The Rogue Scholar

Weaving the Threads Together

It's impossible to cover absolutely every blog post, article, or story that appears on the Intarwebs because there's just too much worthwhile stuff to read and too few hours in the day to read it.  Having said that, there are a few things I've come across recently that I think deserve a bit of time out of your busy day.

I admit that the news about Swine Flu in Mexico gave me a flashback to working at NYAM, when SARS made the news. Two coworkers canceled conference trips to Canada, and my then boss postponed a trip to China.  Hong Kong effectively shut down for several weeks, according to a few people I know who'd been working there at the time.

Now, it appears to be our turn.

First, take a look at Elaine Meinel Supkis' excellent background briefing on the flu. The current  strain of Swine Flu In Mexico and California may be much ado about nothing (if you can call 60+ deaths "nothing") or it may turn out to become as bad or worse than the 1918 outbreak, or it could--and probably will-- turn out to be something in between. Education is key to keeping your balance when listening to the many sources of information on the topic. This is a good place to begin. 

That done, you might want to read James Howard Kunstler's blog post from today (where I nicked the previous link from).  Kunstler's a bit extreme in his analysis but that doesn't mean he's wrong. One point he makes is worth repeating here: public health crisis events have a way of screwing with the daily behind-the-scenes mechanics of life that we depend on, yet ignore when things are working to our satisfaction.  Simple things like public transportation, hospitals, electricity, hot and cold running water, food being trucked to the local supermarket, etc.  The systems that provide all these things get disrupted when germs have their ways with the people who make those systems run.  Some systems bounce back more quickly than others, and some don't bounce back at all. Just something to remember.

Charles Hugh-Smith has another rather more precise analysis of exactly this point, very much worth your time.

In the meantime, wash your hands, Lysol your office phone and computer keyboard, and maybe rely on Netflix and eating in for a few weeks.  Good luck!

George Carlin, RIP

In deference to those of faint heart I've put a few links and thoughts about Gorge Carlin under the edit. Enjoy!

A Question of Attribution

I came across this tidbit while looking over Andy's website this afternoon.  I'm not a reference librarian by training and my days as an English major are long behind me, so I thought I'd toss this out there to see if anyone wanted to  chime in.

To wit:

BEWARE THOSE WHO HAVE FOUND THE TRUTH
Ted U.: “Your correspondent Randy Wolman may well be correct in attributing the quotation ‘Keep the company of those who seek the truth, and run from those who have found it’ to Vaclav Havel.  But a very similar line (‘Trust those who seek the truth. Beware of those who have found it’) is often attributed to Andre Gide, who, if that attribution is correct, would have priority, and another (‘Grant me the company of those who seek the truth. And God deliver me from those who have found it’) has been attributed to a much earlier personage, namely, Isaac Newton.  I have not done any checking on the accuracy of any of these attributions, but it would be interesting to know just which one (or ones) are correct.”

Any takers?