Are you a politician asking what your country can do for you or a zealous one asking what you can do for your country? - Kahlil Gibran  From:  Dan Yerushalmi  It’s quite interesting what you can find about this particular JFK quotation’s origins in Wikiquote.  It may be a more recent translation from the Arabic translated so as to read more like the words JFK had already said!  AWADmailIssue 967 

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government building is the tallest city hall in the world.  It evokes a gothic cathedral wrought in metal, and includes observatories and gift shops.  Don’t forget to grab a bite to eat at the staff cafeteria in Tower One, which is a cut above, as well as 32 stories above the ground.  Visitors are welcome, and menu items are often in both Japanese and English.  A seat at the counter lining the long windows offers a glorious view of the city below, as well as the misty mountains in the distance.  As for what to eat, there are a number of options.  It’s self-service, so visitors choose what they want and pay at machines before going to the appropriate counter to pick up their meal.  There are lots of set meals on offer, including entrees such as noodles and curry.  There are also certain items available only here, such as the “Tokyo Metropolitan Government Ramen” and the “Tokyo Metropolitan Government Bento.”  The latter consists of 32 items, in honor of the cafeteria’s place on the 32nd floor.  It includes millet rice embellished with a bright red pickled plum, hamburger, mackerel, vegetables, and more.  https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/tokyo-metropolitan-building-staff-cafeteria

Before cooking rice, wash it three to four times so that the water runs clear.  Pick out anything dark like pebbles.  Because brown rice cooks more slowly than white rice, soak it an hour first if you want to reduce cooking time. 

Since it was built under the reign of Louis XIV, the Sun King, in the late 17th century, Versailles has served as architectural and artistic inspiration for designers around the world; countless private residences and public edifices have been crafted in the palace’s image.  Today, it’s an icon of French history that draws some 10 million visitors each year.  Stefanie Waldek  See stunning pictures at https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/versailles-from-louis-xiv-to-jeff-koons 

The Armour-Stiner (Octagon) House is one of the most visually unique homes in the world.  It is the only known, fully domed octagonal residence and the only house which replicates Donato Bramante’s 1502 Tempietto in Rome.  The elegantly proportioned Tempietto was built in the form of a Tholos, an ancient classical temple, which complimented America’s third quarter of the 19th century fascination with classical forms.  In 19th century America, octagonal houses were a popular mode of construction following the publication of a book, The Octagon House, A Home for All, by Orson Squire Fowler.  One of the most celebrated occupants was Carl Carmer, the author, poet and historian.  Carmer resided in the house from 1940 to the time of his death in 1976.  His legacy includes tales of a resident ghost.  The house plays a role in a number of his published tales.  Shortly after the death of Carl Carmer, the house was acquired by National Trust for Historic Preservation.  In need of stabilization and conservation, it was the first house to be acquired by the National Trust and resold, in 1978, to a private citizen.  Joseph Pell Lombardi, the owner, is a preservation architect specializing in conservation, restoration and historic preservation throughout the world.  The house and grounds have been restored to their 1872 appearance.  The interior of the house, its decoration and its 1870s furnishings are the best display in the country of the American neo-Roman style, popular for a brief period in the third quarter of the 19th century.  See pictures and link to more information at https://www.armourstiner.com/ 

EASY HOT BREAKFAST FOR ONE  Bring one cup milk or water just to a boil.  Add 3 tbsp. oats, Cream of Wheat, farina, Wheatena or cornmeal.  Lower heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until desired consistency is reached.  Optional additions:  1/8 tsp. salt, one tsp. butter, sweetener, diced fruit. 

Umami is the fifth basic taste after sweet, salty, bitter and sour.  Derived from the Japanese word umami, meaning “delicious,” umami (pronounced oo-MAH-mee) is described as a savory, brothy, rich or meaty taste sensation.  To scientists, umami indicates a high level of glutamate, an amino acid and building block of protein.  To chefs and food lovers, it’s a satisfying sense of deep, complete flavor, balancing savory flavors and full-bodied taste with distinctive qualities of aroma and mouthfeel.  Foods like mushrooms, tomatoes, Parmesan cheese and green tea are rich in umami.  https://www.mushroomcouncil.org/all-about-mushrooms/umami/ 

Fat finger/fatfinger/fat-finger  noun/verb  (idiomatic, humorous, informal, also attributively)  A supposed cause of typographical errors, especially keyboard errors that cause erroneous trades to be executed in financial markets, or typing errors on touchscreen devices.  https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/fat_finger#English

The first iPhone, a touchscreen-based smartphone, was announced January 9, 2007 by Apple co-founder Steve Jobs. 

The Burning of Washington was a British invasion of Washington City (now Washington D.C.), the capital of the United States, during the Chesapeake Campaign of the War of 1812.  To this date, it remains the only time since the American Revolutionary War that a foreign power has captured and occupied the capital of the United States.  Following the defeat of American forces at the Battle of Bladensburg on August 24, 1814, a British force led by Major General Robert Ross marched to Washington.  That night, British forces set fire to multiple government and military buildings, including the White House (then called the Presidential Mansion), the Capitol building, as well as other facilities of the U.S. government.  The attack was in part a retaliation for the recent American destruction of Port Dover in Upper Canada, as well as American forces burning and looting the capital of Upper Canada the previous year.  Less than a day after the attack began, a heavy thunderstorm—possibly a hurricane—and a tornado extinguished the fires.  The occupation of Washington lasted for roughly 26 hours.  The Capitol was, according to some contemporary travelers, the only building in Washington "worthy to be noticed".   Thus, it was a prime target for the British invaders, for both its aesthetic and its symbolic value.  Upon arrival into the city via Maryland Avenue, the British targeted the Capitol (first the southern wing, containing the House of Representatives, then the northern wing, containing the Senate).  Prior to setting it aflame, the British looted the building (which at that time housed Congress, the Library of Congress, and the Supreme Court).  Items looted by Admiral Cockburn included a ledger entitled "An account of the receipts and expenditures of the United States for the year 1810"; the admiral wrote on the inside leaf that it was "taken in President's room in the Capitol, at the destruction of that building by the British, on the capture of Washington, 24th August, 1814".  He later gave it to his elder brother Sir James Cockburn, 9th Baronet, the Governor of Bermuda.  The book was eventually returned to the Library of Congress in 1940.  The British intended to burn the building to the ground.  They set fire to the southern wing first.  The flames grew so quickly that the British were prevented from collecting enough wood to burn the stone walls completely. However, the Library of Congress's contents in the northern wing contributed to the flames on that side.  Among the items destroyed was the 3,000-volume collection of the Library of Congress and the intricate decorations of the neoclassical columns, pediments, and sculptures originally designed by William Thornton in 1793 and Benjamin Latrobe in 1803.  The wooden ceilings and floors burned, and the glass skylights melted because of the intense heat.  The building was not a complete loss; the House rotunda, the east lobby, the staircases, and Latrobe's famous Corn-Cob Columns in the Senate entrance hall all survived.  See graphics at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burning_of_Washington 

@realDonaldTrump, the Twitter feed that grew from the random musings of a reality TV star into the cudgel of an American president, has died.  It was not quite 12 years old.  It began with a May 4, 2009, tweet promoting Donald Trump’s upcoming appearance on David Letterman’s show.  It died more than 57,000 tweets later.  The account met its demise when Twitter announced January 8, 2021 it was pulling the plug permanently on @realDonaldTrump.  Aamer Madhani and Jill Colvin   https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-ap-top-news-coronavirus-pandemic-david-letterman-reality-tv-8551982a4c79c8f3825834ef86586d5b 

http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com  Issue 2311  January 11, 2021