Monday, April 11, 2016

Example of verb conjugation  Choose a verb and then one of twelve possible tenses at http://www.vocabulix.com/conjugation/query_english.html?conjugation,see,%22see%22,Pluperfect  Thank you, Muse reader!

The Garonne is a river in southwest France and northern Spain, with a length of 602 kilometres (374 mi).  It flows into the Atlantic Ocean at BordeauxThe Garonne plays an important role in inland shipping.  The river not only allows seagoing vessels to reach the port of Bordeaux but also forms part of the "Canal des Deux Mers", linking the Mediterranean Sea to the Atlantic Ocean, allowing a shorter and safer way for goods to pass from the agricultural areas of the South of France to the Atlantic.  The Garonne is one of the few rivers in the world that exhibit a tidal bore.  Surfers and jet skiers could ride the tidal bore at least as far as the village of Cambes, 120 kilometres or 75 miles from the Atlantic and even further upstream, although the tidal bore appears and disappears in response to changes in the channel bathymetry.  Prior to the building of the Garonne Lateral Canal, constructed between 1838 and 1856, river shipping used the Garonne itself as far as Toulouse.  However the navigation of the upper river was very uncertain, and this stretch of the river is no longer considered navigable.  Instead the lateral canal takes the ships through 53 locks to the town of Toulouse, where the canal meets the Canal du Midi, the next stage of the "Canal des Deux Mers".  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garonne

Benjamin Wallace:  The price of happiness  Can happiness be bought?  To find out, author Benjamin Wallace sampled the world's most expensive products, including a bottle of 1947 Chateau Cheval Blanc, 8 ounces of Kobe beef and the fabled (notorious) Kopi Luwak coffee.  His critique may surprise you.  See the TED talk filmed July 2008 at Taste3 2008 at https://www.ted.com/talks/benjamin_wallace_on_the_price_of_happiness?language=en#  14:23 or read transcript at  https://www.ted.com/talks/benjamin_wallace_on_the_price_of_happiness/transcript?language=en

With the Paris Universal Exposition approaching, Napoleon III charged the Bordeaux Chamber of Commerce with drawing up a list of the best wines.  The resulting Classification of 1855 formalized a numerical ranking of sixty-one of the most sought-after reds.  A new event called a mega-tasting could take one of two forms:  horizontal (many wines from one vintage) and vertical (many vintages of one wine).  The first horizontal tasting was in 1968.  The Billionaire's Vinegar:  The Mystery of the World's Most Expensive Bottle of Wine by Benjamin Wallace  Movie rights have been purchased for the story--see http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=91117799 

Hardy Rodenstock (born December 7, 1941 in Marienwerder (Kwidzyn), legal name Meinhard Görke) is a former publisher and manager of pop and Schlager music in Germany and is a prominent wine collector, connoisseur and trader, with a special interest in old and rare wines.  He became famous for his allegedly uncanny ability to track down old and very rare wines, and for arranging extravagant wine tastings featuring these wines.  It has been alleged that Rodenstock is the perpetrator of an elaborate wine fraud.  In 1992, a German court found that Rodenstock had "knowingly offered adulterated wine" for sale.  On appeal, the matter was settled out of court.  The film rights to The Billionaire's Vinegar have been purchased by a Hollywood consortium, while HBO simultaneously had bought the film rights to the corresponding The New Yorker article. 

Turns out that’s what irregularly shaped mailings are called. The point of lumpy mail is that it gets opened, and remembered.  Read about it at http://www.cdgi.com/2016/03/lumpy-mail-opened/#more-5583  Thank you, Muse reader!  See also https://www.b2bmarketing.net/resources/blog/embarrassing-truth-about-lumpy-mail-and-promotional-products

As reported by Aria Munro of eNewsChannels.com on September 15, 2008:  Beer-themed web sites, brewing organizations and even "beer writers" are fond of quoting Franklin and his supposed love of beer — "Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.For the record, here, in a letter addressed to André Morellet in 1779, is what Benjamin Franklin actually did say:  Behold the rain which descends from heaven upon our vineyards, there it enters the roots of the vines, to be changed into wine, a constant proof that God loves us, and loves to see us happy.  (Source: Isaacson, Walter.  Benjamin Franklin: An American Life.  New York:  Simon and Schuster, 2003.  p.374.)  http://urbanlegends.about.com/b/2008/09/15/misquote-ben-franklin-on-beer.htm  

National Arbor Day is always celebrated on the last Friday in April, but many states observe Arbor Day on different dates throughout the year based on best tree planting times in their area.  Check a  map to find out when your state observes Arbor Day at https://www.arborday.org/celebrate/dates.cfm  Arbor Day is an annual observance that celebrates the role of trees in our lives and promotes tree planting and care.  As a formal holiday, it was first observed in 1872 in Nebraska, but tree planting festivals are as old as civilization.  The tree has appeared throughout history and literature as the symbol of life.  Read two-page history of Arbor Day at https://www.arborday.org/celebrate/documents/learn-more.pdf

Earth Day is a name used for two similar global observances.  While some people celebrate Earth Day around the time of the March Equinox, others observe the occasion on April 22 each year.  Earth Day aims to inspire awareness of and appreciation for earth's environment.  It's not to be confused with Earth Hour.  Typical ways of observing Earth Day include planting trees, picking up roadside trash, conducting various programs for recycling and conservation, using recyclable containers for snacks and lunches. http://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/world/earth-day

Delaware's “business-friendly climate” and dedicated corporate court system (the Chancery Court) combined with an enormous network of corporate lawyers and legislation that favors management over shareholders, makes it a tax avoider’s dream.  A loophole in Delaware’s tax code is responsible for the loss of billions of dollars in revenue in other U.S. states, and its lack of incorporation transparency makes it a magnet for people looking to create anonymous shell companies, which individuals and corporations can use to evade an inestimable amount in federal and foreign taxes.  The Internal Revenue Service estimated a total tax gap of about $450 billion, with $376 billion of it due to filers underreporting income, in 2006.  In fact, in 2009, the Tax Justice Network named the United States as No. 1 on its Financial Secrecy Index, ahead of Luxembourg and Switzerland.  It cited Delaware as one of the reasons.  "Our analysis reveals that the United States is the jurisdiction of greatest concern, having made few concessions and posing serious threats to emerging transparency initiatives,” the report says.  “Rising from sixth to third place in our index, the U.S. is one of the few whose secrecy score worsened after 2013."  Another part of the appeal is the ease and rapidity with which a business entity can be formed there.  Business entities can be set up in a number of hours and, once they are, Delaware law is committed to protect the rights of boards of directors and shareholders.  Last year, 133,297 businesses were set up in the state, making nearly half of all public corporations in the United States incorporated in Delaware.  Lucy Clarke-Billings  http://www.newsweek.com/panama-papers-secret-state-delaware-445436

Domestic Mailing rates as of April 10, 2106:  * First Class Mail Letters (1 oz.) rates will decrease from $0.49 to $0.47 when purchased at the Post Office.  Each additional ounce will cost $0.21.  * The discounted “Metered Mail” category for First Class Mail Letters (1 oz.), which includes online postage providers and postage meters, will decrease from $0.485 to $0.465.  Each additional ounce will cost $0.21.  *  First Class Mail Flats (1 oz.) will decrease from $0.98 to $0.94.  Each additional ounce will cost $0.21.  * Postcard rates will decrease from $0.35 to $0.34.  Find more information, including shipping rates at http://www.stamps.com/usps/postage-rate-increase/


http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com  Issue 1454  April 11, 2016  On this date in 1888, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam was inaugurated.  On this date in 1970, Whigfield, Danish-Italian singer-songwriter, producer, and actress, was born.

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