Calling NYC History Buffs!

The New York City Department of Records has unveiled a huge collection of historical images, maps, and audio/video clips according to the New York Times.  Browse through at your leisure or search for a specific topic in this new useful resource that brings New York City to life.

Who Made Your iPhone?

The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs is a one man show at the Public Theater in New York City featuring Mike Daisey who details the history of Apple and exposes what it takes to create a new piece of technology.  For reviews on this show, check out the New York Times or Wall Street Journal.  NPR digs deeper into the story of Chinese factory conditions that are responsible for creating our technology and Ira Glass features this story on This American Life.  To find out more about how your iPhone may have been created, see the show or listen to the podcast.

See the Actual Dead Sea Scrolls

The Discovery Center in New York City has an exhibit on the Dead Sea Scrolls, offering a unique opportunity to see some of the actual scrolls and many other artifacts of the period when they were written, about the 1st Century BC. “The Dead Sea Scrolls” is on view through April 15 at Discovery Times Square, 226 West 44th Street: http://www.discoverytsx.com/

An article in the New York Times reviews the exhibit: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/29/arts/design/the-dead-sea-scrolls-at-discovery-times-square-review.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=DEAD%20SEA%20SCROLLS&st=cse

In addition, another article in the New York Times describes the effort by Google to publish digitized versions of the scrolls online: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/21/technology/quietly-google-puts-history-online.html?scp=1&sq=google%20dead%20sea%20scrolls&st=cse

The Discovery exhibit will been seen by many people; the Israel Museum in Jerusalem that houses the scrolls will be visited by many more; however, the online version created by Google has already been seen by millions: http://dss.collections.imj.org.il/dss_video

Get Out! “Occupy Wall Street” Protest Sites Cleared by Police

Oakland yesterday, NYC today: Police have been ordered by the cities that employ them to clear out “tent cities” associated with the Occupy Wall Street movement. The reasons given vary; in California, Oakland officials cited instances of drug use and violence—even a recent murder—in the encampments. In New York City, Mayor Bloomberg declared he has sought to strike a balance between public safety and the rights of the protestors; apparently the balance shifted too much, for at 1:00 a.m. this morning, police moved in and cleared Zuccotti Park, ostensibly for cleaning. In both cities, protestors will be allowed back into the parks but will not be allowed to bring sleeping gear or tents. In Oakland, 33 protestors were arrested during the police action; in NYC today, police arrested 70.

Check out the latest articles and audio about these controversial police actions. The New York Times has articles from today's and yesterday's editions about Oakland and New York City. NPR featured audio segments on Occupy protests in NYC, Oakland, and Los Angeles in today’s Morning Edition program. (An interesting and perhaps unexpected point about the clearing of Zuccotti Park is that, from the perspective of some protestors at least, the movement itself could actually benefit, as Zuccotti is seen by some to have become an unwanted distraction from the movement's political goals.) 

Salon.com’s Glenn Greenwald posted this scathing criticism of Mayor Bloomberg and his order to clear Zuccotti Park. And finally, Slate.com features an interesting article on how the police themselves might feel about their roles as both protectors and enforcers.

Occupy Wall Street

Protestors frustrated with the current financial system have been active since mid-September in the Occupy Wall Street movement.  Follow the protestors on Twitter (hashtags #occupywallstreet #occupywallst #ows) or read their paper of record, The Occupied Wall Street Journal.  Slate reports on the spread of this movement across the country.

NYPL’s Centennial

Looking for something to do this weekend?

The New York Public Library will be "Celebrating 100 Years" this month and will be exhibiting some of their extensive collection starting tomorrow, Saturday May 14.

For a sneak peek of what they will be showing, check out the New Yorker's Book Bench blog or Salon's book blog.