Salt, windmills and pink feathers. How Trapani sea salt is made.
Of all the staples in our kitchen, salt is probably the most overlooked. I flew to western Sicily to discover the sea salt winning tradition of Trapani.
Interview with Irene Culcasi - Salt Museum.
[English CC available]
To learn more about salt, read the blog post at
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The Groucho Marx Show: American Television Quiz Show - Hand / Head / House Episodes
Julius Henry Groucho Marx (October 2, 1890 -- August 19, 1977) was an American comedian and film and television star. He is known as a master of quick wit and widely considered one of the best comedians of the modern era. More Groucho:
Groucho's three marriages all ended in divorce. His first wife was chorus girl Ruth Johnson. He was 29 and she 19 at the time of their wedding. The couple had two children, Arthur Marx and Miriam Marx. His second wife was Kay Marvis (m. 1945--51), née Catherine Dittig, former wife of Leo Gorcey. Groucho was 54 and Kay 21 at the time of their marriage. They had a daughter, Melinda Marx. His third wife was actress Eden Hartford. She was 24 when she married the 63-year-old Groucho.
During the early 1950s, Groucho described his perfect woman: Someone who looks like Marilyn Monroe and talks like George S. Kaufman.
Often when the Marxes arrived at restaurants, there would be a long wait for a table. Just tell the maître d' who we are, his wife would say. (In his pre-mustache days, he was rarely recognized in public.) Groucho would say, OK, OK. Good evening, sir. My name is Jones. This is Mrs. Jones, and here are all the little Joneses. Now his wife would be furious and insist that he tell the maître d' the truth. Oh, all right, said Groucho. My name is Smith. This is Mrs. Smith, and here are all the little Smiths.
Similar anecdotes are corroborated by Groucho's friends, not one of whom went without being publicly embarrassed by Groucho on at least one occasion. Once, at a restaurant (the most common location of Groucho's antics), a fan came up to him and said, Excuse me, but aren't you Groucho Marx? Yes, Groucho answered annoyedly. Oh, I'm your biggest fan! Could I ask you a favor? the man asked. Sure, what is it? asked the even-more annoyed Groucho. See my wife sitting over there? She's an even bigger fan of yours than I am! Would you be willing to insult her? Groucho replied, Sir, if my wife looked like that, I wouldn't need any help thinking of insults!
Groucho's son Arthur published a brief account of an incident that occurred when Arthur was a child. The family was going through customs and, while filling out a form, Groucho listed his name as Julius Henry Marx and his occupation as smuggler. Thereafter, chaos ensued.
Later in life, Groucho would sometimes note to talk-show hosts, not entirely jokingly, that he was unable to actually insult anyone, because the target of his comment assumed it was a Groucho-esque joke and would laugh.
Despite his lack of formal education, he wrote many books, including his autobiography, Groucho and Me (1959) and Memoirs of a Mangy Lover (1963). He was personal friends with such literary figures as T. S. Eliot and Carl Sandburg. Much of his personal correspondence with those and other figures is featured in the book The Groucho Letters (1967) with an introduction and commentary on the letters written by Groucho, who donated his letters to the Library of Congress.
Irving Berlin quipped, The world would not be in such a snarl, had Marx been Groucho instead of Karl. In his book The Groucho Phile, Marx says I've been a liberal Democrat all my life, and I frankly find Democrats a better, more sympathetic crowd.... I'll continue to believe that Democrats have a greater regard for the common man than Republicans do. Marx & Lennon: The Parallel Sayings was published in 2005; the book records similar sayings between Groucho Marx and John Lennon.
Francis of Assisi | Wikipedia audio article
This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
Francis of Assisi
Listening is a more natural way of learning, when compared to reading. Written language only began at around 3200 BC, but spoken language has existed long ago.
Learning by listening is a great way to:
- increases imagination and understanding
- improves your listening skills
- improves your own spoken accent
- learn while on the move
- reduce eye strain
Now learn the vast amount of general knowledge available on Wikipedia through audio (audio article). You could even learn subconsciously by playing the audio while you are sleeping! If you are planning to listen a lot, you could try using a bone conduction headphone, or a standard speaker instead of an earphone.
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The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.
- Socrates
SUMMARY
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Saint Francis of Assisi (Italian: San Francesco d'Assisi, Latin: Sanctus Franciscus Assisiensis), born Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone, informally named as Francesco (1181/1182 – 3 October 1226), was an Italian Catholic friar, deacon and preacher. He founded the men's Order of Friars Minor, the women's Order of Saint Clare, the Third Order of Saint Francis and the Custody of the Holy Land. Francis is one of the most venerated religious figures in history.Pope Gregory IX canonized Francis on 16 July 1228. Along with Saint Catherine of Siena, he was designated Patron saint of Italy. He later became associated with patronage of animals and the natural environment, and it became customary for Catholic and Anglican churches to hold ceremonies blessing animals on his feast day of 4 October. He is often remembered as the patron saint of animals. In 1219, he went to Egypt in an attempt to convert the Sultan to put an end to the conflict of the Crusades. By this point, the Franciscan Order had grown to such an extent that its primitive organizational structure was no longer sufficient. He returned to Italy to organize the Order. Once his community was authorized by the Pope, he withdrew increasingly from external affairs. Francis is also known for his love of the Eucharist. In 1223, Francis arranged for the first Christmas live nativity scene. According to Christian tradition, in 1224 he received the stigmata during the apparition of Seraphic angels in a religious ecstasy, which would make him the first person in Christian tradition to bear the wounds of Christ's Passion. He died during the evening hours of 3 October 1226, while listening to a reading he had requested of Psalm 142 (141).