Writer's Block: Untimely Passing

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Kurt Cobain's death made a huge impression on me. I wasn't really into his music but he had such an impact on my whole generation, in the way we dressed, wore our hair and in our taste in music. I was working at a music store when he died. The whole day--the whole week--people wandered in and out of the store, just looking for a place where they could talk with others about their feelings of confusion and mourning.

Nowadays, when I see a college-aged kid with a Nirvana shirt on, I wonder if that kid has any idea just what phenomenons Nirvana and Kurt were. Are they just trying to be cool, or do they really get it?

(no subject)

I haven't seen Twilight yet, but doesn't it strike anyone else as funny that Sharkboy is Jacob the sexy Native American? My, oh my, they grow up fast.

I'm one conclusion away from finishing my Searching class! I'm already starting to feel lighter. I had to dance a little a moment ago :) I'll be glad to be away from that teacher. Some people just come across as so curt via the online medium and she's one of them. She looks nice in her pictures but she's always saying things like "as I already said" or "if you'd read the lecture you'd know..." Yeah, we get it. Maybe if you didn't inundate us with information we'd be able to sort through it and find what we need.

But who cares!? It's over!! Yay!

(no subject)

Annotated List of Information Resources

Aftab, Perry, (2008). Wired Kids. Retrieved December 8, 2008, from http://www.wiredsafety.org/parent.html

Wired Kids seeks to educate parents, teachers, librarians and law enforcement officials on cyberspeak, cybertrends and other cyber-issues that affect children. The website provides numerous links for both adults and children, including a link with instructions on how to report cybercrime. Other features include an index of commonly used cyber terms and a list of hot topics such as blogging and cyberdating. Note that this website is not about restricting a child’s use of the Internet, as can be seen by their statement, “Educators need to understand that the greatest risk our children face online is being denied access. (Aftab, 2008, http://www.wiredsafety.org/educators.html.) Their main concern is safe access.

Attwood, Tony, (2008). Tony Attwood. Retrieved December 8, 2008, from http://www.tonyattwood.com.au/

Maintained by one of the world’s most renowned experts in the field of Asperger’s Syndrome, this website offers many helpful links to parents seeking to learn more about Autism. Commonly recommended by his peers in the field, Attwood’s website provides a hub from which parents can find an extensive list of other website that cover the issue of Autism. Site also offers an archive to work by experts in the field of Autism. Although this website could be viewed as a personal website, or a promotion of Attwood’s products, the links and information he provides are reliable and helpful. Attwood’s website cuts short the many hours a parent could spend trying to research this information for him or herself.

Nemours Foundation, (2008.) KidsHealth. Retrieved December 8, 2008, from http://kidshealth.org/index.html

Website has three portals, one for parents, one for children and one for teens. The parent portal provides links to many aspects of parenting, as wide ranging as pregnancy, behavioral concerns and discipline issues. While the parenting pages are highly informative, the kids’ page is equally interesting. For example, educational games are offered, such as a game that will figure out how many calories is contained in your Halloween candy! Medical professionals review all site information. The website is is affiliated with many reputable professional organizations such the American Academy of Physcians.


Tufts University, (2008). Child and Family WebGuide. Retrieved December 8, 2008, from http://www.cfw.tufts.edu/

Run by Tufts University, the Child and Family WebGuide is an excellent resource for parents and families. Links are grouped in several different ways, making this website quite easy to use. A parent can search by age, by health concerns, by developmental concerns or simply browse through an alphabetical listing of the links. All links provided by the WebGuide lead to websites managed by professionals in their respective fields. One quite helpful aspect of the website is their “ask an expert” link, which guides parents to various websites that allow them to submit their questions directly to an expert in the field of their concern.

University of Michigan, (2008). Your child: Development and behavior resources. Retrieved December 8, 2008 from http://www.med.umich.edu/1libr/yourchild/

Contains a wide-range of information to assist parents seeking information about their child’s development and behavior. Links in the index lead to a webpage with indepth discussion of a given concern, as well as many links to further educate parents. All links and resources are reviewed by experts in child behavioral health employed by the University of Michigan. Website also provides podcasts about topics of interest. The ease of use of this website, coupled with the scholarly and professional management by the administration make it a website that parents can effectively utilize.


University of Washington, (2008). Center on reinventing public education. Retrieved December 8, 2008, from http://www.crpe.org/cs/crpe/print/csr_docs/home.htm

The Center on Reinventing Public Education has done extensive research on many aspects of public education with the intent purposes of educating and assisting parents in making the right choice for their child. The website, published by the University of Washington, provides access to many research documents that discuss issues such as charter schools and how low-income parents can make good choices regarding their child’s education. Not only does the website allow access to all studies without requiring a fee, but it also provides links to may other resources.

U.S. National Library of Medicine, (2008). Medline plus. Retrieved December 8, 2008, from http://medlineplus.gov/

Managed by both the U.S. National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health, this website is an excellent source for parents who are searching for answers to health questions. Links to medical dictionaries, encyclopedias, and directories are just a few of the many choices offered by Medline Plus. One of the unique aspects of this website is the interactive tutorials concerning both medical procedures and diseases. The website also provides links to video footage of a wide variety of surgical procedures.