Scotland's Dundee University will be the first school in the United Kingdom to offer a masters degree in Comic Studies.Why Dundee? For starters it is the home of the publisher DC Thomson and Co. whose creations include Dennis the Menace, Desperate Dan and the Broons.The BroonsThe program will be lead by Dr. Chris Murray, a leading authority on comics, and editor of the Studies in Comics journal.Of the program Murray says: "Employability is an important consideration for any postgraduate programme, and it lies at the heart of what we aim to do with this course. "There will be practical advice...
Bob Dylan wants you to write a book
Did you know there are currently over 1000 books in the Bob Dylan cannon? One of the better ones and one that Dylan actually approved of, No Direction Home: The Life and Music of Bob Dylan by Robert Shelton, was just re-released with a slew of other Dylan titles to coincide with Dylan's 70th birthday. The new edition, edited by Elizabeth Thomson and Patrick Humphries, is 20,000 words longer than the original edition.So what does Dylan have to say about the plethora of material written about him? This is from a post on Dylan's website the week before his 70th...
Improve Schools: Treat students like prisoners
Check out this letter to the editor that the Superintendent of Ithaca Public Schools in Michigan Nathan Bootz sent to the local paper. The letter is addressed to governor Rick Snyder and in it Bootz simply asks for the same provisions for his students that state supplies for its prisoners!Bravo, Mr. Bootz. Dear Governor Snyder,In these tough economic times, schools are hurting. And yes, everyone in Michigan is hurting right now financially, but why aren’t we protecting schools? Schools are the one place on Earth that people look to to “fix” what is wrong with society by educating our youth...
Earth on View at the Library of Congress
The Dhofar Difference. Arabian Sea coast in the Dhofar region, 2000For nearly 40 years we've been taken pictures of our planet from space in the name of science. "Key natural processes and human land use such as vegetation growth, deforestation, agriculture, coastal and river erosion, wildfire potential, snow accumulation, reservoir replenishment, and urbanization" are all monitored through satellite imagery.Icelandic Tiger. Stretch of Iceland's northern coast, 1999Now let's forget the science part of the equation. These images "were selected...based on their aesthetic appeal. Cloud formations, mountain ranges, islands, deltas, and glaciers seen from space take on patterns resembling abstract art with...
How Green is Your Library?
No matter what steps your library is taking to become greener it will be hard to beat The Grove Library Project in Western Australia. The entire project, designed by architects Cox Howlett + Bailey Woodland, utilized environmentally sustainable design from soup to nuts. Features include:climate-sensitive building design (e.g. thermal maze, in ground heat exchange, double glazing and use of natural lighting);energy and water-efficient fixtures and fittings (e.g. dimmable lighting control and waterless urinals);rainwater harvesting;onsite treatment and reuse of wastewater;renewable energy (solar panels and wind turbine); and stormwater treatment."The aim is not only to generate water and energy savings, but also...