The Picture of Dorian Gray is a 1945 American horror-drama film based on Oscar Wilde's 1890 novel of the same name.  Released in March 1945 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the film is directed by Albert Lewin and stars George Sanders as Lord Henry Wotton and Hurd Hatfield as Dorian Gray.  Shot primarily in black-and-white, the film features four inserts in 3-strip Technicolor of Dorian's portrait as a special effect (the first two of his portrait's original state, and the second two after a major period of degeneration).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Picture_of_Dorian_Gray_(1945_film)

Actor William Rukard Hurd Hatfield (1917-1998), having been introduced to Ireland by his friend Angela Lansbury, lived at Ballinterry House, Rathcormac, County Cork from the early 1970s.  A keen collector of antiques and art, he referred to Ballinterry House as a painting which he would never quite finish.  He died peacefully in his sleep of a heart attack at the country home he loved so much, aged 81, after having had Christmas dinner with friends.  Both Ballinterry House and his collection were inherited by his long-time close friend and colleague Maggie Williams, who maintained the historic Irish country home exactly as it was at the time of Hatfield's death.   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurd_Hatfield

The two pictures of Dorian Gray in the 1945 film of the same name  The picture of Dorian as a young man was done by Henrique Medina (1901–1988).  Medina’s picture was bought at auction for $25,000 but its current whereabouts and ownership remain a mystery.  The artist responsible for the famous deteriorated final picture is Ivan Albright(1897–1983).  Albright’s masterpiece can be seen at the Art Institute of Chicago, together with a number of his other works.  

See the two pictures and a photo showing Ivan Albright and his identical twin brother, Malvin, at work on the final picture at http://www.johncoulthart.com/feuilleton/2009/06/02/the-real-basil-hallwards/ 

Word.A.Day with Anu Garg--words having two definitions that differ by a single letter

connate  (KON-ayt, ko-NAYT)  adjective  1.  Congenial.  2. Congenital. 

sorb  (sorb)  verb intr.  1.  To take up and hold by absorption.  2.  To take up and hold by adsorption.  Absorption is when a substance is completely assimilated by another while in adsorption the substance deposits on the surface of another. 

ramble  (RAM-buhl) verb intr.  1.  To talk in an aimless manner.  2.  To walk in an aimless manner.  noun   A leisurely, sometimes lengthy walk.

fardel  (FAHR-dl)  noun  1.  A bundle.  2.  A burden.

maunder  (MON-duhr)  verb intr.  1.  To talk aimlessly.  2.  To walk aimlessly.

Ogden Nash's Zoo (1987) has 56 humorous poems (such as In the world of mules There are no rules)  about animals.  Zoo (2012)  is a science fiction thriller by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge with a 2015 U.S. TV series based on the novel.  The Great Zoo of China (2014) is a  novel by Australian author Matthew Reilly.  The zoo is supposed to be China's answer to Disneyland.

Genghis Khan (Japanese Barbequed Lamb)  This BBQ recipe takes its name from the historic Mongolian emperor, but is not directly related.  https://www.zojirushi.com/app/recipe/-i-genghis-khan-i-japanese-barbequed-lamb-  See also http://www.everythingpossiblehappens.com/2013/04/cheap-guy-tip-73-rack-of-lamb-genghis.html

PolitiFact.com is a project operated by the Tampa Bay Times, in which reporters and editors from the Times and affiliated media outlets "fact-check statements by members of Congress, the White House, lobbyists and interest groups".  They publish original statements and their evaluations on the PolitiFact.com website, and assign each a "Truth-O-Meter" rating.  The ratings range from "True" for completely accurate statements to "Pants on Fire" (from the taunt "Liar, liar, pants on fire") for false and ridiculous claims.  PolitiFact has been both praised and criticized by independent observers, conservatives and liberals alike.  Conservative bias and liberal bias have been alleged, and criticisms have been made of attempts to fact-check statements that cannot be truly "fact-checked".  

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PolitiFact.com  See also http://www.politifact.com/

The Mask of Dimitrios, a novel by Eric Ambler  was titled A Coffin for Dimitrios in America.   J.K. Rowling's novel "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" in the UK was changed to "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" in the United States.  See What 10 Classic Books Were Almost Called by Stacy Conradt at http://mentalfloss.com/article/26044/what-10-classic-books-were-almost-called

Differences between British and American English are numerous enough that many mass-market books, especially those meant for younger readers, are revised before publication in the 'other' market.  While there is more conversion of American publications into British editions (see Differences Between British and American English in Two Versions of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby for one example), due to the substantially larger U.S. publication production, there is conversion from British to American as well, due to the size and attractiveness of the U.S. consumer market.  The following lexical and punctuation differences between the UK and U.S. editions of four Harry Potter books were compiled by and are used with the permission (19 Dec 2001) of Edward Olson, who retains copyright and to whom possible comments should be sent.  Edward compared the original U.K. Bloomsbury and U.S. Scholastic Press hardcover editions of the four works.  Questions sometimes arise about an author's reaction to such editorial changing of their work for another audience.  J.K. Rowling's  American editor pointed out that the word jumper—British for pullover sweater—means a kind of dress in American.  She had had no idea.  "He asked, 'Can we change it to sweater,' which is just as British?"  That was fine with Rowling.  

Find chart of differences in wording at https://www15.uta.fi/FAST/US1/REF/potter.html

American English has no mould, and British English has no mold.  The word referring to (1) the various funguses that grow on organic matter or (2) a frame for shaping something is spelled the same in both uses, and the spelling depends on the variety of English.  Australian and Canadian English favor the British spelling, though mold is fairly common in Canadian publications.  http://grammarist.com/spelling/mold-mould/

In law, an en banc session is a session where a case is heard before all the judges of a court--in other words, before the entire bench--rather than by a panel selected from them.  The equivalent terms in banc, in banco or in bank are also sometimes seen.  En banc is often used for unusually complex cases or cases considered to be of greater importance.  Appellate courts in the United States sometimes grant rehearing en banc to reconsider a decision of a panel of the court (generally consisting of only three judges) in which the case concerns a matter of exceptional public importance or the panel's decision appears to conflict with a prior decision of the court.  In rarer instances, an appellate court will order hearing en banc as an initial matter instead of the panel hearing it first.  Some appellate courts, such as the Supreme Court of the United States and the highest courts of most U.S. states, do not sit in panels, but hear all of their cases en banc (with the exception of cases where a judge is ill or recused).  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/En_banc  

Find pronunciation of en banc at http://dictionary.law.com/Default.aspx?selected=625

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS of author John Lescroart

Q.  How do you . . . ?  Stop right there.  This is, hands-down, the most-asked question I get.  Although I’m three-quarters Irish, my last name is French.  It’s pronounced “less-kwah”.

Q.  Where did you go to law school?  I didn’t.  I graduated from Cal Berkeley with a degree in English Literature.  I get my legal whatever-it-is from practicing lawyers, most notably my great friend Al Giannini, whom I’ve known since we were fourteen years old, and who has been a violent crimes prosecutor in the Bay Area for years.

Q.  I heard you are also a musician.  What’s up with that?  Are you still making music? 

As a matter of fact, music is still a big part of my life, so much so that about five years ago I formed a record label, CrowArt Records.  The first project on CrowArt Records was a CD of original piano solos, the melodies written by me and performed by master pianist (regularly working at the Bel Air Hotel) Antonio Castillo de la Gala, entitled Date Night.  Fans of Dismas Hardy will know that Diz and Frannie set aside every Wednesday night for some time alone together—it’s their date night.  And this CD celebrates the elegance and romance of San Francisco at the turn of the millennium.  Find out what order Lescroart's books were published at http://www.johnlescroart.com/meet-john/faq/  Paraphrase from the novel Treasure Hunt by John Lescroart:  If you do what you love, you never work a day in your life. 

Six common plants that might do a body good by Peg Moline  Read about basil, thyme, rosemary, tarragon, dandelion and mint at http://www.latimes.com/health/la-he-healing-garden-herbs-20150626-htmlstory.html

Like the characters played by the actor who inspired his name, Pacino was no scaredy cat.  The brown tabby had prowled the streets of Los Angeles, a drifter scraping for his next meal.  After the cat was turned in at an L.A. County animal services shelter, there was little hope that Pacino would be adopted.  He was too distrustful, too fierce, too mean.  Then Melya Kaplan came along, looking for a cat with grit, street smarts and attitude.  The 10-pound, 6-ounce cat would become the nighttime warden at the Original L.A. Flower Market, making sure rodents and other vermin didn't get out of hand.  He's part of a group of tough cats recruited by an animal rights nonprofit to find homes in places that could use their hard-scrabble qualities.  Along with another cat named DeNiro, Pacino would prowl the Italian side of the flower market.  As part of the Working Cats program, street cats like Pacino are rescued from animal shelters and sent to locations ranging from police stations, like the LAPD's Wilshire and Foothill divisions, to private homes, businesses and schools.  Over the years, the program has placed about 500 cats in nearly 50 locations.  Jerome Campbell  http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-adv-cats-for-hire-20150627-story.html

http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com  Issue 1324  July 14, 2015  On this date in 1789, Alexander Mackenzie completed his journey to the mouth of the great river he hoped would take him to the Pacific, but which turned out to flow into the Arctic Ocean.  Later named after him, the Mackenzie is the second-longest river system in North America.  On this date in 1853, the first major US world's fair, the Exhibition of the Industry of All Nations opened in New York City.