September 2007 Archives

Next week, Sept 29th - Oct 5, is Banned Books Week (BBW). This week celebrates the freedom to choose or the freedom to express one's opinion even if that opinion might be considered unorthodox or unpopular and stresses the importance of ensuring the availability of those unorthodox or unpopular viewpoints to all who wish to read them.

Here's a couple of suggestions for how to celebrate Banned Books Week:

• Read one of the top ten 2006 Challenged Books


• Check out Google's Banned Books site.


• Read Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, one of the challenged books. The full text is available from the University of Virginia Library's Electronic Text Center.


• Listen to an MP3 of Curriculum Review editor Frank Sennett's discussion of the freedom to read, book challenges in schools, and the first-ever Banned Books Week observance with American Library Association (ALA) Office for Intellectual Freedom Director, Judith Krug. It's 22 minutes long.


• Check out Amnesty USA's Banned Books site.


• Download, print, and post this Banned Books Week poster (PDF)


• Check out a list of the best sites for kids and teens in celebration of Banned Books Week, rated and reviewed by United Feature Syndicate columnist, Barbara J. Feldman.


• Take the time to read the Bill of Rights, specifically the First Amendment, and reflect on intellectual freedom, and how the freedom to read should not be taken for granted.

Speaking of the First Ammendment, I'd also like to suggest you check out a contrary opinion about Banned Books Week and what the author describes as its secret hypocrisy.

So we finally got around to exploring the "back forty" of our property, the area beyond the picket fence that borders the grassy portion behind the house. Perhaps the most intriguing part of this area is the chicken coop. Yes, I said chicken coop. Here's a photo:

We spent about two hours clearing the brush and junk from around it. In the process we found some interesting items, including these:

The scrap pile

Snowblower with weeds in the engine block

Mass DPW safety cone

Rodent trap

Oar from inflatable raft

Mysterious metal thing...

It's a solar panel!