Thursday, September 27, 2007

Hi there. Today is another combo of library links and links from others, because I'm going on the road tomorrow! Folderol should be back a week from today, all refreshed and energized. Bunny will be holding down the spooky librarian fort in the meantime.

Banned Books Week starts this Saturday. Read something revolutionary!

Remember the story about the prisons banning religious materials? They have backed down, and evidently the Koran will be available once more.

The National Archives has put Project Blue Book, aka the UFO documents, online!

From Tracy: You can now sign up to receive free Amber Alerts on your cell phone if your provider is participating. Apparently we're soon going to be able to text 911 as well, which is handy if you're, say, in a trunk or something.

From Holly: Cute baby animals living in harmony! Seagulls shoplifting Doritos! All kinds of wacky signs, in two parts!

From Cassandra: Guns now come in hot pink for the ladies (?!?). On the other side of the spectrum, you can now get cute baby outfits that don't conform to gender expectations!

Have a spiffy weekend (and most of next week!), everyone! See you next Thursday.

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Who cares if it's still September? It's time to start getting spooky and celebrating Halloween season! To start off, the Coney Island Film Festival is showing American Scary this weekend, and if you pay close attention you will see a brief bit with the Meet Cleaver Theatre characters.

X-Entertainment has started its annual awesome Halloween countdown already, and even the steampunk site Voyages Extraordinaires has gotten into the spirit with an essay on classic horror monsters. (Really, Kenneth Strickfaden's designs were as steampunk as you can get. He's criminally underappreciated.)

For your haunted house, why not consider the Exorcist bed? Actually, this could make for a good prank bed when it's not Halloween...

By the way, French Vogue thinks that devil worship is the hot new look. I could have sworn this was some sort of PhotoShop hoax.

Speaking of heresies, English Heretic is a site after my own heart. I love the idea of plaques to commemorate darker happenings.

Lastly, if you're not quite ready for Halloween fun yet, this animated Journey of Man takes you on a trip through history and civilization. Neat, and educational, too!

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Oi, today is crazy, and as a result I have less steampunky fun than usual. But! Steampunk Magazine just came out with its third issue, and you should read the back issues, too.

John Danforth makes daguerrotypes out of modern images, and they are amazing.

The Mad Scientists make trivets using computer chips, and they are also amazing!

This water-cooled PC, however, may be the most amazing thing yet. I am in awe.

Monday, September 24, 2007

I am back! And here we go with the art links.

A glass and steel pyramid atop the Matterhorn? Yes, it's in the works. Wow.

More surprising creations: diamonds made from Beethoven's hair. (You have to wonder how people think of these sorts of things.)

For the photographers: A love letter to the Leica camera, and a weblog devoted to gorgeous pinhole camera images. Also, Retroviews is a great repository for images of the '50s and '60s.

Over the weekend, we discovered the gold mine that is Film Fights! Bunny may take a crack at one of the contests occasionally. (If you'd like to be an actor or a helping hand in any of these, let us know - we are long on ideas but short on warm bodies.)

And finally...it's time for school to start up once again, which means it's time for reading lists. Are books less appreciated when they're on a reading list? (I think it depends on the instructor, personally.)

Thursday, September 20, 2007

Hi there. Today's post will be a combined Thursday/Friday, library/links from others entry because I'm going to be gone tomorrow (on a library retreat! Oooo! Ahhh!). Here we go!

Wyoming's new library campaign is taking the biblioblogosphere by storm. Nice job by the ad agency as well as the library!

The Library Computer Guy says what I've thought for a long time; library school needs to include some psychology classes, or at least some social worker training.

A Detroit station promises a shocking - shocking! - look at public libraries. Anyone who's ever worked at a public library (or is close to someone who has) will most likely not be shocked. (See the above link regarding psychology classes.)

A fun Flash game: can you escape the library? I haven't escaped yet, but I've found a warhead and two alcoholic beverages so far. I'm thinking that maybe I don't need to escape at all, actually.

From the Graveworm: Star Wars comes to the Wii! Finally we can wave our lightsabers around and do some real, if virtual, damage!

From Cassandra: The true story of a female pirate who ruled the seas, and managed to live a long and healthy life in the process.

Also from Cassandra: languages are rapidly becoming extinct. Is there a Darwinian theory on language?

And finally, from Holly: watch as a squirrel maneuvers an obstacle course! I like the little sidecar portion the best.

Have a spiffy weekend, everyone! See you on Monday.

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Arrrr! Today be International Talk Like a Pirate Day! Go out and cause a ruckus! (Thanks to th'Talk Like a Pirate site for translatin' today's entry into piratespeak.)

Tomorrow night, Erik o' t' Pickled Brothers tries for t' Guinness record in upside-down jugglin'. Ye should be showin' up and supportin' his quest! (And support t' Pickled Brothers, too. They be good people.)

From Bunny: a tribute to t' late Brett Somers, courtesy o' Crow T. Robot.

Also from Bunny: LOLcats get t'black spot when they meet t' Elder Gods in Lolthulhu!

From Danny: today marks 25 years o' t' smiley-face emoticon, which has saved t' virtual lives o' many in debates and arguments on t' web.

And one more reminder for ye: Saturday be World Carfree Day! Abandon ye yer cars and take a walk. Or take to t' seas, ye landlubbers! Arrrrrrrrr!

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Feast your eyes on the amazing shrinking kilogram! I poked around a bit and discovered the Bureau of Weights and Measures has some very industrial/steampunk displays, as well as an incredible amount of scientific information on their website.

Over in Barcelona, meanwhile, Casa Battló is equally stunning, but in an artistic way. Check out the detailed photos of all the rooms, and look at the outside architecture. Wow.

An exhibit featuring some full-scale replicas of Leonardo da Vinci's creations has started in San Francisco. Oooo, ahhhh! I may actually get to see this in the coming weeks.

I believe I've linked to the Gothia Gazette before, but there's always new stuff to see there.

Monday, September 17, 2007

If you're reading this while at work, you are slacking! But that's okay - it helps your creativity.

Today's update on how we are wrecking the world: Sumerian and Mesopotamian artifacts are being destroyed by the occupation in Iraq. Lovely. (Thanks to Cassandra for sending this in.)

Current arty news: it's time once again for the amazing World of Wearable Art in New Zealand! Also, the British Museum is featuring a small portion of ancient China's terracotta army. I'd love to see this.

The "did he or didn't he" debate on Shakespeare's work enters its 345986th round. I am about to propose that everything was written by aliens in hopes of kicking our civilization up a notch. (According to a dream Bunny had last night, aliens are interested in libraries and research.)

Want to be part of a gigantic puppet extravaganza? Join the Million Puppet Project and set a new record for the most puppets in one place next spring!

Friday, September 14, 2007

Wow, what a work week it's been. Today's Unshelved sums it up almost perfectly.

But it is Friday! Hooray! Time for links from others. Thanks, everyone. First off, our prop diva Tracy has started a Wikipedia page for Meet Cleaver Theatre, so we are all official-like and stuff. Many many thanks to Tracy. (You'll be seeing more of her in front of the camera as well, when the new batch of Subatomic episodes start up!)

From Dawnowar: Can you tell the difference between a serial killer and the inventor of a computer programming language? This may be an important skill at some point in your life!

From Cassandra: There's a new cat on Downing Street, there's a new interview with David Cronenberg over at Salon, and there's a newly discovered Viking ship resting beneath a British pub.

From Bunny: Everything you ever wanted to know about Doctor Who-themed crafts, but were afraid to ask.

Found in several places on the web: a baby monkey bonds with a pigeon. Awwww!

Also found linked from several places: take a career matchmaking survey and find out what you're meant to do. You get 40 results. Here are my top 15, some of which are dead on target and some of which will be hilarious to people who know me:

1. Archivist

2. Special Effects Technician

3. Costume Designer

4. Cartoonist / Comic Illustrator

5. Sign Maker

6. Anthropologist

7. Desktop Publisher

8. Fashion Designer

9. Writer

10. Makeup Artist

11. Political Aide

12. Activist

13. Critic

14. Artist

15. Comedian


I think #40 was working in an auto body shop, and the one above that was gun repair. Seriously.

Have a spiffy weekend, everyone! See you Monday.

Thursday, September 13, 2007

One nice thing about being a librarian is that sometimes - not always, but sometimes - you get to work among beautiful objects in beautiful rooms. (I am still holding out hope that I'll work in a Jedi library one day.) Curious Expeditions shows off some breathtakingly gorgeous library photos.

And then there are the patrons. (Just kidding. Usually.) Here, Robot Chicken brings you Sleestacks in the library. (Incidentally, a recent Fark discussion revealed that many kids in the '70s were terrified of Sleestacks. Really?)

The Bureau of Prisons has been removing religious materials from prison libraries, and, not surprisingly, people are upset about it.

If you've ever wanted to have some control over what gets published and what doesn't, here's your chance: become a reader at Slushpile and find the next Pynchon or Rowling or whomever.

And now, in things not library-related: Which Sesame Street character are you? I am confused by my results:
You are Big Bird. You are something of an eccentric, and not everyone always gives you credit for your inventiveness and intelligence. You may not always know everything, but people turn to you for your sound, unique logic. Plus, you have a big heart. Really big.

I was never very keen on Big Bird...but this description doesn't sound like the Big Bird I knew growing up. People go to Big Bird for logical perspective these days? What's the world coming to, anyway?

Also: there was a canine extravaganza at the Great American Ball Park last night before the Reds game, and it looks like they all had lots of fun. (And we won, too! Maybe they should bring dogs to every game next year.)

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Today is fraught with problems. In the meantime, there's only two days until the Mothman Festival in Point Pleasant. I'm seriously thinking of making a road trip out to see it. Ponder your own availability, and we'll be back soon with more substance.

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

I found myself refreshing the news pages all morning, waiting to see if anything was happening...

On to the steampunky and the strange. Next week there will actually be some steampunk action in the midwest! The NeoVictorian SteamPunk TeaParty will take place in Bloomington, Indiana next Tuesday at the Axis of Evil. Sadly I won't be able to go, with it being a work night and all, but if anyone nearby checks it out let me know.

A nod to the past: consider burying your body, or at least placing a memorial stone, in the Great Pyramid. This is pretty fascinating.

A nod to the future: Japanese girls, who brought us the Elegant Gothic Lolita look earlier, are now gluing amazing, dramatically fake eyelashes on themselves. This would drive me absolutely mad (I don't even deal well with mascara or eyeshadow), but it looks pretty.

Thanks to Boing Boing Gadgets (a new offshoot of the parent Boing Boing!), there's now a Flickr pool of images from an imagined 2000. Neat, neat stuff.

Forget the wonders of the ancient world, how about the deserted wonders of the postmodern world? (I'm guessing that many of us who are interested in steampunk also find abandoned places fascinating.) There are two parts; the website is a little unstable due to all the attention it's been getting recently, but once the pages come up they are lovely.

Something a little more Victorian and mythological: the Cobweb Forest, a serialized story. It's very beautiful, and old-fashioned yet high-tech.

Monday, September 10, 2007

The websites of Luciano Pavarotti and Madeleine L'Engle have beautiful intro pages right now. RIP to both.

Did you know September is National Classical Music Month? (I didn't either. Thanks, Cassandra!)

One of the most challenged books at the moment is a kids' book about two male penguins who raised a baby penguin. It's a true story, too. Meanwhile, no one seems to care that "My Two Dads" is still in syndication. Sheesh.

Why are reclusive writers so fascinating? J.D. Salinger is invoked, of course.

And finally, Sony is getting ready to release Echochrome, a video game that is inspired by M.C. Escher and looks like it could break one's brain with its simple graphics and dimension-twisting concept.

Friday, September 07, 2007


Hi there. This is me as one of Gwen Stefani's Harajuku Girls. (I didn't have a lot of clothing options, which is why I look rather pastel.) Make your own paper doll version! (Click on "paper dolls" in the bottom left corner of the page.)


More interactive fun: how well do you know the movies of the past 25 years? I got a 76.

From Cassandra: Benign Girl! How...bland.

From Courtney: the amazing 3-D sidewalk art of Julian Beever.


As seen on PCJM: Christmas catalogs from times gone by. I remember getting Service Merchandise catalogs and poring over them.

As seen on Deadspin: Behold, St. Louis has a Rally Squirrel! I think the Reds need some sort of rally mascot for next year. Or, at the very least, they need a mascot that keeps the bullpen from imploding during the eighth inning of every single game.

Have a spiffy weekend, everyone! See you Monday.

Thursday, September 06, 2007

This morning I was at the downtown public library, trying to track down an obscure journal, when a teenager came up to me.

"Excuse me. Excuse me! Do you work here?"
"Uh, no."
"Oh. Oops!"

Librarians give off an aura. I'm sure of it.

Speaking of, it's been confirmed; I will be among the thousands of librarians invading Monterey in the fall for Internet Librarian 2007. Yay! Now I have to figure out a decent Halloween costume that can travel to California and back.

More invasion news: on Monday, hordes of librarians are going to descend upon answer sites, apparently.

The rest of the links today are fairly random:
  • Forget about Burning Man; Zozobra burns for the 83rd time tomorrow in New Mexico!
  • The latest on how our country is falling apart at the seams : Army environmental guidelines have conveniently been repealed. (This includes archaeological preservation, by the way.)
  • When I went to library school, I took a class on oral history and even considered trying it out professionally. Getting people to tell their life stories sounded pretty fun. There's an infinite number of odd industries to document, too, such as Kentucky bacon! Mmmm!

Tomorrow: links from others, because it will be Friday, thank God.

Wednesday, September 05, 2007

Okay, would you know what this sign meant? I would have no idea it referred to GPS units (or "sat-navs" as they seem to call them). Welsh is confusing, even in pictogram format.

I know I talked about Maps for Us last week, but they've put up some real gems in the last few days. There's a map for escaping zombie attacks (I think Bunny has one of these for work) and a map showing the so-called baker states. I had no idea.

And now, the morbid report. Noise is killing us! Shhhh! Alternatively, you can embrace death and celebrate with a cannibal banquet (thanks, Bunny....I think). We're agreeing with the idea that this is a publicity stunt and not an actual fad, but who knows?

And finally, I think I've linked to Pushin' Daisies in the past, but they have some awesome new stuff in their catalogue for the morticians and the generally spooky populace. Go and see!

Tuesday, September 04, 2007

Hello hello! During our Labor Day travels, we found that the Halloween stores have opened, huzzah. It's not too early to start plotting and scheming. Also, there's a lovely new Victorian Halloween site for the historically and/or steampunkily inclined.

Today, it's all about the gadgets! Steam bicycles (oodles of them), steam-powered salon carousels from days gone by, a steampunk lightsaber (from an even more civilized age, evidently), the amazing Phonofone for amplifying the sounds from headphones, and the even more amazing Inteli-Tube Pneumatic Transportation System are all presented for your examination.