ASK!

[Editor's note: It is the final day of the year again. Time to reflect on what we have accomplished in 2010 and new resolutions for 2011. ]

Calendars have varied from ancient to modern times caused by the inaccuracy of the earliest determinations of the duration of the year, together with the fact that a year cannot be divided evenly by any of the other time units: days, weeks, or months.

The Greeks were the first to intercalate extra months into the calendar on a scientific basis, adding months at specific intervals in a cycle of solar years.
In 45 BC Julius Caesar decided to use a purely solar calendar. This calendar, known as the Julian calendar, fixed the normal year at 365 days, and the leap year (every fourth year) at 366 days but the Julian year was 11 min and 14 sec longer than the solar year. This discrepancy accumulated until by 1582 the vernal equinox occurred 10 days early and church holidays did not occur in the appropriate seasons.

To prevent further displacement Pope Gregory XIII introduced a calendar, known as the Gregorian calendar or New Style calendar. It was slowly adopted throughout Europe and today, it is used throughout most of the Western world and in parts of Asia.

(Source: Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia
Last accessed: 31/12/10)

Originally answered by Rosjihanah Mon
Associate Librarian, Children’s Services

This is a question I am sure many of us can relate to as we gaze upon our full bellies and bemoan our indulgence in one too many Christmas dinners. What can be done to whip flabby tummies into an acceptable state in time for the new year?

If you do have excess flab, the solution is not to plop onto the floor and do high repetitions of abdominal exercises like crunches. These types of exercises strengthen the muscles in the area, but do not burn enough calories in themselves to decrease body fat.

Regular exercise would be a more effective solution in helping you to lose deep abdominal fat. Cardio workouts work best as they burn the most calories per minute. Generally, at least 30 minutes a day of cardio-activity is recommended, but this can be increased to 60 or even 90 minutes if you want to lose weight or maintain weight loss.

Beginners should start slowly and gradually work up to more intense and longer periods of sustained exercise. Start walking or doing other types of light cardio as much as you can. Build up your fitness first with 15 minutes of brisk walking or other activities every day, adding more minutes every week. Research has shown that as you work out at higher intensities, your heart rate increases correspondingly and you burn more fat.

Other types of cardio exercises you can do at home include skipping, aerobics and jumping jacks.

Sources:
MSN Health and Fitness
Title: The Anxiety/Ab-Fat Connection by Martica Heaner, M.A., M.Ed., for MSN Health & Fitness
Last accessed 10 Nov 2010.

MSN Health and Fitness
Title: 6 Ways to Downsize Your Middle by Martica Heaner, M.A., M.Ed., for MSN Health & Fitness

Last accessed 10 Nov 2010.

You may also be interested in the following titles:

Title: Fat around the middle: How to lose that bulge – for good
Author: Marylin Glenville
Call No.: English 613.25 GLE [HEA]

Title: Tone your tummy type: flatten your belly and shrink your waist in 4 weeks
Author: Denise Austin
Call No.: English 613.712 AUS [HEA]

Title: Firm abs, flat stomach – in only 30 days!
Author: Anne-Marie Millard
Call No.: English 613.71 MIL [HEA]

Image from http://moosetique.com/ice-sculptures/

[It's higher than an 11-story building!]

The tallest snowman is actually a woman! At 122 feet high, this ‘snowwoman’ lives in Maine Vies and is named “Olympia,” after Maine’s senior senator, Olympia Snowe. She has long eyelashes (made out of skis), bright red lips (car tires), and is dressed in a huge red hat and a 100-foot-long scarf. The prettiest piece on her is the 6 feet long snowflake pendant.

According to FoxNews.com and the Chicago Tribune News:        
“This ski town of about 2,400 residents already holds the record for tallest snowman, dedicated in 1999. Since then, they have been waiting for someone else to break the record. When no one rose to the challenge, the folks here decided they’d have to break the record themselves.
“Olympia,” stands nearly 10 feet taller than “Angus, King of the Mountain,” who was dedicated by the town in 1999. That snowman, named for then-Gov. Angus King, was created by the same folks responsible for Olympia.
It took more than a month, dozens of volunteers and tons of snow to create Olympia.
To get an idea of scale, Olympia is about 30 feet shorter than the Statue of Liberty (without the base). Her arms consist of 27-foot-tall evergreens. Her “carrot” nose, painted by schoolchildren, is 8 feet long. Her eyes are made from giant wreaths. ‘The best part of it is how everyone in town pitched in and made it happen,’ said volunteer David Lynch.”

Reference:
1. Across the nation news: world’s tallest snowman’s no man . (2008). Chicago Tribune, 6. Retrieved from http://global.factiva.com/ha/default.aspx
2. Associated Press. (2008, March 1). Topping 122 feet, snowman in maine vies for world record. Retrieved from http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,334088,00.html

If you want to read more on the topic, here are books that you can check out at our library.

All Rights Reserved,HarperCollins, c2005.

The world’s worsts : a compendium of the most ridiculous feats, facts, & fools of all time by Les Krantz
Publisher: New York : HarperCollins, c2005.
Call No.: R English 031.02 KRA
Click here to check for item availability

All Rights Reserved,Tunbridge Wells : Ticktock, 2010.

Top 10 tallest by Ruth Owen.
Publisher: Tunbridge Wells : Ticktock, 2010.
Call No.: J English 152.14 OWE
Click here to check for item availability

All websites are last accessed on Dec 2010. Please refer to the terms and conditions on the homepages for use.
For the availability of the above book titles, please check the library catalogue.

Originally Answered by Ms Verena Lee
Librarian, Children’s Services

 ‘Thomas Nast was the first artist to depict Santa Claus in the red suit that became  his traditional garb’

Image and quote retrieved from:
Nast, Thomas: “Merry Old Santa Claus.” [Photograph]. In Encyclopaedia Britannica Online Library Edition. Retrieved from: http://library.ebonline.com/comptons/art-100703

[Ho ho ho! As a child, I always wondered how Santa Claus would be able to leave his presents in our HDB flats since there were no chimneys! The only other way would be the garbage chute, but then poor Santa might stink! Or he could always pull a 'Spiderman' .] 

According to Encyclopedia Britannica Online Library Edition: “The legend of jolly old Santa Claus, or St. Nick, began with a real person: St. Nicholas. Although he is one of the most popular saints honored by Christians, very little is actually known about him. He lived during the 4th century in Lycia, a province on the southwest coast of Asia Minor. Tradition says he was born in Patara, a seaport, and traveled to Egypt and Palestine as a young man. Eventually he became bishop of the church at Myra. During the period of persecution of Christians by the Roman emperor Diocletian, he was imprisoned, but he was released by Diocletian’s successor, Constantine the Great. 

St. Nicholas was credited with many miracles. In one story, he saved three officers from death by appearing to Constantine in a dream. Another tale had him bringing three murdered children back to life. St. Nicholas also developed a reputation as a great helper of the poor. One legend tells of him providing bags of gold to a poor man as dowries for his three daughters. Through such stories, St. Nicholas became associated with children and gift giving. His feast day, December 6, was marked in many European countries by children receiving presents. 

Santa Claus emerged in the United States from the traditions and beliefs of a variety of cultures. The name Santa Claus is derived from Sinterklaas, a Dutch word for St. Nicholas. The color of Santa’s outfit is thought to be based on the red bishop’s robe commonly worn by St. Nicholas. In Germany and early German communities in America, tradition held that the Christkindle (Christ Child) brought gifts on Christmas Eve. Children would leave goodies for him to eat during his visit and would set out straw for his mule. The word Christkindle eventually turned into Kriss Kringle, an alternative name for Santa Claus. Some of his other names include Father Christmas (Britain) and Pere Noel  (France).” 

Reference:                                                                           
—Santa Claus. (2010). In Britannica Student Encyclopedia. Retrieved December 24, 2010, from Encyclopedia Britannica Online Library Edition: http://library.ebonline.com/kids/comptons/article-9276889 
If you want to read more on the topic, here are books that you can check out at our libraries. 

All Rights Reserved, Phyllis Fogelman Books, c2001. 

The real Santa Claus by Marianna Mayer
Publisher: New York : Phyllis Fogelman Books, c2001.
Call No.: JP 394.2663 MAY
Click here to check for item availability 

 
All Rights Reserved, Jeremy P. Tarcher/Putnam, 2006. 

The autobiography of Santa Claus as told to Jeff Guinn
Publisher: New York : Jeremy P. Tarcher/Putnam, 2006.
Call No.: English GUI
Click here to check for item availability

All Rights Reserved, PPP Co., 2003.
The true history of Santa Claus by Nury Vittachi
Publisher: Hong Kong : PPP Co., 2003.
Call No: J VIT
Click here to check for item availability 

All Rights Reserved, Margaret K. McElderry Books, c2003.
The legend of Saint Nicholas by Demi.
Publisher: New York : Margaret K. McElderry Books, c2003.
Call No.: J 270.2 DEM
Click here to check for item availability 
All websites are last accessed on 24 Dec 2010. Please refer to the terms and conditions on the homepages for use.
For the availability of the above book titles, please check the library catalogue. 

Ms Isabel Tan
Librarian, Children’s Services

From travelling to learning how to cook together, there’s some activities for the entire family to partake.. Here’s some that you might wish to check out:

1) The minichefs cookbook
Author: Claire McEvoy
Call No.: 641.512 MAC-[COO]

2) 1,001 children’s books you must read before you grow up
Editor: Julia Eccleshare
Call No.: 011.62 ONE

3) The travel mom’s ultimate book of family travel: planning, surviving and enjoying your vacation together
Author: Emily Kaufman
Call No.: 790.1 KAU-[REC]

4) The reading bug: and how you can help your child to catch it
Author: Paul Jennings
Call No.: 028.5 JEN

5) The creative family : how to encourage imagination & nurture family connections
Author: Emily Blake Soule
Call No.: 745.5 SOU- [REC]
*The images of the book covers are the copyright of the respective publishers.

Please use our online catalog to check the availabilities and locations of the above titles.

Other family & parenting topics that you might be interested in:
Mothers’ life skill guides : 306.8743 [FAM]
Divorced parents: 306.874 [FAM]
Cookery juvenile literature: 641.512 [COO] — this can be found in the adult section

You might also wish to check out our other post on parenting books for fathers.

Originally posted by Yen Yen Toh, Associate Librarian, Adult and Young People’s Services

Found this question interesting? What do you think? Post your comments.
If you have a different question, please email to ask@nlb.gov.sg instead of sending a comment

Most of our family and parenting books can be found on the Family & Parenting shelves – [FAM].

1) So You’re going to be a Dad
Author: Peter Downey
Call No.: 306.874 DOW- [FAM]

2) The sixty minute father
Author: Rob Parsons
Call No.: 306.874 PAR-[FAM]

3) Be my baby
Author: Neil Humphreys
Call No.: 306.874 HUM-[FAM]

4) Hungry monkey: a food-loving father’s quest to raise an adventurous eater
Author: Matthew Amster-Burton
Call No.: 649.3 AMS

5) Family fun night!
Author: Cynthia Copeland
Call No.: 790.191 COP
*The images of the book covers are the copyright of the respective publishers.

You might also wish to check our other post on activities for the entire family.

You can find other parenting topics under these call nos.:
Fatherhood : 306.8472 [FAM]
Parent and teenager : 649.125 [FAM]
Reading – Parent participation : 372.4

Please use our online catalog to check the locations and availabilities of the above titles.

Originally posted by Yen Yen Toh, Associate Librarian, Adult and Young People’s Services

Found this question interesting? What do you think? Post your comments.
If you have a different question, please email to ask@nlb.gov.sg instead of sending a comment