It's the end of the year, and as we finish tallying up the advent calendar competition results, here are some links to get you through the day...
The 2007 list of America's Most Literate Cities is out. Cincinnati just missed the top 10. (I never think of this city as particularly literate, but maybe I should change that way of thinking.)
It's not too late to make a disco ball for tonight, especially if you have a bunch of spare CDs lying about!
The U.S. Postal Service announced its upcoming stamps for 2008, and one features Bette Davis. Doesn't it look as if a cigarette has been Photoshopped out of her hand?
If Google Earth had been around in Biblical times, it would have seen some pretty odd occurrences. (Let's leave out the problems of satellites and internet access in Biblical times for the moment. Suspend your disbelief and read along!)
Links from others today! Well, actually, today is more of a Links from Cassandra Day, plus a few random sites. Thanks, Cassandra!
Colleges are trying to figure out how to deal with students suffering from psychological disorders, and it's not going so well. Bunny could tell some really interesting stories about this if you ask him in person some day.
For fellow frustrated musicians: if Guitar Hero is proving difficult, try Handbell Hero. It's seasonally fun, and you don't have to fight over the controllers.
Fridgewatcher lives up to its name. You can see what bizarre items people have around the world. Our fridge is very sad-looking at the moment and refuses to be displayed online. Maybe it needs some beta blockers.
Meanwhile, the British monarchy has set up its own YouTube Channel. This seems a little bizarre, but it's interesting to see archival footage and I'd love it if other monarchies and governments would follow suit.
If you read Metafilter or its sibiling AskMetafilter, you know that a lot of books get recommended in the discussion threads. Now ReadMehas gathered all the recommendations together in one place! Hooray!
What are the ethics involved in reviewing books? Results of a new survey are out, and you can compare it with earlier surveys as well.
The Spooky Librarians have two advent calendars this year: the "Knight's Duel," aimed at boys, and the "Unicorn Paradise," geared toward girls. We're going to look at each day's offering and compare and contrast. Join us and vote for your favorite, won't you?
December 24th
Knight's Duel: A king figurine. Brian's take: Ah, the king makes a fitting end to this advent calendar. I urge everyone to vote for the Knight's Duel calendar! Huzzah!
Unicorn Paradise: A baby unicorn. Jeanne's take: In lieu of a nativity scene, we have a baby unicorn here with a star imprinted on its forehead instead of a horn. I guess birth would be really painful for unicorns if they had a horn already.
Which do you prefer?
Thanks for following along with us through the 24 days of advent, everyone! Tomorrow we'll post some photos of both sets in action and tally the votes to find out which calendar you liked best. Happy holidays from the spooky librarians!
The Spooky Librarians have two advent calendars this year: the "Knight's Duel," aimed at boys, and the "Unicorn Paradise," geared toward girls. We're going to look at each day's offering and compare and contrast. Join us and vote for your favorite, won't you?
December 23rd
Knight's Duel: A crown, a shield and a scroll. Brian's take: The scroll is not in a recognizable language. The crown and the shield...mih.
Unicorn Paradise: A unicorn! Jeanne's take: Finally, the unicorn shows up! This looks like a faintly demonic unicorn to me, with the glowing eyes and the red/pink color scheme.
The Spooky Librarians have two advent calendars this year: the "Knight's Duel," aimed at boys, and the "Unicorn Paradise," geared toward girls. We're going to look at each day's offering and compare and contrast. Join us and vote for your favorite, won't you?
December 22nd
Knight's Duel: Gemstones and a map. Brian's take: Untold riches, torn from the earth's bosom! A fanciful array of polished gemstones that would be a great buffet for your favorite Xorn or Earth Elemental. Huzzah!
Unicorn Paradise: An urn with flowers. Jeanne's take: Tonight I said to Tracy, "I think this advent calendar is the girliest thing I've ever owned." This is not swaying my opinion in the least. More flowers! Yarrgh!
Pretty colorful things. These items in these calendars are definitely bright, I'll give them that.
The Spooky Librarians have two advent calendars this year: the "Knight's Duel," aimed at boys, and the "Unicorn Paradise," geared toward girls. We're going to look at each day's offering and compare and contrast. Join us and vote for your favorite, won't you?
December 21st
Knight's Duel: A treasure chest. Brian's take: A large ornate treasure chest. The riches must be great, if housed in such a large box, but Grimtooth recommends you check it for poisoned needles and deadfall traps before sticking your hands in.
Unicorn Paradise: Two fence-type items. Jeanne's take: I suspect these are for the unicorns that are supposed to eventually show up. We decided they look very Italianate. Brian just made a joke about "Baroque-n" gates. Wokka wokka!
From Holly: Cat attacks mailman! Wow, delivery people have it rough, judging from this article.
From Satori: PETA is going after the Olson twinsfor their fur-wearing tendencies. I like Satori's take: "The art is great, they got top notch designers. OH! That’s where all the money to help animals goes!"
The Spooky Librarians have two advent calendars this year: the "Knight's Duel," aimed at boys, and the "Unicorn Paradise," geared toward girls. We're going to look at each day's offering and compare and contrast. Join us and vote for your favorite, won't you?
December 20th
Knight's Duel: A lance and shield. Brian's take: Well, now the knight's ensemble is complete. Not much more to say about these, really.
Unicorn Paradise: An umbrella. Jeanne's take: Well. Whee? At least the figures try to take care of their skin!
Brian: "Hey, it's just like the Ren Faire, except with fewer smelly people."
Today is more about nostalgia than anything truly library-related. I'm just warning you now.
The Ontario Archives have a neat exhibit on childhood toys between the late 1800s and the 1970s. I looked through the 1970s toys and recognized several of them, although I definitely do not remember the psychedelic drum kit.
For the sci-fi fans among us: 30 years of Star Wars holiday cards. (Thanks, Nicole!) I think the Jawa one is my favorite, although the Chewbacca one is a close second (and the most recent one with the stormtroopers is good, too).
The Spooky Librarians have two advent calendars this year: the "Knight's Duel," aimed at boys, and the "Unicorn Paradise," geared toward girls. We're going to look at each day's offering and compare and contrast. Join us and vote for your favorite, won't you?
December 19th
Knight's Duel: A helmet with feathers. Brian's take: This is actually called a Great Helm, used for pageantry because no one went out to war wearing these sorts of things. It's very Ivanhoe.
Unicorn Paradise: A headdress, a fan, and a bow. Jeanne's take: Oh my god, more accessories. The bow goes on the back of the figure's skirt. I'm starting to think this is the queen, or at least the primary princess, because man, she is seriously accessorized.
It seems like the knight would get more use out of the fan, actually, what with his armor and helmet and all...
Scientists have discovered the "energy source" that powers the northern lights. I thought it was just refracted dust all this time. (Incidentally, Philip Pullman's first book was titled Northern Lights, then changed to The Golden Compass for US readers. I'm just saying.)
The always-amazing Wellcome Collection has a new exhibit concerning sleep and dreaming. Those of us who can't get to London before the end of the exhibit can investigate some of it online, fortunately.
If you can't sleep because you're afraid of alien abduction, do not fret - you can now purchase a handy Earth Dog Tag that will show any benevolent aliens how to get you back home! (If these sorts of things freak you out, you probably don't want a life-size robot in your home. And a full directory of robot-related events won't be useful, either. However, this poster on How To Spot A Cylon might be reassuring.)
On the more mystical side, there's a beautiful French exhibition showing a bestiary of animalsfrom the Bible and other literature from medieval times. If you go to the French language version, it's much more detailed- even if you can't read French, you can click away and see all sorts of lovely illustrations.
The Spooky Librarians have two advent calendars this year: the "Knight's Duel," aimed at boys, and the "Unicorn Paradise," geared toward girls. We're going to look at each day's offering and compare and contrast. Join us and vote for your favorite, won't you?
December 18th
Knight's Duel: a Knight! An actual knight! Brian's take: A raven-haired knight in Germanic plate mail, complete with broadsword. Ta-da!
Unicorn Paradise: a skirt. Jeanne's take: Well. Um. Normally I am all about the ankle-to-floor-length skirts, but this was a bit of a letdown. Talk about restricting one's movement! Now the figure can hardly get around!
Knight: Kill a dragon for you, milady? Lady: Actually, could I just borrow your sword so I can do it myself? You can have this skirt if you like.
Steampunk Magazine has started an online forum, named the Gaslamp Bazaar, for like-minded individuals. Wow, there are multiple forums and magazines out now concerning steampunk, and there's even a convention in the works. It's almost disconcerting. Speaking of, is the Victorian Adventure Enthusiast ever going to spring into being? I've been checking the site since August!
The Smithsonian has a lovely exhibit titled "Doodles, Drafts and Designs," which features a wealth of industrial drawings, blueprints, and posters. Very cool, inspiring stuff. In more modern exhibitions, artist Brad Hwang's "Time May Change Me, I Can't Change Time" is an interactive sort of creation that looks like a rowing machine encountered a Wimhurst Machine. I'd love to see it firsthand!
The Spooky Librarians have two advent calendars this year: the "Knight's Duel," aimed at boys, and the "Unicorn Paradise," geared toward girls. We're going to look at each day's offering and compare and contrast. Join us and vote for your favorite, won't you?
December 17th
Knight's Duel: Barding for the horse. Brian's take: Have you ever eaten at Medieval Times? If so, you've noticed horses have these colorful tapestries over them so you know which one to root for. Get filthy drunk on homemade mead and shake your turkey leg in delight and dismay as your knight battles it out in the dirt arena below! Huzzah!
Unicorn Paradise: Girl Figure. Jeanne's take: Hey, another figurine! I have a sneaking suspicion that accessories will be imminent.
Brian calls this "Poison Ivy Takes On Bathorse With a Sword." Please note the defeated squire in the background.
The year-end lists are beginning, and Regret The Error has some real gems.
Proof that there is a site for everything these days: A weblog devoted to pens! My dad would love this. Maybe I can convince him to get online after all.
The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography had a brilliant idea: they put the cover of the Sgt. Pepper album onlineand constructed biographies for each individual. You put your mouse over the person you're interested in, then click for the biography. I always wondered who some of these people were, and now I know!
The Library of Congress also has some great online exhibits at the moment, like this Mayan boxwhich acts as a historical narrative - you can "explore" the box by rotating it and looking at each side. Neat stuff.
The Spooky Librarians have two advent calendars this year: the "Knight's Duel," aimed at boys, and the "Unicorn Paradise," geared toward girls. We're going to look at each day's offering and compare and contrast. Join us and vote for your favorite, won't you?
December 16th
Knight's Duel: a horse! Brian's take: This is a lovely black plastic horse, sans barding. You know, I hate that new cartoon with the horses that talk and the kids that look like Bratz dolls...you know, that one. Saturday morning cartoons ain't what they used to be.
Unicorn Paradise: a basket, an apple, and a gold circlet tiara thingy. Jeanne's take: Look, more accessories!
Finally, the two calendars can interact in a way that makes sense. Here, horse, have an apple!
The Spooky Librarians have two advent calendars this year: the "Knight's Duel," aimed at boys, and the "Unicorn Paradise," geared toward girls. We're going to look at each day's offering and compare and contrast. Join us and vote for your favorite, won't you?
December 15th
Knight's Duel: Falcon with hood. Brian's take: The hood is used to keep the falcon calm when there are lots of people bustling about. I need one of these for when I go to the grocery store.
Unicorn Paradise: Girl Jeanne's take: I'm always happy to get an actual figure. I also have to give Playmobil some credit here for having a figure which is dark-haired and dark-eyed, as opposed to the blondness they usually have. (This girl has long black hair in a braid down her back.) I am, however, concerned about her choice of red shoes with a pink and white polka-dotted dress.
You'd think the falcon would fit on the figure's arms, but no! (We checked with the boy figure, too, but it doesn't fit there either.)
The Spooky Librarians have two advent calendars this year: the "Knight's Duel," aimed at boys, and the "Unicorn Paradise," geared toward girls. We're going to look at each day's offering and compare and contrast. Join us and vote for your favorite, won't you?
December 14th
Knight's Duel: A perch. (This is not immediately apparent; we only know what it is because we peeked at the finished photo. Jeanne thought it was a music stand or a coat rack.) Brian's take: Um. A perch. I really have nothing to say about this.
Unicorn Paradise: a frog on a lily pad. Jeanne's take: Kiss that frog, girls! On the plus side, it's not a bird!
The Spooky Librarians have two advent calendars this year: the "Knight's Duel," aimed at boys, and the "Unicorn Paradise," geared toward girls. We're going to look at each day's offering and compare and contrast. Join us and vote for your favorite, won't you?
December 13th Knight's Duel: Dog! Brian's take: The best friend of man and Playmobil figure alike! Notice the loin and chuck cuts marked on its body. Yum!
Unicorn Paradise: Peacock fountain topper. Jeanne's take: Brian tells me there's a Dario Argento film titled "Bird With the Crystal Plumage." I asked if the bird goes bonkers and kills everyone, but sadly that's not the case. (Incidentally, maybe this fountain IS a birdbath in disguise after all. Hey, there's a film title: Birdbath Bloodbath! Muhahaha!)
The Spooky Librarians have two advent calendars this year: the "Knight's Duel," aimed at boys, and the "Unicorn Paradise," geared toward girls. We're going to look at each day's offering and compare and contrast. Join us and vote for your favorite, won't you?
December 12th Knight's Duel: A footstool. Brian's take: ... [Brian was rendered speechless at this, other than a faint "it's not even a very good footstool..."]
Unicorn Paradise: A fountain. Jeanne's take: I thought this was a birdbath at first. Can you blame me, with all the birds inundating this calendar? This is a four-piece item, and the water is all wavy realistic blue plastic!
Part 2 in our series of "seating at the old folks' home."
The Spooky Librarians have two advent calendars this year: the "Knight's Duel," aimed at boys, and the "Unicorn Paradise," geared toward girls. We're going to look at each day's offering and compare and contrast. Join us and vote for your favorite, won't you?
December 11th Knight's Duel: Coffer with coins. Brian's take: A king's coffer! Huzzah! (There are so many coins they don't all fit in the chest, which makes for a lot of tiny pieces being dropped on the floor.)
Unicorn Paradise: Rose Trellis. Jeanne's take: Oops, I screwed up. Remember the rose trellises of Dec . 4? There was only supposed to be one on that day, and this is the second. So, anyway. A rose trellis! With individual flowers! Pretty!
Flowers and coins. This looks like something out of a tarot card spread.
(Sorry for the short entries this week - I'm off work and immediately reverted to nocturnal habits, which has screwed up my posting schedule. Updates will continue, and the advent calendar competition will not be affected, but things will be a little erratic till next week!)
The Spooky Librarians have two advent calendars this year: the "Knight's Duel," aimed at boys, and the "Unicorn Paradise," geared toward girls. We're going to look at each day's offering and compare and contrast. Join us and vote for your favorite, won't you?
December 10th Knight's Duel: a throne. Brian's take: A simple, serviceable wooden throne. I'm never sure why they supply chairs for action figures with knees that don't bend, as they tend to look like participants on that PBS senior citizen workout program. You know, the one where they work out from their chairs. Lift those legs! Stave off thrombosis!
Unicorn Paradise: A rose bed. AGAIN. Jeanne's take: Hey, remember the rose bed of December 3? It's back! This is the exact same thing - a 12-piece set with flowers and leaves and whatnot. I am...confused.
Behold, your future seat at the senior citizen home! Look out the staring window and watch those flowers grow!
The Spooky Librarians have two advent calendars this year: the "Knight's Duel," aimed at boys, and the "Unicorn Paradise," geared toward girls. We're going to look at each day's offering and compare and contrast. Join us and vote for your favorite, won't you?
December 9th
Knight's Duel: assorted arms. Brian's take: An arsenal fit for an RPG geek! From left to right we have a bec de corbin, a broadsword, a lucern hammer (aka a pole axe), and finally, the trusty battle axe. And they said D&D would never serve any purpose in my life! Pah, I say! Any one of these fine weapons would look great buried in your enemy's skull.
Unicorn Paradise: Peacock. Jeanne's take: Aha! This is a much better peacock than the submissive one of a few days ago. The bird obsession continues. By the way, check out the giant feet on this peacock. Wow.
The Spooky Librarians have two advent calendars this year: the "Knight's Duel," aimed at boys, and the "Unicorn Paradise," geared toward girls. We're going to look at each day's offering and compare and contrast. Join us and vote for your favorite, won't you?
December 8th Knight's Duel: a "pewter" pitcher and two goblets. Brian's take: One step up from the leather mugs in the Renaissance Faire Dork Scale. I chuckled to myself and wondered how many of our readers bought these to use at the wedding. Even between my chuckles, I'm probably just jealous. I'll settle for my 1/8 scale set, thank you.
Unicorn Paradise: birds! Jeanne's take: They're cute. I am, however, starting to wonder if they should have called this calendar the Bird Paradise instead of Unicorn Paradise. I mean, so far I've seen a parrot, a peacock, and now four little songbirds, and I have yet to see a unicorn.
