3998

Shocked and awed researchers

One of these didn't shock me, but several did.

74% of the 3% who suffer from "restless leg syndrome" seem to have evidence of a gene link according to recent articles in the NEJM and Nature. And naturally, someone's looking for or promoting a drug for it. Have you ever wished they'd just stuff that human genetic code back into the family's closet of skeletons?





The mega-veggies diet low in fat didn't give breast cancer survivors long term protection anymore than the 5 servings a day diet with average fat of the control group. Even though both groups also decreased caloric intake over time, both had small increases in weight. Seems some physical activity is needed. JAMA, July 18, 2007, (v. 298, no.3)




If government health care is so great (according to Democrat candidates on the campaign trail), isn't it odd that doctors are dropping their Medicaid patients? Ever wonder why Obama and Miz Clinton want to Fema-tize health care? Maybe they don't like black people and poor people?



Soda pop, diet or regular, seems to be adding to the metabolic syndrome problem--that's high blood pressure, high glucose levels, pre-diabetic, etc. Now this is just anecdotal and purely my own observation, but I've never seen a person of normal BMI who drank a lot of or was panicked without soda pop. I think Americans drink about 50 gallons of soda a year, Canadians about 30 and Brits about 22. So you see, someone is getting my share since I drink maybe 3-4 cans a year. People can be addicted to the carbonation, the sugar, the sugar substitute or the caffeine, or a combination of two or three.

3997

Some people get it

John and Debbie for instance. They are from Southern California, but they eased into the Lakeside scene like oldtime midwesterners. There are risks inviting people to a tourist spot that isn't so touristy, where the pressures of the real world just start to slip away after 24-48 hours (for some it takes longer; for others it never happens). Another risk is you might try to keep them too busy, thinking they will expect constant activity. But these newlywed relatives knew they could walk around, chat with the folks, watch the boats, or lean on the fence and take in miniature golf.

Our friend John B. loaned us his golf cart, so we did the "tour" of the RBA houses that my husband has designed new or the remodeling to remove some of past disasters of the 1950s when people tried to modernize 1890s and 1920s cottages. We had five evenings of great programming, and a ferry ride to Put-in-Bay, good eats at the local restaurants and on our deck. We put them on the plane this morning early, and hope to see them again soon.

Brother and sister grew up a continent and 10 years apart but are happily making up for lost time. You're only a child a brief time--it's never too late to be a family even if your parents couldn't do it.

Lakeside is Open

Now that I'm back in Columbus, I'll download (and upload) a few photos of some of the Lakeside scenes I've been saving but couldn't use. (My laptop has failed; my PC won't read discs, so I need some tweaking of my technology.) The "season" at Lakeside is 9-10 weeks and includes cultural and spiritual programming from about 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Some of the businesses, which include small restaurants, a coffee shop, deli-style shop with fresh flowers and delivery, ice cream shops, a tea room, several gift shops, candy store, sundries, artists' cooperative, a dress shop, movie theater (only one in Ottowa county), bicycle repair and golf cart rental, and Cokesbury book store, have varying opening and closing hours. I'm usually the first customer at Coffee and Cream, which opens at 6:30 a.m. where I catch the news and read the paper. Sloopy's and Dockside have been selling snacks and pizza by the slice at the concerts in the park on Sunday evenings. What Lakeside doesn't have is any establishment that sells alcohol. This helps contribute to its nice atmosphere for families with children. When you visit one of the islands or another tourist area, you can immediately see the difference.

3995

With Roger in the coffee shop

Now the hotel computer is down! Am I a jinx or what? But Roger brought his lovely Mac into Coffee and Cream, so I'm alerting my "regulars" (AZ, Bev, etc.) that I'm down for the count until I can get back to Columbus.

3994

Back to the Lake, pt. 2

We arrived around noon on Thursday, and found we had an invitation to our neighbor's 90th birthday party, so the four of us enjoyed hamburgers and brats from the grill and were able to chat with some friends and neighbors. It's always fun to show first timers our little community and watch them gradually decompress from the real world as the peacefulness sinks in. Deb had been here many years ago when her daughters were about 12 and 13, but she doesn't remember much. My husband took them to several of the cottages for which he was the architect, although we'll use a golf cart for the BIG tour (I think there are about 33 or 34). I ran into Roger and Judi from Atlanta area who are in town for a few days--always great to see them and catch up on their growing family. We met in 1989 when we were both new homeowners. They moved south around 1994, but their hearts remain in Lakeside.

The program Thursday night was "Irving Berlin; The American Dream in Song" a multimedia presentation of the life and work of Irving Berlin. I loved hearing the old songs, and one or two with which I wasn't familiar. The female vocalist, Erin Kufel was just outstanding. At my parents' 50th wedding anniversary, the grandchildren gathered around the piano and sang, "Always," for them, which was popular when they were dating. Tonight is Gaelic Storm, an Irish group, and tomorrow night is the always popular OSU Alumni Band. I see that the community theater offering July 31-Aug 3 will be "You can't take it with you," but we won't be here to enjoy that.

3993

Back to the lake

We picked Debbie and John up at the airport in Columbus on Tuesday afternoon--flight was just a few minutes late. We got them settled at our home, showed them around a bit, then met our daughter and SIL for dinner. Wednesday we did some sight seeing in Columbus and drove out to our son's home--bringing home some lovely cukes from his thriving garden.

We visited the State House and the Supreme Court building (Ohio Judicial Center) to see the art work and had lunch at Schmidt's in German Village, splitting a cream puff four ways. There's an interesting display on censorship in the education center of the judicial center--the whole education center is worth seeing, but this particular exhibit is very good and a piece of art in and of itself. I don't know who wrote the content, but although we now smile at some of the films the judges were required to review, one can definitely see that despite censorship, the steady downward spiral of the entertainment culture has continued. We also drove through the campus of Ohio State University, but it is a bit difficult to see. The main library is being gutted and is inaccessible for about four years, the student union is being torn down, the oval was closed to automobiles over 30 years ago due to student riots. We did jump briefly out of the car and looked at Mirror Lake. Foliage is so dense I could occasionally point to a roof top and say, "That's the building that was reconstructed to look like the original . . . ."

Thursday Thirteen

13 summer looks that look uncomfortable or unsightly

1) Thong underwear
2) No underwear at all
3) Thong sandals
4) Crocs--any color, but especially bright pink or lime green--on men
5) Lacy, fringed, irregular hem lines on women,
6) 3-4" high heels and the bottom of bare legs
7) Laptop computers being lugged around with a purse and large bag
8) head bands
9) back pack purses on rounded shoulders
10) Heavy, beaded jewelry
11) Something dangling from the ear that isn't an earring
12) women with bare backs and a tattoo
13) and fringy, thinning pony tails on middle-aged men

3991

Inside our alphabet soup

of federal agencies--FDA, USDA, HHS--I find it hard to believe we didn't already have someone doing this.

"WASHINGTON (Reuters) Jul 18 - The United States is forming an import safety panel to report to President George W. Bush in 60 days following a string of incidents that have raised questions about the safety of products from China, the White House said on Wednesday."

3990

The Rule of Six

For you young mommies (or even not so young) here's an interesting post on The Rule of Six, by author Melissa Wiley, who homeschools. I raised my children with this Rule of Six (and probably seven or eight if you add in something about nutrition and/or health and sports) without thinking about it, and I'm sure my mom did too. Melissa started out with five

• Good books
• Imaginative play
• Encounters with beauty (through art, music, and the natural world—this includes our nature walks)
• Ideas to ponder and discuss
• Prayer

and then also added "meaningful work" to make it six.

If I can add some hindsight here. . . It doesn't always result in what you hope or expect, because these are people, not programmable robots. Children come into this world with everything in place--physical features, personalities, talents and intelligence--everything except their values, and those they can accept or reject. Some children will never enjoy reading as adults, some will never be imaginative or musical; some will hate art shows or never pause for a beautiful sunset, some will want to discuss ideas you care nothing about and find meaning in things you'd keep in the closet or they may prefer silence and being alone; you might be Pentecostal and find out you've raised a Catholic nun, and the work they choose may not be your idea of "meaningful." Just two examples: I have two brown thumbs, can kill any house plant that isn't artificial, and my son loves to garden; I loathe any task that might require knowledge of how an appliance works, but my daughter thinks nothing of installing a ceiling fan or light fixture. Without advice or example from me, after their 20s, they discovered these interests.

My advice is follow the rule of six because it will make a parent's life more interesting and enjoyable, and any child can benefit from that.

3989

So much for cover design

Are library staff visually challenged? It was bad enough when they started throwing away the book jackets (which often included information not in the book), but now they are obscuring the cover too!

3988

This ad has bad karma!

And it should go down in the Annals of Stupid Ads. Have you heard (radio) the ad where the guy and girl are splitting up because he has grown lobster (or crab) claws. He accuses her of discriminating against him because she doesn't like his hands (claws), and she accuses him of being a non-volunteer who isn't contributing to society, so he has grown claws. Stupid, your name is the Ad Council. It gives new meaning to Dumb and Dumber.

A nationwide study among 18-24 year olds conducted by the Ad Council and Lightspeed Research in March 2007 found that 95 percent of 18-24 year olds believe “what goes around comes around” and the vast majority (69 percent) believe in “karma.” Additionally, young adults are more likely to attribute the positive experiences in their lives to their positive behaviors (75 percent) as opposed to having “good luck” (56 percent).

I'm a Christian. We don't believe we are good because of what we do, but we do believe in one who was good on our behalf. Karma is a hindu belief--you get to come back, and come back and come back until you get it right. In that faith, you get what you deserve. In Christianity, you get what you don't deserve--mercy and forgiveness and a new start. With "karma" if you're bad, or don't pay attention, well, you just might end up with claws instead of hands. It's sort of works Christianity without the cross.

God's plan made a hopeful beginning
But man spoiled his chances by sinning
We trust that the story
Will end in God's glory
But at present, the other side's winning-- Oliver Wendell Holmes

3987

We're losing the tall race

I'm not surprised we're not the tallest country anymore. Holland now has the record. We used to be a predominantly European nation. Have you seen the height of the 12 million illegal aliens? I'm only 5'5" and I'm way taller than most of the guys I see on the construction crews, you know, those jobs Americans don't want?

Are dads less handy these days?

There's an interesting discussion going on over at the Juggle, the Wall St. Journal work blog. Tom Weber admits he has to call in his own father when something around the house needs to be fixed. My husband is pretty handy, but we do call on our son for advice on the cars, and our son-in-law on many tasks, particularly trimming our bushes or moving furniture. I literally don't know which end of the hammer to use. I think I get that from my dad. If he owned a tool, I never saw him pick it up. My mother did everything around the house, including painting, wallpapering, wiring, plumbing and carpentry and the outside stuff too, like gardening, mowing and climbing ladders to hang storm windows and clean gutters. I really hated that, and vowed I'd never do it. That's why I say I got it from Dad.

Remembering Lady Bird

Rick Librarian has some personal memories and book ideas for remembering Lady Bird Johnson, a really classy woman. She will be missed. I heard an interview with Doris Kearns Goodwin on Saturday about Mrs. Johnson and her relationship with LBJ. She lived at the ranch while helping LBJ with his memoir. If all she is remembered for is environmentalism, it will be a pity.

Monday Memories--Visitors from California

This week we'll be hosting my husband's sister Deb and her husband John who live in California. Last summer we traveled there to be with them when they got married. We had a great time doing things together and seeing the sights. This photo is Deb and me together at their home last September.

3983

Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas

Millions of dollars in damage and thousands of homes and businesses have been destroyed in the recent downpours and flooding. Oil spills are preventing returns for clean-up.

We don't have cable here (Lakeside), so perhaps there's been significant Katrina-type coverage, but I've only seen a few minutes on the regular news and a couple of inches in the paper. I think they can't quite figure out how to blame George Bush or to make it about race and poverty. But stay tuned.

3982

Crash risk in general aviation

There was a brief article in the metro section of the Plain Dealer yesterday about a pilot killed in an ultra light. Jonathan Gamble, 65, died at the Portage County Airport just after take off. He was a very experienced pilot.

The death rate for general aviation is much higher than for commercial aviation. The April 11, 2007 issue of JAMA examines this and why with improved technology and training, not much has changed in the last 30 years. General aviation flights are 82 times riskier, and account for most of the deaths and injuries caused by flying. JAMA. 2007;297:1596-1598.

In an examination of the crash risk of private flights, researchers found that general aviation flights averaged 1,685 crashes and 583 deaths each year from 2002 to 2005, accounting for 91 percent of all aviation crashes and 94 percent of all aviation deaths. Small aircraft flying at low altitudes make general aviation flights especially vulnerable to adverse weather conditions. For general aviation pilots, flying out of “see and avoid” conditions into conditions that require them to fly using their instruments is the most perilous scenario for pilots who have not obtained an instrument rating. Additional risk factors include pilots flying while intoxicated, sudden incapacitation (heart attack or other health issue), older age, being male, having a nonconformist flying style (e.g. being a daredevil) and having a prior record of an aviation crash or violation. Physician pilots are also found to crash at a higher rate per flight hour than other pilots. From a summary in a press release

Laura Bush

Despite being dissed by some cranky members of the American Library Association who don't know a good opportunity for positive PR when they see one, Laura Bush's numbers remain high. There is a great article about her in the Wall St. Journal week-end edition.

Mrs. Bush nudges the conversation along toward a point she wants to make: Fighting disease in poor countries also pays other tangible benefits, including expanding economic growth and liberating women. Sometimes this happens with the smallest of projects -- like providing clean drinking water to a school:

"Especially the economic part of it, the girls who are kept out of school because they are the ones looking for water, or . . . have to walk however far to the water well and bring it back, and so they aren't in school. And that's one of the reasons the clean water, the PlayPumps [merry-go-round water pumps] that we inaugurated in Zambia are very important -- and they're in a schoolyard -- so that if girls don't have to search for water for their families, they're more likely to be educated."

If reporters pay close attention to what she says and follow up on it, they are likely to find that Mrs. Bush is willing to take controversial stands. On her recent flight to Africa, she told journalists traveling with her that the U.S. needs to be "efficient and effective" with foreign aid money. No one on the plane asked what she meant.

For one thing, she supports using the most effective defense ever developed against malaria -- an insecticide called DDT, which has been vilified by environmentalists even though it was essential to eradicating the disease in the U.S. decades ago."

You go girl! Article here.

3980

Whose line?

Hoover Auditorium (seats ca. 3,000) in Lakeside was packed last night to experience "Whose line is it anyway" with Colin Mochrie and Brad Sherwood. With help from the audience which supplies ideas, they improvise skits, and even a little opera. I was laughing so hard tears were running down my cheeks. Both performers appear on the TV show by the same title.

Earlier in the evening we met with other donors at the train station for a reception and pep talk from the chairman of the Foundation Board, Dale Knobel, and Kevin Sibbring, the President of Lakeside. We saw lots of friends, ate too many yummies, and heard some great music.

The art show opened Thursday and I think it is one of the best we've had here. My husband has sold two of his paintings, and we bought one by Robert Moyer. I think he will be teaching at the Rhein Center in a week or two. I think he is a terrific artist.

We pick up Deb and John at the airport in Columbus on Tuesday and then will return here on Thursday.

3979

Upkeep for the Joneses

One of the cottages I passed on my walk yesterday had the name, "Upkeep for the Joneses." Here at Lakeside, many people give their cottage a name, and it sometimes is passed along to the new owner. Ours doesn't have a name, but we tell people we live in the Thompson cottage, the previous owner's name. He died in his 80s and was born on that site in the previous house.

Robert J. Samuelson writes about the happiness scale in the Washington Post, and syndicated elsewhere (I saw it in the Cleveland Plain Dealer). Although much wealthier than they were in 1977, Americans still rate about the same on "happiness." So money doesn't buy happiness.

In 1977, 35.7 percent of Americans rated themselves "very happy," 53.2 percent "pretty happy" and 11 percent "not too happy," reports the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago. In 2006, the figures are similar: 32.4 percent "very happy," 55.9 percent "pretty happy" and 11.7 percent "not too happy." Likewise, in most advanced countries, self-reported happiness has been flat for decades.

Go figure. After the basics are satisfied, we can spend a lifetime chasing something we think money will buy. My husband says the happiest people he ever met were the Haitians he got to know last February on a mission trip. By our standards, they had nothing.

One of the happiest people I've talked to recently is suffering (without complaint) from a post polio condition, and is retiring soon with a very limited income. She talks enthusiastically about selling her home and moving into a small apartment on her son's rural property. She has a very full life of service to others, some as a missionary with YWAM and is joyful and excited about life.

No social scientist can explain this. And although she is a committed Christian, even that isn't an explanation, because I know many Christians who aren't happy even if they do serve others and they aren't pleasant to be around. I suspect she was born with some "half full" genes.

3778

Reminders

My former daughter-in-law is a beautiful woman--but she must have thought she needed a lot of help, because I keep finding her cosmetic bottles at our summer cottage. I've benefited from her hand lotion, moisturizer (hair), nail polish remover, and shampoo. She was (is) also a great cook, and bought a lot of spices I'll probably never use, but I haven't thrown them out. After the break up, we also lost our step-grand daughter (now 16), and today I came across some of those reminders, too. I opened the sewing cabinet and found the little dollies and crayons and coloring books I bought for her when she was around 3 or 4. We'd sit on the deck and have tea parties. They looked up at me with their eyes wide open, waiting.

3977

I could have taken geology!

This week at Lakeside I attended an interesting series on the Great Lakes. Two were taught by Prof. Charles Herdendorf of OSU, "Geologic History of the Great Lakes," and "Shipwrecks of Lake Erie,"--fascinating stuff, both. A third one was a viewing of a new film by WGTE (Toledo) on the human experience along Lake Erie. I think that one is available from them. But it was the geology lecture that was the most interesting--probably because I never had any in college, so I was starting from zero. I enjoyed it so much, it made me wish I'd taken that instead of chemistry for my science requirement. Funny, too, because I'm a 6 day creationist, but I don't mind a bit learning about all those millions of years of erosion of rocks and seaweed becoming petroleum, or the 4 glaciers that covered Ohio, or the many changes in the size of Lake Erie, or that there used to be many more lakes in the Great Lakes area--a huge one in Canada. One recent event he mentioned did really amaze me. He said the Atlantic Ocean is getting larger and the Pacific smaller. Has nothing to do with melting glaciers, either. It is the shifting plates under the oceans. In just my life time the Atlantic has expanded 6 ft. Don't build near the shorelines, folks.

http://www.epa.gov/glnpo/atlas/images/big02.gif

If you ever have a chance to hear Prof. Herdendorf, grab it.

3976

Green architecture

Because my husband's newsletters come to my e-mail, and we still get 3 or 4 architecture magazines, I see a lot of articles about green architecture. I read so much green, I'm getting moldy! Now there's a watch list of endangered buildings and cultural sites, and global warming has been added to the list of problems. This year New Orleans made the list because of global warming and Iraq's cultural sites made the list because of political conflicts (nothing political about this list, right?)

New Orleans is a mess because of the political graft and corruption at the parish, local and state level. From the governor to the mayor to the levee boards. It is and was run by Democrats who managed to create a helpless, poverty mired population through a victim creating welfare state. They must like it this way or Ray Nagin wouldn't have been reelected.

The people of Iraq have been liberated from a terrible dictator, whom unfortunately we helped along the way to total power. He's gone now, and let's see what they can do. It won't be our type of democracy, and there are days when I ask who would want what goes on in our halls of Congress?

Which do architects value more? Preserved cultural sites or mass graves of religious and political conflict? Don't answer, I think I know the answer. We got out of Korea with a truce 50+ years ago, and our military are still there and the people of North Korea have been starved because of our "peacemakers." We fled Vietnam in disgrace, and millions died. Now there are Americans who want to continue this inglorious tradition. Baffles me, but I suppose there are Americans who want to be sure that no country ever asks for our help.

3975

Hands off the sports program, Dr. Gee

Gordon Gee, a former President of Ohio State (1990-1997), will be the new OSU President. At Vanderbilt he shaped up the sports program. I see he's not happy with the graduation rate of the OSU football players. He thinks the system is "broken." If college is supposed to prepare a young person for the real world, and some want to be professional sports players, why do we care if they graduate? Bill Gates didn't graduate, and he's done OK, and he did even play football! If the young, large necked guys don't graduate from OSU, and don't play NFL, but later decide to try a junior college or technical school because they see the light, what's so terrible. Would they have done better if they never had attended the largest university in the country? The OSU football program actually makes money, and it funds the programs like women's basketball and volleyball that run in the red. People don't fill that stadium to see scholars smash mouthing each other.

Graduation rates are way over rated, as are degrees. Librarians have degrees; lots of them. Knowledge is supposed to be power. Ha. We can't even get a librarian appointed as Librarian of Congress.

3974

Friday morning from the lobby

of the Fountain Inn in beautiful downtown Lakeside, I'm working away at my other, other blog. Yesterday I read an interesting article about weight, hormones, age and activity level in Real Simple, July 2007. My friend Bev had left it at the cottage. So I've written down 20 tips from that article, and invite you over there to read them.

Last night's performance was a fabulous guitar ensemble--a teacher and 3 of his students. Really blew us away. We also had a pot luck dinner with other artists from our Rhein Center which is really booming. We attended the opening of the Lakeside Art show also yesterday afternoon. Really--a knock your socks off show. We bought #307 by Robert Moyer. It's not a happy palette but fabulous composition and watercolor technique. We usually buy art either for my birthday or our anniversary, or both. Also the Amish quilt show is this week--that's always a popular feature.

Time to head for the coffee shop, and then a looooong walk along the lakefront to burn off the effects of all the good food I've been exposed to this week.

Thursday Thirteen from the hotel lobby

1)Yesterday my laptop failed, so I walked to the hotel in the dark where I'm typing at 5:15 a.m. At least no one is around.

2) The time hasn't been set to EST on this machine and it says I'm up even earlier.

3) I spent a lot of time yesterday taking photos for a photo essay, but can't download them.

4) I don't want to reload the software because I'll lose all the great photos I downloaded last summer and this summer.

5) My home computer has stopped reading CDs--it keeps telling me to "insert CD" and doesn't recognize them.

6) Sounds like it is time to call a computer whiz guy to spend some time with both of them.

7) In the meanwhile, I won't be visiting many Thursday Thirteeners today.

8) To my right is the fire extinquisher

9) next to it is the water fountain.

9) Then on my left there is a large chalk board and an artificial plant.

10) The chair is very uncomfortable.

11) The tiny table (seems to be from a kindergarten class 50 years ago) on which the computer is sitting is so low that my knees won't fit under it.

12) So I'm sitting side saddle.

13) I hope you're grateful for this Thursday's Thirteen.

Blogosphere and the Terrorists

Daniel Henninger has an article about how terrorists are using the new media in today's WSJ. Read it here.

There is no more unchallenged verity in our times than that the World Wide Web, the Internet, is a boon to mankind. But as with nuclear or biological warfare, the Web is a dual-use technology. Technically adept Muslims, using out-of-the-box PC software and hardware, are outputting an electronic torrent of slick Web sites, discussion forums, videos, e-magazines and long-form movies, all with one purpose--to incite Muslims to join the jihad against the enemies of Islam in Baghdad, London, Glasgow or New York. Forget those Iraqi attack videos on YouTube; this is a sophisticated, globally distributed propaganda operation.

They need to be careful--once their ladies find out about shopping on the internet, they might have another revolution on their hands! They can't keep them buried in the 7th century forever.

Breakdown!

My laptop has failed, so unless I want to run down to the hotel each time, I won't be blogging much.

3970

Praised for his bravery

After the Koran toting Muslim men had been led away, the British judge praised the bravery of civilians who were sitting in court, Angus Campbell, 43, and Arthur Burton-Garbett, 72, who tried to stop Razmi Mohammed as he fled the scene of the bomb attacks in London. Campbell is a fireman, and Burton-Garbett a former soldier. Seems the terrorists defense was that a car bomb loaded with nails and metal wasn't intended to maim or kill.Story at BBC News

3969

Stress? What stress?

Back story. Dave, a mild mannered librarian, joined the National Guard a few years ago, and is now back in his dangerous job as a politically conservative information specialist. He quotes from a British article about the stress that librarians undergo. His view is a bit different.

Basically, the study defines librarians as "stressed" because they're underpaid, hate their jobs, and have high absenteeism. I'm sorry, that situation sucks, but it's not real stress. Dealing with IEDs and sniper attacks is stressful; having two BI* sessions in a day isn't. Even during the new, toned-down Basic Training, I found myself pining for the days when my big worry was being swamped at the reference desk by students working on some of our least favorite assignments. Unfortunately, most of us in the West live such spoiled, sheltered lives, that we have little idea what real hardship looks like."

In the USA, we have hip, young, tattooed and pierced librarians who love their value-free environment as they contribute to the greater good of society by stocking the shelves with anti-Bush and anti-Christian materials.

*BI means "bibliographic instruction," whereby librarians teach classes how to use the catalog and databases. We used to call it "user education," but I think some students got the wrong idea because I used to get questions on how to grow marijuana when I worked in the agriculture library.

3968

The Russian Internet

You've probably wondered about the Russian Internet, haven't you? Well, Eugene Gorny has written his thesis on this topic, and it is in English, so much easier to read than his blog. Check it out here.

3967

Defending the Bush Tax Cuts

We all know the Democrats intend to raise taxes when they take over in 2008. It's not like they hide their plans. Mike Volpe at Proprietor Nation reminds us to beware of some of the biggest lies, myths and distortions about taxes by reviewing what he knows about basic economics:

"How many Democrats uttered the words, "tax cuts for the rich". Of course, this is an outright lie. Every tax bracket, including but not exclusively the rich, lowered their rate. The Democrats proclaimed that in dollar terms the rich got the overwhelming piece of the tax cuts. Well, in the words of any third grader, duh. The rich make the overwhelming amount of money and pay the overwhelming amount of the taxes. 3% of 50,000 dollars is a lot less than 3% of 1 million dollars. Of course, the rich got the biggest part of the tax cuts, their pool is by far larger. A millionaire pays more in taxes than most people make in income. They played the traditional class warfare, pitting the wealthy Republicans versus the middle class of the Democrats. Well as Gregg Jackson pointed out in "Conservative Comebacks to Liberal Lies" targeted tax cuts, the kind the Democrats bemoaned, are nothing more than a form of communism, where the poor are propped up on the backs of the wealthy. Furthermore, logic tells us that it is the wealthy, not the middle class, that creates jobs. A three percent tax cut for someone making fifty thousand may put more money in their pockets, but they won't hire any new workers as a result of it. A millionaire on the other hand, is something totally different."

3966

A common language

In developing her theme on why Americans can't afford to lose their common language, Peggy Noonan lost me with this phrase:

"She's one of a small army of advertisement giver-outers in New York."

Giver-outers? Surely a professional writer can do better than that. "She's one of a small army which gives out advertisements in New York," or "She's one of a small army of advertisement distributors in New York." And she used the phrase twice. Ah, New York, New York.

"Europe is lucky: All those different cultures and languages are bundled up all close to each other and next to each other. They learn each other's languages with ease."

Oh really? "Close to and next to." With ease? In Denmark, I had to use my hands to order a cup of coffee in the airport; in Estonia, I found people who spoke Russian much better than Estonian. In Finland, the Vietnamese and Somali immigrants can speak Swedish because Sweden controlled the country for so many years and it is still required in the schools. But the Finnish Laplanders (Sami) aren't necessarily happy about speaking Finnish since their people reside in four countries.

I personally think it is great to learn several languages-- the children in Haiti learn four, not that it has stopped endemic corruption or built a decent infrastructure. But which languages should they be? Do our illegal immigrants speak decent, educated Spanish, let alone understandable English? Yes, a common language would be great. Starting with our best known writers.

3965

The world's most active poet?

In the late 1970s I worked in the Agriculture Library in an agricultural credit program at Ohio State University. It was a terrific job--I think I worked 9 a.m. - 1 p.m., had summers off, and got full credit towards retirement. The job lasted about 3.5 years, and then I moved to the Latin American Studies library (I think that was the name then) in the Main Library (Thompson Library, now closed for remodeling), where I worked with John Bennett. He had a PhD in Romance Languages, was working in the library, writing and publishing poetry in his off hours. He was a good companion and interesting co-worker, even if I didn't understand his poetry. It seemed he had something new every week--or at least month. I looked at the OSUL NewsNotes today, and he's still at it.

John M. Bennett, Rare Books & MSS Library, has published a book of collaborative full-color visual poetry, D RAIN B LOOM, Puhos, Finland: xPress(ed), 2006. 147 pages. Co-author is Scott Helmes.

I found NewsNotes by browsing Knowledge Bank, a digital archive of things published at and by OSU.

3964

Would your dog walk under an umbrella?

IPWatch offers an obscure patent each day, and I thought this dog umbrella (2003) had possibilities--not for any dog I've ever known, but someone might have one. Take a look.

According to the site, the term intellectual property is now commonly used to refer to the bundle of rights conferred to owners by each of the following fields of law: (1) patent law; (2) copyright law,; (3) trademark law; (4) trade secret law; and (5) the right of publicity. The About Us page says: "IPWatchdog.com is dedicated to providing a free, reliable and easily understandable resource on intellectual property law and related topics. We promise to demystify intellectual property and explain to you what it is, why you would want to consider obtaining intellectual property and how to go about obtaining worthwhile protection. We also explain various pitfalls to avoid, as well as what you can do to help yourself."

Today's cartoon really speaks truth to me.

3963

Run Cindy, run

Cindy Sheehan needs media attention the way the rest of us need oxygen. Since she "resigned" and "sold" her Crawford property, she's been out of the lime light. Her big mouth and her deceased son are her only claims to fame, but I think there are politicans in both parties who have less going for them. At least she is passionate. So she may run against Granny Nancy, the rich, smooth, slick Californian just a few heartbeats from the presidency.

Good luck, Cindy. What you lack in smarts, you make up in guts.

What we learn from nature about God

I love a visit with Pastor Brad. He's been on vacation, backpacking in the wild. His spiritual refreshment was not what you might expect.

Since the advent of the car and paved roads, it is fairly easy to get a good view from a mountain top somewhere. You can simply drive to some "Look Out Point," put the car in park and enjoy the view. You cannot do that in the wild. In one day, my friends and I had to walk over four mountains, carrying 35 lbs. on our backs, fighting the heat and exhaustion just to get to a decent campsite. Not only did we have to contend with heat and fatigue, we had to fight ticks, chiggers, biting flies, and even snakes. And it rained. In fact, the wood was so wet that we could barely build a decent fire.

So what did I learn from nature? It's fallen. Instead of fruit trees, the ground grows thorns and prickly things. There is almost nothing edible in the forest, and even that which is edible is fairly lousy. Except the occasional blackberry, but even that gift comes with thorns. Even clear mountain streams can prove lethal if the water is not filtered and treated before drinking.

The Bible teaches that "the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God" (Rom. 8:20-21). So even the beauty of nature is tainted with the corruption of the fall. I could not see God as clearly as I wished in nature because it is fallen as I am fallen. Sin permeates the natural world and obscures the glory of God.

So as I walked over the cursed land I dreamed of a day when the Creator will liberate His creation from bondage. I imagined a day with no more thorns, chiggers, mosquitoes, and ticks. Even the earth longs for the day of redemption. Together we groaned for the return of the King.

Monday Memories--the old oak tree

Last week when we were in Illinois we visited the woods where my cousin and her husband are building their retirement home. As my aunt and uncle aged, it became difficult for them to care for the property which can become overgrown in just a matter of a few years. But Frank had been patiently reclaiming it, just as they had done over 30 years ago, and we were able to walk back to an area where our families had breakfast in the woods under a beautiful oak some 30 years ago. 50-100 years ago this wooded area was pasture, and the soil is packed hard by cattle hooves. We found our opening, but the magnificent oak was dead. It was alive last summer, Frank said with a final glorious burst of color in the fall. The extension agent thought perhaps it had been struck by lightening. So many happy memories here. Good-bye old friend.

3960

The Flowers of Lakeside

Yes, our streets are really this close to the houses, and people do rest in hammocks.
A walk along the lakefront.
The Patio Restaurant, where fresh donuts are made every morning.


This is a WWI memorial for the soldiers from the township, but I suspect the cannon is from the War of 1812, because there was a famous battle on Lake Erie.

3959

The Four Freshmen and Kelly Crum Delaveris at Lakeside

Saturday night the crowd at Hoover Auditorium were enchanted by the mellow jazz renditions of the latest reincarnation of the Four Freshmen, who were big stuff (remember "Graduation Day?") when I was in high school. This group actually began in the late 40s, were really big in the 50s and early 60s, slipped out of sight but continuted performing. I think the last of the original group retired about 10 years ago. But they were fabulous. Then on Sunday at Family Night in the Park, we were treated to the Latin sounds of the 50s-70s of Brasileira with Kelly Crum Delaveris, a graduate of Upper Arlington High School who sings in Portuguese. She and the Four Freshmen recently performed with the Columbus Jazz Orchestra in Columbus at a Stan Kenton salute. You probably know what the FF sound like, but here's a link to listen to Kelly.

Updating genealogy

I don't have my genealogy database with me on my laptop, but today I noticed at the Brethren Genealogy listserv that the FamilyHart database had been updated--524,488 people and 182,471 families. It is a Pennsylvania Dutch family, so I took a peek at the list of surnames. Yup. We're there. Well, not me personally, because only one of my grandfather's brothers (George d. 1944) is listed. But if you are related to any Shirks or Wengers, you'll find family there. My great grandmother, Nancy J. Wenger is (according the the FamilyHart DB) a 10th generation descendant of Hans SCHÜRCH. The Schurch family originated in Sumiswald, Bern, Switzerland. There are many spellings of the family name in America including Shirk, Sherk, Shoerg, Schrock. And a lot of Hans! I think I tracked Nancy back to Anna Burkhart Shirk, then sort of lost Anna in the mists of time. I think Anna married a Wenger and they had a son who immigrated. I'm not a real genealogist, I only have copies of a few wedding certificates, death notices and draft records. I rely on the kindness of strangers who do the heavy lifting.

3957

U.S. military deaths

According to a story in the Plain Dealer (AP), as of Saturday, 3,603 members of the U.S. military have died since March 2003, 2,952 in hostile action. Most of the Iraqis who have died, have been killed by other Iraqis, or other Muslims passing through who don't like their fellow faith members because of something in the 7th century. Iraq's boundaries, by the way, were drawn up by a woman who thought they could all just get along. But back to Americans. In that same period of time, over 5,500,000 American babies have been legally aborted (estimation based on Planned Parenthood statistics for 2003 and 2004). Even if you figure 1/4 may have miscarried or died of problems in utero even if not disturbed by the medical profession and their mothers, that's a lot of little people. It's a future city, isn't it? In a generation, it could be a small country. And also, during that four years, over 24,000 teenagers have died in automobile accidents, and over 1,200,000 were injured. That's how AllState figures it--and just changing the legal driving age to 18 so their brains could mature could eliminate a large number of those deaths. Why doesn't AP make little gray boxes in newspapers for our dead children?

More on talk radio and fairness

After some excellent links to commentary (Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was a keynote speaker at ALA recently and beat the Fairness horse for applause) Heretical Librarian pretty much sums it up

Whatever form it takes, it is clear that the Democrats' impending assault on talk radio has nothing to do with "fairness" or "diversity" or "media consolidation"; rather, it is a naked attempt to silence conservative talk radio. After all, why is there all this concern about ensuring a fair representation of views on public airwaves, yet no concern about the equally one sided dominance of liberal and leftist viewpoints at public universities? Besides, does anyone really think that liberals would even be making an issue of talk radio if Air America had been a roaring success instead of a bankruptcy ridden failure?

Tech alums are teaching at Lakeside

Duke Low, class of '56, is teaching a poetry class at the Rhein Center this coming week, and my husband, Tech class of '57, will be teaching perspective drawing.





Update: 14 signed up for perspective drawing yesterday, so there will be a lottery (and at a Methodist camp!) for seats in the class; Duke has 5 or 6, which is just perfect for a writing class.

The porches of Lakeside

Our neighbors enjoying their porch. This is an early 20th century 4-square.
In the 19th century, this cottage had a view of the lake, but now other cottages and trees are in the way.
This bed and breakfast is at the crossroads of activity. A movie was made here a few years ago.
Saving Grace is the name of this peaceful spot. Lakeside began as a Methodist campground. This is a condo in the former "Poor Richard's" rooming house.
This couple was having such a relaxing time at their B & B on Walnut that they fell asleep on the porch.
Popcorn Palace has one of the prettiest porches in Lakeside.
This is a "healthy house" designed by my husband, and has a lovely porch. This cottage was featured in the book, "Cottage."

3952

Saturday jobs

My husband spent about 2 hours working in the yard (at the lake house) today, raking, sweeping off the roof, mowing the yard and chopping away at a Japanese-something-bush (with yellow flowers) which wants to take over the yard. About 50 years ago one of the neighbors gave a sprig to the former (and first) owner who just loved to plant things everywhere, so there you have it.

Now he is fixing the kitchen sink. I kept finding water on the floor, and at first thought I was just being careless. Fortunately, I didn't slip and break a leg, because yesterday it was was a puddle! I dragged everything out from under the sink, and still couldn't see anything, but felt the pile of dusting rags and they were soaked. Apparently the elbow was leaking and because I have a rubber drain mat under all the cleaning supplies, the water eventually flowed out on to the floor after it filled up a package of paper towels. After 20 some years, we don't know if one of the periodic blasts from the quarry in Marblehead jiggled something, or if one of the Methodists who rent from us in June decided we had a garbage disposal (we don't) and tried to undo the mistake (he found piece of something like a pen lodged in the elbow).

Also, having my van back, I traveled outside the gates for groceries. I admit I'd been stopping at the Wal-Mart superstore which opened last summer, but today I went to Bassett's Market at the corner of Rt 53 and 163. Ah, now there is a store! You get treated like a queen, or at least a valued customer. When I stared glassy eyed at the peanut butter selection, a staff person asked if he could help, and directed me to the organic section. Sometime later, he saw me in another aisle and inquired if I'd found what I needed for peanut butter. Was I impressed he remembered not only me, but what I was looking for. You bet! Also, they offered free sample, small bags of freshly popped corn which I happily munched on. The bagger noticed my ice cream was soft and rushed someone back to pick up another one before I even noticed. When I asked the produce guy about the advertised turnip greens (I was so happy to see that), he knew right away that they didn't have any and that the tag was a mistake. I love it when a plan comes together, don't you?

3951

Why we have minimum wage jobs

A fella that helps me keep my html and css coding straight is Boogie Jack. If it's not right, don't blame him--I came to computers late in life. In his latest newsletter he reports this story from one of his readers:

Recently at McDonald's I ordered a half-dozen Chicken McNuggets.

"We don't have them by the half-dozen," said the teen counter-jockey.

"You don't?" I questioned.

"We only have six, nine, or twelve," he answered.

"So I can't order a half dozen McNuggets, but I can order six?"

"Yeah."

So I ordered six McNuggets, whatcha gonna do?

Reminds me of the time I ordered a cup of 1/2 regular coffee, 1/2 decaf, and the clerk asked if I wanted the decaf on the top or the bottom.

3950

How to kill a lobster and choose a wine glass

Coffee with the Wall St. Journal is so educational. Today I learned how to make a lobster stop breathing and how to choose a wine glass so your wine can breathe.

I thought you just raised the heat slowly--sort of like increasing regulations and taxes to kill the vibrant economy, but I guess that is cruel. The suggestion was to first chill the live critter for 15 minutes, then stab it. It is interesting to me that people who worry about cruelty to animals and crustaceans, do not bat an eyelash at dismembering a baby in the birth canal or experimenting on human embryos in the name of science.

Dorothy Gaiter and John Brecher in today's Food and Drink column discuss the proper wine glass for reds, whites, dessert wines, younger wines, etc. You won't catch me serving with the wrong wine glass. I own 12, 10 oz. stemmed water goblets--cost about $6.00, and they work for anything, especially 3-buck chuck, or ice tea or soft drinks. The wine experts suggest that you use a 20 oz. wine glass so the wine can breathe. Be kind to your wine and your lobster.

By the way, have you seen those ratings for your blog? Mine got a "G" rating, but it did get flagged for the word "abortion." Apparently, it's a bad word not just for the unborn, but for children reading blogs. Then when I ran my class reunion blog through, it got flagged for the word "Dick," the name of several classmates. This is why public librarians say they don't like filters for pornography aimed at children--might filter out some innocent words for a health assignment on body parts that get cancer, or a recipe for chicken breasts. Yeah, sure.

3949

The minimum wage increase

It's a battle we never win, a battle to fight economic illiteracy among Americans, according to Government's helping hand also hurts. If the minimum wage increase is so terrific at reducing poverty, why hide it in the war supplement bill and delay and stagger the increases? Because the negative affects are easier to hide. It reduces productivity and employment opportunities at the bottom, and also affects very few employees, who are often young and/or part time.

One economist reports that for every 10% increase in minimum wage the poverty rate increases by 3/4 of 1%. Law makers understand this, but they know the American voter doesn't, so it is always a big issue at election time, like 2006.

3948

There's a reason for income inequality

It's called a pay off for education.

"In 1980, an American with a college degree earned about 30 percent more than an American who stopped education at high school. But, in recent years, a person with a college educa­tion earned roughly 70 percent more. Meanwhile, the premium for having a graduate degree increased from roughly 50 percent in 1980 to well over 100 percent today. The labor market is placing a greater emphasis on education, dispensing rapidly rising rewards to those who stay in school the longest." The upside of income inequality

And how do liberals want to "correct" this income inequality, which is really the result of having a better educated populace? They want to tax people into staying at a lower level of achievement.

"raise taxes on high income households and reduce taxes on low-income households. While this may sound sensible, it is not. Would these same indi­viduals advocate a tax on going to college and a subsidy for dropping out of high school in response to the increased importance of education? We think not. Yet shifting the tax structure has exactly this effect."

3947

This non-crime needs a real pardon

It's been interesting to see the left go crazy over the commutation of Scooter Libby's sentence, to allow him to stay out of jail while he appeals. Many conservatives think it didn't go far enough, and I'm one of them. Usually, whining that so-and-so did much worse isn't much of a defense, but when I think of Sandy Berger and this theft of documents from the national archives and the little wrist slap he got, I'm just stunned by this injustice. And the out and out crooks that Clinton pardoned! Oh my gosh--and for what--money for Hillary's campaign?

Here's the take at Opinion Journal about the lack of courage in the Bush administration:

Joe Wilson's original, false accusation about pre-war intelligence metastasized into the issue of who "outed" his wife, Valerie Plame, as an intelligence officer. As the event unfolded, it fell to Mr. Libby to defend the Administration against Mr. Wilson's original charge, with little public assistance or support from the likes of Condoleezza Rice, Colin Powell or Stephen Hadley.

In no small part because of these profiles in non-courage, it was Mr. Libby who found himself caught up in prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald's hunt for the Plame leaker, which he and his masters at Justice knew from Day One to be State Department official Richard Armitage. As Mr. Fitzgerald's obsessive exercise ground forward, Mr. Libby got caught in a perjury net that we continue to believe trapped an innocent man who lost track of what he said, when he said it, and to whom.

One other thing that puzzles me is our prosecutor system. These guys are given way too much power. Whether it is Nifong, or Starr or Fitzgerald, the system stinks, because you are obviously guilty until you've spent down all your funds, or the public gets tired of reading about it.

And Joe Wilson, the biggest liar of them all, goes free, the darling of the MSM. I'm baffled by Washington.

3945

Do you wash

Your hands before eating? Yes.

Apples before eating? Yes, and I also scrape off the wax.

Raisins before eating? Yes, removes the twigs and bugs.

Peanuts before eating? No, I like the salt.

Bananas before eating? No, but it might be a good idea.

Walnuts before eating? Yes, 3 rinses will do it.

Feet before eating? No, except at communion at my former church.

Face before bedtime? No, but I do change the pillow case frequently.

Bagged and pre-washed salad greens? Yes.

Cut and bagged "baby carrots?" Yes. They are slimy.

Glasses or dishes for holidays that have been stored for some time? Yes.

And what do you do about that door handle in a public restroom? If there are paper towels, I use one, which is why I hate hand dryers--they are very unsanitary.

My son tells me that some supermarkets supply alcohol wipes for grocery cart handles. I've never seen them, have you? I'd use them. Nothing spreads a cold like a toddler.

I'm not a fanatic about cleanliness, but dirt, dust, chemicals and fecal matter I prefer not to ingest.

3944

This 'n That 'n Those

If you are a regular, you may have noticed that my e-mail address has changed to prontomail from medscape. It seems to be moving nicely and medscape will be forwarding for some time. I'd never heard of this mail service before. I was hoping to lose the spam, but it was forwarded, too. I finally got my OSU mailbox cleaned out--had about 1000 spam. Doesn't give me much faith in OSU's OIT.

I'm loving being back to my regular coffee spot, Coffee and Cream, here at Lakeside. But while in Oregon I did visit Mudd Puddles (great lunches there too if you're tired of the Macedonian restaurants in the area) and Casey's. Last night I got the munchies and walked "downtown" to a little shop to get a bag of pretzels and heard someone call my name. Donna and Bob from Columbus were at the coffee shop having an ice cream. Donna and I had met in the park at home one day and I told her about Lakeside. They brought the grandchildren up, and they've had a fabulous week.

I've heard from a few classmates about my class reunion blog--still waiting for some more photos to post.

Since I use a different computer at Lakeside, I'm not sure what I'll post for Family Friday--maybe something from last week. I thought I had a great photo of my brother and me, then realized it is on my niece's camera. She's getting some photos from cousin Margaret to scan and send to me while she's in Illinois.

The auditorium was packed last night for illusionists, The Spencers. I only stopped by for a few moments, but it must have been one of the most popular programs of the summer.

Temperatures are supposed to get into the 90s today, so I walked early along the lakefront. Still listening to Guitar; and American Life by Tim Brookes. I see it is over 105 in Montana. My friend Carol may want to extend her stay in Illinois where it will only be in the mid-90s until it cools down out there.

3943

Conservatives and Talk Radio

Liberals can't walk the talk on freedom of speech. Particularly when it is talk radio. Liberals don't do well in competing for listeners in talk radio--can't get the advertisers (they are anti-business) and they are boring (haven't had a new idea since the Johnson administration). So they want to reinstate the "fairness doctrine" which would so tie up the radio stations in regulations and law suits that they would drop that format. Imagine if every time you spoke about marriage between a man and woman you had to give equal time to gay couples, or polygamists, or man-boy-love groups. Or if you interviewed a veteran of WWII you had to also interview a Nazi veteran, or an anti-war Mennonite or if you did that you had to also give the same number of minutes to the fanatical types who blow up little children in government buildings in Oklahoma. What if the host of the show was pro-choice--he'd have to give equal time to pro-life groups; or what if the host didn't like President Bush and had to give equal time to Cheney or Rove? No, the programmers and producers and owners would just throw their hands up and we'd go back to dead air, endless NPR type programming or musak 24/7. And the people who want something other than what the MSM spew and spit at us on TV would find another way to get information from Gallager, O'Reilly, Malkin, Hannity, Ingraham, Beck, Medved, etc. Read Adam Theirer's article on The Media Cornucopia.

"That leftist media critics start sounding so authoritarian is no surprise. In a media cornucopia, freedom of choice inevitably yields media inequality. "In systems where many people are free to choose between many options, a small subset of the whole will get a disproportionate amount of traffic (or attention, or income), even if no members of the system actively work towards such an outcome,” writes Clay Shirky of New York University’s Interactive Telecommunications Program. Overcoming that inequality would require a completely regulated media." "

Democrats and talk radio.

Top 100 talkers.

Thursday Thirteen about our trip

1) Last Thursday we left Lakeside, OH for Oregon, IL around 7 a.m. arriving about 2:30 at my sister's home, returning to Ohio on Tuesday.
2) We had fabulous weather the entire time, 5 days--cool mornings, sunny days. They needed rain, but it held off until we were gone.
3) On Friday I walked with my high school friend Lynne, about 4 miles, past the home where I lived and out into the country. A lovely day for a long walk.
4) Also on Friday my sister and I visited the new veterans' memorial in Forreston, where we lived when we were children.
5) We found our father's name, and talked about all the surnames we recognized, even from the Civil War era (we're really not that old, but recognized the names).
6) Touched base with my high school friend Tina (California) and her sister Valerie (Florida) at a restaurant and made plans.

7) Went to a restaurant for dinner and surprised my great niece, a college sophomore, who was working there.

8) Attended the annual Ladies' Breakfast of my high school class at the White Pines State Park.
9) Visited with neighbors of my sister who had been our neighbors in Mt. Morris.
10) Attended Saturday services at Trinity Lutheran Church in Mt. Morris where my sister is the organist and choir director. We had communion and enjoyed the service and Pastor Erickson.
11) Enjoyed a family dinner at my sister's home with aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, great-nieces and nephew, siblings, and in-laws on Sunday afternoon. Slipped away for an hour to attend the memorial service at the cemetery for Tina and Valerie's mother.
12) Visited the site on Monday where my cousin is building a new home in the woods, getting a nice tour and update, and visited with my uncle and his wife who is in the nursing home in Mt. Morris. Had lunch at my sister's home with Tina and Jack, enjoying Sunday's left-overs on their lovely deck.
13 Attended on Monday evening a very fine 50th class reunion at the White Pines State Park.

Progressive and radical librarians

aren't very different from any progressive and radical fill-in-the-blank folk. They are political first, second and third, and librarianship, if it exists in their thought process, ranks somewhere below. I don't know how many of the PARL are out there on the fringes of the profession, but their noise level is high because so many in the profession are liberals and Democrats, sort of the first cousins of the Progressives. However, like those food/drug reform groups (Center for the something of the something) or church committees (Council of the whatever for the thingamajig) they make a lot of noise and put out tons of announcements and pack their party faithful on the faculties of our tax supported institutions.

They are joining us with the United States Social Forum. They are against "value-neutral" libraries, whatever that is, because they sure want to see their values well represented on the shelves, like the 16 copies of a popular anti-Bush title, or 25+ titles of everything Michael Moore ever produced on film or in print at my public library, or fighting community groups trying to keep pornography out of the hands of children using libraries.

PARL never asks what can be done for the working librarians, the profession or the library user, only how can they mold the library culture into meeting their social reform goals. Annoyed Librarian has renamed them the Regressive Librarians, and it does beg reflection on just what the word "PROGRESSIVE" means when used by any American political group. Progressive does not mean better benefits or unionization of retail employees of very large companies, because they really want the company destroyed; progressive doesn't mean a safer and healthier environment if that means the US economy could survive; nor raising the income of the bottom quintile but bringing everyone else down to their level, and if that isn't successful, import more poor people (illegal immigration); a progressive value is not saving wild animals or habitat, but valuing animals above humans. It's not about cooperation among religious groups, but destroying any faiths and putting Marxist principles first. Their plans, methods and goals have brought misery in every country that tried them, but they are so progressive they are desperate for it to work here in the U.S. Now, what's so progressive about these folks' tired, failed ideas? Nothing that I can see?

Celebrate our Freedom and Independence!

Happy July 4. I posted this photo of my neighbor and her dog last July 4, but I think it is so cute, here it is again.



Lakeside, Ohio

3939

We're back in Lakeside

We had a peaceful trip back arriving about 2:30 p.m. Traffic was light and there weren't too many construction slow downs. Weather was terrific. I've been updating the class reunion blog. My husband was able to get in an hour or two of sailing and tonight we're going to Hoover Auditorium to hear the Brass Band of Columbus. "The band’s instrumentation is brass and percussion only, following the tradition of British brass bands. Membership of this 45-piece ensemble includes over thirty active or retired music educators and a wide range of other professions."

We're off again

We're heading for Illinois to visit family (brother, sister, aunts and uncles, a few cousins, nieces and nephews) and to attend my high school reunion here. The worst part of the trip is getting around Chicago. We'll be back at the Lake in time for the Fourth celebrations. Bev will stay in our cottage and keep the kitty company. See you all when I get back.

3937

We're haters and xenophobes

According to today's WaPo:

"Under attack from talk radio, unions, xenophobes and others, the White House and reform-minded Republicans have maneuvered to salvage legislation that would address the core problems of tightening enforcement of existing laws and providing a legal future for the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the country."

One of the core problems is our legislators haven't even read the bill. They have no idea what is in it. One "prominent" Republican hung up on a radio interview when asked if he'd read it. I've read some of the suggested admendments (haven't seen the bill, but neither have my senators), and if the bill is as bizarre as they are, we're in deep doo doo. The 1986 IRCA is a mess, always has been; now we're trying to make it even worse. Can Ted Kennedy get anything right?

"The enemies of immigration reform remain unable to articulate a realistic alternative to the Senate legislation that would address the plight of the 12 million undocumented immigrants. They seem to imagine that by ignoring them, or harassing them, they will simply fade from view. They won't. If it's not resolved in this congressional session, the problem will come back again and again. Better to fix it now."

Americans who want our employment laws enforced, our borders secure from drug dealers and terrorists, are now "enemies" in the marxist-think of the MSM. At least WaPo acknowledges the 12,000,000 illegals--usually the liberal press overlooks that. Well, how do the august, so-smart editors think they got here? IRCA. Don't fix it. Dump it and start over.

3936

If you're a parent

of one of the 600 teenagers from the Methodist Lima District (now called something else), I must say these are some of the nicest, well-behaved kids I've seen in years. Maybe ever. Certainly better behaved than my generation. We were in the Hoover Auditorium when they came in last night for the program, and when the lights went down, you could have heard a pin drop, they were so quiet. Earlier in the day we had talked to a group of them on the dock who were on a scavenger hunt. One of them recognized us at the program and stopped to chat. This is the 80th year that this district has sent its youth to Lakeside. That could mean some of the these kids' great-grandparents might have done the same. Wow.

3935

Memorial Dinner

I fixed Bob Evans bratwurst, potato salad and tossed salad with a dish of fresh blueberries/raspberries and a peanut butter/ chocolate dessert. Ohioan Bob Evans died last week. Thanks for the memories. And I was wearing Liz Claiborne khaki jeans. She died Tuesday at 78.

3934

No dog in this fight

There's a discussion going on at BeliefNet's blog by Kuo on whether Apple users are "religious" about their Macs and devotion to Steve Jobs. David Kuo writes as an "Appleist." One commenter writes that they do have cult like behavior:

"They all tend to be the edgy, artsy, wanna-be SEEN as mad-genius types who want power over others so that they can 'teach' that person how to live / eat / dress / what to smoke and what not to smoke / etc. Ergo, an overwhelming portion of liberals (not classical liberals, mind you) use Macs and worship its creator.

Of course you can't convince them of this. Have you ever had a conversation with a cultist of any stripe? No matter what ground you are standing on, persecution is to be expected and re-inforces their identity with the group. You are a labeled an outsider who does not have their special knowledege of salvation. Likewise, when they have a problem with their religion/cult, it is instinctively their own problem and not due to anything on Apple's behalf."

I guess everyone I know is just a stodgy, frumpy ol' PC user. I do resent the Apple ads, but insulting your competition is old stuff in advertising. I'll stay out of this one, but if you're using a Mac and causing me problems, now I know why.

3933

Vacation Bible School

Our church (UALC in Upper Arlington, Hilliard and Columbus, OH) always has a huge Vacation Bible School--about 2500 kids, and this is the first year since 1994 that my husband hasn't participated as a teacher. I'm always surprised by the number of families who visit their Columbus relatives that week so their kids can go to Bible School. They come from all over the country.

But apparently we aren't unique. Fat Doctor tells about an inner city Church of the Brethren congregation that provides this opportunity too, only it is the staff who travels there, and one with an unusual past. She says her mother was Church of the Brethren and her father Catholic--they became Presbyterian, socially liberal enough for her mom and enough guilt for her dad.

I grew up in that denomination (CoB) and would have left a comment at her blog, except she requires registration. She's got a great blog.

Excuse my appearance!

Today's temps are predicted for the mid-90s, which next to a large body of water like Lake Erie means way-too-high humidity, so I walked along the lakefront early (ca. 8 a.m.). Two miles with my Guitar audiobook. I'm wearning my stretchy what-evers pants, and my t-shirt that says, "Try to keep up, I'm walking." There's something in small print too, but when I look down, it's upside down and I'm wearing tri-focals, so it makes me dizzy. My sister gave me this years ago along with a walking tape. Jenny Craig possibly. It's from the days when huge t-shirts were popular and you weren't expected to wear skinny midriff thingies with your muffin top lopping over topped with the icing of cleavage. This could fit a woman 8-mo pregnant or an Amish woman with plenty of fabric leftover for the bonnet.
Purple Martin house at the end of our street. It is designed to look like our movie theater, Orchestra Hall.
I think this is "Wellness Week," and there are Yoginess classes in the Upper Room. I can't figure out the 9 a.m. lecture which is supposed to provide "tools and strategies to enhance and enrich lives." I've got a lifetime bushel basket of new leaves I've turned over, so I think I'll skip whatever this psychologist from Canton is offering. There's an herb garden lecture this afternoon, but I have a brown thumb, and won't even attempt this one. The closest I get to an herb is a can of black pepper on the stove. At 10:30 there's a seminar on WWII. This afternoon the Women's Club is going to have someone portraying Amelia Earhart, but I'm not a member. The Wooden Boat Society is having classes and restoring a 1952 13' Lyman, so I'll probably pass on that too. I see Lakeside has an Environmental Stewardship Society that is selling compact flourescent bulbs, but I'll pass on that until someone determines the unintended consequences of outsourcing all our energy needs to China and how to dispose of the mercury both we and the Chinese factories are going to be putting out.