The modern use of the Olympic Flame began in 1936. It coincided with the advent of a long relay of runners carrying torches to bring the flame from Olympia to the site of the games. Once there, the torch is used to light a cauldron that remains lit until it is extinguished in the Closing Ceremony. http://www.infoplease.com/sports/olympics/history-olympic-torch.html
Passing the Torch: An Evolution of Form, the design history of the Olympic torch from 1936 to the present day.
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2008/08/01/sports/20080802_TORCH_GRAPHIC.html#
The 2010 Winter Olympics will be held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The opening ceremonies are on February 12, 2010; the closing ceremonies are on February 28, 2010. Over 80 countries will send a total of over 5,500 athletes to the competitions. This is the third Olympics held in Canada (the other Canadian Olympics were the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal and the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary). The motto of the 21st Vancouver Olympics is With glowing hearts / Des plus brillants exploits, excerpts from the English and French versions of the Canadian national anthem, O Canada!. http://www.enchantedlearning.com/olympics/
What are combining forms? You can think of them as the Legos of language. As the name indicates, a combining form is a linguistic atom that occurs only in combination with some other form which could be a word, another combining form, or an affix (unlike a combining form, an affix can't attach to another affix). A.Word.A.Day features five words this week made using these combining forms: theo- (god), oligo- (few), artio- (even number), helio- (sun), hagio- (saint) and -gony (origin), -poly (selling), -dactyl (toes or fingers), -latry (worship), -graphy (writing).
Using one combining form from each of the above two groups you could make 25 words. Whether all those words make sense is another matter. In fact, theoretically you could construct billions of words with just these 10 Lego blocks as a word can have more than one combining forms. Consider pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis.
What words can you come up with using the building blocks of this week's words? Share your constructions and their definitions on the bulletin board Wordsmith Talk or by email (words at wordsmith.org). Example:
theogony (thee-OG-uh-nee) noun
The origin of gods or an account of this.
From Greek theo- (god) + -gony (origin). A.Word.A.Day with Anu Garg
January to June in many languages
http://www.omniglot.com/language/phrases/months1.php
Explore alphabets, writing systems, articles, and phrases in many languages:
http://www.omniglot.com/ Songs, puzzles and artwork are also offered.
Barry Manilow has written or sung in nine commercial jingles. Probably the one for State Farm Insurance is known the best. See list at:
http://www.barrynethomepage.com/commercialjingles.html
Legal researchers: There’s a battle about to break out on your computer screen. On the third floor of West’s sprawling corporate headquarters outside Minneapolis, a veritable army of professionals has been working for nearly five years to create a revamped Westlaw. They are changing everything from the interface users see on their PC screens to all the technology that makes it work behind the scenes. Known as WestlawNext, the new platform will debut February 1. On its own suburban campus near Dayton, Ohio, LexisNexis—the other half of the duopoly that has ruled online legal research for almost 40 years (some call it “Wexis”)—is planning its own revamped platform. Referred to internally as New Lexis, it is slated to roll out publicly later this year on a date yet to be determined. Both companies claim to be creating a legal research experience that will mimic the ease of use their customers have come to expect from the leading Internet search engine, Google. The updated services come not a moment too soon, since the Mountain View, Calif.-based search engine has just gotten into the legal research business. In November, the company announced that its Scholar search engine now contains more than 80 years of U.S. case law from federal and state courts, as well as U.S. Supreme Court decisions dating back to 1791—all of it free. http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/exclusive_inside_the_new_westlaw_lexis_bloomberg_platforms/#ecamp=t-n322
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Monday, January 25, 2010
National Renewable Energy Lab - NREL Study Shows 20 Percent Wind is Possible by 2024
News release: "Today, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) released the Eastern Wind Integration and Transmission Study (EWITS). This unprecedented two-and-a-half year technical study of future high-penetration wind scenarios was designed to analyze the economic, operational, and technical implications of shifting 20 percent or more of the Eastern Interconnection’s electrical load to wind energy by the year 2024."
UN Permanent Forum Origin and Development Report: State of the World's Indigenous Peoples, January 2010.
• "Indigenous peoples contribute extensibly to humanity's cultural diversity, enriching it with more than two thirds of its languages and an extraordinary amount of its traditional knowledge. There are over 370 million indigenous people in some 90 countries, living in all regions of the world. The situation of indigenous peoples in many parts of the world is critical today. Poverty rates are significantly higher among indigenous peoples compared to other groups. While they constitute 5 per cent of the world's population, they are 15 per cent of the world's poor. Most indicators of well-being show that indigenous peoples suffer disproportionately compared to non-indigenous peoples. Indigenous peoples face systemic discrimination and exclusion from political and economic power; they continue to be over-represented among the poorest, the illiterate, the destitute; they are displaced by wars and environmental disasters; indigenous peoples are dispossessed of their ancestral lands and deprived of their resources for survival, both physical and cultural; they are even robbed of their very right to life. In more modern versions of market exploitation, indigenous peoples see their traditional knowledge and cultural expressions marketed and patented without their consent or participation."
DOJ OIG: Review of FBI's Use of Exigent Letters
A Review of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Use of Exigent Letters and Other Informal Requests for Telephone Records, January 2010, Unclassified, Redacted.
BLS Producer Price Indexes December 2009
Producer Price Index, January 20, 2010: "The Producer Price Index for Finished Goods moved up 0.2 percent in December, seasonally adjusted. This rise followed a 1.8-percent advance in November and a 0.3-percent increase in October. The index for finished goods less foods and energy was unchanged."
Thanks to solar panels, a geothermal heating and cooling system, and a gift of carbon-offset credits, Rangeview Library District’s new Anythink Brighton, Colorado, branch is believed to be the first carbon-positive library in the United States. The building, which opened in September, offsets 167,620 pounds of carbon dioxide—16% more than it is anticipated to use annually. Solar energy will save the library about $30,000 a year in energy costs. “For the 10 years it may take to see the return on investment, we’ll also be not emitting tons of carbon in the air,” Hansen said.
Other environmentally friendly features include:
Geothermal heating and cooling. A closed system of pipes carries fluid through the floors to wells 500 feet below the parking lot. While underground, the temperature of the fluid moderates to about 58 degrees Farenheit, year-round; when it’s pumping through the floors, it helps to cool the building in summer and heat it in winter, requiring about half the energy of blowing heated or cooled air.
Solatubes. These capture natural light outside, and deliver through reflective tubes to illuminate interior spaces, even if there is no window or skylight.
Lighting controls, including motion sensors and stepped ballasts to regulate the amount of artificial lighting needed.
South-facing facades. Windows receive direct light in winter, with awnings to provide shade during summer.
http://www.americanlibrariesmagazine.org/news/12122009/new-colorado-facility-becomes-first-carbon-positive-library
Magic in the air
Hummingbirds take extraordinary to a whole new level. They are the smallest warm-blooded creatures on the planet, but they are also among the fastest. With wings that beat up to 200 times every second, they are among nature’s most accomplished athletes, the only birds able to hover, fly backwards, and even upside down. http://www.rapidshareindex.com/PBS-Nature-S28E05-Hummingbirds-Magic-in-the-Air-2010-_410140.html
A muse reader, after viewing pictures of library cats, gave me the book Dewey about a kitten found in a book drop on a cold January morning in the public library at Spencer, Iowa. The cat was rescued and cared for by the library staff, and grew to love sitting on laps, warm copiers, and in boxes and drawers. His routine included greeting the staff, keeping them company during breaks, and being carried limply over a person's left shoulder. Dewey's picture appeared in magazines, newsletters, books, and newspapers. http://www.americanprofile.com/article/3897.html
Iowa’s Dewey Readmore Books gives Dr. Seuss a run for the money, ranking as a national celebrity. The acting debut in Puss in Books landed him a spot as Mr. January in a national pin-up cat calendar plus a mention on nationally syndicated radio by broadcaster Paul Harvey, and as the subject of two book chapters—he has his own Library of Congress listing.
http://www.wesleyancollege.edu/Academics/Library/LibraryCat/tabid/184/Default.aspx
See a picture of Dewey here: http://www.neatorama.com/2009/04/30/an-interactive-map-of-library-cats/
"The Gathering: Of Time, of Land, of Many Hands", an outdoor mosaic sculpture, has Dewey sitting on pages of an open book, on the west wall of the sculpture (The Story of Spencer). Find him slightly to the left of center in the upper half of the scene.
http://spencercreates.com/liveculturehistory.htm
http://www.surfiowa.com/spencer/parkart/
Products that use corn
Adhesives (glues, pastes, mucilages, gums, etc.)
Aluminum
Antibiotics (penicillin)
Asbestos insulation
Aspirin
Automobiles (everything on wheels)
xxx- cylinder heads
xxx- ethanol - fuel & windshield washer fluid
xxx- spark plugs
xxx- synthetic rubber finishes
xxx- tires
Baby food
Batteries, dry cell
Beer
Breakfast cereals
Candies
Canned vegetables
Carbonated beverages
Cheese spreads
Chewing gum
Chocolate products
Coatings on wood, paper & metal
Colour carrier in paper & textile, printing
Corn chips
Corn meal
Cosmetics
C.M.A. (calcium magnesium acetate)
Crayon and chalk
Degradable plastics
Dessert powders
Dextrose (intravenous solutions, icing sugar)
Disposable diapers
Dyes
Edible oil
Ethyl and butyl alcohol
Explosives - firecrackers
Finished leather
Flour & grits
See the other half of the list at:
http://www.ontariocorn.org/classroom/products.html
News release: "Today, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) released the Eastern Wind Integration and Transmission Study (EWITS). This unprecedented two-and-a-half year technical study of future high-penetration wind scenarios was designed to analyze the economic, operational, and technical implications of shifting 20 percent or more of the Eastern Interconnection’s electrical load to wind energy by the year 2024."
UN Permanent Forum Origin and Development Report: State of the World's Indigenous Peoples, January 2010.
• "Indigenous peoples contribute extensibly to humanity's cultural diversity, enriching it with more than two thirds of its languages and an extraordinary amount of its traditional knowledge. There are over 370 million indigenous people in some 90 countries, living in all regions of the world. The situation of indigenous peoples in many parts of the world is critical today. Poverty rates are significantly higher among indigenous peoples compared to other groups. While they constitute 5 per cent of the world's population, they are 15 per cent of the world's poor. Most indicators of well-being show that indigenous peoples suffer disproportionately compared to non-indigenous peoples. Indigenous peoples face systemic discrimination and exclusion from political and economic power; they continue to be over-represented among the poorest, the illiterate, the destitute; they are displaced by wars and environmental disasters; indigenous peoples are dispossessed of their ancestral lands and deprived of their resources for survival, both physical and cultural; they are even robbed of their very right to life. In more modern versions of market exploitation, indigenous peoples see their traditional knowledge and cultural expressions marketed and patented without their consent or participation."
DOJ OIG: Review of FBI's Use of Exigent Letters
A Review of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Use of Exigent Letters and Other Informal Requests for Telephone Records, January 2010, Unclassified, Redacted.
BLS Producer Price Indexes December 2009
Producer Price Index, January 20, 2010: "The Producer Price Index for Finished Goods moved up 0.2 percent in December, seasonally adjusted. This rise followed a 1.8-percent advance in November and a 0.3-percent increase in October. The index for finished goods less foods and energy was unchanged."
Thanks to solar panels, a geothermal heating and cooling system, and a gift of carbon-offset credits, Rangeview Library District’s new Anythink Brighton, Colorado, branch is believed to be the first carbon-positive library in the United States. The building, which opened in September, offsets 167,620 pounds of carbon dioxide—16% more than it is anticipated to use annually. Solar energy will save the library about $30,000 a year in energy costs. “For the 10 years it may take to see the return on investment, we’ll also be not emitting tons of carbon in the air,” Hansen said.
Other environmentally friendly features include:
Geothermal heating and cooling. A closed system of pipes carries fluid through the floors to wells 500 feet below the parking lot. While underground, the temperature of the fluid moderates to about 58 degrees Farenheit, year-round; when it’s pumping through the floors, it helps to cool the building in summer and heat it in winter, requiring about half the energy of blowing heated or cooled air.
Solatubes. These capture natural light outside, and deliver through reflective tubes to illuminate interior spaces, even if there is no window or skylight.
Lighting controls, including motion sensors and stepped ballasts to regulate the amount of artificial lighting needed.
South-facing facades. Windows receive direct light in winter, with awnings to provide shade during summer.
http://www.americanlibrariesmagazine.org/news/12122009/new-colorado-facility-becomes-first-carbon-positive-library
Magic in the air
Hummingbirds take extraordinary to a whole new level. They are the smallest warm-blooded creatures on the planet, but they are also among the fastest. With wings that beat up to 200 times every second, they are among nature’s most accomplished athletes, the only birds able to hover, fly backwards, and even upside down. http://www.rapidshareindex.com/PBS-Nature-S28E05-Hummingbirds-Magic-in-the-Air-2010-_410140.html
A muse reader, after viewing pictures of library cats, gave me the book Dewey about a kitten found in a book drop on a cold January morning in the public library at Spencer, Iowa. The cat was rescued and cared for by the library staff, and grew to love sitting on laps, warm copiers, and in boxes and drawers. His routine included greeting the staff, keeping them company during breaks, and being carried limply over a person's left shoulder. Dewey's picture appeared in magazines, newsletters, books, and newspapers. http://www.americanprofile.com/article/3897.html
Iowa’s Dewey Readmore Books gives Dr. Seuss a run for the money, ranking as a national celebrity. The acting debut in Puss in Books landed him a spot as Mr. January in a national pin-up cat calendar plus a mention on nationally syndicated radio by broadcaster Paul Harvey, and as the subject of two book chapters—he has his own Library of Congress listing.
http://www.wesleyancollege.edu/Academics/Library/LibraryCat/tabid/184/Default.aspx
See a picture of Dewey here: http://www.neatorama.com/2009/04/30/an-interactive-map-of-library-cats/
"The Gathering: Of Time, of Land, of Many Hands", an outdoor mosaic sculpture, has Dewey sitting on pages of an open book, on the west wall of the sculpture (The Story of Spencer). Find him slightly to the left of center in the upper half of the scene.
http://spencercreates.com/liveculturehistory.htm
http://www.surfiowa.com/spencer/parkart/
Products that use corn
Adhesives (glues, pastes, mucilages, gums, etc.)
Aluminum
Antibiotics (penicillin)
Asbestos insulation
Aspirin
Automobiles (everything on wheels)
xxx- cylinder heads
xxx- ethanol - fuel & windshield washer fluid
xxx- spark plugs
xxx- synthetic rubber finishes
xxx- tires
Baby food
Batteries, dry cell
Beer
Breakfast cereals
Candies
Canned vegetables
Carbonated beverages
Cheese spreads
Chewing gum
Chocolate products
Coatings on wood, paper & metal
Colour carrier in paper & textile, printing
Corn chips
Corn meal
Cosmetics
C.M.A. (calcium magnesium acetate)
Crayon and chalk
Degradable plastics
Dessert powders
Dextrose (intravenous solutions, icing sugar)
Disposable diapers
Dyes
Edible oil
Ethyl and butyl alcohol
Explosives - firecrackers
Finished leather
Flour & grits
See the other half of the list at:
http://www.ontariocorn.org/classroom/products.html
Friday, January 22, 2010
MUSE READER SHARES HIS COLUMN
Q: A lot of businesses these days refuse to accept anything larger than a $20 bill to pay for goods and services . How can this be legal on their part when printed right on the front of all bills is the statement, "This note is legal tender for all debts, public and private"? If someone wanted to press the issue, and the police had to get involved, how would that be handled? -- Robert Waxler, Findlay.
A: Who better to ask about our paper money than the people who literally make it, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing in Washington? "We've had this question in the past and this is how we respond: The government simply cannot force a private business to accept anything monetary that it doesn't want to accept," said spokeswoman Claudia Dickens. "Certainly, if it was a government institution, yes, they would have to accept it. But not a private business," she said. Interestingly, Dickens had a different take on what that statement on our money means. "The statement ... is exactly what (the bill) is," she said, "but it does not in any way imply that a merchant has to accept it." Courtesy of Peter Mattiace, editor of The Courier, Just Ask column appearing each Monday. See rest of the answer at:
http://www.thecourier.com/Opinion/columns/2010/Jan/JU/ar_JU_011810.asp?d=011810,2010,Jan,18&c=c_13
Free video courses from leading universities: http://academicearth.org/
23 "newest courses" listed
Children's board games help reinforce lessons learned in the classroom by Mari-Jane Williams Candy Land, for example, in its 61st year, might be one of the best deals going in early childhood education, using visions of sweet treats to disguise lessons in color recognition and counting. And its colorful cousin Chutes and Ladders has been subtly instilling early math skills since 1943 by exposing kids to the concept of numbers. There are so many benefits to playing board games. For years, they've been known to help children with social interaction, taking turns and learning to follow rules and to win and lose gracefully. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/12/AR2010011202134.html
Quod gratis asseritur, gratis negatur
"what is asserted without reason may be denied without reason"
See many Latin phrases translated at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Latin_phrases_(full)
obscurantism (uhb-SKYOOR-uhn-tiz-uhm, ob-skyoo-RAN-tiz-uhm) noun
1. Opposition to the spread of knowledge.
2. Being deliberately vague or obscure; also a style in art and literature.
From Latin obscurare (to make dark). A.Word.A.Day with Anu Garg
Feedback to A.Word.A.Day
From: Ron Frazier (ronfraz@verizon.net)
Subject: Palindromic Dates
Concerning palindromic dates... I did write a small BASIC program to generate all palindromic dates and count the days between successive dates. Both ways of writing dates have 366 palindromic dates in the years between 0001 - 9999, but the distributions are quite different and have interesting patterns. The complete list is here.
The last palindromic date of the 10th millennium will be: 09/29/9290! The last date of our (the 3rd) millennium will be: 09/22/2290.
Towards the end of the First World War with the disintegration of the Turkish Ottoman Empire, Palestine was among the several former Ottoman Arab territories which were placed under the administration of Great Britain under the Mandates System adopted by the League of Nations pursuant to the League's Covenant (Article 22) .
All but one of these Mandated Territories became fully independent States, as anticipated. The exception was Palestine where, instead of being limited to "the rendering of administrative assistance and advice" the Mandate had as a primary objective the implementation of the "Balfour Declaration" issued by the British Government in 1917, expressing support for "the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people". During the years of the Palestine Mandate, from 1922 to 1947, large-scale Jewish immigration from abroad, mainly from Eastern Europe took place, the numbers swelling in the 1930s with the notorious Nazi persecution of Jewish populations. Palestinian demands for independence and resistance to Jewish immigration led to a rebellion in 1937, followed by continuing terrorism and violence from both sides during and immediately after World War II. Great Britain tried to implement various formulas to bring independence to a land ravaged by violence. In 1947, Great Britain turned the problem over to the United Nations. After looking at various alternatives, the UN proposed the partitioning of Palestine into two independent States, one Palestinian Arab and the other Jewish, with Jerusalem internationalized (Resolution 181 (II) of 1947). One of the two States envisaged in the partition plan proclaimed its independence as Israel and in the 1948 war expanded to occupy 77 per cent of the territory of Palestine. http://www.un.org/Depts/dpa/ngo/history.html
More on banned music
Public performances of Wagner's music in Palestine ceased the day after Kristallnacht, in 1938. The then-Palestine Philharmonic, which had debuted two years earlier performing Wagner under the baton of Toscanini, removed the overture to Der Meistersinger from its program in a protest against that tragic night in Germany, and the ban has continued ever since. (A similar ban on Wagner's music in the Soviet Union lasted for fifty years, until the collapse of the communist regime in 1989). Wagner was not alone -- Richard Strauss and Carl Orff, both Nazi-affiliated in their lifetimes, were also banned for decades. The state-run New Israeli Opera Company avoids not only Wagner operas but all operas in German, with the exception of the occasional Mozart singspiel or Viennese operetta.
http://www.zeek.net/music_0405.shtml
Tried, tasted and approved
We tried two recipes from allrecipes.com recently and enjoyed them. Take a look at
pork tenderloin in bourbon http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Pork-Tenderloin-in-Bourbon/Detail.aspx
and rosemary braised lamb shanks http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Rosemary-Braised-Lamb-Shanks/Detail.aspx
Q: A lot of businesses these days refuse to accept anything larger than a $20 bill to pay for goods and services . How can this be legal on their part when printed right on the front of all bills is the statement, "This note is legal tender for all debts, public and private"? If someone wanted to press the issue, and the police had to get involved, how would that be handled? -- Robert Waxler, Findlay.
A: Who better to ask about our paper money than the people who literally make it, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing in Washington? "We've had this question in the past and this is how we respond: The government simply cannot force a private business to accept anything monetary that it doesn't want to accept," said spokeswoman Claudia Dickens. "Certainly, if it was a government institution, yes, they would have to accept it. But not a private business," she said. Interestingly, Dickens had a different take on what that statement on our money means. "The statement ... is exactly what (the bill) is," she said, "but it does not in any way imply that a merchant has to accept it." Courtesy of Peter Mattiace, editor of The Courier, Just Ask column appearing each Monday. See rest of the answer at:
http://www.thecourier.com/Opinion/columns/2010/Jan/JU/ar_JU_011810.asp?d=011810,2010,Jan,18&c=c_13
Free video courses from leading universities: http://academicearth.org/
23 "newest courses" listed
Children's board games help reinforce lessons learned in the classroom by Mari-Jane Williams Candy Land, for example, in its 61st year, might be one of the best deals going in early childhood education, using visions of sweet treats to disguise lessons in color recognition and counting. And its colorful cousin Chutes and Ladders has been subtly instilling early math skills since 1943 by exposing kids to the concept of numbers. There are so many benefits to playing board games. For years, they've been known to help children with social interaction, taking turns and learning to follow rules and to win and lose gracefully. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/12/AR2010011202134.html
Quod gratis asseritur, gratis negatur
"what is asserted without reason may be denied without reason"
See many Latin phrases translated at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Latin_phrases_(full)
obscurantism (uhb-SKYOOR-uhn-tiz-uhm, ob-skyoo-RAN-tiz-uhm) noun
1. Opposition to the spread of knowledge.
2. Being deliberately vague or obscure; also a style in art and literature.
From Latin obscurare (to make dark). A.Word.A.Day with Anu Garg
Feedback to A.Word.A.Day
From: Ron Frazier (ronfraz@verizon.net)
Subject: Palindromic Dates
Concerning palindromic dates... I did write a small BASIC program to generate all palindromic dates and count the days between successive dates. Both ways of writing dates have 366 palindromic dates in the years between 0001 - 9999, but the distributions are quite different and have interesting patterns. The complete list is here.
The last palindromic date of the 10th millennium will be: 09/29/9290! The last date of our (the 3rd) millennium will be: 09/22/2290.
Towards the end of the First World War with the disintegration of the Turkish Ottoman Empire, Palestine was among the several former Ottoman Arab territories which were placed under the administration of Great Britain under the Mandates System adopted by the League of Nations pursuant to the League's Covenant (Article 22) .
All but one of these Mandated Territories became fully independent States, as anticipated. The exception was Palestine where, instead of being limited to "the rendering of administrative assistance and advice" the Mandate had as a primary objective the implementation of the "Balfour Declaration" issued by the British Government in 1917, expressing support for "the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people". During the years of the Palestine Mandate, from 1922 to 1947, large-scale Jewish immigration from abroad, mainly from Eastern Europe took place, the numbers swelling in the 1930s with the notorious Nazi persecution of Jewish populations. Palestinian demands for independence and resistance to Jewish immigration led to a rebellion in 1937, followed by continuing terrorism and violence from both sides during and immediately after World War II. Great Britain tried to implement various formulas to bring independence to a land ravaged by violence. In 1947, Great Britain turned the problem over to the United Nations. After looking at various alternatives, the UN proposed the partitioning of Palestine into two independent States, one Palestinian Arab and the other Jewish, with Jerusalem internationalized (Resolution 181 (II) of 1947). One of the two States envisaged in the partition plan proclaimed its independence as Israel and in the 1948 war expanded to occupy 77 per cent of the territory of Palestine. http://www.un.org/Depts/dpa/ngo/history.html
More on banned music
Public performances of Wagner's music in Palestine ceased the day after Kristallnacht, in 1938. The then-Palestine Philharmonic, which had debuted two years earlier performing Wagner under the baton of Toscanini, removed the overture to Der Meistersinger from its program in a protest against that tragic night in Germany, and the ban has continued ever since. (A similar ban on Wagner's music in the Soviet Union lasted for fifty years, until the collapse of the communist regime in 1989). Wagner was not alone -- Richard Strauss and Carl Orff, both Nazi-affiliated in their lifetimes, were also banned for decades. The state-run New Israeli Opera Company avoids not only Wagner operas but all operas in German, with the exception of the occasional Mozart singspiel or Viennese operetta.
http://www.zeek.net/music_0405.shtml
Tried, tasted and approved
We tried two recipes from allrecipes.com recently and enjoyed them. Take a look at
pork tenderloin in bourbon http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Pork-Tenderloin-in-Bourbon/Detail.aspx
and rosemary braised lamb shanks http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Rosemary-Braised-Lamb-Shanks/Detail.aspx
Thursday, January 21, 2010
EPA Proposes Standards to Protect Florida’s Waters
News release: "The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing water quality standards to protect people’s health, aquatic life and the long term recreational uses of Florida’s waters, which are a critical part of the state’s economy. In 2009, EPA entered into a consent decree with the Florida Wildlife Federation to propose limits to this pollution. The proposed action, released for public comment and developed in collaboration with the state, would set a series of numeric limits on the amount of phosphorus and nitrogen, also known as “nutrients,” that would be allowed in Florida’s lakes, rivers, streams, springs and canals."
• More on the proposed rule and public hearings
Ranking of compact cars and subcompact cars, generally priced under $20,000. Rankings based on an in-depth analysis by U.S. News editors of all published auto ratings, reviews and test drives.
http://usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/cars-trucks/rankings/Affordable-Small-Cars/
The eight parts of speech are noun, pronoun, verb, adverb, adjective, preposition, conjunction, and interjection. See functions, example words and example sentences:
http://www.englishclub.com/grammar/parts-of-speech_1.htm
The FAA last April opened its records on more than 100,000 reports of birds colliding with aircraft since 1990. The records showed that airplanes struck birds 16 to 78 times a year between 1990 and 2008 at Philadelphia. Airports, with open fields and grass, are particularly vulnerable to birds, and many of the nation's busiest airports are next to water or wildlife sanctuaries that attract birds. Bird populations have flourished in recent years with the banning of pesticides and environmental cleanup. Until 2008, the FAA saw a decline in bird-plane collisions considered "substantial" - causing structural damage, such as a hole in the wing or a destroyed engine. But in 2009, with an increase in strike reports, came "a jump in more serious damage strikes . . . Bird-detecting radar and special lighting on aircraft during takeoff and landing could alert birds that "something is coming at them very fast," Richard Dolbeer, wildlife expert for the U.S. Department of Agriculture said. http://www.philly.com/inquirer/business/20100113_Birds_vs__airplanes__The_menace_continues.html
WHO - Healthcare coordination crucial in earthquake-hit Haiti
World Health Organization: "Strong coordination of health services and supplies is needed to effectively treat thousands of people injured in the 12 January earthquake. WHO is sending medicines and supplies to treat 165 000 people for one month, plus drugs and equipment to treat 1000 people with trauma injuries. Water pumps, containers and water quality testers are being sent to help meet water demands."
U.S. State Dept. Resources on 2010 Earthquake in Haiti
2010 Earthquake in Haiti - Includes links to:
Briefings and Remarks
Fact Sheets
Interviews
Secretary Clinton's Visit to Haiti
White House Releases
Collected Releases
Red Cross Photos: 2010 Haiti earthquake
"Avatar's" record-breaking run worldwide is getting pulled up short in China.
Authorities are pulling the non-3D version of the science fiction epic from screens across the country as of Jan. 23, according to theater operators and state media, apparently for political and economic reasons. China Film Group, the state-run domestic distributor of the Hollywood blockbuster, has reportedly ordered cinemas to stop showing the 2D version of James Cameron's global hit by this weekend on the orders of China's censors, though the 3D and IMAX versions of the movie will continue their run into February.
http://news.findlaw.com/ap/e/1402/01-19-2010/20100119025007_03.html
What does avatar mean?
embodiment: a new personification of a familiar idea; "the embodiment of hope"; "the incarnation of evil"; "the very avatar of cunning"
the manifestation of a Hindu deity (especially Vishnu) in human or superhuman or animal form; "the Buddha is considered an avatar of the god Vishnu"
See other meanings here: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&defl=en&q=define:avatar&ei=0DxYS6GREoiENrmu9NYE&sa=X&oi=glossary_definition&ct=title&ved=0CAcQkAE
After days of tense negotiations, "The Tonight Show" host Conan O'Brien signed an agreement early Thursday, January 21 to part ways with NBC, according to a person familiar with the situation. The deal clears the way for rival Jay Leno to reclaim his old show at 11:35 pm. Mr. O'Brien signed the agreement around 1 a.m. Pacific time.
NBC is expected to announce the agreement later on Thursday morning.
While details on the final agreement were unclear, the deal was expected to include a payout of about $32 million for Mr. O'Brien and about $12 million for his staff. It is also believed to include a nondisparagement clause, both for the 46-year-old comedian and NBC. The deal has been said to include a provision that would bar or limit Mr. OBrien from appearing on other shows or hosting his own show for a period of time, according to people familiar with the negotiations. "In the end, Conan was appreciative of the steps NBC made to take care of his staff and crew, and decided to supplement the severance they were getting out of his own pocket," said Gavin Polone, Mr. O'Brien's manager. "Now he just wants to get back on the air as quickly as possible."
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703699204575016514111492610.html?mod=WSJ_latestheadlines
Robert B. Parker, who wrote more than 60 books all told, including westerns and young-adult novels, died on January 18. In recent years he had come up with two new protagonists: Jesse Stone, an alcoholic ex-ballplayer turned small-town chief of police, who was featured in nine novels written since 1997, including “Split Image,” to be published next month; and Sunny Randall, a fashion-conscious, unlucky-in-love, daughter-of-a-cop private eye created at the request of the actress Helen Hunt, who was hoping for a juicy movie role.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/20/books/20parker.html
If you're a fan of NASA's Mars missions, a few things have started heading in the right direction - including a renewed flow of eye-pleasing pictures from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, a new program that gives you a say in picking the orbiter's future targets, and new signs of progress in the months-long effort to free the Spirit rover from a sand trap. See story and pictures at: http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2010/01/21/2181157.aspx
News release: "The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing water quality standards to protect people’s health, aquatic life and the long term recreational uses of Florida’s waters, which are a critical part of the state’s economy. In 2009, EPA entered into a consent decree with the Florida Wildlife Federation to propose limits to this pollution. The proposed action, released for public comment and developed in collaboration with the state, would set a series of numeric limits on the amount of phosphorus and nitrogen, also known as “nutrients,” that would be allowed in Florida’s lakes, rivers, streams, springs and canals."
• More on the proposed rule and public hearings
Ranking of compact cars and subcompact cars, generally priced under $20,000. Rankings based on an in-depth analysis by U.S. News editors of all published auto ratings, reviews and test drives.
http://usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/cars-trucks/rankings/Affordable-Small-Cars/
The eight parts of speech are noun, pronoun, verb, adverb, adjective, preposition, conjunction, and interjection. See functions, example words and example sentences:
http://www.englishclub.com/grammar/parts-of-speech_1.htm
The FAA last April opened its records on more than 100,000 reports of birds colliding with aircraft since 1990. The records showed that airplanes struck birds 16 to 78 times a year between 1990 and 2008 at Philadelphia. Airports, with open fields and grass, are particularly vulnerable to birds, and many of the nation's busiest airports are next to water or wildlife sanctuaries that attract birds. Bird populations have flourished in recent years with the banning of pesticides and environmental cleanup. Until 2008, the FAA saw a decline in bird-plane collisions considered "substantial" - causing structural damage, such as a hole in the wing or a destroyed engine. But in 2009, with an increase in strike reports, came "a jump in more serious damage strikes . . . Bird-detecting radar and special lighting on aircraft during takeoff and landing could alert birds that "something is coming at them very fast," Richard Dolbeer, wildlife expert for the U.S. Department of Agriculture said. http://www.philly.com/inquirer/business/20100113_Birds_vs__airplanes__The_menace_continues.html
WHO - Healthcare coordination crucial in earthquake-hit Haiti
World Health Organization: "Strong coordination of health services and supplies is needed to effectively treat thousands of people injured in the 12 January earthquake. WHO is sending medicines and supplies to treat 165 000 people for one month, plus drugs and equipment to treat 1000 people with trauma injuries. Water pumps, containers and water quality testers are being sent to help meet water demands."
U.S. State Dept. Resources on 2010 Earthquake in Haiti
2010 Earthquake in Haiti - Includes links to:
Briefings and Remarks
Fact Sheets
Interviews
Secretary Clinton's Visit to Haiti
White House Releases
Collected Releases
Red Cross Photos: 2010 Haiti earthquake
"Avatar's" record-breaking run worldwide is getting pulled up short in China.
Authorities are pulling the non-3D version of the science fiction epic from screens across the country as of Jan. 23, according to theater operators and state media, apparently for political and economic reasons. China Film Group, the state-run domestic distributor of the Hollywood blockbuster, has reportedly ordered cinemas to stop showing the 2D version of James Cameron's global hit by this weekend on the orders of China's censors, though the 3D and IMAX versions of the movie will continue their run into February.
http://news.findlaw.com/ap/e/1402/01-19-2010/20100119025007_03.html
What does avatar mean?
embodiment: a new personification of a familiar idea; "the embodiment of hope"; "the incarnation of evil"; "the very avatar of cunning"
the manifestation of a Hindu deity (especially Vishnu) in human or superhuman or animal form; "the Buddha is considered an avatar of the god Vishnu"
See other meanings here: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&defl=en&q=define:avatar&ei=0DxYS6GREoiENrmu9NYE&sa=X&oi=glossary_definition&ct=title&ved=0CAcQkAE
After days of tense negotiations, "The Tonight Show" host Conan O'Brien signed an agreement early Thursday, January 21 to part ways with NBC, according to a person familiar with the situation. The deal clears the way for rival Jay Leno to reclaim his old show at 11:35 pm. Mr. O'Brien signed the agreement around 1 a.m. Pacific time.
NBC is expected to announce the agreement later on Thursday morning.
While details on the final agreement were unclear, the deal was expected to include a payout of about $32 million for Mr. O'Brien and about $12 million for his staff. It is also believed to include a nondisparagement clause, both for the 46-year-old comedian and NBC. The deal has been said to include a provision that would bar or limit Mr. OBrien from appearing on other shows or hosting his own show for a period of time, according to people familiar with the negotiations. "In the end, Conan was appreciative of the steps NBC made to take care of his staff and crew, and decided to supplement the severance they were getting out of his own pocket," said Gavin Polone, Mr. O'Brien's manager. "Now he just wants to get back on the air as quickly as possible."
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703699204575016514111492610.html?mod=WSJ_latestheadlines
Robert B. Parker, who wrote more than 60 books all told, including westerns and young-adult novels, died on January 18. In recent years he had come up with two new protagonists: Jesse Stone, an alcoholic ex-ballplayer turned small-town chief of police, who was featured in nine novels written since 1997, including “Split Image,” to be published next month; and Sunny Randall, a fashion-conscious, unlucky-in-love, daughter-of-a-cop private eye created at the request of the actress Helen Hunt, who was hoping for a juicy movie role.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/20/books/20parker.html
If you're a fan of NASA's Mars missions, a few things have started heading in the right direction - including a renewed flow of eye-pleasing pictures from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, a new program that gives you a say in picking the orbiter's future targets, and new signs of progress in the months-long effort to free the Spirit rover from a sand trap. See story and pictures at: http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2010/01/21/2181157.aspx
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Texting Charitable Contributions to Haiti Overwhelms Telecoms
WSJ : "In a texting donation, a person types a so-called short-code such as 90999 and then types in "HAITI" to donate a preset amount of $10. The cellphone user then gets a text back asking that they confirm the donation. After a confirmation, the person receives a text saying, "Thanks! $10 charged to your phone bill for Red Cross Int'l Relief." But no money moves until a person pays their cellphone bill to cover the pledge. The money then is routed through a carrier that aggregates the donations before dispatching them to one of the foundations. Those then move the money to agencies such as the Red Cross. Meantime, officials warned that hundreds of charities that may not be equipped to help often try to raise money and others are simply fraudulent scams. The Federal Bureau of Investigation warned Americans to ignore unsolicited emails and to be skeptical of individuals representing themselves as surviving victims."
• See also Haiti Earthquake: FTC Warns Consumers to Give Wisely
What does mind your p's and q's mean?
Be on your best behaviour; be careful of your language. Or, advice to printer’s apprentices to avoid confusing the backward-facing metal type lowercase Ps and Qs. I've never heard any suggestion that printer should mind their ds and bs. Ps and Qs are just the plural of the letters P and Q. There some disagreement amongst grammarians about how to spell Ps and Qs - either upper-case or lower-case and either with or without a hyphen. You may see the phrase as mind your p's and q's or mind your Ps and Qs or (occasionally) mind your P's and Q's or (rarely) as mind your ps and qs. For other meanings, see: http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/248000.html
Jazz was illegal in Nazi Germany. Hitler declared jazz to be a "degenerate music" just as he had so famously done to certain Western Classical composers like Mendelssohn and Mahler. Read more at Suite101: Hitler's War on Jazz in France: During WWII Jazz Music Was Banned in Paris by the Nazi Movement http://jazz-history.suite101.com/article.cfm/the_day_the_music_stopped#ixzz0cijOw56O
Wagner music unofficially banned in Israel since 1938
A week after its musicians voted to perform a special Wagner concert in December 1991, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra said that the program would be postponed until it asks its 36,000 subscribers if they agree with ending a decades-old ban on the 19th-century German composer. Technically, the decision to conduct a referendum means nothing more than a delay, perhaps for a month, Philharmonic officials said. But some musicians and arts writers were convinced that it would be a long time before the taboo is broken, especially since a ranking sponsor of the planned poll says that even if only 20 percent oppose change, they should be considered a sufficiently sizable minority to block a Wagner concert. http://www.nytimes.com/1991/12/23/arts/israel-philharmonic-puts-off-wagner-concert.html?pagewanted=1
In 1981, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, under the baton of Zubin Mehta, offered an encore at the close of a subscription concert. Commotion broke out, with shouts from the audience aiming to silence the music. In introducing the piece from Tristan und Isolde, Mehta had made a short speech in which he spoke of Israel as a democracy in which all music should be played. But, he added, if this particular music offended the feelings of some of the listeners present, they were free to leave. (Two orchestra members had, at their request, been excused from playing the encore). Some older members of the audience quietly got up and went home. A few continued for a while to protest noisily, even running threateningly onto the stage, but the piece was played to the end.
A few years later a survey was conducted on the question - should the Philharmonic play Wagner's music? Of those questioned, 50 percent were against playing Wagner, 25 percent for, and 25 percent had no firm convictions on the subject. In 1992, the Philharmonic conducted its own poll among its subscribers. The majority was in favour, 30 percent were against. In view of the large minority, it was decided to continue to refrain from playing Wagner, at least for the time being. In July 2001, the prestigious Berlin Staatskapelle performed the "Tristan und Isolde" overture at the Israel Festival. While the orchestra's condutor, Daniel Barenboim (himself a Jew), had promised to respect the ban on Wagner's music, he surprised his audience by asking them if they wanted to hear Wagner as an encore following the scheduled performance. Most of the audience was in favor of the encore, which received a standing ovation from all but a few of the listeners. However, during a half-hour debate that preceded the performance of the overture, numerous Israelis protested and walked out of the theater, some shouting insults as they went. The controversy over the foreign orchestra's performance rekindeled the debate over what course the Israeli orchestras should pursue. Yaakov Mishori, a leading Philharmonic musician, feels the orchestra should play Wagner. "After all," he says, "Wagner died 50 years before Hitler came to power. Moreover, he was a kind of private anti-Semite, refusing to sign any public declarations against the Jews." "I am opposed to any ban on culture," says Avi Chanani, director of the classical music division of Israel's state radio . "Zubin Mehta risked playing Wagner in one fell swoop, but I believe in introducing him gradually, and that is what I have been doing. Wagner was a revolutionary in music. His work is central to the development of European music. Without Wagner it is difficult to understand the history of music. That is one important consideration for playing his music. But what I feel is cardinal in my decision to present Wagner on the radio is my belief that in a democracy, the public has a right to know; it must be exposed to all information." http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/anti-semitism/Wagner.html
American jazz pianist Harry Connick Jr. bumped up against China’s cultural restrictions when he was forced to make last-minute changes to his performance in Shanghai on 8 March 2008. Officials also refused to allow him to perform a revised set list. Players in Connick's band told a reporter from the Shanghaiist that 'government people' showed up an hour before they were to perform in Shanghai. The officials from the Cultural Bureau went to town on their set list, crossing off a number of tunes they disapproved of and replacing them with "safer" tunes. Tunes which the band did not happen to have charts on hand for. Thus explains the extraordinary number of solo piano-with-vocals tunes heard throughout the show.
http://www.freemuse.org/sw29177.asp
WSJ : "In a texting donation, a person types a so-called short-code such as 90999 and then types in "HAITI" to donate a preset amount of $10. The cellphone user then gets a text back asking that they confirm the donation. After a confirmation, the person receives a text saying, "Thanks! $10 charged to your phone bill for Red Cross Int'l Relief." But no money moves until a person pays their cellphone bill to cover the pledge. The money then is routed through a carrier that aggregates the donations before dispatching them to one of the foundations. Those then move the money to agencies such as the Red Cross. Meantime, officials warned that hundreds of charities that may not be equipped to help often try to raise money and others are simply fraudulent scams. The Federal Bureau of Investigation warned Americans to ignore unsolicited emails and to be skeptical of individuals representing themselves as surviving victims."
• See also Haiti Earthquake: FTC Warns Consumers to Give Wisely
What does mind your p's and q's mean?
Be on your best behaviour; be careful of your language. Or, advice to printer’s apprentices to avoid confusing the backward-facing metal type lowercase Ps and Qs. I've never heard any suggestion that printer should mind their ds and bs. Ps and Qs are just the plural of the letters P and Q. There some disagreement amongst grammarians about how to spell Ps and Qs - either upper-case or lower-case and either with or without a hyphen. You may see the phrase as mind your p's and q's or mind your Ps and Qs or (occasionally) mind your P's and Q's or (rarely) as mind your ps and qs. For other meanings, see: http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/248000.html
Jazz was illegal in Nazi Germany. Hitler declared jazz to be a "degenerate music" just as he had so famously done to certain Western Classical composers like Mendelssohn and Mahler. Read more at Suite101: Hitler's War on Jazz in France: During WWII Jazz Music Was Banned in Paris by the Nazi Movement http://jazz-history.suite101.com/article.cfm/the_day_the_music_stopped#ixzz0cijOw56O
Wagner music unofficially banned in Israel since 1938
A week after its musicians voted to perform a special Wagner concert in December 1991, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra said that the program would be postponed until it asks its 36,000 subscribers if they agree with ending a decades-old ban on the 19th-century German composer. Technically, the decision to conduct a referendum means nothing more than a delay, perhaps for a month, Philharmonic officials said. But some musicians and arts writers were convinced that it would be a long time before the taboo is broken, especially since a ranking sponsor of the planned poll says that even if only 20 percent oppose change, they should be considered a sufficiently sizable minority to block a Wagner concert. http://www.nytimes.com/1991/12/23/arts/israel-philharmonic-puts-off-wagner-concert.html?pagewanted=1
In 1981, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, under the baton of Zubin Mehta, offered an encore at the close of a subscription concert. Commotion broke out, with shouts from the audience aiming to silence the music. In introducing the piece from Tristan und Isolde, Mehta had made a short speech in which he spoke of Israel as a democracy in which all music should be played. But, he added, if this particular music offended the feelings of some of the listeners present, they were free to leave. (Two orchestra members had, at their request, been excused from playing the encore). Some older members of the audience quietly got up and went home. A few continued for a while to protest noisily, even running threateningly onto the stage, but the piece was played to the end.
A few years later a survey was conducted on the question - should the Philharmonic play Wagner's music? Of those questioned, 50 percent were against playing Wagner, 25 percent for, and 25 percent had no firm convictions on the subject. In 1992, the Philharmonic conducted its own poll among its subscribers. The majority was in favour, 30 percent were against. In view of the large minority, it was decided to continue to refrain from playing Wagner, at least for the time being. In July 2001, the prestigious Berlin Staatskapelle performed the "Tristan und Isolde" overture at the Israel Festival. While the orchestra's condutor, Daniel Barenboim (himself a Jew), had promised to respect the ban on Wagner's music, he surprised his audience by asking them if they wanted to hear Wagner as an encore following the scheduled performance. Most of the audience was in favor of the encore, which received a standing ovation from all but a few of the listeners. However, during a half-hour debate that preceded the performance of the overture, numerous Israelis protested and walked out of the theater, some shouting insults as they went. The controversy over the foreign orchestra's performance rekindeled the debate over what course the Israeli orchestras should pursue. Yaakov Mishori, a leading Philharmonic musician, feels the orchestra should play Wagner. "After all," he says, "Wagner died 50 years before Hitler came to power. Moreover, he was a kind of private anti-Semite, refusing to sign any public declarations against the Jews." "I am opposed to any ban on culture," says Avi Chanani, director of the classical music division of Israel's state radio . "Zubin Mehta risked playing Wagner in one fell swoop, but I believe in introducing him gradually, and that is what I have been doing. Wagner was a revolutionary in music. His work is central to the development of European music. Without Wagner it is difficult to understand the history of music. That is one important consideration for playing his music. But what I feel is cardinal in my decision to present Wagner on the radio is my belief that in a democracy, the public has a right to know; it must be exposed to all information." http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/anti-semitism/Wagner.html
American jazz pianist Harry Connick Jr. bumped up against China’s cultural restrictions when he was forced to make last-minute changes to his performance in Shanghai on 8 March 2008. Officials also refused to allow him to perform a revised set list. Players in Connick's band told a reporter from the Shanghaiist that 'government people' showed up an hour before they were to perform in Shanghai. The officials from the Cultural Bureau went to town on their set list, crossing off a number of tunes they disapproved of and replacing them with "safer" tunes. Tunes which the band did not happen to have charts on hand for. Thus explains the extraordinary number of solo piano-with-vocals tunes heard throughout the show.
http://www.freemuse.org/sw29177.asp
Monday, January 18, 2010
It is believed Haiti was first settled around 2600 BC by travelers from South America, though little seems to be known of these first inhabitants. The next wave of settlers was the ancient Arawaks who arrived around 250 BC, but again little is known of their presence. It is not until approximately 700 AD that the Taino, an Arawak tribe from Venezuela, arrived in Haiti. These settlers remained in what is now Haiti and the Dominican Republic until the Europeans arrived several hundred years later. http://www.earthyfamily.com/H-history.htm
Haiti charity organizations are listed here: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=haiti+charity+organizations&aq=3&oq=haiti+cha&aqi=g10 You may prefer to aid earthquake victims through local groups. Check your newspaper and television news for lists.
Movie selections, made by a Vatican committee in commemoration of the centenary of motion pictures in 1996, are films that the church feels exemplify what's best about the medium. See list, including Babette's Feast, at: http://cinepad.com/vatican.htm
See views of the Vatican and others on Avatar. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100112/ap_en_mo/eu_vatican_avatar
The New York Times is set to return to charging for access to its website. This is set to change - a spokeswoman for the paper confirmed changes were coming but said it was still working out the best business approach. But according to New York magazine the paper is set to go with a metered system something like that used by the Financial Times - which lets you read a set number of articles a month then asks you to subscribe. The alternative was to follow the Wall Street Journal which allows free access to some parts of the site but charges for the majority of its stories. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/01/18/nyt_charges_again/
aught pronoun date: before 12th century
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English āwiht, from ā ever + wiht creature, thing — more at AYE, WIGHT
1 : ANYTHING
2 : ALL, EVERYTHING
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/aught
Square-foot gardens are in the news--Mel Bartholomew, originator and author has a Web site: http://www.squarefootgardening.com/
There are over half a million hits on the subject in a recent Google search: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&source=hp&q=%22square+foot+garden%22&aq=f&oq=&aqi=g10
I saw a large creche last week in an outdoor setting, and all the figures were covered with snow. They looked like snowmen.
Mix and match open-face sandwiches/appetizers
Place thinly sliced cucumbers /radishes on sourdough/rye bread that is spread with butter/soft cheese. Vary ingredients as desired.
Haiti charity organizations are listed here: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=haiti+charity+organizations&aq=3&oq=haiti+cha&aqi=g10 You may prefer to aid earthquake victims through local groups. Check your newspaper and television news for lists.
Movie selections, made by a Vatican committee in commemoration of the centenary of motion pictures in 1996, are films that the church feels exemplify what's best about the medium. See list, including Babette's Feast, at: http://cinepad.com/vatican.htm
See views of the Vatican and others on Avatar. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100112/ap_en_mo/eu_vatican_avatar
The New York Times is set to return to charging for access to its website. This is set to change - a spokeswoman for the paper confirmed changes were coming but said it was still working out the best business approach. But according to New York magazine the paper is set to go with a metered system something like that used by the Financial Times - which lets you read a set number of articles a month then asks you to subscribe. The alternative was to follow the Wall Street Journal which allows free access to some parts of the site but charges for the majority of its stories. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/01/18/nyt_charges_again/
aught pronoun date: before 12th century
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English āwiht, from ā ever + wiht creature, thing — more at AYE, WIGHT
1 : ANYTHING
2 : ALL, EVERYTHING
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/aught
Square-foot gardens are in the news--Mel Bartholomew, originator and author has a Web site: http://www.squarefootgardening.com/
There are over half a million hits on the subject in a recent Google search: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&source=hp&q=%22square+foot+garden%22&aq=f&oq=&aqi=g10
I saw a large creche last week in an outdoor setting, and all the figures were covered with snow. They looked like snowmen.
Mix and match open-face sandwiches/appetizers
Place thinly sliced cucumbers /radishes on sourdough/rye bread that is spread with butter/soft cheese. Vary ingredients as desired.
Friday, January 15, 2010
CFR in XML Now Available on FDsys
"GPO is pleased to announce that the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) has been converted into XML (extensible markup language) and is now available via GPO's Federal Digital System (FDsys). Currently, the CFR is available from 2007 to present, and volumes dating back to 2000 will be added over the next few months. The CFR in XML is also available from the Government's new site for Government data."
The name Walla Walla is of Indian origin and means "many waters". Both the Cayuse and Walla Walla tribes called the Walla Walla Valley home. In the 1800s, fur traders established a settlements trading post and fort in the area. The historic Nez Perce Trail was located where Main Street is today. The historic Lewis & Clark expedition skirted the northern and western boundaries of the Walla Walla Valley in 1805. Their return trip from the Pacific Ocean in 1806 took them through present day Walla Walla County. In 1836, Marcus and Narcissa Whitman traveled what became the Oregon Trail, and founded a mission amongst the Cayuse Indians. After 11 years, the mission effort ended when the Cayuse attacked and killed the Whitmans and twelve others.
http://www.wallawalla.org/attractions.cfm
The story of Walla Walla Sweet Onions began over a century ago on the Island of Corsica, off the west coast of Italy. It was there that a French soldier, Peter Pieri, found a sweet onion seed and brought it to the Walla Walla Valley. Click on left to find recipes: http://sweetonions.org/
Wine, wheat, and ultimate frisbee in Walla Walla: The Whitman College Sweets announces the one hundred and thirty-first Annual Onionfest Tournament! http://groups.google.com/group/rec.sport.disc/browse_thread/thread/33ffaf6b96010300
New baseball team is called Walla Walla Sweets. See information and logo at: http://sportsyakima.com/2009/11/new-walla-walla-team-to-be-called-sweets/
Nestled at the foot of the Blue Mountains, Walla Walla has often been called an "oasis in the desert" because of the abundance of trees in this generally arid region.
With nearly 300 days of sunshine each year, you'll encounter bright summers, crisp yet moderate winters, and spectacular springs and falls. Walla Walla County is located in the southeastern corner of Washington State, near the borders of Oregon and Idaho.
http://www.wwvchamber.com/index.html?s=2&c=61
ALA - The Condition of U.S, Libraries: Trends, 1999-2009
"According to a new report prepared by the American Library Association (ALA), libraries of all types are feeling the pinch of the economic downturn while managing sky-high use. Compiled from a broad range of available sources, The Condition of Libraries: 1999-2009 presents U.S. economic trends (2009), and summarizes trends in public, school and academic libraries across several library measures, including expenditures, staffing and services. The report also highlights trends in services provided to libraries by library cooperatives and consortia."
• ALA American Library Association - The Condition of U.S, Libraries: Trends, 1999-2009: "The following report highlights US economic trends (2009) and summarizes trends in public, school and academic libraries during the current decade for: Number of Libraries and Population Served, Expenditures, Staffing, and Services. The compilation was prepared in December 2009 for the staff and member leaders of the American Library Association to support its planning activities."
The National Braille Press, an 83-year-old publishing house in Boston, printed the Harry Potter series on its Heidelberg cylinder; the final product was 56 volumes, each nearly a foot tall. Laura J. Sloate has been blind since age 6, and instead of reading Braille, calls a phone service that reads newspapers aloud in a synthetic voice for several hours every morning,
In the 1990s, a series of brain-imaging studies revealed that the visual cortices of the blind are not rendered useless, as previously assumed. When test subjects swept their fingers over a line of Braille, they showed intense activation in the parts of the brain that typically process visual input. These imaging studies have been cited by some educators as proof that Braille is essential for blind children’s cognitive development, as the visual cortex takes more than 20 percent of the brain. Given the brain’s plasticity, it is difficult to make the argument that one kind of reading — whether the information is absorbed by ear, finger or retina — is inherently better than another, at least with regard to cognitive function. The architecture of the brain is not fixed, and without images to process, the visual cortex can reorganize for new functions. A 2003 study in Nature Neuroscience found that blind subjects consistently surpassed sighted ones on tests of verbal memory, and their superior performance was caused, the authors suggested, by the extra processing that took place in the visual regions of their brains.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/03/magazine/03Braille-t.html?pagewanted=1
Elfreth's Alley in Philadelphia is often referred to as the oldest continuously inhabited street in America. It was opened shortly before 1702 by Arthur Wells, a blacksmith, and John Gilbert, a bolter. See a description of the historic district north of Market Street and six other walking tours at: http://www.ushistory.org/districts/marketstreet/elfre.htm
Feedback from A.Word.A.Day with Anu Garg
From: Bob Singleton (rmsing45@earthlink.net)
Subject: cothurnal
Being a secondary theatre teacher, I had long known about kothornoi as the high boots that tragic actors wore to give themselves more height on stage. When I took private Greek lessons from a native Greek speaker who was also an ancient Greek history professor, I asked him what he knew about kothornoi. After a moment he said they were oversized boots that would fit the left or right foot interchangeably kept by Spartan soldiers beside their beds so that they could slip them on quickly in case the battle alarm was sounded in the middle of a dark night.
From: kah454 (via@Wordsmith Talk)
Subject: cothurnal
There was a very impressive production of Agamemnon at Stratford years ago (late 70s) where the cothurni were close to a six-inch lift and the mask with a headpiece or ankus extended height close to a foot. There were arm extensions as well. This gave the actors the appearance of being like statues close to eight feet in height; certainly larger than life. Those ancient theatres were quite large and this helped those seated in the last rows. From: Tania Kumar (taniakumar@hotmail.com)
Subject: AWAD
Just a thought, the acronym for A Word A Day, "AWAD" is actually a name in Arabic which means "Reward, compensation" which is very true in a way because when I wake up in the morning and check my email, it's rewarding to come across these nice words and thoughts
"GPO is pleased to announce that the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) has been converted into XML (extensible markup language) and is now available via GPO's Federal Digital System (FDsys). Currently, the CFR is available from 2007 to present, and volumes dating back to 2000 will be added over the next few months. The CFR in XML is also available from the Government's new site for Government data."
The name Walla Walla is of Indian origin and means "many waters". Both the Cayuse and Walla Walla tribes called the Walla Walla Valley home. In the 1800s, fur traders established a settlements trading post and fort in the area. The historic Nez Perce Trail was located where Main Street is today. The historic Lewis & Clark expedition skirted the northern and western boundaries of the Walla Walla Valley in 1805. Their return trip from the Pacific Ocean in 1806 took them through present day Walla Walla County. In 1836, Marcus and Narcissa Whitman traveled what became the Oregon Trail, and founded a mission amongst the Cayuse Indians. After 11 years, the mission effort ended when the Cayuse attacked and killed the Whitmans and twelve others.
http://www.wallawalla.org/attractions.cfm
The story of Walla Walla Sweet Onions began over a century ago on the Island of Corsica, off the west coast of Italy. It was there that a French soldier, Peter Pieri, found a sweet onion seed and brought it to the Walla Walla Valley. Click on left to find recipes: http://sweetonions.org/
Wine, wheat, and ultimate frisbee in Walla Walla: The Whitman College Sweets announces the one hundred and thirty-first Annual Onionfest Tournament! http://groups.google.com/group/rec.sport.disc/browse_thread/thread/33ffaf6b96010300
New baseball team is called Walla Walla Sweets. See information and logo at: http://sportsyakima.com/2009/11/new-walla-walla-team-to-be-called-sweets/
Nestled at the foot of the Blue Mountains, Walla Walla has often been called an "oasis in the desert" because of the abundance of trees in this generally arid region.
With nearly 300 days of sunshine each year, you'll encounter bright summers, crisp yet moderate winters, and spectacular springs and falls. Walla Walla County is located in the southeastern corner of Washington State, near the borders of Oregon and Idaho.
http://www.wwvchamber.com/index.html?s=2&c=61
ALA - The Condition of U.S, Libraries: Trends, 1999-2009
"According to a new report prepared by the American Library Association (ALA), libraries of all types are feeling the pinch of the economic downturn while managing sky-high use. Compiled from a broad range of available sources, The Condition of Libraries: 1999-2009 presents U.S. economic trends (2009), and summarizes trends in public, school and academic libraries across several library measures, including expenditures, staffing and services. The report also highlights trends in services provided to libraries by library cooperatives and consortia."
• ALA American Library Association - The Condition of U.S, Libraries: Trends, 1999-2009: "The following report highlights US economic trends (2009) and summarizes trends in public, school and academic libraries during the current decade for: Number of Libraries and Population Served, Expenditures, Staffing, and Services. The compilation was prepared in December 2009 for the staff and member leaders of the American Library Association to support its planning activities."
The National Braille Press, an 83-year-old publishing house in Boston, printed the Harry Potter series on its Heidelberg cylinder; the final product was 56 volumes, each nearly a foot tall. Laura J. Sloate has been blind since age 6, and instead of reading Braille, calls a phone service that reads newspapers aloud in a synthetic voice for several hours every morning,
In the 1990s, a series of brain-imaging studies revealed that the visual cortices of the blind are not rendered useless, as previously assumed. When test subjects swept their fingers over a line of Braille, they showed intense activation in the parts of the brain that typically process visual input. These imaging studies have been cited by some educators as proof that Braille is essential for blind children’s cognitive development, as the visual cortex takes more than 20 percent of the brain. Given the brain’s plasticity, it is difficult to make the argument that one kind of reading — whether the information is absorbed by ear, finger or retina — is inherently better than another, at least with regard to cognitive function. The architecture of the brain is not fixed, and without images to process, the visual cortex can reorganize for new functions. A 2003 study in Nature Neuroscience found that blind subjects consistently surpassed sighted ones on tests of verbal memory, and their superior performance was caused, the authors suggested, by the extra processing that took place in the visual regions of their brains.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/03/magazine/03Braille-t.html?pagewanted=1
Elfreth's Alley in Philadelphia is often referred to as the oldest continuously inhabited street in America. It was opened shortly before 1702 by Arthur Wells, a blacksmith, and John Gilbert, a bolter. See a description of the historic district north of Market Street and six other walking tours at: http://www.ushistory.org/districts/marketstreet/elfre.htm
Feedback from A.Word.A.Day with Anu Garg
From: Bob Singleton (rmsing45@earthlink.net)
Subject: cothurnal
Being a secondary theatre teacher, I had long known about kothornoi as the high boots that tragic actors wore to give themselves more height on stage. When I took private Greek lessons from a native Greek speaker who was also an ancient Greek history professor, I asked him what he knew about kothornoi. After a moment he said they were oversized boots that would fit the left or right foot interchangeably kept by Spartan soldiers beside their beds so that they could slip them on quickly in case the battle alarm was sounded in the middle of a dark night.
From: kah454 (via@Wordsmith Talk)
Subject: cothurnal
There was a very impressive production of Agamemnon at Stratford years ago (late 70s) where the cothurni were close to a six-inch lift and the mask with a headpiece or ankus extended height close to a foot. There were arm extensions as well. This gave the actors the appearance of being like statues close to eight feet in height; certainly larger than life. Those ancient theatres were quite large and this helped those seated in the last rows. From: Tania Kumar (taniakumar@hotmail.com)
Subject: AWAD
Just a thought, the acronym for A Word A Day, "AWAD" is actually a name in Arabic which means "Reward, compensation" which is very true in a way because when I wake up in the morning and check my email, it's rewarding to come across these nice words and thoughts
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