Friday, April 27, 2007

Hi there. All is going pretty well here, and so let us celebrate with a Friday assortment of links.

An art exhibit based on 1980s video games? Who can resist? I particularly like the old-style portrait of Q*Bert.

Meanwhile, if you're in Ireland this summer, check out the exhibition on the fantastic in Irish art.

In case I forget next week, here's a reminder ahead of time: Chicago is hosting a Sci-Fi Spectacular on May 5!

A link I swiped from Tim a long time ago but forgot to post: notebooks made from elephant dung.

One of the top spookiest jobs ever: the night watchman of Alcatraz.

What will we do when the oil runs out? Some British towns are thinking ahead.

Have a spiffy weekend, everyone. I'll probably be back on Tuesday.

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Hi there. There's been a death in the family (Bunny's aunt) and we are entering Phase I of the Great Dental Reconstruction of 2007 (also for Bunny, not me), and that's why things are a little erratic around here. This week will be especially iffy as far as updates go.

However, on a brighter note, the dental office has a tabletop Arkanoid for people hanging out in the lobby. I will be an Arkanoid whiz in a month and be ready to take anyone on, just you watch.

Speaking of old-school video games, you can have a Space Invaders doormat now. Coolness.

Cassandra sent in a story about the long-predicted-but-possibly-now-here robotics revolution. Maybe the 21st century is finally on the way. You can wear glowing fake fur now, after all. (Club Creatures, check this out!)

Retro goodness comes to you this week via a Darth Vader hot air balloon and some brilliant ideas of what to do with those stale Peeps you have left over from Easter.

Monday, April 23, 2007

Hi all. This week is going to be a little uncertain, as it turns out, so Folderol will be sporadic. Check back soon and I'll try to update when I can.

Friday, April 20, 2007

Links from others! Thanks, everyone. I appreciate it.

From Bunny: Hooray, we suck!

Also from Bunny: the British are creating robotic falcons to scare the pigeons. Um, good luck with that.

Speaking of creatures, Cassandra and I are amassing a list of animals running amok. This week she brings you stories of a rogue seal and a demented deer.

The Miss America of 1944 lives around here, and you better not mess with her, no sir.

And finally, next week is TV Turnoff Week. Consider it!

Have a spiffy weekend, everyone. See you Monday.

Thursday, April 19, 2007

Well, National Library Week has been sort of overlooked this year due to all the other news going on. However, not only is it going on right now, but there's also a Librarian Act in the works that would apparently help would-be librarians with their Perkins loans, much in the same way teachers get a break. Interesting.

More fun with Ning: there's a business librarian group now, too.

The new "who reads what" list is out! Check out the previous years if you haven't seen this before.

Some updates from the oddities department:

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

This is one of the best news stories about a cat you will ever read. It's a pity it's so short. Someone needs to write a kid's book about it.

Earth Day is almost here. If you're in France, however, the Jules Verne Film Festival is going on, which is not as environmentally aware but looks as if it will be completely awesome.

Someone at the Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab had a brilliant marketing idea and came up with the "Picnic at Arkham" Lovecraft perfume oil collection. Wish I'd thought of that!

Simon Marsden takes gorgeous photos of haunted places. Worth a look.

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

There's going to be a convocation ceremony at Virginia Tech today at 2 p.m. Sad, scary stuff there.

They've just discovered that the T-Rex is a close relative of...the lowly chicken. Er?

The best concept cars Detroit never built. I found this on Things Magazine, which is consistently incredible and will suck away hours of your time if you're not careful.

Interested in Twitter? Confused by Twitter? Twitterati may be able to help.

You knew this was coming: cute little Star Wars flash drives!

Speaking of cute, does anyone recognize these little guys? They're about the size of Fisher-Price people, and we haven't been able to find anything about them anywhere.

Monday, April 16, 2007

Wow, there's going to be a whole theme park devoted to Charles Dickens. How...odd.

Speaking of odd, the winners of the oddest book title contest are in! (Thanks, Danny!)

There are now Dutch pyramids, and you can live in them. Sort of.

Behold the awesome art of Kinuko Y. Craft.

Threadbanger is new, and devoted to people who like to make or alter clothes. Fun!

Friday, April 13, 2007

Today: links from others. Thanks, everyone!

From Cassandra: Hello Cool World.

From Tim: the Circus of Disemboweled Plush Toys! Awesome!

From Courtney: "The object of the game is to move the red block around without getting hit bythe blue blocks or touching the black walls.If you can go longer than 18 seconds you are phenomenal. It's been said that the US Air Force uses this for fighter pilots. They are expected to go for at least 2 minutes." My best score was 23.06 seconds. I think that means I am just barely good enough to get shot down by a Cylon.

Did you miss Archie McPhee's April Fool's offers?

And finally, for anyone who's had to sit through one too many PowerPoint presentations: here's what not to do.

Have a spiffy weekend, everyone! See you Monday.

Thursday, April 12, 2007

RIP, Kurt Vonnegut. His homepage today is beautiful.

Attention, librarians: might you be interested in participating in the Flickr 365 Library Days Project? I got invited, but my library is awfully small and my Flickr account is awfully non-work-related!

How did I miss a whole weblog devoted to library typos? They just changed URLs, incidentally. There's also a weblog dedicated to information about library grants. Wow, we're getting specialized these days.

I love the Rex Libris comic/graphic novel/whatever. I'm not sure what to think about the news that it may become a movie.

Fun with book borrowing and discussing: Good Reads focuses on what your friends are reading and talking about; Unsuggester tells you what you won't like based on what you will; and BookMooch swaps books using a funky points system.

Tomorrow: links from others!

Wednesday, April 11, 2007

Holy crap, what a day it's been. I have two links for you:

Back tomorrow with perkier, more lively stuff. Har.

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Right on the heels of my talking about seven years of Folderol comes talk of a blogger "code of conduct." Har! I found this via John Scalzi, whose entry on this has led to a fun discussion (as most of his posts do, usually). I'm on his side on this one, although I guess I might feel differently if I had an insanely popular weblog with tons of comments.

Silly stuff of the day: a platinum Gundam and sunglasses that change color!

Attention, fellow left-handers: the SmudgeGuard says it will keep your writing hand dry and free of smears from trying to write in a right-handed world. Anyone want to try it out?

A heads-up from Cassandra: today is the birthday of Joseph Pulitzer. Hooray!

Monday, April 09, 2007

Hi guys. This week marks the seventh anniversary of Folderol. Seven years! Can you believe it? Thanks very much for reading, commenting, and occasionally prodding me to keep going!

Also celebrating an anniversary: the font Helvetica. Hooray for Helvetica!

You may remember the amazing footage of the "Sultan's Elephant" in London that I linked to last year. Now there's a great article on Royal de Luxe, the company that creates these giant puppets and spectacles.

Kiev has some incredible street art. Maybe we could start an exchange program.

Oh, the art and pop culture of the 1980s. Will it continue to increase in popularity? When are the giant-sized t-shirts coming back?

Art criticism gone wild: a man kicks in a painting he doesn't like. Well. That's one way to deal with it, I guess.

Friday, April 06, 2007

Today: links from others! Thanks, everyone!

From Cassandra: A Proust questionnaire, the combination of haiku and baseball, and a tale of a kinkajou running amok. Wait till it teams up with the elephants.

From Satori: "In a very interesting turn around, a consumer group decided that PETA has gone too far with attacking Pet Food companies about the recall. Consumers are feeling like PETA is milking a terrible situation for their own gain."

Also from Satori: See how the music stars of the '80s look today. I think we have established that Billy Idol (and possibly Cyndi Lauper as well) is a vampire, since there is no discernable aging going on. Also, Terri Nunn of Berlin and both guys from Tears for Fears look better now than they did then!

From the Graveworm: giant cave crystals. Wow.

From Danny: Look, a LEGO sofa! Nothing can escape the touch of LEGO!

Have a spiffy weekend, everyone. See you Monday.

Thursday, April 05, 2007

Wow, the Conjuring Arts Research Center is looking for a librarian. How cool is that? They even have an awesome security guard!

From several people: an article on how the homeless have gravitated toward public libraries as their other options have diminished. Public librarians now double as social workers (ask any public librarian), which is difficult for everyone.

Speaking of, here's a public librarian's weblog (as seen on Pragmatic Librarian).

Local PR: Cincinnati's Special Library Association has a weblog now. I saw this too late - I missed the Edible Book Festival earlier this week! Dammit!

Despite whatever administration's in power, the Library of Congress seems to just ignore the fray and keeps putting out amazing stuff. Their latest, utilizing the National Digital Newspaper Program, is Chronicling America.

A group from Stanford has decided the internet needs to start over. (More on them and their plan at their website.)

Tomorrow: links from others!

Wednesday, April 04, 2007

Today we zip around the world. Ready?

In London, they're mobile clubbing!

In northern Italy, there's a really freaky story about a man with amnesia and a blood-drenched apartment.

In Moscow, the Mordor Disco is coming!

In Australia, a dead boy's bedroom walls are leaking oil and people are saying it's a holy miracle.

And back in the USA, the Army would like some robotic flying saucers. Er?

Tuesday, April 03, 2007

Okay, our mayor may have some pitching issues, but the rest of the team did not and we won the first game of the season. Hooray!

I forgot to mention Google's April Fool's joke, by the way.

Attention, children of the '80s: KITT is for sale! David Hasselhoff should buy it and drive it around. Or maybe Mr. T, just to confuse people.

The FDA is reconsidering the definition of chocolate, and chocolate lovers are not taking it well.

Fun for six-year-olds and haunted house sound technicians alike: The horrid sound mixer!

Monday, April 02, 2007

This city goes bonkers on Opening Day. I got some pictures of the parade and will post them soon!

Meanwhile, if you're not into baseball, it is also prime cherry blossom viewing season.

Slate is running pieces of Clive James's Cultural Amnesia . It's good for argument material!

Seattle's new public library may look awesome, but is it conducive to reading? I volunteer to be the guinea pig and try it out.

Speaking of librarians, the good people at the World Almanac would like some feedback from their best customers.

The correspondence between Ernest Hemingway and Marlene Dietrich is being released for public viewing. How cool.