Saturday, May 16, 2015

Biographers Day MAY 16, 2015

DIANE'S CORNER ... Celebrate Biographers Day

Biographies dominate the publishing industry’s bestseller lists. However biographical writing has not always enjoyed such popularity, and biographical conventions have evolved considerably over the centuries.
The modern style of biography originated in the eighteenth-century and is most closely associated with James Boswell, who undertook an extraordinary biography of his charismatic companion Samuel Johnson – poet, journalist, critic, and writer of the first English dictionary.
Warm, expansive, uncompromising, and exhaustively detailed, Boswell’s ‘Life of Samuel Johnson’ established a new way of writing biography and shaped the emergence of the biography format that is popular today.
Biographers Day commemorates the first meeting of Boswell and Johnson in 1763 in a London bookshop and it’s a great day to celebrate the genre. Why not mark Biographers Day by reading a new biography, revisting an old favorite, or perhaps even taking a look into Boswell’s ‘Life of Samuel Johnson’ itself.



Word of the Day

ossify 


Definition:(verb) To change into bone; to become set in a rigidly conventional pattern.
Synonyms:rigidify, petrify
Usage:It takes millions of years for organic remains to ossify and turn into fossils.




History

The First Academy Awards (1929)


The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was formed in 1927 by Louis B. Mayer and others to raise the standards of film production, and its first Academy Awards were presented not long after. Hosted by actor Douglas Fairbanks and director William C. DeMille, the first Academy Awards ceremony recognized individuals who had made outstanding film achievements in 1927 and 1928. The gold-plated statuettes given to awardees are popularly known as "Oscars." 

Tamara de Lempicka (1898)


Tamara de Lempicka was a Polish painter whose bold artistic style epitomized the cool, sensual side of the Art Deco movement. Following her first major show, in Milan, Italy, de Lempicka emerged as the most fashionable portrait painter of her generation among the aristocracy, painting duchesses and grand dukes and socialites. She relocated to the US in 1939 and soon became a favorite artist of Hollywood's stars.

Maifest


The original Maifest in Hermann, Missouri, was a children's festival founded in 1874. The festival was revived in 1952 as a German ethnic festival for people of all ages. Held the third weekend in May, the festival offers German folklore, songs, music, and food in celebration of the arrival of spring. Black beer, cheese, sausage, crackers, and bratwurst are served, and there are band concerts and musical shows.

Denver Zoo Penguins Go "Extinct" For Endangered Species Day (yesterday)


The Denver Zoo is highlighting the 10th anniversary of Endangered Species Day with a disappearing act by their penguins. On Friday, the zoo's African penguins will "vanish" for two short periods as part of a larger, national effort to exemplify the threat of extinction.
READ MORE:



1770 - Marie Antoinette, at age 14, married the future King Louis XVI of France, who was 15. 



1866 - The U.S. Congress authorized the first 5-cent piece to be minted. 

1920 - Joan of Arc was canonized in Rome. 

1946 - "Annie Get Your Gun" opened on Broadway.

1965 - Spaghetti-O's were sold for the first time. 

1975 - Japanese climber Junko Tabei became the first woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest. 

1985 - Michael Jordan was named Rookie of the Year in the NBA. 

1988 - A report released by Surgeon General C. Everett Koop declared that nicotine was addictive in similar was as heroin and cocaine. 

 78 Today

Trinidad "Trini" López III was born in Dallas, Texas.
Lopez formed his first band in Wichita Falls, Texas, at the age
of 15. In 1958, at the recommendation of Buddy Holly, Trini
and his group "The Big Beats" went to producer Norman Petty
in Clovis, New Mexico. Petty secured them to a contract with
Columbia Records, which released the single "Clark’s Expedition"
"Big Boy", both instrumental. Lopez left the group and made his
first solo recording, his own composition "The Right To Rock",
for the Dallas-based Volk Records.




 DAILY SQU-EEK


If You Were Born Today, May 16

Exceptionally talented in the creative arts, including music, you are very able to focus your energies enough to make a success out of yourself in the arts. Your personality is colorful, yet somewhat reserved and very poised. At times you can be so one-track minded that you can get into a rut. Charming and romantic by nature, you are likeable and personable. Famous people born today: Liberace, Janet Jackson, Megan Fox, Henry Fonda, Pierce Brosnan, Debra Winger, Tori Spelling.

Picture of the day
Levi P. Morton
Levi P. Morton (1824–1920) was an American politician who served as Representative from New York, the 22nd Vice President of the United States, and later the 31st Governor of New York. Morton held a variety of odd jobs, including as a teacher, clerk, and merchant, before unsuccessfully running for the 45th Congress in 1876. He ran again, successfully, in 1879, serving until 1881, when he was made Minister to France. Four years after returning from Europe, Morton became Benjamin Harrison's running mate in the 1888 election. After Harrison's election the two were frequently at odds, and when the incumbent ran for a second term, he chose Whitelaw Reid over Morton. Morton, meanwhile, was elected Governor of New York in 1895, serving for two years before becoming a real estate investor.

Picture of a religious man with pins piercing his face in Bengal, India

Piercing Faith

Photograph by Avishek Das, National Geographic 
A believer pierces his face during the Hindu festival of Charak Puja in West Bengal, India. “The rituals of Charak Puja, a way to show the miracle of God, are unique and, at times, a little risky,” writes Avishek Das, getting such a shot had its difficulties. “People are in a hurry to complete the exercise soon, and huge mass gatherings are there,” he writes.



knit, 7 - 9 lb baby

knit

knit (must log in)

Modern Luncheon Mats

Image of Modern Luncheon Mats

knit

knit



crochet

Game of Thrones Dragon Egg


crochet, baby

crochet

crochet

crochet



RECIPE



CROCKPOT RECIPE
stephanie o'dea

CrockPot Fried Chicken Recipe


My friend LuAnn has this awesome oven-fried chicken recipe that she makes to bring to picnics. I vividly remember standing at a picnic bench shoveling little chicken drumettes and wings in my mouth--and not caring who was watching-- at a first birthday party. They were so very good. I was so excited when I finally got the recipe, and was eager to test it out on my own. It has MSG in it. I just can't do it. I can't knowingly put MSG in something. Which sucks, because man, those drumsticks were the best. I tried to create my own version (minus the MSG) over the weekend. They were good, but not as good.

The Ingredients.

--18 thawed drumsticks (or however many will fit nicely into your crockpot)
--1/4 cup butter
--1/4 cup flour (I used Pamela's)
--2 t seasoned salt
--1 T Italian seasoning
--1 t onion powder
-- 1 t paprika
--1/2 t black pepper

The Directions.

--combine all the spices and the flour in a freezer bag or in a shallow dish. Dredge each chicken piece well, and plop into your crockpot. I used the shallow dish method, because we were out of freezer bags.

--when all the chicken is in the crock, pour 1/4 cup of melted butter over it.
--cook on high for 6 hours or on low for 8-10.

The Verdict.

They needed more salt. I am such a chicken when it comes to salting food. I used 2 t of seasoned salt, but I probably could have used a whole tablespoon. And maybe some more onion powder. The pieces of chicken on top and near the sides of the crock got a bit crispy, which was a nice surprise. We've all been munching on the drumsticks for lunch the past few days. I like them better cold, the kids like it heated and chopped up with barbecue sauce.



PUZZLE




Easy Marble Maze



CRAFT
Paint Chip Magnets ~
Paint Chip Magnets
If you don't already have pantone chips you're going to want to get some to make your own "candy" magnets.   Adhere them to cardboard cut to size and finish them off with paper glaze.  These were used on filing cabinets, but I think they would be fantastic on a refrigerator to help your children learn their colors.



QUOTE
Did you ever stop to think, and forget to start again? - A. A. Milne






HOW CAN A RIVER BE UNDERWATER?

ANATOLY BELOSHCHIN IS A PHOTOGRAPHER WITH A PASSION FOR DIVING. HE TRAVELED TO THE YUCATAN IN MEXICO FOR A PHOTO SHOOT. WHAT HE DISCOVERED WAS UNBELIEVABLE!

MYSTERIOUS UNDERWATER RIVER

Anatoly Beloshchin is a photographer with a passion for diving. He traveled to the Yucatan in Mexico for a dive photo shoot. What he discovered was unbelievable!

CENOTE “ANGELITA”

Cenote Angelita
Cenote Angelita
From land, Angelita looks like any an ordinary swimming hole. It’s not until you dive almost 100 feet that the underwater river becomes exposed.
Angelita is a cenote. A cenote is a deep sinkhole formed from the collapse of limestone bedrock that exposes groundwater underneath.
Cenotes are connected to subterranean bodies of water, and often have vast underwater cave systems.

RIVER FORMING

Overtime, the deep sinkholes of the cenotes have become filled with fresh rain water.
The underwater river is formed when the fresh top water meets the exposed salty groundwater.Underwater River
The point where the two waters meet and causes a milky sort of effect is called halocline.The different density levels in the two waters causes them to layer. The result is a breathtaking convergence of two habitats.
Were it not for a diver in the photos, you would never realize the river is underwater. Rather, it looks like a nighttime photo shoot of a beautiful river.
Anatoly Beloshchin Underwater RiverAnatoly Beloshchin Underwater RiverAnatoly Beloshchin Underwater RiverAnatoly Beloshchin Underwater RiverAnatoly Beloshchin Underwater RiverAnatoly Beloshchin Underwater RiverMysterious Underwater RiverAnatoly Beloshchin Underwater RiverAnatoly Beloshchin Underwater RiverAnatoly Beloshchin Underwater River


How To Say Coffee in Spanish: café


Color-dependent anomalous motion illusion and its reversal



CLEVER
thanks, heide




EYE OPENER
thanks, heide



























































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2 comments:

  1. sherimorphisMay 16, 2015 at 6:33 PM

    I love the photos of the underwater river, eerie yes, but serene and beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
  2. PattyMay 18, 2015 at 2:01 PM

    That little spaniel looks almost like our neighbor's puppy Rufus:)

    ReplyDelete

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