from ALA (American Library Association dot-org):
Banned Books Week is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read. Typically held during the last week of September, it highlights the value of free and open access to information. Banned Books Week brings together the entire book community –- librarians, booksellers, publishers, journalists, teachers, and readers of all types –- in shared support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas, even those some consider unorthodox or unpopular.
By focusing on efforts across the country to remove or restrict access to books, Banned Books Week draws national attention to the harms of censorship. Check out the frequently challenged books section to explore the issues and controversies around book challenges and book banning.
Banned Books Week 2012 marks its 30th anniversary (see timeline).
Thousands of individuals and institutions across the United States participate in Banned Books Week each year, and it has grown into a premier literary event and a national awareness and advocacy campaign around censorship. In honor of the 30th anniversary of Banned Books Week, the Office for Intellectual Freedom delivers the 50 State Salute to Banned Books Week in coordination with ALA Chapters. The 50 State Salute consists of videos on how each state celebrates the freedom to read. For more information on how your organization can participate, please visit the 50 State Salute page. And for the second year in a row, we are cosponsoring the Banned Books Virtual Read-Out, where readers can declare their freedom to read by uploading videos of themselves reading from their favorite banned/challenged books. The critieria and video submission information has been updated. Please check out the Banned Books Week Virtual Read-Out page for more information.
The books featured during Banned Books Week have all been targeted with removal or restrictions in libraries and schools. While books have been and continue to be banned, part of the Banned Books Week celebration is the fact that, in a majority of cases, the books have remained available. This happens only thanks to the efforts of librarians, teachers, students, and community members who stand up and speak out for the freedom to read.
http://www.ala.org/advocacy/banned/bannedbooksweek
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Sept. 30, 10 a.m. - Red Mass for new term SCOTUS - Wash. DC St. Matthew the Apostle
from parish newsletter-web page ( http://stmatthewscathedral.org )
The 60th Annual Red Mass will be held at the Cathedral on Sunday, September 30 at 10:00 a.m., with Cardinal Donald Wuerl as celebrant and the Most Rev. Timothy P. Broglio, J.C.D., Archbishop for the Military Services, as homilist. The John Carroll Society hosts the Red Mass for its members and guests, including many government officials with attendant security. It is open to the public, but attendance is very high. . .
If you plan to attend the Red Mass, please arrive early as the fire marshal will not allow entry once the Cathedral is filled to capacity. Thank you for helping us extend the Cathedral’s hospitality to the John Carroll Society for this celebration.
Sunday, September 30, 2012 - 10:00am
The 60th Annual Red Mass will be held at the Cathedral on Sunday, September 30 at 10:00 a.m., with Cardinal Donald Wuerl as celebrant and the Most Rev. Timothy P. Broglio, J.C.D., Archbishop for the Military Services, as homilist. The John Carroll Society hosts the Red Mass for its members and guests, including many government officials with attendant security. It is open to the public, but attendance is very high. . .
If you plan to attend the Red Mass, please arrive early as the fire marshal will not allow entry once the Cathedral is filled to capacity. Thank you for helping us extend the Cathedral’s hospitality to the John Carroll Society for this celebration.
Friday, September 21, 2012
Earliest AUTUMN - September 22, 2012, 10:49 a.m. Eastern
from Old Farmer's Almanac web list serv ( www.almanac.com/ ) - Yankee Publishing, Dublin, NH 03444
September 22—Autumnal Equinox
The earliest autumn since 1896 arrives this Saturday, September 22, at 10:49 A.M. (EDT). At this time, the Sun appears to cross the celestial equator from north to south.
As the weather cools, the days start to get shorter than the nights. See your local Sun rise and set times—it’s interesting to see how your day length changes.
The word equinox comes from the Latin words for "equal night.” Around the time of the fall and spring equinoxes, there are equal days of daylight and darkness.
However, if you look at your Sun rise and set times, you’ll notice that there aren’t exactly 12 hours of light and dark. Why not?
On the equinoxes, the very center of the Sun sets just 12 hours after it rises. But the day begins when the upper edge of the Sun reaches the horizon (which happens a bit before the center rises), and it doesn't end until the entire Sun has set.
Not only that, but the Sun is actually visible when it is below the horizon, as Earth’s atmosphere refracts the Sun’s rays and bends them in an arc over the horizon.
According to our former astronomer, George Greenstein, “If the Sun were to shrink to a starlike point and we lived in a world without air, the spring and fall equinoxes would truly have ‘equal nights.’”
An Early Autumn
September 22—Autumnal EquinoxThe earliest autumn since 1896 arrives this Saturday, September 22, at 10:49 A.M. (EDT). At this time, the Sun appears to cross the celestial equator from north to south.
As the weather cools, the days start to get shorter than the nights. See your local Sun rise and set times—it’s interesting to see how your day length changes.
The word equinox comes from the Latin words for "equal night.” Around the time of the fall and spring equinoxes, there are equal days of daylight and darkness.
However, if you look at your Sun rise and set times, you’ll notice that there aren’t exactly 12 hours of light and dark. Why not?
On the equinoxes, the very center of the Sun sets just 12 hours after it rises. But the day begins when the upper edge of the Sun reaches the horizon (which happens a bit before the center rises), and it doesn't end until the entire Sun has set.
Not only that, but the Sun is actually visible when it is below the horizon, as Earth’s atmosphere refracts the Sun’s rays and bends them in an arc over the horizon.
According to our former astronomer, George Greenstein, “If the Sun were to shrink to a starlike point and we lived in a world without air, the spring and fall equinoxes would truly have ‘equal nights.’”
Happy 65th Birthday -- to Stephen King (American author - essayist-journalist)
from Writer's Almanac (American Public Media: Garrison Keillor):
September 21, 1947 is the birthday of horror writer Stephen King, born in Portland, Maine. . . When he was 10, he was at the local theater watching a matinee of Earth vs. the Flying Saucers, and the manager interrupted the film to announce that the Soviet Union had launched Sputnik. Stephen King says that for the first time, he saw "a useful connection between the world of fantasy and that of what My Weekly Reader used to call Current Events." He decided that the main purpose of horror was "its ability to form a liaison between our fantasy fears and our real fears." After coming upon an H.P. Lovecraft paperback in the attic, he decided to write horror stories himself.
Eventually, he took a job teaching high school, and that inspired him to write about a troubled and telekinetic teenage girl. But he decided his story was worthless and threw it out. His wife, Tabitha, took it out of the trash, read it, and thought it was promising. She told him to keep writing, so he did, and Carrie was published (1974). It didn't get great reviews, but it went on to sell more than 4 million copies.
At 65, King is as prolific as ever. The eighth installment of his Dark Tower series just came out last spring (2012). His next book, due out in 2013, is a sequel to The Shining (1977), and he's currently at work on Joyland, a novel about a serial killer in an amusement park.
September 21, 1947 is the birthday of horror writer Stephen King, born in Portland, Maine. . . When he was 10, he was at the local theater watching a matinee of Earth vs. the Flying Saucers, and the manager interrupted the film to announce that the Soviet Union had launched Sputnik. Stephen King says that for the first time, he saw "a useful connection between the world of fantasy and that of what My Weekly Reader used to call Current Events." He decided that the main purpose of horror was "its ability to form a liaison between our fantasy fears and our real fears." After coming upon an H.P. Lovecraft paperback in the attic, he decided to write horror stories himself.
Eventually, he took a job teaching high school, and that inspired him to write about a troubled and telekinetic teenage girl. But he decided his story was worthless and threw it out. His wife, Tabitha, took it out of the trash, read it, and thought it was promising. She told him to keep writing, so he did, and Carrie was published (1974). It didn't get great reviews, but it went on to sell more than 4 million copies.
At 65, King is as prolific as ever. The eighth installment of his Dark Tower series just came out last spring (2012). His next book, due out in 2013, is a sequel to The Shining (1977), and he's currently at work on Joyland, a novel about a serial killer in an amusement park.
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Happy 129th Birthday to William Carlos Williams (American poet)
from Writer's Almanac (American Public Media: Garrison Keillor) broadcast
September 17 is the birthday of the American poet who wrote this highly-recognizable and oft-parodied poem:
I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox
and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast.
Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold
That's William Carlos Williams, born in Rutherford, New Jersey (1883). He was a doctor as well as a poet, and his poems often spoke of simple things: the objects of everyday life, or moments in the life of ordinary people. He summed up his poetic philosophy with the phrase "no ideas but in things."
William Carlos Williams, who also wrote, "It is difficult to get the news from poems, yet men die miserably every day for lack of what is found there."
And, "We are blind and live our blind lives out in blindness. Poets are damned but they are not blind, they see with the eyes of angels."
September 17 is the birthday of the American poet who wrote this highly-recognizable and oft-parodied poem:
I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox
and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast.
Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold
That's William Carlos Williams, born in Rutherford, New Jersey (1883). He was a doctor as well as a poet, and his poems often spoke of simple things: the objects of everyday life, or moments in the life of ordinary people. He summed up his poetic philosophy with the phrase "no ideas but in things."
William Carlos Williams, who also wrote, "It is difficult to get the news from poems, yet men die miserably every day for lack of what is found there."
And, "We are blind and live our blind lives out in blindness. Poets are damned but they are not blind, they see with the eyes of angels."
Monday, September 17, 2012
Astronaut Neil Armstrong Memorial (National Cathedral) - service details
Thursday, September 13, 2012 10 A.M.
Memorial Service for Neil Armstrong
Neil Armstrong
Washington National Cathedral and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) offered a public memorial service for astronaut Neil Armstrong at the Cathedral on Thursday, September 13. The Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde, bishop of Washington, preached the sermon. The Hon. Charles F. Bolden, Jr., Captain Eugene A. Cernan, and the Hon. John W. Snow offered tributes. The Hon. John H. Dalton read the Old Testament lesson, and Armstrong’s fellow Apollo 11 astronaut Michael Collins (St. Albans School ’48) read intercessory prayers. Diana Krall sang “Fly Me to the Moon,” and the Navy Sea Chanters and the Cathedral Choristers sang.
Saturday, September 15, 2012
The New Year upcoming (Rosh Hashanah - Jewish New Year) September 15, 2012 - 5773
from WashingtonPost columnist (Rabbi) Brad Hirschfeld --
Six things that will help you make sense of the Jewish New Year, which begins sundown on Sunday:
1. Rosh Hashanah means the head or start of the year. According to the Jewish calendar that happens on the first of the month of Tishrei, which occurs this year at sundown on Sunday, Sept. 16. It always occurs in early autumn, but the exact date on the “regular” or Gregorian calendar changes because the latter is a solar calendar while the former is a lunar calendar which keeps things seasonal by regular adding an extra month to close the gap between the moon’s cycle and solar months. The Muslim calendar, by the way, doesn’t make those additions, which is why the same Muslim holidays occur at different seasons during different years.
2. Rosh Hashanah celebrates the birth of the world and humanity. While the number 5773 corresponds to the age of the world, according to some ancient calculations, it speaks to a much larger issue which remains central to understanding Rosh Hashanah even for those of us who think that that world is far older. By celebrating the birth of the world and of humanity, not the birth of the Jewish nation or of the first Jew, Rosh Hashanah celebrates that whatever particular faith we follow, we share a common origin and destiny.
3. Rosh Hashanah promises everyone a second chance, even if it’s their hundredth one. The New Year also carries the promise of a new you. We are invited to see both ourselves and each other in light of that promise. In fact, Rosh Hashanah teaches that with a bit of work, there is no past that cannot be overcome, and no person who does not deserve the opportunity to do so.
4. Symbolic foods such as apples and honey are central to the holiday. The adage that we are what we eat is taken quite seriously on Rosh Hashanah, as those celebrating the holiday break out all kinds of foods symbolizing the sweetness, health, success and good deeds which they hope the coming year will bring. Of course, you don’t have to be Jewish to eat your wishes for the year ahead! What foods would you eat to symbolize your aspirations for the new year at work, school, or any other part of your life?
5.Rosh Hashanah is also called “the day of the horn sounding.” The horn referred to is known in Hebrew as the shofar, a curving ram’s horn that is mentioned numerous times in the Hebrew Bible, always associated with life- changing events. Perhaps the best way to think of a shofar is as an ancient alarm clock, and Rosh Hashanah as the day on which set to help wake ourselves up to becoming the person we most want to be.
6. Rosh Hashanah is about relationships. Whether between individuals and the God in whom they believe, communities and the traditions which define them, or simply between individuals, whether any God or tradition is a part of their lives, it’s all about sustaining relationships which sustain us and help us do the same for others. Rosh Hashanah invites us to reconnect, repair, and renew. Call it what you will, observe it any way you choose, but if that isn’t worthy of our attention and celebration, what is?
So Happy Rosh Hashanah to us all!
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/for-gods-sake/post/understanding-rosh-hashanah-2012--5773/2012/09/13/2d8dbb56-fdc0-11e1-8adc-499661afe377_blog.html?hpid=z10
Six things that will help you make sense of the Jewish New Year, which begins sundown on Sunday:
1. Rosh Hashanah means the head or start of the year. According to the Jewish calendar that happens on the first of the month of Tishrei, which occurs this year at sundown on Sunday, Sept. 16. It always occurs in early autumn, but the exact date on the “regular” or Gregorian calendar changes because the latter is a solar calendar while the former is a lunar calendar which keeps things seasonal by regular adding an extra month to close the gap between the moon’s cycle and solar months. The Muslim calendar, by the way, doesn’t make those additions, which is why the same Muslim holidays occur at different seasons during different years.
2. Rosh Hashanah celebrates the birth of the world and humanity. While the number 5773 corresponds to the age of the world, according to some ancient calculations, it speaks to a much larger issue which remains central to understanding Rosh Hashanah even for those of us who think that that world is far older. By celebrating the birth of the world and of humanity, not the birth of the Jewish nation or of the first Jew, Rosh Hashanah celebrates that whatever particular faith we follow, we share a common origin and destiny.
3. Rosh Hashanah promises everyone a second chance, even if it’s their hundredth one. The New Year also carries the promise of a new you. We are invited to see both ourselves and each other in light of that promise. In fact, Rosh Hashanah teaches that with a bit of work, there is no past that cannot be overcome, and no person who does not deserve the opportunity to do so.
4. Symbolic foods such as apples and honey are central to the holiday. The adage that we are what we eat is taken quite seriously on Rosh Hashanah, as those celebrating the holiday break out all kinds of foods symbolizing the sweetness, health, success and good deeds which they hope the coming year will bring. Of course, you don’t have to be Jewish to eat your wishes for the year ahead! What foods would you eat to symbolize your aspirations for the new year at work, school, or any other part of your life?
5.Rosh Hashanah is also called “the day of the horn sounding.” The horn referred to is known in Hebrew as the shofar, a curving ram’s horn that is mentioned numerous times in the Hebrew Bible, always associated with life- changing events. Perhaps the best way to think of a shofar is as an ancient alarm clock, and Rosh Hashanah as the day on which set to help wake ourselves up to becoming the person we most want to be.
6. Rosh Hashanah is about relationships. Whether between individuals and the God in whom they believe, communities and the traditions which define them, or simply between individuals, whether any God or tradition is a part of their lives, it’s all about sustaining relationships which sustain us and help us do the same for others. Rosh Hashanah invites us to reconnect, repair, and renew. Call it what you will, observe it any way you choose, but if that isn’t worthy of our attention and celebration, what is?
So Happy Rosh Hashanah to us all!
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/for-gods-sake/post/understanding-rosh-hashanah-2012--5773/2012/09/13/2d8dbb56-fdc0-11e1-8adc-499661afe377_blog.html?hpid=z10
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