Portugal

Okay, so I didn't try that hard. The intention to update this blog while in Portugal was there but once I arrived I thought, 'forget this, I came here to relax...' Honestly, the idea of spending time in front of a computer just reminded me of work so I opted against it. It's not like anyone even checked the blog (except for my sister-in-law who I already apologized to). So, there you have it!

Portugal here I come...

Tonight I leave for the Acores. While there I'll try to update this blog for family and friends to experience a bit of the trip with me.
I'll be at the the biggest religious festival on the island of Sao Miguel.
The “Festa do Senhor Santo Cristo dos Milagres” or Festival of the Christ of Miracles takes place in the city of Ponta Delgada on the fifth Sunday after Easter. People from all over the world make this pilgrimage each year to take part in a three hour procession behind the image of Christ along flower-covered streets.
In Toronto, this festival is celebrated at St. Mary Catholic Church on Portugal Square, near Bathurst St. and Queen St.

Refdesk: a library at your fingertips

Chaos dominates in cyberspace – that’s why family therapist Bob Drudge created Refdesk (www.refdesk.com).

A librarian’s son, Drudge wanted to create a logical way to ride the information highway.

At first glance, the text-heavy site with thousands of links to everything from a currency converter to a perpetual calendar seems overwhelming. Using the site map is the most efficient way to discover this website’s scope. But its offerings are also broken down into subject categories on its homepage. The Top Reference Tools box at the lower right hand corner on the homepage is where you’ll find links to almanacs, dictionaries, and calculators. There is even a page called Journalists’ Tools with 88 links listed alphabetically from AP Stylebook (a nod to Refdesk’s American slant) to Who Owns What, a site about the increasing number of media conglomerates.

Refdesk has been around since 1995. Drudge’s vision for it is as a “free and family-friendly website that indexes and reviews quality, credible, and current web-based resources."

It's likely former United States secretary of state Colin Powell is among the 20,203,302 visitors to the site in mid-March. He’s been quoted as saying he "lives on the Internet" and cited Refdesk as his favorite web site in 2001.

Refesk may not be the most stylish website but its concise, organized and intuitive way of presenting links to various reference tools make it a must-have under the favourites tab. It also makes a practical homepage, especially for freelance writers or reporters whose news organizations do not have an intranet.

It's been a while

It's been a while since I've updated this blog. My apologies. I've been working on an online portfolio (a website) that I hope to launch in the coming weeks.
The plan is to link this blog to the website, www.neliaraposo.ca. I hope to update this blog more regularly with journalism and library-related information and opinions.