Tag: Top Ten

It’s not just ‘Amazing Grace,’ either

~ Jnana Hodson ~ Leave a comment

With Robert Burns Day coming up Saturday, attention turns to things Scottish, and that includes bagpipes, not that you need them when singing his songs.

Here are ten related notes.

  1. Though best known as Great Highland bagpipes, related reservoir wind bag woodwind instruments have long traditions throughout Europe, Northern Africa, Western Asia, the Persian Gulf, and South Asia.
  2. Pipers usually refer to the instrument as “the pipes,” “stand of pipes,” or “set of pipes.”
  3. A bagpipe has one chanter pipe (played with both hands) and one or more drone pipes. The melody is played on the chanter while the drone holds a single – distinctive – lower tone as harmony.
  4. Most blowpipes into the wind reservoir have a non-return valve that keeps the bags inflated. Otherwise, the tongue has to do the job.
  5. Bellows applied to some bagpipes beginning in the 16th or 17th century supply air to the bag for a more even tone than would happen with the warmer and moister human breath. The modification allows for more delicate reeds and smaller instruments, such as those found in the Lowlands, Ireland, Northumbria, France, and Poland.
  6. Airflow to the reeds is controlled by the player’s arm pressure.
  7. The air bags are commonly made with the skins of goats, sheep, cows, or even dogs, though synthetic materials like Gore-Tex are advancing. The bags do need periodic cleaning to prevent fungal colonies from developing as a result of condensation.
  8. There’s no easy way to stop the sound once it’s started in most instruments. That’s why bagpipe music is heard as one long legato until the air runs out.
  9. The British Empire placed Highland pipers at the head of its military processions, spreading the sound worldwide. Leading the units into battle, however, resulted in a high mortality rate. The quip, “Shoot the player,” didn’t always refer to a pianist.
  10. Bagpipes have become features of funerals and memorials for police, fire, and military personnel throughout the English-speaking world. They’re also the official instrument of the World Curling Federation, should you be feeling sporty.

Lithium, in case you were wondering

~ Jnana Hodson ~ Leave a comment

It used to be considered a rare element, though as a budding young scientist I had a sample that arrived inside a blue box the size of cigarette pack that arrived in the mail one month. Included was a small yellow booklet with suggested experiments, not that I remember any of them. Gee, that was back in the ‘50s!

Today, of course, lithium has become a household name due to its special applications.

Here are ten considerations:

  1. In its pure state, it’s a soft, silvery-white metal, highly reactive and flammable, requiring careful storage. The lightest of metals, No. 3 on the periodical table of the elements, it can float on water, a quality it shares with sodium and potassium.
  2. It’s highly corrosive, tarnishes rapidly, and is hazardous to the touch.
  3. It’s soft enough to be cut with a knife and has a density comparable to pine wood.
  4. Lithium compounds are the heart of rechargeable batteries for laptops, cell phones, electric cars, and cameras, as well as non-rechargeable batteries.
  5. Industrial applications include lubricants, heat-resistant glass and ceramics, and iron, steel, and aluminum production.
  6. Medically, it’s used as a mood stabilizer, an antidepressant, and other mental health issues.
  7. It serves as a fusion fuel in thermonuclear weapons and is critical to the operation of many nuclear reactors. It’s also used in rocket and torpedo propellants.
  8. It colors some red fireworks and flares and is also used as an air purifier.
  9. Although found in rocks and brines in low concentrations, lithium has few deposits of commercial value. The largest reserves are in Australia, Chile, China, Argentina, Boliva, the Czech Republic, and Afghanistan. Maine is also optimistic about potential mining sites. As for economic value? Think of the next Saudi Arabia.
  10. It was an ingredient in the original 7 Up recipe.

Among my goals for the coming year

~ Jnana Hodson ~ 1 Comment

I don’t do “resolutions,” which all too easily become self-defeating. Goals are more like compass readings when you’re trying to get somewhere and want to leave some flexibility for when problems arise. So here’s what I’d like to improve in my life in the upcoming year.

  1. Be a better listener. That includes asking more questions rather than spewing so many facts.
  2. Do a better job of putting names and faces together and then recalling them with ease. I’ve met a lot of new people since moving Way Downeast. Too often I’m baffled when greeted by name.
  3. Cull my collections of vinyl albums and CDs, books, and private journals. There’s only so much shelf space, even with our home renovations, and no way I can play or read them all in my remaining years. Which leads to …
  4. Indulge in a reading orgy, meaning print on paper: mags, books in general, Bible, and personal journals. Put another way, that means less time at the laptop.
  5. When I am online, I intend to interact more actively with others. Yes, that includes you.
  6. Distill my files of original poetry. There’s a lot to revisit in my 50-plus years of serious writing.
  7. Get out in the wild more regularly. I’m not the hiker I was, but that shouldn’t keep me from pursuing more trails around here or even sitting quietly in the open air.
  8. Explore neighboring Canada. We got a start on that late last year. So far, the border crossings have gone smoothly. I’m hoping Grand Manan, an island reached only by ferry, will be a highlight.
  9. Do a better job of house cleaning. There have been complaints.
  10. Give more attention to my Beloved.

‘New Year’s Day is every man’s birthday’

~ Jnana Hodson ~ Leave a comment

With that insight from English essayist and poet Charles Lamb, let’s consider ten more quotes befitting a new year.

  1. “You know how I always dread the whole year? Well, this time I’m only going to dread one day at a time” — Charlie Brown, Peanuts
  2. “We should celebrate every year that we made it through” — Ellen DeGeneres
  3. “Don’t live the same year 75 times and call it a life” — Robin Sharma
  4. “An optimist stays up until midnight to see the new year in. A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves” — William E. Vaughan
  5. “Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each year find you a better man” — Benjamin Franklin
  6. “It wouldn’t be New Year’s if I didn’t have regrets” — William Thomas
  7. “Many years ago, I resolved never to bother with New Year’s resolutions, and I’ve stuck with it ever since” — Dave Beard
  8. “I’d rather regret the risks that didn’t work out than the chances I didn’t take at all” —Simone Biles
  9. “Celebrate endings, for they precede new beginnings” — Jonathan Lockwood Huie
  10. “8 p.m. is the new midnight” — unknown wit of a certain age who just could have been living where I do

Another day, another year

~ Jnana Hodson ~ Leave a comment

Here we go again. As if we need an excuse to party and pop bubbly.

  1. First, let’s be clear. What we’re celebrating is the Gregorian new year, set as January 1 back in 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII.
  2. New Year’s Eve has always been December 31 going back as far as calendars have existed. But the Romans celebrated the New Year on March 1. Because January and February were late additions, the Roman year oringinally ran between March and December.
  3. Here in the U.S., New Year’s Eve is the most drunken night of the year. The average BAC (blood alcohol content) is reported at .095 percent.
  4. About 48,700 people are injured in car crashes.
  5. It’s not the most dangerous holiday for driving. Memorial Day, with 448 fatal accidents, is the worst, followed by Labor Day, the Fourth of July, Columbus Day, Father’s Day, and Cinco de Mayo. Still, with an estimated 408 fatalities, the New Year holiday can be bloody. Christmas, by the way, is the safest.
  6. Americans hold to their resolutions for 36 days, on average, but 16 percent admit they don’t stick to any of their goals. Some of us don’t make ’em at all.
  7. “Old Long Syne” is an old Scottish tune that got new words from Robert Burns in 1788. It means “times long past.”
  8. Canadian bandleader Guy Lombardo is responsible for making it a New Year’s staple. He performed the piece at midnight at a New Year’s Eve party in New York City in 1929 and eventually broadcast it on radio and TV stations around North America.
  9. Even though it’s become the go-to song every New Year’s Eve, very few people actually know its words. Do you?
  10. January was not named for the two-faced Roman god Janus but rather originates in the Latin word ianua, meaning door, reflecting the opening of a door we’re about to enter.

Oh, my, is it crass-mess?

~ Jnana Hodson ~ 1 Comment

The pagan origin of many of the winter holiday’s customs is something I’m all too aware of. For starters, Jesus was likely born in the springtime, not the December 25 Roman festival of Saturnalia, honoring Saturn.

I’m not against acknowledging the winter solstice and the wonders of its long nights, but here are some other dark sides to consider. Not that I want to dampen anyone’s spirits.

  1. Dump the snow, OK? Even before global warming kicked in, Irving Berlin’s 1942 hit of dreaming of a white Christmas was something of a fantasy, even across much of New England and upstate New York. The unrealistic expectation of snow has led to annual disappointment in our household, for sure. Apart from that, I’m wondering: Did the movie starring Bing Crosby actually lead to a chain of motels called Holiday Inn?
  2. Blame Coca-Cola. Santa was generally a spooky figure until Coca-Cola decided to cast him in its holiday magazine ads. Assigned the task in 1931, Michigan-born illustrator Haddon Sundblom used his pal Lou Prentice as the model, and the result was a jolly boffo success. The artist took inspiration from Clement Clarke Moore’s 1822 poem, “A Visit from Saint Nicholas,” better known as “The Night Before Christmas,” for its warm, friendly, pleasantly plump St. Nick, as well as cards from his parents’ native Scandinavia. For the next 33 years his annual assignment advanced the modern image of Santa. So much for the terrors of naughty-or-nice that parents could have used for child control. Sundblom also created Coke’s mascot Sprite Boy in 1942, eventually leading to the rival clear soda 7Up.
  3. As for Rudolph? The rose-nosed reindeer first appeared in 1939 as a Christmas story for kids that Montgomery Ward could hand out as a promotion at its department stores. Staff copywriter Robert L. May was assigned the task, and 2.4 million copies were distributed in the first year along. Gene Autry recorded the song version most of us know in 1949, followed by a movie in 1964 that featured an island of misfit toys and Herbie the elf. The story was written in the same meter as “A Visit from Saint Nicholas.”
  4. Can you list the reindeer? Rudolph was nearly named Rollo or Reginald, and the other eight also had an array of alternative names, including Flossie, Glossie, Racer, Pacer, Scratcher, Feckless, Ready, Steady, and Fireball. The reindeer names that continued come from Moore’s poem. There’s even a late arrival named Olive. And, since only female reindeer keep their antlers through winter, guess what. Sorry, guys.
  5. Now, for Jingle Bells. Boston-born James Lord Pierpont wrote the song “One Horse Open Sleigh” for a Thanksgiving concert in 1857 in the Unitarian church in Savannah, Georgia, where he was organist and his brother was minister. That’s right, Thanksgiving, not Christmas. The song, published in 1857, recalled an event from his time in a boarding school in New Hampshire. The idea of snow must have been a novelty for those Sunday school singers down in Dixie. Released in 1859 under the title and lyrics everybody knows today, it became a hit. That year, the church also closed, a consequence of its minister’s abolitionist views, while the composer soon joined the Confederate army and wrote songs on its behalf. Pierpont was also the uncle of famed banker J.P. Morgan – more properly John Pierpont Morgan. Jingle, jingle, of a different sort also common this time of year.
  6. Imitate the royals, right? The popularity of a Yule tree in American homes originates with Prince Albert of Germany, who got a tree for his new wife, Queen Victoria of England. When a drawing of the couple in front of a Christmas tree appeared in the Illustrated London News in 1848, folks started following suit – on both sides of the Atlantic.
  7. Call 911. Dried-out Christmas trees spark about 260 fires in the United States each year, causing an average of 12 deaths, 24 injuries and $16.4 million in property damage. Another 150 fires are started by defective lighting, adding another average of eight deaths, 16 injuries and $8.9 million in property damage per year.
  8. As for the emergency room. An estimated 14,700 people visit hospital emergency rooms each November and December from holiday-related decorating accidents, about 240 injuries per day. Falling, lacerations, and back strains are the most common ailments.
  9. Watch the budget, too. Consumers spend an average of $967.13 on the holidays. I’m assuming this means adults.
  10. Mistletoe? The Germanic word for the plant translates as “dung on a tree.” Birds eat the berries, seed and all, and then help the plant germinate with their droppings. So pucker up, if you insist.

Thanks to Good Housekeeping

Popcorn? It’s why the microwave was invented, seriously

~ Jnana Hodson ~ Leave a comment

In 1945, when American electronics expert, Perry Spencer paused in front of a power tube called a magnetron, he felt a “weird” feeling and noticed a chocolate candy bar in his pocket had melted. He decided to see the waves would pop popcorn, which they did.  

The microwave bags had to wait until 1981 to take shape and head for market.

~*~

But back to popcorn. So much good stuff popped up in my digging that today I’m doing a first at the Red Barn, a double Tendrils. The first ten will deal with the grain’s popularity, and the second on just what we’re eating as a snack food.

Here goes:

  1. By volume, popcorn is America’s favorite snack food
  2. Approximately 70 percent of popcorn sold in America is eaten in the home. The other 30 percent is eaten in theaters, stadiums, school, etc.
  3. Americans eat more popcorn than any other country – about 70 quarts of popcorn per person each year.
  4. Most of the popcorn eaten around the world is grown in the United States. Indiana recently overtook Nebraska as the leading producer, followed by Illinois, Ohio, and Iowa.
  5. Autumn is the peak time for consumption, followed by winter. Sales taper off in spring and summer.
  6. It’s cheap. Two tablespoons of kernels produce a quart of popcorn for about 25 cents. By the way, in case you’re counting or bored and looking for something to do, there are about 1,600 popcorn kernels in a single cup. Not that I’ve confirmed that.
  7. Its popularity as a concession-stand staple originates with Charles Cretors, an Ohio-born candy store owner who was so upset with a peanut roaster he had purchased in Iowa that he redesigned it, and moved to Chicago to manufacture more, leading him to create the original large-scale commercial popcorn machine in 1885, a line of products his family is still producing. His steam-powered machine was the first that could pop popcorn in its own seasonings uniformly. Fame and fortune followed its appearance at the 1893 World’s Fair (Columbian Exposition) in Chicago.
  8. In movie theaters, where popcorn’s been sold since 1912, about 90 cents of every dollar spent on the snack is profit. Its role as a moneymaker is enhanced by making people thirsty, leading to the sales of overpriced colas or water as well.
  9. Orville Redenbacher is the best-selling popcorn in the world. The brand’s founder, Orville, first grew popping corn in 1919, when he was just 12. He then went on to become an agricultural scientist who, according to the New York Times, became “the agricultural visionary who all but single-handedly revolutionized the American popcorn industry.” That was even became a household face with horned-rimmed glasses and a bow tie through his appearances in television commercials in the 1970s. As some of us still remember.
  10. It’s been a human food and ceremonial element for more than 5,000 years – basically, the full scope of recorded history.

~*~

Personally, I’m most likely to eat it during the Eastern Orthodox fast periods of Advent and Lent, after tackling the dietary restrictions one year and discovering how it filled in for snack foods I was missing.

And now I’m delighted to find out there’s no need to feel guilty about indulging. It’s actually healthy in addition to being vegan and gluten-free. Here’s more:

  1. It has more protein than any other cereal grain. More iron than eggs or roast beef. More fiber than pretzels or potato chips. Vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, too. Most of the nutrients are in the hull or shell rather than the fluffy, white part.
  2. A cup of plain popcorn comes in at a mere 31 calories.
  3. Beware, though, of countering the health benefits with too much butter, salt, oil, white cheese, or caramel.
  4. The popped comes in two shapes: “mushroom” or the bigger “snowflake,” typically sold in movie theaters.
  5. Its one of six major maize types and come in three shapes: rice, pearl, and South American. Most commercial popcorn is the pearl type.
  6. The distinguishing trait shared by all types of popcorn kernels is their ability to create a flake when exposed to heat. Unlike many other grains, popcorn’s shell is not water permeable, preventing the small amount of water inside from escaping until the pressure to the point we hear the “pop.”
  7. Cooked popcorn expands up to 30 times its original size.
  8. Many other corns also pop, but their flakes are smaller. Additionally, some varieties of rice, milo, millet, and sorghum also pop. Some varieties of quinoa, a sacred Incan food, also pops like popcorn, as does amaranth.
  9. Unpopped kernels are called “spinsters” or “old maids.” As a guideline for quality popcorn, no more than two percent should remain spinsters.
  10. The ideal popping temperature for popcorn is 400-460 degrees Fahrenheit. A kernel will pop, on average, when it reaches 347.

This time of year, let’s not overlook strings of popcorn as garland for the Christmas tree and windows.

Important people linked to the Gem City

~ Jnana Hodson ~ Leave a comment

In this case, they weren’t necessary born in Dayton, but the city did play a role in their success.

  1. Wright Brothers, inventors of the airplane
  2. Charles F. Kettering, prolific inventor
  3. John Henry Patterson, founder of the National Cash Register Company
  4. Thomas Watson Jr., of IBM fame after being fired – twice – by Patterson
  5. James Cox, Democratic presidential nominee and newspaper publisher
  6. Paul Lawrence Dunbar, Black poet
  7. Scotty Reston, editor of the New York Times
  8. Frank Stanton, head of Columbia Broadcasting Company (CBS)
  9. Milton Caniff, master cartoonist
  10. Mike Peters, freewheeling cartoonist

I should also mention Larry Flint, pornographer, who established Hustler magazine, named after his bar.

 

Looking back over the year, with gratitude

~ Jnana Hodson ~ Leave a comment

For me, this is something other than thanks-giving. Its part of an annual exercise and self-discipline that includes revisiting what I set out to do a year ago and seeing what was accomplished and what remains to address. Other parts simply acknowledge joys and blessings. It rather dovetails into sending out the Christmas greetings, too.

In 2024, I’m especially grateful for:

  1. Our home renovations. The transformation of our upstairs is a major quality-of-life improvement. And how, especially with three of us here now rather than just me.
  2. Sitting beside our wood-burning stove on otherwise chilly mornings and evenings.
  3. A steady supply of real tomatoes, once they started arriving in our raised beds in mid-August. Add to that gratitude that the local deer did not break down our chicken-wire fencing.
  4. Scallops in season. (And local blueberries, cranberries, lobsters, and crab.)
  5. My second week camping on the water, meaning a cruise on a historic schooner.
  6. Events at the arts center. Concerts, plays, open mics, contradances and lectures, in addition to rehearsing and performing with Quoddy Voices.
  7. My continuing appearances resulting from my book Quaking Dover. You can still find some of them online.
  8. All the eagles I observed during the alewives’ run and additional encounters after. Always inspiring.
  9. Using my passport. We do live right next to Canada, after all.
  10. Learning to watch for the Northern Lights. And then photographing them with my phone.