Author Interview:  Carrie Smith   Q:  What book is a “transformational read” for you?  The one you read (maybe when you were 5 or 10 or 15) that has always stayed with you?  A:  In terms of transformational reads, the first titles that come to my mind are Pride and Prejudice and Great Expectations.  Those probably don’t sound like the titles a crime writer would name, but there it is.  In my “formative” years, I imagined myself becoming a literary writer, not a genre writer (my first novel Forget Harry was definitely in the literary camp).  What I have come to understand is that the best genre writers are literary writers as well.  They bring a depth to the genre that allows them to develop memorable three-dimensional characters.  In the crime genre, P.D. James is the writer who has most influenced me.  I think that her books elevate the mystery genre because her writing is superb and her observations on human behavior are so insightful.  Read the rest of the interview at http://auntagathas.com/aa/2016/01/25/author-interview-carrie-smith/

Calico flower (Aristolochia littoralis) is an evergreen perennial native to Brazil.  Also known as pipevine or Dutchman's pipe because of the shape of the flowers, this vining plant is great for butterfly gardens.  Calico vine climbs and covers chain link and wire structures well, transforming plain structures into a lovely green screen.  Calico flower is a larval host plant for two butterflies, the pipevine swallowtail and polydamus, or tailless, swallowtail.  This plant is also attractive to bees and birds.  The slender, twining stems of this plant grow up to 10-15 feet long and are well-suited to grow up a support structure like a trellis or fence.  This vine sports bright green, heart-shaped leaves that grow up to 3 to 4 inches long.  They grow close together, creating a dense mass of foliage, making this vine ideal for turning an open structure into a green, flowering wall.  Calico flower is quite striking with its bizarre-looking purple and white blossoms.  Nearly 3 inches long and appearing in large numbers along the vines, the tubular flowers are flared at the mouth like a smoking pipe. white veined with purple outside, rich purple-brown marked with white inside, and feature a mottled pattern that resembles calico fabric.  See pictures and read about planting and care at http://gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu/plants/ornamentals/calico.html

Tips from chef Joe DiGregorio  Mise en place (meeze on plass)  Have all utensils and ingredients in reach before beginning a recipe.  Stay sharp  A sharp knife is much safer than a dull knife.  Cut safe  Always keep fingers and thumb tucked in while slicing and dicing.  Use tips of fingers to steady the food.  Use the knuckles as a guide for the knife. 

GMOs and the Future of the American Diet  The American diet is composed almost entirely of processed foods that are made from two plants--corn and soybeans (and canola, if you want your food fried).  Fully 85 percent of feed given to cattle, hogs and chickens is grown from genetically modified crops.  Ways to reduce food you throw out  Rinse fresh greens, drain in colander, wrap in paper towels before returning to plastic bag and putting in refrigerator.  Put stems of fresh herbs in a cup of water.  Keep in refrigerator or on kitchen counter.  Store an apple with potatoes to keep them from sprouting, and keep in cool dry place.  Keep fresh berries dry and refrigerated.  Check often, removing those starting to mold.  For fresh vegetables nearing the end of their life, chop and freeze--or make vegetable stock--or make juice.  University of Delaware Messenger, v. 25,#1 2017

Two Harvard University researchers announced they had found a parchment copy of the U.S. Declaration of Independence, only the second parchment manuscript copy known to exist besides the one kept in the National Archives in Washington DC.  Professor Danielle Allen and researcher Emily Sneff presented their findings on the document, known as “The Sussex Declaration”, at a conference at Yale on April 21, 2017, and published initial research http://declaration.fas.harvard.edu/resources/sussex-dec online.  Sneff found her first clue of the manuscript in August 2015, while compiling records for a university database.  “I was just looking for copies of the Declaration of Independence in British archives,” Sneff told the Guardian.  But the listing, for the West Sussex record office, struck Sneff as odd because it mentioned parchment, a material suggesting a document made for a special occasion and not simply a broadside copy.  “I reached out to them a bit skeptically,” Sneff said.  “The description was a little vague but once we saw an image and talked to a conservator we started to get excited.”  Before Sneff asked, the British officials had never taken a close look at the manuscript.  They had received it in 1956 from a local man, who worked with a law firm that represented the dukes of Richmond. “The closer we looked at it there were just things that made it a clearly unique and mysterious document,” Sneff said.  Allen and Sneff first tried to deduce when and where the manuscript was made by analyzing handwriting, spelling errors and parchment styles and preparation.  They concluded it dated to the 1780s, and was produced in America, most likely in New York or Philadelphia.  Their next question proved more difficult:  who was the man behind the parchment?  Allen and Sneff believe the leading candidate was James Wilson, a Pennsylvania delegate to the continental congress, one of six men to sign both the declaration and constitution, and, later, one of the original supreme court justices.  The researchers argue that Wilson, who argued vociferously for a popularly-elected president and separation of powers, played a more influential role in American history than most historians have recognized.  The clue that led them to Wilson, Sneff said, was a stark anomaly on the manuscript compared to its counterpart in Washington DC and later copies:  “The names of the signers are all scrambled.”  Unlike previously known copies of the declaration, which have signatures grouped by states, the Sussex copy has its signatures in a patterned jumble.  Sneff and Allen hypothesize that the appearance of randomness was deliberate and symbolic, part of a nationalist argument that the United States was founded by citizens, each created equal, and not by a looser confederation of states.  Wilson drew the researchers’ attention, Sneff said, because of he repeatedly “invoked the declaration but with the understanding that the declaration was signed by one community, one group of individuals, that they were not enumerated by states.”  Alan Yuhas  Read more and see pictures at https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/apr/21/declaration-of-independence-sussex-england-rare  See also http://digitalhistory.hsp.org/pafrm/doc/united-states-constitution-second-manuscript-draft-james-wilson-august-1787 and https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/21/arts/a-new-parchment-declaration-of-independence-surfaces-head-scratching-ensues.html

The U.S. Postal Service on April 21, 2017 celebrated the influence of Central and South America, Mexican and Caribbean foods and flavors on American cuisine with the issuance of new Delicioso Forever stamps during a first-day-of-issue ceremony in conjunction with Salud y Sabor and the National Hispanic Cultural Center.  The Delicioso stamps feature bright and playful illustrations of tamales, flan, sancocho, empanadas, chile relleno, and ceviche. This booklet of 20 stamps includes four of the tamales and flan designs and three of each of the other designs. Though many adaptations of tamales exist throughout North and Central America, the dish typically consists of masa—a starchy dough made from hominy—and various meat or vegetable fillings.  Flan complements the bold flavors found in many of Latin America’s favorite foods.  Sancocho—a hearty, traditional stew—is a culturally significant dish for several Caribbean and Central American countries and their communities in the United States.  Whether sweet or savory, flaky or doughy, fried or baked, the crescent-shaped empanada is a favorite for many.  Chile relleno, meaning “stuffed pepper” in Spanish, is exactly that—a chile pepper filled with meat, cheese, vegetables, rice, beans, or any combination of these ingredients.  Ceviche (or cebiche) is created by adding acidic juices, typically from limes or oranges, to raw fish.  Artist John Parra created each illustration of the Delicioso stamps by applying multiple layers of acrylic paint to his illustration boards, using sandpaper to reveal the hidden layers and give the designs a worn, vintage look.  Through a specialized stencil process, he added the details for each dish to the textured backgrounds.  Parra designed the stamp artwork under the direction of Antonio Alcalá.  https://postalnews.com/blog/2017/04/21/usps-celebrates-latin-american-cuisine-on-forever-stamps/

http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com  Issue 1697  April 24, 2017  On this date in 1792, the French national anthem was composed during the French Revolution by Claude-Joseph Rouget de Lisle, a captain of the engineers and amateur musician.  After France declared war on Austria on April 20, 1792, P.F. Dietrich, the mayor of Strasbourg (where Rouget de Lisle was then quartered), expressed the need for a marching song for the French troops.  “La Marseillaise” was Rouget de Lisle’s response to this call.  Originally entitled “Chant de guerre de l’armée du Rhin” (“War Song of the Army of the Rhine”), the anthem came to be called “La Marseillaise” because of its popularity with volunteer army units from Marseille.  The Convention accepted it as the French national anthem in a decree passed on July 14, 1795.  “La Marseillaise” was banned by Napoleon during the empire and by Louis XVIII on the Second Restoration (1815) because of its Revolutionary associations.  Authorized after the July Revolution of 1830, it was again banned by Napoleon III and not reinstated until 1879.  The original text of “La Marseillaise” had six verses, and a seventh and last verse (not written by Rouget de Lisle) was later added.  Only the first and sixth verses of the anthem are customarily used at public occasions.  https://www.britannica.com/topic/La-Marseillaise  On this date in 1800,   the United States Library of Congress was established when President John Adams signed legislation to appropriate $5,000 to purchase "such books as may be necessary for the use of Congress".