Tuesday, July 31, 2007

I am back, more or less. Owing to my still slightly addled brain, this steampunk post will be brief. But fun!

Monday, July 30, 2007

Hi there. Still sick. (It's terrible to have the plague or the flu or whatever this is over a summer weekend.) Hopefully I will be back to regular posting tomorrow. For now: RIP, Ingmar Bergman, and, in a total disconnect, here's me as a Simpsons avatar (go and make your own). I am ticked they don't have a dress/skirt option. See you tomorrow!


Friday, July 27, 2007

Hi there. Today I am feeling like crap and staying home. Thankfully there are links from others!

From Holly: Hello Kitty humiliation for cats.

From Holly and a few others: behold Oscar, the angel of death cat. This is fascinating.

From Glenna: political films!

The perfect sphere is on its way.

Have a spiffy weekend, everyone. See you Monday.

Thursday, July 26, 2007

Today we bring you educational links, charitable links, and fun links, all related to libraries or museums...

Education! There is a huge and constantly updated list of library conferences out there, so no one can complain that there's no chance to learn anything new. Also, there's a new weblog concentrating on law librarians and strategic planning, and law librarians know that strategy is important when dealing with lawyers on a constant basis. (Kidding. Mostly.)

Good works! The Lubuto Library Project is wonderful, and is always in need of help. In related news, here's how to handle sending law library books overseas.

Fun! A discussion on which books enchanted you in the way Harry Potter's adventures have drawn in today's kids; a virtual wall of Monty Python videos, brought you by a law library weblog; and, finally, the Vent Haven Museum, which is just plain cool.

Tomorrow: links from others!

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Today, we are traveling. Here we go!

First off, there are all kinds of wacky and wonderful map resources out there now. In addition, Google Maps now covers Russia!

Moving westward from Russia, we go to Germany, where the feline Mr. Lee documents his trips outside with a Cat Cam. (This is awesome. Anyone remember That Darn Cat?)

Hopping over to England, it seems that dozens of people saw UFOs over Stratford-on-Avon. Maybe Shakespeare was coming back to visit.

Back in the U.S., it's time for the Twin Peaks Festival! Bring on the cherry pie and coffee!

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Hello, and welcome to Steampunk Tuesday! I've been going through my (gigantic) backlog of steampunk-related links and found some fun stuff. For instance, Doctor Who fans might be intrigued to see the similarities between the first Doctor and the "Doctor Omega" of 1906 French comic fame. Hmmmm.

For the tinkerers, Technovelgy has a great chronology of the odd and incredible throughout science fiction. You can study 1899 and earlier, or 1900-1949 (there are other time periods as well, if you like).

The Mascarillons are coming! Also, Tesla cars are on the way. I can't wait.

And finally, the items at the Bennett Robot Works are robots made out of found objects. They're a little industrial, a little outmoded, and a little beautiful. Good stuff.

Monday, July 23, 2007

Hey, Bunny is famous! The Cincinnati Enquirer showed up at our house on Sunday and did an article with some photos about the group he was working with for the 48 Hour Film Project. The screening for all the completed films is this weekend - come and see them all! - and we will find out how his team did in the competition. The finished film can be seen on YouTube - they turned in the final product with five minutes to go. Whew.

In other news: vinyl is making a comeback, while at the same time an internet choir is in the planning stages. It's kind of fun to live in an era where everything is converging.

Friday, July 20, 2007

Well. That was fun. The domain is back up and running and should be for the forseeable future - thanks to everyone who kept me posted on what they could and couldn't access!

And now, on to the links from others. There was a backlog from last week, so there's a lot of reading material today! For some reason, most of them concern animals.

From Satori: the coyotes are coming to suburbia.

From the Graveworm: the latest theory on the disappearing honeybees blames an Asian parasite.

From Holly:

From both Holly and Cassandra: Hemingway's six-toed cats get a reprieve.

From Cassandra:

From both Cassandra and Bunny: the Cincinnati and Kentucky Post newspapers are shutting down, after over a hundred years in production. It's very sad.

A musical link from Bunny: Sorcery!

Have a spiffy weekend, everyone. The Club Creatures are putting on a major show this weekend, both on Friday night (at Bronz) and Saturday night (at Darkotica), and you should be there for at least one of them! See you Monday.

Thursday, July 19, 2007

Any weblog having anything to do with books is all about Harry Potter this week, so I shall comply and direct you to the awesome-looking celebration that will take place in Wilmington tomorrow.

Will you keep the Harry Potter series in the trunk of your car in case you get stranded without reading material? If not, what do you keep? Some people are practical, others not so much. (I have a few magazines, I think.)

I think Backstage looks like a fantastic place to work. I'd be happy to scrounge around old libraries and museums, transcribing nearly-illegible cards and rediscovering old things.

OpenLibrary is open for business, sort of! It's in a demo phase at the moment. Want to help?

Law libraries are becoming more and more virtual. (Hooray! I like virtual reference.) But do not try to strike down a brick-and-mortar library, or terrible things might happen.

And finally, here's a rundown of what's going on in the world of Library 2.0, along with a list of good weblogs to read in the interests of keeping current.

Tomorrow: links from others, and there are a lot of them! Stay tuned.

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

It's steampunk day! One of the reasons I decided to ditch the Steampunk Librarian weblog was that so many other weblogs and forums and communities had sprung up about the genre. Now there's something for steampunk fashion, something for the steampunk home, and Steampunk Magazine just put out its second issue. There's even a weblog devoted solely to automatons now. It boggles the mind a bit.

Others have noticed the same thing. Mike Yager began to make brass goggles and eccentric spectacles and got overwhelmed with the demand, so the genre is definitely, er, gaining steam. While exploring the artists and the artisans, I found a wonderful site called SpookyPop. Why have the SpookyLibrarians not linked before to SpookyPop? Beats me. But here it is, at long last.

Monday, July 16, 2007

Huzzah, we are back! And we have an announcement. I am going to get rid of the erratically updated Steampunk Librarian and put up steampunk-related links on Tuesday - I figure that science links go up then, along with pop culture, so it will all probably fit. There are other steampunk-oriented websites that are doing a much better job than I ever could (and I will link to them!).

Okay. On to Monday links.

Literature: Did Shakespeare and Cervantes meet? Also, a whole weblog devoted to book cover designs.

Dance: Jacob's Pillow is 75!

Cinema: Here's a shameful confession - I didn't know Ingmar Bergman is still alive.

Architecture: new grand designs are afoot worldwide.

Art: The Colour Lovers Blog is a very cool look at how color is used, and an especially neat post analyzes the color schemes of some famous paintings. Some enterprising paint company should come out with themed paint color strips so people can decorate their dining room like da Vinci, or something like that.

Thursday, July 12, 2007

We're back! But we have now plunged directly into work projects and events that are eating up tons of time. We'll be back to normal on Monday. For now, why not go look at all the new photos?

Tuesday, July 03, 2007

Hi there. Folderol will be on a brief vacation for the rest of the week and the beginning of next week - we should be back to normal posting schedule by next Wednesday, if not before. (We will be celebrating the 4th in Northside tonight and tomorrow - say hi if you see us!) As a result, I'm pretending this is Friday, and we're featuring links from others.

From Dawnowar: Bran Castle, the inspiration for Dracula's home, is up for sale. Coffins may be included, I'm not sure.

From the Graveworm: create your own versions of Simpson characters! I made one in my image, but she was kind of boring, so I will spare you. Incidentally, a few 7-11s across the country are transmogrifying into Kwik-E-Marts to celebrate the movie's opening. Awesome.

From Cassandra: a deranged man attacks a peacock because he thinks it's a vampire. (Maybe Bran Castle should become a peacock shelter.) Also from Cassandra: a new weblog on feminism and philosophy, and an article about the lack of women in science today. (Great quote from the comments on this article: "It dates back to bloody Thatcher of course, as most of society's ills do. She didn't want a family life and didn't see why anyone else should." Hee.)

Have a spiffy holiday and weekend, everyone. MCT fans, come to Inconjunction in Indianapolis this weekend and see us - we're featured guests! You can meet Butch and Emergo, and watch a movie they're hosting. Good times will be had.

Monday, July 02, 2007

Someday, I would like to see the Bookcart Drill Team World Championships in person.

So if Antioch is closing, what's going to happen to the books? No one seems to quite know the answer.

Speaking of closings, a Toronto landmark is shutting down: Sam the Record Man has gone under. A photo is included, and will trigger the memory of anyone who's been on Yonge Street. Sad news. I can vouch for the store's coolness.

Meanwhile, Prince is riling up everyone with his plan to give away his newest CD with the paper. Alternative distribution methods are all the rage now. Another new option is We7, which lets you download music for free. The caveat is that a 10-second ad is attached to the song for the first month.

And hey, it's time for July 4th celebrations, complete with questionable music choices! Whee!