Purple Hyacinth Vine or Hyacinth Bean Vine

Several years ago while walking in the neighborhood I found this vine. I purloined a few seeds and the next spring planted some in my yard. For several years(sometimes skipping a year) I would plant the seeds and always a beautiful vine. The color that interests me is purple and in the photo I tried to show purple flowers, purple seed pods, and purple veins in the leaves. The seeds even have a little purple when they first come out of the pod. This vine was one of Thomas Jefferson's favorites. The seeds are poisonous until cooked, edible but not so good.

Stalin after

Recent removal of Joseph Stalin in Gorgi, Georgia. Maybe the last statue of Stalin on earth.

Stalin before

AMAZON

Learned the history of this word from "The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest". I am enjoying this final book of the trilogy and am disappointed that the author died.

Word History : In classical legend the Amazons were a tribe of warrior women. Their name is supposedly derived from Greek a-mazos, "without a breast," because according to the legend they cut off their right breasts so as to be better able to shoot with a bow and arrow. This folk etymology, like most folk etymologies, is incorrect, but the Amazons of legend are not so completely different from the historical Amazons, who were also warriors. The historical Amazons were Scythians, an Iranian people renowned for their cavalry. The first Greeks to come into contact with the Iranians were the Ionians, who lived on the coast of Asia Minor and were constantly threatened by the Persians, the most important of the Iranian peoples. Amazōn is the Ionian Greek form of the Iranian word ha-mazan, "fighting together." The regular Greek form would be hamazōn, but because the Ionians dropped their aitches like Cockneys, hamazōn became amazōn, the form taken into the other Greek dialects.

Albrecht Dürer's Rhinoceros

This woodcut was on a recent cover of JAMA. Durer is (as you know) THE most famous woodcut artist of all times. Interesting he never saw a rhino. So the armor plates are not real nor is the "Durer horn" on the back. A rhino did make it to Lisbon in 1515 not seen in Europe since Roman times. It is believable that people supposed that this was a unicorn(the possible sire of the methicorn).

Even though Durer's inaccuracies were obvious his woodcut remained in natural history texts for 200 years.

Drunk History: Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr

I'm not sure how I came across this video but I did and it is quite funny. There are several in the series and some big stars are featured. For example this video contains Michael Cera of Superbad fame starring as Hamilton. This is a subject we at the CC have discussed in great detail and it serves as an entertaining refresher.

As I mentioned there are several in the series, even one with Jack Black. My second favorite is probably volume 4, William Henry Harrison. Enjoy.

THE ZOO KEEPER'S WIFE

This is the book I am listening to now. I think it is great, I have never heard of the author , but I am her biggest fan now.

She is a poet and her writing reflects it.

It is a narrative, historical story, and I am sure ALL our bloggers will want to listen.

Joseph Stalin statue where is it?

finally here is the statue.