Millet is a whole grain that looks like a tiny kernel of corn.  It’s actually a seed that comes from plants in the grass family called Poaceae.  It’s gluten-free and an excellent substitute for couscous or bulgur wheat.  Millet is fairly high in protein (1 cup cooked millet has 6 grams protein).  It’s also a good source of various vitamins and minerals, like calcium, phosphorus and magnesium.  Millet comes in many different varieties, but your local grocery store most likely sells yellow proso millet.  It has a slightly nutty flavor and makes for an easy side dish.  It also works as a hearty breakfast cereal with milk and honey or sugar, much like oatmeal.  For a fluffy, light millet, use 1 part dried millet to 2 parts water.  The instructions on your package of millet may differ from ours, but we’ve found this ratio works best for us.  Toast the millet in a dry pan first.  Stir it over medium heat for a few minutes until fragrant.  This helps to bring out its nutty flavor.  Add the water, olive oil and salt and simmer 17 to 20 minutes.  Bring the water to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cover the pot.  Cook until all the water has been absorbed.  Sonja Overhiser  https://www.acouplecooks.com/millet/   

melos  French mélo-, from Ancient Greek μέλος (mélos, “limb, musical phrase, melody, song”).  Prefix melo- music  Derived terms   Italian terms prefixed with melo- (music)   Italian terms prefixed with melo- (limb)  https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/melo- 

The melo- part of melodrama comes from the Greek melos, which also gives us the word melody, and a melodrama was originally a stage play that had an orchestral accompaniment and was interspersed with songs.  Historically, melodramas dealt with romantic or sensational topics.  These days, though, the melody has gone from the melodrama.  Modern melodramas don't necessarily have any music; they deal with stereotypical characters and exaggerated conflicts and emotions.   https://www.cliffsnotes.com/cliffsnotes/subjects/literature/what-is-melodrama   

From:  Barbara Fix  Subject:  Groundhog Day 
Years ago Danny Rubin, writer of the movie Groundhog Day, joined the audience on Zoom in an event.  He was asked whether he had ever contemplated a sequel to the movie.  After a pause, he said sure, the question had come to him, but the decision would be to call it Groundhog Day #2 and just show the original movie.  AWADmail Issue 1052

A Petoskey stone is a rock and a fossil, often pebble-shaped, that is composed of a fossilized rugose coral, Hexagonaria percarinata.  Such stones were formed as a result of glaciation, in which sheets of ice plucked stones from the bedrock, grinding off their rough edges and depositing them in the northwestern (and some in the northeastern) portion of Michigan's lower peninsula.  In those same areas of Michigan, complete fossilized coral colony heads can be found in the source rocks for the Petoskey stones.  Petoskey stones are found in the Gravel Point Formation of the Traverse Group.  They are fragments of a coral reef that was originally deposited during the Devonian period.  When dry, the stone resembles ordinary limestone but when wet or polished using lapidary techniques, the distinctive mottled pattern of the six-sided coral fossils emerges.  It is sometimes made into decorative objects, such as gemstones.  Other forms of fossilized coral are also found in the same location.  In 1965, it was named the state stone of Michigan.  The stone was named for an Ottawa chief, Chief Pet-O-Sega, son of a French fur trader and Ottawa mother.  The city of Petoskey, Michigan, is also named after him, and is the center of the area where the stones are found. The stones are commonly found on beaches and in sand dunes.  On September 23, 2015, it was reported that a 93-pound Petoskey stone was removed from the shallow waters of Lake Michigan, near the village of Northport, Michigan.  In December 2015, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources confiscated the stone under a state law that disallows removing more than 25 pounds (11 kg) of materials from state lands.  It was announced in October 2017 that the stone would be placed on permanent display at the Outdoor Adventure Center, east of downtown Detroit near the Detroit River.  See graphics at  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petoskey_stone  See also https://www.michigan.org/article/trip-idea/where-find-petoskey-stones-michigan  Thank you, Muse reader!   

Morris Hirshfield Rediscovered  September 23, 2022–January 29, 2023  The recognition Hirshfield enjoyed from individuals such as Marcel Duchamp and Andre Breton is brought to life in a room dedicated to First Papers of Surrealism.  Like Hirshfield, artists including Kay Sage, William Baziotes, and Yves Tanguy were featured in the 1942 exhibition, and their works will be displayed at American Folk Art Museum alongside Hirshfield’s Girl with Pigeons.  Hirshfield’s career as a tailor maker will be represented by reproductions of the technical drawings that accompanied his patents for shoes, slippers, and “foot appliances.”  His slipper designs were variously adorned with pompoms, rosettes, buckles, tassels, or figure eights and speak to the originality and ornamental design that would find full expression in Hirshfield’s later paintings. In recognition of this important facet of Hirshfield’s life, contemporary artist Liz Blahd has fabricated boudoir slippers to the specifications of Hirshfield’s patented designs of the 1920s and 14 will be on view in the galleries.  See pictures at  https://folkartmuseum.org/exhibitions/morris-hirshfield-rediscovered/  American Folk Art Museum  2 Lincoln Square  Columbus Avenue at West 66th Street  New York  212. 595. 9533  info@folkartmuseum.org  Admission is always free.   

http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com  Issue 2578  October 17, 2022