TBT & Links!

My first time in New Orleans....so many years ago... :D

Links!

• Libraries, Books, & Authors:
• House passes flawed USA FREEDOM Act; summer fight looms in Senate Baby steps, maybe...but we're getting there. Privacy is important! And libraries and librarians aren't going to stop fighting for your privacy.
• Happy birthday, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle! I have always loved Sherlock Holmes - albeit never more than in his current BBC incarnation. I think it's absolutely wonderful that the BBC show apparently doubled sales of the books, too! And what better way to celebrate the author's birthday than by announcing the imminent announcement of the release date of the new season! (Excuse me while I go quietly mad over in this corner...)

Lovable...

• Goodreads Q&A! Ask Your Favorite Author or Fellow Readers Questions on Goodreads! I am going to bug the heck out of some authors.
• Neil Gaiman, an absolutely brilliant author (if you haven't read his work, just go read anything he's written), recently visited a refugee camp in Jordan. You can read about his experiences in a recent article, and you can see pictures (with captions) from his trip, as well. I very highly recommend it.
• Was 'Twerk' Actually Added To The Dictionary?
• Net & Tech:
• The Metropolitan Museum of Art makes 400,000 iconic works available for download Nice!!
• Science:
• Scientists Say They Need Philosophers to Continue Their Research Doesn't everyone? Seriously, what field shouldn't concern itself with ethics? Honestly, I wish more people recognized the need for ethics training/guidance and implemented programs to provide philosophical resources - including, of course, philosophers on staff. Can you imagine the difference, if large corporations had payed ethicists on staff as advisers? Can we try that?
• Speaking of which...The House Science Committee has had more hearings on aliens than on climate change Can we get more ethicists in Congress, please? There seems to be a priorities problem...
• This Glass Sphere Could Revolutionize Solar Power on Earth Neat! I'll take two, thanks.
• Double Trouble For Coffee: Drought And Disease Send Prices Up Well, that sucks...
• Other:
• We Don't Know How Many Americans Are Shot Each Year. This Bill Could Help Us Find Out.The NRA's response seems to be, "Whoever wants to know how many gun deaths there are, supposedly to help prevent them, is really just out to steal our guns!"
• Burying the Bentley Interesting attention-seeking behavior.
• Religious post (but, really, everyone should be in on this one): Weight Loss TL;DR: If you had to choose between ending world hunger and losing 20 pounds, what would you do?