News from the Mudd

It was a very sad day in 2001. George Harrison died of cancer in Los Angeles. Those of you who remember the 20-something George will be stunned to see his son Dhani who looks exactly like him. This clip is from "Concert for George," organized a year after his death by his widow Olivia and his friend Eric Clapton, who, incidentally used to be married to George's ex-wife Pattie Boyd.
If you're under 30 you can get a good sense of George on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame website. And the Mudd has a few of his recordings.

Please join Ben Willard (ITS) and Julie Fricke (Library) for an informative
overview of Facebook and social networking. Topics will range from basic
to advanced. We'll cover Facebook's origins and uses, and we'll also
introduce you to events, groups, and developer applications. The fun is
nearly limitless! This presentation will occur at 11:00 a.m. on November
29th in Briggs 420.

Here are some alliterative topics for discussion: travel, time and twins.
There's time travel: the great soprano Nellie Melba died in Australia on Feb. 23, 1931, but her death was reported in some New York newspapers on the 22nd.
There's twin travel: Bulgarian composer Pantcho Vladigerov was born in Switzerland but his twin brother had arrived the day before in Bulgaria. Their mother did not care for the Bulgarian medical system so she hopped a train with one twin and hours later de-trained in Switzerland to give birth to the second.
And now...Twin Time Travel! Earlier this month a woman in North Carolina gave birth to a boy at 1:32 a.m. Thirty-four minutes later his twin sister arrived. But wait! Daylight Saving Time ended at 2:00 a.m. The second twin was actually born at 1:06 a.m. which makes her older. Or does it? In the famous last words of the mother, "We'll let them work that out between themselves."

We love to sing-a about the moon-a and the June-a and the spring-a. All of our CDs in today's pile contain vocal music. We've got chants, art song favorites with violin obbligato, and opera excerpts. For good measure we've also got some chamber music with and without voice.

On this day in 1942 possibly the most famous interpreter of the United States national anthem was born. Listen to the greatest left-handed guitar version performed outside a stadium or arena.
The Mudd has several recordings of riffs on Jimi Hendrix.

You young 'ns have probably only seen the word "phonograph" in history books. Conventional wisdom has it that on this date in 1877 Thomas Alva Edison publicly introduced the cylinder phonograph. It is not known the precise date Mr. Edison spoke the first verse of "Mary had a little lamb" into the contraption, but the American Memory Project at the Library of Congress puts the date somewhere August 12th and December 24th. We'll go with the flow and say it's today.
The New York Times ran a commentary on November 28 of that year stating that with the invention of the telegraph, telephone and now the phonograph "electricians had lost all self-restraint." On the horizon was the wireless telegraph, the use of which could have dire consequences: "A mother, sitting in the nursery with her baby in her arms, may be struck by a violent speech by Wendell Phillips, and sustain a fatal injury." "The aerial electrical current will be constantly full of Congressional speeches...which will be liable at any moment to...penetrate our houses." Sounds very familiar.

Sometimes our CD collection has such depth and breadth we can hardly stand it. Today we offer CDs containing piano trios; choral music; an Orff work probably new to you; chants that are, to say the least, unusual and a '50's pop vocal quartet.

Todays' new CD pile is prid near all Miles Davis. We threw in a little Coltrane, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Tony Williams and a couple of Ben Allisons, too.

We completely missed another hugely interesting resource here at the Mudd: American Broadsides and Ephemera. Since this collection comes from the same company that gave us Early American Imprints, 1801-1819, you can do a "curiosities and wonders" search here, too. The Mudd: for all your curiosities and wonders needs.

We don't often wish we were in Los Angeles, but we do now. The Hammer Museum at UCLA is hosting Extraodrinary Exhibitions: Broadsides from the Collections of Ricky Jay from now until November 25. The exhibit features "80 examples of 17th-, 18th-, and 19th-century ephemeral advertising sheets known as broadsides...with an emphasis on remarkable entertainers and visual deceptions." Today's New York Times has an interview with Mr. Jay along with some amazing examples and descriptions from the exhibit.
The Mudd subscribes to Early American Imprints, 1801-1819 which includes the subject category "Curiosities and wonders." Here you can find your "Great anaconda or the terrific serpent of Java," a little tamer fare than Mr. Jay's singing mouse, enormous head, or living skeleton.

Glass harmonica? How about a water-organ? A Croatian architect has created a giant water-powered organ that is played by waves from the Adriatic Sea lapping onto steps. Now visitors don't need to be bored by those dull sounds of nature.

On this day 40 years ago Rolling Stone published its first issue. The title comes from the Bob Dylan song "Like a rolling stone". It looked a little different back then - no shiny glossy cover. But its founder Jann Wenner is still the editor and publisher.

The obvious choice for the first cover was John Lennon, a popular entertainer at that time who composed, sang and played guitar, and who'd just finished filming the Richard Lester film How I Won the War.

The Mudd subscribes to Rolling Stone and keeps the paper copies for a year. We also have R.S. on microfilm from January, 1978 to June, 2002 for all your fogey rock needs.

Today you can't escape "Abet and Aid Punsters Day." Be a groan-up and paste a smile on your face when you hear one of these (and you will):

Walter Cronkite and Virginia Potato (yes, a real potato) were in love. But her father objected: "I'm not going let any daughter of mine marry a commentator."

Show me a piano falling down a mineshaft and I'll show you A-flat minor.

Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.

The man who fell into an upholstery machine is fully recovered.

Did you hear about the fire at the circus? The heat was in tents.

A toothless termite walked into a tavern and said, "Is the bar tender here?"

The orchestra was performing Beethoven's Symphony no. 9, a piece in which the bass section doesn't play for a long stretch toward the end. The section decided to leave the stage and grab a few beers across the street. Two players passed out and rest got back late. The conductor was furious. It was the bottom of the ninth, there were two men out and the basses were loaded.

This just in: yesterday a 600 lb. cow fell 200 feet off a cliff near Manson, Washington and crushed the hood of a mini van. The occupants escaped unharmed. The cow was not as fortunate. We'll stay here where there are plenty of cows but no cliffs.

It's Saxophone Day! It's a woodwind made of metal! It's named after a real guy whose birthday is today! It comes in all different sizes! And what could be cooler than a saxophone, or for that matter, a saxophone player? Once you get past the shades and the slouching demeanor, you'll find a hug-able human being. So go hug one.
The Mudd has a boat load of recordings, scores and videos featuring the saxophone. Of course there's Coltrane. But we also feature a composer who writes for saxophone(s) and ghettoblaster. For the less adventurous, how about some saxophone quartets?

The Gunpowder Plot of 1605, in which a bunch of conspirators in England tried to blow stuff up, occurred on this day. It's celebrated as Guy Fawkes Night, Bonfire Night, Fireworks Night, Cracker Night or Plot Night. In any case, explosions and fire are the order the day.
Today's New York Times has a pretty sad photo of a rugby club viewing a film of a bonfire last year on Guy Fawkes Night. It's a sorry state of affairs when the mayhem-loving British must discard their customs. But one rogue town will not be moved: "...the Slough Borough Council...decided not to have a bonfire this year. (It will have fireworks, though, along with an Asian Elvis impersonator.)"
Read all about him (Guy Fawkes, not Elvis) in the Mudd.

Libraries are all about the books (well, sort of) and librarians are all about the cats (except for the dog people.) In that spirit, we are sad to report the passing of Fup, resident cat at Powell's Books in Portland, Oregon. Fup, whose name may come from a backwards "Puff," also has a web site you may want to visit.
The Mudd needs a mascot, but it would probably end up being named "Ddum."

On Nov. 2, 676 Donus, Son of a Roman called Mauricius was consecrated Bishop of Rome or "Pope," if you will. He was quite the builder. Even though he only lasted two years, "he paved the enclosed forecourt of St. Peter's Basilica [and] paved the atrium or quadrangle in front of St. Peter's with great blocks of white marble" according to Wikipedia. In spite of his gift as a general contractor, he was unable to fix the schism between Constantinople and Rome. That was left to Archbishop Reparatus, if that was his REAL name.

Tuesday, November 6, 2007
11:10 a.m.
Lawrence Memorial Chapel

Since the age of 20, Paul Hawken has dedicated his life to sustainability and changing the relationship between business and the environment. He has written extensively about the impact of commerce on living systems, served as a consultant to governments and corporations on economic development, industrial ecology, and environmental policy, and has founded and run several ecological businesses.

The library has several books by Mr. Hawken as well as access to many of his journal articles.

It's World Communication Week. It's National Men Make Dinner Day. It's National Fig Week. Communicate to a man in your life that you want him to make dinner. Here's a fantastic, not-as-sweet-as-you-might-think recipe for duck with dried fruit (toss in some dried figs) pilfered from epicurious.com:

Peppercorn-Crusted Muscovy Duck with Blueberries
Bon Appétit | January 1998

Serves 4

1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons water
2 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 cups canned low-salt chicken broth
1 cup mixed dried fruit, cut into matchstick-size pieces
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger

2 12- to 16-ounce boneless Muscovy duck breast halves with skin
4 teaspoons crushed mixed peppercorns

2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) chilled butter, cut into small pieces
3/4 cup frozen blueberries, thawed

Stir sugar and water in heavy small saucepan over low heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat; boil without stirring until mixture is deep amber, occasionally brushing down sides of pan with wet pastry brush and swirling pan, about 8 minutes. Stir in vinegar (mixture will bubble). Add broth. Simmer until reduced to 1 cup, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in dried fruit and ginger. Let stand 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, using fork, pierce duck skin (not meat) all over. Sprinkle with salt. Rub pepper over skin side of duck. Heat a heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add duck, skin side down, and cook until golden and crisp, about 15 minutes. Turn over; cook to desired doneness, about 8 minutes for medium. Let rest 10 minutes.

Rewarm sauce over low heat. Whisk in butter a few pieces at a time. Stir in blueberries. Season with salt and pepper.

Slice duck breasts; serve with sauce.

David Berk and Julie Fricke will be doing a workshop today at 11:00 a.m. "What is RSS.... and how do I use it" in the ITS Lab (Library 214).

If you are unable to attend, you can see the explanatory Power Point http://www.slideshare.net/frickej/what-is-rss-104298.