World Book Night is about celebrating the joy of reading. Nothing quite matches the enjoyment that comes from losing oneself in a good book.
But, with so many people having lost the habit of reading for pleasure, this event provides an opportunity for book lovers to share with others the enjoyment literature provides.
World Book Night is celebrated with community events promoting reading and literacy. But it is at a personal level that this day really comes into its own; people who like books are encouraged to try to involve those around them.
Word of the Day
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| Definition: | (adjective) Hypocritically, complacently, or effusively earnest. | ||
| Synonyms: | fulsome, oleaginous, unctuous | ||
| Usage: | His smarmy speech left no doubt that he actually felt superior to those he was meant to be praising. | ||
History
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 | The Boston Latin School in Massachusetts, originally a school for boys that had just a handful of students, is now a coeducational institution serving more than 2,000 youngsters. It has the distinction of being the oldest public school in the US and claims many influential Bostonians as alumni, including four Harvard University presidents, four Massachusetts governors, and five signers of the Declaration of Independence. | ||
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 | Roy Orbison was an influential American singer-songwriter and rock-and-roll pioneer whose career spanned more than three decades. He had a string of hits during the early-1960s, such as "Only the Lonely" and "Oh, Pretty Woman," after which his career waned, driven in part by a series of personal tragedies. He made a comeback in the 1980s, forming a supergroup with Bob Dylan, George Harrison, and Tom Petty called the Traveling Wilburys. | ||
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 | No one really knows the exact date of William Shakespeare's birth, although he was baptized on April 26, 1564, and died on April 23, 1616. April 23 is also St. George's Day, and this may be why it was decided to observe the birth of England's greatest poet and dramatist on the feast day of England's patron saint. Special pageants are held at Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire, where Shakespeare was born and where thousands of tourists go each year to see his plays performed. | ||
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 | Researchers have uncovered a shipwrecked trove of sugary, 19th century champagne and have revealed new details about centuries-old ways of making wine. | ||
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1789 - U.S. President George Washington moved into Franklin House, New York. It was the first executive mansion.
1872 - Charlotte E. Ray became the African-American woman lawyer.
1900 - The word "hillbilly" was first used in print in an article in the "New York Journal." It was spelled "Hill-Billie".
1954 - Hank Aaron of the Milwaukee Braves hit his first major-league home run on this day.
1968 - The Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church merged to form the United Methodist Church.
1985 - The Coca-Cola Company announced that it was changing its 99-year-old secret formula. New Coke was not successful, which resulted in the resumption of selling the original version.
1996 - An auction of the late Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis' possessions began at Sotheby's in New York City. The sale brought in #34.5 million
2005 - The first video was uploaded to YouTube.com.
76 Today
Majors is best known for his roles as Heath Barkley in the TV series
The Big Valley (1965–69), as Colonel Steve Austin in The Six Million
Dollar Man (1973–78) and as Colt Seavers in The Fall Guy (1981–86)
all ABC productions.
The Big Valley (1965–69), as Colonel Steve Austin in The Six Million
Dollar Man (1973–78) and as Colt Seavers in The Fall Guy (1981–86)
all ABC productions.
Major found work at the Los Angeles Park and Recreation Department
after rejecting an offer to play football professionally.
after rejecting an offer to play football professionally.
Famous Model Dies at 92
Hartford (AP) — Mary Doyle Keefe (above), the model for Norman Rockwell’s
iconic 1943 "Rosie the Riveter" painting that symbolized the millions of American
women who went to work on the home front during World War II, has died.
iconic 1943 "Rosie the Riveter" painting that symbolized the millions of American
women who went to work on the home front during World War II, has died.
According to her daughter Mary, Keefe died Tuesday at The McLean Village
Community in Simsbury after a brief illness.
Community in Simsbury after a brief illness.
Keefe grew up in Arlington, Vt., where she met Rockwell — who lived in West
Arlington — and posed for his painting when she was a 19-year-old telephone
operator. The painting was on the cover of the Saturday Evening Post for May
29, 1943 (shown above).
Arlington — and posed for his painting when she was a 19-year-old telephone
operator. The painting was on the cover of the Saturday Evening Post for May
29, 1943 (shown above).
If You Were Born Today, April 23
You are extremely clever, and oftentimes mischievous - a trait that keeps you youthful in spirit throughout life! As intelligent and talented as you are, you see so many possible paths to take that it can be challenging to focus on only one. Fortunately, you are versatile enough to make more than one life path successful. You tend to attract non-traditional relationship set-ups. Famous people born today: William Shakespeare, Sandra Dee, Lee Majors, Joyce DeWitt, Valerie Bertinelli, Shirley Temple, Roy Orbison, John Hannah.
| Picture of the day | |
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A baseball team composed mostly of child laborers from an Indiana glass making factory, as photographed by Lewis Hine in August 1908. Hine (1874–1940) was an Americansociologist who promoted the use of photography as an educational medium and means for social change. Beginning in 1908, he spent ten years photographing child labor for the National Child Labor Committee. The project was a dangerous one, and Hine had to disguise himself – at times as a fire inspector, post card vendor, Bible salesman or industrial photographer – to avoid the factory police and foremen.
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Circle of Life
Photograph by Federico Cabello, National Geographic
A shoal of sardines resembles an eye on the ocean depths as it swirls near the surface at Thousand Steps Reef off the Caribbean island of Bonaire. Federico Cabello photographed and documented Bonaire’s more than 90 official dive sites for his book Bonaire Point to Point. “Thousand Steps Reef was one of these dive sites,” Cabello writes. “It’s reached via a narrow, meandering stone stairway. A long trek but worth it.”
Knit
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knit
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knit
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Sula Slippers pattern by Sarah Hatton
From the Knit Rowan website:
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knit
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Diamond Quilting Dishcloth | Knitting Unlimited
This diamond dishcloth pattern is nhalf the time to knit because you slip most of the stitches. Difficulty level: Medium
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knit, vest, 3 - 24 mths
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Gilet Riz 3 months pattern by Camille Coizy
the patterns are in french, and in English, down the blog’s page.
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crochet
crochet
crochet
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crochet
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147-21 Flower Power - Pot holder in Paris pattern by DRO...
DROPS design: Pattern no w-490
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Crochet Amish Puzzle Ball Pattern
1.3K Flares Twitter 11 Facebook 409 Google+ 10 StumbleUpon 10 LinkedIn 0 Pin It Share [...]
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RECIPE
All Natural Cough Syrup Recipe
Natural Cough Syrup! Not only is this blend all natural, it costs merely $0.50 per bottle!
Prep Time
5 min
Total Time
5 min
Ingredients
- The juice of 1 lemon
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 Tablespoon cider vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons water
Instructions
- Start by mixing all dry ingredients in a bowl.
- Set aside.
- Next, in a small storage container, mix the vinegar and water.
- Now, dissolve the spices in the vinegar and water
- Add honey and shake it up.
Notes
- When dispensing, use 1 teaspoon every 4-6 hours to treat scratchy throats, and naturally alleviate season allergy symptoms. This blend also works well for sore throats due to post nasal drip, colds, and flu. You can also add 2 tablespoons of syrup to one cup lemonade or cider, served either hot or cold! Also note, the cayenne pepper is added as a natural decongestant to this blend. Please note, this blend will last refrigerated, for up to one year.
CROCKPOT RECIPE
stephanie o'dea
CrockPot Creamed Corn Recipe
I adore creamed corn. I've only had it at a few restaurants here and there, and have never tried to make it on my own (before yesterday). I assumed it was corn mixed with heavy cream and some butter and sugar. I spent a few minutes digging around on websites and found that many of the recipes I dug up called for using an entire block of cream cheese to get the creamy consistency, or to simmer fresh corn cobs in cream and then cut the kernels off.
I played around in the kitchen and came up with a creamy and delicious creamed corn that won't make you (me) want to jump off a bridge if/when you (me) eat the whole pot.
The Ingredients.
--1 bag frozen white corn
--1 can corn
--1 T butter
--1 T cream cheese
--3 T fat free milk
--1/4 t black pepper
The Directions.
--in a small saucepan, melt your butter and cream cheese over low heat on the stove top and make a rue, adding your flour slowly and whisking until there aren't any lumps. Add your milk 
and the liquid from the can of corns to the mix and whisk some more. The cream cheese is pretty thick, and you may need the liquid in the saucepan before the flour will melt nicely for you. Mix in the black pepper.
and the liquid from the can of corns to the mix and whisk some more. The cream cheese is pretty thick, and you may need the liquid in the saucepan before the flour will melt nicely for you. Mix in the black pepper.
--empty the contents of the frozen bag of corn and the rest from the can of corn into your crockpot.
--cover with the sauce.
--cook on low for 4-6 hours or on high for 3-4.
This is done when everything is hot and melty.
The Verdict.
Wowsers, this was amazing. I thought we'd simmer it on low throughout the day and have it alongside dinner, but we got too excited after our 3 hr taste test and ate it all for lunch instead. The kids each ate 2 bowls and couldn't stop talking about how good it was and how I should tell the Internet that it's the "best thing ever." I would definitely put this on a holiday meal table. Mom? Sign me up for bringing this on Thanksgiving.
Adam guesstimated this would serve 6 adults as a side-dish.
PUZZLE
CHILDREN'S CORNER .. party games
thanks, patty
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QUOTE
How Much Must you Spend to Look Like William Shakespeare?
By Sumitra
34-year-old Zhang Yiyi wasn’t happy with simply being called a great writer, he wanted to look the part as well. So he spent his entire life savings of 1.4 million yuan ($225,800) on plastic surgery, in order to resemble his childhood hero and role model – William Shakespeare!
The devoted superfan had a total of 10 operations – including eye reconstruction, eyelid surgery, nose surgery and a face tuck – over the span of several months. He is yet to emulate Shakespeare’s famously bald head, but he has settled for growing his hair longer, just to improve the likeness.
Interestingly, Yiyi is an accomplished writer himself, and actually used his book royalties to pay for the cosmetic procedures. But, like the English playwright, he started off poor; he was born in humble surroundings and grew up in a debt-ridden family due to his father’s failing business. Growing up, Yiyi was able to draw parallels between his own childhood and that of Shakespeare, whose father also was declared bankrupt when the playwright was a young boy.
'where's the bathroom?' in Swiss German - Wo isch d'Toilette?
EYE OPENER
I BEFORE E, EXCEPT AFTER C
today i found out
Jeremy R. asks: Is it true that more words break the I before E rule than follow it? If so, how come this is taught at all?
If you ever want to start a fight among a group of linguists and orthographers, bring up the grammar school rule: “I before E, except after C,” which has been around since at least the mid-19th century. You will likely begin the most sedate and erudite brawl you could ever hope to witness.
First, there are arguments over what exactly the rule should be. Some (like me) were taught what I’m calling the “neighbor [ei] rule”: “I before E, except after in C or words that say “ā” [ei], as in neighbor and weigh.”[1]
Others were given a variation, hereinafter called the “receive [i] rule“: “I before E except after C when the sound is “ee”” [i].
Although not perfect, it appears the latter version makes a better rule (if you’re going to have one), since it has fewer exceptions given that a smaller number of words are brought within its orbit in the first place.
Note that some words fit the first part of both rules:
ie: believe, collie, die and friendcei: ceiling, deceive and receipt
After that, the list of compliant words (and exceptions) begins to deviate. Consider this list of words that do not violate the receive [i] rule, but do violate the neighbor [ei] rule:
ei: counterfeit, feisty, foreign, kaleidoscope, poltergeist, seismograph, surfeit and theircie: ancient, deficient, glacier, proficient, society, science and sufficientie [ei]: gaiety
Of course, there are some exceptions that violate both rules as well, and these include:
ei: caffeine, leisure, protein, seize and weirdcie: deficiencies and species
All of this leads to another argument: whether or not to have a rule at all.
Some, like Geoffrey K. Pullum (who ascribes to the receive [i] rule, although for him the phoneme is written [i:]), have characterized it as “a very helpful guide to one small point in the hideous mess that is English orthography.”
And others, like Mark Wainwright, have noted that because the “except after C” portion “covers the many derivatives of Latin capio [= “take”] . . . receive, deceit, inconceivable . . . [the] simple rule of thumb is necessary” and efficacious.
Of course, there are those who find the exceptions have swallowed the rule, rendering it useless, and these include the UK’s education department which, in 2009, advised teachers through a document titled, Support for Spelling that: “The I before e except after c rule is not worth teaching [since] it applies only to words . . . which . . . stand for a clear /ee/ sound and unless this is known, [many] words . . . look like exceptions. There are so few words where the ei spelling for the /ee/ sound follows the letter c that it is easier to learn the specific words.”
This point of view finds support in the claim, made on the BBC show QI, that there are 923 words that are spelled cie, and only about 40 or so that are spelled cei, and for those who follow the neighbor [ei] rule, the extreme number of exceptions has rendered the rule “dumb and useless.”
Loved all those turning pages. So glad to get the day off to just read. Does turning pages give me any OT credit?
ReplyDeletefrom windy VT,
the Vermonster