Herschel Garfein (born January 17, 1958) is an American composer, librettist, stage director, and faculty member of the Steinhardt School of Music at New York University, where he teaches Script Analysis.  Garfein is widely known for his libretto written for Robert Aldridge's Elmer Gantry, which won two 2012 Grammy Awards including "Best Contemporary Classical Composition" won by Garfein and Aldridge.  He also collaborated with Aldridge on the oratorio Parables.  In his compositions for the musical Suenos he found an inspiration in Hispanic rhythms. Garfein also composed the music and libretto for an opera based on the Tom Stoppard play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead.   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herschel_Garfein

The spotted lanternfly, Lycorma delicatula, (SLF) is an invasive pest that is capable of damaging certain plants such as grapevines, black walnut saplings and tree-of-heaven (Ailanthus altissima).  SLF was first identified in Ohio in 2020, and has since been found in several counties across the state.  SLF and regulated articles are currently under quarantine in several counties in Ohio, including Cuyahoga, Franklin, Hamilton, and Lucas.  Although SLF cannot bite or sting, both nymphs and adults often jump when approached.  https://agri.ohio.gov/divisions/plant-health/invasive-pests/invasive-insects/slf  Lantern flies are attracted to lights on glassed-in areas.  

shrive

   verb tr.: 1. To hear a confession.

             2. To impose penance.

             3. To free from guilt.   

   verb intr.: 1. To make a confession.

             2. To hear a confession.   

[From Old English scrift (confession, penance), from scrifan (to shrive:  to impose penance).  Earliest documented use:   before 1150.]   NOTES: Here's a word that does it all, like a one-stop soul shop.  Shrive covers the entire moral supply chain:  hearing a confession, handing out a penalty, and wiping the slate clean.  Earlier, people went to priests for shriving.   These days, they go to therapists, life coaches, and podcasts. ("Tell me about your mother . . .  and say three Hail Marys.) https://wordsmith.org/words/hail_mary.html  The most common form of the word lives in the phrase "to get short shrift", meaning to receive little time, attention, or sympathy. https://wordsmith.org/words/shrift.html  Originally, the quick confession and absolution given to condemned prisoners before execution.  Thank you, reader.   

Tim Berners-Lee and Robert Cailliau published their formal proposal for the World Wide Web on November 12, 1990.  Wikipedia   

The world record for biggest bagpipe ensemble was broken in Melbourne on November 12, 2025, with 374 pipers playing in unison.  The ensemble played AC/DC's It’s a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock ‘n’ Roll) to a crowd of thousands.  It broke the previous record, set in Bulgaria in 2012, by 41.  https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11-12/world-bagpipe-record-melbourne/106002186   

November 14, 2025