DrWeb's Domain

Your Room Is Booked - washingtonpost.com

Your Room Is Booked - washingtonpost.com.

Your Room Is Booked
In a DVD Age, Literary Hotels Go Back to the Classics
By Carol McCabe, Special to The Washington Post, Sunday, April 1, 2007; Page P01

I should have called ahead. By the time I checked in, Journalism was gone, as was Geography and Travel. The choice was down to Germanic Languages or Philosophy. That's how I came to spend a recent night in Room 1100.003, in the company of Messrs. Kant, Hegel, Voltaire and Sartre, with George Soros lying on the nightstand.

At Manhattan's urbane Library Hotel at Madison Avenue and 41st Street, guest floors and rooms are keyed to classifications of the Dewey Decimal System, devised by Melvil Dewey in 1876 and familiar to anyone who has borrowed a library book since then. The room you get determines the subject of the reading material on built-in shelves. My 75 volumes included Kierkegaard's "The Concept of Anxiety" and Aristotle's "On Coming-to-Be and Passing Away" -- in Greek.
...
But book lovers can still find literary lodgings thriving across America, as a list of some of our favorites (see Page P4) proves. Think of it not as a trend, but as a counter-trend.

Video Games Conquer Retirees

Video Games Conquer Retirees - New York Times
Video Games Conquer Retirees
By SETH SCHIESEL, Published: March 30, 2007

CHATAWA, Miss. — For 133 years the School Sisters of Notre Dame have lived here in a thick forest just up the hill from the Tangipahoa River. In a modest but stately compound called St. Mary of the Pines, 52 retired members of this Roman Catholic order spend much of their time as the order’s members have since the 19th century. They read and garden, fish and sew. They pray five times a day.

But many also have a new hobby, one they credit for keeping their hands steady and minds sharp. They play video games. Every day residents go to the seven-terminal “Computer Cove” to click furiously on colorful, nonviolent, relatively simple games like Bejeweled, Bookworm and Chuzzle.  Though they live in a remote grove, the women of St. Mary are actually part of a vast and growing community of video-game-playing baby boomers and their parents, especially women.

Ah, a lot of older women are playing games.. I like the idea of mental stimulation keeping your mind alert and active into older age, and if it works via games that are "playful," what's not to like? ..It seems one of the major cruise lines, Norwegian, is putting Nintendo's Wii game system, on all their cruise ships.. Internet cafés for the retiree set coming soon? ...

Internet Home To The Amazing Skidboot’s Life & Legacy

Internet Home To The Amazing Skidboot’s Life & Legacy.

Farewell, Skidboot.. R.I.P.. All Dogs Go to Heaven

Skidboot is at rest, the bell of time having made its inevitable toll. What a wonderful life of fourteen years he lived! Never has a last minute, second thought Christmas gift ever shone so brightly as Skidboot.

On Sunday evening, March 25, 2007, Skidboot was laid to rest beneath an oak tree on the ranch to which he contributed greatly in building.

David and Barbara request that Skidboot be remembered by a donation to your local animal shelter in Skidbootʼs name.

Great, fun-loving, and special (they are *all* special) dog.. thanks to Roxy and Neo, my Italian greyhound family now, I have found that "man's best friend" idea really true.. nothing against cats :), but dogs are love unconditional, all day, all night, all the time.. Skidboot was like that, too...

Public Library Geeks Take Web 2.0 to the Stacks -

Public Library Geeks Take Web 2.0 to the Stacks.

Culture : Education
Public Library Geeks Take Web 2.0 to the Stacks
Beverly Hanly 03.29.07 | 2:00 AM

When the IT director at North Carolina's Charlotte & Mecklenburg County public library began training staff in the latest web technologies, she lured reluctant participants with bribes -- a free MP3 player and the chance to win a laptop.

Six months later, the program they developed is the real prize. Learning 2.0, developed by public services technology director Helene Blowers, has become a surprise grassroots hit, available for free on the web and adopted by dozens of other libraries around the globe.

"The last thing we want is for people to come into our libraries and ask about Flickr or Second Life and be met with a blank look," said Christine MacKensie, director of the Yarra Plenty Regional Library in Melbourne, Australia, which just finished a four-month version of Learning 2.0. "And they certainly won't now."

One fine training program and idea, spawning lots of others.. we are looking at doing this, too, at MPOW (my place of work).. great to see Helene's lead and program getting good media attention, well-deserved...

On Point : ABC's "Lost" TV Drama - ABC's "Lost" TV Drama

On Point : ABC's "Lost" TV Drama - ABC's "Lost" TV Drama.

ABC's "Lost" TV Drama
Aired: Wednesday, March 28, 2007 11-12PM ET

By host Tom Ashbrook: There has never been anything quite like ABC TV's hit drama "Lost." Yes, there was "The Twilight Zone," "The X-files," "Planet of the Apes," and for that matter "Robinson Crusoe" and "Gilligan's Island."

But for sheer mystery and complexity woven around island castaways, "Lost" sets the bar. And that's even before you add in the boiling Web world of online "Losties, "devoted fans who have made their own mark on "Lost."

This hour On Point: we go inside the wild world of "Lost" with the show's executive producers -- and writers -- Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, on the fate of "Lost."
...
Quotes from the Show:

"Yes, there will be an end [to Lost]. We're still discussing that with the network in terms of when that's gonna happen but 'Lost' is a story, it has a beginning, middle, and end. I think we owe it to our audience to tell them that there is gonna be an end and when that end is gonna be." Carlton Cuse

"We knew the beginning and the end -- the middle was and continues to be the challenge." Damon Lindelof

Good about 49 minute audio interview with with the key figures behind-the-scenes of  the hit TV series on ABC Television, "Lost".. I don't know if there are any "spoilers," so fans and viewers, maybe beware.. but, the part I've heard so far, give insights into the origins, layout, and plans for the award-winning and intriguing series.. there's a link on the site to listen to the podcast in Windows Media Player or RealPlayer.. worth a listen...

Take a First Look at the Last Harry Potter - 3/28/2007 5:38:00 AM - Publishers Weekly

Take a First Look at the Last Harry Potter - 3/28/2007 5:38:00 AM - Publishers Weekly.

Take a First Look at the Last Harry Potter
by Shannon Maughan -- Publishers Weekly, 3/28/2007 5:38:00 AM

[Left: Screenshot from the article page, showing the forthcoming cover of the last Harry Potter book...]

Fans got their first look at the jacket artwork for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows this morning. Scholastic released the image by Mary GrandPré, who also created the artwork for all previous U.S. editions of Rowling’s books.

For the first time ever, the jacket image is a full wrap-around. On the front of the book, Harry appears in the foreground of a Coliseum-like structure that has suffered what Scholastic’s art director characterizes as "evident destruction," while shadows of other people can be seen in the background. He’s reaching upward toward an ominous orange-yellow sky. A look at the full spread, including back cover reveals Harry’s skeletal, nemesis, He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named, blood-red eyes peering from his cloak, reaching out toward the young wizard.

Let the speculation begin: a battle to the death? The end of Hogwarts? The end of the world? The theories are sure to run rampant as readers analyze the jacket for clues about Rowling’s final installment of the series, set to run 784 pages with a record-setting printing of 12 million copies. 114 days and counting….

Library Journal: NYU Lands Communist Party Archive

Library Journal: NYU Lands Communist Party Archive.

NYU Lands Communist Party Archive

Usually, landing a major collection of American history requires years of effort. But when it comes to the Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA), things work a little differently. This month, New York University's Tamiment Library received a surprise donation, the entire collection of the Reference Center for Marxist Studies, which has for more than 20 years held the Communist Party's official archives and library. Michael Nash, director of the library, told the New York Times that getting the call about the collection was a surprise in and of itself. "I didn't really realize [CPUSA] still existed," Nash said.

The collection is rich, and will likely take years to fully catalog. It includes tens of thousands of "books, photos, papers and notes, and unique audio, video and film documents." The hastily-arranged donation will also include the records of the Young Communist League and the archives of the People's Weekly World newspaper, as well as its predecessor, the Daily Worker, spanning 88 years of the party's history. Nash said the collection represents more than Cold War history and McCarthyism, calling it "a significant contribution to research of the Left."

Will RDA Be DOA? - 3/15/2007 - Library Journal

Will RDA Be DOA? - 3/15/2007 - Library Journal.

Will RDA Be DOA?
By Roy Tennant — March 15, 2007

The rules and guidelines that have guided catalogers for decades are undergoing revision. It’s taken for granted that the Anglo-American Cataloging Rules, Second Edition (AACR2), are past due for an update in this Internet age. The revision effort began in 1997, but to signal a dramatic departure from AACR2, it was dubbed Resource Description and Access (RDA) in 2005.

The process is being managed by a joint steering committee appointed by six major constituent organizations (including the American Library Association). The steering committee is attempting to craft “guidelines and instructions that would cover description and access for all digital and analog resources, resulting in records that could be used in a variety of digital environments (the Internet, web OPACs, etc.).”

See also the previous D-Lib® Magazine article from January, which is noted in Roy Tennant's column.. a personal comment on this.. it's a lot like folks are trying to make library "catalogs" user-friendly (again/next/over), but from the ground-up.. for Internet/Web use.. widgets, applications, RSS feeds, whatever.. I'm not sure we can easily (or without some growing pains) have it both ways.. have a "library catalog," gulp, built and maintained by catalogers (who *else* are you going to call?), and a user-friendly slice-and-dice "piece of that catalog pie" that we can do fancy things or cool things with on the 'Net.. if the new rules (RDA) get in the way of re-purposing content that others wish to do/would like to do, that's a problem (but not for catalogers or "the average" library user).. library catalogs will still be searchable, and usable, for the "average" user.. books and DVDs will get into the catalog, be found, checked out.. but, first things first.. somebody has to "build a new RDA catalog," some after 2009, with new rules, and then it can be re-used.. hopefully, in some middle ground, both things can be achieved.. says the Eternal Optimist in me...

Annual editions of the Scholarly Electronic Publishing Bibliography: 2006

Annual editions of the Scholarly Electronic Publishing Bibliography: 2006.

Annual editions of the Scholarly Electronic Publishing Bibliography: 2006

Annual editions of the Scholarly Electronic Publishing Bibliography are PDF files designed for printing.

Each annual edition is based on the last HTML version published during the edition's year. Minor corrections, such as updated URLs, may have been made in the annual edition.

2006 (HTML Version 66: 12/18/2006)

Digital Scholarship > Scholarly Electronic Publishing Bibliography > Annual Editions, Copyright © 1996-2007 by Charles W. Bailey, Jr.

Save to have a local PDF copy, do some reading and research, look back at the year in electronic publishing in this annual edition of Charles Bailey's bibliography...

Idaho Mountain Express: Where did Papa get his sandals? - March 14, 2007

Idaho Mountain Express: Where did Papa get his sandals? - March 14, 2007.

Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Where did Papa get his sandals?
TNC staff archive contents of Ernest Hemingway’s Ketchum home
By REBECCA MEANY, Express Staff Writer

[photo caption] In Ernest Hemingway’s master bedroom, relics of his life decorate the tabletops and walls. Some hearken back to the author’s days in Spain, where he often attended bullfights. Photo by Chris Pilaro

Rooms in the Ketchum house once owned by acclaimed author Ernest Hemingway are frozen in time. But which era do they represent?

The 1951 home overlooking the Big Wood River was built and first occupied by Bob Topping. Hemingway and his wife, Mary, didn't move in until 1959. After Hemingway's death in the house in 1961, Mary and various caretakers periodically occupied the building before it was turned over upon Mary's death in 1986 to The Nature Conservancy. TNC used the space for offices until it built a new Idaho headquarters in Hailey.

Now, TNC is undertaking an inventory and archiving effort to sort out which objects were part of the home during Hemingway's stay.

Art imitates art: Paul Auster on ‘The Inner Life of Martin Frost’

Art imitates art: Paul Auster on ‘The Inner Life of Martin Frost’.

Art imitates art
Paul Auster on ‘The Inner Life of Martin Frost’
by amy benfer / metro new york
MAR 21, 2007

Paul Auster: The Book of Illusions: A Novel

interview: Brooklyn novelist Paul Auster’s film “The Inner Life of Martin Frost,” a tale of a writer and the woman who may be his muse, started off as a screenplay for a 30-minute short film to be made for a German film producer.

Things got complicated and Auster pulled out of the project. Later that year, Auster started work on his novel, “The Book of Illusions,” and had a scene that called for a film. “Martin Frost” reappeared, this time as a set of notes taken by the narrator, David Zimmer, during a screening of a black-and-white film, made in 1946, and directed by the fictional director Hector Mann.

Auster is now the actual director of an actual feature-length film called “The Inner Life of Martin Frost” (his follow-up to “Lulu on the Bridge”), which will screen this week as part of the New Directors/New Films series.

Student Rameses dies from injuries - University

Student Rameses dies from injuries - University.

Student Rameses dies from injuries
Ray played mascot for three years
By: Erin Zureick, University Editor, Issue date: 3/26/07 Section: University

Jason Ray, a UNC senior who wore the Rameses suit for three years, died Monday morning after being hit by an SUV Friday afternoon while walking along a New Jersey highway.

A spokeswoman for Hackensack University Medical Center said that Ray died at 8:38 a.m. Monday. He sustained severe head injuries after being hit by an SUV on N.J. Route 4. He was in the area for the men's basketball game Friday against the University of Southern California. Hospital officials said that Ray was an organ donor.

Ray, 21, was an active member of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship and the lead singer of a band, Nine P.M. Traffic. Those who knew Ray said he was a generous person who epitomized what a mascot should be.

Sad and tragic loss, an unexplainable accident.. another story covering this locally is at News 14 Carolina.. R.I.P. Ray, God Rest Your Soul...

COPA Online Porn Law Struck Down

COPA Online Porn Law Struck Down
By Lisa Vaas, March 22, 2007

A federal court judge on March 22 struck down the Child Online Protection Act (PDF), saying it violates the First and Fifth Amendments and is "impermissibly broad and over-vague."

U.S. District Judge Lowell Reed of Philadelphia wrote in his finding that he sympathizes with Congress and its desire to protect children from sexually explicit materials on the Web, but that the "flawed statute" neither protected rights guaranteed by the First and Fifth Amendments, nor was as effective as filters now available.

Source: COPA Online Porn Law Struck Down

This news is way overdue, but welcomed.. and the courts took a very long time to resolve COPA.. while the idea may have merit, this wasn't the best way to try and offer some protections to "young" users and surfers...

In Cuba, they still remember 'Papa' Hemingway

Sunday, March 25, 2007
In Cuba, they still remember 'Papa' Hemingway
Castro's government has spent $1 million to restore Hemingway's shabby baronial estate to its old glory
by Bob Hoover, Post-Gazette

HAVANA -- Six years after he won the Nobel Prize in 1954, Ernest Hemingway's world was falling apart.

The best-known writer in America, perhaps the world, was losing his mind. Depression and paranoia were overtaking him, turning his renowned terse and direct style into rambling excess. His writing, the talent that made him famous and rich, was slipping away.

Source: In Cuba, they still remember 'Papa' Hemingway

A series of articles from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette about Hemingway's home in Cuba.. the other stories are noted below...

• In Cuba, following in Papa's footsteps
• Papa's life is Cuban theme park

Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers (BETA)

Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers (BETA)

Welcome to Chronicling America, enhancing access to America's historic newspapers. This site allows you to search and read newspaper pages from 1900-1910 and find information about American newspapers published between 1690-present. Chronicling America is sponsored jointly by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Library of Congress as part of the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP).

Source: The Library of Congress - Chronicling America

This site was released last week.. check out the press releases on it from the partners at Library of Congress and National Endowment for the Humanities.. according to the California Newspaper project, "The newspapers we're contributing to Chronicling America and additional historically significant California newspapers, the Daily Alta California, in particular, will soon also be available at the California Digital Newspaper Collection http://cdnc.ucr.edu."