An MIT team is surveying bloggers about their blogs and how they interact with people both online and offline. Go ahead, become a statistic, too. :)
Thursday, June 30, 2005
Want to take a survey?
An MIT team is surveying bloggers about their blogs and how they interact with people both online and offline. Go ahead, become a statistic, too. :)
Not that I dance well
but I've known (and even danced with) people who dance like this, and it makes me feel a little better about my own attempts.
how to dance properly
It's great for a Thursday laugh. Don't you just love the variety of things out on the Net?
how to dance properly
It's great for a Thursday laugh. Don't you just love the variety of things out on the Net?
Wednesday, June 29, 2005
Quote of the day
From, appropriately, Dr Thomas D. Clark, late historian laureate for Kentucky:
I share that view. That's one reason that local historical centres, oral history, documentaries, and the sort of 'living history' reenactments you see at some historical sites where you are presenting history to the populace is also, in so many ways, more important than writing dry books that might sit on dusty library shelves, because it brings a sense of history to the very people whose heritage it is, whose families have lived it, and shows them lessons to be learnt from such history and how their own lives play into the history around them.
Some historians undertake to simply open the grave and live in the past. I always felt that history was a living thing.
I share that view. That's one reason that local historical centres, oral history, documentaries, and the sort of 'living history' reenactments you see at some historical sites where you are presenting history to the populace is also, in so many ways, more important than writing dry books that might sit on dusty library shelves, because it brings a sense of history to the very people whose heritage it is, whose families have lived it, and shows them lessons to be learnt from such history and how their own lives play into the history around them.
Goodbye, Dr Clark
Lexington Herald-Leader 06/29/2005 Now a part of history
Thomas Dionysius Clark, our historian laureate, was a native of Mississippi, but early on in his professional life he came to Kentucky and truly adopted it as home, becoming an expert in Kentucky history and building the department that I was priveleged to study in during my career at the University of Kentucky. He had already retired from the university before I became a history student, but his presence lingered in many ways.
I met Dr Clark once after being selected as an intern at the Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives the summer between my history studies and before I started library school. He was an engaging man with, very personable and very gracious, with an excellent sense of humour, surprising in a man whom I had always heard negotiated through the bureaucracy of academia like a force of nature.
His enthusiasm and ability to secure support lies behind so much in terms of state history and the documents that portray it. He was an importance force behind the state historical society's history centre whose name is changing in his honour, the Lexington History Museum, the state archives, and the library at the University of Kentucky, among others. He inspired others to take up the reins so that these institutions may continue to flourish. He was interested in preserving history, culture, and the very environment of the state, yet was progressive in his thought and insisted that the South could ill afford to live in the past in an ever-changing world. He was a remarkable man, and in so many areas of the state, his presence will linger and yet the loss will be felt.
Thomas Dionysius Clark, our historian laureate, was a native of Mississippi, but early on in his professional life he came to Kentucky and truly adopted it as home, becoming an expert in Kentucky history and building the department that I was priveleged to study in during my career at the University of Kentucky. He had already retired from the university before I became a history student, but his presence lingered in many ways.
I met Dr Clark once after being selected as an intern at the Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives the summer between my history studies and before I started library school. He was an engaging man with, very personable and very gracious, with an excellent sense of humour, surprising in a man whom I had always heard negotiated through the bureaucracy of academia like a force of nature.
His enthusiasm and ability to secure support lies behind so much in terms of state history and the documents that portray it. He was an importance force behind the state historical society's history centre whose name is changing in his honour, the Lexington History Museum, the state archives, and the library at the University of Kentucky, among others. He inspired others to take up the reins so that these institutions may continue to flourish. He was interested in preserving history, culture, and the very environment of the state, yet was progressive in his thought and insisted that the South could ill afford to live in the past in an ever-changing world. He was a remarkable man, and in so many areas of the state, his presence will linger and yet the loss will be felt.
Tuesday, June 28, 2005
Brava and good luck with this new hearing
The Daily Telegraph | Bravest woman in the world
Mukhtaran Mai was gang-raped three years ago by order of a village council in response to an alleged affair her brother had with a woman from a rival clan.
So-called 'honour punishments' such as rape and murder are crimes against usually innocent women and unscores how little value is given to the lives of these human beings. It is a barbaric process aimed at shaming or protecting the honour of a family, but with disastrous consequences for those pawns caught in the wake of such a brutal practice. The woman becomes a scapegoat for the sins of others. It is unthinkable that a woman who is the victim of a rape might be killed by a brother or father to supposedly protect the family honour, yet this does happen. Even when, as with adultery, the woman is herself a participant in an activity defined by her society as criminal or sinful, the punishment often far exceeds the supposed crime. It is one thing to live with shame for something you did; it is another to be brutally killed for it or be violated and left with a public humiliation for the crime of another.
All women should work to change these deadly crimes against their fellow sisters. For if we do not stand for each other, we admit that we are less than men, chattel to be disposed of as men see fit, something that is in itself a terrible lie that has unfortunately been incorporated into some belief systems and supposed systems of justice.
Hopefully the Supreme will re-examine the Lahore High Court decision to acquit five of the men in this case. I have no problem with commuting the original sentence of death to life imprisonment, for I do not believe that the death penalty is just in most cases in which it is used. Of course as with any court trial the prosecution must be able to prove its case...but if the evidence says the men are guilty and yet they walk free, it sends a clear message that anything might be done with impunity and without fear of punishment so long as it is supported by such barbaric customs. I cannot imagine this ever being the case if men were to be the victims rather than women...and that is wrong.
Mukhtaran Mai was gang-raped three years ago by order of a village council in response to an alleged affair her brother had with a woman from a rival clan.
So-called 'honour punishments' such as rape and murder are crimes against usually innocent women and unscores how little value is given to the lives of these human beings. It is a barbaric process aimed at shaming or protecting the honour of a family, but with disastrous consequences for those pawns caught in the wake of such a brutal practice. The woman becomes a scapegoat for the sins of others. It is unthinkable that a woman who is the victim of a rape might be killed by a brother or father to supposedly protect the family honour, yet this does happen. Even when, as with adultery, the woman is herself a participant in an activity defined by her society as criminal or sinful, the punishment often far exceeds the supposed crime. It is one thing to live with shame for something you did; it is another to be brutally killed for it or be violated and left with a public humiliation for the crime of another.
All women should work to change these deadly crimes against their fellow sisters. For if we do not stand for each other, we admit that we are less than men, chattel to be disposed of as men see fit, something that is in itself a terrible lie that has unfortunately been incorporated into some belief systems and supposed systems of justice.
Hopefully the Supreme will re-examine the Lahore High Court decision to acquit five of the men in this case. I have no problem with commuting the original sentence of death to life imprisonment, for I do not believe that the death penalty is just in most cases in which it is used. Of course as with any court trial the prosecution must be able to prove its case...but if the evidence says the men are guilty and yet they walk free, it sends a clear message that anything might be done with impunity and without fear of punishment so long as it is supported by such barbaric customs. I cannot imagine this ever being the case if men were to be the victims rather than women...and that is wrong.
Monday, June 27, 2005
Want a free online weight managment tool?
Try NoEasyWay.com--Losing weight without losing money. Thanks to Mike Sanders' Keep Trying for the head's up.
Friday, June 24, 2005
Some specific goals
- Follow a prescribed regimen for staying healthy and controlling my diabetes and other health issues
- Begin South Beach diet starting 7/1/05; total amount to lose: 100 lbs; first short-term goal: lose 20 lbs in 3 months
- Weigh weekly and keep a log of progress
- Walk 3 times weekly, starting for 10 minutes and progressing in speed, time, and incline gradually
- Take medication faithfully on schedule as prescribed
- Reduce my debt, save for the future, and eventually buy my own home to become more financially stable
- Pay myself first by putting away 10% of each paycheque
- Convert as many expenses to regular instalments as possible (i.e., I've just signed up for the budget plan with the electric company so it's a set amount each month)
- Get a copy of my credit report (have 1, need the other 2)
- Make a list of all current debtees, amount owed, and terms
- Create a budget and stick with it, paying small amounts on each debt as possible
- Be creative
- Sit down and write for an hour 3 times a week
- Attend a cultural or art exhibit/performance at least once per month
- Practise an art or craft for an hour 3 times a week
- Game once a week with full participation and character development
- Be spiritual
- Perform libation ceremony once per month
- Do daily breathing exercises and keep results in a log
- Do yoga 3 times a week
- Be a friend; make a difference; practise relating to others
- Do one thing for one person at least once per day
- Talk or write to each friend at least every other day
- Encourage someone at least once per week
- Write to my family once per week
- Participate in an in-depth discussion at least once per day
Mission Statement
- Grow as a person in maturity and scope of life
- Do what I can to help others and leave the world a little better off than I found it
- Live life to the fullest
- Nurture my creativity
Thursday, June 23, 2005
NAMI Kentucky highlights the need for mental health services in the area
NAMI | Campaign Message Rings True in Kentucky
Their message can be found on page 6 of the April issue of Medical News [link is in .pdf form].
Their message can be found on page 6 of the April issue of Medical News [link is in .pdf form].
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