The novel Wonder by R.J. Palacio finds a 10-year-old boy with an extremely disfigured face entering a public school for the first time, as it tells a story of courage, understanding and acceptance.  About the book, Maryland Elementary School fifth-grader Emma Segerman said:  “Don’t judge a boy by his cover, even when the cover may not be so pretty.”  Then there’s Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs, a fractured fairy tale — and an example of picture-book humor at its goofiest — by Mo Willems.  The quality and diversity of children’s books published this year are reflected in the list of the best, as compiled by 25 adult panel members and 25 Ohio students from Maryland in Bexley and Wickliffe Progressive Community School in Upper Arlington.  http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/life_and_entertainment/2012/11/18/top-titles-tempt-young-eyes.html