Alexander
Selkirk (1676-1721) was a
Scottish privateer and Royal Navy officer who spent four years
and four months as a castaway (1704–1709)
after being marooned by
his captain on
an uninhabited island in the South Pacific Ocean. He survived that ordeal, but succumbed to
tropical illness a dozen years later while serving aboard HMS Weymouth off
West Africa. Selkirk was an unruly
youth, and joined buccaneering voyages
to the South Pacific during the War of the
Spanish Succession. One such
expedition was on Cinque Ports,
captained by Thomas Stradling under the overall command of William Dampier. Stradling's ship stopped to resupply at the
uninhabited Juan Fernández
Islands, and Selkirk judged correctly that the craft was unseaworthy
and asked to be left there. By the time
he was eventually rescued by English privateer Woodes Rogers, in company with Dampier,
Selkirk had become adept at hunting and making use of the resources that he
found on the island. His story of
survival was widely publicised after his return to England, becoming a source
of inspiration for writer Daniel Defoe's fictional character Robinson Crusoe. William Cowper's
"The Solitude of Alexander Selkirk" is about Selkirk's feelings as
the castaway lived all alone on the island.
This poem gave rise to the common phrase "monarch of all I survey.” Charles
Dickens used Selkirk as a simile in Chapter Two of The Pickwick Papers (1836). Read about other uses of Selkirk in popular
culture at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Selkirk
Built by Coca-Cola magnate
and former mayor Asa Griggs Candler as Atlanta’s first steel skyscraper, the
marble-clad Candler Building has stood over Peachtree Street and the northern
edge of Woodruff Park since 1906. It
held the title of Atlanta’s tallest building for 23 years. Plans emerged for converting the former
office tower to a hotel in 2016, and office tenants were swiftly moved
out. The project stalled, however, and
the National Register of Historic Places-listed building remained empty
throughout 2017. Following the
transformation, Hilton reps are calling the 265-room property “majestic” and a
fusion of “style, comfort, charm, and Southern hospitality.” Inside and out, many of the building’s
original Beaux-Arts, Gothic, and Renaissance-style architectural details were
brushed up and preserved. The property
also includes By George, an elegant all-day French eatery by Chef Hugh
Acheson. One
package offered as part of the October 2019 opening celebration included
breakfast for two and—appropriately—two “signature Coca-Cola floats.” Josh Green
See many pictures at https://atlanta.curbed.com/2019/10/24/20930167/downtown-atlanta-hotels-candler-hotel-where-to-stay
Most people want to be
happier. Psychological theories on
happiness generally contend that happiness depends on the extent to which
people have what they want. For example,
most people want money, and those who make more money tend to be slightly
happier. However, some theologians,
particularly Rabbi Hyman Schachtel, argue that happiness is not having what you
want, but wanting what you have. This maxim sounds reasonable enough, but can
it be tested, and if so, is it true? It
turns out Schachtel’s maxim can be tested.
Texas Tech University psychologist Jeff Larsen and Amie McKibban of
Wichita State University asked undergraduates to indicate whether they
possessed 52 different material items (e.g., a car, stereo, bed). If they had (say) a car, the researchers
asked them to rate how much they wanted the car they had. If they didn’t have a car, they were asked to
rate how much they wanted one. Larsen
and McKibban then calculated the extent to which people want what they have and
have what they want. The findings show
that wanting what you have is not the same
as having what you want. While people
who have what they want tend to desire those items, the correlation between the
two was far from perfect. As for
happiness, Rabbi Schachtel was both right and wrong. The researchers found that people who want more
of what they have tend to be happier than those who want less of what they
have. However, people who have more of
what they want tend to be happier than those who have less of what they want. These results, which appear in the April 2008
issue of Psychological Science, a journal
of the Association for Psychological Science, show that people tend to grow
accustomed to newly acquired possessions and thereby derive less happiness from
them. They also suggest, however, that
people can continue to want the things they have and that those who do so can
achieve greater happiness.
A.Word.A.Day with Anu Garg
bibliophage (BIB-lee-uh-fayj) noun
One who loves to read books; a bookworm.
From Greek biblio- (book) + -phage (one who eats).
Feedback to A.Word.A.Day
From: Russ Talbot
Subject: Bibliophilia Bibliophilia’s a bit ho-hum. Here’s a better one: abibliophobia: the fear of running out of books/things to
read.
From: Richard Freeman Subject:
bibliophage
There’s an anecdote regarding the guitarist Mike Bloomfield (in the bio
by Ed Ward), in which he reports that when sufficiently enamored of a passage,
Bloomfield would tear out and eat the page(s).
From: Grant Agnew Subject: Bibliophage If there were a magazine for bibliophages, would it be called the Reader’s Digest?
From: Grant Agnew Subject: Bibliophage If there were a magazine for bibliophages, would it be called the Reader’s Digest?
From: Charles Harp
Subject: Head-scratchers Canada is the world’s largest producer and
exporter of lentils, and India is their biggest customer. Lentils and other pulses (legumes) are an
important staple food in India, most commonly in the preparation of dal. Delicious and nutritious, dal is consumed
daily by the masses. Most likely those
very lentils are grown in the Canadian prairie province of Saskatchewan.
Indian Dal is an easy and
very flavorful vegetarian side dish made of yellow or red lentils and
spice. Also spelled dhal or dail or
daal is a side dish made of yellow split peas that are cooked with spices and
becomes a lovely shade of yellow. The
basic dal is just the lentils and turmeric, but many additions can be added
like jalapeño and onion. Lentils can
become tough if you salt before cooked, so it is best to add the salt after. Posted by Janette Find recipe and pictures at https://culinaryginger.com/indian-dal/
Apple does not let filmmakers show villains using iPhones on camera,
movie director Rian Johnson said in an interview with Vanity Fair. What isn't clear
from Johnson's remarks is whether there's any legal force to Apple's alleged
demand that movie villains not use iPhones.
If Apple is paying for product placement, it can obviously exert
influence over how its products are used on screen. In other cases, movie studios might be
cautious about respecting Apple's wishes in order to avoid lawsuits, even if
the studios would be within their rights to have a villain use an iPhone in a
movie scene. Jon Brodkin https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2020/02/apple-wont-let-filmmakers-put-iphones-in-villains-hands-rian-johnson-says/
The Smithsonian
Institution released nearly 3 million images for public use February 25,
2020 of 2-D and 3-D items from its vast collections. Users of the Smithsonian Open Access
initiative can download, edit and share any of these images for any
purpose. Previously, users could request
some information or images for educational or personal use. The online
repository includes images, in addition to datasets and more,
from the Smithsonian’s 19 museums, research centers, libraries, the National
Zoo and more. The information includes
art in addition to items and information across sciences, histories, cultures,
technologies and designs. Marina
Pitofsky https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/484870-smithsonian-makes-nearly-3-million-pieces-of-art-available
Clive Cussler, the
bestselling author and sea explorer, died February 24, 2020. He was 88.
In his lifetime, Cussler was known for his books about underwater
shipwreck discoveries--both fiction and nonfiction. He published more than 50 during his career,
two of which were later made into movies--"Raise the Titanic,"
released in 1980, and "Sahara," in 2005. His books were published in more than 40
languages in over 100 countries, according to his website. But Cussler wasn't just a novelist. He was so passionate about maritime discoveries,
he even started a nonprofit dedicated to them--National Underwater and Marine
Agency--a volunteer foundation dedicated to "preserving our maritime
heritage through the discovery, archaeological survey and conservation of
shipwreck artifacts," the website reads. Most of the financial support for the
organization came from book royalties, the website says. The organization has located more than
60 significant shipwrecks. Leah Asmelash https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/26/us/clive-cussler-dead-trnd/index.html
The chance of being born on a leap day is often said to be one in
1,461. Four years is 1,460 days and
adding one for the leap year you have 1,461.
So, odds of 1/1,461. Babies born
on 29 February are known as "leapers" or "leaplings". https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-17203353
The leap year cocktail (with four ingredients) has been
around since the 1930s. Find recipe at https://www.thespruceeats.com/leap-year-cocktail-recipe-760098
Leap year pudding
(Skrikkeljaarpoeding) Serve it warm. https://www.rainbowcooking.co.nz/recipes/leap-year-pudding-skrikkeljaarpoeding
WORD OF THE DAY for
February 28 boneseeker noun (physiology, radiology) Any element, especially a radioisotope, that has a tendency to accumulate in bones. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/boneseeker#English
http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com Issue 2232
February 28, 2020
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