Dashi, the simple seaweed-based stock is central to many of Japan's most popular dishes, particularly the brothy soups and dipping sauces served with noodles like soba, udon, and many types of ramen.  https://www.seriouseats.com/dashi-japanese-stock 

J.R.R. Tolkien (born January 3, 1892, Bloemfontein, South Africa—died September 2, 1973, Bournemouth, Hampshire, England) was an English writer and scholar who achieved fame with his children’s book The Hobbit (1937) and his richly inventive epic fantasy The Lord of the Rings (1954–55).  At age four Tolkien, with his mother and younger brother, settled near Birmingham, England, after his father, a bank manager, died in South Africa.  In 1900 his mother converted to Roman Catholicism, a faith her elder son also practiced devoutly.  On her death in 1904, her boys became wards of a Catholic priest.  Four years later Tolkien fell in love with another orphan, Edith Bratt, who would inspire his fictional character Lúthien Tinúviel.  His guardian, however, disapproved, and not until his 21st birthday could Tolkien ask Edith to marry him.  https://www.britannica.com/biography/J-R-R-Tolkien    

threeven (not comparable)  Blend of three +‎ even (“divisible by two”).  

adjective  (mathematics, informal)  Divisible by three. 

antonym:  throdd

Twenty-seven is a threeven number.   

On February 7, 1812, the most violent of a series of earthquakes near Missouri causes a so-called fluvial tsunami in the Mississippi River, actually making the river run backward for several hours.  The series of tremors, which took place between December 1811 and March 1812, were the most powerful in the history of the United States.  The unusual seismic activity began at about 2 a.m. on December 16, 1811, when a strong tremor rocked the New Madrid region.  The city of New Madrid, located near the Mississippi River in present-day Missouri, had about 1,000 residents at the time, mostly farmers, hunters and fur trappers.  At 7:15 a.m., an even more powerful quake erupted, now estimated to have had a magnitude of 8.6.  This tremor literally knocked people off their feet and many people experienced nausea from the extensive rolling of the earth.  Given that the area was sparsely populated and there weren’t many multi-story structures, the death toll was relatively low.  However, the quake did cause landslides that destroyed several communities, including Little Prairie, Missouri.  On January 23, 1812, an estimated 8.4-magnitude quake struck in nearly the same location, causing disastrous effects.  Fortunately, the death toll was smaller, as most of the survivors of the first earthquake were now living in tents, in which they could not be crushed.  The strongest of the tremors followed on February 7.  This one was estimated at an amazing 8.8-magnitude, a reading that ranks among the strongest quakes in human history.  Church bells rang in Boston, thousands of miles away, from the shaking. Brick walls were toppled in Cincinnati.  In the Mississippi River, water turned brown and whirlpools developed suddenly from the depressions created in the riverbed.  Waterfalls were created in an instant; in one report, 30 boats were helplessly thrown over falls, killing the people on board.  Many of the small islands in the middle of the river, often used as bases by river pirates, permanently disappeared.  Large lakes, such as Reelfoot Lake in Tennessee and Big Lake at the Arkansas-Missouri border, were created by the earthquake as river water poured into new depressions.  Earthquake causes fluvial tsunami in the Mississippi River | February 7, 1812 | HISTORY  Thank you, reader.    

Poean (comparative more Poean, superlative most Poean)  adjective

Synonym of Poe-esque (“of or relating to Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), the American poet and writer best known for tales of the macabre and mystery, or to his works; also, suggestive, or in the style, of Poe's works; especially, eerie, Gothic, macabre”). 

Synonyms:  Poeish, Poe-like  https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Poean#English   

January 21, 2026

Crack an egg into a mug and microwave for 30 seconds.   Let cool for 30 seconds.   Eat a protein-rich meal.   

Books I enjoyed reading in 2025:  Homeland and Other Stories by Barbara Kingsolver (1989)  *  Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi (1916)  *  The Neon Bible by John Kennedy Toole (1989)  * The Warsaw Orphan by Kelly Rimmer (2021)  *  Camino Island by John Grisham (2017)   *  The Dreamers, a novel by Karen Thompson Walker (2019)  A Brilliant Life by Rachelle Unreich (2023)  The Wonder, a novel by Emma Donoghue (2016)

 

On January 1, 2026, thousands of copyrighted works from 1930 enter the US public domain, along with sound recordings from 1925.  They will be free for all to copy, share, and build upon.  The literary highlights range from William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying to Agatha Christie’s The Murder at the Vicarage and the first four Nancy Drew novels.  From cartoons and comic strips, the characters Betty Boop, Pluto (originally named Rover), and Blondie and Dagwood made their first appearances.  Films from the year featured Marlene Dietrich, Greta Garbo, the Marx Brothers, and John Wayne in his first leading role.  Among the public domain compositions are I Got Rhythm, Georgia on My Mind, and Dream a Little Dream of Me.  You can find lists of some of the most notable books, characters, comics, and cartoons, films, songs, sound recordings, and art entering the public domain.  https://web.law.duke.edu/cspd/publicdomainday/2026/#ftn4     

Between film, TV, and theater, Planet of the Apes star Roddy McDowall’s resume is a mile long—so it should come as no surprise that he was able to sneak in two episodes as an original villain named Bookworm on Batman.  Committing crimes inspired by literary works, Bookworm was created for the show, but would later come to figure in the Batman comic books as well.  Thank you, reader.  https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/60213/visual-guide-all-37-villains-batman-tv-series 

The comic style of the mockumentary (mock documentary or fake documentary) was preceded by dramatic docu-fiction stories like Orson Welles’s The War of the Worlds and Luis Buñuel’s Land Without Bread.  On April, 1, 1957, the BBC aired a three-minute segment about a family in Switzerland who cultivated a spaghetti tree.  It was presented by famed broadcaster Richard Dimbleby in a documentary-style so authentic that thousands believed it was real.  This is Spinal Tap (1984) is considered by many to be the greatest mockumentary ever made ushered in a new era for mock documentaries.  It was so popular that McKean, Guest, Shearer, and a rotating cast of drummers later toured the world for real.  Christopher Guest’s mockumentary take on Waiting for Godot combines all the best aspects of Spinal Tap’s comic musings with the existentialist nothingness of Beckett’s classic play.  Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant’s The Office aired on the BBC from 2001 to 2003.  It was then adapted for American audiences by Greg Daniels in 2005.  The Office (U.S.) went on to become one of the most popular shows of the 21st century during its nine year run.  The Office was so popular with U.S. audiences that it inspired other network mockumentary shows like Modern Family and Parks and Recreation.   https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/what-is-a-mockumentary-definition/    

Substack is an American online platform that provides publishing, payment, analytics, and design infrastructure to support subscription-based content, including newsletters, podcasts, and video.  It allows writers to send digital content directly to subscribers.  Founded in 2017, Substack is headquartered in San Francisco.   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Substack 

The claviorgan (also known as the claviorganum, claviorgano, clavecin organisee) is a combination of a stringed instrument (usually a keyboard instrument) and an organ.  Its origin is uncertain, but its history can be traced back to the fifteenth century.   According to one account, the instrument was invented by the Moorish instrument maker Mahoma Mofferiz, with his earliest known example documented in 1479.   Other "Clabiorganos" or "claui organos" are documented in Spain by the year 1500, and the instrument seems to have spread from there.   A number of "virgynalls with regals" are mentioned in the inventories of Henry VIII in 1542/3 and 1547 and Wilson Barry  cites references to the claviorganum in England dating back to the 1530s.  The term claviorgan in its strictest sense refers to the combination of a harpsichord (or other harpsichord type instrument) and an organ, although later could also be used to refer to a combination of a piano and organ.  Michael Praetorius describes the claviorgan in his Syntagma Musicum of 1619 as:  a clavicymbal, or some other symphony, in which a number of pipes is combined with the strings.   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claviorgan    

The Cat Who Had 60 Whiskers is the 29th book in The Cat Who series.  It was released in 2007 and is written by Lilian Jackson Braun.  The author, Lilian Jackson Braun, died June 4, 2011, making The Cat Who Had 60 Whiskers her final book.  Cat whiskers, also known as vibrissae, are super-sensitive touch receptors that help cats navigate the world.  Each whisker is deeply embedded in the cat’s skin and surrounded by nerves and blood vessels.  When something brushes against a whisker, it sends signals directly to a cat’s brain.  These hairs can detect even the tiniest changes in air currents, which means cats can "feel" things before they even touch them.  That’s part of what makes cats such graceful hunters—even in complete darkness.  https://www.petmd.com/cat/general-health/facts-about-cat-whiskers    

December 31, 2025

ORDER is a lovely thing; On disarray it lays its wing, Teaching simplicity to sing.  The Monk in the Kitchen by Anna Hempstead Branch (1875-1937)    

The boondocks is an American expression from the Tagalog (Filipino) word bundók ("mountain").  It originally referred to a remote rural area, but now, is often applied to an out-of-the-way location considered backward and unsophisticated by city-folk.  It can also occasionally refer to a mountain in both Filipino and American contexts.  The expression was introduced to American English by U.S. military personnel fighting in the Philippine–American War (1899–1902).  It derives from the Tagalog word "bundók", which means "mountain".  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boondocks    

A rya or rye is a traditional Scandinavian wool rug with a long pile of about 1 to 3 inches.  They are made using a form of the Ghiordes knot to make the double-sided pile fabric.  Though rya means "rug" in English, the original meaning in Sweden of rya was a bed cover with a knotted pile.  The first ryas originated in the early fifteenth century as coarse, long-piled, heavy covers used by mariners instead of furs.  As time progressed, the rugs have evolved to be lighter and more colorful. The insulation that ryas provide protects against the cold Scandinavian climate. Ryas are a knotted pile carpet, with each knot composed of three strands of wool, which enables the rug to exhibit rich texture from all the different shades of color.  he name originates from a village in southwest Sweden.  The term rya may also refer to a breed of sheep whose wool is used to make rya carpets.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rya_(rug)    

The soprillo, also known as the piccolo saxophone or rarely sopranissimo saxophone, is the highest pitched and smallest saxophone.  The soprillo was developed as a piccolo extension to the saxophone family in the late 1990s by the German instrument maker Benedikt Eppelsheim, although a working prototype sopranissimo of the same pitch was made in 1960 in a more compact curved form.  The soprillo is pitched in B♭, one octave above the soprano saxophone, and half its length at 33 centimetres (13 in) including the mouthpiece.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soprillo    

Penuche is a fudge-like candy made from brown sugar, butter, and milk, using no flavorings except for vanilla.  Penuche often has a tannish color, and is lighter than regular fudge.  It is formed by the caramelization of brown sugar; thus, its flavor is said to be reminiscent of caramel.  Nuts, especially pecans, are often added to penuche for texture, frequently in the making of penuche candies.  It is primarily a regional food, found in New England and some places in the Southern United States, though in the latter it goes by different names, including creamy praline fudge, and brown sugar fudge candy. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penuche   Thank you, reader.   

Sorcova is a Romanian popular custom, practiced on the morning of 1 January. This custom is very old and is spread throughout the country, being practiced mainly by children.  Sorcova is also used to describe the object that characterizes this custom.  It consists of a stick or twig decorated with artificial flowers of different colors, wherewith children tap their parents or acquaintances on the back in the morning of New Year, wishing them, in special verses, health and luck.  This custom varies depending on the ethnographic region.  In northern Transylvania, children go with sorcova from house to house, wishing health in exchange for local delicacies (cozonac, colac, apples, nuts).  In urban areas, it is common for children to receive cash, candies or oranges.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sorcova    

December 29, 2025