BLS Consumer Price Index Summary, June 2009 News release:
The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.9 percent in June before seasonal adjustment, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor has reported. Over the last 12 months the index has fallen 1.4 percent, as a 25.5 percent decline in the energy index has more than offset increases of 2.1 percent in the food index and 1.7 percent in the index for all items less food and energy. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the CPI-U increased 0.7 percent in June after rising 0.1 percent in May. The acceleration was largely caused by the gasoline index, which rose 17.3 percent in June and accounted for over 80 percent of the increase in the all items index. The index for energy rose 7.4 percent in June, with a decline in the electricity index partly offsetting the sharp increase in gasoline. The food index, which had fallen each of the last four months, was unchanged in June.

The Georgia O'Keeffe Museum, in Santa Fe, N.M. has tried its best since 2005 to stop Fisk University from selling half of its O’Keeffe collection. The museum, which controls the estate of the famous artist argues that while she willed the artwork collection to the school prior to her death, she didn't want her work sold. Because Fisk officials are looking to sell, museum executives say, the school should be barred from making such transactions. On July 15, the Tennessee Court of Appeals sided with the school, ruling that Fisk owns O'Keeffe's work at this point and therefore is free to do what it wants with its 101-piece, $60-million collection. Click here to read the Associated Press story and here to read the story in The Tennessean newspaper. WSJ Law Blog July 16, 2009

People with an Elliot Lake Public Library card can check out fishing rods, reels and a limited amount of tackle. Sue Morin, head librarian at the Elliot Lake library, said the program started in Elliot Lake, Ontario last month. The Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunter (OFAH), with the encouragement of the Elliot Lake Rod and Gun Club (ELRAG), donated eight fishing combos including rods, reels and the required tackle. In addition, the federation replenishes the gear as needed. If the OFAH does not replace some of the items, Balfour said the ELRAG would take care of those, or repair reels, and provide additional equipment for brief periods, if needed. They're also planning to supply some ice-fishing gear in the winter. Some of the tackle was also donated by local stores and by John Carmichael of the All-Anglers Fishing Club in Elliot Lake. Morin had heard about the program offered to libraries by the OFAH while at a library conference in Sudbury in May. "The Powassan Public Library started with the program last year," said Morin. She learned that the OFAH supplies all the needed fishing gear to the library at no charge. There are about 16 libraries in the province that are involved in the OFAH's tackle-share program, she added.
http://www.thesudburystar.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1650652

Library graffiti at the University of Chicago
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/jacketcopy/2009/07/library-graffiti-at-the-university-of-chicago.html

Normally, lines at the public library would be a good thing. But not when the lines are caused by problems with the New York Public Library’s new online catalog system.
The system, which integrates the catalogs for circulating and noncirculating materials and was designed to improve search functions, was introduced July 6. It handles all of the library’s data, both online and at the branches. The malfunctions caused delays for patrons waiting to check out or renew books at the branches, and impeded access to personal accounts that allow users to renew or hold books online. The problems continued on July 7. At 1:40 p.m. at the Mid-Manhattan Library on Fifth Avenue at 40th Street, a line of more than 50 people stretched past an escalator. Harried librarians scanned books while patrons tapped their feet, checked their watches and occasionally rolled their eyes.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/08/nyregion/08library.html?_r=1&ref=nyregion

Sculpted by nature
yardang (YAHR-dahng) noun
An elongated ridge formed by wind erosion, often resembling the keel of an upside down ship. From Turkic yar (steep bank).
pingo (PING-go) noun
A mound or hill of soil-covered ice in permafrost, pushed up by the pressure of water seeping in. From Inuit pinguq/pingu (small hill).
scree (skree) noun
Rock debris at the base or the side of a mountain. From Old Norse skritha (landslide).
inselberg (IN-suhl-burg, -zuhl-) noun
An isolated mountain or hill rising abruptly from its surrounding. In the US it's known as a monadnock. From German Insel (island) + Berg (mountain), ultimately from the Indo-European root bhergh- (high) which is also the source of iceberg, belfry, borough, burg, burglar, bourgeois, fortify, and force.
karst (karst) noun
An area of irregular limestone in which erosion has produced fissures, sinks, etc.
From German, after the Karst, a limestone plateau near Trieste, Slovenia.
A.Word.A.Day

To your health:
As a parent (or even a baby-sitting relative), it can be difficult to get a child to eat properly. Here are some quick rules to keep in mind when caring for a little one:
• Don't bribe or force the child to eat.
• Set a good example and eat nutritiously yourself.
• Ask the child, if old enough, to help prepare the food with you.
• Don't give up trying new foods with the child.
• Make mealtimes enjoyable by discussing interesting topics! Healthyroads.com