Friday means links from others and thanks from me to all!

From Bunny: it's the end of the world as we know it -- Shane MacGowan has new shiny white teeth.

From Cassandra: The Blob is REAL. Also, web 3.0 is upon us, and a boy becomes prom queen.

Swiped from Dawnowar: School lunches from around the world!

From Holly: Man versus squirrel, plus dog.

From the grapevine: the Arcadian Shop has a new fun weblog that everyone should check out, and I'm not just saying that because Mink is the author!

From various library sources: the Library of Congress has a new page on Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor.

Peter of Frixo thinks readers would be interested in UK traffic reports, and since we do have UK readers here...have at it.

Also from the UK: rooks are frighteningly intelligent, and can probably unlock and hotwire your car in a matter of seconds.

From Satori: Whack-a-Kitty! This is wonderful.

Have a spiffy weekend, everyone! See you Monday.

If you've got the bandwidth and the stomach for it, take a look at the cuts in newspaper jobs across the United States. Yikes.

Librarians are also facing a lot of layoffs; LibGig is a helpful job resource.

Fortunately, there are still some news librarians left, and they've got weblogs! The Oklahoman digs back in history and unearths some neat little tidbits.

From Cassandra: the FBI just released a huge amount of material on Bonnie and Clyde, the state-crossing, gun-wielding couple.

Yet another anniversary takes place in 2009: the 500th year since Henry VIII's ascension to the throne. Many tributes are online; the one from the UK's National Archives is among the best.

And finally, from Julie, another look at the world's beautiful libraries (check out the substantial comments section for more links). Click away, appreciate the gorgeous libraries, and wish they were free of all those annoying patrons. (Kidding. Usually, anyway. It's been a long week, even with a holiday to start it off.)

Tomorrow: links from others!

There's all sorts of stuff going on this weekend. The Maker Faire is going on! So is the Dickens Festival, and the Sunrise Celebration, and the Wave Gothic Festival!

If you're not leaving the house this weekend, that's okay too. You can estimate how much the goths are suffering in the heat at the above festival, or you can drool over the toy line for Where the Wild Things Are. See, we provide links for both indoor and outdoor types here at Spooky Librarians HQ.

Last week, I set off for New York and Dances of Vice, a monthly event that's a trip back in time. Each month has a different theme. This month? Secrets of the Boudoir. Oh dear, I thought. Wearing skirts above my ankles out in public is nervewracking enough for me; wearing lingerie seemed above and beyond my capabilities.

Fortunately, Bunny and the Club Creatures brought me down to earth and helped me pull an outfit together, and before I knew it we were walking down the streets of Brooklyn, en route to the Montauk Club.

The Montauk Club by day

Me, on the streets of Brooklyn, by Satori

We arrived to find the party in full swing, with the lovely Minsky Sisters performing for a crowd downstairs and photographs occuring upstairs. And everyone looked gorgeous.

The beautiful and the fantastic at Dances of Vice

There was much dancing downstairs, courtesy of Grandpa Musselman and His Syncopators (some of whom are pictured below):

Performing at Dances of Vice, by Satori

Even the shoes were lovely. The heels on the top left belong to Shien Lee, the originator and organizer for Dances of Vice.

Shoes of vice

Throughout the night, everyone was friendly and fun, and all my bizarre fears came to nothing, even though I did say to Poison at one point, "This is less clothing than I wear to bed." (That's not strictly true, by the way.)

Curves on the crosswalk

As it turned out, the reason for the lingerie theme was a pragmatic one; the Montauk has no air conditioning. As a result, Dances of Vice is going on hiatus for the summer and will return in the fall, when everyone can wear several layers without falling down from the heat. This also means that I can start saving now for my eventual return!

Walking the streets after the dance

Provided I don't get arrested, that is.

More photos of May's "Secrets in the Boudoir" are on New York City's Metromix page. Many thanks to Satori for letting me use his photos for this entry!

Two entries today! The first is the link format you all know and love; the next will be photo-heavy. To the links we go...

Jake Hildebrandt has built a Telecalculograph that's beyond amazing...and you can win it! (Only if you're in North America, sadly -- but once you see it, you'll understand the shipping difficulties.)

However, over in the UK, White Mischief has just finished up a show and there will probably be many more to come. The site is huge and detailed and fun.

While not confined to the Victorian era, the Memory Palace's podcasts showcase fascinating historical tidbits, and are highly recommended for anyone interested in weird history!

If you're interested in steampunking your computer, this entry on Dintz is for you. Go wild!

Happy Friday!

From Bunny: Frank Lloyd Wright in LEGO. Brilliant.

From Cassandra: the pursuit of happiness, the importance of touch, and "75 movies every man should see."

Show Me Now is designed to instruct via pictograms, and does it very well!

The Club Creatures have put up their photos from last week as well; I recommend their photos in general, but the latest ones are also fun if you want to see silly photos of me in silly outfits.

Have a spiffy weekend, everyone! See you Tuesday -- we're taking Monday off for Memorial Day.

Hey, I just walked by this library last weekend. Neat.

You can now publish your weblog for Kindles, if you want to...and if you decide it's ethically acceptable to do so. There's a lot of discussion on that part.

The NPRBackStory on Twitter uses the "trending topics" to find old stories of interest. This is a fun idea, similar to the "today in history" part of a newspaper.

A list of the 50 best weblogs for law librarians has been published! Law librarians, do you read all these? (I just checked the list and I only read ten. Oops. Bad law librarian.)

Some librarians consider these Awful Library Books, but I love the outdated publications they hate. (I share their views on the torn-up covers and books in bad condition, however.)

The photos are up! Go and have a look.

Today is Zoopolis 500 Day at the Indianapolis Zoo, so if you're in the area you can stop by and watch turtles race each other. If you're on the other side of the Atlantic, the 2nd International Film Music Festival is going on in Krakow -- with Max Raabe performing! If you can't make it to either occasion, you can just prepare for Towel Day next week.

If you're wondering why astronauts are trying to repair the Hubble, this is the reason.

One of Bunny's favorite people, Michio Kaku, discusses the realm of impossible science. The Science of Ghosts seeks out impossible photos, and SciFi Wire informs us of five secret societies controlling the world. (I am asking my Masonic friend about the first one on the list. We'll see if I survive.)

Here's a teaser, taken from New York's Metromix page on Dances of Vice.

Hi there. Today's normal installment of the Steampunk Librarian has been postponed, due to my not having photos ready yet. Later this week you'll hear all about Dances of Vice, whether you want to or not! Muhahaha!

In the meantime, courtesy of Cassandra, here's a pic of me on the beach at New York's Coney Island.


Also from Cassandra: people are abusing the em-dash (um, guilty) and the New England Journal of Medicine is now on Facebook.

Did you wonder what Jarvis Cocker of Pulp is up to these days? Wonder no more!

More substantial updates will occur later this week, I promise.

And we're back! Photos of the trip will be up shortly. In the meantime, I recommend Bedlam Theatre's "Dali on Tour" production, which I saw Friday night at Coney Island and is touring the country at present. And speaking of live theatre, if you're in Orlando, go see Schave & Reilly's Department of Angels! They are not only our friends, they're gifted performers and deserve lots of attention.

Terrible Yellow Eyes features works inspired by Where the Wild Things Are, so you know the art will be fantastical and fun.

Is Spock a role model for the autistic among us?

The "12 Flickr Superstars" discussion page is a great way to find new artists, if you're looking for photographic inspiration.

And finally, from Holly: Awkward Family Photos. Hilarious, and definitely awkward.

Some quick links before I leave:

The ALA and NIH are sponsoring a traveling exhibition on Harry Potter and the science in his world, which begins in the fall. It looks cool, and I haven't even read all the Harry Potter books (yet, anyway).

From Bunny: a benefit for beloved horror host Dr. Creep is taking place in July. There will be bands and booths and maybe even a bunch of horror hosts (including Meet Cleaver Theatre); why not participate and help out a wonderful person?

From Satori: "Hm, Cincinnati is #4 in places for New Grads to look for work… Must be the P&G, GE, UC factor…"

From Cassandra: Merck gets busted for creating a phony journal (Cassandra and I would like to start one of our own, if it's a free-for-all these days). Also: Carnal Nation, which is just what it sounds like.

Have a spiffy weekend, everyone! See you Monday!

Tomorrow I set off for New York, where I'm going to hang out with these guys and check out Nerd Nite and lots more. Yay! There's a lot of other stuff going on this weekend as festival season starts up, such as the Calveras County Fair and Jumping Frog Jubilee in California and the festival which annually celebrates Mike the Headless Chicken in Colorado.

Also going on in California this weekend: the always amazing Bay to Breakers race.

Meanwhile, over on the Isle of Man, debate is going on over whether the little people could use a letterbox. I think it's a good idea, personally.

Folderol will be erratic for the next few days, depending on schedules, but will definitely be back on Monday. Unless something spooky happens in Central Park, that is...

Okay, it's official: the Steampunk Librarian (aka me) is going to be at Dances of Vice in New York City this weekend, even though this month's dress theme is about as far from my comfort zone as one can get! If you see me there, say hi.

Did you know there's a calendar for steampunk-related events? It's true, and you can email the site to add events as well.

The Affinity Bridge was summarized as "a steampunk Sherlock Holmes story with zombies." That's pretty hard to resist. Also, Scott Westerfeld teases his readers with this preview of a steampunk-themed trilogy that's due to start this fall.

If you visit the Science Museum in London sometime soon, you may get a strange and wonderful booklet from a cabbie. If you're nowhere near the museum, it's also available in PDF.

You may remember Doktor A and his fantastic Spooky Pop creations; now behold his Mechtorians!

And finally...let's look to the future and envision a world of hybrid locomotives. Why not?

You never know who's going to pop up on Twitter these days...

Google is running their annual Doodle contest -- go and check out the nominees and vote for your favorite!

Some various theories on creativity these days include the value of madness and alcohol. Well, if you insist.

Have you ever seen a live performance with a female conductor? I don't think I have, and I've seen a lot of conductors.

And now, your moment of zen, with squirrels. I love the one posing for the photographer.

Friday! Links from others! Many thanks, everyone.

From Julie: an art student makes a car (practically) invisible. Wow.

From Satori: a priest is caught up in a scandal with a woman (Satori: "This is strange for a priestly scandal") and Alternative Miss World is back!

From Cassandra: a review of the new Star Trek movie, the 50 most powerful women as determined by Fortune, a workshop on euthanasia, and using music as a torture device.

From Holly: Project Squirrel!

Also, the Social Security Administration released its annual list of most popular U.S. baby names today. The Baby Name Wizard is all over the news. No word yet on the idea of naming one's kid "Q."

Have a spiffy weekend, everyone! See you Monday.

Happy Odd Day, everyone!

GovFresh gives you the White House in Web 2.0 - Flickr, Twitter, etc. Nice.

Speaking of Twitter, I do have a Twitter account, but I am not calling any communities I join "twibes." Sheesh. There's a librarian twibe, though!

The Library of Congress has a video online which details their Amish resources. I find this funny on several levels.

Tomorrow: links from others! See you then!

Today is grey and spooky. Spooky day=spooky links!

Fortean Times has a wild article about how two Italian brothers tracked cosmonauts and astronauts during the early days of the space programs, against all odds.

Oddee shows the most alien-looking places on the planet.

Aleister Crowley's old place by the edge of Loch Ness is for sale, but it's supposed to be cursed. Of course it is.

A weblog devoted to parapyschology has all kinds of resources and reviews available for the curious, while Urban Dreamscape explores the world of psychogeography (and, if you're interested in that sort of thing, you can follow the activities of the Oneironauticum.)

C.D. Richardson's Museum of the Mad, the Macabre and the Marvelous is all that it promises, although the "sale" link is sadly empty at the moment.

Spelling with zombies. Yes, it's just what it sounds like.

And finally, here's a look at how ubiquitous Cthulhu has become in the world...WHICH IS PROBABLY JUST HOW HE WANTS IT. Aieeeee!

It's time to clean out the archives at the Steampunk Librarian, and by "archives" I mean "links I accumulated over the last few months and forgot to post." Voila:

• The centennial celebration of the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition;
• Vaudeville Nation, a former exhibition at the New York Public Library;
• The "Image Porthole" database of the Steamship Historical Society of America, encompassing decades of steamships and their crews;
• An extensive collection of clipper ship trade cards;
• A manual on telegraph rules and regulations from 1871;
• The "1910 Los Angeles International Aviation Meet Research Collection," which should bring joy to anyone interested in dirigibles;
• and the amazing clockwork desk designed by John Muir, whom is known today for his conservation efforts but was also quite the tinkerer.

There are new links, too! Steampowered World is a new weblog on the scene, and NeoSteam is now asking for beta testers. Also, Jere sent me photographic proof of a steampunk vibrator. Yikes.

I never heard of Star Wars Day before this year, but sure, I'll go along with it.

Pete Seeger just turned 90 years old, and has some advice for living during a recession.

Chicago's Field Museum is now part of the Flickr Commons! Also from Flickr: celebrating the Year of Astronomy.

And finally, conductive body paint. Yes. Really!

Happy May Day/Beltane, everyone! Many thanks to everyone for sending in links!

From Danny: the strange and wonderful work of Alex Gross.

From Cassandra: the rise of the creative obituary, an examination of the way current movies reflect our current fears; the discovery of the fossils of a walking seal; and the popularity of exclamation points online. (I am really bad at this, I know. Sorry!!!)

From Bunny: An amazing "Did You Know?" video with all sorts of surprising statistics.

From Julie: the invisibility cloak, it's coming soon! You won't know it when it arrives, but it will!

Tomorrow is Free Comic Book Day, too. Go and let your imagination run wild. Have a spiffy weekend! See you Monday.