Blog Usability, Commencement at RPI and SU's Mark Rupert

Here is a link by Jakob Nielsen about the top ten mistakes people make in creating a blog:
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/weblogs.html

Found out this weekend that Thomas Friedman will be the commencement address speaker at RPI for my son Evan's graduation. We had been hoping in the initial stages of planning the Regional Read to get him as a speaker as we were able to do with Ray Bradbury but Mr. Friedman was too expensive and also booked solid. I will take good notes and report here.

Also, on my Library 2.o Ning page received a webchatter from Marcus Elmore about Syracuse University Professor Mark Rupert's critique of Thomas Friedman's work on globalization. Here is the link to that site:
http://faculty.maxwell.syr.edu/merupert/Anti-Friedman.htm

He also recommended the following book:
William Greider's _One World, Ready or Not_ (Simon & Shuster, 1998)

Also, for those curious, here is a link to my Nin Library 2.0 page:
http://library20.ning.com/profile/BeverlyCD

Interesting tidbits about religious rituals and globalization

While researching information about Chinese calligraphy and characters for a personal event yesterday, I came across a website which features a Anglican minister, Rev. Elyn MacInnis, in Shanghai, China who uses Chinese characters as part of her Lenten ministry with a webpage titled Brushstroke Mediations. East meets west in the clearest sense and she has been awarded the Harvard Divinity School, Katzenstein Award. The calligraphy lessons are wonderful-for example this past week's lesson was on the character for "compassion." I was tickled at the synchronicity of this discovery as I was bestowing a blessing on a friend's new grandchild at a blessing ceremony and my wish/blessing for the beautiful baby was that she grow with the compassion of Kuan Yin, the Chinese bodhisattva of compassion.

The whole concept of Christian ministry/missionaries, however, in countries where Christianity is not normally practiced is one that I wrestle with, because some part of me thinks that it hearkens back to the colonialization, imperialist imposition of western cultures and belief systems that European and Americans have been guilty of for centuries.

I do think however it is not one-sided as I am also reminded of communist China's "missionary" zeal in imposing their religion of "no religion" on Tibet.

In any case, this reverend's website gives a nice description and "etymology" of the Chinese characters. Her sensitivity in integrating the concept into her "sermon" are insightful and each meditation ends with a number of quotations about the concept from leaders and thinkers and philosophers from around the globe.
http://www.episcopalchurch.org/79706_22210_ENG_HTM.htm?menupage=73980
http://tinyurl.com/27yh36

Additionally, the New York Times this morning has a lead article on how a new method for the the collecting and purchasing of palm leaves for Palm Sunday has gone "green" and takes into account the principles of ecological soundness and fair trade practices.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/01/world/americas/01palm.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin
http://tinyurl.com/2k2tzt

British MGs in China

The Regional Read program workshop went well this morning and we had quite a few people in attendance. I had heard on the way in another example of flattening on NPR. The British motor company that manufactured MGs dismantled their manufacturing plant and shipped everything to open a plant in China. The first car had just rolled off the assembly line. Here is a link to the story:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9177078

Thoughts on Project GAIN

I was thinking this morning how our participation at the Morrisville Public Library in Project GAIN almost 15 years ago allowed us to take advantage of the promise of the internet to flatten the world for the better. The technology of the internet (rudimentary as it was at that time) allowed the people in our small rural community to offer their ideas, make global connections, and impact technology policies and law in own country and places as far away as Australia. Our involvement was one of those magic moments of synchronicity.

And in another magical synchronous way, last Thursday, Jean (Armor Polly) was at Mid-York for the Tech Atlas worskhop and we had a nice visit - she had the vision to make Project GAIN possible. I always learn so much from her. Perhaps we can get a copy of the Project GAIN video for the RR.

My first Regional Read Programming post

This is my first posting regarding the programming process for the Mid-York Library System's Regional Read 2007 featuring Thomas Friedman's The World is Flat. On this blog I hope to document our efforts at providing a forum for the varied points of view related to the themes presented in this book. I also hope this blog will serve as a model for others who would like to record their participation in this year's Regional Read.

Here is a link to the RR 2007 programming Wiki which we hope will become a rich resource with plenty of ideas to help with activities related to the Regional Read.

http://rr2007program.pbwiki.com