According to the Pew Research Center, a majority of Americans surveyed consider themselves lifelong learners. Many of them are “professional learners:” they take courses or attend trainings to enhance their job skills and career prospects. However, the vast majority are “personal learners:” they learn skills or subjects that personally interest them. And while the Internet can be…
By the reference desk in the Central Library is a statue of an Ancient Greek boxer known to history as Damoxenos. However, for as long anyone can remember he’s been known around Somerville as Clarence. And like all Ancient Greek athletes depicted in sculpture, Clarence isn’t wearing anything. A few days ago a woman who…
A few weeks ago I posted about resources to help you determine the truth of what you see, hear or read in the media. Here are 3 more fact-checking resources to consider: Media Matters for America, Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, and The Washington Post’s Fact Checker.
Fates & Furies- Lauren Groff’s third book, describes marriage over a 23 year period, very vividly. The book illustrates marriage from two different perspectives, the husband and wife, seemingly, somewhat realistic, but who really knows for sure? After all, how many of us are completely honest in marriage? I enjoyed the book immensely; many reviews…
It’s an election year. Candidates are saying a lot of things to get people’s votes, which means many of them are, to be blunt, lying. How do you know what to believe? How do you sort fact from fabrication? Surprisingly, the Internet can actually help if you go to the right places. Factcheck.org is just…
Recently I walked past a re-shelving cart and noticed a paperback romance called Some Like It Scot, with cover art depicting a heterosexual couple under-dressed for Scottish weather. According to the catalog record, the novel is part of a series called Scandalous Highlanders. Then scanning the shelves where we keep paperback romances at SPL, I…
Now that I think about it, this blog post title sounds like it should be the name of a kid’s book–the If You Give a Pig a Pancake for the automated warfare age. But seriously, drones were one of the most popular gifts this Christmas. And anyone who owns a drone has to register it…
If you’re lucky you’ll have some time off next week. Many Americans aren’t that fortunate. What do you plan to do with your time? I will be reading Jenny Lawson’s new(ish) memoir Furiously Happy and returning to some old favorites: Carl Hiassen’s Tourist Season and Daniel Boorstin’s The Discoverers. If you’re looking for book suggestions,…
Remember Mark Watney in The Martian modifying the astronaut habitat to grow potatoes? Over at Quirk Books Danielle Mohlman has posted some potato recipes from various online sources. And if you’re interested in food real-life astronauts would eat, Tara Ziegmont of Feels Like Home has instructions for making astronaut pudding. The post includes a video…
One noteworthy feature of The Martian is the absence of any, well, actual Martians. In many science fiction works set on Mars, most notably Ray Bradbury’s The Martian Chronicles, the presence of an intelligent native species is a key plot element. And thanks to the work of Percival Lowell, whom I wrote about in yesterday’s…
