Daniel Greene makes a full-time living off his YouTube channel, discussing fantasy authors such as Robert Jordan, Brandon Sanderson, and Jim Butcher.  Talking about your favorite books all day might sound like a dream come true, but Greene says that building a successful channel is harder than people think.  “For a few years I was doing a video every day of the week, seven days a week.  The biggest challenge with YouTube is adapting to the site’s mysterious and ever-shifting algorithm.  Greene is careful to balance less popular content with familiar standbys that he knows will bring in traffic.  Greene launched a new podcast, A Fictional Conversation, with his friend Bobby O’Donald.  He’s looking forward to creating content without the constant pressure of YouTube’s analytics.  https://www.wired.com/2020/09/geeks-guide-daniel-greene/ 

The serrano chili pepper is a quite a bit like the well known jalapeño pepper, similar in color, but smaller, about 1 to 4 inches long on average and 1/2 inch wide.  They generally grow between 1–4 inches long and about 1/2 inch wide though they have been known to grow longer.  They are meaty peppers and are not the best choice for drying, though it can be done.  The serrano pepper originated in the Mexican states of Puebla and Hidalgo, in the mountainous regions. The name of the pepper, serrano, actually is a reference to the mountains (sierras) of those areas.  https://www.chilipeppermadness.com/chili-pepper-types/medium-hot-chili-peppers/serrano-peppers/ 

The verb “to ballyhoo,” meaning to promote with extravagant praise, appeared around 1911.  The origin of “ballyhoo” in these senses is not known with certainly, but there is no lack of theories.  Part of the problem is that there are actually several “ballyhoos” in English, and the relationships between them, if any, are very murky.  In addition to the “ballyhoo” discussed above, “ballyhoo” is old nautical slang for an inferior ship (probably taken from the Spanish “balahou,” small schooner), a name for a species of fish (more properly the “balao”), and the name of the mythical “ballyhoo bird,” supposedly sporting four wings and two heads.  None of those other “ballyhoos,” with the possible exception of the bird, exhibit any hint of the “loud ruckus” or “public excitement” senses of “ballyhoo” as commonly used today.  Fortunately, there is an explanation for the word that, while not proven, makes a lot of sense.  There is, in County Cork, Ireland, a town named “Ballyhooly” (“Baile Atha hUlla” in Irish), which was apparently, at some point in the past, famous for its street fights and rowdiness.  In the 19th century, “ballyhooly” was used as a euphemism for “hell,” especially in the sense of harsh treatment, chaos or confusion (“What the ballyhooley do you call this?”).  It seems entirely possible that a shortened form of “ballyhooley” came into more general use around the beginning of the 20th century with the “loud ruckus or fuss” meaning it has today.  http://www.word-detective.com/2010/06/ballyhoo/ 

“Heaven must be a place where the library is open twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.  No . . . eight days a week.”  The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley, book one in the Flavia de Luce novels.  In some places, the series is called The Buckshaw Chronicles.  

Epsom is a town in Surrey, England.  Related to that are:   Epsom railway station, serving Epsom; Epsom College, an independent school in Epsom; Epsom Downs, an area of chalk upland near Epsom; Epsom Downs Racecourse, on Epsom Downs; Epsom Derby, a prestigious horse race run on Epsom Downs Racecourse; Epsom Oaks, another horse race run on Epsom Downs Racecourse; Epsom Downs (play), set on Epsom Derby day; Epsom Downs railway station, serving Epsom Downs; Epsom salts (magnesium sulphate), named for a saline spring in Epsom; and Epsom and Ewell, the borough including Epsom  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epsom_(disambiguation)  See also https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/epsom-salt-bath#1 and https://www.healthline.com/health/epsom-salt-bath#side-effects 

Planet Word occupies the historic Franklin School, a 50,000-square-foot, five-story building located on Franklin Square at 13th and K Streets in northwest Washington, D.C. We gratefully acknowledge the Native peoples on whose ancestral homelands we gather, as well as the diverse and vibrant Native Communities who make their home here today.  Designed by renowned architect Adolf Cluss and opened in 1869, the Franklin School was the flagship of the first public schools in Washington, D.C. and served as a model for the modern public school system.  The school offered free universal education to White boys and girls (D.C. schools were segregated at this time).  In 1880, Alexander Graham Bell made his first successful transmission of a “photophone” message from the Franklin School.  The photophone was an important precursor to today’s wireless and fiber-optic communications, and Bell considered it his most important invention.  The Franklin School was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1996.  Sign up for email updates at https://planet-word.squarespace.com/about-planet-word 

Don Whitaker, the Cider Maker at Castle Hill, strolls over a grassy knoll in one of Virginia’s oldest historical estates and approaches what looks to be a graveyard.  The lower half of a huge, broken urn stands before the entrance of a roped-off gravel square surrounded by mature linden trees, sprawling fields, whitewashed horse fences, apple orchards, and a horizon of Blue Ridge Mountains.  What appears to be a cemetery is actually a place for burying and fermenting booze.  Known as qvevri, the egg-shaped terracotta vessels are about nine feet tall and hold 300 gallons each.  Cement boxes protruding from the ornamental gravel are chimneys that offer access to stainless-steel tops and rubber ports retrofitted to fit them.  Castle Hill Cider launched outside of Charlottesville in 2010 after importing 12 of the traditional handmade containers from the Republic of Georgia.  There, villagers have been burying qvevri and using them to make wine and other alcoholic beverages for about 8,000 years.  The containers are believed to be one of the world’s oldest large-scale fermentation technologies, and UNESCO has designated qvevri wine-making as part of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.  The containers are believed to be one of the world’s oldest large-scale fermentation technologies, and UNESCO has designated qvevri wine-making as part of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.  Eric J. Wallace  See pictures at https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/most-unusual-cider-virginia 

The Vitruvian Man was created by Leonardo da Vinci around the year 1487.  It is accompanied by notes based on the work of the famed architect, Vitruvius Pollio.  The drawing, which is in pen and ink on paper, depicts a male figure in two superimposed positions with his arms and legs apart and simultaneously inscribed in a circle and square.  The drawing and text are sometimes called the Canon of Proportions or, less often, Proportions of Man.  It is stored in the Gallerie dell'Accademia in Venice, Italy, and, like most works on paper, is displayed only occasionally.  https://www.leonardodavinci.net/the-vitruvian-man.jsp  See also https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/71390/15-things-you-might-not-know-about-leonardo-da-vincis-vitruvian-man 

A THOUGHT FOR OCTOBER 26  I have a trunk containing continents. - Beryl Markham, adventurer (26 Oct 1902-1986) 

http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com  Issue 2276  October 26, 2020