Poblano peppers (pronounced "po-BLAH-no") are a variety of chili pepper used in Mexican and Southwestern cooking  Poblano peppers are so named because they are said to originate from the state of Puebla in central Mexico.  They have thick, dark-green skin and a wide base which tapers to a point.  Poblano peppers are mild to medium-hot.  Poblano peppers register between 1,000 and 2,000 Scoville heat units on the Scoville Scale.  When dried, the poblano pepper is called the ancho chili.  Poblano peppers are good candidates for roasting.  Roasting brings out the fruitier flavors of the pepper and eases in removing the skin, which can be tough.  Danilo Alfaro   http://culinaryarts.about.com/od/glossary/g/Poblano.htm

Tai is usually referred to as great or supreme.  Chi can be referred to as ultimate.  Together the ideogram has come to mean Supreme Ultimate.  Why it is supreme ultimate is hidden inside each character and those characters reveal hidden practices.  The first use of the word Tai Chi comes from the I Ching and a reference to the balance of yin and yang.  However the hidden meaning reveals Tai Chi as One Centered Person, Between Heaven and Earth, Standing like a Pine Tree, Using the Mouth and the Hands in a Balanced Fashion.  See the characters pictured and explained at http://richardleirer.org/the-ideogram-for-tai-chi-and-the-true-hidden-meaning-of-the-characters

Since the Yang family popularized Tai Chi during the 1800s, the form has been passed down from teacher to student in an oral tradition, resulting in a wide variety in the way the form is practiced.  No matter which version of the form you practice, the essential principles and structure within the movements are basically the same.  The form practiced by Dr. Yang, Jwing-Ming and YMAA students can be traced back to the Yang family through Grandmaster Kao, Tao and his teacher Yue, Huanzhi, an indoor disciple of Yang, Chengfu.  It is comprised of 37-postures, or movement patterns, which are repeated to the left or right to create the 108-movement sequence.  See graphics and link to 11' video at http://ymaa.com/articles/yang-tai-chi-for-beginners?ab=nl&utm_expid=1405513-2.WuymPi-ESZiQA5K9wPC3ZA.1&utm_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F

The Series of 1928 was the first issue of small-size currency printed and released by the U.S. government.  These notes, first released to the public on July 10, 1929, were the first standardized notes in terms of design and characteristics, featuring similar portraits and other facets.  These notes were also the first to measure 6.14" by 2.61", quite a bit smaller than the large-sized predecessors of Series 1923 and earlier that measured 7.4218" by 3.125"  See many pictures at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Series_of_1928_(United_States_Currency)#United_States_.28Legal_Tender.29_Notes

In British English the floor of a building at street level is called the ground floor.  The floor above it is the first floor and the floor below is called the basement.  In American English, however, the floor at street level is usually called the first floor.  The floor below street level is called the basement, the same as in British English.  In public buildings in the US it’s also possible to call the street-level floor the ground floor, like in Britain.

Storey, storeys / story, stories  This word describes the level (height) of a building and the total number of its floors.  From the word ‘storey’ we get single-storey and multi-storey buildings. Storey is often spelled story (plural ‘stories’) in American English.  Stuart Cook 

http://speakspeak.com/about-english/ground-floors-and-first-floors-in-british-and-american-english

Regardless of your kitchen size you most likely have a pantry.  This might be as small as a shelf in a cupboard or as large as a walk-in closet.  It is where we keep the foods and supplies used most often.  The history of the pantry, or kitchen storage, is an interesting reflection of what was going on at the time socially, economically and architecturally.  The word “pantry” comes from the Old French word “paneterie” meaning from “pain”, the French word for bread.  In medieval times food and supplies were stored in specific rooms:  meats were stored in a larder, alcohol stored in the buttery and bread was stored in the pantry.  The butler’s pantry was traditionally used to store silver, serving pieces and other kitchen related items.  Because the silver was kept under lock and key in the butler’s pantry the butler would actually sleep in the pantry to guard against thievery.  Nowadays, modern homes have butler’s pantries usually located off the kitchen or between the kitchen and the formal dining room.  Typically you will find countertop space to rest food or to prepare the dishware prior to serving.  In the early 1900’s the Hoosier Cabinet, made by the Hoosier Manufacturing Company in Indiana, was created to be an all-in-one pantry and kitchen for the new American home.  Most Hoosier Cabinets stood about six feet high, four feet wide and about two feet deep – making it a perfect size for small kitchens.  The cabinet was typically sold with built in storage bins and containers for everyday items like flour, sugar, coffee, tea and household spices.

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/the-kitchen-pantry-a-brief-his-112005

The 45th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 45 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane.  It crosses Europe, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, North America, and the Atlantic Ocean.  The 45th parallel north is often called the halfway point between the Equator and the North Pole, but the true halfway point is actually 16.2 kilometres (10.1 mi) north of the 45th parallel because the Earth is oblate, that is, it bulges at the equator and is flattened at the poles.  Find pictures, a list of areas that the 45th parallel passes through, and link to 45th parallel south information at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/45th_parallel_north

A.Word.A.Day with Anu Garg--words with apostophes--beginning with Anu Garg's story that a sign on his street corner read childrens, and he was able to convince the transportation department to create a new sign with children's because he likes "signs punctuated." 

dog's chance  (DOGZ chans)  noun  A poor chance.  In modern times dogs may be pampered, but historically a dog's life wasn't much to bark about.  Hence a dog's chance is a small chance.  Earliest documented use:  1890.

cat's cradle  (kats kraydl)  noun   1.  A children's game in which a string is wrapped around one player's hands in complex symmetrical patterns and transferred to another player's hands to form a different pattern.  See 4:35 video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpHTPnrYLzQ   2.  Something elaborate or intricate, especially when without an apparent purpose.  Of uncertain origin.  Earliest documented use:  1768.  

From January 1, 2015, the International Monetary Fund is providing its statistical data free of charge  http://www.elibrary.imf.org/

Dec. 30, 2014  Actress Luise Rainer, who became the first winner of consecutive Oscars in the 1930s, has died at the age of 104.  The German-born star was named best actress in 1936 and 1937 - a feat achieved by only five actors in Academy Awards history to date.  Other actors to have collected consecutive acting awards are Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, Jason Robards and Tom Hanks.  Read story and see picture at http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-30631088

NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION  Use the words very, iconic and unique very little or not at all.

Lake Superior State University's 40th Annual List of Banished Words The tradition created by the late W. T. Rabe, former public relations director at Lake Superior State University, begins its fifth decade with this year's annual List of Words Banished from the Queen's English for Mis-use, Over-use and General Uselessness.  Rabe and fellow LSSU faculty and staff came up with the first list of words and phrases that people love to hate at a New Year's Eve party in 1975, publishing it on Jan. 1, 1976.  Since then, the list has consisted entirely of nominations received from around the world throughout the year.  Through the years, LSSU has received tens of thousands of nominations for the list, which now includes more than 800 entries.  http://www.lssu.edu/banished/

http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com  Issue 1237  December 31, 2014  On this date in 1695, a window tax was imposed in England, causing many householders to brick up windows to avoid the tax.  On this date in 1992, Czechoslovakia was peacefully dissolved in what is dubbed by media as the Velvet Divorce, resulting in the creation of the Czech Republic and Slovakia.