The Best Defense is Good Self-Defense

America's Most Wanted Safety Center
Whether you are being physically attacked or financially scammed, this site has videos and tips for how to defend yourself in a variety of situations. Including tips like these.


National Crime Prevention Council
Remember McGruff, the dog who takes a bite out of crime? This is his site. The site offers statistics on crime, as well as tips for preventing different types of crime. My favorite sites are dedicated to personal safety and preventing violence.


Women's Self-Defense Center
This site offers tips on how to deal with everything from rape and stalking to purse-snatching and car-jacking.


Here are two articles that delve into how to handle an attacker.


Self-Defense Tactics at SafetyCentral.

5 Quick Self-Defense Tactics That Can Save Your Life by Ryan J. Macdonald
(View other articles by Mr. Macdonald here.)


Always remember, a weapon you carry is a weapon that can be used against you. This blog neither condones nor condemns the carrying of such items. Just remember...don't carry anything on you that you aren't willing to use.


Articles are great, but taking self-defense or martial arts classes is better. Stay tuned for the next installment, where I will point you to some sites that can help you find the martial arts class for you.



Bunny Burnstein

American Heart Month

This month is American Heart Month. Here are some great sites that can help you learn more about heart disease, as well as how to take care of this vital organ.


American Heart Association
The best place to go for information on taking care of your heart.


AHA Journals
Journals put out by the American Heart Association.


Delicious Decisions
Wonderful heart-healthy meal ideas!


Just Move
Get more active for a healthier heart!



And remember these signs of a heart attack...

• Chest discomfort. Most heart attacks involve discomfort in the center of the chest that lasts more than a few minutes, or that goes away and comes back. It can feel like uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain.

• Discomfort in other areas of the upper body. Symptoms can include pain or discomfort in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw or stomach.

• Shortness of breath. This feeling often comes along with chest discomfort. But it can occur before the chest discomfort.

• Other signs include breaking out in a cold sweat, nausea or lightheadedness.


Bunny Burnstein

Oxford African American Studies Center

February is National Black History Month. In honor of our first black president, the Oxford African American Studies Center is celebrating with free access to the public!

The Oxford African American Studies Center is a subscription database that "combines the authority of carefully edited reference works with sophisticated technology to create the most comprehensive collection of scholarship available online to focus on the lives and events which have shaped African American and African history and culture." This database will be available from February 1st to March 1st.

Visit www.oxfordaasc.com.

Username: barackobama
Password: president


Bunny Burnstein

Information posted in the Federal Documents @ Earl K. Long Library blog on Monday, February 2nd.

Use Your Mouse to Help the World

Need a little break at work? Take some time to relax while doing some good!

Free Rice

Play a vocabulary game and help end world hunger! For every answer you get right, 10 grains of rice are donated through the UN World Food Program to help end hunger.

Click to Give

Click to Give Food

Click to Give Free Mammograms

Click to Give Free Child Healthcare

Click to Give Free Books

Click to Protect Endangered Habitat

Click to Give Free Food and Care to Animals

Bunny Burnstein

Desk Pains

Many of us spend our days sitting at a desk. Don’t fall victim to the physical ailments that can happen when you’re just going through the (repetitive) motions.

Safe Computing Tips

This is a great site to get you started on a new and healthier way of working at a computer. This site does not just offer Carpal Tunnel (and other) exercises; it also offers information about how different disorders are caused (and how to correct them).

eMedTV – Carpal Tunnel Exercises

This site offers health information…including some useful Carpal Tunnel exercises.

Desktop Yoga

Need a stretch during the day? Can’t make it to a yoga class? This site offers easy yoga movements to keep you aligned during your workday.

Bunny Burnstein

February Blog Spotlight: The Kept-Up Academic Librarian

Helping Academic Librarians "Keep Up" With News and Developments In Higher Education.

This blog, created by Steven Bell, is one of the ones I check every day. This, of course, caused me to put it in my February Spotlight. The Kept-Up Academic Librarian is a blog that focuses on issues in academia, including issues in academic libraries. Entries include news blurbs about what different universities and university libraries are doing, often providing links to full news stories.

The Kept-Up Academic Librarian is a great resource for academic librarians. If you want to know what is going on in the world of academic librarianship, this is the blog to read.

Bunny Burnstein

Reading Ahead

Everyone wishes he/she could read another person’s mind at one point or another. But how many consider reading another person’s body instead? Here are some sites to help you out with that…

Body Language for Business Communication (University of Northern Iowa)

This site offers clues as to what certain actions and expressions mean. This is useful for reading other people, as well as for making sure that other people are reading you correctly.

Facial Expressions: What’s in a Face? (American Psychological Association)

This article discusses the art (and somewhat science) of reading facial expressions.

The Gestural Origins of Language (American Scientist)

This article talks about the origin of non-verbal communication, as well as how it has changed throughout history.

Human Nonverbal Communication (Bellarmine University)

This site links to several articles on the subject.

Now…it’s important to remember that body language isn’t always 100% accurate. Crossed arms could mean that the person is closed off from you (doesn’t like you or the topic, etc.)…or it could just mean that he/she is cold. While this information is interesting and has some merit, it shouldn’t be used in excess—i.e. in lieu of what the person actually tells you.

Bunny Burnstein