Wisconsin is celebrating the 150th birthday of native son Frank Lloyd Wright with events and a new 200-mile trail directing visitors to nine of the sites, homes and buildings he designed.  Wright, considered America's best-known architect, was born June 8, 1867 in Richland Center.  The self-guided trail was announced last year.  Highway signs, with a graphic design and typography inspired by Wright's spare, geometric aesthetics and style, were unveiled in December.  The signs, 115 in all, are located in nine counties along various roads as well as on some Madison city streets.   Events scheduled for this year to mark his birthday include an exhibit called "Buildings for the Prairie" at the Milwaukee Art Museum, July 28-Oct. 15, featuring his early portfolio designs as well as furniture, stained glass and textiles.   Events scheduled for this year to mark his birthday include an exhibit called "Buildings for the Prairie" at the Milwaukee Art Museum, July 28-Oct. 15, featuring his early portfolio designs as well as furniture, stained glass and textiles.  Wright fans who love cycling may want to register for the Tour du Taliesin cycling event, May 21, which offers rides ranging from 20 to 100 miles, all starting at the Frank Lloyd Wright Visitor Center at Taliesin in Spring Green.  As a teenager, Wright worked nearby on an uncle's farm, and tours of Taliesin—which include a home, studio, school and agricultural estate—show how Wright's love for the rolling hills and rustic landscape influenced his designs and aesthetics.  Daily tours of Taliesin are offered May 1-Oct. 31.  Wisconsin has 41 Wright-designed sites in all.  Beth J. Harpaz  http://www.mrt.com/news/article/Events-trail-celebrate-Frank-Lloyd-Wright-s-10951195.php

BORN IN ONE COUNTRY, IDENTIFIED WITH ANOTHER  Ernesto "Che" Guevara (born in Argentina identified with Cuba)  Éamon de Valera (born in the United States, identified with Ireland) Mohammed Yasser Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf Arafat al-Qudwa popularly known as Yasser Arafat (born in Egypt, identified with Palestine) Golda Meir (born in Ukraine, identified with Israel)

"I judge a man's worth by his actions, not his birth."  Ratlines, a novel by Stuart Neville

Stuart Neville is a Northern Irish author known mainly for his novel The Twelve or, as it is known in the United States, The Ghosts of Belfast.  The Ghosts of Belfast won the Mystery/Thriller category of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize in April 2010.  It also won the New Voice category of the 2010 Spinetingler Awards, and was nominated for the 2010 Dilys Award, Anthony Award, Barry Award, and Macavity Award.  See bibliography at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuart_Neville

Trattoria:  A small, family-run eatery that often serves a few choice regional dishes (think carbonara in Rome; ribollita in Florence; pesto in Genoa.  Decor can range from neat and comfortable to a real "hole in the wall."  Osteria:  Back in the day, an osteria, or inn, was a local gathering spot where the old men played cards and drank local wine from the innkeeper's oak barrels.  It was almost like what we'd call a bar.  Some served food but that wasn't the main focus.  Today, however, an osteria is an eating establishment very similar to a trattoria in that they serve simple, home-cooked meals.  Find descriptions of ristorante, tavola calda, mescita, hostaria, bottiglieria, and even the hard to pronounce, fiaschetteria.  at http://www.chowitaly.com/2013/07/trattoria-osteria-whats-difference.html

Ortygia is a small island which is the historical centre of the city of Syracuse, Sicily.  The island, also known as Città Vecchia (Old City), contains many historical landmarks.  The name originates from the Ancient Greek ortyx (ὄρτυξ), which means "Quail".  The Homeric Hymn to Delian Apollo has it that the goddess Leto stopped at Ortygia to give birth to Artemis, the firstborn of her twins.  Artemis then helped Leto across the sea to the island of Delos, where Leto gave birth to Apollo.  Other ancient sources state that the twins were born in the same place—which was either Delos or Ortygia—but Ortygia was an old name of Delos.  Further, there were perhaps a half-dozen other places called Ortygia, so that the identification is uncertain.  It was also said that Asteria, the sister of Leto metamorphosed into a quail (Ortux), threw herself into the sea, and was metamorphosed into the island Ortygia.  Another myth suggested that it was Delos instead of Ortygia.  Ortygia is located at the eastern end of Syracuse and is separated from it by a narrow channel.   Bridges connect the island to mainland Sicily.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ortygia

Syracuse, as a place name, may refer to:  Italy:  Syracuse, Sicily, Province of Syracuse and United States:  Syracuse, New York (East Syracuse, New York, North Syracuse, New York) or Syracuse, Indiana, Syracuse, Kansas, Syracuse, Missouri, Syracuse, Nebraska, Syracuse, Ohio, Syracuse, Utah.  See other uses of the word Syracuse at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syracuse

Are You an "Absent Presence"? by Jessica Stillman   Lee Rainie, the Director of the Pew Internet & American Life Project, says you can be sure you've earned the title when you "pay continuous partial attention."  Sound familiar?   Are you sitting in meetings, your BlackBerry partially hidden, texting, emailing, and Web browsing?  Are you enjoying lunch with a colleague while managing your calendar?   Are you on a conference call, but finessing a spreadsheet and muting the speaker to confer with colleagues?  OK, so you've admitted it, you're an "absent presence."  What's the harm?  Besides your colleagues' aggravation at your less than excellent listening skills, Jason Fried, founder of 37signals, contends that all this distraction is bad for that most important ingredient for success in today's economy, innovation.  http://www.cbsnews.com/news/are-you-an-absent-presence/  NOTE that as of February 4, 2014, 37signals is now Basecamp.  See six definitions of absence presence at http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780199568758.001.0001/acref-9780199568758-e-4 and see also Cell Phone Technology and the Challenge of Absent Presence by Kenneth J. Gergen at http://www.swarthmore.edu/Documents/faculty/gergen/Cell_Phone_Technology.pdf

http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com  Issue  1678  March 15, 2017  On this date in 1956, the musical My Fair Lady based on George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion, with book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe, premiered on Broadway  at the Mark Hellinger Theatre in New York City.  It transferred to the Broadhurst Theatre and then The Broadway Theatre, where it closed on September 29, 1962 after 2,717 performances, a record at the time.  Moss Hart directed and Hanya Holm was choreographer.  In addition to stars Rex Harrison, Julie Andrews and Stanley Holloway, the original cast included Robert Coote, Cathleen Nesbitt, John Michael King, and Reid Shelton.  Edward Mulhare and Sally Ann Howes replaced Harrison and Andrews later in the run.  The original cast recording went on to become the best-selling album in the country in 1956.  The original costumes were designed by Cecil Beaton and are on display at the Costume World Broadway Collection in Pompano Beach, Florida, along with many of the original patterns.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Fair_Lady