Punctuated Banned Books, Dogs, Deafness, Bisexuality and so much more

 

Monday, September 23^rd

through

Thursday, September 26th

2013

“Don’t join the book burners. Don’t think you’re going to conceal faults by concealing evidence that they ever existed. Don’t be afraid to go in your library and read every book…”
― Dwight D. Eisenhower

This Week Is:

Banned Books Week

The last week of September each year is Banned Books Week, so this year it is September 22-28. Banned Books Week is the national book community’s annual celebration of the freedom to read. Hundreds of libraries and bookstores around the country draw attention to the problem of censorship by mounting displays of challenged books and hosting a variety of events. Banned Books Week was launched in 1982 in response to a sudden surge in the number of challenges to books in schools, bookstores and libraries. More than 11,300 books have been challenged since 1982.

The 10 most challenged titles of 2012 were:

1. Captain Underpants (series), by Dav Pilkey
   Reasons: Offensive language, unsuited for age group

2. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie
   Reasons: Offensive language, racism, sexually explicit, unsuited for age group

3. Thirteen Reasons Why, by Jay Asher
   Reasons: Drugs/alcohol/smoking, sexually explicit, suicide, unsuited for age group

4. Fifty Shades of Grey, by E. L. James.
   Reasons: Offensive language, sexually explicit

5. And Tango Makes Three, by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson.
   Reasons: Homosexuality, unsuited for age group

6. The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini.
   Reasons: Homosexuality, offensive language, religious viewpoint, sexually explicit

7. Looking for Alaska, by John Green.
   Reasons: Offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited for age group

8. Scary Stories (series), by Alvin Schwartz
   Reasons: Unsuited for age group, violence

9. The Glass Castle, by Jeanette Walls
   Reasons: Offensive language, sexually explicit

10. Beloved, by Toni Morrison

    Reasons: Sexually explicit, religious viewpoint, violence

In honor of banned books week we are reducing the price on several titles that have been challenged and banned.

Arizona Kid by Ron Koertge

Black Beauty by Anna Sewell

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

Call of the Wild by Jack London

Candide by Voltaire

The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer

Deenie by Judy Blume

The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline Cooney

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

Hamlet by William Shakespeare

King Lear by William Shakespeare

The Last Temptation of Christ by Nikos Kazantzakis

Lord of the Flies by William Golding

My Friend Flicka by Mary O’Hara

The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas

National Keep Kids Creative Week

All kids are creative; they’re born that way. But more than ever before, children are losing their innate ability to “think outside the box” at early ages. In schools, government standards have prompted teachers to focus on teaching skills and knowledge needed to pass tests. They hope that parents will be able to encourage children to explore and imagine. But parents, overwhelmed by the pace of their schedules, all too often don’t have time to sit down and help their kids write or draw or discover. They hope the school will pick up the slack. This week is a time to focus on creativity and let “kids be kids”.

National Dog Week

The phrase “man’s best friend” is a well worn but accurate description of the depth of our relationship with dogs. It is that relationship which is celebrated during National Dog Week. This year, the 74th National Dog Week runs Sept. 22 through Sept. 28. “Man’s Best Friend” is this year’s theme. The idea that the dog is “man’s best friend” is believed to have originated during a closing argument given by Sen. George Graham Vest, of Missouri. Vest, a lawyer, was representing a man whose dog was deliberately shot and killed by a neighbor. The grief stricken dog owner was suing the neighbor for damages. In his closing argument, Vest gave what has become the famous “Tribute to the American Dog.” The speech to the jury was so powerful that it not only won the case, it has been inscribed in a monument in Warrensburg, Missouri. William Safire included it in his compendium of the world’s great speeches. National Dog Week was founded in 1928 by Captain Will Judy, a noted dog judge and former publisher of Dog World Magazine. The purpose of National Dog Week is to educate all dog owners in their responsibilities to their pets and to their communities, particularly those organizations dedicated to caring for unwanted or lost dogs.

Sea Otter Awareness Week

Sea Otter Awareness Week falls on the last week in September and is an annual recognition of the vital role that sea otters play in the nearshore ecosystem. Each year, zoos, aquariums, natural history museums, marine institutions, filmmakers, researchers, academics, educators, and the public participate in various events and activities highlighting sea otters and their naturalhistory and the various conservation issues sea otters are faced with. This year marks the 10th year anniversary of Sea Otter Awareness Week and hope to inspire the conservation of these beloved marine mammals!

Deaf Awareness Week

The last full week in September is Deaf Awareness Week. It is also known as the International Week of the Deaf (or International Week of Deaf People). The purpose of Deaf Awareness Week is to draw attention to deaf people, their accomplishments and their issues. During this week, many deaf organizations hold activities to celebrate and conduct public information campaigns to educate people about deafness.

Monday:

The Phantom of the Opera original title: Le Fantôme de l’Opéra), a novel by French writer Gaston Leroux, was first published on September 23, 1909, as a serialization in Le Gaulois.

Planet Neptune was discovered on this day in 1846.

Celebrate Bisexuality Day

Celebrate Bisexuality Day is observed on September 23 by members of the bisexual community and their supporters. This day is a call for the bisexual community, their friends and supporters to recognize and celebrate bisexuality, bisexual history, bisexual community and culture, and all the bisexual and otherwise non-monosexual people in their lives. First observed in 1999, Celebrate Bisexuality Day is the brainchild of three United States bisexual rights activists: Wendy Curry of Maine, Michael Page of Florida, and Gigi Raven Wilbur of Texas. This celebration of bisexuality in particular, as opposed to general LGBT events, was conceived as a response to the prejudice and marginalization of the bisexual persons by some in both the straight and greater LGBT communities. In its first year, an observance was held during the International Lesbian and Gay Association, which occurred during the week of the 23rd. While at first it only took hold in areas with an extremely strong bisexual presence, it is now celebrated worldwide.

Checkers Day and Dogs in Politics Day

September 23^rd is Checkers Day, It is also Dogs in Politics Day. You may be wondering what the connection is. In 1952, Richard M. Nixon was a candidate for Vice-President of the United States, running with Dwight D. Eisenhower. Media speculation centered around an $18,000 campaign contribution, and speculation that Nixon may have used some for his personal use. In a brilliant political maneuver, Nixon took his case to the American people. On September 23, 1952, Richard Nixon gave a speech that directly addressed and explained the issue. He assured the public that he did not use any of the funds for personal use. Towards the end of the speech, he stated that his daughters had received a dog, which they named “Checkers”, as a gift. He said they would keep the dog. This speech quickly became known as the “Checkers” speech, and went on to be one of the better speeches in American political history. With “Checkers” the dog included in the speech, this day was sometimes referred to as Dogs in Politics Day.

Tuesday:

The office of the United States Attorney General and the federal judiciary system were created on September 24, 1789 when the United States Congress passed the Judiciary Act and the composition of the Supreme Court of the United States was ordered.

Punctuation Day

September 24^th is a day for celebration of the lowly comma, the correctly used question mark and other proper uses of periods, semicolons and the ever-mysterious ellipses. National Punctuation Day is the brainchild of Jeff and Norma Rubin, of Pinole, California. They’re writers and educators, and they think it’s high times kids learned that there are rules that govern punctuation—that people judge you by the way you write.

National Voter Registration Day

Millions of Americans did not vote because they missed a registration deadline or didn’t know how to register. On September 24, 2013, volunteers, celebrities, and organizations from all over the country will “hit the streets” for National Voter Registration Day. This single day of coordinated field, technology and media efforts will create pervasive awareness of voter registration opportunities–allowing us to reach tens of thousands of voters or more who we could not reach otherwise.

National Woman Road Warrior Day

The fourth Tuesday of September is a day of recognition for the nation’s travelingbusinesswomen. Like their male counterparts, Woman RoadWarriors open and close deals, make sales, give presentations, attend or lead seminars and maintain that all-important in-person presence in the often impersonal corporate world. But simultaneously, many are often charged with keeping their families on track at home—especially their babies, toddlers and multitasking school-age children—and nurture them, even from a long distance.

National Cherries Jubilee Day

National Cherries Jubilee Day is this Tuesday, guaranteed to make cherry lovers jubilant. Cherries Jubilee is easy to make. All you need is a can of cherry pie filling, some cognac (or brandy) and vanilla ice cream.

Wednesday:

One decade ago, on September 25, 2003, a magnitude 8.0 earthquake struck just offshore Hokkaidō, Japan.

National Comic Book Day

National Comic Book Day is observed each year on September 25^th. This is a day to share a comic book with a friend. Comic books are great reading. They either tell an ongoing story, provide humor, or offer intrigue and suspense. In all comic books, good eventually prevails over evil. So, comic books always make us feel good. Comic books have great value as a collectors item. Don’t ever throw away those old comic books. Down the road, the series you are collecting today, may be worth its weight in gold!

National Women’s Health & Fitness Day

Women’s Health & Fitness Day is the nation’s largest annual health promotion event for women of all ages. This year’s event is set for Wednesday, September 25, 2013, and in future years, is always be held on the last Wednesday in September. This unique national program — with participation by local organizations throughout the U.S. — focuses attention on the importance of regular physical activity and health awareness for women.

National One-Hit Wonder Day

September 25^th is the day to celebrate every artist who has conspired to give us one massively successful song and the grand total of nothing since. One-Hit Wonder Day was established by music journalist Steve Rosen back in 1990 to pay tribute to those who have had their five minutes (or less) of fame and subsequently vanished, leaving us only a catchy (hopefully!) tune to remember them by. Many of the songs are so good, you can clearly understand why they climbed the charts. But in the case of some of the other one hit wonders, when you listen to some of the songs, you scratch your head trying to figure out just what was the appeal. Today is the day to sing and dance to those here-today gone-tomorrow chart toppers, those musical artist that everybody hurried to go buy the “Cassingle”.

International Ataxia Awareness Day

Chances are that you have never heard of ataxia. That is why the National Ataxia Foundation and other ataxia organizations throughout the world have declared September 25, 2013 as International Ataxia Awareness Day (IAAS) to help get the word out about ataxia. 2013 is the 14^th year that an international public awareness campaign has been implemented. The goal of IAAD is for every individual to participate in some activity, creating awareness about ataxia.

Ataxia is a group of rare and often fatal degenerative neurological disorders. An estimated 150,000

people in the United States are affected by ataxia. Symptoms are progressive and often impact

coordination, hearing, vision, and speech. Ataxia affects both genders and all ages, but too often ataxia

strikes children and young adults. At this time, there is no effective treatment or cure for ataxia.

Hoshana Rabbah

The seventh day of the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, which falls on September 25 this year, is known as Hosana Rabbah. This day is marked by a special synagogue service in which seven circuits are made by the worshipers with their lulav and etrog, while the congregation recites Hoshanot. It is customary for the scrolls of the Torah to be removed from the ark during this procession.

Shmini Atzeret

Shmini Atzere begins in the evening of Wednesday, September 25 and ends in the evening of Thursday, September 26. This is “the Eighth [day] of Assembly]” and is a Jewish holiday.

Thursday:

The United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC) was established September 26, 1914 by the Federal Trade Commission Act.

World Maritime Day

The last Thursday of September each year is observed as World Maritime Day. The United Nations (UN), via the International Maritime Organization (IMO), created World Maritime Day to celebrate the international maritime industry’s contribution towards the world’s economy, especially in shipping. World Maritime Day focuses on the importance of shippingsafety, maritime security and the marine environment and to emphasize a particular aspect of IMO’s work. Many maritime organizations and unions hold special events and activities to celebrate this day.

Happy Birthday:

Some of the writers born September 23^rd include:

William Holmes McGuffey (1800), Victoria Woodhull (1838), Mary Church Terrell (1863), Emma Orczy (1865), Les Haylen (1898), Jaroslav Seifert (1901), Dominique Aury (1907), Jacques Poulin (1937), George Jackson (1941), Floella Benjamin (1949), Jerry Jenkins (1949), Mark Bego (1952), Peter David (1956), Bill Phillips (1964), Karl Pilkington (1972), and Chris Hawkins (1975).

Some of the writers born September 24^th include:

Horace Walpole (1717), Charles-Ferdinand Ramuz (1878), A. P. Herbert (1890), F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896), Ham Fisher (1900), Robert Lewis Taylor (1912), Jan Carew (1920), Sheila MacRae (1924), John Brunner (1934), Yves Navarre (1940), John Kessel (1950), Douglas Kmiec (1951), Michael J. Varhola (1966), Shamim Sarif (1969), and Casey Johnson (1979).

Some of the writers born September 25^th include:

Charles Robert Maturin (1782), Lope K. Santos (1879), Lu Xun (1881), Charles Kenneth Scott Moncrieff (1889), Jessica Anderson (1916), Robert Laxalt (1923), Barbara Walters (1929), Shel Silverstein (1930), Manouchehr Atashi (1931), Aram Saroyan (1943), Cherrie Moraga (1952), Luanne Rice (1955), W. Daniel Hillis (1956), and Bill Simmons (1969).

Some of the writers born September 26^th include:

Joseph Furphy (1843), Edith Abbott (1876), Edwin Keppel Bennett (1887), J. Frank Dobie (1888), T. S. Eliot (1888), Robert Staughton Lynd (1892), Vladimir Voinovic (1932), Andrea Dworkin (1946), Jane Smiley (1949), Minette Walters (1949), Will Self (1961), and Mark Haddon (1962).

This Month Is:

National Coupon Month

Since the first handwritten Coca-Cola coupon in 1887, Americans have been using coupons to save on everything from groceries to clothing to entertainment. In 1998, the PMA designated September as National Coupon Month. With coupon distribution and redemption at historically high levels, more attention is being given to this savings tool in today’s economy. By just spending 20 minutes a week clipping and clicking, you could save over $1,000 annually. Grab your scissors, snatch a Sunday circular, and let the coupon clipping commence!

Mold Awareness Month

September marks Mold Awareness Month and many believe it is a great time to evaluate your home. Studies have shown that there is an association between factors related to indoor dampness, like, mold and mildew, and a wide variety of respiratory illnesses, including asthma, asthma exacerbation, respiratory infections, and upper respiratory tract symptoms such as cough, wheezing and dyspnea.

Among other month long observances in September, it is also:

Little League Month

International Square Dancing Month

Classical Music Month

Subliminal Communications Month

Sports and Home Eye Health & Safety Month

Pleasure Your Mate Month

National Skin Care Awareness Month

National Preparedness Month

National Pediculosis (Head Lice) Prevention Month

National Sickle Cell Month

National Recovery Month

Sea Cadet Month

Childrens’ Good Manners Month

National Osteopathic Medicine Month

National Home Furnishings Month

National DNA, Geonomics & Stem Cell Education Month

Library Card Sign-up Month

International People Skills Month

Happy Cat Month

College Savings Month

National Rice Month

Go Wild During California Wild Rice Month

Eat Chicken Month

National Blueberry Popsicle Month

Whole Grains Month

National Organic Harvest Month

National Prime Beef Month

Passion Fruit and Peach Month
Peas and Radish Month

Bourbon Heritage Month
Chili Peppers and Figs Month

Great American Low-Cholesterol, Low-fat Pizza Bake Month

Hunger Action Month

National Honey Month

National Mushroom Month

Better Breakfast Month
All American Breakfast Month

Baby Safety Month

National Child Awareness Month

National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month

Backpack Safety America Month
Atrial Fibrillation Month

Disclaimer:
Much of the information in this blog is taken directly from Wikipedia, Amazon, and other sources such as holidayinsights.com, which are directly linked to within the text. Images have been taken from various sources found via Facebook, Goodsearch.com and Google.
Village Book Shop and the blogger claim no credit for the information above and no copyright infringement is intended.

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Saturday, April 6, 2013

“We read to know that we are not alone.” 
― William Nicholson

April is National Donate Life Month. It is also National Distracted Driving Awareness Month. Thousands die needlessly each year because people continue to use their cell phones while driving, handheld or hands-free. National Distracted Driving Awareness Month was introduced as a resolution in 2010 by former Rep. Betsy Markey (D-CO) and passed by the U.S. House of Representatives in a 410-2 vote on March 23, 2010. The resolution mentions 9-year-old Erica Forney, who was struck and killed by a distracted driver in Fort Collins, CO, in November 2008. Erica’s mother, Shelley Forney, is a founding board member of Focus Driven – Advocates for Cell-free Driving. April 6^th is Drowsy Driver Awareness Day, an annual memorial for people who have died in collisions related to drowsy driving. This is an official state-recognized “day” in the state of California.

It is day 6 of Medication Safety Week and today’s theme is Transitional Care Awareness. A change in medical regimen can be confusing and can place you at increased risk. Be diligent about communication with all healthcare professionals. Make sure you understand your medicinces and how you are to take them before leaving the hospital or doctor’s office. Ask for written instructions. Be extra cautious whenever there is a change in your medical regimen. Double-check your medicines when picking up a new or refilled prescription. If a pill doesn’t look familiar, ask why. It may be a generic of the same drug you were taking however, if you don’t ask, you won’t know! Make sure you receive written instructions upon discharge from any medical facility and insist that both the generic and brand names of each drug you are to take is included.

Today is a rather morbid day. It is Plan Your Epitaph Day. When you stop to think about it, maybe it’s best if you do it. You never know what a relative or friend may put on your tombstone once you’re gone. While we’re young, we think this is a long ways away. As we age, and get wiser, more of us consider getting directly involved with our epitaph, as well as all of the details of our demise. So, if you need a little nudge to plan your epitaph, let today be the day.

April 6^th is Army Day.

Tartan Day is a celebration of Scottish heritage on April 6, the date on which the Declaration of Arbroath was signed in 1320. An ad hoc event was held in New York City in 1982, but the current format originated in Canada in the mid 1980s. It spread to other communities of the Scottish diaspora in the 1990s. In Australasia the similar International Tartan Day is held on July 1, the anniversary of the repeal of the 1747 Act of Proscription that banned the wearing of tartan. Tartan Days typically have parades of pipe bands, Highland dancing and other Scottish-themed events.

Today is New Beers Eve. This is an unofficially holiday in the United States celebrating the end of Prohibition in the United States. The beginning of the end of Prohibition in the United States occurred as a result of the Cullen-Harrison Act and its signing into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on March 23, 1933. Sales of beer in the U.S would become legal on April 7, 1933, provided that the state in question had enacted its own law allowing such sales. The beer had to have an alcohol content less than 3.2% (4% ABV), compared to the 0.5% limit of the Volstead Act, because 3.2% was considered too low to produce intoxication. On the evening of April 6, people lined up outside breweries and taverns, waiting for midnight when they would be able to legally purchase beer for the first time in over 13 years. Since then, the night of April 6 has been referred to as “New Beer’s Eve.”

Each year on April 6, it is National Caramel Popcorn Day. In January we celebrated National Popcorn Day, however, today we add delicious caramel with the popcorn, one of America’s favorite snacks. Combining popcorn and caramel began back in the 1890′s with the strong molasses flavor of Cracker Jack, an early version of which was introduced at the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893. There are many commercial brands and forms of caramel corn that are available in grocery stores, cinemas, convenience stores. There are also specialty brands available at specialty stores, gift catalogs and online. Today would be a good day to make a homemade batch of caramel popcorn.

National STUDENT-Athlete Day (NSAD), celebrated annually on April 6, provides an opportunity to recognize the outstanding accomplishments of student–athletes. National STUDENT-Athlete Day seeks to honor those student-athletes who have achieved excellence in academics and athletics, while making significant contributions to their communities. National STUDENT-Athlete Day was created by The National Consortium for Academics and Sports (NCAS). NCAS is an ever-growing organization of colleges and universities. They have evolved in response to the need to “keep the student in the student-athlete.” The NCAS was first established by Richard Lapchick in 1985 at the Center for the Study of Sports in Society at Northeastern University and was relocated to the University of Central Florida in 2001. The mission of the NCAS is to “create a better society by focusing on educational attainment and using the power and appeal of sport to positively affect social change.”

National Teflon Day is celebrated each year on this date. Today honors the accidental invention on April 6, 1938 by Dr. Roy Plunkett. While working in his New Jersey lab that April day, Plunkett, along with his assistant, accidentally discovered polytetrafluoroethylene, which it today called, Teflon. It is a slippery substance often used in non-stick skillets. The Teflon trademark was registered in 1945. In the United States, Kansas City, Missouri resident Marion A. Trozzolo, who had been using the substance on scientific utensils, marketed the first US-made Teflon coated frying pan, “The Happy Pan”, in 1961. Dr. Plunkett was added to the Inventors’ Hall of Fame in 1985. The word Teflon also became a pop culture word in the 1980′s as President Ronald Reagan was referred to as the Teflon president since none of the bad press would stick to him and he had the ability to avoid being tarnished by certain scandals. Teflon can be found everywhere today, coating metals and fabrics, in the aerospace industry,  clothing and pharmaceuticals. Teflon cookware remains as steadfast and reliable as ever.

Today is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Day. On this day in 1830, the Church of Christ, the original church of the Latter Day Saint movement, was organized by Joseph Smith, Jr. and others at Fayette or Manchester, New York. Exactly thirty years to the day later, the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints –later renamed Community of Christ—was organized by Joseph Smith III and others at Amboy, Illinois. On April 6, 1893, Salt Lake Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints was dedicated by Wilford Woodruff.

Being the first Saturday of April, today is International Pillow Fight Day. There are massive pillow fights in cities around the world today.

Today is Sorry Charlie Day, a day that honors those who have been rejected and lived through it. We have all been rejected at some point. Take a minute today and reflect upon a past dejection. Then, smile with he realization that “_ _ it happens….to all of us!”

The weekend of April 6 – 7, 2013 has been designated as the 23rd Annual “Just Pray NO!” to drugs Worldwide Weekend of Prayer and Fasting. Since April 7th, 1991 “Just Pray NO!” Ltd. has sought to unite Christians from around the world in intercessory prayer on behalf of the addicted and their families. Not only is substance abuse America’s number one health problem, the devastation of alcoholism and other drug addiction has impacted families and communities worldwide. Substance abuse has been directly linked to violence and sexual immorality and is a major source of income for organized crime and terrorist activities. The “War on Drugs” directly impacts the “War on Crime” and the “War on Terrorism!”

Some of the writers born April 6^th include:

Jean-Baptiste Rousseau (1671), Louis de Cahusac (1706), Nicolas Chamfort (1741), James Mill (1773), Alexander Herzen (1812), Aasmund Olavsson Vinje (1818), Nadar (1820), Levon Shant (1869), Erich Mühsam (1878), Gerhard Ritter (1888), Lowell Thomas (1892), Dudley Nichols (1895), Veniamin Kaverin (1902), Julien Torma (1902), Marcel-Marie Desmarais (1908), Willis Hall (1929), Douglas Hill (1935), Homero Aridjis (1940), Cleo Odzer (1950), Rob Epstein (1955), Cathy Jones (1955), Sebastian Spreng (1956), Graeme Base (1958), Jack Canfora (1969), Anders Thomas Jensen (1972), Joe Machine (1973), Hirotada Ototake (1976), Kendra Todd (1978), and Al Mukadam (1985).

Today we remember Isaac Asimo who passed away on this day in 1992 at the age of 72. The American author and professor of biochemistry is best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books. Asimov was one of the most prolific writers of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000 letters and postcards. His works have been published in nine out of ten major categories of the Dewey Decimal Classification. Asimov is widely considered a master of hard science fiction and, along with Robert A. Heinlein and Arthur C. Clarke, he was considered one of the “Big Three” science fiction writers during his lifetime. Asimov’s most famous work is the Foundation Series; his other major series are the Galactic Empire series and the Robot series. The Galactic Empire novels are explicitly set in earlier history of the same fictional universe as the Foundation Series. Later, beginning with Foundation’s Edge, he linked this distant future to the Robot and Spacer stories, creating a unified “future history” for his stories much like those pioneered by Robert A. Heinlein and previously produced by Cordwainer Smith and Poul Anderson. He wrote hundreds of short stories, including the social science fiction “Nightfall”, which in 1964 was voted by the Science Fictions Writers of America the best short science fiction story of all time. Asimov wrote the Lucky Starr series of juvenile science-fiction novels using the pen name Paul French. The prolific Asimove also wrote mysteries and fantasy, as well as much nonfiction. Most of his popular science books explain scientific concepts in a historical way, going as far back as possible to a time when the science in question was at its simplest stage. He often provides nationalities, birth dates, and death dates for the scientists he mentions, as well as etymologies and pronunciation guides for technical terms. Asimov was a long-time member and Vice President of Mensa International, albeit reluctantly; he described some members of that organization as “brain-proud and aggressive about their Iqs”. He took more joy in being president of the American Humanist Association. The asteroid 5020 Asimov, a crater on the planet Mars, a Brooklyn, New York elementary school, and one Isaac Asimov literary award are named in his honor.

The poet Petrarch first saw his idealized love, Laura, in the church of Saint Clare in Avignon on this day in 1327.

One of the largest earthquakes recorded in the history of England, Flanders, or Northern France, took place April 6, 1580.

The New York Slave Revolt of 1712 began near Broadway on April 6, 1712.

On April 6, 1808, John Jacob Astor incorporated the American Fur Company, that would eventually make him America’s first millionaire.

On this day in 1861, the first performance of Arthur Sullivan’s debut success, his suite of incidental music for The Tempest, which led to a career that included the famous Gilbert and Sullivan operas.

The Grand Army of the Republic, an American patriotic organization composed of Union veterans of the American Civil War, was founded on this day in 1866. It lasted until 1956.

Celluloid was patented April 6, 1869.

In Athens on April 6, 1896, the opening of the first modern Olympic Games was celebrated. This was 1500 years after the original games were banned by Roman Emperor Theodosius I.

Robert Peary and Matthew Henson reached the North Pole on this day in 1909.

Varney Airlines made its first commercial flight on April 6, 1926. Varney is the root company of United Airlines.

Gandhi raised a lump of mud and salt and declared, “With this, I am shaking the foundations of the British Empire.” on this day in 1930 which began the Salt Satyagraha.

The first Tony Awards were presented for theatrical achievement on April 6, 1947.

Leonard Bernstein caused controversy with his remarks from the podium during a New York Philharmonic concert featuring Glen Gould performing Brahms’ First Piano Concerto on April 6, 1962.

The first communications satellite to be placed in geosynchronous orbit was called Early Bird and it was launched on this day in 1965.

Four California Highway Patrol officers were killed in a shootout on April 6, 1970 in what became known as the Newhall Incident. The Newhall massacre or Newhall Incident was a shootout between two heavily armed criminals and officers of the California Highway Patrol (CHP) in the Newhall unincorporated area of Los Angeles County. In less than 5 minutes, four CHP officers were killed in what was at the time the deadliest day in the history of California law enforcement. The Newhall massacre resulted in a number of changes at the CHP, including procedural changes in arresting high risk suspects and standardization of firearms and firearms training used across the department.

The American League of Major League Baseball began using the designated hitter forty years ago today.

Travelers Group announced an agreement to undertake the $76 billion merger between Travelers and Citicorp on This day in 1998. The merger was completed on October 8, of that year, forming Citibank.

Today we bring you The Winter’s Tale by William Shakespeare. We have new copies in stock.

Disclaimer: Much of the information in this blog is taken directly from Wikipedia and Amazon.   Images have been taken from various sources around the World Wide Web.

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

“A great book should leave you with many experiences, and slightly exhausted at the end. You live several lives while reading.”
― William Styron, Conversations with William Styron

Today is the 79^th day of the year. Typically the March equinox falls on this date, marking the vernal point in the Northern Hemisphere and the autumnal point in the Southern Hemisphere, when both day and night are of equal length.

Today is International Earth Day, which is always on the Vernal Equinox. This is not the same thing as the United States Earth Day which is on April 22. According to holidayinsights.com, International Earth Day was initiated to make earth inhabitants aware of their responsibility to care for the planet. This care includes environmental and natural resources. International Earth Day was founded by John McConnell, of Davis City, Iowa. In September, 1969, he proposed the establishment of Earth Day to the San Francisco, California Board of Supervisors. After approval, he gained support from many others, including then UN General Secretary, U Thant. In 1970, McConnell wrote an Earth Day Proclamation which was ultimately signed by UN Secretary General U Thant on March 21, 1971. This day is also called Sun-Earth Day.

March 20^th is Extraterrestrial Abductions Day. A good way to celebrate is by reading a good sci-fi book and keeping an eye on the sky. Who is your favorite alien?  ET? Alf? Spock?  Yoda? Let us know in the comments who your all-time favorite aliens are.

It is Proposal Day. Valentine‘s came and went and still no ring?  Today is a good day to propose to that special someone. Not looking to get married or already married? Propose something else. I propose we spend some extra time with our books today.

March 20^th is Meatout day.  According to meatout.org, this is a day for everyone to try healthy foods. They want to show you how easy a wholesome, compassionate diet can be. They want people to take the Meatout pledge to help them save 8,000 lives. They ask for people to eat vegan for today. Meatout has grown explosively since its inception in 1985 to become the world’s largest annual grassroots diet education campaign.

International Astrology Day (IAD) is an annual observance celebrated by astrologers and astrology enthusiasts and is held on the spring equinox, the day the Sun enters Aries, which is the first sign of the Tropical Zodiac, and has long been considered the astrological new year. The Association For Astrological Networking (AFAN) co-ordinates astrological lectures and events around the world. They founded this observance in 1993. The goals of the new holiday were to expand networking opportunities among the astrological community, to direct media attention to positive aspects of astrology, and to help raise funds for local astrological groups and for AFAN’s legal, media, and other networking projects.

The third Wednesday of marks is Kick Butts Day. This is a national day of activism that impowers youth to stand out, speak up and seize control against Big Tobacco.

March 20^th is National Native HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. This is a national mobilization effort designed to encourage American Indians, Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiians across the U.S. and Territorial Areas to get educated, tested, involved in prevention, and get treated for HIV and AIDS. NNHAAD was founded in 2007. The first day of Spring was chosen as the date to celebration National Native HIV/AIDS Awareness day by individuals in the community who had participated in a national survey to determine what day would be most appropriate. It was acknowledged that in many Native cultures across the US that the four seasons are highly respected in many cultures because they closely represent the cycle of life. Spring also represents a time of equality and balance and is the only day when day and night are at equal lengths. It is considered a time of profound change, new beginnings and birth, a celebration of life for all people.

Today is Snowman Burning Day. It was first celebrated in March of 1971. It was created to celebrate the transition from winter to spring, in a horrible sort of way. Not only Americans celebrate Snowman Burning Day, the Swiss do too.

“Imagine what our real neighborhoods would be like, if each of us offered as a matter of course, just one kind word to another person… One kind word has a wonderful way of turning into many.”

-Fred Roger’s

Today would have been Mr. Roger’s 85^th birthday. In honor of him, today is Won’t You Be My Neighbor Day. Celebrate today by wearing sweater and doing something neighborly.

Today is also Big Bird‘s birthday. The 8-foot, 2-inch tall yellow bird who has lived on Sesame Street since it premiered in 1969 turns 6 years old again today! The big yellow bird can roller skate, ice skate, dance, sing, write poetry, draw, and even ride a unicycle, but despite this wide array of talents, he’s prone to frequent misunderstandings. Big Bird helps children feel all right about not knowing everything because he himself does not know everything, and encourages them to inquire: a common Big Bird phrase in recent years has been “Asking questions is a good way of finding things out!” He also teaches other life, alphabet, and numerical lessons: “I guess it’s better to be who you are. Turns out people like you best that way, anyway.” For many years his best friend Mr. Snuffleupagus (who Big Bird calls Snuffy) was deemed as imaginary by the adults on Sesame Street. Every time Snuffy would visit, he would coincidentally leave just before the adults arrived. Despite not being believed by the adults, Big Bird continued to assert that Snuffy was real. In the early 1980s, a string of high-profile child sexual abuse cases caused Sesame Workshop (then Children’s Television Workshop) to eliminate this running gag, fearing that children would take to heart the message that, if adults don’t believe something out of the ordinary even when they are telling the truth, they’d be just as well off to remain silent. Big Bird took center stage on Sesame Street in the early 1980s, when the show dealt with the death of storekeeper Mr. Hooper (necessitated by the death of Will Lee, the actor who played the role). Big Bird got confused when he tried to go into Hooper’s Store to give Mr. Hooper his drawing Big Bird made of and for him. The adults tell Big Bird that Mr. Hooper is not coming back because he’s dead and when people die, they don’t come back. (“Ever?” “No, never”) Big Bird’s realization that Mr. Hooper wasn’t just gone temporarily, and Big Bird’s acceptance of Mr. Hooper’s death, have been hailed as a milestone in children’s programming. Big Bird’s precise species is unknown, and over the years, there have been varying explanations for his unusual size and appearance. During a 1976 appearance on Hollywood Squares, host Peter Marshall asked, “What kind of bird are you, by the way?” Big Bird’s responded “I’m a lark.” When Big Bird is missing in the 1978 special Christmas Eve on Sesame Street, Oscar the Grouch reassured Maria, jokingly reminding her that Big Bird is “part homing pigeon.” In a 1981 episode of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, King Friday XIII asked Big Bird if he’s related to the cassowary. Big Bird replied “actually, I’m a golden condor.” The 1998 book Sesame Street Unpaved says that Big Bird’s scientific name is “Bigus canarius”. Big Bird lives alone on Sesame Street, essentially adopted by the general neighborhood, with Susan and Gordon often acting as stand-in parents. The character was originally conceived as a kind of a yokel, it took most of the show’s first season, but the writers and performers soon came to see Big Bird not as the “village idiot,” but as a curious child. Big Bird sang Bein’ Green in honor of Jim Henson (and Kermit) during Jim Henson’s Memorial Service. During the song, he was close to tears. At the song’s end, he looked up to the heavens and said, voice breaking, “Thank you, Kermit.” Big Bird received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1994. Big Bird was featured on a US postage stamp in 1999 and on postage stamps in Fiji, Kiribati, the Cayman Islands, and Samoa in 2000. Big Bird appeared in Season 38 (Episode 1623), of Saturday Night Live as a special guest interviewee on the show’s “Weekend Update” segment in relation to the first 2012 Presidential Debate comments made by Mitt Romney over defunding PBS.

Some of the writer’s born on March 20^th include:

Ovid (43 BC), Friedrich Hölderlin (1770), Heinrich Clauren (1771), Karl August Nicander (1799), Henrik Ibsen (1828), Börries von Münchhausen (1874), B. F. Skinner (1904), Hugh MacLennan (1907), Donald Featherstone (1918), Rosemary Timperley (1920), Shaukat Siddiqui (1923), Fred Rogers (1928), Alexander Gorodnitsky (1933), David Malouf (1934), Lois Lowry (1937), Gerard Malanga (1943), Jay Ingram (1945), Douglas B. Green (1946), John Boswell (1947), John de Lancie (1948), Curt Smith (1951), Liana Kanelli (1954), Louis Sachar (1954), Mary Roach (1959), Sara Wheeler (1961), Stephen Sommers (1962), William Dalrymple (1965), Xavier Beauvois (1967), A. J. Jacobs (1968), Michele Jaffe (1970), Touré Neblett (1971), Andrzej Pilipiuk (1974), and Molly Jenson (1979).

Maximus Thrax was proclaimed emperor on this day in 235. He was the first foreigner to hold the Roman throne.

The Dutch East India Company was established on March 20, 1602.

Sir Walter Raleigh was freed from the Tower of London after thirteen years of imprisonment on this day in 1616.

On this day in 1815, after escaping from Elba, Napoleon entered Paris with a regular army of 140,000 and a volunteer force of around 200,000 and began his “Hundred Days” rule.

Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beech Stowe was published on this day in 1852.

The Republican Party of the United States was organized in Ripon, Wisconsin on March 20, 1854.

An earthquake completely destroyed Mendoza, Argentina on this day in 1861.

One hundred thirty years ago today the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property was signed. This was one of the first intellectual property treaties. It established a Union for the protection of industrial property. The Convention is still in force.

The premiere of the very first Romani language operetta was staged in Moscow, Russia on March 20, 1888.

The first international figure skating championship took place in New Haven, Connecticut ninety-nine years ago today.

Albert Einstein published his general theory of relativity on March 20, 1916.

On March 20, 1922 the USS Langley (CV-1) was commissioned as the first United States Navy aircraft carrier.

Ninety years ago today the Arts Club of Chicago hosted the opening of Pablo Picasso’s first United States showing, entitled Original Drawings by Pablo Picasso, becoming an early proponent of modern art in the United States.

Eighty years ago today Giuseppe Zangara was executed in Florida‘s electric chair for fatally shooting Anton Cermak in an assassination attempt against President-Elect Franklin D. Roosevelt.

During World War II, General Douglas MacArthur, at Terowie, South Australia, made his famous speech on this day in 1942 regarding the fall of the Philippines, in which he said” “I came out of Bataan and I shall return”.

On March 20, 1948, with a Musicians Union ban lifted, the first telecasts of classical music in the United States, under Eugene Ormandy and Arturo Toscanini, were given on CBS and NBC.

Fujiyoshida, a city located in Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan, in the center of the Japanese main island of Honshū was founded March 20, 1951. Exactly one year later the United States Senate ratified a peace treaty with Japan.

On this day in 1956, Tunisia gained independence from France.

On March 20, 1964 the precursor of the European Space Agency, ESRO (European Space Research Organization) was established per an agreement signed on June 14, 1962.

During the Vietnam War, in 1969, John Lennon and Yoko Ono held two week-long Bed-Ins for Peace in Amsterdam and Montreal, which were their non-violent ways of protesting wars and promoting peace. The idea is derived from a “sit-in”, in which a group of protesters remains seated in front of an establishment until they are evicted, arrested, or their demands are met. The public proceedings were filmed, and later turned into a documentary movie. The film Bed Peace was made available for free on YouTube in August 2011 by Yoko Ono, as part of her website “Imagine Peace”. Knowing their March 20, 1969 marriage would be a huge press event, John and Yoko decided to use the publicity to promote world peace. They spent their honeymoon in the presidential suite at the Amsterdam Hilton Hotel for a week between March 25 and 31, inviting the world’s press into their hotel room every day between 9 a.m. And 9 p.m. After their other stunts, such as the nude cover of the Two Virgins album, the press were expecting them to be having sex, but instead the couple were sitting in bed—in John’s words “like angels”—talking about peace with signs over their bed reading “Hair Peace” and “Bed Peace”. After seven days, they flew to Vienna, Austria. During April 1969, John and Yoko sent acorns to the heads of state in various countries around the world in hopes that they would plant them as a symbol of peace. Due to John and Yoko’s very public image, the Amsterdam Bed-In was greeted by fans, and received a great deal of press coverage. Following the event, when asked if he thought the Bed-In had been successful, John became rather frustrated. He insisted that the failure of the press to take the couple seriously was part of what he and Yoko wanted: “It’s part of our policy not to be taken seriously. Our opposition, whoever they may be, in all manifest forms, don’t know how to handle humor. And we are humorous.” Their second Bed-In was planned to take place in New York, but John was not allowed into the country because of his 1968 cannabis conviction. Instead they held the event in the Bahamas at the Sheraton Oceanus Hotel, flying there on May 24, 1969, but after spending one night in the heat, they decided to move to Montreal. They flew to Montreal on May 26 where they stayed at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel. During their seven day stay they invited several celebrities who sang on the peace anthem “Give Peace a Chance”, recorded by André Perry in the hotel room on June 1. In December 1969 John and Yoko spread their messages of peace with billboards reading “WAR IS OVER! If You Want It – Happy Christmas From John and Yoko”. These Billboards went up in eleven major world cities.

Libby Riddles became the first woman to win the 1,135-mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on March 20, 1985. That same day Canadian paraplegic athlete and humanitarian Rick Hansen began his circumnavigation of the globe in a wheelchair in the name of spinal cord injury medical research.

The Food and Drug Administration approved the anti-AIDS drug, AZT, on March 20, 1987.

As part of the Eritrean War of Independence, on this day in 1988, having defeated the Nadew Command, the Eritean People’s Liberation Front entered the town of Afabet, victoriously concluding the Battle of Afabet.

A sarin gas attack on the Tokyosubway killed twelve and wounded 1,300 people on March 20, 1995.

Legoland California, the first Legoland outside of Europe, opened in Carlsbad, California on this day in 1999.
On March 20, 2000, Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin, a former Black Panther once known as H. Rap Brown, was captured after murdering Georgia sheriff’s deputy Ricky Kinchen and critically wounding Deputy Aldranon English.
Ten years ago today, in the early hours of the morning, the United States and three other countries began military operations in Iraq.
On March 20, 2006 over 150 Chadian soldiers were killed in eastern Chad by members of the rebel UFDC. The rebel movement sought to overthrow Chadian president Idress Deby.

Today we bring you Hamlet by William Shakespeare.  We have new copies of The Pelican Shakespeare edition in stock.

Disclaimer: Much of the information in this blog is taken directly from Wikipedia and Amazon.   Images have been taken from various sources around the World Wide Web.

Thursday, March 14, 2013

“There is no friend as loyal as a book.”
―Ernest Hemingway

Happy Pi day! Pi Day is an annual celebration commemorating the mathematical constant π (pi). Pi Day is observed on March 14 (or 3/14 in month/day date format), since 3, 1 and 4 are the three most significant digits of π in the decimal form. In 2009, the United States House of Representatives supported the designation of Pi Day. There are many ways of observing Pi Day. These include eating pie and discussing the significance of the number π.

Today, being one month after Valentines day, is a holiday day designed to shower men with gifts they want, steak and an, uh, personal service from their signficant other that we will not be discussing in this family-friendly blog.

In Asian countries today is White Day. In Japan, Valentine’s Day is typically observed by girls and women presenting chocolate gifts (either store-bought or handmade), usually to boys or men, as an expression of love, courtesy, or social obligation. Handmade chocolate is usually preferred by the recipient because of the perception of sincerity, effort, and emotion  put into a home-made confection. On White Day, the reverse happens: men who received a honmei-choco (“chocolate of love”) or giri-choco (“courtesy chocolate”) on Valentine’s Day are expected to return the favor by giving gifts. Traditionally, popular White Day gifts are cookies, jewellery, white chocolate, white lingerie, and marshmallows. Sometimes the term sanbai gaeshi (literally, “triple the return”) is used to describe the generally recited rule that the return gift should be two to three times the cost of the Valentine’s gift. There are slightly different White Day tradition in other Asian countries. For example, in South Korea, boys or men give candies to girls or women, however, this is mostly between couples and lovers. In China, the tradition is opposite from its Japanese one. On Valentine’s Day, boys or men give chocolate to girls or women and the opposite on the White Day. In Taiwan, the White Day tradition is not as big as in Japan.White Day was first celebrated in 1978 in Japan. It was started by the National Confectionery Industry Association as an “answer day” to Valentine’s Day on the grounds that men should pay back the women who gave them chocolate and other gifts on Valentine’s Day.

Speaking of food, it is Potato chip day and Popcorn Lover‘s day. So have steak for dinner and some popcorn or potato chips for your dessert tonight.

Today is also Learn about Butterflies Day.

Some of the writers born on March 14^th include:

Kristjan Jaak Peterson (1801), Théodore de Banville (1823), Giovanni Schiaparelli (1835), Arthur William Edgar O’Shaughnessy (1844), Alexandru Macedonski (1854), Algernon Blackwood (1869), Raymond Aron (1904), Maurice Merleau-Ponty (1908), Horton Foote (1916), Max Shulman (1919), Hank Ketcham (1920), Samuel Truett Cathy (1921), Ada Louise Huxtable (1921), Phil Phillips (1931), Bertrand Blier (1939), Yves Boisset (1939), Pam Ayres (1947), Jona Lewie (1947), Michael Stedman (1949), Andrew Robinson (1957), Jean van de Velde (1957), Tad Williams (1957), Kevin Williamson (1965), Jonas Elmer (1966), Kate Maberly (1982),

Charles Ammi Cutter was born on this day in 1837. He is an important figure in the history of American library science. Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Cutter was an assistant librarian at Harvard Divinity School while still a student there. After graduation he worked as a librarian at Harvard College. While there he developed a new form of index catalog, using cars instead of published volumes, containing both an author index and a “classed catalog” or a rudimentary form of subject index. Cutter’s most significant contribution to the field of library science was the development of the Cutter Expansive Classification system. This system influenced the development of the Library of Congress. As part of his work on this system, he developed a system of alphabetic tables used to abbreviate authors‘ names and generate unique call numbers. This system of numbers (“Cutter numbers” or “Cutter codes”) is still used today in libraries. He was one of the 100 or so founding members, in 1876, of the American Library Association and is a member of the Library Hall of Fame.
Today is Albert Einstein‘s birthday. The German-born theoretical physicist developed the general theory of relativity, one of the two pillars of modern physics. While best known for his mass—energy equivalence formula E=mc2 (which has been dubbed “the world’s most famous equation”), he received the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics “for his services to theoretical physics, and especially for his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect”. The latter was pivotal in establishing quantum theory. Einstein came to the United States in 1933 and did not go back to Germany, where he had been a professor at the Berlin Academy of Sciences. He became a U.S. citizen in 1940. On the eve of World War II, he helped alert President Franklin D. Roosevelt that Germany might be developing an atomic weapon, and recommended that the U.S. begin similar research; this eventually led to what would become the Manhattan Project. Einstein was in support of defending the Allied forces, but largely denounced using the new discovery of nuclear fission as a weapon. Later, with the British philosopher Bertrand Russell, Einstein signed the Russell-Einstein Manifesto, which highlighted the danger of nuclear weapons. Einstein was affiliated with the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, until his death in 1955. He publlished more than 300 scientific papers along with over 150 non-scientific works. His great intellectual achievements and originality have made the word “Einstein” synonymous with genius.

Jerry Greenfield turns 62 today. He is an American businessman and philanthropist who co-founded Ben & Jerry’s Homemade Holdings, Inc.. In 1978 Greenfield and his friend Ben Cohen opened Ben and Jerry’s Homemade ice cream scoop shop in an old gas station in downtown Burlington, Vermont. The company has since opened almost 200 franchised shops and reports earnings of $237 million annually.

Today we remember Goerge Eastman who passed away at the age of 77 in 1932. He was an American innovator and entrepreneur who founded the Eastman Kodak Company and popularized the use of roll film, helping to bring photography to the mainstream. Roll film was also the basis for the invention of motion picture film in 1888 by the world’s first film-makers Eadward Muybridge and Louis Le Prince, and a few years later by their followers Léon Bouly, Thomas Edison, the Lumière Brothers, and Georges Méliès. He was a major philanthropist, establishing the Eastman School of Music, and schools of dentistry and medicine at the University of Rochester and in London; contributing to RIT and the construction of MIT’s second campus on the Charles River; and donating to Tuskegee and Hampton universities. In addition, he provided funds for clinics in London and other European cities to serve low-income residents. In the last few years of his life Eastman suffered with chronic pain and reduced functionality due to a spine illness. On March 14, 1932 Eastman shot himself in the heart, leaving a note which read, “To my friends: my work is done. Why wait?” The George Eastman House, now operated as the International Museum of Photography and Film, has been designated a National Historic Landmark.

On this day in 44 B.C. Casca, Cicero and Cassius decided, in the night before the Assassination of Julius Caesar, that Mark Antony should stay alive.

The Battle of Ivry occurred March 14, 1590. Henry of Navarre and the Huguenots defeated the forces of the Catholic League under the Duc de Mayenne during the French Wars of Religion.

Bavaria, Cologne, France and Sweden signed the Truce of Ulm on this day in 1647 as part of the Thirty Years’ War.

Admiral Sir John Byng was executed Mary 14, 1757 by firing squad aboard HMS Monarch for breach of the Articles of War.

On March 14, 1780, as part of the American Revolutionary War, Spanish forces captured Fort Charlotte in Mobile, Alabama, the last British frontier post capable of threatening New Orleans in Spanish Louisiana.

Emperor Teckle Giyorgis pacified a group of Oromo near Wuchale in the Battle of Wuchale on this day in 1782.

Eli Whitney was granted a patent for the cotton gin on March 14, 1794.

The Mikado, a light opera by W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan, had its first public performance in London on March 14, 1885.

The Gold Standard Act was ratified March 14, 1900. This placed United States currency on the gold standard. The gold standard is a monetary system where the standard economic unit of account is based on the fixed weight of gold.

The Hay-Herran Treaty was ratified on a hundred and ten years ago today b the United States Senate. The Colombian Senate would later reject the treaty. The treaty granted the United States the right to build the Panama Canal. Also on this day in 1903 the Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge was established by U.S. President Theordore Roosevelt.

On March 14, 1910, Lakeview Gusher, the largest U.S. oil well gusher near Bakersfield, California, vented to atmosphere. An estimated 9 million barrels (1.4×106 m3) escaped before the gusher was brought under control in September 1911.

During World War I, cornered off the coast of Chile by the Royal Navy after fleeing the Battle of the Falkland Islands, the German light cruiser SMS Dresden was abandoned and scuttled by her crew March 14, 1915.

The El Virilla train accident in Costa Rica occurred March 14, 1926. A train fell off a bridge over the Río Virilla between Heredia and Tibás, 248 were killed and 93 were wounded.

India‘s first talk film, Alam Ara, was released March 14, 1931.

Slovakia declared independence under German pressure on this day in 1939.

Orvan Hess and John Bumstead became the first in the United States to successfully treat a patient using penicillin. The patient’s name was Anne Miller.

The Kraków Ghetto was ‘liquidated’ during World War II on seventy years ago today. Two years later, on March 14, 1945 the R.A.F., as part of WWII, first operational use of the Grand Slam bombing occurred in Bielefeld, Germany.

During the Korean War, United Nations troops captured Seoul for a second time on March 14, 1951.

A jury in Dallas, Texas, found Jack Ruby guilty of killing Lee Harvey Oswald, the assumed assassin of John. F. Kennedy on this day in 1964.

The body of President John F. Kennedy was moved to a permanent burial place at Arlington National Cemetery on March 14, 1967.

Italian publisher and former partisan Giangiacomo Feltrinelli was killed March 14, 1972 by an explosion near Segrate.

The Israeli Defense Force invaded and occupied southern Lebanon, in Operation Litani on March 14, 1978.

In China on this day in 1979 a Hawker Siddeley Triddent crashed into a factory near Beijing. At least 200 people died.

In Poland, a plane crashed on March 14, 1980 during final approach near Warsaw. Eighty seven people died, including a 14-man American boxing team.

On March 14, 1995, Astronaut Norman Thagard became the first American astronaut to ride to space on board a Russian launch vehicle.

The Left Front government of West Bengal sent at least 3,000 police to Nandigram on March 14, 2007 in an attempt to break Bhumi Uchhed Pratirodh Committee resistance there. The resulting clash left 14 dead.

On March 14, 2008 a series of riots, protests, and demonstrations erupted in Lhasa and elsewhere in Tibet.

A year ago today the International Criminal Court in The Hague issued its first verdict in the case of Prosecutor vs. Thomas Lubanga Dyilo. At issue was the military use of children. Unanimously, the Trial Chamber, led by Sir Adrian Fulford, found Lubanga guilty of the war crime of conscripting and enlisting children under the age of 15 and using them in his rebel army The Union of Congolese Patriots.

Today we highlight the much loved classic Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. We have a couple of versions in stock.  This is often a required reading assignment for many students. A brief synopsis of the story:

Tragic tale of star-crossed lovers, feuding families, and timeless passion contains some of Shakespeare’s most beautiful and lyrical love poetry. This inexpensive edition includes the complete, unabridged text with explanatory footnotes. Ideal for classroom use, it is a wonderful addition to the home library of anyone wanting to savor one of literature’s most sublime paeans to young love.

Disclaimer: Much of the information in this blog is taken directly from Wikipedia and Amazon.   Images have been taken from various sources around the World Wide Web.

Friday, March 1, 2013

“A room without books is like a body without a soul.”
―Marcus Tullius Cicero

Happy March to our readers. Today is the 60^th day of 2013. Time flies when you’re having fun. Are you having fun so far this year?

Today is National Reading Day. Read Across America is an initiative on reading created by the National Education Association. One part of the project is National Read Across America Day, an observance in the United States held on the school day closest to March 2, the birthday of Dr. Seuss.

March is American Dietetic Association‘s National Nutrition Month,  American Red Cross Month, and Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month.

March’s birthstones are aquamarine and bloodstone.  These stones symbolize courage. Its birth flower is the Daffodil. The zodiac signs for the month of March are Pisces (astrology) (until March 19) and Aries (astrology) (March 20 onwards).

Self-injury Awareness Day (SIAD) is a grassroots annual global awareness event / campaign on March 1, where on this day, and in the weeks leading up to it, some people choose to be more open about their own self-harm, and awareness organizations make special efforts to raise awareness about self-harm and self-injury. Some people wear an orange awareness ribbon, write “LOVE” on their arms, draw a butterfly on their wrists in awareness of “the Butterfly Project” wristband or beaded bracelet to encourage awareness of self-harm. The goal of the people who observe SIAD is to break down the common stereotypes surrounding self-harm and to educate medical professionals about the condition.

March first is National Horse Protection Day.  This holiday was created to raise awareness through public education about the plight of horses in America, the abuse, neglect, homelessness and slaughter and to promote adoption events around the nation on March 1st to help unwanted horses find a forever home.

March first is also National Pig Day, which is an event held annually in the United States to celebrate the pig. The holiday celebration was started in 1972 by sisters Ellen Stanley and Mary Lynne Rave. According to Rave the purpose of National Pig Day is “to accord the pig its rightful, though generally unrecognized, place as one of man’s most intellectual and domesticated animals.” The holiday is most often celebrated in the Midwest. National Pig Day includes events at zoos, schools, nursing homes, and sporting events around the United States. It is also recognized at “pig parties” where pink pig punch and pork delicacies are served, and pink ribbon pigtails are tied around trees in the pigs’ honor.

Some of the writers born on March 1^st include:

Martial (40), William Dean Howells (1837), Giles Lytton Strachey (1880), Oskar Kokoschka (1886), Ryūnosuke Akutagawa (1892), Moriz Seeler (1896), Ralph Ellison (1914), Robert Lowell (1917), Richard Wilbur (1921), Péter Kuczka (1923), Arnold Drake (1924), Jean-Edern Hallier (1936), Alan Thicke (1947), Steven Barnes (1952), Nevada Barr (1952), Mary Lou Lord (1965), Jason V Brock (1970), Éowyn (1979), Elan Sara DeFan (1983), and Justin Bieber (1994).

Also born today was Wilford Woodruff, Sr., in 1807. He was the fourth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Woodruff’s large collection of diaries provides an important record of Latter Day Saint history, and his decision to formally end the practice of plural marriage among the members of the LDS Church in 1890 brought to a close one of the most difficult periods of church history.

George Grossmith passed away on this day in 1912. He was an English comedian, writer, composer, actor, and singer whose performance career spanned more than four decades. As a writer and composer, he created 18 comic operas, nearly 100 musical sketches, some 600 songs and piano pieces, three books and both serious and comic pieces for newspapers and magazines. Grossmith is best remembered for two aspects of his career. He created a series of nine memorable characters in the comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan and he wrote, in collaboration with his brother Weedon, the 1892 comic novel The Diary of a Nobody. Grossmith was also famous in his day for performing his own comic piano sketches and songs, both before and after his Gilbert and Sullivan days, becoming the most popular British solo performer of the 1890s.

On this day in 752 BC, Romulus, the legendary first king of Rome, celebrated the first Roman triumph after his victory over the Caeninenses, following The Rape of the Sabine Women.

Twenty-three Huguenots were massacred on March 1, 1562 by Catholics in Wassy, France, marking the start of the French Wars of Religion.

The city of Rio de Janeiro was founded March 1, 1565.

On March 1, 1642, Georgeana, Massachusetts (now known as York, Maine), became the first incorporated city in the United States.

It was on this day in 1692 that Sarah Good, Sarah Osborne and Tituba were brought before local magistrates in Salem Village, Massachusetts, beginning what would become known as the Salem witch trials.

Sweden introduced its own Swedish calendar on March 1, 1700, in an attempt to gradually merge into the Gregorian calendar, reverted to the Julian calendar on this daye in 1712, and introduced the Gregorian Calendar on this date in 1753.

The first United States census was authorized March 1, 1790.

Ohio was admitted as the 17^th U.S. state on March 1, 1803.

Justice Samuel Chase was acquitted on March 1, 1805, at the end of his impeachment trial by the U.S. Senate.

A convention of delegates from 57 Texas communities convened on this day in 1836 in Washington-on-the-Brazos, Texas, to deliberate independence from Mexico.

President John Tyler signed a bill on March 1, 1845 that authorized the United States to annex the Republic of Texas.

The state of Michigan formally abolished capital punishment on the first of March in 1847.

Nebraska became the 37^th U.S. state on March 1, 1867. Lancaster, Nebraska was renamed Lincoln and became the state capital.

It was on this day in 1872 that Yellowstone National Park was established as the world’s first national park.

E. Remington and Sons in Ilion, New York began production on arch 1, 1873 of the first practical typewriter.

Nikola Tesla gave the first public demonstration of radio in St. Louis, Missouri 120 years ago today.

On this day in 1896, the Battle of Adowa occurred in which an Ethiopian army defeated an outnumbered Italian force, ending the First Italo—Ethiopian War.

Henri Becquerel discovered radioactivity on March 1, 1896.

The Australian Army was formed on this day in 1901.

The worst avalanche in United States history buried a Great Northern Railway train in northeastern King County, Washington on March 1, 1910. Ninety-six people were killed.

One hundred and one years ago today Albert Berry made the first parachute jump from a moving airplane.

Ninety-nine years ago today the Republic of China joined the Universal Postal Union.

The U.S. government released the unencrypted text of the Zimmermann Telegram to the public on this day in 1917.

March 1^st Movement began in Korea on this day in 1919. The March 1st Movement, or Samil Movement, was one of the earliest public displays of Korean resistance during the occupation of the Korean Empire by Japan. The name refers to an event that occurred on March 1, 1919, hence the movement’s name, literally meaning “Three-One Movement” or “March First Movement” in Korean. It is also sometimes referred to as the Manse Demonstrations.

On March 1, 1932 the son of Charles Lindbergh, Charles Augustus Lindbergh III was kidnapped.

The Hoover Dam was completed on this day in 1936. On the same day that the Hoover Dam was completed a strike occurred aboard the S.S. California which led to the demise of the International Seamen’s Union and the creation of the National Maritime Union.

On March 1, 1941, W47NV (now known as WSM-FM) began operations in Nashville, Tennessee becoming the first FM radio station in the U.S..

The International Monetary Fund began financial operations on March 1, 1947. IMF is an international organization that stated goal was to stabilize exchange rates and assist the reconstruction of the world’s international payment system post World War II. Countries contribute money to a pool through a quota system from which countries with payment imbalances can borrow funds temporarily. Through this activity and others such as surveillance of its members’ economies and policies, the IMF works to improve the economies of its member countries. The IMF describes itself as “an organization of 188 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world.” Its headquarters are in Washington, D.C., United States.

Sixty years ago today Joseph Stalin suffered a stroke and collapsed. He died four days later.

As part of nuclear testing, the Castle Bravo was detonated on Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean on March 1, 1954. This 15-megaton hydrogen bomb resulted in the worst radioactive contamination ever caused by the United States.

On March 1, 1954, Puerto Rican nationalists attacked the United States Capitol building, injuring five Representatives.

The International Air Transport Association finalized a draft of the Radiotelephony spelling alphabet for the International Civil Aviation Organization on March 1, 1956.

President of the United States John F. Kennedy established the Peace Corps. on this day in 1961.

Uganda became self-governing and held its first elections on March 1, 1961.

On this day in 1962, American Airlines Flight 1 crashed on take off in New York.

Venera 3 Soviet space probe crashed on Venus becoming the first spacecraft to land on another planet‘s surface on this day in 1966.

On March 1, 1971, a bomb exploded in a men’s room in the United States Capitol. The Weather Underground claimed responsibility. The Weather Underground Organization (WUO), commonly known as the Weather Underground, was an American radical left organization founded on the Ann Arbor  of the University of Michigan. Originally called Weatherman, the group became known colloquially as the Weathermen. Weatherman first organized in 1969 as a faction of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) composed for the most part of the national office leadership of SDS and their supporters. Their goal was to create a clandestine revolutionary party for the overthrow of the US government.

Seven were indicted for their role in the Watergate break-in and charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice on the first of March in 1974.

On March 1, 1989, the United States became a member of the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works. The Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, usually known as the Berne Convention, is an international agreement governing copyright, which was first accepted in Berne, Switzerland, in 1886.

On this day in 1990, Steve Jackson Games was raided by the United States Secret Service, prompting the later formation of the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

Yahoo! Was incorporated March 1, 1995.

Fifteen years ago today Titanic became the first film to gross over $1 billion worldwide.

On this day in 2002, Operation Anaconda began in eastern Afghanistan as part of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan.

Also on this day in 2002 the Envisat environmental satellite successfully reached an orbit 800 kilometers (500 miles) above the Earth on its 11^th launch, carrying the heaviest payload to date at 8500 kilograms (8.5 tons).

Ten years ago today management of the United States Customs Service and the United States Secret Service move to the United States Department of Homeland Security.

Also in 2003 on this date the International Criminal Court held its inaugural session in The Hague.

The US Surpreme Court ruled on March 1, 2005 that the execution of juveniles found guilty of murder is unconstitutional marking a change in “national standards”.

Seven years ago today the English-language Wikipedia reached its one millionth article, Jordanhill railway station.

On the same day that Wikipedia reached its millionth article, tornadoes broke out across the southern United States, killing at least 20. Eight of the deaths were at a high school in Enterprise, Alabama.

Today’s highlighted title is The Tempest by William Shakespeare. We have a couple different versions of this in stock including the mass market paperback Folger version.  Like many of Shakespeare’s works, this is often a required reading assignment for students. This edition is about 218 pages long.

Disclaimer: Much of the information in this blog is taken directly from Wikipedia and Amazon.   Images have been taken from various sources around the World Wide Web.