Just in time for Christmas and the end of the semester, when you'll have a little time to play around with new technology over break, it seems like the perfect moment for a round of Cool Tools -- nifty technology you can use to make your work and home life fun.
You may remember Wordle from the presentation at in-service. It's the online "toy" that lets you take any text and turn it into a word cloud that illustrates which words are used most frequently. Here's an example I made of Twas the Night Before Christmas done as a Wordle. (Just a note: if you browse the gallery you will necessarily observe the tendency of people to use any tool of this sort to broadcast obscenities in big letters...) If you'd like ideas of how you might incorporate Wordle into your work, take a look at this list in The Clever Sheep, or this one at Ask Dr. Kirk (which offers suggestions that reflect a workplace rather than the classroom).
Draw Anywhere is an online graphics program that you can log into from anywhere to access your flowcharts and diagrams. Rather than storing, saving and transfering files, you can share them with others over the internet and access them publicly. You can also link charts or diagrams to your web page and then change them as needed with minimal effort or enable others to make changes to them. While you can get a free account that enables full functionality but limits user access, output and security, real flexibility comes from the $30/year account.
GoogleNewsTimeline is a new Google App that lets you manipulate various elements of Google's news features to create a timeline of recent events. You can, for example, put in the name of an important individual, such as the president, and have it highlight news stories for him over time. A great way to follow how rapidly changing stories develop, or to see how particular countries appear in the news.
For something truly on the fun side, play around with Voki, an avatar generator that lets you create animated avatars that speak. You can get the code to publish an avatar to your web page to introduce yourself to your students in a fun way as an anime character or have them use them to record foreign language or vocabulary practice.
And what may be one of the most broadly useful applications, Glogster, lets users create online posters that can incorporate multimedia elements. The "glogs" can then be incorporated into blogs or wikis. The Glogster site offers several examples of the kinds of things that are possible with the tool. Students can create an online poster session, or you can create posters to attractively illustrate key concepts or ideas.
During spring in-service, the library will offer faculty and staff an opportunity to learn how to create and use wikis. This session will take place during the Faculty prep time so keep an eye out for further details. Wikis are one of the simplest and yet most powerful and effective tools available. They are perfect for creating collectively developed work of any sort, from class group projects to quick answer manuals for dealing with those questions people in your department must respond to frequently and you want to make sure everyone knows what the current information is. They are an ideal software for teams to use to develop ideas as well, as changes are recorded. Here is a good video from CommonCraft on TeacherTube that explains the concept of wikis in a fun way.
Friday, December 11, 2009
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Vaccines -- Digging for Data
Many parents are concerned about the safety of vaccines these days, especially the influenza and the MMR vaccines. So it seemed like a good time to offer some solid sources of information on this timely topic.
Before examining the vaccines themselves, it's worth taking a look at the illnesses these vaccines target. Vaccine safety has become an issue because this country has not experienced any outbreak of life-threatening childhood disease since the eradication of polio. The last few polio survivors are now so elderly and the disease is so unknown that almost all physicians in this country are unfamiliar with its treatment. NPR told the story of one 73-year-old physician and polio survivor who has specialized in the disease and feels unable to retire because there is simply no one to replace him. Few people can remember the terror produced by the annual return of polio when parents would fear for their children's lives. Each year new children would add to numbers in wards those encased in iron lungs or left paraplegic by the disease. Even fewer can remember the Great Influenza Outbreak of 1918, which devastated whole families in many areas of the country. We even tend to forget that measles is not "just some childhood disease" but remains a leading cause of death in young children in areas of the world where significant populations are not immunized. We live, whether we acknowledge it or not, in a very healthy time and place. For an even greater sense of this, check out the 10 Worst Epidemics on HowStuffWorks.
Our overall health has allowed us to focus on the potential risks of vaccines rather than the diseases for which they were developed. This is the focus of Amy Wallace's article in Wired, for which she has received a lot of villification as well as support. As she discusses in the article, much of the difficulty for science in the discussion is the difficulty scientists have talking in absolutes. It operates in a world of probabilities and numbers, worlds in which people are often uncomfortable -- but which continue to support the value of vaccination. For example recent studies underscore the importance of pregnant women receiving the flu vaccine. While the World Health Organization, which tracks measles deaths around the world, which many in the U.S. might be surprised to know numbered around three quarters of a million in 2000 dropped by 74% by 2007 strictly as a result of vaccination programs. The percentages of people choosing to take vaccines in the U.S. remain low, as reported by the Centers for Disease Control. Here is the 2008 data. The reasons people give for not vaccinating vary, as do the people who make the choice, as highlighted in this NY Times article.
Autism spectrum disorders and any potential relationship they may have to vaccines have been a chief point of concern for many parents. The CDC addresses these concerns explicitly on their site. Autism Speaks, one of the foremost autism research organizations also addresses these issues, explicitly pointing out that it fully supports immunization programs as "one of our nation's most effective programs for preventing serious infectious diseases", an issue of no less concern to parents of autistic children. At the same time, it takes parents concerns about possible links between autism and vaccines seriously and continues to support research exploring possible links between specific genetic and environmental links (such as vaccines).
Another concern expressed by parents references the number of vaccines administered to infants and young children. Again, the CDC addresses this concern. The American Academy of Pediatricians provides even more detailed information regarding the vaccine schedule and the importance of immunizing children. PKIDs, Parents of Kids with Infectious Diseases provides information garnered from the CDC about what would happen if too many people start opting out of immunization programs. This organization consists of parents who deal with the reality of the effects of infectious disease on a daily basis. But perhaps the best overall information for parents or anyone concerned with vaccine safety can be found on the site of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia's Vaccine Education Center. This site explains how vaccines are evaluated for safety, explains why children would benefit from vaccinations from something like hepatitis B that seems like an adults' disease and answers every other question raised in this blog as well. Now, in the name of openness, I should point out that the demon of the anti-vaccine movement, Paul Offit works at CHOP and signed off on the site's answers.
This leads to the final point. The anti-vaccine movement is largely led by a group of highly vocal advocates. The most famous is GenerationRescue and its "research arm" FourteenStudies. But these sites do not meet the standards of quality met by the others referenced earlier, despite their efforts to appear to do so. For a good analysis of FourteenStudies failure to do so, read Mark Crislip's analysis of the study evaluations on FourteenStudies on the blog Science-Based Medicine. Similarly Medical Veritas, a peer-reviewed medical journal frequently cited by vaccine opponents as a source of "good" studies, must be regarded as a fringe journal, so much so that its contents are not included in PubMed, the standard tool for medical research. (An interesting discussion of the reliability of the journal can be read on this Wikipedia editorial page.) For a look at DACC's standards of web site evaluation, see this list.
Before examining the vaccines themselves, it's worth taking a look at the illnesses these vaccines target. Vaccine safety has become an issue because this country has not experienced any outbreak of life-threatening childhood disease since the eradication of polio. The last few polio survivors are now so elderly and the disease is so unknown that almost all physicians in this country are unfamiliar with its treatment. NPR told the story of one 73-year-old physician and polio survivor who has specialized in the disease and feels unable to retire because there is simply no one to replace him. Few people can remember the terror produced by the annual return of polio when parents would fear for their children's lives. Each year new children would add to numbers in wards those encased in iron lungs or left paraplegic by the disease. Even fewer can remember the Great Influenza Outbreak of 1918, which devastated whole families in many areas of the country. We even tend to forget that measles is not "just some childhood disease" but remains a leading cause of death in young children in areas of the world where significant populations are not immunized. We live, whether we acknowledge it or not, in a very healthy time and place. For an even greater sense of this, check out the 10 Worst Epidemics on HowStuffWorks.
Our overall health has allowed us to focus on the potential risks of vaccines rather than the diseases for which they were developed. This is the focus of Amy Wallace's article in Wired, for which she has received a lot of villification as well as support. As she discusses in the article, much of the difficulty for science in the discussion is the difficulty scientists have talking in absolutes. It operates in a world of probabilities and numbers, worlds in which people are often uncomfortable -- but which continue to support the value of vaccination. For example recent studies underscore the importance of pregnant women receiving the flu vaccine. While the World Health Organization, which tracks measles deaths around the world, which many in the U.S. might be surprised to know numbered around three quarters of a million in 2000 dropped by 74% by 2007 strictly as a result of vaccination programs. The percentages of people choosing to take vaccines in the U.S. remain low, as reported by the Centers for Disease Control. Here is the 2008 data. The reasons people give for not vaccinating vary, as do the people who make the choice, as highlighted in this NY Times article.
Autism spectrum disorders and any potential relationship they may have to vaccines have been a chief point of concern for many parents. The CDC addresses these concerns explicitly on their site. Autism Speaks, one of the foremost autism research organizations also addresses these issues, explicitly pointing out that it fully supports immunization programs as "one of our nation's most effective programs for preventing serious infectious diseases", an issue of no less concern to parents of autistic children. At the same time, it takes parents concerns about possible links between autism and vaccines seriously and continues to support research exploring possible links between specific genetic and environmental links (such as vaccines).
Another concern expressed by parents references the number of vaccines administered to infants and young children. Again, the CDC addresses this concern. The American Academy of Pediatricians provides even more detailed information regarding the vaccine schedule and the importance of immunizing children. PKIDs, Parents of Kids with Infectious Diseases provides information garnered from the CDC about what would happen if too many people start opting out of immunization programs. This organization consists of parents who deal with the reality of the effects of infectious disease on a daily basis. But perhaps the best overall information for parents or anyone concerned with vaccine safety can be found on the site of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia's Vaccine Education Center. This site explains how vaccines are evaluated for safety, explains why children would benefit from vaccinations from something like hepatitis B that seems like an adults' disease and answers every other question raised in this blog as well. Now, in the name of openness, I should point out that the demon of the anti-vaccine movement, Paul Offit works at CHOP and signed off on the site's answers.
This leads to the final point. The anti-vaccine movement is largely led by a group of highly vocal advocates. The most famous is GenerationRescue and its "research arm" FourteenStudies. But these sites do not meet the standards of quality met by the others referenced earlier, despite their efforts to appear to do so. For a good analysis of FourteenStudies failure to do so, read Mark Crislip's analysis of the study evaluations on FourteenStudies on the blog Science-Based Medicine. Similarly Medical Veritas, a peer-reviewed medical journal frequently cited by vaccine opponents as a source of "good" studies, must be regarded as a fringe journal, so much so that its contents are not included in PubMed, the standard tool for medical research. (An interesting discussion of the reliability of the journal can be read on this Wikipedia editorial page.) For a look at DACC's standards of web site evaluation, see this list.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Fright Night
With Halloween almost upon us, it seems appropriate to look into all things spooky and creepy in the spirit of the holiday. The library currently has a display of books and videos ranging from the popular Twilight series to Ghostbusters and Zodiac to get you in the mood for Saturday night's little doorbell ringers. In addition, the library's Pop Culture Universe database (DACC user i.d. and password required off campus) offers lots of opportunities to investigate everything from vampires and zombies to Halloween).
Celebrating the Holiday
And the internet offers a whole world of opportunities for the intrepid investigator of Halloween-themed interests. For a general background of the History of Halloween, check out this site from the Library of Congress American Folklife Center. Still scrambling for the perfect costume idea? The Costume Page offers a wide selection of useful resource links to motivate you specifically for Halloween. It also includes a link to the National Retail Federation's list of the Top Costumes for 2009. Odd, librarian didn't make the list... and yes there is one. Or if your looking for something different to do with that pumpkin, check out ExtremePumpkins.com, which includes lots of excellent carving information as well as the single most outrageous (and outrageously fun) collection of jack-o-lanterns you're likely to run across. Tom Nardone, the site's creator, even gives out lots of free carving stencils you can try. And although it's a bit late to produce these now, here's a little project to plan for next year's Halloween, courtesy of the Bunless Librarian: The Cure for the Common Jack-O-Lantern, a pumpkin shaped like a human face.
Monsters
Interested in monsters? Then you'll love Monstropedia, a wiki-based encyclopedia of monsters, parascience and the paranormal. with more than 1800 articles, you should have plenty to browse. The site does not hold itself to the citation and documentation standards of wikipedia, but it's a lot of fun and does offer a lot of useful links and stories. A bit more well referenced, and just as potentially useful depending upon your monstrous interest (basilisks, anyone?), is Encyclopedia Mythica. This site does provide references for individual entries and seeks out people with background in the subject area to write particular entries.
Witches
After the assorted types of monsters, one thing closely associated with Halloween in the popular mind is the figure of the witch. Witches, of course, have a complex and real history, as the witchcraft trials in Salem demonstrated so vividly. The Famous Trials website provides one of the best points of reference to not only the 1692 events, but also to the long history of persecution that preceded it. Visitors can also consider their options had they been among the accused and even try their hand at Salem Witchcraft Jeopardy. Another intriguing exploration of the Trials is National Geographic's interactive experience in which visitors take on the persona of one of the accused. Modern day witches also have an active presence on the internet, as do followers of other religions. If you are interested in learning more about them, you can go to The Witches' Voice and read more about and by present day pagans and witches, some of whom take the Halloween traditions with good humor and others of whom regard it with distaste.
Hauntings
Many of you are probably familiar with various stories about Illinois' assorted haunted houses, theaters and other locations. Even if you are, you may find some that aren't familiar at the Haunted Illinois web site. You can also check out Haunted Indiana if that terrain is closer to home. And finally, a haunted house that is one of the most architecturally extraordinary creations in the United States, Winchester House in California. Here is an online tour of the various rooms' highlights.
Happy Halloween everybody!
Celebrating the Holiday
And the internet offers a whole world of opportunities for the intrepid investigator of Halloween-themed interests. For a general background of the History of Halloween, check out this site from the Library of Congress American Folklife Center. Still scrambling for the perfect costume idea? The Costume Page offers a wide selection of useful resource links to motivate you specifically for Halloween. It also includes a link to the National Retail Federation's list of the Top Costumes for 2009. Odd, librarian didn't make the list... and yes there is one. Or if your looking for something different to do with that pumpkin, check out ExtremePumpkins.com, which includes lots of excellent carving information as well as the single most outrageous (and outrageously fun) collection of jack-o-lanterns you're likely to run across. Tom Nardone, the site's creator, even gives out lots of free carving stencils you can try. And although it's a bit late to produce these now, here's a little project to plan for next year's Halloween, courtesy of the Bunless Librarian: The Cure for the Common Jack-O-Lantern, a pumpkin shaped like a human face.
Monsters
Interested in monsters? Then you'll love Monstropedia, a wiki-based encyclopedia of monsters, parascience and the paranormal. with more than 1800 articles, you should have plenty to browse. The site does not hold itself to the citation and documentation standards of wikipedia, but it's a lot of fun and does offer a lot of useful links and stories. A bit more well referenced, and just as potentially useful depending upon your monstrous interest (basilisks, anyone?), is Encyclopedia Mythica. This site does provide references for individual entries and seeks out people with background in the subject area to write particular entries.
Witches
After the assorted types of monsters, one thing closely associated with Halloween in the popular mind is the figure of the witch. Witches, of course, have a complex and real history, as the witchcraft trials in Salem demonstrated so vividly. The Famous Trials website provides one of the best points of reference to not only the 1692 events, but also to the long history of persecution that preceded it. Visitors can also consider their options had they been among the accused and even try their hand at Salem Witchcraft Jeopardy. Another intriguing exploration of the Trials is National Geographic's interactive experience in which visitors take on the persona of one of the accused. Modern day witches also have an active presence on the internet, as do followers of other religions. If you are interested in learning more about them, you can go to The Witches' Voice and read more about and by present day pagans and witches, some of whom take the Halloween traditions with good humor and others of whom regard it with distaste.
Hauntings
Many of you are probably familiar with various stories about Illinois' assorted haunted houses, theaters and other locations. Even if you are, you may find some that aren't familiar at the Haunted Illinois web site. You can also check out Haunted Indiana if that terrain is closer to home. And finally, a haunted house that is one of the most architecturally extraordinary creations in the United States, Winchester House in California. Here is an online tour of the various rooms' highlights.
Happy Halloween everybody!
Friday, October 16, 2009
Are You Coming Out Tonite?
October is Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender History Month, and the official web site presents a video featuring 31 important icons from GLBT history, including Suze Orman, Zora Neale Hurston, and John Cage. The site also retains the archives of icons since 2006. These include figures as diverse as Florence Nightingale, Michelangelo and Rachel Carson.
One critical event in GLBT history was the publication of the Kinsey Report, more properly known as Sexual Behavior in the Human Male (and the corresponding report on the Human Female published later). The American Journal of Public Health reproduces key portions of that report online. With his data regarding the numbers of American men who had had at least one homosexual experience, Kinsey literally changed the public perception of the human sexual landscape.
Another source of interesting online information is OutHistory, a continuously developing site that includes an eclectic selection of exhibits that range from Colonial American gay experience to gay elected officials to cross-dressing lesbians around the turn of the nineteenth century. Explore the gays of Bronzeville in Chicago or what it is like to be gay and Native American in mid-twentieth century. Follow the efforts to get New York's transgender law passed.
Fear of the Unknown
While GLBT History month frequently highlights web sites and resources focusing on the history of those groups, less common is for attention to be drawn to the history of homophobia, the cultural attitudes that lead people to oppress homosexuals. Rictor Norton, a noted researcher into gay history and culture offers readers a detailed look at the early period of Western homophobia on his web site. Rictor's web site on Gay History and Literature offers interested readers a lot more to explore, everything from collections of gay love letters to explorations of particular literary traditions to lesbian pirates and 18th century cruising in London.
Sexuality Research
For people interested in sexuality research or study, an important site of information available online is the Magnus Hirschfeld Archive for Sexology. On the site users can find entire books, research reports, reviews, surveys and data sets to review. One of the most useful tools on the site is the Critical Dictionary of Sexology and Glossary of Inappropriate Terms (which refers to terms that contain either explicit or hidden value judgments).
One critical event in GLBT history was the publication of the Kinsey Report, more properly known as Sexual Behavior in the Human Male (and the corresponding report on the Human Female published later). The American Journal of Public Health reproduces key portions of that report online. With his data regarding the numbers of American men who had had at least one homosexual experience, Kinsey literally changed the public perception of the human sexual landscape.
Another source of interesting online information is OutHistory, a continuously developing site that includes an eclectic selection of exhibits that range from Colonial American gay experience to gay elected officials to cross-dressing lesbians around the turn of the nineteenth century. Explore the gays of Bronzeville in Chicago or what it is like to be gay and Native American in mid-twentieth century. Follow the efforts to get New York's transgender law passed.
Fear of the Unknown
While GLBT History month frequently highlights web sites and resources focusing on the history of those groups, less common is for attention to be drawn to the history of homophobia, the cultural attitudes that lead people to oppress homosexuals. Rictor Norton, a noted researcher into gay history and culture offers readers a detailed look at the early period of Western homophobia on his web site. Rictor's web site on Gay History and Literature offers interested readers a lot more to explore, everything from collections of gay love letters to explorations of particular literary traditions to lesbian pirates and 18th century cruising in London.
Sexuality Research
For people interested in sexuality research or study, an important site of information available online is the Magnus Hirschfeld Archive for Sexology. On the site users can find entire books, research reports, reviews, surveys and data sets to review. One of the most useful tools on the site is the Critical Dictionary of Sexology and Glossary of Inappropriate Terms (which refers to terms that contain either explicit or hidden value judgments).
Thursday, September 10, 2009
9/11 How Will You Serve?
Eight years have passed since those four planes changed the lives of so many Americans on September 11, 2001. Survivors continue to cope, their children grow, rescuers struggle with the physical aftereffects of so many hours spent combing through the wreckage, and the new WTC is finally under construction. But for those not immediately effected by the attacks, enough time has passed that they becoming historical events, albeit mile markers in our lifetimes. So it is perhaps especially fitting that this year legislation has been enacted declaring September 11 A National Day of Service and Remembrance.
Service
The home page for 9/11 National Day of Service and Remembrance provides information about the purpose of the day, ways individuals can become involved, ways organizations or individuals can get service projects going or seek out additional volunteers, and links to other informational sites. Visitors are encouraged to post their own activities as a way to inspire others and stimulate others' thinking. If you are interested in volunteering, however, don't feel limited to the options offered by the 9/11 web site. VolunteerMatch offers additional opportunities to bring together volunteers and organizations online. Currently Danville's volunteer organizations are not well represented on the site, so if you are active in one you might want to suggest the site to the volunteer coordinator. Government volunteering opportunities have their own online site, Volunteer.gov, where users can identify possibilities by state. To locate opportunities locally, the United Way has assembled this list of Danville organizations and contact information, while Champaign-Urbana has cuvolunteer.org.
Want some ideas for simple acts of kindness and service? Check out HelpOthers.org, which offers lots of suggestions. The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation also offers ideas to promote kindness and service to others and even provides tools for teachers and individuals to use to get started in their own communities.
Remembrance
While the new designation for September 11 is intended to draw good from bad, it is also designed as an opportunity to remember and learn. To that end, the National September 11 Museum and Memorial at the World Trade Center is being planned. With the WTC complex still tangled in ongoing construction and funding issues, it remains in a virtual stage, but that leaves a lot available for exploration, including an extensive registry of artists and their works, oral histories recorded through the Library of Congress' StoryCorps project, and pictures and stories of the some of the artifacts that have been donated to the Museum. September 11 Bearing Witness to History, the Smithsonian's collection of artifacts related to the attacks, is an especially moving site, with an extensive set of artifacts and stories, while the September 11 Digital Archive offers one of the most comprehensive collections of information. And finally, the National Park Service is creating a memorial in Shanksville, PA where Flight 93 was brought down through the brave efforts of its passengers to defeat the hijackers. See the plans for the memorial here.
Service
The home page for 9/11 National Day of Service and Remembrance provides information about the purpose of the day, ways individuals can become involved, ways organizations or individuals can get service projects going or seek out additional volunteers, and links to other informational sites. Visitors are encouraged to post their own activities as a way to inspire others and stimulate others' thinking. If you are interested in volunteering, however, don't feel limited to the options offered by the 9/11 web site. VolunteerMatch offers additional opportunities to bring together volunteers and organizations online. Currently Danville's volunteer organizations are not well represented on the site, so if you are active in one you might want to suggest the site to the volunteer coordinator. Government volunteering opportunities have their own online site, Volunteer.gov, where users can identify possibilities by state. To locate opportunities locally, the United Way has assembled this list of Danville organizations and contact information, while Champaign-Urbana has cuvolunteer.org.
Want some ideas for simple acts of kindness and service? Check out HelpOthers.org, which offers lots of suggestions. The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation also offers ideas to promote kindness and service to others and even provides tools for teachers and individuals to use to get started in their own communities.
Remembrance
While the new designation for September 11 is intended to draw good from bad, it is also designed as an opportunity to remember and learn. To that end, the National September 11 Museum and Memorial at the World Trade Center is being planned. With the WTC complex still tangled in ongoing construction and funding issues, it remains in a virtual stage, but that leaves a lot available for exploration, including an extensive registry of artists and their works, oral histories recorded through the Library of Congress' StoryCorps project, and pictures and stories of the some of the artifacts that have been donated to the Museum. September 11 Bearing Witness to History, the Smithsonian's collection of artifacts related to the attacks, is an especially moving site, with an extensive set of artifacts and stories, while the September 11 Digital Archive offers one of the most comprehensive collections of information. And finally, the National Park Service is creating a memorial in Shanksville, PA where Flight 93 was brought down through the brave efforts of its passengers to defeat the hijackers. See the plans for the memorial here.
Friday, September 4, 2009
Health Care Reform?
Everyone is talking about health care reform, but a lot of people have several misconceptions about various aspects of the conversation. How well do you understand this very complicated issue? You can test your knowledge with either CNN's quick quiz or that compiled by the Friends Committee on National Legislation, or both. (They touch on different points.)
Finding Good Facts
If your email has been brimming with scary emails about what the Congressional health plan might mean for you, you should check out FactCheck.org's evaluation of the most notorious of these fearmongering missives in which they found 26 outright lies and only 4 genuine truths among 48 claims. Another excellent source of information on the issue is CQ Researcher, a weekly publication that examines current issues in depth. (You'll need your DACC user ID and password for off-campus access.) They covered health care reform in last week's issue (8-28-09), which offers extensive reporting, background, pros and cons of particular aspects and references to find further information. Somewhat similar to CQ Researcher is Issues and Controversies, a Facts on File database that provides detailed, balanced coverage of current topics. (You'll also need your DACC user ID and password for off-campus access for this.) It too includes recent material covering the health care debate, especially issues related to the proposed public option.
Been watching coverage of all of those raucous town hall meetings? You might be surprised to find that they aren't quite what they appear on news programs on FOX or MSNBC or other media outlets. You can see the entire meetings, not just edited clips, on C-Span, the Congressional news channel. In fact, if you are interested in unbiased coverage of the entire issue, you can't do better than C-Span, which provides full coverage of meetings, hearings, and public statements, and also has an area for viewers to submit material. Feeling brave? Here's the actual text of the legislation H.R. 3200 , which is available through Thomas, the Library of Congress legislation search engine. Actually, it's not too bad. The bill has an index of terms you can use to search through it and a summary of contents.
Two excellent sources of online information on the state of the U.S. health care system are The Commonwealth Fund, which includes on its web site a report that compares the United States health care system to those in other countries. (The conclusion: ours comes off very poorly on several crucial counts.) The other is The Alliance for Health Reform's Covering Health Issues, 5th ed.
And finally, a moment of health care debate humor from The Onion.
H1N1 Flu Update
And little bit of additional information on the flu formerly known as swine. Here is a very useful flyer from the Illinois Department of Public Health that itemizes the symptoms and emergency warning signs to determine if you or a family member needs to go and see a doctor. They also provide a preparedness checklist to help you get ready for the flu hitting home. Here is the IDPH's general web page about the pandemic and seasonal flu, which has links to lots of good information. And on a final note, a new concern about this flu involves whether or not to vaccinate pigs to prevent them catching the flu from people and mutating it into yet another and potentially more dangerous variant. Yes, the swine are now at risk from the people flu...
Finding Good Facts
If your email has been brimming with scary emails about what the Congressional health plan might mean for you, you should check out FactCheck.org's evaluation of the most notorious of these fearmongering missives in which they found 26 outright lies and only 4 genuine truths among 48 claims. Another excellent source of information on the issue is CQ Researcher, a weekly publication that examines current issues in depth. (You'll need your DACC user ID and password for off-campus access.) They covered health care reform in last week's issue (8-28-09), which offers extensive reporting, background, pros and cons of particular aspects and references to find further information. Somewhat similar to CQ Researcher is Issues and Controversies, a Facts on File database that provides detailed, balanced coverage of current topics. (You'll also need your DACC user ID and password for off-campus access for this.) It too includes recent material covering the health care debate, especially issues related to the proposed public option.
Been watching coverage of all of those raucous town hall meetings? You might be surprised to find that they aren't quite what they appear on news programs on FOX or MSNBC or other media outlets. You can see the entire meetings, not just edited clips, on C-Span, the Congressional news channel. In fact, if you are interested in unbiased coverage of the entire issue, you can't do better than C-Span, which provides full coverage of meetings, hearings, and public statements, and also has an area for viewers to submit material. Feeling brave? Here's the actual text of the legislation H.R. 3200 , which is available through Thomas, the Library of Congress legislation search engine. Actually, it's not too bad. The bill has an index of terms you can use to search through it and a summary of contents.
Two excellent sources of online information on the state of the U.S. health care system are The Commonwealth Fund, which includes on its web site a report that compares the United States health care system to those in other countries. (The conclusion: ours comes off very poorly on several crucial counts.) The other is The Alliance for Health Reform's Covering Health Issues, 5th ed.
And finally, a moment of health care debate humor from The Onion.
H1N1 Flu Update
And little bit of additional information on the flu formerly known as swine. Here is a very useful flyer from the Illinois Department of Public Health that itemizes the symptoms and emergency warning signs to determine if you or a family member needs to go and see a doctor. They also provide a preparedness checklist to help you get ready for the flu hitting home. Here is the IDPH's general web page about the pandemic and seasonal flu, which has links to lots of good information. And on a final note, a new concern about this flu involves whether or not to vaccinate pigs to prevent them catching the flu from people and mutating it into yet another and potentially more dangerous variant. Yes, the swine are now at risk from the people flu...
Friday, August 28, 2009
Royal Generation
They were America's version of a royal family; equal parts spectacle and service, scandal and sorrow. And always, always glamor. Love them or hate them, the Kennedys captured the national imagination and held it in a way no other family has. The Bush family may have put comparable numbers of family members in public office, but they will never similar assume place in American culture. And now with passing of Ted Kennedy, and prior to that his sister Eunice, the hold the Kennedys had on the American collective imagination is loosened, irrevocably converted to nostalgia.
Weekend Events
If you missed any of the memorial events this weekend and would like to catch up on them, you can see them in C-Span's video library. If you'd like to get a sense of the continuing power the Kennedy family has on historical imagination, check out the web site for American Experience's The Kennedys, which offers details about the different family members as well as assessments of their cultural significance.
The Power of Camelot
The spell of the Kennedy Camelot can be seen through the continuing fascination with JFK's assassination. The industry of documentaries, web sites, books and tourism surrounding the event, not to mention the 70% of Americans (according to a 2003 ABC news poll) who believe there to be a conspiracy surrounding the event, demonstrates our national pre-occupation. Just a few of the more comprehensive web sites include The Assassination of John F. Kennedy by John Simkin, the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records at the National Archives, and the John F. Kennedy Assassination Homepage by Ralph Schuster (caution: gruesome photographs).
But there was more to the Camelot myth. An introduction to it can be garnered from the virtual tour of the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library's web site, especially the virtual tour, which includes extensive recordings of JFK speaking. You can also check the president's biography, or those of anyone else mentioned in this entry in the library's comprehensive, full-text Biography Reference Bank Select database. (Campus user ID and password required for off-campus use.) Part of the mystique certainly came from Jacqueline Kennedy, a first lady who personified glamor and who, with her husband brought youth and sparkle to the White House, even as she set fashion trends for the nation.
The New Hope
Another critical aspect of the Kennedy story is the romantic rise and tragic fall of Robert Kennedy's presidential campaign 1968 following his roles as attorney general, first for his brother and then for Lyndon Johnson, and then as Senator for New York. Robert's presidential bid drew its support from those he identified as "the disaffected", minorities, the young, the powerless. His star was rising in those turbulent times following Martin Luther King's assassination when, on the night of his success in the California primary, he was shot by Sirhan Sirhan in the kitchen of the Ambassador Hotel. All of the official documents regarding his assassination can be viewed online courtesy of the Mary Ferrell Foundation. The Foundation also has online archives of the JFK assassination as well as assassination attempts on Castro, Martin Luther King and others and covert government and military activities that have been declassified. A fascinating online resource.
Less well known is Robert Kennedy's early participation with Joseph McCarthy in that Senator's notorious communist hunting efforts within the federal government and his part in the sending the CIA to assassinate Fidel Castro in Cuba, or even his initial efforts as Attorney General to restrict the actions of Freedom Riders in Alabama. American Experience captures the essence of Robert Kennedy's complexity in their web site for the documentary RFK, of which the library owns a copy.
Championing the Disabled
Eunice Kennedy Shriver passed away a little over two weeks ago, and although she did not share the spotlight in the same way her brothers did, her impact was equally profound for millions of people. For Eunice took up the cause of those with mental disabilities, something close to her heart because of her sister Rosemary. Eunice publicly revealed the story of her sister's lobotomy, one of Dr. Walter Freeman's earliest, and most notorious procedures. The procedure, done to "calm" Rosemary, who was regarded by the family as mentally retarded but whose actual mental condition is unclear left infantilized. (For information on Freeman's lobotomy process, see The Lobotomist web site on American Experience.) The most obvious result of Eunice's efforts was the creation of the Special Olympics, which work to change public perceptions of people with intellectual disabilities. Today more than 3 million people benefit from an organization which began as in Shriver's backyard.
Master of the Senate
More visible than his sister and more controversial than his brothers, in part because of his long and successful career despite personal tragedy and scandal, Edward Kennedy may ultimately be judged the most significant of the three brothers. His detractors will always believe he got off too easily in the death of Mary Jo Kopechne, a young campaign worker who drowned when Ted Kennedy's car went off an unlit, unrailed bridge at Chappaquiddick Island, MA. The history of incident can be found here, along with pictures of the locations and individuals involved. Similarly, his entanglement in the rape trial of William Kennedy Smith in 1991 fueled criticism of his behavior and undermined his ability participate actively as Clarence Thomas' supreme court nomination became a national debate on sexual harassment.
But despite his at times dubious personal behavior, Ted Kennedy became over the years one of the most successful leaders the Senate has ever seen. As recent tributes from political allies and foes, who were nevertheless personal friends, demonstrate, he learned how to get things done in Congress, and is personally associated with more than 100 pieces of major legislation. No mean feat, of which those who refer to a do-Nothing Congress should take note. That he did so was a testament to his political skill and his personal charisma, as numerous commentators have noted.
Will Camelot release its hold on the American imagination? The Washington Post offers some speculations.
Weekend Events
If you missed any of the memorial events this weekend and would like to catch up on them, you can see them in C-Span's video library. If you'd like to get a sense of the continuing power the Kennedy family has on historical imagination, check out the web site for American Experience's The Kennedys, which offers details about the different family members as well as assessments of their cultural significance.
The Power of Camelot
The spell of the Kennedy Camelot can be seen through the continuing fascination with JFK's assassination. The industry of documentaries, web sites, books and tourism surrounding the event, not to mention the 70% of Americans (according to a 2003 ABC news poll) who believe there to be a conspiracy surrounding the event, demonstrates our national pre-occupation. Just a few of the more comprehensive web sites include The Assassination of John F. Kennedy by John Simkin, the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records at the National Archives, and the John F. Kennedy Assassination Homepage by Ralph Schuster (caution: gruesome photographs).
But there was more to the Camelot myth. An introduction to it can be garnered from the virtual tour of the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library's web site, especially the virtual tour, which includes extensive recordings of JFK speaking. You can also check the president's biography, or those of anyone else mentioned in this entry in the library's comprehensive, full-text Biography Reference Bank Select database. (Campus user ID and password required for off-campus use.) Part of the mystique certainly came from Jacqueline Kennedy, a first lady who personified glamor and who, with her husband brought youth and sparkle to the White House, even as she set fashion trends for the nation.
The New Hope
Another critical aspect of the Kennedy story is the romantic rise and tragic fall of Robert Kennedy's presidential campaign 1968 following his roles as attorney general, first for his brother and then for Lyndon Johnson, and then as Senator for New York. Robert's presidential bid drew its support from those he identified as "the disaffected", minorities, the young, the powerless. His star was rising in those turbulent times following Martin Luther King's assassination when, on the night of his success in the California primary, he was shot by Sirhan Sirhan in the kitchen of the Ambassador Hotel. All of the official documents regarding his assassination can be viewed online courtesy of the Mary Ferrell Foundation. The Foundation also has online archives of the JFK assassination as well as assassination attempts on Castro, Martin Luther King and others and covert government and military activities that have been declassified. A fascinating online resource.
Less well known is Robert Kennedy's early participation with Joseph McCarthy in that Senator's notorious communist hunting efforts within the federal government and his part in the sending the CIA to assassinate Fidel Castro in Cuba, or even his initial efforts as Attorney General to restrict the actions of Freedom Riders in Alabama. American Experience captures the essence of Robert Kennedy's complexity in their web site for the documentary RFK, of which the library owns a copy.
Championing the Disabled
Eunice Kennedy Shriver passed away a little over two weeks ago, and although she did not share the spotlight in the same way her brothers did, her impact was equally profound for millions of people. For Eunice took up the cause of those with mental disabilities, something close to her heart because of her sister Rosemary. Eunice publicly revealed the story of her sister's lobotomy, one of Dr. Walter Freeman's earliest, and most notorious procedures. The procedure, done to "calm" Rosemary, who was regarded by the family as mentally retarded but whose actual mental condition is unclear left infantilized. (For information on Freeman's lobotomy process, see The Lobotomist web site on American Experience.) The most obvious result of Eunice's efforts was the creation of the Special Olympics, which work to change public perceptions of people with intellectual disabilities. Today more than 3 million people benefit from an organization which began as in Shriver's backyard.
Master of the Senate
More visible than his sister and more controversial than his brothers, in part because of his long and successful career despite personal tragedy and scandal, Edward Kennedy may ultimately be judged the most significant of the three brothers. His detractors will always believe he got off too easily in the death of Mary Jo Kopechne, a young campaign worker who drowned when Ted Kennedy's car went off an unlit, unrailed bridge at Chappaquiddick Island, MA. The history of incident can be found here, along with pictures of the locations and individuals involved. Similarly, his entanglement in the rape trial of William Kennedy Smith in 1991 fueled criticism of his behavior and undermined his ability participate actively as Clarence Thomas' supreme court nomination became a national debate on sexual harassment.
But despite his at times dubious personal behavior, Ted Kennedy became over the years one of the most successful leaders the Senate has ever seen. As recent tributes from political allies and foes, who were nevertheless personal friends, demonstrate, he learned how to get things done in Congress, and is personally associated with more than 100 pieces of major legislation. No mean feat, of which those who refer to a do-Nothing Congress should take note. That he did so was a testament to his political skill and his personal charisma, as numerous commentators have noted.
Will Camelot release its hold on the American imagination? The Washington Post offers some speculations.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
To Infinity and Beyond!
Buzz Lightyear, whose motto heads this blog entry, is the direct descendant of the Apollo astronauts who 40 years ago made history by truly going where no one had gone before. Apollo 11 launched July 16, 1969 and touched down on the moon on July 20th. If you were alive at that time, chances are you were watching the event on television. Now you can see the event even better than you could then. NASA has restored the original video using HD technology. While not all of the filmed footage has been revitalized yet, the space agency has several clips on its site of key moments from the event. But that's not all. NASA has also prepared an interactive experience (requiring Flash) that lets users trace the astronauts steps on the moon, allowing them to see where iconic images were taken and hear about events, and enabling them to see inside the lunar lander. The site also includes video, photos, and an animated comic telling the story of the mission. NASA is also doing a real-time digital re-creation of events that you can follow online, called We Chose the Moon. If you want real detail, check out the actual journal transcript of the lunar landing, recording the astronauts' transmissions and conversations. This web page also provides links to photos of the Neil Armstrong's and Buzz Aldrin's gear, debriefings, flight plans, press kits and just about anything else a true space nerd might get a kick out of.
Take Me to the Moon
Most of you are probably familiar with Google Maps, the digital mapping site created by the folks at Google that lets you see the surface of the Earth from above. But in honor of the moonwalk, these same folks have put together Google Moon, a lunar surface view that lets you explore the moon's surface and trace the route of any of the six manned lunar missions. Popular Mechanics provides a detailed selection of stories discussing the moonshot, breaking it down into a series of steps that focus on how precisely each had to be performed to prevent disaster.
The Controversies: Cost
Even after 40 years, certain issues related to the Apollo missions remain controversial. From the very beginning, questions of cost versus value have plagued the space program. Despite its technical successes, some still regard the moon missions and other NASA projects as financially irresponsible. In fact this topic is the subject of a featured entry in Issues and Controversies in American History, a new database available through the library's web site. (Off-campus users will need to provide campus user i.d. and password.)
The Controversies: Conspiracies
Some people will tell you that no one has ever been to the moon at all, that the entire "mission" is an elaborate hoax perpetrated upon gullible public for any possible number of reasons. To test these assertions, the Discovery Channel's Mythbusters put Lunar Conspiracy Theories to test. Based on their conclusions, going to the moon would be a lot simpler than faking going to the moon. Phil Plait offers a very detailed analysis of the Bad Astronomy behind Fake Moon Landing Conspiracy Theories on his web site (scroll down past the ads). If you find in looking it over you discover you like his writing, we have his Bad Astronomy book in the collection. If you'd like to find out more about the moon landing conspiracy or role of conspiracy theories in American history, check out the Credo Reference database. You can either search by subject or select find a book and choose Conspiracy Theories in American History from the title list to browse the entire subject contents.
Moon Food
As a child I remember eating space food sticks (check out the vintage commercials, especially the lunar lander with realistic smoke effect and the children being launched directly into the air after eating SFS...) and Tang, just like the astronauts did... But as a grown-up now I get to eat things that astronauts wish they could have, so I'm including a link to a different kind of moon food -- moon pies, a Southern over-the-top cookie guaranteed to send you right into the stratosphere.
Take Me to the Moon
Most of you are probably familiar with Google Maps, the digital mapping site created by the folks at Google that lets you see the surface of the Earth from above. But in honor of the moonwalk, these same folks have put together Google Moon, a lunar surface view that lets you explore the moon's surface and trace the route of any of the six manned lunar missions. Popular Mechanics provides a detailed selection of stories discussing the moonshot, breaking it down into a series of steps that focus on how precisely each had to be performed to prevent disaster.
The Controversies: Cost
Even after 40 years, certain issues related to the Apollo missions remain controversial. From the very beginning, questions of cost versus value have plagued the space program. Despite its technical successes, some still regard the moon missions and other NASA projects as financially irresponsible. In fact this topic is the subject of a featured entry in Issues and Controversies in American History, a new database available through the library's web site. (Off-campus users will need to provide campus user i.d. and password.)
The Controversies: Conspiracies
Some people will tell you that no one has ever been to the moon at all, that the entire "mission" is an elaborate hoax perpetrated upon gullible public for any possible number of reasons. To test these assertions, the Discovery Channel's Mythbusters put Lunar Conspiracy Theories to test. Based on their conclusions, going to the moon would be a lot simpler than faking going to the moon. Phil Plait offers a very detailed analysis of the Bad Astronomy behind Fake Moon Landing Conspiracy Theories on his web site (scroll down past the ads). If you find in looking it over you discover you like his writing, we have his Bad Astronomy book in the collection. If you'd like to find out more about the moon landing conspiracy or role of conspiracy theories in American history, check out the Credo Reference database. You can either search by subject or select find a book and choose Conspiracy Theories in American History from the title list to browse the entire subject contents.
Moon Food
As a child I remember eating space food sticks (check out the vintage commercials, especially the lunar lander with realistic smoke effect and the children being launched directly into the air after eating SFS...) and Tang, just like the astronauts did... But as a grown-up now I get to eat things that astronauts wish they could have, so I'm including a link to a different kind of moon food -- moon pies, a Southern over-the-top cookie guaranteed to send you right into the stratosphere.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Fourth of July Features
In an ironic riff to royalty, Lady Liberty's crown is open to visitors again this July 4 following several modifications made for safety reasons following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. This National Geographic site details the several of the alterations, as well as others that are upcoming, only the most recent in the statue's long history. Want to see what you're missing? This New York Times site offers a panoramic view inside the crown or see a video tour here by Representative Anthony Weiner. Oh Ranger provides the even more colorful story of the statue's original history, which includes how the arm arrived first, and then the head put in an appearance at the International Centennial Exhibition to raise money for the rest of the project, a perennial problem. But it was Joseph Pulitizer who ultimately figured out a strategy that funded the project by making it truly an all-American work of art while raising his newspaper's circulation at the same time.
In other Fourth of July related matters, check out this site for some information on how to take successful photos of fireworks using digital cameras. Ever wonder how fireworks ... well, work? Check out Kaboom!, a PBS web site, or if you'd like a few more details, look at Chemical of the Week's Firework's entry, which explains very specifically how different colors are created. And it's worth taking a look at this page from the National Council on Fireworks Safety if you are planning on shooting off any fireworks of your own. And finally, for a little long lost holiday fun, you might check out this video of Jean Shepherd on You Tube, it's just "The Great American Fourth of July."
In other Fourth of July related matters, check out this site for some information on how to take successful photos of fireworks using digital cameras. Ever wonder how fireworks ... well, work? Check out Kaboom!, a PBS web site, or if you'd like a few more details, look at Chemical of the Week's Firework's entry, which explains very specifically how different colors are created. And it's worth taking a look at this page from the National Council on Fireworks Safety if you are planning on shooting off any fireworks of your own. And finally, for a little long lost holiday fun, you might check out this video of Jean Shepherd on You Tube, it's just "The Great American Fourth of July."
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Iran's New Revolution?
Iran is much in the news the past few days as the nation struggles to sort out the results of its recent presidential election, as chronicled in this excellent BBC overview. Many Americans may not have any clear conception of a country that for so many years has been associated in their minds with extreme political rhetoric, nuclear energy and hostage taking.
Library Resources
The library has a new online resource that can help you get a handle on Iran, as well as any other country in which you may have an interest. ABC-CLIO's World Geography is a database that provides detailed information about different countries, from standard geographical features to contemporary issues as well as etiquette and customs. (You'll have to use your DACC user i.d. and password to log in from off campus.) In the same suite of resources, the ABC-CLIO World History resources, both Ancient and Medieval and Modern offer lots of interesting entries related to the region.
Political Liberalization
For an interesting analysis of the revolutionary potential for political liberalization in Iran, check out the article in Al-Jezeera English. Two of the driving forces in the move to liberalization are Iran's young people, as profiled in this CBS piece, and technology, which resists the Iranian government's attempts at control, especially the rapid spread of the twitterverse. (Speaking of which, did you know that the library is now on Twitter? Follow dacclibrary here. The library twitters more than just "library stuff", but interesting facts, news, and relevant info.)
Women in Iran
The crucial role women play in the current election is epitomized by Zhara Rahnavard, the wife of candidate Hossein Mousavi, who is the nation's first top-ranking female university professor and also an artist and has been actively campaigning by her husband's side. Women's role in this election marks a sharp contrast from their expressed dissatisfaction in 2004 with the direction in which the country was headed. The situation of women in Iran and other mideastern countries is frequently referenced in conversations about the mideast, but all too often it is done without the voices of those women themselves, or in oddly skewed representations. This is the argument presented by Fatemeh Keshavarz in an interview about her book Jasmine and Stars. Keshavarz contends that the similarities between Iranian (and mideastern culture in general) and the West are much greater than most people think, and that women in Iranian society are more powerful agents than they are credited with being.
Iranian History
To put current events in Iran in context, it's useful to be reminded about some significant events in the country's past. Americans probably first think about the 1979 revolution when 52 Americans were taken hostage at the U.S. embassy in Tehran, a situation that effectively ended Jimmy Carter's presidency. The Jimmy Carter Presidential Library contains a diary by one of the hostages, part of which can be read online. Here is a BBC piece that provides interviews with one of the hostage takers and one of the hostages. Probably another moment in post-revolutionary history that sticks with Westerners was the declaration of a fatwa against Salman Rusdie for his book, The Satanic Verses. Far fewer people think of the devastating earthquake in Bam, Iran in 2003 that killed more than 26,000 people, much less its rich past. But Iran is one of the oldest nations in the world, and this timeline does a good job of demonstrating its ancient cultural history. For more in depth history and some really interesting information on mythology and access to great images, check out ParsTimes History page. The ParsTimes site offers a collection of some of the best links to information about Iran available on the web. If you are looking for a quick definition of any term related to the country or its culture, check out Encyclopaedia Iranica, a multidisciplinary project.
Persian Food
And because I know that many of you like to experiment with different kinds of foods, it would be remiss not to include some references to some of the excellent foods that originate in Iran. Here is a selection of delicious dishes from Chowhound and here is another larger selection from Astray Recipes. And last, but hardly least, a recipe for a dessert popular throughout the mideast, halvah.
Library Resources
The library has a new online resource that can help you get a handle on Iran, as well as any other country in which you may have an interest. ABC-CLIO's World Geography is a database that provides detailed information about different countries, from standard geographical features to contemporary issues as well as etiquette and customs. (You'll have to use your DACC user i.d. and password to log in from off campus.) In the same suite of resources, the ABC-CLIO World History resources, both Ancient and Medieval and Modern offer lots of interesting entries related to the region.
Political Liberalization
For an interesting analysis of the revolutionary potential for political liberalization in Iran, check out the article in Al-Jezeera English. Two of the driving forces in the move to liberalization are Iran's young people, as profiled in this CBS piece, and technology, which resists the Iranian government's attempts at control, especially the rapid spread of the twitterverse. (Speaking of which, did you know that the library is now on Twitter? Follow dacclibrary here. The library twitters more than just "library stuff", but interesting facts, news, and relevant info.)
Women in Iran
The crucial role women play in the current election is epitomized by Zhara Rahnavard, the wife of candidate Hossein Mousavi, who is the nation's first top-ranking female university professor and also an artist and has been actively campaigning by her husband's side. Women's role in this election marks a sharp contrast from their expressed dissatisfaction in 2004 with the direction in which the country was headed. The situation of women in Iran and other mideastern countries is frequently referenced in conversations about the mideast, but all too often it is done without the voices of those women themselves, or in oddly skewed representations. This is the argument presented by Fatemeh Keshavarz in an interview about her book Jasmine and Stars. Keshavarz contends that the similarities between Iranian (and mideastern culture in general) and the West are much greater than most people think, and that women in Iranian society are more powerful agents than they are credited with being.
Iranian History
To put current events in Iran in context, it's useful to be reminded about some significant events in the country's past. Americans probably first think about the 1979 revolution when 52 Americans were taken hostage at the U.S. embassy in Tehran, a situation that effectively ended Jimmy Carter's presidency. The Jimmy Carter Presidential Library contains a diary by one of the hostages, part of which can be read online. Here is a BBC piece that provides interviews with one of the hostage takers and one of the hostages. Probably another moment in post-revolutionary history that sticks with Westerners was the declaration of a fatwa against Salman Rusdie for his book, The Satanic Verses. Far fewer people think of the devastating earthquake in Bam, Iran in 2003 that killed more than 26,000 people, much less its rich past. But Iran is one of the oldest nations in the world, and this timeline does a good job of demonstrating its ancient cultural history. For more in depth history and some really interesting information on mythology and access to great images, check out ParsTimes History page. The ParsTimes site offers a collection of some of the best links to information about Iran available on the web. If you are looking for a quick definition of any term related to the country or its culture, check out Encyclopaedia Iranica, a multidisciplinary project.
Persian Food
And because I know that many of you like to experiment with different kinds of foods, it would be remiss not to include some references to some of the excellent foods that originate in Iran. Here is a selection of delicious dishes from Chowhound and here is another larger selection from Astray Recipes. And last, but hardly least, a recipe for a dessert popular throughout the mideast, halvah.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Car Talk!
With the recent federal bailout of GM and Chrysler, it seems like a good time to take a look at America's love affair with the automobile. One thing about this subject, it offers a good way to introduce one of the library's newest, coolest resources Pop Culture Universe. This new database lets users explore all the fascinating facets of popular culture--past and present. (You can use the database off campus by logging in using your DACC user i.d. and password.) PCU lets you explore such varied aspects of car culture as travel and recreation, how it affected personal relationships, how it changed the way towns developed and what car design and customization revealed about our dreams and fears.
U.S. Automakers Today
BusinessWeek offers a number of stories and analyses that do an excellent job of putting the crises at Chrysler and GM in perspective. Written over time, these stories follow the road to GM's bankruptcy as well as looking closely at causes and impacts of these corporate failings, putting them in the context of other large-scale business failings. One thing that you hear less of on the news are the stories about areas where the U.S. auto industry is not suffering. Reuters examines the case of the southern foreign auto plants, which have handled the economic downturn with much less stress on their workforce.
Automotive History
Who invented the automobile? That question is actually more complicated than it sounds because in the beginning there were so many different types of automobiles. Arguably, a case can even be made for Leonardo Da Vinci, who was drawing independent transport vehicles in his sketchbooks in the fifteenth century. (Here is a second design, this one for an armored car.) The Library of Congress offers this page of answers to this problem, noting that Karl Benz comes closest to earning single credit for the automobile as we think of it today. The Museum of Automobile History offers online visitors the opportunity to look at billboards, plaques and pictures of of its exhibits, hundreds of images covering the range of automotive history. You can also view online videos, send e-cards, or take an automobile history quiz. To look at a range of automobiles owned by an enthusiast who can truly afford to indulge in maintaining a living history of vehicles, check out Jay Leno's Garage. As the site makes explicit, Jay's collection isn't a museum. All of his vehicles are intended to be driven. The site includes a wealth of other car-related material, from video and articles on related topics to a featured visitor's vehicles section.
Vanished Brands
Should either GM or Chrysler disappear entirely, they would enter a special area of automotive culture. Automotive history is littered with famous and infamous vanished vehicle brands. For example, the Tucker, featured in a film starring Jeff Bridges, was a much-anticipated vehicle of which only 51 models were ever ever actually produced. The extent to which Tucker's car was a victim of bureaucratic wrangling as opposed to a deliberate effort on the part of the big three automakers to eliminate a possible competitor remains a point of contention. Another automobile with a storied past is the Edsel. Named for a son of Henry Ford's who had passed away, the Edsel was actually a line of automobiles Ford intended to be premiere vehicles. But as the article from the Washington Post makes clear, nothing about the production of the car, from the selection of its name to its design to the pony promotion used to seduce test drives (yes, they were real ponies), was well thought out. And the Edsel would go on to become a synonym for commercial failure. It also became a pop culture icon. Finally, given the success of the recent film Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, it seems only appropriate to give a nod to the film's iconic automobile, the Yugo. More properly, the Zastava Koral but sold in the U.S. as the Yugo, this automobile entered the U.S. market as an incredibly inexpensive alternative to all other vehicles on the market (only $4500 in 1985), got excellent gas mileage and came with an extended warranty. The car soon got a reputation for being of poor quality however, although some contest this saying that the type of engine requires regular maintenance to perform and cannot withstand owner negligence in the way other types of vehicles can.
On the Track
If you are a motorsports fan, then you'll want to hit Motorsport.com for information on all the different varieties. F1 fans will find statistics of all kinds at ChicaneF1, which lets you delve in Formula1 in all different arcane ways, while F1.com provides all the latest news, video and information about the sport. For NASCAR fans, besides NASCAR's home page, there's Catchfence.com, which includes news, interviews, race information and fan commentary. Want to check out what's going on locally? Check out Vermilion County Speedway's web site.
U.S. Automakers Today
BusinessWeek offers a number of stories and analyses that do an excellent job of putting the crises at Chrysler and GM in perspective. Written over time, these stories follow the road to GM's bankruptcy as well as looking closely at causes and impacts of these corporate failings, putting them in the context of other large-scale business failings. One thing that you hear less of on the news are the stories about areas where the U.S. auto industry is not suffering. Reuters examines the case of the southern foreign auto plants, which have handled the economic downturn with much less stress on their workforce.
Automotive History
Who invented the automobile? That question is actually more complicated than it sounds because in the beginning there were so many different types of automobiles. Arguably, a case can even be made for Leonardo Da Vinci, who was drawing independent transport vehicles in his sketchbooks in the fifteenth century. (Here is a second design, this one for an armored car.) The Library of Congress offers this page of answers to this problem, noting that Karl Benz comes closest to earning single credit for the automobile as we think of it today. The Museum of Automobile History offers online visitors the opportunity to look at billboards, plaques and pictures of of its exhibits, hundreds of images covering the range of automotive history. You can also view online videos, send e-cards, or take an automobile history quiz. To look at a range of automobiles owned by an enthusiast who can truly afford to indulge in maintaining a living history of vehicles, check out Jay Leno's Garage. As the site makes explicit, Jay's collection isn't a museum. All of his vehicles are intended to be driven. The site includes a wealth of other car-related material, from video and articles on related topics to a featured visitor's vehicles section.
Vanished Brands
Should either GM or Chrysler disappear entirely, they would enter a special area of automotive culture. Automotive history is littered with famous and infamous vanished vehicle brands. For example, the Tucker, featured in a film starring Jeff Bridges, was a much-anticipated vehicle of which only 51 models were ever ever actually produced. The extent to which Tucker's car was a victim of bureaucratic wrangling as opposed to a deliberate effort on the part of the big three automakers to eliminate a possible competitor remains a point of contention. Another automobile with a storied past is the Edsel. Named for a son of Henry Ford's who had passed away, the Edsel was actually a line of automobiles Ford intended to be premiere vehicles. But as the article from the Washington Post makes clear, nothing about the production of the car, from the selection of its name to its design to the pony promotion used to seduce test drives (yes, they were real ponies), was well thought out. And the Edsel would go on to become a synonym for commercial failure. It also became a pop culture icon. Finally, given the success of the recent film Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, it seems only appropriate to give a nod to the film's iconic automobile, the Yugo. More properly, the Zastava Koral but sold in the U.S. as the Yugo, this automobile entered the U.S. market as an incredibly inexpensive alternative to all other vehicles on the market (only $4500 in 1985), got excellent gas mileage and came with an extended warranty. The car soon got a reputation for being of poor quality however, although some contest this saying that the type of engine requires regular maintenance to perform and cannot withstand owner negligence in the way other types of vehicles can.
On the Track
If you are a motorsports fan, then you'll want to hit Motorsport.com for information on all the different varieties. F1 fans will find statistics of all kinds at ChicaneF1, which lets you delve in Formula1 in all different arcane ways, while F1.com provides all the latest news, video and information about the sport. For NASCAR fans, besides NASCAR's home page, there's Catchfence.com, which includes news, interviews, race information and fan commentary. Want to check out what's going on locally? Check out Vermilion County Speedway's web site.
Friday, May 15, 2009
Graduation!
Congratulations Graduates (and parents of graduates). For those of you who are graduating or know those who are, you may want to point them to some of the following resources to help them celebrate, recover and adapt to their post-academic life...
Celebrate
Ah commencement speeches. Moments of inspiration immediately blurred over by the memory of getting that diploma in your hand and the excitement of the party afterward, although there are a few noteworthy exceptions. Gradspot selected these Ten All-Time Best Graduation Speeches (but actually more like speech moments) and these as the Best of 2008, while USA Today selected these 10 Stellar Commencement Addresses. (The Best of 2008 list includes the moving Last Lecture speech by Randy Pausch at Carnegie Mellon, which is also available as a book in DACC's library.) The Humanity Archive gathers together 29 speeches that the Humanity Initiative feels are the most noteworthy and inspirational after reviewing thousands dating back into the 1930s. And finally, for something completely uninspiring, but quite funny, check out Stephen Colbert's commencement address last year at Princeton, when he advised graduates to Not Go Out and Change the World.
Recover
After the party, check out (or encourage your graduates to check out) these Top Ten Movies for Recent Grads according to Gradspot.
For an after-party chow down, if you don't want to go out, consider making something from Mr. Breakfast. Remember, breakfast is the most important meal of the day, even when you have it at 2 in the morning. Or maybe midnight cookie madness is more in your line? Well then, try BakingCookies.com.
Adapt
While life on MySpace, Facebook and Twitter can be a major part of a student's day, sometimes the postings on these sites may not present the most flattering portrait to potential employers. Unfortunately future employers are more and more likely to google any likely job applicant and check out any social web profiles. So it may be time for an online facelift, as Cleaning Up Your Online Profile explains.
This last is just one of the 30 steps in Gradspot's 30 in 30 Insider's Guide for Getting a Job in the 90s. This handy site offers a sequence of moves intended to help graduates undertake a plan of action in relation to their job search. While originally assembled in the 90s, it's been updated so that the advice still holds true today. While attending to cleaning up their online profile, jobseekers would also benefit from using another social networking site, LinkedIn, to improve their job search. In conjunction with using LinkedIn is the whole notion of branding yourself as part of modern job search.
Already have a line on a job? Great. Even internships don't completely prepare people for their first job. Here are some useful guidelines to make the transition into that first job easier. Even for experienced workers, the first day on any new job can benefit from planning. If that job is going to require any travel, it would be worthwhile to Prepare for Corporate Travel. If your trip involves leaving the country you'll want to make sure that you are up to date on what that entails as well, because travel restrictions regarding cross-border travel are changing in June. Another set of lifestyle changes comes with learning appropriate Internet, Email and Phone Use in the Workplace.
If transferring to another institution is the plan, graduates should doublecheck the DACC Transfer Checklist page to make certain they crossed all the Ts and dotted all the Is. The College of the Sequoias has a useful list of reminders to help make the transition itself easier.
Whatever any graduate's plans, those of us at the DACC Library wish them all the best!
Celebrate
Ah commencement speeches. Moments of inspiration immediately blurred over by the memory of getting that diploma in your hand and the excitement of the party afterward, although there are a few noteworthy exceptions. Gradspot selected these Ten All-Time Best Graduation Speeches (but actually more like speech moments) and these as the Best of 2008, while USA Today selected these 10 Stellar Commencement Addresses. (The Best of 2008 list includes the moving Last Lecture speech by Randy Pausch at Carnegie Mellon, which is also available as a book in DACC's library.) The Humanity Archive gathers together 29 speeches that the Humanity Initiative feels are the most noteworthy and inspirational after reviewing thousands dating back into the 1930s. And finally, for something completely uninspiring, but quite funny, check out Stephen Colbert's commencement address last year at Princeton, when he advised graduates to Not Go Out and Change the World.
Recover
After the party, check out (or encourage your graduates to check out) these Top Ten Movies for Recent Grads according to Gradspot.
For an after-party chow down, if you don't want to go out, consider making something from Mr. Breakfast. Remember, breakfast is the most important meal of the day, even when you have it at 2 in the morning. Or maybe midnight cookie madness is more in your line? Well then, try BakingCookies.com.
Adapt
While life on MySpace, Facebook and Twitter can be a major part of a student's day, sometimes the postings on these sites may not present the most flattering portrait to potential employers. Unfortunately future employers are more and more likely to google any likely job applicant and check out any social web profiles. So it may be time for an online facelift, as Cleaning Up Your Online Profile explains.
This last is just one of the 30 steps in Gradspot's 30 in 30 Insider's Guide for Getting a Job in the 90s. This handy site offers a sequence of moves intended to help graduates undertake a plan of action in relation to their job search. While originally assembled in the 90s, it's been updated so that the advice still holds true today. While attending to cleaning up their online profile, jobseekers would also benefit from using another social networking site, LinkedIn, to improve their job search. In conjunction with using LinkedIn is the whole notion of branding yourself as part of modern job search.
Already have a line on a job? Great. Even internships don't completely prepare people for their first job. Here are some useful guidelines to make the transition into that first job easier. Even for experienced workers, the first day on any new job can benefit from planning. If that job is going to require any travel, it would be worthwhile to Prepare for Corporate Travel. If your trip involves leaving the country you'll want to make sure that you are up to date on what that entails as well, because travel restrictions regarding cross-border travel are changing in June. Another set of lifestyle changes comes with learning appropriate Internet, Email and Phone Use in the Workplace.
If transferring to another institution is the plan, graduates should doublecheck the DACC Transfer Checklist page to make certain they crossed all the Ts and dotted all the Is. The College of the Sequoias has a useful list of reminders to help make the transition itself easier.
Whatever any graduate's plans, those of us at the DACC Library wish them all the best!
Friday, May 8, 2009
Art Watch
With Mother's Day in the offing, I decided to do a blog that gave a nod to interests that had been my mother's and focus on some of the more interesting things that the library and web have to offer in the realm of art. It's amazing how much wonderful art is readily accessible over the internet, and fantastic variety of forms it takes as well.
@the Library
The DACC library provides access to a couple of wonderful art resources. Many people are aware of the OxfordArtOnline, which gives users not only the Grove Encyclopedia of Art, but also some of the best Oxford Publishers resources on the subject. Users can also view more than 40,000 images using the resource (see the Sistine Chapel ceiling frescoes featured in Angels and Demons, coming out May 15.) Another resource much less familiar to campus users is the Saskia Digital Image Archive, which contains 30,000 images of various art objects in a variety of media. Images can be loaded directly into Powerpoint presentations (and are licensed for this purpose), but in order to do the CONTENTdm Powerpoint plugin needs to be loaded on your computer. In addition to images, the collection includes supporting material from 19 prominent art history texts, including Gardner's and Understanding Art. Users also create a My Favorites page that only requires a cookie-enabled browser for you to access, allowing you to access your Favorites page as long as you log in under your personal login from various campus computers.
On the Web
When roving the regular web, one of the best places to start looking for art info is Artcyclopedia, which includes articles on artists, movements, particular works and techniques. There are links to images and links to museums so you can visit online all the places you can't make it to in real life. If art history is more your thing, check out Professor Christopher L.C.E. Witcombe's Art History on the Web site, which provides tons of links to sites in a well organized set of pages. You'll find your way to images, museums and lecture notes on a full range of art history topics. And now, as Monty Python would say, for something completely different, check out Web Urbanist the online home of alternative art and architecture (check out Street View for an amazing re-imagining of balloon animals by Jason Heckenwirth).
Specialty Art
The art world is full of highly specialized and highly fascinating nooks and crannies, and the internet has made these more accessible than ever before as fans and artists are able to interact more freely. Here are some specialized art sites that may be of interest. Toonopedia by Don Markstein offers information on everything toon -- artists, characters, production companies, publishers. If you like Toons, you'll enjoy poking around this site. Graffiti has long been regarded as the bane of urban existence by city officials, but the art world has been taking it seriously as a form of urban expression for a number of years. And now for a complete inversion of graffiti art, take a look at these 10 Light Graffiti Artists and Photographers., whose work revels its transient nature. Artists have always tended to be innovators and progressive leaders, so it's not surprising to find the Environmental Art Museum, a site that features work by artists dedicated to creating sustainable relationships with the planet.
Talking 'bout Art
I've mentioned the TED series of talks before, as some of the most inspired online viewing on the web. Your 18 minute window into the works and minds of the leading thinkers of the age. Well there are some interesting talks by artists you can investigate, if you're so inclined. See Theo Jansen bring to life his creatures of sticks and joints, Arthur Ganson's moving sculpture or Miru Kim's juxtaposition of the urban underground and the naked human form. You can also watch Scott McCloud discuss the comics as an art form or Frans Lanting show of his nature photography and discuss what he is trying to achieve with his work.
@the Library
The DACC library provides access to a couple of wonderful art resources. Many people are aware of the OxfordArtOnline, which gives users not only the Grove Encyclopedia of Art, but also some of the best Oxford Publishers resources on the subject. Users can also view more than 40,000 images using the resource (see the Sistine Chapel ceiling frescoes featured in Angels and Demons, coming out May 15.) Another resource much less familiar to campus users is the Saskia Digital Image Archive, which contains 30,000 images of various art objects in a variety of media. Images can be loaded directly into Powerpoint presentations (and are licensed for this purpose), but in order to do the CONTENTdm Powerpoint plugin needs to be loaded on your computer. In addition to images, the collection includes supporting material from 19 prominent art history texts, including Gardner's and Understanding Art. Users also create a My Favorites page that only requires a cookie-enabled browser for you to access, allowing you to access your Favorites page as long as you log in under your personal login from various campus computers.
On the Web
When roving the regular web, one of the best places to start looking for art info is Artcyclopedia, which includes articles on artists, movements, particular works and techniques. There are links to images and links to museums so you can visit online all the places you can't make it to in real life. If art history is more your thing, check out Professor Christopher L.C.E. Witcombe's Art History on the Web site, which provides tons of links to sites in a well organized set of pages. You'll find your way to images, museums and lecture notes on a full range of art history topics. And now, as Monty Python would say, for something completely different, check out Web Urbanist the online home of alternative art and architecture (check out Street View for an amazing re-imagining of balloon animals by Jason Heckenwirth).
Specialty Art
The art world is full of highly specialized and highly fascinating nooks and crannies, and the internet has made these more accessible than ever before as fans and artists are able to interact more freely. Here are some specialized art sites that may be of interest. Toonopedia by Don Markstein offers information on everything toon -- artists, characters, production companies, publishers. If you like Toons, you'll enjoy poking around this site. Graffiti has long been regarded as the bane of urban existence by city officials, but the art world has been taking it seriously as a form of urban expression for a number of years. And now for a complete inversion of graffiti art, take a look at these 10 Light Graffiti Artists and Photographers., whose work revels its transient nature. Artists have always tended to be innovators and progressive leaders, so it's not surprising to find the Environmental Art Museum, a site that features work by artists dedicated to creating sustainable relationships with the planet.
Talking 'bout Art
I've mentioned the TED series of talks before, as some of the most inspired online viewing on the web. Your 18 minute window into the works and minds of the leading thinkers of the age. Well there are some interesting talks by artists you can investigate, if you're so inclined. See Theo Jansen bring to life his creatures of sticks and joints, Arthur Ganson's moving sculpture or Miru Kim's juxtaposition of the urban underground and the naked human form. You can also watch Scott McCloud discuss the comics as an art form or Frans Lanting show of his nature photography and discuss what he is trying to achieve with his work.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Cool Tools!
It's been a while since the library blog showed off a few cool tools to make your online life a bit easier, so it seems like high time to take a look at some of the new things out there!
Printing!
Printing problems may be one of the biggest headaches to come along with all of the wonderful things available on the web. How many times have you tried to print a web page and discovered that it refused to print correctly? The text was cut off. Advertising or images on the page made what should be a simple 1 page print job into a several page nightmare. If this sounds familiar then you'll be happy to find PrintWhatYouLike.com, a site that let's you take any web site and edit out those parts you don't care about and preserve the parts you do, making printing tidy and neat and efficient. Of all of the tools I've discovered in the last six months, this is by far my favorite.
Another set of problems involving printing arises in relation to PDFs. PDFs are Portable Document Format files -- the ones that look exactly like scanned in document originals. But more than ever before, new online tools let you manipulate PDF files in interesting ways, converting things (including entire web pages) to and from the PDF format. Enabling editing within PDF documents. A great site to explore these options is NitroPDF.com's collection of free online tools. NitroPDF is working to become a viable competitor for Adobe and so is garnering name recognition for its software by letting users sample limited versions of its products for free. These include converters (HTML and Word), creators and editors. The links are all for the online versions that do not require downloads. They also have free trial versions, but you do not need to download a trial to take advantage of the free software.
It's Just Easier!
PageZipper is one of those tools that just makes life easier. Why am I not surprised that it's brought to you by those clever folks who created PrintWhatYouLike? PageZipper will bind together pages that are in a series, like a bunch of photos or a sequence of Best Sites of 2008 or whatever that require you to click between each page. Instead of clicking the app simply stacks the pages vertically as you scroll. As long as you keep scrolling it continues to stack until either you stop or the sequence ends. At LOLCats you might scroll until you crashed you computer...
Another "it's just easier" tool is NameChk. This website will run your preferred user name through a massive collection of social networking, bookmarking or online tool sites to see if it is still available. That way you can run out and secure RicketyRockhopper before anyone else snags it (still available on all but Squidoo and Vimeo).
It's Just Less Annoying!
Don't invite spam to your mailbox. Rather than posting your email address, any of them, on a Facebook page, internet forum, web site, etc. you can instead use a nifty tool called Scr.im, which will assign you a short, convenient web address that will intervene between you and email address harvesters. For similar reasons, on those occasions you absolutely do have to use an email address and don't want to be bothered with the subsequent email, create an email account just for that purpose.
It's Just More Secure!
Have your own laptop or wireless device you'd like to protect in case it gets stolen? You can download the Adeona program and it will simply sit on your machine and wait, doing nothing unless you activate it. But if your machine is swiped and someone logs in to the internet using it, and you've activated Adeona in the meantime, the program will send location information that authorities can use in locating the device. (Note: this is a research program, which explains why it is free, but it is also in development so you should expect some imperfections.)
Printing!
Printing problems may be one of the biggest headaches to come along with all of the wonderful things available on the web. How many times have you tried to print a web page and discovered that it refused to print correctly? The text was cut off. Advertising or images on the page made what should be a simple 1 page print job into a several page nightmare. If this sounds familiar then you'll be happy to find PrintWhatYouLike.com, a site that let's you take any web site and edit out those parts you don't care about and preserve the parts you do, making printing tidy and neat and efficient. Of all of the tools I've discovered in the last six months, this is by far my favorite.
Another set of problems involving printing arises in relation to PDFs. PDFs are Portable Document Format files -- the ones that look exactly like scanned in document originals. But more than ever before, new online tools let you manipulate PDF files in interesting ways, converting things (including entire web pages) to and from the PDF format. Enabling editing within PDF documents. A great site to explore these options is NitroPDF.com's collection of free online tools. NitroPDF is working to become a viable competitor for Adobe and so is garnering name recognition for its software by letting users sample limited versions of its products for free. These include converters (HTML and Word), creators and editors. The links are all for the online versions that do not require downloads. They also have free trial versions, but you do not need to download a trial to take advantage of the free software.
It's Just Easier!
PageZipper is one of those tools that just makes life easier. Why am I not surprised that it's brought to you by those clever folks who created PrintWhatYouLike? PageZipper will bind together pages that are in a series, like a bunch of photos or a sequence of Best Sites of 2008 or whatever that require you to click between each page. Instead of clicking the app simply stacks the pages vertically as you scroll. As long as you keep scrolling it continues to stack until either you stop or the sequence ends. At LOLCats you might scroll until you crashed you computer...
Another "it's just easier" tool is NameChk. This website will run your preferred user name through a massive collection of social networking, bookmarking or online tool sites to see if it is still available. That way you can run out and secure RicketyRockhopper before anyone else snags it (still available on all but Squidoo and Vimeo).
It's Just Less Annoying!
Don't invite spam to your mailbox. Rather than posting your email address, any of them, on a Facebook page, internet forum, web site, etc. you can instead use a nifty tool called Scr.im, which will assign you a short, convenient web address that will intervene between you and email address harvesters. For similar reasons, on those occasions you absolutely do have to use an email address and don't want to be bothered with the subsequent email, create an email account just for that purpose.
It's Just More Secure!
Have your own laptop or wireless device you'd like to protect in case it gets stolen? You can download the Adeona program and it will simply sit on your machine and wait, doing nothing unless you activate it. But if your machine is swiped and someone logs in to the internet using it, and you've activated Adeona in the meantime, the program will send location information that authorities can use in locating the device. (Note: this is a research program, which explains why it is free, but it is also in development so you should expect some imperfections.)
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Feeling a Little Foolish?
April is the month of fools, and it is also National Humor Month, and perhaps more than ever we could use a little laughter. In honor of April Fool's Day, here is the Museum of Hoaxes list of the Top 100 April Fool's Pranks of All Time. They also provide a list of today's best pranks, including my personal favorite Gmail autopilot, which would respond to your mail for you. Museum of Hoaxes is one of my personal favorite time-waster web sites. PC World provides links to the day's best techno-foolery.
Comedy fans have a number of places (besides the ubiquitous YouTube) that they can go on the web to satisfy their desire for a funny fix. For fans of particular types of comedy, here are locations of a few best comedy bits online. David Letterman's Top 10 List Archive, Jay Leno's Headlines, the Darwin Awards (for those who improve the gene pool by creatively departing from it), and here are some of everybody's favorite Dumb Criminals stories. Here is the Onion's all-too believable-at-times fake news site, while for those who prefer their fake news a little farther off the radar, the Weekly World News has stories just for you. (Check out the latest about the Fiji Mermaid seeking FAFSA aid.) Whether or not you use an RSS reader, you may find it worthwhile to check in on Humorfeed every so often. The feeds "feeders" gather in funny material from around the web suitable to a variety of tastes. And since you're connected to the College, you'll find things to laugh at on CollegeHumor. (Check out Your Essay Translated and Your Professor's PowerPoint Presentation.)
While not for everybody, John Hodgeman's (PC in the Mac/PC commercials) comedy, with its witty pseudo-intellectualism and genuine humanity can be both very funny and surprisingly insightful. Here is his 16-minute TED lecture: A brief digression on matters of lost time. (TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design, and the TED Talks, available for free on the web, are from an annual conference which brings together 50 talented and innovative thinkers in all different fields of knowledge and challenges them to give the "18 minute talk of their lives". The results are extraordinary.)
Like your humor in illustrated form? Check out the online portion of the Library of Congress' display: Herblock's History (Political Cartoons from the Crash to the Millenium), Daryl Cagle's Professional Cartoonists Index (searchable by topic -- check out Twitter -- or artist), the CartoonBank at the New Yorker (which is a commerce site, but both the Free link and the Recession Proof link are worth a look for no cost)
Make 'Em Laugh is a PBS site about comedy that includes tributes (and funny stories) about some of the greatest comedians of all times as well as five of the greatest viral videos and an interview with Michael McKean talking about This is Spinal Tap. The American Comedy Archives at Emerson College include both transcripts and videos of some interviews with famous comics and comedy writers. A few years ago, the American Film Institute put together a list 100 Years...100 Laughs, selecting the best in film comedy. You can check out the list and see if you agree.
And somewhere in all of this, you ought to find a little to laugh about.
Comedy fans have a number of places (besides the ubiquitous YouTube) that they can go on the web to satisfy their desire for a funny fix. For fans of particular types of comedy, here are locations of a few best comedy bits online. David Letterman's Top 10 List Archive, Jay Leno's Headlines, the Darwin Awards (for those who improve the gene pool by creatively departing from it), and here are some of everybody's favorite Dumb Criminals stories. Here is the Onion's all-too believable-at-times fake news site, while for those who prefer their fake news a little farther off the radar, the Weekly World News has stories just for you. (Check out the latest about the Fiji Mermaid seeking FAFSA aid.) Whether or not you use an RSS reader, you may find it worthwhile to check in on Humorfeed every so often. The feeds "feeders" gather in funny material from around the web suitable to a variety of tastes. And since you're connected to the College, you'll find things to laugh at on CollegeHumor. (Check out Your Essay Translated and Your Professor's PowerPoint Presentation.)
While not for everybody, John Hodgeman's (PC in the Mac/PC commercials) comedy, with its witty pseudo-intellectualism and genuine humanity can be both very funny and surprisingly insightful. Here is his 16-minute TED lecture: A brief digression on matters of lost time. (TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design, and the TED Talks, available for free on the web, are from an annual conference which brings together 50 talented and innovative thinkers in all different fields of knowledge and challenges them to give the "18 minute talk of their lives". The results are extraordinary.)
Like your humor in illustrated form? Check out the online portion of the Library of Congress' display: Herblock's History (Political Cartoons from the Crash to the Millenium), Daryl Cagle's Professional Cartoonists Index (searchable by topic -- check out Twitter -- or artist), the CartoonBank at the New Yorker (which is a commerce site, but both the Free link and the Recession Proof link are worth a look for no cost)
Make 'Em Laugh is a PBS site about comedy that includes tributes (and funny stories) about some of the greatest comedians of all times as well as five of the greatest viral videos and an interview with Michael McKean talking about This is Spinal Tap. The American Comedy Archives at Emerson College include both transcripts and videos of some interviews with famous comics and comedy writers. A few years ago, the American Film Institute put together a list 100 Years...100 Laughs, selecting the best in film comedy. You can check out the list and see if you agree.
And somewhere in all of this, you ought to find a little to laugh about.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Three-Mile-Island and the Future of Nuclear Power
Thirty years ago this week, residents around the Three Mile Island nuclear power generating facility near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania awoke to an ongoing accident in the second generating station at the plant. Over the next several hours and days people would be barraged with confusing information about what WAS happening at the plant, what HAD happened at the plant, and if there was any danger to residents in the area. The governor ultimately did order pregnant women and pre-school children evacuated from the area and more than 140,000 people left. During the following days, radioactively contaminated Noble Gases were released from the generator, but very little of the highly dangerous Iodine 131. Several different epidemiological studies have been done of area populations over the years, with the latest results published in 2003. This most recent study confirms that only a tiny possible uptick in cancer risk appears to be evident in the exposed population, although the researchers felt that the population should continue to be followed.
Dickinson College, located in Carlisle, PA , had to decide during the crisis whether or not to cancel classes as a result of being located in the potential evacuation zone. Today Dickinson maintains an excellent web site about the events at Three Mile Island. The site includes a virtual museum which offers an excellent timeline and sense of events. PBS's The American Experience did an episode on the events entitled Meltdown at Three Mile Island (available in the library). As with most of their episodes, an accompanying web site offers lots of useful and interesting information about events. The Washington Post assembled this interesting collection of information on the twentieth anniversary of events. Finally, this essay by Gary Weimberg in Jump Cut does a good job of looking at the profound impact that the coincidental release of the film The China Syndrome about a nuclear reactor accident (available in the library) 12 days prior to the events in Pennsylvania had on how people perceived not only the event itself, but nuclear power in general.
When people think about nuclear reactor disasters, if Three Mile Island doesn't come to mind first, it's only because Chernobyl does. The explosion and fire at the number 4 reactor at Chernobyl that resulted in a radioactive cloud of contaminants spreading over areas of Europe and leaving whole sections of Belarus, Russia and Ukraine (link to map to experience long-term closure as "exclusion" zones). In an unusual turn of events, Chernobyl is becoming something of an extreme tourist attraction. You can view the starkly beautiful photos many visitors have taken on the web. Some examples can be found here, here, and here. The other fascinating fact about Chernobyl is the complex situation that has developed regarding wildlife in the exclusion zone. Many large and rare animals have made surprising and abundant reappearances in the absence of human intervention, and in fact a herd of the radically endangered Przewalski's horses were reintroduced into the zone as a result of this observation. But before people get too excited, more recent evidence suggests that smaller, surface-dwelling creatures, such as insects and spiders, and the numbers of animals total within the zone are actually lower than their partial abundance would lead people to believe, while the number of deformities is higher, indicating they have been negatively impacted by radiation.
So what does all this mean for the future of nuclear power? Well, despite safety concerns, the fact that nuclear power does not generate any carbon means that it remains part of the overall picture of future power plans. The Union of Concerned Scientists makes this assumption in its analysis of the nuclear power industry and appropriate nuclear power regulation. To get a sense of nuclear power worldwide, view The Virtual Nuclear Tourist, which addresses many concerns about nuclear energy and is written by a nuclear engineer. For a more detailed and complex analysis of the future and potential of nuclear power, review this MIT analysis, The Future of Nuclear Power.
And finally, what about the holy grail of nuclear energy, the fusion reactor? It may be closer than the skeptics think. A practical plant is under construction in France, while a prototype has been at work in the UK for some time.
Dickinson College, located in Carlisle, PA , had to decide during the crisis whether or not to cancel classes as a result of being located in the potential evacuation zone. Today Dickinson maintains an excellent web site about the events at Three Mile Island. The site includes a virtual museum which offers an excellent timeline and sense of events. PBS's The American Experience did an episode on the events entitled Meltdown at Three Mile Island (available in the library). As with most of their episodes, an accompanying web site offers lots of useful and interesting information about events. The Washington Post assembled this interesting collection of information on the twentieth anniversary of events. Finally, this essay by Gary Weimberg in Jump Cut does a good job of looking at the profound impact that the coincidental release of the film The China Syndrome about a nuclear reactor accident (available in the library) 12 days prior to the events in Pennsylvania had on how people perceived not only the event itself, but nuclear power in general.
When people think about nuclear reactor disasters, if Three Mile Island doesn't come to mind first, it's only because Chernobyl does. The explosion and fire at the number 4 reactor at Chernobyl that resulted in a radioactive cloud of contaminants spreading over areas of Europe and leaving whole sections of Belarus, Russia and Ukraine (link to map to experience long-term closure as "exclusion" zones). In an unusual turn of events, Chernobyl is becoming something of an extreme tourist attraction. You can view the starkly beautiful photos many visitors have taken on the web. Some examples can be found here, here, and here. The other fascinating fact about Chernobyl is the complex situation that has developed regarding wildlife in the exclusion zone. Many large and rare animals have made surprising and abundant reappearances in the absence of human intervention, and in fact a herd of the radically endangered Przewalski's horses were reintroduced into the zone as a result of this observation. But before people get too excited, more recent evidence suggests that smaller, surface-dwelling creatures, such as insects and spiders, and the numbers of animals total within the zone are actually lower than their partial abundance would lead people to believe, while the number of deformities is higher, indicating they have been negatively impacted by radiation.
So what does all this mean for the future of nuclear power? Well, despite safety concerns, the fact that nuclear power does not generate any carbon means that it remains part of the overall picture of future power plans. The Union of Concerned Scientists makes this assumption in its analysis of the nuclear power industry and appropriate nuclear power regulation. To get a sense of nuclear power worldwide, view The Virtual Nuclear Tourist, which addresses many concerns about nuclear energy and is written by a nuclear engineer. For a more detailed and complex analysis of the future and potential of nuclear power, review this MIT analysis, The Future of Nuclear Power.
And finally, what about the holy grail of nuclear energy, the fusion reactor? It may be closer than the skeptics think. A practical plant is under construction in France, while a prototype has been at work in the UK for some time.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Bee a Good Speller
The library blog extends its congratulations to Michael Spors, the son of DACC's Director of Instructional Media, Jon Spors, who just earned a place at the National Spelling Bee in Washington, DC. You can see the news story in the library's America's Newspaper's database here. (If you are off campus, you'll need to provide your DACC user ID and password to access the story.) You can access the original story in the Lafayette Journal & Courier online, but you'll have to pay for the privilege, and you still may not get to see the accompanying photo. But spelling bees aren't simply for kids. Did you know there was a National Adult Spelling Bee? This year the event will be held May 3, 2009.
Spelling, Vocab and Study Aids
So how do people prepare spelling bees? All different ways, but Scripps, the national news organization that sponsors the spelling bee coordinates with Merriam-Webster to provide a prep website called Spell It! On this site users can study words according to language of origin (one of the questions spellers are permitted to ask). The lists include tips about how words originating from particular languages tend to be spelled. The site also includes lists of eponyms, or words based upon people's names. Many of these, like "shrapnel," may surprise you. Another important group is the list of words you need to know. These include those words that are frequently misspelled, commonly confused with other words, and homonyms that are misused. Homonyms are words that sound alike but are spelled differently, like "meat" and "mete".
Looking for some help with spelling but lists aren't quite what you had in mind? Purdue's famous Online Writing Lab (OWL) has a section dedicated to Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling that can help you cope with trouble spots in all three of these famous bugaboo areas. Here is another page that details spelling rules designed for readers struggling with dyslexia. But one of the best ways to develop not only your spelling but your vocabulary in general is to work on developing your understanding of the root words underlying the English language. Vocabulary.com helps users do that by developing their root word knowledge through puzzles and activities that reinforce the learning process. And it's all free! The site also provides lists of words focused on specific subject and theme areas, lists based off of works of literature, and even vocational terminology. Do you find flashcards a useful tool for learning vocabulary or some other form of information? Then take a look at FlashcardExchange, an extensive online library of flashcards in numerous subject areas compiled by users from 1st grade through college. The service lets you create unlimited text cards and use them online for free as often as you'd like. If you want to download them or add images or audio to your flashcards, you will need to spring for a one-time membership fee.
Y U Shld B a Bad Splr
Not a great speller? Maybe even a really bad one? Take heart, the inability to spell is not a reflection on your intelligence, more an indicator of how your brain is wired. In fact, MRIs reveal your brain may have done some amazing rewiring on your behalf, as the infamously poor-spelling Steve Hendrix of the Washington Post found out. But you don't have to be a crackerjack speller to take an interest in the subject. In fact, over the years there have been multiple movements to simplify English spelling. Playwright George Bernard Shaw, Teddy Roosevelt and Melville Dewey (creator of the Dewey Decimal system of library organization used in most public libraries and here at DACC) all advocated simplifying the spelling of the English language. If you can't spell, these folks might argue, it's not you, it's the language. Having more than 1,100 possible letter combinations to form only 44 sounds, as English does, might be viewed as a bit of overkill.
Some see the rise of text messaging and email as exerting a degree of pressure in this direction on the language. And more than one teacher has expressed fears that these practices are destroying students' language skills, fears that linguist David Crystal identified as appearing first in Great Britain where texting has been a social practice for a longer period of time. But this recent article in the Christian Science Monitor reports that new research suggests otherwise. Texting may actually increase certain linguistic skills. Not quite sure what all the fuss is about? Check out this text to plain english translator.
And finally, many of you have probably seen the Spell Checker poem that has circulated around the internet for several years in varying forms (one version can be seen here). Here is the story behind the poem, as well as its original, subtler form.
Spelling, Vocab and Study Aids
So how do people prepare spelling bees? All different ways, but Scripps, the national news organization that sponsors the spelling bee coordinates with Merriam-Webster to provide a prep website called Spell It! On this site users can study words according to language of origin (one of the questions spellers are permitted to ask). The lists include tips about how words originating from particular languages tend to be spelled. The site also includes lists of eponyms, or words based upon people's names. Many of these, like "shrapnel," may surprise you. Another important group is the list of words you need to know. These include those words that are frequently misspelled, commonly confused with other words, and homonyms that are misused. Homonyms are words that sound alike but are spelled differently, like "meat" and "mete".
Looking for some help with spelling but lists aren't quite what you had in mind? Purdue's famous Online Writing Lab (OWL) has a section dedicated to Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling that can help you cope with trouble spots in all three of these famous bugaboo areas. Here is another page that details spelling rules designed for readers struggling with dyslexia. But one of the best ways to develop not only your spelling but your vocabulary in general is to work on developing your understanding of the root words underlying the English language. Vocabulary.com helps users do that by developing their root word knowledge through puzzles and activities that reinforce the learning process. And it's all free! The site also provides lists of words focused on specific subject and theme areas, lists based off of works of literature, and even vocational terminology. Do you find flashcards a useful tool for learning vocabulary or some other form of information? Then take a look at FlashcardExchange, an extensive online library of flashcards in numerous subject areas compiled by users from 1st grade through college. The service lets you create unlimited text cards and use them online for free as often as you'd like. If you want to download them or add images or audio to your flashcards, you will need to spring for a one-time membership fee.
Y U Shld B a Bad Splr
Not a great speller? Maybe even a really bad one? Take heart, the inability to spell is not a reflection on your intelligence, more an indicator of how your brain is wired. In fact, MRIs reveal your brain may have done some amazing rewiring on your behalf, as the infamously poor-spelling Steve Hendrix of the Washington Post found out. But you don't have to be a crackerjack speller to take an interest in the subject. In fact, over the years there have been multiple movements to simplify English spelling. Playwright George Bernard Shaw, Teddy Roosevelt and Melville Dewey (creator of the Dewey Decimal system of library organization used in most public libraries and here at DACC) all advocated simplifying the spelling of the English language. If you can't spell, these folks might argue, it's not you, it's the language. Having more than 1,100 possible letter combinations to form only 44 sounds, as English does, might be viewed as a bit of overkill.
Some see the rise of text messaging and email as exerting a degree of pressure in this direction on the language. And more than one teacher has expressed fears that these practices are destroying students' language skills, fears that linguist David Crystal identified as appearing first in Great Britain where texting has been a social practice for a longer period of time. But this recent article in the Christian Science Monitor reports that new research suggests otherwise. Texting may actually increase certain linguistic skills. Not quite sure what all the fuss is about? Check out this text to plain english translator.
And finally, many of you have probably seen the Spell Checker poem that has circulated around the internet for several years in varying forms (one version can be seen here). Here is the story behind the poem, as well as its original, subtler form.
Friday, February 27, 2009
Insect Fear Film Festival
Tomorrow, February 28, 2009, you too can enjoy the spine-tingling pleasure of bad movies combined with insects (or more accurately in this case, arthropods) at the 26th Annual Insect Fear Film Festival at the University of Illinois. The best thing about the festival is that it is free! Two feature films, two cartoons and a Mr. Wizard special on animals plus an insect petting zoo and an art show of insect art done by area school kids. What more could you ask for or get for so little!
The subject of this year's festival is centipedes. Now, if you'd like something a little creepier and/or more impressive, take a look at the fiercer (and larger) side of centipedes featured on the Damn Interesting web site, which includes images and links to videos of centipedes tackling bats and mice.
If you'd like some additional information about insects or arthropods, you may want to check out some of these web sites. The BugGuide is an online identification guide to both insects and arthopods of the U.S. and Canada that offers lots of pictures, description, food, range, classification information, habitat, risks posed by, and references. The eNature guides include identification guides for both bugs and spiders (rather sadly myriapoda or the multilegs like centipedes and millipedes appear to be left out, although butterflies those arthropoda scene-stealers have their own guide), as well as field guides for birds, mammals, shells, trees, amphibians, and wildflowers among others. The site also includes an archive of nature articles. Want some kid-related bug ideas? Check out the University of Kentucky's Dept. of Entymology's page of activities and ideas. And finally, here's one person's list of the top 10 bug movies of all time...
The subject of this year's festival is centipedes. Now, if you'd like something a little creepier and/or more impressive, take a look at the fiercer (and larger) side of centipedes featured on the Damn Interesting web site, which includes images and links to videos of centipedes tackling bats and mice.
If you'd like some additional information about insects or arthropods, you may want to check out some of these web sites. The BugGuide is an online identification guide to both insects and arthopods of the U.S. and Canada that offers lots of pictures, description, food, range, classification information, habitat, risks posed by, and references. The eNature guides include identification guides for both bugs and spiders (rather sadly myriapoda or the multilegs like centipedes and millipedes appear to be left out, although butterflies those arthropoda scene-stealers have their own guide), as well as field guides for birds, mammals, shells, trees, amphibians, and wildflowers among others. The site also includes an archive of nature articles. Want some kid-related bug ideas? Check out the University of Kentucky's Dept. of Entymology's page of activities and ideas. And finally, here's one person's list of the top 10 bug movies of all time...
Monday, February 23, 2009
Keeping Up with the Scandals: Politics Illinois Style
Following the latest twists and turns in the ongoing saga of Roland Burris and Rod Blagojevich, whose recent appearance on Letterman is must see TV for every Illinoisan, one is constantly reminded of Illinois's long history of political corruption. As an old joke goes: A Chicago school teacher as a student how to spell "politics" and the child replied: P-A-Y-O-F-F.
Several recent articles have tracked some of the state's more infamous corruption scandals. This New York Times graphic timeline does a nice job of plotting out the state's more recent scandals, while this earlier playlist of corruption provided by the Chicago Tribune focuses on the Ryan era. This MSNBC article offers perhaps the best piece, skimming off several of the more glaring of the many public officials that have been convicted of wrongdoing. This article would be worth checking out if only for the photos the editors have selected to represent various pols. The shifty-eyed shot of former governor Dan Walker, for example can be seen in interesting contrast to the former governor's own self-assessment in his book The Maverick and the Machine, profiled in this review article.
Gubanatorial Wrongdoing
Another governor who has made a noteworthy contributions to the state's record of wrongdoing is Otto Kerner, a man who demonstrates that no matter how significant an individual's achievements, a felony conviction will be better remembered. Kerner served honorably in WWII, achieving the rank of Major General and earning several commendations. He reformed state adoption laws while a judge in Cook County. And as governor improved access to housing, mental health care, jobs and housing for all state residents. Ultimately he led the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders (the Kerner Commission). In the final report, he eloquently defined a key problem facing the United States: ""our nation is moving toward two societies, one black, one white--separate and unequal." (Recent commentary has brought this commission report back up for reconsideration and noted how far-seeing it was and how short-sighted the government was in failing to follow its recommendations.) All of these achievements would be wiped out shortly thereafter by his conviction on bribery, perjury, mail fraud, and tax evasion charges. Interestingly, as pointed out in this article, had Kerner survived, he might have been granted a new trial and his conviction been overturned because the argument used to convict him was found unconstitutional.
Some might argue that George Ryan's moratorium on the death penalty, which he discussed in this interview with The Nation, made prior to his own conviction on corruption charges, should overshadow the crimes that led to his downfall. Others would make quite the opposite case. As this Chicago Tribune article points out, that's a historical determination, and probably one that is yet to be made.
Not Just Governors
Governors have hardly had a lock on corruption in the state. In recent years, Dan Rostenkowski, the Democratic congressman from Chicago became infamous for laundering money through the Capitol Post Office and then receiving an 11th hour pardon from Bill Clinton. His experiences were described in the book Rostenkowski: The Pursuit of Power and the End of the Old Politics, reviewed by Robin Toner.
Rostenkowski, of course, was a product of the Chicago Democratic Machine, the last of the big city political machines. Machine politics grew out of the era of heavy immigration and internal migration that ballooned urban populations. By providing services to the otherwise unserved and keeping cities working, political machines filled an important niche, despite being rife with corruption, and Chicago's was among the most efficient. Machine politics worked in part because the people it served came from backgrounds that inclined them to accept, at least temporarily, a degree of corruption and arbitrary brutality as the norm. It began to break down as individuals within the system identified its inherent unfairness, a situation that came to a head in 1968.
Probably the most colorful crook in downstate history is Paul Powell, former Secretary of State. The long-time, license-plate king made a big splash when he died, leaving behind a hotel room full of shoe boxes, briefcases, and strongboxes stuffed with cash. A consummate shakedown artist and patronage specialist, Powell was quoted as saying: "There's only one thing worse than a defeated politician, and that's a broke one." (Nest Egg)
Trickle Down Corruption
The Chicago Sun-Times demonstrated just how far corruption trickled down during its Mirage Bar sting operation in 1978. Working with the Chicago police and posing as new bar owners and employees, journalists left a barful of code violations for city inspectors to notably not enforce as they took money and offered advice on how to better avoid meeting the city's building and accounting codes and regulations.
Several recent articles have tracked some of the state's more infamous corruption scandals. This New York Times graphic timeline does a nice job of plotting out the state's more recent scandals, while this earlier playlist of corruption provided by the Chicago Tribune focuses on the Ryan era. This MSNBC article offers perhaps the best piece, skimming off several of the more glaring of the many public officials that have been convicted of wrongdoing. This article would be worth checking out if only for the photos the editors have selected to represent various pols. The shifty-eyed shot of former governor Dan Walker, for example can be seen in interesting contrast to the former governor's own self-assessment in his book The Maverick and the Machine, profiled in this review article.
Gubanatorial Wrongdoing
Another governor who has made a noteworthy contributions to the state's record of wrongdoing is Otto Kerner, a man who demonstrates that no matter how significant an individual's achievements, a felony conviction will be better remembered. Kerner served honorably in WWII, achieving the rank of Major General and earning several commendations. He reformed state adoption laws while a judge in Cook County. And as governor improved access to housing, mental health care, jobs and housing for all state residents. Ultimately he led the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders (the Kerner Commission). In the final report, he eloquently defined a key problem facing the United States: ""our nation is moving toward two societies, one black, one white--separate and unequal." (Recent commentary has brought this commission report back up for reconsideration and noted how far-seeing it was and how short-sighted the government was in failing to follow its recommendations.) All of these achievements would be wiped out shortly thereafter by his conviction on bribery, perjury, mail fraud, and tax evasion charges. Interestingly, as pointed out in this article, had Kerner survived, he might have been granted a new trial and his conviction been overturned because the argument used to convict him was found unconstitutional.
Some might argue that George Ryan's moratorium on the death penalty, which he discussed in this interview with The Nation, made prior to his own conviction on corruption charges, should overshadow the crimes that led to his downfall. Others would make quite the opposite case. As this Chicago Tribune article points out, that's a historical determination, and probably one that is yet to be made.
Not Just Governors
Governors have hardly had a lock on corruption in the state. In recent years, Dan Rostenkowski, the Democratic congressman from Chicago became infamous for laundering money through the Capitol Post Office and then receiving an 11th hour pardon from Bill Clinton. His experiences were described in the book Rostenkowski: The Pursuit of Power and the End of the Old Politics, reviewed by Robin Toner.
Rostenkowski, of course, was a product of the Chicago Democratic Machine, the last of the big city political machines. Machine politics grew out of the era of heavy immigration and internal migration that ballooned urban populations. By providing services to the otherwise unserved and keeping cities working, political machines filled an important niche, despite being rife with corruption, and Chicago's was among the most efficient. Machine politics worked in part because the people it served came from backgrounds that inclined them to accept, at least temporarily, a degree of corruption and arbitrary brutality as the norm. It began to break down as individuals within the system identified its inherent unfairness, a situation that came to a head in 1968.
Probably the most colorful crook in downstate history is Paul Powell, former Secretary of State. The long-time, license-plate king made a big splash when he died, leaving behind a hotel room full of shoe boxes, briefcases, and strongboxes stuffed with cash. A consummate shakedown artist and patronage specialist, Powell was quoted as saying: "There's only one thing worse than a defeated politician, and that's a broke one." (Nest Egg)
Trickle Down Corruption
The Chicago Sun-Times demonstrated just how far corruption trickled down during its Mirage Bar sting operation in 1978. Working with the Chicago police and posing as new bar owners and employees, journalists left a barful of code violations for city inspectors to notably not enforce as they took money and offered advice on how to better avoid meeting the city's building and accounting codes and regulations.
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