gnarly (comparative gnarlier, superlative gnarliest)  adjective 

Having or characterized by gnarls; gnarled.  quotations ▼

(slang) Excellent; attractive.  quotations ▼

(slang, US) Dangerous; difficult.  quotations ▼

(slang, US) Unpleasant, awful, ugly.  quotations ▼

(slang, US) Of music or a sound:  harsh.  quotations ▼

Note the word’s contradictory senses of “good” and “bad”.  Its meaning varies by community and context, and may be indicated by extra-verbal cues such as tone of voice.  https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/gnarly 

In fiction, a MacGuffin (sometimes McGuffin) is an object, device, or event that is necessary to the plot and the motivation of the characters, but insignificant, unimportant, or irrelevant in itself.  The term was originated by Angus MacPhail for film, adopted by Alfred Hitchcock, and later extended to a similar device in other fiction.  The MacGuffin technique is common in films, especially thrillers.  Usually, the MacGuffin is revealed in the first act, and thereafter declines in importance.  It can reappear at the climax of the story but may actually be forgotten by the end of the story.  Multiple MacGuffins are sometimes derisively identified as plot coupons.  The use of a MacGuffin as a plot device predates the name MacGuffin.  The Holy Grail of Arthurian legend has been cited as an early example of a MacGuffin.  The Holy Grail is the desired object that is essential to initiate and advance the plot, but the final disposition of the Grail is never revealed, suggesting that the object is not of significance in itself.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MacGuffin#   

blink  verb  1580s, "nictitate, wink rapidly and repeatedly," perhaps from Middle Dutch blinken "to glitter," which is of uncertain origin, possibly, along with German blinken "to gleam, sparkle, twinkle," from a nasalized form of base found in Old English blican "to shine, glitter"  Middle English had blynke (c. 1300) in the sense "a brief gleam or spark," perhaps a variant of blench "to move suddenly or sharply; to raise one's eyelids" (c. 1200), perhaps from the rare Old English blencan "deceive."  The word existed originally with a vague and shifting set of meanings, many now obsolete, having to do with motion of the eyes; in earlier use "the notion of 'glancing' predominates; in the latter, that of 'winking'" [OED].

Blink as "to wink" is attested by 1761.  The meaning "cast a sudden, fleeting light" is from 1786; that of "shut the eyes momentarily and involuntarily" is from 1858. Related:  Blinked; blinking.  The last, as a euphemism for a stronger adjective, is attested by 1914.

blink  noun  1590s, "a glance," a word of uncertain origin, perhaps from a continental Germanic language; see blink  verb  As with the verb, there is a similar noun in Middle English, from c. 1300, that might represent a native form of the same root.  The meaning "action of blinking" is from 1924.  From the otherwise archaic sense of "a flicker, a spark," comes on the blink "nearly extinguished," hence "not functioning" (1901).  https://www.etymonline.com/word/blink 

A fen is a type of peat-accumulating wetland fed by mineral-rich ground or surface water.  It is one of the main types of wetlands along with marshes, swamps, and bogs.  Bogs and fens, both peat-forming ecosystems, are also known as mires. The unique water chemistry of fens is a result of the ground or surface water input.  Typically, this input results in higher mineral concentrations and a more basic pH than found in bogs.  As peat accumulates in a fen, groundwater input can be reduced or cut off, making the fen ombrotrophic rather than minerotrophic.  In this way, fens can become more acidic and transition to bogs over time.  Fens can be found around the world, but the vast majority are located at the mid to high latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere.  Specific fens:  Wicken Fen, Cambridgeshire, The Fens (eastern England), Mesopotamian Marshes (Iraq), Back Bay Fens (Boston, Massachusetts), Cedar Bog (Champaign County, Ohio), Cowles Bog, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore (Indiana), and Geneva Creek (Colorado) (an iron fen).  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fen#  

Microsoft will never provide a telephone number to call for assistance if an error or warning pops up on your screen.  The company will never contact you asking for personal information or asking to fix your computer.  ALL points of contact through Microsoft are made by the user first, not someone claiming to be from Microsoft.  Carlos Mathis  https://www.wdtn.com/news/local-news/fake-microsoft-virus-scam-targeting-residents/ 

http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com  Issue 2707  August 15, 2023

A beef on weck is a sandwich found primarily in Western New York State, particularly in the city of Buffalo.  It is made with roast beef on a kummelweck roll, a roll that is topped with kosher salt and caraway seeds.  The meat on the sandwich is traditionally served rare, thin cut, with the top bun getting a dip in jus and spread with horseradish.  The sandwich, along with Buffalo wings and sponge candy, is one of the three best-known food specialties of Buffalo.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beef_on_weck  

Rockville is a town in Adams Township, Parke County, Indiana. The population was 2,607 at the 2010 census.  The town is the county seat of Parke County.  It is known as "The Covered Bridge Capital of the World".  Rockville was laid out in 1824, three years after the county was founded, and became the county seat.  In 1825, its population was between 500 and 600.  The residents voted to incorporate the town in July 1854.  The Rockville Chautauqua Pavilion and Rockville Historic District are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockville,_Indiana  

Parke County covered bridge festival in Rockville.  Indiana's largest annual festival is headquartered in Rockville with activities in other towns throughout the county.  Oct. 13-22, 2023:  hours and activities vary each day.  See web site in this listing or call 765-569-5226.  parke county covered bridge festival, county wide, rockville, parke county.  Always verify event listings to be certain they will still be held as originally scheduled.  There are 31 historic covered bridges in Parke County.  Held over ten days in October, the event started in 1957.  https://aroundindy.com/ws_parke_county_covered_bridge_festival_in_rockville.php    

Arch Colson Chipp Whitehead (born November 6, 1969) is an American novelist. He is the author of eight novels, including his 1999 debut work The Intuitionist; The Underground Railroad (2016), for which he won the 2016 National Book Award for Fiction and the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction; and The Nickel Boys, for which he won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction again in 2020.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colson_Whitehead     

Naomi Novik (born 1973) is an American author of speculative fiction.  She is known for the Temeraire series (2006–2016), an alternate history of the Napoleonic Wars involving dragons, and her Scholomance fantasy series (2020–2022).  Her standalone fantasy novels Uprooted (2015) and Spinning Silver (2018) were inspired by Polish folklore and the Rumpelstiltskin fairy tale respectively. Novik has won many awards for her work, including the Alex, Audie, British Fantasy, Locus, Mythopoeic and Nebula Awards.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naomi_Novik    

rapscallion  from an alteration of rascallion, a fanciful elaboration of rascal (“someone who is naughty”).

Noun  rapscallion (plural rapscallions)

(archaic) A rascal, scamp, rogue, or scoundrel. quotations ▼

Adjective  rapscallion (comparative more rapscallion, superlative most rapscallion)  

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

Get ready to say goodbye to the incandescent light bulb, pioneered by Thomas Edison more than a century ago.  You can thank—or blame—new federal energy efficiency regulations that went into full effect August 2, 2023.  The Energy Department rules, which date back to the Obama administration, have been whipsawed in the political process for years.  Some conservatives and Republican lawmakers long denounced them for interfering with consumer choice and placing undue burdens on business.  Under former President Donald Trump, the Energy Department scrapped them in 2019; the Biden administration subsequently revived them.    The rules establish strict new efficiency standards for bulbs used in homes and businesses and bans the manufacture and sale of those that don't meet those requirements.  Practical incandescent bulbs, which trace their origin to an 1880 Edison patent, can't meet those standards.  Neither can halogen bulbs.  The rules also ban imports of less efficient bulbs.  The rules don’t affect bulbs that you already own; they also exempt special purpose incandescents such as those used inside ovens.  But suppose you discard—or give away—your halogen and incandescent bulbs.  Odds are good that replacing them with LED bulbs could save you a fair amount of money.  As the rules reinforce existing market changes, the Energy Department believes that U.S. consumers can save almost $3 billion annually on their utility bills.   Similarly, it projects that the rules could cut carbon emissions by 222 million metric tons over the next 30 years.  Incandescent bulbs create illumination by running an electric current through a filament that heats it until it glows.  Edison's first practical light bulb used a carbonized cotton thread for that purpose; modern bulbs use tungsten filaments in an inert gas.  But incandescents are not very efficient.  Only roughly 5 percent of the energy used by an incandescent bulb produces light; the remaining 95 percent or so is lost as heat. This is why you let an incandescent bulb cool off before unscrewing it.  They also burn out frequently, requiring replacement roughly every year.  The light-emitting components in LED bulbs, by contrast, are manufactured via the same process used to make computer chips, which makes them extremely efficient.  They generate almost no heat and use up to 90 percent less energy than incandescent bulbs while lasting up to 25 times longer, according to the Energy Department.  https://www.nbcnews.com/business/consumer/incandescent-bulbs-banned-new-us-rules-take-effect-rcna97762    

http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com  Issue  2706  August 4, 2023 

Books Are Magic, an independent bookstore in the Cobble Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn, is owned by author Emma Straub and her husband Michael Fusco-Straub.  The bookstore sells everything from best-sellers to a wide selection of kids’ books to lesser-known titles by local authors, and hosts literary events including book launches, readings, and talks.  https://www.pw.org/literary_places/books_are_magic  Now in two locations:  225 Smith & 122 Montague in Brooklyn.  See also https://lithub.com/emma-straub-on-opening-her-bookstore-books-are-magic/ 

A pitaya or pitahaya is the fruit of several different cactus species indigenous to the region of southern Mexico and along the Pacific coasts of Guatemala, Costa Rica, and El Salvador.  Pitaya is cultivated in East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, the United States, the Caribbean, Australia, and throughout tropical and subtropical regions of the world.  Pitaya usually refers to fruit of the genus Stenocereus, while pitahaya or dragon fruit refers to fruit of the genus Selenicereus (formerly Hylocereus), both in the family Cactaceae.  The common name in English–dragon fruit–derives from the leather-like skin and scaly spikes on the fruit exterior.  Depending on the variety, pitaya fruits may have sweet- or sour-tasting flesh that can be red, white, or yellow in color.  See pictures at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pitaya

Love is a creative act.  When you love someone you create a new world for them. Born a Crime:  Stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah    

Lampreys belong to a group of fishes known as cyclostomes, or round mouths. They live in temperate regions of the world, preferring water temperatures below 20 C.  They tolerate both fresh and salt water and have been found at depths of over 4,000 metres.  Truly a group of fishes that are adept at survival, lampreys evolved more than 400 million years ago and lived through four major extinction periods.  They are among the first backboned animals to have evolved on Earth, and are often called “living fossils” since their body structure has changed very little over millions of years.  Mary Burridge  https://www.rom.on.ca/en/collections-research/magazine/the-great-lakes-vampire 

Gov. Mike DeWine announced a new−or, more accurately, old−tourism slogan for the state May 10, 2023:   "Ohio, The Heart of it All."  The state first used this slogan to attract visitors to the Buckeye State in the 1980s but retired it in the early 2000s.  The slogan will replace "Ohio.  Find it Here," which was first announced in 2015 during Gov. John Kasich's administration.  Before "Find it Here," Ohio had two tourism slogans.  "Ohio, The Heart of It All" was first used in 1984 during Democratic Gov. Richard Celeste's administration, and "Ohio, So Much to Discover" promoted the state in the early 2000s during Republican Gov. Bob Taft's tenure.  Jessie Balmert   https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/politics/2023/05/10/ohio-the-heart-of-it-all-state-returns-to-old-tourism-slogan/70199411007/

Branch water, also called branch, is water from a natural stream (a term primarily used in the southern states ); it may also refer to any plain water, such as tap water (rather than soda water) when added to a mixed drink.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Branch_water   

In 1976, a small group of dedicated people planning Twinsburg Ohio’s participation in the bicentennial celebration that year decided to set aside one day for twins.  The Twins Day Festival started with a flag raising and dedication of the Wilcox Monument on the square and the dedication of the first picnic shelter at Glenn Chamberlin Park.  The following year, determined not to let the idea die, a committee went into action, and made the second Twins Day happen.  There were food booths that year operated by local service organizations wanting to raise funds for their treasuries, a band concert talent show, a Square Dance Exhibition and a “bike-and-buggy” parade for children 12 years and younger.  The Twins Days Festival is recorded as the “Largest Annual Gathering of Twins in the World” by the Guinness Book of World Records.  https://twinsdays.org/about/history/  See August 4-6, 2023 schedules of events at https://twinsdays.org/twins-days-events/   

http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com  Issue 2705  August 2, 2023   

Luffa aegyptiaca, the sponge gourd, Egyptian cucumber or Vietnamese luffa, is an annual species of vine cultivated for its fruit, native to South and Southeast Asia.  The three-lobed leaves are 7.5–20 centimetres (3–8 inches) wide.  The fruit, approximately 30 cm (12 in) long and maturing to brown, resembles a cucumber in shape and size.  The synonymous botanical specific epithet "aegyptiaca" was given to this plant in the 16th century when European botanists were introduced to the plant from its cultivation in Egypt.  In the European botanical literature, the plant was first described by Johann Veslingius in 1638, who named it "Egyptian cucumber".  Veslingius also introduced the name "Luffa".  The young fruit is eaten as a vegetable and is commonly grown for that purpose in tropical Asia.  The young shoots, flowers and leaves can be cooked, and the mature seeds can be roasted for consumption.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luffa_aegyptiaca   

Luffa sponges don’t come from the ocean.  And they’re not from manmade materials.  Rough-textured exfoliators originate from luffa:  dried fiber from the vegetable of the same name.  Luffa or loofah (botanically Luffa aegyptiaca) is a vine-grown member of the pumpkin, squash and gourd family, Cucurbitaceae. Centuries ago, the luffa plant was brought to this country by European settlers. They planned to domesticate it in the New World.  Though a few varieties are edible, most were cultivated for their utilitarian value.  Not a typical garden vegetable, luffa grows slowly and matures well into autumn.  It prefers plenty of sunshine, hot summer temperatures, adequate water and well drained soil.  In the right conditions, luffa vines grow vigorously, sometimes as long as 30 feet.  When provided an overhead trellis, the vines’ tendrils twine and wind up and across overhead supports.  They can even create a natural shade canopy.  Eye-catching, sunshine-yellow flowers appear in late summer through early fall.  The flowers attract bees, ants and other pollinators.  After the flowers are spent, elongated fruits form up and down the vines.  They dangle here and there in random fashion.  Lynn Kirk  https://www.lewisginter.org/luffa-plant-exfoliate/    

In journalism, the nut graph or nut graf (short for "nutshell paragraph") is a paragraph that explains the context of the story "in a nutshell".  The term can be spelled many different ways.  In many news stories, the essential facts of a story are included in the lead, the first sentence or two of a story.  The nut graph, which often will start in the third, fourth, or fifth paragraphs, will explain any additional context for why the story is important.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nut_graph   

An ambigram is a calligraphic or typographic design with multiple interpretations as written words. Alternative meanings are often yielded when the design is transformed or the observer moves, but they can also result from a shift in mental perspective.  The term was coined by Douglas Hofstadter in 1983–1984. Most often, ambigrams appear as visually symmetrical words.  When flipped, they remain unchanged, or they mutate to reveal another meaning.  "Half-turn" ambigrams undergo a point reflection (180-degree rotational symmetry) and can be read upside down, while mirror ambigrams have axial symmetry and can be read through a reflective surface like a mirror.  Many other types of ambigrams exist.  The word ambigram was coined in 1983 by Douglas Hofstadter, an American scholar of cognitive science best known as the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of the book Gödel, Escher, Bach.  The earliest known non-natural rotational ambigram dates to 1893 by artist Peter Newell.  Although better known for his children's books and illustrations for Mark Twain and Lewis Carroll, he published two books of reversible illustrations, in which the picture turns into a different image entirely when flipped upside down.  A symmetrical ambigram can be called "homogram" (contraction of "homo-ambigram") when it remains unchanged after reflection, and "heterogram" when it transforms.  In the most common type of ambigram, the two interpretations arise when the image is rotated 180 degrees with respect to each other (in other words, a second reading is obtained from the first by simply rotating the sheet).  Douglas Hofstadter coined the word "homogram" to define an ambigram with identical letters.  A symmetrical ambigram is called "heterogram" (contraction of "hetero-ambigram") when it gives another word.  See graphics at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambigram   

All’s well that ends well.  Although it is hundreds of years old, Shakespeare revived its popularity with a play by the same name, forever creating a connection with his comedic characters.  Today the word continues to be used in a lighthearted manner to explain that despite the challenges of a task or situation, all can be forgotten (or forgiven) in the event of a happy ending.  Proverbs are short, familiar sayings that express a truth concerning life or provide advice.  Idioms are phrases that consist of a series of words that provide a figurative use, often to make a point or help illustrate a deeper meaning.  The expression also implies that regardless of the problems involved in a pursuit, success was achieved and that one should move on from any unpleasantness or difficulty experienced along the way.  The proverb all’s well that ends well is most well known because it is the title of a Shakespearean play published in 1623.  Danielle Mcleod   https://grammarist.com/proverb/alls-well-that-ends-well/    

http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com  Issue 2704  August 1, 2023 

Syracuse is a town in Turkey Creek Township, Kosciusko County, in  Indiana.  The population was 3,079 at the 2020 census.  Syracuse is the location of Lake Syracuse and the nearby, larger Lake Wawasee, in addition to several other lakes in the region.   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syracuse,_Indianahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syracuse,_Indiana

Syracuse is a city in, and the county seat of, Onondaga County, New York.  It is the fifth-most populous city in the state of New York following New York City, Buffalo, Yonkers, and Rochester.  At the 2020 census, the city's population was 148,620 and its metropolitan area had a population of 662,057.  It is the economic and educational hub of Central New York, a region with over one million inhabitants.  Syracuse is also well-provided with convention sites, with a downtown convention complex.  Syracuse was named after the classical Greek city Syracuse (Siracusa in Italian), a city on the eastern coast of the Italian island of Sicily.  Historically, the city has functioned as a major crossroad over the last two centuries, first between the Erie Canal and its branch canals, then of the railway network.  Today, Syracuse is at the intersection of Interstates 81 and 90.  Its airport is the largest in the Central New York region.  Syracuse is home to Syracuse University, SUNY Upstate Medical University, SUNY ESF, and Le Moyne College.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syracuse,_New_York  

Syracuse is a historic city on the Italian island of Sicily, the capital of the Italian province of Syracuse.  The city is notable for its rich Greek and Roman history, culture, amphitheatres, architecture, and as the birthplace and home of the pre-eminent mathematician and engineer Archimedes.  This 2,700-year-old city played a key role in ancient times, when it was one of the major powers of the Mediterranean world.  Syracuse is located in the southeast corner of the island of Sicily, next to the Gulf of Syracuse beside the Ionian Sea.  It is situated in a drastic rise of land with 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) depths being close to the city offshore although the city itself is generally not so hilly in comparison.  The city was founded by Ancient Greek Corinthians and Teneans and became a very powerful city-state. Syracuse was allied with Sparta and Corinth and exerted influence over the entirety of Magna Graecia, of which it was the most important city.  Described by Cicero as "the greatest Greek city and the most beautiful of them all", it equaled Athens in size during the fifth century BC.  It later became part of the Roman Republic and the Byzantine Empire.  Under Emperor Constans II, it served as the capital of the Byzantine Empire (663–669).  Palermo later overtook it in importance, as the capital of the Kingdom of Sicily.  Eventually the kingdom would be united with the Kingdom of Naples to form the Two Sicilies until the Italian unification of 1860.  In the modern day, the city is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site along with the Necropolis of Pantalica.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syracuse,_Sicily  

loquat (Eriobotrya japonica), also known as Japanese medlar, subtropical tree of the rose family (Rosaceae) is grown for its evergreen foliage and edible fruit.  The loquat is native to central eastern China.  It was introduced to Japan more than 1,000 years ago, where it was developed horticulturally and is still highly valued.  Some superior Japanese varieties reached Europe, the Mediterranean, and a few other regions.  The plant is grown commercially (usually on a rather small scale) in many subtropical regions.  Ornamental in appearance, it is frequently planted in parks and gardens.  The fruits are high in fibre, vitamin A, and antioxidants and are commonly eaten fresh.  https://www.britannica.com/plant/loquat  

Find savory, sweet, relishes, drinks and sauce recipes for loquats at https://smartslowcooker.com/blog/loquat-recipes  

“The beauty of friendship is that it is by nature retrospective.”  At one point, feeling close to her friend and wanting to provide comfort, Totenberg recalls taking Ruth Ginsburg’s hand and holding it.  “Not all friendships have to be chatty confessionals,” she writes.  “There is great power in the unsaid, in the simple knowing that comes after so many years.”  Dinners with Ruth:  A Memoir on the Power of Friendships by Nina Totenberg  

The River Dee a river in Aberdeenshire, Scotland.  It rises in the Cairngorms and flows through southern Aberdeenshire to reach the North Sea at Aberdeen.  The area it passes through is known as Deeside, or Royal Deeside in the region between Braemar and Banchory because Queen Victoria came for a visit there in 1848 and greatly enjoyed herself.  She and her husband, Prince Albert, built Balmoral Castle there which replaced an older castle.  Deeside is a popular area for tourists, due to the combination of scenic beauty and historic and royal associations.  It is part of the Cairngorms National Park, and the Deeside and Lochnagar National Scenic Area.  The Dee is popular with anglers and is one of the most famous salmon fishing rivers in the world.  In 1995 it was estimated that salmon fishing on the river contributed between £5 and £6 million a year to the Grampian Region economy.   In 2020 it was estimated that salmon fishing contributed £15 million a year to the local economy and the River Dee reporting 10% of Scottish salmon catches.  The River Dee operates a catch and release practise and all salmon which are caught must be released back to the river. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_Dee,_Aberdeenshire#  

Marmalade is a fruit preserve made from the juice and peel of citrus fruits boiled with sugar and water.  The well-known version is made from bitter orange.  It is also made from lemons, limes, grapefruits, mandarins, sweet oranges, bergamots, and other citrus fruits, or a combination.  Citrus is the most typical choice of fruit for marmalade, though historically the term has often been used for non-citrus preserves.  The word "marmalade" is borrowed from the Portuguese marmelada, from marmelo 'quince'.  James Keiller and his mother, Janet, ran a small sweet and preserves shop in the Seagate area of Dundee, Scotland.  In 1797, they opened a factory to produce "Dundee Marmalade", a preserve distinguished by thick chunks of bitter Seville orange rind.  The business prospered, and remains a signature marmalade producer today.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marmalade#Legal_definitions   

Trust is the first step to love. - Dhanpat Rai Srivastava (31 July 1880–1936), better known by his pen name Premchand was an Indian novelist and poet

http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com  Issue 2703  July 31, 2023