It's been very hot in Winnipeg this week.* On the one hand, that makes the people running an electronic publication like CM nervous because we worry about the computers overheating until sparks fly out of the consoles. On the other hand, we don't have to worry about the sweat dripping from our brows staining the pages before we send them off to the printer.
CM is printing Professor Floridi's article because we're trying to be more than be a source for reviews; we also want to be a resource for readers who are new to this medium. That's why our welcome page has a small guide to other Internet sites you might find friendly or useful. If you have suggestions for other resources we could link our readers with, or other kinds of help you'd like to see in CM, please let us know.
-- Duncan Thornton
editor@mbnet.mb.ca
* Winnipeg also gets very cold in the winter.
Review by Harriet Zaidman
Different types of small cats, wild and domestic are depicted in this well-organized book that is most suitable for children in grades K - 4. Little Cats is part of author Kalman's new non-fiction series of ``starter" books called Crabapples. It includes a table of contents, a glossary and an index. The book discusses the cat family tree and the important issues in a cat's life: food, shelter, and physical features, and then gives basic information about unusual types of cats, such as the jagaurundi, the manul, and the serval. It also discusses the issue of preserving the wild cats and controlling the overpopulation of domestic breeds.
Recommended.
Harriet Zaidman is a Winnipeg teacher/librarian.
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Grades 10 and up/ Ages 15 and up.
Review by Dave Jenkinson
excerpt:
``Samuel Beamer, I will come right to the point. We have called you here to offer you a choice: either you abandon the militia or you will be dismissed from the brotherhood. But Samuel, before you make your decision, consider well. Consider what this will mean. Remember that the church has the keys to heaven and hell. Samuel, repent of your sin and return to the law of love. Think of Jesus who, though He could have called an army of mighty angels in His own defense, merely said to Peter: `put up again thy sword into its place: for all they that take the sword shall perish by the sword.' Think of your own situation. If you choose to live by the sword, you, Samuel, who have been one of us, will die spiritually because of the sword that you will not cast off. Think too of the example you are leaving your descendants. Think of their exclusion from the brotherhood if they decide to follow you. And do not think that we will be excluding them, but you yourself will be sending them out because you refuse to submit."
During the War of 1812-14, Samuel Beamer, a Mennonite Carpenter from Newark, a small ``Canadian" community on the shores of Lake Ontario, finds his religious values in conflict with what he perceives his duties as citizen to be. Having enlisted in the militia, Samuel must appear before a meeting of his fellow Mennonites where he is given an ultimatum: resign from the militia or be `shunned'.
Dave Jenkinson teaches courses in Children's and Young Adult Literature at the Faculty of Education, University of Manitoba.
All ages.
excerpt:
Over the years, animators working for the National Film Board of Canada have used every technique imaginable to make their films. And many, no one could have imagined before they gave it a try: coloured pencil, paper cut-outs, clay figures, moving pins -- the list of experiments, most of them successful, goes on and on...
Reading the title of this new compilation of NFB animated classics triggered a nationalistic knee-jerk: do we need a famous American telling us about Canada's best animated films? And as a reviewer, Maltin, famous from his annual Movie and Video Guide and spots on Entertainment Tonight, tends to be chirpy and banal.
Recommended.
Duncan Thornton is the editor of CM.
[Note: we thank Professor Floridi for kind permission to reprint this material, which is a shortened version of a paper he gave at a UNESCO Conference in Paris, March 14-17, 1995. Parts II & III will appear in the next two issues.]
The Internet: a population of several million people, interacting by means of a global network. It is the most educated intellectual community ever, a global academy constantly thinking.
What The Internet Is --
By the word ``Internet" we refer to the international system of digital communication, emerging from the agglomerate of thousands of networks that interact through a number of common protocols worldwide. It cannot be physically perceived, or meaningfully located in space and time, over and above the set of interacting networks that constitute it. It is a collaborative initiative of services and resources, each network being accountable only for its own proper functioning.
What The Internet Can Be Used For --
This is not easy to determine. It isn't that we don't know how to use the system, but that the variety of things that one can do via Internet increases literally every single day. However, we can distinguish four rough categories of communication: e-mail, discussion groups, remote control, and file transfer.
How The Internet Will Affect Organized Knowledge --
This question is almost impossible to answer precisely. It is hard to give even an initial shape to our ignorance, since there may be much more we do not know than we could guess. After all, the Internet is already transforming some of our most fundamental conceptions and habits.
What The Human Encyclopedia Is --
The Human Encyclopedia is the store of human knowledge. It is constantly increasing, although at different rates in different ages and cultures. The rate of increase depends on two things: the quantity of information stored up until that time and the current degree of accessibility of the ``memory" of the system.
Three Steps to The Internet --
Thus began in the 1950s a process of converting the entire domain of organized knowledge into a new, digital macrocosm. This conversion has engendered three fundamental changes in how we access information: extension, visualization, and integration.
Finally...
The Internet Again --
We can now see that the Internet is just the most recent form adopted by the organization of the system of knowledge, a mere stage in the endless self-regulating process through which the Human Encyclopedia constantly strives to respond to its own growth. Through the combination of the three processes of extension, integration, and visualization, the Internet has made possible management of knowledge that is faster, wider in scope, and easier to exercise than ever before.
Reprinted with permission from the electronic journal TidBITS, #281. Email info@tidbits.com for more information.
The following is taken from the 1995 Manitoba Young Reader's Choice Award brochure. After the listing of the 1996 nominees is a form allowing young people to vote for next year's winner.
Jeni Mayer will be presented with her award at a ceremony during I Love to Read Month, February, 1996. The 1996 award-winner will be announced in next year's Manitoba Young Reader's Choice Award brochure.
Jim spends the summer in the Queen Charlotte Islands and becomes embroiled in a dangerous fight to stop Abalone hunting. Book two in a trilogy of environmental thrillers.
In diary form, Daniel relates his Jewish family's struggle to survive World War II. No longer able to practise their own religion, vote, own property, or even work, Daniel's family is forced from their home in Frankfurt and sent on a long and dangerous journey to Auschwitz.
It is 1942 and fifteen-year-old Jay Smith's quiet life in the Alaskan Wilderness is disrupted when his uncle arrives with news of war. Suddenly Jay's life is filled with Adventure as he works on the construction of the Alaska Highway.
A drummer named Mike meets Dariana, the girl of his dreams. Feeling dissatisfied with his life, Mike joins Dariana's band in which, through their music, they fight racism and other forms of intolerance.
Stevie Diamond has a robber to catch. The Garbage Buster's money has been stolen from the Diamonds' apartment, and there aren't many clues as to who the culprit is. This fast-paced, exciting novel is the first in the Steve Diamond Mystery Series.
Caught between the mystical dream-like world of Faërie and modern Ireland, Gwen must rely on the guidance of fairy-folk, leprechauns, and a few red-headed friends to help rescue her cousin Findabhair, who has been kidnapped by the Faërie king.
In this hilarious spoof of epic tales, Ogo, a young knight, is given the ``safe" job of protecting the infant princess Illia. But this turns out to be a challenging task when Ogo takes the wrong path and has to rescue the Princess from some pretty scary stuff, including the laughing Giant.
This last book in the trilogy provides a satisfying end to the experiences of two young ``war guests" from England. In this story, the focus shifts from Norah to Gavin and the difficult choices he must make as World War II draws to a close. (The Sky is Falling and Looking at the Moon.
Nicholas Sparks was a normal fourteen-year-old boy. What would cause him to murder a nationally known musician and songwriter? An answer is revealed via the contents of letters, faxes, transcribed interview notes, and doctor's case notes.
Taking his father's car without permission and wrecking it lands sixteen-year-old Kevin on a ranch working as a hired hand for the summer. Kevin manages to stave off boredom by turning his work experience into a series of hilarious newspaper articles.
JB's friends from his writing club -- alias the JAWS Mob -- investigate a mystery that lands JB smack in the middle of his worst phobia. A wonderfully strange cast of characters turns this tale of friendship into a hilarious story of nail-biting suspense.
In this gripping science fiction, three teenagers stranded on an empty planet find themselves in danger when it turns out to be inhabited after all.
Ursula is a young woman with unusual healing abilities living in 1096 A.D. Her knowledge, gleaned from her apothecary father and a monk's secret book, leads her into trouble and the first Crusade, where her life is changed forever by the sights she sees.
With a catcher who's afraid of the ball, and a right fielder who falls asleep during games, it looks like the Feather-Soft Tigers are about to become the laughing stock of the little-league world. Enter feisty Kristy Pendergast, who, as coach, helps pull the team out its slump.
RanVan is a dynamic and totally original teenager. Although he doesn't cope well with his conformist high school, with the aid of a sympathetic and wise vice-principal, he manages to come to the defense of his new girlfriend and learn some valuable lessons about himself.
When Kevin Ashworth's buddy, Bobby Spezzanctena -- a.k.a. Spazz -- is hired to spend the weekend at the Ritz Plaza Hotel impersonating famous rock star Bill T. Bank, the two find more danger and excitement than they bargained for. A rollicking, funny romp.
Title Number of VotesSend this ballot by Friday, April 12, 1996, to:
Abalone Summer __________
Daniel's Story __________
Flying Ghosts __________
Good Idea Gone Bad __________
How Come the Best Clues Are Always in the Garbage? __________
Hunter's Moon __________
Knights of Endless Day __________
The Lights Go on Again __________
Looking for a Hero __________
The McIntyre Liar __________
Meet You in the Sewer __________
Spaceship Down __________
There Will Be Wolves __________
The Toilet Paper Tigers __________
RanVan the Defender __________
Weekend at the Ritz __________Teacher or Librarian: _______________________________
School or Library: _______________________________
Division Name and Number: _______________________________
Address: _______________________________
Telephone Number: _______________________________
Sheila Duprey
Grant Park High School Library
450 Nathaniel Street
Winnipeg, MB R3M 3E3
- The President of India's Gold Medal
- The Shankar's Award for the best written work
- 24 Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Gold Medals for the next-best paintings/drawings/written work.
- About 400 Silver Medals and 400 prizes.
- Certificates of Merit to deserving entries.
I wish to reserve a copy of Shankar's Children's Art Number Vol. 47 at the concessional rate. I am remitting U.S. $10.00 by cheque/draft/money order.
(WRITE IN BLOCK LETTERS)
Name:..........................................................
Address:.......................................................
...............................................................
...............................................................
...............................................................
Remittance to be made in the name of ``Shankar's International Children's
Competition."
Copyright © 1995 the Manitoba Library Association. Reproduction for personal use is permitted only if this copyright notice is maintained. Any other reproduction is prohibited without permission.
Published by
The Manitoba Library Association
ISSN 1201-9364
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