Scraps of Thought from a Scrappy Gal

Helen Wheales

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To share my perspective; To be heard; To hear my voice; To think; To know; To communicate; To educate; To exercise my citizenship; To worship; To share my gifts. To be.

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Media and Technology

On Pandora, ‘The Giver of Gifts”

Nothing shifts my mood like music–my favorite music.  This morning  I settled in to my seat to finish off some grading in a less-than enthusiastic state. Sigh… another day, another round of student writers to coach. I sign on to Pandora, an automated Internet music site, then toggle back to the student-essay file. Named after the Greek goddess who [...]

Lament for the Lost Library

Growing up, I spent a lot of time in my neighborhood branch of the Toledo Lucas-County Public Library. Sometimes I’d wander there alone and read for a few hours. Other times I’d go with friends, or meet them to do homework at one of the community tables. The librarians–the Silence Police–would make their rounds, shushing anyone who talked [...]

A Reluctant Non-Endorsement

I opened my  (Toledo) Blade this morning, and read my way to the Op-Ed pages, where I found that the lofty editorial board chose not to use its traditional space to make its traditional endorsement of its favorite mayoral candidate. They claim to endorse neither Wilkowski nor Bell.  I see things a little differently–the team stands equally behind [...]

It’s a bird. It’s a plane. IT’S A PLANE!!!!

From CNN REPORTS: A White House official apologized Monday after a low-flying Boeing 747 spotted above the Manhattan skyline frightened workers and residents into evacuating buildings. Witnesses reported seeing the plane circle over the Upper New York Bay near the Statue of Liberty. The huge aircraft, which functions as Air Force One when the president [...]

Extra! Extra! Read All About It!

WSPD News reported at every half hour yesterday that the Toledo Blade is considering another round of layoffs as it struggles to remain financially viable as an industry undergoing a double-whammy: the reader ship culture is shifting AND the economy is affecting revenue. Several posters at Swampbubbles made comment that the newspaper is dying. Just [...]