Aphorism is a statement of truth or opinion expressed in a
concise and witty manner. The term is
often applied to philosophical, moral and
literary principles. To qualify as an
aphorism, it is necessary for a statement to contain a truth revealed in a
terse manner. Aphoristic statements are
quoted in writings as well as in our daily speech. The fact that they contain a truth gives them
a universal acceptance. Find examples at http://literarydevices.net/aphorism/
Most people recognize aphorisms like "Nothing great was ever achieved without
enthusiasm," from Ralph Waldo Emerson, and its seeming opposite,
"Intense feeling too often obscures the truth," from Harry Truman. James Geary, the editor of the compendium Geary's Guide to the World's
Great Aphorists, says the aphorism is the oldest and the shortest
literary art form on the planet. But
what qualifies as an aphorism? Geary says
that he has five laws: "It must be
brief. It must be definitive. It must be personal—that's the difference
between an aphorism and a proverb. It must be philosophical—that's the
difference between an aphorism and a platitude, which is not
philosophical," he says. "And
the fifth law is it must have a twist. And that can be either a linguistic twist or a
psychological twist or even a twist in logic that somehow flips the reader into
a totally unexpected place." Read
an excerpt of 'Guide
to the World's Great Aphorists' at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=14899836
THE COLOR
HELIOTROPE Heliotrope is a pink-purple tint that
is a representation of the color of
the heliotrope flower. The first recorded use of heliotrope as a
color name in English was in 1882. The first
recorded use of heliotrope
gray as
a color name in English was in 1912. The
first recorded use of old
helio (old
heliotrope) as a color name in English was in 1926. Find a list of
heliotrope in culture at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heliotrope_(color)
THE FLOWER HELIOTROPE Common heliotrope
(Heliotropium arborescens) is
a fragrant, woody perennial, native to South America. It was introduced into greenhouse culture in
Europe in 1757 after travellers discovered it in Peru. Hence, it's sometimes listed and sold as H.
peruvianum. By the nineteenth century,
heliotrope was used extensively for bedding plants and as standards. It was nicknamed the "cherry pie
plant" because its fragrance supposedly resembles the aroma of a freshly
baked cherry pie. A few species are so fragrant that they are
grown in Europe to make perfume.
According to Mary Cashman, a garden specialist with White Flower Farm in
Litchfield, Connecticut, heliotrope is an underused plant that's easy to care
for and does well in most parts of the country except the Deep South, where
high humidity limits best growth. A member
of the borage family, common heliotrope is one of about 250 Heliotropium
species, but it is the only one widely grown in gardens. All are tropical or subtropical shrubs or
subshrubs (a somewhat woody plant sometimes grown and used as a shrub or perennial). Common heliotrope grows 2 to 3 feet high;
some varieties are a compact 10 inches.
Tiny, star-shaped flowers of deep blue, purple, lavender, or white come
in tightly packed spikes that develop into rounded, 2- to 4-inch-diameter
clusters. Hairy and veined 1- to 3-inch
leaves have a purplish cast. All parts
of the plant are toxic. http://garden.org/learn/articles/view/74/
Paraphrases from The Elegance of the
Hedgehog, a novel by
Muriel Barbery False lucidity comes with
age. Cats are mobile decorative objects. Eyes
may perceive, but not observe.
Muriel Barbery (born 1969) is a French novelist and professor of philosophy. Barbery was born in Casablanca, Morocco but her parents left when she was only
two months old. Her novel L'Élégance du hérisson (translated into English by Alison
Anderson as The Elegance of the Hedgehog)
topped the French best-seller lists for 30 consecutive weeks and was reprinted
50 times. By May 2008 it had sold more
than a million copies. It has
been a bestseller in France, Italy, Germany, Spain, South Korea, and in many
other countries. It concerns the
inhabitants of a small upper-class Paris apartment block, notably its
crypto-intellectual concierge,
Renée. She and Paloma, the likewise intellectual (even radical) teenage
daughter of a resident family, narrate the book in turn. Renée also features briefly in Barbery's
first novel, Une Gourmandise, which
appeared in Anderson's English translation as Gourmet
Rhapsody in 2009. The
Elegance of the Hedgehog was
also turned into a film called Le
Hérisson (in English The
Hedgehog), directed by Mona
Achache. It was released in
2009. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muriel_Barbery See John Lichfield's 2015 interview with
Muriel Barbery at http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/muriel-barbery-reclusive-writer-of-the-elegance-of-the-hedgehog-returns-after-eight-year-hibernation-10114581.html
Something
that is biannual occurs twice every year. Something that is biennial (1) occurs once every two
years, or (2) exists or last for two years.
http://grammarist.com/usage/biannual-biennial/
Equinoxes
and solstices are biannual. See Earth’s
Seasons - Equinoxes and Solstices - 2016-2025 from the U.S. Naval Observatory
at https://www.weather.gov/media/ind/seasons.pdf
Biennials in the garden are flowering plants
that have a two-year biological cycle.
Biennial plant growth begins with seeds that produce the root structure,
stems and leaves (as well as food storage organs) during the first growing
season. A short stem and low basal
rosette of leaves form and remains through the winter months. During the biennial’s second season, biennial
plant growth completes with the formation of flowers, fruit and seeds. The stem of the biennial will elongate or
“bolt.” Following this second season,
many biennials reseed and then the plant usually dies. What may be grown as a biennial in Portland,
Oregon, with a fairly temperate climate, would likely be treated as an annual
in Portland, Maine, which has far more severe temperature extremes. Examples of biennial plants are: beets, Swiss chard, parsley, carrots, celery
and onions. Read more at http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/info/biennial-plant-information.htm
Famous residents of Brooklyn's
Green-Wood Cemetery Green-Wood has more than 560,000 permanent residents,
including Leonard Bernstein, Boss Tweed, Charles Ebbets, Jean-Michel Basquiat,
Louis Comfort Tiffany, Horace Greeley, Louis
Moreau Gottschalk, Henry Ward Beecher, baseball legends, politicians,
artists, entertainers, inventors, and Civil War generals and other veterans. http://www.green-wood.com/2010/famous-residents/
Green-Wood Cemetery, founded in 1838, is located in Greenwood
Heights, Brooklyn, several blocks southwest of Prospect Park,
between Park Slope, Windsor
Terrace, Borough Park, Kensington,
and Sunset Park. The gates of the cemetery were
designated a New York City
landmark in 1966, and the Weir Greenhouse, used as a
visitor's center, in 1982. The cemetery
was listed on the National
Register of Historic Places in
1997 and was granted National
Historic Landmark status
in 2006 by the U.S.
Department of the Interior.
The Fort Hamilton Parkway Gate and the cemetery's chapel were designated
as landmarks by New York City in 2016. Inspired by Pére
Lachaise Cemetery in
Paris and Mount
Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge,
Massachusetts, where a cemetery in a
naturalistic park-like landscape in the English manner was first established,
Green-Wood was able to take advantage of the varied topography provided by glacial moraines. See pictures and list of notable burials at
Green-Wood Cemetery at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green-Wood_Cemetery
November 4, 2016 Tough
times are falling on a library in Russia.
Last October, the Library of Ukrainian Literature in Moscow, was raided
by the police. They arrested the library
director, Natalia Sharina. Her trial started this week,
on Nov. 2. Sharina is accused of “inciting
ethnic hatred and humiliating human dignity,” as well as embezzling 3.5 million rubles (about
$54,500) from the library to pay her legal fees. The librarian has pleaded not guilty. “I do not understand the charge and so I do
not feel any guilt,” Sharina said in court.
The prosecution said that Sharina, 59, had procured Ukrainian books,
brochures, and a CD for the library that were on a list of banned “extremist”
literature, as well as titles deemed “degrading” to Russians. Her lawyer, though, said that they had
witnesses who would testify to seeing the police planting the banned books in
question when they arrived to search the library. The library is funded by the Russian
government, and has about 60,000 Ukrainian-language books, according to the International Business Times. Employees joke that they see the Russia’s
Federal Security Service, the FSB, more often than actual library patrons. The visits and raids reflect ongoing tensions between Russia
and Ukraine and are
part of what some see as an “information war” within Russia over Ukrainian books and
culture. Sharina faces a decade in jail
if she is found guilty. She’s currently
under house arrest. Thu-Houng Ha http://qz.com/827818/library-director-natalia-sharina-is-on-trial-in-moscow-for-lending-banned-extremist-ukrainian-boo
Thank you, Muse reader!
Oxford dictionary editors have chosen their word of the year: "post-truth," a term sometimes used
to describe the current political climate.
Oxford Dictionaries said that use of the term rose 2,000 percent between
2015 and 2016, often in discussions of Britain's decision to leave the European
Union and the campaign of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump. It's often used in the phrase
"post-truth politics" and is defined as belonging to a time in which
truth has become irrelevant. Each year,
Oxford University Press tracks how the English language is changing and chooses
a word that reflects the mood of the year.
Runners-up for 2016 include "Brexiteer," an advocate of the
U.K. leaving the EU; the extreme conservative movement known as the
"alt-right"; and "hygge," the Danish concept of domestic
coziness.
http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com Issue 1551
November 16, 2016 On this date in 1715, Girolamo Abos,
Maltese-Italian composer and educator, was born. On this date in 1851, Minnie Hauk,
American soprano and actress, was born. Thought for the Day:
Remember, when the judgment's weak, the prejudice is strong. - Kane
O'Hara, (1711/1712-1782) Kane O'Hara was
an Irish musician, and author of several burlettas or comic operas. He attained a foremost position in Dublin,
and was elected the Vice-President of the Musical Academy in 1758. Next year appeared his burletta of
"Midas," written to throw ridicule on Italian operas, and shortly
afterwards "Golden Pippin" and other pieces. O'Hara also dabbled in art. http://www.libraryireland.com/biography/KaneOHara.php
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