~ potpourri of Web resources and links ~

Gleanings: Objects or ideas that have been gathered or amassed over a period of time, especially when they form a collection or comprehensive whole.
Microsoft® Encarta® Reference Library 2004.
© 1993-2003 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

Following are discoveries I've gleaned during reference searches on the Internet. Enjoy!

May 12, 2008

• The Speculum Romanae Magnifcientiae Digital Collection (University of Chicago Library): collection of 994 engravings which depict major monuments of Rome and Roman antiquities by Antonio Lafreri, a master printmaker and publisher in 16th century Italy. Visitors should click on the "Itineraries" to find mini-exhibitions designed by scholars that will allow them to travel through the collection based on a theme, location, collection, or artist.
• Florida Folklife from the WPA Collections, 1937-1942: During the 1930s and 1940s, teams of writers and scholars scoured the United States on behalf of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) collecting materials about the places they saw and the people they met. This particular digital ethnographic field collection brings together materials which document the Arabic, Bahamian, Cuban, Green, Seminole and Slavic cultures across Florida.
• Radiology Anatomy Teaching Modules (University of Washington): radiology anatomy teaching modules designed to supplement regular instruction and to serve as a reference resource for medical educators and students. Along the left side of the site visitors will find a muscle atlas, an online radiology guide, and the "Teaching Files" area.
• Indoor Tanning Is Not As Safe As You Think. In fact, It's Totally Out (American Academy of Dermatology)

May 7, 2008

• May, Month of Mary (CatholicCulture.org): Includes Act of Consecration, Devotionals, Mysteries of the Rosary, documents and articles, and pious practices.

May 6, 2008

• Local Harvest: Just enter your ZIP code to locate the 'home grown' markets where you'll find the freshest meats and produce available in your area. Here's your opportunity to 'Buy Local' and at the same time introduce you and your family to regional products.
• UnsafeHome.com: Do you know about the ingredients found in the common household products you use everyday – do you know which ones might be dangerous to you and your family's health? UnsafeHome.com educates 'the public, specifically parents and caregivers, about environmental toxins that affect children's health.' Now you can find all the pertinent information you need to know about these toxins.
• Cards for Causes: premier provider of personalized Business Greeting Cards and Holiday Cards that benefit charity and other good causes—20% of order goes to charity or non-profit of your choice. Feature cards: Thanksgiving, Christmas, Birthday, Anniversary, Congratulation and Thank You cards.

May 1, 2008

• Dinosaurs - Fact of Fiction - USGS (U.S. Geological Survey – U.S. Department of the Interior): This pamphlet contains answers to some frequently asked questions about dinosaurs, with current ideas and evidence to correct some long-lived popular misconceptions.

April 29, 2008

• Internet Keep Safe Coalition: to give parents, educators, and policy makers the information and tools that empower them to teach children the safe and healthy use of technology and the Internet.
• Pastoral letter "Internet Safety" (Australian Catholic Bishops Conference), 2008.

April 28, 2008

• The HistoryNet.com: contains daily features, photo galleries and over 1,200 articles originally published in our various magazines. Brought to you by the Weider History Group, a group of ten history magazines published in Leesburg, VA.
• eNature.com: premier destination for information about the wild animals and plants of the United States. Includes Online Field Guides for flora and fauna, Gardening for Wildlife to help you with your garden patrol and a Birds and Birding for bird enthusiasts. A zip code search is available to help you locate and research your local wildlife.
• Catholics Come Home: a welcoming ministry for anyone who has left the Catholic Church, for whatever reasons. Whether it was resentment, anger, divorce, isolation, apathy, rebellion, or a lack of understanding of the faith, coming home has never been easier. Includes: Questions About Catholic Teachings and Practices | Overview of Basic Catholic Teachings | Catholic Resources to Guide You.

April 25, 2008

• LIEmails.com: Have you received e-mails from friends or co-workers about a computer virus? Or suggesting that some big company will send you a check for forwarding their e-mails? Almost all such e-mails are simply not true, and destroy the sender's credibility. It's easy to verify such things before you forward them. When you receive a suspicious e-mail, use the resources we've provided, and find out whether there's anything to it. Don't be responsible for spreading a lie!

April 24, 2008

• MonkeySee: library of videos on a wide variety of topics, presented in deep detail by accomplished, credible experts. It's a great way to learn something new. Includes: Auto & Mechanical | Beauty & Fashion | Careers & Education | Food & Drink | Games & Gaming | Health & Fitness | Hobbies & Crafts | Holidays & Seasonal | Home & Garden | Love & Relationships | Music & Dance | Parenting " Personal Finance | Pets | Safety | Sports & Leisure.

April 23, 2008

• US Civil War–Selected Resources (LOC): This guide is a compilation of many of the Civil War resources at the Library of Congress, along with links to selected resources outside the Library.
• Indians of North America–Selected Resources (LOC): This guide is a compilation of many of the resources on the Indians of North America available at the Library of Congress as well as selected resources outside the Library.
• Teaching Issues and Experiments in Ecology (TIEE): a peer-reviewed web-based collection of ecological educational materials. TIEE is a resource for busy ecology faculty who are looking for new ways to reach their students, or who perhaps want to learn more about teaching and learning.

April 16, 2008

• One Nation Under God - proudly bringing faith into the voting booth. Attempts to provide the background information necessary to make informed decisions when choosing candidates for public office who best reflect Catholic values. In addition, they also focus on public policy issues encompassed in protecting the sanctity of life and preserving the sacrament of marriage.
• 2008 - International Year of the Potato (U.N.): The potato should be a major component in strategies aimed at providing nutritious food for the poor and hungry. The potato produces more nutritious food more quickly, on less land, and in harsher climates than any other major crop—up to 85 percent of the plant is edible human food, compared to around 50% in cereals.
• WildVoice™ Studio: create a professional-quality Podcast in just minutes. System Requirements: Windows XP; 1 microphone (even a cheap one will do); WildVoice Studio Setup will install Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0, if it's not already installed. WildVoice™ Studio Users Guide and Tutorials.
• IrfanView: a fast and compact image viewer/converter. Features include: multi-language support, Thumbnail option, Painting, slideshow, toolbar skins, fast directory browsing, batch conversion/editing, multipage editing, file search, change color depth, scanning, cut/crop…The Slideshow feature has terrific options to select images to burn to a CD (family photos), create an executable (exe) file. or a screensaver (scr) file. Frequently Asked Questions about IrfanView.

April 14, 2008

• St. Augustine - "On Lying": Considers in detail both the definition of lying and the arguments that it is sometimes justified, arguing that lying is always wrong.
  • "Is It Ever Right to Lie?" by Jeff Mirus.

April 11, 2008

• National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIH): the primary U.S. agency for conducting and supporting research on the causes, consequences, prevention, and treatment of alcohol abuse, alcoholism, and alcohol problems and disseminates research findings to general, professional, and academic audiences.
• Free photo editing software:
  • Adobe Photoshop Express-beta: Upload, sort, polish, and store up to 2GB of photos. All for free. Resize, tint, distort, and more–add your mark to all your images. Then show them off on Adobe® Photoshop® Express or your web page.
  • Paint.NET (Windows): free image and photo editing software; features an intuitive and innovative user interface with support for layers, unlimited undo, special effects, and a wide variety of useful and powerful tools.
  • Picasa (Google): Locate and organize all the photos on your computer. Edit and add effects to your photos with a few simple clicks. Share your photos with others through email, prints, and on the web: it’s fast, easy and free.
  • GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program): a freely distributed program for such tasks as photo retouching, image composition and image authoring. GIMP can be used as a simple paint program, an expert quality photo retouching program, an online batch processing system, a mass production image renderer, an image format converter, etc.

April 10, 2008

• Complete Missal of the liturgical celebrations for Pope Benedict XVI’s Pastoral Visit to the United States of America, April 2008

April 9, 2008

• Pope Benedict XVI’s Apostolic Journey to the United States of America and visit to the U.N. Headquarters (April 15-21, 2008). Vatican website featuring photo gallery, homilies, speeches and audiences are they become available.
• Aggie Horticulture: resources of the teaching, research and extension program at the Texas A & M University System. Enter the 'PLANTanswer Machine' for solutions and information on particular horticulture questions; also access the 'PLANTfacts' search engine for detailed facts on particular species. The 'just for KIDS' section is an interesting resource that helps encourage the younger set to learn about plants, gardening and the natural world.
• Math Central: an Internet service for mathematics teachers and students K-12. A meeting place for teachers to share resources, a service to teachers, students and parents who may need an answer to a mathematical question.

April 7, 2008

• SurLaLune Fairy Tales: 47 annotated fairy tales, including their histories, similar tales across cultures, modern interpretations and over 1,500 illustrations. Also discover over 1,600 folktales & fairy tales from around the world in more than 40 full-text eBooks. Investigate how fairy tales have served as a means of establishing moral values, teaching the younger generations about their culture and, of course, entertaining folks of all ages.
• Classic Reader: Read Free Classic Books Online. Where you can read, search, and annotate great works of literature by authors such as Dickens, Tolstoy, Shakespeare, and many others. The collection 'currently contains 3463 works of literature (including 1998 short stories) by 342 authors.' Access to the content is available by author, by title, by category, e.g. fiction, children's literature, short stories, poetry, etc.
• Rosary Army: dedicated to evangelizing the faith through promotion of the Rosary prayer. Rosary Army freely provides online instructions on how to make, pray and give away all-twine knotted rosaries either to individuals or organizations of their choosing or for Rosary Army’s worldwide distribution to those in need.

April 4, 2008

• Off the Chart Visual Nitrous Oxide: dental humor.
• Neurons: Animated Cellular and Molecular Concepts (University of Toronto). Visitors will find twelve different topical sections here, including "Anatomy of a Neuron", "Axonal Transport", and "Neurotransmitter Release". Each of these sections includes dynamic visualizations, coupled with textual explanations that help users understand what's going on. And for visitors who find themselves having difficulty navigating the site, there is also a "How to Use the Program" primer that's quite nice. Additionally, teachers and others can download selected animations from the site for use in non-commercial purposes.

April 3, 2008

• An Empirical Study of U.S. Copyright Fair Use Opinions, 1978-2005 (University of Pennsylvania Law Review, Jan., 2008). Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976 establishes the affirmative defense to copyright infringement of "fair use," by far the most enigmatic doctrine in U.S. copyright law and by far the most important.
• New Catholic Dictionary Online: published in 1910, the dictionary is full of explanations of Catholic terms and short biographies of Catholic figures from all walks of life.
• Web-Beacon - Family-Friendly Directory: Web-Beacon Family Directory is owned and operated entirely by women, who are also mothers.
• Guide to Grammar and Style (Jack Lynch): Last revised 9 January 2008. Plagiarism | What to Cite.

March 31, 2008

• The Center for Academic Integrity: a forum to identify, affirm, and promote the values of academic integrity among students, faculty, teachers and administrators. Educational Resources include Academic Integrity Assessment Guide, Academic Integrity Articles, Ethics Tutorials, Faculty Workshops and Model Code of Academic Integrity.
• "The Imitation of Christ" by Thomas à Kempis. These meditations on the life and teachings of Jesus have become second only to the Bible as a guide and inspiration.

• Leadership U: sponsored by Christian Leadership Ministries. A multi-disciplinary vehicle to help reach professors, students and other thinkers with the best in Christian thought on a variety of compelling issues. Includes Humanities, Social Sciences, Sciences/Bioethics, Theology.

March 28, 2008

• April Fools' Day - Origin and History: sometimes called All Fools' Day, is one of the most light hearted days of the year. Its origins are uncertain. Some see it as a celebration related to the turn of the seasons, while others believe it stems from the adoption of a new calendar.
• Catechetics Online: Religious Education in the Catholic Church. Includes Resources for Catechetics, Apologetics, Spirituality.
  • The Catechism in Examples: a compendium of Catholic teaching told by stories, both fictional and stories from the saints.

March 27, 2008

• Footnote.com: where original historical documents are combined with social networking in order to create a truly unique experience involving the stories of our past. The collections feature documents relating to the Revolutionary War, Civil War, WWI, WWII, U.S. Presidents, historical newspapers and naturalization documents.
  • Interactive Vietnam Veterans Memorial: a project of historical document archive site Footnote.com in conjunction with the National Archives and Records Administration. The virtual version of the famous memorial inscribed with the names of more than 58,000 American military casualties—is searchable. Every name etched onto the real-world wall is viewable online and linked to the veteran's service record. Online visitors can add photos and describe their memories of the servicemen and women who died in the war.

March 26, 2008

• "Art is Servant" – The Art of David Myers: A passion for religious, specifically Catholic-Christian works of art. David also works by commission, mostly in portraiture.
• Ethics Updates: designed to be used by ethics instructors and their students to provide resources and updates on current literature, both popular and professional, that relates to ethics.
• BioEd Online: state-of-the-art technology to give you instant access to reliable, cutting-edge information and educational tools for biology and related subjects. Includes Presentations, Slide Sets and Teacher Resources.
  • The Body Explained: Cassius Bordelon, PhD offers light-hearted answers to common questions about how the human body works. Segments generally run one minute and are designed to help capture students' attention and curiosity.
• Exploring the Middle Ages: information on heraldry, myths and legends, religion, medicine, and other aspects of life in Britain during the Middle Ages.

March 20, 2008

• LibrarySpot.com: a free virtual library resource center for educators and students, librarians, families, businesses and just about anyone exploring the Web for valuable research information.
• HomeworkSpot.com: K-12 homework-related resources for English, math, science, history, art, music, technology, foreign language, college prep, health, life skills, extracurricular activities and much more. Also features a powerful reference center that provides free, immediate access to many of the world's best libraries, museums, and current event sources.
• GovSpot.com: non-partisan government information portal designed to simplify the search for the best and most relevant government information online.
• Congressional Research Tutorials (UC Berkeley Library): tutorials on how to find Congressional materials in the Library and on the Internet. Click on any tutorial in the left-hand sidebar.

March 19, 2008

• Holy Week 2008 (The Vatican): Includes homilies, audiences, meditations from Palm Sunday to Easter’s "Urbi et Orbi" Message and Blessing.
• Way of the Cross Meditations (The Vatican): a devotion which recalls with mindful affection the last stage of the journey that Jesus walked in his earthly life. Meditations prepared by various Pope John Paul II, Cardinal Ratzinger and others back to 1991.
• Preparations for the Sacred Triduum (Catholic Culture): Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday
• The Easter Triduum (EWTN): Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, Easter and Divine Mercy Sunday.
• Resources for Lent and Easter (USCCB Committee on Divine Worship): Fourteen Questions on the Paschal Triduum | Homlies of Pope Benedict XVI | Pope John Paul II | Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy–Easter.
• The Easter Season (Catholic Culture): Easter overview, prayers and hymns, activities and customs, Mercy Sunday.
• Easter Recipes: Google | Ask.com
• OWL – Purdue University Online Writing Lab: English Grammar, Punctuation, and Spelling. Plus, a section of handouts and resources for English as a Second Language learners.

March 18, 2008

• Chabad.org: Portal of Jewish philosophy of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement–a branch of Hasidism. Includes Holidays, Daily Life & Practice, Spirituality, Jewish stories, Classic texts and more Jewish information.
  • Ethics of the Fathers: Timeless wisdom from the Jewish sages of old.
  • Jewish Stories: More than 500 Jewish stories from the sages, the chassidic masters, and contemporary Jewish storytellers
• Thomas Jefferson: A Resource Guide (LOC). The digital collections of the Library of Congress contain a wide variety of material associated with Thomas Jefferson. Consisting of approximately 27,000 documents, this is the largest collection of original Jefferson documents in the world.
• My Gift is Inside: Positive images of acceptance, friendship, encouragement, love, support and hope on T-Shirts, Sweatshirts, posters, greeting cards and other products.
• Did You Ever Wonder?: developed by The Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. A dynamic project designed to allow renowned lab scientists the opportunity to answer questions on a variety of subjects, twelve different questions being posed each month.
• Science@Berkeley Lab Magazine
• Foto Search Stock Photography: The best online search engine for stock photo images, digital illustrations and artwork, map clipart, picture clip art, and stock footage from more than 2.5 million images from 140 quality stock photography publishers at one site. Stock photos and images: Bible | Catholic | Christian. Type query into Search box.

March 17, 2008

• St-Patricks-Day.com: Dedicated to the Irish & Irish at Heart all around the World.
  • St. Patrick's Day recipes: Ask.com | Google.
• Notre Dame Center for Liturgy (NDCL): Dedicated to Liturgical Research and Pastoral Liturgy.
  • Church Documents - Liturgy: Roman Catholic
• SearchAllDeals.com: One-stop shopping to find red-hot specials and the latest price drops—great bargain hunting.
• MS Windows ClearType Tuner: Delivers improved font display quality over traditional forms of font smoothing or anti-aliasing. ClearType improves readability on color LCD displays with a digital interface, such as those in laptops and high-quality flat panel displays. Readability on CRT screens can also be somewhat improved.
• Image Resizer: Need to send a photo to someone but it is too large, use Image Resizer to easily resize pics smaller. Right click any image and click Resize Pictures for menu. Part of the PowerToys suite, this add-in lets you resize one image--or several--by right-clicking.

March 14, 2008

• Federal Resources for Educational Excellence (FREE): Teaching and learning resources from federal agencies. Includes Arts & Music, Language Arts, U.S. History topics, Math, Science.

March 12, 2008

• Care.com: Senior Care Directory (National). Care.com can help you find the best resources for all your elder-care needs, from financial and legal, to medical and social and more.
  • Care.com: Find In-Home Care and Elder Care Resources (Ohio). Includes: End of Life Care, Health Care, Financial Planning & Management, Legal Resources, Housing Resources, Transportation Resources.

March 11, 2008

• Vatican Radio: The Voice of the Pope and the Church in dialogue with the World.
• Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace
• Pontifical Council for Health Pastoral Care

March 3, 2008

• Catholic: Under the Hood. Catholic history & theology from a Franciscan perspective, including podcasts by Fr. Seraphim Beshoner, TOR.
• "Francis - Model of Authentic Church Reform": Archbishop Charles Chaput - Franciscan University of Steubenville, April 2, 2003.

February 29, 2008

• Benjamin Moore Paints: Colors for the home. Personal Color Viewer^® and "Color Style" Magazine.
• Sherwin-Williams - Color Ideas & Tools: Need help picking out the perfect color? Learn the science of color and explore our most popular picks. Then mix, match and visualize your palette with our online color tools.
• Italian Word of the Day – Hear a new word every day in Italian. Audio Phrasebook – Improve your pronunciation and build your vocabulary. Survival Phrases – Essential words and phrases for visitors. Also, Subscribe to the Newsletter (About.com).
• Critical Thinking Web: OpenCourseWare on critical thinking, logic, and creativity. This educational web site provides over 100 free online tutorials on critical thinking, logic, scientific reasoning, creativity, and other aspects of thinking skills.
• The American Founders Online: An Annotated Guide to Their Papers and Publications. Online access, in varying degrees, to the personal papers and/or publications of the major founders of the American Republic—that is, those men who served in roles of national political leadership between 1765 and 1815.
• Government Information Online: Ask a Librarian. An online reference service to the American public. This unique free web based "Ask a Librarian" service will give the public an opportunity to ask librarians questions about government resources.
• The ePolicy Institute: helping employers, IT administrators, HR and lawyers limit eRisks through the development and implementation of effective eMail, Internet, and software policies.

February 28, 2008

• Google Sites: People can work together on a Site to add file attachments, information from other Google applications (like Google Docs, Google Calendar, YouTube and Picasa). Creating a site together is as easy as editing a document, and you always control who has access, whether it's just yourself, your team, or your whole organization. The Google Sites web application is accessible from any internet connected computer.

February 27, 2008

• Chiesa.com News Links: News, analysis, and documents on the Catholic Church. Newspapers, radio, and TV from all over the world with a link to a new online Cuban journal: "ConVivencia".
• Hermitary: resources and reflections on hermits and solitude.
• ePriest: Includes "Best Practices" of practical, successful parish programs; weekly "Homily Packs" of lessons and illustrations for effective preaching; "Priest Resources," a clearinghouse of articles, news, and links for ongoing formation of the clergy.
• MedWatch: timely safety information on drugs and other medical products regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

February 25, 2008

• Presidents of the United States: The White House provides biographies and related facts of each president.
• Seeing, Smelling and Seeing the World (Howard Hughes Medical Institute): presents new findings that help make 'sense of our senses.' Vision, hearing, smell, touch and taste are all covered with current research presented on how the senses work together to give human beings their perception of the world.
• Sacred, What We Share: The British Library exhibition on the major religions of the world, Judaism, Christianity and Islam succeeds well in defining the shared traditions among the world's major religions.
• Security On Campus: mission is to prevent violence, substance abuse and other crimes in college and university campus communities across the United States, and to compassionately assist the victims of these crimes.
• Institute for Marital Healing: to strengthen Catholic marriages and families by educating spouses and marital therapists about common causes of conflicts in marital self-giving and effective approaches to alleviating such conflicts. The Institute employs a time-tested approach to marital therapy that recognizes the importance of both science and faith in the process of marital healing.
• Empowered Patient: Tips for Savvy Medical Web Surfing

February 22, 2008

• "The Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church": Synod of Bishops - XII Ordinary General Assembly (Rome Oct. 5-26, 2008).

February 18, 2008

• Faithful Citizenship: Forming Consciences for a Call to Political Responsibility (USCCB)
• The NLM Drug Information Portal: provides the public, healthcare professionals, and researchers a gateway to current, accurate and understandable drug information from the National Library of Medicine and other key government agencies.
• Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy - Table of Contents

February 15, 2008

• The Digital Library for Earth System Education (DLESE): effort involving educators, students, and scientists working together to improve the quality, quantity, and efficiency of teaching and learning about the Earth system at all levels. DLESE resources include electronic materials for both teachers and learners, such as lesson plans, maps, images, data sets, visualizations, assessment activities, curriculum, online courses, and much more. Click on Educational Resources and Educators Overview.
• Science Reference Services (Library of Congress): provide reference and bibliographic services and to develop the collections in all areas of science and technology.
• Writing Guidelines for Engineering and Science Students: designed to help students communicate their technical work. To that end, these guidelines contain advice, models, and exercises for common writing and speaking assignments in engineering and science.

February 14, 2008

• Business.gov: the official business link to the U.S. Government. Includes Small Business Guides, State & Local Info, Government Forms, FAQs.

February 13, 2008

• History of St. Valentine’s Day. Valentine’s Day Internet Resources (Ask.com)
• The National Fellowship of Catholic Men: offers a structure that: links Catholic Men in supportive relationships, provides resources consistent with Catholic teaching, and develops training and formation opportunities for men’s ministry and evangelization.

February 12, 2008

• Abraham Lincoln Internet Resources: Ask.com and Google
  • Abraham Lincoln Research Site: Abraham Lincoln's life and accomplishments. Abraham Lincoln Links
• Dads.org: online resources for Christian Fatherhood. St. Joseph's Covenant Keepers strive for a Christlike concern for the spiritual and material welfare of other families in our community, in our parish, and in other localities throughout the world.
  • Resources in Combating Pornography (Dads.org)
  • What the Catechism Says About Pornography (Dads.org)
• Dr. Saul’s Biology In Motion: Animations, interactive activities, and cartoons designed to make learning biology a richer, more engaging experience.
• Educational CyberPlayGround: provides K-12 interdisciplinary, multicultural collaborative online thematic curriculum modules for schools, home schooled, and learning centers. The main focus of the site is to improve reading and "help all children,…teachers, and regular folks to learn to use and feel comfortable with technology."
• The Old Fashioned Kitchen: share recipes, cooking tips and memories of the kitchen. Cooking and food is part of our heritage. We pass down recipes and techniques to each new generation, creating memories that will last forever.

February 9, 2008

• FilterReview.com: designed to help you find the Internet safety solution that will best suit your needs!
• Porn-free.org: helps people discover the truth about pornography and "sexual" addictions.
• Freedomeveryday.org: sponsored by L.I.F.E. Ministries (Living in Freedom Everyday).

February 8, 2008

• Four-Hundred Years of Native American Portraiture: The New York Public Library's digital collection brings together Simon van de Passe (1595-1647), George Caitlin's "North American Indian Portfolio" from 1845, Frederic Allen Williams' "Photographs of American Indians", Edward S. Curtis (1868-1954), and others. In total, this digital collection includes 369 prints and drawings.
• Google SketchUp 6: a 3D modeling software tool that’s easy to learn, simple to use, and lets you place your models in Google Earth. Are you remodeling a kitchen, landscaping your back yard or adding a deck to your home? From simple to complex, from conceptual to realistic, Google SketchUp helps you see your vision before you build it.

February 7, 2008

• Johnny the Bagger - A True Story of Customer Service: celebrates the incomparable power of customer service delivered from the heart. This will help motivate your employees to take personal responsibility for creating a positive, memorable customer experience—the kind of experience needed to generate customer loyalty, improve employee retention and strengthen team morale.

February 6, 2008

• For Valentine’s Day (USCCB): Do Something Special "For Your Marriage." This Valentine’s Day, skip the candy and flowers…better yet, this year give your spouse or significant other a little something extra. Check out tips and tools to deal with common issues faced by married and engaged couples and those in serious relationships.
• Butterflies and Moths of North America: a searchable database of verified butterfly and moth records in the United States and Mexico. This site includes dynamic distribution maps, photographs, species accounts, and species checklists for each county in the U.S. and each state in Mexico.
• Citizen Media Legal Guide - The Citizen Media Law Project (CMLP): The guide, intended for use by citizen media creators with or without formal legal training, addresses the legal issues that traditional and non-traditional journalists are likely to encounter as they gather information and publish their work online. Contents include: Forming a Business and Getting Online | Dealing with Online Legal Risks | Newsgathering and Privacy | Access to Government Information | Risks Associated With Publication | Intellectual Property | Unique Content: Special Risks | Guides and Resources.

February 5, 2008

• USCCB Multimedia Online Resources For Lent 2008: begins on Ash Wednesday, February 6. Resources are organized around four pillars of the United States Catholic Catechism for Adults: What We Believe, What We Celebrate, How We Live, and How We Pray. Includes a new series of "radio retreats" in English and Spanish featuring bishops as retreat leaders, and several versions of the Stations of the Cross.
• Lifelong Literacy Campaign (Library of Congress): presents a sampling of suggested books that will spark imagination and transport readers to new and exciting places.
  • Explore New Worlds Booklist which encourages children and young adults to become engaged in reading.
• Great Web Sites for Kids: The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association. ALSC’s online resource containing hundreds of links to commendable Web sites for children.
  • Web sites added in 2007 to Great Web Sites for Kids
• Tiscali Reference: Contains Curriculum Topics | Education | Encyclopedia | Health Information | Phrase Books (French, Italian, German, Spanish) |Tools & Calculators.
  • Tiscali Dictionaries: Contains Computers Dictionary, Multimedia and the Internet | Difficult Words | English Dictionary | Daily Crossword.
• P. Allen Smith - Garden Home: The garden enthusiast who brings 'you fresh ideas from the garden.' Includes Featured Plants, archives of past 'Features,' Recipes, even medicinal uses of some of the plants growing in gardens as well as 'Seasonal Tips' to make sure you properly care for your garden.

February 1, 2008

• Apostolic Visit of Pope Benedict XVI to the United States - April 15–20, 2008 (USCCB)
  • Teaching Resource Guides for Teachers, Catechists and Youth Ministers. Includes Core Theology on the Papacy, Catechetical Materials for grades K-12 and RCIA, and PowerPoint Presentations.
  • There will be several public events during the visit, including Mass at Nationals Park in Washington and Yankee Stadium in New York. For ticket information on those events, please visit the Web sites: Archdiocese of Washington and Archdiocese of New York.
• Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ): USA's lead Federal agency for research on health care quality, costs, outcomes, and patient safety.
• CatholicTube.com - Broadcasting Christ and His Church to the World.

January 30, 2008

• Lenten Calendar - EWTN: daily devotional meditations for each day of the Lent.
  • Lent: Call to Conversion. Readings and reflections for season of Lent.
  • The Lenten Workshop - CatholicCulture: Information about Lent, Lenten prayers hymns, Lenten activities, Stations of the Cross, Holy Week.
  • Ash Wednesday (CatholicCulture): includes the rules for fasting and abstinence.
• Practice God’s Presence - Simply Living God’s Will and Way: Devoted to the methods of the famous 17th century Carmelite, Brother Lawrence.
• The Virtue-Driven Life by Mark Lowery, Ph.D. There are four cardinal moral virtues: prudence, justice, temperance and fortitude. They are called "cardinal" from the Latin word for "hinge," (cardo, cardinis) since the whole life of natural virtue pivots on these four key virtues. Think of these as "grooves" in your life that keep you headed toward your final destiny. Every particular virtue—patience, magnanimity, gratitude, trust—belongs to one of these grooves.
• SearchFreeFonts.com:  collection contains over 13,000 free fonts.

January 29, 2008

• "What It Takes To Be Number One" - Coach Vince Lombardi. The Vince Lombardi Trophy, as the NFL’s most prestigious award, is a symbol of everything that Vince Lombardi stood for: excellence, discipline, commitment, and of course, winning. To get you ready for Super Bowl Sunday, here’s the "What It Takes To Be Number One" movie containing vintage photos, great quotes, and rare audio segments of Vince Lombardi’s famous speech.

January 28, 2008

• The Old Farmer's Almanac: since 1792, has published useful information for people in all walks of life: tide tables for those who live near the ocean; sunrise tables and planting charts for those who live on the farm; recipes for those who live in the kitchen; and forecasts for those who don't like the question of weather left up in the air. "Our main endeavour is to be useful, but with a pleasant degree of humour."

January 25, 2008

• Chemistry PowerPoint Lessons and Instructional Materials: These particular resources cover atomic structure, quantum mechanics, atomic size, bonding, and several dozen additional topics. Visitors can browse through these resources at their leisure and each topic area includes a brief description of what is covered in each set of materials. Specifically, the resources include labs, assignments, worksheets, and handouts. Many of the resources draw on examples from the "Fundamentals of Chemistry" textbook…
• National Geographic Maps to launch national trails database that will help outdoor enthusiasts locate accurate trail and recreation information nationwide. TOPO!® Explorer, available to the public in May, will present users with National Geographic’s detailed topographic maps, aerial photography, a hybrid map made from the two, and an extensive, freely browsable, online database of trail descriptions, recommendations and unique points of interest.

January 24, 2008

• Salesian Spirituality: index to writings concerned with St. Francis de Sales and papal documents devoted to him.

January 23, 2008

• Chiesa: News, analyses and documents of the Catholic Church, by Sandro Magister.

• Home & Garden Television: You'll find ideas and inspiration to transform your space, and the expert help you need to accomplish it—instructions for thousands of home and garden projects, video tips, Decorating, Remodeling, Gardening, At Home, Crafts.

January 22, 2008

• Real Climate: Climate Science from Climate Scientists. Features: Weather and climate basics | The basics of climate prediction | Global Warming basics, and more.
• Publishing Advice for Graduate Students (Social Science Research Network): Advice is given on how to publish everything from book reviews to articles, replies to book chapters, and how to secure both edited book contracts and authored monograph contracts, along with plenty of helpful tips and advice on the publishing world (and how it works) along the way in what is meant to be a comprehensive, concrete guide to publishing that should be of tremendous value to graduate students working in any area of the humanities and social sciences. Download here.
• Europe and Islam - Bernard Lewis - 2007 Irving Kristol Lecture (American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research). The 2007 Kristol Award was presented to Bernard Lewis, the Cleveland E. Dodge Professor of Near Eastern Studies Emeritus at Princeton University, and long the free world’s preeminent student and interpreter of Islam, the Ottoman Empire, and the modern Middle East.

January 21, 2008

• Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: an African-American clergyman who advocated social change through non-violent means. A powerful speaker and a man of great spiritual strength, he shaped the American civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s.
• MENTOR: premier advocate and resource for the expansion of mentoring initiatives nationwide.
  • Mentoring Resources: mentoring information, organized by topic with the three most recent articles in each area. We're adding to it regularly to keep you up-to-date on the latest in mentoring information.
  • Elements of Effective Practice: Recently revised and updated, "The Elements of Effective Practice" reflects the latest in quality mentoring research, policies, and practices.
• National Council of Teachers of Mathematics: a public voice of mathematics education, providing vision, leadership and professional development to support teachers in ensuring equitable mathematics learning of the highest quality for all students.
• Biology Browser: Teaching resources created by Thomson Scientific. Provides science educators with over 190 resources related to various areas of biology activities that can be used in the classroom. Visitors can also glance over a glossary of zoology terms and look over news from the world of taxonomy.

January 18, 2008

• Week of Prayer for Christian Unity Resources: 2008 theme is "Pray without ceasing" (1 Thess 5:17). The week of prayer begins Jan. 18 and ends Jan. 25, feast of the conversion of St. Paul.
• Maturity Health Matters - Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA). FDA health news for older adults, their families and their caregivers." Article Index.

January 17, 2008

• Project Gutenberg Online Book Catalog: There are over 20,000 free books in the catalog. Bookshelf categories: Children's Bookshelf | Countries Bookshelf | Crime Bookshelf | Periodicals Bookshelf | Religion Bookshelf | Science Bookshelf | Wars Bookshelf . Browse by Author, Title, Language or Recently Posted
• Marriage Resource Center of Miami Valley: an "upstream" marriage strengthening agency to reduce divorce rates, teen pregnancy rates and social risk indicators of broken families.
  • Marriage Resources: brochures, e-newsletter archives, marriage resources, media articles, polls/surveys, research/study articles, statistics and video clips.

January 15, 2008

• WiredSafety.org - the world's largest Internet safety and help group. Provides help, information and education to Internet and mobile device users of all ages. Helps victims of cyberabuse ranging from online fraud, cyberstalking and child safety, to hacking and malicious code attacks. Also help for parents with issues, such as MySpace and cyberbullying.
  • Web Sites and Multimedia Intellectual Property Rights. Written by a lawyer, Exec. Dir. of WiredSafety.org. Note the "Copyright Law" links in the left column.
  • Internet Law: check out the links in the left column for additional information.
• Parry Aftab, Esq., The Privacy Lawyer™ - managing cybercrime, privacy and cyber-abuse risks. Check out sections on School Risk Management (FERPA) | Privacy Laws | Kids’ Internet Law | Workplace Privacy | Risk Management | For Lawyers | Child Pornography | Articles.
• Pittsburghese - the unofficial language of the Steel City. From da Sahside to Sliberty, you can find Picksburghers speaking just like this. Every tahn has its own flavor, and this is just one of ours. So if you are planning to visit Dahntahn or just catch a Stillers game we suggest you learn the language of the 'Burgh. So quit jaggin' around already! Click sumpin!

January 14, 2008

• Google Alerts: email updates of the latest relevant Google results (web, news, etc.) based on your choice of query or topic. Some handy uses of Google Alerts include: monitoring a developing news story | keeping current on a competitor or industry | getting the latest on a celebrity or event | keeping tabs on your favorite sports teams.
• NextWave Faithful: a new outreach from Family Life Center International through an online community, conferences, publications, and radio shows, seeks to encourage and equip the next generation to answer the call of Christ. The articles deal with topics important to youth, and the online community is vibrant. Of special note is a detailed list of positive Christian music alternatives to secular artists which is indexed both by type of music and specific artists.
• Governing: a monthly magazine whose primary audience is state and local government officials—the governors, mayors, legislators, council members, program directors, agency heads, policy advisors and other officials spanning the entire range of responsibility for state and local government. They are the men and women who set policy for and manage the day-to-day operations of cities, counties and states, as well as such governmental bodies as school boards and special districts.
• Math in Daily Life: Created by Annenberg Media, this set of interactive exercises looks at the manifestation of mathematical principles in areas of life such as home decorating, finances, and of course, cooking. In each section, users will find hands-on exercises that complement well-written essays that help introduce visitors to seven different topical areas. Finally, the site includes a list of relevant websites, including links to The Math Forum, the U.S. Census Bureau, and The Metric Conversion Card.
• The National Gallery of Art - Collections: one of the finest collections in the world illustrating major achievements in painting, sculpture and graphic arts from the Middle Arts to the present. The collections can be searched by specific artist, title, or a combination of criteria for easy access to all the individual works.

January 10, 2008

• Microsoft Office 2007 Compatibility Pack: By installing the Compatibility Pack in addition to Microsoft Office 2000, Office XP, or Office 2003, you will be able to open, edit, and save files using the file formats new to Microsoft Office 2007–Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Download Office 2007 Compatibility Pack.
• Library of Congress (LOC) – Teachers: More than 10 million primary sources online. Kids and Families
• Spell It!—the Scripps National Spelling Bee study site created in cooperation with Merriam-Webster. The site focuses on the official list of about 700 study words for 2008, each categorized by language of origin, and each linked to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary with audio pronunciations. There are loads of additional "challenge" words, fascinating facts, and entertaining exercises—all designed to provide spellers of all ages with a winning edge.
• NOAA Discovery Kits: presents tutorials, lessons, and multimedia activities for learning about corals, estuaries, ocean currents, tides, and pollution from diffuse sources. Learn about the waters and habitats where rivers meet the sea and form some of the world’s most productive ecosystems; and geodesy, the science of measuring and monitoring the shape of the earth and the location of points on its surface.
• Acronym Finder: With more than 585,000 human-edited definitions, Acronym Finder is the world's largest and most comprehensive dictionary of acronyms, abbreviations, and initialisms.

January 9, 2008

• The Writings of St. Francis of Assisi - edited by Fr. Kajetan Esser, OFM: The Franciscan Archive
• 123 Kidz Area.com - Your Family Internet Directory: the largest and most informative directory for families in North America.
• Alice (Carnegie Mellon University): an innovative 3D programming environment that makes it easy to create an animation for telling a story, playing an interactive game, or a video to share on the web. Alice is a teaching tool for introductory computing. It uses 3D graphics and a drag-and-drop interface to facilitate a more engaging, less frustrating first programming experience.
• Jazz Old Time on-line: an opportunity to listen to all the old time jazz greats, artists such as Louis Armstrong, Tommy Dorsey and Artie Shaw. Recommended by one of our jazz lovers, the site features 18,760 recorded by every classic jazz musician imaginable.
• Quotes About Writing!
• FamilyDoctor.org: "health information for the whole family from the American Academy of Family Physicians." All of the information is written and reviewed by physicians and patient education professionals. You'll find guides for Healthy Living | Smart Patient Guide | Women’s–Men’s–Seniors’–Kids' Health | Over the Counter Guide | Drug Information.
• Foodreference.com - the food reference website: Long articles about food, short facts and trivia, cooking tips, recipes etc. You will also find the most complete listing of Food Festivals from around the world, a Today in Food History calendar, Cookbook Reviews, thousands of quotes about food, and other fun stuff like food crosswords, poetry and humor and much, much more.

January 8, 2008

• uMark Lite: add watermarks to your images. uMark Lite enables you to add a text or image watermark to your digital photos. You can choose from 9 pre-defined watermark placements, set a custom font , size and color, as well as opacity level. The freeware version can batch process up to 50 images in a single run.

• American Civil War: a collection of online resources about the Civil War and includes graphics, letters and information about specific battles, music, fictional accounts of wartime and a host of other civil war related subjects.

January 7, 2008

• Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy–Principles and Guidelines (Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments). The Liturgical Year and Popular Piety.
• eLearn Magazine: Education and Technology in Perspective
  • Top 100 Tools for Learning, 2007 (Centre for Learning & Performance Technologies)

January 3, 2008

• Franciscan Wikipedia: information about Sts. Francis and Clare of Assisi and an overview of the Franciscan Family. Directory of all pages.
• LifeTips: "the place to go when you need to know" for millions of readers on the Internet. The featured sites contain a variety of tips categorized into 28 different topics with a well-organized index for easy access. You’ll be able to consult the gurus for the ultimate solution on just about any issue.
• K3 Smartboard: enhancing Missouri's Instructional Networked Teaching Strategies — transforms elementary classrooms into places for learning where teachers and students use multimedia tools to better understand the world, work together and achieve at new and higher levels. eMINTS evaluation has been recognized as meeting the requirements for the U.S. Department of Education's "Scientifically-Based Research" outlined in No Child Left Behind. The majority of the sites are in the math and language arts categories.
• Nature: Horses is the companion site to the PBS Nature special on Horses. The site introduction aptly explains the importance of 'Horses' in the following manner: "They have transported us, fed us, amused us, worked for us, fought battles for us. Their beauty, grace, and fiery spirit have inspired us. Many centuries ago, their speed and endurance altered human perceptions of distance, and permitted physical achievements that otherwise would have been impossible. To a degree unmatched by any other animal, the horse has profoundly influenced the course of civilization."

January 2, 2008

• New Year Traditions: songs, recipes and traditions celebrated differently around the world.
• The St. Nicholas Center: to educate people of faith, and the wider public, about the true St. Nicholas, and why he is important in today's world, to encourage families, churches, and schools to observe St. Nicholas Day (December 6th), and to provide resources for education and celebration.
• "Lectio Divina" with Scripture meditations, Sunday and daily, of the liturgical year, Cycles A-B-C
  • Liturgical Year-A
  • What is the Lectio Divina?: Carmelite Spiritual Directory Project
• Your Good News Source: multimedia information service sponsored by the Pontifical Council for Social Communications
• MIT OpenCourseWare: a free publication of course materials used at MIT. Get lecture notes, problem sets, labs and more. Watch lecture videos and demonstrations. Study a wide variety of subjects. Courses by Department
• A Student's Guide to the Medical Literature: designed especially for medical students, but it can be used by anyone who wants a guide to the medical literature. Includes: A Tutorial outlining a simple 4-step approach to reading medical literature | Search Strategies with links to the best web sites | A Guide to Critical Appraisal of journal articles with step-by-step explanation of the "User's Guide approach.
• The Gratitude Campaign — support the military

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