Round Up

I'm doing the round-up early this week. I'll be too busy on the rest of the week.

If you would like to help break the World Record for the most people reading aloud simultaneously in multiple locations join libraries, schools and other organizations on December 13, 2006 at 12:00 noon (EST). And what is everyone going to be reading. The wonderful story of Wilbur and Charlotte. Yes, Charlotte's Web. There's more information here. BTW the current record is 155,528 readers. Nice book choice to coincide with the opening of the Charlotte's Web movie in a couple of weeks.

The New York Times has come out with their 100 Notable Books of the Year List.

I was reading Vertigo Books blog and found out some interesting information about Sonia Sanchez. Along with being an incredible poet and professor I think everyone knows that she has been a civil rights, peace and social activist for years. She also belongs to a group of incredible women who call themselves the Granny Peace Brigade. What an incredible group of women.

Back in the day my friends and I use to "go exploring". Nothing excited us more than to climb off of the "hill" at Seton Hill and see what mischief we could find. Besides cemeteries, we loved abandoned buildings. One of the other things we loved (we never found any of these abandoned in our neck of the woods though) were sanitariums or asylums. Southwestern PA has a few and I was always quite fascinated with them. Now I have lived in the WDC area for 22 years and just found out about Chestnut Lodge. Where have I been? Must explore.

Another wiki-Scholarpedia.

For your daily dose of haiku.

A friend mentioned this blog to me because she knows of my distaste for CILANTRO. Ewww.

For years I would by an Advent Calendar. I stopped buying them a few years ago because I found Leslie Harpold's online calendar and liked it so much more than the paper variety. Here is the calendar from 2005.

The Sunlight Foundation was founded in 2006 with the goal of using the revolutionary power of the Internet and new information technology to enable citizens to learn more about what Congress and their elected representatives are doing, and thus help reduce corruption, ensure greater transparency and accountability by government, and foster public trust in the vital institutions of democracy. They won the best blog in the International Weblog Awards 2006 contest.

Okay. I know that I shouldn't have bought this, it's bad for me, it's expensive. But, oh my goodness. This stuff is incredible. I made the secret family brownie recipe and put a dollop (yeah, sure a dollop)in and pure bliss.

"Be obscure clearly." E.B. White