YOLO (“you only live once”) is an acronym that burst from obscurity to ubiquity after a Drake song put it on the map in 2011.  Amanda Katz  https://headtopics.com/us/opinion-why-the-scary-funny-profane-fafo-was-2022-s-word-of-the-year-34208532   

Olives are historically important:  Their cultivation dates back millennia, and they're written into the Mediterranean culinary canon.  Olive trees are some of the oldest trees ever harvested by humans, a practice that dates back more than 8,000 years.  Today, olives are grown both for their oil and their fruit.  The trees themselves thrive in warm, subtropical zones, especially in sea air and rocky soil.  Native to Syria and Asia Minor, the first olives were picked from low shrubs.  It was the Assyrians who discovered that flavorful, pungent oil could be pressed from this fruit, and so they sought to cultivate and harvest the shrubby trees.  With time and attention, the olive tree, or Olea europaea in botanical lingo, flourished and evolved into the hearty tree we know today.  Olive trees are grown not from seeds, but rather from cut roots or branches buried in the soil and allowed to root, or grafted onto other trees.  Contemporary olive production spans the Mediterranean rim and other subtropical zones, including Latin America and the United States.  Most of our domestic olives come from California—great wine regions and climates tend to be hospitable to olive trees, too.  But olive trees grow even more slowly and require meticulous cultivation; in exchange for that intensive investment, their longevity rewards many generations.  They live long, long lives—some for as much as a millennium.  Olives should be relatively firm, and never mushy or visibly bruised.  If you're shopping for olives at a store's "olive bar," look for olives dressed in brine, which helps them retain their moisture and flavor.  They should also be turned over frequently for freshness.  Once home, store your olives in the fridge, soaking in the liquid they came in and loosely covered with plastic wrap, for up to 10 days.  If there's no brine, make your own—just add a teaspoon of salt to a cup and a half of water.  Don't leave olives in a sealed container; it's better for them to breathe a bit.  Hannah Howard  See many pictures at https://www.seriouseats.com/guide-to-olive-varieties    

Music composer and philanthropist Ted Shen will sell 25 pieces from his collection of early modern American art at Christie’s in New York in April, 2023 valued at an estimated $10 million.  Shen, who focused on writing musical theater after retiring as an investment bank executive in 1999, has assembled the collection over the past few decades.  Some of the artists also have a deep connection to music, says Paige Kestenman, a specialist at Christie’s American Art Department in New York.  https://localtoday.news/ny/music-composer-ted-shen-is-auctioning-off-a-10-million-collection-of-modern-american-art-118355.html    

Feb. 8, 2023  Maximize the athleticism he was born with.  Maximize his ability to earn money for his family and raise it for charity.  And maximize his chances at winning.  All the points--the side-step 3-pointers, the dunks (more than 2,000 of them) and all those and-1s (more than 1,400 of them)--are an outgrowth of LeBron James' desire to make the most out of a career he has nurtured with great care.  This record is a James triumph in longevity of mind and body, something he has never lost sight of even as his career has gone on such an unprecedented ride.  "I know as long as my mind stays in it, I can play at this level.  That's up to my mind," James said last December, reflecting on his career.  "My body is going to be OK, because if my mind is into it, I will make sure my body is taken care of and I'll continue to put the work in."  There are many differences between Abdul-Jabbar and James, both as men and as players.  One was a slender giant who revolutionized the way the game was played at every level with possibly the most unstoppable shot ever.  The other is an athletic marvel whose genius changed the business of basketball nearly as much as he dominated the league.  Brian Windhorst and Ramona Shelburne  Link to video of prize-winning shot and reaction at https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/35610921/lebron-38390-point-scoring-record-triumph-longevity-mind-body   

http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com   Issue 2629  February 8, 2023