Be Useful — Arnold Schwarzenegger (born 1947) 

The noun “kith” refers to your friends and acquaintances, and “kin” is used to describe your family or relatives.  So, if you’re talking about your close circle of friends, you would use “kith.”  But, if you’re talking about your relatives, you’d use the word “kin.”  It’s as simple as that!  Kith = friends  Kin = family  https://grammarist.com/usage/kith-and-kin/    

 “Selfishness can be a virtue.  Selfishness is essential to survival, and without survival we cannot protect those whom we love more than ourselves.”  — Duke Ellington  (1899–1974)   

Edward Kennedy Ellington was raised by two talented, musical parents in a middle-class neighborhood of Washington, D.C.  At the age of seven, he began studying piano and earned the nickname "Duke" for his gentlemanly ways. Inspired by his job as a soda jerk, he wrote his first composition, "Soda Fountain Rag," at the age of 15.  Despite being awarded an art scholarship to the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York, Ellington followed his passion for ragtime and began to play professionally at age 17.  In the 1920s, Ellington performed in Broadway nightclubs as the bandleader of a sextet, a group which in time grew to a 10-piece ensemble.  Ellington sought out musicians with unique playing styles, such as Bubber Miley, who used a plunger to make the "wa-wa" sound, and Joe Nanton, who gave the world his trombone "growl."  https://www.biography.com/musicians/duke-ellington   

Most food historians believe salt water taffy was invented in the early 1880s.  The story begins with a gentleman named John Ross Edmiston.  The owner of a small boardwalk postcard shop in Atlantic City, Edmiston hired a man named David Bradley to sell taffy alongside his wares.  While Edmiston eventually fired Bradley, he kept the popular candy in his shop.  One night, an ocean swell flooded his boardwalk shop.  In the morning, Edmiston discovered all the taffy had been soaked in salty sea foam.  During his cleanup, a young girl came into the store asking if he still had some taffy for sale.  Jokingly, Bradley said that he had some “saltwater taffy.”  The little girl purchased the taffy and took it back to the beach to share with her friends.  Her mother heard the name and instantly loved it, and thus the name “salt water taffy” was born.  Recipes for salt water taffy vary; none contain actual salt water (and especially not ocean water!).  However, both water and salt are usually added at some point during the production process, so the name still fits.  https://www.taffytown.com/blogs/our-taffy-blog/the-history-of-salt-water-taffy  See also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taffy_(candy)   

The most distinct aspects of Alphabet City are the street names, which from west to east are Avenues A, B, C, and D.  These are the only Manhattan streets named after single letters, and the reason for that dates back to 1811 when the city created the grid system that we know today.  Lettered avenues were meant for every avenue east of 1st Avenue, and these avenues used to be much longer.  However, roads to the south were renamed below Houston Street, and Stuyvesant Town cut off the streets to the north after World War II.  Alphabet City was rapidly developed once the Commissioners Plan of 1811 was enacted.  The sudden growth meant that Alphabet City became very wealthy, very fast.  However, as expansions continued north, the affluent residents went north with it.  This left the area open to immigrant populations, especially those of Ireland, Austria, and Germany.  In fact, the area was so popular with German immigrants that Alphabet City and the surrounding area became known as Little Germany.  Some of the first public housing projects in the United States were built in Alphabet City in 1935.  This attracted even more immigrant communities, especially from Puerto Rico.  The ’50s and ’60s were quiet in Alphabet city when writers, poets, and other artists flocked to the area.  Built in 1849, The Charlie Parker Residence is the former home of Jazz Saxophonist, Charlie “Bird” Parker.  The gothic wonder received protected landmark status in 1999, and it’s not just because of the architecture.  The building’s namesake was instrumental to jazz, even creating the genre known as bebop.  Parker lived in the house when he was at the height of his fame.  The home is so popular that a jazz festival is held in Tompkins Square Park across from the building.  Russell Poole  https://www.citysignal.com/alphabet-city-manhattan-neighborhood-guide/   Alphabet City is a 1984 American crime film directed by Amos Poe.  Alphabet City, 1996 Caldecott Honor book by Stephen T. Johnson, is a wordless book.    

“If you can’t verify, then you can’t vilify.”  Murder Season, third book in the Lena Gamble series by Robert Ellis    

October 27 is World Day for Audiovisual Heritage, which was established by UNESCO to raise awareness about the significance and preservation risks of recorded audio and audiovisual materials.  It commemorates the adoption of the Recommendation for the Safeguarding and Preservation of Moving Images by UNESCO on this day in 1980.   

http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com  2737  October 27, 2023