Stuff YOU Should Know
Oscar Night! Even if you didn’t watch the 86th Annual Academy Awards, you likely saw this picture by host Ellen Degeneres as it made its rounds across the Internet’s social media. Gravity, a science fiction drama about two astronauts stranded in space, won the most awards (many of them technical) with seven. The historical drama 12 […]
Stuff YOU Should Know
Protest Sparks Growing Tension in Ukraine Last week, more than 70 people were killed and more than 500 injured in a anti-government protest gone horribly wrong. In the aftermath, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych was removed from power by the nation’s parliament and is currently missing. The situation that sparked the controversy was a trade deal […]
10 African-Americans You Might Not Know (But Should!)
Surely you know that February is Black History Month, right? And by now, you probably have a decent handle on the trail-blazing efforts of Frederick Douglas, Harriett Tubman, Martin Luther King, Jr., Thurgood Marshall, and Jackie Robinson. Even modern-day legends like the Obamas, Oprah Winfrey, the Williams sisters, Beyonce’ and Tyler Perry have become household […]
Stuff YOU Should Know
Polar Vortex Explained If you live in the northeastern quarter of the United States, then you probably spent the first of the year hunkered down waiting for the weather to change. The abnormally low temperatures are being blamed on a phenomenon known as the polar vortex. While it may sound like the name of a […]
Stuff YOU Should Know
Sochi Prepares for the Olympics Preparation for the Olympic Games often involves major improvements for its host cities. This means the construction of new venues, major updates of roads, telecommunication and transportation systems, as well as tourist amenities like new hotels and shopping. The city of Sochi, located in the Southern Federal District of Russia, […]
Japan’s Shrinking Population
The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare in Japan recently reported that there were 6,000 fewer babies born in 2013 (1,031,000 total) than the year before. This is the fifth consecutive period of decrease. At the same time, there were 19,000 more deaths (1,275,000). This trend is not new news, as Japan has seen a […]
Awesome Way to Raise Awareness (and to do a lot of good)
The holiday season is a popular time for people to donate to their favorite charities. On December 17 and 18, thousands of them were featured in a two-day “virtual charity drive” called The Project for Awesome (P4A). John and Hank Green, brothers behind a very popular Internet show broadcast on YouTube called the VlogBrothers, sponsor […]
Nelson Mandela, 1918-2013
Nelson Mandela passed away yesterday. Mandela was one of the most significant political and social leaders of the late 20th century. As a political activist, Mandela led social protests in South Africa against that nation’s apartheid policy of racial segregation. For his actions, Mandela was jailed by the South African government. He spent 27 years […]
We’ve Gotta Have It!
It seems to happen like this: you’re living your life and suddenly you must have a certain communication device, you just can’t possibly function in the same way without it. For your parents it might have been a VCR or a personal computer, maybe a digital pager. For your grandparents it might have been an […]
A Look at Magnificent Libraries
Going back to their earliest days–2600 B.C.E.–libraries have been many things to many people. For some, they are institutions of learning and a place to acquire knowledge. For others, they are sanctuaries, safe havens, community gathering spaces or architectural marvels. Even today, in an age where the printed word is challenged by digital content, libraries […]