Why Doesn't The Chicago Public Library Have an App

I was surprised over the weekend when I discovered that the Chicago Public Library does not have an app available. Additionally, their website is not user friendly when you pull it up on your mobile phone or tablet. (It's just a miniaturize version of the main site, which has many tabs and pages posted on the front page. I kept hitting the wrong button.) An app could solve all of these issues, and make it much easier to check the availability of a book and placing it on hold.

I'm very proud of the Chicago Public Library and how it has been forward thinking with integrating technology into the library. But no app... come on!

Look how small the links are.

Writing My First Book Review

Well, I'm writing my first ever book review for a communications journal. The journal I am writing for is called: The Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media. It is based out of Temple University. The book I am reading and reviewing is Listening Publics: The Politics and Experience of Listening in the Media Age.

I must admit, I am rather nervous about writing this review. Since it is going to be published, what happens if I totally miss interpret what the author is talking about? If you actually look at my copy of the book currently, you'll see that I have written all over it, and underlined everywhere. Maybe being so nervous is a good thing? It is making focus a great deal, since I don't want to mess up. We will see I guess.

Of course I will post my completed review here.

Superman: 75th Anniversary

Earlier today, a student of mine showed me this video. It's entitled: Superman: 75 Years of Heroic History. It's a short animated video created by Zak Synder and legendary animator Bruce Timm. It basically showcases Superman's illustrious history. I especially love the tributes to George Reeves and Christopher Reeve in it.
*The video is finally on YouTube

What is Cereal Thursday?

Let me tell you a little story. About four years ago, there were two students, Jeff and Terry, that worked with me at WXAV 88.3FM. Every Friday, the two gentleman would have waffles for lunch or dinner. They called it, Waffle Friday. The general consensuses was that the greatness of waffles was slightly under appreciated, and that it was high time that we began to show our appreciation to the breakfast giant.  It became a little tradition amongst WXAV staff members. For about a year, Fridays became Waffle Fridays, and we would dine on delicious waffles.

Now I think we can all agree that breakfast food is the greatest amongst all food. No matter the time of day, you can justify dinning on an omelet, whisking up some pancakes, or gobble up the candy meat known as bacon. For me, I've always been a cereal man. No matter the time of day or night, I'll pour myself a bowl and feast of the glory that is Captain Crunch, Frosted Flakes, or Corn Pops. A few months ago, I was speaking with Terry, and we began reminiscing about the "good old" days. Naturally Waffle Fridays was mentioned, and we both smiled.

Later, it dawned on me that cereal, like waffles, was becoming slightly under appreciated. Let's face it, many of us do not have the time to pour ourselves a bowl, before we start our day. Cereal by its very nature is a stationary food. Yet we all have those great childhood memories of mom or dad pouring us a bowl of our favorite cereal and watching a little cartoons before we headed off school. (If you lived in Chicago, you watched the Bozo Show.)

With this in mind, I would like to propose the creation of Cereal Thursday. All you have to do is at some point on Thursdays treat yourself to a bowl of cereal. It can be for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Just take a small portion of your day for yourself, and remember the joys of your youth. Additionally feel free to talk about it. I for one will be tweeting what cereals I will be dinning on, and sharing pictures. I'm also interested in testing the power of the internet and see if we can turn this into a thing. If you wish to participate in Cereal Thursdays, use the hashtag :#cerealthursday on Twitter. If your curious about what cereals I will be dinning on, follow me on Twitter, Twitter.com/pkreten