Jan. 14, 2014  Barbara Stripling, president of the American Library Association (ALA), released the following statement regarding the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruling on Verizon v. FCC:  “The American Library Association is extremely disappointed with today’s decision by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals to strike down the FCC’s “Net Neutrality” decision.  ALA has been a long-time supporter of the free flow of information for all people.  Now that the Internet has become the primary mechanism for delivering information, services and applications to the general public, it is especially important that commercial Internet Service Providers are not able to control or manipulate the content of these communications.  “The court’s decision gives commercial companies the astounding legal authority to block Internet traffic, give preferential treatment to certain Internet services or applications, and steer users to or away from certain web sites based on their own commercial interests.  This ruling, if it stands, will adversely affect the daily lives of Americans and fundamentally change the open nature of the Internet, where uncensored access to information has been a hallmark of the communication medium since its inception.  http://www.ala.org/news/press-releases/2014/01/ala-troubled-court-s-net-neutrality-decision

bloviation  Speech or writing that is wordy, pompous, and generally empty of meaning:  verbosity.  Verb:  bloviate.  A person who bloviates is a bloviator.  Back-formation from the mock-Latinate verb bloviate, from "blow".  U.S. President Warren G. Harding (1865-1923) was  known as "the Great Bloviator".  Richard Nordquist  http://grammar.about.com/od/ab/g/Bloviation.htm

Inaugurated by the Academy of American Poets in 1996, National Poetry Month is now held every April, when schools, publishers, libraries, booksellers, and poets throughout the United States band together to celebrate poetry and its vital place in American culture.  Thousands of organizations participate through readings, festivals, book displays, workshops, and other events.  Poem in Your Pocket Day:  Join thousands of individuals across the U.S. and carry a poem in your pocket on April 24, 2014.  Poem-A-Day:  Subscribers receive previously unpublished work by contemporary poets, as well as classic and historical poems, delivered daily.  Subscribe to poets.org newsletters at http://www.poets.org/page.php/prmID/41

On June 10, 2013, Librarian of Congress James H. Billington announced the appointment of Natasha Trethewey to second term as the Library's Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry for 2013-2014.  Natasha Trethewey was born in Gulfport, Mississippi on April 26, 1966.  She is the author of four poetry collections and a book of creative non-fiction.  Her honors include the Pulitzer Prize and fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts.  In 2012, she was appointed the State Poet Laureate of Mississippi.  Trethewey, the 19th Poet Laureate, took up her duties in the fall of 2012, opening the Library's annual literary season with a reading of her work in the Coolidge Auditorium.  Her first term coincided with the 75th anniversary of the Library's Poetry and Literature Center and the 1937 establishment of the Consultant-in-Poetry position, which was changed by a federal law in 1986 to Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry.  http://www.loc.gov/poetry/laureate.html  

Natasha Trethewey biography and links to poetry, articles and more http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/natasha-trethewey

wile  a trick or stratagem intended to ensnare or deceive; a beguiling or playful trick; skill in outwitting   http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wil

while  a period of time especially when short and marked by the occurrence of an action or a condition ; the time and effort used (as in the performance of an action)   http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/while

The expression “while away the time” is the only surviving context for a very old use of “while” as a verb meaning “to spend time.”  Many people substitute “wile,” but to wile people is to lure or trick them into doing something—quite different from simply idling away the time.  Even though dictionaries accept “wile away” as an alternative, it makes more sense to stick with the original expression.  http://public.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/wile.html

Fanbox tricks members into giving up their cell phone number and email username and password, then spams the heck out of them and everyone in their address book.  The site bills itself as “the world’s first spam-free email service” (oh the irony!) and also claims to offer members a blogging service.  Now it seems the site has graduated from spam to phishing.  People are receiving emails inviting them to join the site’s “I’ll Pay Later” program, which claims to allow them to advertise their blog, product or service and earn now while paying later.  Don’t have a blog, product or service?  No problem, according to Fanbox.  You can get a cut of the profits from other people’s sales and pay later.  They call this “boosting”.  What they want you to “pay later” are processing fees-fees for money they say you’ve earned through the program.  However these emails are going out to both members and people who’ve never even heard of Fanbox, much less signed up for the program.  The emails tell people they’ve earned hundreds of dollars and can claim them by paying the fee, which is usually $5-$6.  Gullible people who fall for it are encouraged to set up automatic payments to pay those processing fees, and that’s where the scam gets really bad.  Once someone has fallen for it and foolishly linked their Paypal account to their Fanbox account, Fanbox starts helping itself to their money. Users are reporting repeated debits in amounts ranging from $28 to over $100.   Sue Walsh  http://www.allspammedup.com/2013/07/fanbox-spam-turns-into-costly-scam/  Get rid of Fanbox e-mails by right-clicking on the subject heading then "delete message."

Quotes from Hamlet by William Shakespeare  Not a mouse stirring.  Himself the primrose path of dalliance treads.  Neither a borrower nor a lender be:  For loan oft loses both itself and friend.  This above all — to thine own self be true; And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.  But to my mind, — though I am native here And to the manner born, — it is a custom More honour'd in the breach than the observance.  Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.  Therefore, since brevity is the soul of wit, And tediousness the limbs and outward flourishes, I will be brief.  To be, or not to be, — that is the question:  Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune . . .  Find much more plus pictures at http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Hamlet

 Issue 1122  March 14, 2014  On this date in 1994, Anu Garg  started what became Wordsmith.org. and is celebrating its vicennial.  1994 was the year (based on the earliest documented use) when words such as dotcom, spammer, and cybercafe entered the English language.  That was also the year when benjamin and Toronto blessing became part of the language.  On this date in 1903, the Hay–Herrán Treaty, granting the United States the right to build the Panama Canal, was ratified by the United States Senate.   The Colombian Senate would later reject the treaty.  On this date, Pi Day is celebrated around the world. http://www.piday.org/