2008 Showcase Speaker Nominated for 2011 Eisner Award

Choctaw storyteller (and 2008 Showcase Speaker) Greg Rodgers became a nominee for a 2011 Eisner Award. The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards honor the best work in the comic book/graphic novel industry in several categories and genres.

Trickster: Native American Tales features multiple Oklahomans including Greg Rodgers and is nominated in the best anthology category. Trickster: Native American Tales adapts twenty-one American Indian folklore tales. Rodgers contributed the tale "Giddy Up, Wolfie" with artist Mike Short designed the graphics for the story.

The winners will be announced on July 22 at the San Diego Comic-Con International.

SWOSU Libraries congratulates Greg Rodgers for being nominated for this pretigious award.

Earth Day Network

Earth Day Network's year-round mission is to broaden, diversify and activate the environmental movement worldwide, through a combination of education, public policy, and consumer campaigns. Listen to twelve world class athletes on being Green and hear why they have chosen to become part of Earth Day Network's Athletes for the Earth.

Earth Day Network

150th Anniversary of the Civil War

Today is the 150th Anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War between the North and South. On April 12, 1861, fighting began with an attack on Ft. Sumter, South Carolina. Follow the link above, to read about this historical day and other information including Civil War artifacts from the Smithsonian Institute.

During the Civil War, several battles took place in Oklahoma which was considered Indian Territory at that time. To commemorate this anniversary in Oklahoma, the Cherokee Nation will host a tour on April 16, 2011, focusing on how the war impacted the Cherokee people. The tour will run from 8am to 5pm and will depart from the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Tulsa. For more information, please consult the Cherokee Nation Tourism site.

"The tour includes a visit to historic Capitol Square in Tahlequah, Okla., to learn about the destruction by Confederate troops. Guests will also visit the Murrell Home, an antebellum home that survived the fires of the Civil War. Visitors will explore Fort Gibson Historic Site, which changed hands several times between the Union and Confederate forces. Guests also will stop at Honey Springs Battle site, a turning point in the Civil War and the site of the largest battle fought between the states in Indian Territory."

What Would a Government Shutdown Look Like?

With the deadline for reaching an agreement just days away, it raises the question: What would a shutdown look like today? For those hoping to explore a national park or museum, those sites may be closed. Veterans could see their services curtailed. And, anyone who submits an application for a passport could find themselves having to postpone whatever foreign travel they were hoping to do this spring.

A Congressional Research Service Report, published in 2001, lists some of the consequences of those most recent shutdowns:

• Over 1,000,000 federal employees were sent home during the combined 1995-96 shutdowns. Major federal work force furloughs occurred in of the Department of Education, the Department of Veteran Affairs, Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Social Security Administration, to name a few.
• National museums and monuments closed down, resulting in an estimated loss of 2 million visitors.
• 368 National Park Service sites also closed, losing 7 million visitors and around $14.2 million per day in tourism revenue.
• 20,000-30,000 foreign visa applications per day went unprocessed, as did an estimated total of 200,000 U.S. passport applications.

For More information see Sarah Svoboda's article at PBS Newshour