Federal administrative law primarily concerns the powers and procedures of federal administering agencies in relation to the public (but usually not in criminal matters).  It is Congress that grants general and specific powers to various federal agencies through enabling legislation as well the general laws for their fair and orderly administration.  These executive powers are often quasi-legislative in nature (via rules and regulations applicable to a class of persons or organizations) or quasi-judicial in nature (via orders, adjudications and decisions involving particular persons or organizations).  The given powers are also subject to judicial review and interpretation.  As industry and technology grew over the past 125 years Congress deemed it appropriate to delegate the details of administering laws to protect the public or enhance fairness to executive departments or independent regulatory agencies.  Unlike the heads of executive departments and agencies the heads of independent regulatory agencies generally do not serve at the pleasure of the President or have their rules and legislative recommendations reviewed by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) [see 44 USC 3502(5) and OMB Cir. A-19].  The first independent regulatory agency was the Interstate Commerce Commission established in 1887.  Find links to agencies, laws and resources at http://www.llsdc.org/federal-administrative-law-a-brief-overview

The son of immigrants, poet and novelist Amit Majmudar grew up in the Cleveland area.  He earned a BS at the University of Akron and an MD at Northeast Ohio Medical University, completing his medical residency at the University Hospitals of Cleveland.  In his precise, often formally driven poems, Majmudar explores themes of identity, history, spiritual faith, and mortality.  In an interview with the Kenyon Review, Majmudar stated, “My credo comes from Eliot quoting the Upanishads in his notes to ‘What the Thunder Said’:  Da, dayadhvam, damyata. Give, sympathize, control.  That is both the art of life and the art of poetry.  It seems fitting to me that they should be identical.”  Majmudar is the author of the poetry collections 0˚, 0˚ (2009), which was a finalist for a Poetry Society of America’s Norma Faber First Book Award, and Heaven and Earth (2011), which poet A.E. Stallings chose for a Donald Justice prize.  Majmudar has also published the novels Partitions (2011) and The Abundance (2013).  His poetry has been featured in several anthologies, including Best of the Best American Poetry 1988–2012 (2013, edited by Robert Pinsky) and The Norton Introduction to Literature (2012, 11th edition, edited by Kelly J. Mays).  He has also contributed essays to the Kenyon Review blog, the New York Times, and the New York Review of Books.  Majmudar lives in Dublin, Ohio, and works as a diagnostic nuclear radiologist.  Link to poems and articles at http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/amit-majmudar

A cousin of First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, "Little Edie" Beale was a socialite and model.  Beale's mother, Edith Bouvier Beale, suffered a series of family and financial problems so the impoverished mother and daughter withdrew to their estate which fell into extreme disrepair.  A 1975 documentary entitled Grey Gardens made the pair into cult figures and fashion icons.  In the fall of 1973, filmmakers David and Albert Maysles started shooting their documentary on Edie Beale and her mother.  The film, which was released in 1975 to wide acclaim, showed a Grey Gardens that had virtually reverted back to its pre-cleanup squalor.  For the next two decades, Edie Beale and her mother became increasingly reclusive, rarely venturing outside their property.  Grey Gardens itself continued to slide downward, too, becoming the domain of stray cats—later estimates would put the count as high as 300—and raccoons, both of which Edie Beale took care to feed on a regular basis.  In one memorable photograph, Edie Beale stands in front of a mound of discarded cat food cans measuring several feet in height.  The exterior of the property changed as well; unkempt trees, shrubs and vines closed in around the house.  In the fall of 1971 County officials, armed with a search warrant, descended on Grey Gardens.  They informed Edie Beale and her mother that their home was "unfit for human habitation" and threatened eviction.  The story, and the close family connection the two women had with Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, caught fire with the press.  Eventually, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis stepped in with her checkbook, paying $25,000 to have the place cleaned up—on the condition that her aunt and cousin could remain in their home.  Amid the trash and the cats, Little Edie paraded around in high heels, dancing in front of the camera as she lamented her missed chances at true fame.  Edie Beale and her mother's life together inspired a Broadway musical that earned three 2007 Tony awards, as well as a 2009 HBO production starring Drew Barrymore as Little Edie and Jessica Lange as Big Edie.  In the end, the 1975 documentary, which in 2003 Entertainment Weekly ranked as one of the top 50 cult films of all time, gave Edie Beale and her mother the kind of fame they'd always longed for.  http://www.biography.com/people/edith-bouvier-beale-435518  

See Entertainment Weekly's list of top 50 cult films at http://www.listal.com/list/entertainment-weeklys-top-50

Rangoli is an Indian traditional or folk art, which is generally created on the floor on some festive occasions.  Rangoli is named differently in different Indian states like in South India it is called Kolam, Madana is Rajasthan, Chowkpurna is the name of rangoli in Northern India, Alpana in Bengal, in Bihar it is called Aripana.  Rangoli is a Sanskrit word, signifying a creative expression of art by means of colors.  In ancient times, beautiful rangoli patterns and designs were made on the entrances of Indian homes for beautifying them and welcoming the guests. Besides a creative expression of art, they were also considered a symbol of good-luck.  http://www.diwalifestival.org/the-tradition-of-rangoli.html  

See also http://webneel.com/rangoli-designs

"Runcible" is a nonsense word invented by Edward Lear.  The word appears (as an adjective) several times in his works, most famously as the "runcible spoon" used by the Owl and the Pussycat.   The word "runcible" was apparently one of Lear's favourite inventions, appearing in several of his works in reference to a number of different objects.  In his verse self-portrait, The Self-Portrait of the Laureate of Nonsense, it is noted that "he weareth a runcible hat".  Other poems include mention of a "runcible cat", a "runcible goose" (in the sense of "silly person"), and a "runcible wall".  See a list of the word runcible used in popular culture at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Runcible

Grand Central has 34 miles of track going down seven levels below the street.  The seven levels funnel into 26 main rail arteries.  The levels beneath Grand Central are the deepest in Manhattan.  The Long Island Railroad is building a link that will be even deeper--16 stories down, not ready till 2019.   Terminal City, a novel by Linda Fairstein

Each of the four clock faces on the clock over of the information booth  at Grand Central are made from opal, and both Sotheby's and Christie's have estimated the value to be between US$10 million and US$20 million.  Within the marble and brass pagoda lies a "secret" door that conceals a spiral staircase leading to the lower level information booth.  Outside the station, the clock in front of the Grand Central facade facing 42nd Street contains the world's largest example of Tiffany glass and is surrounded by sculptures carved by the John Donnelly Company of Minerva, Hermes and Mercury.  For the terminal building French sculptor Jules-Felix Coutan created what was at the time of its unveiling (1914) considered to be the largest sculptural group in the world.  It was 48 feet (14.6 meters) high, the clock in the center having a circumference of 13 feet (4 meters).  See many pictures at http://www.nyc-architecture.com/MID/MID031.htm

Grand Central has been featured in many films, including Superman (1978), Hugo, Men in Black, The Fisher King, North by Northwest, and Madagascar.  Find list of over 40 films featuring scenes in Grand Central at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Central_Terminal

Sherman Alexie's prize-winning, autobiographical novel of school life, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian ranked No. 1 on the American Library Association's annual list of the 10 books receiving the most complaints from parents, educators and others.  Marjane Satrapi's graphic novel Persepolis was second followed by the picture book about two male penguins raising a baby penguin, Peter Parnell's and Justin Richardson's And Tango Makes Three.  Others on the list include Toni Morrison's debut novel, The Bluest Eye; Khaled Hosseini's million-selling novel The Kite Runner and Jaycee Dugard's best-selling memoir about her kidnapping, A Stolen Life.  The remaining books cited by the library association were Robie Harris' It's Perfectly Normal; Saga, by Brian Vaughan and Fiona Staples; Stephen Chbosky's The Perks of Being a Wallflower and Raina Telgemeier's Drama.  http://tvnz.co.nz/world-news/library-group-here-10-books-most-complaints-6284397

http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com  Issue 1283  April 13, 2015  On this date in 1742, George Frideric Handel's oratorio Messiah made its world-premiere in Dublin, Ireland.  

On this date in 1870, the New York City Metropolitan Museum of Art was founded.