The Dead Pumpkin Journal

More quotes

Wed, 11 Apr 2007 12:04:42 GMT

"We should not see print and electronic literature as in competition, but rather in conversation.
The more voices that join in, the richer the dialogue is likely to be."
~ N. Katherine Hayles
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More Quotes

Thu, 08 Mar 2007 03:48:19 GMT

To limit the press is to insult a nation;
to prohibit reading of certain books is
to declare the inhabitants to be either fools or slaves.
~ Claude Adrien Helvetius ~

Librarian Quotes

Thu, 25 Jan 2007 15:18:51 GMT

"Librarians perform a political role: When officials start banning books and looking over people's shoulders to see what they're reading, librarians raise hell. They always do this. It is their job to defend the freedom to read, and it is a job that will never be put out of business by a machine."

—Editorial, "Today's Libraries: Cauldrons of Ideas," Seattle Times, Jan. 19.

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A Quote.

Fri, 29 Dec 2006 20:00:31 GMT

All the best stories in the world are but one story in reality -- the story of escape.
It is the only thing which interests us all and at all times, how to escape.

~ Arthur Christopher Benson ~

. . . .

What 2006 Taught Us.

Fri, 29 Dec 2006 03:18:08 GMT

This article from the Tampa Tribune is a fun compendium of science headlines from the past year. The list is decidedly lacking, having no mention at all of the explosive power of Mentos and Diet Coke. Still it is a very entertaining and educational record. Here are my top twelve from his list of fifty.

"Consider this list - culled from dozens of news stories from 2006 - your chance to catch up."

2. The part of the brain that regulates reasoning, impulse control and judgment is still under construction during puberty and doesn't shift into autopilot until about age 25.

      Does this really come as a surprise to anyone over 25?

12. A sex gene responsible for making embryos male and forming the testes is also produced by the brain region targeted by Parkinson's disease, a discovery that may explain why more men than women develop the degenerative disorder.

      Anything Parkinson’s related makes my list.

16. A new planet described as a "super-Earth," which weighs 13 times as much as our planet, exists in a solar system 9,000 light-years away.

      Super-Earth. AKA… Krypton?! Ok, seriously, 13 times the mass of Earth it really no longer qualifies as Earth-like, does it? The gravity would be unlivable. Still, very neat story.

21. Two previously unknown forms of ice - dubbed by researchers as ice XIII and XIV - were discovered frozen at temperatures of around minus 160 degrees Celsius, or minus 256 Fahrenheit.

      Wait…two new forms of ice? And there were already twelve different forms? Why didn’t anybody tell me this before?? This is the story that arouses my curiosity the most. Ice is cool. (Oh, stop groaning!)

24. At least once a week, 28 percent of high school students fall asleep in school, 22 percent fall sleep while doing homework and 14 percent get to school late or miss school because they overslept.

      Is this news to anybody? We really didn’t know this until now?

26. Some 45 percent of Internet users, or about 60 million Americans, said they sought online help to make big decisions or negotiate their way through major episodes in their lives during the previous two years.

      I know that I am one of those 60 million. The very existence of this blog is evidence of the fact that my online socialization has increased dramatically.

31. A 145-million-year-old beach ball-sized meteorite found a half-mile below a giant crater in South Africa has a chemical composition unlike any known meteorite.

      …And a thousand super-villains were born.

32. Just 30 minutes of continuous kissing can diminish the body's allergic reaction to pollen, relaxing the body and reducing production of histamine, a chemical cell given out in response to allergens.

      This is good news indeed!

41. By firing atoms of metal at another metal, Russian and American scientists found a new element - No. 118 on the Periodic Table - that is the heaviest substance known and probably hasn't existed since the universe was in its infancy.

      This claim has been made before and retracted. The fact that it was a single particle that existed for less than a thousandth of a second, and it hasn’t been replicable so far, tends to make one cautious. If true, it is very intriguing.

45. During the past five years, the existence of a peanut allergy in children has doubled.

      I knew it! The prevalence of peanut-free warnings and products has been growing rapidly. The number of children I hear of affected by this through school or library statistics blows me away. I never heard of such a condition, especially such a potentially lethal condition, before I started teaching. Now, it’s everywhere. It is not simply increasing awareness; it is increasing occurrence. Fascinating. Do the implications of this scare anybody else?

47. A python was the first god worshipped by mankind, according to 70,000-year-old evidence found in a cave in Botswana's Tosodilo hills.

      This is just cool.

50. Researchers from the University of Manchester managed to induce teeth growth in normal chickens - activating genes that have lain dormant for 80 million years.

      This is just creepy. Another perfectly good idiom shot to hell.

. . . .

In a Nutshell

Sun, 08 Oct 2006 15:21:08 GMT

There are limits to the DDC

Sat, 07 Oct 2006 18:44:25 GMT

Dewey Decimal System Helpless To Categorize New Jim Belushi Book

Thoth be praised!

Thu, 10 Aug 2006 23:48:19 GMT

You are the Hermit card.

The Hermit has chosen a solitary spiritual path. He shines light on his inner self and, by this means, gains wisdom. The Hermit's home is the natural world and it is by being in tune with that world that he learns the laws of nature and learn how they operate within himself. His path is a lonely one as he lives in silence and has for companionship only his own internal rhythms. But those crossing his path are touched by his light and wisdom. Though often alone, he manages nevertheless to instruct those who meet him and guides those who chose to follow him on a path towards enlightenment. Image from The Aleister Crowley Tarot deck.

Which Tarot card are you? Take the quiz at Quizilla.

. . .

"Who are you?" quizzes are a very special part of the internet culture. Some are rather clever and well thought out. Some are absolute dreck, to put it nicely. I admit that I have a general fondness for them, so when I find one that I like I'll be sharing it. I like to think that the results of this one are fairly accurate. Even if they aren't, it is nice artwork.
. . . .

Collectable Quotes

Thu, 10 Aug 2006 23:19:28 GMT

People become librarians because they know too much.
Their knowledge extends beyond mere categories.
They cannot be confined to disciplines.
Librarians are all-knowing and all-seeing.
They bring order to chaos.
They bring wisdom and culture to the masses.
They preserve every aspect of human knowledge.
Librarians rule.
And they will kick the crap out of anyone who says otherwise.

-Erica Olsen, Thwart not the Librarian!

Perversion for Profit

Sat, 05 Aug 2006 21:24:37 GMT

Words fail me.

Perversion for Profit is an old anti-pornography movie from 1965. It has to be seen to be believed. It's about 14 minutes long, so give yourself some time to watch. There is a special place in hell for the people who made this movie.

Evil has never been so cute!

Mon, 31 Jul 2006 22:28:19 GMT

I wish I'd thought of this.