KBlog by Kimberly Blessing | KBlog Archives

Archive for the 'Current Events' Category

Franklin-tastic!

Posted December 29, 2005 at 2:18 PM | Tagged as: Current Events, History, Philly | 3 Comments

Benjamin Franklin is my favorite Founding Father — pretty much anyone that knows me well knows this. And anyone that’s been following local Philadelphia news knows that we’re quickly approaching Ben’s 300th birthday.

I started celebrating early, and had a Franklin-themed Christmas. A statue of Ben, given to me by Kevin, sat by the piano and watched over our holiday cards and decorations. While out holiday shopping, Kevin bought me Benjamin Franklin : In Search of a Better World. And on Christmas, I received four books on the man — plus one additional book compiled from his writings:

Benjamin Franklin by Edmund S. Morgan
Atlantic Cousins: Benjamin Franklin and His Visionary Friends by Jack Fruchtman Jr.
Franklin: The Essential Founding Father by James Srodes
Stealing God’s Thunder : Benjamin Franklin’s Lightning Rod and the Invention of America by Philip Dray
Poor Richards Almanack

As if that weren’t enough, I’ll be returning home to Philadelphia for New Years… and once all of the mummery is over, I’ll visit the many Franklin-themed exhibits and attend some Franklin-themed lectures, such as:

Benjamin Franklin: In Search of a Better World (Exhibit)
Franklin, Freemason (Lecture)
Ben’s Birthday Salon on First Friday
Franklin Biographers: A Reunion (Panel discussion)

Of course, I’ll also be visiting the Franklin Institute and Independence National Historic Park. Unfortunately I’m only in town through January 8th… what will I do on Ben’s birthday (January 17)? What will you be doing to celebrate this great man?

Keep Up with KB

Good Reading

Adapting to Web Standards: CSS and Ajax for Big Sites by Christopher Schmitt, Kimberly Blessing, et al.

Upcoming Events

SXSW Interactive in Austin, Texas, March 7-11, 2008
WebVisions 2008 in Portland, Oregon, May 22-23, 2008
Voices that Matter: Web Design in Nashville, Tennesee, June 10-13, 2008 (Get $200 off with code WDDSPKR!)
An Event Apart Boston, June 23-24, 2008 (Get $50 off with code AEABLESS!)
Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing at Keystone Resort, Colorado, October 1-4, 2008

Latest Links

Berners-Lee and friends promote web science study This article mentions that Web companies are stepping forward to say that they would want to hire grads of Web Science programs.
Duran Duran � A Blog from Nick The Durans have a record player in their dressing room, and they listen to a different album before each show. Nick ends by suggesting what I always tell people... go back and listen to your vinyl. You'll appreciate your music so much more...
Science Has Become the New Frontier for Title Nine Under Title IX, US government agencies have set up programs to look for sexual discrimination at universities receiving federal grants... in science.
Zimbabwe introduces $100 billion banknotes Roughly equal to one US dollar, they're not even enough to buy a loaf of bread. Inflation in Zimbabwe is officially 2,200,000% but other estimates put it at 9,030,000%.
Women break to front of tech It's nice to see that a national newspaper with fairly broad readership has this type of coverage, and that it doesn't paint women in tech as the odd ducks.

Navigate