The Political Spectrum

Hi All,

Politics is everywhere these days. It's in the news, on the internet and television.  The radio has news about politics and it changes on a daily basis!  How can you keep up with all those changes every day?   And occasionally you'll hear a pundit or an announcer or a 'talking-head' discuss the left-wing or the right-wing or a centreist....

Just what exactly do these terms mean you might ask?  Great question - and I've got a bunch of answers for you!

What we are really talking about here is the political spectrum which classifies different political positions...Wikipedia has an extensive article discussing what the various terms mean.

Click here for some information on the Left-Wing,  Click here for some information on the Right-Wing.  Click here for some information on the Center-Wing. 

Another website - called I Agree to See - has even more information on the meanings of the phrase 'political spectrum'.  

For some perspective as to what various members of the political spectrum believe in on certain issues, click on this link from People-Press.org.  The article is titled 'Beyond Red vs Blue: The Political Typology'

Finally, if you're not sure where you fall in this 'political spectrum', you can take this quiz from People-Press.org to find out where you political persuasion lies.

Enjoy the links and the lively political debates!

Regards,
Stu

MommyPoppins - Get More Out of Life With Kids

Hi All,

Today's blog entry talks about MommyPoppins.  It bills itself as 'Getting More Out of Life With Kids'.


Users can use the site as a way to find things to do with kids based on Age, Area, Things to Do and Family Fun.  The Activity Guide link on the site has links for a wide variety of things to do - including, but not limited to - Birthday Parties, Classes/Enrichment, Crafts/Recipes, Free Activities, Museums, Parent Talk, Shows, STEM, Summer Activities, Theme/Water Parks and more.

Just who is MommyPoppins though? Indeed, click on this link to find a bit more about them...spoiler alert though - there isn't that much info on the page...

There are also links to Camps & Classes, Parties links to Trips. At the top of the page is a link to search the site.  There are also links to Connect with MommyPoppins, a Directory, and a Calendar.


Before you starting clicking on any link that you think is important you'll need to click on your region at the top left side of the homepage.  Once you do that you are free to roam!

I found the Calendar link especially useful. Pick a day and the vents that are available appear on the screen.  Links are available to that particular event!  Links by Age are interesting to visit as well. 

On 7/24/17 when I wrote this blog entry there were article on 'Old Fashioned Ice Cream Parlors Long Island Kids Will Love, Summer Day Tirp for Long Island Families  and and article on Long Island Aquarium Exhibits.

Users can signup for the MommyPoppins newsleter by clicking on this link.

Finally, just as another example of the utility of the site, the link for Family Fun had the following information on 7/24/17: Guide to Indoor Play Spaces for Kids, Museum/Art Guide to Kids.

Articles are dated and an author is listed - and the authors name is linked.   One of the better parts of the site are the tabs at the top of each article.  Basically these tabs are like subject headings for the topics that the article deals with.  One such article that I clicked on was titled 12 Places Where LI Kids Can Learn and Have Fun in the Hamptons and North Fork.

Other useful links on the site include This Week in Long Island, July Go List and Neighborhood Guides (can choose between Nassau Suffolk and the East End.

Listed tabs at the top of the page for the article included Classes/Enrichment, Family Travel, Farm/U Pick Up, Museums, Shows, Visitors Guide and more.  Talk about comprehensive lists and topics!

Enjoy the site and the links!

Regards,
Stu

Need Something to Read?

Hi All,

Its summertime and the reading is good!  What? you say?  Read in the summer? Absolutely - its a great time to dig in to a book that will enthrall you, excite you and just darn keep you entertained!

How can you beat that introduction?

Forthwith - a bunch of links to 'best' of type lists of books.  The only difference is that these will be books in various categories.

General Fiction - Modern Library 100 Best Novels 

Library Thing - Best Contemporary Literary Fiction - over the last 30 years  

Science Fiction - NPR - Your Picks - Top 100 Science-Fiction/Fantasy Books

Fantasy - Paste Magazine - 30 Best Fantasy Book Series of All Time

Fantasy - Fantasy Book Review- UK - Top 100 Fantasy Books

Mystery - BestMysteryBooks.com - Top 25 Best Mystery Books

Horror - Worlds Without End - Nightmare Magazine's Top 100 Horror Books

Romance - Bustle - 13 Romance Novels That Should Be On Every Woman's Bucket List

Western - Western Writers of America - Best Western Novels of the 20th Century

So now that you have an impressive list of books to choose from, where do you find these books? At the library of course.  Click on this link to go to the library card catalog to see if the book that you are interested in is on the shelf!

So...with that list I would think most people's interests would be piqued. If I missed a genre/style of writing that you would like to see, email me by clicking on this link!

Enjoy the books and writing!

Regards,
Stu

More Than Just Parks

Hi All,

I came across a wonderful website yesterday. Its called 'More Than Just Parks' and is dedicated to 'a visually stunning trip through America's National Parks'.

The goal of the project is to 'share the wonders of the national parks with as many people as we can'. Quite an admirable goal that's for sure.

Using short films, 'engaging online interactions and imagery the authors plan on creating films covering each park.' 

Click on this link for the National Parks that the authors have already covered.

Click on this link to go to the formal National Park Service website hosted by the US Government. 

And since the whole idea of this project is for folks to visit the various national parks, click this link to learn more about making reservations and/or visiting the various national parks.

Enjoy the links and the sites and the visits to these national treasures!

Regards,
Stu

Storm Survival Guide

Hi All,

The Family Handyman is a fairly well-known handyman/helper/do-it-yourself magazine.  They also have a very useful website from which this blog entry came from.  The article in Family Handyman of interest is called 'Storm Survival Guide' and discusses how to protect your family when a major storm is imminent or upon you! 

Read on for more information - basically the article talks about glow in the dark flashlights, flooded basements, gushing floodwater (stay out of it!), turning off the gas in case of a flood and other tricks to staying safe during major storms.

In keeping with the above article from the Family Handyman AND since we are - as of this writing - technically in the middle of hurricane season - we'll discuss the Nassau County Hurricane Preparedness Guide that is published by  Nassau County. 

Click on this link for a printable version of the online guide.

The guide discusses the various categories of hurricane - and the type of destruction associated with each category.   A list of items to create an emergency Go-Kit is included in the printable guide as well. Click on this link for a list of hurricane shelters.

This link has a list of evacuation zones and routes.

Finally, this link enables users to receive County News and Emergency Information!

Hopefully you won't need this information, but if you do...its very accessible!

Regards,
Stu