Tuesday's blog

Good Morning! The beginning of the 2006-2007 Fall Semeter at Lambuth University is off to a great start. Welcome back to returning students, we're happy to see the freshman class (Class of 2010) and all the transfer students on campus. Hope everyone has an enjoyable learning experience and makes the most of all that the Lambuth community has to offer.

Word of the Day: mawkish (adj) meaning sickly sentimental.

Reading Hint for the Day: intro, intra: Greek for within.

The answer to yesterday's trivia question is Lady Macbeth in William Shakespeare's Macbeth.

Today's trivia question: Which river runs south to north instead of north to south?

Everyone have a good first day of class.

monday morning ended up being monday afternoon.

Good afternoon, LU! The campus has come to life. Students are busy getting their schedules and staff and faculty are frantically making sure that everything is ready for the start of classes tomorrow. This post's title should indicate that the post began this morning but didn't get completed until after the noon hour! Busy, busy!

Word of the Day: insouciant(adj) carefree; unconcerned.

The answer to Friday's trivia question is 15 stripes and 15 stars.

The Greek root "therm" means heat. Modern derivatives of the word are hypothemic, thermometer, thermonuclear, and thermostat.

Trivia Question for the Day: What fictional character is quoted as saying, "Out, out damned spot! Out I say?"

The answer to today's trivia question will be on tomorrow's blog. You can also find the answer to this trivia question by using the library's reference section or checking out one of the videos from our video question.

Everyone have a great day!!

Friday's Library Reception

Today, as the students register for class, the faculty will be working hard to get the students ready for the academic year. The library is hosting an opening reception. Faculty and staff are invited to drop by for a bite to eat and to see new additions to the Lambuth library.

The Word for the Day-immutability (noun) the state of not being capable of changing or altering.

Reading Hint for the Day-"spec, spect" are Latin root words meaning "to look." Modern derivatives of these roots are: aspect, circumspect, introspection, spectacle, and spectrum.

The answer to yesterday's trivia question is the 13th Amendment to the United States gave African Americans the right to vote.

Today's trivia question: How many stars and tripes were in the United States flag when the "Star-Spangled Banner" was written?

The summer break is winding to a close as everyone on campus is looking forward to a great semester. Welcome to the freshmen (Class of 2010) and also welcome to the other returning students.

Back to school for faculty

Today the faculty is back on campus for faculty conference. Things are starting to come together as the first day of classes rapidly approaches. Dr. Dennis and Laura are giving a presentation on turnitin.com, which will be a new resource for LU's faculty and students.

The answer to yesterday's trivia question is Alice from Alice in Wonderland. The Lambuth library has an excellent collection of juvenile/young adult books available for check-out.

Today's trivia question: What did the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution do?
The answer to today's question will be posted on tomorrow's blog.

Word for the Day: solecism (noun) meaning a grammatical blunder.

Reading Tip for the Day: "Ante" is a Latin prefix meaning "before." Antebellum, antedated, and anterior are derivatives using this prefix.

Hope everyone has a really good day!

Scampering Squirrels on LU's campus

It's Wednesday morning, and the squirrels are lively and playing on LU's campus. It appears that we have a new addition. Two "blond," for lack of a better descriptive term, squirrels have previously been spotted on the campus, but this morning, a lighter-colored much smaller version of the little animal appeared scampering about. The almost tame animals are but one of the many things that give Lambuth's campus its unique charm.

The Word for the Day: "torpor," a noun, which means "apathy" or "dullness."

Reading Hint for the Day: "aud" or "audit" means "hear." Unknown word which contains this Latin derivative has something to do with hearing or sound. Modern uses of this word are audible, audile, audio-visual, audit, and auditory.

The answer to yesterday's trivia question is "look before you leap."

Today's trivia question: What character in a children's book has to "run as fast as her legs would carry her to remain in the same place"?

The answer to today's trivia question will be on tomorrow's blog.

For a hint in answering today's trivia question, check out the library's children and young adult section of the library. This section is housed on the second floor; these books are part of the circulating collection and may be checked out.

Everyone have a great day!

Tuesday at Lambuth University Library

U.S. News and World Report ranks Lambuth University as the 27th university (Comprehensive) for undergraduates in the South. Rhodes in Memphis also made the cut for best liberal arts universities.

The answer to yesterday's trivia question is Robert Browning. The quotation is from Browning's poem, "Pippa's Song."

Today's Trivia Question: What familiar saying is camouflaged in the following poem?
Your immediate environment submit to circumspection,
'Ere you traverse some feet of space by muscular projection.

Word for the Day: synchronicity (noun) meaning a concidental occurence of events.

Reading Hint for the Day: The Latin "port" or "portat" means "carry." Words using this Latin root are comport, deport, export, portable, portfolio, and purport.

The answer for today's trivia question may be found on tomorrow's blog. Feel free to try and answer the trivia question by commenting on the blog. Everyone have a great day!

Rainy Monday morning

It is a rainy Monday morning at LU. Not a gloomy one though. The library staff is working hard to get ready for the coming semester. The faculty reception is set for Friday, and everyone in the library is looking forward to seeing the faculty back on campus

Word for the Day: serendipity (noun)-the ability or faculty to find things not sought for.

Reading Hint for the Day: The Greek root, "phil," means "loving." Its modern derivatives are philanthrophy, philharmonic, philosophy, and bibliophile.

Today's Trivia Question: Who wrote: "God's in his heaven: All's right with the world"?

The answer to last Wednesday's trivia question is Andrew Jackson. Jackson and Dickinson had agreed to race horses. At the last hour, Dickinson withdrew his horse from the competition. Jackson, enraged by his behavior, challenged Dickinson to a duel. After taking a shot to the ribs from Dickinson, Jackson shot and fatally wounded Dickinson on May 30, 1806. Jackson, a notorious brawler and dueler, was elected to the presidency of the United States in 1828 and re-elected in 1832.

If you are interested in finding out more about word roots or origins, the Lambuth library has many dictionaries, which provide etymological information as well as word meaning in the reference section.

Hope everyone has a good day!

Wednesday's Blog

Good Wednesday morning.

The Word for the Day: extirpate: (verb) to abolish or destroy completely.

Reading Hint for the Day: The Latin root for believe is "cred." Words which include this root are incredible, credible, creed, credentials, discredit.

Today's trivia question: In a famous duel, a man who later became President of the United States shot and killed Charles Dickinson? Who was he?

The answer to today's trivia question will be on tomorrow's blog.

The library has an assortment of CDs, DVDs, and leisure videos available for checkout. Come by the library and look for a favorite movie.

Tuesday

Today's post will be brief but still filled with fun facts!

Word for the Day: indigenous (adj) native to the land.

Reading Hint for the Day: "Dem" is a Greek root meaning "people." Derivatives of the word are: democracy, demographic, epidemic, democrat.

Answer to yesterday's trivia question: All the people on the list are left-handed.

Today's trivia question: Johann Sebastian Bach played an instrument called a "clavier?" What is this instrument?
a. a harpsichord-a precursor to the piano
b. any keyboard instrument
c. a clavichord- a precusor to the piano
d. a pipe organ

The answer to today's trivia question will be on tomorrow's blog.

If you would like to listen to Johann Sebastian Bach, you can find sound recordings of his work in the library's online catalog. We also have a listening room so that you'll be able to listen with headphones. Anyone interested may ask at the circulation desk about the listening lab and the sound recordings available at Lambuth's library.

Have a good day.

It's just another manic Monday?

The last days of summer are dwindling. Students have already gone back to school, and the big yellow/orange (some indeterminate shade of one or the other) buses are rolling/stopping picking up anxious or petulant children on their way to school. Most universities and colleges are ramping up for registration, and college students are getting all their gear ready for another year on college campuses. Autumn also brings football, and LU's team is already on campus getting ready for the coming season. According to the local news, the team is looking to improve over last season's 4-6 record; go Eagles!

Everyone have a good day!

Word of the Day—parsimonious (adj)—frugal to excess; economical

Reading Tip—The Greek, “dyn” means power. Modern usages of the word include: dynamite, dynamic, dynamo, dynasty, and thermodynamics.

Answer to Friday’s Trivia Question: C. Schindler’s List

Trivia question for the day: What thing do the people listed below have in common--

Henry Ford
50 cent
Eminem
Albert Einstein
Morgan Freeman

The answer to today's trivia question will be on tomorrow's blog, so be sure to check.

An excellent way to search for answers to questions such as today's trivia, do research, or just find a book for pleasure reading is to come by LU's library. The library is wireless for anyone who wishes to bring a laptop, and the library has computers in the lab. Any staff member will be glad to help you!

It's Friday!

The air has cooled, and it's a gloomy Friday morning. Just the time to settle in with a hot cup of tea or coffee and read a good book! There are several new titles on the front table in the library. Come on over and see what's new in the library. There are also videos for leisure viewing if you'd rather watch a movie on a rainy afternoon.

Word for the day--inveigle-(tr. verb)--to win over by coaxing, flattery, or artful talk.

The answer to yesterday’s trivia question is B. It takes four hits to sink a battleship.

Word Hint for the day--The Latin "aqu" means "water." So anytime you see a word that has "aqu" as its beginning, you'll know that it has something to do with water. Some words you are likely to see are aqua, aquarium, aqueous, Aquarius, and aquamarine.

Trivia Question: Which grand, masterful film epic directed by Steven Spielberg won an Academy Award for Best Picture of 1993?
A. The Color Purple
B. Saving Private Ryan
C. Schindler’s List
D. Amistad

The Jewish Collection in the Lambuth library has Jewish historical information. The collection also has a great deal of information about the ancestry of people of Jewish descent in the Jackson area. Popular books by renown writers such as Elie Wiesel and other authors are available for check out. When you're in the library if you haven't seen the Jewish Collection, ask at the circulation desk.

Please post comments if you'd like to know more about the Jewish collection or other items available at the library. Or try and answer the trivia question!

Have a good weekend!

post please!!

If anyone is reading the blog and likes the content, please feel free to post a comment, answer the trivia question, or leave suggestions.

Another hot August day in Jackson. The Lambuth campus is coming to life with the sounds of the returning football players. Everyone is keeping former Lambuth linebacker, Johnathan Frazier, in their thoughts. A memorial service is planned for sometime after the students return to campus.

Word of the Day: misogyny (noun)—the hatred of women

What’s That Word? The root word, “poly,” means “many.” “Poly” is a Greek derivative; some of its current uses are polygon, polysyllable, polyester, and polytechnic.

Answer to yesterday’s trivia question: The Diamond Back Rattler is ‘venomous’ but not ‘poisonous.’

Trivia Question: In the boardgame, “Battleship,” how many hits does it take to sink a battleship?
A. 3 B.4 C.5 D.6

From The Christian Science Monitor-Interesting Way of Relieving Stress: As you are entering college, you are almost sure to endure the stresses and rigors that go along with being a college student. Although there are many ways to reduce and relieve stress, the Indian army has implemented an usual method of stress management for its troops.

Six hundred thousand Indian troops are currently deployed in Jammu and Kashmir. Every morning at 6:30 a.m., the soldiers gather under the shade of a giant Chinar tree and practice the ancient art of yoga. Many of the soldiers claim that practicing yoga has not only relieved stress (in often times unbearable situations) but also focused their minds and helped to reduce family tensions. Yoga combines stretching muscles, holding prescribed poses, deep breathing, and ridding the body of negative energy. Yoga makes the mind as well as the body more alert and sharper.

To find out more about yoga, check out these books available at the campus library:

Yoga: the Eight Steps to Health and Peace

Science of Yoga

Another summer day

It's just another summer day as the library staff works to get everything ready for the return of students. Classes begin on August 29.

Word for the Day: ubiquitous-(adj)-being everywhere at the same time; ominpresent.

Reading hint for the day: If you see any word which begins, "bibli," or uses some form of the prefix, you should know that the word has to do with books. "Bibli" is the Greet root for book. Some of its derivatives are: Bible Biblicist, bibliography, and bibliophile.

From The Wall Street Journal: The Maryland School of Medicine conducted a study funded jointly by the U.S. Army and the National Institutes of Neurological Disorders on the use of galantamine, a drug used to treat mild to moderate Alzheimer's, in treating the victims of poison by soman and sarin gas. In the study, laboratory rats were used as test subjects. The animals treated with galantamine suffered fewer side effects from the nervous system toxins, one of which was used in the 1990s subway attacks in Japan. Soman and sarin attack the central nervous system and cause respiratory distress. When the test animals were treated with a combination of galantamine and atropine, the animals showed no adverse side effects after being exposed to soman and sarin gas.

Trivia Question: Which of the following animals is not poisonous? A. a pitcohui B. Japanese fugu C. Diamond back rattler D. Poison Arrow Frogs


You can read this article and other articles in The Wall Street Journal and other newspapers in the Lambuth Library.

Interesting Trivia from the Library

The suffixes, “mit,” and “mis,” come from the Latin meaning “to send.” Modern day usages of these suffixes are dismiss, admissible, commit, emissary, omit, or permit. Sometimes knowing a part of a word is helpful when learning new vocabulary.

Word for the Day: malerific-(adj) means evil.

An Interesting Bit of Historical Trivia:

Early in the birth of our nation, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson were good friends and shared a great deal of philosophical letter writing and collaborated in the writing of the Declaration of Independence, though Jefferson, ultimately penned the document.

Adam’s election as POTUS, however, split the friends almost irreparably. Jefferson had paired up with James Madison in an effort to undermine Adam’s efforts at passing legislation and governing as he believed was outlined in the spirit of the Revolution. In the process of all his subterfuge, Jefferson somehow got a few items published that hinted at Adams being a bit of a fuitcake. Eventually, the two former friends ran against each other in the third presidential election, and with Madison’s assistance with the “Adams as a fruitcake” campaign, Jefferson won. (Possibly the birth of political mudslinging?) The election marked a period of total silence in their friendship.

Beyond this slight on his person that Adams felt Jefferson had done (besides being totally unsupportive of a friend during his presidency), Adams was beginning to resent the popularity that Jefferson and Washington enjoyed as a result of their involvement with the development of the nation. Adams was jealous because Jefferson had merely penned a document that reflected Adams’ philosophy and goals. Adams felt like a bit of a limp dishrag being neither the author of brilliant prose nor the warrior for a nation. At some point during this period, Abagail Adams, John’s wife, began corresponding with Jefferson despite the animosity between her husband and Thomas Jefferson. Abagail’s writing, while being a friendly pastime, was also an attempt to bring two old friends to reconciliation. This pursuit ultimately won over the two men, and Jefferson and Adams, late in the lives, picked up their pens and once again enjoyed lively banter and debate through correspondence.

Adams, on his death bed, said, “Thomas Jefferson still survives.” Adams had no way of knowing that Jefferson had died at 9:50 AM on the same day Adams would later succumb to death—July 4, 1826.

These and other interesting things you can find in your campus library.

Have a great day!