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While researching various subjects, I often run across bits and pieces of somewhat arcane knowledge, or 'trivia' as they are sometimes called. Below, for you enjoyment and edification, are just a few of them.
From The Writer's Almanac:
William James helped invent the technique of automatic writing, in which a person writes as quickly as possible whatever comes into one's head. He encouraged audiences to take the practice up as a form of self-analysis, and one person who took his advice was a student named Gertrude Stein, who went on to use it as the basis of her writing style.
I find the above intriguing. For quite some time I have mused upon the value (if any) of this technique, and I have even attempted it (with some skepticism) a few times, although admittedly, only half-heartedly.
LINK
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Can A Fruit Be A Vegetable?
I have often wondered about that.
Grammarphobia answers:
. . . something can be a fruit in the botanical sense as well as a vegetable in the culinary sense. It all depends on whether one is using the vocabulary of the kitchen or of the garden.
In the garden, a fruit is the edible reproductive part of a seed plant, while a vegetable is any edible part of a plant.
In the kitchen, a fruit is any edible part of a plant with a sweet flavor, while a vegetable is any edible part of a plant that’s spicy, salty, or otherwise pungent.
More here . . .
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Richard Blanco will be the official poet of the
presidential inauguration on January 21, 2013.
Richard Blanco lives in Bethel, Maine with his partner. In the poem "Queer Theory, According to My Grandmother," he described how his grandmother warned him as a young boy: "For God’s sake, never pee sitting down.../I’ve seen you" and "Don't stare at The Six-Million-Dollar Man./I’ve seen you." and "Never dance alone in your room."
You can read about Richard Blanco at POETS.org and read one of his poems, titled El Florida Room HERE
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WORD FOR TODAY
arcane [ahr-kane]
Adjective
Understood by few; mysterious or secret.
Synonyms
secret - mysterious - dark - esoteric - mystic
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BORN ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY
Born Jan. 12, 1954
Age: 58 years old
Age: 58 years old
Howard Allan Stern is an American radio personality, television host, author, actor, and photographer best known for his radio show which was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2005. He gained wide recognition in the 1990s and is labeled a "shock jock" for his outspoken and sometimes controversial style. Stern has been exclusive to Sirius XM Radio, a subscription-based satellite radio service, since 2006.
Born Jan. 12, 1951
Age: 61 years old
Age: 61 years old
Kirstie Louise Alley is an American actress and comedian known for her role in the TV show Cheers, in which she played Rebecca Howe from 1987–1993, winning an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award as the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series in 1991. She is also known for her role in the thriller Shoot to Kill and the Look Who's Talking film series as Mollie Ubriacco. More recently, Alley has appeared in reality shows revolving around her life.
Born Jan 12, 1951
Age: 61 years old
Age: 61 years old
Rush Hudson Limbaugh III is a conservative American radio talk show host and political commentator. His talk show began in 1984 at Sacramento radio station KFBK, featuring his ongoing format of political commentary and listener calls. In 1988 Limbaugh began broadcasting his show nationally from radio station WABC in New York City. He currently lives in Palm Beach, Florida, from where he broadcasts the The Rush Limbaugh Show, the highest-rated talk-radio program in the United States.
Born Jan 12, 1905
Died: Jan 2, 1974
Died: Jan 2, 1974
Woodward Maurice Ritter, better known as Tex Ritter, was an American country music singer and movie actor popular from the mid-1930s into the 1960s, and the patriarch of the Ritter family in acting (son John and grandson Jason). He is a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame.
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There ain't no answer. There ain't gonna be any answer. There never has been an answer. That's the answer.
--Gertrude Stein
Enjoyment and edumacation even :)
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Regarding fruits and vegs Gene. I heard the difference between knowledge and wisdom is... Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is knowing not to serve it in a fruit salad.
Trevor H.
Hah! Thanks for the comment, Trevor. You brought to my mind the scene wherein at a dinner party a dish is served along with the main course that is made up of a firm strawberry gelatin filled with various sweet miniature marshmallows and fruits, grapes, cherries, pineapple bits, etc. -- and it is called a Jell-O Salad, eaten alongside the meat and vegetables. I never could stomach that. I always save the Jell-O Salad for dessert. But that, of course, is just me being me.
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