For the English Majors

I have found a new and interesting site. The Literature Map will work like a Read-a-Likes, or will just give you something to do. I hope you have lots of fun messing with it. And Read On!

Fat Squirrels

While attending the Stitch-n-Bitch last Monday night with Kathy, Heather, Sandi, Stephanie, and Jenn, the subject of squirrels was raised. Jenn thought that the squirrels in our town were the fattest she’d ever seen. Sandi countered with the story of her mother making cracker & cheese sandwiches for the squirrels down in her hometown. I decided to look into this topic, and here’s what I found. I thought this was all terribly funny. I can't wait for next week's Stitch-n-Bitch.

Browsing Through More Reference Books

1) What does the term “Pre-Raphaelite” Mean?
“Pre-Raphaelite” (often used to describe paintings) was actually a Brotherhood, or Society, “founded by young, enthusiastic, and inexperienced students who were dissatisfied with the Royal Academy and the state of British painting in general.” This brotherhood wanted to return the world of art back to the time before Raphael (hence the name) because they thought the art back then was more realistic and true to life.

2) What influence did Shakespeare have on the Romantic Era?
It would be better to say, “What influence did the Romantic Era have on Shakespeare?” This period rediscovered him, and many poets of the day spoke loudly of the influence Shakespeare had on them (Keats, Byron, Shelley). It was also at this time that some of Shakespeare’s personal history was circulated, and the facts that came out fit the standard of the Romantic Hero. On Continental Europe, Shakespeare’s works were being translated and adapted for other art forms (mainly opera).

Source : Encyclopedia of the Romantic Era, 1760-1850. Christopher John Muray, ed. New York, Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group, 2004.

3) Why would anyone ban Hamlet?
Hamlet has been banned in performance since it was first performed. Over the years, and depending on the locale, lines were stricken or re-written because of the way suicide/death was mentioned; Ophelia admonished her older brother; incest was mentioned; gravediggers were disrespectful; the clergy was criticized; Denmark was insulted; Danes were insulted; Ophelia’s bawdy songs; and more.

4) Of the plays listed, were there any that were banned not for their content, but because of the author?
The Importance of Being Earnest is one such play. Even though it opened on 14 February 1895 to wonderful reviews, Wilde was soon on trial for Sodomy. Within weeks of the opening, publicity was changed to strike the author’s name from anything connected with that play, or his others that were running at the time. After its initial run of about three months, no one had the courage to revive it on the London Stage (because of the Sodomite connections) until 1909, when it had another successful run.

Source : Sova, Dawn B. Banned Plays : Censorship Histories of 125 Stage Dramas. New York, Facts on File, 2004.

5) Where did Sarah Bernhardt study theatre?
Bernhardt, with the assistance of her mother’s lover, studied first at Conservatoire de Musique et Declamation, then the Comédie-Française.

6) Was Marion Davies as untalented as her fictional film alter ego, Susan Kane, in Citizen Kane?
By most accounts, no. Davies started in Broadway chorus lines when she was 16, and soon progressed to the Ziegfeld Follies. She was widely thought to be a talented comedienne, but was not often allowed to show that talent. Her lover, William Randolph Hearst, thought that she should be taken seriously, and he thought that only period pieces and melodramas were considered serious work.

Source : Lowe, Denise. An Encyclopedic Dictionary of Women in Early American Films 1895-1930. Binghamton, N.Y., Hawthorn Press, 2005.

7) The movie The Cat’s Meow suggests that Thomas Ince died on William Randolph Hearst’s yacht from a gunshot wound in the head. Is this true?
As far as anyone can guess, gossip, and conjecture, yes. There was a very small police investigation into the matter, and it is widely believed that Hearst’s power was enough to squash any further rumors or investigations. The movie The Cat’s Meow is likely the most accurate depiction of the rumor.

8) Where was Marilyn Monroe first discovered?
Monroe, born Norma Jean Mortenson, began her career as a model. Some of her photographs ended up in Yank magazine, and she was eventually signed to a contract with 20^th Century Fox.

Source : Siegel, Scott, and Barbara Siegel. The Encyclopedia of Hollywood. 2d ed. New York, Fact on File, 2004.

Searching Through Reference Books

See what I learned while browsing through the Reference Stacks :

1) Can the membership of the KKK be measured?
The only information I can find is that “in the 1920s, the Klan’s Membership was estimated to be between 3 and 5 million paid subscribers.”

2) How many African-Americans were lynched before the passage of the Civil Rights Act?
White mobs are known to have lynched 3,386 African Americans during the period between Reconstruction and the passage of the Civil Rights Act.

Source : Encyclopedia of Black Studies. Molefi Kete Asante and Ama Mazama, eds. Thousand Oaks, California, Sage, 2005.

1) Who was the first Jew to run for U.S. President?
According to the book, there hasn’t been a Jew running for U.S. President. Joe Lieberman is the first Jew to run for U.S. Vice President on Al Gore’s ticket in 2000.

2) When was the minimum wage established? How much was it?
1938; 25¢/hr.

Source : The New York Public Library American History Desk Reference. 2^nd ed. New York, Stonesong Press/Hyperion, 2003.

1) What is the general reaction to the stereotype that men who do musical theatre are gay?
Theatre is a melting pot, full of all different kinds of people. Those kinds of people are sure to include homosexuals. The authors of American Musical Theatre have, for decades, been dominantly males. Some prominent authors were openly homosexual or bisexual : Cole Porter, Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim, Harvey Fierstein.

2) When was AIDS first linked with homosexuality?
June 1981 in the Center for Disease Control’s publication Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Source : Encyclopedia of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender History in America. Marc Stein, ed. New York, Charles Scribner’s Sons/Gale Group, 2004.

1) Can the Federal Government create laws on any subject?
“The legislative authority of the Federal government in any subject area must be founded on a grant of power expressed in the Federal Constitution.” However, the Supreme Court will interpret the Constitution in whatever way they want it, depending on the circumstances.

2) Does a person own the water on his property, just because he owns the land on which the water is running?
Not necessarily. The laws differ from state to state. There are two systems of water law followed in the United States: riparian rights and appropriative rights. Under riparian law, the landowner does not own the water flowing over his land, but he does have rights to the water. Appropriative rights grant priority in the use of water to those who first put the water to productive use.

Source : The U.S. Legal System. Dennis Campbell and Winifred Hepperle, eds. Boston, Martinus Nijoff Publishers, 1983.

Seahorses Are Cuddly . . . In an odd, sharp-spiked way

These questions were sent in by a friend. I’m willing to take a guess at what his new hobby is . . .

1) How many varieties of Seahorses are there?
About 35. This List gives both the Latin and common names, as well as some photographs.

2) Which of the varieties are not endangered?
All but one; only one seahorse species, the Knysna Seahorse, Hippocampus capensis, is listed as endangered.

3) Of the varieties that are not endangered, which varieties are the most likely to survive in captivity?
Any Captive-Bred Seahorse has the most luck of surviving.

4) Of the varieties that are most likely to survive in captivity, what items are crucial to creating the most effective Ecosystem? (Live Rock, Coral, Plants, Algae, food, water temperature, water quality, lighting, etc…)
Decorate your tank with plentiful Caulerpa and other macro algae; build small clearings between algae "forests". Seahorses love to hold with their tails onto the vegetation, also they sleep in higher tank regions between the plants. Keep Temp. at 25°C. No special bright lights are needed. Flow pumps that circulate the water 2 to 4 time an hour work best.

5) What creatures are most likely to cohabitate and not threaten the captive seahorse? (Snails, crabs, slugs, fish, shrimp, anemones, etc…)
This Article best describes the ideal Tankmates for a seahorse.

Sources and other Recommended Readings :
Seahorse.org
Docslaw Seaworld
Kingdom of the Seahorse
The Conscientious Marine Aquarist
Saltwater Aquariums for Dummies

Adult Health

Some requests that have come my way . . .

1) Tried and tested measures of stress, especially for adults. Tests or measurements (surveys, instruments that have been researched and tested).

Some possible resources for you :

• A Journal Article from the American Heart Association.
• A study published by the American Heart Association.
• Everly, George S. Clinical Guide to the Treatment of the Human Stress Response. 2nd ed. Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2002.
• “Disorders of extreme stress (DESNOS) symptoms are associated with type and severity of interpersonal trauma exposure in a sample of healthy young women.” Ford, JD; Stockton, P; Kaltman,S; and Green, BL. Journal of interpersonal violence. 2006 Nov; 21(11): 1399-416.
• “Symptoms of traumatic stress and substance use in a non-clinical sample of young adults.” Edwards, C; Dunham, D; Ries, A; and Barnett, J. Addictive behaviors. 2006 Nov; 31(11): 2094-104.
  

2)How often do the benefits for medicare change? Are there changes annually or do changes occur during the year? Are the benefits better in 2006 than they were when medicare was initiated?

Based on the Official Website, you first need to know which plan of Medicare you (or your loved one) is on in order to find out if your section of Medicare has had its benefits changed recently. After browsing some of the information and Q&A pages, it appears that changes to the Medicare plan occur annually. From the Official Website of the U.S Department of Health & Human Services, I learned that Medicare was created in 1965. For more information regarding the improvement of benefits, please visit The Medicare Rights Center

3)How much blood does the average heart pump per minute, hour, day, year?

5 quarts, 75 gallons, 1,800 gallons, 657,000 gallons

Source : “The Human Heart : a living pump.” National Institute of Health, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Washington, DC. 1995.

4) Can you help me find articles or books about women's experiences with aging, particularly how they feel about themselves and their bodies as they age? Actually, anything on men's experiences with aging and their aging bodies would be helpful as well. I'm especially interested in any articles/studies that use a social psychological perspective.

Some possible resources you might find helpful :

• “Pilot study comparing physical and psychological responses in medical qigong and walking.” Kjos, V and Etnier, JL. Journal of aging and physical activity. 2006 Jul; 14(3): 241-53.
• “Chronic psychological distress and risk of Alzheimer's disease in old age.” Wilson, RS; Arnold, SE; Schneider, JA; Kelly, JF; Tang, Y; and Bennett, DA. Neuroepidemiology 2006; 27(3): 143-53.
• “Expression and ambivalence over expression of negative emotion: cross-sectional associations with psychosocial factors and health-related quality of life in postmenopausal women.” Michael, YL; Wisdom, JP; Perrin, N; Bowen, D; Cochrane, BB; Brzyski, R; and Ritenbaugh, C. Journal of women & aging. 2006; 18(2): 25-40.
• “Gender and marital-history differences in emotional and social loneliness among Dutch older adults.” Dykstra, PA and de Jong Gierveld, J. Canadian journal on aging = La revue canadienne du vieillissement. 2004 Summer; 23(2): 141-55.
• Furman, Frida Kerner. Facing the mirror : older women and beauty shop culture. New York : Routledge, 1997.

Homosexual Demographics

I was asked to find some specific statistics about American Homosexuals. At first I really didn’t think I would be able to locate them; I didn’t think questions on sexual orientation were asked in the 2000 census. It turns out, they were. I’m glad I was able to learn that. I would also like to point out that if a patron wanted more detailed information on Current Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual/Transgendered Studies, the Northern Illinois University Libraries Rare Books and Special Collection Department has an extensive collection on that topic.

I found most of my information in :

Gates, Gary J. The Gay & Lesbian Atlas. Washington, DC : Urban Institute Press, 2004.

1) Facts on % of gay students, % of self medication (alcohol, drugs) % of depression, suicide attempts, correlation of degree of risk for GBLT to suicide/depression with being raised in a conservative home life, etc.

I am not sure that I can answer this question to the patron’s satisfaction, so I’ve listed some resources that may be of use :

• Gagnon, John H. and William Simon. Sexual Conduct : the Social Sources of Human Sexuality, 2nd ed. New Brunswick : Aldine Transaction. 2005.
• American Sexual Behavior
• Gay Demographics
• “Context Matters: Effects of the Proportion of Fundamentalists on Gender Attitudes.” Moore, Laura M and Vanneman, Reeve. Social Forces, 2003, 82, 1, Sept, 115-139.
• Burack, Cynthia, and Jyl J. Josephson, Eds. Fundamental Differences: Feminists talk back to Social Conservatives. Lanham, MD : Rowman & Littlefield, 2003.

2) What percent of the Population is Gay or Lesbian?
2a) Total in United States 209,128,094
2b) Total in Illinois 8,155,995
2c) Total within a 60 mile radius of Forest Park, Illinois unknown

3) Of the total Gay and Lesbian population what is the ethnic breakdown?
3a) Total in United States unknown
3b) Total in Illinois 68% white, 14% black, 14% Hispanic, 4% other

3c) Total within a 60mile radius of Forest Park, Illinois 62% white, 16% black, 17% Hispanic, 5% other [these figures are based on statistics for Chicago, IL]

More Buffet

Even more questions and answers. Thank you to ricklibrarian, Nick, and Mother who turned these in.

1) How did Stephen Sondheim decide to write the musical Into the Woods? It is my favorite Sondheim musical and I remember seeing an interview long ago in which he discussed this.
I think that This Article will be helpful in explaining the long, collaborative process that Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine went through to create Into the Woods after their success with Sunday in the Park with George.

2) Define: a) Habeas Corpus and b) Movant
From The Oxford English Dictionary, the only dictionary to go to, in my opinion.
a) A writ issuing out of a court of justice, or awarded by a judge in vacation, requiring the body of a person to be brought before the judge or into the court for the purpose specified in the writ.
b) A person who applies to or petitions a court of law or judge with the intention of obtaining a ruling in his or her favor.

3) How many people were drafted during the Vietnam war?
4.35 million
This answer, according to the U.S. Marines Combined Action Platoons, was very difficult to come by. This question is a perfect example of why wording a question is so important to both the librarian and the patron. I found many different statistics on soldiers who served during the Vietnam War (formerly known as the Vietnam Conflict, according to the LC subject headings); who served in Vietnam during the Vietnam War; draftees who served in Vietnam. However, I continued until I found the answer to the question asked. I was surprised I that I could not find the answer on a government or non-profit organization, as those are marginally more trustworthy than the popular -.com

4) Why do most furniture stores have this awful microfiber for sofa covering? A person can see each handprint put on the furniture. Does any store carry a more traditional fabric and style?
Microfiber is popular because it repels a lot of moisture without having to be treated with chemicals. Also, its fine fibers (hence its name) trap little or no dust or lint. So, despite handprints left on the sofas, it does have its redeeming qualities. As to more traditional fabrics, I’m sure that any decent store would offer a variety of fabrics for a sofa. Home Reserve lets its customers select from over 100 fabric swatches online, and 3-in.-square samples will be mailed to them.

More than One Way

While reading a blurb on the back page of "Smart Libraries" Newsletter, I learned that Google has received a patent to help internet users search by voice-activated devices. [See also This Article for more information]. Additionally, this morning I heard on NPR that there is a website that searches for images online, using only images as opposed to Google, which finds images by matching written descriptions with the words or phrases entered by a user.

Incidentally, Chris would call this kind of unintentional convergence of the same topic "Bigley's Law."

As I learned about these two new ways of searching the internet, I was surprised to realize that no one had done this before. Or, have they, and it never caught on? Is this a breakthrough in Internet Searching, or have search engines finally caught up with the demands of all the normal people out there in space who search the internet on a regular basis? [For more lamentations of how the corporate world does not take all kinds of people into consideration when designing items for consumer use, please see my sister's adventures in pre-wedding purchases.]

So what do you think about these websites and the services they offer?

Buffet

This is a collection of all different kinds of questions. Thank you to Nick, Sarah, Kathy, and Len who sent them in.

1) Which states do not have a sales tax?
From the Federation of Tax Administrators, I learned that Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, and Oregon do not have sales tax.

2) What is the "ferberization method" of helping children sleep?
This method, introduced by Dr. Ferber, encourages parents to teach their children how to go to bed alone, from an early age. More information is available at Babycenter.com. However, there are critics of this practice, as found at this scholarly website.

3) For which team did the Lion of Flanders ride in his final Paris-Roubaix road race?
Not knowing anything about bicycle races, I found this answer by googling some terms. From The Official Website for Le Tour de France, I learned that “The Lion of Flanders” (a.k.a. Johan Museeuw) rode with the QUICK STEP – DAVITAMON team.

4) What is the difference between Calvinism and Arminianism?
Since I had to educate myself on the beliefs of Calvinists and Arminianists, I will share that information here :

Calvinists believe that mankind does not have Free Will, nor has the freedom to decide his own destiny. Therefore mankind is saved by the Grace of God, and their future is predestined.

Arminianists are followers of Jacob Arminius, whose writings were condemned by the Calvinist Snyod of Dort [isn’t that the coolest name for a meeting?] of 1618. The Arminianist movement was a reaction to the Calvinist doctrine of predestination; Arminianists believe that a person is able to earn or to lose the chance of eternal salvation.

Source : The Encyclopedia of World Faiths. Peter Bishop and Michael Darton, eds. New York : Facts of File, 1987.

Speaking Words of Wisdom...

In a very lackadaisical way, I would like to recommend The Compleat Beatles as a fantastic documentary on the Fab Four. This VHS (because it is not yet available on DVD) stands out from the other anthologies because it focuses just on the title character - The Beatles. Rather than trying to give a biography of each of the four musicians, it tells the life story of the band. A perfect example is that while explaining The Beatles' world tours, the narrator (a wonderfully expressive Malcolm McDowell) occasionally mentions John's wife; but never by name. It wasn't until a partner had an affect on The Beatles that she was named.

George Martin is interviewed extensively, and is a very compelling and charismatic presence. He shares information about recording sessions and orchestrations, and their musical influences (the only influence on The Beatles I had heard about before watching this was The Beach Boys). Brian Epstein's influence is also discussed - how he managed the band and created the neatly attired image America accepted in 1964.

The story begins in the working-class neighborhood of Liverpool, England, and the viewer is aware of the lifestyle the musicians were used to, as well as the drive all local youths felt to become 'somebody' and leave town. After following the band twice to Germany, the story starts to become familiar - but only slightly. I was surprised at how much history I gleaned from this documentary, when I thought I knew most of the story from the other productions and books I've watched/read. What's more, I shared the experience with Xander and Cameron, who knew little about The Beatles, other than what they've read in liner notes. And they (15 and 12) found it interesting. And that is high praise from a teenage male in this technological day and age.

While the documentary is over 20 years old (released in 1984), it does not lack anything; it perhaps benefits from the fact that the band had been apart only 14 years. I highly recommend it to anyone who has two free hours. Check your local libraries for availability.