weekend reads

just a few of the new books in the sociology division

garden in a small space...
The self sufficient-ish bible: an eco-living guide for the 21st century -
Andy and Dave Hamilton
363.7 H217

read with a child...
Rhe book whisperer - Donalyn Miller
372.6 M647

find the perfect cufflinks...
Rhe handbook of style: a man's guide to looking good - Esquire magazine
391. 1 H326

and for all you alliteration lovers...
The towering world of Jimmy Choo: a glamorous story of power, profits, and the pursuit of the perfect shoe - Lauren Goldstein Crowe
391.413 C953

what is it those corporate agribusinesses don't want WSU freshman to know?

image source: Library of Congress Flickr Commons

Some news from the academic library world ...Washington State University announced last week that it decided to pull The Omnivore’s Dilemma - Michael Pollan's super popular book about "the ecology of the food humans eat and why"- from their required reading program for freshman. possible reasoning behind that one? pressure from corporate agribusiness, say some faculty members.

Well you could pick up The Omnivore's Dilemma from your local dcpl branch, if all the copies weren't already checked out! Place a hold on citycat and check out Pollan's latest: In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto. Books on food and eating start around SOC 394!

Stop by MLK Library to check out a great article on the WSU controversy in this week's Chronicle of Higher Education - one of the many journals and newspapers we receive in the Social Sciences division. check out The Chronicle's blog post on it here!

UPDATE: Looks like WSU found a way to make it work!

txt u l8r

image source: Library of Congress Flickr Commons

Check out this interesting NYTimes article on the psychological and physical effects of texting. bonus! the article features a Bethesda teen.

Something the article does not fully address is text message bullying. Text message bullying is highly prevalent in the UK, Australia, New Zealand and Canada and for some reason doesn't seem to get reported in the United States. Here is an article written by a teen on the subject.

Interested in reading up on the topic?

Cyber-bullying : issues and solutions for the school, the classroom and the home - Shaheen Shariff
371.58 S531

The mobile connection: the cell phone's impact on society - Richard Ling
303.4833 L755

Yourspace: Questioning New Media - Heather E. Schwartz

JUV 302.23 SCHWARTZ

need some more? here are some online resources on text bullying and cyber-bullying:
http://www.stopcyberbullying.org/index2.html
http://www.cyberbullying.us/index.php

Graduation speech of the year?

It's that time of year again- the kids are dressed in their caps and gowns shuttling the extended family from one ceremony to the next. what about the rest of us? Well, there is always dormstering! If you feel the need to reminisce on some post-graduation inspiration check out John Legend's speech to the upenn class of 2009 from monday may 18th.

Books on college education can be found starting at SOC 378 and books on commencement speeches at LIT 815.01 G733 and LIT 815.08 O59 (but look in the catalog under baccalaureate addresses because apparently we are stuck in the year 1900).

hearing of the week: gulf war illness research

Source: U.S. House of Representatives

House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, Oversight Subcommittee
will have a hearing on Gulf War Illness Research

May 19 at 10 a.m.
334 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515

The hearing will include two panels of witness testimony
and the hearing will be available on webcast.

Memorial Day Book Display

Source: U.S. Veterans Administration

May 25th is Memorial Day. Formerly known as Decoration Day, it commemorates U.S. men and women who died while in the military service. Initially, enacted to honor Union soldiers of the American Civil War it was expanded after World War I to include American casualties of any war or military action.

The Social Sciences Division, has prepared an interesting book display to honor American military service men and women. The books include biographies, histories of the branches of the military, personal wartime accounts from World War II to the conflict in Iraq and works about women and minorities in the armed forces.

Please check out the book display on the 2nd floor of the East Lobby of the Martin Luther King Public Library.

For additional information about Memorial Day and local events please visit these websites:

Origins of Memorial Day

http://www1.va.gov/opa/feature/celebrate/docs/memday.pdf

National Memorial Day Concert, May 24, 2009

http://www.pbs.org/memorialdayconcert/concert/

National Memorial Day Parade, May 25, 2009

http://www.nationalmemorialdayparade.com/

Robert C. Byrd, 91 and the Longest-Serving Senator in History, Hospitalized

Source: United States Senate

Robert C. Byrd the longest-serving senator in history was hospitalized, last Friday.

You can read more about about Senator Byrd on the following news resources:

Sen. Byrd hospitalized with 'minor' infection
Charleston Gazette, May 18, 2009
http://wvgazette.com/ap/ApTopStories/200905180266

Byrd ‘Responding Well’ to Treatment
http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?docID=news-000003119645
CQ Politics, May 18,2009

Senator Robert C. Byrd United States Senate site
http://byrd.senate.gov/