New library shelves 3,400 bottles of wine by Matt Hayes   The newest library at Cornell University contains no books and offers no borrowing privileges.  Located in the basement of Stocking Hall, it lacks the soaring windows and grand views of other locations.  Students can’t access the library, and since it’s kept at a constant 54 degrees, it would not offer much of a study refuge anyway.  When fully stocked, the John Wilkinson Family Wine Library, a gift from John Wilkinson ’79, will give Cornell students in viticulture and enology courses access to wines sourced from regions across the world.  Shelves more than 7 feet high are already filled with selections from eight countries and winemaking hotbeds in the U.S. like northern California and the Finger Lakes.  The robust selection of wines housed in the library will be used to demonstrate the effects of growing practices and idiosyncratic winemaking decisions on wine properties as Cornell trains the next generation of wine industry leaders.  http://news.cornell.edu/stories/2016/05/new-library-shelves-3400-bottles-wine

bardolater  noun  a person who idolizes Shakespeare   George Bernard Shaw once described a Shakespeare play as "stagy trash."  Another time, Shaw said he'd like to dig Shakespeare from the grave and throw stones at him.  Shaw could be equally scathing toward Shakespeare's adoring fans.  He called them "foolish Bardolaters," wrote of "Bardolatrous" ignoramuses, and called blind Shakespeare worship "Bardolatry."  Oddly enough, Shaw didn't despise Shakespeare or his work (on the contrary, he was, by his own admission, an admirer), but he disdained those who placed the man beyond reproach.  The word bardolater, which Shaw coined by blending Shakespeare's epithet--"the Bard"--with an affix that calls to mind "idolater," has stuck with us to this day, though it has lost some of its original critical sting.  Origin of bardolater:  Bard (of Avon), epithet of Shakespeare + -o- + -later  first known use:  1903  http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bardolater

The spinning top is one of the world’s oldest toys.  Found in all cultural circles of the world independently of one another, spinning tops were made from various natural materials.  Clay tops have been discovered in archaeological digs that date as far back as 3500 B.C. in the city Ur, southeast of Baghdad, Terra Cotta tops were discovered at Troy that date to 3000 B.C., and Egyptian, Greek and Roman tops have been found dating from 2000 B.C. to 27 B.C.  Children have used them for centuries as toys and pastimes.  They have also been used in prophecy, gambling and as gifts to honor the Gods, or in some cultures, as items to take into the afterlife.  Today, spinning tops provide play and distraction.  They are also used in tournaments and championships in games of skill as well as in role-playing games.  The body of a spinning top has at least one axis, known as a principle axis, around which it spins.  They traditionally have a peg shape in which the top of the body is much wider than the bottom, or tip.  Spinning tops also include a mechanism to begin the spinning such as a spring cap, stem, string or pump.  They can be made of a variety of materials including wood, clay, stone and metal, and are typically brightly painted.  Spinning tops come in many different sizes.  The largest top weighs around 15 lbs., found in primitive Malay and most often used by adults.  The common child's toy we know today is typically no larger than a few inches in height and diameter.  http://www.woodenspinningtops.com/Home.html

The Spinning Top & Yo-Yo Museum  533 Milwaukee Avenue  Burlington, Wisconsin  (262) 763-3946  Try 40+ hands-on spinning tops & hands-on action top games and optical
illusions.  See the exhibit of 2,000 tops & yo-yos & gyroscopes.  Try the I Spy Hunt plus enjoy a live presentation by The Top Lady, Judith Schulz.  http://www.topmuseum.org/

Turmeric has a peppery, warm and bitter flavor and a mild fragrance slightly reminiscent of orange and ginger, and while it is best known as one of the ingredients used to make curry, it also gives ballpark mustard its bright yellow color.  Turmeric comes from the root of the Curcuma longa plant and has a tough brown skin and a deep orange flesh.  Turmeric has long been used as a powerful anti-inflammatory in both the Chinese and Indian systems of medicine.  Turmeric was traditionally called "Indian saffron" because of its deep yellow-orange color and has been used throughout history as a condiment, healing remedy and textile dye.  Find serving ideas and link to recipes at http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=78

Digital Smarts Everywhere:  The Emergence of Ambient Intelligence by Alan Rothman  http://www.llrx.com/features/digital-smarts-everywhere-the-emergence-of-ambient-intelligence.htm

Moogfest 2016   There are festivals devoted to musical genres and subgenres.  There are festivals centered around particular bands.  There are festivals focused on specific instruments—guitars, violins, horns.  There are festivals that celebrate certain aesthetics, festivals where all of the acts pair mysteriously well with particular narcotics, and festivals that seem mostly designed for profit.  What makes Moogfest unusual, and intriguing, is that it’s oriented somewhat orthogonally—centered not exclusively around the Moog synthesizer, one of the first commonly used electric synths, but billed as a tribute to Bob Moog, who designed it.  (It’s pronounced “mohg,” in case you weren’t sure.)  As such, it brings together a strange coalition of sounds, such that some attending the festival might, within a few hours, take in sounds ranging from Grimes’s edgy pop to the synth O.G. Gary Numan performing a classic album to a thumping DJ set by the Black Madonna.  The result is pleasantly disorienting, a mix of sounds that helps keep visitors from falling into the weariness and auditory ruts that are a risk at any multi-day festival.  David A. Graham  Read much more and link to music videos at http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2016/05/moogfest-2016-grimes-odesza-laurie-anderson-daniel-lanois/483857/

Rethinking Knowledge in the Internet Age by  David Weinberger   The internet started out as the Information Highway, the Great Emancipator of knowledge, and as an assured tool for generating a well-informed citizenry.  But, over the past 15 years, that optimism has given way to cynicism and fear—we have taught our children that the net is a swamp of lies spun by idiots and true believers, and, worse still, polluted by commercial entities whose sole aim is to have us click to the next ad-riddled page.  Read extensive article at https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/rethinking-knowledge-internet-age/

On Your Mark--Get Set--Read  Summer 2016 reading challenge for all ages at the Toledo-Lucas County Public Library  You may count books read on a computer or e-reader, count time spent reading to your children, and count audiobooks.  Get information at T-LCPL or visit http://toledolibrary.readsquared.com/

June 2016 LibraryReads List  Find ten books that librarians recommend at http://libraryreads.org/

http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com  Issue 1477 May 27, 2016  On this date in 1819, Julia Ward Howe, American poet and  author of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic", was born.  On this date in 1878, Anna Cervin, Swedish artist, was born.  

Archiving a Website for Ten Thousand Years by Glenn Fleishman   In May 1940, Thornwell Jacobs, the president of Oglethorpe University in Atlanta, dedicated a 2,000-square-foot Crypt of Civilization intended to be sealed until May 28, 8113 C.E.  He picked that date as the marker of a duration into the future equal to that which had passed since the oldest surviving recorded history, some 6,200 years prior.  The crypt contained about 640,000 pages of text reproduced on microfilm.  It also housed technological artifacts and bric-a-brac, along with a windmill-powered generator to play back audio and film recordings.  Hi.co, a website that allows its users to post “moments” with a photo and annotation, plans a similar trip to the distant future.  The operators, Craig Mod and Chris Palmieri, announced today https://medium.com/@craigmod/archiving-our-online-communities-e5868eab4d9a#.lhhezmrmf that the site will freeze service in September 2016.  However, all posts present in the site’s database at that time will be microprinted onto a two-by-two-inch nickel plate.  The entire site—2,000,000 words and 14,000 photos—should fit on a single disk.  Several copies will be made and distributed across the globe; the Library of Congress has already been secured as a repository.  The plates have a lifespan as long as 10,000 years, and they may be viewed with a 1,000-power optical microscope.

Read much more at http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2016/05/archiving-a-website-for-ten-thousand-years/482385/?single_page=true

Sorghum, a tall, broad-leaf plant resembles corn in the field, but the grain crop is best known for its end product:  sweet sorghum syrup.  Where is sorghum grown?  Kentucky and Tennessee lead the nation in sorghum production, though the crop is also grown in a number of other states, including Iowa, Minnesota, Mississippi and Texas.  Sorghum cane is typically harvested during September and October.  Many sorghum syrup producers extract the juice from freshly cut plants right in the field.  The bright green juice then goes back to the mill, where it is kept, heated, in a holding tank.  To avoid spoilage and produce the best syrup, they cook it the next day, thickening into light amber syrup that is then bottled.  Ten gallons of raw sorghum juice yields about 1 gallon of syrup.  Store sorghum as you would honey, at room temperature. If it begins to crystallize, put it in a pan of warm water or nuke it in the microwave.  In fact, you can use sorghum as a substitute for honey (in recipes that don’t use baking powder).  When substituting sorghum in place of sugar, use 1/3 more sorghum than the amount of sugar called for in the recipe and decrease the amount of liquids by 1/3.  When using sorghum instead of molasses, use an equal amount of sorghum but cut the amount of sugar, since sorghum is sweeter than molasses.  http://www.farmflavor.com/what-is-sorghum/

Philip-Jon Haarsma, more commonly known as PJ Haarsma, is a Canadian born science fiction author best known for his creation of the Rings of Orbis universe, which encompasses The Softwire series of books.  Haarsma created a free, online role-playing game, also called the Rings of Orbis, set in the same universe.  Both the book-series and the game target young, often reluctant readers in an attempt to encourage them by rewarding them for reading.  Haarsma developed a school presentation program in which he discusses The Softwire books, astronomy, and other science fiction and science fact topics.  He is also one of the co-founders of Kids Need to Read, a United States Internal Revenue Code  501(c)(3) tax exempt public charity that purchases books to donate to underfunded schools and libraries.  Philip-Jon Haarsma was born on June 5, 1964, in Georgetown, Ontario.  Though he was named after his grandfathers, Philip and Jon, he went simply by "Jon" while growing up.  Later, while attending McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, where he received a Bachelor of Science degree, he began to use his initials, "PJ", and his books are published under the name "PJ Haarsma".  After he moved to the United States in 1989, Haarsma worked as a fashion and commercial photographer in New York City and Miami.  He received many photography awards, including an honorable mention at the Cannes Lion Awards in 1996.  Haarsma owned a small production company called Redbear Films, Inc.  The company produced one movie (Devious Beings, 2002) and several corporate ads for clients such as Hewlett Packard and Nokia.  While speaking at schools across the United States, Haarsma noticed how some school librarians were having trouble finding funds to purchase The Softwire books after a demand had been created by Haarsma's visit.  Many of the librarians were struggling to fill their shelves with books.  In June 2007, Haarsma and a friend, actor Nathan Fillion, approached a group of Fillion's fans with the idea for a project that would work to purchase books for underfunded schools, as well as nonprofit institutions which gave books directly to children.  The group took to the idea and focused their energies into getting the project off the ground.  The Kids Need to Read project went public in August 2007.  In January 2008, the process to transform the project into a legal foundation began, and the fan group was separated from the developing organization.  On May 22, 2008, The Kids Need to Read Foundation (KNTR)  was incorporated in the state of California.  KNTR became an Internal Revenue Code 501(c)(3) tax exempt public charity on September 18, 2008, with a retroactive exemption date of May 22, 2008.  The organization is supported by a global volunteer base.  Funds were initially raised through eBay auctions of Firefly and Serenity autographed memorabilia, and The Softwire books and items, and other science fiction and literary themed items.  Fundraising efforts have since expanded and all funds are used to purchase books from the foundation's official book list, a list which is continually updated by a professional children's book buyer.  The titles chosen are well-reviewed and many are recommended for children who are reluctant readers.  KNTR has made book donations to forty-one schools and libraries in addition to three multiple library systems.  KNTR facilitated a substantial donation of three thousand books by the Phoenix Book Company to the Friends of the New Orleans Public Library, to help with recuperation after Hurricane Katrina.  The Odessa Brown Children's Clinic in Seattle was the recipient of a donation amounting to four hundred forty books in February 2008.  This clinic, as well as the North Public Health Clinic in Seattle, have received recurring donations from KNTR.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PJ_Haarsma#Kids_Need_to_Read

PRAIRIE DOG SONG, The Key to Saving North America's Grasslands by Susan L. Roth, Cindy Trumbore, illustrated by Susan L. Roth   Following their Sibert Award–winning Parrots Over Puerto Rico, Roth and Trumbore turn to prairie dogs.  Each double-page spread includes a collage, a verse from a cumulative song based on “And the Green Grass Grew All Around,” and text detailing the evolving history and ecological significance of prairie dogs in North America.  The clever layout makes this a book that can grow with its readers.  For little ones, the large-print words of the song can be used along with the amazing artwork; older readers can move on to the highly informative, engaging narrative.  The song teaches succinctly about the biodiversity of the prairie habitat before farmers and ranchers, the near-extinction of the entire habitat, and the return to biodiversity once the importance of the prairie dogs was recognized.  In flowing, conversational language, the text for older readers includes such subjects as 19th-century, government-sanctioned prairie dog poisoning and how, in 1988, the prairie dog was finally recognized as a keystone species—one on which an entire ecosystem depends.  https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/susan-l-roth-6/prairie-dog-song/

Archaeologists have discovered the remnants of the oldest known beer brewery in China, unearthing an array of ancient pottery vessels including funnels, pots, and jugs containing residual traces of the beverage from about 5,000 years ago.  Uncovered at an archaeological site at Mijiaya in northern China, the beer vessels were found in pits dating back to between 3400 and 2900 BC.  A faint chemical residue inside the pottery is what gave away the kit's original purpose, with the researchers finding evidence of ancient grains used as ingredients in beer fermentation.  Analysing the residue, the team, led by Jiajing Wang from Stanford University, found what they call a "surprising beer recipe", including traces of broomcorn millet (Panicum miliaceum), barley (Hordeum vulgare), Job's tears (Coix lacryma-jobi), and tubers.  The detection of barley in particular is significant, providing the first known evidence of the grain sourced from archaeological materials in China.  Peter Dockrill  May 24, 2016  Read more and see pictures at http://www.sciencealert.com/archaeologists-discover-remnants-of-the-oldest-known-beer-brewery-in-china

  

http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com  Issue 1476  May 25, 2016  On this date in 1738, a treaty between Pennsylvania and Maryland ended the Conojocular War with settlement of a boundary dispute and exchange of prisoners.  On this date in 1878, Gilbert and Sullivan's comic opera H.M.S. Pinafore opened at the Opera Comique in London.

"The New Colossus" is a sonnet by American poet Emma Lazarus (1849–1887), written in 1883.  In 1903, the poem was engraved on a bronze plaque and mounted inside the lower level of the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty.  Solicited by fundraiser William Maxwell Evarts.  Initially she refused but Constance Cary Harrison convinced her that the statue would be of great significance to immigrants sailing into the harbor.  "The New Colossus" was the first entry read at the exhibit's opening, but was forgotten and played no role at the opening of the statue in 1886.  In 1901, Lazarus's friend Georgina Schuyler began an effort to memorialize Lazarus and her poem, which succeeded in 1903 when a plaque bearing the text of the poem was put on the inner wall of the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty.  The title of the poem and the first two lines refer to the Colossus of Rhodes, which was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.  The poem talks about the millions of immigrants who came to the United States (many of them through Ellis Island at the port of New York).  The "air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame" refers to New York City and Brooklyn, which were consolidated into one unit in 1898, 15 years after the poem was written.  Paul Auster wrote that "Bartholdi's gigantic effigy was originally intended as a monument to the principles of international republicanism, but 'The New Colossus' reinvented the statue's purpose, turning Liberty into a welcoming mother, a symbol of hope to the outcasts and downtrodden of the world."  John T. Cunningham wrote that "The Statue of Liberty was not conceived and sculpted as a symbol of immigration, but it quickly became so as immigrant ships passed under the torch and the shining face, heading toward Ellis Island.  However, it was [Lazarus's poem] that permanently stamped on Miss Liberty the role of unofficial greeter of incoming immigrants."  The poem has entered the political realm.  It was quoted in John F. Kennedy's book A Nation of Immigrants (1958) as well as a 2010 political speech by President Obama advocating immigration policy reform.  Parts of the poem also appear in popular culture.  The Broadway musical Miss Liberty, with music and lyrics by Irving Berlin, an immigrant himself, used final stanza beginning "Give me your tired, your poor" as the basis for a song.  It was also read in the 1941 film Hold Back the Dawn as well as being recited by the heroine in Alfred Hitchcock's wartime film Saboteur.  See pictures at  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_Colossus  See also https://www.nps.gov/stli/learn/historyculture/emma-lazarus.htm

The New Colussus by Emma Lazarus

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,

With conquering limbs astride from land to land;

Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand

A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame

Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name

Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand

Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command

The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.

“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she

With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

http://memorizepoetry.blogspot.com/2013/12/the-new-colussus-by-emma-lazarus.html

fictional alphabets  Writing systems used in books, films and computer games.  Find Tolkien's alphabets and other fictional alphabets at http://www.omniglot.com/conscripts/fictional.htm

Exaggerator, ridden by  jockey Kent Desormeaux, beat Nyquist to win the 141st Preakness Stakes at Pimilico Race Course on May 21, 2016.  He completed 1-3/16 miles on sloppy, sealed track in 1:58.31.  It rained in Baltimore overnight and well into the morning before letting up shortly before noon.  Trained by Keith Desormeaux, Kent's younger brother, Exaggerator showed his talent in the slop once again, as the horse won for the third time in four lifetime races in these conditions, including the Santa Anita Derby.  http://espn.go.com/horse-racing/story/_/id/15649922/exaggerator-outlasts-nyquist-win-preakness-stakes

Adolf Born (1930–2016) was a Czech painter and illustrator, caricaturist and film-maker.  Born in the town of České Velenice on the Bohemian side of the southern border with Austria, Adolf Born got his Visual Arts Education from 1949 to 1955 in Prague, where he lived and worked.  Since the 1960s his works have been exhibited all over the world.  In 1974, Born was declared cartoonist of the year in Montreal and he won the Palma d'Oro in Bordighera, Italy.  One of the forms he specialised in was the bookplate (the "ex libris"), usually using colour lithography.  He held over 100 exhibitions, illustrated hundreds of books and designed theatre sets and costumes.  The asteroid 17806 Adolfborn is named after him.  He died on 22 May 2016 at the age of 85.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolf_Born

The ten buildings, homes, parks, and towns that changed America from PBS

Explore these 40 superlative works of American architecture, landscape design, and urban planning to learn not only how these wonders of our built environment were created, but how they affect us all.  http://interactive.wttw.com/ten#.VzI7aoQrKUm   See also http://www.pbs.org/show/10-changed-america/   Thank you, Muse reader!

http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com  Issue 1475  May 23, 2016  On this date 1814, Beethoven's only opera, "Fidelio," after 10 years of redrafts, received its world premiere in 1814.  A performance on November 20, 1805 was a failure.   http://www.dw.com/en/premiere-of-beethovens-fidelio-200-years-ago/a-17648024  On this date in 1911, the New York Public Library was dedicated.

A.Word.A.Day with Anu Garg

licit  (LIS-it)  adjective  Legal or legitimate.  From licere (to be allowed), which also gave us license and leisure.  Earliest documented use:  1483

peccable  (PEK-uh-buhl)  adjective  Imperfect; flawed; capable of sinning.  From Latin peccare (to err or sin).  Ultimately from the Indo-European root ped- (foot), which also gave us pedal, podium, octopus, impeach, peccavi, and peccadillo (alluding to a stumble or fall).  Earliest documented use:  1604.

clement  (KLEM-uhnt)  adjective  Mild; gentle; lenient.  From Latin clemens (gentle, mild).  Earliest documented use:  1483.

effable  (EF-uh-buhl)  adjective  Capable of being expressed.   From Latin fari (to speak).  Ultimately from the Indo-European root bha- (to speak), which also gave us fable, fairy, fate, fame, blame, confess, and infant (literally, one unable to speak).  Earliest documented use:  1637.

Feedback to A.Word.A.Day

From:  Nancy Charlton  Subject:  Effable  Of course, one thinks of T.S. Eliot, “The Naming of Cats”.  Every cat has three names:  the one the family uses daily, the more formal one, and the one known only to himself.  So he sits, looking to be asleep, but he is actually contemplating his “ineffable effable effanineffable deep and inscrutable singular NAME.”

From:  Pauline  Subject:  effable  Your list of words brought a smile to my face this week.  Whenever my father was ready to go out after performing his ablutions in the morning he used to say:  “I’m couth, ept, and shevelled.”

From:  Robert Martin  Subject:  Forgotten positives  A passage from Jasper Fforde’s One Of Our Thursdays Is Missing:  “I moved quietly to the French windows and stepped out into the garden to release the Lost Positives that the Lady of Shalott had given me.  She had a soft spot for the orphaned prefixless words and thought they had more chance to thrive in Fiction than in Poetry.  I let the defatigable scamps out of their box.  They were kempt and sheveled but their behavior was peccable if not mildly gruntled.  They started acting petuously and ran around in circles in a very toward manner.”

From:  Penny Dixon  Subject:  peccable  There was a wonderful piece by Jack Winter in The New Yorker of July 25, 1994, “How I Met My Wife” which used “positives”--some of which likely never appeared on their own before.  The first sentence:  “It had been a rough day, so when I walked into the party I was very chalant, despite my efforts to appear gruntled and consulate.”  There is also a poem by J.H. Parker “A Very Descript Man”.  http://www.kittybrewster.com/descript.htm

From:  Ken Doran   Subject:  disappearing prefixes  This week’s theme reminds of this poem, Gloss, remembered from a high school English class.  http://www.ling.upenn.edu/courses/Fall_2007/ling001/mccord.html

Freezing whole fresh herbs is very simple.  Here's how:  Wash the herbs (still on their branches), dry them thoroughly, strip the leaves from the branches, and put them in labeled plastic zipper-type freezer bags.  With herbs such as rosemary and thyme, you don't even need to strip the leaves from the branches.  Press out all the air, seal and freeze.  To use the herbs, just break off what you need straight from the freezer--you don’t even have to defrost them.

http://www.splendidtable.org/story/how-to-freeze-fresh-herbs-whole-or-as-flavoring-blends

Tango is a partner dance that originated in the 1880s along the River Plate, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay, and soon spread to the rest of the world.  Early tango was known as tango criollo (Creole tango).  On August 31, 2009, UNESCO approved a joint proposal by Argentina and Uruguay to include the tango in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists.  See different styles of tango and a list of tangos in films at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tango

Every book is a quotation; and every house is a quotation out of all forests and mines and stone-quarries . . .  Language is a city to the building of which every human being brought a stone . . .  Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882).  The Complete Works Vol. VIII,  Letters and Social Aims  1904  http://www.bartleby.com/90/0806.html

How to make caster (superfine) and powdered (confectioners) sugar

http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-How-to-make-Caster-and-Powdered-Sugar/  Castor or caster sugar is the name of a very fine sugar in Britain, so named because the grains are small enough to fit though a sugar "caster" or sprinkler.  Because of its fineness, it dissolves more quickly than regular white sugar, and so is especially useful in meringues and cold liquids.  It is not as fine as confectioner’s sugar, which has been crushed mechanically (and generally mixed with a little starch to keep it from clumping).  http://www.ochef.com/580.htm

vanilla sugar recipe courtesy of Alton Brown  http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/vanilla-sugar-recipe.html

lavender sugar recipe  http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/vanilla-sugar-recipe.html  You may also use 2-3 washed and dried lavender sprigs in a jar of caster sugar.  Leave t least 24 hours before using.

vanilla lavender sugar recipe  http://thanksforthefood.com/how-to-vanilla-lavender-sugar-recipe/

Muirfield Golf Club has been removed from the host venue rota for the Open Championship after members of the Scottish club voted against allowing women to join.  The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers, which owns Muirfield, will remain a men-only club after failing to reach the two-thirds majority required to change the club's membership policy.  Muirfield has held The Open on 16 occasions between 1892 and 2013.  http://espn.go.com/golf/story/_/id/15605581/muirfield-loses-open-championship-vote-allowing-women-members

Researchers exploring bio-fiber engineering have unraveled the mechanism behind "Charlotte's Web" and discovered that the silk made by Charlotte in E.B. White's classic book would have been remarkable even without the words, "Some pig."  Searching for the mechanism that enables a spider’s web to spring back into shape without tangling and to catch heavy insects without being destroyed by their weight, researchers discovered thousands of glue-like droplets.  The sticky lining both helped the spider capture incoming meals and spontaneously repaired possible tears in the web.  In a paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers in Paris and Oxford, England, called the phenomenon "liquid wire."  http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2016/05/11/1602451113  “The thousands of tiny droplets of glue that cover the capture spiral of the spider's orb web do much more than make the silk sticky and catch the fly,” Professor Fritz Vollrath of the Oxford Silk Group in the Department of Zoology at Oxford University said in a press release.  “Surprisingly, each drop packs enough punch in its watery skins to reel in loose bits of thread.  And this winching behaviour is used to excellent effect to keep the threads tight at all times, as we can all observe and test in the webs in our gardens.”  Lucy Shouten  http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2016/0518/Some-pig.-Scientists-unravel-the-liquid-wire-in-Charlotte-s-Web

http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com  Issue 1474  May 20, 2016  On this date in 1570, Cartographer Abraham Ortelius issued Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, the first modern atlas.  On this date in 1875, the Metre Convention was signed by 17 nations leading to the establishment of the International System of Units.

rune  noun  1.  any of the characters of any of several alphabets used by the Germanic peoples from about the 3d to the 13th centuries  2.  mystery, magic  3.  poem, song

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rune

A runestone is typically a raised stone with a runic inscription, but the term can also be applied to inscriptions on boulders and on bedrock.  The tradition began in the 4th century and lasted into the 12th century, but most of the runestones date from the late Viking Age.  There are about 3,000 runestones among the about 6,000 runic inscriptions in Scandinavia.  There are also runestones in other parts of the world as the tradition of raising runestones followed the Norsemen wherever they went, from the Isle of Man (Manx Runestones) in the west to the Black Sea in the east (Berezan' Runestone), and from Jämtland in the north to Schleswig in the south.  The runestones are unevenly distributed in Scandinavia: Denmark has 250 runestones, Norway has 50 while Iceland has none.  Sweden has as many as between 1,700 and 2,500 depending on definition.  The Swedish district of Uppland has the highest concentration with as many as 1,196 inscriptions in stone, whereas Södermanland is second with 391.  Outside of Scandinavia, the Isle of Man stands out with its 30 runestones from the 9th century and early 11th century.  Scattered runestones have also been found in England, Ireland, Scotland and the Faroe Islands.  With the exception of the runestone on Berezan', there are no runestones in Eastern Europe, which probably is due to a lack of available stones and the fact that the local population probably did not treat the foreigners' stones with much respect.  Runestones were placed on selected spots in the landscape, such as assembly locations, roads, bridge constructions, and fords.  In medieval churches, there are often runestones that have been inserted as construction material, and it is debated whether they were originally part of the church location or had been moved there.  In southern Scania, runestones can be tied to large estates that also had churches constructed on their land.  In the Mälaren Valley, the runestones appear to be placed so that they mark essential parts of the domains of an estate, such as courtyard, grave field, and borders to neighbouring estates.  Runestones usually appear as single monuments and more rarely as pairs.  In some cases, they are part of larger monuments together with other raised stones.  However, although scholars know where 95% of all runestones were discovered, only about 40% were discovered in their original location. The remainder have been found in churches, roads, bridges, graves, farms, and water routes.  The main purpose of a runestone was to mark territory, to explain inheritance, to boast about constructions, to bring glory to dead kinsmen and to tell of important events.  In some parts of Uppland, the runestones also appear to have functioned as social and economical markers.  Virtually all the runestones from the late Viking Age make use of the same formula.  The text tells in memory of whom the runestone is raised, who raised it, and often how the deceased and the one who raised the runestone are related to each other.  Also, the inscription can tell the social status of the dead person, possible foreign voyage, place of death, and also a prayer.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Runestone

Cannellini beans are white kidney beans, also known as “Italian white kidney beans” or “fasolia beans.”  They are medium sized--about 1/2 inch long and kidney shaped, with a tough seed coat.  This specific variety is very popular in Italian cuisine, appearing dishes such as minestrone, pasta e fagioli soup and the common stewed bean side dish with garlic and rosemary.  This bean was originally cultivated in Argentina by Italian immigrants and was later taken back to Italy, where they are now grown commercially.  Cannellini beans are members of the larger family of legumes, plants used for their edible seeds and pods that boast a high nutrient density with low-maintenance production and storage.  They contain high levels of protein, essential minerals and fiber while maintaining a low level of fats.   Believed to have originated in Peru, beans were spread through trade throughout South and Central America, later being introduced to Europe in the 15th century by Spanish explorers.  Known as a high-quality, inexpensive source of protein and nutrition, they have become diet staples in many cultures and are now widely produced in Asia, Europe and North America.  http://www.cannellini.com/

Factious is of, pertaining to, or caused by factions.  Fractious is given to troublemaking. 

Find more details at http://the-difference-between.com/fractious/factious

tidbit  noun  1.  a delicate bit or morsel of food.  2.   a choice or pleasing bit of anything, as news or gossip.

Also, especially British, titbit.  Word Origin and History for tidbit  c.  1640, probably from dialectal tid "fond, solicitous, tender" + bit (n.1) "morsel."  http://www.dictionary.com/browse/tidbit

TIDBITS from Feedback to A.Word.A.Day with Anu Garg

From:  Ted Drachman  Subject:  Words That Appear Misspelled   A lot of years ago, newly arrived in New York City, I was seeking editorial work--proofreading acceptable.  At one publisher, I was given a test: a page with 100 words, on which I was to indicate which were misspelled, without the use of any reference book.  The words were somewhat odd:  many (if not all) of them seemed to be unusual words that resembled more common ones; the one that I remember was “ordnance”, a collective word for guns and ammunition, which might have been mistaken for a misspelling of “ordinance”, a more common word meaning a municipal regulation.  I puzzled over the list for a while, finally indicating that only 3 of the 100 words were incorrectly spelled.  As it turned out, all 100 of the words were correct; a perfect score would have been obtained by simply handing the list back unmarked!  My score of 97 out of 100 was considered excellent, though I no longer recall if I was offered a job.

From:  Joel Mabus  Subject:  windrow   In my part of North America--Michigan--windrow is a word used to describe a row of closely planted trees, usually tall and narrow species, that serves as a windbreak to protect a farmer’s plowed field from the ravages of strong winds.  The same type of windrows are planted along country roads to their windward to protect from the drifting snow that comes blowing in off the Great Lakes.

From:  Lawrence Crumb  Subject:  refect   Where I went to seminary, the dining hall was called the refectory, and the student in charge was called the refectorian.

South Korean author Han Kang was awarded the Man Booker International Prize for fiction for her dark novel The Vegetarian at a London ceremony on May 16, 2016.  The novel, Han's first to be translated into English, is about a woman who decides to stop eating meat and wants to become a tree.  Her decision has devastating consequences and raises concerns among family members that she is mentally ill.  The Associated Press reports, "Literary critic Boyd Tonkin, chairman of the judging panel, said Han's 'compact, exquisite and disturbing' novel displayed an 'uncanny blend of beauty and horror.' "  The prize, worth $72,000, will be split between Han, 45, and her translator, Deborah Smith, a 28-year-old Briton, who started teaching herself Korean in 2010.  Doreen McCallister  http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/05/17/478332594/the-vegetarian-wins-man-booker-international-prize-for-fiction

The Booker Prize for Fiction has been awarded each year since 1969 to the best original full-length novel, written in the English language, by a citizen of the Commonwealth of Nations or the Republic of Ireland.  In 2014, it was opened for the first time to any work published in the United Kingdom and in the English language.  Find a list of winners and shortlisted authors of the Booker Prize for Fiction, 1969-2015 at

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_winners_and_shortlisted_authors_of_the_Booker_Prize_for_Fiction

http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com  Issue 1473  May 18, 2016  On this date in 1631, in Dorchester, Massachusetts, John Winthrop took the oath of office and became the first Governor of Massachusetts.  On this date in 1652, Rhode Island passed the first law in English-speaking North America making slavery illegal.

As commonly used as the eggplant is today, it's hard to imagine that at one time their use was viewed with suspicion (eggplants are in the nightshade family).  The first eggplants grown weren't the large purple varieties frequently grown today, but rather small, white varieties with fruits shaped like eggs (thus the name eggplant).  Different cultures grow various types of eggplant.  In Asia, where food is stir-fried quickly at high temperatures, long, narrow, quick-cooking varieties are preferred because they hold their shape and texture.  Large, round varieties are preferred by Italian cooks.  These varieties absorb other flavors and are readily incorporated into sauces.  The French select purple varieties that have fine-grained flesh.  Sherry Rindels  Find varieties and unusual colors of eggplants at http://www.ipm.iastate.edu/ipm/hortnews/1997/5-2-1997/eggplant.html  A new  hybrid dubbed "Meatball"  contains more water, which resists oil in the frying pan.

What are nightshade vegetables, and are they safe for us to eat?  Many of the nightshade family vegetables fall under the species of Capscium and Solanum.  Although these do contain toxic aspects, they still bear edible parts, like the fruits and tubers, depending on the plant.  Nightshade vegetables include tomato, tomatillo, naranjilla. eggplant, potato (excluding sweet potato), pepper, (includes hot and sweet varieties as well as spices like paprika, chili powder, cayenne, and Tabasco), pimento, goji berry (wolfberry), tamarillo, cape gooseberry/ground cherry, pepino, and garden huckleberry.  http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/vegetables/vgen/nightshade-vegetable.htm

TOLEDO MUSEUM OF ART EXHIBITIONS

Jaume Plensa: Human Landscape  June 17-Nov. 6, 2016  Levis Galleries and Museum Grounds   A major exhibition by renowned artist Jaume Plensa, Human Landscape consists of seven large outdoor sculptures, including some shown for the first time in the United States, plus indoor installations that include a stainless steel curtain through which visitors can walk.  Some of the artist’s lesser-known works on paper, 22 drawings and 10 etchings covering a wide chronology, also are part of the exhibition.  Born in Barcelona, Spain in 1955, Plensa is recognized for his large figurative sculptures and installations that produce enchanting and mystifying visions of the human form as landscape.  His Spiegel, showing the silhouettes of two massive crouching figures made of a latticework of letters, has been a popular work in the TMA Welles Sculpture Garden since it was acquired in 2012.  Free admission.

I Approve This Message: Decoding Political Ads  July 14–Nov. 8, 2016  Canaday Gallery   Imagery, music, sound effects, camera angles and words convey the message of political ads—but are they speaking to your heart or your head?  I Approve This Message explores emotional responses to political ads by decoding the symbols and cues meant to influence viewers.  It will give you new insights into what you see and hear during the U.S. presidential election season.  http://www.toledomuseum.org/exhibitions/

The Manuscripts Division of the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library contains nearly 6,000 linear feet of documentary material in five major collection areas:  Rutherford B. Hayes and the Hayes Family; The Gilded Age; Local History and Local Government; The Great Lakes and the Erie Islands; and Special Collections.  For one hundred years, the Hayes Presidential Library and Museums actively has collected, preserved, and made available for research its rich and diverse holdings, spanning academic, local, family, and Great Lakes history.  Individuals and groups are welcome from the hours of 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday.  Read more at http://www.rbhayes.org/hayes/collections/ 

Rutherford B. Hayes was the first president to take the oath of office in the White House.  Hayes was the only president whose election was decided by a congressional commission.  Hayes was the first president to travel to the West Coast during his term as president.  Hayes was the first president to have a telephone in the White House.  Hayes was the first president to have a typewriter in the White House.  Hayes began the "Easter Egg Roll" for children on the White House Lawn (1878)--a tradition which still continues on the Monday after Easter.  Lucy Webb Hayes was the first wife of a president to be called "First Lady".  http://www.rbhayes.org/hayes/president/

"Singing is my retirement.  Others play golf—and that's fine.  I may even take it up one day when I get old."  “I learn something new every day, like lines from Shakespeare.  I make time nearly every day to memorize the lines.  I started with King Lear and enjoyed the sound of my recitations as much as I did the accomplishment of having committed them to memory."  "Life is about variety, and music has always been my road to it."   "Hate is such a terrible waste of time.  I don't think people who hate should receive the attention they seem to garner in the media."  "I always have at least one book going and am on the lookout for the next one.  They feed the brain and fuel the imagination.  I can't imagine life without them."  Keep Moving:  And Other Tips and Truths About Aging by Dick Van Dyke with Todd Gold 

Two-ingredient pizza dough  Mix flour and Greek yogurt together in a bowl; transfer to a work surface floured with self-rising flour.  Knead dough, adding more flour as needed to keep dough from being too sticky, for 8 to 10 minutes.  Spray a 12-inch pizza pan with cooking spray and spread dough to edges of pan.  Make sure to cook at 500 degrees F (260 degrees C), otherwise your crust will not brown on the bottom nicely and will be soft.  http://allrecipes.com/recipe/244447/two-ingredient-pizza-dough/  Thank you, Muse reader!

On May 14, 2016 at the Globe Arena in Stockholm,  Jamala from Ukraine won the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest with the song 1944.  26 acts competed for the prize.  However, in the end there could be just one winner and that was Jamala from Ukraine who took victory with 534 points.  In second place was the favourite of the juries Australia with 511 points, Dami Im's Sound Of Silence, and Russia came third with 491 points, You Are The Only One sung by Sergey Lazarev.  Australia had stormed into the lead with the jury votes, but the public televoting overturned that and edged Ukraine into a 23 point lead, and not even the televoting favourite Russia could overtake either of them.  Justin Timberlake as a special guest performed two songs, including an exclusive live performance of his latest song Can't Stop This Feeling. There was also the ultimate Eurovision song Love Love Peace Peace performed by hosts Måns Zelmerlöw and Petra Mede, with cameo appearances from former winners Alexander Rybak and Mr Lordi.  Gordon Roxburgh  http://www.eurovision.tv/page/news?id=ukraine_wins_2016_eurovision_song_contest

Hungarian (Magyar) is a member of the Uralic language family.  It is the largest of the Uralic languages in terms of the number of speakers and the only one spoken in Central Europe.  Its closest relatives are Khanty and Mansi, minority languages of Russia, spoken 2,000 miles away, east of the Ural mountains in northwestern Siberia.  It is estimated that Hungarian has been separated from Khanty and Mansi for about 2,500-3,000 years.  Linguists believe that the ancestors of modern Hungarians first migrated westward from the eastern slopes of the Ural mountains into the steppes of southern Russia in the 4th-6th centuries, and eventually moved further westward into the Danube basin west of the Carpathian Mountains in the 9th century.  Over the centuries, the Hungarians have become assimilated into the surrounding European cultures.  Only their language testifies to their origin in Asia.  Hungarian is spoken by 9,840,000 people in Hungary.  It is the country’s official language used in education and government administration. It is one of the official languages of the European Union.  There are  sizable populations of Hungarian speakers in Romania, the Czech and Slovak Republics, the former Yugoslavia, Ukraine, Israel, and the U.S.  Smaller pockets of Hungarian speakers  live in Canada, Slovenia, and Austria. The total number of speakers of Hungarian worldwide is 12,605,590  http://aboutworldlanguages.com/hungarian  On May 15, 2016 I heard Hungarian spoken and sung--this was my first experience.

http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com  Issue 1472  May 16, 2016  On this date in 1801, William H. Seward, American lawyer and politician, 24th United States Secretary of State, was born.  On this date in 1906,  Margret Rey, German author and illustrator, was born.  Quote of the Day  I want people to talk to one another no matter what their difference of opinion might be.  Studs Terkel, author and broadcaster (16 May 1912-2008)