Author Archives: R. Martin Witt, JD, MLIS

Fresh Air and Fresh Food!

If you have any tips on things to do in Jacksonville and surrounding areas, feel free to let us know on our Facebook page!

Welcome to the heart of summer here in Jacksonville. The heat is here to stay, but at least we’ll stay in the double digits all weekend and won’t go near 100 degrees for a while.

One positive about summer in Florida is the availability of fresh produce – not just supermarket fresh, but farmer’s-market fresh! Take a break this weekend to get some fresh air and some fresh food!

Click Continue reading for info on some of the Farmer’s Markets open this weekend (all free!) and other events.

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New Library Resources – Knowing is Half the Battle! – May 2012 Edition

Hello everyone, and welcome to another exciting edition of “New Library Resources” – it’s chock full of information you should know, because knowing is half the battle!

To view a table listing the new print resources that the library received in May 2012, click Continue reading below. Most of the items listed there can be found in the General Collection and checked out for up to three weeks by members of the Coastal Community.

Need to find some current information from the Congressional Record? Good news! HeinOnline will now be updating the Congressional Record Daily Edition every day to include the most current Congressional Record Daily Edition, just as it does with the Federal Register. Check out HeinOnline’s May Content Release and remember, you can access HeinOnline through the Library & Technology Center’s Subscription Databases page.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to stop by the Reference Desk on the third floor of the Library & Technology Center or contact the Reference Librarians via email, telephone (904.680.7612), or the Ask a Librarian form.

Check back here for monthly updates on what is being added to the Library & Technology Center collection. Updates will be published on the second Tuesday of every month.

If you think we should consider adding something to the collection, please feel free to recommend it here (Coastal ID login required).

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Zombies!

Real life zombie attacks seem to be happening everywhere nowadays, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is finally taking notice. It has begun developing its Preparedness and Response plan for the inevitable outbreak of the undead.

Legal scholars are finally taking notice as well, and beginning to address the myriad of complications that will accompany the rise of the zombies. Take, for example, how the estate and income tax laws would apply to zombies; this issue is addressed is the forthcoming publication Death and Taxes and Zombies (Iowa Law Review). Understandably, this foray into the legal ramifications has generated quite a bit of buzz on the web, like on lawandthemultiverse, io9, and nerdcore.

What’s next for zombies on the legal landscape? If you’re looking for an interesting ALWR topic, maybe you can be the one to answer that question!

 

 

The Most Amusing Divorce Petition You Will Ever Read…

Thanks to McClurg’s Legal Humor (Lawhaha) for bringing this one to the light of day. You can read his post about it, but you really have to read it in all its handwritten glory (complete with illustrations) to appreciate it.

Don’t worry, it’s only 8 pages long handwritten, and with the illustrations probably only a page worth of actual text. While it definitely is not an example of the professionalism or civility that an attorney should exhibit, it’s good for a laugh and a smile. Enjoy!

It Takes a Village… Person.

Some people find a calling In the Navy, others Go West in search of fortune, and still others find all they need at the YMCA. But perhaps no one has had as much success with that particular trifecta as Victor Willis, the original lead singer of the Village People.

Now, the man often known simply as the Motorcycle Cop has been given the green light to reclaim his copyright interests in those songs and others (at least in the U.S.). The Guardian (U.K.) has summed it up best with the headline - Village People’s policeman lays down the law on his right to royalties.

Videos
In the Navy
Go West
YMCA

Related Reading
New York Times, Arts Beat blog
The Hollywood Reporter
Billboard
Bloomberg

 

New Library Resources – What’s Happening – April 2012 Edition

Hello everyone, and welcome to another exciting edition of “New Library Resources” – because you need to know What’s Happening!

To view a table listing the new print resources that the library received in April 2012, click Continue reading below. Most of the items listed there can be found in the General Collection and checked out for up to three weeks by members of the Coastal Community.

We also now have access to HeinOnline’s new U.S. International Trade Library, which includes many useful legislative histories. You can see all the new additions to HeinOnline on its new content page (reproduced below under our new print resources) and you can access HeinOnline through the Library & Technology Center’s Subscription Databases page.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to stop by the Reference Desk on the third floor of the Library & Technology Center or contact the Reference Librarians via email, telephone (904.680.7612), or the Ask a Librarian form.

Check back here for monthly updates on what the Library & Technology Center is adding. Updates will be published on the second Tuesday of every month.

If you think we should consider adding something to the collection, please feel free to recommend it here (Coastal ID login required).

Continue reading →

Card Catalog Magic

As you may recall, just this past fall, the LTC launched its new catalog Encore,
Such a fine new tool, you’d be a great fool, if you did not use it to help you find more.
In days long gone by, before the web in the sky, finding information could be quite hard,
You’d search for long days, in so many ways, to find that magical catalog card.

Yale University old catalog cards (video)

New Library Resources – Acquiring Minds Want to Know – March 2012 Edition

Hello everyone, and welcome to another exciting edition of “New Library Resources” – because Acquiring Minds Want to Know!

To view a table listing the new print resources that the library received in March 2012, click Continue reading below. Most of the items listed there can be found in the General Collection and checked out for up to three weeks by members of the Coastal Community.

We also now have access to Covington & Burling’s prestigious collection of Congressional Hearings via HeinOnline’s U.S. Congressional Documents Collection. You can access HeinOnline through the Library & Technology Center’s Subscription Databases page.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to stop by the Reference Desk on the third floor of the Library & Technology Center or contact the Reference Librarians via email, telephone (904.680.7612), or the Ask a Librarian form.

Check back here for monthly updates on what the Library & Technology Center is adding. Updates will be published on the second Tuesday of every month.

If you think we should consider adding something to the collection, please feel free to recommend it here (Coastal ID login required).

Continue reading →

Sometimes You Should Just Moonwalk… (from Lowering the Bar)

Though it can be difficult to believe at times, there is actually humor to be found in the law. And thanks to the internet and blogs, it is far easier to stay amused. One blog that does a particularly good job of combing laughter and law is Lowering the Bar.

Over the past seven years, since January 2005, blogger Kevin Underhill has offered legal humor based on things happening all around the world. A partner at Shook, Hardy & Bacon, L.L.P. in San Francisco, Underhill nevertheless finds time to post at least a few times a week.

While humor is always present, Underhill will often include some legal analysis as well (though he is careful to point out in his “Comical Yet Binding Disclaimer“ that the site provides no legal advice).

One recent post that combined humor and some legal references was Security Cam Records Burglar’s “Signature Dance Moves”.

You can also see the YouTube video after the cut.

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