Elkton is a charming town located at the navigational head of the Elk River, originally known as the Head of Elk due to its use as a travel route to the nearby Chesapeake Bay.  During the 19th and 20th centuries, the town was known as the "Gretna Green of the East" due to its popularity as an elopement site for area couples.  It offers lovely rustic attractions for visitors looking to experience true small-town Maryland life, including the state's oldest preserved historic covered bridge, which can be traversed on foot throughout the year.  Each year, the city hosts the annual Fairhill Scottish Games, which attract more than 500 Scottish and Celtic performers and competitors.  https://vacationidea.com/maryland/best-things-to-do-in-elkton-md.html 

pecadillo  "The world loves a spice of wickedness."  That observation by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow may explain why people are so willing to forgive peccadilloes as youthful foolishness or lapses of judgment.  The willingness to overlook petty faults and minor offenses existed long before English speakers borrowed a modified version of the Spanish pecadillo at the end of the 16th century.  Spanish speakers distinguished the pecadillo, or "little sin," from the more serious pecado, their term for a sin of magnitude.  And these Spanish terms can be traced back still further, to the Latin verb peccare, meaning "to sin."  https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/peccadillo 

Cuban Picadillo  https://www.skinnytaste.com/picadillo-6-ww-pts/

Mexican Picadillo  https://houseofyumm.com/mexican-picadillo/

Vegan Cuban Picadillo  https://simpleveganblog.com/vegan-cuban-picadillo/  ‘Picadillo,’ a hearty stew, translates as 'hash' or 'mince' from Spanish.

Bud Grace ended his syndicated comic strip Piranha Club after thirty years.  How it lasted that long is a puzzler.  Like all good comic strips, it was character-driven.  The characters determined the action.  But the characters in Grace’s strip are scoundrels and frauds.  They represent the entire lexicon for “venal”: they are not only capable but eager to betray honor, duty, or scruples for a price.  And yet, we loved them. We loved them enough to keep the strip going for three decades.  The strip began on February 1, 1988 as Ernie.  It changed its name to Piranha Club on September 6, 1998.  Said Grace:  “We tried a promotion, and we thought that by changing the name we might pick up some papers.  That didn't work, so then I thought I’d change my name to Bill Watterson.  Piranha Club is still called Ernie in the rest of the world.  “Ernie is the most widely syndicated comic feature in Scandinavia,” Grace continued.  Ernie ended on Saturday, February 3, 2018.  Thirty years almost to the day.  And throughout its run, Ernie was a flamboyantly outrageous enterprise, an unabashed assault on ordinary, everyday decorum and civilized sensibilities.  R.C. Harvey  See examples of the comic strip at http://www.tcj.com/the-curtain-falls-on-piranha-club/

The Dardanelles, also known as Strait of Gallipoli from Gallipoli Peninsula or from Classical Antiquity as the Hellespont, is a narrow, natural strait and internationally significant waterway in northwestern Turkey that forms part of the continental boundary between Europe and Asia, and separates Asian Turkey from European Turkey.  One of the world's narrowest straits used for international navigation, the Dardanelles connects the Sea of Marmara with the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas, while also allowing passage to the Black Sea by extension via the Bosphorus.  The Dardanelles is 61 kilometres (38 mi) long, and 1.2 to 6 kilometres (0.75 to 3.73 mi) wide, averaging 55 metres (180 ft) deep with a maximum depth of 103 metres (338 ft) at its narrowest point abreast the city of Çanakkale.  Together with the Bosphorus, the Dardanelles forms the Turkish Straits  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dardanelles 

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, husband of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms, and the longest-serving royal consort in British history, died in Windsor Castle at the age of 99 on the morning of 9 April 2021, two months before his 100th birthday.  His funeral took place on 17 April.  The death of the Duke initiated Operation Forth Bridge, a plan detailing procedures including the dissemination of information, national mourning, and his funeral.  The Duke had indicated wishes for a smaller funeral, though amendments were still made to the plan to bring his service in line with COVID-19 regulations, including quarantine for members of the Duke's family travelling from abroad.  Psalm 104, was sung to a setting by William Lovelady that the Duke had commissioned. The hymns were Eternal Father, Strong to Save, which is traditionally associated with seafarers, Benjamin Britten's Jubilate in C (also commissioned by the Duke), and Russian Kontakion of the Departed to the tune by Sir Walter Parratt.  The Duke was buried in the Royal Vault at St George's Chapel.  Upon the Queen's death, his remains will be moved to the King George VI Memorial Chapel inside St George's, where they will be buried next to each other.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_and_funeral_of_Prince_Philip,_Duke_of_Edinburgh 

The former Archbishop of Canterbury, Baron Williams of Oystermouth, has recalled with humour his experience of delivering sermons to the Duke of Edinburgh.  Baron Williams said it was a "very terrifying experience" to preach in front of Prince Philip because of his strong feelings on the length of the sermon.  "He made it very clear what he thought a good sermon required and what it didn't require, and it certainly didn't require more than eight minutes in delivery," he said.  https://www.christiantoday.com/article/retired.archbishop.recalls.very.terrifying.experience.of.preaching.to.prince.philip/136652.htm

On April 5, 2021, the American Library Association reported more than 270 challenges to books in 2020, from Toni Morrison’s “The Bluest Eye” to Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird,” compared to 377 the year before.  The number of challenges is likely far higher than reported; the association estimates that only a small percentage are formally registered or publicized—a trend that got worse during the pandemic.  “The shutdowns didn’t just make it less likely that patrons would complain, but because of all the furloughs and layoffs at schools and libraries, it disrupted the whole infrastructure that enables us to be aware of complaints,” says Deborah Caldwell-Stone, who directs the association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom.  Alex Gino’s “George” was the most frequently criticized book, with objections including LGBTQ content and “not reflecting the values” of the community.  The No. 2 book for complaints was Ibram X. Kendi’s and Jason Reynolds’ “Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You,” challenged in part for “selective storytelling incidents” that do not reflect racism against all people.  Hillel Italie  https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/books-by-steinbeck-alexie-among-most-objected-to-in-2020/ 

There is a beauty in discovery. There is mathematics in music, a kinship of science and poetry in the description of nature, and exquisite form in a molecule. - Glenn T. Seaborg, scientist, Nobel laureate (19 Apr 1912-1999)   

http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com  Issue 2353  April 19, 2021