Monday, April 30, 2007

Graduation is upon us

Second blog entry of the night, (see next entry):

History of Graduation sites found here and here and here.

This is an interesting site on traditions.

Here’s a blog that tells about regalia being based on ancient traditions.

This website talks about the school Mace and the President’s Chain of office, something we don’t do here at CBCTS.

Last Day of April

“We” worked in our flower bed this weekend, guess that got this writer in the mood. Saturday was a beautiful day, so I “staked out” 2 of my dogs and got all the dead weeds and grass pulled out and new bark bedding put in. It is not one of my “top loves” but it is for a lot of people. Maybe it’s too late to begin planting a flower garden or any kind of garden for that matter (you can see how much I know about gardening) but here are some websites I found that might be helpful or enjoyable. “Forward, Hoe!” (Yeah, that was an intended pun! Sorry friend. Well, no not really.)

Kids Page: “Sow what? Plant a flower or vegetable garden”

Flower Garden design – list of links. It co-incidentally lists a Kansas City website, work "home" of this writer.

Play house for children made from live plants:
Sunflowers, Sweet pea and other climbers are planted to form the walls of your play house – leave a doorway-space. Poles and strings can train the climbers so that you even have a roof over the top. You can make this as simple or as elaborate as you wish. A friend did this years ago. You could probably find plans on line, although we didn't look for any. (Additional note: found this on another website. Look for "Living Playhouse". Here is a different idea for a living playhouse. Ah-ha, I found another site when searching for 'sunflower houses'. This one actually gives you plans. Earlier I found a similar sight that mentioned adding morning glories. O.k. this site is probably the best given as far as instructions are concerned, but she still didn't mention adding the morning glories I found elsewhere.)

Flower Garden help with tools, plans, seeds, plants appropriate for you area and more.

Don’t forget Amazon.com for any book on garden you can imagine.

Here are some other options:
Raised beds here,
Container gardens here; and here;
one more from Better Homes and Gardens website;
Water garden here and here, (a “How-to” );
and vegetable garden options.

This gives Cooperative Extension Service links for every US state.

If you ever watched “Ground Force” on TV, (Miss) Charlie Dimmick has several books on water features. Alan Titchmarsh has also published books on gardening. There were over 200 hits on Amazon.com but I am not sure they are all by the same “Alan Titchmarsh.” Tommy Walsh has published about 16 books it looks like. Check out “Ground Force” with any of the above named authors in google and there should be links to Amazon. Or go directly to Amazon and look. I couldn’t pull up anything with just author’s names, but I didn’t play around with it to find books by them.

Monday, April 23, 2007

VT Memorials (more)

Students are returning to classes at VT and the student government has asked the media to leave by 5 a.m. this morning so that life at VT can return to somewhat a more normal life. It will be interesting if they do.

Here are some memorials websites I have found.

Virginia Tech has put together a beautiful memorial page.

CNN has also done a nice page of short memorials on each of the victims at VT.

Niagra Falls was bathed in VT colors Sunday night. Picture on Fox News website.

Here’s a new website called the Va. Tech Angels, and another one.

Here is a citizens' tribute page.

BBN Radio has a page of how to pray for the tragedy.

Saturday, April 21, 2007

Cho Family's response

On behalf of our family, we are so deeply sorry for the devastation my brother has caused. No words can express our sadness that 32 innocent people lost their lives this week in such a terrible, senseless tragedy. We are heartbroken.

We grieve alongside the families, the Virginia Tech community, our State of Virginia, and the rest of the nation. And, the world.

Every day since April 16, my father, mother and I pray for students Ross Abdallah Alameddine, Brian Roy Bluhm, Ryan Christopher Clark, Austin Michelle Cloyd, Matthew Gregory Gwaltney, Caitlin Millar Hammaren, Jeremy Michael Herbstritt, Rachael Elizabeth Hill, Emily Jane Hilscher, Jarrett Lee Lane, Matthew Joseph La Porte, Henry J. Lee, Partahi Mamora Halomoan Lumbantoruan, Lauren Ashley McCain, Daniel Patrick O'Neil, J. Ortiz-Ortiz, Minal Hiralal Panchal, Daniel Alejandro Perez, Erin Nicole Peterson, Michael Steven Pohle, Jr., Julia Kathleen Pryde, Mary Karen Read, Reema Joseph Samaha, Waleed Mohamed Shaalan, Leslie Geraldine Sherman, Maxine Shelly Turner, Nicole White, Instructor Christopher James Bishop, and Professors Jocelyne Couture-Nowak, Kevin P. Granata, Liviu Librescu and G.V. Loganathan.

We pray for their families and loved ones who are experiencing so much excruciating grief. And we pray for those who were injured and for those whose lives are changed forever because of what they witnessed and experienced.

Each of these people had so much love, talent and gifts to offer, and their lives were cut short by a horrible and senseless act.

We are humbled by this darkness. We feel hopeless, helpless and lost. This is someone that I grew up with and loved. Now I feel like I didn't know this person.

We have always been a close, peaceful and loving family. My brother was quiet and reserved, yet struggled to fit in. We never could have envisioned that he was capable of so much violence.

He has made the world weep. We are living a nightmare.

There is much justified anger and disbelief at what my brother did, and a lot of questions are left unanswered. Our family will continue to cooperate fully and do whatever we can to help authorities understand why these senseless acts happened. We have many unanswered questions as well.

Our family is so very sorry for my brother's unspeakable actions. It is a terrible tragedy for all of us.

Friday, April 20, 2007

Blaming others doesn't help

This has nothing to do with libraries, but here are some of my feelings of recent days and I'm a librarian...

Hind sight is always 20/20 – but we don’t have the benefits ahead of time by its very nature. It is hind sight.
-Blaming others after the fact isn’t going to undo what was done at VT.
-Blaming others isn’t going to stop rampages in the future, either.

Evil is evil – and like it or not – it resides in all of us. The sooner we realize this is the real problem, the sooner we can address real issues and real solutions.

Every person has within him/herself the potential for violence. Fortunately, most of us don’t act upon it. Yet, we, as a culture, are so paranoid about privacy that it also contributed to what happened Monday. Had the counseling center and the police department and the faculty of the university been able to share what each other knew – it would have put up a bigger red flag. Instead they each had a piece of one and each one on its own didn’t look that damning.

Blaming the President of VT or the university police doesn’t help anything, either – not really. They just become targets of our grief and anger over what has happened. This is not constructive, proactive solutions. There were people who tried to reach out to Seung-hui. But, according to news reports, no one could break through, – not even his mother. There comes a point in time where people have to decide they want help or they want to change. No one else is to blame for what Seung-hui did. Stop the blame-shifting.

On the other hand each of us needs to take responsibility ourselves in how we treat others and how we allow our children to threat others. If you want to blame “someone else" – blame those who picked on and teased Seung-hui as he was growing up. We should examine ourselves and ask what are we doing to contribute to the breakdown of another person. Ultimately, I think, this goes back to the breakdown of the family unit, in this country and in this world.

If you will look at the crime rate since the 60’s you will see how it has sky-rocketed. Psychologists were so afraid that if we discipline our children we would warp their little psyche. Now we are reaping the seeds we have sown. Better to warp their little bottoms then to worry about their little psyche. And don’t tell me about those who use this abusively. I know that happens. But the percentage of that is very low compared to the populace. Don’t throw out the whole bushel of apples because one apple is rotten. Throw out the rotten apple. Deal with the abuser, but don’t stop the discipline. You can preserve the rest of the bushel this way.

Another thing, people, like a certain “pastor” (and I use that word reluctantly) in Topeka, KS don’t help the situation any. That does nothing to minister to those who are hurting. His actions don’t advance the kingdom of God. Whether I agree with his message or not, I am disgusted by his actions and those of his followers. I am not even going to name him because the more the media reports on him the more attention he gets. Media needs to ignore him. Scripture tells us to teach truth in love. There is no love in this man for the sinner. He shows just as much hatred as those “on the other side of evil.” What good does that do? NONE. He’s no better than a commentator on TV news I heard that was name- calling, labeling Seung-hui a maniac among other things. That doesn’t help anyone either. What good does that accomplish? That just stirs up more hatred.

Yes, what Seung-hui did was awful and upsetting and wrong, but what this “preacher” and that “commentator” are saying is just as upsetting. And, it’s disgusting.

Yes, each person in this world is responsible for his or her own actions. But blaming others solves nothing.

Right now, friends and families are hurting and grieving, including the Cho family. What an opportunity to reach out and minister to all those people in love. WOW! Let’s stop the blame game.

Thursday, April 19, 2007

Virginia Tech tragedy

We here at Calvary Bible College and Theological Seminary are touched and saddened by the events at Va. Tech. Chapel time and dorm devotions have been used to pray for the families of the victims. This has helped students to stop and realize how petty our lives become and how concerned we got over trivial things, when there are much more serious, life-threatening needs in the world and amongst those around us.

My heart goes out to the family of the victims but also to the family of Cho Seung-Hui. They are caring the grief of the students that were killed, the death of their own son as well as the anguish of the entire situation. People and ‘the public’ – in their anger about a crime and desire to vilify the person that commits that crime don’t stop to think what it is doing to that person’s family. Sometimes they are the ones needing the most support because they are the ones that are ignored at the very least, or shunned and condemned as “guilty by association.” I know from personal experience this is not always the case.

Monday, April 16, 2007

National Library Week

We are celebrating National Library Week this week with "thankyou" gifts of book marks for the faculty and staff - if they come by. :-) And hopefully we plan to have candy available on Friday for anyone who stops in. This is also Amnesty Week this week and we are doing 3 skits in chapel. Today was the first one of "Erkleline and Ernestine" - talking about all the neat resources "at the library." It went well, if I do say so myself. It was taken off the idea of the character Erkle in Family matters. (I didn't know thaaaaaaaaaaat.) Erkleline was kind of a cross between Erkle and a clumsy hillbilly. Even the unplanned dropping of the canvas, and hitting the mike with the easel (Did I do thaaaaaaaaaat?) went well with the skit. We have two more planned for this week: stewardship and (Not) loaning your library card.

We also put a bulletin board together. Being a Christian college/academic library - I try to take the theme ALA comes up with and see how I can adapt it to our situation. So this year, we cut out a sillouette and cut it into puzzle pieces. Each piece is labeled with a Godly characteristic. It is fastened to the board, with the theme above and a statement that "Hilda Kroeker Library is committed to helping godly characteristics come together in your life." i.e. When all these pieces "come together" they will make you into the person God wants you to be.

Here is the Ye Old Library Blog that tells their plans. What are you doing? Leave me a note and let me know you visited my site.

If I have time to find others I'll post them here.

libraries vs. the internet argument

There has been a debate that is becoming a long held discussion on whether the Internet and digitization would replace libraries. You may have seen this list before, but here you can read it again. Their conclusion contained this comment that says it well:
librarians are the most suited professionals to guide scholars and citizens toward a better understanding of how to find valuable information online.


Here is another list from ACRL that is along the same vein: Top Ten Assumptions for the Future of Libraries. That is from Bailey Library Staff Blog.

Here is a podcast on libraries and cataloging of the future. This is with the patron in mind and the young ones at that. There were a few comments on AUTOCAT (listserv) recently and one person pointed out (basically) that as important as it is to reach our youth, they will not be "millenial students" (my quotes) forever. We need to teach them how to be serious researchers and to have the resources available for that research.

Thursday, April 12, 2007

Have you seen “Facing the Giants”?

...I have not seen the whole movie but I did see a clip from it the other day.
Here is a review from Christianity Today:

“A variation on the standard football movie plot, Facing the Giants takes place in a southern Christian high school, where coach Grant Taylor (Alex Kendrick, who also wrote and directed the film) is struggling to keep the school's football program alive. The team isn't winning, the players are apathetic, and some of the parents are trying to have Grant replaced. When we first see him go home to his wife, Brooke (Shannen Fields), we learn that Grant's also having problems off the field; in fact, the film begins stacking the odds so high against Grant that it flirts with outright melodrama—his car won't start, his home is in a state of disrepair, he and Brooke can't conceive, money is running out, and most folks just plain don't like him.

“Then, just when things seem like they can't get any worse, a stranger shows up in Grant's office and shares a Scripture verse, saying that the Lord sent him there. Suddenly, it's a whole new ballgame! Grant prays, gets inspired, and revamps his entire philosophy of coaching. His enthusiasm spreads to the whole team, and then the whole school, and suddenly, as Grant notes, it's ‘like a whole new team.’”


Plugged’N gave even a better one. Click there to read their comments.

There’s a lot of positive and negative reactions to the movie. Here's just one. What I want to concentrate on here is not how well it was made, or how good was the acting, etc. It’s the message of the film that is important.

In particular I wanted to comment on a scene of the coach challenging his star football player to demonstrate what his very best was. Without giving too much away, the footballer had to carry another player on his back, crawl on his hands and knees to the 50 yard line, and do it blindfolded. The coach got right down on the ground with him, encouraging him all the way, challenging him to give just a little bit more, pushing, pushing, pushing, not letting the player stop until he couldn’t move another step. Did he make it to the 50?

I’ll not tell you how it ended – you’ll have to watch the movie yourself. But it certainly challenged me to think: do I really give my very best in everything I do? Not even close! Yet that is what Christ wants me, and you, to do. Wow! What a challenge! What a powerful message.

Want to find other blogs?

I didn't know about this until the other day - just one of those tidbits that you pick up from someplace else: a blog searcher.
You may already know about this - but I didn't and hadn't even given it much thought.

Monday, April 09, 2007

Easter like I’ve not done before.

This past Sunday was Easter. But this year I wasn’t in the worship service. In fact originally I wasn’t even going to be in my church at all. Now before you start throwing all those left over beginning-to-spoil Easter Eggs, hold on a minute. My High School has their Annual Alumni Banquet every year on Easter weekend. This year my own class was even planning a get together. (More on that later, …maybe) :-) So I didn’t originally plan to be home for Easter Sunday. I made arrangements for others to handle children’s church in my absence. (It was my turn to have the class.) But the more I thought about it and the closer it came the more I “rebelled” at the idea of being “there” instead of “here.”

So at the last minute I decided to come back home Saturday night after our class get together and not stay for the banquet. Sunday morning came and Liz had done a wonderful job preparing for the class. The really young ones (2’s and 3’s) stayed in another class; the 4’s, 5’s and 6’s didn’t come in until the offering was being taken up in “big church.” Liz had a story to read – the Easter story, from a children’s book. Then there were the cookies to take home (after play time) that told the Easter story. When it was time to go home and all the toys were put away, I called all the children over to the story time corner. I thought maybe I could get them to quiet down while waiting for their parents. I had brought some plastic Easter eggs in case I needed to come with something myself. I had an idea.

I took one of these eggs to tell them a story. I had read this in an email forward and maybe you have too. I couldn’t remember all the details and some of the details I left out. (How much can a 5 year old understand about a child who is “slow” or “different” not to mention “mentally handicapped”?) But it was interesting to see how quiet they got.

The story was about a teacher who had asked her students to each bring something to school in an Easter egg that represented something special to them. Some brought the expected figures of their favorite pet or favorite toy. Some even brought things that represented Easter (bunny, candy…) to them. But one little boy did something different.

When it came time for “Peter” to show what he brought, all the eyes in the room were turned to him. When he opened his egg, the teacher, trying not to be shocked, wasn’t sure if he understood the assignment. You see, Peter’s egg was empty. Peter didn’t bring anything in his egg.

I asked the children what having an empty egg meant. One of the little darlings shot his arm in the air and said, “I know, because Jesus was risen, and ‘that place’ was empty.” But he wanted to know what a tomb was. I explained that it was like a cave, where they buried people like we do in graves today. Peter understood better than any one else what was the most important thing to him: an empty tomb (grave) on Easter morning. To Peter it was important that his egg be empty because the tomb was empty.

It was such a delight to see the eyes of these little ones light up as they put together the empty egg with the empty tomb.

I told them that later that day when they’ve emptied all their Easter eggs to remember what an empty egg stands for. If it wasn’t for the empty tomb we would be celebrating Easter. It’s not always what we have or are given but sometimes what we don’t have that is the most important. We don’t have a saviour who is still in the grave. It is empty. I think the children went home that day with a new understanding of Easter.

The lesson on the empty Easter egg, and the children’s looks on their faces, was probably a better sermon than what I “missed” in Big Church. This is one Easter I won’t forget.

Thursday, April 05, 2007

My job as a Librarian is like...

Thanks to contributions from friends, here is the response:

My job as a librarian is like - a Detective - I hunt for information.

My job as a librarian is like - a Photographer - I develop collections.

My job as a librarian is like - an astronaut – I go in orbit from time to time.

My job as a librarian is like - a Handyman - I fix things.

My job as a librarian is like - a Detective - I find lost things.

My job as a librarian is like … a zookeeper – I try to keep the herd (of students) under control.

Shhh… my job as a librarian is like - a spy - I classify information.

My job as a librarian is like … an employment counselor - I help students with their references.

My job as a librarian is like - Jury or Judge – Evaluate evidence

My job as a librarian is like - a gourmet chef – Use choice ingredients (aka information) and presentation is important.

My job as a librarian is like - a Marketing expert – Devise plans to get people excited about our services

My job as a librarian is like - a Funeral director – Bury old practices (like card catalogs)

My job as a librarian is like - a Budget analyst – Decide if we have enough money based on usefulness for that new database

And too realistically sometimes - My job as a librarian is like - a Pothole Filler – Patch the carpet and other things so that they can be patched again the next year and the year after that and the year after that until someone finally gives us funding for the needed replacement

My job as a librarian is like - a lover … I am a novel lover.

My job as a librarian is like - a bookie - I am the happy booker.

My job as a librarian is like - a checkout clerk – I’m constantly scanning barcodes
Also like a James 5:16 Employment Agency - I hire student workers and pray fervently………

My job as a librarian is like - an Obstetrician - I set Due Dates and Assist with Deliveries

My job as a librarian is like - a computer - I organize and collect information that get stored for an unlimited amount of time.

My job as a librarian is like - a family physician - I prescribe things and make referrals.

My job as a librarian is like - a fast food worker in a drive-thru - students run in looking for a few articles, print off the first five that pop up and run back out the door

My job as a librarian is like - a chiropractor - I make adjustments all day long

My job as a librarian is like - a linguist - I speak MARC fluently

My job as a librarian is like - the needle of a compass - I keep trying to point researchers in the right direction.

My job as a librarian is like - a matchmaker - I match patrons to information.

(Working in a Bible college setting, sometimes I assist in matching patrons to patrons.)

Enough humor; let's get serious. My job as a librarian is like - a stable hand - I shovel....

That means librarians are very stable people, right? :)

My job as a librarian is like MapQuest, (ed.: travel agent) - I (occasionally) help students to get from point A to point B; sometimes literally.

My job as a library director is like - a rancher - only what I'm trying to herd are cats.

My job as a library director is like - a stapler - We are very good at keeping things all together.

Variations on a theme:
I’ve been waiting on all the circulation folks out there to say that their job is like a meter maid because they issue fines

In the same vein I’ve always said that God’s first job was as librarian.
In the beginning He found chaos and brought perfect order to it in only six days. Now Ray—And on the seventh day He rested.

The official librarian's hymn: "When I can read my title clear."


And here is what I came up with last night:
My job as a librarian is like -- A Gardener - I weed (books),

My job as a librarian is like -- A Seamstress - I sew (signatures together) and work with material

My job as a librarian is like -- A Chef – I cook (a book in the microwave to soften glued spines)

My job as a librarian is like -- A Mother – I mentor and nurture (my staff under me)

My job as a librarian is like -- A Diplomat – I work with an academic administration that is sometimes foreign to Library thinking.

My job as a librarian is like -- An Ambassador – I promote the library in the community

My job as a librarian is like -- A Curator – I care for old books (and old maid librarians!)

My job as a librarian is like -- A Mediator – I mediate conflicts between staff members, or staff and patrons.

My job as a librarian is like -- A Facilitator – I help bring people and the information they are looking for, together

My job as a librarian is like -- A Miner – I mine for information in metadata

My job as a librarian is like -- A Doctor – I mend (books); deal with cuts (in budgets,) breaks (in pipes), and diagnose (people’s information needs)

My job as a librarian is like -- An Opera Singer – I’m not done until this fat lady sings

My job as a librarian is like -- A Fortune Teller –I (try) to look into the future with my 5 year plan

My job as a librarian is like -- A Lawmaker –I write new policies

My job as a librarian is like -- A CIA Detective –I do reference interviews, trying to get information “covertly”

My job as a librarian is like -- A Rubber Band – I try to make my money stretch through the end of the year

My job as a librarian is like -- A Sears’ employee – I catalog material

My job as a librarian is like -- A Preacher – I try to get to the soul of the matter

My job as a librarian is like -- A Fireman – I am always ‘putting out fires’

My job as a librarian is like -- An architect/Artist – I draw up plans for library expansion

My job as a librarian is like -- A Doorman – I help people thru’ the door of knowledge to a whole new world of info.

My job as a librarian is like -- A Bridge builder – I help people cross the information gap

My job as a librarian is like -- A Music Conductor – I have to bring harmony back when there’s discord; I orchestrate meetings, staffing, events, duties, etc.

My job as a librarian is like -- A Juggler – I have to balance my budget

My job as a librarian is like -- An Explorer – I help people discover new worlds

My job as a librarian is like -- A Fruit picker – I got some information from here, and from here, and some from over here and bring it all together

My job as a librarian is like -- A Thief – I break in (books)