American English

Like Americans themselves, American English is complex and ever changing, which makes it a great challenge for people from other countries to learn.  The U.S. Department of State offers a variety of resources for those who are trying to learn American English, or to teach it to others, including this page on poetry:
 
http://www.americanenglish.state.gov/resources/poetry

Reading a few poems written by foreign students celebrating the wonders of education might even be motivational and/or inspirational for some of the less enthusiastic American students studying English.

Open World Leadership Center

For those of you who often wish we could all just get along, the Open World Leadership Center offers a step in that direction:

http://www.openworld.gov/

The mission of the Center is, "To enhance understanding and capabilities for cooperation between the United States and the countries of Eurasia by developing a network of leaders in the region who have gained significant, firsthand exposure to America’s democratic, accountable government and its free-market system."  Qualified organizations in the U.S. can apply for grants to host young leaders from the 18 participating countries. 

I don't know if American hosts are required to buy these young leaders a Coke and sing in harmony with them, but I suppose it's possible.

Institute of Museum and Library Services

Do you enjoy visiting your local libraries and museums?  Did you know that many of the special displays or services you've enjoyed might have been funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS)?  "The mission of IMLS is to inspire libraries and museums to advance innovation, lifelong learning, and cultural and civic engagement. We provide leadership through research, policy development, and grant making:" 

http://www.imls.gov/

While you may depend on your local library or museum to enrich your life, they depend on the IMLS to help them do it.

Radio and TV Stations

If your favorite radio station never seems to pause for "station identification," you can likely still identify it by searching on this site provided by the Federal Communications Commission: 

http://www.fcc.gov/encyclopedia/am-query-broadcast-station-search

You can search for stations within a specific state or city, and near the bottom of the page you can even search for stations located within a certain geographic radius.  The site also offers the same information about FM stations and TV stations. 

Thanks for listening.  We now return you to your regular programming.

National Institute on Aging

As Bette Davis famously said, "Old age ain't no place for sissies."  Along with white hair and wisdom come the aches and pains of deteriorating biological systems.  Fortunately, the National Institute on Aging has a mission to "discover what may contribute to a healthy old age as well as to understand and address the disease and disability sometimes associated with growing older."  Its site offers health advice and news, statistics, and information about things such as clinical trials:

http://www.nia.nih.gov/

You can fight the Grim Reaper by staying informed, and always keep in mind Maurice Chevalier's observation that "Old age isn't so bad when you consider the alternative."

Equal Rights Amendment

March is Women's History Month and yesterday was International Women's Day.  So, in honor of those events, let's revisit the history of the Equal Rights Amendment with this essay from the Library of Congress' American Memory site: 

http://www.memory.loc.gov/ammem/awhhtml/aw03e/aw03e.html

If it makes you want to burn your bra, please try to resist the urge.  Good bras aren't cheap.

Highway Statistics

An overabundance of snow this winter has made travel difficult for many people across the country.  If you aren't able to get out onto the highways at the moment, perhaps you'd enjoy reading about them in the Federal Highway Administration's annual publication, Highway Statistics.  It provides statistics on bridges, highway infrastructure, highway travel and travelers, vehicles, motor fuel, conditions and safety, and so on: 

http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation/statistics.cfm

When spring finally arrives, you'll be able to hit the road as a much better informed driver.