Theodore Herman Albert Dreiser (1871–1945) was an American novelist and journalist of the naturalist school.  His novels often featured main characters who succeeded at their objectives despite a lack of a firm moral code, and literary situations that more closely resemble studies of nature than tales of choice and agency.  His first novel, Sister Carrie, published in 1900, tells the story of a woman who flees her country life for the city (Chicago) and there lives a life far from a Victorian ideal.  It sold poorly and was not widely promoted largely because of moral objections to the depiction of a country girl who pursues her dreams of fame and fortune through relationships to men.  The book has since acquired a considerable reputation.  It has been called the "greatest of all American urban novels."  It was made into a 1952 film by William Wyler, which starred Laurence Olivier and Jennifer Jones.  His second novel, Jennie Gerhardt, was published in 1911.  His first commercial success was An American Tragedy, published in 1925, which was made into a film in 1931 and again in 1951 (as A Place in the Sun).  See a picture of the House of Four Pillars, an 1830s Greek Revival house in the Toledo, Ohio suburb of Maumee where Dreiser wrote Sister Carrie at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodore_Dreiser

In 1799, a prosperous New York merchant named Archibald Gracie built a country house overlooking a bend in the East River, five miles north of New York City.  Financial failure forced Gracie to sell his house to Joseph Foulke in 1823, and in 1857, the house came into the possession of Noah Wheaton.  The City of New York appropriated the estate in 1896, incorporating its 11 acres of grounds into the newly-formed Carl Schurz Park.  After decades of use as a concession stand and restrooms for the park, Gracie Mansion was restored and became the first home of the Museum of the City of New York.  Soon after the museum moved to a larger space on Fifth Avenue, Parks Commissioner Robert Moses convinced City authorities to designate Gracie Mansion as the official residence of the Mayor, and in 1942, Fiorello H. La Guardia moved in.  See pictures and get tour information at http://www1.nyc.gov/office-of-the-mayor/gracie-mansion.page  See biography of Archibald Gracie (1755-1829) at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archibald_Gracie

wagon roof   Cradle-roof constructed of a closely spaced series of double arch-braced trusses, suggesting the shape of a covered wagon or barrel-vault.  It may be exposed, plastered, or panelled (wagon-ceiling).  http://www.answers.com/topic/wagon-roof

A tithe barn was a type of barn used in much of northern Europe in the Middle Ages for storing tithes—one tenth of a farm's produce which was given to the Church.  Tithe barns were usually associated with the village church or rectory and independent farmers took their tithes there.  The village priests wouldn't have to pay tithes—the purpose of the tithe being their support—and some had their own farms anyway, which are now village greens in some villages.

See pictures and a list of surviving tithe barns at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tithe_barn

Near Stonehenge, find a 14th century monastic stone barn, 51 metres (168 feet) long, with an timber cruck roof.  http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/bradford-on-avon-tithe-barn/

Cruck Frames were traditionally constructed by selecting the trunk and main branch of a suitable oak tree, squaring it off with axe and adze and then sawing it lengthwise to make two matching cruck blades.  This style of construction carries the weight of the roof directly down to the ground, so that the walls are non-load bearing.  They can be filled with light material such as brick, wattle or wattle and daub and can easily be changed or renewed.  See beautiful images at http://www.greatbarns.org.uk/about.htm

Green Goddess salad dressing was created by the chef at the Palace Hotel in honor of actor George Arliss, who was starring in a play entitled The Green Goddess.  The creamy salad dressing was very popular in the 1920s through the 1980s, and then dropped from sight on most menus.  The Green Goddess, a very successful play of the 1920s, was written by William Archer, a Scottish drama critic who translated and published the work of Henrik Ibsen in London in the 1880s.  George Arliss, a prominent London actor, came to the United States and starred in many plays at the turn of the last century before moving into movies.  He played the character of the Rajah in the play and also in both the silent movie (1923) and the talkie (1930).  There is also a radio version of the play starring Orson Welles.  Palace Chef Philip Roemer created the dressing in honor of Arliss when the actor was staying at the Palace.  Some stories say that Arliss himself suggested naming a salad or dressing after the play.  Susan Saperstein   http://www.sfcityguides.org/public_guidelines.html?article=1248&submitted=TRUE&srch_text=&submitted2=&topic=Food

Green Goddess dressing recipes  http://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/green-goddess-dressing  http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/recipes/kelsey-nixon/green-goddess-dressing.html  http://www.chow.com/recipes/28742-chows-green-goddess-dressing 

Cambridge City Council bans punctuation from new street names by Chris Havergal    Grammar gurus have given council chiefs a caning for banning apostrophes from Cambridge street names – amid fears they would be too confusing.  Guildhall bosses’ decision to outlaw all punctuation from new road names has been branded “deplorable” and condemned as “pandering to the lowest denominator”, especially in a city renowned for learning.  Officers said they were following national guidance which warned apostrophes could lead to mistakes, particularly for emergency services.  The city council’s street naming policy says a road called St Paul’s Court would appear in all documentation and nameplates as “St Pauls Court”.  But Kathy Salaman, director of the Longstanton-based Good Grammar Company, said it was a “dreadful” idea.  She said:  “I know some people think apostrophes are superfluous but we really need them and I think it’s the first step on a slippery slope.  “If councils are getting rid of them, what kind of message does that give out to students at schools?"  Apostrophes can play a key role in conveying the history of a place – for example, the name Queens’ College commemorates its founding by the wife of King Henry VI and then its refounding by King Edward IV’s consort, in contrast to nearby Queen’s Road.  East Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire ban apostrophes too – but they are allowed in south Cambridgeshire.  http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/News/Apostrophe-catastrophe-as-Cambridge-City-Council-bans-punctuation-from-new-street-names-20140117060000.htm

Pete Seeger (May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014)  For more than 50 years, Mr. Seeger roamed America, singing on street corners and in saloons, migrant labor camps, hobo jungles, union halls, schools, churches and concert auditoriums.  He helped write, arrange or revive such perennial favorites as “If I Had a Hammer,” “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?” and “Kisses Sweeter Than Wine” and popularized the anthem of the civil rights movement, “We Shall Overcome.”  Once called ‘America’s tuning fork,’ Pete Seeger believed deeply in the power of song,” President Obama said in a statement.  “But more importantly, he believed in the power of community — to stand up for what’s right, speak out against what’s wrong, and move this country closer to the America he knew we could be.  “Over the years, Pete used his voice — and his hammer — to  strike blows for worker’s rights and civil rights; world peace and environmental conservation.  And he always invited us to sing along.  For reminding us where we come from and showing us where we need to go, we will always be grateful to Pete Seeger.”  Bart Barnes  http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/pete-seeger-legendary-folk-singer-dies-at-94/2014/01/28/36faeec0-c5dc-11df-94e1-c5afa35a9e59_story.html?hpid=z4

Issue 1103  January 29, 2014  "The Raven" was first attributed to Edgar Allan Poe in print in the New York Evening Mirror on January 29, 1845.  Read about it and see images at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Raven