Just think of the tragedy of teaching children not to doubt. - Clarence Darrow, lawyer and author (18 Apr 1857-1938) 

In medieval French, there was a set expression rifle et rafle.  These words are from the verbs rifler, to spoil or strip, and raffler, to carry off.  The phrase referred to the plundering of the bodies of the dead on the battlefield and the carrying off of the booty.  The French phrase moved into English in the forms rif and raf or riffe and raf, which meant at first every scrap, from which we may guess that medieval plunderers were extremely thorough.  It’s known by at least 1338 (it appears in Mannyng’s Chronicle of English of that date).  Later it shifted sense through a series of stages, first referring to one and all, or everybody, and then later taking on the idea of the common people, those of no special social standing.  The phrase was abbreviated to riff-raff and can be found in Gregory’s Chronicle of London of about 1470.  It seems to have taken some decades longer for it to have gone even further downhill and for it to be associated in particular with the dregs of society.  We’re familiar with descendants of both of the original old French words in English, by the way.  Riffler is the origin of our riffle in the card-shuffling sense, amongst others, and of rifle, for searching hurriedly through possessions for something, or to steal.  It also gave rise to the firearms sense, since a rifle takes its name from the spiral grooves cut in the barrel of such a gun to improve its accuracy; this comes from a different sense of the French word, meaning to graze or scratch.  In the early nineteenth century raffish appeared.  This adjective originally referred to somebody who was disreputable or vulgar.  Only later did it acquire the undertones it now has of a person who is attractively unconventional.  This may have come from the second half of riff-raff, or from raff, which had survived by itself in dialect usage in much the same sense of the lowest class of the population.  https://www.worldwidewords.org/qa-rif1.html  

Pulitzer Prizes were awarded at Columbia University May 6, 2024.  Included were:  Night Watch, by Jayne Anne Phillips, a beautifully rendered novel set in West Virginia's Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum in the aftermath of the Civil War where a severely wounded Union veteran, a 12-year-old girl and her mother, long abused by a Confederate soldier, struggle to heal and Primary Trust, by Eboni Booth, a simple and elegantly crafted story of an emotionally damaged man who finds a new job, new friends and a new sense of worth, illustrating how small acts of kindness can change a person's life and enrich an entire community.  Find other titles at https://www.npr.org/2024/05/06/1248897860/pulitzer-prize-winners-2024   

The Scorpion and the Frog is an animal fable which teaches that vicious people cannot resist hurting others even when it is not in their own interests.  This fable seems to have emerged in Russia in the early 20th century.  A scorpion wants to cross a river but cannot swim, so it asks a frog to carry it across.  The frog hesitates, afraid that the scorpion might sting it, but the scorpion promises not to, pointing out that it would drown if it killed the frog in the middle of the river.  The frog considers this argument sensible and agrees to transport the scorpion. Midway across the river, the scorpion stings the frog anyway, dooming them both.  The dying frog asks the scorpion why it stung despite knowing the consequence, to which the scorpion replies:  "I am sorry, but I couldn't resist the urge.  It's my character."  The earliest known appearance of this fable is in the 1933 Russian novel The German Quarter by Lev Nitoburg.  The fable also appears in the 1944 novel The Hunter of the Pamirs, and this is the earliest known appearance of the fable in English.  The Hunter of the Pamirs is an English translation of the 1940 Russian novel Jura by Georgii Tushkan.  In the English-speaking world, the fable was made famous by the 1955 film Mr. Arkadin.  It is recounted in a soliloquy by the movie's villain, played by Orson Welles.  A likely precursor to The Scorpion and the Frog is the Persian fable of The Scorpion and the Turtle, which appears in a number of Persian texts from the late 15th century.   

greenmail  (GREEN-mayl)  noun  The practice of buying a large quantity of a company’s stock as a means of hostile takeover, then selling it back to the company at a higher price.  verb tr.:  To subject a company to this tactic.   Earliest documented use:  1983.

Death is not extinguishing the light; it is putting out the lamp because the dawn has come. - Rabindranath Tagore, poet, philosopher, author, songwriter, painter, educator, composer, Nobel laureate (7 May 1861-1941)  A.Word.A.Day with Anu Garg   

http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com  Issue 2811  May 8, 2024 

Yoda condition (plural Yoda conditions) noun   An allusion to the somewhat grammatically reversed speech style of Yoda, a character in the Star Wars franchise—for example, “Truly wonderful, the mind of a child is.  The term was possibly coined by Félix Cloutier (username “zneak”) in 2010, based on Yoda notation which is claimed to have been coined by Thomas M. Tuerke and published online in 2006.  https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Yoda_condition#English  May the Fourth—oops, the Force—be with you!   May the Fourth is observed as Star Wars Day by fans of the franchise.  Wiktionary   

The Kentucky Derby Museum is one of the region’s premier attractions, celebrating the tradition, history, hospitality, and pride of the world-renowned event that is the Kentucky Derby.  Each year, the Museum welcomes over 240,000 visitors from across the U.S. and around the world.  With a general admission ticket, visitors can enjoy two floors of interactive exhibits, a 30-minute guided historic walking tour at Churchill Downs Racetrack, and watch the Museum’s signature 18-minute movie, “The Greatest Race” on a 360°, 4K high-resolution screen.  The Museum’s exhibits tell the story of how the Kentucky Derby got its start, going back to the first Derby in 1875.  Displayed are unique artifacts ranging from early fashion pieces to winning Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas’ trophies and artwork entrusted to the Museum in 2017.  Visitors can call a race, play Derby trivia and learn about what it takes to be a jockey.  The Derby Café offers a modern take on some of Kentucky’s signature dishes, including a Hot Brown Panini, Burgoo, and Bourbon Bread Pudding. The bourbon bar offers Mint Juleps, bourbon flights, and other drinks at the full bar.  Find hours and location at https://www.derbymuseum.org/about.html

The 150th Kentucky Derby in Louisville produced one of the most dramatic finishes in its storied history—three noses at the wire.  Mystik Dan desperately fought to hang on with two challengers coming to him in the closing strides.  He did, too, after a delay of several minutes while the closest three-horse photo finish since 1947 was sorted out.  Mystik Dan, an 18-1 shot, edged Sierra Leone by a nose, with Forever Young another nose back in third on May 4, 2024.  Sierra Leone was the most expensive horse in the race at $2.3 million.  Long shots Track Phantom and Just Steel led the field through the early going, with 3-1 favorite Fierceness racing three-wide just off the leaders.  It was just the 10th Kentucky Derby decided by a nose—the closest margin in horse racing—and the first since Grindstone edged Cavonnier to wear the garland of red roses in 1996.  https://apnews.com/article/kentucky-derby-2024-fierceness-sierra-leone-7a75a2184aa4433bafd1397340b61d99 

"My Old Kentucky Home, Good-Night!" typically shortened to "My Old Kentucky Home", is a sentimental ballad written by Stephen Foster, probably composed in 1852.  It was published in January 1853 by Firth, Pond, & Co. of New York.  Foster was likely inspired by Harriet Beecher Stowe's anti-slavery novel Uncle Tom's Cabin, as evidenced by the title of a sketch in Foster's sketchbook, "Poor Uncle Tom, Good-Night!"  Interpretations of the song vary widely. Frederick Douglass wrote in his 1855 autobiography My Bondage and My Freedom that the song "awakens sympathies for the slave, in which antislavery principles take root, grow, and flourish".  However, the song's publication by Firth & Pond as a minstrel song and its use in "Tom shows" (stagings of Stowe's novel of varying degrees of sincerity and faithfulness to the original text), and other settings, have clouded its reception.  Foster was greatly inspired by Harriet Beecher Stowe's abolitionist novel Uncle Tom's Cabin, which appeared in bookstores in Foster's hometown of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in March 1852.  The novel, written about the plight of a slave in Kentucky, had a profound effect on Foster's future songwriting by altering the tone of his music to sympathize the position of the enslaved person.  In his notebook, Foster penned the lyrics inspired by Stowe's novel, initially named "Poor Old Uncle Tom, Good-Night!" Foster ultimately removed references to Stowe's book, renaming the work, "My Old Kentucky Home, Good-Night!"  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Old_Kentucky_Home#   

Renowned minimalist painter Frank Stella died May 4, 2024 at his home in Manhattan, N.Y.  The artist was 87 years old.  When Stella was only 23, he made his debut at New York's Museum of Modern Art.  And soon after his series Black Paintings, which he started in 1958, Stella created two more series, Aluminum Paintings (1960) and Copper Paintings (1960-61), that committed to the idea that the art was in the medium and was, as he told The Guardian in 2015, supposed to be "fairly straightforward."  In 1970, when he was 33 years old, Stella became the youngest artist ever to receive a retrospective at New York's Museum of Modern Art.  His exhibition covered a decade of his drawings and paintings and emphasized his originality in simplicity.  In the 1990s, Stella's work evolved from the canvas to colorful geometrical configurations and sculptures.  He started using computer technology and architectural rendering to incorporate digital images into his work.  His Moby Dick series, a set of paintings, lithographs, and sculptures, took their titles from chapters of Herman Melville's classic novel.  https://www.npr.org/2024/05/04/1112027057/frank-stella-dead-art-minimalist

http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com  Issue  2810   May 6, 2024 

Roman and Byzantine Food and Dining  

No doubt in Roman as well as Byzantine cultures in fact in almost all cultures, food has played an important part and till now it does play a part in every country’s identity, though back then in the age of empires, the food culture was one way to show how powerful and cultured an empire was.  The emperors, legions, cities with advanced engineering, aqueducts, entertainment, art, music, bathhouses, education, literature, science, and multi-ethnic populations showed the imperial might of both Rome and Byzantium but one thing that shows both how sophisticated Roman/ Byzantine culture was as well as how people lived their daily lives was through food and dining as well the diverse cuisine in their history. Of course with Rome’s location in the Mediterranean it shared many cuisine elements with that of Ancient Greece, Carthage, and the Etruscans having a lot of olive oil, cheese, chickpeas, meat, and fish but with the Roman world expanding north into Europe and east into Western Asia, trade within the vast expanse of the empire built up Rome’s cuisine introducing an unlimited grain supply for Rome from Egypt, eastern herbs and spices as well as cooking methods both barbarians in Europe and civilizations in the east had used.  See illustrations at https://byzantium-blogger.blog/2020/07/05/roman-and-byzantine-food-and-dining/  “Civilized life cannot proceed without salt.” -  Pliny the Elder

Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/24–AD 79), called Pliny the Elder (/ˈplɪni/), was a Roman author, naturalist, natural philosopher, naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian.  He wrote the encyclopedic Naturalis Historia (Natural History), which became an editorial model for encyclopedias.  He spent most of his spare time studying, writing, and investigating natural and geographic phenomena in the field.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pliny_the_Elder 

 

Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus, born Gaius Caecilius or Gaius Caecilius Cilo (61–c. 113), better known as Pliny the Younger (/ˈplɪni/), was a lawyer, author, and magistrate of Ancient Rome.  Pliny's uncle, Pliny the Elder, helped raise and educate him.  Pliny the Younger wrote hundreds of letters, of which 247 survived, and which are of great historical value.  Some are addressed to reigning emperors or to notables such as the historian Tacitus. Pliny served as an imperial magistrate under Trajan (reigned 98–117), and his letters to Trajan provide one of the few surviving records of the relationship between the imperial office and provincial governors.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pliny_the_Younger

 

Coddled eggs are cooked inside their own little “pots”, so the egg never touches the water, unlike poached eggs which are cooked directly in water.  Ouefs en cocotte is the French name for eggs in pots which could refer to coddled or baked eggs.  yield: 2   prep time: 3 MINUTES  cook time: 8 MINUTES  Link to other recipes including fried bread and Scotch eggs at https://www.christinascucina.com/coddled-eggs-how-to-coddle-eggs-easy-directions/   

In cooking, coddled eggs are eggs that have been cracked into a ramekin or another small container, placed in a water bath or bain-marie and gently or lightly cooked just below boiling temperature.  They can be partially cooked, mostly cooked, or hardly cooked at all (as in the eggs used to make Caesar salad dressing, which is only slightly poached for a thicker end-product).  Poached eggs are similar to coddled eggs but cooked by submersion in water, rather than being placed in a water bath.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coddled_egg   

The Modern is a two Michelin-starred, contemporary American restaurant at the Museum of Modern Art, in Manhattan at 9 W, 53d Street, featuring three separate experiences:
THE BAR ROOM, THE MODERN, and THE KITCHEN TABLE  Link to menus at https://www.themodernnyc.com/  Thank you, Muse reader!   

pen picture (plural) pen pictures)(idiomatic) noun written description, often biographical.  synonyms ▲quotations ▼  (art, archaic) A picture drawn with a pen. synonym ▲  

Synonym  pen portrait  https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/pen_picture#English   

May 3 is World Press Freedom Day, which is recognized by the United Nations to raise awareness of the importance of freedom of the press and remind governments of their duty to respect and uphold the right to freedom of expression. The Windhoek Declaration, a statement of press freedom principles by African newspaper journalists, was adopted on May 3, 1991.   

http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com  Issue 2809  May 3, 2024 

 

A Calico Ball (alternately referred to as a Calico Dance or Party) stems from an 1855 New York City event in which women were encouraged to wear a dress made of simple calico which would be donated for the benefit of the poor after the party. When the New York Times ran the story, the idea caught on quickly and copycat dances quickly moved westward.  https://blogs.davenportlibrary.com/sc/2022/02/11/who-speaks-for-a-calico-ball/ 

ICING:  2 cups confectioner's sugar sifted with half and half or milk to thin.  Use as needed, or use on top of fruitcake—recipe at https://theviewfromgreatisland.com/christmas-fruitcake-recipe/   

The Broad was founded by philanthropists Eli and Edythe Broad on Grand Avenue in downtown Los Angeles.  Designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro in collaboration with Gensler, the museum offers free general admission and presents an active program of rotating temporary exhibitions and innovative audience engagement.  The Broad is home to nearly 2,000 works of art in the Broad collection, which is one of the world’s leading collections of postwar and contemporary art.  The 120,000-square-foot building features two floors of gallery space and is the headquarters of The Broad Art Foundation’s worldwide lending library, which has been loaning collection works to museums around the world since 1984.  The Broad welcomes more than 900,000 visitors from around the world per year.  See pictures at https://www.thebroad.org/about   

I don't need time.  What I need is a deadline. - Duke Ellington, jazz pianist, composer, and conductor (29 Apr 1899-1974)    

The 2024 Road to the Kentucky Derby is a series of races through which horses qualified for the 2024 Kentucky Derby, which will be held on May 4.  The field for the Derby was limited to 20 horses, with up to four 'also eligibles' in case of a late withdrawal from the field.  There were three separate paths for horses to take to qualify for the Derby:  the main Road consisting of races in North America (plus one in Dubai), the Japan Road consisting of four races in Japan, and the European road consisting of seven races in England, Ireland and France.  The top five finishers in the specified races received points, with higher points awarded in the major prep races in March and April.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024_Road_to_the_Kentucky_Derby   

Turkey and Sweet Potato Meatloaf    https://hrs.uni.edu/blogs/wellbeing/recipe/2018/sweet-potato-meatloaf  See also https://www.punchfork.com/recipe/Sweet-Potato-Turkey-Meatloaf-Skinnytaste    

Keith Allen Haring (May 4, 1958–1990) was an American artist whose pop art emerged from the New York City graffiti subculture of the 1980s.  His animated imagery has "become a widely recognized visual language".  In addition to solo gallery exhibitions, he participated in renowned national and international group shows such as documenta in Kassel, the Whitney Biennial in New York, the São Paulo Biennial, and the Venice Biennale.  The Whitney Museum held a retrospective of his art in 1997.  Haring's popularity grew from his spontaneous drawings in New York City subways—chalk outlines of figures, dogs, and other stylized images on blank black advertising spaces.  After gaining public recognition, he created colorful larger scale murals, many commissioned.  He produced more than 50 public artworks between 1982 and 1989, many of them created voluntarily for hospitals, day care centers and schools.  In 1986, he opened the Pop Shop as an extension of his work.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keith_Haring   

worky adj (informal) 

Characterized by or pertaining to work.

Especially of attire: appropriate for work; businesslike.

Requiring much work; laborious.

Tending to be very serious about work; diligent, industrious.

(obsolete) Showing the effect of much effort and work; intricate, involved. [...]  Wiktionary    

http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com  Issue 2808  May 1, 2024

Broccolini is the result of crossbreeding broccoli and the leafy vegetable Chinese broccoli (via University of Washington).  According to Bon Appetit, the hybridization gave us what we now know as broccolini.  Broccolini features small broccoli-like florets.  The florets, as well as edible leaves, grow from long stems.  These latter features come from broccolini's Chinese broccoli genes.  How did this broccoli-and-gai lan mashup occur?  Scientists working for Japan's Sakata Seed Company created the hybrid in 1993, giving it the brand name "aspabroc" to convey to customers its subtle asparagus-like flavor.  In 1994, Sakata partnered with Sanbon Inc. to grow the seed variety in Mexico, renaming the variety once again, this time calling it "asparation."   In 1996, asparation was introduced to the United States retail market under the more marketable name, broccolini.  How did this broccoli-and-gai lan mashup occur?  Scientists working for Japan's Sakata Seed Company created the hybrid in 1993, giving it the brand name "aspabroc" to convey to customers its subtle asparagus-like flavor.  In 1994, Sakata partnered with Sanbon Inc. to grow the seed variety in Mexico, renaming the variety once again, this time calling it "asparation."  In 1996, asparation was introduced to the United States retail market under the more marketable name, broccolini.  https://www.mashed.com/455067/broccolini-vs-broccoli-whats-the-difference/   

New York minute (plural New York minutes) noun 

Supposedly from the time between a traffic light turning green and the driver behind sounding the horn.  (informal) An instant; an extremely short time. 

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/New_York_minute   

“He's made me realize and accept that gray areas do exist.  I used to see only black and white.”  Friction, a novel by Sandra Brown   

THE LIFE-CHANGING LOAF OF BREAD by Sara Britton

Some of the ingredients: 

o    1 cup / 135g sunflower seeds

o    ½ cup / 90g flax seeds

o    ½ cup / 65g hazelnuts or almonds

o    1 ½ cups / 145g rolled oats

o    2 Tbsp. chia seeds

Find more at:   https://www.mynewroots.org/2013/02/the-life-changing-loaf-of-bread/   

Stephan Joseph Kornacki Jr. (born 1979) an American political journalist, writer, and television presenter.  Kornacki is a national political correspondent for NBC News.  He has written articles for Salon, The New York Observer, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, New York Daily News, New York Post, The Boston Globe, and The Daily Beast.  Kornacki is the multimedia anchor and data analyst for much of MSNBC's The Place for Politics campaign coverage, which airs during Election Day in the United States since 2016.  He made an appearance on NBC's coverage of the 2021 Kentucky Derby, where he was the only personality to correctly predict Medina Spirit as the apparent winner of the race (although the race win was later given to Mandaloun after a positive drug test by Medina Spirit), and the 2020 Summer Olympics.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Kornacki  Kornacki presented a “dinner data” election-year roast on Saturday night at the annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner on April 28, 2024.    

If you're a bigwig in the world of competitive chess, you are a well-known and respected player.  A government bigwig is a person with a good deal of power and influence, and a corporate bigwig might own an enormous company.  This word dates from the 18th century, when powerful, distinguished men tended to wear large, impressive wigs.  https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/bigwig   

http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com  Issue 2807  April 29, 2024

 

posh  adjective/noun/verb/interjection 

Most likely derived from Romani posh (“half”), either because posh-kooroona (“half a crown”) (originally a substantial sum of money) was used metaphorically for anything pricey or upper-class, or because posh-houri (“half-penny”) came to refer to money generally.  A period slang dictionary defines "posh" as a term used by thieves for "money : generic, but specifically, a halfpenny or other small coin".  An example is given from James Payn's The Eavesdropper (1888):  "They used such funny terms: 'brads,' and 'dibbs,' and 'mopusses,' and 'posh' . . .  at last it was borne in upon me that they were talking about money."  Evidence exists for a slang sense from the 1890s meaning dandy, which is quite possibly related.  A popular folk etymology holds that the term is an acronym for "port out, starboard home", describing the cooler, north-facing cabins taken by the most aristocratic or rich passengers travelling from Britain to India and back.  However, there is no evidence for this claim. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/posh#Adjective    

Belle da Costa Greene (1879–1950) was one of the most prominent librarians in American history.  She ran the Morgan Library for forty-three years—initially as the private librarian of J. Pierpont Morgan and then his son, Jack, and later as the inaugural director of the Pierpont Morgan Library (now the Morgan Library & Museum).  Not only did Greene build one of the most important collections of rare books and manuscripts in the United States, but she also transformed an exclusive private collection into a major public resource, originating the robust program of exhibitions, lectures, publications, and research services that continues today.  The daughter of Genevieve Ida Fleet Greener (1849–1941) and Richard T. Greener (1844–1922), Belle Greene (named Belle Marion Greener at birth) grew up in a predominantly African American community in Washington, DC.  Her father was the first Black graduate of Harvard College and a prominent educator, diplomat, and racial justice activist.  Her mother came from a distinguished Black family in Washington and worked as a musician and educator.  After Belle’s parents separated during her adolescence, Genevieve changed her surname and that of her children to Greene.  Belle Greene was employed at the Princeton University Library when Junius Spencer Morgan, a nephew of J. Pierpont Morgan and an ardent bibliophile, recommended her to his uncle, whose new library building was nearing completion.  In 1905, Greene began working as an assistant to Junius and ultimately became J. Pierpont Morgan’s private librarian, with her own assistant, Ada Thurston—managing, documenting, and building Morgan's collection of rare books and manuscripts, organizing public exhibitions at outside venues, and establishing relationships with dealers and scholars.  After Morgan’s death in 1913, Greene continued as private librarian to his son, J.P. Morgan Jr., who established the Pierpont Morgan Library as a public institution in 1924.  Greene was named its first director and served in that capacity until her retirement in 1948, two years before her death.  https://www.themorgan.org/belle-greene   

Citrus unshiu is a semi-seedless and easy-peeling citrus species, also known as the satsuma mandarin or Japanese mandarin.  During the Edo period of Japan, kishu mikans were more popular because there was a popular superstition that eating Citrus unshiu without seeds made people prone to infertility.  Citrus unshiu became popular in Japan after modernization started in the Meiji period.  It was introduced to the West from the Satsuma region of Japan in 1878.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citrus_unshiu    

To exalt is to raise in rank, to glorify, or to increase the effect or intensity of.  In all its definitions, exalt is transitive, meaning it takes a direct object.  The word’s past participle, exalted, is often used to mean elevated in rank or lofty. 

To exult is to rejoice greatly or to be jubilant or triumphant.  The most common derivative of exult is the adjective exultant, which means marked by great joy or jubilation.  https://grammarist.com/usage/exalt-exult/ 

Robert Goddard is widely known as “the father of the space age.”  When he was a boy, he dreamed of going to the moon.  When he grew up, he was one of the first scientists to explore the potential of rocket power.  On March 16, 1926, in Auburn, Massachusetts, he launched the first rocket propelled by liquid fuel in the world.  https://www.worcesterhistory.org/worcesters-history/worcesters-own/worcester-and-the-national-space-program/    

http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com  Issue 2806  April 26, 2024