Walter Leland Cronkite Jr. (1916–2009) was an American broadcast journalist who served as anchorman for the CBS Evening News for 19 years (1962–1981).  During the 1960s and 1970s, he was often cited as "the most trusted man in America" after being so named in an opinion poll.  On November 22, 1963, Cronkite introduced The Beatles to the United States by airing a four-minute story about the band on CBS Morning News. The story was scheduled to be shown again on the CBS Evening News that same day, but the assassination of John F. Kennedy prevented the broadcast of the regular evening news.  The Beatles story was aired on the evening news program on December 10.  On the eve of Cronkite's retirement, he appeared on The Tonight Show hosted by Johnny Carson.  The following night, Carson did a comic spoof of his on-air farewell address.   Cronkite made a cameo appearance on a 1974 episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, in which he met with Lou Grant in his office.  Ted Baxter, who at first tried to convince Cronkite that he (Baxter) was as good a newsman as Eric Sevareid, pleaded with Cronkite to hire him for the network news, at least to give sport scores, and gave an example:  "The North Stars 3, the Kings Oh!"  Cronkite turned to Grant and said, "I'm gonna get you for this!"  Cronkite later said that he was disappointed that his scene was filmed in one take, since he had hoped to sit down and chat with the cast.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Cronkite

Ekphrasis  “Description” in Greek.  An ekphrastic poem is a vivid description of a scene or, more commonly, a work of art.  Through the imaginative act of narrating and reflecting on the “action” of a painting or sculpture, the poet may amplify and expand its meaning.  A notable example is “Ode on a Grecian Urn,” in which the poet John Keats speculates on the identity of the lovers who appear to dance and play music, simultaneously frozen in time and in perpetual motion.  https://www.poetryfoundation.org/learn/glossary-terms/ekphrasis   

“Bats in the belfry” means crazy or eccentric.  Bats are, of course, the erratically flying mammals and 'belfries' are bell towers, sometimes found at the top of churches.  'Bats in the belfry' refers to someone who acts as though he has bats careering around his topmost part, that is, his head.  It has the sound of a phrase from Olde Englande and it certainly has the imagery to fit into any number of Gothic novels based in English parsonages or turreted castles.  In fact, it comes from the USA and is not especially old.  All the early citations are from American authors and date from the start of the 20th century; for example, this piece from the Ohio newspaper The Newark Daily Advocate, October 1900:  To his hundreds of friends and acquaintances in Newark, these purile [sic] and senseless attacks on Hon. John W. Cassingham are akin to the vaporings of the fellow with a large flock of bats in his belfry."  Ambrose Bierce, also American, used the term in a piece for Cosmopolitan Magazine, in July 1907, describing it as a new curiosity:  "He was especially charmed with the phrase 'bats in the belfry', and would indubitably substitute it for 'possessed of a devil', the Scriptural diagnosis of insanity."  The use of 'bats' and 'batty' to denote odd behaviour originated around the same time as 'bats in the belfry' and the terms are clearly related.  Again, the first authors to use the words are American:  1903 A. L. Kleberg - Slang Fables from Afar:  "She . . . acted so queer . . . that he decided she was Batty."  1919 Fannie Hurst - Humoresque: " 'Are you bats?' she said."    https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/bats-in-the-belfry.html   

Proprioception, also called kinesthesia, is the body’s ability to sense its location, movements, and actions.  It’s the reason we’re able to move freely without consciously thinking about our environment.  Examples of proprioception include being able to walk or kick without looking at your feet or being able touch your nose with your eyes closed. Adrienne Santos- Longhurst  https://www.healthline.com/health/body/proprioception#symptoms   

The phrase "scientia potentia est" (or "scientia est potentia" or also "scientia potestas est") is a Latin aphorism meaning "knowledge is power", commonly attributed to Sir Francis Bacon.  The expression "ipsa scientia potestas est" ('knowledge itself is power') occurs in Bacon's Meditationes Sacrae (1597).  The exact phrase "scientia potentia est" (knowledge is power) was written for the first time in the 1668 version of Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes, who was a secretary to Bacon as a young man.  The related phrase "sapientia est potentia" is often translated as "wisdom is power".  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientia_potentia_est   

Little Christmas (Irish: Nollaig na mBan, lit. 'Women's Christmas'), also known as Old Christmas, Green Christmas, or Twelfth Night, is one of the traditional names among Irish Christians and Amish Christians for 6 January, which is also known more widely as the Feast of the Epiphany, celebrated after the conclusion of the twelve days of Christmastide.  It is the traditional end of the Christmas season and until 2013 was the last day of the Christmas holidays for both primary and secondary schools in Ireland.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Christmas   

http://librarianmuse.blogspot.com  Issue 2617  January 6, 2023