I'm ba--ack!

Now that the semester has started I am going to try to get back into the groove of posting to this blog again! This ought to be an interesting semester...

For my Information Policy class I actually got to view a flick (nice, eh). The movie, "Good night, and good luck" was about Edward Murrow's valient exposure of Joseph McCarthy as an out of control witch hunter. I couldn't help but recognize certain parallels to this time period and what is currently happening today. It would seem that politicians have a dangerous amount of power when it comes to Information Policy. Issues of national security can permit politicians to withhold or classify information as secret. In this way, people can be denied rights to a fair trail and the public can be denied the right to know the motivations underlying government actions. It is definitely a tricky situation. Obviously, there are times when information is highly sensitive; but how can the public and the reporters of the news assess when information is being hidden for malevolent purposes? How often is information withheld for inappropriate purposes or hidden government agendas unpalatable to the public? Ultimately, is the classification of information ever really safe in regard to a democraticly founded republic? Big questions, eh?

Of course, another angle to consider is the power of the purse as related to the reporting of information. When the media is owned and funded by big money that holds definite interests in the news that is released, is it possible to ever really receive an objective, unadulterated news report? Furthermore, currently there is a battle in Congress concerning Internet neutrality. If Internet neutrality is vanquished, than the final frontier of intellectual freedom will suffer irreversible damage and consequences. No longer will the voices and opinions of many be served up on an equal playing field.

If you get a chance, watch the movie. Think about the world of information today. What do you think is going on?

Nifty Words

Okay, I love words and porte-manteaus are definitely a lot of fun; so when my friend e-mailed me these I just had to pass them along! Enjoy!

Here is the Washington Post's Mensa Invitational which once again asked readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding,
subtracting, or changing one letter -- and supply a new definition. The 2005 winners are:

1. Cashtration (n.): the act of buying or building a house, which renders the subject financially impotent for an indefinite period of time.

2. Ignoranus (n.): a person who's both stupid and an asshole.

3. Intaxication (n.): euphoria at getting a tax refund, which lasts until you realize that it was your money to start with.

4. Reintarnation (n.): coming back to life as a hillbilly.

5. Bozone (n.): the substance surrounding stupid people that stops bright ideas from penetrating. The bozone layer, unfortunately, shows little sign of breaking down in the near future.

6. Foreploy (n.): any misrepresentation about yourself for the purpose of getting laid.

7. Giraffiti (n.): vandalism spray-painted very, very high.

8. Sarchasm (n.): the gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn't get it.

9. Inoculatte (v.): to take coffee intravenously when you are running late.

10. Hipatitis (n.): terminal coolness.

11. Osteopornosis (n.): a degenerate disease. (This one got extra credit.)

12. Karmageddon (n.): It's when everybody is sending off all these really bad vibes, and then the Earth explodes and it's a serious
bummer.

13. Decafalon (n.): the grueling event of getting through the day consuming only things that are good for you.

14. Glibido (n.): all talk and no action.

15. Dopeler effect (n.): the tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly.

16. Arachnoleptic fit (n.): the frantic dance performed just after you've accidentally walked through a spider web.

17. Beelzebug (n.): Satan in the form of a mosquito that gets into your bedroom at three in the morning and cannot be cast out.

18. Caterpallor (n.): the color you turn after finding half a worm in the fruit you're eating.

AND...

The Washington Post has also published the winning submissions to its yearly contest in which readers are asked to supply alternate
meanings for common words. And the winners are...

1. Coffee: the person upon whom one coughs.

2. Flabbergasted: appalled to discover how much weight one has gained.

3. Abdicate: to give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach.

4. Esplanade: to attempt to explain while drunk.

5. Willy-nilly: impotent.

6. Negligent: absentmindedly answering the door when wearing only a nightgown.

7. Lymph: to walk with a lisp.

8. Gargoyle: olive-flavored mouthwash.

9. Flatulence: emergency vehicle that picks up someone who has been run over by a steamroller.

10. Balderdash: a rapidly receding hairline.

11. Testicle: a humorous question on an exam.

12. Rectitude: the formal, dignified bearing adopted by proctologists.

13. Pokemon: a Rastafarian proctologist.

14. Oyster: a person who sprinkles his conversation with Yiddishisms.

15.Frisbeetarianism: the belief that after death, the soul flies up onto the roof and gets stuck there.

16. Circumvent: an opening in the front of boxer shorts worn by Jewish men.

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?articleID=72ADDBD3-E7F2-99DF-3A0BEE8DD5D18248

Fellow puffing librarians...(you know who you are); if you have tried numerous times to break the nasty smoking habit and failed to break nicotine's ugly grip on you than keep an eye out for NicVax. Scientists have actually concocted a vaccination that causes smokers to produce antibodies that block nicotine (mostly) from crossing the blood brain barrier. This permits smokers to quit smoking with out fear of alienating themselves from friends and family (traditionally, quitting has turned perfectly amiable persons into mega bitches overnight). If you are like me, you will be first in line with your pants flapping in the breeze waiting to finally accept this miracle of modern medicine...HALLELULLAH!!!

Information on Serving Patrons with Special Needs

This twenty minute video addresses the diverse needs of the patron population and how public librarians might serve those with special needs. Quick and informative for the
new or student librarian. The URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXfx-y_3Cm&mode=related&search=

Never too early....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fc0RiIs05Xw&mode=related&search=

I will graduate from SU in approximately one year and know it is never too early to begin thinking about the job market. Locke Morrisey of San Jose State University School of Library and Information Science has created a three part lecture series that gives excellent tips to students beginning to think about entering the job market. His in information is practical and helpful. I would recommend viewing each of the three 18 minute lectures and taking his advice seriously when beginning your pursuit of a library position.

Say What?!?

After reading this I nearly burst out laughing. First of all, anyone who has taken a cataloging course quickly earns respect for ACCURATE and USEFUL cataloging (and this type of cataloging isn't a skill that magically occurs overnight). Cataloging requires training and practice. Perhaps a lot of the shoddy cataloging I have witnessed has been directly due to the fact that untrained people have been given jobs to do the job at less than desirable rates of pay. Second of all, what is the deal with the quote about information people working out of kiosks and library people working in libraries? Does Gorman have a clue what it means to be a 21st Century librarian? Does he not realize that librarians of the 21st Century are going to need to be a melding of the two?

If this isn't enough, you could always refer to the University of Buffalo for more head scratching confusion.

Technology and Librarianship need to be allowed to court! The two fields are integral to the future of libraries EVERYWHERE! What is up with this reactionary atmosphere that seems to be clouding up a future that could be so bright???

Got Sources?

This is an incredible list of awesome Web resources to use when Google just can't cut it. ENJOY!

Ten Awesome Reasons to be a Librarian

Click here to reaffirm your decision to become a librarian:


Being a librarian ROCKS! :-))

Very Interesting....

I am a Snapdragon What Flower Are You?

For a little end of the semester diversion and a lovely picture to add to your blog page click on "What type of flower are you?" Funny I came out a snap dragon. My gramma always loved snap dragons and I always thought they were the funkiest looking fower around...

Epic 2014 & Epic 2015 - Museum of Media History�

Epic 2014 & Epic 2015 - Museum of Media History�

COULD THIS BE OUR FUTURE?

Click on Epic 2015 (full movie screen) to view a possible scenario for the future. This movie is extremely interesting and well put together. The beginning does give an accurate time line concerning major events that have occurred with the development of the Internet. The British creators take it beyond 2006, however, and craft plausible future events that could actually be a plausible series of developments for the not too distant future. This is powerful stuff that really gets your wheels spinning...I highly recommend viewing it!

Stacking the Deck: Is High Tech Helping Students Cheat?

Stacking the Deck: Is High Tech Helping Students Cheat?

This is a well written article from McGill University that addresses academic integrity issues at the University level. According to the article, cheating has increased and methods to combat dishonest behaviour are meeting with outcries from students. Many students do not like the notion that their papers are looked upon as being plagerized until they are proven (by such databases as Turn It In) to be original. Others resent the fact that their papers become part of the database and claim the database companies are essentially making money using students' materials without offering any compensation. Still others cite unfairness because many universities do not permit students to have the option to decline having their paper scanned for plagiarism. With all this student generated controversy, universities can easily become hand-tied.

My thought is that it is a shame that today's students aren't spending more time protesting real world problems that need attention rather than decrying university policies that strive to eliminate dishonest and dishonorable behaviour.