[In recognition of Yom Kippur. SB SM] By: Julia Métraux published in https://daily.jstor.org September 19, 2022 Jews worldwide will soon observe Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, and Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. But on what evenings will those holidays begin? Much of the world lives—or at least conducts business—according to the Gregorian calendar, which... Continue Reading →
Three versions of the same song. The first is the original by Led Zeppelin. These days it is looking very dated, like a second-rate Spinal Tap. (Don't feel like you have to watch the whole thing. Just a glimpse of Jimmy Page with his double-necked guitar will give you the gist.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQmmM_qwG4k The second, by... Continue Reading →
[We're not trying to get your week off to a bad start, but as you fight the traffic on your morning commute and people are "flipping you the bird," as we say in The Jungle, roll down your wind and explain to them about the battle of Crécy. SB SM] The middle finger. Few know... Continue Reading →
Only Two Remain BY ZACHARY CROCKETT Inside an old brick building in the leafy town of Haverhill, Massachusetts, you’ll find one of the last vestiges of a once-formidable industry. Entering the six-story structure is like going back in time: Stacks of kiln-dried maple wood line the walls. Artisans carefully tinker with tuning pins and soundboards. A... Continue Reading →
Ironic that SB Bill (Hinesburg SBs) sends this on the day that Grendel: The Four-Chord Opera makes its official debut! A.Word.A.Daywith Anu Garg musicaster PRONUNCIATION: (MYOO-zi-kas-tuhr) MEANING: noun: A mediocre musician. ETYMOLOGY: From music + -aster (a pejorative suffix). Earliest documented use: 1838. NOTES: The pejorative suffix -aster (meaning something that is inferior, small, or... Continue Reading →
Does “Monkeypox” Give Monkeys a Bad Name? The debate over naming the virus known as monkeypox says a lot about the close—but fraught—relationships between humans and our fellow primates. By GIDEON LASCO published in Sapiens SEPT 21, 2022 Gideon Lasco is an anthropologist and a physician based in Manila, the Philippines. He obtained his Ph.D. from the... Continue Reading →
by Silverbelle Margaret (Ridge Road SBs) A cookbook in the pantry caught my eye recently. It has been a long time since I've visited the contents of this old book. Bound together by two metal rings, it’s dressed with a simple cover made from vintage, mottled-gray shelving plastic. Sandwiched between the front and back cover... Continue Reading →
Daniel Pink sends me occasional "Pinkcasts" such as this one. https://www.danpink.com/pinkcast/pinkcast-4-27-this-is-how-to-avoid-overreacting-to-ugly-problems-and-annoying-complaints/?utm_source=Dan+Pink%27s+Newsletter&utm_campaign=d5792e901b-sep_19%2C_2022_pinkcast&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_4d8277f97a-d5792e901b-314021027 I find them to be entertaining, useful, straightforward, commonsensical, and practical, well worth the two minutes or so I spend watching. See what you think of Pink. https://www.danpink.com/pinkcast/pinkcast-4-26-heres-peter-druckers-simple-method-for-improving-your-performance/?utm_source=Dan+Pink%27s+Newsletter&utm_campaign=0caa9f971b-September+6+Pinkcast&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_4d8277f97a-0caa9f971b-314021027 Finally, I particularly like his list of things to do when traveling to a new place:... Continue Reading →
[Not all of us want to go out with as much fanfare as Queen Elizabeth. I don't want, for instance, too have my fellow 'Backs and 'Belles to wait in line for twelve hours in the heat of The Jungle just for the privilege of walking past my rotting corpse. Six hours ... tops! Here,... Continue Reading →
The Outside Story By Susan Shea Sunlight glinted off the water as we paddled our canoe along a winding channel which led through a marsh of tall grasses and wild rice. Two white, long-legged birds – great egrets – stalked the shallow water, poised to spear fish with their pointed bills. A bald eagle landed... Continue Reading →
