Posts Tagged ‘Library of Congress’
Blessed are they who preserve and share…
From The Great Library and Mouseion at Alexandria and the Bodleian at Oxford to the The British Library and the Library of Congress, an illustrated (and linked) tour of “The 7 Most Impressive Libraries From Throughout History” (well, in the Western Tradition anyway)…
As we rush to renew our library cards, we might recall that it was on this date in 1909 that Colonel Tom Parker, (in)famous manager of Elvis Presley, claimed to have been born in Huntington, West Virginia. Elvis’ biographer, Albert Goldman, suggests rather that the Colonel was born Andre van Kuijk in Breda, southern Holland, and entered the USA illegally. It was (and is) widely-believed that Parker never owned a credit card and had no passport– possibly to avoid checks that might expose his lack of genuine ID.
Colonel Tom and the King (source: Virgin Media)
Excuses, excuses, excuses…
Why wrack your brain for a credible explanation, when you simply visit Corrupted-Files.com?
Step 1: After purchasing a file, rename the file e.g. Mike_Final-Paper.
Step 2: Email the file to your professor [or boss] along with your “here’s my assignment” email.
Step 3: It will take your professor [ or boss] several hours if not days to notice your file is “unfortunately” corrupted. Use the time this website just bought you wisely and finish that paper!!!
…only $3.95.
Psst– keep this site a secret!
As we hit the snooze button, we might recall that on this date in 1790, The Philadelphia Spelling Book was copyrighted– the first book to be protected under copyright laws passed by Congress “to promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries” (Article I, Section 8, Clause 8 of the Constitution).
Since 1790, copyright (and for that matter, patent) law in the U.S. has strayed beyond that Constitutional purpose (see, e.g., “Patently Absurd” or “Caution! Pile Up Ahead!“). Wander over to Creative Commons for a look at an alternative that works– and works in the spirit of the Framers…
source: Library of Congress
Shooting down flying pigs…
Every year (appropriately enough, on April 1), James “The Amazing” Randi (magician and debunker of scientific frauds) and his James Randi Educational Foundation give out the Pigasus Awards:
…a dubious honor to people or organizations that have done their best in the past year to snuff out science and promote irrationality. The award is named after the beloved mascot of the JREF because, after all, when paranormal powers are proven, pigs will fly.
The five categories of the Pigasus Award are:
- To the Scientist who said or did the silliest thing relating to occult, supernatural, or paranormal subjects in the preceding twelve months.
- To the Funding Organization that supports the most useless study related to the occult, supernatural, or paranormal during the year.
- To the Media outlet that reported as fact the most outrageous occult, supernatural, or paranormal claim.
- To the Performer who fooled the greatest number of people with the least effort in that twelve-month period.
- For the most persistent refusal to face reality.
This year’s (dis)honorees are:
- Dr. Colin Ross, who claims he can shoot electromagnetic radiation from his eyes;
- The Producers of the movie “Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed”;
- Late night cable TV stations and Enzyte ads;
- Jenny McCarthy; who has written books and appeared on countless TV shows promoting measles; and
- Kevin Trudeau; who sold quack books even after the government fined him for it.
Details of these prestigious fakers are here— and are well-worth a look. Winners receive no actual trophy, no prize money, no plaque; just the publicity they generally seek, though perhaps not in the way they want it.
As we recover our sanity, we might recall that It was on this date in 1800 that President John Adams signed legislation to appropriate $5,000 to purchase “such books as may be necessary for the use of Congress,” thus establishing the Library of Congress.
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