Bob Jensen's Tidbits

Online Video, Slide Shows, and Audio
In the past I've provided links to various types of music and video available free on the Web.
I created a page that summarizes those various links --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/music.htm

In the past I've provided links to various types of music and video available free on the Web.
I created a page that summarizes those various links --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/music.htm

Historical Political Campaign Song Recordings
Getting the Message Out! National Political Campaign Materials, 1840- 1860 --- http://dig.lib.niu.edu/message/

Invented by Thomas Edison in 1877, the phonograph was a device with a cylinder covered with a soft material such as tin foil, lead, or wax on which a stylus drew grooves --- http://cylinders.library.ucsb.edu/
The University of California at Santa Barbara has over 6,000 historic cylindars that you can now listen to free over online
Cylindar Radio --- http://cylinders.library.ucsb.edu/

Online Books, Poems, References, and Other Literature
In the past I've provided links to various types electronic literature available free on the Web.
I created a page that summarizes those various links --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/ElectronicLiterature.htm

From Virginia Commonwealth University
Blackbird: An Online Journal of Literature and the Arts --- http://www.blackbird.vcu.edu/

The Adventure of the Blanched Soldier by Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930) --- Click Here

Sandwiched between Painters and Reupholsters in the Classified Adds
Police in Bucks County have charged 12 women after an investigation into prostitutes who allegedly have been advertising on the Web site Craigslist --- http://sfbay.craigslist.org/
Yahoo News, "12 arrested for prostitution ads on Web," September 9, 2006 --- Click Here

Still more alarming was last month's admission by Interior Minister Patrick Dewael that 1,529 Belgian police stations has been burgled from 2000 to 2004. The thieves made off with guns, ammunition, bulletproof jackets, bicycles, flashlights and more, according to Belga, the state news agency. And these weren't just small-town capers pulled off by Belgian Barney Fifes: Nearly half of the 325 burglaries in 2004 were in the capital Brussels (101) and the port city of Antwerp (55). Belgium is the butt of a lot of jokes in Europe. But even Belgians have to be rolling their eyes at the way their supposed defenders can't defend themselves.
"Belgian Insecurity," The Wall Street Journal, September 7, 2006 --- Click Here

Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children. This is not a way of life at all in any true sense. Under the clouds of war, it is humanity hanging on a cross of iron.
Dwight D. Eisenhower --- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eisenhower

Naturally the common people don't want war; neither in Russia, nor in England, nor in America, nor in Germany. That is understood. But after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine policy, and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is to tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.
Hermann Goering --- http://www.snopes.com/quotes/goering.htm

The wave of the future is not the conquest of the world by a single dogmatic creed but the liberation of the diverse energies of free nations and free men.
John F. Kennedy --- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_F._Kennedy

War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature, and has no chance of being free unless made or kept so by the exertions of better men than himself.
John Stuart Mills --- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Stuart_Mills

More Bias in the Press: This Time on Government Payola
Ten journalists, including two staffers with The Miami Herald's Spanish-language sister paper, received a total of more than $300,000 from the U.S. government for working on a radio and TV station aimed at undermining Cuba's communist government, the Herald reported Friday. Pablo Alfonso, who reported on Cuba and wrote an opinion column for El Nuevo Herald, was paid almost $175,000 since 2001 by the U.S. Office of Cuba Broadcasting to host shows on Radio and TV Marti, according to government documents obtained by The Miami Herald. Olga Connor, a freelance reporter who wrote about Cuban culture for El Nuevo Herald, received about $71,000, and staff reporter Wilfredo Cancio Isla, who covered the Cuban exile community and politics, was paid almost $15,000 in the last five years, The Miami Herald reported. Alberto Mascaro, chief of staff of the U.S. Cuban broadcasting office, confirmed to The Associated Press that all 10 journalists had received payments but said he did not have the details and declined to comment further.
Laura Wides-Munoz, "Report: Miami journalists on U.S. government payroll," Palm Beach Post, September 9, 2006 --- http://www.palmbeachpost.com/state/content/gen/ap/FL_Journalists_Paid.html

Pay to stop Africa migrants, Gaddafi tells Europe
European nations should pay 10 billion euros ($12.7 billion dollars) a year to Africa to help it stop migrants seeking a better life flooding northwards into Europe, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi said on Saturday. ADVERTISEMENT In a speech to an African Union (AU) ceremony, Gaddafi added that African and European leaders should meet soon to discuss the phenomenon, which has soared to unprecedented levels and touched off internal political disputes in many European states. "In our final statement we will ask Europe to pay 10 billion euros per year if it really wants to stop migration toward Europe," Gaddafi said.
"Pay to stop Africa migrants, Gaddafi tells Europe," Yahoo News, September 10, 2006 --- Click Here
Jensen Comment
Life would be fantastic if it only took money to stamp out poverty enough to end illegal immigration. But throwing money at corrupt regimes in Africa, Latin America, and Asia will hardly solve illegal immigration or its root poverty causes. It will only make brutal dictators richer and fan the fires of civil war unless miracles accompany the thrown dollars. Even working with programs that send goods (like tractors and seeds) won't work if enormous bribes must be paid to corrupt officials who care little about their poor and suffering brethren. Most of the $12.7 billion sent to Africa would boomerang back to hidden Swiss bank accounts, Paris boutiques, and Europe's luxury hotels.

It was to be "The Mother of All Raids" (ghazvat al-gha zavat) that would bring down "The House of the Spider" as promised by the sheik in his mountain hideout. The "raid" would terrify the "infidel" and hasten his demise just as the armies of Islam had destroyed the Persian and Byzantine empires with a series of ghazavat 14 centuries ago. This time, the empire that would crumble under the weight of Islam's attack was the American "Great Satan," which had been running away from its enemies for decades. It had run away from Saigon, Tehran, Beirut, Mogadishu, Kohbar and Aden. Even when attacked in the heart of New York, its real capital city, it had done little more than nurse its chagrin with petulance. History, however, is never written in advance. And this time the "cowardly infidel," far from running away, decided to return and hit back. And hit back hard. A war that was to see several sobriquets, the latest being "the war against Islamofascism," had begun. Within weeks, the sheik's hideout in Afghanistan had been invaded and its rulers sent scurrying in all directions. IT was to be "The Mother of All Raids" (ghazvat al-gha zavat) that would bring down "The House of the Spider" as promised by the sheik in his mountain hideout. The "raid" would terrify the "infidel" and hasten his demise just as the armies of Islam had destroyed the Persian and Byzantine empires with a series of ghazavat 14 centuries ago. This time, the empire that would crumble under the weight of Islam's attack was the American "Great Satan," which had been running away from its enemies for decades. It had run away from Saigon, Tehran,...
Amir Taheri, "Osama's Error," The New York Post, September 11, 2006 --- Click Here

Bush is Worse Than Bin Laden
Mark Finkelstein in the Boston Globe, September 11, 2006 --- http://newsbusters.org/node/7532

If Mr. Rumsfeld is so concerned with comparisons to World War II, he should explain why our troops have now been fighting in Iraq longer than it took our forces to defeat the Nazis in Europe.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi as quoted by Anne Plummer Flaherty, The Sun, September 7, 2006 --- http://www.nysun.com/article/38874
Jensen Comment
What a dumb comment! Firstly, "our troops" did not defeat the Nazis in World War II. It was an allied effort and the credit for inflicting the most damage to Germany without doubt was Russia. Certainly the United States and various other nations contributed greatly to the victorious outcome, but "our troops" did not defeat the Nazis. Secondly, if Russia and (former?) European allies plunged into the Iraq war like they did in World War II, the Iraq War would've probably ended in less than a year. Thirdly, however devastating the cost in money and lives might be to date in Iraq, the toll of dead soldiers and civilians is miniscule compared to World War II --- Click Here

Liberal Educators Not Welcome in Iranian Colleges: Where Academic Freedom of Speech No Longer Exists
Iran's hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called Tuesday for a purge of liberal and secular teachers from the country's universities, the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported in another step back to 1980s-style radicalism.
Nasser Karimi, "Ahmadinejad calls for purge of liberal teachers," CNews, September 5, 2006 --- http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/2006/09/05/1803328-ap.html
Academic Freedom, Iranian Style --- Click Here
Speaking to a group of students Tuesday, Ahmadinejad called on them to pressure his administration to keep driving out moderate instructors, a process that began earlier this year. Dozens of liberal university professors and teachers were sent into retirement this year after Ahmadinejad's administration, sparking strong protests from students, named the first cleric to head Teheran University.

Jensen Comment
As President Bush's political career draws to a close over the next two years, it makes little sense to focus elections on his mistakes of the past. He made some huge mistakes. His father made mistakes. Bill Clinton made some huge mistakes. Jimmy Carter made some enormous mistakes dealing with Iran that confined him to a single term as President of the United States. There's now wearisome political debate over the lack of ties between al Qaeda and Saddam. Saddam is history! Without doubt Iraq is now a major base for al Qaeda and other terrorist groups. Our abrupt cutting and running will energize terrorists and give them a safe haven for training and coordinating future attacks.

My point is that Bush's decision to take out Saddam undoubtedly strengthened the terrorist bases in Iraq. The terrorists would've had a more difficult time with Saddam than they do in the disarray of Iraq today. Certainly the new Iraq army will be more helpless in squashing the terror groups than President Mousharif is today in Pakistan where terror groups are gaining a larger and more dangerous stronghold as well. As long as Jihad's terrorists have victorious (over the U.S.) freedom in Iraq and Pakistan they will continue to train, arm, and carry on a worldwide propaganda war to win converts to violent Jihad. To those that want us entirely out of Iraq I say be careful what you wish for because you may get it!

It may have been President Bush who played into terrorist hands by taking out Saddam, but that's history! Our worry is with terrorism of the future given the bases of terror that are growing by double digits at the moment, especially in Iraq. We're losing the propaganda war by focusing on the past rather than the future. Our surrender in Iraq will fan the fires of violent Jihad.

Taking out an aging Osama Bin Laden may further fan those fires of Jihad. Keeping Bin Laden alive in some cave may be more of an asset to us than a liability at this point in time. Keeping terrorists at bay in Iraq is far more important. The USA is the Great Satan that will not be hated any less by abruptly surrendering in Iraq. We will be loved by Islamic extremists only when our economy implodes and only illiterate harems wearing burkas are allowed on the streets while accompanied by their ruling husbands.

A Court Decision Allowing Guns on Campus
The state's highest court ruled Friday that the University of Utah has no right to ban guns on campus, rejecting the argument that prohibiting firearms is part of the school's power to control academic affairs. Writing for the 4-1 majority, Utah Supreme Court Justice Jill Parrish said case law "is incompatible with the university's position." "We simply cannot agree with the proposition that the Utah Constitution restricts the Legislature's ability to enact firearms laws pertaining to the university," Parrish wrote.
Pamela Manson and Sheena McFarland, "Court shoots down U. gun ban Justices say school no exception to Utah law; case goes back to feds, "The Salt Lake Tribune," September 9, 2006 --- http://www.sltrib.com/ci_4311399

CatsCradle 3.5 --- http://www.stormdance.net/software/catscradle/overview.htm
Many websurfers enjoy going to sites that might be based in other countries, and as such, they might very well encounter a different language. With CatsCradle 3.5, these persons need worry no more, as this application can be used to translate entire websites in such languages as Thai, Chinese, Japanese, and Russian. This version is compatible with all computers running Windows XP or 2000. (Scout Report, September 1, 2006)

I remember one of mine evaluations that read: "The best thing about the course is that classes sometimes ended early."

One of my colleagues received one that read: "Until I took this course I did not know that leisure suits came in so many different shades of pastel."

Years ago one of my econometrics professors received the following comment: "After the first minute of the course he turned toward the blackboard and we never again laid eyes upon his front side."

Jensen Comment
I wonder what it might take to have a research paper written and published so a poor professor can get a better raise or maybe even tenure? At worst it could give that professor with writer's block a booster paper that can be embellished. Think of the possibilities. Maybe us retired professors should hire out, but certainly not for ten bucks per page. This is only idle speculation since absolutely no instructor wants a term paper on FAS 133. Sigh!

September 10, 2006 reply from MacEwan Wright, Victoria University [Mac.Wright@VU.EDU.AU]

What states have the best and worst report cards in higher education?
Relative to other nations, the U.S. as a whole rises up to an average grade

Bias in Elite School Admissions: Target Dumb Kids of the Rich and Famous
Over more than 20 years, Duke transformed itself from a Southern school to a premier national institution with the help of a winning strategy: targeting rich students whose families could help build up its endowment. At the same time, and in a similar way, Brown University, eager to shed its label as one of the weakest schools in the Ivy League, bolstered its reputation by recruiting kids with famous parents. While celebrities don't often contribute financially, they generate invaluable publicity.
Daniel Golden, "How Lowering the Bar Helps Colleges Prosper: Duke and Brown Universities Rise in Prestige In Part by Wooing Kids of Hollywood, Business Elite; A Debate Over Michael Ovitz's Son," The Wall Street Journal, September 9, 2006; Page A1 --- Click Here

At Harvard, over 50% of million-dollar donors got at least one of their children into Harvard
"Price of Admission: By the Numbers," The Wall Street Journal, September 9, 2006 --- Click Here

Life Experience Work Around of California's Ban on Affirmative Action Admissions

The Price Professors Pay for Choosing a "Teaching Institution"
Unlike at the research university, there was no established plan for sabbaticals or release time to further my own projects. Interviews with faculty members made clear that I was expected to be accessible to students at all times. I wondered how I could be an effective teacher if I had no chance to stay abreast of the current thinking in my field. And I wondered whether I wanted to devote my professional life to hanging out with recent high-school graduates.
Peter S. Cahn, "Teaching Versus Research," Chronicle of Higher Education, March 4, 2002 --- http://chronicle.com/jobs/2002/03/2002030402c.htm

Question
Is Harvard's curriculum tantamount to no curriculum?
What does it take at a minimum to have an undergraduate education?

But is it too quick to blame affordability relative to other major causes of dropping out of college,
especially the poor preparedness cause?

Are conflicts of interest and kickbacks among college "trustees" the norm or the exception?
But Adelphi’s trustees had never voted on his compensation; only a small committee even knew the details. Adelphi even concealed the largesse from the Internal Revenue Service for five years, incurring an $11,500 fine. The Regents also found conflicts of interest involving two trustees, including the former board chairwoman. Her insurance company was found to have gotten $1.2 million in fees for handling Adelphi’s accounts.
"University Enjoys a Renaissance After 90’s Strife," by Bruce Lambert, The New York Times, September 5, 2006 --- http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/04/nyregion/04adelphi.html

Oligopoly academic journal publishers brought this on themselves by price gouging research libraries

At last editorial boards are protesting rip-offs of oligopoly publishers
Another journal declaration of independence is in progress. The entire editorial board of Topology has resigned to protest Elsevier's refusal to lower the subscription price.
University of Illinois Issues in Scholarly Communications Blog, August 14, 2006 --- http://www.library.uiuc.edu/blog/scholcomm/

Global Warming Feeds Itself
"Greenhouse Gas Bubbling from Melting Permafrost Feeds Climate Warming at Much Higher Than Expected Rates," PhysOrg, September 6, 2006 --- http://physorg.com/news76777896.html

I worked at home this morning in order to watch the Senate Finance Committee's meeting on Executive Compensation. It was interesting but did not cut much new ground.

Predictably, the session began with the numbers (for instance that CEOs made more than 300 times the average employee in 2004), the problems of backdating options (including the need to redo tax records), and the principle-agent conflicts that arise when executives are paid large amounts of money.

Why are taxes so important of issue here? One reason is that firms can deduct over $1 million per executive only if that pay is incentive based. Back-dating the options loses that incentive component and thus disallows the deduction.

Consider the following from Busin ess Week:

"Known as Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code, that provision limits the tax deductibility of pay for the five highest-paid executives at public companies to $1 million, unless the pay is determined to be "performance-based." To qualify as performance-based pay, compensation committees must set "pre-established" and "objective" performance goals. Shareholders must approve the goals, and the compensation committee must certify they were met.....

But corporate governance experts, academics, and some members of Congress contend that many big companies have figured out how to bypass the rule by setting easy-to-reach goals that make the lion's share of executive pay �from bonuses to stock grants "performance-based" so they can write those payments off on tax returns.

BILLIONS IN LOST TAXES. The net effect, say critics, is that many companies now deduct almost all of their top executives' compensation"

Updates from WebMD --- http://www.webmd.com/

Latest Headlines on September 8, 2006

Premature Ejaculation Drug Promising

Safety of Dental Fillings Questioned

Cancer's Genetic Code Cracked

Teens Love Their Tans

Counting Calories? Count Higher

Survey: Teens Using Less Marijuana

Clean Hands, Pure Heart?

Teen Brain: It's All About Me

Orange Juice Fights Kidney Stones

RSS WebMD Health News

Latest Headlines on September 9, 2006

Chronic Depression May Run in Families

Migraine Prevention Rare in Women

Sudden Cardiac Death Not So Sudden

Week's Top Stories

Overweight Girls Suffer at School

Sleep Apnea Hurts Women's Sex Lives

Premature Ejaculation Drug Promising

Safety of Dental Fillings Questioned

Cancer's Genetic Code Cracked

RSS WebMD Health News

"Early Symptoms Can Warn of Sudden Cardiac Death," Food Consumer, September 8, 2006 ---
http://www.foodconsumer.org/777/8/Early_Symptoms_Can_Warn_of_Sudden_Cardiac_Death.shtml

FRIDAY, Sept. 8 (HealthDay News) -- "Sudden cardiac death" often isn't all that sudden, and lives can be saved by training people about the symptoms of impending cardiac arrest and what action to take, a German study shows.

"A study of 406 sudden cardiac death patients indicates that they often have symptoms, especially the typical symptom angina pectoris [chest pain] for as long as 120 minutes before an arrest," said study lead author Dr. Dirk Muller, a cardiologist and emergency physician at the Medical Clinic II, Cardiology and Pulmonology, in Berlin.

"Two-thirds of cardiac arrest patients have a history that predisposes them to sudden cardiac death," Muller added, so efforts to reduce the toll should focus on teaching their family members to recognize the symptoms and how to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

In the study, 72 percent of cardiac-arrest cases occurred at home, and two-thirds were witnessed by others.

The researchers collected information about symptoms preceding cardiac arrest for 323 patients. The most common warning sign was chest pain, which occurred for at least 20 minutes, and, in some cases, for hours, before cardiac arrest. Chest pain occurred in 25 percent of the patients whose cardiac arrest was witnessed by other persons and in one-third of other cases.

Breathlessness was the next most common symptom, seen in 17 percent of witnessed arrests and 30 percent of other cases. Other common symptoms were nausea, vomiting, dizziness or fainting.

CPR was performed on 57 patients, and 13 of them survived to be discharged from the hospital. The survival rate for those who did not get CPR was 4 percent -- 13 of 349 patients.

One notable fact was that CPR was more likely to be performed when cardiac arrest occurred in public cases -- 26 percent of the time, compared to 11 percent of the time when the attack occurred at home.

The study results were expected to be published in this week's issue of Circulation.

There are two significant messages from the study, said Dr. Ann Bolger, a professor of clinical medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, and a spokeswoman for the American Heart Association.

"The first is that people need to be educated about how cardiac symptoms can present," Bolger said. "We always try to encourage people not to discount such things as shortness of breath, things that really should demand a response, because they could be a harbinger of early death.

"The second thing is that the family is important," she added. "Many of these patients have a known history of heart problems. They are not taking us by surprise. We know that one of these things can happen to them, so, it is important to get education that if there is chest pain that does not respond to nitroglycerine, they should call 911. When a patient has active heart disease, I try to make sure that they and their family get basic training about calling 911 and get the emergency medical service on the scene. People who don't get CPR before they get to the hospital have much worse outcomes."

According to the American Heart Association, cardiac arrest is the sudden loss of heart function. The victim may or may not have diagnosed heart disease; the most common cause of death is coronary heart disease.

The AHA estimates that 330,000 Americans die each year from heart disease before reaching a hospital and urges CPR training on a large scale.

More information
For more on CPR, visit the American Heart Association.

Unusual three-drug combo inhibits growth of aggressive tumors
An experimental anti-cancer regimen combined a diuretic, a Parkinson's disease medication and a drug ordinarily used to reverse the effect of sedatives. The unusual mixture inhibited the growth of aggressive prostate tumors in laboratory mice in research conducted at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Although their drug choices may seem capricious, the researchers weren't randomly pulling drugs from their shelves. They made their discovery using sophisticated methods for delving into the unique metabolism of cancer cells and then choosing compounds likely to interfere with their growth.
"Unusual three-drug combo inhibits growth of aggressive tumors," PhysOrg, September 8, 2006 --- http://physorg.com/news76951366.html

Forwarded by Debbie Bowling

Help for chronic pain: Drug limits may be eased Restrictions on the use of powerful painkillers would be loosened for patients with chronic pain under a federal rule proposed Wednesday, allowing doctors to prescribe a 90-day supply of the drugs. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14702157/from/ET/

"Gene Called Link Between Life Span and Cancers," by Nicholas Wade, The New York Times, September 7, 2006 ---
Click Here

Biologists have uncovered a deep link between life span and cancer in the form of a gene that switches off stem cells as a person ages.

The critical gene, well known for its role in suppressing tumors, seems to mediate a profound balance between life and death. It weighs the generation of new replacement cells, required for continued life, against the risk of death from cancer, which is the inevitable outcome of letting cells divide.

To offset the increasing risk of cancer as a person ages, the gene gradually reduces the ability of stem cells to proliferate.

The new finding, reported by three groups of researchers online yesterday in Nature, was made in a special breed of mice that lack the pivotal gene, but is thought likely to apply to people, as well.

The finding suggests that many degenerative diseases of aging are caused by an active shutting down of the stem cells that renew the body’s various tissues and are not just a passive disintegration of tissues under daily wear and tear. “I don’t think aging is a random process — it’s a program, an anticancer program,” said Dr. Norman E. Sharpless of the University of North Carolina, senior author of one of the three reports.

The other senior authors are Drs. Sean J. Morrison of the University of Michigan and David T. Scadden of the Harvard Medical School.

The full implications are far from clear, but the finding that the cells are switched off with age does not seem too encouraging for researchers who hope to use a patient’s own adult stem cells to treat disease. That result may undercut opponents of research on human embryonic stem cells who argue that adult stem cells are enough to build new tissue.

Continued in article

From the Scout Report on September 8, 2006

Rossetti Archive --- http://www.rossettiarchive.org/index.html

Not unlike its contemporary, the William Blake Archive (mentioned in the January 2nd, 1998 Scout Report), the Rossetti Archive exists to advance the study of one particular painter and writer, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, "who was, according to both John Ruskin and Walter Pater, the most important and original artistic force in the second half of the nineteenth century in Great Britain." The Rossetti Archive does this by transporting traditional methods of humanities scholarship into the digital environment, by providing what will eventually be a comprehensive collection of digital versions of all Rossetti's works, supplemented with analysis, notes, and editorial commentary. Ultimately, it will be easy for scholars to use any digital object in the Rossetti Archive, as well as share their analyses, and view others' work. In addition, the Rossetti Archive is one of the collaborators in NINES (http://www.nines.org/index.html), an attempt to bring together the numerous digital humanities projects that have come online in the last 10 years, and facilitate online collaboration between scholars.

Stories on Stage --- http://www.chicagopublicradio.org/programs/specials/sos/stories.asp

Dramatic readings on the radio were a mainstay of this Marconi-infused mode of communication for decades, and in recent years, more and more public radio station have been creating their own live dramatic reading series. One such vehicle is the Stories on Stage series, which was started in 1993 on Chicago Public Radio. Essentially, each program finds a single actor reading three or four stories that share a common theme. Visitors who are seeking literary and dramatic nourishment will appreciate the fact that this site contains both current and past performances of the series for their listening pleasure. Over the years, readings have featured the works of Raymond Carver, Edith Wharton, and a special episode dedicated to the works of Tobias Wolff. Certainly, one can see that this site might be put to good use in a theater arts classroom or one dedicated to the practice of elocution or performance arts.

====== Network Tools ====

GroupMail Free Edition 5.1.032 --- http://www.group-mail.com/asp/common/downloads.asp?p=pp

Let’s be honest: While sending a mass email may not be one’s favorite way to communicate with friends, colleagues, or family, sometimes it’s just plain necessary. For those occasions, visitors may wish to take a gander at this application which eases this process. With GroupMail, users can create lists that include up to 100 recipients, and then send their messages straight away. This version is compatible with all computers running Windows 98 and newer.

LiveCargo PC Desktop 3.5.1
http://www.livecargo.com/LiveCargo/index/processfreetrial/topic/FREE_TRIAL_SIGNUP

With the rise of online collaborations, users in the business, higher education, or related fields may find this application terribly useful. LiveCargo will allow them to send large files quickly, along with offering them the ability to store said files for their convenience. This version is compatible with computers running Windows 95 and newer or Mac OS X 10.4.

"Books: Out of Print: Sylvia Plath's bedtime story. Lynne Cheney's novel. A look at the year's top used books," by Nate Herpich, The Wall Street Journal, September 9, 2006, Page P2 --- Click Here

When readers want to see how new books are selling, they check the bestseller lists or the rankings on Web sites like Amazon. But a new set of rankings has just come out for another segment of the market: books that are out of print. Last week, www.BookFinder.com , a site that lets shoppers search the inventories of about 100,000 booksellers for new and used books, released a list of the out-of-print books that were most searched-for on its site in the past year. Though these books weren't necessarily the top sellers, the report offers a look at what titles are generating interest. Below, three of the most searched-for out-of-print titles in the past year, according to the site's rankings.

The Bed Book, Sylvia Plath (1976)

One of the top out-of-print children's books has an unexpected author -- the poet Sylvia Plath, who wrote this book-length poem for youngsters. The work describes a series of magical beds, including one that grows when it's watered and another that can be used as a submarine.

Sisters, Lynne Cheney (1981)

The single most sought-after work of fiction on BookFinder this year was written by the vice president's wife. The novel, a romance set in the American frontier that had limited sales at the time of its release, currently commands prices as high as $720 at used-book sellers in BookFinder's network.

Voices of Moccasin Creek, Tate Cromwell Page (1972)

This extremely rare work chronicles the journey of Mr. Page's ancestors from Mississippi to Pope County, Ark., in the Ozark National Forest. The founder and CEO of BookFinder.com, Anirvan Chatterjee, says that books tied to a particular area can develop a strong regional following.

Forwarded by Debbie Bowling from a WSJ article

"I Just Called to Say I Love You: The sounds of 9/11, beyond the metallic roar, by Peggy Noonan, The Wall Street Journal, September 8, 2006 --- http://www.opinion journal.com/columnists/pnoonan/

Everyone remembers the pictures, but I think more and more about the sounds. I always ask people what they heard that day in New York. We've all seen the film and videotape, but the sound equipment of television crews didn't always catch what people have described as the deep metallic roar. The other night on TV there was a documentary on the Ironworkers of New York's Local 40, whose members ran to the site when the towers fell. They pitched in on rescue, then stayed for eight months to deconstruct a skyscraper some of them had helped build 35 years before. An ironworker named Jim Gaffney said, "My partner kept telling me the buildings are coming down and I'm saying 'no way.' Then we heard that noise that I will never forget. It was like a creaking and then the next thing you felt the ground rumbling."

Rudy Giuliani said it was like an earthquake. The actor Jim Caviezel saw the second plane hit the towers on television and what he heard shook him: "A weird, guttural discordant sound," he called it, a sound exactly like lightning. He knew because earlier that year he'd been hit. My son, then a teenager in a high school across the river from the towers, heard the first plane go in at 8:45 a.m. It sounded, he said, like a heavy truck going hard over a big street grate.

I think too about the sounds that came from within the buildings and within the planes--the phone calls and messages left on answering machines, all the last things said to whoever was home and picked up the phone. They awe me, those messages. Something terrible had happened. Life was reduced to its essentials. Time was short. People said what counted, what mattered. It has been noted that there is no record of anyone calling to say, "I never liked you," or, "You hurt my feelings." No one negotiated past grievances or said, "Vote for Smith." Amazingly --or not--there is no record of anyone damning the terrorists or saying "I hate them."

No one said anything unneeded, extraneous or small. Crisis is a great editor. When you read the transcripts that have been released over the years it's all so clear.

Flight 93 flight attendant Ceecee Lyles, 33 years old, in an answering-machine message to her husband: "Please tell my children that I love them very much. I'm sorry, baby. I wish I could see your face again."

Thirty-one-year-old Melissa Harrington, a California-based trade consultant at a meeting in the towers, called her father to say she loved him. Minutes later she left a message on the answering machine as her new husband slept in their San Francisco home. "Sean, it's me, she said. "I just wanted to let you know I love you."

Capt. Walter Hynes of the New York Fire Department's Ladder 13 dialed home that morning as his rig left the firehouse at 85th Street and Lexington Avenue. He was on his way downtown, he said in his message, and things were bad. "I don't know if we'll make it out. I want to tell you that I love you and I love the kids."

Firemen don't become firemen because they're pessimists. Imagine being a guy who feels in his gut he's going to his death, and he calls on the way to say goodbye and make things clear. His widow later told the Associated Press she'd played his message hundreds of times and made copies for their kids. "He was thinking about us in those final moments."

Elizabeth Rivas saw it that way too. When her husband left for the World Trade Center that morning, she went to a laundromat, where she heard the news. She couldn't reach him by cell and rushed home. He'd called at 9:02 and reached her daughter. The child reported, "He say, mommy, he say he love you no matter what happens, he loves you." He never called again. Mrs. Rivas later said, "He tried to call me. He called me."

There was the amazing acceptance. I spoke this week with a medical doctor who told me she'd seen many people die, and many "with grace and acceptance." The people on the planes didn't have time to accept, to reflect, to think through; and yet so many showed the kind of grace you see in a hospice.

Peter Hanson, a passenger on United Airlines Flight 175 called his father. "I think they intend to go to Chicago or someplace and fly into a building," he said. "Don't worry, Dad--if it happens, it will be very fast." On the same flight, Brian Sweeney called his wife, got the answering machine, and told her they'd been hijacked. "Hopefully I'll talk to you again, but if not, have a good life. I know I'll see you again some day."

There was Tom Burnett's famous call from United Flight 93. "We're all going to die, but three of us are going to do something," he told his wife, Deena. "I love you, honey."

These were people saying, essentially, In spite of my imminent death, my thoughts are on you, and on love. I asked a psychiatrist the other day for his thoughts, and he said the people on the planes and in the towers were "accepting the inevitable" and taking care of "unfinished business." "At death's door people pass on a responsibility--'Tell Billy I never stopped loving him and forgave him long ago.' 'Take care of Mom.' 'Pray for me, Father. Pray for me, I haven't been very good.' " They address what needs doing.

This reminded me of that moment when Todd Beamer of United 93 wound up praying on the phone with a woman he'd never met before, a Verizon Airfone supervisor named Lisa Jefferson. She said later that his tone was calm. It seemed as if they were "old friends," she later wrote. They said the Lord's Prayer together. Then he said "Let's roll."

This is what I get from the last messages. People are often stronger than they know, bigger, more gallant than they'd guess. And this: We're all lucky to be here today and able to say what deserves saying, and if you say it a lot, it won't make it common and so unheard, but known and absorbed. I think the sound of the last messages, of what was said, will live as long in human history, and contain within it as much of human history, as any old metallic roar.

Ms. Noonan is a contributing editor of The Wall Street Journal and author of "John Paul the Great: Remembering a Spiritual Father," (Penguin, 2005), which you can order from the OpinionJournal bookstore. Her column appears Fridays.

Stories from Sept. 11: Wives, Daughters, Mothers --- http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5784423

Forwarded by Paula

The Washington Post's Mensa Invitational once again asked readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting, or changing of one letter, and supply a new definition.

Here are this year's winners:

01. Cashtration (n.): The act of buying a house, which renders the subject financially impotent for an indefinite period.

02. Ignoranus: A person who's both stupid and an asshole.

03. Intaxication: Euphoria at getting a tax refund, which lasts until you realize it was your money to start with.

04. Reintarnation: Coming back to life as a hillbilly.

05. Bozone (n.): The substance surrounding stupid people that stops bright ideas from penetrating. The bozone layer, unfortunately, shows little sign of breaking down in the near future.

07. Giraffiti: Vandalism spray-painted very, very high.

08. Sarchasm: The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn't get it.

09. Inoculatte: To take coffee intravenously when you are running late.

10. Hipatitis: Terminal coolness.

11. Osteopornosis: A degenerate disease. (This one got extra credit.)

12. Karmageddon: It's like, when everybody is sending off all these really bad vibes, right? And then, like, the Earth explodes and it's like, a serious bummer.

13. Decafalon (n.): The grueling event of getting through the day consuming only things that are good for you.

14. Glibido: All talk and no action.

15. Dopeler effect: The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly.

16. Arachnoleptic fit (n.): The frantic dance performed just after you've accidentally walked through a spider web.

17. Beelzebug (n.): Satan in the form of a mosquito, that gets into your bedroom at three in the morning and cannot be cast out.

18. Caterpallor (n.): The color you turn after finding half a worm in the fruit you're eating.

Here's one they didn't think of:

Fartification: Protection using bad odors.

State	Prepa- ration	Partici- pation	Afford- ability	Comple- tion	Benefits	Learning
Alabama	D-	C	F	B-	B	I
Alaska	B-	C+	F	F	B-	I
Arizona	D	B+	F	B	B+	I
Arkansas	D+	C	F	C	C	I
Calif.	C	A	C-	B	A	I
Colo.	B+	A-	F	B	A-	I
Conn.	A-	A-	F	B+	A	I
Delaware	C	B	F	A-	B-	I
Florida	C	C	F	A	B	I
Georgia	C+	D+	F	A	B-	I
Hawaii	C-	C	D	B-	A-	I
Idaho	C	D+	D	C+	C-	I
Illinois	B	A	F	B+	A	+
Indiana	C	C+	F	B+	C	I
Iowa	B+	A-	F	A	C	I
Kansas	B-	A	F	B+	B+	I
Kentucky	C-	B-	F	C+	C+	+
La.	F	C-	F	C-	D+	I
Maine	B	B-	F	B	B-	I
Maryland	A-	A	F	B	A	+
Mass.	A	A	F	A	A	+
Michigan	C-	A-	F	B	A-	I
Minn.	B	A	D	A	B+	I
Miss.	D-	D	F	B	C	I
Missouri	C	B	F	B+	A	+
Montana	B+	C-	F	B-	C+	I
Nebraska	B	A	F	B+	B	I
Nevada	C-	C	F	F	C-	+
N. Hampshire	B+	C+	F	A	A	I
N. Jersey	A	A-	D	B	A	I
N. Mexico	F	A	F	D	C	I
New York	A-	B-	F	A-	B+	+
N. Carolina	B+	B-	F	B+	B	I
N. Dakota	B-	A	F	B	C+	I
Ohio	B-	B-	F	B	B+	I
Oklahoma	D+	C+	F	C	B-	+
Oregon	C-	C+	F	B-	A	I
Pa.	B	B	F	A	A-	I
Rhode Isl.	C+	A	F	A	B	I
S. Carolina	C+	D+	F	B+	C	+
S. Dakota	B	A	F	B+	C+	I
Tenn.	C-	C-	F	B	C+	I
Texas	B-	C+	F	C+	B-	I
Utah	A	B	C-	B	A-	I
Vermont	B-	C	F	A	A-	I
Virginia	A-	B	F	B+	A	I
Wash.	B	C-	D-	A	A-	I
W. Virginia	C-	C-	F	C+	D+	I
Wisconsin	B+	A-	F	A	B-	I
Wyoming	C-	B+	F	A	C-	I
U.S.	C+	B	F	B	B+	I

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