Monday, January 13, 2020


Caryatid, in classical architecture, draped female figure used instead of a column as a support.  In marble architecture they first appeared in pairs in three small buildings (treasuries) at Delphi (550–530 BC), and their origin can be traced back to mirror handles of nude figures carved from ivory in Phoenicia and draped figures cast from bronze in archaic Greece.  According to a story related by the 1st-century-BC Roman architectural writer Vitruvius, caryatids represented the women of Caryae, who were doomed to hard labour because the town sided with the Persians in 480 BC during their second invasion of Greece.  The male counterparts of caryatids are referred to as atlantes (see atlas).  See pictures at https://www.britannica.com/technology/caryatid

Ernst Mach (1883-1916) was a physicist and philosopher who was best known for his work in optics, mechanics and wave dynamics.  He is credited with deriving the “Mach principle” which explains the phenomenon of inertia by assuming that all of the masses in the universe are somehow connected.  His name is often remembered through the Mach number, which is synonymous with supersonic speeds.  He is considered a founder of the philosophy of science and his skepticism of the “old” physics was important to the next generation of young physicists, including Albert Einstein.  Ernst Waldfried Josef Wenzel Mach was born in Chirlitz, now part of the city Brno in the Czech Republic.  The family moved to a farm near Vienna when Ernst was an infant.  He received his education at home from his parents and at the age of fifteen he then entered a Gymnasium in Kremsier, where he studied for three years.  In 1855, Mach enrolled as a student at the University of Vienna studying physics, philosophy and mathematics.  He received his doctorate in physics in 1860 with his thesis “On electrical charge and induction”.  https://www.famousscientists.org/ernst-mach/  See also https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ernst-mach/

Spaghetti in Poblano Salsa comes from Bricia Lopez’ family to yours.  In her new book Oaxaca:  Home Cooking from the Heart of Mexico, Bricia tells the story of how this recipe became a standard on their Thanksgiving table, one of two days their family restaurant Guelaguetza in Los Angles closes early.  Pasta—she prefers bucatini, but anything will do—is tossed with a creamy poblano chile sauce and salty Cotija cheese.  Serves 4-6 https://www.splendidtable.org/recipes/spaghetti-in-poblano-salsa

Find a list of the most common surnames in North America at
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most_common_surnames_in_North_America  Find a list of the most common given names in the United States at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most_popular_given_names_by_state_in_the_United_States  My surname at birth appears in both lists. 

In grammar, a conjunction (abbreviated conj or cnj) is a part of speech that connects wordsphrases, or clauses that are called the conjuncts of the conjunctions.  The term discourse marker is mostly used for conjunctions joining sentences.  This definition may overlap with that of other parts of speech, so what constitutes a "conjunction" must be defined for each language.  In English a given word may have several senses, being either a preposition or a conjunction depending on the syntax of the sentence.  For example, "after" is a preposition in "he left after the fight", but it is a conjunction in "he left after they fought").  In general, a conjunction is an invariable (noninflectedgrammatical particle and it may or may not stand between the items conjoined.  The definition of a conjunction may also be extended to idiomatic phrases that behave as a unit with the same function, e.g. "as well as", "provided that".  A simple literary example of a conjunction:  "the truth of nature, and the power of giving interest".  (Samuel Taylor Coleridge's Biographia Literaria)  A conjunction may be placed at the beginning of a sentence:  "But some superstition about the practice persists."  Read much more at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conjunction_(grammar)

Read an essay on The Pleasures of Eating by Wendell Berry with an introduction by Alice Waters at

The movie business has very humble beginnings.  In the 1800’s, many inventors, such as Thomas Edison and the Lumiere Brothers worked on machines that projected images.  This led to the silent movie era which ranged from 1894 to 1929.  During this time period, a number of moving pictures were created and shown in theaters on big screens.  To provide drama and excitement to movies, live music was played in sync with the action on the screen, by pianos, organs, and other instruments.  The silent movie producers brought famous films such as Ben-Hur, The Ten Commandments, The Circus and many others.  The era also brought us many silent movie stars, such as Charlie Chaplin, Laurel and Hardy, Harold Lloyd and Pearl White.  Some actors and actresses continued their careers in film when talking pictures started in 1929, others did not.  Bruce Tucker  https://www.octaneseating.com/history-of-silent-movies

The term silent film is a retronym—a term created to retroactively distinguish something.  Early sound films, starting with The Jazz Singer in 1927, were variously referred to as the "talkies," "sound films," or "talking pictures."  Within a decade, the widespread production of silent films for popular entertainment had ceased, and the industry had moved fully into the sound era, in which movies were accompanied by synchronized sound recordings of spoken dialogue, music and sound effects.  For the Mel Brooks film, see Silent Movie.  For the band, see A Silent Film.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silent_film

See a list of silent films photographed at least partially in color.  It does not include black and white films that were tinted, hand-painted or colorized.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Silent_films_in_color 

In a house in Athens, Ohio, a community workspace is lined wall-to-wall with shelves of books waiting to be distributed by Athens Books to Prisoners, a prison literacy advocacy group in southeastern Ohio.  The tomes are dusty and well-loved, sorted carefully and ready to be paired with an incarcerated person.  “Many of the requests we receive are from prisoners with little or no access to adequate prison libraries or educational programs,” said Caty Crabb, one of two lead organizers behind the program.  “Athens Books to Prisoners is a community-based, direct-action response to that problem.  Everyone deserves access to education.”  Crabb and her collaborator Sarah Fick receive hundreds of letters each month written by incarcerated people requesting free literature by mail.  Fick and Crabb lead a community that is driven to bridge achievement gaps for people incarcerated by the state, allowing people to continue learning, inform themselves, and be enriched throughout their time as a person removed from society.  Every month, Athens Books to Prisoners fulfills approximately 70-80 requests, with a budget of approximately $2,500 each year, spent mostly on postage.  The group avoids high costs by sourcing secondhand books from the community, many offered by donation.  Fick says that the local library is a frequent donator, as is the New-to-You Thrift Shoppe.  Local churches have also donated books and journals, and college students often donate textbooks at the end of terms.  Fick and Crabb cofounded Athens Books to Prisoners in 2011, fulfilling orders that pre-existing organizations Cleveland Books to Prisoners and Midwest Books to Prisoners were struggling to meet due to high demand and low funding.  Becca King  https://www.teenvogue.com/story/athens-books-to-prisoners-explains-providing-reading-materials-incarcerated-people

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY  To move freely you must be deeply rooted. - Bella Lewitzky, dancer (13 Jan 1916-2004)

http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com  Issue 2209  January 13, 2020

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