Many people meditate, regardless of religion. Are you a beginner? Don't worry, help is on the way! Check out these titles.

Still the Mind: An Introduction to Meditation
By Alan Watts
Collection: NLB netLibrary Collection

WHEN "you" understand the art of contemplation, there is no experiencer separate from experience, and there is no one to get anything out of life, or therefore to get anything from meditation.

Finding the Center Within: The Healing Way of Mindfulness Meditation
By Thomas Bien & Beverly Bien
Collection: NLB netLibrary Collection, NLB Overdrive Collection

WHO wouldn’t want to live a calmer, more peaceful existence? Thomas and Beverly Bien teach that if we find the center within through ongoing mindfulness we...

Meditation for Dummies -- For Dummies; 2nd Ed.
By Stephen Bodian
Collection: NLB netLibrary Collection

THE truth is, you can learn the basics of meditation in five minutes. Did you realize that meditation has an illustrious multicultural history?

The Soul's Companion: Connecting With the Soul Through Daily Meditations
By Dayton, Tian
Collection: NLB netLibrary Collection

THEY may be daily quiet time or meditation, journaling or nature walks.

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Meditation
By Joan Budilovsky & Eve Adamson
Collection: NLB netLibrary Collection

A POSITIVE mental state is ideal for meditation, and meditation can make the most of a positive mental state. Meditation Is Healing Power But meditation is more than stress relief, fitness ally, and preventive medicine.

Audio eBooks:

Angels & Guides Healing Meditations
By Sylvia Browne
Collection: NLB Overdrive Collection

YOU'LL find a new level of comfort, safety, and clarity as you listen to these four uniquely powerful meditations from world-renowned psychic and best-selling author Sylvia Browne. Discover that...

Creative Visualization Meditations
By Shakti Gawain
Collection: NLB Overdrive Collection

SHAKTI Gawain’s Creative Visualization Meditations audio has sold over 300,000 copies since its release nearly 30 years ago. Shakti Gawain gently guides listeners through meditations from her...

Native American Meditations
By Amanaska
Collection: NLB Overdrive Collection

Meditations
By Shakti Gawain
Collection: NLB Overdrive Collection

FOR nearly thirty years, listeners have found practical advice for improving their lives in Shakti Gawain’s audio products. The guided meditations found on this audio offer easy-to-implement approaches...

Want more? Well then explore our eBook Collections!

Posted by digitalk team at 05:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In striving to be so hi-tech, so tuned in, so pumped to be "cutting edge" or "cool" or 24/7 connected. To have latest, fastest "best in show" devices for our palmtop, laptop or desktop is the ultimate techright of the tomorrow people. Planned obsolescence is the only verity and perpetual upgrades are the automatically downloaded rule.

But just for a moment, pause, and think what that means in terms of the the computer hardware and nifty electronics we habitually get rid of. Where do they go and who does what with them? It is being increasing understood that we are dumping a problem of epidemic proportions, estimations say that 20 to 50 million tons of digital waste is generated annually worldwide.

Most of this is shipped out to India, China and Kenya where "scavenger economies" have grown up - feeding off the vast mountains of our electronic detritus Families eke out a living from the harmful, the toxic and the downright deadly spare parts, rescuing the precious from the shells and casings of the unwanted, once desirable consumer toy.

Technology, they say, drives the forces of globalization. But at what cost? This photo essay provides a graphic insight into the people on the other end of our connected world

DIRECT LINKS
INSIDE THE DIGITAL DUMP. Foreign Policy, May/Jun2007 Issue 160, p74-79, 6p; (AN 24873868)
from EBSCOHost Academic Search Premier

Image courtesy of Foreign Policy via EBSCOHost

Posted by digi.talk team at 04:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Check out what's hot in the local newspapers today...

EDB working to help UNSW students - S'pore universities extend deadline for applications for 2007 admissions
By Charmian Kok, for Business Times, The (Singapore)

THE Economic Development Board (EDB) yesterday said that it has been working closely with the University of New South Wales (UNSW) and the Ministry of Education to help affected students who wish to remain in Singapore and provide options for them to consider their university studies...

Check out the full article at Newsbank!

Pilots petition SIA bosses to correct 'negative impressions' - Group wants public correction for remarks made at court hearing
By Karamjit Kaur, for Straits Times, The (Singapore)

THE year-long pay dispute between Singapore Airlines and its pilots has been settled. But it has also left a bitter aftertaste.

Late last week, a group of SIA pilots submitted a petition to the airline's management expressing their concerns about remarks made by airline representatives during the two-day High Court hearing last month over pay and benefits for Airbus 380 pilots...

Check out the full article at Newsbank!

New fee hikes at public hospitals and polyclinics - Consultation fees are up at most of them, as demand and costs rise
By Salma Khalik, for Straits Times, The (Singapore)

A NEW round of fee hikes is underway at most public hospitals and some polyclinics. This time, it is consultation fees that are going up, as demand and operating costs continue to rise, say health-care providers.

Subsidised patients at four public hospitals will now pay $24 or $25 for every visit to a specialist clinic, up from about $21. Attendances at specialist clinics have gone up from 2.8 million in 2003 to 3.5 million in 2005...

Check out the full article at Newsbank!

Teachers should use new media to engage students
By Ho Ai Li , for Straits Times, The (Singapore)

IF YOU can't get students to stop listening to trashy pop songs, join them.

Listen to the songs in class and give students the skills to analyse the songs for themselves, said Dr Maha Sripathy, president of the English Language and Literature Teachers Association, Singapore...

Check out the full article at Newsbank!

Ah Ma wins at Cannes - Anthony Chen's short gets Special Mention award at film fest
By Boon Chan, for Straits Times, The (Singapore)

FILM-MAKER Anthony Chen has done Singapore proud at the Cannes Film Festival with a first-ever Special Mention award for his short film, Ah Ma.

The Ngee Ann Polytechnic graduate's second film is based on his memories of his grandmother's death in 2005, and is the first Singapore film to take part in the Official Competition at Cannes...

Check out the full article at Newsbank!

Need help with navigating Newsbank? Well fret no longer, allow our tutorial on using Newbank to be of assistance to you.

Posted by digitalk team at 02:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NLB eDatabases is a gateway to NLB digitised and born digital content.

In the forthcoming weeks, Digi.talk would be providing a series of online tutorials, showing how to do basic searches, using the eDatabases offered in NLB's eResources.

This week's tutorial will be targetted at the Newsbank database. Newsbank offers full-text content of local and regional newspapers (This includes Straits Times and Business Times). Each newspaper has its own distinctive focus offering a variety of viewpoints on local and world issues. Paid advertisements are excluded.

To view our online tutorial on how to use Newsbank eDatabase, click here.

Look forward to many more useful tutorials on how to use our various eDatabases in the upcoming weeks!

Posted by digitalk team at 11:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We all look for ways to brighten up our presentations or make our projects more appealing, don't we? Look no further than NLB e-Resources!
Our databases are full of a tremendous variety of images, contemporary and historical; serious and quirky, that you can use without worrying about copying rights. Check out these databases from our eResources today!

Xreferplus allows access to the digitised versions of over 120 reference books including dictionaries, encyclopedias, thesauri, books of quotations and subject-specific reference titles.
· Available at all libraries and from home

Encyclopaedia Britannica Online consists of the complete encyclopaedia, the Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary and Thesaurus, the Britannica Student Encyclopaedia and the Britannica Book of the Year. Together, these quality reference sources provide the user with over 118,000 articles, 14,000 images, 215,000 dictionary entries as well as 300,000 links to websites selected, rated, and reviewed by Britannica editors.
· Available at all libraries and from home

CAMIO, OCLC’s Catalog of Art Museum Images Online, contains about 90,000 works of fine and decorative art from leading museums around the world. The scope of the collection ranges from 3000 BCE to the present, representing premiere examples of Asian, African, Latin American and Western art.
· Available at all libraries and from home

Use Factiva research products to gain single click access to a deep archive of news and business information that provides a historical, global, and local perspective, which can help you uncover essential information on your prospects, partners or customers easily.
· Available at all libraries

Encyclopedia Americana research articles on current events worldwide. Suitable for secondary school level and higher.

The New Book of Knowledge is published from The New Book of Knowledge database, a 7-million-word repository of text and images. NBK is a concise resource geared for primary school students and upwards. The database covers a broad range of topics, containing graphics, fact boxes, projects, suggested reading lists, and links to news articles.

The New Book of Popular Science is published by Scholastic Library Publishing from The New Book of Popular Science database, a 2.2-million-word repository of text and images. Targetted at upper primary and secondary school students, it also has informative articles in addition to interactive features such as Fun Facts, Careers articles, science in the news, games, puzzles and brainteasers and links to thousands of websites.

Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia provides reference information and news on all subjects using learning tools and rich media. Currently includes more than 40,000 encyclopedia articles with associated pictures, flags, maps and media, with video, sound, animations, panoramas and cutaways. The Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia Online is updated monthly.
· Available at all libraries and from home

Library PressDisplay provides full-colour digital replications of hundreds of newspapers from around the globe. It offers full content and interactive access to newspapers from over 60 countries in over 30 languages.
· Available at all libraries and from home

Photo images and related description articles of the collections at the National Palace Museum, Taipei, Taiwan. Collections are classified into seven categories: painting, calligraphy, ceramics, jade, bronze, Buddhist antiques, and rarities.

故宫在线
故宫在线数据库内容含图片与文字，范围包括台湾台北国立故宫博物院藏的绘画、书法、陶瓷、玉器、铜器、佛教文物与珍玩。数据库有英语、中文简体、中文繁体及日本语四种语言版本。
· Available at all Libraries and from home

Grove Art Online provides online access to the entire text of The Dictionary of Art, ed. Jane Turner (1996, 34 vols.) and The Oxford Companion to Western Art, ed. Hugh Brigstocke (2001). Both works are recognized as significant reference resources in the world of visual arts. Articles are added and updated regularly. Includes access to thousands of images from the Art Resource and Bridgeman Art Library image collections.
· Available at all libraries and from home

Newsbank offers full-text content of local and regional newspapers (This includes Straits Times and Business Times). Each newspaper has its own distinctive focus offering a variety of viewpoints on local and world issues. Paid advertisements are excluded.
· Available at the libraries and from home

Facts on File's Science Online presents a broad range of scientific disciplines through extensive definitions, essays, diagrams, biographies and experiments. Suitable for students aged 12 to 18.
· Available at all libraries and from home

Facts on File's World Atlas combines detailed, printable, full-colour map of countries, provinces and states with up-to-date statistical and local information. Suitable for students aged 12 to 18.
· Available at all libraries and from home

Posted by digitalk team at 11:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

If you are at all artisitically inclined then you will know that the Singapore Arts Festival is on now. We are not going to to do any previewing or overdo on the recommendations . All performances these days have a digital dimension of some sort but we have picked some which have an obvious digital element in their delivery or performance or execution.

...in the performing arts

[as part of Forward Moves]
"Biggerbettersuperfaster" by Jo-Anne Lee
Jo-Anne Lee's collaboration with electronic composer Joe Diebes tries to explore sound and movement within the context of a video game. TThe performers go through different game levels, treading the border between what is human and what machine.
6 Jun, 8:00pm; 7 Jun 8:00pm

Optical Identity
Theatre Cryptic and T'ang Quartet
Theatre Cryptic and Swiss digital artist Jasch use music(courtesy of the T'ang Quartet) light, object, fabric and film with interactive technologies which promised to deliver a startlingly innovative and immersive stagescape
31 May, 8:00pm; 1 Jun, 8:00pm

PLAY! A Video Game Symphony
Singapore Festival Orchestra
conducted by Arnie Roth
Think video game music but with a full orchestra, a choir and a pipe organ! The music will be synchronised with large format images on a screen above the musicians. Selections of music from the games Final Fantasy, World of Warcraft, The Elder Scrolls, Sonic The Hedgehog and Super Mario Bros will be performed.
15 Jun, 7:30pm; 16 Jun, 7:30pm; 17 Jun, 7:30pm

....in the visual arts

Azhanti High Lightning
An immersive art installation that fills the entire gallery space taking the viewer on a remarkable journey of sights and sounds derived from contemporary Asian society - highlights are a sword-wielding samurai and a 360-degree movie theatre. NAFA promise to deliver a thought-provoking and stimulating experience (conceived by Hong Kong/British artist Simon Birch, with additional work contributed by leading Hong Kong photographer Wing Shya)
1 June – 5 July; Mon – Sat, 11am – 8pm
Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts Gallery

Streetworks: Inside Outside Yokohama
Shaun Gladwell, Craig Walsh /
Curated by David Broker
This work by the leading Australian video artists, Shaun Gladwell and Craig Walsh. Walsh connects the gallery space to the outside urban environment while Gladwell works in reverse. In different ways the artists work to generate a tension between the gallery and the public street. melding high art and low art, sub-cultural and pop-cultural, staged and real.
31 May – 18 June
11am – 9pm daily
The Substation Gallery

Mechatronica
Maywa Denki
Actors dressed as Japanese electricians give a “product demonstration” on their self-made, space-age gadgets. Not strictly speaking a "tech" show but a quirky, innovative musical concert !

8 June, 7.30pm
Esplanade Concert Hall

DIRECT LINKS
images courtesy Singapore Arts Festival
and Craig Walsh's website

Posted by digi.talk team at 12:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

"But me thought it lessened my esteem of a king, that he should not be able to command the rain."
Samuel Pepys
(23/3/1633 – 26/5/1703)
English writer

"Circa 1685, English diarist Samuel Pepys (1633 - 1703). Original Artwork: Engraving of portrait by Kneller. (Photo by Edward Gooch/Getty Images)" -- from EBSCOHost Academic Search Premier
"English government official Samuel Pepys, famous for his diary. which is written with enthusiasm, wit and a keen eye for detail. He brought to life the atmosphere, people, events and places of London in his time covering the Great Fire of London and the Plague. Pepys by birth, career and personal inclination, was the quintessential Londoner. He delighted in the city and everything it offered. With interests that ranged from music, theater and fashion to politics and science, he knew London intimately. With his genius for happiness and pleasure in life, Pepys is an exciting and interesting companion, an irresistible guide to his world"
and you can check out his diary in our World eBook Library
and this outline of him in
SEARCHING FOR SAMUEL PEPYS. By: Woolfolk, Margaret. British Heritage, May2006, Vol. 27 Issue 2, p42-48, 7p, 1 map, 2c; (AN 19833363) EBSCOHost Academic Search Premier

Posted by digi.talk team at 08:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Fifty years ago, there were about 1,000 animators in Hollywood - most likely employed by Disney, who worked in the Looney Tunes backlot of the movie industry. In the last few years everywhere you can throw a stick a digital animator jumps up and says "Hey you!", an effects specialist goes "Whatsup" , or a videogame maker gets very animated. The term "filmmaking professional" now covers the usual set designers and cinematographers, but have been joined or have morphed into computer-generated imagers, motion-capturers, and digital compositors. They are the spell-casters whose animated effects have even crawled into the "real world" of the documentary or the big budget blockbuster. There are some in the industry who are suggesting that it won't be too long before the Tom Cruises of today will be taken over by the an ultra-sophisticated improvement on the Shreks and Final Fantasists and only be paid those mega bucks for a voice over.

So we thought it time that we "gave a nod" to this huge industry by highlighting some of our resources which may offer some encouragement to any dashing, dynamic, digital draughtpersons out there.

Digital Character Animation 3
by George Maestri

Whether you're creating animation for television, advertising, games, or multimedia, [digital] Character Animation 3 can help you bring your imagination to life. In this updated classic, both newcomers to digital animation and old hands looking to hone existing skills will find essential techniques for creating lively, professional-quality animation that are applicable to any software application. Combining the fundamentals of modeling, rigging, and animation with advanced-level information on characterization, directing, and production management, author George Maestri has created an essential resource for digital animators. [digital] Character Animation 3 is packed with beautiful new artwork and Maestri's invaluable expert tips.

Build a digital animation system - Parts 1 to 5
Veronika Megler & George Dolbier

Learn how to build a digital animation studio and special effects system from the ground up with IBM technologies. In Part 1, the authors illustrate the dynamics and business model and processes of the animation effects industry and introduce the existing infrastructure; they bring this knowledge to life with a running example for a fictitious company: Part 2, get the details of the technology needs for generating rich media content, editing that content, and storing it, as you follow the example of a fictitious company; Part 3, examines various types of file systems and storage that can meet the needs of a studio in the process of ramping up for a major project; Part 4, helps you set up the right network to meet the needs of a studio in the process of ramping up for a major project, and also look back at other technology choices and determine how well the components fit; the final instalment gives you valuable tips on how to size individual components and the overall sectors, and also look at the final picture of the sample animation studio.

Apple Pro Training Series: Motion
by Damian Allen

This Apple-authorized guide to Motion lifts the curtain on Apple's revolutionary new software for motion graphics design. A comprehensive book-DVD combo, it starts with motion graphics fundamentals and takes you step by step all the way through Motion's powerful advanced features, delivering comprehensive training—the equivalent of a three-day course—in one project-based book. Professional, hands-on projects help you learn as you go.

So why not click through to
to make the most of these great ebooks!

.....oh and by the way, if you fancy a real experience among all of your virtual ones

-
Intense Animation Studio's Managing Director, Tony Sealy will be speaking at the library@orchard on

"How to Become a Digital Animator Without Too Much Pain!" on Wednesday, 6th of June 2007

IT'S FREE BUT please remember to register before 1st JUNE
Register via sms: 98570768 or email: audrey@intense-animation.com

DIRECT LINKS
"Biker" animation from Animation Station
"Buzz Lightyear" courtesy of EBSCOHost Academic Search Premier

Posted by digi.talk team at 03:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Perhaps these eBooks from NLB Overdrive collection might come in handy. Access these titles and more right here.

Love shopping? Get the best bargains with Suzy Gershman guidance. Check out her books:

Suzy Gershman's Born to Shop Hong Kong, Shanghai & Beijing
The Ultimate Guide for Travelers Who Love to Shop
by Suzy Gershman

FOR nearly twenty years, Suzy Gershman has been leading savvy shoppers to the world s best finds. Now Born to Shop Hong Kong, Shanghai & Beijing is easier to use and packed with more up-to-date listings than ever before. Inside you ll find:

- What is hot in Hong Kong, from hip new fashions and designer labels to porcelain, jade, and colorful markets
- The best of Shanghai, from the Old City to the exciting new Pudong area
- Terrific buys in Beijing, from the Silk Market to the Pearl Market to the famous antiques street of Liulichang
- A completely new section on Hanoi and its unique treasures such as contemporary art, sophisticated lacquer, and funky ethnic fashions

Suzy Gershman's Born to Shop San Francisco
The Ultimate Guide for Travelers Who Love to Shop
by Suzy Gershman & Sarah Lahey

FOR nearly twenty years, Suzy Gershman has been leading savvy shoppers to the world's best finds. Now in a brand-new edition, Born to Shop San Francisco brings you complete coverage of the city's shopping scene, for visitors and Bay Area residents alike. Inside you'll find:

- Insider tips on sales, warehouses, outlets and more;
- The lowdown on deals and the rip-offs at touristy Pier 39;
- In-depth coverage of such hidden, funky shopping districts as Valencia Street (home to vintage stores & Mexican folk art shops), Upper Grant Street (unique clothing stores featuring local designers), and Chestnut Street (one-of-a-kind gift stores and trendy cafés.);
- Everything you need to know about the best of Napa Valley's wine—and how to ship it home without breaking the bank.

About to immerse yourselves in the beautiful scenic at tropical Hawaii? Check this out:

iTravelbooks: Hawaii
by Elissa Altman

HAWAII covers every popular island and lists the hotels, resorts, activities and sight-seeing for every price range. To make your travel planning a breeze, this book also contains a password that lets you download a free version of the book to use on any computer, with live links to every website and the ability to printout only the pages you want.

Discover your destination even before you reach it. Let the eyewitnesses assist you. Check these out:

Eyewitness Travel Guide Florida
The guides that show you what others only tell you
by Ruth Bailey, Eric Bailey, Richard Cawthorne, David Dick, Guy Mansell, Fred Mawer, Emma Stanford, Phyllis Steinberg & Ian Williams

FLORIDA can be divided into seven distinct regions, each corresponding to specific geographic and cultural criteria. Marshy Everglades, and tropical Keys occupy the south, while the vacation capital of Miami rises along the east coast. From the extravagant Gilded Age of manses and fantastic beaches of the Gold and Treasure Coasts to the amusement parks of Orlando, and St. Augustine's Spanish-Colonial era architecture in the Northeast, Florida is a region of stark contrasts. For more valuable travel information about art, shopping, entertainment, nightlife, hotels and sports look to Eyewitness Travel to Florida.

Eyewitness Travel Guide Paris
The guides that show you what others only tell you
by Alan Tillier, Chris Boicos, Michael Gibson & Douglas Johnson

THE Eyewitness Travel Guide helps you to get the most out of your trip with minimum difficulties. The opening section Introducing Paris locates the city geographically, sets modern Parisian life its historical context and explains how Parisian life changes through the years. Paris At a Glance is an overview of the city’s specialties. The main sightseeing section of the book is Paris Area by Area. It describes all the main sights with maps, photographs and detailed illustrations.

Posted by digitalk team at 02:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Take a "whistlestop tour" of the wide range of databases which NLB digital library members have access to (If you are not a member you can JOIN HERE

N is for Nature, Naxos Music, and News

National Palace Museum (NPM) Online
Taiwan in Singapore! NLB brings the National Palace Museum, Taipei to your desktop. The impressive collections cover: painting, calligraphy, ceramics, jade, bronze, Buddhist antiques, and the enticingly entitled "rarities."

故宫在线
故宫在线数据库内容含图片与文字，范围包括台湾台北国立故宫博物院藏的绘画、书法、陶瓷、玉器、铜器、佛教文物与珍玩。数据库有英语、中文简体、中文繁体及日本语四种语言版本。
Available at all Libraries and from home

Nature.com
NLB brings you the finest peer-reviewed research in all fields of science and technology Original, interdisciplinary, timely, accessible, and provocative. Nature.com is all of this and more full of news and upcoming trends related to science, scientists and how they impact your life.
Available at all libraries and from home
Note: Users of Nature.com at LKCRL need not login separately to access the database. Kindly ignore the login box on the Nature.com website

Naxos Music Library
For all of you serious music fans, over 8,800 CDs or 130,000 tracks from classical music (ballet, chamber music, choral, concertos, film music, instrumental, musicals, opera/operetta, orchestral, TV music, vocal) to blues, jazz, new age, nostalgia, world, and Chinese music. As a bonus the music comes with accompanying notes on the works, artists and composers, opera synopses and libretti, audio books, and other reference resources. When allied to SheetMusicNow.com this offers the complete service to those whose passion is music.
Available at all libraries

Newsbank
One of our premier news databases offering full-text content of local and regional newspapers.(including of course, Straits Times and Business Times). And don't forget to check out the digital editions which gives access to the newspapers "as they are" using up-to-the-minute digital techniques for access and viewing
Available at the libraries and from home

NLB Gale Virtual Reference Library
A natural source for a range of encyclopedias and reference eBooks to support multidisciplinary research across a range of subjects. Accessible to all ages online from the library or remotely 24/7. A great source for those key e-reference books
Available at all libraries and from home

Posted by digi.talk team at 02:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Take a "whistlestop tour" of the wide range of databases which NLB digital library members have access to (If you are not a member you can JOIN HERE

L and M is for Lexis Nexis, Library, Marvellous Media and Modern History

LexisNexis
For along time Lexis news and business information have been the staple of all people who are in-the-know. Their titles include Business Monitor News, The Business Times(Singapore) and The Straits Times.
Available at all libraries and from home


Library Literature & Information Science Full Text
The premier index source for library people (and others) of English and foreign-language periodicals, journals, conference proceedings, pamphlets, books, library school theses and books. 100 of the titles are available full text.
Limited to 4 concurrent access only
Available at Lee Kong Chian Reference Library only

Library PressDisplay
This is what you have been waiting for! Full-colour digital copies of hundreds of newspapers from around the globe. Withfull content and interactive access (covers 60 countries in over 30 languages)
Available at all libraries and from home

Modern World History Online
Want to brush up the important civilizations and cultures of world history from prehistoric times through the modern era? This resource through topical entries, biographies,maps,primary source documents and timelines takes you the people, places and events that have defined world history. Suitable for students aged 12 to 18.
Available at all libraries and from home.

Posted by digi.talk team at 02:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

"People are difficult to govern because they have too much knowledge."
~ Lao-tzu, The Way of Lao-tzu, Chinese philosopher (604 BC - 531 BC)

Posted by digitalk team at 01:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Memory is a funny thing. We all have unique memories--places, people, sounds, and smells that are personally significant and trigger reactions across the spectrum of our emotions. What is your earliest earliest memory? What is your most recent memory? Memory is personal and powerful. As a person our memories establish where we've been and who we are when we were there. Our memories are the Ariadne's threads which lead back to our childhood selves from the adults we have turned into because, or in spite of, these memories. When we're young we tend to take our memories for granted but as we get older, as they slip away, we may become fearful and disorientated. We often say that the computer has a memory and we increasingly use it as our "backup" memory for documents, photos, videos. In recent years the Internet has become our collective memory where we can turn for a memory jog on a multifarious amount of subjects - all we need to do is remember the search word that will call up the correct answer or memory!

Just in case you now want to check out where you are right now memory-wise on the having-and-losing continuum - try out this little test (2). Scary? or are you above average?
A good memory sometimes has its drawbacks as does a lack of memory (3)
Generally speaking we would all love to have a good memory, some people will go to great lengths to make sure that they pass on good memories to their family (4) ; others keep striving to improve their memory (5) . Of course artists have also tried to reflect in one way or another on memory significantly Marcel Proust (6)whose Remembrance of Things Past (Fr. À la recherche du temps perdu) stretches over a whopping seven volumes recalling incidents in the author's life as part of a meditation on time and memory. The incident most people remember the book for is "the episode of the madeleine"


"She sent out for one of those short, plump little cakes called petites madeleines, which look as though they had been moulded in the fluted scallop of a pilgrim's shell. And soon, mechanically, weary after a dull day with the prospect of a depressing morrow, I raised to my lips a spoonful of the tea in which I had soaked a morsel of the cake. No sooner had the warm liquid, and the crumbs with it, touched my palate than a shudder ran through my whole body, and I stopped, intent upon the extraordinary changes that were taking place…"

Such awakenings stimulated by a smell or sound are familiar to us all but none has described it in such sumptuous detail as Proust. Visual artists have also given their impressions of memory, significantly Salvador Dali.

Contemporary views of the role of memory(9) show we know more about memory than ever before, but trust it less. The idea of memory, as the key to our identity in the 19th century, has moved to memory being easily remodeled, distorted, and thus not much of a guide to our past.

In recent times the phrase "memory institutions" has had some currency bringing together rather neatly all of the various aspects of the world's memory - libraries, museums, archives, cultural heritage institutions such as monuments and places, botanical gardens, zoological gardens and any other kind of "collecting institution."

Like your mobile handheld device (remember they were called phones) everything is converging and all of the items within these institutions as they enter the digital realm can be seen as "information objects" residing in virtual libraries, museums, archives etc. So, in a virtual museum you can browse - as you would on a typical wet Sunday afternoon - but in the comfort of your own PC or Mac but you have an added dimension of search where by typing in a key word of your choice you can call up a variety of formats or "information objects" and view them online in all their cyber-beauty. Additionally some museums offer tours either virtual or an audio accompaniment to a physical perambulation of the museum. Other museums go further and allow you to "save your own museum" through online folders.
Libraries have also been swift to jump on to this cyber platform too - offering everything from Project Gutenberg to the glories of the online Book of Kells in the Library of Trinity College, Dublin and the glorious collections of the Library of Congress, British Library and BnF. Art galleries have similarly exposed their collection online, Tate Online offers an advanced search which allows you to search by object type and where it is displayed. This also offers a "my selection" option as well as a "carousel" which is designed to take you in surprising directions through the whole Tate collections.
Although the various institutions have "gone virtual" the truly integrated memory institution has yet to be realised although much work is going on trying to standardise formats and exchange the core descriptive elements for the various information objects.

Memory's claim on the past lies in its creative capacity to reconstruct (no matter how incompletely)"lost worlds worthy of our consideration". This goes back to the goddess Mnemosyne, who brought into consciousness the imaginative forms from which all the arts and sciences would spring. So in a sense when we use our memories we all, knowingly or unknowingly, become artists or at the very least imagineers.

DIRECT LINKS
1. Image of Mr Memory from the film "The 39 Steps"
courtesy of Criterion Collection

(2) Memory test courtesy of www.zefrank.com

(3) The man who lost himself by Nicholas Köhler
Source: Maclean's; 5/7/2007, Vol. 120 Issue 17, p59-61 in EBSCOHost

(4) A grandmother's love by Beth Powning,
Source: Chatelaine; May2007, Vol. 80 Issue 5, p141-142 in EBSCOHost

(5) New thinking on memory by Nancy Kalish
Source: Prevention; May2007, Vol. 59 Issue 5, p172-179 in EBSCOHost

(6) "Proust, Marcel." Authors and Artists for Young Adults. Vol. 58. Detroit: Gale, 2005. 131-143. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Thomson Gale.

(7) Remembrance of Things Past, V. 1, Swann's Way. English translation, London: Chatto & Windus, 1922. Excerpt retrieved online from the Project Gutenberg e-Book of Volume 1.

(8) Image "The Persistence of Memory" by Salvador Dali courtesy of Virtual Dali

(9) Hutton, Patrick H. "Memory." New Dictionary of the History of Ideas. Ed. Maryanne Horowitz. Vol. 4. Detroit: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2005. 1418-1422. 6 vols. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Thomson Gale.

(10) Mnemosyne, The Mother of the Muses (oil on canvas) Artist Leighton, Frederic (1830-96) from Grove Art Online (Bridgeman Art Library

Check out CAMIO (Catalog of Art Museum Images Online)
and
National Palace Museum (NPM) Online at NLB

and if you have time this week dive deeper into Singapore's Museums as they celebrate International Museum Day

(well, actually, 10 days - but whose quibbling...)

Posted by digi.talk team at 04:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

These days, it is common to donate blood and organs. What is strange (and definitely news-worthy), would be to donate your body for Science.

More than 7000 people from all over the world have done just that. They have agreed to donate their bodies for Plastination, made famous by scientist Gunther von Hagens’ renowned exhibition, Body Worlds.

In this exhibition, most bodies are flayed and dissected, revealing their organs. Others are kept intact and displayed in dramatic action poses, such as a basketball player driving to the hoop or a runner in full stride. (1)

Dr Gunther von Hagens (Front R) with unidentifiued body donors at the Body Worlds exhibition August 12, 2002. The new volunteers are to donate their bodies after they die to the Institute for Plastination, so their bodies may be preserved for the exhibition. REUTERS/Ian Waldie

Colin Hill from Leeds views a whole body plastination at the Body Worlds exhibition August 12, 2002. Hill is to donate his body after he dies to the Institute for Plastination, so his body may be preserved for the exhibition. REUTERS/Ian Waldie

Plastination: How it began

Dr. Gunther von Hagens invented the process of "plastination" while working as a scientist and research assistant at the University of Heidelberg's Institute of Pathology and Anatomy, in Germany in 1977. Looking at specimens embedded in plastic, he wondered whether it would be possible instead to embed the plastic into the specimens themselves.

To do so, he developed a process that he tweaked over several years, wherein all bodily fluids and soluble fat are first extracted to stop decomposition. Then the body parts are immersed in acetone chilled to minus 10C and water is removed from every cell. The water is replaced through vacuum forced impregnation with soft resins, such as silicon rubber and epoxy. After "posing the specimens for optimal teaching value," the body parts are hardened using gas, light or heat curing, giving the specimens rigidity and permanence.

It has been estimated that the plastinated specimens can last 1,000 years. “Donors often look better in death than they did in life because the process removes fat and firms muscles,” von Hagens said, adding that they're no longer recognizable after the process. (3)

An assistant stands in front of shelving with human skulls in the new workshop of Gunther von Hagens in the eastern German town of Guben November 17, 2006. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke (GERMANY)

A file picture from February 11, 2001, shows anatomy professor Gunther von Hagen as he poses with one of his preserved cut and sliced bodies at the exhibition Koerperwelten (Body Worlds) in Cologne. Thousands of Germans have signed away their bodies to donate it to the Institute of Plastination for preservation after seeing the controversial exhibition.

A visitor looks at a human body exhibit entitled 'Chess Player' during his visit to the National Taiwan Education Center in Taipei. REUTERS/Richard Chung

Gunther von Hagens shows a plastinated human body during a meeting on body donation for plastination in the southern German city of Heidelberg. REUTERS/Alex Grimm

An assistant to German doctor Gunther von Hagens, works on a plastinated human body during a meeting on body donation for Plastination in southern German city of Heidelberg. REUTERS/Alex Grimm

Plastination Today

Till today, more than 22 million people from 35 cities have marveled at the controversial exhibition. Gunther von Hagens’ donation program begun in 1983, and since then 7652 people have agreed to donate their bodies and 461 donators have already died, mentioned Georgine Gomez, who manages the North American body donation program for von Hagens’ Institute for Plastination. (2)

Here’s an estimated breakdown of donators:
Australia - 4
Austria - 187
Belgium - 40
Canada - 36
Czech Republic - 3
Denmark - 1
Ethiopia - 1
France - 13
Germany - 6748
Great Britain - 111
Guatemala - 1
India - 1
Ireland - 2
Italy - 5
Luxemburg - 7
Mexico - 1
Netherlands - 16
Poland - 3
Portugal - 1
Singapore - 1
Spain - 8
Switzerland - 46
Sweden - 1
United States - 415

The process of Plastination is not cheap in any way. A process could take up to a year to be completed, at a cost of between $US40, 000 and $US60, 000.

Apart from being expensive, von Hagens’ exhibition has bagged itself controversy and criticism from all over the world.

The exhibition has been criticised by some as ‘trivial, disrespectful and voyeuristic.’ Von Hagens, who developed the technique in 1977, however insists he's helping viewers understand how their own bodies work. (1)

One of those who voiced out unhappiness over von Hagens’ exhibition was Carol Taylor, a health care ethicist at Georgetown University in Washington, DC, who commented that the exhibition was ‘purely for commercial amusement.’

She also added on saying, “My major objection from the belief that there’s an innate dignity to humans that extends to our bodies. Anything that denigrates our bodies by commercialising them, I’m opposed to.” (2)

More commonly, critics, some of whom have dubbed von Hagens "Dr Frankenstein," say the anatomist's shows violate the sanctity of death.

German doctor Gunther von Hagens, stands on dead elephant 'Samba' during a meeting on body donation for Plastination in the southern German city of Heidelberg. Plastination of 3,200 kilo 'Samba', who died in a German zoo is the latest project of controversial scientist von Hagens. REUTERS/Alex Grimm

Let alone criticism, accusations were also thrown at the anatomist. Von Hagens was accused of using corpses of executed Chinese prisoners for his world-famous exhibition. “I exclusively use body donors for the exhibition. I have never used any prisoner. Those allegations are just not true,” von Hagens had retorted. (2)

While the world is still in two minds when it concerns Plastination, it is apparent that it’s here to stay for now.

Curious to become a donor yourself? Perhaps these articles may help you decide. Check them out from Factiva.com:

Article: Plastination - I See Dead People
By: Young, Miriam
Publication: The Roanoke Times

Article: How Plastination Works
By: Nil
Publication: The Dallas Morning News

Article: The Art of Plastination
By: Nil
Publication: Vancouver Sun

Article: CDA-Plastination-Volunteer
By: Nil
Publication: Broadcast News, The Canadian Press

Article: Plastination A Slow, Expensive Process
By: Nil
Publication: Akron Beacon Journal (OH)

Article: Bodies and Organs Preserved in Plastic
By: Nil
Publication: The Straits Times, Singapore

Need to know more? Look for more articles in our News databases.

Direct Links:
(1) “Plastination: More human than human? Thousands of people are donating their bodies for a German anatomist’s touring plastination show. How real exactly are these so-called plastic people?”
Peipert, Thomas. Townsville Bulletin. 11 May 2007.
Taken from: Factiva.com

(2) “Plastination / This body of work lives on / Despite criticism, donors say corpses on display will contribute to science.”
Peipert, Thomas. Houston Chronicle. 20 May 2007.
Taken from: Factiva.com

(3) “Science of Plastination.”
Bruemmer, Rene. Montreal Gazette. 5 May 2007.
Taken from: Factiva.com

(4) All images taken from Factiva.com

Posted by digitalk team at 03:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Take a "whistlestop tour" of the wide range of
databases which NLB digital library members have access to (If you are not a member you can join here)

J and K is for Jupiter and Kompass

Jupiter Research
provides industry trends and forecasts on emerging consumer technologies and the Internet. Offering addiitonally research, analysis and proprietary data on how these technologies may impact businesses.
Available at all libraries and from home

Kompass
Want access to 1.8 million companies in over 75 countries? Searchable by product and service categories, company name, trade name and geographical region? Kompass has it all! Also has full company profiles, with the names of 3.6 million executives as well as financial data when available.
Limited to 6 concurrent access only
Available at all libraries

Posted by digi.talk team at 11:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Often, we are concerned with the war waging in Iraq. However, we might have failed to recognise another war brewing. One that does not involve missles flying or nuclear bombings. A “subtle“ war yet of massive destruction. The war between us, humans, and Mother Nature.

Over the years, we have been constantly inflicting damage on the environment. Trees are constantly pulled down for their timber and it takes another decades of years for them to grow to their matured state with enough canopies to help the Earth before they are taken down again. Everyone needs their 'luxury items'. Burning of fuels and pollution of air are the constant threats to our fragile Earth.

We have increased Earth’s temperature by about 1 deg C since the 1500s. In the Northern Hemisphere, it was even faster: 1.1 deg C (2 deg F) in the last 500 years and 0.6 deg C (1.1 deg F) in the 20th century alone. By the end of this century, the Earth will be the hottest as it has ever been in the past 10,000 years. The temperature will rise by 2.0 deg C by 2100.

The Arctic ice cap is melting much faster than expected and is now about 30 years ahead of predictions. This means the ocean at the top of the world could be free or nearly free of summer ice by 2020, three decades sooner than the global panel's gloomiest forecast of 2050. Sea levels will rise to around 50 cm. A number of small island-states, such as the Maldives, will be inundated. Millions of people in low-lying delta areas, such as Bangladesh, will be displaced. Many species will die out because of violent climate change.

Perhaps, Mother Nature has had enough of our ignorance or rather selfishness and has decided to “fight” back.

3 years ago, an underwater earthquake of magnitude 8.9 shook many parts of Asia. Terrifying walls of water, or tsunamis, some as high as four storeys, crashed at breakneck speed into coastal areas in Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh, Myanmar and the Maldives. The death toll from the earthquake-spawed tsunamis across the Sumartra Island was over 100,000 people.

2 years ago, Hurricane Katrina severely battered the low-lying coastal cities of America's deep south, including the historic city of New Orleans, as well as other ports along the coast of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. Katrina hit the US for the second time after striking southern Florida. The death toll from Hurricane Katrina was over 1,300.

Just a month earlier, a massive earthquake, measuring 7.7 on the Richter scale hit Pakistan, India and Afghanistan. The US Geological Survey reported over 22 aftershocks, one of magnitude 6.2.The number of deaths in Pakistan was over 73,000.

Early this year, Sumatra was jolted with a massive earthquake. The first was an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.3. A second quake of magnitude 6.1 struck the same area about 2 hours later. Several more aftershocks occurred throughout the day. At least 80 killed, many feared buried under flattened buildings.

Just recently, a wave of tornadoes tore across central United States yesterday, a day after a massive twister obliterated a small Kansas town and killed nine people. Forecasters scrambled to issue warnings even as the National Weather Service said it had received reports of more than 75 tornado touchdowns later. Television images showed the prairie town of 1,600 residents virtually flattened, with roofs shredded, branches sheared off trees and school buildings wrecked. Kansas Republican Senator Pat Roberts, who toured the area on ground and from the air with other lawmakers, said that the images of Greensburg were similar to the aftermath of atomic bombs in Japan during World War II

Already hundreds thousands of people are killed and if Mother Nature decides to wield her “weapons of massive destruction”, it could potentially wipe out the entire Earth. Is it the beginning of World War III? Perhaps we should start making “peace” with our environment and Mother Nature.

Data taken from:
(1) The 20th century was ... Hot! Hot! Hot! - The Straits Times, February 18, 2000, PARSA
(2) Global warming: Prepare for that eventful day - The Straits Times, May 12, 2007
(3) Huge tornadoes wreak havoc in US - Massive twister hits Kansas killing nine, more storms hit seven states yesterday, Bush declares Kansas a disaster area - The Straits Times, May 7, 2007, Derwin Pereira, US Bureau Chief
(4) Quakes jolt Sumatra – The Straits Times, March 7, 2007, Devi Asmarani, Indonesia Correspondent, In Jakarta and Marcel Lee Pereira In Singapore
(5) Giant waves kill thousands in Asia - Bodies line beaches and homes are obliterated following strongest earth