Steampunk Gypsy

I'm tired. Have a short list o' links. Links! Libraries, Books, Writers, & Suchlike North Korean Defector Reflects On Life 'Under The Same Sky'   Girls like digital media while boys prefer print, finds study on reading habits  Some fascinating information in here... The Authoritative Guide to Children’s Books Turned Into TV Shows  Using books based on their favorite TV show is a classic, and effective, method for hooking reluctant readers! Here's a list of those that started out as books - there are tons of other cases where the show comes first (like Dora the Explorer).  May 31, 1819:  Walt Whitman is born   Net & Tech Google Commits $20 Million To Make The World More Accessible For People With Disabilities   Patriot Act Section 215:  Deadline nears to extend surveillance programs; Senators fail to make deal to extend Authority Issues ‘Go back to Baltimore': Road-raging Kansas councilman allegedly calls teen ‘black n****...

I have never been good with plants, although I love to grown them and pour my little heart into them. When I get a plant, I research how to take care of it and I meticulously follow directions until it dies. I don't know why. My kids say I have a red thumb (because red is the opposite of green) or a black thumb (because I kill everything). My husband says I must get some sort of twisted kick out of torturing plants. (I don't. I want them to live. I don't know why they don't.) But this summer I've had great luck with two plants, mostly by just ignoring them entirely. The first is my hydrangeas. I bought two of them last year, and sent some of the flowers with the kids to flower the cross at Easter. Then, I stuck the plants themselves in my front yard, where they're apparently very happy: The second plant that is doing amazingly well, considering it was entirely accidental and received no special care, is the hydrangeas' neighbor, and I'm trying...

If you can read this, you aren't viewing my post from a Congress IP. Hello! If you were trying to access my blog from a Congress IP, though, you would be... somewhere else . Thousands of websites block Congress in Patriot Act protest : "Led by the online activist group Fight for the Future, more than 10,000 sites have added code that redirects any visitors from Internet protocol (IP) addresses stemming from Congress away from their site and towards a protest page ." Want to know what the big deal is? Here's an old (in Internet terms) video that covers it really well: The Patriot Act has been used by the NSA and other organizations to collect an unbelievable ( and, turns out, illegal ) amount of private information. Proponents argue it's necessary to fight terrorism, but the FBI has admitted it's ineffective for that purpose ; it is used, inappropriately, for other issues - primarily narcotics cases . Some provisions, particularly Section ...

It's been a busy day. Links! Libraries, Books, Writers, & Suchlike The Internet can’t replace libraries: Why they matter more than ever in the age of Google  "Of all the institutions we have, both public and private, the public library is the truest democratic space." 10 Books That Will Change How You Think About Fairy Tales   The Entire Case Records from a Victorian Asylum Are Now Online   May 28, 2014:  Author Maya Angelou dies  Some of us are still in mourning...A powerful woman and author. May 28, 1935:  Tortilla Flat is published   Net & Tech Noam Chomsky: Why the Internet Hasn't Freed Our Minds—Propaganda Continues to Dominate   Health & Science Live anthrax inadvertently shipped by U.S. military  That's a pretty big "oops."  Genetically modified immune cells with ‘suicide genes’ designed to attack cancers   Alzheimer’s origins tied to rise of human intelligence   White House hits pause o...

Stop Calling the TPP A Trade Agreement – It Isn’t   Now that we've got that out of the way - Links! Libraries, Books, Writers, & Suchlike One Book 4 Colorado: Free Books for Early Literacy  Related:  One Book 4 Colorado 2014: Creating a Culture of Literacy  Wow! (Click through the image to read it easier.) We should make this a national project, I think. Our research reveals record numbers of children enjoy reading every day   Ransom Riggs reveals cover for 'Library of Souls' and talks 'Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiars' movie -- exclusive   ‘Daughters of the Samurai’ Sheds Light on a Strange Chapter in U.S.-Japanese History  This book sounds fascinating! Aaaand - I've got it on hold. Hooray!  22 Thrilling, Imaginative, and Twisted Genre Books By Women   Iranians Embrace Ebooks to Combat Censorship   Dashiell Hammett collection goes to the University of South Carolina   A New Flannery O'Connor Forever St...

Today's Google Doodle celebrates Sally Ride! In fact, there are five Google Doodles for her:     My personal favorite - because it highlights best (imho) her work to encourage girls to engage in all fields of science and technology: In addition, Google has posted a  Behind the Doodle  to highlight this amazing woman: Links! Libraries, Books, Writers, & Suchlike Libraries could outlast the internet, head of British Library says   Art went missing amid library effort to upgrade security   Yes I Can  "I love a good challenge, or even a really silly one, like the claim that You Can’t Defend Public Libraries and Oppose File-Sharing . Um, wanna bet? I’m not writing for some site called Torrent Freak, so I don’t have to leave all logic behind." Heheheh...I love Annoyed Librarian.  Margaret Atwood puts unseen manuscript in 'Future Library'   May 26, 1897:  Dracula goes on sale in London   Amazon and Pen...

... Mooyah  is awesome. That is all. Links! Libraries, Books, Writers, & Suchlike You Can't Defend Public Libraries and Oppose File-Sharing  I'm not sure it's entirely convincing, but it does provide some interesting history on the controversial beginnings of public libraries.  How Books Can and Do Save Children   25 Literary Opening Lines Diagrammed on One Giant Poster  It's just so beautiful... Health & Science How A Tea Party Turned Into A Scientific Legend   Incredible Technology: NASA's Wild Airship Idea for Cloud Cities on Venus   International France Declares All New Rooftops Must Be Topped With Plants Or Solar Panels   EU Dropped Pesticide Laws Due to U.S. Pressure over TTIP, Documents Reveal  Big business wins over environmental protection. This is not what I want my country to stand for. Education My edible classroom gives deprived New York kids a reason to attend school   No pay, no play! ...

Links! Libraries, Books, Writers, & Suchlike Saving libraries after Nepal quake disasters   6 punctuation marks you might be using incorrectly   Net & Tech AT&T et al challenging net neutrality order on 1st Amendment grounds  Absolutely ridiculous, of course, and worrisome - it shows that ISPs will resort to anything to bring down net neutrality and force consumers into tiered access plans, restricting our information access unnecessarily in order to make an extra buck for no additional value.  Health & Science Obama is creating a 1,500-mile “butterfly corridor” to help Monarchs get from Mexico to Minnesota   California investigates nine-mile oil slick   Geologist says pipeline threatens Monroe springs   Authority Issues Virginia cop uses pepper-spray, Taser on unresisting black man having stroke   International Sold for ransom: On the trail of Thailand's human traffickers   France to force big superma...

Who doesn't love turtles?! Happy World Turtle Day! Is it weird to have a favorite turtle? No. Here's mine: Enjoy these turtle day links! World Turtle Day focused on awareness and conservation World Turtle Day: Facts and figures about conservation and protection   Adorable Baby Tortoise Hatchling at the Zoo Signals a Breeding Success Story   Links! (Short list today - I'm going to the beach!)  Libraries, Books, Writers, & Suchlike Long Overdue: NYC's $1 Billion Library Fine   Net & Tech Patriot Act - Section 215 FBI admits it didn't crack any major cases with Patriot Act powers  "The Federal Bureau of Investigation could not pinpoint a single notable case that was solved using far-reaching surveillance powers under the Patriot Act, findings from a new report say." (Let it go...) NSA bulk phone records collection to end despite USA Freedom Act failure  "The administration decision ensures that beginning ...

[ Source ] TELL CONGRESS: NO BAD FAST TRACK DEAL Links! Libraries, Books, Writers, & Suchlike Pratt Library Gets Grant After Staying Open Despite Riots   Laszlo Krasznahorkai wins Man Booker International Prize   Osama Bin Laden’s eclectic and paranoid collection of books  Interesting list, actually. Related:  Osama bin Laden's bookshelf revealed: What you can learn from his reading list   How To Spot And Critique Censorship Tropes In The Media's Coverage Of Free Speech Controversies   19 Free Art Museums You Should Visit This Summer   This was the biggest political science study of last year. It was a complete fraud.  "Outright fraud like LaCour's is rarer and more shocking than findings that don't hold up to replication or simple data entry errors. But it should serve as a reminder — both to people like me who report on studies and to the readers we've trying to serve — that pinning your hopes on one st...

Links! Libraries, Books, Writers, & Suchlike Libraries Respond to Community Needs in Times of Crisis   Belmont Public Library For The Birds: Yes, a Library for Birds   First lady: Libraries, museums are 'necessities,' not extras  "'Whether you're bringing virtual classes in STEM education to remote areas and inner-city communities, or teaching our children about their Native American and African-American heritage, so many of you are working to close the heartbreaking opportunity gaps that limit the horizons of too many people in this country,' Mrs. Obama said." Hey, look, the  Louisiana Children's Museum  received a 2015 National Medal for Museum and Library Service !  The Laura Bush Foundation for America’s Libraries Awards More Than $875,000 in Grants to School Libraries   Ian McEwan to Grads: Defend Free Speech   The lyrics of recent No. 1 singles average at a third grade reading level  Ouch... TPP Senator Reads the T...