Thursday, April 19, 2012

National Poetry Month: The Prison Poet

Robert Counts wears many hats: he is a poet, a chef, an ex-convict.  His passion for poetry developed during his 27-year prison sentence - he read everything he could get his hands on, from the works of Malcolm X to the poetry of Robert Frost.  In time, he started writing poetry of his own.



Rejection
by Robert Counts
I am the stone that the builders must reject
yet I house not anger nor regret
toward anyone lacking imagination,
I was born to move mountains,
to command the breath of worldwinds and hurricanes
to never look back nor down, except in introspection,
to make certain that only splendor surrounds me
and yet when I see pebbles floating on the scum of time,
I am forced to reflect, how can it be
that I am the stone that the builders must reject,
yet I stand tall without such defects,
for perhaps one day, the builders will need just such a structure
to measure up to...

Now, with his 27 year sentence behind him, Robert has earned himself certification as a Culinarian and works as a chef.  But he hasn't abandoned his writing - a book of his poetry titled First Light and Other Poems will hit the shelves this Fall.
To learn more about Mr. Counts, check out this feature article by Doris Friedensohn from the Huffington Post: link


Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Technology Tuesday: Finding Medical Information Online

Finding Medical information online can be tricky.  You want reliable, trustworthy information - but often enough, the more trustworthy websites like WebMD can get too technical and hard to understand.

We've gathered a group of health-related websites you can rely on, without having to worry about knowing all the scientific lingo.  The next time you're worried about that scratchy throat, or want to learn more about a loved one's condition, these sites are a great starting point for looking up medical information.

The Mayo Clinic
Website: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health-information/
What's it like?:  Recognized by Consumer Reports for excellence, the Mayo Clinic website is easy to navigate and links to information on diseases and conditions, symptoms, drugs and procedures.  This page was designed with the public in mind and is easy to browse and read through.

Medify
Website: https://www.medify.com/
What's it like?: Medify breaks down different medical conditions into easy-to-navigate pages, linking to the most recent research in treatments.  You can narrow down search results by picking articles that relate specifically to your age group, gender and interest.

MedlinePlus
Website: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/
What's it like?:  Developed by the National Library of Medicine, MedlinePlus is a great starting point for research.  When you search for conditions, medical terms or treatments, MedlinePlus pulls results from trustworthy sites across the web.  For general information, this is a great place to start.


Where do you turn for medical information on the web?  Share with us in the comments section!