chosen by your "librarian without walls," Marylaine Block marylaine at netexpress.net

December 12

The 40 Best TV Theme Songs of All Time - Paste Magazine

http://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/lists/2008/11/the-20-best-tv-theme-songs-of-all-time.html
There's plenty of room for argument in the selections (the Mary Tyler Moore show theme is not there. Yes, the selections were chosen by a man.). But what nostalgia bait anyway!

Auto Bailout Legislation Discussion Draft
http://taxpayer.net/user_uploads/file/Bailout/2008-12-08_Draft_AutoBailout_Legislation.pdf
This may be a moot point by the time you see this, since Senate Republicans seem determined to filibuster this legislation to death. See also the Big Three [Automakers] Restructuring Plans Submitted to Congress <http://banking.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?Fuseaction=Articles.Detail&Article_id=573a46c4-822c-435c-8405-8b4c93516b52&Month=12&Year=2008>. As for the TARP bailout funds already committed to the financial system, see The First Report of the Congressional Oversight Panel for Economic Stabilization, <http://www.house.gov/apps/list/hearing/financialsvcs_dem/cop121008.pdf>

Green Gift Guide 2008 - Inhabitat
http://www.inhabitat.com/2008greengiftguide/
Some terrific gift ideas for your environmentalist friends and relations, browsable by gender, age, gadgets, stocking stuffers, price range, etc. Also, tutorials are available for handmade gifts.

A Home-Made Christmas - Christmas Crafts
http://familyfun.go.com/arts-and-crafts/season/specialfeature/christmas-crafts-ms/
All kinds of home-made stockings, candies, cookies, calendars, ornaments and decorations, and entertainment.

Information Today Holiday Blowout Sale
http://www.infotoday.com/
My publisher is offering 40% off on all books purchased through its web site through the end of Monday, January 12 - including my book, The Thriving Library: Successful Strategies for Challenging Times, and numerous titles by some of the best young thinkers on libraries, librarianship, information, search strategies, etc.

Literary Rock Band Names - Bookride
http://www.bookride.com/2008/11/literary-rock-band-names.html
It turns out that some of the oddest band names (Desperate Bicycles, Five Lose Timmy, Sixpence None the Richer, etc.) are chosen as hommages to the bands' favorite books, plays and poems. Commenters add lots more to the original list.

The Neglected Books Page
http://www.neglectedbooks.com/
This page, and all the similar pages it links to, should send a lot of people scurrying to libraries and used book stores. This would make a great exhibit, discussion, and program idea for libraries - you could put up your own suggestions, and ask library users to recommend their own favorites.

Pimp My Bookcart Winners, 2008 - Unshelved
http://www.unshelved.com/PimpMyBookcart/2008/
Bookcarts in the guise of hot dog stands, fire trucks, Tom Joad's jalopy, and more, are a testament to librarians' imaginations and creative flair.

The Secrets Behind Your Favorite Toys - Mental Floss Blog
http://blogs.static.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/20268.html
When your kids play with a slinky, Lincoln Logs, Trivial Pursuit, Play-Doh, and Etch-a-Sketch, you can tell them all about how those toys came to be (or almost didn't get made)

Sneaky Tips for Shopping Online
http://blog.usa.gov/roller/govgab/entry/sneaky_tips_for_shopping_online
GovGab offers tips on comparison shopping, finding coupons, and getting free shipping.

Top 10 Everything of 2008 - Time Magazine
http://www.time.com/time/specials/2008/top10
Time's pick of the year's best children's books, food trends, editorial cartoons, gadgets, green ideas, photos, scientific discoveries, viral videos, scandals, TV ads, etc. etc. etc. Fun, though the 1-selection-per-click format is a pain.

December 5

Addictionary: What's Your Word?
http://www.addictionary.org/
Neatorama calls it "a wonderful website for those who love weird, obscure, and well, made-up words." I'm particularly fond of Utini and Miriage, but there's plenty of other amusing and even useful words here.

Best Business Books 2008
http://www.fastcompany.com/multimedia/slideshows/content/books-2008.html
You're bound to find some interesting choices here for gifts or for additions to your library's business collection.

Best Reference Question Ever - PubLib
http://lists.webjunction.org/wjlists/publib/2008-November/thread.html#120362
This entertaining discussion on PubLib proves that you can never predict what your customers are going to ask.

Better World Books
http://www.betterworld.com/
My favorite source for used books, because it helps libraries dispose of unneeded books while sharing their profits with their chosen nonprofit literacy groups, and then shares its own profits with nonprofit literacy organizations. They have an outstanding selection, and provide quick, efficient service.

Cartoon Commune: Custom comics, children's books, illustrations, animation, and music
http://www.cartooncommune.com/
What a great gift idea: hiring these artists to create personalized comics, illustrations, children's books, songs, etc. And people who've used it give it rave reviews. You can check out samples before you decide to order.

Cat Haiku
http://www.willbraden.com/cat_haiku.html
If you're not a cat person, skip this, but if you are, you'll see your own cat somewhere in here. I'm particularly fond of "let me get this straight/you sleep just 8 hours a day?/how do you function?

Family Fun and Entertainment Ideas for Kids
http://fun.familyeducation.com/
Choose among activities by age ranges, outdoor recreation, backyard science, rainy day activities, etc.

Gift Guide for Library and Book Lovers
http://www.kn.att.com/wired/fil/pages/listgiftguij.html
A little of everything here: bookshelves, art, wearable art, mugs, etc. You might also want to shop at the Unshelved gift store, <http://www.unshelved.com/store.aspx> for collections of the comic strip, prints, bags, and tees.

The Great Male Survey - AskMen.com
http://static.askmen.com/specials/2008_great_male_survey/index.html
While it's unlikely that any library user will ever ask a reference librarian to explain men, or for that matter, women <http://static.askmen.com/specials/2008_great_female_survey/>, armed with these survey results you might just be able to offer some useful information

iSerenity - Environments
http://www.iserenity.com/environments.htm
"Choose a sound and image experience to relax or work by." Choices of sound/slide shows include purring cats, train tracks, wind chimes, waterfalls, songbirds, crackling fire, a "library lullaby," and lots more.

My Kidz a Star
http://mykidzastar.com/
Where parents can upload videos of their kids for family and friends to view, and create a channel in which the child's development can be recorded over time. Free with registration.

Typealyzer
http://www.typealyzer.com/index.php?lang=en
Analyzes blog text to figure out the probable Myer-Briggs personality classification for the author. Fun to play around with, though I wonder about its method (or my personality) since it assigns me to several Myer-Briggs types depending on which page I've chosen from my various sites.

November 21-28

34 Great Gifts You Can Make Yourself
http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2008/11/13/a-do-it-yourself-christmas-34-great-gifts-you-can-make-yourself/
Some great gift ideas from Get Rich Slowly - games, food, stationery, a memory jar, etc. - although you'll have to work hard at not overeating those homemade truffles. You might enjoy other ideas at the Get Rich Slowly blog as well, like The Best Recession-Proof Jobs, Things It’s Cheaper to Do Yourself, Kids Who Are Smart With Money, etc.

2009 AAAS Science Dance Contest
http://gonzolabs.org/dance/
Here are the rules for entering what is also known as the "Dance Your Ph.D." video contest. Check out previous winners and see how the human body can explain "Individual Differences in Exploratory Behavior of Prairie Voles, "The role of vitamin D in beta cell function," "Precipitation Initiation in Warm Clouds," and such. This could be a real breakthrough for scientists forever struggling to explain their work to ordinary people.

AutoblogGreen
http://www.autobloggreen.com/
"We obsessively cover the green scene." Whether you're interested in green cars, or trying to decide whether whether our government should rescue the big 3 American automakers, this is a good place to keep track of new designs that are in the works or already available.

Change.gov
http://change.gov/
From the office of President-Elect Obama, a site to keep us informed about the transition and presidential appointments, events, and agenda. We are invited to send in our own ideas and share our stories.

Daily Yonder
http://www.dailyyonder.com/
Published by the Center for Rural Strategies, this blog aims to be the "daily multi-media buffet of news, commentary, research, and features" for rural dwellers. Bill Bishop, author of The Big Sort (a book I highly recommend), is one of the editors and contributors.

Financial Crisis Tab Already in the Trillions
http://www.cnbc.com/id/27719011
So, we thought Congress authorized $700 billion, which seems like a goodly amount. But CNBC has been keeping track of the dollars being ladled out that we didn't authorize, and it's even more astounding, and less accountable.

Grandparents.com
http://www.grandparents.com/gp/home/index.html
Getting bored with doing the same old things when the grandchildren visit? Check out the activities, recipes, road trip ideas, and gift ideas here. You can also find expert advice, columns, and a community.

Guidelines for Cats
http://www.jamesshuggins.com/h/hum1/guidelines_for_cats.htm
So you think it's simply an accident that your cat throws up on your most expensive carpet or inserts herself between you and your book? James Huggins suggests it's a deliberate plot, part of the rules cats have taught their kittens from time immemorial. Read the rest of them to understand what mere humans are up against.

Life Photo Archive Hosted by Google
http://images.google.com/hosted/life
"Search millions of photographs from the LIFE photo archive, stretching from the 1750s to today," many of them previously unpublished.

Obama's Office of Urban Policy - What are the top priorities?
http://www.obamaurbanpolicy.org/
From the folks who created WalkScore, an open forum for people to contribute their own ideas, and vote on others' ideas, on policies to improve cities.

Over the River and Through the Woods
http://marylaine.com/myword/movers.html
A column I wrote about the uniquely American trait of restless mobility: "You know, in other countries, holidays don't lead to total gridlock in their transportation systems, because people elsewhere stay put a lot more than we do." Best wishes for a happy Thanksgiving.

SurLaLune Fairy Tales
http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/sitemap.html
This site is a must for anyone interested in the history and culture of fairy tales. For each of the 1,200 tales, there is an annotated full text, a history of the tale, links to illustrations, a bibliography of Similar Tales Across Cultures, and a bibliography of Modern Interpretations in novels, poetry, short stories, film, music, and theatre.

November 14

Archive of American Television Interviews
http://emmytvlegendsinterviews.blogspot.com/
Anyone interested in the history of American television will want to check out these often extensive video interviews, posted in 30-minute segments, with luminaries from all fields who helped to shape the medium. Among them: Norman Lear, James Garner, Phil Donahue, Fred Rogers, Julia Child, David Brinkley, Bob Newhart, Tim Russert, composer Quincy Jones, syndicator Roger King, puppeteer Carroll Spinney (Big Bird), animator Joseph Barbera, and lots more.

Crisis Talk: Policy Ideas on the Financial Crisis - The World Bank Group
http://crisistalk.worldbank.org/
Members of the World Bank Group are blogging here "to provide the latest information on the unfolding financial crisis, both on specific countries and sectors, as well as on the global crisis response. The blog will also feature opinions on what solutions may be possible, what shape the financial sector may take in the future, and how the crisis affects the real economy."

Election Maps - 2008
http://www-personal.umich.edu/~mejn/election/2008/
A picture may be worth a thousand words, but it can also give entirely false impressions. Professor Mark Newman corrects the misleading appearance of the familiar red state/blue state distribution by adjusting each state's size to reflect its population, does the same for counties, and presents a more nuanced popular vote map with shades of purple to indicate percentage of vote distribution. The site includes an FAQ answering readers questions, and a link to the maps and cartograms he did for the 2004 elections.

The First 100 Days - GOOD Sheet
http://awesome.goodmagazine.com/goodsheet/goodsheet009First100Days.html
This chart neatly outlines what each president from FDR on has done or attempted to do in the first 100 days of his presidency. Not necessarily comprehensive - it's surely worth mentioning that Ford not only pardoned Nixon but extended amnesty to draft evaders - but it's an interesting look back and comparison.

Full Frontal Scrutiny
http://www.frontgroups.org/
This joint project between Consumer Reports Web Watch and the Center for Media and Democracy aims to examine advocacy groups with misleadingly green-sounding names that are actually funded by corporate interests.

GoodGuide
http://www.goodguide.com/
Claims to provide "the world's largest and most reliable source of information on the health, environmental, and social impacts of the products in your home," with a database of 60,000+ Personal Care & Household Chemical Products. Search, or browse by top rated products in each category.

The Great War Archive
http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/ww1lit/gwa/
Contains over 6,500 items contributed by the general public originating from, or relating to, someone's experience of the First World War, either abroad or at home. Includes diaries, interviews, documents, postcards, memorabilia, photographs, and more.

Inside High Ed: Higher Education's Source for News, Views and Jobs
http://insidehighered.com/
Similar in many ways to the premier higher ed trade publication, Chronicle of Higher Education, it offers news, views, blogs, and job ads, except that you don't need to subscribe to read the content or even search the jobs database.

Majors Making a Difference
http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/008703.html
If you, or your son or daughter, is looking for a career in which they can make a difference in the world, this series from WorldChanging will be of interest. The fact that several of these seem to be careers of the future makes them even more appealing.

OmniMedicalSearch.com - Medical Image Search Engine
http://www.omnimedicalsearch.com/images.html
I've always argued that searching a restricted universe of carefully chosen topical sites beats any general image search engine when the accuracy and specificity of results matters. Being able to restrict a search to purely medical images is a prime example.

Our Vote Live - Nationwide Data Table
http://www.ourvotelive.org/table.php
The people who maintain the 866-OUR-VOTE national voter assistance hotline present a state by state tabulation of the kinds of problems voters reported on election day. Click on the state name for county by county reports.

USAJobs - The Federal Government's Official Jobs Site
http://www.usajobs.gov/
With the aging of the federal workforce and the coming of a new administration, the federal government is gong to be hiring. Find out all about it here. See also Best Places To Work in the Federal Government, <http://bestplacestowork.org/BPTW/about/> and Where the Jobs Are: Mission Critical Opportunities for America, <http://www.ourpublicservice.org/OPS/publications/viewcontentdetails.php?id=118>

November 7

17 Interesting Facts about Doctors and Patients
http://www.emedexpert.com/blog/general/17-interesting-facts-about-doctors-and-patients/
Among them: "Patients treated with respect more likely to follow medical advice"; "7 things patients expect from doctors"; and "Seven medical myths even doctors believe." This short piece should be required reading for medical students and practicing physicians alike.

America's Favorite Cities, 2008 - Travel & Leisure
http://www.travelandleisure.com/afc/2008/index.cfm
Travel& Leisure asked travelers to rank 25 top American cities in categories like food, culture, nightlife, affordability, recreational amenities, traffic, weather, etc. Check out the resulting rankings, by city or category.

Bailout Sleuth
http://bailoutsleuth.com/
Chris Carey, a a former St. Louis Dispatch reporter, studies SEC documents and court filings to keep track of how our tax money is being doled out, to which financial institutions, how it's being spent, and under whose supervision. You'd think our government would be keeping this kind of eagle eye on our money and informing us, but on the other hand, we might not believe them even if they did, so our thanks to Mr. Carey.

The Broke Library's Guide to a Better Web Presence
http://librarianinblack.typepad.com/librarianinblack/files/cheapwebservices_il2008.pdf
There's plenty of good advice in Sarah Houghton-Jan's outline for her presentation at Internet Librarian.

Energy Savers
http://eere.typepad.com/energysavers/
The Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy" blogs about "Smart ways for consumers to tave energy" - and money. It also points out helpful DOE resources - energy calculators, the 2009 fuel economy guide, energy tax credits, etc.

GovSpeak: A Guide to Government Acronyms and Abbreviations
http://ulib.iupui.edu/subjectareas/gov/docs_abbrev
Document librarians at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis have constructed this invaluable aid. UPDATE: librarian Kelly Smith, who created the site when she was at the IUPUI Library, tells me that she continues to maintain and update it at <http://members.cox.net/govdocs/govspeak.html>

How To: The Ultimate Consumerist Guide to Fighting Back
http://consumerist.com/consumer/how-to/the-ultimate-consumerist-
guide-to-fighting-back-revised-edition-316524.php
What to do when some company has wronged you. Consumerist shows you how to complain (politely, hardball, or via the legal route), to whom (includes a directory of corporate executives), and who should get a cc of your complaint.

MedlinePlus: Dementia
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/dementia.html
A guide to resources for not only Alzheimers, but other dementias as well. Like all MedlinePlus guides, it points to high quality resources that provide overviews, news, and info on diagnosis & symptoms, disease management, coping strategies, financial issues, clinical trials, research, organizations, and reference sources.

NewsCred
http://www.newscred.com/This news aggregator limits its coverage to quality news media and blogs, from the US and abroad. See also DailySource.org, which has a similar purpose; its editors select stories for accuracy, fairness, context, and usefulness, <http://dailysource.org/

O Say Can You See - National Museum of American History
http://blog.americanhistory.si.edu/
The Museum's new blog "takes readers behind the scenes at the museum, sharing insights and information about our exhibitions, events, collections, research projects, and more." Not to mention construction: a running clock counts down the days, hours and minutes until the museum reopens.

Surviving a Layoff - Job-Hunt.org
http://www.job-hunt.org/layoffs/surviving-a-layoff.shtml
Even if you feel reasonably secure in your current job, you might want to look over the warning signs of a pending layoff, and these do's and don'ts for surving the layoff and preparing to look for another job.

To the Next US President: 100 Words for 100 Days - WorldChanging
http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/008925.html
WorldChanging's editors solicited the ideas of "the smartest, most interesting people we know" to suggest, in 100 words of less, what the next president should do in his first 100 days in office. You can read those, or think about your own. If you're a librarian, you could invite your users to contribute their own ideas, or use the topic for a discussion program.

October 31

A personal note: My son and his wife have just welcomed their second son into the world, and I, having spent 3 days taking care of their first son while they were at the hospital, am pooped. There's no way an old lady like me can keep up with the inexhaustible energy of a 2-year old. Since I'm too tired to assemble the usual dozen sites, instead, let me point you to:

What To Do If You Have Problems Voting
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0810/S00473.htm
Some of the numerous voting problems already seen in early voting include machines flipping votes from your candidate to another, other kinds of machine failures, discovering that your name has been purged from the voter registration database, too few machines leading to waits as long as 6 hours, etc. Print this advice out and take it with you so that if you encounter problems, you'll know how to insist that your vote be counted.

October 24

A Roundup of Sites To Help You through the Economic Crisis

9 Sites That Help with Everyday Budgeting
http://finance.yahoo.com/banking-budgeting/article/105963/9-Sites-That-Help-With-Everyday-Budgeting
The sites highlighted here help you identify the best deals on cell phone plans, mortgages, CDs, and bank accounts, assess your own financial planning, monitor your FICO score, and more.

78 Ways for Your Small Business To Save Money in This Economy - Inside CRM
http://www.insidecrm.com/features/78-ways-save-economy-101408/
Including technology that helps you reduce utility and travel costs, and methods for reducing overhead, office expenses, insurance, and advertising costs. Check out additional suggestions in the comments, as well.

200+ Tools for Surviving the Economic Crisis - Mashable
http://mashable.com/2008/10/16/economic-crisis/
Links to online services and tools for business and personal accounting and budgeting, career advancement, for-sale-by-owner, mass transit and carpooling, car maintenance, shopping with coupons, cheap air travel, and more.

Frugal Living
http://frugalliving.about.com/
As one whose key to raising a son on a librarian's salary (and still saving money) was living economically, I like this site's wide range of suggestions for budgeting, money management, and saving money on household expenses, groceries, entertainment, transportation, etc.

More Sites To Help You Choose Your Candidate

50 Key Senate Votes
http://www.opencongress.org/articles/view/728-McCain-and-Obama-50-Key-Senate-Votes
If you've been confused about all the charges in the debates about how the presidential candidates voted on various issues, you may find this chart, which compares how these men voted on 50 key votes. It also illustrates how any candidate can tell a partial truth and still entirely misrepresent their opponent's position. You can also follow a link at the end of the article to see a summary of each candidate's legislative accomplishments.

The Choice, 2008 - Frontline - PBS
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/choice2008/
As it has in previous elections, PBS offers a 2 hour examination of the candidates, "in-depth interviews with the advisers, friends and those closest to these unlikely candidates."

FindLaw: Presidential Election Guide
http://www.findlaw.com/election2008.html
This respect legal resource offers both a round-up of previous stories on the election and the candidates, and a guide to state by state voting rights and voter information.

A Few Reasons for Hope

Bouphonia
http://bouphonia.blogspot.com/
One of my favorite blogs has a regular feature called Friday Hope Blogging, in which she calls attention to the occasional bits of good news that turn up amid the gloom. If you're in need of an especially strong dose of hope, don't wait til Friday, but click on the entire archive of Friday hope blogging.

Great Places in America
http://www.planning.org/greatplaces/
The American Planning Association knows that there are plenty of places in America that have a "true sense of place, cultural and historical interest, community involvement, and a vision for tomorrow," places "where people want to be — not only to visit, but to live and work every day." Follow the links to explore what makes these neighborhoods, streets, and public spaces work. You might also want to look at the Great Public Spaces selections by the Project for Public Spaces, <http://www.pps.org/great_public_spaces/>.

Innovations in American Government Awards
http://ashinstitute.harvard.edu/corporate_site/innovations/
2008_innovations_winners/2008_iag_award_winners_announced
For all the bad rap government has been getting for its failures, many states, cities and regions have developed imaginative solutions for their problems; since 1986, the Innovations in American Government Awards Program has recognized over 400 of them. Links to detailed descriptions of this year's award-winning programs are provided, as well as to the database of all previous nominees and winners.

Technorati: State of the Blogosphere 2008
http://www.technorati.com/blogging/state-of-the-blogosphere/
Analyzes how the blogosphere is continuing to grow and evolve.

WorldChanging: 21 Principles for the 21st Century
http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/008646.html
The Worldchanging blog has been re-running some of its best pieces explaining its core ideas for making the world a better place. Here's "the full list of 21 principles collected in one place for future reference," including social entrepreneurship, creative commons, sustainable food, clean and renewable energy, etc.

October 17

10 American Financial Meltdowns - Neatorama
http://www.neatorama.com/2008/10/08/10-american-
financial-meltdowns-in-the-past-century/
Excellent backgrounders on America's previous financial panics and recessions. If you've been hearing about the Keating 5 recently and wondering what that was, that's explained in the entry on the 1989 Savings and Loan Crisis.

100 Incredibly Useful and Interesting Web Sites - PC World
http://www.pcworld.com/article/151771/100_web_sitesthe_
list_by_category.html
Among the categories in PC World's annual list: Sites that help you survive the recession, be politically informed, get the right news fast, find local stuff, stay healthy, learn stuff, and more.

Ballotpedia
http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/Main_Page
"a free, collaborative, online encyclopedia. It focuses on ballots, ballot measures, ballot access for initiatives and candidates, petition drives, the supporters and opponents of initiatives and, in general, all things ballot." Not all states are covered as yet.

Election Protection - the nation's largest nonpartisan voter protection coalition
http://www.866ourvote.org/
The nonpartisan Election Protection coalition aims to "provide Americans from coast to coast with comprehensive voter information and advice on how they can make sure their vote is counted." Check out "Elections 101 for info on voter registration, early & absentee voting, provisional ballots, voter challenges & intimidation, and more. Select your state for information on your polling place, required identification, how to verify that you are registered, etc. Click on en espanol for the Spanish language version of the site.

Expert Village
http://expertvillage.com/
"offers the largest choice [135,000+] of professionally produced and researched videos, to answer your everyday questions." Search or browse by categories. Note that when you've found one set of results, the navigation bar allows you to restrict results further: by newest, most rated, or most viewed; and by tags, e.g., knitting + tips, circular knitting, patterns, how to knit, etc.

GobiernoUSA.gov: informacion oficialen espanol
http://www.usa.gov/gobiernousa/
The GovGab blog <http://blog.usa.gov/> says this "isn't just a translation of its sister site, USA.gov. It features unique resources created especially for the Hispanic community, whether you're new to the US, just visiting, or you're running your own business."

Health Issues for Parents
http://www.usa.gov/Topics/Parents_Health.shtml
Fact sheets from several government agencies, on topics like bullying, ADHD, Bisphenol A (BPA), growth charts, Food Stamps & WIC, vaccines, Public Health Clinic Locator, and more.

JFK Unplugged - NBC Nightly News
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032619/#27164075
NBC News recently found previously unknown tapes of John F. Kennedy, in a conversation shortly before he won the election. This is the portion played on NBC Nightly News. The rest of the tape is available at <http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032619/#27168561>.

Money Magazine on CNNMoney.com http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/
Among the current online features that may soothe those of us nervously watching the stock market zip up and down and down and down: "9 Ways To Tough out Tough Times," "What You're Really Voting For," a Real Estate Survival Guide, an Inflation Survival Guide, "Are Money Funds Safe Now?", the regular Ask the Expert column (currently featuring "Dialing back on a 401(k)"), etc.

Project for Excellence in Journalism
http://www.journalism.org/
Given widespread dissatisfaction, from both the right and the left, with coverage of the presidential campaign, there are several features of interest here, including the daily briefing, a weekly Campaign Coverage Index, a historical look at "A Continuum of Condemning the Press," "The Market Meltdown: What Got Covered?," and other studies.

A Simple Book Repair Manual
http://www.dartmouth.edu/~preserve/repair/repairindex.htm
Choose a chapter and learn how to tip in a page, clean the book, repair a spine, fix a torn page, etc. - or figure out whether the book is repairable at all. There's also a chapter on the basic book repair tools.

U.S. Geological Survey Photographic Library
http://libraryphoto.cr.usgs.gov/
Access to the USGS's entire collection of "over 400,000 photographs taken during geologic studies of the United States and its territories from 1868 to the present." Search, or browse by categories (Earthquakes, National Parks, Mount St. Helens, Pioneer Photographers, etc.

October 10

100 Skills Everyone Should Know - Popular Mechanics
http://www.popularmechanics.com/home_journal/how_to/4284709.html
Includes instruction videos for a wide variety of tasks, such as jumpstarting a car, putting out a fire, replacing a faucet washer, changing a diaper, performing the Heimlich maneuver, etc. Also includes the 20 tools every person needs to have (above and beyond basics like hammer, screwdrivers, wrenches).

The 150 Best Onlne Flash Games
http://www.techcult.com/the-150-best-online-flash-games/
Not being much of a game person myself once I got over my addiction to Tetris, I'll take the word of the folks at TechCult that these action games, arcade games, graphical adventures, logic games, etc. are pretty nifty.

AgingPro: the Complete Elder Care Resource
http://www.agingpro.com/
Aimed at 3 primary constituencies: the elderly themselves seeking to plan their futures, caregivers, and professionals in the field. Whichever angle you approach it from, you'll find the eldercare directory, articles, a community, an "ask the expert" feature, resource links, and more.

Beliefnet: The 12 Tribes of American Politics http://www.beliefnet.com/story/236/story_23639_1.html
Convinced that political journalists oversimplified and misrepresented the religious as "the religious right and everyone else," Beliefnet conducted a survey that revealed "the twelve religious voting blocs in America [that] may be key to unlocking the 2008 election." For each group, there's an analysis of who they are, their numbers, their ideology, what they care about, and where their vote has been trending.

Campus Explorer
http://www.campusexplorer.com/
To start searching for the best matched colleges for you, you can select the type of college, geography, and/or major. The next step is personalization. The Chronicle of Higher Education's Wired Campus Blog says "In addition to the usual features that let users search for and compare colleges, the site can analyze a prospective student’s GPA, test scores, and extra-curricular activities to estimate whether he or she will be accepted into various institutions.”

Concise Encyclopedia of Economics
http://www.econlib.org/library/CEE.html
Interestingly, the current featured article is on Bank Runs. The signed articles by scholars in the field seem designed to be intelligible to non-economists. They describe the background of each concept, and provide bibliography for further reading.

HealthyDiningFinder
http://www.healthydiningfinder.com/site/
"Healthy Dining Menu Choices from Fast Food to Upscale Restaurants." Input your location, price range(s), and other options, and get recommendations from among the restaurants participating in the Healthy Dining Program. Click on the restaurant names to get recommended menu selections from each, along with nutritional information about each entry.

History and Government Questions for the New Naturalization Test
http://www.uscis.gov/files/nativedocuments/100q.pdf
Those of us who are already citizens by birth or naturalization might want to try answering the questions to see if we knew enough about our country to become a citizen now.

Museums and Learning: a Guide for Family Visits
http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov/cic_text/family/museums/title.html
Complete text of a 1998 publication. It offers suggestions to parents to increase children's interest and learning from their museum visits - activities, ways to inspire children's thinking, and a sampling of museum resources.

Public Transportation
http://www.publictransportation.org/default.asp
Among the Transit Facts offered by the American Public Transportation Association are reports on how much money you can save by using public transit, and how much you can reduce your carbon footprint. You'll find other reports, news, and links to other resources as well.

Veteran Report Card - Iraq Afghanistan Veterans of America
http://www.veteranreportcard.org/
"The IAVA Action Fund is the foremost nonprofit, non-partisan advocate for our nation's returning warriors and their families. Our 2008 Veteran Report Card, based on the key veterans' legislation that came to a vote during the 110th Congress, grades every Senator and Representative on their level of support for our troops." Read the entire report or search by state to find out how your own senators and representatives - including both presidential candidates and one vice presidential candidate - have voted on veterans' issues.

Vote Back
http://marylaine.com/myword/vote.html
A column in which I offer a very American reason for voting: the certain knowledge that, no matter who you are, there's somebody who really, really doesn't want you to.

October 3

More on the bailout/economic stabilization proceedings
OK, things are still very much in flux, but here are some documents that may help you follow the debate:

Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008
http://www.publicmarkup.org/bill/emergency-economic-stabilization-act-2008/
The text of the modified Paulson plan defeated on Monday. As soon as I find a link to the amended version passed by the Senate, I'll add it.

The Congressional Budget Office Analysis
http://cboblog.cbo.gov/?p=173
The CBO examines the requirements and costs of the proposed legislation, and its impact on federal finances.

The Roll Call Vote
http://www.slate.com/blogs/blogs/trailhead/archive/2008/09/29/the-house-vote-roll-call.aspx
Check here to see how your congressional representative voted on it.

The No BAILOUTS Act
http://www.defazio.house.gov/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=441
An alternative to the Paulson plan, proposed by Peter DeFazio and Democratic colleagues.

As for how we got into this mess in the first place, I've read articles from economists and business journalists, but the best single explanation I've found for the sequence of events that created this crisis is by computer scientist Mark C. Chu-Carroll in his blog Good Math, Bad Math, <http://scienceblogs.com/goodmath/2008/09/economic_disasters_and_stupid.php>. I wish it didn't come with such a partisan spin, but that is at least balanced somewhat by the posted comments.

More Political Information Sites:

CJR Campaign Desk [Columbia Journalism Review]
http://www.cjr.org/campaign_desk/
A blog that examines both the presidential campaign and the press coverage of it.

Governing's Guide to Ballot Measures
http://ballotbox.governing.com/2008/09/governings-guid.html#more
You'll be voting on issues as well as candidates. Here's a good starting point to find out what will be on your ballot.

Voter Purges - Brennan Center for Justice
http://www.brennancenter.org/content/resource/voter_purges
This Brennan Center reports that the routine purging of voter lists by state attorney generals, intended to "ensure that voter rolls are dependable, accurate, and up-to-date," can erroneously remove eligible voters as well. If you'd like to make sure you are still registered, check here: <http://www.votersunite.org/info/RegInfo.asp>. UPDATE: mea culpa. It's secretaries of state, not attorney generals, who oversee voting issues.

And now, back to the usual non-crisis picks of the week:

2007 Winners, Science & Engineering Visualization Challenge
http://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/scivis/index.jsp?id=win2008
The winning entries are proof of the National Science Foundation's contention that "Some of science’s most powerful statements are not made in words." And in some cases, downright beautiful proof.

“Give ‘em What They Want”
http://www.earlyword.com/
A blog for collection development and readers-advisory librarians (and passionate readers), focusing on "titles that are on the rise, media attention that will bring customers in looking for specific titles and vendor issues that affect libraries." In addition to the blog, there are links to best seller lists, fall previews, books being made into movies, and downloadable publisher catalogs.

Preparedness Resources
http://www.amandaripley.com/resources
In her book, The Unthinkable, which I highly recommend, Amanda Ripley examines why some people survive catastrophe while others do not. The website for the book offers preparedness resources, reviews of the book, and a blog.

Sorted Books Project
http://www.ninakatchadourian.com/languagetranslation/sortedbooks.php
Photos of book spines lined up so that the titles in sequence tell a story. Librarians could make nifty exhibits by creating their own sequences.


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