Dundee Cake  This delicious afternoon cake is best served with a hunk of cheese and a hot cup of tea.  https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/dundee_cake_22157  A traditional Dundee cake comes from, no surprises, Dundee in Scotland.  The cake is distinctive alongside other rich fruit cakes by circles of blanched almonds on the surface of the cake.  Dundee is also the birthplace of  British marmalade thanks to the Keiller family who are generally credited with making the first commercially available, breakfast preserve.  As such, a pure and true Dundee cake will include the zest of an orange thus linking it to the marmalade making in the town.  This recipe includes a little of both and so has quite a citrus tang to it.  As this is also a Scottish cake, traditionally, a malt whisky would be used to flavor the cake.  However, if whisky is not your tipple, then feel free to use brandy or even sherry.  Elaine Lemm  https://www.thespruce.com/traditional-scottish-dundee-cake-recipe-435067

Poppy Adams is a British television documentary director/producer and novelist.  Adams attended the Dragon School in Oxford.  Later she received a degree in Natural Sciences from Durham University.  Adams has made films for the BBC, Channel 4 and The Discovery Channel.  Her first novel, The Behaviour of Moths, was shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award in the 2008 Costa Book Awards.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poppy_Adams

Uluru/Ayers Rock, giant monolith, one of the tors (isolated masses of weathered rock) in southwestern Northern Territory, central Australia.  It has long been revered by a variety of Australian Aboriginal peoples of the region, who call it Uluru.  The rock was sighted in 1872 by explorer Ernest Giles and was first visited by a European the following year, when surveyor William Gosse named it for Sir Henry Ayers, a former South Australian premier.  It is the world’s second largest monolith, surpassed in size only by Mount Augustus (Burringurrah) in Western Australia.  Read more and see pictures at https://www.britannica.com/place/Uluru-Ayers-Rock

What exactly is a monolith?  The word monolith comes from the Greek word “monolithos”, derived from mono (“one” or “single”) and lithos (“stone”).  In the context of this top 10 list it refers to a geological feature such as a mountain, consisting of a single massive stone or rock.  A problem with finding the largest monolith is that the term “monolith” is somewhat ambiguous.  Geologists therefore often prefer the terms monadnock or inselberg (literally “island mountain”) to describe an isolated hill or a lone mountain that rises above the surrounding area.  Most monoliths in this top 10 are inselbergs, although not every inselberg is a monolith.  For example, Mount Augustus in western Australia is often called a monolith but it is actually a monocline, an exposed piece of rock belonging to a layer beneath.  In other words a monocline is not a single piece of rock although the distinction isn’t always clear.  Another problem is that many rocks and mountains are called the largest monolith in the world but these claims are rarely backed up by geological information and may be based upon a single dimension such as height or circumference.  Furthermore, height may be measured above sea level or the surrounding ground.  https://www.touropia.com/largest-monoliths-in-the-world/

Singapore’s black and white houses are colonial bungalows built between the late 19th century up until the pre-war era of the 1930s.  They get their name from the dark timber beams and whitewashed walls that were prevalent in their construction.  The black and white houses were originally built by British colonial families.  The design, sometimes referred to as Tudorbethan Style, combines tropical and art deco elements with a traditional Victorian style home.  Inspired by the Malay practice of building homes on stilts, the black and white houses sit on elevated platforms--this was popular with British expats who wanted to distance themselves from dangerous tropical insects and also alleviated concerns about flooding during the rainy season.  Other elements that are characteristic of the black and white houses are large verandas and overhanging roofs.  The houses were designed with high ceilings, shutter-style windows and open-concept layouts in order to amplify any breeze that passed through the house.  Prianka Ghosh  See pictures at https://theculturetrip.com/asia/singapore/articles/a-brief-history-of-singapores-black-and-white-houses/  See also https://untouristsingapore.wordpress.com/2014/06/03/singapores-black-and-white-houses-colonial-splendour-with-a-dash-of-history/ and https://thehoneycombers.com/singapore/black-and-white-houses-in-singapore/

November 29, 2018  Outdoor brand Patagonia has announced that it will donate $10 million to help combat climate change.  The number wasn't plucked out of thin air--it's how much Patagonia saved in 2017 after Donald Trump cut how much tax US corporations have to pay from 35% to 21%.  "Taxes protect the most vulnerable in our society, our public lands and other life-giving resources," said Patagonia's CEO Rose Marcario.  Donald Trump's December 2017 tax cuts meant huge savings for some of the biggest businesses in the world.  The highest-earning individuals in the US also got a tax cut from 39.6% to 37%.  The US economy grew at its quickest pace in nearly four years following the tax cuts.  https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-46386147

The earliest citation for “shambolic” in the Oxford English Dictionary is from the June 18, 1970, issue of the Times of London:  “His office in Printing House Square is so impeccably tidy that it is … a standing reproach to the standard image of shambolic newspaper offices.”  Oxford describes “shambolic” as colloquial, and defines it as “chaotic, disorderly, undisciplined.”  It suggests that the word may have been influenced by the adjective “symbolic.”  The word “shambolic” is derived from the noun “shambles,” which showed up in Old English in the 800s as a singular word for a footstool and later a table for selling goods.  By the early 1300s, according to OED citations, the noun “shamble” (schamil in Middle English) referred to “a table or stall for the sale of meat.”  In the 1400s, English speakers began using the word in the plural for a butcher shop or a meat market.  And in the 1500s, the plural was used for a slaughterhouse.  By the late 1500s, Oxford says, the word “shambles” came to mean “a place of carnage or wholesale slaughter; a scene of blood.”  In the early 20th century, according to the OED, the word “shambles” took on its modern sense of “a scene of disorder or devastation; a ruin; a mess.”  https://www.grammarphobia.com/blog/2013/12/shambolic.html

A peck is a measurement of dry volume, equal to 1/4 of a bushel and 16 pints.  Two pecks make a kenning, and 4 pecks make a bushel.  A peck is a unit used in the U.S. customary and imperial systems of measurement.  The word "peck" is of unknown origin, dating back to the late 13th century.  Historically, this unit was used chiefly as a measure of oats for horses.  Although not commonly used today, the unit is still used to measure produce.  The peck is also the standard unit of weight for rocks and minerals.  https://www.quora.com/How-many-pecks-in-a-quart 

In Scotland, the peck was used as a dry measure until the introduction of imperial units as a result of the Weights and Measures Act of 1824.  The peck was equal to about 9 litres (1.98 Imp gal) (in the case of certain crops, such as wheat, peas, beans and meal) and about 13 litres (2.86 Imp gal) (in the case of barley, oats and malt).  A firlot was equal to 4 pecks.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peck

"A Bushel and a Peck" is a popular song written by Frank Loesser and published in 1950.  The song was introduced in the Broadway musical Guys and Dolls, which opened at the 46th Street Theater on November 24, 1950.  It was performed on stage by Vivian Blaine, who later reprised her role as Miss Adelaide in the 1955 film version of the play.  "A Bushel and a Peck," however, was not included in the film, and instead replaced by a new song, titled "Pet Me, Poppa."  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Bushel_and_a_Peck

http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com  November 30, 2018  Issue 1995  334th day of the year

Glossary of Circus Slang & Lingo  https://filmwaterforelephants.wordpress.com/bigtop/circus-lingo/

Salted Ta-honey Pie by Annie Rigg  serves 8  This recipe is inspired by the now famous Salty Honey Pie served at Four and Twenty Blackbirds in New York City.  Find recipe (excerpted with permission Pies & Tarts: For All Seasons  published by Quadrille October 2018 and adapted with chocolate and tahini added) at https://www.splendidtable.org/recipes/salted-ta-honey-pie

  

"If your name is James, you go by Jim.  If your name is Christopher, you go by Kit."  That's how calypso singer Socrates explains the name of his island, St. Kitts.  Technically, the island's proper name is St. Christopher.  Unfortunately for Socrates, most of the tourists he ferries around the island in his part-time gig as a tour guide are from the United States, where a kid named Christopher is more likely to be nicknamed Chris than Kit.  But this rose of an island, no matter the name, always smells sweet.  St Kitts and its sister island Nevis are both gorgeous, lush and full of cultural experiences.  The capital of Basseterre is small and easily navigable.  Basseterre means "lowland" in French, and is not to be confused with a different Caribbean capita--Basse-terre, Guadeloupe, which is distinguished by its hyphen.  The nation of St. Kitts and Nevis was a British colony (and, before that, a French one) before gaining its independence in 1983, so there are still some glimpses of that colonial history around.  Lilit Marcus  https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/things-to-do-st-kitts/index.html

There is evidence of human settlement in Taiwan dating as far back as 30, 000–40, 000 years ago.  Taiwan was settled by people of Malay-Polynesian descent and named "Pakan."  By the early 1500s there were three groups of people on the island:  Hakka, Fujianese and the aboriginal tribes.  The Portuguese "discover" Taiwan.  The Portuguese named Taiwan Ilha Formosa, meaning ‘beautiful island’.  Taiwan was colonized by the Dutch in the 17th century.  Spain invaded Taiwan in 1626 and took control of a large portion of the coast line.  They tried to compete with the Dutch trade, but failed because of natural disasters and trouble with the aborigine people.  After Spain retreated the Dutch took control of Keelung in 1642.  In 1894 war broke out between Japan and China over the Japanese invasion of Korea.  China’s untrained and weak navy could not beat Japan’s modern fleet, and in 1895 China was forced to sign the humiliating Treaty of Shimonoseki which ceded the Ryukyu Islands (Okinawa), Taiwan and the Penghu Archipelago to Japan.  Japan ruled from 1896-1945.  The Nationalists under Chiang Kai-shek established their government in 1949 after the mainland fell to the Communists.  Chiang served as president until his death in 1975.  Lee Teng-hui became Taiwan's first native-born president in January 1988.  Read much more at https://www.preceden.com/timelines/36327-the-history-of-taiwan-timeline

Kabocha squash or Japanese pumpkin is delicious and packs impressive health benefits.  Like pumpkin, kabocha’s bright orange flesh is high in the anti-oxidant beta-carotene, which translates to vision-protecting Vitamin A.  The skin is also an excellent source of fiber.   Additionally, using kabocha squash in any dish boosts the sweetness without adding extra sugar.   Try swapping it into recipes that call for pumpkin, butternut squash, or acorn squash.  Elizabeth Laseter  Find tips for cooking or grating at https://www.cookinglight.com/food/in-season/what-is-kabocha-squash

The difference between weather and climate is a measure of time.  Weather is what conditions of the atmosphere are over a short period of time, and climate is how the atmosphere "behaves" over relatively long periods of time.  Weather includes sunshine, rain, cloud cover, winds, hail, snow, sleet, freezing rain, flooding, blizzards, ice storms, thunderstorms, steady rains from a cold front or warm front, excessive heat, heat waves and more.  When scientists talk about climate, they're looking at averages of precipitation, temperature, humidity, sunshine, wind velocity, phenomena such as fog, frost, and hail storms, and other measures of the weather that occur over a long period in a particular place.  Read more and see graphics at https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/noaa-n/climate/climate_weather.html

Bourekas were brought to Israel from the Ottoman Empire by Sephardi Jews who lived in Turkey and the Balkan countries.  The Sephardi were likely responsible for adding a final “s” to the Turkish borek to make it into a plural in Ladino, thus creating the word used today in modern Hebrew.  The original Turkish borek is made with phyllo or yufka dough--hand-made phyllo, soft and layered, and stretched until the dough is transparent and folded with oil.  Comparing this homemade delicacy to the frozen, paper-tasting phyllo you’ll find in the supermarket freezer is like comparing a fresh Brooklyn bagel spread generously with cream cheese to the piece of paper that wraps it.  It’s just not the same.  Bourekas are best served with pickles, tahini sauce, haminados (overnight hard-boiled eggs), Israeli chopped salad and a cold yogurt drink.  Buy the best butter-based puff pastry you can find; it will make a big difference in the final result.  See recipe with pictures at https://www.haaretz.com/food/1.5382150

A.Word.A. Day with Anu Garg

trompe l’oeil  (tromp loi)  noun  1.  A style of painting in which objects are rendered in extremely realistic detail, giving an illusion of reality.  2.  A painting, mural, etc., made in this style.  From French, literally “fools the eye”, from tromper (to deceive) + le (the) + oeil (eye).  Earliest documented use:  1889.

red-eye  (RED-eye)  noun  1.  The phenomenon of a person’s eyes appearing red in a photograph taken with a flash.  2.  A late-night flight or overnight flight.  An airplane flight that takes place in the night is called a red-eye because it deprives travelers of a full-night’s sleep and as a result may cause bloodshot eyes.  Earliest documented use, for 1:  1966, for 2:  1964.

Feedback to A.Word.A.Day

From:  Kathy Root   Thanks for the great idea to feature words about the eye this week and also for your introductory paragraphs on eyesight and organ donation.  Here in Ohio, when one renews one’s license plates or driver’s license in person at the Bureau of Motor Vehicles, the clerk will always ask if $1 can be added to the renewal fee to give to Save Our Sight.  This program provides eyeglasses to children whose families cannot afford them (Medicaid recipients, etc.).  I ALWAYS say “yes” and gladly pay the extra $1 because, as a professional photographer and daughter of a seven-time cornea transplant recipient, I know just how important perfect eyesight (even with corrective lenses) is to every one of us.
From:  SarahRose Werner   Subject:  Trompe l’oeil  It doesn’t exist anymore, but Portland, Maine, used to have a lovely trompe l’oeil mural of the city hall half a block down Exchange Street from the actual city hall.  I was living in Portland and my brother came to visit me.  We were walking up Exchange  Street.  As a joke, I indicated the mural and said, “That’s our city hall.”  We continued to walk and were almost abreast of the mural when my brother did a double-take, obviously realizing only then that the “building” I had indicated was a painting.
From:  Iain Calder   Subject:  trompe l’oeil  My favourite trompe l’oeil is the unique and awe-inspiring Italian Chapel on the Orkney Islands.  During WWII, Italian prisoners were transported to the Orkneys to build the Churchill Barriers, designed to prevent German submarines from entering the key British naval base of Scapa Flow.  However, the workers needed a chapel, so two Nissen huts were joined end-to-end to provide the tructure.  Among the prisoners was an artist, Domenico Chiocchetti, who transformed the interior from bare plasterboard into what you would swear was a building full of beautiful Italian porcelain tiling.
From:  Doreen Munroe  Subject:  red-eye  Here in Guernsey, red-eye refers to the first flights out in the morning--to Manchester at 6.50 and Gatwick at 7.00.  You have to get up early to check in at 6.00--hence the red-eye.
From:  Michael Winter  Subject:  red-eye  A red eye also refers to a drip coffee with a shot of espresso.

From:  Wes Reynolds  Subject:  red-eye  When I was a kid (I’m 73 now), we used to visit my father’s parents in southern Illinois and at family dinners we would be served red-eye gravy.  My British wife scorns this and makes her gravy the way her mother did and I quite like it.  But red-eye gravy brings back great memories.  

http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com  November 28, 2018  Issue 1994  332nd day of the year

Christie's Auction House has posted a listing for the 84-page scrapbook kept by Kurt Vonnegut's family in 1944 and 1945.  The book includes 22  signed letters to Vonnegut's family, photographs, telegrams and more.  It has an estimated price of between $150,000 and $200,000, according to the listing.  Vonnegut was born in Indianapolis on Nov. 11, 1922.  He wrote for the school paper as a student at Shortridge High School, an served as managing editor of The Cornell Daily Sun as a chemistry major at Cornell University.  In January 1943, Vonnegut enlisted in the United States Army.  "He was assigned to study mechanical engineering at Carnegie Mellon and the University of Tennessee before deployment to Europe with the 106th Infantry Division in late 1944," said the Christie's listing.  "During the Battle of the Bulge that December he was captured and held as a Prisoner of War in Dresden, where he famously survived the Allied bombing in the meat locker of a slaughterhouse.  "It was an experience that would inform the writing of his best-known and most influential work, the semi-autobiographical novel 'Slaughterhouse-Five.'"  The scrapbook, which is green cloth with 106th Infantry Division Golden Lion insignia mounted to the upper cover, was kept by his sister, Alice, and his father, Kurt Vonnegut Sr.  After the war, he worked at the Chicago City News Bureau and then in public relations for General Electric.  "Player Piano," Vonnegut's first novel, was published in 1952, but was dismissed by critics.  His work reached a large audience with "Cat's Cradle" in 1963.  By the late 1960s, Vonnegut had emerged as one of the most influential writers of his generation.  Kurt Vonnegut died April 11, 2007, after a fall at his New York home.  He was 84.  Justin L. Mack  Read more and see pictures at https://www.indystar.com/story/news/2018/11/18/kurt-vonnegut-world-war-ii-scrapbook-inspired-slaughterhouse-five-christies-auction/2047269002/

FRIED rice lovers rejoice.  Scientists have found that you can cut your calories by simply adding an ingredient while cooking your rice by Miranda Larbi   Experts looked at 38 different types of rice from Sri Lanka.  And they found that adding the oil to the water before adding the rice, simmering for 40 minutes then refrigerating for 12 hours, there was 10 times more resistant starch, compared to normal rice.  Adding oil to the water changes the structure of the rice’s starch granules—making them resistant to our digestive enzymes.  That basically means that by making rice more starch resistant, fewer calories from it get absorbed into the body.  To reduce the risk of food poisoning, the NHS recommends:  1.  Serving rice as soon as it’s been cooked   2.  Cooling rice as quickly as possible if you’re not going to eat it immediately   3.  Keeping it in the fridge for no more than one day until reheating  4.  Making sure the rice is piping hot when you do reheat  5.  Don’t reheat more than once.  Read more and see pictures at

https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health/diet/you-can-eat-rice-and-lose-weight-with-this-simple-trick/news-story/0b297f670ad6a46d1f40eff3f3f5a964

"One person's plovers were another's princesses."  "The war had not yet taught her that it was critically important to forgive sooner rather than later."  "You are a vision of . . . of . . . of dazzlingness."  "Dazzlingness?"  "Is that a word?  "It may not be . . . "  The Good at Heart, a novel by Ursula Werner  In the acknowledgments, the author mentions numerous resources, including Susan Chehak Taylor and all the inspirational writers of her 2013 advanced novel class, and the Iowa Summer Writers Workshop.

Ursula Werner is a writer and attorney currently living in Washington, D.C., with her family. Throughout her legal career, Ms. Werner has pursued creative writing, publishing two books of poetry, In the Silence of the Woodruff (2006) and Rapunzel Revisited (2010).  The Good at Heart (2017) is her first novel.

Kugel with Cottage Cheese, Leeks, & Dill by Tia Keenan  serves 4 as a main or 8 as a side  Cottage cheese was a favorite of early colonial settlers, who made it at home in their “cottages.” 

https://www.splendidtable.org/recipes/kugel-with-cottage-cheese-leeks-dill

Cereal vs serial  Cereal is an edible grain, the grasses that produce an edible grain or the food product composed of an edible grain.  Some cereals are wheat, oats, corn, rye, and millet.  Cereal may be used as a noun or an adjective, the plural is cereals. Cereal comes from the Latin word cerealis which means of grain, derived from the name of the Roman goddess of agriculture, Ceres.  Serial means arranged in successive parts in successive intervals, or a behavior that occurs repeatedly in a predictable fashion.  Serial may be used as a noun or adjective, the adverb form is serially, the verb form is serialize.  In the mid 1800s, many of Charles Dickens’ novels were first published in magazines in serial form, popularizing the use of the word serial, a word made by combining the word series and the suffix -al.  https://grammarist.com/homophones/cereal-vs-serial/

A serials librarian is in charge of materials in the library that arrive on a periodic basis.  Before the advent of computerized materials, the serials librarian took care of newspapers, magazines and professional journals.  With today’s technology, the serials librarian often maintains print periodicals in the library as well as online databases and information systems.  https://work.chron.com/serials-librarian-job-description-11946.html

Random musings from a serialist  See blog of an eclectic librarian at http://eclecticlibrarian.net/blog/

2nd Lt. Harry Spring  from Dayton, Indiana kept a diary of his war experiences in the United States, France and Germany between 1917 and 1919.  The diary of Harry Spring (1888-1974) discusses his training in Kansas (1917), combat support in the Meuse-Argonne in France (1918), postwar occupation in Coblenz, Germany (1919), and his return to Lafayette.  Bob Kriebel  Read more and see graphics at

https://www.jconline.com/story/news/history/2018/11/12/old-lafayette-engineers-diary-gives-details-wwi/1934209002/  See also Old Lafayette:  Diary describes destruction in Europe at https://www.jconline.com/story/news/history/2018/11/19/old-lafayette-diary-describes-destruction-europe/2044632002/

Patricia Hall went to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum in 2016 hoping to learn more about the music performed by prisoners in World War II death camps.  The University of Michigan music theory professor heard there were manuscripts, but she was "completely thrown" by what she found in the card catalogs:  Unexpectedly upbeat and popular songs titles that translated to "The Most Beautiful Time of Life" and "Sing a Song When You're Sad," among others.  More detective work during subsequent trips to the Polish museum over the next two years led her to several handwritten manuscripts arranged and performed by the prisoners, and ultimately, the first performance of one of those manuscripts since the war.  "I've used the expression, 'giving life,' to this manuscript that's been sitting somewhere for 75 years," Hall told The Associated Press on November 26, 2018.  "Researching one of these manuscripts is just the beginning—you want people to be able to hear what these pieces sound like. . . . I think one of the messages I've taken from this is the fact that even in a horrendous situation like a concentration camp, that these men were able to produce this beautiful music."  Sensing the historical importance of resurrecting music for modern audiences, Hall enlisted the aid of university professor Oriol Sans, director of the Contemporary Directions Ensemble, and graduate student Josh Devries, who transcribed the parts into music notation software to make it easier to read and play.  Although the prisoners didn't compose the songs, they had to arrange them so they could be played by the available instruments and musicians.  Jeff Karoub  https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory/michigan-professor-unearths-inmates-music-auschwitz-59429830

http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com  November 27, 2018  Issue 1993  331st day of the year  Thought for Today  Use only that which works and take it from any place you can find it. - Bruce Lee, martial artist and actor (27 Nov 1940-1973)  Word of the Day  mirative  noun (uncountable, grammar)  A grammatical mood that expresses (surprise at) unexpected revelations or new information. quotations ▼  (countable, grammar) (An instance of) a form of a word which conveys this mood.  adjective (not comparable) (grammar)  Of or relating to the mirative mood.  https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/mirative#English

How to be the Ravenmaster by John Owen Theobald   ‘If the ravens leave the Tower, the kingdom of Britain will fall . . . '  An ominous legend, and one that requires a full time caretaker for the birds--in this case, the grandly titled Ravenmaster at the Tower of London.  Today Chris Skaife proudly holds this job.  You have to be a Yeoman Warder, a position which requires a minimum of 22 years in the military, an exemplary record, and the rank of warrant officer or above.  But the birds themselves cast the deciding vote.  When the previous Ravenmaster, Derrick Coyle, saw that Chris was fascinated with the ravens, he decided to test their chemistry by putting Chris in the cages with them.  Chris was deemed suitable by those most discerning judges.  He studied under Derrick for five years before taking over the job.  Chris now looks after the seven ravens at the Tower (six by Royal Decree and one spare):  Harris (Male), Merlina (Female), Munin (Female), Rocky (Male), Gripp (Male), Jubilee (Male), and the sisters Erin and Hugine.  Most are quite young--Munin is the oldest, at 21 years old.  The ravens come from breeders in Somerset, but two are wild--Merlina, from South Wales, and Munin, from North Uist in Scotland.  Chris tries to keep them all as wild as possible, giving them free rein around the grounds.  New open-air cages have recently been erected, at Chris’s insistence.  Where does the legend come from?  It arose during WWII, likely as a response to the horrors of the Blitz.  The first recorded reference to the legend dates to this period, and the first Ravenmaster was installed in the 1950s.  (Chris is only the 6th person to hold the title.)  See pictures at https://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/How-to-be-the-Ravenmaster/

Chicken Bouillabaisse by Martha Rose Shulman  8-10 servings  This is a wonderful do-ahead chicken dish.  Look for free-range, humanely raised chicken; you can now find free-range chicken already cut up and skinned.  When I tested this recipe, I bought one package of thighs, one of drumsticks and one of breasts (which I cut in half).  I had 16 pieces of chicken, enough for eight very generous servings.  Marinate the chicken the day before you make this dish, and make it at least one day ahead through step 3 so that you can easily skim off the chicken fat.  And if you want to make it for a smaller group, just halve the quantities.  Featured in:  Do Ahead Dishes For Holiday Crowds.   https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1012946-chicken-bouillabaisse

Many of us spend a good deal of our time staring at screens from laptops, computers, smartphones, gaming systems and television.  This can put a lot of strain on our eyes and cause eye fatigue.  When using your screens give your eyes a break.  Use the 20-20-20 rule.  Every 2 minutes, take a 20-second break and focus your eyes on something at least 20 feet away.

https://opto.ca/health-library/the-20-20-20-rule  Eye relaxation:  Close your eyes, then open and blink rapidly.  Slowly, move your eyes in circles or lines--vertical, horizontal, on the slant.

The 10 Most Prominent Writers’ Workshops in America

http://oedb.org/ilibrarian/the-10-most-prominent-writers-workshops-in-america/

Delicata squash is a winter squash with cream-coloured cylindrical fruits striped in green or orange.  As its name suggests, it has characteristically a delicate rind (or skin).  It is also known as peanut squash, Bohemian squash, or sweet potato squash.  See pictures at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delicata_squash  Find ten delicata squash recipes at https://www.allrecipes.com/recipes/16676/fruits-and-vegetables/vegetables/squash/winter-squash/delicata-squash/

It was well after dark on a Saturday night in January 1963 when the Don Shirley Trio took the stage in Manitowoc, Wisconsin.  The program of show tunes, jazz and classical music, the local paper reported, was “brilliant and exciting and warmly received by the large crowd.”  But its famed leader and pianist, Don Shirley, who was black, knew his welcome was conditional.  A hateful sign stood at Manitowoc’s city limits:  “N-----, don’t let the sun go down on you in our town.”  When the trio set out on another tour later that year, Shirley hired a white driver, a gregarious Italian-American bouncer known as Tony Lip, to handle problems that might arise in the “sundown towns” of the North and the Jim Crow-era South.  “My father said it was almost on a daily basis they would get stopped, because a white man was driving a black man,” recalls Lip’s son Nick Vallelonga, who has turned their journey into Green Book, a 2018 film garnering Oscar buzz.  Vallelonga was 5 years old when his father headed out on the road with the pianist.  After they returned more than a year later, the men lived their separate lives—Shirley played to acclaim in Europe and Lip became an actor—but they remained friends.  As a child Vallelonga visited Shirley in his studio in Manhattan and heard stories about their trip.  “That’s an unbelievable movie,” he remembers thinking.  “I’m gonna make it one day.”  In his 20s, Vallelonga, an actor and occasional screenwriter, interviewed his father and Shirley about how these two men from starkly different backgrounds navigated the racism they encountered.  But Shirley stipulated that he didn’t want the story told until after his death.  Both men passed away in 2013, and those conversations, along with letters Lip wrote his wife, form the basis of Green Book, which stars Mahershala Ali as Shirley and Viggo Mortensen as Lip.  The title is a reference to The Negro Motorist Green Book, a travel guide for African-Americans published from 1936 to 1967 that promised “vacation without aggravation.”  Making the film more than half a century after the events it depicts hasn’t muted its powerful message about overcoming prejudice.  Lip “was a product of his times.  Italians lived with Italians.  The Irish lived with the Irish.  African-Americans lived with African-Americans,” Vallelonga says.  The trip “opened my father’s eyes . . . and then changed how he treated people.”  Anna Diamond  https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/true-story-green-book-movie-180970728/

Dreidel is Yiddish for "spinning top."  A dreidel is a pointed, four-sided top which can be made to spin on its pointed base.  Dreidels are normally made of plastic or wood, though there are silver or glass "designer dreidels" available on the market, usually intended for display purposes.  It is customary to play dreidel games on the holiday of Chanukah.  Players take turns spinning the dreidel.  Having the dreidel fall on each Hebrew letter results in a different action.  Land on “nun” (נ) and nothing happens.  Land on “gimmel” (ג) and you get to take the whole pot.  Land on “hay” (ה) and you take half of the pot.  Land on “shin” (ש) and you must give a predetermined amount back into the kitty.  Whenever the kitty is emptied, every player must contribute a set amount.  Any player that cannot contribute after landing on a “shin” or after a fellow player lands on a “gimmel” loses.

https://www.chabad.org/holidays/chanukah/article_cdo/aid/603267/jewish/What-Is-a-Dreidel-Sevivon.htm  How to pronounce dreidel  https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/dreidel or https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dreidel or https://forvo.com/word/dreidel/

Dreidel Song  Hear music with lyrics by Chayim B. Alevsky at

https://www.chabad.org/multimedia/media_cdo/aid/797123/jewish/Dreidel-Song.htm  and the original 1927 recording of "I Have a Little Dreidel" at http://www.knkx.org/post/dreidel-dreidel-dreidel-seattle-connection-worlds-best-known-hanukkah-song

Daniel Radcliffe and the Art of the Fact-Check  Researching his role in “The Lifespan of a Fact,” the actor embeds in The New Yorker’s fact-checking department. by Michael Schulman   Fact:  the actor Daniel Radcliffe is currently starring in the Broadway show “The Lifespan of a Fact,” as a magazine fact checker with an aviation inspector’s zeal for accuracy.  The play is drawn from a real-life skirmish:  in 2005, Jim Fingal, an intern at The Believer, was tasked with fact-checking an essay by John D’Agata (played by Bobby Cannavale), about a teen suicide in Las Vegas.  D’Agata had more of a watercolorist’s approach to the truth.  When Fingal tried to correct his claim that Las Vegas had thirty-four licensed strip clubs—a source indicated that it was thirty-one—D’Agata said that he liked the “rhythm” of thirty-four.  Their epistolary tussle was expanded into a book in 2012.  https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/10/15/daniel-radcliffe-and-the-art-of-the-fact-check

The University of Washington marching band was unable to make the Apple Cup game at Washington State when one of its charter buses crashed en route.  But Washington State's band made sure the Husky Marching Band had a presence by playing Washington's fight song, Bow Down to Washington, before the rivalry game on November 23, 2018.  The bus, with 56 people aboard, rolled onto its side in bad weather November 22, 2018 while heading east on Interstate 90 toward Pullman, and 47 were taken to the hospital for evaluation, according to the school.  None of the injuries was life-threatening, but the school decided to not continue with the trip to allow the students to recover.  That's when the Washington State band stepped up.  It began learning the fight song after hearing about the accident and performed it during pregame.  Mike Brehm  Link to videos at https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/pac12/2018/11/23/washington-state-marching-band-plays-huskies-fight-song-bus-crash/2098179002/

http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com  November 26, 2018  Issue 1992  330th day of the year

“Libraries are our friends.”  ― Neil Gaiman

“When I got [my] library card, that was when my life began.”  ― Rita Mae Brown

“Without libraries what have we?  We have no past and no future.”  ― Ray Bradbury

“Libraries raised me.”  ― Ray Bradbury

“A library outranks any other one thing a community can do to benefit its people.  It is a never failing spring in the desert.”  ― Andrew Carnegie

https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/libraries

“When in doubt, go to the library."  ― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

“At the moment that we persuade a child, any child, to cross that threshold, that magic threshold
into a library, we change their lives forever, for the better.”  Barack Obama, keynote address, ALA Annual Conference, 2005

https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/223272-when-in-doubt-go-to-the-library  See also https://www.brainyquote.com/topics/library

ABC salad:  apples, broccoli and dried cranberries  (For the B, you could substitute beets or cooked beans.)

ABCD salad:  arugula, blackberries, sliced cucumbers and fresh dill  (For the B, you could substitute another kind of berry.)

xkcd, sometimes styled XKCD, is a webcomic created in 2005 by American author Randall Munroe.  The comic's tagline describes it as "A webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language".  Munroe states on the comic's website that the name of the comic is not an initialism, but "just a word with no phonetic pronunciation".  The subject matter of the comic varies from statements on life and love to mathematical, programming, and scientific in-jokes.  Some strips feature simple humor or pop-culture references.  Although it has a cast of stick figures, the comic occasionally features landscapes, graphs, charts, and intricate mathematical patterns such as fractals.  New cartoons are added three times a week, on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.  Munroe has released three spinoff books from the comic.  The first book, chronologically, published in 2010 and entitled xkcd:  volume 0 was a series of select comics from his website.  His 2014 book What If? is based on his blog of the same name that answers unusual science questions from readers in a light-hearted way that is scientifically grounded.  The What If column on the site is updated with new articles from time to time.  His 2015 book Thing Explainer explains scientific concepts using only the one thousand most commonly used words in English.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xkcd

A ranked-choice voting system (RCV) is an electoral system in which voters rank candidates by preference on their ballots.  If a candidate wins a majority of first-preference votes, he or she is declared the winner.  If no candidate wins a majority of first-preference votes, the candidate with the fewest first-preference votes is eliminated.  First-preference votes cast for the failed candidate are eliminated, lifting the second-preference choices indicated on those ballots.  A new tally is conducted to determine whether any candidate has won a majority of the adjusted votes.  The process is repeated until a candidate wins an outright majority.  This system is sometimes referred to as an instant runoff voting system.   Read more and see a graph of ranking-choice voting usage in the U.S. as of June 12, 2018 at https://ballotpedia.org/Ranked-choice_voting_(RCV)

The Narrator Hall of Fame  Narrators don’t just read the story—they bring it to life, adding nuance to every word and personality to every character.  They develop a special relationship with the listener, making every audiobook they perform a transporting experience.  The 20 narrators (and one distinctive voice) featured here--as well as future inductees and winners of awards we’ll introduce next year--were selected based on several criteria: a wide, varied, and vibrant body of work; exceptional listener reviews; and a commitment to the craft and dedication to spreading awareness of audio performance.

See list with pictures at https://www.audible.com/ep/Audible_NHOF  See also 17 Secrets of Audiobook Narrators by Michele Debczak at http://mentalfloss.com/article/540364/secrets-of-audiobook-narrators

Distilled white vinegar is made by feeding oxygen to a vodka-like grain alcohol, causing bacteria to grow and acetic acid to form.  It’s those acids that give vinegar its sour taste.  Vinegar can be made from any alcohol—wine, cider, beer—but it’s grain alcohol that gives distilled white vinegar its neutral profile.  This vinegar tastes more assertive than most, but it contains roughly 5 percent acetic acid (about the same amount as other vinegars you use for cooking), making it perfectly safe to eat.  Now, don’t confuse it with basic white vinegar, which is stronger and has up to 25 percent acetic acid.  That vinegar is sold exclusively for cleaning purposes and not a good idea for you to ingest.  However, beyond cooking, distilled white vinegar can be used for many of the same household chores.  Julia Heffelfinger  https://www.foodandwine.com/cooking-techniques/white-vinegar-uses-hacks  Thank you, Muse reader! 

         

The Muse reader has challenged the Muser to write a poem about vinegar: 

Vinegar Good, Vinegar Fine by Martha Esbin

Vinegar good, vinegar fine, created by accident the first time, used by ancients to preserve food and

mixed with water to quench the thirst.

Vinegar good, vinegar fine.

The fields yield grapes and grains that are fermented, and we dine on fine foods soaked in brine.  A little vinegar can shield from hurts.  Enhances, softens, tenderizes, cleans.

Vinegar good, vinegar fine.

Vinegar has been used as a food and medicinal tonic for centuries.  Made by the fermentation of grains such as barley, rye, wheat and rice or juices such as grape and apple, vinegar is available in a variety of flavors and colors.  Vinegars are produced by a process called distillation, in which yeasts and bacteria are used to break down carbohydrates or sugars.  Several medical studies have shown that vinegar has many health benefits.  Vinegar contains essential nutrients that are important for healthy digestion, food metabolism and energy production.  All vinegars, particularly organic types such as apple cider vinegar, which are less filtered and processed, are beneficial for heart, blood vessel, nerve and muscle health.  These include vitamins A, B-complex, C and E and minerals such as calcium, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus and sodiumLink to related articles, for instance, health benefits and myths at   https://healthyeating.sfgate.com/health-advantages-vinegar-5004.html  See Ode to Vinegar at http://ode-to-vinegar.blogspot.com/ and History of Vinegar at https://www.ponti.com/en/in-ancient-times/

FOR THE VIRTUES I HAVE ACQUIRED AS A LIBRARIAN, I AM TRULY THANKFUL   1.  Patience.  At the end of the day, library work is a service job—and that means that the number one thing you’re doing is serving the public.  That includes listening to complaints.  2.  A Sense of Humor.  Being around a variety of people in a community space has allowed me the true and delightful joy of understanding that people are just goofy all the time.  3.  Empathy.  If I can’t have empathy for people, then I can’t be a librarian.  Because above all, serving the community means understanding that everyone needs to be supported and understood.   4.  Getting to the Root of a Problem.  Trying to dig free the question that library patrons are actually trying to ask me has turned me into a master detective.  5.  Better Writing.  To be a better writer, a person needs to read—constantly.  I’d also like to add that for myself, being a better writer has also meant being around a wide and varied assortment of patrons.   Kristen Arnett  https://lithub.com/for-the-virtues-i-have-acquired-as-a-librarian-i-am-truly-thankful/  Thank you, Muse reader!  Investigate Literary Hub at https://lithub.com/

 Former Librarian of Congress James Billington, who led the world's largest library for nearly three decades and brought it into the digital age, has died.  He was 89.  Billington, chief librarian for 28 years, doubled the size of the library's traditional analog collections, from 85.5 million items in 1987 to more than 160 million items.  He also was credited with creating a massive new Library of Congress online, making research and legislative databases more easily accessible.  Other achievements noted by the library:  Billington acquired the only copy of the 1507 Waldseemüller world map ("America's birth certificate") in 2003 for permanent display.  He reconstructed Thomas Jefferson's original library and placed it on permanent display in 2008.  He obtained a complete copy of the Marquis de Lafayette's previously inaccessible papers.  And he assembled hundreds of other collections from notable Americans such as Thurgood Marshall, Irving Berlin and Jackie Robinson.

https://www.scnow.com/news/politics/wire/article_dda135f1-aa96-5b1f-a2a0-8e8c20e5f6f3.html

http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com  November 23, 2018  Issue 1991  327th day of the year