Friday, July 31, 2009

Friday! Links from others! Yay!

From Danny: a very nice, very detailed roundup of what's going on in the world of contemporary architecture.

From Jere, among others: Make your own Mad Men character. I did one, and apparently I am not the early '60s type, because my character looks oddly severe and strange. (Also, a belated bon voyage & good luck wish to Jere as he starts law school in NYC!)

From Cassandra: the issue of ethical robots, the myths about Judas, and why spelling and common sense still matter in the world of GPS navigation.

Have a spiffy weekend, everyone! Special good wishes and congratulations to Jeff and Dan; wish we could be there. Back on Monday!

Thursday, July 30, 2009

I haven't participated in the "Day in the Life of a Librarian" project going on this week, but if you're a librarian, you should consider it!

The story about the Texas tattooed librarian calendar got passed around at work today, and a few of us considered suggesting a work-sponsored outing to a tattoo parlor. I think we may not be successful in our proposal.

Keeping with this, however, an article on the sexual tension within the British Library casually comments on the "intrinsic filthiness" of all librarians. Woo!

A posting on Metafilter led me to the Flickr Discoveries pool. This is what I really want to do with my life -- track down odd historical facts and find the occasional gem, like the photograph of Phineas Gage mentioned in the post. (Originally I planned on becoming a photo archivist, but I got sidetracked somehow.)

A CRS report on the uncertain future of newspapers (PDF) was posted on a mailing list I'm on...right next to a post about the new YouTube Reporters Center. Heh. There are strange times for journalists.

Lastly, a treasure hunt of sorts is going on at Google Books until August 5; I found out about it late but I think you can join in at any time!

Tomorrow: links from others!

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Long ago (well, in the early '90s), an episode of The Adventures of Pete & Pete mentioned the idea of television broadcasts reaching out into space over time, eventually telling other intelligent life about what was going on here on Earth. Provided they could pick up on such faint signals, here's what they'd be seeing these days. I bet they have awesome dance nights on Vega.

Meanwhile, back here on the planet, we have a lot of abandoned space stuff lying around. It's disheartening. Also abandoned: lots of swimming pools! And there are lovely photos of isolated (not necessarily abandoned) buildings, too.

Thanks to Cassandra, here's a truly spooky link, in which you can view anatomical wax models from the Wellcome Collection. They warn you it might be graphic.

This weekend you can watch graphic reenacted battles! In Cornwall, they're recreating (?) the Arthurian battle of Camlann, circa 537 AD; in Spain, they're reliving the days of the Viking invaders. Good times all round.

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Ladies and gentlemen, we have found the ultimate steampunk, or at least the ultimate steampunk authentication. Hee.

Comic-Con is over, but the steampunk brigade was out in full force and even set a Guinness record, according to LA Weekly. And look at some of the merchandise that will be on the way soon!

On the other side of the country, Dances of Vice is getting ready for a Sunday brunch on August 6, with Voltaire appearing and the Japan TV station NHK shooting a documentary! Reserve a seat now before they're gone! (In a somewhat related vein, we're posting -- and encouraging others to post -- events over at the Steampunk Empire.)

The Falcon is a short stop-animation film that should appeal to any steampunky type.

Also bound to appeal: the LEGO work of V&A Steamworks!

Author Arthur Slade has started a "great moments in steampunk history" list over on his LiveJournal, and I hope it continues.

Monster Commute describes itself as having a "60s steampunk influence," which is a wonderfully anachronistic description. I support time anomalies whenever possible!

I also support steampunkish designs, like many on this list of 50 t-shirts. (Some, not so much. But they're all interesting, and available!)

Monday, July 27, 2009

Today's art links have an international flavor to them, which was accidental but nice.

In London, the home of John Keats has reopened to the public.

In Berlin, a retrospective of the Bauhaus movement is going on, and looks amazing.

In Paris, they're analyzing graffiti to a somewhat bewildering detail. (Thanks, Cassandra!)

In Boston, a trial between a student and the RIAA over downloading songs is scheduled to begin today, and they're keeping a running account of the proceedings over on Twitter.

In New York, Coney Island is only a shadow of its former self...but imagine what would have happened if plans had gone through in the 1920s to rebuild Dreamland as a Freudian playground!

In the indistinct world of cyberspace, "John Kenn" is uploading fantastic drawings on art on Post-It Notes. Great stuff.

Friday, July 24, 2009

This week seemed longer than usual somehow. It's finally Friday, however, and today we feature an all-Cassandra Links from Others Post! Thanks much to Ms. C., whose enthusiasm for Folderol keeps me going some days.

There may be an ocean's worth of water in one of Saturn's moons. See, I told you Saturn was the coolest planet.

An intensive study reveals that professors should wear whatever they want. Um, thanks?

There are miles of caverns in Easter Island!

Human bodies glow in visible light. Cassandra's take: "We're radioactive." My reply: "Or we're all sparkly vampires! Yay!" Cassandra didn't respond to that.

Lastly, the Hope Chest is not a contribution from Cassandra, but something I found earlier this week. No wonder everyone was taking cocaine and opium in the so-called good old days, as mentioned in Tuesday's links.

Have a spiffy weekend, everyone! See you Monday.

Thursday, July 23, 2009

There are gorgeous photos of yesterday's solar eclipse over at Boston.com.

Cat and Girl discuss librarians. They do this occasionally. This time NPR joins the fun!

Hey library people! Do you want to be part of a library video? Here's your chance.

The world of journalism is a mess, in case you haven't noticed, but there are some signs of what may happen once the smoke clears.

Are you mortified by what you wrote online as a naive young teenager (or naive thirtysomething, or...)? Vanish offers to help. This could get really interesting.

Tomorrow: Friday! And links from others!

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Spooky black algae is oozing by Alaskans. X-Files, anyone? In what is hopefully unrelated news, a psychiatrist explains zombie neurobiology.

This is the time of year when festivals start getting strange, possibly due to heat or the need to have some time off or a combination of the two. The Mobile Phone Throwing Championships take place in the UK this weekend, as does the Santa Claus Congress in Denmark (spouses and elves welcome!), the Twin Peaks Festival in Washington, and the Unicorn Festival in Italy (sadly, the site is only in Italian, but from what I can read and from the photos, it looks like a smashingly good time). Also, the Vegan Festival happens in Brazil this week, which is not as weird as the abovementioned festivals but may expand one's horizons a bit.

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Due to various real-life issues and a large amount of links to share, today's steampunk-heavy entry will be in bulleted, fragmented sentence format. Enjoy!

Monday, July 20, 2009

It's Monday and it's the anniversary of the day we walked on the moon! If you're interested in what happened forty years ago today, Kottke has a huge entry of links to material.

In completely different historic research, just how accurate is the video game Joust, anyway?

I continue to be fascinated with the Flickr Commons, and I'm not alone. Wired's Raw File (always a good read) explores some of the hidden treasures you can find by browsing.

Web fonts will not always be this boring, according to Slate.

Art is a capricious thing. It can hurt you, like it's doing at the Tate Modern...or it can be spray-painted onto a building and then turned into nice needlepoint, like Jacquelyn Royal's work!

Friday, July 17, 2009

Friday! Thanks to everyone who sent in links (and thanks to those of you who read what gets posted)!

Tomorrow, we and our alter egos the Cleavers will be at a benefit for Dr. Creep, the legendary horror host from the Dayton/Cincinnati area. If you're in town, stop by and say hi!

From Bunny: speaking of the area, the New York Times has an article on Cincinnati that points out many of the cooler spots in town. Northside, represent.

From Cassandra: turtles finally make sense, cats know how to control humans (in other breaking news, water is wet), and your own intials may hold you back from success. Apparently I should have gotten more Ds in school.

From Jere: You Suck at Craigslist. Not you personally, the people who posted this stuff on Craigslist.

From Julie: the legend of dashing highwayman Dick Turpin suffers a bit when police specialists construct a portrait of what he probably looked like. Oh, well.

From Holly: the secret life of Ada Lovelace! This is how it should have been, anyway.

Have a spiffy weekend, everyone! See you Monday.

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Before the library links, a personal note: Bill Schickel died earlier this week, and we will miss him.

The state budget is about to pass, I think, with the cuts to libraries minimized but still fairly deep. Thanks to everyone who wrote, called or emailed their representatives!

Ray Bradbury thinks the internet is a bunch of nonsense, but he loves libraries and fights for them.

We Choose the Moon is recreating the Apollo lunar mission in real time. Follow along and pretend it's 1969 all over again!

The ALA conference is ending, but you can still peek at its seamy underside via the Twitter feed to ALA Secrets. (If you prefer to think of librarians as pure, chaste and unfailingly charitable beings, avoid this link.)

The 2009 Bulwer-Lytton Awards came out while I was gone, and as always, the nominees and winning entries are worth perusing.

From Julie: a man takes advantage of a library's amnesty week to return a 46-year-overdue book. He's lucky, because the fine was over £2,500!

Via Research Buzz: the online CIA World Factbook has been revamped and is now more fascinating than ever, at least to geography geeks like me.

Tomorrow: links from others!

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

A variety of steampunky creations are in today's links for your perusal!

Issue #7 of the Gatehouse Gazette is now available.

Cherie Priest has created a whole world around her new Boneshaker series, and if you visit you can also read the first chapter of the book.

The good people at Racialicious have a fantastic entry on steampunk and the issues of colonialism and imperialism. I've always been uncomfortable with the Victorian attitude toward race and gender, and this essay points out the beauty of the steampunk concept - "The Victorian age was oppressive and colonialist; the steampunk subculture can allow for liberation and diversity." It's a future that never was, which means it can be an inclusive, diverse future rather than a restrictive, biased one.

And while we're talking about these sorts of issues, Myke Amend has written about steampunk as an art movement, and how it represents a move away from mass production and consumption.

Moving on to movies...Just Imagine, a 1930 film that imagines life in 1980, is now available at Amazon! I haven't seen this yet, but want to; it looks like great campy fun.

Edge of Twilight is a game set in a steampunk world. I have no idea if it's good or not, but it certainly looks pretty.

And finally, if anyone's in Austin, do check out the Big Top Candy Shop and let us know how it is!

Monday, July 13, 2009

Today's news flash: Plastic doesn't last forever after all, much to the chagrin of some artists.

An amazing ancient mosaic has been revealed in Israel, in near-perfect condition.

I posted a link to the Museum of Forgotten Art Supplies over two years ago, and they've added a lot since then!

For the Club Creatures: daytime dance parties are becoming increasingly common in New York City. That's especially good news for those of us with day jobs.

And this one's for Josie: pigeons can tell the difference between good and bad art. Smart pigeons!

Friday, July 10, 2009

Happy Friday, everyone! On to the links from others...

Seen on Jessamyn's Flickr: you, too, can become a bone marrow donor. It's currently free to join the program. I sent in my application earlier this week and will be getting the materials soon!

Seen on Brendan's weblog: this video from Iranian pop group Abjeez is definitely worth watching. Stick around to the end, when the weather report begins.

Seen on Dawn's site: the continuing adventures of a bench in Melbourne and the ten coolest items in the Mythbusters' warehouse.

From Cassandra: the ten worst (UK) rock and roll comebacks; a look at the latest Malcolm Gladwell book, and the amazing world of the Multidisciplinary Study of Imagination.

Have a spiffy weekend, everyone! See you Monday.

Thursday, July 09, 2009

And it continues. The last full-time librarian at the Cincinnati Enquirer is gone as of today. When I was there in the 1990s, there were six of us. Best of luck to everyone who went through the Gannett layoffs this week.

Meanwhile, in my second chosen profession*, things are only marginally better. The New Carlisle Library has a good update on the current situation for Ohio libraries. Bunny thinks that this may be dramatics on our governor's part in order to get something else he wants in the budget, much like the controversy over school vouchers from last year. I hope he's right, but I'm disappointed in Strickland. He was my representative when I lived in Athens and I liked him, and was thrilled when he ran for and won the governorship. Now, not so thrilled. I think a visit from the Book Beast to the Governor's Mansion is in order, if Smart Girl will consent to letting him (her? it?) out of jail for a while. (If you're not reading Mimi Smartypants, you should be, incidentally.)

The library system of Johnson County, Kansas has a brilliant advertising concept going on with its book trucks. I particularly like Kafka's Pest Removal.

Flickr is now working with Twitter so you can post photos. (That sentence would sound completely ridiculous ten years ago.)

And finally, just to be topical and mention Michael Jackson: apparently he loved reading and had over 10,000 books. Who knew, other than LA booksellers?

Tomorrow: links from others!

*If I move on to another profession, I think it's going to be bartending. If the taverns ever fail en masse, it will be due to the end of civilization as we know it, so career will probably be the last of my worries.

Wednesday, July 08, 2009

Happy 7/8/9 day, everyone. It's a good day to start projects. Or end projects. Or, uh, something.

Found on Warren Ellis's weblog of wonder: the most amazing art I think I've ever seen, in which junk combines to form intricate shadow forms. Also from this site, a wonderful quote: “The only true currency in this bankrupt world is what you share with someone else.” It's the reason for weblogs and all its relatives in the web 2.0 world, I believe.

We now zip around the world and see a baseball game in Japan, an alphabet in the terrain of Great Britain, preparations for this weekend's Mid-Atlantic Hermit Crab Challenge in Virginia Beach, and pointers for Saturday's annual Mooning of Amtrak near Los Angeles. Wow. I had no idea.

Tuesday, July 07, 2009

The steampunk links are going to be broken up into two separate posts -- the second entry will be sometime later this week. Aren't you excited?

Today, it's (mostly) about tangible objects. Do you wear glasses and curse the pragmatic problems of goggles? Why not make light-up goggles for ornamental purposes, then?

Paul Fryer has created a "chess set for Tesla" that looks like it belongs in a mad scientist's parlor.

Steampunk t-shirts are starting to proliferate! This one is even winged.

I don't post many Etsy shop links, because once I started I would have dozens upon dozens of them to post, but the Interdimensional Imports shop is definitely worth a look. I think I want an Aether Patrol patch.

An artist known as Kezanti makes gorgeous, intricate sculptures in Brugges. Look at Shiva the tiger!

Dark Roasted Blend continues their series on amazing steampunk art and artists.

Monday, July 06, 2009

And we're back with arty links! Pix will go on Flickr tonight or tomorrow night, hopefully.

Robert Buelteman has new, gorgeous, color-filled work out. Wow.

With the increasing closures of "big box" stores, there's a new challenge -- what do you do with the remaining building? I recently said to Bunny that it would be amazing if they turned the recently-closed Ford factory near us into a ginormous roller rink.

Reality television meets the fine arts. What could possibly go wrong?

And lastly but not leastly, the new Acropolis Museum looks absolutely stunning.
We're back! While I'm getting caught up, here are some links from others that came in last week. Many thanks to everyone, and there will hopefully be a proper update later this afternoon!

From Julie: "A US judge bans publication of a book by a Swedish author promoted as a sequel to JD Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye."

From Zazoo: "First, dolphins showed up off the coast of the Bronx, now eagles are flying over NYC for the first time in 50 years..."

From Cassandra: "The Vatican is quietly conducting two sweeping investigations of American nuns, leaving some fearful that they are the targets of a doctrinal inquisition."