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April 2021

"This Just In..."

Happy April 1!

Normally we would have a prank for you. "Daniels servicing homes via C5A Super Tankers from 5,000 feet" or "putting a tunnel under the Connecticut" to make it easier for Daniels to serve our customers.

But we thought...yeah...no...not this year. We need a bit of reality.

And Spring.

How badly did we need Spring? Sunshine and longer days. We're getting closer to something that passes for normal! Picnic with friends. Family gatherings. Ballgames and proms. Days at the beach and nights counting fireflies.

Spring is here and so is the latest issue of "This Just In..." Be honest, which were you looking forward to more? Oh. Well, ok, but here's April! Enjoy.



Since we can’t travel to Europe quite yet – we thought we’d bring a bit of Europe to you. So, enjoy this little travelogue.

The Best Door in Paris

At 29 Avenue Rapp in the 7th arrondissement, very close to the Eiffel Tower. Built between 1899 and 1901, this Art Nouveau masterpiece by Jules Lavirotte is quite striking. The detailed door was designed by sculptor Jean-Baptiste Larrive and sculpted by a variety of others.

Spain has millions of Poplar trees. 



And yes, that is a carpet of poplar fluff burning – cleanly - to reveal the grass below at the Parque del Cidacos de Calahorra, Spain.

According to geographyrealm.com the seed fluff produced by poplars is highly flammable. Yet, the combustible seeds which can quickly catch fire burn off, leaving underlying grass and other vegetation untouched.

Don’t try this at home.

It’s April. We need Spring. We need art. We need…Spring Art. Right? 

So, we’ve spring-keled Spring-inspired art throughout this month’s epistle.

Pieter Brueghel The Younger, 1622

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In the first of a few posts coming in the next months that point to a return to “normalcy” we leave you with Fitzgerald’s thoughts about life in France during the 1920 Spanish influenza outbreak.

Dearest Rosemary,

It was a limpid dreary day, hung as in a basket from a single dull star. I thank you for your letter. Outside, I perceive what may be a collection of fallen leaves tussling against a trash can. It rings like jazz to my ears. The streets are that empty. 

It seems as though the bulk of the city has retreated to their quarters, rightfully so. At this time, it seems very poignant to avoid all public spaces. 

Even the bars, as I told Hemingway, but to that he punched me in the stomach, to which I asked if he had washed his hands. He hadn’t. He is much the denier, that one. Why, he considers the virus to be just influenza. I’m curious of his sources.

The officials have alerted us to ensure we have a month’s worth of necessities. Zelda and I have stocked up on red wine, whiskey, rum, vermouth, absinthe, white wine, sherry, gin, and lord, if we need it, brandy. Please pray for us.

You should see the square, oh, it is terrible. I weep for the damned eventualities this future brings. The long afternoons rolling forward slowly on the ever-slick bottomless highball. Z. says it’s no excuse to drink, but I just can’t seem to steady my hand.

 In the distance, from my brooding perch, the shoreline is cloaked in a dull haze where I can discern an unremitting penance that has been heading this way for a long, long while. And yet, amongst the cracked cloud line of an evening’s cast, I focus on a single strain of light, calling me forth to believe in a better morrow.

Faithfully yours,

F. Scott Fitzgerald

Major mustache macho here.

So, twirl yours and tell us here who these two desperados are? -- And in what film/series are these taken from? Winner gets a pristine $25 Amazon gift card, perfect for purchasing grooming products.

(Great American potato…you are swell.)

A steamboat dubbed the "Idaho" travelled the Columbia River and was once thought to be the inspiration behind the state's name. It's since been discovered the word "Idaho" was made up by an aspiring Colorado politician.

No one woke up this morning wondering, “How did Idaho get its name?” Tomorrow, you won’t have to worry…

You may have run into the theory that Idaho is a Native American word meaning “gem of the mountains” or "sunrise". No.

“People love a good story and people like to make things up,” says Elizabeth Jacox, a historian with TAG Historical Research in Boise.

The name Idaho can be traced back to a man named George Willing, a white man - not a Native American. The Philadelphia-born doctor had fraudulently won an election as a delegate from the territory that later became Colorado.

Willing planted a seed that his territory should be named Idaho – an idea that found its way to the U.S. Senate in 1860. But Jacox says shortly before the name was to be ratified, lawmakers discovered it was a fraud.

“At the very last minute, Idaho was pulled from that bill and it became Colorado Territory instead,” Jacox says. Yet, the name Idaho persisted. 

The Idaho Territory broke off from the Washington Territory just a few years later, with elected officials who embraced the name forgetting the word wasn’t a Native American term – or that it had any meaning at all.

If you had to give meaning to a made up word, though, historian Elizabeth Jacox agree on what it should be. “…what I think of is our scenic beauty, so I guess the sun does rise over the mountains and there is romance in her name,” Jacox says.

Banksy, Spring Rain

This heap is composed of the shredded remains of used wool rags, socks, clothes, and remnants from the textile industry.

Today when most people hear the word shoddy, they think of an adjective meaning “low quality” or “badly fabricated.” 

But, in fact, the term came into existence in the early decades of the nineteenth century as a noun, referring to a new textile material produced from old rags and tailors’ clippings. 

Workers made it by shredding wool rags in what were christened “devils,” grinding machines equipped with sharp teeth. Recycled waste and other leftovers were turned into plentiful “new” raw materials in the “shoddy towns” of Batley and Dewsbury, England.

Over the next century, shoddy…was widely used in the production of suits, army uniforms, slaves’ clothing, carpet lining, and mattress stuffing.…" Who knew?

An excerpt from Shoddy: From Devil’s Dust to the Renaissance of Rags via Harvard Magazine.

Clean Your Ducks.

Yes, that’s a typo. Sorry, wanted your attention.



If you are one of the thousands of people who have added a Mitsubishi Ductless Split air conditioning system over the past four-five years, Daniels has a new, important service for you.

It is our Head Cleaning Service.

Most of you probably pull the system’s screen, and vacuum or wash it out each year. But much of the real dirt is captured inside the system. We're talk dust, dander, pet hair, pollen and the occasional creepy-crawly. Filth.

Just some of the filth in your AC

Daniels’s new service places a specially designed “bib” around the unit and then uses a small power washer with directional hose to clean the head completely.

Usually takes about three hours to do two heads (most customers have two head systems). A four-head system can be done in less then five. 

If you, or someone in your family, suffer from breathing issues, hay fever, asthma or just want to breath cleaner air – give us a call. Here’s more information and here’s a video that provides a brief glimpse at the process. 

Now, call John Daniels at 860 813 9114.

Chesleigh Meade, Venus of Hoboken

Professional sculptor Stefanie Rocknak beat out 265 other artists from 42 states and 13 countries to create a sculpture honoring author and poet Edgar Allan Poe that will be displayed in Boston, Poe’s birthplace. 

A five-member artist selection committee decided on Rocknak’s stunning work that shows Poe with a suitcase in hand and a raven in front of him.

The statue is located at the corner of Boylston and Charles Streets in downtown Boston.

EVERY STATE'S LEAST FAVORITE STATE

(According to @mattisurelee's instagram followers)

Only Florida would hate itself. OK, maybe not “hate” but strongly dislike!

Where, exactly are we? If you think you know – and I’m sure that at least 115 of you will either know – or will find out! – tell us here. You may win one of those shiny new Amazon gift cards. 

Last month – Andy F. recognized the Morse Coded line: Beware The Ides of March – and was fastest to answer! Kay K. correctly identified all four Batman actors and characters – and Elise S. and 81 of you recognized Kummakivi Balancing Rock at Ruokolahti, Finland. 

Here’s the perfect Tuesday night pasta dish for everyone in the family. 

Spicy Clam Pasta With Bacon, Peas and Basil

Ingredients:

• 1 cup basil leaves, loosely packed, plus some reserved for garnish
• 1 cup Italian parsley leaves, loosely packed
• 2 small garlic cloves, minced
•  Salt and pepper
• ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 6 ounces bacon, cut into lardons
• 2 (10-ounce) cans baby clams, drained
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped serrano chile
•  Pinch of red-pepper flakes
• 1 cup frozen peas, thawed
• 1 pound spaghetti
•  Lemon wedges

Preparation:

1. Put a pot of water on to boil and make it very salty.
2. Over medium heat, render bacon in its own fat until browned and crisp but not hard, 5 to 8 minutes. Remove and set aside. Pour off fat but leave a small amount in the pan, just to coat the bottom.
3. Increase heat to medium-high, add 2 tablespoons olive oil, the clams, serrano chile and red pepper. Season with salt and pepper and cook for 2 minutes, stirring and coating clams well. Add peas and warm through.
4. Boil pasta and cook until slightly underdone. Drain pasta and add to pan with clams. Turn heat to medium-high and stir all together. Add a splash of pasta water, if it seems dry. Add basil purée and toss well. Top with bacon and reserved basil leaves. Pass lemon wedges.

Greg Brehm, Home in Hoboken

Now we’re off to England.

The Roman Baths in Bath, England is a well preserved site that was used for public bathing. The earliest parts of the complex date back to 70AD. 

There are four main features: the Sacred Spring, the Roman Temple, the Roman Bath House and the Museum. 300,000+ gallons of steaming spring water reaching 115oF still fill the bathing site every single day. While you are unable to swim in the baths, (naturally) self guided audio tours are available in a number of languages. 

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Claude Monet, Orchard in Spring 1866

What Billy Joel Knows...

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