Internet Misinformation

After a 12-year misunderstanding which illustrates how effectively the internet can spread misinformation, the record could finally be put straight thanks to the diligence of a Hertfordshire librarian and blogger.  Thomas Pitchford, aka “The Library Spider”, has verified that the poem – “Two Sunflowers Move into the Yellow Room” – was written by a 1980s US poet, Nancy Willard, and published in an anthology of hers dedicated to Blake’s work, A Visit to William Blake’s Inn.  Mr Pitchford, who was modestly refusing to answer any queries at his school, Hitchin School for Boys, wrote on his blog:  “Teachers searching the internet for examples of poetry to use in their instruction are finding [the] poem.  A great number of the suggested websites claim the poem was written by William Blake.”  The error, he says, began in 2001 on the website Think Quest set up by the Oracle Education Foundation and including a collection of online educational resources designed by students around the world.  A group of students were looking for poems for a project to post on the website and were searching for old poems which were not subject to copyright law – and thought the poems were actually written by William Blake.  “With this mistake now in public view on a site that specifically promotes itself to be visited by other school students and their teachers, one would think within a matter of days or at most months either a reader of Blake or of children’s books would have spotted the fault and called for its correction,” Mr Pitchford wrote on his blog.  “Instead, some people began linking to this page as a resource and a few others clearly copied the sources these children had gathered and presented them online as a lesson plan of their own creation.  The misattribution began to spread,” he explained.  In his own survey of primary schools in three UK counties, he discovered around one in four was using it as a poem attributed to Blake. 

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/school-librarian-puts-the-world-straight-on-fake-william-blake-poem-8667575.html 

Long prized for its healthful qualities, especially as an aid to digestion, mint brings an illustrious history to the table.  According to Greek mythology, mint was the name of a cheeky nymph about to be seduced by Hades when Queen Persephone turned her into a plant.  Pliny the Elder opined that the herb reanimated the spirit.  The Romans introduced native mint to the Brits, who in turn probably brought it to America on one of the Pilgrim voyages, along with a slew of other herbs and plants.  Mint is a natural pick-me-up.  It wakes up a glass of iced tea and does something magical to chocolate every time.  Add chopped mint to cut-up fresh fruit, along with a squeeze of lime, and you've got a low-cal dessert with eye-popping appeal.  Mixed with other fresh herbs or alone, mint adds bright notes to a simple summer salad.  http://www.philly.com/philly/food/20130627_Mint_s_a_cheeky_herb_that_will_take_over_your_garden_and_transform_your_summer_recipes.html

For every day Congress is in session, Capitol Words http://capitolwords.org/#http%3A//capitolwords.org?terma=war&termb=peace&_suid=137  visualizes the most frequently used words in the Congressional Record, giving you an at-a-glance view of which issues lawmakers address on a daily, weekly, monthly and yearly basis. Capitol Words lets you see what are the most popular words spoken by lawmakers on the House and Senate floor.  The contents of the Congressional Record are downloaded daily from the website of the Government Printing Office  http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/browse/collection.action?collectionCode=CREC   Source:    http://www.bespacific.com/34460/ 

The Computer Language Company was founded in 1978 by husband-wife team Alan Freedman and Irma Morrison.  When Freedman couldn’t find a computer dictionary that would meaningfully augment the computer literacy classes he taught to Fortune 500 companies, he set out on a quest to purchase his first computer and write this “glaringly missing” reference.  The year 1980 was explosive for personal computers, and buzzwords were everywhere.  The self-published 300-term, 60-page The Computer Glossary was a huge success in hundreds of seminars.  Within a few years, writing the dictionary became a full-time job, and after 30 years, 300 terms grew to more than 25,000.   See Computer Destop Encyclopedia at:  http://computerlanguage.com/  Source:  http://www.bespacific.com/the-computer-desktop-encyclopedia/ 

Design and Use Policy for Clearview Alphabet    A number of questions have been asked with regard to the Interim Approval dated September 2, 2004 for the alternative highway sign letter style, Clearview^TM.  http://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/res-interim_approvals.htm  The use of this sans serif alternative lettering style is completely optional and is neither required nor recommended.  The FHWA has prepared the following information to assist agencies, sign designers, and sign fabricators in understanding the application and design parameters to be consistent with the Interim Approval if an agency has chosen, and received FHWA approval, to use the alternative alphabets.  See images and answers to frequently asked questions at:  http://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/resources/clearviewdesignfaqs/ 

Spanish ham is greatly prized as a gourmet food both in Spain and around the world.  It is eaten regularly in most Spanish households.  In fact, not only is Spain the largest producer of air-dried-cured ham, Spaniards are the number one consumers in the world.  There are basically two different types of cured hams in Spain, jamón serrano or “mountain ham,” andjamón ibérico or “Iberian ham.”

Jamón Serrano - There are almost 2,000 producers of Serrano ham in Spain.  Eighteen of these producers formed the Consorcio de Jamón Serrano Español in 1990.  The name Jamón Serrano is now controlled by the European Union since the year 2000 and it protects the processing of this product, although it does not apply to a specific region.  Look for the label that has an "S" in the shape of a ham, and says SERRANO ESPAÑOL if you want to buy Jamón Serrano from the consortium.  The mountain or Serrano ham is made from several different breeds of white pigs, such as Duroc, Landrace or Large White.  They are fed mainly cereals and cured from 7 to 16 months.
Jamón Ibérico – This ham is made only from the Iberian pig.  The breeding of the Iberian pig is restricted to an area in Southwestern Spain and Southeastern Portugal.  Although fed some cereals, these pigs also roam countryside and feed on acorns. The curing process lasts from 14 to 36 months.  http://spanishfood.about.com/od/sausages/a/jamonintro.htm 

Schwarzwälder Schinken (Black Forest Ham)  Tall firs, fresh spring water, pure air – pristine nature:  This is the dramatic stage for the appearance of one of the world’s best-known smoked raw hams:  Schwarzwälder Schinken.  Ham has been produced by people living in the Black Forest this way for more than 200 years – according to a process of salting and smoking over local firs and spruces which ensures the hams keep long and taste especially delicious.  The manufactories in the Black Forest have stuck to this traditional process down to the present day, being awarded the EU’s “Protected Geographic Indication” seal - "PGI", for short, in 1997.   Black Forest Ham is a raw ham without any bones, which means that the meat has to be removed from the bone in the next stage of processing.  This is the job of the meat packer.  Boneless meat has a distinctive advantage:  it keeps for a particularly long time.  When all the bones have been removed, a joint cut to form weighs approximately seven to ten kilos.  The spicing can begin. The secret of any successful quality products is the mix of spices.  This also goes for Black Forest Ham.  Every producer swears by its own recipe, with which they give their product an individual flavour.  But there are some spices which are used by almost everyone:  in addition to pickling salt above all garlic, pepper, coriander and juniper berries. http://www.schwarzwaelder-schinken-verband.com/index.php?seite=herstellung 

July 10, 2013  The New York Public Library's plan to renovate its central branch threatens free speech by removing 3.5 million books, demolishing underground stacks and selling off two major buildings, writers claim in court.  The petitioners are Pulitzer Prize-winning historian David Levering Lewis, independent scholar Jacob Morris, Rutgers University Professor Mark Alan Hewitt, New York University Professor Ruth Ann Stewart and publisher Jack MaCrae.  They sued New York City, the City Council, the NYC Department of Buildings, its Landmarks Preservation Commission and Mayor Michael Bloomberg in New York County Supreme Court.  The library defends its Central Library Plan as necessary step to restore a 102-year-old landmark and preserve its public spaces.  Designed by nonparty architectural firm Foster + Partners, the library says the construction will double the amount of space in the building and reopen spots previously used for staff and storage.  Library spokeswoman Angela Montefinise said the stacks, which hold about 3 million volumes, fail to preserve books properly because they lack temperature and humidity controls.  They also protest the plan to merge the collections and services of nearby Mid-Manhattan Library and Science, Industry and Business Library (SIBL) into the Schwartzman Building.  "By merging the SIBL and the Mid-Manhattan Library with the Central Library, all within the Central Library building, the CLP will cause the number of annual visitors to the Central Library to more than double," the complaint states.  "However, the space in which the SIBL and Mid-Manhattan Library will reside is less than one-third the size of the space they previously occupied.  Therefore, implementation of the [plan] will significantly reduce the space available to each visitor of the Central Library."  The scholars claim the plan runs afoul of the New York State Constitution, the State Environmental Quality Review Act, New York State Education Law and the terms of the charity trust underpinning the library.
They seek a permanent injunction barring the implementation of the Central Library Plan and stopping the sale of the Mid-Manhattan Library and SIBL.  Adam Klasfeld  http://www.courthousenews.com/2013/07/10/59231.htm