October 5, 2021 by Neely Tucker Thomas Jefferson’s copy of the Quran, one of the treasures of the Library, is making its first-ever appearance in the Middle East this month, debuting at the glittering World Expo in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. Jefferson’s English translation of the Islamic holy book is one of the stars of…
Read More Thomas Jefferson’s Quran at the World Expo in DubaiIn light of recent revelations about various public figures regarding their personal shortcomings, how do we handle those shortcomings when balanced against whatever good they contributed to society? I’m looking at what we say about Thomas Jefferson and other possible sexual predators (slaveholders) who served in the upper levels of government when compared with unelected,…
Read More How Do We Handle Sexual Acting Out by Public Figures?Is having an accurate estimate of your lifespan helpful to you? Do you want to plan for your retirement? What about ways to live longer? After all, it isn’t the years in your life, but the life in your years! If you live in the USA, go HERE or HERE or HERE (not a favorite) or HERE. (I got different results from…
Read More How Much Time Do You Have Left?Yara Shahidi Jessica Szohr Mariah Carey Dwayne Johnson Keegan-Michael Key Tracee Ellis Ross Gabrielle Reece Val Kilmer Jason Momoa Naomi Campbell Christina Aguilera Norah Jones Wentworth MIller Derek Jeter Shay Miller Keanu Reeves Olivia Munn Vanessa Hudgens Halsey Adriana Lima How many of these celebrities could “pass?” Is “passing” even a thing these days? How…
Read More Mixed-Race Celebrities – Did You Know?“In 2004, at the Unity journalists of color convention in Washington, Gwen Ifill coined the phrase “missing white woman syndrome,” joking that “if there is a missing white woman you’re going to cover that every day.” It is not that these white women should matter less, but rather that all missing people should matter equally. Race should…
Read More Missing White Woman SyndromeCutting-edge biomedical research brought the world a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine in record time. But as any public health official will remind you, it’s not vaccines that work, but vaccinations—meaning that the scientific achievement of the vaccine is only the first step in slowing the spread of disease. Vaccinations, by contrast, involve appreciating and…
Read More Bringing Social Science to Bear on the Pandemic (Issues in Science and Technology)Here’s how to make downsizing actually work. By Linda Yellin Our kids don’t want keepsakes; they want experiences. But not the experience of hand-washing some dead relative’s crystal. TELL A STORY CREATIVELY PASS IT ON DIE FIRST AND LET YOUR SPOUSE HANDLE IT TRICK YOUR KIDS Read the article HERE.
Read More My Kids Don’t Want My China. Who’s Going to Take My Stuff?LCM September/October: A Portrait of Chinese American Life Looking for a new book to add to your reading list? The Library of Magazine has you covered. Read about the Jade Snow Wong memoir and collection in the latest issue.
Read More Check out the latest edition of the Library of Congress MagazineEbony magazine rolled out a quiz in April 1952 that asked, “WHICH ONE IS NEGRO? WHICH IS WHITE?” How many can you guess correctly? (Answers at the end of the blog.) From Essence.com: Passing follows the story of two Black women, former childhood friends Irene Redfield (Thompson) and Clare Kendry (Negga), both of whom are able to convincingly…
Read More Passingby MEGHAN SPLAWN published SEP 9, 2021 But is there a better way to brown ground beef than just dumping it into a hot skillet? We suspected so, which is why we put five popular methods to the test. The methods are: Heavy cream Dry non-stick skillet Baking soda Patted dry Cast iron skillet with oil Read HERE to see…
Read More We Tried 5 Methods for Browning Ground Beef and the Winner Is a Game-Changerby Edward C. Baig and Ed Waldman, AARP, September 1, 2021 Apps by subject Education Food and dining Games Health and fitness Home and organization Music and entertainment Nature, science and weather Social media Travel and transportation From AARP
Read More 50 Free Apps for Apple and Android PhonesSeptember 9, 2021 by Neely Tucker (Library of Congress) Descendants of Venture Smith gather at his gravesite in East Haddam, Connecticut, during the town’s 2019 Venture Smith Day. Photo courtesy of Venture Smith Day Celebration Committee. Delighted to write this post with Mark Dimunation, chief of the Rare Book and Special Collections Division. “I was born at Dukandarra,…
Read More Venture Smith: The First Slave NarrativeSEP. 8, 2021, AT 6:00 AM By Nathaniel Rakich and Elena Mejía It took several months, but Texas Republicans have finally enacted their much-debated bill rolling back voting access in the Lone Star State. Back in the spring, disagreements between Senate and House Republicans delayed the final vote on the proposal until the last day of Texas’s regular legislative session, making it…
Read More Texas’s New Law Is The Climax Of A Record-Shattering Year For Voting RestrictionsJackson Ryan Sept. 7, 2021 7:00 a.m. If the state of the planet is getting you down or you’re just terrified that ducks can now speak human words, then I advise you to stop what you’re doing for a few moments and gaze in awe at this photo by Thomas Pesquet, a French astronaut currently residing inside…
Read More Space station astronaut captures breathtaking view of the edge of the EarthBy Nagi PUBLISHED: 21 Aug ’20 UPDATED: 19 Feb ’21 Ingredients Chicken & Marinade: 300g/ 10oz chicken thighs , skinless boneless, cut into 2.5cm/1″ pieces (Note 1) 1 tbsp light soy sauce (or all purpose, NOT dark soy) 2 tsp Chinese cooking wine (sub with soy) 2 tsp cornflour/cornstarch Dredging: 1/2 cup cornflour/cornstarch Stay-Crispy Puffy Batter: 6 tbsp cornflour/cornstarch (Note 8) 4 tbsp flour , plain/all purpose 7 – 8 tbsp COLD soda water, club soda or seltzer…
Read More Honey Chicken – STAYS CRISPY for hours!