Lentilles du Puy, the French green lentils from the Auvergne, are not called ‘the caviar of lentils’ for nothing.  Lentils from Puy are indeed the most fantastic lentils in the world and I’m one of their biggest fans.  I didn’t think it was possible to get so excited about a grain (well, they’re actually a ‘pulse’, but that sounds funny) until I tried them.  Their unique, nutty flavor is attributed to the volcanic soil they’re grown in, sans fertilizer, which gives them their fine, mineral-rich taste.  The climate in the Auvergne also contributes to their unique texture:  a lack of humidity and abundant sunshine, courtesy of the surrounding mountains and volcanic deposits, ensures that the lentils dry on the plant all by themselves.  Consequently, lentilles du Puy have less starch than other green lentils, so they don’t get all mushy and muddy when cooked.  David Lebovitz  Find recipe and pictures at https://www.davidlebovitz.com/cheap-caviar-1/



The Shambles were places in England where butchers plyed their trade.  A “Shamble” itself was, as early as the 9th Century, a wooden stool.  Later, it meant a different piece of furniture:  a table where butchers set out meat for sale.  From a still later and metaphorical use, I’ve seen “shambles” used in works about naval warfare during the age of sail; the insides of wooden vessels under cannon fire looked like butcher shops.  From these grisly examples we get the figurative “shambles,” meaning a messy, disorderly situation or place.  And thus the adjective “shambolic,” marked by the OED as colloquial and of recent coinage–the late 1950s!  Joe Essid   https://blog.richmond.edu/writing/2019/06/27/metaphor-of-the-month-shambles-shambolic/  See also What a Shambles:  a walk around York’s ancient walls and alleys by Alan Franks at https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2017/jul/12/york-walk-around-ancient-walls-minster-railway-station with many pictures of York plus information on the Shambles, a long medieval lane barely wider than its pavements and overhung with upper storeys.



While many readers now associate the term "concrete poetry" with poems whose outlines depict a recongnizable shape—John Hollander's collection Types of Shape, for example—the ideas behind concrete poetry are much broader.  In essence, works of concrete poetry are as much pieces of visual art made with words as they are poems.  Were one to hear a piece of concrete poetry read aloud, a substantial amount of its effect would be lost.  European artists Max Bill and Öyving Fahlström originated the term in the early 1950s, and its early methods were described in the Brazilian group Noigandres' manifesto "Pilot Plan for Concrete Poetry."  During this period, concrete poems were intended to be abstract and without allusion to an existing poem or identifiable shape.  An interest in ideograms—and the notion that words themselves could be ideograms—accompanied the typographical innovations developed by these artists and by such visual writers as E. E. Cummings and Ezra Pound.  As the movement spread across the continents, reaching the height of its popularity in the 1960s, concrete poetry became less abstract and was adopted by many conventional poets as a specific poetic form rather than a combination of literature and visual art.  In response, some artists adopted the term "poesia visiva" to describe more experimental fusions of word and image.  As with much visual art, concrete poetry and poesia visiva now use photography, film, and even soundscapes in combination with letters and words to achieve new and startling effects.  https://poets.org/text/brief-guide-concrete-poetry  See examples of concrete poetry at https://blogs.getty.edu/iris/what-is-concrete-poetry/



A.Word.A.Day with Anu Garg 

eustress  (YOO-stres)  noun  A positive, beneficial form of stress.  Coined by the endocrinologist Hans Selye (1907-1982).  From Greek eu- (good) + stress, from shortening of distress or from Old French estressei (narrowness or oppression), from Latin strictus, from stringere (to bind tight).  Earliest documented use:  1950s.



"For sale:  baby shoes, never worn"  is the entirety of what has been described as a six-word story, making it an extreme example of what is called flash fiction or sudden fiction.  Although it is often attributed to Ernest Hemingway, the link to him is unsubstantiated and similar stories predate him.   The claim of Hemingway's authorship originates in an unsubstantiated anecdote about a wager between him and other writers.  In a 1992 letter to Canadian humorist John Robert Colombo, science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke recounts it thus:  While lunching with friends at a restaurant (variously identified as Luchow's or The Algonquin), Hemingway bets the table ten dollars each that he can craft an entire story in six words.  After the pot is assembled, Hemingway writes "For sale:  baby shoes, never worn" on a napkin, passes this around the table, and collects his winnings.  The general concept of trying to tell a story with the absolute minimum of words became known by the general term of flash fiction.  The six-word limit in particular has spawned the concept of Six-Word Memoirs, including a collection published in book form in 2008 by Smith Magazine, and two sequels published in 2009.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_sale:_baby_shoes,_never_worn



Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.  Often attributed to Dr. Seuss without citation; also cited as an anonymous proverb.  This quote has also been attributed to Gabriel García Márquez, in Spanish:  “No llores porque ya se terminó, sonríe porque sucedió.”  German poet Ludwig Jacobowski's  “Leuchtende Tage” was published in the August 1899 issue of a literary journal.  The title could be rendered as “Bright Days” or “Radiant Days”.  One verse rhapsodized about the bright days of the past, and the next verse began with these two lines:  Nicht weinen, weil sie vorüber!  Lächeln, weil sie gewesen!  English translation:  Do not cry because they are past!  Smile, because they once were!  Find other variants at https://quoteinvestigator.com/2016/07/25/smile/ 



Garlic Roasted Olives are undoubtedly an indulgent dish when it comes to the grocery budget, but the wow factor that it delivers on a holiday or party table is pretty close to incomparable.  Served with a rustic, crusty bread, Garlic Roasted Olives can either be the appetizer to end all appetizers, a hearty vegetarian main dish, or a rich side dish for any of a number of grilled, broiled, baked, or seared fish, chicken, or pork dishes.  Find recipe shared by Rebecca at https://www.foodiewithfamily.com/garlic-roasted-olives/



October 13, 2019   The Blair Museum of Lithophanes has sat on Elmer Drive in West Toledo for 17 years.  In two weeks, it will be closing its doors for good.  Tucked away in the Toledo Botanical Garden, the museum is one of the city's best-kept secrets.  The decision was made to change locations after the Metroparks system took it over full time last year.  The future for the Blair Museum is unknown.  Larry Durholt with the museum said that at this point, the collection could move anywhere in the world.  Filled with porcelain creations from night lights to beer steins, the museum has something of interest for just about anyone.  The artistry behind the wide array of lithophanes is truly something to be admired.  Lithophanes are translucent, three-dimensional translucent porcelain plaques which reveal detailed images when back-lit.   https://www.wtol.com/article/news/local/lithophane-museum-to-close/512-95a1852b-3c28-44b2-8530-1385ed32c07c



WORD OF THE DAY  Woozle effect  noun  A reference to the book Winnie-the-Pooh (1926) by English author A. A. Milne (1882–1956), in which the characters Winnie-the-Pooh and Piglet follow their own tracks in the snow, believing them to be the tracks of the imaginary “Woozle”.  The phenomenon whereby frequent citation of earlier publications leads to a mistaken public belief in something for which there is no evidence, giving rise to an urban myth.  https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Woozle_effect#English   British author A. A. Milne’s book Winnie-the-Pooh was first published on October 14, 1926.  It features a story in which Winnie-the-Pooh and Piglet follow their own tracks in the snow, believing them to be the tracks of the imaginary “Woozle”.


From:  Andrew Pressburger  Subject:  Tigger  tigger, tigger, burning bright / in the forests of the night / what immortal hand or eye / pooh-poohed your fearful seam and try (to get away with it)?  From a song of innocence and inexperience.  With humble apologies to William Blake, A.A. Milne, and the citizens of Winnipeg, Canada.



http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com  Issue 2168  October 14, 2019