Librarian stats

I've thought of getting my master's. The only problem is, I'm have yet to figure out what field I would actually want to study further. I've given a passing thought to a master's in journalism/communication, library science and creative writing. After finding the infographic below, library science is looking pretty interesting. Really, my dream job would be one where I'm paid to read, but working in a library everyday seems like it might be almost as good. Anyway, take a look at these interesting librarian statistics.

++ Click to Enlarge Image ++

ImageSource: MastersinEducation.org

Reading slacker

Since the summer of 2009, I've keep a record of the books I've read, creatively calling my spreadsheet "Books Read List." The other day, after finishing Sam Campbell's "Eeny, Meeny, Miney, Mo -- and Still-Mo" I opened my spreadsheet to document my completed book. The sight that greeted my eyes was dismal, to say the least. And here's why: since getting back from Tanzania at the end of April, I have only read four complete books. FOUR! In more than four months! That is disturbing, despairaging (a good word for this situation), and despicable! And you want to hear the really, really ugly news? (You probably don't, but I'm going to tell you anyway.) I read only one full book between returning from Africa and my wedding on August 1. The only other book I attempted to read before the wedding was started on May 3, but not completed until August 16. I feel like a failure of a reader...and this from a self-proclaimed readaholic!

On the brighter side of this appalling realization, since returning from my honeymoon, I've read three books and started two others (which I have yet to finish and probably won't for awhile since they belonged to someone else and I just picked them up to look at while camping -- hopefully I can get to a library sometime soon to check them out and finish them). Those statistics are starting to sound a little better, right? Phew! Can't wait to get fully back into my readaholic ways. :)

Return and rejuvenation

For the last two years, I've been using this blog as a periodic dumping place for random news stories and causes I happen to come across. This past year I've been blogging about my experiences as a student missionary in Tanzania on another blog, Writing to Serve. The year before, my Creative Writing professor required his students to make a new blog specifically for creative writing. Throughout the school year, our assignment was to blog at least three sentences every day of the semester. I used that blog, Creative Endeavour, primarily to document my daily life throughout my senior year of university.

So for two years this blog as been put on the back burner. But now that I'm finished university and back from Tanzania I need to start using my original blog again. I'm sure the poor little thing has been feeling terribly lonely and I certainly don't want to continue ignoring it. So enjoy the new posts on here. I'll try to keep it more updated than it has been in a long, long time. Meanwhile, I'll do my best to post periodic creative pieces on Creative Endeavour whenever I have the chance, or the inspiration.

Running the Numbers

My coworker sent me a link to a startling gallery on chrisjordan.com. If you click artworks you can find the galleries Running the Numbers and Running the Numbers II.

All the artwork in these galleries is thought-provoking , especially when you realize clicking the pictures zooms in to see the smaller images that make up the whole picture. But the saddest two, for me, are Year of the Tiger and Shark Teeth.

Depicts 3,200 toy tigers, equal to the estimated number of tigers remaining on Earth. The space in the middle would hold 40,000 of these tigers, equal to the global tiger population in 1970.

Close-up of the tiger border

Depicts 270,000 fossilized shark teeth, equal to the estimated number of sharks of all species killed around the world every day for their fins.

Shark teeth close-up

Tigers and sharks are two of my favourite animals. What are we doing to this planet??

Tsunami forecast

An 8.9 magnitude earthquake hit off the coast of northern Japan Thursday afternoon, triggering a massive tsunami watch.

tsunami forecast

I just can't get over that graphic. It's amazing - and terrifying - to see how widespread the destruction can be from such a huge earthquake.