Terri Garey, faithful reader Pam Talley’s sister, received an award on August 2 presented in San Francisco before 2000 people, including Nora Roberts. Terri has two more books on the shelves and has three more under contract. Her debut novel, DEAD GIRLS ARE EASY was awarded Best First Book by Romance Writers of America.
http://tgarey.blogspot.com/2008/08/2008-rita-awards-dead-girls-are-easy.html
A TANK AWAY FROM TOLEDO OR COLUMBUS
The Midwest Sculpture Initiative has organized the Tecumseh Outdoor Sculpture Exhibition in Tecumseh, Michigan from May 1st, 2008 through April 15th, 2009. Tecumseh is located 25 miles southwest of Ann Arbor, Michigan and 45 miles northwest of Toledo, Ohio. Here are pictures and locations of the sculptures, and you will notice the first two shown are by Toledoan Calvin Babich.
http://www.msisculpture.com/exhibits/Tecumseh2008-09.htm
Ten of the fourteen sculptures are on Chicago Boulevard, Tecumseh’s main street. Pick up the 2008-2009 Art Trail Map brochure at the public library, 215 North Ottawa Street, for actual street addresses. Tecumseh District Library http://www.tecumseh.lib.mi.us/
While wandering on Chicago Boulevard, we saw Pentamere Winery (penta means five and mere means lake or sea). All the fruit in the wines comes from the Great Lakes watershed. www.pentamerewinery.com
We bought local cheese and butter at Boulevard Market at the corner of East Chicago Boulevard and South Evans Street. See article about the business: http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080422/ART06/804220302
We then walked a few feet to Evans Street Station, a restaurant in a former firehouse. On Wednesdays, wines $75 and under are sold at half off. http://www.evansstreetstation.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=13&Itemid=30
Pew Research Center - Men or Women: Who's the Better Leader? A Paradox in Public Attitudes, August 25, 2008
Americans believe women have the right stuff to be political leaders. When it comes to honesty, intelligence and a handful of other character traits they value highly in leaders, the public rates women superior to men, according to a new nationwide Pew Research Center Social and Demographic Trends survey. Nevertheless, a mere 6% of respondents in this survey of 2,250 adults say that, overall, women make better political leaders than men. About one-in-five (21%) say men make the better leaders, while the vast majority--69%--say men and women make equally good leaders.
The paradox embedded in these survey findings is part of a wider paradox in modern society on the subject of gender and leadership. In an era when women have made sweeping strides in educational attainment and workforce participation, relatively few have made the journey all the way to the highest levels of political or corporate leadership. Why not? In the survey, the public cites gender discrimination, resistance to change, and a self-serving "old boys club" as reasons for the relative scarcity of women at the top.
Knowledge Transfer is Critical to Companies' Competitive Edge, as Large Numbers Of Boomers Retire
News release: "Most companies do not have a plan to manage and transfer knowledge and even fewer factor cross-generational challenges into business strategy, says a new report from The Conference Board...
"As the Baby Boom generation of corporate leaders and experts approaches retirement, businesses in the U.S., Canada, and many European nations face the loss of experience and knowledge on an unprecedented scale," says Diane Piktialis, Mature Workforce Program Leader at The Conference Board and co-author of the report with Kent Greenes, Program Director, Learning & Knowledge Management Council, The Conference Board. "Younger workers can't be counted on to fill the void, as they lack the experience that builds deep expertise. They also tend to change jobs frequently, taking their technological savvy and any knowledge they've gained with them."
The result can be a significant drain of business wisdom that decreases innovation, lowers growth capacity, and reduces efficiency in the organization.
The Conference Board report - Bridging the Gaps: How to Transfer Knowledge in Today's Multigenerational Workplace (available for purchase only) - is based on a Research Working Group on Multigenerational Knowledge Transfer that explored the topic with a special emphasis on knowledge-retention challenges that organizations face due to shifting demographics and the shortage of new talent in the pipeline.
Bankruptcy Filings Near Million Mark for 12-Month Period Ending June 30, 2008
U.S. Courts: "In the 12-month period ending June 30, 2008, there were 967,831 bankruptcy cases filed, according to statistics released today by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. That is a 28.9 percent increase compared to filings for the 12-month period ending June 30, 2007, when cases totaled 751,056. Historic data on bankruptcy filings is available on the Judiciary's website under Bankruptcy Statistics."
In 16th-century Italy, beggars, using chalk on the plazas outside cathedrals, copied paintings of the Madonna by Raphael and his contemporaries. With these street painters, called I Madonnari (painters of the Madonna), an artistic tradition was born. Today I Madonnari festivals are held annually in Europe, Africa, and the United States.
19th annual Chalk Festival in Cleveland Fine Arts Garden
Saturday September 20, 11:00-4:00
Sunday, September 21, noon-5:00
Enjoy chalk artists and entertainment at no charge
Chalk your own pictures for a modest fee
For more information, please contact the Community Arts Department, 216-707-2483 or neisenberg@clevelandart.org
http://www.clemusart.com/educef/chalk/
Keepers After arranging my book collection, I left one shelf for “keepers,” books that I think are important enough to read again or to suggest to others. Here are a few titles:
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
Control by William Goldman
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Watership Down by Richard Adams
The world's largest Louis Comfort Tiffany art glass dome in the Chicago Cultural Center has undergone a gleaming restoration, and is letting in natural light for the first time in more than 70 years
The Tiffany glass done is as old as the Cultural Center itself. It was constructed in 1897 when the building at 78 East Washington Street held the main branch of the Chicago Public Library. The dome is 38 feet in diameter and covers 1,000 square feet. It has 30,000 individual pieces of glass in 243 sections, according to the Cultural Center. Originally, natural light streamed into the room through a translucent shell that protected the Tiffany dome from the elements. But sometime in the 1930s, well before the library became the Cultural Center, an opaque copper and concrete shell replaced it.
In 2005, the Cultural Center found that 1,800 pieces of glass were cracked, and dirt had accumulated on all of the glass. The inspection also determined that there were rough chunks of clear, reflective glass, or "jewels," that had been facing into the ceiling rather than into the room. For the restoration, the glass panels were cleaned and restored to their original luster, and turned so the jewels again faced into the room.
http://cbs2chicago.com/local/cultural.center.dome.2.761138.html
Friday, August 29, 2008
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Google 2008 U.S. Election Coverage
See the latest news, videos, blog posts, and pictures from the conventions.
Library of Congress Country Profile - Afghanistan
Federal Research Division Country Profile: Afghanistan, August 2008
Concerned about its appeal to sponsors, the women’s professional golf tour, which in recent years has been dominated by foreign-born players, has warned its members that they must become conversant in English by 2009 or face suspension. The L.P.G.A. and the other professional golf tours, unlike professional team sports, are dependent on their relationships with corporate sponsors for their financial survival. The L.P.G.A.’s new language policy — believed to be the only such policy in a major sport — was first reported by Golfweek magazine on its Web site August 25.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/27/sports/golf/27golf.html?em
New GAO Reports: Hurricane Katrina, Medicare Part D
Hurricane Katrina: Continuing Debris Removal and Disposal Issues, GAO-08-985R, August 25, 2008
Medicare Part D: Some Plan Sponsors Have Not Completely Implemented Fraud and Abuse Programs, and CMS Oversight Has Been Limited, GAO-08-760, July 21, 2008
Turned-around phrases seen in different novels
Some the worse for wear
Up to no bad
40 years at the U.S. Open
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2008/08/25/sports/tennis/20080825_USOPEN_TIMELINE.html
Feng Shui (the Mandarin pronunciation is foong soyee, the Cantonese pronunciation is Fung Shwey) literally means wind and water. Feng Shui is the Chinese art of harmonic placement.
http://www.naturallyconnected.com.au/fengshui.htm
apograph (AP-uh-graf)
noun: copy or transcript
From Greek apo- (away, off, apart) + -graph (writing).
A.Word.A.Day
August 27 is the birthday of novelist Theodore Dreiser, (books by this author) born in Terre Haute, Indiana (1871). He came from a big family; he was the 12th of 13 children. When he was a boy, his father was injured by a falling beam, and his mother had to take in lodgers and washing to keep the family afloat. Dreiser had to walk across the railroad tracks looking for stray lumps of coal. He left home at the age of 16 and moved to Chicago, where he eventually became a newspaper reporter. One of his co-workers persuaded Dreiser to try writing fiction. One night, when he was trying to come up with an idea for a novel, he wrote the words "Sister Carrie" on a half-sheet of yellow copy paper. Within a year, he had finished the first novel, titled Sister Carrie (1900), about a chorus girl who advances in life by sleeping around.
Doubleday agreed to publish the book, on the recommendation of the novelist Frank Norris. But after Frank Doubleday and his wife read the manuscript, they refused to give the book any advertising or marketing because they thought the novel was shocking and amoral. And it was a big flop when the book came out in 1900. Only 456 copies were sold. Afterward, Dreiser started taking manual labor jobs, working in factories and on railroads. But his wealthy brother, who was a successful songwriter, helped him get a job as an editor. In 1907, Dreiser used his influence to get Sister Carrie republished, and it went on to become a great success. Theodore Dreiser said, "Art is the stored honey of the human soul, gathered on wings of misery and travail."
August 27 is the birthday of travel writer William Least Heat-Moon, (books by this author) born William Trogdon in Kansas City, Missouri (1939). Of mixed English-Irish-Osage ancestry and the son of a lawyer, he spent the first part of his life immersed in academia, earning four degrees: a bachelor's, master's, and Ph.D. in literature, and then a bachelor's in photojournalism. He had been a university professor in the late 1970s when, within the course of a few months, he lost his teaching job because of declining student enrollment at his school, and his wife of 11 years separated from him. He decided to take to the open road and "live the real jeopardy of circumstance." He had a 1975 Ford van, which he made into a camper. Over the course of several months, he traveled 13,000 miles around the United States. He sat in local coffee shops and diners and parks and conversed with residents, listening to people narrate stories of their town. The book in which he chronicled his adventures, Blue Highways: A Journey into America, was published in 1982 and garnered widespread acclaim. He's also the author of PrairyErth (A Deep Map): An Epic History of the Tallgrass Prairie Country (1991) and River-Horse: The Logbook of a Boat Across America (1999).
August 28 is the birthday of novelist Liam O'Flaherty, (books by this author) born on Inishmore, in the Aran Islands off the western coast of Ireland (1896). He was the ninth of 10 children, born to a father who fished and farmed and a mother who was once a member of the Plymouth Brethren and whose family came to the islands to build lighthouses. He started writing fiction and sent his first manuscript of a novel to a publisher, but the publisher lost the manuscript — which was 150,000 words long. Within a few years, he had published Thy Neighbour's Wife (1923), The Black Soul (1924), and The Informer (1925). He also adapted The Informer into a screenplay, and the resulting movie won 1935 Academy Award for Best Picture. For the few decades after his first novel came out, he wrote prolifically, publishing 36 works — novels, memoirs, and short-story collections — within 25 years. In 1937, he wrote a historical novel, The Famine, about the potato blight of the 1840s, which caused a huge fraction of the Irish population to die of starvation or to emigrate.
The Writer’s Almanac
See the latest news, videos, blog posts, and pictures from the conventions.
Library of Congress Country Profile - Afghanistan
Federal Research Division Country Profile: Afghanistan, August 2008
Concerned about its appeal to sponsors, the women’s professional golf tour, which in recent years has been dominated by foreign-born players, has warned its members that they must become conversant in English by 2009 or face suspension. The L.P.G.A. and the other professional golf tours, unlike professional team sports, are dependent on their relationships with corporate sponsors for their financial survival. The L.P.G.A.’s new language policy — believed to be the only such policy in a major sport — was first reported by Golfweek magazine on its Web site August 25.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/27/sports/golf/27golf.html?em
New GAO Reports: Hurricane Katrina, Medicare Part D
Hurricane Katrina: Continuing Debris Removal and Disposal Issues, GAO-08-985R, August 25, 2008
Medicare Part D: Some Plan Sponsors Have Not Completely Implemented Fraud and Abuse Programs, and CMS Oversight Has Been Limited, GAO-08-760, July 21, 2008
Turned-around phrases seen in different novels
Some the worse for wear
Up to no bad
40 years at the U.S. Open
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2008/08/25/sports/tennis/20080825_USOPEN_TIMELINE.html
Feng Shui (the Mandarin pronunciation is foong soyee, the Cantonese pronunciation is Fung Shwey) literally means wind and water. Feng Shui is the Chinese art of harmonic placement.
http://www.naturallyconnected.com.au/fengshui.htm
apograph (AP-uh-graf)
noun: copy or transcript
From Greek apo- (away, off, apart) + -graph (writing).
A.Word.A.Day
August 27 is the birthday of novelist Theodore Dreiser, (books by this author) born in Terre Haute, Indiana (1871). He came from a big family; he was the 12th of 13 children. When he was a boy, his father was injured by a falling beam, and his mother had to take in lodgers and washing to keep the family afloat. Dreiser had to walk across the railroad tracks looking for stray lumps of coal. He left home at the age of 16 and moved to Chicago, where he eventually became a newspaper reporter. One of his co-workers persuaded Dreiser to try writing fiction. One night, when he was trying to come up with an idea for a novel, he wrote the words "Sister Carrie" on a half-sheet of yellow copy paper. Within a year, he had finished the first novel, titled Sister Carrie (1900), about a chorus girl who advances in life by sleeping around.
Doubleday agreed to publish the book, on the recommendation of the novelist Frank Norris. But after Frank Doubleday and his wife read the manuscript, they refused to give the book any advertising or marketing because they thought the novel was shocking and amoral. And it was a big flop when the book came out in 1900. Only 456 copies were sold. Afterward, Dreiser started taking manual labor jobs, working in factories and on railroads. But his wealthy brother, who was a successful songwriter, helped him get a job as an editor. In 1907, Dreiser used his influence to get Sister Carrie republished, and it went on to become a great success. Theodore Dreiser said, "Art is the stored honey of the human soul, gathered on wings of misery and travail."
August 27 is the birthday of travel writer William Least Heat-Moon, (books by this author) born William Trogdon in Kansas City, Missouri (1939). Of mixed English-Irish-Osage ancestry and the son of a lawyer, he spent the first part of his life immersed in academia, earning four degrees: a bachelor's, master's, and Ph.D. in literature, and then a bachelor's in photojournalism. He had been a university professor in the late 1970s when, within the course of a few months, he lost his teaching job because of declining student enrollment at his school, and his wife of 11 years separated from him. He decided to take to the open road and "live the real jeopardy of circumstance." He had a 1975 Ford van, which he made into a camper. Over the course of several months, he traveled 13,000 miles around the United States. He sat in local coffee shops and diners and parks and conversed with residents, listening to people narrate stories of their town. The book in which he chronicled his adventures, Blue Highways: A Journey into America, was published in 1982 and garnered widespread acclaim. He's also the author of PrairyErth (A Deep Map): An Epic History of the Tallgrass Prairie Country (1991) and River-Horse: The Logbook of a Boat Across America (1999).
August 28 is the birthday of novelist Liam O'Flaherty, (books by this author) born on Inishmore, in the Aran Islands off the western coast of Ireland (1896). He was the ninth of 10 children, born to a father who fished and farmed and a mother who was once a member of the Plymouth Brethren and whose family came to the islands to build lighthouses. He started writing fiction and sent his first manuscript of a novel to a publisher, but the publisher lost the manuscript — which was 150,000 words long. Within a few years, he had published Thy Neighbour's Wife (1923), The Black Soul (1924), and The Informer (1925). He also adapted The Informer into a screenplay, and the resulting movie won 1935 Academy Award for Best Picture. For the few decades after his first novel came out, he wrote prolifically, publishing 36 works — novels, memoirs, and short-story collections — within 25 years. In 1937, he wrote a historical novel, The Famine, about the potato blight of the 1840s, which caused a huge fraction of the Irish population to die of starvation or to emigrate.
The Writer’s Almanac
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Worker Displacement 2005-2007
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
From January 2005 through December 2007, 3.6 million workers were displaced from jobs they had held for at least 3 years, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor has reported. The number of displaced workers was about the same as the level (3.8 million) recorded in the previous survey that covered the period from January 2003 to December 2005. Displaced workers are defined as persons 20 years of age and older who lost or left jobs because their plant or company closed or moved, there was insufficient work for them to do, or their position or shift was abolished. The period covered in this study was 2005-07, the 3 calendar years prior to the January 2008 survey date.
FDIC Consumer News — Summer 2008
Source: Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
FDIC Consumer News provides practical guidance on how to become a smarter, safer user of financial services. Each issue offers helpful hints, quick tips, and common-sense strategies to protect and stretch your hard-earned dollars. Issue includes: Get a Good Night’s Sleep: Rest Assured, Your Money is Safe in an FDIC-Insured Account; Tips for Trying to Fix a Clogged or “Frozen” Home Equity Line; Dialing for (Your) Dollars: Beware of Phone and Fax Fraud; Reminder: Beware of Mortgage Rescue Frauds; “Green” Banking: Saving the Environment as You Save and Borrow Money.
Republican & Democratic Convention History (1856-2008)
"Poynter Online's Links to the News column compiles Web resources on current and previous news topics. This page, Republican & Democratic Convention History (1856-2008) [author - David Shedden], links to resources about the history of the Republican and Democratic national political conventions."
The Rosetta Project is a global collaboration of language specialists and native speakers working to build a publicly accessible digital library of human languages. Since becoming a National Science Digital Library collection in 2004, the Rosetta Archive has more than doubled its collection size, now serving nearly 100,000 pages of material documenting over 2,500 languages—the largest resource of its kind on the Net.
A major concern of the project is the drastic and accelerated loss of the world’s languages. Just as globalization threatens human cultural diversity, the languages of small, unique, localized human societies are at serious risk. Linguists predict that we may lose as much as 90% of the world’s linguistic diversity within the next century
http://www.rosettaproject.org/about-us/about-us
On February 14, 1876, Alexander Graham Bell's telephone patent application entitled "Improvement in Telegraphy" was filed at the USPTO by Bell's attorney Marcellus Bailey; Elisha Gray's attorney filed a caveat for a telephone just a few hours later entitled "Transmitting Vocal Sounds Telegraphically". Alexander Graham Bell was the fifth entry of that day, while Elisha Gray was 39th. Therefore, the U.S. Patent Office awarded Bell with the first patent for a telephone, US Patent 174,465 rather than honor Gray's caveat.
http://inventors.about.com/od/gstartinventors/a/Elisha_Gray.htm
dactylogram (dak-TIL-uh-gram)
noun: fingerprint
The study of fingerprints for identification purposes is known as dactylography or dactyloscopy. Dactylonomy is the art of counting on fingers. Dactylology is finger-speech--communicating by signs made with fingers.
From Greek daktylos (finger or toe) + gramma (something written).
A.Word.A.Day
On August 26, 1920, the 19th Amendment was formally incorporated into the U.S. Constitution. It proclaimed, "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex." It ended more than 70 years of struggle by the suffragist movement. It had passed through the House and Senate. At first, it looked like the amendment was not going to make it. And then, a 24-year-old legislator from Tennessee, Harry Burn, decided to vote for the amendment at the last minute because his mother wanted him to. And Tennessee became the 36th state to approve suffrage for women.
They sent the certified record of the Tennessee vote to Washington, D.C., and it arrived on August 26, 1920. Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby signed the proclamation that morning at 8 a.m. at his home. There was no ceremony of any kind, and no photographers were there to capture the moment. And none of the leaders of the woman suffrage movement were present to see him do it. Colby just finished his cup of coffee and signed the document with a regular, steel pen. Then he said, "I turn to the women of America and say: 'You may now fire when you are ready. You have been enfranchised.'
The Writer’s Almanac
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
From January 2005 through December 2007, 3.6 million workers were displaced from jobs they had held for at least 3 years, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor has reported. The number of displaced workers was about the same as the level (3.8 million) recorded in the previous survey that covered the period from January 2003 to December 2005. Displaced workers are defined as persons 20 years of age and older who lost or left jobs because their plant or company closed or moved, there was insufficient work for them to do, or their position or shift was abolished. The period covered in this study was 2005-07, the 3 calendar years prior to the January 2008 survey date.
FDIC Consumer News — Summer 2008
Source: Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
FDIC Consumer News provides practical guidance on how to become a smarter, safer user of financial services. Each issue offers helpful hints, quick tips, and common-sense strategies to protect and stretch your hard-earned dollars. Issue includes: Get a Good Night’s Sleep: Rest Assured, Your Money is Safe in an FDIC-Insured Account; Tips for Trying to Fix a Clogged or “Frozen” Home Equity Line; Dialing for (Your) Dollars: Beware of Phone and Fax Fraud; Reminder: Beware of Mortgage Rescue Frauds; “Green” Banking: Saving the Environment as You Save and Borrow Money.
Republican & Democratic Convention History (1856-2008)
"Poynter Online's Links to the News column compiles Web resources on current and previous news topics. This page, Republican & Democratic Convention History (1856-2008) [author - David Shedden], links to resources about the history of the Republican and Democratic national political conventions."
The Rosetta Project is a global collaboration of language specialists and native speakers working to build a publicly accessible digital library of human languages. Since becoming a National Science Digital Library collection in 2004, the Rosetta Archive has more than doubled its collection size, now serving nearly 100,000 pages of material documenting over 2,500 languages—the largest resource of its kind on the Net.
A major concern of the project is the drastic and accelerated loss of the world’s languages. Just as globalization threatens human cultural diversity, the languages of small, unique, localized human societies are at serious risk. Linguists predict that we may lose as much as 90% of the world’s linguistic diversity within the next century
http://www.rosettaproject.org/about-us/about-us
On February 14, 1876, Alexander Graham Bell's telephone patent application entitled "Improvement in Telegraphy" was filed at the USPTO by Bell's attorney Marcellus Bailey; Elisha Gray's attorney filed a caveat for a telephone just a few hours later entitled "Transmitting Vocal Sounds Telegraphically". Alexander Graham Bell was the fifth entry of that day, while Elisha Gray was 39th. Therefore, the U.S. Patent Office awarded Bell with the first patent for a telephone, US Patent 174,465 rather than honor Gray's caveat.
http://inventors.about.com/od/gstartinventors/a/Elisha_Gray.htm
dactylogram (dak-TIL-uh-gram)
noun: fingerprint
The study of fingerprints for identification purposes is known as dactylography or dactyloscopy. Dactylonomy is the art of counting on fingers. Dactylology is finger-speech--communicating by signs made with fingers.
From Greek daktylos (finger or toe) + gramma (something written).
A.Word.A.Day
On August 26, 1920, the 19th Amendment was formally incorporated into the U.S. Constitution. It proclaimed, "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex." It ended more than 70 years of struggle by the suffragist movement. It had passed through the House and Senate. At first, it looked like the amendment was not going to make it. And then, a 24-year-old legislator from Tennessee, Harry Burn, decided to vote for the amendment at the last minute because his mother wanted him to. And Tennessee became the 36th state to approve suffrage for women.
They sent the certified record of the Tennessee vote to Washington, D.C., and it arrived on August 26, 1920. Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby signed the proclamation that morning at 8 a.m. at his home. There was no ceremony of any kind, and no photographers were there to capture the moment. And none of the leaders of the woman suffrage movement were present to see him do it. Colby just finished his cup of coffee and signed the document with a regular, steel pen. Then he said, "I turn to the women of America and say: 'You may now fire when you are ready. You have been enfranchised.'
The Writer’s Almanac
Monday, August 25, 2008
2008 World Population Data Sheet
News release: "The demographic divide—the inequality in the population and health profiles of rich and poor countries—is widening. Two sharply different patterns of population growth are evident: Little growth or even decline in most wealthy countries and continued rapid population growth in the world’s poorest countries. In 2008, world population is 6.7 billion: 1.2 billion people live in regions classified as more developed by the United Nations; 5.5 billion people reside in less developed regions. "We will likely see the 7 billion mark passed within four years," said Carl Haub, PRB senior demographer and co-author of this year's Data Sheet. " And by 2050, global population is projected to rise to 9.3 billion. Between now and mid-century, these diverging growth patterns will boost the population share living in today’s less developed countries from 82 percent to 86 percent."
2008 World Population Data Sheet
Population Bulletin: "World Population Highlights: Key Findings from the 2008 World Population Data Sheet"
2008 World Population Clock
Harvard University, the richest institution in higher education, reclaimed sole possession of U.S. News & World Report's best-college ranking for the first time in a dozen years, dethroning Princeton University. Harvard, of Cambridge, Massachusetts, last held the title in 1996, the magazine said on its Web site. Harvard had been No. 2 behind Princeton, of New Jersey, since 2006. The annual U.S. News rankings, based on student test scores, selectivity, alumni contributions and graduate employment, stokes the rivalry between Harvard and Princeton, whose wealth, history, research prowess and famous alumni put them at the top of the eight elite colleges in the Ivy League.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a.qagYlHwlyo&refer=home
Most U. S. Measles Cases Reported since 1996
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
More measles cases have been reported in the United States since Jan. 1, 2008 than during the same period in any year since 1996, according to a report released in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
Between January 1 and July 31, 2008, 131 cases were reported to CDC?s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD). At least fifteen patients, including four children younger than 15 months of age, were hospitalized. No deaths have been reported.
Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) and Aurora Australis (Southern Lights)
Auroras are best observed in the spring. See explanation and pictures at link below.
http://geology.com/nasa/aurora-borealis.shtml
The auroras, both surrounding the north magnetic pole (aurora borealis) and south magnetic pole (aurora australis) occur when highly charged electrons from the solar wind interact with elements in the earth's atmosphere. Solar winds stream away from the sun at speeds of about 1 million miles per hour. When they reach the earth, some 40 hours after leaving the sun, they follow the lines of magnetic force generated by the earth's core and flow through the magnetosphere, a teardrop-shaped area of highly charged electrical and magnetic fields.
As the electrons enter the earth's upper atmosphere, they will encounter atoms of oxygen and nitrogen at altitudes from 20 to 200 miles above the earth's surface. The color of the aurora depends on which atom is struck, and the altitude of the meeting.
Green - oxygen, up to 150 miles in altitude
Red - oxygen, above 150 miles in altitude
Blue - nitrogen, up to 60 miles in altitude
Purple/violet - nitrogen, above 60 miles in altitude
http://science.howstuffworks.com/question471.htm
Saint Louis University School of Law is offering students a three-part class on etiquette. Pointers include: avoiding distracting nonverbal communications (playing with your hair or mustache) and avoiding such verbal tics as “like” and “you know.” Put your name-tag on your right shoulder, so that when you shake hands there is a clear line of sight to your name, and if someone is toasting you, don’t take a drink. Everyone else gets to drink, but you don’t. Students will learn to pass salt and pepper together, to always rest the blade of a knife towards you, and to cut up food as you go, not in advance.
WSJ Law Blog August 22, 2008
“Living the Dream” is a series of four hilariously satirical vignettes about life in a law firm. (More may be forthcoming.) For fans of “The Office,” all you need to know is that the character of Nick Conley, the newest associate at Sullivan & Moore— “the most prestigious law firm in the entire country”— gives John Krasinski’s Jim Halpert a run for his money. Send home if you are at work to see Webisodes from Bitter Lawyer.
WSJ Law Blog August 22, 2008
August 25 is the birthday of journalist and novelist Frederick Forsyth (1938), (books by this author) born in Ashford, Kent, England. When he was just a student in Kent, Forsyth learned to speak French, German, Spanish, and Russian. At 17, he quit school and left home to see the world. He learned to fly a plane and joined the Royal Air Force as England's youngest pilot. And he set out to write thrillers like The Day of the Jackal (1971), The Odessa File (1972), The Devil's Alternative (1980), and The Fourth Protocol (1984). He wrote The Day of the Jackal (1971), his first book, in 35 days. It was based on the Algerian Crisis in early 1960s when French President Charles de Gaulle proclaimed Algeria independent from France. Feeling betrayed, leaders of France's Secret Army Organization plotted to kill de Gaulle. The assassin's code name was "Jackal."
August 25 is the birthday of conductor and composer Leonard Bernstein, born in Lawrence, Massachusetts (1918). His father was a Russian immigrant. He bought and sold beauty supplies, and he discouraged his son from being a musician in favor of taking over the family business. When he was 10, his Aunt Clara was going through a divorce, and she sent her piano to the Bernstein home. Leonard became a pianist. He got an assistantship with the New York Philharmonic. And on a Sunday afternoon, November 14, 1943, when the conductor Bruno Walter got sick, Leonard Bernstein filled in and got a great review on page one of The New York Times. He became a celebrity at the age of 25. He wrote scores for many musicals, including "On the Town," "Wonderful Town," "Candide," and "West Side Story." Bernstein also wrote a book called "The Joy of Music" (1959), a collection of essays and conversations about music. In it, he wrote, "Music, of all the arts, stands in a special region, unlit by any star but its own, and utterly without meaning ... except its own."
The Writer’s Almanac
News release: "The demographic divide—the inequality in the population and health profiles of rich and poor countries—is widening. Two sharply different patterns of population growth are evident: Little growth or even decline in most wealthy countries and continued rapid population growth in the world’s poorest countries. In 2008, world population is 6.7 billion: 1.2 billion people live in regions classified as more developed by the United Nations; 5.5 billion people reside in less developed regions. "We will likely see the 7 billion mark passed within four years," said Carl Haub, PRB senior demographer and co-author of this year's Data Sheet. " And by 2050, global population is projected to rise to 9.3 billion. Between now and mid-century, these diverging growth patterns will boost the population share living in today’s less developed countries from 82 percent to 86 percent."
2008 World Population Data Sheet
Population Bulletin: "World Population Highlights: Key Findings from the 2008 World Population Data Sheet"
2008 World Population Clock
Harvard University, the richest institution in higher education, reclaimed sole possession of U.S. News & World Report's best-college ranking for the first time in a dozen years, dethroning Princeton University. Harvard, of Cambridge, Massachusetts, last held the title in 1996, the magazine said on its Web site. Harvard had been No. 2 behind Princeton, of New Jersey, since 2006. The annual U.S. News rankings, based on student test scores, selectivity, alumni contributions and graduate employment, stokes the rivalry between Harvard and Princeton, whose wealth, history, research prowess and famous alumni put them at the top of the eight elite colleges in the Ivy League.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a.qagYlHwlyo&refer=home
Most U. S. Measles Cases Reported since 1996
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
More measles cases have been reported in the United States since Jan. 1, 2008 than during the same period in any year since 1996, according to a report released in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
Between January 1 and July 31, 2008, 131 cases were reported to CDC?s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD). At least fifteen patients, including four children younger than 15 months of age, were hospitalized. No deaths have been reported.
Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) and Aurora Australis (Southern Lights)
Auroras are best observed in the spring. See explanation and pictures at link below.
http://geology.com/nasa/aurora-borealis.shtml
The auroras, both surrounding the north magnetic pole (aurora borealis) and south magnetic pole (aurora australis) occur when highly charged electrons from the solar wind interact with elements in the earth's atmosphere. Solar winds stream away from the sun at speeds of about 1 million miles per hour. When they reach the earth, some 40 hours after leaving the sun, they follow the lines of magnetic force generated by the earth's core and flow through the magnetosphere, a teardrop-shaped area of highly charged electrical and magnetic fields.
As the electrons enter the earth's upper atmosphere, they will encounter atoms of oxygen and nitrogen at altitudes from 20 to 200 miles above the earth's surface. The color of the aurora depends on which atom is struck, and the altitude of the meeting.
Green - oxygen, up to 150 miles in altitude
Red - oxygen, above 150 miles in altitude
Blue - nitrogen, up to 60 miles in altitude
Purple/violet - nitrogen, above 60 miles in altitude
http://science.howstuffworks.com/question471.htm
Saint Louis University School of Law is offering students a three-part class on etiquette. Pointers include: avoiding distracting nonverbal communications (playing with your hair or mustache) and avoiding such verbal tics as “like” and “you know.” Put your name-tag on your right shoulder, so that when you shake hands there is a clear line of sight to your name, and if someone is toasting you, don’t take a drink. Everyone else gets to drink, but you don’t. Students will learn to pass salt and pepper together, to always rest the blade of a knife towards you, and to cut up food as you go, not in advance.
WSJ Law Blog August 22, 2008
“Living the Dream” is a series of four hilariously satirical vignettes about life in a law firm. (More may be forthcoming.) For fans of “The Office,” all you need to know is that the character of Nick Conley, the newest associate at Sullivan & Moore— “the most prestigious law firm in the entire country”— gives John Krasinski’s Jim Halpert a run for his money. Send home if you are at work to see Webisodes from Bitter Lawyer.
WSJ Law Blog August 22, 2008
August 25 is the birthday of journalist and novelist Frederick Forsyth (1938), (books by this author) born in Ashford, Kent, England. When he was just a student in Kent, Forsyth learned to speak French, German, Spanish, and Russian. At 17, he quit school and left home to see the world. He learned to fly a plane and joined the Royal Air Force as England's youngest pilot. And he set out to write thrillers like The Day of the Jackal (1971), The Odessa File (1972), The Devil's Alternative (1980), and The Fourth Protocol (1984). He wrote The Day of the Jackal (1971), his first book, in 35 days. It was based on the Algerian Crisis in early 1960s when French President Charles de Gaulle proclaimed Algeria independent from France. Feeling betrayed, leaders of France's Secret Army Organization plotted to kill de Gaulle. The assassin's code name was "Jackal."
August 25 is the birthday of conductor and composer Leonard Bernstein, born in Lawrence, Massachusetts (1918). His father was a Russian immigrant. He bought and sold beauty supplies, and he discouraged his son from being a musician in favor of taking over the family business. When he was 10, his Aunt Clara was going through a divorce, and she sent her piano to the Bernstein home. Leonard became a pianist. He got an assistantship with the New York Philharmonic. And on a Sunday afternoon, November 14, 1943, when the conductor Bruno Walter got sick, Leonard Bernstein filled in and got a great review on page one of The New York Times. He became a celebrity at the age of 25. He wrote scores for many musicals, including "On the Town," "Wonderful Town," "Candide," and "West Side Story." Bernstein also wrote a book called "The Joy of Music" (1959), a collection of essays and conversations about music. In it, he wrote, "Music, of all the arts, stands in a special region, unlit by any star but its own, and utterly without meaning ... except its own."
The Writer’s Almanac
Friday, August 22, 2008
Several people reported getting multiple copies of yesterday’s muse and I’ve removed your names, then added them again. Hope this issue comes but once. It is probably not connected, but a reader sent me a forwarded mass message as I readied the muse. Remember to delete humorous, political, inspirational “send this to everyone you know” messages.
New on LLRX.com: Technology Tools for Information Management
Technology Tools for Information Management Roger V. Skalbeck and Barbara Fullerton's share a fast paced presentation of 19 practical, low cost and innovative tech tools they respectively use on a regular basis. Here are ideas to improve your use of Outlook, RSS, Adobe, and enhance your presentations and collaborative goals.
Investors Achieve Major Company Commitments on Climate Change
News release: "Investors engaging with U.S. companies on the financial risks and opportunities from climate change achieved breakthrough results during the 2008 proxy season. A record 57 climate-related shareholder resolutions were filed with U.S. companies, of which nearly half were withdrawn after the companies agreed to positive climate-related commitments. Remaining resolutions that went to a vote received record high average voting support of 23.5 percent, including 39.6 percent support for a resolution filed with coal company CONSOL Energy, the highest vote ever on a global warming shareholder resolution.
The ’08 proxy season was marked by several major victories, including Ford Motor Co.’s detailed plan for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from its vehicles by 30 percent. Two major homebuilders, Centex and KB Home, also announced major commitments to increase the energy efficiency of the homes they build beginning in 2009. These actions will dramatically reduce direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions from the millions of vehicles and homes that the three companies make each year."
Related postings on climate change
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit revived a class action brought against it by consumers who say they were never warned that excessive consumption could lead to mercury poisoning. The appeals court found that a lower court improperly dismissed the suit on the grounds that it was pre-empted by FDA regulations. Here’s a report from the Legal Intelligencer, and here’s the 38-page opinion.
WSJ Law Blog August 20, 2008
‘Thermopylae,’ means ‘hot gates’: ‘hot’ because of the sulfur springs there and ‘gates’ rather than ‘gate’ because of the three separate places where the land narrows.
http://www.historynet.com/battle-of-thermopylae-leonidas-the-hero.htm
Greek for hot: thermo-, therm-, thermi-, -thermia, -therm, -thermal, -thermic, -thermias, -thermies, -thermous, -thermy +
http://www.wordinfo.info/words/index.php?v=info&a=view_unit&s=thermal&page=4&u=4265&spage=1
Latin for cold: frigo-, frig- +
http://wordinfo.info/words/index/info/view_unit/857/?letter=F&spage=5
The United States is one of the richest countries in the world when it comes to natural language resources, with an estimated 311 languages spoken within our borders--162 of these are indigenous languages, and 149 come from other countries. The third president, Thomas Jefferson, spoke between five and seven languages. Herbert Hoover and his wife were fluent in Mandarin, and they translated a book from Latin into English.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/08/11/caught_in_the_grips_of_linguistic_paranoia/
Q. What is contorno?
A. A platter of vegetables usually accompanying the main course in an Italian meal. The word contorno loosely translates as "contours" and refers to the fact that the vegetable course helps shape and define the meal.
http://www.dummies.com/WileyCDA/DummiesArticle/Mangia-Traditional-Italian-Dining.id-2331.html
August 22 is the birthday of writer Annie Proulx or E. Annie Proulx, (books by this author) born Edna Annie Proulx in Norwich, Connecticut, in 1935. Proulx wrote her first short story at age 10 when she had the chicken pox and was bedridden, and she published her first story in Gourmet magazine at age 20. She wrote magazine articles on topics that included canoeing and mice, and how-to books like Sweet and Hard Cider: Making It, Using It and Enjoying It (1980). She only had time to write a few stories a year, but all of them got published. She didn't want to write anything but short stories — she said, "I find it satisfying and intellectually stimulating to work with the intensity, brevity, balance, and word play of the short story." But her first collection of short stories, Heart Songs (1988), got such good reviews that her editor suggested she write a novel. She decided to give it a try, and "within a half-hour, the whole of Postcards was in my head." Postcards (1992) was followed by more novels, including The Shipping News (1996). She is the author of the short story "Brokeback Mountain" (The New Yorker 1997), which inspired the film.
The Writer’s Almanac
New on LLRX.com: Technology Tools for Information Management
Technology Tools for Information Management Roger V. Skalbeck and Barbara Fullerton's share a fast paced presentation of 19 practical, low cost and innovative tech tools they respectively use on a regular basis. Here are ideas to improve your use of Outlook, RSS, Adobe, and enhance your presentations and collaborative goals.
Investors Achieve Major Company Commitments on Climate Change
News release: "Investors engaging with U.S. companies on the financial risks and opportunities from climate change achieved breakthrough results during the 2008 proxy season. A record 57 climate-related shareholder resolutions were filed with U.S. companies, of which nearly half were withdrawn after the companies agreed to positive climate-related commitments. Remaining resolutions that went to a vote received record high average voting support of 23.5 percent, including 39.6 percent support for a resolution filed with coal company CONSOL Energy, the highest vote ever on a global warming shareholder resolution.
The ’08 proxy season was marked by several major victories, including Ford Motor Co.’s detailed plan for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from its vehicles by 30 percent. Two major homebuilders, Centex and KB Home, also announced major commitments to increase the energy efficiency of the homes they build beginning in 2009. These actions will dramatically reduce direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions from the millions of vehicles and homes that the three companies make each year."
Related postings on climate change
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit revived a class action brought against it by consumers who say they were never warned that excessive consumption could lead to mercury poisoning. The appeals court found that a lower court improperly dismissed the suit on the grounds that it was pre-empted by FDA regulations. Here’s a report from the Legal Intelligencer, and here’s the 38-page opinion.
WSJ Law Blog August 20, 2008
‘Thermopylae,’ means ‘hot gates’: ‘hot’ because of the sulfur springs there and ‘gates’ rather than ‘gate’ because of the three separate places where the land narrows.
http://www.historynet.com/battle-of-thermopylae-leonidas-the-hero.htm
Greek for hot: thermo-, therm-, thermi-, -thermia, -therm, -thermal, -thermic, -thermias, -thermies, -thermous, -thermy +
http://www.wordinfo.info/words/index.php?v=info&a=view_unit&s=thermal&page=4&u=4265&spage=1
Latin for cold: frigo-, frig- +
http://wordinfo.info/words/index/info/view_unit/857/?letter=F&spage=5
The United States is one of the richest countries in the world when it comes to natural language resources, with an estimated 311 languages spoken within our borders--162 of these are indigenous languages, and 149 come from other countries. The third president, Thomas Jefferson, spoke between five and seven languages. Herbert Hoover and his wife were fluent in Mandarin, and they translated a book from Latin into English.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/08/11/caught_in_the_grips_of_linguistic_paranoia/
Q. What is contorno?
A. A platter of vegetables usually accompanying the main course in an Italian meal. The word contorno loosely translates as "contours" and refers to the fact that the vegetable course helps shape and define the meal.
http://www.dummies.com/WileyCDA/DummiesArticle/Mangia-Traditional-Italian-Dining.id-2331.html
August 22 is the birthday of writer Annie Proulx or E. Annie Proulx, (books by this author) born Edna Annie Proulx in Norwich, Connecticut, in 1935. Proulx wrote her first short story at age 10 when she had the chicken pox and was bedridden, and she published her first story in Gourmet magazine at age 20. She wrote magazine articles on topics that included canoeing and mice, and how-to books like Sweet and Hard Cider: Making It, Using It and Enjoying It (1980). She only had time to write a few stories a year, but all of them got published. She didn't want to write anything but short stories — she said, "I find it satisfying and intellectually stimulating to work with the intensity, brevity, balance, and word play of the short story." But her first collection of short stories, Heart Songs (1988), got such good reviews that her editor suggested she write a novel. She decided to give it a try, and "within a half-hour, the whole of Postcards was in my head." Postcards (1992) was followed by more novels, including The Shipping News (1996). She is the author of the short story "Brokeback Mountain" (The New Yorker 1997), which inspired the film.
The Writer’s Almanac
Thursday, August 21, 2008
FTC Issues Final Telemarketing Sales Rule Amendments Regarding Prerecorded Calls
News release: The Federal Trade Commission has announced two amendments to the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR). One will expressly bar telemarketing calls that deliver prerecorded messages, unless a consumer previously has agreed to accept such calls from the seller. The other related technical amendment modifies the TSR's method of calculating the maximum permissible level of "call abandonment." The amendments will not affect consumers' ability to continue to receive calls that deliver purely "informational" prerecorded messages--notifying recipients, for example, that their flight has been cancelled, that they have a service appointment, or similar messages. Such purely "informational" calls are not covered by the TSR because they do not attempt to sell the called party any goods or services.
SEC Announces Successor to EDGAR Database
News release: Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Christopher Cox has unveiled the successor to the agency’s 1980s-era EDGAR database, which will give investors far faster and easier access to key financial information about public companies and mutual funds. The new system is called IDEA, short for Interactive Data Electronic Applications. Based on a completely new architecture being built from the ground up, it will at first supplement and then eventually replace the EDGAR system.
Justia Pre-Beta Lawyer Directory Released
Justia: Find Attorneys, Legal Aid and Legal Services - Arranged by practice areas, states and metro areas.
FEC Summarizes Party Financial Activity
Source: Federal Election Commission
The Federal Election Commission (FEC) has announced that Republican party committees raised $409 million from January 2007 through June 30, 2008. This represents about a one-percent increase over a similar period in 2006, but reflects a 12-percent decline in funds raised during the first six months of the 2004 Presidential campaign. Democratic party committees continued to raise more money than in previous years, with total receipts of $351.1 million from January 2007 through June 30, 2008. This is an increase of 21 percent over a similar period in 2006 and 26 percent higher than in 2004.
New GAO Report and Correspondence (PDFs)
Source: Government Accountability Office
18 August 2008
+ Reports
1. PBGC Assets: Implementation of New Investment Policy Will Need Stronger Board Oversight
2. Food and Drug Administration: Approval and Oversight of the Drug Mifeprex
3. Supply Chain Security: CBP Works with International Entities to Promote Global Customs Security Standards and Initiatives, but Challenges Remain
+ Correspondence
1. Superfund: Funding and Reported Costs of Enforcement and Administration Activities
Thoughts from the Bonesetter’s Daughter, a novel by Amy Tan
Some people talk about peeves more than passions.
Discoveries are refreshing.
Television can be an artificial caregiver.
Novel of the week according to The Week, August 22-29, 2008
The Lace Reader by Brunomia Barry—bizarre set of characters in Salem, Massachusetts
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has ruled that the NFL did not violate the Sherman Antitrust Act when it awarded an exclusive license for its apparel to Reebok. The plaintiff in the case was American Needle Inc., which prior to 2000 was one of several vendors licensed to make apparel for the National Football League. In 2000, the NFL awarded an exclusive license for most of its apparel to Reebok. American Needle then filed suit against the NFL in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, claiming that the league was in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act, which outlaws any "contract, combination... or conspiracy, in restraint of trade."
http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1202423923888
Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog in three acts starring Dr. Horrible/Billy Buddy, Penny and Captain Hammer—was shot in six days and viewed more than 2.2 million times in its first week. Please send home for viewing if you are at work.
http://www.hulu.com/videos/search?query=horrible
On August 20, 1882 the "1812 Overture" debuted in Moscow. Pyotor Ilyich Tchaikovsky wrote the piece to commemorate Russia's defense in 1812 at the Battle of Borodino against Napoleon's invasion of Russia. The piece includes 16 cannon shots, which are written into the piece along with all the other orchestral instruments. The overture is 15 minutes long, and begins with a Russian Orthodox hymn, moving through traditional and military themes to convey the distress of the Russian people at the invading French. But even though it is a piece about Russia and France, it's now a popular choice for patriotic American festivals. This tradition began in 1935 when Chicago's Grant Park Orchestra performed it for the Fourth of July. Now the Boston Pops Orchestra plays it every year for their huge July 4th celebrations. It's played every July 4th on the Capitol Lawn in Washington, D.C., and the United States Army Band performs the piece every August.
August 20 is the birthday of the poet Edgar Albert Guest, (books by this author) born in Birmingham, England, in 1881. He spent most of his life in Detroit, and he is the first and only poet laureate of Michigan. After his father died, Guest dropped out of high school to work full time at the Detroit Free Press, where he went from copy boy to reporter. He wrote poems that were syndicated in over 300 American newspapers, and these verses were called "Breakfast Table Chat." Even though Guest was the author of more than 11,000 poems, he called himself "a newspaper man who wrote poems."
The Writer’s Almanac
News release: The Federal Trade Commission has announced two amendments to the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR). One will expressly bar telemarketing calls that deliver prerecorded messages, unless a consumer previously has agreed to accept such calls from the seller. The other related technical amendment modifies the TSR's method of calculating the maximum permissible level of "call abandonment." The amendments will not affect consumers' ability to continue to receive calls that deliver purely "informational" prerecorded messages--notifying recipients, for example, that their flight has been cancelled, that they have a service appointment, or similar messages. Such purely "informational" calls are not covered by the TSR because they do not attempt to sell the called party any goods or services.
SEC Announces Successor to EDGAR Database
News release: Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Christopher Cox has unveiled the successor to the agency’s 1980s-era EDGAR database, which will give investors far faster and easier access to key financial information about public companies and mutual funds. The new system is called IDEA, short for Interactive Data Electronic Applications. Based on a completely new architecture being built from the ground up, it will at first supplement and then eventually replace the EDGAR system.
Justia Pre-Beta Lawyer Directory Released
Justia: Find Attorneys, Legal Aid and Legal Services - Arranged by practice areas, states and metro areas.
FEC Summarizes Party Financial Activity
Source: Federal Election Commission
The Federal Election Commission (FEC) has announced that Republican party committees raised $409 million from January 2007 through June 30, 2008. This represents about a one-percent increase over a similar period in 2006, but reflects a 12-percent decline in funds raised during the first six months of the 2004 Presidential campaign. Democratic party committees continued to raise more money than in previous years, with total receipts of $351.1 million from January 2007 through June 30, 2008. This is an increase of 21 percent over a similar period in 2006 and 26 percent higher than in 2004.
New GAO Report and Correspondence (PDFs)
Source: Government Accountability Office
18 August 2008
+ Reports
1. PBGC Assets: Implementation of New Investment Policy Will Need Stronger Board Oversight
2. Food and Drug Administration: Approval and Oversight of the Drug Mifeprex
3. Supply Chain Security: CBP Works with International Entities to Promote Global Customs Security Standards and Initiatives, but Challenges Remain
+ Correspondence
1. Superfund: Funding and Reported Costs of Enforcement and Administration Activities
Thoughts from the Bonesetter’s Daughter, a novel by Amy Tan
Some people talk about peeves more than passions.
Discoveries are refreshing.
Television can be an artificial caregiver.
Novel of the week according to The Week, August 22-29, 2008
The Lace Reader by Brunomia Barry—bizarre set of characters in Salem, Massachusetts
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has ruled that the NFL did not violate the Sherman Antitrust Act when it awarded an exclusive license for its apparel to Reebok. The plaintiff in the case was American Needle Inc., which prior to 2000 was one of several vendors licensed to make apparel for the National Football League. In 2000, the NFL awarded an exclusive license for most of its apparel to Reebok. American Needle then filed suit against the NFL in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, claiming that the league was in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act, which outlaws any "contract, combination... or conspiracy, in restraint of trade."
http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1202423923888
Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog in three acts starring Dr. Horrible/Billy Buddy, Penny and Captain Hammer—was shot in six days and viewed more than 2.2 million times in its first week. Please send home for viewing if you are at work.
http://www.hulu.com/videos/search?query=horrible
On August 20, 1882 the "1812 Overture" debuted in Moscow. Pyotor Ilyich Tchaikovsky wrote the piece to commemorate Russia's defense in 1812 at the Battle of Borodino against Napoleon's invasion of Russia. The piece includes 16 cannon shots, which are written into the piece along with all the other orchestral instruments. The overture is 15 minutes long, and begins with a Russian Orthodox hymn, moving through traditional and military themes to convey the distress of the Russian people at the invading French. But even though it is a piece about Russia and France, it's now a popular choice for patriotic American festivals. This tradition began in 1935 when Chicago's Grant Park Orchestra performed it for the Fourth of July. Now the Boston Pops Orchestra plays it every year for their huge July 4th celebrations. It's played every July 4th on the Capitol Lawn in Washington, D.C., and the United States Army Band performs the piece every August.
August 20 is the birthday of the poet Edgar Albert Guest, (books by this author) born in Birmingham, England, in 1881. He spent most of his life in Detroit, and he is the first and only poet laureate of Michigan. After his father died, Guest dropped out of high school to work full time at the Detroit Free Press, where he went from copy boy to reporter. He wrote poems that were syndicated in over 300 American newspapers, and these verses were called "Breakfast Table Chat." Even though Guest was the author of more than 11,000 poems, he called himself "a newspaper man who wrote poems."
The Writer’s Almanac
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
National Campaign For Fair Elections: 2008 Voter Registration Guides
2008 Voter Registration Guides: The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, founded in 1963, and its pro bono law firm partners have compiled comprehensive third-party voter registration guides for all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The guides will help volunteers, organizers, and leaders navigate the complex rules that govern voter registration in each state. They are designed for informational purposes only.
California County Plans Huge Solar Power Farms
Scientific American: "The amount of solar photovoltaics harnessing electricity from sunshine in the U.S. will more than double by 2013, thanks to plans to build 800 megawatts worth in California. The two vast solar farms—covering more than 12 square miles—will be among the largest ever built in the world and dwarf the current U.S. record holder: Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada with 14 megawatts.”
Related postings on climate change
Report: Reconceiving Research Libraries for the 21st Century
Council on Library and Information Resources, pub 142 - No Brief Candle: Reconceiving Research Libraries for the 21st Century, August, 2008 (74 pages, PDF)
"In February 2008, CLIR convened 25 leading librarians, publishers, faculty members, and information technology specialists to consider this question. Participants discussed the challenges and opportunities that libraries are likely to face in the next five to ten years, and how changes in scholarly communication will affect the future library."
A nugatory law is invalid or ineffective.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&defl=en&q=define:nugatory&sa=X&oi=glossary_definition&ct=title
New on LLRX.com: Expanding the FOIA
FOIA Facts: Expanding the FOIA - Scott A. Hodes highlights the recent introduction of legislation that would eliminate the FOIA shield for the Smithsonian Institute, and the continued lack of transparency when dealing with other federal agencies.
A search of Google images produces 17,000 hits for prometheus sculpture. Adding paul manship takes it down to 235. http://images.google.com/images?gbv=2&hl=en&q=prometheus+sculpture+%22paul+manship%22
American sculptor Paul Manship (1866-1966) produced the famous 1934 Prometheus fountain sculpture in front of Rockefeller Center in Manhattan. A list of his works in museums (including Toledo) and public art galleries is here: http://www.artcyclopedia.com/artists/manship_paul.html
Inflatable dog turd created by the American artist Paul McCarthy blown from its moorings at a Swiss museum on July 31 The exhibit, the size of a house, brought down a power line and broke a window before landing in the grounds of a children's home.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/aug/12/3?gusrc=rss&feed=artanddesign
2008 Voter Registration Guides: The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, founded in 1963, and its pro bono law firm partners have compiled comprehensive third-party voter registration guides for all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The guides will help volunteers, organizers, and leaders navigate the complex rules that govern voter registration in each state. They are designed for informational purposes only.
California County Plans Huge Solar Power Farms
Scientific American: "The amount of solar photovoltaics harnessing electricity from sunshine in the U.S. will more than double by 2013, thanks to plans to build 800 megawatts worth in California. The two vast solar farms—covering more than 12 square miles—will be among the largest ever built in the world and dwarf the current U.S. record holder: Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada with 14 megawatts.”
Related postings on climate change
Report: Reconceiving Research Libraries for the 21st Century
Council on Library and Information Resources, pub 142 - No Brief Candle: Reconceiving Research Libraries for the 21st Century, August, 2008 (74 pages, PDF)
"In February 2008, CLIR convened 25 leading librarians, publishers, faculty members, and information technology specialists to consider this question. Participants discussed the challenges and opportunities that libraries are likely to face in the next five to ten years, and how changes in scholarly communication will affect the future library."
A nugatory law is invalid or ineffective.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&defl=en&q=define:nugatory&sa=X&oi=glossary_definition&ct=title
New on LLRX.com: Expanding the FOIA
FOIA Facts: Expanding the FOIA - Scott A. Hodes highlights the recent introduction of legislation that would eliminate the FOIA shield for the Smithsonian Institute, and the continued lack of transparency when dealing with other federal agencies.
A search of Google images produces 17,000 hits for prometheus sculpture. Adding paul manship takes it down to 235. http://images.google.com/images?gbv=2&hl=en&q=prometheus+sculpture+%22paul+manship%22
American sculptor Paul Manship (1866-1966) produced the famous 1934 Prometheus fountain sculpture in front of Rockefeller Center in Manhattan. A list of his works in museums (including Toledo) and public art galleries is here: http://www.artcyclopedia.com/artists/manship_paul.html
Inflatable dog turd created by the American artist Paul McCarthy blown from its moorings at a Swiss museum on July 31 The exhibit, the size of a house, brought down a power line and broke a window before landing in the grounds of a children's home.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/aug/12/3?gusrc=rss&feed=artanddesign
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