Monday, July 31, 2006

Today's high temperature: 96! Tomorrow's predicted high temperature: 98! Therefore, here's some stuff to do inside. You can display your old-fashioned slides in a new-fashioned illuminator, or retrofit your antique radio to accommodate your iPod, or convert your old television set into a fish tank. The possibilities are endless!

If you insist on going outside, Paris is featuring outdoor movies every night, which sounds awfully spiffy. If you're in England instead, check out the performance group Mimbre (not for those afraid of heights).

Friday, July 28, 2006

Today: links from others and random goodness! Thanks, everyone.

From Bunny: a real-life zombie outbreak in Cambodia. Bunny, who takes zombies very seriously, is readying our defense weapons just in case.

From Courtney: Wax the Hoff. You have to see it to believe it, really.

From the Graveworm: Jack Kerouac's uncensored On the Road is on its way.

From the local paper: look out, delinquent book borrowers. The Campbell County Public Library is going to hunt you down like the dogs you are! (I know a bunch of people at CCPL. This should be interesting...)

Also from the local paper, for the Reds are playing the Brewers this weekend: a chorizo joins the sausage race in Milwaukee. (If you haven't seen the great sausage race, you're missing out. I'm still sad that the Brewers mascot doesn't slide into a huge mug of beer after home runs any longer.)

Sneeek is a deceptive game. It looks so easy...at first...

Have a spiffy weekend, everyone! See you Monday.

Thursday, July 27, 2006

Man, I hate it when Blogger hiccups and slams a bunch of my links together. I added the right info for Who Called Us to the last post; it got smushed in the morning process. There was some witty intro to the Every Stock Photo link as well; I fixed the link. (Just pretend it was witty.) Grrrr.
ALA's slogan for next year's National Library Week is... "Come Together @ Your Library." Yes. Really. You can imagine the mock posters that have been made so far. (Here's one, although it's not terribly work-safe. Jessamyn has more, too!) What were they thinking?

It must be the week for holdouts to give in to the allure of Library Thing. We broke down and made an account the other day (there's not much there yet; we haven't tackled the home bookshelves), and we're not the only ones.

Moments before a researcher was to give his talk on how to find background information on someone, he got arrested for using illegal methods to find background information on someone. Whoops.

Wikipedia is all over the news these days. Here's a lengthy, scholarly approach, and here's the New Yorker's take.

A grassroots organization from people who are sick of telemarketers and other "number not available" weirdos, Who Called Us helps people track down just who it is on the other end of the line.

Every Stock Photo has oodles for the using. Neat stuff.

And finally, the moment of library zen comes to you from Hungary's Metropolitan Ervin Szabo Library in Budapest. (Psst, Holly -- if we go to Budapest, we have to stop by here.)

Tomorrow: links from others!

Wednesday, July 26, 2006

When I heard they were making a movie from Dante's Inferno, I was intrigued. Then I found out that it's going to be all live-action puppetry, and I was really interested. Now I've discovered that Paul Zaloom (aka Beakman of Beakman's World) is involved, and wow!

Today's required spooky link: a Barcelona company makes ecologically friendly, biodegradable urns. I especially like the tiny chest and the pyramid.

The round-the-world tour begins...now!

Tuesday, July 25, 2006

Following up on yesterday's vintage drug ads: who knew 7-Up originally contained lithium? Between Coca-Cola and 7-Up, you had your uppers and downers within easy reach of the soda fountain back in the day...

Look out, Willy Wonka: a chocolate factory will be opening soon in Amsterdam.

For the fashion plates: you can buy (expensive!) Andy Warhol watches and learn, once and for all, how to tie a respectable Windsor knot. (The latter site also shows you many different ways to tie rope knots, and since it's animated you can actually follow along.)

The "By Kids, For Kids" invention site is very cool. Not only do they have a contest every year, but many inventions are truly useful (and at least one got its own patent and is being sold! Check out the Crayon Holder!).

Monday, July 24, 2006

Occasionally, a picture really is worth a thousand words, especially in political situations. Speaking of the conflict, as a counterpoint to the weblog from Beirut I linked to last week, here's a weblog from an Israeli bunker. I think that reading these sorts of accounts - from people who are living it every day - is probably the only way to get an idea of what's really happening there.

Cool photographer of the week: Thorsten Schimmel.

New York City denizens: Here's Your Copy tracks down the shows that you don't hear about but should go see (and I'm not linking to it just because I know the intrepid reporter behind the site, either).

Vintage ads are always great. Vintage ads for drugs can be truly amazing. "Thorazine can control the agitated, belligerent senile"! "Injectable whole opium"! Wow.

Friday, July 21, 2006

Random links day!

From Satori: "They are getting ready to map the Neanderthal Genome! I can’t wait to hear the results, considering some species of chimps share 97-99% of our DNA makeup. I REALLY want them to do it with the little Java people."

From ookee: a dictionary of vulgarity from 1811. Good stuff.

Swiped, in a roundabout way, from Deadspin: McSweeney's pop song correspondence. The latest one, from an exasperated editor to Axl Rose, is hysterical.

The Big Dig is making all sorts of (not very positive) headlines these days, but did you know they made a whole island out of the dug-up dirt?

You can figure out your learning style and then use it to...um...learn stuff, I suppose. Or teach other people stuff, perhaps.

Friday moment of zen: an interview from 1989 (or 1990, I'm not sure) with Jim Henson and Kermit. This was one of the last interviews Henson did. (Check out the 1980s fashion style on Kathie Lee or whoever it is. Yeesh.)

Have a spiffy weekend, everyone! See you Monday.

Thursday, July 20, 2006

Bunny and I were talking about information literacy last night -- and no, we are not usually that librarian-geeky at home, there was an actual reason for it -- and we both tend to rebel against the prevailing mentality among many librarians that Google Is Evil. Sure, we don't go for the first hit off a search and take it as gospel, but a Google search is a start toward finding related keywords and broader/narrower views of what you're looking for. Wikipedia is another example of this sort of thing -- where else are you going to find such a current summation of the Israel-Lebanon conflict? -- as long as you don't take the information as incontrovertible fact, but use it as a jumping-off point for further research.

(Hey look, every now and then I post something of informational substance!)

Anyway. On that note, Google has a government-specific search engine, which can be really useful for a law librarian.

More on what a librarian should/could do these days: Skills for the 21st Century Librarian. (I also think library schools should offer a retro class, like "skills for the 20th century librarian," where students learn how to fix copiers and lift boxes properly and build/repair bookshelves and project their voices and assert themselves in the face of pompous administrators...)

Speaking of administration and pomposity...the inflated salaries of the top White House staff don't surprise me, but the $30,000/year salaries for other staffers do. Is 30K a decent living wage in DC? I wouldn't think so...

Hey, librarians, you can host a murder mystery event in your library! I think the mortuary college would have a lovely time with this. Har.

I had no idea you could get an out-of-state library card for the New York Public Library. Sure, it's expensive, but the amount of information you can use with it might be worth it to a solo librarian or a grad student.

The Photography Preservation Society not only has a neat website, they have good ideas. It'll be interesting to see how preservation develops in the era of digital photos and mp3s.

And lastly, for the techies: fun and/or incomprehensible error messages. You can go back and view the previous month's, and then just keep going back in time to see more. I especially like the message that tells the user to "call Henrik." Lucky Henrik.

Tomorrow: links from others!

Wednesday, July 19, 2006

Around the world in one small post...

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

Okay, everyone, it's time to get serious. Sign up for World Jump Day and change the course of the planet tomorrow! Judging by the weather and the news, Earth needs a bit of a reset. (Make sure you allow for the time zones and daylight savings and all that, too.)

The Graveworm sends in another sign of the apocalypse: a two-faced kitten has been born. (The Graveworm thinks it should be named Janus. Hee.)

Meanwhile, in Arizona, the local "dog-cat-mouse" performance artist is in trouble with the law. Check out the photo accompanying the story. I'm amazed the cat remains so calm.

The National Association of Staredown Professionals is watching you. Relentlessly!

A final random link: Who knew Tic-Tacs had such a modern website? (Who knew Tic-Tacs were branching out into "Bold" flavors, either?)

Monday, July 17, 2006

If you're a creative type, what sort of creativity do you have - the kind that peaks early, or the kind that gets better as you age? (If you were not a child prodigy, take heart!)

Other people's creativity on display:

Friday, July 14, 2006

Today: random links from around the web, plus links from others! Well, one other this week. Holly sends in a wonderful story about "demon ducks" (we want a figurine of this as soon as possible) and also points to a bland article that has a fabulous headline, if you are or were into the goth/industrial scene of the '80s and '90s.

From a fellow law librarian: look at all the stuff we do these days.

An update on an earlier story: some people think the photo of Mozart's widow is a hoax.

A soldier who died recently in Afghanistan won't have a religious marker on his gravestone, because he was a Wiccan and the government won't allow the pentacle on military grave markers. WTF? Has it come to this?

On a slightly related note, some good pagans have created the Goddess Dolls. Aphrodite is the first of the series. I can't wait to see what Athena and Artemis look like.

This one's for Bunny: a woman is redoing her house in the style of Space:1999.

Finally, some bizarre photos of weird statues from around the world.

Have a spiffy weekend, everyone! See you Monday.

Thursday, July 13, 2006

Alert! Librarian Gear is closing! Get your cool stuff while you can! (I'm considering the "definition" shirt myself.)

Library happenings around the world: San Francisco gets its first new branch library in forty years, England tries to figure out a way to save their disappearing free libraries, and the Washington Post librarians get some well-deserved recognition. (I used to be a news librarian and miss it terribly.)

The Google Image Search Blog searches for weird words and posts the results, most of which tend to be surreal.

Hey, the 2006 Bulwer-Lytton Awards are out! The winners and dishonorable mentions seem especially good this year. I like the one comparing a tentative stripper to plastic wrap.

Tomorrow: links from others!

Wednesday, July 12, 2006

Nikolai Tesla would be 150 years old this year, if only he'd conquered that pesky lifespan limitation, and he's being honored for his work in surpassing many other limitations. (I still think we'd be much more advanced if he'd gotten more recognition while he was alive.)

From the "why didn't anyone ever tell me about this?" files: there are mysterious megaliths all over Massachusetts, and there's also a Catholic Academy of Sacramental Combat Arts. I don't think the two are connected, however.

The Ghosts of Ohio organization had a float in this year's Northside Parade, which automatically garners them a high level of coolness. Incidentally, those of you who liked our photos and recordings from our visit to the Ohio State Reformatory may be pleased to know we're going back this fall for another ghost hunt. More spooky pictures to come!

Uono, a German company, has a neat idea for modern coffins. Click on the "Cocoon" link.

Apparently there's an ancient library of metal books underground in Ecuador. Anyone want to go on an expedition? I will volunteer my library skills!

Tuesday, July 11, 2006

Aw, man, Syd Barrett is dead. That's a shame.

Ken Lay, on the other hand, is secretly alive and hey, his so-called body's going to be cremated to eliminate any evidence...er, in accordance with someone or other's wishes. Yep.

The Earth Science Picture of the Day is almost always amazing; today's is no exception.

Swiped from Brendan: Band together and help save the internet from idiots who think the whole thing is a series of tubes.

Throwplace is a neat little concept; you can find a home for something you'd like to donate, or take something off someone else's hands. Perhaps we could donate some politicians.

Monday, July 10, 2006

Today is all art and music. To wit:
  • The Reynolds Center opened last week to a record crowd. Anyone been there yet?
  • Scotland is hosting some heated discussions on its national anthem, having had quite enough of "God Save the Queen" being played everywhere, apparently.
  • More on Kandinsky and synaesthesia.
  • Forget karaoke; the new hip thing to do is air guitar. Dude!
  • LaLa proposes that you send away your CDs in trade for other CDs you don't have. It's not a copying group, it's actual store-bought CDs being traded. Interesting.
  • A photo of Constanze Weber, the wife of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, has been found. It was taken fifty years after Mozart died, but still. Wow.

Friday, July 07, 2006

Okay. Today ends our two-week period of confusion here at Folderol, hopefully. Next Monday we get back to a regular theme, hip hip hooray.

In the meantime: Rocketboom falls down and goes boom. Anyone want to hire Amanda and help her move out to LA?

From Danny: Totally radical awesome videos! Yay!

I think I may have linked to Stick Figures in Peril before, but they're up to over 4,000 pictures now. So it's worth another look. (By the same token, SwankSigns is continually updated, and usually hilarious.)

A huge underwater cemetery is under construction. If they were smart, they'd just build it above land on a coast and wait for global warming to submerge it.

Have a spiffy weekend, everyone! See you Monday.

Thursday, July 06, 2006

Gah. You may have noticed that over the last two months or so, Folderol has been a little erratic. That's because the librarian aspect of the Spooky Librarians has been pushed to the breaking point by our respective workplaces. We are librarians, not superheroes! Sheesh! Hopefully things will start to get back to normal soon. Apologies for the late updates and the lack of links lately. (Our apologies are very alliterative.)

Anyway. The photos from the Northside July 4th parade are up, and it was a fantastic parade, so everyone should go and enjoy it vicariously.

The IKEA Hacker looks for IKEA-inspired pieces. Go and be creative!

From Bunny: the Hellraiser Homemaker. Aw yeah.

From LII.org: why can't adults have a good old-fashioned spelling bee?

Wednesday, July 05, 2006

I made it back! Photos of the trip out east are up on Flickr; pix from the Northside 4th of July parade will be going up tonight. While I'm sorting through everything here, go look at the pictures and/or this LEGO rendition of The Prisoner. More soon.