Darts and laurels

Laurels to the Dictionary Project, which puts millions of dictionaries in the hands of third-graders across the country each year. That includes students in Rowan County, where the Spencer Civitans just delivered boxes of dictionaries at North Rowan Elementary. (Woodleaf Civitans support the program at Woodleaf and Cleveland elementaries.)

To date, the program has distributed almost 17 million dictionaries nationwide, thanks to the support of Civitans, Rotary, Kiwanis, Lions and scores of other civic groups and businesses that support the project financially and through volunteers. You can read more about its work or make a donation at www.diciontaryproject.org.

The website includes many testimonials from appreciative young readers, including a third-grader named Beth who said of her new dictionary: “I can use it wherever I want at home. It doesn’t slow me down like a computer.”

And no batteries are required.

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Dart to the declining fortunes of the Eastman Kodak Co., which this week filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Although technology and global competition inevitably drives change, the Kodak company has been a part of the American picture for 132 years. How many photographers first got the shutter bug through a Brownie or Instamatic? Strange to think of it now, but the company founded by George Eastman was once synonymous with cutting edge image technology, back in the days when nobody had any inkling of the digital revolution that would make film all but obsolete. The company may survive in some form, but its golden age of dominance is a fading memory — a Kodak moment that won’t be recaptured.

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Laurels to a potentially positive side to gossip. In some instances, gossiping can have a calming effect on gossipers, according to a new study, and can also promote social cohesiveness. The surprising findings come from psychologists at the University of California-Berkeley, who contrived a study on how people behave when spreading negative information about other people. However, don’t drop your tai chi sessions to spend more time spreading nasty rumors. Gossip was narrowly defined in the study, which had subjects participate in a game and then decide whether to inform others if they saw someone cheating. The researchers defined this as “pro-social gossip,” which delivers serreptitious warnings about dishonest behavior. That’s a lot different from “anti-social” rumormongering — dishing dirt on a co-worker or acquaintance — which can have negative impacts for all concerned.