Everyone will remember the election of Barack Obama, the Beijing Olympics and the Bailout of 2008, but who keeps track of the year’s minutiae? Here’s a look at the year gone by in list form.

Books
The Meta List: It seems like anyone who’s ever even opened a book has compiled a list of the year’s best book. Largehearted Boy has created a list of those lists that he updates daily.

Other lists:

• Bad Sex in Fiction Award
• 10 Best Cookbooks
• Best Baking Cookbooks
• Best Business Books
• Best Illustrated Children’s Books
• Top 10 Art Books
• Best Teen Books
• Top 10 Graphic Novels
• Best Book Covers

Business/Economy
10 Worst Business Deals
10 Best Business Deals
10 Worst Corporations of 2008
Top 10 Marketing Blunders
Best & Worst Housing Markets

Cars
Safest Cars
Best Bang for the Buck
11 Worst Cars of 2008
Best Cars for 2008

Celebrities
Celebrities make excellent list fodder: We know so much about them–from their diets to their romantic exploits to their megamillion dollar endorsement deals.

• Top 10 Breakups.
• PETA’s Worst Dressed Celebrities
• Best and Worst Celebrity Quotes
• Best & Worst Celebrity Endorsements
• Best & Worst Celebrity Makeup
• Best & Worst Celebrity Baby Names
• Top 10 Celebrity Nose Jobs
• Top 10 Fleeting Celebrities

Fashion
Best & Worst Fashion Trends
Top 10 Fashion Faux Pas

Food
Top 10 Food Trends, I
Top 10 Food Trends, II

Games
10 Most Overrated Games
Best of 2008
Best Games of 2008

Movies
Playlist kicks off with a round up from well-known critics. Also check out the (UK) Times’ 100 Best Movies of 2008 and its companion, the 100 Worst Movies of 2008 for a comprehensive list. Other lists are more specialized:

• Top 20 Celebrity Nude Scenes of 2008
• Top US Box Office of 2008
• Hollywords
• Best Trailers of 2008
• Top 5 Movie Quotes of 2008 (With Audio)

Music
The critics are all over the map on this year’s best album, as this look at the selections of music magazines here and in the UK shows. While the public is more united in their opinion as this list of the most popular music of 2008, from iTunes and Last.fm charts.

Some other music lists:

• Most Performed Holiday Songs
• Best Mixes of 2008
• Sound of 2009
• The Year’s Dumbest Lyrics
• Best Singer/Songwriter Albums
• Best Debut Albums
• Top 10 Country Albums
• Top-Selling Indie CDs
• 10 Best Classical Music Performances
• Best World Music

Politics/Current Affairs
Best & Worst Of 2008: Election Ads, Stupid Political Tricks & More
10 Worst Foreign Policy Predictions
Political Turkeys
Funniest Political Quotes

Television
Top 10 TV Ads
Best & Worst As-Seen-on-TV Product
Best & Worst TV Advertisers
Top 10 Late-Night Gags
Best TV shows
Top 10 TV Episodes
The Year in TV

Web
The 2008 URLies get the ball rolling with selections such as the hottest animal, the “It” site of the year and the WTF of the year. Other noteworthy Web lists include:

• Best Viral Videos
• 7 Promising Web Sites That Died
• Best CSS Designs
• Top Podcasts
• Top 10 Consumer Web Apps

credit: Goddard Video and Multimedia

A dreaded thought for anyone who happens to live on the coast, hurricanes have immense destructive power and have shown it throughout history. Communities have been wiped out and people have lost everything they own – even their lives – to the powerful force of nature. There is much, though, that a person who may be affected by hurricanes can use to mitigate damage to themselves and their property. While hurricanes are unstoppable, they never have to cause death, and as long as people heed the warning signs and get away as fast as possible, after making the appropriate precautions at their property, the destruction that these storms cause can be drastically lessened.

The word “hurricane” is actually the regional variant that we use to refer to these storms. Depending on the location of the storm and the people that it affects, it may be referred to as a tropical cyclone, a tropical storm, a tropical depression, a typhoon, or any other local variant of the term. Hurricanes occur when high pressure systems of air meet with lower pressure systems over the ocean. The high pressure air becomes warm and moist, rising to the top of the storm system, where it then cools, forming clouds. When the warm air has vacated its location, more air rushes into the center, where it then undergoes the same process. Because of the heat of the ocean, the evaporating water, and the differences in air pressure, the storm starts to spin and grow. As it grows and begins to spin faster and faster, an eye forms in the center, where the wind is very calm and the air is not very pressurized. As far as naming the storm is concerned, winds of 39 miles per hour classify it as a tropical storm, and when the winds speeds reach 74 miles per hour, the storm is classified as a tropical cyclone, or hurricane.

Hurricanes generally do not just appear at random throughout the year. The storms tend to fall in during the “hurricane seasons”. There is nothing actually significant about the beginning and end date of the different hurricane seasons; rather, it is the span of time when most hurricanes form, allowing a pattern to be drawn. Hurricanes can form outside of hurricane season, but it is much rarer. On the Atlantic coast, hurricane season is officially from June 1 to November 30. In this span of time, September is by far the most active month as far as storm systems are concerned. If a tropical storm is to strike outside of this length of time, it would most likely be in May or December, which is reasonable given that those are the two months that are at the beginning and the end of the hurricane season. Tropical storm activity, though, is not frequent enough in these months to classify them as part of the hurricane season.

In the Northeast Pacific region, tropical storm activity begins in late May or early June and extends all the way to late October and early November. Once again, the peak in tropical activity is in late August and early September. The official dates for the beginning and end of the hurricane seasons in this region are May 15 to November 30, but these are just approximations given the patterns of tropical storms in the past. In the Northwest Pacific, however, storms occur all year regularly, with a drop in activity in February and early March. The Indian Ocean, located in the southern hemisphere, see severe tropical storms from April to June, and late September to early December, with a peak in May and November. As far as the ocean around Australia is concerned, tropical storm activity begins in late October and early November, reaching a peak in late February and early March and dissipating by May. Around the world, September is the month to watch out for hurricanes, while May is usually a time to not have to worry.

credit: buglugs

While the exact hurricane season is most important to know for your region, it is also important to understand that there are hurricanes happening year-round all across the world. For that reason, plenty of hurricane safety techniques have evolved over time. Firstly, if you live in an area that is prone to hurricanes, you must know the evacuation routes. Listening to the television and radio, especially the weather forecasts, is very important in order to have a grip on whatever situation may be brewing off the coast. Before the hurricane even occurs, there are plenty of things you can do once you are certain that a hurricane is coming in the near future. Have plans for disaster as well as for any pets that you may have. Objects that could blow away under the high winds should be brought inside, and your windows should be securely boarded with sturdy wood. A disaster kit should be prepared far in advance, one for your home and one for any of your cars. This should contain food and water for at least three days, a standard first aid kit, a can opener for canned food, bottled water, a battery-operated radio, a flashlight, protective clothing, and a written reminder how to shut off gas, electricity, and water.

A good investment to make is a water-resistant weather radio so that you may listen to storm advisories even without electricity. Before the storm hits, you will want to have plenty of cash handy, since banks and ATM machines may not be available during or directly after the hurricane, when you will certainly want to be far away. Fill your car with gasoline in advance so that you can avert any such emergencies. If you are stuck in the area during a hurricane, make sure to evacuate and head to a shelter if you live in a mobile park or if your home is not on high ground. Always stay indoors, and heed the evacuation orders from any emergency managers. When the hurricane passes, stay indoors until it is safe. Do not attempt to drive in floodwater, and do watch for floods. Do not drink tap water or go near standing water, which could be electrically charged, until it is deemed safe.

As far as hurricane information resources are involved, there are plenty online that you should be aware of when keeping an eye on any weather situations that may be brewing off the coast. Hurricanetrack.com is a good place to start, as it provides information regarding current storm systems, as well as containing safety information and readiness tips. You can find many questions that you should ask yourself before a hurricane hits. The National Hurricane Center website features a map showing Atlantic and Eastern Pacific storm systems and is updated frequently. You can sign up for email advisories, allowing you to be even more prepared in the event that a tropical storm should come your way. The National Weather Service website contains information on weather situations all across the country, allowing you to chart inland and coastal weather with one resource.

With all of the resources that are available to amply predict when a hurricane may come your way, you should be able to prepare your home and your family suitably. Safety tips are readily available, and you should be willing to cooperate with any local, state, or national officials, should they tell you to evacuate. Hurricanes are certainly a dreadful and destructive event, but they do not have to cause you the pain and suffering that they would otherwise if you were not prepared.

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Earth DayEarth Day falls on April 22 this year. Here’s a list of web resources to help you plan.

Earth Day Resources
This site for teachers has links to a host of information about Earth Day–everything from coloring books to a 114-page Environmental Sustainability Kit. There are lesson plans for grades K-12, projects for classes to undertake and fact sheets.

Endangered Earth
A great source for information, pictures, and videos about endangered species from Craig Kasnoff, a journalist and media consultant. The site reports on endangered species around the world and what people can do to protect them. Includes Imagine Animals, an image gallery, and Endangered TV, videos of animals.

Green Guide
This site from National Geographic features sections on green home tips, product reviews and healthy living advice. There are buying guides, quizzes and videos at the site. The magazine’s Kid’s Page features pictures, videos, games and articles about endangered species, recycling and conservation. There are also lesson plans on a variety of topics, ranging from “Earth Day Every Day,” to “Using Photography to Help Save the Oceans,” to “What’s Happening with Emperor Penguins.”

Earth Day
The US Environmental Protection Agency’s Earth Day page offers podcasts about Earth Day, an Earth Day kit, a video and a widget for your website in addition to information divided into several parts:

• Events and Volunteer Opportunities has information on events around the country.
• At Home lists things you can do to reduce the environmental impacts of your everyday activities. including information on how to recycle, conserve resources and practice environmentally responsible landscaping.
• In Your Community tells you how to protect your neighborhood’s natural resources with information on air and water quality in your community.
• At School provides educational resources for students and teachers.
• At Work tells you how you and your employer can protect the environment and create a healthy workplace.
• While Shopping gives information on how to choose energy efficient cars and appliances.

Earth Day 2008
From Kaboose comes another kid-centered page with craft ideas, coloring pages, a checklist for going green at home and ideas for activities. The page gives suggestions on how to get your kids recycling and reusing and Earth Day projects for the family.

Earth Day 2008 Online
EnviroLink, a non-profit online community, provides links to a huge variety of environmental news and information. Search by topic — ranging from Agriculture Pollution to Wildlife Sanctuaries — or by category — including organizations, articles, general information, publications, educational resources, and more — to find a comprehensive list of up-to-date environmental information. There’s also a listing of Earth Day events throughout the US, Canada, the Phillipines and the UK.

Earth Day Sunday
This site from the United Council of Churches features information for clergy on preparing sermons and choosing the liturgy for Earth Day Sunday, the Sunday closest to Earth Day. There are also project ideas and toolkits for congregations.

Earth Day Resources
A “CyberExhibit” from the library at the State University of New York at Buffalo, this site features links to international, national, state and local Internet resources divided into the following categories:

• History of Earth Day
• Internet Resources for Earth Day
• Biodiversity
  • Ecology and Environment
  • Energy Information
• Environment
• Environmental Law
• Global Climate Change
• The Great Lakes
• Love Canal @ 25

ACS Earth Day: Climate: Electronic Resources
From the American Chemical Society comes this listing of electronic and print resources on Earth Day and the environment. Each source is labeled for its suitability for a variety of users from the the general public to students from elementary school through college.

Earth Day Network
The EDN’s mission is to grow and diversify the environmental movement worldwide, and to mobilize it as a vehicle for promoting a healthy, sustainable planet. The site provides resources and materials for organizations around the world to both celebrate Earth Day and promote environmental awareness year round. The site includes educational materials and fact sheets as well as information on the organization’s ongoing environmental campaigns.

Planet Pals: Earth Day
A list of Earth Day activities, teaching aids, earth science and history links for adults and children. This site is geared more towards younger kids and their parents. Resources include interactive games, an Eco Calendar of environmental events throughout the year, a parent/teacher page and projects like creating a papier mache earth ornament.

Earth Day–US Government Portal
Site links to volunteer opportunities as well as projects “Take Action” suggestions for home, school and work.

credit: joiseyshowaa

Christopher Columbus sailing the ocean blue in 1492 led to a rapidly widespread interest in the New World, with all the possibilities for change and discovery that it could have held. Explorers sailed across the Atlantic Ocean, hoping to find something great enough to secure everlasting wealth, their place in history, divine favor, and glory for their homeland. Juan Ponce de Leon was one of these explorers, at least initially, but after spending several years forging the island of Hispaniola into a Spanish colony, his motivations for eventually discovering Florida were much different than usual.

Juan Ponce de Leon was born in about 1460 in Santervás de Campos, in the municipality of Valladolid in Spain. He was born into an ancient family descended from Aragon, and in his youth he served as a page to Ferdinand VII. Still a young man, he joined his fellow Spaniards in the war to take over Granada and expel the Moors from the Iberian Peninsula. Several years later, Ponce de Leon seized the opportunity to make the trans-Atlantic voyage to the New World, although modern historians have begun to refute the claim that he accompanied Columbus on his second voyage to Hispaniola in 1493. Some modern historians insist that he, in fact, accompanied Nicolas de Ovando, who was appointed governor of Hispaniola, to the island in 1502.

credit: Stephen Glauser

Both outcomes would have led Ponce de Leon to the island of Hispaniola, which today is shared by the Dominican Republic and Haiti. He quickly began pacifying the island, making sure that the natives were not a threat to the colonists. For his efforts, he was appointed governor of the eastern half of the island, a province called Higuey. He noticed that the natives frequently came in contact with people on the nearby island of Borinquen, which is known today as Puerto Rico. His interest piqued, Ponce de Leon sought information about the island of Borinquen, hoping to have found an untapped source of wealth and resources. Sure enough, it reached his ears that the island contained an abundance of gold, causing Ponce de Leon to acquire permission from the Spanish government to conquer the island. In 1508, his group, consisting of eighty Spanish adventurers and several Indians, landed in Borinquen. Although they most likely expected hostility, the Spaniards were received well, the natives welcoming the newcomers to an island whose natural wealth astonished Ponce de Leon. Not only was the soil plentiful and fertile, but many samples of gold were readily available for the taking.

In 1509, he returned to Hispaniola with a detailed report of his findings on the island, as well with hopes to find reinforcements for further pursuits. There, instead of receiving praise for his efforts at Borinquen, the new governor, Diego Columbus, informed him that Diego Ceron was now in charge of the expedition, and that Ponce de Leon would be his lieutenant. No longer governor of Higuey, Ponce de Leon decided to claim the appointment of governor of Borinquen, and his protector, Ovando, helped him achieve this in the Spanish court in 1510.

credit: uuzinger

Ponce de Leon founded the first city in Puerto Rico, calling it Caparra, and sent his lieutenant to the southwest to found another city near the Bay of Guanica. Under the thumb of Ponce de Leon’s habit of distributing Indians to his officers to use as labor, the natives of Borinquen, led by Chief Aguinaba, tried to expel the Spanish invaders. Their lack of immunity to Spanish-borne diseases, as well as several defeats against the Spanish themselves, weakened them enough to allow Ponce de Leon to capture the entire island. Meanwhile, the natives that were not killed by disease or battle became laborers for the Spaniards, working in the mines and constructing fortifications.

When Christopher Columbus died in 1506, the Spanish government refused to grant the senior Columbus’s rights of governorship of all of his discoveries to his son, Diego Columbus. The latter fought the ruling in the highest courts of Spanish law, and eventually had the decision repealed. As a result, Ponce de Leon was removed as governor in 1512. Feeling as if his reputation had been soiled, Ponce de Leon decided to explore north of Cuba. His failing health and general malaise, though, left him susceptible to the native legends of a fountain of eternal youth, which was said to exist on an island called Bimini. He gathered many of his former followers and other adventures and set sail on the 3rd of March in 1512 with three ships, outfitted of his own expense. He landed on several islands of the Bahamas, but each time he was told that the fountain lay further to the west. On the 27th of March in 1512, he came within sight of land.

credit: sun dazed

The abundant vegetation that Ponce de Leon saw prompted him to call his new discovery Florida Island. He sailed along the coast and on the 2nd of April landed a little to the north of the present-day city of St. Augustine, formally taking possession of the land for the Spanish crown, but his search for the fountain of youth proved fruitless. He was also surprised by the courage of the natives, which would have discouraged immediate settlement of the area. Disappointed at having acquired neither gold nor the revitalizing waters of the fountain of youth, he sailed to Spain and obtained the title of Adelantado of Bimini and Florida Island, which allowed him to claim and settle the two lands. In 1515, he returned to Puerto Rico and helped the Spanish garrison overpower the revolting natives, founding the city of Ponce in the south of the island upon victory.

In March of 1521, he set out to conquer Florida aggressively, sailing with two ships and landing about fifty miles south of his initial landing spot nine years before. His attempts to explore the interior of the island were met with strong, furious resistance from the natives. Several encounters with the natives left him with extreme losses of men and resources. On one such encounter, Ponce de Leon was struck by a poisoned arrow, causing the remaining colonists to retreat to Havana, Cuba where soon thereafter, he died. His remains were sent to the city of San Juan, Puerto Rico, and are currently in the church of San José.

Ponce de Leon was driven in his latter years to explore north and west of Puerto Rico because of his failing health and his forced lack of responsibilities due to political shifting. Due to this, his motivations for the exploration for which he is famous are not those of the typical New World explorer. While gold, glory, and the favor of God would have certainly not have been turned away were they available, Ponce de Leon mainly hoped to find a fabled fountain to restore health to his aging body. Nevertheless, his discovery of Florida paved the way for further colonization of North America, while his efforts in colonizing Hispaniola and Puerto Rico were greatly beneficial to the Spaniards. Ponce de Leon secured his place in history due to the impact that his efforts had on the growing urge to colonize in the early sixteenth century.

credit: Beatrice M

A good place to start is the IRS website. After all, these are the people who look over your returns and interpret the rules. In fact, the IRS has a couple of helpful pages:

• Frequently Asked Questions: Chances are, you’re not the first taxpayer to want to know a particular piece of information. Questions are organized by category, sub-category and keyword.
• Tax Topic Index: There’s a topic for every line on the income tax return as well as information on how to pay your taxes, how to appeal your tax examination, where to file, who has to file and how to amend your return, among other topics.
• 1040 Central: The place to go to download forms, plus resources for taxpayers such as what to do if you can’t pay your taxes, the IRS withholding calculator, and information on who qualifies for the Earned Income Tax Credit.

MarketWatch from Dow Jones features tax advice ranging from whether married couples should file separate or joint returns, to 5 stupid tax mistakes, to when children should files tax returns. There are also articles on tax scams, maximizing medical deductions and links to other web resources.

Tax guide for investors: This resource from Fairmark.com offers tax tips–such as how to file a free return, regardless of income–along with the latest tax news and free guides for investors, including:

• Guide to Capital Gains and Losses.
• Mutual Fund Guide
• Tax Guide for Traders.

GovSpot Tax Center is a portal for government information. From here you can get links to government resources and news stories on state and federal taxes. Also links to e-filing sites and individual state departments of revenue.

The Motley Fool’s Tax Center provides links to various resources, including e-file locations and IRS sites along with tax news and tips, such as how to make your return audit proof, or failing that, how to survive an audit. Tax Time Tips & Tricks breaks down tax-related articles into six categories to make tax paying understandable for everyone from first-time filers to tax veterans.

1. Tax Basics covers issues such as getting your withholding right and figuring out your tax bracket.
2. How Investments Get Taxed covers capital gains, what investors need to know about taxes, and what to do with worthless stocks, among other topics.
3. Tax Savings for Everyone has tips for everyone, be they homeowners, high earners or just regular Joes.
4. Taxes and Your Family covers daycare, life and family changes, children’s taxes.
5. Avoiding Tax Problems covers audits as well as how to choose a tax preparer.
6. Retirement Saving and Taxes has information on IRAs, Roth IRAs and pensions.

Uncle Fed’s Tax Board divides its tax information into three categories.

1. Tax forms and tax help links to IRS and state tax forms.
2. IRS problems and solutions gives information on the Taxpayer Bill of Rights and articles on how to protect yourself from the IRS.
3. Research tax documents links to IRS bulletins and news releases.

Yahoo!Taxes offers how-to guides on topics such as tax strategies for retirees and claiming tax credits. Calculators allow you to determine the tax savings generated by your mortgage or the tax advantages of an annuity. You can also download forms here and consult a number of tax tip articles from a variety of sources. Articles range from 10 things your tax preparer won’t tell you, to the 13 most overlooked tax deductions, to tax blunders to avoid.

Investopedia Tax Guide from Forbes provides definitions for tax terms such as capital gains, marginal tax rate and alternative minimum tax. The page also provides answers to the most popular tax questions, such as Should I put my money into a retirement account even if it isn’t tax deductible? Tax tip articles include how to get a six-month extension, a tax primer for homeowners and 10 steps to tax preparation.

Taxes from About.com covers everything from planning to tax basics to filing.

The taxes and audits resource center from Nolo covers three topics in detail: Filing taxes, IRS audits and appeals and dealing with high tax bills. FAQs are provided for each topic in addition to individual articles. The site also features advice on saving business taxes and estate taxes as well as information on how long to keep tax papers.

WorldWideWeb Tax has answers to general tax questions in addition to a glossary of tax terms, tax tables and links to forms and tax discussion groups.

MSNBC’s Tax Page includes a message board moderated by tax attorney Jeff Schnepper, author of How to Pay Zero Taxes. The site also features tax tip articles, a glossary of terms, financial calculators and links to tools like Intuit’s deduction finder.

Smart Money’s Tax Guide has worksheets to calculate stock options, the nanny tax and the marriage penalty as well as a host of tax tip articles. Articles are divided into sections:

• Investment-related taxes covers capital gains, write-offs, wash sale rules, among other topics.
• Filing your taxes includes articles on new tax rules, forms, estimated taxes, tax credits and finding a tax professional.
• Work and business taxes looks at home-office deductions, solo 401(k)s and year-end tax planning.
• Taxes and retirement accounts has stories on inheriting IRAs, IRAs from kids and unusual IRA investments.
• Home and family taxes looks at the kiddy tax, homeowner tax breaks and health savings accounts.

1040.com provides links to tax news and tips articles and links to web resources. The site also has a number of nifty financial calculators that help you calculate your federal income tax, self-employment taxes and capital gains or losses. IT has a number of fillable supplemental forms, and a short guide to filing your federal taxes.

State income taxes vary from state to state. Payroll-Taxes.com provides links to state and local tax sites listed alphabetically by state. As does Taxsites.com.

The morning of January 11 was cooler than normal, hovering around freezing. In fact, the weather caused the Baghdad airport to close, sighting poor visibility. Though residents of Northern Iraq are used to cold temperatures and weather conditions, the more southern Baghdad is a complete stranger to such occurrences.

Despite the strangeness of the snow, most of Baghdad rushed out to see the unfolding winter scene. Talib Haider, age 19, woke up at 8 am when a friend called to alert him to the falling flakes. He says that the scene was so beautiful, he tried to cement it into memory forever by filming it on his camera phone.

The cooling snow seemed to have a similar effect on area events; as of late afternoon, there had been no reports of violence. Indeed, both Shiites and Sunnis seemed to be more interested in observing this once-in-a-lifetime weather event than the fighting that too often occurs here. Perhaps the changing weather conditions aren’t such a bad thing after all.

Onomatopoeic in nature, w00t is the expression gamers use after a triumph. Translated from sound to thought, its essential feeling is one of “Wow! I can’t believe that just happened to me! That’s so awesome!”

The word is a hybrid of letters and numbers, a combination quite common in today’s Internet language, often called l33t speak, or leet speak. The addition of this word to the dictionary not only celebrates a newly-official word, but also shows the emphasis that the Internet and its users have on our language.

This year’s candidates for Word of the Year also included new words such as facebook and linkability. Previous Merriam-Webster winners have included truthiness (2006), integrity (2005), blog (2004), and democracy (2003). Each year, the Word of the Year is chosen because it has been the most important word or expression used in public discussion, thrown about in media, or had an influence on society as a whole. The World of the Year is nominated and voted on in the United States, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein.

Throughout the Middle Ages, Europeans did not honor January as the first month of the year, instead preferring December 25 and March 25 as their New Year celebrations. However, starting in the 16th century, January 1 retook its throne as the start of the new year, a position it has not since abdicated.

For those of you in the northern parts of the world, this will be your coldest month of the year, filled with snowmen, hot chocolate, and seeing your breath in the air. In the southern hemisphere, summer is blossoming as the birds sing their songs and people visit their favorite beaches.

In addition to weather changes, January is the host to several holidays: to begin, most people celebrate New Year’s Day on January 1st. In many Spanish-speaking countries, January 6th is the Dia de los Reyes Magos, when the three wise men bring presents for the newborn baby. The third Monday of the month is Martin Luthor King Day. Australian have the 26th reserved for Australia Day and in India, the same day is called Republic Day.

In addition to January’s parade of holidays, we celebrate several important birthdays this month: Betsy Ross (January 1, 1752), Richard Nixon (January 9, 1913), and Benjamin Franklin (January 17, 1706), just to name a few. The U.S. has a busy month, as well: Michigan became the 26th state on January 26, 1837, Kansas became the 34th state on January 29, 1861, Utah became the 45th state on January 4, 1896, New Mexico became the 47th state on January 6, 1912, and Alaska became the 49th state on January 3, 1959.

And if your birthday’s in April, your birthstone is garnet and your birth flowers are the carnation and the snowdrop. In addition to your birthday, January is National Blood Donor Month, National Braille Literacy Month, National Hobby Month, Hot Tea Month, National Oatmeal Month, and National Soup Month. Enjoy!

The Universal Library now offers 1.5 million books online, a milestone the venture achieved earlier this month. Now anyone with access to the Internet can browse the collection through a single Web portal, www.ulib.org.

The project, which began in 2002, is a joint venture between Carnegie Mellon University in the United States, Zhejiang University in China, the Indian Institute of Science in India and the Library at Alexandria in Egypt. Works range from Mark Twain’s A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court to the works of Confucius. Google and Microsoft have launched their own digital library projects, but the Universal Library is the world’s largest university-based collection.

• Digital library development and digital library centers.
• A look at online repositories.
• About the Universal Library.

(Photo via flickr cc)

In 1600, about 12,000 Wampanoag Native Americans lived in southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island, perfectly placing them for interaction with the Pilgrims, or Plymouth settlers, who would later arrive in 1620.

As a semi-sedentary tribe, the Wampanoag moved seasonally, within an established set of fixed sites. Their diet was anchored by the three staples of corn, beans, and squash, which they supplemented with catches of fish and wild game. They spoke a specific dialect of the Wampanoag language, which is today undergoing a revival by descendents and students of this Native American culture.

In 1620, the Pilgrims arrived and with them, a set of cultural and language challenges. Luckily for both the Wampanoag and the Plymouth settlers, a Native American named Squanto (or Tisquantum) had arrived home after years as a European slave, in 1619. Squanto served as a translator and cultural ambassador between the two peoples, especially helping relations between Governor John Carver and the Wampanoag sachem (leader), Massasoit.

In March 1621, Squanto helped Carver and Massasoit make a deal that gave the settlers 12,000 acres of land to farm and hunt. In retrospect, it is probable that the Wampanoag leader did not understand the meaning to European land ownership, which was later a source of problems between the communities. However, in 1621, the Pilgrims and Wampanoag got along wonderfully, and Squanto taught the settlers how to grow crops and hunt for food.

To celebrate their first successful harvest in autumn 1621, the Pilgrims held a large feast, inviting Massasoit and his people to their town for a three-day celebration to thank God for providing them with such bounty. After the celebrations, the thankful and good-spirited Wampanoag went into the surrounding forests, killed five deer, and brought it to Governor Carver as a thank you. These events were the beginnings of what we today call Thanksgiving.

(Photo via flickr cc)