The story of Yogi Berra's remarkable life began on May 12, 1925, in an ethnic neighborhood of St. Louis known as The Hill, where young "Lawdie Berra"--the pronunciation was the result of his Italian-immigrant mother, Paolina's, inability to say "Larry"--became best friends with Joe Garagiola, another son of Italian immigrants who also went on to become a major leaguer and later, a broadcaster and television personality.  It was Garagiola who publicized and, some said, invented many of the "Yogi-isms" for which Berra became famous later in his career.  Larry Berra became "Yogi," according to the biography on his official website, when another boyhood friend, Bobby Hofman, thought he bore a resemblance to a Hindu character in a movie.  To the current generation, Yogi Berra was a funny little man known for the malaprops, real and invented, that have become part of the lexicon.  But to his teammates for 19 major league seasons--18 of which were with the Yankees--and to opposing pitchers, Berra was a fearsome hitter who batted better than .300 three times, drove in more than 100 runs five times and finished with 358 home runs, 305 of which came when he was a catcher. At the time he retired, that was a record for a player at the most demanding position on a baseball field.  Defensively, Berra was respected as a keen handler of pitchers and an agile fielder with a strong throwing arm. Later in his career, he made a successful switch to the outfield, patrolling the spacious left field in the original Yankee Stadium at 37 years old.  And as a manager, Berra was one of a handful who led a team in both the American and National Leagues to the World Series, having managed the New York Mets to the NL pennant in 1973.  Wallace Matthews 

http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/yogi-berra-unforgettable-incomparable/story?id=34028850

non sequitur  noun  a statement that is not connected in a logical or clear way to anything said before it  http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/non%20sequitur  See also

http://engl2025satireoftheacademy.blogspot.com/2012/01/woody-allen-and-non-sequitur.html and http://literarydevices.net/non-sequitur/

malapropism  noun  an amusing error that occurs when a person mistakenly uses a word that sounds like another word but that has a very different meaning  http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/malapropism 

The fictional Mrs. Malaprop, in Sheridan's play The Rivals, utters many malapropisms.  In Act 3 Scene III, she declares to Captain Absolute, "Sure, if I reprehend any thing in this world it is the use of my oracular tongue, and a nice derangement of epitaphs!"  This nonsensical utterance might, for example, be 'corrected' to, "If I apprehend anything in this world, it is the use of my vernacular tongue, and a nice arrangement of epithets", although these are not the only words that can be substituted to produce an appropriately expressed thought in this context, and commentators have proposed other possible replacements that work just as well.  Other malapropisms spoken by Mrs. Malaprop include "illiterate him quite from your memory" (instead of 'obliterate')', and "she's as headstrong as an allegory" (instead of alligator).  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malapropism

incipit  noun  The opening words of a text, manuscript, early printed book, or chanted liturgical text.  Late 19th century:  Latin, literally '(here) begins'.  http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/incipit

How many of these starting words can you recognize from literature:  "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times"  "It was a dark and stormy night"  “As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect.” 
How many of these starting notes can you recognize from music:  "so la so mi, so la so mi";  "so so la so do ti";  "mi mi mi do" OR "so so so me";  "so mi do mi so do".  Answers follow.

Well-known incipits from literature:  "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times" is from  A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens  "It was a dark and stormy night" by Edward Bulwer-Lytton is the opening sentence of his novel Paul Clifford.   “As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect.” comes from The Metmorphosis by Franz Kafka. 

Well-known incipits from music  "so la so mi, so la so mi":  Silent Night, Holy Night;  "so so la so do ti":   Happy Birthday to You;  "mi mi mi do" OR "so so so me":  Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, first movement;  "so mi do mi so do":  Star Spangled Banner.  (Incipits from music are usually in notation, sung or played--so you can see rhythm as well as melody.)

Over the past decade, the Center for Great Neighborhoods (CGN) has rehabbed and sold twenty-two homes at prices ranging from $90,000 to $210,000 to new homeowners of varied income levels in the Westside neighborhood of Covington, Kentucky.  From 2008-2013, the aggregate pre-rehab value of CGN-produced homes was $309,146.  After rehab, the aggregate sales price for these homes jumped nearly 1,200% to $3,645,700.  As a result, property values in the neighborhood have climbed, helping existing homeowners build equity while also boosting the local tax base.  “Recently, our buyers have been a mix of young professionals and empty-nesters,” said CGN Neighborhood Development Specialist Adam Rockel.  “Additionally, many of our buyers have been people that had been previously renting in Covington.  We presume they like living in Covington so much that they want to stay here for the long term which we see as a very positive indication of the overall positive outlook of the city and the neighborhood specifically.”  Jerod Theobald  Read more and see pictures at http://rcnky.com/articles/2014/09/03/westsides-redevelopment-continues-more-projects-center-great-neighborhoods

Green almonds have the briefest whisper of a season in the spring before their shells harden and start looking (and tasting!) more like the almonds we know and love.  Green almonds consist of both the fuzzy green outer hull and the soft inner nut—it's that soft inner part that will eventually grow and harden into an almond.  You can eat the entire green almond at this point, fuzzy outside and all.  The whole almond has a crisp, watery texture and a tart flavor, like a cross between a green apple and a green grape.  Try tossing the whole almond with a little good olive oil and some sea salt for an easy and elegant party snack.  Here's the trick, though:  you have to buy these almonds right when they're fresh.  They should be a soft green color with no brown spots.  They'll keep refrigerated for a few days, but are best eaten right away.  http://www.thekitchn.com/you-must-try-these-green-almonds-ingredient-spotlight-187805 

Fresh green almonds start in late March and go until late April, said Nadine Hariri, whose family owns the Middle East Market in Toledo, Ohio.  Almonds aren’t true nuts but rather are drupes—better known as stone fruits—with a fleshy exterior surrounding a kernel or pit.  Early in the season, the tender unripened almonds can be eaten in their entirety: simply bite in to enjoy the crispness, both in texture and flavor.  As they ripen on the tree, the fruits become firmer, while the shells become more bitter and less appetizing.  “Lemon, garlic, and salt are the main things to garnish them,” Mrs. Hariri said of the green almonds.  They should be washed and then left moist on the outside, which will enable them “to catch the salt” or other flavorings you might dip them into.  Familiar ripened almonds are prized ingredients in countless dishes, both sweet and savory.  Romesco sauce, from the Catalan region in Spain, is a blend of almonds and roasted red peppers that’s thickened with bread crumbs.  White gazpacho—a classic chilled soup, but less familiar than the bright-red tomato-based variety—features almonds puréed with garlic, often with the additions of cucumbers and grapes to contribute some sweetness.  Mary Bilyeu  http://www.toledoblade.com/Food/2016/04/26/The-joy-of-almonds.html

http://librariansmuse.blogpot.com  Issue 1461  April 26, 2016  On this date in 1886, American blues singer (nicknamed Mother of the Blues) Ma Rainey, was born and named Gertrude Malissa Nix Pridgett.  On this date in 1958, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad's Royal Blue made its final run from Washington, D.C., to New York City after 68 years, the first U.S. passenger train to use electric locomotives.