Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Daily Thoughts 11/22/2011

 France in 2000 year (XXI century). Future school. France, paper card. 1901 or 1910

Daily Thoughts 11/22/2011

This morning I spent some time updating the Facebook and Twitter account for the library.  I rather liked doing it.  I also read some more of The Better Angels of Our Natures by Steven Pinker.  Steven Pinker is writing about peoples inner demons and how they lead to war.  He describes how overconfidence can lead to nations attacking each other, how labeling other nations as evil is often inaccurate, and how people and nations strive for dominance.  The bit on dominance reminds me of the concept of "missile envy", where whichever nation has  the biggest missile wins.

I read some of Spontaneous Happiness by Andrew Weil, M.D. this afternoon.  Andrew Weil focuses on the practice of integrative medicine (combining natural medicine with the biomedical approach to medicine).  He is writing about dealing with depression and emotional resilience.  In addition to exercise, diet, sleep, and social relations he is also talking about things like meditation, acupuncture and other therapies, touch, being outdoors, getting sunlight, and resetting your inner equilibrium so it is more focused on serenity than vibrant happiness. 

I think the Reader's Den from New York Public Library is kind of interesting.  It is an online book discussion group from New York Public Library.
http://www.nypl.org/voices/blogs/blog-channels/readers-den

I decided to do something for my own future with Lynda.com.  I am taking some time to learn about LinkedIn. This will give me a chance to update and review my profile which has not been done for a while.

Munseys has a lot of the old pulp fiction books available as free downloads.
http://www.munseys.com/detail/mode/cat/12/Pulp_Fiction



Web Bits 

Other

Embattled Intellectual Historians Make a Stand
http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/22/embattled-intellectual-historians-make-a-stand/?partner=rss&emc=rss

Why It's A Great Time to be a Reader
http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2011/11/why-its-a-great-time-to-be-a-reader/248909/


Occupy Wall Street-- Library and other issues.


13 News Organizations File Complaints with NYPD Over Treatement of Journalists
http://www.mediabistro.com/fishbowlny/13-news-organizations-file-complaints-with-nypd-over-treatment-of-journalists_b47331
This is important because it is about freedom of expression and information.

The Implicit Critique of Technology In the Occupy Protests
http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2011/11/the-implicit-critique-of-technology-in-the-occupy-protests/248835/

There is an announcement on the Occupy Wall Street Library website, but I am waiting for the press release to be picked up by the main stream media.  It looks like there could be some points which need to be clarified.  I changed my mind, this is the announcement in a cleaner format.

Library Press Conference The Peoples Library
http://www.supportows.org/blog/ows-news/library-press-conference-the-peoples-library/

Canadian Library Association Dismayed by the Seizure of the Occupy Wall Street Movement Library
http://clagov.wordpress.com/2011/11/18/ows-library/ 





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