Friday, May 28, 2010

Happy Friday, everyone! Links from others begin...now.

From the Sparkle Queen: some numbers have been found in the great Clock Without a Face treasure hunt!

From Bunny: inhale the nostalgia at this Scratch N' Sniff sticker site.

Also from Bunny: scary video of the oil leak in the gulf.

From Satori: a Toy Theater Festival going on this weekend!

From Tim: Curious Expeditions, a wonderful website which I could have sworn I put on the link sidebar. I'll have to do something about that.

From Cassandra: Which Pope are you?

Also from Cassandra: the magic and mystery of earworms.

And finally, just for fun: Sesame Street Fighter!!!

Have a spiffy weekend, everyone. We'll be taking Memorial Day off and will be back on Tuesday.

Thursday, May 27, 2010

You may remember that last fall we linked to a legal research article by local law librarian Glenna Herald. She's written another article and, once again, we are proud to feature it here!

Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird turns 50 this year. I think I still have my copy from high school somewhere.

Foucault's Pendulum in the Paris Pantheon, which featured prominently in Umberto Eco's book of the same name, has been irreparably damaged. There are similar pendulums around the world, and all of them are amazing, but nothing quite like the one in the Pantheon. Very sad.

Did you know there's a National Gang Center? Well, there is, and their published history of street gangs makes for fascinating reading. The cartels mentioned in yesterday's post make an appearance here as well.

Would you believe that surveying librarians about their attitudes toward sex would be a fireable offense? It was in 1992! But the survey results are finally out. Keep in mind it was the early '90s, especially when you get to the questions about hottest celebrities. Ha.

Tomorrow: links from others!

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

I agree with the poster who suggested the BBC readers try to solve other world problems, since they have a bevy of (illustrated!) ideas of how to solve Eyjafjallajokull. (I particularly like the response to the "tow it" suggestion.)

Speaking of the UK, the festival calendar indicates that everyone there loses their minds the last weekend in May. (Is this true, UK readers?) There are races involving wool sacks and festivals hunting for nonexistent earls (and then throwing them in the sea - !!) and that's only the beginning of the list.

Meanwhile, over here in America, we are celebrating Memorial Day weekend in solemn fashion with, er, the Kinetic Grand Championships.  Maybe someone will include a wool sack or an Earl in their construct.

In more mystical and serious matters, the ongoing violence in Mexico has resulted in an oddity: an increase in the veneration of "unholy saints."  (If you're interested in what's going on in Mexico these days, I highly recommend The Awl's ongoing series on the cartels; it's well-written, fascinating, heartbreaking, and well sourced.)

Back to the unserious (but keeping with the "unholy" theme): are you looking for something more out of life? Do you find yourself wondering "what would Cthulhu do?" Perhaps this commercial can help.

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Happy news in the land of the Steampunk Librarian: "steampunk fiction" is now a Library of Congress Subject Heading!

In somewhat related news, a steampunk documentary is in the works. So to speak. (In the cogs?)

The Anachronism is a lovely l5-minute film with mechanical squids and all sorts of steampunkesque bits. If you like your movies a little longer, there's news about a possible new 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea cinematic treat.

ArcAttack! performed at the Maker Faire last weekend. If you didn't see them, you can at least view some filmed performances. Tesla coils galore!

If you are in the UK this weekend, try your best to check out Alex CF's show in London. It's beautiful and weird and spooky and altogether wonderful.

You may have seen homes with a steampunk design flair, but have you seen a steampunked baby room? The Steampunk Duo is creating one! (And a baby to go with it, too.)

Monday, May 24, 2010

It's Monday, and therefore it is time for an arts roundup.

Visual arts: A Picasso, a Matisse, and a Modigliani were among the paintings stolen from the Museum of Modern Art in Paris last week. Photos of the stolen paintings are here, in case you see them at a pawn shop or something. I am amazed museum thefts still happen in real life.

Visual arts, part II: Scientific American has a gallery of optical illusions intended to break your brain.

Theatre: In the Berkshires, kids facing juvenile detention can perform Shakespeare instead of community service. This sounds pretty awesome!

Film: David Lynch has made a sixteen-minute film for Christian Dior, which you can view on Dior's website. Yay!

Literature and art and film and more: Lapham's Quarterly has a flow chart of everyone who knew everybody back in the day, from Virginia Woolf to Kevin Bacon.

Photography: Cats in the Navy! Many wonderful photographs, including little hammocks for cats on ships! My favorite one is the portrait of "Wockle."

Friday, May 21, 2010

There would be even more "links from others" today, but I found out that today's Google home page is a playable Pac-Man screen, and, well, you know. Happy 30th to Pac-Man, and I hope to get to the fourth level soon!

From Cassandra: a lovely article about Emily Dickinson, a thought-provoking essay on "juristocracy,"  and news of another anniversary (Ian Curtis's death) prompting a symphony based on the music of Joy Division.

From Bunny: the big science news which may finally propel us into the future (synthetic life!). Related to this, here is OMD's "Genetic Engineering," via John Scalzi's post on the same topic.



Also from Bunny via Sergio: the awful truth about Farmville.

Have a spiffy weekend, everyone. See you Monday.

Thursday, May 20, 2010

When the New York Public Library faces budget cuts and layoffs, they call in the Ghostbusters. As well they should!

Meanwhile, people are hard at work transforming scary movie moments into Golden Book lessons. Hee.

The Librarian in Black asked librarians why they do what they do. The responses were illuminating.

The good people at Poynter have compiled a graph depicting the top 200 moments in journalism from the 2000s. Hover over each bar for pop-up info.

And lastly, here's a nice bit about the strangers you see each day.

Tomorrow: links from others, plus a whole article if I can upload it properly! Stay tuned.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

This weekend brings us Pentecost, aka Whitsun, which is not so much a big deal around here but is most definitely a holiday weekend in Europe. For example! The Salzburg Whitsun Festival takes place this weekend, as does...the International Clown Festival in Denmark, the Vogalonga rowing competition in Venice, and the Daphne du Maurier Festival in England. Okay, maybe it's not a big deal there, either.

In the United States, meanwhile, the mad scientists and gadgeteers and futurists and steampunks are gathering for the Maker Faire in California. I am envious.

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Monday, May 17, 2010

Are you ready for...Bronte Sisters action figures?!? You'd better be!

Another innovation in this modern age is the Evening Breeze canopy bed/air conditioning system. According to the "how it works" video, it is totally silent. Interesting.

If you're interested in finding new art from new artists in New York, nAscent is the place to look, it seems.

If you're interested in finding art based on myths, Lost Myths is lovely! And fun!

The waters may be receding, but the damage from the floods in Nashville has affected hundreds of instruments stored in facilities and museums. NPR has a heartbreaking story.

Friday, May 14, 2010

Happy Friday, everyone!

From Bunny: someone found a shark in the Ohio River. They may need bigger boats.

From Julie: a part of Isaac Newton's apple tree is going up into space with the shuttle!

From Cassandra: all about cats.

Also from Cassandra: a former fighter teaches karate to kids in Harlem.

From Josie: an awesome photo set of a Surrealist party in 1943, and a weblog devoted to twisted vintage!

Have a spiffy weekend, everyone. See you Monday.

Thursday, May 13, 2010

It was National Library Week, then it was National Privacy Week, and now it's (National?) Children's Book Week! Celebrate by reading to a kid, or reading a favorite childhood book. I recommend the Jenny Linsky series, myself.

How should a library observe the end of video rentals? With a huge domino-effect celebration, of course.

News librarians are facing tough times. A detailed study explains what's going on and what the future holds. In related news, Forbes is creating its own in-house research service.

It's almost Friday, take heart. If taking heart is not an option, the World's Strongest Librarian offers ten ways to make your day even worse! (The reverse is hopefully true as well.)

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

You may remember the amazing "steampunk Star Wars" outfits seen at conventions lately. Outland Armour, the group behind these creations, had the bad luck to be in Nashville when the floods came, and many of their belongings -- costumes included -- have been lost. If you'd like to help them get back on their feet, a site is up and running, and donors even have the chance to win some prizes!

May is "steampunk/neo-victorian month" over at the Floating Academy, which specializes in Victorian studies and is a great read during the rest of the year, too!

Meanwhile, artist Lisa Snellings is starting a whole summer of steampunk (hooray!).

Two great sites I have managed to overlook until now: Exhibition Hall, an online fanzine touching on several steampunky aspects, and Steampunk Costume, which covers many things besides costumery!

And finally, for anyone who has imagined their body as a machine (especially, as both the poster on Coilhouse and I have done, for those who imagined the war being fought inside their body during childhood illnesses), Man as Industrial Palace is a wonderful short animation.

Monday, May 10, 2010

RIP, Lena Horne.

The most popular names of 2009 have just come out, and Isabella has beaten out Emma for the most popular female name in the U.S. these days! Jacob is still king of the boys' names.

Is Globish (aka global English) becoming the language of the planet? Some think so.

Meanwhile, over in Belgium, language is about to split the country in two.

Are videogames art? The debate rages on. (Are we including videogame cabinet art in this?)

Lost footage of Metropolis has been found and restored! It's still not complete, but it's close.

From Zazoo: Truman Capote's Brooklyn Heights home is for sale! Scrounge up some spare change and put in an offer. (Hope you have lots of spare change.)

Friday, May 07, 2010

And here it is, Friday again, and we go straight to the links sent in by other people! Many thanks, all.

From Julie: we all have a little Neanderthal in us.

Also from Julie: the robots are going to kill us all! Well, if we give them knives, that is. And if  we don't get out of their way fast enough. So maybe it's our own fault.

From Cassandra: entertaining epitaphs. None refers to being killed by a robot yet. YET.

Also from Cassandra: photos from the teen-governed Rowe Camp in Massachusetts.

From Josie: a new video by Hurts!

From Satori: if you are plagued and aggravated by constant dinner indecision, this site is for you. (Language may make this a little unsafe for work, so perhaps you should wait till you're in a kitchen. WITH A ROBOT. Aieee!)

Have a spiffy weekend, everyone. See you Monday.

Thursday, May 06, 2010

Pssst! Did you know it's Privacy Week? Shhh, don't tell anyone!

It's also election day in the UK; ResourceShelf has a great page of links to help you follow along.

The new library service: providing groceries. Man, I thought I was moving on from my college job as a supermarket cashier...

The Beijing Olympics and the Shanghai World Expo have been chipping away at the often-hilarious "Chinglish" translations, much to the dismay of many, including me. A shop actually labeled its extra-large sizes as "lard bucket"? How can you not love this sort of thing?

Now that I'm visiting New York City on a semi-regular basis, I'm even more fascinated with topics like the history of the city subway maps.

The LA Times takes a trip around the world in photos, looking at people reading in public.

Tomorrow: links from others!

Wednesday, May 05, 2010

Happy Cinco de Mayo, everyone!

I completely missed the "Open Graves, Open Minds: Vampires and the Undead in Modern Culture" conference at the University of Hertfordshire which happened last month, but the program is still up and you really need to see the names of the presentations. "Vampiric Economies at the Anglo-African Margin"! "A Fledgling Biopolitics of Vampire Addiction"! They're all like that, and they all look great!

If you're up for even more morbidly themed humor, check out the UK-located Deathlist. Sometimes it's surprising who's still alive. (Betty Ford? I had no idea!)

Back in the days of the Cold War, bunkers were being constructed under East Germany. They're stilll finding them today. Yikes.

If you thought yesterday's combination of Scorcese, Hugo Cabret and 3-D was odd, here's what I bring to you today: the Gorillaz, Alan Moore, and alchemist John Dee. IN AN OPERA.  That's going to be hard to top.

Tuesday, May 04, 2010

The Great Steampunk Debate is going on all this month! Join in! This is especially good for debating types, but everyone is welcome.

Also in the initial stages: the Steampunk Flying Olympics. Why not? (Found via Brass Goggles.) You could look to Dr. Smith's wondrous flying machine of 1896 for inspiration, although I wouldn't recommend following the blueprint too closely.

Did you attend the New England Steampunk Festival? If so, your photographic images are requested!

Here are three things that, when combined, may either create something of lasting beauty or become an ungodly mess: Martin Scorcese, The Invention of Hugo Cabret, and 3-D. Should the latter occur, I recommend looking upon calming opium photos. (Looking! Just looking!)

Monday, May 03, 2010

Today, it seems to be all about the photographs. Maybe that's because it's Polaroid Week!

Images of the 2010 Expo which just opened in Shanghai are stunning.

Also stunning: this BBC gallery of decorated trucks in Pakistan. (Art car fans, take note!)

Pencil Vs. Camera! I vote for the reality depicted in the pencil version.

A retired art professor has a Flickr set comparing striking similarities in design. Sometimes it's an intentional homage, sometimes...not?

Moving from visual to audio: the Fornax Experiment explores the concept of "archaeoacoustics."

(And finally, a random note to Ohio readers: the National are playing in Columbus this August! Whee!)