Is it April Fool’s Day yet? This has got to be a joke: Send Back Liberty.

I did not know Amanda Davis, nor had I been aware of her writing, but I took note of her obituary because her poignant death resonated with me on many points. She lived across the bay in Oakland, teaching at Mills College, sister school to my alma mater. We were the same age and shared a love of weaving written words into stories and slices of life. After reading the eloquent remembrances of her on McSweeney’s, many from well-known writers, I feel that I almost know her, and sadly, wish that I could have known her.

It’s virtual Broadway in Thousand Oaks, California as The NY Times delves into the use of supplemental electronic music in touring productions. In this somewhat scaled down production of Miss Saigon, the actors are non-Equity and live musicans number twelve (including the operator of the Sinfonia system). Equity touring productions typically make the rounds first, with a larger budget, but there is a market for the leaner productions in smaller locales where local theaters are more willing to guarantee the necessary minimums to the producers. The Sinfonia operator points out that it is unlikely producers would hire more musicians to fill out the sound if the virtual system were unavailable. In other words, he doesn’t feel he is taking away jobs. But as technology improves, better traveling Broadway will be possible with fewer salaries, and the bean counters, the local theaters, and most audience members are not going to complain.

The NY Times takes a look at the struggle between the caretakers of feral cat colonies and those who want to keep the cat population indoors. Birds and other wildlife are threatened by outdoor cats, and growing feral cat populations. Although the typical purpose of feeding feral colonies is to keep the population in check, the reality is sometimes different. People keep abandoning their pets to the wild, which is something I can not fathom myself.

One-of-a-kind, oil-paint on canvas movie posters from Ghana. Which reminds me, I never did buy a “Room With A View” poster in Italian like I had intended to in college. But at least the book is online. (via memepool)

Samsung’s Matrix phone was shown at CeBIT and there’s a closeup shot of it available on Gizmodo. There has been some news coverage regarding Samsung’s licensing deal, which they hope will help in their goal to increase cellular phone sales by 20% this year.

The branding of unique diamond cuts for market differentiation continues as the diamond industry evolves to combat bad publicity from conflict diamonds and accomodate new mine sources. Last week the 13.42 carat “American Star” diamond stopped over in a Orinda, California jewelry store on its tour to drum up publicity for the EightStar Diamond Company. EightStar’s story begins with the invention of the “firescope” by a Japanese diamond merchant. Designed to measure how much light leaks out the wrong sides of a cut diamond, the firescope was not a popular tool as it clearly illustrates imperfections in many an expertly cut diamond. EightStar was founded to produce and market diamonds cut to such perfection that a firescope shows no leakage of light. The eight-rayed pattern revealed by the firescope on a perfect diamond inspired the company name. After initially concentrating on the Japanese market, EightStar began focusing its U.S. operations, sending American cutters to train in Japan and, after the conflict diamond issues arose, deciding to buy all their gems weighing under two carats from Canadian mines. They paid a visit to TechTV last year. Priced at $2.4 million, the American Star had no takers in Orinda, but publicity for scientifically perfect diamonds so near to Sili Valley can only help business.

There are some lovely design photos in the Library of Congress’ online exhibition of The Work of Charles and Ray Eames. (via Coudal Partners)

Did you know? French toast was named after Joseph French who first served it at a roadside tavern in Albany in 1724. (thanks Matt!)

UPDATE: Grant Barrett writes in with the following:

The Oxford English Dictionary has a citation for French toast under the
entry for “French,” some 64 years before Mr. French of Albany
supposedly coined the term in 1724. It appears to be the same food,
even if the recipe varies a bit (mainly by the absence of eggs).
Today’s French call it “pain perdu,” for the record.

From the OED, Second Edition:
“1660 R. MAY Accomplisht Cook VI. 162 French Toasts. Cut French Bread,
and toast it in pretty thick toasts on a clean gridiron, and serve them
steeped in claret, sack, or any wine, with sugar and juyce of orange.”

Such folk etymologies are common, but worth verifying.

Grant is webmaster at American Dialect Society and edits World New York. He hits one of my hot buttons by writing in his French Toast entry: “The instant I see a dubious etymology posted on a web site as fact, everything else on the page is immediately devalued. It’s a flag for lack of intellectual rigor.” I’d like to pass this one off as “lack of sleep resulting in lack of research” but I’ll take the blame square across the chin. This type of thing is exactly why I started this weblog. It’s too fast and easy to spread misinformation on the Internet. I should take the time to do the research, not take the easy way out.

Voting for the California quarter is over and the results are in. The governor will choose 3-5 designs to send to the U.S. Mint. None of the steps so far has been binding. The governor doesn’t have the follow the poll results and the Mint doesn’t have to follow the governor’s recommendations, though they will likely refine one of the selections he sends in.