Knowing Where To Find Out

My photo of the day today is "Quaker Bonnets."

When I snapped the picture, I had no idea what variety of flower I was seeing: forget-me-nots, maybe?

I discovered that the bright little blooms, "Houstonia caerulea," are commonly known as Quaker Bonnets, Nuns, Bluets, Little Innocents, Star Violets, or Bright Eyes. Native wildflowers, they prefer open meadows, where they are pollinated by butterflies. Some people successfully cultivate them in rock gardens.

In a journal entry dated May 5, 1860, Henry David Thoreau noted: "Bluets have spotted the fields for two or three days...They fill the air with a sweet and innocent fragrance..."

Andrew Wyeth called them "Quaker Ladies" in his delicate dry brush rendering.




In The Bluet, poet James Schuyler describes the fragile flower as "So small, a drop of sky that splashed and held..."

I located all of this information, and more, via an online search from the comfort of my own home. Had I cared to, I could have used my iPhone to track down facts right then and there, outdoors in a grassy field.

Our excellent local public library might have provided the wildflower identification that I initially sought, but the tangential learning, the interesting little sidelights, probably wouldn't have come to my attention if I had only used print resources for research.

I find that I increasingly use the physical library to browse for recreational reading material. When I need factual information, I turn to the "library without walls."

I want books and I want digital connectedness. The literate life requires both.




"Knowledge is knowing... or knowing where to find out." -Alvin Toffler

The ALA: Providing Leadership

Screen capture of ALA Youth Media Services profile page on Twitter

The American Library Association (ALA) traditionally announces the winners of prestigious Youth Media Awards, including the Newbery and Caldecott Medals, during its Midwinter Meeting.

This year, the information will be made available January 26, beginning at 7:45 a.m. MT, in a variety of formats:

• "Unikron, a streaming content provider, will host the ALA Youth Media Awards Webcast. Online visitors will be able to view the live Webcast the morning of the announcements by going to http://www.unikron.com/clients/ala-webcast-2009. This link is not yet live, but those interested in following the action online should bookmark and use the URL. The number of available connections for the Webcast will be limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis."
• The ALA will instantly announce the winners of the 2009 Youth Media Awards using Twitter. Follow ALAyma.
• "The ALA Island in Second Life will also broadcast an encore presentation of the Youth Media Awards Webcast. Visitors can take advantage of in-world viewing later in the day on the ALA Island at the Main Stage."

ALA Midwinter Meeting participants can attend a press conference to hear the announcements in person; no doubt some will be live blogging and microblogging as the awards are presented.

Those who don't choose to utilize digital applications will learn of the awards winners via more traditional media sources, like television or newspaper and journal articles.

The American Library Association was founded in 1876 and is not known for being particularly innovative or cutting edge. However, the ALA's stated mission is “To provide leadership for the development, promotion and improvement of library and information services and the profession of librarianship in order to enhance learning and ensure access to information for all.” By using modern information-sharing tools, this organization is modeling modern librarianship for its members.

What a grand start to the new year!

The Form of Information

"US Airways Flight 1549 Plane Crash Hudson in New York taken by Janis Krums on an iPhone" by davidwatts1978

The January 15 crash-landing of US Airways flight 1549 dramatically demonstrated the value of cool heads and intense preparedness training in a time of disaster.

It also provided a real-life illustration of how modern technology can be used for more than trivial messages and inane video clips.

Passengers on the plane sent what some thought might be farewell messages to their families. Witnesses on the ground, in the metropolitan New York area, relayed the sights and sounds of the incident via text messaging and Twitter. Pictures, like the one above, were taken with cellphones, then shared on Flickr and other online photo-sharing sites.

Although emergency personnel were already aware of the situation, eyewitnesses were able to share information with the world-at-large in real time.

The public followed the unfolding drama and rejoiced at its happy ending.


“In this electronic age we see ourselves being translated more and more into the form of information, moving toward the technological extension of consciousness.” -Marshall McLuhan

Attack of the Killer Tomatoes

"Last year, more people were killed by automobile accidents, heart attacks, lung cancer, and natural causes combined than by any one tomato." -from the movie Attack of the Killer Tomatoes


In the 1978 spoof, Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, mutant variants of this seemingly "docile" fruit stage a murderous revolt against humanity.

The current tomato crisis is no laughing matter.

When a Twitter friend from Texas mentioned that there were "no tomatoes at Mexican restaurant tonight due to statewide salmonella scare" I tossed off a joking remark and thought nothing more about it. I don't watch TV newscasts very often, and I had seen no relevant articles in any of our local papers.

When I read online yesterday that MacDonald's had stopped serving tomatoes in their fast food chain, I sat up and took notice. The small piece that appeared in our local paper didn't give much information, so I did a quick Internet search.

The Food and Drug Administration site was very informative. It described the situation, listed the varieties of tomatoes that are safe to consume, "cherry tomatoes, grape tomatoes, tomatoes sold with the vine still attached, and tomatoes grown at home," and those that should be avoided "raw red plum, raw red Roma, or raw round red tomatoes." There is a list of areas NOT associated with the salmonellosis outbreak, and the FDA adds:

Consumers who are unsure of where the tomatoes are from that they have in their home are encouraged to contact the store or place of purchase for that information.

Consumers should also be aware that raw tomatoes are often used in the preparation of fresh salsa, guacamole, and pico de gallo, are part of fillings for tortillas, and are used in other dishes.

Restaurants, grocery stores, and food service operators have been advised by the FDA not to offer for sale or service raw red plum, Roma, or red tomatoes and products made from these types of tomatoes unless they are from one of the areas listed above.

It concerns me that none of this information was made available until two months after the outbreak began. Even in an "Age of Information," it's impossible to stay well-informed if key facts are concealed from the general public.

I'm not an alarmist, but I don't take unnecessary chances: I expect to be told about potential health risks.

I plan to take a trip to our local Farmers' Market this weekend, just to be on the safe side. Because Killers Tomatoes apparently come in all shapes and sizes.

"Tomatoes hanging overhead" by sylvar