Did you know that the Gulf of Mexico is the ninth largest body on the planet, and supports some of the largest fisheries in the world?  The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin--only a narrow connection to the Atlantic exists as the gulf is surrounded by North America and Cuba.  It covers about 600,000 square miles, and is bordered by five US states in the north, five Mexican states in the west, and Cuba in the southeast.  The total coastline of the gulf measures approximately 3,540 miles from the tip of Florida to the tip of the Yucatan, with an additional 236 miles along Cuba.  The Gulf was created first by continental plates colliding in the Late Triassic period, around 300 million years ago, and then by the sea floor sinking.  Almost half of the gulf basin is shallow waters over continental shelves, though it contains a trough that measures as deep as 14,383 feet.  Along the US portion of the Gulf coast, 33 major river systems and 207 estuaries empty into the sea.  The Gulf Stream, which originates in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, is one of the strongest ocean currents in the world.  A whopping 41% of the contiguous USA drains into the Mississippi River, which then drains into the Gulf of Mexico, bringing with it pollution and significant runoff from farmland.  There are four major industries in the Gulf of Mexico--fishing, shipping, tourism and of course, oil.  The first European exploration of the Gulf of Mexico was by Amerigo Vespucci in 1497.  Jaymi Heimbuch  Read more and see graphics at http://www.treehugger.com/natural-sciences/48-facts-you-should-know-about-the-gulf-of-mexico-from-sunken-ships-to-ancient-corals.html

The "vocal cords" are so named from the resemblance of the vocal ligaments to strings or cords, so I wondered whether the "vocal chords" spelling might be an antique eggcorn.  The answer turns out to be "yes", but with a twist:  cord and chord participated in a rare reciprocal swap.  The OED explains that cord meaning "a string or small rope" is "a 16th cent. refashioning" of chord n.1 from Latin chorda, Greek χορδή.  On the other hand, chord meaning "agreement of musical sounds" is "[o]riginally cord, aphetic form of accord n., q.v.; the 17th cent. spelling chord arose from confusion with chord n.1" (which of course is what we now mostly spell "cord").  This all seems to have been in play before the standardization of English spelling—but unlike many similar confusions, it apparently was never fully resolved.  Some residues remain, like the "chord" (or "cord") of an arc, or the "chord" of an airplane's wing.  It's interesting that this does not seem to have become a serious irritant for peevers.  After all, essentially everyone is Doing It Wrong, at least from an etymological point of view:  cord should be "chord" and chord should be "cord".  http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=4177

Even though principal shooting is complete on the fifth Pirates of the Caribbean film, sub-titled Dead Men Tell No Tales, they are making a special exception to allow Paul McCartney to make a cameo.  This will be the second rock legend to make an appearance in the series.  The Rolling Stones' Keith Richards played the father of Johnny Depp's Captain Jack Sparrow in the third movie in the series, At World's End, and the fourth, On Stranger Tides.  Depp has openly admitted that his actions and swagger in the role were based on Richards.  The movie is due to be released May 26, 2017.  http://www.vintagevinylnews.com/2016/03/paul-mccartney-to-have-cameo-in-pirates.html

Due to an error by the maker, the clock on the tower of Crimond Church, near Fraserburgh in Scotland  displays a 61-minute hour, with the inscription "The Hour's Coming".  During repainting in 1949, the extra minute was removed.  Following protests from parishioners, it was restored.  Read stories about five Scottish clocks at http://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/best-clock-1-1076054  See picture of Crimond Clock at  https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:CrimondClock.jpg

The Papers of Thomas Jefferson is the definitive edition of the papers of the author of the Declaration of Independence, our nation’s third president.  Begun in 1943 as the first modern historical documentary edition, the project includes not only the letters Jefferson wrote but also those he received.  Julian P. Boyd, librarian, scholar of the Declaration of Independence, and first editor, designed an edition that would provide accurate texts with accompanying historical context.  With the publication of the first volume in 1950 and the first volume of the Retirement Series in 2004, these volumes print, summarize, note, or otherwise account for virtually every document Jefferson wrote and received.  Today, the project continues publishing at least two volumes a year under the leadership of Barbara B. Oberg at Princeton University and J. Jefferson Looney at the Jefferson Retirement Series at Monticello.  A team of historians at each location transcribes, verifies, annotates, and indexes documents copied from over nine hundred repositories and collections worldwide, maintaining the high standards crafted by Boyd.  To reach a modern audience, the edition also incorporates new technologies including XML software, content management systems, databases, and websites for both the main series and the Retirement Series.  The Jefferson Papers is well poised to complete the written legacy of the Jefferson corpus by the bicentennial of Jefferson’s death in 2026.  In cooperation with its publisher, Princeton University Press, these volumes provide the foundation of the Jefferson electronic edition, now sponsored by the University of Virginia Press and appearing through Founders Online.  See a complete list of Jefferson Papers volumes included in Founders Online, with links to the documents.  Search papers of Adams, Franklin, Hamilton, Jefferson, Madison, and Washington at http://founders.archives.gov/about/Jefferson

Linguistic Analysis of Campaign Speeches from the 2016 US Presidential Campaign  http://www.cmu.edu/news/stories/archives/2016/march/speechifying.html

NAME CHANGES  Actress Natalie Wood (born Natalia Nikolaevna Zakharenko 1938)  See http://www.biography.com/people/natalie-wood-9536320  Author and poet Lemony Snicket (born Daniel Handler 1970)  See http://www.notablebiographies.com/news/Sh-Z/Snicket-Lemony-Daniel-Handler.html

What’s the one word in the English language whose singular form shares no letters with its plural form?  If you think about it, you might come up with “I / we,” or “me / us.”  They’re correct.  But the word this question is usually looking for is cow.  In modern English, we use cattle as the plural.  But there’s an obscure plural form, kine.  Tolkien, an archaist, used it several times in both The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings, and likely in the Silmarillion, although I can’t provide exact page numbers.  Addendum:  It was a bit lazy of me to not point out that “cows” is also an acceptable plural form.  “Cattle” usually means any herd, regardless of gender; “cows” would be expressly females.  Christopher Daly, The Better Editor of New England  Sign up for his e-mail posts at https://thebettereditor.wordpress.com/2012/02/10/the-plural-of-cow-is/

Asian slaw is a crunchy coleslaw.  Three recipes:  Asian Slaw  https://elanaspantry.com/asian-slaw/ Flavor-Packed Asian Slaw  http://www.today.com/recipes/flavor-packed-asian-slaw-t67206 Black Quinoa Asian Slaw  http://wholegrainscouncil.org/recipes/salads-sides/black-quinoa-asian-slaw

Marilynne Robinson, the author of a series of celebrated novels set in the American heartland, has been named the 2016 winner of the Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction.  This lifetime achievement award, announced March 29, 2016 by acting librarian of Congress David S. Mao, will be presented to Robinson at the 16th annual National Book Festival in Washington on Sept. 24.  Robinson, who has taught for many years at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, is the author of four award-winning novels, including “Gilead,” which won a Pulitzer Prize and a National Book Critics Circle Award.  She has also published several collections of essays and works of nonfiction.  A deacon for the Congregatio nal United Church of Christ in Iowa City, she infuses her work with deep theological concerns. Her Gilead series, which also includes “Home” and “Lila,” revolves around the lives of two Iowa ministers.  Previous winners of this Library of Congress honor include Louise Erdrich, E.L. Doctorow, Don DeLillo, Philip Roth and Toni Morrison.  Robinson said she was “awfully happy to be on the list” of winners because she feels such a strong kinship with the classic authors of the United States.  “The writers that have always been most influential to me have been early American writers such as Walt Whitman and Melville,” she said.  “To a great extent, they have defined for me what language could do.  So I really feel very much indebted to them and happy to be associated with them.”  Ron Charles 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/marilynne-robinson-talks-about-her-new-literary-award--and-politics/2016/03/28/bb282036-f110-11e5-a61f-e9c95c06edca_story.html

http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com  Issue 1448  March 30, 2016  On this date in 1750, John Stafford Smith, English organist, composer and musicologist--best known for writing the music for The Anacreontic Song--which became the tune for the American patriotic song The Star-Spangled Banner, was born.  On this date in 1867, Alaska was purchased from Russia for $7.2 million, about 2-cent/acre, by United States Secretary of State William H. Seward.