Anger is always fear, and fear is always fear of loss.  *  The highest nation is a structure of values, and its patriotism is conscience.  *  The biggest reason you don’t get answers is that you haven’t asked the questions.  *  To learn anything, you must put aside the safety  of your ignorance.  *  You learn most when you play against an opponent who can beat you.  Messiah’s Handbook by Richard Bach  Thank you, Muse reader! 

Richard David Bach (born June 23, 1936) is an American writer widely known as the author of some of the 1970s' biggest sellers, including Jonathan Livingston Seagull (1970) and Illusions:  The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah (1977).  Bach has written numerous works of fiction, and also non-fiction flight-related titles.  Most of Bach's books have been semi-autobiographical, using actual or fictionalized events from his life to illustrate his philosophy.  Bach's books espouse his philosophy that our apparent physical limits and mortality are merely appearance.  Bach is noted for his love of aviation and for his books related to flying in a metaphorical context.  Bach has flown as a hobby since the age of 17.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Bach 

Draken Harald Hårfagre is a large Viking longship built in the municipality of Haugesund, Norway.  It is a ship that combines ocean-crossing sailing capabilities with a medieval warship's use of oars.  Building began in March 2010.  Copies of Viking ships are usually based on interpretations of archaeological material, but in the construction of Draken Harald Hårfagre an alternative method was used.  It was decided to begin with the living tradition of Norwegian boatbuilding, with roots that can be traced directly to the Viking Age.  Foremost Norwegian traditional boat builders are involved in the project.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draken_Harald_H%C3%A5rfagre  See also:   https://www.jigidi.com/solve/w074ihz3/replica-viking-ship-draken-harald-harfagre-2016/ 

Richard Bachman (1942–1985) is a pen name (as well as fictional character) of American horror fiction author Stephen King.  King portrays Bachman in the third season of the FX television series Sons of Anarchy.  At the beginning of King's career, the general view among publishers was that an author was limited to one book per year, since publishing more would be unacceptable to the public.  King therefore wanted to write under another name in order to increase his publication without over-saturating the market for the King "brand".  He convinced his publisher, Signet Books, to print these novels under a pseudonym.  In his introduction to The Bachman Books, King states that adopting the nom de plume Bachman was also an attempt to make sense out of his career and try to answer the question of whether his success was due to talent or luck.  He says he deliberately released the Bachman novels with as little marketing presence as possible and did his best to "load the dice against" Bachman.  King concludes that he has yet to find an answer to the "talent versus luck" question, as he felt he was outed as Bachman too early to know.  The Bachman book Thinner (1984) sold 28,000 copies during its initial run—and then ten times as many when it was revealed that Bachman was, in fact, King.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Bachman

 

Glass Gem corn, a unique variety of rainbow-colored corn, became an Internet sensation in 2012 when a photo of the sparkling cob was posted to Facebook.  The story of Glass Gem corn begins with an Oklahoma farmer named Carl Barnes.  Barnes is half-Cherokee. 
In growing older corn varieties, Barnes was able to isolate ancestral types that had been lost to Native American tribes when they were relocated in the 1800s to what is now Oklahoma.  This led to an exchange of ancient corn seed with people he had met and made friends with all over the country.  Barnes said that the rainbow seed originally came from a crossing of "Pawnee miniature popcorns with an Osage red flour corn and also another Osage corn called ‘Greyhorse.’"  Glass Gem is known as flint corn.  The name "flint" comes from the kernel's hard outer-layer.  Most people grind it up into cornmeal and use it in tortillas or grits because it's very starchy.  https://www.jigidi.com/jigsaw-puzzle/qs8d3b3j/glass-gem-corn/  

A metaverse is a network of 3D virtual worlds focused on social connection.  In futurism and science fiction, it is often described as a hypothetical iteration of the Internet as a single, universal virtual world that is facilitated by the use of virtual and augmented reality headsets.  The term "metaverse" has its origins in the 1992 science fiction novel Snow Crash as a portmanteau of "meta" and "universe."  Various metaverses have been developed for popular use such as virtual world platforms like Second Life.  Some metaverse iterations involve integration between virtual and physical spaces and virtual economies.  Demand for increased immersion means metaverse development is often linked to advancing virtual reality technology.  The term has been used as a buzzword to exaggerate development progress of various related technologies and projects for public relations purposes.  Information privacy, user addiction, and user safety are concerns within metaverses, stemming from challenges facing the social media and video game industries as a whole.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metaverse  See also https://www.wired.com/story/what-is-the-metaverse/

At the public library in Mystic, Connecticut, a card catalog that formerly stored book due dates now holds endless packets of seeds.  There’s eggplant and kale, marigolds and zinnias; more than 90 different types of seeds available for anyone with a card to take home and plant.  “The library has become so much more than just a place to come in and get books,” said Leslie Weber, the youth services associate at the Mystic & Noank Library.  “It’s becoming a community center, and the seed library fits right into that.  It gets people outside, gets children involved with gardening, and we’re pushing to address food insecurity with it.”  The seed library in Mystic is just one of a number that have sprouted up around the country over the last decade—including in Georgia, California, Colorado, Arizona, and Maine—as libraries turn to seeds to help them meet the daily needs of the communities they serve in new ways.  By offering patrons free seeds, the libraries can also combat hunger insecurity and biodiversity loss—all while building community resilience.  Bridget Shirvell   https://www.eater.com/23043915/seed-library-free-seeds-gardening

Daisy Rockwell (born 1969) is an American Hindi and Urdu language translator and artist.  She has translated a number of classic works of Hindi and Urdu literature, including Upendranath Ashk's Falling Walls, Bhisham Sahni's Tamas, and Khadija Mastur's The Women's Courtyard.  Her 2021 translation of Geetanjali Shree's Tomb of Sand was the first South Asian book to win the International Booker Prize.  Rockwell grew up in western Massachusetts.  Both her parents are artists.  She is the granddaughter of the painter, illustrator, and author Norman Rockwell.  She also paints under the alias Lapata, which means "missing" or "disappeared" in Urdu.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daisy_Rockwell

June 29 is the International Day of the Tropics, which is recognized by the United Nations to highlight the important role that countries in tropical areas of the world play in achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, and to raise awareness about the challenges faced by these areas. 

http://librariansmuse.blogpost.com  Issue 2536  June 29, 2022