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Father’s Day: History in the Making
Yesterday, the United States observed Father’s Day. This celebration honoring fathers and celebrating fatherhood, paternal bonds, and the influence of fathers in society is observed by over 40 countries, just not all on the same day. Though it has been celebrated since the Middle Ages, this celebration was brought by the Spanish and Portuguese to Latin America,…
Read MoreWhat’s On Your Summer Reading List?
It’s that time of year again: summer reading! Last year I wrote about how librarians catalog, search, provide readers advice and come up with book lists. This year I want to go in a different direction. Imagine being packed into an old Chevy Suburban filled with cousins and going on road trips to the mountains. This…
Read MoreApril: America’s Newest Sweetheart
Who is April? I heard that at a least a dozen times last month from friends and colleagues. With more than 1.2 million people logging in to watch her give birth live online, there were still some who had no clue as to her identity. Over 232 million views took place in the two months…
Read MoreFinding Credibility
In November I wrote an article about deciphering fact from fiction but I didn’t cover the whole fake news craze. Perhaps in my naivety I hoped the issue would go away. That after the elections the whole craze would die down and everyone would be more diligent in what they post on social media. Unfortunately…
Read MoreTaxonomy of a Taco
Tacos have been on my mind lately with Cinco de Mayo coming up (or rather, gone, since this will be posted afterwards). I love tacos. Who doesn’t? OK, I’m sure there are plenty of people who don’t like tacos, but I’m willing to guess that a majority of people like at least some form of…
Read MoreAnd They’re Off!
I live in Louisville, Kentucky. That means that, for the past week and all this coming week, everything, and I mean everything, is all about that two minute horse race known as the Kentucky Derby. Balloon races, parties, mint juleps, steam boat races, bourbon, parades; the list goes on and on. For corporate organizations, this…
Read MoreWords That Roll Off the Tongue
If someone asked you to name the most beautiful word or phrase in English, how would you begin to choose? Would your decision be based on the meaning of the word or how it is spelled, or maybe how it sounds? Phonaesthetics is the study of the euphony and cacophony of words without regard for…
Read MoreDo Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
While this is a title for Philip K. Dick’s 1968 novel, it is also a question on a lot of people’s minds as we begin to blur the lines of technology and man. Sentient artificial intelligence has always been a subject amongst science fiction writers and it seems that fantasy is slowly edging its way…
Read MoreThe Dystopian Genre
Presidential elections signal many changes ahead for a country but no one really knows what those changes may lead to. This can instill many emotions amongst people. Hope and joy for the winning party and a whole range of negative emotions like fear, anger, unease in the losing party. There was confusion in 2000 when…
Read MoreDon’t Get Tricked
This weekend we celebrated a day of pranks, jokes, and trickery. Some people go to outlandish and extravagant efforts to pull pranks on others, and some let it pass by unrecognized. But how did this quirky custom get started? Let’s go to the library of all libraries – the Library of Congress – to find some…
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