Christmas 2016 At The Huntington Library & Gardens

Did You Know? - Based on the concept of listening to the sounds of the ocean inside a shell, STUDIOKCA, commissioned by NASA, has created the NASA Orbit Pavilion to immerse visitors in the sounds of satellites orbiting in outer space.

The traveling, nautilus-shaped pavilion provides a space in which to experience the trajectories of 19 satellites orbiting Earth. Made with 3,500 square feet of water-jet cut aluminum panels, the pavilion is "scribed with over 100 'orbital paths' fitted together and bolted to a curved framework of aluminum tubes."

Satellites that study the Earth are passing through space continuously, collecting data on everything from hurricanes to the effects of drought. What if you could make contact with these orbiting spacecraft, and bring them "down to Earth?"

The outdoor installation is the brainchild of Dan Goods and David Delgado, visual strategists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory who worked in collaboration with composer Shane Myrbeck and architect Jason Klimoski of StudioKCA to produce an innovative "soundscape" experience representing the movement of the International Space Station and 19 Earth Science satellites." Inside the large, shell-shaped sculpture, distinctive sounds are emitted as each satellite passes overhead: a human voice, the crashing of a wave, a tree branch moving, a frog croaking. Each sound interprets one of the satellites' missions.

The exhibition inaugurates a new initiative at The Huntington focused on creative collaborations with other organizations. The new project, called "Five," pairs The Huntington with five different organizations over five years, bringing in a range of contemporary artists who will respond to themes drawn from some aspect of the collections. The Library's aerospace history holdings made this first collaboration with NASA/JPL a perfect way to launch the new initiative.

Did You Know? - We got the story.  A Yucca was planted here in 1924 and he finally gave up the ghost and fell over. They dug him out and are awaiting an appropriate set of cacti to take his place.

Did You Know? - Some species of Barrel cactus easily reach over 1 metre (3.3 ft) in height at maturity, and have been known to reach 3 metres (9.8 ft) in some regions. The ribs are numerous and pronounced, and the spines are long and can range in color from yellow to tan to red, depending on the age of the plant and the species. Flowers appear at the top of the plant only after many years.

Barrel cactus buds typically start to bloom in April with a bright yellow or orange flower. Pink and red varieties also exist but occur less frequently. The flowers only appear on the very top of the plant. As the flowers begin to wilt in early May, they may change color. A late summer desert rainstorm can produce a late bloomer as shown in the photo of the orange flowered variety (it bloomed two days after a rain storm in mid August and then continued to bloom right through the end of September).

One should approach a barrel cactus with extreme caution. A puncture to human skin from one of the spines is considered a dirty wound. If the puncture is deep enough to draw blood, antibiotics may be needed; and could take up to several months for the wound to heal properly. Barrel cactus plants are one of the more dangerous cacti to humans in the desert.

Did You Know? - English crumpets are generally circular, roughly 8 cm (3") in diameter and 2 cm (0.8") thick. Their shape comes from being restrained in the pan/griddle by a shallow ring. They have a characteristic flat top with many small pores and a chewy and spongy texture.

They may be cooked until ready to eat warm from the pan but are frequently left slightly under cooked so that they may be cooled and stored before being eaten freshly toasted. They are often eaten with a spread of butter or an alternative, such as jam, honey, chocolate spread, margarine or yeast extract.

Did You Know? - Ginkgo biloba, known as ginkgo or gingko (both pronounced /ˈɡɪŋkoʊ/), also known as the ginkgo tree or the maidenhair tree, is the only living species in the division Ginkgophyta, all others being extinct. It is found in fossils dating back 270 million years. Native to China, the tree is widely cultivated and was introduced early to human history. It has various uses in traditional medicine and as a source of food.

Did You Know? - Sake also spelled saké in English, is a Japanese rice wine made by fermenting rice that has been polished to remove the bran. Unlike wine, in which alcohol (ethanol) is produced by fermenting sugar that is naturally present in grapes, sake is produced by a brewing process more like that of beer, where the starch is converted into sugars before being converted to alcohol.

The brewing process for sake differs from the process for beer in that, for beer, the conversion from starch to sugar and from sugar to alcohol occurs in two discrete steps. Like other rice wines, when sake is brewed, these conversions occur simultaneously. Furthermore, the alcohol content differs between sake, wine, and beer. Wine generally contains 9%–16% ABV, while most beer contains 3%–9%, and undiluted sake contains 18%–20% (although this is often lowered to about 15% by diluting with water prior to bottling).

In the Japanese language, the word "sake" (酒, "liquor", also pronounced shu) can refer to any alcoholic drink, while the beverage called "sake" in English is usually termed nihonshu (日本酒, "Japanese liquor"). Under Japanese liquor laws, sake is labelled with the word seishu (清酒, "clear liquor"), a synonym less commonly used in conversation.