Monday, April 9, 2018


Tabula rasa is a Latin phrase often translated as "blank slate" in English and originates from the Roman tabula used for notes, which was blanked by heating the wax and then smoothing it.  This roughly equates to the English term "blank slate" (or, more literally, "erased slate") which refers to the emptiness of a slate prior to it being written on with chalk.  Both may be renewed repeatedly, by melting the wax of the tablet or by erasing the chalk on the slate.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tabula_rasa

There’s no “chalant,” just “nonchalant.”  Only the negative form of the word has found a home in English.  As the Oxford English Dictionary explains, “nonchalant” was borrowed from French sometime before 1734.  It’s defined as meaning “calm and casual; (deliberately) lacking in enthusiasm or interest; indifferent, unconcerned.”  Its roots are the negative prefix non and the verb chaloir (earlier chaler), meaning to interest or to be important.  The third edition of Pat’s grammar and usage book Woe Is I includes a section about words like these.  We’ll quote the passage:  “Some words are sourpusses.  They’re negative through and through, and have no positive counterparts.  I’m thinking of words like unkempt, inept, disgruntled, and uncouth.  We might joke about looking ‘kempt’ or being ‘couth,’ but in fact the negatives have no opposite forms—they’re either obsolete rarities or whimsical inventions.  “Other negatives with nonexistent or obscure opposite numbers include debunk, disappointing, disconcerting, disconsolate, disheveled, dismayed, immaculate, impeccable, inadvertent, incapacitated, inclement, incognito, incommunicado, incorrigible, indefatigable, inevitable, indomitable, insipid, misnomer, mistake, nonchalant, noncommittal, nondescript, nonpareil, nonplussed, unassuming, unbeknownst, ungainly, and unwieldy.  “Some similar words without opposite versions may look like negatives, but they aren’t.  Their negative-looking prefixes (imand in) emphasize or intensify instead. Actually, intensify and instead are among these words, and so are insure, impromptu, inscribe, and inflammable.”  https://www.grammarphobia.com/blog/2010/12/nonchalant.html

Recipes for soft rolls

October 5, 2017  Five years after renovations began, LeFrak has wrapped up a $70 million revamp at LeFrak City, the firm’s massive, 4,600-unit master-planned community in Corona, Queens.  The revamp of the 1960s complex, a neighborhood of 20 16-story towers that houses roughly 15,000 residents, was masterminded by Rosen Johnson Architects.  It includes a laundry list of upgrades like renovated lobbies and corridors; new parking decks and lighting; apartment upgrades; various infrastructure improvements like work on facades, roofs, and boilers; and green initiatives like solar panels.  LeFrak’s outdoor spaces have gotten a tune-up, too, by Matthew Neilsen Landscape Architects.  And then there’s a whole new slate of recreational facilities, including a new resident-only pool, a soccer field, tennis court and basketball court, a putting green, ping pong and foosball tables, picnic tables, and playgrounds.  There’s another, more futuristic addition, too, the New York Post reports:  a four-foot-tall robot has recently joined the complex’s security team.  It’s the first robot in the city with such a gig.  (It acts as a roving security camera, but also says hello.)  According to the Post, LeFrak City is 98 percent full owing to standard turnover.  Rents range from $1,900 for a one-bedroom to $2,800 for a three-bedroom with a terrace.  Rachel Sugar  https://ny.curbed.com/2017/10/5/16430222/corona-queens-lefrak-city-renovation-pool

Scotland Orange Cake by Kim Nelson   "One summer, my family and I went on vacation to Scotland, where I ate haggis every day and enjoyed truly the best fish-and-chips in the world in the lovely little seaside town of Anstruther.  On the short drive from Anstruther back to St. Andrews, a pasture full of Holstein-Friesian cows caught our eye.  We just had to stop.  Turns out, they were grazing in the pasture of a dairy that had a restaurant.  Stuffed though we may have been, we just couldn’t keep ourselves from buying some fresh cheeses and several desserts.  This one was our favorite.  Thank you for the recipe, St. Andrews Farmhouse Cheese Company!"  Find recipe for the 12-inch cake at https://www.splendidtable.org/recipes/scotland-orange-cake?utm_campaign=TST_Weekend_20180317&utm_medium=email&utm_source=sfmc_Newsletter&utm_content=   Reprinted from Daisy Cakes Bakes  Copyright © 2018 by Kim Nelson.

hench  adjective  British   informal   (of a man) strong, fit, and having well-developed muscles.  Origin  Early 21st century:  perhaps from henchman.  https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/hench
                                                                                            
The Singing Tree is a children's novel by Kate Seredy, the sequel to The Good Master.  Also illustrated by Seredy, it was a Newbery Honor book in 1940.  Set in rural Hungary four years after The Good Master, it continues the story of Kate and Jancsi, showing the effect of World War I on the people and land.  The Singing Tree was well received when it came out. Horn Book Magazine included it on its Fanfare list of the best books of 1939.  Kirkus Reviews gave it a starred review for "books of remarkable merit", saying it "might well be a candidate for the Nobel Prize for Peace.  It has all the charm in text and pictures of its predecessor, The Good Master, and more mature technique.  Story movingly told, skillfully interweaving incident and idea."  Inspired by Kate Seredy's book, artist Laurie Marshall founded the Singing Tree Project in 2000 when 8-year-old Meredith Miller asked her "What if the whole world made a painting together?"  Having no clue how to undertake such an exciting and daunting project, Marshall read Kate Seredy's central story of a single tree left standing in World War I with birds who are not usually together singing a song that had never been heard before.  She saw that the earth is like the Singing Tree of the galaxy, surrounded by no life for billions of miles.  Humans can choose to destroy each other and the planet, or create something beautiful that has never been heard before. The model of a tree on the earth in space became the underlying structure for the collaborative Singing Tree mural process.  Over 17,000 people from 50 countries have created an international Singing Tree Forest of 46 murals so far.  Singing Trees are a visual model of democracy and a vehicle for peace building.  The project adheres to three principals of nature:  It is replicable.  It has a clear goal with local conditions determining the form.  It is based on interdependence.  Each Singing Tree is a different conversation about an issue that is of importance to the community.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Singing_Tree

The Singing Tree  Daniel Dancer  A school in Morgantown, West Virginia, completes a beautiful tree of life emerging from the Earth.  First the poles melt, then the fruit falls and then the leaves blow away and finally the tree comes apart . . .  all a depiction of what happens when we don't take care of the Earth.  https://vimeo.com/115445386  10:19

American Patrick Reed has won the 2018 Masters by one stroke after he shot a final-round 71 to finish at -15 overall.  Rickie Fowler finished second at -14 after a final-round 67, while Jordan Spieth shot 64 to finish third at -13.  After shooting 67 on April 7, 2018, the 27-year-old Reed entered the final round with a three-shot lead over Rory McIlroy.  Reed shot even-par on the front nine and one-under on the back, and managed to keep his nose in front of a stacked leaderboard that included some of the game's biggest stars.  After Fowler birdied the 18th, Reed came to the last knowing he needed a par for the title.  His drive finished just short of a fairway bunker and his approach finished about 30 feet above the pin, leaving a very quick putt.  He cozied his birdie effort up to about three feet past the hole then sank the par putt for the victory.  It is Reed's first major championship and sixth PGA Tour win.  Daniel Rapaport  Link to videos at https://www.si.com/golf/2018/04/08/patrick-reed-2018-masters-champion

Phrases Not Allowed at The Masters posted by Todd Robbins  See list of 21 banned phrases at https://98txt.iheart.com/content/2018-04-06-phrases-not-allowed-at-the-masters/

http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com  Issue 1871  April 9, 2018 

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