Iraqi Salad  Beets, cucumbers and chickpeas are in this refreshing, easy dish.  Link to other recipes by Candice at http://www.boushala.com/2018/08/19/iraqi-salad/

bobo  noun  Blend of bourgeois +‎ bohemian, popularized by David Brooks to describe the 1990s equivalent of the yuppie.  A materialistic person who affects an anti-materialistic persona.  quotations ▼  A self-styled bodyguard or groupie of the nouveau riche (such as a professional athlete or musician)  An imitation of something, particularly a well known product, usually lower in quality than the original.  https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/bobo

American artist Hilary Pecis (b. 1979) creates vibrant still lifes, landscape paintings, tranquil domestic settings, and textural floral arrangements.  With a soft, naturalistic palette, Pecis fills her tableaux with crowded tables, house plants, and hefty art books.  She is the co-founder of the Binder of Women, a collective of female artists based in the Los Angeles area.  See illustrations at https://www.artsy.net/artist/hilary-pecis

hackneyed  adjective : lacking in freshness or originality  Hackney entered the English language in the 14th century as a noun.  Some think perhaps it came from "Hakeneye" (now "Hackney"), the name of a town (now a borough) in England.  Others dispute this explanation, pointing to similar forms in other European languages. The noun "hackney," in any case, refers to a horse suitable for ordinary riding or driving-as opposed to one used as a draft animal or a war charger.  When "hackney" was first used as a verb in the late 16th century, it often meant "to make common or frequent use of."  Later, it meant "to make trite, vulgar, or commonplace."  The adjective "hackneyed" began to be used in the 18th century and now is a common synonym for "trite."  https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hackneyed  Thank you, Muse reader!

Kimchi Adds a Tasty Twist to These Mouth-Watering Caramelized Baked Potatoes by Alison Ashton   Kimchi lends a tangy punch to these loaded baked potatoes from Korean American by Eric Kim.  Adding a pinch of sugar is a trick Kim learned from his Korean-born mom.  “It adds balance, especially with caramelized kimchi and nutty sesame oil,” he says.  Kimchi—salted, fermented vegetables—is “a staple of the Korean pantry,” says Kim.  It’s a gut-friendly probiotic powerhouse that can be served as a side dish or condiment and used as an ingredient in other recipes.  There are many varieties, but spicy, tangy kimchi made with napa cabbage and gochugaru (Korean red-pepper flakes) is a classic.  You can find it in Asian markets, as well as many supermarkets (or make your own—Kim shares several recipes in the cookbook).  Other fun ways to use it:  Stir minced kimchi into mayonnaise to garnish burgers and hot dogs.  Tuck it into quesadillas.  Add it to scrambled eggs.  Reprinted from Korean American  Copyright © 2022 Eric Kim  Find recipe at https://parade.com/1350956/alison-ashton/caramelized-kimchi-baked-potatoes-recipe/   

Foggy Bottom is one of the oldest late 18th- and 19th-century neighborhoods in Washington, D.C., located west of the White House and downtown Washington, in the Northwest quadrant.  It is bounded roughly by 17th Street NW to the east, Rock Creek Parkway to the west, Constitution Avenue NW to the south, and Pennsylvania Avenue NW to the north.  Foggy Bottom is thought to have received its name due to an atmospheric quirk of its low lying, marshy riverside location, which made it susceptible to concentrations of fog, and later, industrial smoke.  The United States Department of State gained the metonym "Foggy Bottom" when it moved its headquarters to the nearby Harry S Truman Building, originally planned and constructed to be the new United States Department of War headquarters building, from the State, War, and Navy Building (now known as the Eisenhower Executive Office Building) near the White House in 1947.  Foggy Bottom includes the main campus of the George Washington University (GWU), and residents have convenient access to the nearby historic Georgetown area.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foggy_Bottom 

Hatchards claims to be the oldest bookshop in the United Kingdom, founded on Piccadilly in 1797 by John Hatchard.  After one move, it has been at the same location on Piccadilly next to Fortnum & Mason since 1801, and the two stores are also neighbours in St. Pancras railway station as of 2014.  It has a reputation for attracting high-profile authors and holds three Royal Warrants granted by the Queen, the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Edinburgh respectively.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hatchards 

La Rinconada is a town in the Peruvian Andes near a gold mine.  At up to 5,100 m (16,700 ft; 3.2 mi) above sea level, it is the highest permanent settlement in the world.  Between 2001 and 2009, the population was estimated by National Geographic to have increased to 30,000 people from just a small gold prospector camp because the price of gold rose 235% over that period, although this number has not been reflected by the 2007 census or 2017 census.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Rinconada,_Peru 

Politeness is the art of choosing among your thoughts. - Madame de Stael, writer (22 Apr 1766-1817) 

With Neil Simon’s papers, Library of Congress just got a lot funnier.  Some 7,700 items, including manuscripts and correspondence with Bob Hope and August Wilson, go into the archives by Peter Marks  After the library’s senior music specialist, Mark Eden Horowitz, finishes the task of cataloguing the Simon trove, researchers will have available a collection detailing a remarkable theatrical portfolio.  The prolific Simon is considered one of the most successful writers Broadway ever produced, with more than 30 plays and musicals to his credit—not to mention his voluminous Hollywood output—over a career spanning decades. “Barefoot in the Park,” “The Odd Couple,” “Brighton Beach Memoirs,” “The Sunshine Boys” all are considered American classics, and “Lost in Yonkers,” the touching 1991 family drama that earned him a Pulitzer Prize, added a prestigious dimension to his shelves of Tonys, his Kennedy Center Honors and other awards.  The bonanza the library has reaped includes multiple drafts and script rewrites of all of these, both typed and handwritten, and hundreds more.  https://www.washingtonpost.com/theater-dance/2022/04/25/neil-simon-library-congress/

http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com  Issue 2525  April 25, 2022