Have you ever taken a stroll in Somerville, to come across an octagon shaped house with all the windows boarded up and cameras leering down at you? Well, if you know what I’m talking about, you’ve seen the Round House at 36 Atherton Street in Somerville. Although, it may not be as mysterious as we…
Last Sunday marked the beginning of Ramadan, the holiest month of the Muslim year. If you’re a non-Muslim and don’t know anything about Ramadan, this brief article at Vox.com covers the essentials. Muslims believe Ramadan to be the month God revealed the first verses of the Quran to Mohammed. It’s a time of contemplation and…
The Library of America is a nonprofit publisher dedicated to producing durable high-quality editions of the best of American writing. And it’s not just fiction: their nonfiction volumes include the World War II reporting of A.J. Liebling, the movie reviews of James Agee, and the four-volume collection of diaries and letters, The Civil War Told…
Mercury is moving between Earth and the Sun today, a relatively rare event known as a solar transit. It began around 7 am today and will continue until 2:42 pm Eastern Time. Whatever you do, don’t look directly at the Sun to try watch it. In any case, there’s not much to see: just a…
…is available for public review at the Central Library, 79 Highland Ave. Ask at the reference desk for help finding it.
NBC nightly news correspondent Richard Engel has written an intriguing book, And Then All Hell Broke Loose: Two Decades in the Middle East, about his experience living in the Middle East. From witnessing bomb explosions, kidnappings, and briberies, meeting Saddam Hussein, and at one point was the only living American reporter in Baghdad during the…
One of SPL’s most valuable resources for Somerville history is the Somerville Journal, the city’s oldest newspaper. We have the complete run of the paper in hard copy and microfilm from the 1870s to the present. Reading old issues is fascinating. Not only do they give a sense of how important newspapers were for news…
One of my favorite websites for online learning (or amusment) is FutureLearn.com. It offers short and free introductions to a variety of subjects. Courses are usually 3 to 5 weeks and average about 3 hours a week of work. You can learn about everything from mobile programming to introductory Italian. Or you could inform yourself…
According to the Pew Research Center, a majority of Americans surveyed consider themselves lifelong learners. Many of them are “professional learners:” they take courses or attend trainings to enhance their job skills and career prospects. However, the vast majority are “personal learners:” they learn skills or subjects that personally interest them. And while the Internet can be…
By the reference desk in the Central Library is a statue of an Ancient Greek boxer known to history as Damoxenos. However, for as long anyone can remember he’s been known around Somerville as Clarence. And like all Ancient Greek athletes depicted in sculpture, Clarence isn’t wearing anything. A few days ago a woman who…
