druthers noun
1895, from jocular formation based on I'd ruther, American English
dialectal form of I'd rather (used by Bret Harte as drathers,
1875). https://www.etymonline.com/word/druthers
Sedna (Inuktitut: Sanna) is the goddess of the sea
and marine animals in Inuit mythology, also known as the Mother of the Sea or Mistress of the Sea. Sedna is also known as Arnakuagsak or
Arnaqquassaaq (Greenland) and Sassuma Arnaa ("Mother of the Deep",
West Greenland) and Nerrivik ("Table",
northern Greenland) or Nuliajuk (District
of Keewatin, Northwest Territories, Canada).
She is sometimes known by other names by different Inuit groups such
as Arnapkapfaaluk ("Big Bad Woman") of the Copper Inuit from
the Coronation Gulf area and Takánakapsâluk or Takannaaluk (Igloolik). The story of Sedna, which is a creation myth,
describes how she came to rule over Adlivun,
the Inuit underworld. A version of Sedna's origin is
recounted in Dan Simmons's novel The Terror, as part of the backstory for the
novel's main antagonist, an Inuit demon called the Tuunbaq. Sedna is mentioned in Douglas Orgill's and John
Gribbin's novel The Sixth Winter: according to Inuit legend, she is responsible
for the ice tornadoes that herald the coming of the new Ice Age. In William T. Vollmann's sixth's volume of
his Seven Dreams: A Book
of North American Landscapes series, The Rifles, Sedna's myth is recounted, with
the Inuit woman Reepah transforming into Sedna at one point. Sedna appears in the Fimbulwinter Game during
the events of the Niven & Barnes novel The Barsoom Project. A team of live-action role players must rid
the ailing goddess's hair of pestilent manifestations of mortal sins, as her
damaged fingers prevent Sedna from combing them away herself. A sculpture of Sedna by Kiugak
Ashoona appeared on a Canadian postage stamp in 1980. Find
other references in popular culture at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sedna_(mythology)
You’re at a trendy restaurant, and you ask the waiter if you can get freekeh instead
of rice on the side. He smirks, and you
suddenly realize it’s not pronounced "freaky." Don't worry, we've all been there. Jeff Cattel
Link to 27 quinoa breakfast recipes and find a go-to guide with correct
pronunciations for foods (such as açaí, bruschetta, pho, jicama, gyro and
charcuterie) from the Random House Dictionary at https://greatist.com/eat/how-to-pronounce-foods
It’s been in your local health food co-op for years, but now it’s all over mainstream grocery stores as
well: açaí juice, açaí-flavored ice
cream and yogurt, açaí bars and açaí supplements. The package usually mentions the words “super
food” to describe this berry
native to Central and South
America, and advertisers focus on the fruit’s high levels of
antioxidants. Açaí may be “trendy” in
the United
States, but for villagers in
the Oiapoque indigenous region of northern Brazil,
açaí has been a diet staple for centuries. Açaí grows on palm trees that tower 15 to 30
meters high. In the Açaízal Village in
the Uaça indigenous reserve, the trees that the village is named after are
abundant. To reach the branched panicles
of berries near the tops, the
villagers use the most reliable equipment they have: themselves. With nothing more than a looped palm leaf
tied around their feet to help grasp the trunk and a knife gripped tightly
between their teeth, villagers take turns scaling a tree, cutting down a bunch
of berries, and slowly sliding back down the trunk. It looks dangerous, but children as young as
seven or eight begin learning how to harvest this precious fruit. Link to slideshow at https://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/latinamerica/brazil/explore/acai-the-roots-of-a-super-fruit.xml
A panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. Some authors distinguish
it from a compound spike, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit)
be pedicellate. The branches of a panicle are often racemes.
A panicle may have determinate or indeterminate growth. This type of inflorescence is largely
characteristic of grasses such as oat and crabgrass, as well as other plants such
as pistachio and mamoncillo.
Botanists use the term paniculate in two ways: "having a true panicle
inflorescence" as well as "having an inflorescence with the form but
not necessarily the structure of a panicle". See graphics at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panicle
July 13,
2018 The world's largest avocado
has just premiered Down Under. Dubbed
"Avozillas"--these souped-up avocados are about five times bigger
than a regular one. These enormous avos
originally hail from South Africa, but a farming family is growing them in
Queensland, reports CNN affiliate 9News.
The giant avocado is the lovechild of two avocado species: the West Indian and the Guatemalan. The Groves family have 400
avocado trees on the go, while 2,000 more trees have been planted by another
farmer in Bundaberg. The biggest avocado
the farmers have found so far is 1.8 kilos.
Francesca Street
Hippocrates
of Kos (460-370BC)
was a well-known Greek physician during the Age of Pericles (Classical Greece). Born on the Greek island of Kos, he is
considered as one of the most reputable figures in the history of
medicine. His contributions made such
outstanding impact to the field that he was therefore attributed as the “Father
of Western Medicine”. Hippocrates was
the founder of the “Hippocratic School of Medicine”, an intellectual school
that revolutionized medicine in ancient Greece.
This institution paved the way for the field to be established as a
distinct discipline, and later on, as a profession. The writings of the Corpus Hippocraticum contributed an abundance of knowledge for
bio-medical methodology and provided one of the first reflective codes of
professional ethics. Hippocrates is
quoted as saying “Let food be thy medicine and
medicine be thy food.” http://www.quotographed.com/quotation-category/hippocrates-quotes/
Fishing by diving v. fishing by
herding Unlike Brown Pelicans, which dive
from above to capture fish, White Pelicans feed by forming a group. They swim in a line, and—while herding a
school of fish—all dip their heads at once.
The pelican's broad bill spreads its huge pouch, as the bird pushes
through the water. As each bird lifts
its head, water drains out of the pouch, and the fish go down with a
gulp. https://www.birdnote.org/show/pelicans-go-fishing
To
uncover the root of "sartorial"
just strip off the suffix "-ial" and you discover the Latin noun
"sartor," meaning "tailor" (literally, "one who
patches or mends"). https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sartorial
The World Potato Congress is held every three years and
organized by the not-for-profit World Potato Congress Inc., dedicated to
supporting the cultivation and development of potato around the world. The 10th WPC, held in Cusco, Peru May 27-31,
2018 marked the first time the event was held in Latin America. Previous congresses were held in North
America, Europe, South Africa, China, and New Zealand. https://www.worldpotatocongress2018-alap.org/en/home/
The 11th WPC will be held in Dublin,
Ireland May 24-27, 2021.
The potato is the world’s fourth largest food crop,
following rice, wheat, and maize. The Inca Indians in Peru were the first to
cultivate potatoes around 8,000 BC to 5,000 B.C. In 1536 Spanish Conquistadors conquered Peru,
discovered the flavors of the potato, and carried them to Europe. Before the end of the sixteenth century,
families of Basque sailors began to cultivate potatoes along the Biscay coast
of northern Spain. Sir Walter Raleigh
introduced potatoes to Ireland in 1589 on the 40,000 acres of land near Cork. It took nearly four decades for the potato to
spread to the rest of Europe. In October 1995, the potato became the first vegetable
to be grown in space. NASA and the
University of Wisconsin, Madison, created the technology with the goal of
feeding astronauts on long space voyages, and eventually, feeding future space
colonies. Read more, see pictures, and
link to recipes at https://www.potatogoodness.com/potato-fun-facts-history/
http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com Issue 1926
July 30, 2018
