Melville
Louis Kossuth (Melvil) Dewey (1851–1931) While
still a student, he founded the Library Bureau, which sold high-quality
index-cards and filing-cabinets, and established the standard dimensions for
catalog cards. As a young adult he
advocated spelling reform; he changed his name from the
usual "Melville" to "Melvil", without redundant letters,
and for a time changed his surname to "Dui". From 1883 to 1888 he was chief librarian at
Columbia University. During his time as
director of the New York State
Library (1888–1906)
Dewey established a program of traveling libraries. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melvil_Dewey
Melvil Dewey,
at the age of 5, alphabetized the spices in his mother's pantry. His high school essay on the superiority of
the metric system "over all others consists in the fact that all its
scales are purely decimal." Dewey
was convinced that it was no accident that he had been born on December 10, the
same day that the French National Assembly adopted the platinum meter bar back
in 1799. Joshua Kendall American Libraries magazine March/April 2014
Comparing something to a grain of sand is usually supposed to mean that it’s small or
insignificant, but Dr. Gary Greenberg’s microscopic photography aims to turn
this stereotype on its head. His
photographs of miniscule grains of sands magnified up to 300 times reveal that
each grain of sand can be beautiful and unique.
Greenberg’s story is a fascinating one. First of all, he invented the
high-definition 3D microscopes that he takes his pictures on, resulting in 18
U.S. patents under his name. He was a
photographer and filmmaker until age 33, when he moved from LA to London and
earned a Ph. D. in biomedical research. See
spectacular photographs and link to other photos such as "If It Fits, I Sits: These 21 Cats Prove That No Space Is Too Tight" at http://www.boredpanda.com/magnified-sand-grains-microscope-photography-dr-gary-greenberg/
In San Sebastian, Spain, a seaside resort town in Basque country, locals in
black berets mingle with tourists along the narrow stone streets edged by the
gleaming Bay of La Concha, just 12 miles from France. You know it's a mecca for foodies because
there are five Michelin-starred restaurants in this city of fewer than 200,000
people, including Arzak and Akelarre, both honored with the premier three stars
for 2013. But you don't have to drop a
bundle and reserve your spot far in advance to explore some of the finest
Basque cuisine. That's because you're in
the birthplace of the pintxo (pronounced pin-cho), and there's no shortage of
places where you can sample this ultimate finger food. Pintxo bars aren't as upscale as the starred
restaurants, of course. But they offer
an appealing gastronomic experience that melds tradition and innovation with
the Basque love of fresh local ingredients and the camaraderie that comes from
sharing food and drink in a casual atmosphere with friends and family. Pintxos are not as large as tapas, the small
plates of Spanish cuisine that have become ubiquitous across the United States.
Pintxos are designed to be just a bite
or two, often served on just a napkin, not a plate.
Anne Rice has tackled vampires, werewolves and witches in her
fiction, but now the bestselling novelist is taking on a real-life enemy: the
anonymous "anti-author gangsters" who attack and threaten writers
online. The Interview with the Vampire
author is a signatory to a new petition,
which is rapidly gathering steam, calling on Amazon to remove anonymity from
its reviewers in order to prevent the "bullying and harassment" it
says is rife on the site. "They've
worked their way into the Amazon system as parasites, posting largely under
pseudonyms, lecturing, bullying, seeking to discipline authors whom they see as
their special prey," Rice told the
Guardian. "They're all about power.
They clearly organise, use multiple
identities and brag about their ability to down vote an author's works if the
author doesn't 'behave' as they dictate." She
told the Guardian that "it's an obsession with them, a sport, a full time
hobby". "I think the anti-author gangster bully culture is made
up of individuals who desperately want a place at the table in the
world of books and readers," she said. "I hope Amazon and other book websites do
eventually clean them out. Amazon did
not respond to a request for comment, but Todd Barselow, the freelance editor
who launched the petition, now has almost 1,000 signatories, "with many
comments from people telling why they think this is an important issue,"
he said. "That's really what I was
hoping to see, those comments from authors and/or Amazon customers who have
been affected by these bullies and harassers on the Amazon platform. I think if anything will get Mr Bezos's
attention, it will be that feedback. I
just hope that it will do some good." Barselow plans to deliver the petition to
Amazon once he has gathered "a few thousand" signatures. Alison Flood
Read more at http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/mar/04/anne-rice-protests-bullying-amazon-petition
Honey is a sweet food made by bees using nectar from flowers. The variety produced by honey bees (the genus Apis)
is the one most commonly referred to, as it is the type of honey collected by
most beekeepers and consumed by people. Honey bees transform nectar into honey by a
process of regurgitation and
evaporation. They store it as a primary
food source in wax honeycombs inside the beehive.
Honey collection is an ancient activity. Humans apparently began hunting for honey at
least 8,000 years ago, as evidenced by a cave painting in Valencia, Spain.
The
painting is a Mesolithic rock painting, showing two
honey-hunters collecting honey and honeycomb from a wild bee nest. The figures are depicted carrying baskets or
gourds, and using a ladder or series of ropes to reach the wild
nest. So far, the oldest remains of
honey have been found in Georgia. Archaeologists have found honey remains on the
inner surface of clay vessels unearthed an ancient tomb, dating back to some
4,700–5,500 years ago. In ancient
Georgia, honey was packed for people's journeys into the afterlife. And more than one type, too – along for the
trip were linden, berry, and a meadow-flower variety. In 2012, China, Turkey, and Ukraine were the top producers of natural
honey. Significant regional producers of
honey include United States of
America (ranked
fourth worldwide) and Russia (ranked fifth worldwide). Read more and see images at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honey
Spread the Thread, a non-profit
organization is collecting clothing donations through March 14 to provide
clothes for the impoverished. On
Saturday, March 22, tables will be set up in the parking lot on the corner of
Michigan St. and Adams St. in downtown Toledo from 10 a.m. to noon. People are free to rummage through the clothes
and take as needed. Brooke Rudasill, a sophomore exercise science major, started Spread
the Thread in Lima in 2011. A high
school student at the time, she and her sister realized they had way too many
clothes — clothes the less fortunate needed. Thus, they started Spread the Thread, and held
it quarterly in their hometown. http://www.independentcollegian.com/spread-the-thread-collects-clothing-for-the-less-fortunate-1.2860298#.UySSufldV8E
March 17,
2014 Wayne Knight, best-known for playing Newman on the sitcom
“Seinfeld,” found himself in this awkward situation over the weekend — courtesy
of an Internet death hoax, that weird, undying racket beloved by spammers,
Internet cons, and people with nothing better to do. People start online death
hoaxes for a few reasons. The most
obvious (and perhaps the most pathetic!) is for pure entertainment — the same
reason people carry out pranks. Mark
Bell, a professor who studies digital media at Indiana University, told the New York Times that “people like to lie. They get a thrill from it.” Hoaxes do, in fact, make great
teachable moments, which might explain why we seem to react with just a bit
more skepticism each time they crop up. Here are some things to keep in mind the next
time you spot one:
What’s the source? Is it a Web site you’ve heard
of? If yes, is it the correct URL for
that Web site? Is there a byline on
the story? Breaking news stories will usually include the reporter’s
name; hoaxes, mysteriously, go un-bylined.
Does the story use proper grammar and punctuation? The
first line to this Wayne Knight story should’ve been a tip-off: it’s a run-on that refers to Wayne Knight,
weirdly, as “better known to most for playing one of the most indelible roles
on NBC’s Seinfeld.” Does the story
name sources? In the case of a death or accident, information should
come from a local hospital, police department or medical examiner’s office. “A spokesperson for the first responders” is
too vague. Caitlin Dewey http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/style-blog/wp/2014/03/17/wayne-knight-death-hoax-how-and-why-these-hoaxes-happen-and-how-to-stop-them/?tid=hpModule_1f58c93a-8a7a-11e2-98d9-3012c1cd8d1e&hpid=z11
In
2014, spring begins with the vernal equinox on
March 20 at 12:57 P.M. EDT. Question: Why doesn’t the vernal equinox (equal night) on March 20 have the same
number of hours for day and night? Answer:
Astronomer George Greenstein, had this to say: "There are two
reasons. First, light rays from the Sun
are bent by the Earth's atmosphere. (This is why the Sun appears squashed when it
sets.) They are bent in such a way that
we are actually able to see the Sun before it rises and after it sets. The second reason is that daytime begins the
moment any part of the Sun is over the horizon, and it is
not over until the last part of the Sun has set. If the Sun were to shrink to a starlike point
and we lived in a world without air, the spring and fall equinoxes would truly
have ‘equal nights.’” http://www.almanac.com/content/first-day-spring-vernal-equinox
http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com Issue 1124
March 19, 2014 On this date in 1918,
the U.S. Congress established time zones and
approved daylight saving time.
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