Poet and fund raiser David Thompson Watson McCord (1897-1997) was born in New York City in 1897 and grew up in Princeton, New Jersey, and rural Oregon.  He earned a BA and an MA at Harvard University and was later awarded honorary doctorates from 22 universities.  McCord’s poetic innovations include the invention of a five-line form he called “symmetrics.”  McCord authored and edited more than 50 books during his life.  His collections of poetry include Oddly Enough (1926) as well as the children’s collections Far and Few (1952); One at a Time: His Collected Poems for the Young (1974), which won the National Council of Teachers of English Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children; and Every Time I Climb a Tree (1967).  He is also the author of the prose collections About Boston: Sight, Sound, Flavor & Inflection (1948), An Acre for Education: Being Notes on the History of Radcliffe College (1958), and In Sight of Sever: Essays from Harvard (1963).  He edited the anthology of humorous British and American poetry What Cheer (1945, reprinted in 1946 as The Pocket Book of Humorous Verse).  https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/david-mccord   

Books fall open, you fall in,
delighted where,
you've never been . . .

True books will venture,
Dare you out,
Whisper secrets, 

Maybe shout,
across the gloom,
to you in need
Who hanker for
a book to read. 

David Thompson Watson McCord  Read the rest of the poem at https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/44686-books-fall-open-books-fall-open-you-fall-in-delighted   

Anita Shreve (1946-2018) was an American writer, chiefly known for her novels. Shreve's novels have sold millions of copies worldwide.   She attended Tufts University and began writing while working as a high school teacher.  One of her first published stories, Past the Island, Drifting, (published in 1975) was awarded an O. Henry Prize in 1976.  Among other jobs, Shreve spent three years working as a journalist in Kenya.  In 1999, while she was teaching Creative Writing at Amherst College, Oprah Winfrey selected The Pilot's Wife for her book club. https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3530.Anita_Shreve  

The opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Paralympics took place August 28, 2024 in Paris, France.  The Phryges, anthropomorphic Phrygian caps, are the official mascots of the summer Olympic and Paralympic Games this year.   

http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com  Issue 2850 August 30, 2024 

Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans.  It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guinea.  Indonesia is the world's largest archipelagic state and the 14th-largest country by area, at 1,904,569 square kilometres (735,358 square miles).  With over 280 million people, Indonesia is the world's fourth-most-populous country and the most populous Muslim-majority country.  Java, the world's most populous island, is home to more than half of the country's population.  The name Indonesia derives from the Greek words Indos (Ἰνδός) and nesos (νῆσος), meaning "Indian islands".  The name dates back to the 19th century, far predating the formation of independent Indonesia.  In 1850, George Windsor Earl, an English ethnologist, proposed the terms Indunesians—and, his preference, Malayunesians—for the inhabitants of the "Indian Archipelago or Malay Archipelago".  In the same publication, one of his students, James Richardson Logan, used Indonesia as a synonym for Indian Archipelago. Dutch academics writing in East Indies publications were reluctant to use Indonesia.  They preferred Malay Archipelago (Dutch: Maleische Archipel); the Netherlands East Indies (Nederlandsch Oost Indië), popularly Indië; the East (de Oost); and Insulinde.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indonesia    

June 12, 2024  Twice a day, tourists gather in Boston to watch a turtle eat. 

Not just any turtle, of course:  this is Myrtle the Turtle, the oldest and most famous inhabitant of the New England Aquarium’s 4-story ocean tank.  The New England Aquarium opened in 1969, and Myrtle arrived just a year later from the Provincetown Marine Aquarium, which was shutting down.  Since then, Myrtle has lived in the New England Aquarium's Giant Ocean Tank.  The 200,000 gallon tank is the centerpiece of the aquarium, and Myrtle is the centerpiece of the tank.  She's four-and-a-half feet long and weighs about 550 pounds—though, like many of us, her weight fluctuates.   She’s now probably somewhere in her 80s, but may be up to 95 years old, according to ocean tank manager Michael O’Neill.  He said scientists aren’t exactly sure how long green sea turtles can live, but Myrtle is definitely elderly.  And at this age, she knows what she likes: back scratches, Brussels sprouts and her favorite napping places near the top of the tank.  https://www.wbur.org/news/2024/06/12/green-sea-turtle-new-england-aquarium    

Myrtle the Turtle is a children’s book written by Celeste Meiffren-Swango about a young, adventurous sea turtle in the Pacific Ocean who mistakes a plastic bag for a jellyfish, and realizes she needs help to keep her ocean home safe and beautiful.  This book educates kids—and their grown-ups—about the very real and striking problem of plastic pollution happening in our oceans and challenges us all to do our part to protect Myrtle and other ocean creatures.  https://shop.environmentamerica.org/products/myrtle-the-turtle-childrens-book    

In 1983, President Ronald Reagan’s signature created Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service as a federal holiday.  It’s celebrated annually on the third Monday in January.  The only national day of service, Martin Luther King Jr. Day was first celebrated in 1986.  The first time all 50 states recognized the holiday was in 2000.  https://www.biography.com/activists/martin-luther-king-jr    

Ruth Johnson Colvin, the founder of a literacy initiative that has taught millions of people worldwide, died August 18, 2024 aged 107.  In the early 1960s, concern over low literacy rates in her community of Syracuse, New York, inspired Ms Colvin to launch a tutoring service in her basement that eventually grew into Literacy Volunteers of America.  Ms Colvin was an avid reader but had no experience in teaching when she opened a classroom in her basement in the 1960s.  In 1967, Literacy Volunteers was registered in New York State as a charity, then with 77 tutors and 100 students.  In the years that followed, Ms Colvin's organisation earned various private and public grants, allowing the corps to grow across the country and, later, around the world.  In 2002, Literacy Volunteers of America merged with Laubach Literacy International to become ProLiteracy, now with some 10,000 tutors in 42 US states and 60 other countries, offering lessons in reading and writing.  https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c2edndkn197o   Thank you, reader.   

http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com  Issue 2849  August 27, 2024

A.Word.A.Day with Anu Garg

ept  adjective
1.  Competent; skillful.
2.  Effective; appropriate.  

Back-formation from inept, from Latin ineptus (unsuitable or absurd), from in- (not) + aptus (apt).  Earliest documented use:  1938.   

MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. (1929-1968) QUOTES

·        "In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."  

·        "Hatred paralyzes life; love releases it.  Hatred confuses life; love harmonizes it.  Hatred darkens life; love illuminates it." 

---

·        "I have decided to stick with love--hate is too great a burden to bear."  

·        "If you can't fly, then run.  If you can't run, then walk.  If you can't walk, then crawl, but whatever you do, you have to keep moving."  

·        "Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into friend."  

·        "Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle."  

·        "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."   

·        "We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope."  

·        "Never succumb to the temptation of bitterness."  

·        "We will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."

Click here, for a link to Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech

https://www.xavier.edu/jesuitresource/online-resources/quote-archive1/martin-luther-king-quotes    

Christopher Robin Milne (21 August 1920–1996) was an English author and bookseller and the only child of author A. A. Milne.  As a child, he was the basis of the character Christopher Robin in his father's Winnie-the-Pooh stories and in two books of poems.  Milne's father explained that "Rosemary" was the intended name of their firstborn child, if it was a girl.  Realizing that it was going to be a boy, he decided on "Billy", but without the intention of actually christening him William.  Instead, each parent chose a name; hence his legal name was Christopher Robin. Within the family, he was referred to as "Billy Moon", a combination of his nickname and his childhood mispronunciation of Milne.  From 1929 onwards, he would simply be referred to as Christopher, and he later stated that it was "the only name I feel to be really mine."   

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Robin_Milne#:~:text=Christopher%20Robin%20Milne%20(21%20August,in%20two%20books%20of%20poems.   

http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com  Issue 2848  August 21, 2024 

"We may have all come on different ships, but we are in the same boat now".  This quote, often attributed to Martin Luther King Jr., emphasizes the idea of unity and shared experience despite our differences.  It suggests that while people may have diverse backgrounds, histories, or paths that brought them to a certain point, once they are in that shared situation or context, they are all in it together.  The metaphor of being in the same boat implies that despite individual journeys or pasts, people are now united by a common circumstance or challenge.  It highlights the importance of solidarity, cooperation, and empathy among people, emphasizing that in the face of a common challenge or goal, it is essential to work together regardless of our differences.  Overall, the quote encourages unity, empathy, and understanding among people, emphasizing that despite our varied experiences and backgrounds, we are ultimately interconnected and should work together for the common good.  https://www.quora.com/We-may-have-all-come-on-different-ships-but-we-are-in-the-same-boat-now   

With their unique fan-shaped leaves that turn to a dazzling gold in fall, ginkgo trees appealed to seventeenth-century European botanists and explorers, who collected their seeds in Japan, Korea, and China.  As a result, the tree is now widespread across Europe and North America, as well as Asia, and it appears sporadically in the southern hemisphere as well.  “Ours are different from the ginkgo trees you have in the United States,” Photographer Jimmy Shen says.  “Ours are much more vibrant.  We have a lot of varieties that you don’t have. Yours are mostly imported from Japan.  There is not so much variety.  And you mostly plant the male.  We have the females, because we Chinese eat the nuts.” Ginkgo nuts are toxic, but in China they are cooked and eaten in small quantities as a medicinal plant or health food.  https://lithub.com/in-praise-of-ginkgo-biloba-chinas-ancient-everlasting-tree     

Body mass index (BMI) is a measure of body fat based on height and weight that applies to adult men and women.  View the BMI tables or use a pictured tool to compute yours at https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/educational/lose_wt/BMI/bmicalc.htm

Japanese Textile Makers Market--part of the Japanese Maker's Market collection--a unique pop-up event celebrating the beauty and craftsmanship of Japanese textiles.  Sunday, August 11·12-5pm EDT  Resobox  91 East 3rd Street New York, NY 10003  Admission:  Free

Join us for a unique pop-up event celebrating the beauty and craftsmanship of Japanese textiles.  Discover an exquisite collection of handmade and vintage Japanese textile goods, including kimonos, modern accessories, and sustainable fashion pieces.  This event is perfect for enthusiasts of Japanese culture, fashion, and craftsmanship.  We will showcase Japanese textile handmade and vintage items, including kimonos, modern accessories, and sustainable fashion pieces.  Discover unique collections of items using Japanese textile, such as kimono fabrics.  Japanese snacks will also be available.  This event is over, but you can view beautiful pictures at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/japanese-textile-makers-market-tickets-946806382377?utm_experiment=test_share_listing&aff=ebdsshios

http://librariansmuse.com.blogspot.com  Issue 2847  August  12, 2024 

World War II  The armed forces used codenames to refer to planning and execution of specific military operations to prepare for D-Day.  Operation Overlord was the codename for the Allied invasion of northwest Europe.  The assault phase of Operation Overlord was known as Operation Neptune.  This operation, which began on June 6, 1944, and ended on June 30, 1944, involved landing troops on beaches and all other associated supporting operations required to establish a beachhead in France.  By June 30th, the Allies had established a firm foothold in Normandy—850,279 men, 148,803 vehicles and 570,505 tons of supplies had been landed.  Operation Overlord also began on D-Day, and continued until Allied forces crossed the River Seine on August 19th.  The Battle of Normandy is the name given to the fighting in Normandy between DDay and the end of August 1944.  https://dod.defense.gov/Portals/1/features/2016/0516_dday/docs/d-day-fact-sheet-the-beaches.pdf 

The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War.  Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as D-Day, it is the largest seaborne invasion in history.  The operation began the liberation of France, and the rest of Western Europe, and laid the foundations of the Allied victory on the Western Front.  Planning for the operation began in 1943.  In the months leading up to the invasion, the Allies conducted a substantial military deception, codenamed Operation Bodyguard, to mislead the Germans as to the date and location of the main Allied landings. The weather on the day selected for D-Day was not ideal, and the operation had to be delayed 24 hours; a further postponement would have meant a delay of at least two weeks, as the planners had requirements for the phase of the moon, the tides, and time of day, that meant only a few days each month were deemed suitable.  Adolf Hitler placed Field Marshal Erwin Rommel in command of German forces and developing fortifications along the Atlantic Wall in anticipation of an invasion.  US President Franklin D. Roosevelt placed Major General Dwight D. Eisenhower in command of Allied forces.  The invasion began shortly after midnight on the morning of 6 June with extensive aerial and naval bombardment as well as an airborne assault—the landing of 24,000 American, British, and Canadian airborne troops.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normandy_landings  

6½ Avenue is a north-south pedestrian passageway in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, running from West 51st to West 57th Streets between Sixth and Seventh Avenues.  The pedestrian-only avenue is a one-quarter mile (400 m) corridor of privately owned public spaces, such as open-access lobbies and canopied space, which are open during the day.  There are stop signs and stop ahead signs at six crossings between 51st and 56th Streets.  The mid-block crossing at 57th Street is equipped with a traffic light. At the crosswalk areas, there are sidewalk pedestrian ramps with textured surface and flexible delineators to prevent vehicles parking in the areas.   Each intersection along the thoroughfare has a street name sign that reads "6+¹⁄₂ AV" and the name of the cross street to officially mark the street name.  The mid-block stop signs are unusual for Manhattan, and the fractional avenue name is a new idea for the numbered street system of New York City.   In 2011, the Friends of Privately Owned Public Spaces proposed the creation of a six-block pathway from 51st to 57th Streets that would be mid-block between Sixth and Seventh Avenues to ease pedestrian traffic.  See pictures at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/6%C2%BD_Avenue  Thank you, Muse reader!   

sub rosa (uncountable)  (US, law, slang)  Covert surveillance video used as evidence against applicants for workers' compensation to show they are not in fact (seriously) injured.

sub rosa (comparative more sub rosa, superlative most sub rosa)  Covertly or in secret; confidentially, privately, secretly. [from 17th c.] synonyms, antonyms ▲quotations ▼  Synonyms:  behind the scenes, under the rose, under the table  Antonyms:  above-board, openly, publicly   Not formally stated; implicit, tacit, unspoken.  Antonyms:  explicit, expressed, spoken   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sub_rosa#English   

http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com  Issue 2846  August 5, 2024 

The whole ball of wax   Also, the whole enchilada or shooting match or shebang. Everything, all the elements, the entire affair.  Not all the allusions in these slangy terms are clear.  Ball of wax may refer to a 17th-century English legal practice whereby land was divided among heirs by covering scraps of paper representing portions of land with wax, rolling each into a ball, and drawing the balls from a hat.  For synonyms, see whole kit and caboodle ; whole megillah.  https://www.dictionary.com/browse/the-whole-ball-of-wax   

A relief is a wall-mounted sculpture in which the three-dimensional elements are raised from a flat base.  https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/r/relief   

Mark and Michael Kersey are identical twins who work under the pseudonym MR. ATOMIC.  The artists themselves are as colorful and original as their artwork. They have an interesting collaborative approach to painting; as identical twins they share a unique creative perspective and process.  Their vibrant surrealistic paintings are distinguished by the brother’s quirky humor, and ability to use color as a standalone, expressive element in their work.  The artists have dubbed their painting style as “narrative pop surrealism”.  The Kersey’s began their art career in New York working in the 70’s for Abkco/Apple Records as freelance artists under Al Brownstein.  Mark worked for Marvel Comics alongside the late Dan Adkins. After many years as commercial artists they decided to open their own studio gallery at Common Space in their hometown, Toledo Ohio and have been full time artists since 1992.  See pictures at https://mratomicartstudio.com/about/

I have a Mr. Atomic flat wall sculpture of tulips in my dining room.    

GOETTA Meat, oats and spices  Ready In:  3hrs 5mins  Serves:  10  https://www.food.com/recipe/goetta-17357    

TRADITIONAL PENNSYLVANIA DUTCH SCRAPPLE  If you're not familiar, scrapple, (also known as pannhaas) is a sort of Pennsylvania Dutch specialty with a cult following from the Mid-Atlantic region of the U.S.  Undoubtedly born of the pork harvest like its grain-laden cousin black sausage, scrapple is one of the kings of offal.  https://foragerchef.com/scrapple/    

Genre painting, painting of scenes from everyday life, of ordinary people in work or recreation, depicted in a generally realistic manner.  Genre art contrasts with that of landscape, portraiture, still life, religious themes, historic events, or any kind of traditionally idealized subject matter.   Intimate scenes from daily life are almost invariably the subject of genre painting.  The elimination of imaginative content and of idealization focuses attention upon the shrewd observation of types, costumes, and settings.  The term arose in 18th-century France to describe painters specializing in one kind (genre) of picture, such as flowers or animals or middle-class life, and was originally used derogatively by advocates of the ideal or grand manner in art.  https://www.britannica.com/art/genre-painting  

Brooklyn Heights is a residential neighborhood within the New York City borough of Brooklyn.  The neighborhood is bounded by Old Fulton Street near the Brooklyn Bridge on the north, Cadman Plaza West on the east, Atlantic Avenue on the south, and the Brooklyn–Queens Expressway or the East River on the west.  Adjacent neighborhoods are Dumbo to the north,  Downtown Brooklyn to the east, and Cobble Hill and Boerum Hill to the south.  Originally referred to as Brooklyn Village, it has been a prominent area of Brooklyn since 1834.  The neighborhood is noted for its low-rise architecture and its many brownstone rowhouses, most of them built prior to the Civil War.  It also has an abundance of notable churches and other religious institutions.  Brooklyn's first art gallery, the Brooklyn Arts Gallery, was opened in Brooklyn Heights in 1958.  In 1965, a large part of Brooklyn Heights was protected from unchecked development by the creation of the Brooklyn Heights Historic District, the first such district in New York City.  The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1966.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brooklyn_Heights    

http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com  Issue 2845  August 2, 2024