The Fourth
The Fourth of July holiday is upon us once again. (No, I can’t believe this year has gone by so quickly, either!) Another flag-festooned holiday filled with frolicking and fun with our friends and family and, let’s not forget, those festive fireworks! We celebrate our country, its beauty and scars, alike. We try to forgive it its trespasses while working, together, to facilitate the promise of its founding. And, we remember…
Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery, located on the site of the old Joliet Arsenal and, in a rather poetically dichotomous contrast of life and death, adjacent to Midewin Prairie, the first National Tallgrass Prairie in the country, is one of the largest veterans’ cemeteries in the United States. A thousand acres of land dedicated to those who have given at least part, and sometimes all, of their lives in honor of their country.
For those of us who’ve been there to bury a friend, a neighbor or, especially, a beloved grandfather, it is a place of solemnity and honor tinged with grief and colored by the knowledge that their sacrifice, large or small, recent or muted by the march of time, mattered and will not be forgotten. So, this Fourth of July weekend, after the picnics and celebrations are done, I’ll remember Philip W. Johnson (September 12, 1919 – July 6, 2010) USN WWII and honor all the other men and women who believed enough in a promise to stand and serve but we can also celebrate the continuation of life and contemplate the brave struggles we’ve yet to overcome which are exemplified by a human spirit that decides that, together, we can build an entire prairie, one seed at a time.
-Danielle, Tech Services
Hype Machine
If you’ve always wanted to be on the cutting edge of music or just listen to something new, then this is a great way to start. Hype Machine is an app/website that tracks music blogs with MP3s all over the world to see what’s trending and what’s popular. It’s also a great way to discover new music and genres that you’ve probably never heard of. (Who knew dubstep was its own genre? Not me.) The app costs a few bucks for your smartphone, but if you sign up *for free* with their website you can keep track of your favorites and even listen to full albums before they are released. If you like remixes of popular songs, then you’ll especially like this site because there are a ton (and I’m not kidding!) I found a particular remix of Ella Fitzgerald’s “Too Darn Hot” and it’s pretty fly; anyone who likes music can find some great new tunes with this website.
-Judy, Reference
The Maker Movement
I recently had the opportunity to attend the American Library Association Annual Conference in Chicago. One of my sessions featured the sprightly Mark Frauenfelder, founder of Boing Boing and editor of Make magazine. He outlined the history of maker culture, which was a necessity of agricultural life that largely disappeared due to urbanization and the advent of relatively inexpensive consumer goods, but is currently in the midst of an exuberant renaissance.
Frauenfelder shared a number of impressive DIY projects, from the sublime (a bacon-cooking alarm clock that awakens you with a savory aroma instead of a grimace-inducing buzz) to the spooky (a homemade drone). You can find an inspiring array of other ideas--including a lawnbot, a cake that approximates the Earth's composition, and simple hacks for the home--through Make’s website or by requesting Frauenfelder’s books via SWAN.
-Megan, Reference
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