The Franciscan Film Society presents “Hart’s War” this Friday, October 27, in the Anathan Theatre. The film will start at 8:00 PM and a panel discussion will follow. Franciscan’s own Dr. Robert Doyle was a consultant on this film.
Please be aware that this movie is rated R for violence, language and fleeting nudity (A-III, Adults).
Time to turn back the clock this Sunday morning, October 29th.
The Chicago Manual of Style has an online Quick Guide that features examples of the most commonly used citations. While it doesn’t have all of the information that the larger print version has, it’s a handy resource when you’re away from the library. A link to this site can be found on the library’s “Reference Information” page under “General Information.” The entire Manual of Style is available in print at the circulation desk.
Patients who were in a persistent vegetative state for years have been regaining consciousness when given Ambien (zolpidem). The drug, typically prescribed as a sleeping aid, has the opposite effect on comatose patients, according to a report in the Guardian.
“The results were so unbelievable that I got other colleagues to check my finding,” says (Dr. Ralf) Clauss, who now works at the Royal Surrey County Hospital in Guildford. “We did scans before and after we gave Louis zolpidem. Areas that appeared black and dead beforehand began to light up with activity afterwards. I was dumbfounded – and I still am.”
….(Dr. Clive) Holroyd remains perplexed. “There is a measurement of the depths of coma called the Glasgow scale, with three being the worst and 15 being normal,” he says. “Riaan was six, but within 10 minutes of taking the pill he is up to nine. It’s simply unbelievable. And the mind-boggling thing about this is that it’s done with a sleeping pill.”
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Yahoo News reports that Oriana Fallaci, noted journalist and self-described atheist, willed her books and papers to the Pontifical Lateranese University in Rome. In the summer of 2005 she met privately with the Pope to discuss militant Islam and its threat to western civilization. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal after that meeting, Fallaci stated, “I am an atheist, and if an atheist and a pope think the same things, there must be something true.”
Fallaci is best known for her books, The Rage and the Pride and The Force of Reason, scathing essays on Islamic terrorism and European submission that earned her death threats. At the time of her death from cancer she was on trial in Italy for defaming Islam.
Both of her books are available at the John Paul II Library.
The Rage and the Pride – PN5246 F35 A3 2002
The Force of Reason – D1053 F35 2006
Here’s your chance to be part of a Guinness World Record attempt and help the local food bank at the same time. Sodexho Food Services and Franciscan University will attempt to break the world record for the amount of canned goods collected for charity in one day. The record currently stands at 156,889.34 pounds. Canned goods will be accepted tomorrow, Wednesday October 18, from 6:00 am to midnight at Heavenly Grounds, the Pub at JC and Antonian Dining Hall. Donations will be given to the Urban Mission in Steubenville. For more information, call Pat at Sodexho Food Services, x6323.
Why don’t woodpeckers get headaches? How many times would you have to take a group photograph in order to be sure that everyone’s eyes were open? And does temperature affect the ultrasonic velocity in cheddar cheese?
Who knows and who cares? The IgNobel prize committee cares about improbable research and awards a prize each year to the scientists who conducted actual research on unlikely topics.
Among this year’s winners is Howard Stapleton of Wales who invented an “electromechanical teenager repellant” that makes an annoying noise that is audible to teenagers but not adults. To atone for this he also used the same technology to make ringtones that can be heard by teens but not their teachers.
But you didn’t hear it from me.
Last year the library purchased the book Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything for the collection. It’s an interesting look at societal problems from an unusual economic point of view. The author, Steven Levitt, tried to determine why most drug dealers still live with their mothers. He sought to explain why the Ku Klux Klan is like a group of real estate agents and what schoolteachers and sumo wrestlers have in common. In one chapter he looked at the decrease in crime and theorized that legalized abortion was responsible for this decrease.
The book disappeared from the library within weeks. Is this any way to deal with controversial opinions?
It should be noted that the author meant to be provocative. It should also be noted that there are arguments to be made against Levitt’s conclusion. During the same time period reviewed by the author, most states increased both the numbers of people sentenced as well as the length of the sentences. Levitt discounted the role of increased incarcerations in the decline in crime, focusing instead on abortion.
Does the author have a valid point? Did the legalization of abortion cause the drop in crime? You can decide for yourself. We’ve ordered a new copy of Freakonomics for the library. We would also like to remind anyone tempted to take this new copy that there are 52 other copies available in OhioLINK.
Much has been said about the shootings at the Amish school last week. Some shake their heads in disbelief that children would offer their lives in place of their friends. Others, understanding the source of this courage, pray that they would also have this faith (and pray that the Lord will never ask them to face such a test). Julie at Happy Catholic has a must-read commentary on the faith of these girls and the state of the culture:
I paged through the rest of the newspaper…Reports abounded of trials for all sorts of horrible crimes, many committed against the most vulnerable in our society. It went on and on.
All this was against a backdrop of those two girls offering up their lives for their friends. Never had it been so glaringly obvious that it is important for Christians to remain the leaven, the yeast, that Christ called for. We are called to be the witnesses through our actions and our words that there is a way of freedom that many have forgotten; that some truths are absolute.
Please do yourself a favor and read the entire post.
Starting today, Monday October 9 and continuing to exam week, the library will stay open longer. The hours are:
Monday through Thursday – 8:30 am to 11:45 pm
Friday – 8:30 am – 9:00 pm
Saturday – 9:00 am – 9:00 pm
Sunday – 1:00 pm to 11:45 pm
What's New at the JPII Library 