Rhubarb is usually considered a vegetable.  However, a New York court decided in 1947 that since it was used in the United States as a fruit, it counted as a fruit for the purposes of regulations and duties.  A side effect was a reduction on imported rhubarb tariffs, as tariffs were higher for vegetables than fruits.  In Chile, Chilean rhubarb is sold on the street with salt or dried chili pepper, not sugar.  In British theatre and early radio drama, the words "rhubarb rhubarb" were repeated for the effect of unintelligible conversation in the background.  This usage lent its title to the 1969 film Rhubarb and its 1980 remake Rhubarb Rhubarb.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhubarb

Tomatoes are "vegetables," and not "fruit," within the meaning of the Tariff Act of March 3, 1883.  Nix v. Hedden - 149 U.S. 304 (1893)  Botanically speaking, tomatoes are the fruit of a vine, just as are cucumbers, squashes, beans, and peas.  But in the common language of the people, whether sellers or consumers of provisions, all these are vegetables which are grown in kitchen gardens, and which, whether eaten cooked or raw, are, like potatoes, carrots, parsnips, turnips, beets, cauliflower, cabbage, celery, and lettuce, usually served at dinner in, with, or after the soup, fish, or meats which constitute the principal part of the repast, and not, like fruits generally, as dessert.  http://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/149/304/case.html

Jardin des Tuileres (TWEE-luh-ree or TWILL-ah-ree)) by Nicole Kinney

In the 17th century, the Jardin des Tuileries in Paris, France was opened as the first public park in Europe.  The Jardin des Tuileries spans about 63 acres and still closely resembles the 1664 design by landscape designer, André Le Nôtre.  The site of the Jardin des Tuileries was formerly used for manufacturing bricks and tiles.  The garden's name originates from the history of the building site.  The French word for tile is "thuile", which is where the name Tuileries was derived.   The land for the Jardin des Tuileries was acquired by Francois I to build a palace, however the project was not accomplished during his reign.  The Tuileries palace and garden was created between 1564 and 1572 by Catherine de Medici, the widow of King Henry II.  Architect Philibert de L'Orme was employed by Catherine to draw up the original plans.  The Jardin des tuileries was inspired by Italian garden design and extended beyond the current city wall.  The Tuileries were later remade between 1594 and 1609 by Henry IV.  The Jardin des Tuileries was transformed yet again between 1666 and 1671 for Louis XIV by garden designer, André Le Nôtre.  In 1850 Napoleon III added his own touch to the Jardin des Tuileries by developing a section as the private palatial garden.  The Jardin des Tuileries was originally designed as the landscape in front of the Palace de Tuileries.  However, in 1871 the palace was looted and burned during the suppression of the Paris Commune.  The palace has never been rebuilt but the beautiful Jardin des Tuileries remains.  Read more plus see images at http://people.umass.edu/latour/2010/tuileries/

Amid a slew of ordinance approvals and introductions, the City and Borough of Juneau Assembly got to have a little fun, accepting a big — in every sense of the word — check from the Friends of the Juneau Public Libraries.  At its March 17, 2014 meeting, the Assembly received the last installment of a $1 million donation from the group to help pay for the new Mendenhall Valley Public Library in Dimond Park.  “This is so much fun, to give away a million dollars,” Friends of the Library board President Paul Beran said before presenting the oversized check.  “Can you imagine how many books at a nickel, a dime, a quarter and a dollar it takes?”  He said the group made the donation possible by staffing its Amazing Bookstore with 70 volunteers per week, some of which have been working in the store for 30 years.  The donation is part of a local match for the $7 million state grant the city received for the project, City Manager Kim Kiefer said in her manager’s report.  Katie Moritz  http://juneauempire.com/local/2014-03-18/assembly-receives-1m-library-friends#.Uy3SIPldV8G

rocaille:  in Western architecture and decorative arts, 18th-century style featuring elaborately stylized shell-like, rocklike, and scroll motifs.  Rocaille is one of the more prominent aspects of the Rococo style of architecture and decoration that developed in France during the reign of King Louis XV (1715–74).  The Rocaille style has been defined as a reaction both to the classic rigidity of the waning Baroque style and to the new interest in nature and the natural sciences.  In French, rocaille means “rubble,” or “pebbles,” and style rocaille is synonymous with Rococo.  http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/505859/rocaille

Monkfish (also known as headfish, sea monk, goosefish, anglerfish, or "all mouth," fishing frog, lawyer fish, and bellyfish) is the most common English name for the genus Lophius in the northwest Atlantic but goosefish is used as the equivalent term on the eastern coast of North America.  The monkfish is a large, ugly, benthic (bottom-dwelling) fish found in the coastal Atlantic area.  Its size ranges up to about three feet, and its body is composed mainly of a huge, gaping mouth attached to a muscular tail.  The monkfish is an anglerfish; its spine ends in a flexible, extensible cord which it dangles for use as a fishing lure.  They can tolerate a wide range of temperatures and depths from inshore up to at least 2,950 feet deep.  http://food2goodhealth.com/Health-Food-Articles/Seafood/Monkfish.aspx/13.149_2

Quotes about libraries

“Nothing is pleasanter than exploring a library.”—Walter Savage Landor 

“Libraries raised me.  I don’t believe in colleges and universities.  I believe in libraries, because most students don’t have any money.  When I graduated from high school, it was during the 

Depression and we had no money.  I couldn’t go to college, so I went to the library three days a week for 10 years.”—Ray Bradbury, speaking about the closing of his public 

library, December 2009 

“A library is not a luxury, but one of the necessities of life.”—Henry Ward Beecher  

I have always imagined that paradise will be a kind of library.”—Jorge Borges 

Quotes about librarians

 “If past history was all there was to the game, the richest people would be librarians.”—Warren Buffet  

“I’m of a fearsome mind to throw my arms around every living librarian who crosses my path, on behalf of the souls they never knew they saved.”   

Barbara Kingsolver   Read more including quotes about books and reading at http://www.cplfoundation.org/site/DocServer/quotes.pdf?docID=221

http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com  Issue 1131  April 4, 2014  On this date in 1581, Francis Drake was knighted for completing a circumnavigation of the world.  In 1814, Napoleon abdicated for the first time and named his son Napoleon II as Emperor of the French.  In 1818, Congress adopted the U.S. flag with 13 red and white stripes and one star for each state (then 20).