Friday, December 31, 2010

Happy Friday and last day of 2010! We're going to celebrate the start of the new year by taking some time off. (I know, I just got back from taking some time off in December. After this, I will be back at the grindstone until spring, I promise.) Updates will be erratic and spotty until we get back to the usual schedule on Monday, January 10. The Spooky Librarians wish everyone a very happy new year!

From Julie: Neanderthals ate cooked vegetables. There goes THAT excuse for kids...

From Cassandra: Less work, more life! That's the Dutch way, and many Americans wish it was that way here as well.

Has anyone tried out Pinterest yet? From what I've seen so far, it looks like a librarian's dream!

Imgur has picked their ten favorite images of 2010.

Have a spiffy holiday and weekend and week, everyone! See you next year!

Thursday, December 30, 2010

It's the last Thursday of 2010, and so we look to the lists....

The Millions asked several writers to list their favorite books of the year, and they complied!

John Scalzi opened up a thread for book recommendations on his site, and there are over 200 responses. Between this page and the Millions list, you can't complain that there isn't anything to read.

The National Film Registry has added 25 movies to its historic list, including The Empire Strikes Back, The Exorcist, and Airplane! My childhood is slowly becoming historic. Eeep.

Back in 1964, the job of a corporate librarian was a bit different than it is today.

Prison libraries, meanwhile, haven't changed quite as much. But that's not a bad thing, either.

The British monarchy is putting up old photos on its Flickr account, slowly but surely. The recent engagement inspired them to upload older engagement pictures, which are all kinds of fun.

I just discovered the Swiss Army Librarian. Hooray! More cool librarians!

Tomorrow: links from others as we say goodbye to 2010!

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Today's a bit of a catch-all as I go through some old folders...

A course on the artwork of tarot is online! This focuses only on the art, not on tarot reading itself.

You can play Subway Bingo in New York, even if you don't have the actual app. Just print out the sheet and have fun!

Another potential chupacabra has been discovered, this one near where my mom lives. (It does look a lot like a hairless raccoon, I think.)

Bela Lugosi meets belly dancers in the mashup video "Whisper Hungarian In My Ear."

And lastly, this one's for Zazoo and Satori: Are you managing your garden gnomes efficiently?

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Once again, many thanks to everyone who participated in the steampunk book giveaways of 2010! Perhaps we'll have more for you in 2011.

New Year's Eve brings out the steampunks, it seems; Euchronia will be holding its amazing biennial event in Australia, while LADEAD rings in the new year with a Prohibition-era theme.

Space Collective celebrates "the future of everything" regardless of the year!

A new issue of Steampunk Tales is out, huzzah.

And lastly, please take a look at the MultiCam Western Canada Tech Center, in all its gear-filled goodness.

Monday, December 27, 2010

And we're back! Today I bring you the good, the bad, and the bizarre.

Good #1: The Musée des Arts Forains is open to the public for a short time -- go and see amazing pieces of fairgrounds and carnivals from Europe's past!

Good #2: A museum devoted to the 8-track has opened in Dallas.

Bad #1: New York is ditching the poetry on the subways project?

Bad #2: The London Review of Books is ditching its personal ads?!?

Bizarre: The Great Wen is chock-full of lovely oddities. Good for perusal on a slow Monday!

Thursday, December 23, 2010

It's Thursday! But since tomorrow is Christmas Eve, it's like a Friday here at Folderol.

First off, however: a small gallery of literary tattoos. I am usually sort of "meh" on word tattoos, but I absolutely love the James Joyce one.

For Cassandra: Rural Britain, in their own words, now online. Oooo. It's an archivist's dream!

Being a law librarian, I end up reading all sorts of legalese as part of the job. Being an unrepentant geek, I am madly in love with Law and the Multiverse, in which the legalities of being a superhero are analyzed.

Disappointing News Article #1: John Cage will not have the #1 song in the UK this Christmas.

Disappointing News Article #2 (via Zazoo): The Brooklyn Tunnel tours are kaput. (There are photos of our tour on my Flickr account - it was great!)

Archaeology news from Julie: a new species of ancient humanoid is discovered in Siberia; Spanish archaeologists find a dozen cannibalized Neanderthals; and the Abbey Road crosswalk is now a historical landmark.

From Cassandra: Poetry!

From Josie: Steampunk cupcakes!

From Bunny: Ambient music for those holiday evenings!

Happy holidays, everyone! We'll be back on Monday.

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Random bulleted items today! Whee!

Tomorrow: some library stuff, some links from others!

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Congratulations to the winners of the giveaway contests, and many thanks to everyone who entered! Hopefully we'll have some more contests in 2011.

The film Young Sherlock Holmes turns 25 this month. I saw it in the theatres more than once when it opened, and it's still one of my favorite movies.

If you're scrambling for some last-minute holiday gifts, why not consult this list of steampunk-themed goodness?

Not on the list above but definitely on my imaginary wish list is the electric Miluira car from Japan. How gorgeous is this? (The price is insane, however.)

Oamaru's steampunk exhibition was such a success that it's going abroad to Australia, and possibly beyond!

Salon Futura is a great site for any modernist/postmodernist/futurist/etc., and they've been discussing steampunk on it recently.

And lastly, here's a lovely, intriguing sentence for steampunks this Christmas: "Terry Gilliam is godfathering "1884," to be co-produced by U.K.'s Steam Driven Films and France's 2d3D Animations."

Have a wonderful holiday, everyone! (And a happy Solstice, too.)

Steampunk Librarian - Drawing for The Buntline Special Giveaway Contest

Steampunk Librarian - Drawing for Flaming Zepplins Giveaway Contest

Steampunk Librarian - Drawing for Steampunk II Giveaway Contest

Monday, December 20, 2010

It's Monday! And we had some technical issues at home, so the contest videos for the Steampunk Librarian are not up yet. Hopefully they'll be uploaded tonight.

It looks as if Cagemas, aka Cage Against The Machine, aka "the effort to get John Cage's 4'33" to the top of the UK charts for Christmas," may actually succeed! Go silence!

In honor of Tron: Legacy, I point you to Jeff Bridges's website, which is hand-drawn and written by the man himself.

Flickr is running their Best of 2010 series on their weblog. Good stuff!

Ever wonder what people are reading on the subway these days? Here's a sample, with illustrations to boot.

Swiped from Zazoo: you can turn your new Facebook profile into a work of art by manipulating the photos!

Lady Justice has had many looks through the ages. The blindfold is a fairly recent accessory, actually.

And finally, don't forget to look for the lunar eclipse tonight!

Friday, December 17, 2010

Happy Friday!

Zazoo and I both read the GQ article about Winona Ryder and think others should, too.

Delicious is shutting down; if you have an account there, here are some suggestions for saving your bookmarks.

From Cassandra: Internet vs. privacy.

From Bunny: "Gary Gygax's widow is starting to auction off his entire collection of RPG stuff....and it's a huge collection. The first 200 items were listed below on the 8th of December...more to follow."

From Julie: Tate Britain's Christmas tree is unadorned in the name of art, and King Henry IV of France has finally found his head. Well, someone else found it. But you know what I mean.

From the Graveworm: iEvie! Evie is a young friend of ours who is now out to conquer the Internet.

From Susan: A touching poem about winter in Canada. Even if you don't like poetry, I recommend reading this one.

Have a spiffy weekend, everyone! We're doing more drawings of contest winners over the weekend and will post them. Hopefully our puppet won't get us into any more trouble.

Thursday, December 16, 2010

It's not quite this arctic here, but there's a lot of snow and the roads are not to be trusted. But, like the postal service, librarianship goes on regardless of weather!

The winners of the final Pimp My Bookcart contest have been announced!

A historian gives his viewpoint on the Wikileaks event and the impact it may have on researchers.

Alan Gibbons is trying to save UK libraries from budget cuts and reductions. It's a hard fight.

The definition of "information" is now the length of a novella. No wonder we have so much trouble with the word these days. (We're going through this at work in the process of marketing the library. Fun!)

The New York Times imagined the world of 2011 back in 1931 as part of the paper's 80th birthday. How many predictions have come true? Quite a few, actually.

Tomorrow: links from others!

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

We're getting ready for another snowstorm (it's going to be one of those winters, apparently). In the meantime, I give you links!

The season for top ___ of 2010 is beginning along with the snow. Here are the 14 best astronomy photos of the year, and it's true, they're fantastic. The one showing the northern pole of Mars is surreal.

Also surreal: How Wings Are Attached to the Backs of Angels. No words, just images and music, and a lovely spookiness.

In Belgium, one man's found a way to celebrate the ugliness of modern civilization. Sounds like something out of a dystopian movie, but it's real!

This just in! Did you know that nuns are sometimes wild and crazy women? (If you are shocked by this idea, you have not met many nuns. I suspect.)

Advance notice for additional wild and crazy behavior: next week brings the Winter Solstice and the Burning of the Clocks. Start planning now! (Swiped from Julie's Facebook -- thanks, Julie!)

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Hello, and congratulations to all the winners of the first round of the holiday giveaway frenzy! We're doing another drawing this weekend for three more books; the entries are below if you, too, would like to be mentioned in a video by a gin-soaked Victorian puppet, and possibly win a book as well. Deadline for entries is this Friday.

Steampunk II: Steampunk Reloaded (Advance Reader Copy)

Flaming Zeppelins (Advance Reader Copy)

The Buntline Special -- now a true published copy, not an ARC! (I just got the new book yesterday.)

Pyr mentioned my review of The Buntline Special, which was a nice surprise.

Did you know that it's Steampunk/Alternate History Week? There's all sorts of activity. Steampunk.com is running a poll to determine the best steampunk-themed book of the year, and the Steampunk Writers Guild has sprung to life fully formed!

And finally, for those of you with iPhones and whatnot, there's now an app for a steampunky Christmas Carol. Dickens would be so proud.

Monday, December 13, 2010

I am back! I saw all sorts of wonderful things in New York, including the Japan Fashion Now exhibit at the Fashion Institute of Technology.

Meanwhile, in Madison, an art exhibit has been installed in an elevator. How great is that?

How often does music give you chills? (Some people don't have this experience at all, which surprises me.)

Draw This Dress explains itself in its title, but each post also links to the original. There's some great stuff here.

A writer goes in search of the Beats' Tangier today, with mixed results.

Friday, December 10, 2010

Happy Friday, everyone! Here are links from others. Videos of the drawings for the contest winners will show up over the weekend if all goes well, and we'll be back to our regular schedule on Monday.

From Julie: Chickens in chikinis! Knit a sweater for your fowl friend this holiday!

Also from Julie: the world's most expensive book is up for auction,  the DaVinci code  really IS in France, and "The winner of the annual Turnip Prize, awarded for art which requires as little effort and talent as possible, has gone to "Chilli n'Minors." Ha!!

From Cassandra: The Ice Hotel is open for business once again, and  the best meteor shower of the year is about to begin.

Thursday, December 09, 2010

Back from New York! Look for a links-from-others post tomorrow. Also, it's the deadline for the first three giveaway books at the Steampunk Librarian, and photos from the trip are going up on Flickr now as I type!

Tuesday, December 07, 2010

Hi there. Still in New York, but have posted some more giveaway contests over at the Steampunk Librarian. Back soon with lots of links to share!

Saturday, December 04, 2010

Hey New Yorkers! I'm going to be at the Biblioball tonight! Come out and say hi!

Thursday, December 02, 2010

Holiday break time! Beginning tomorrow, I will be out and about in New York City for a few days, visiting the Club Creatures. If you see us, say hi! I'll be back next week and Folderol will have an erratic schedule until we get back to our regularly scheduled standard of normal on the 13th. (Book contests and giveaways over at the Steampunk Librarian will still be going on, so check there too!)

Satori sent a link to one of the sights we'll be seeing this weekend. Can't wait.

From Bunny: twenty obsolete English words that should make a comeback.

Also from Bunny: "Otatamune from Japan...Further proving that Japan is WEIRD."

From Nicole: Have a wonderful sexist holiday!

Professor Scopps' Travelling Library seems like a wonderful idea.

Did you know that social media goes back to the 1700s? It's true!

And finally, totally unrelated to anything, here's a periodic table of the elements depicting Hall of Fame baseball players. (And here's the rationale for why the players are where they are in the table.)

Have a spiffy few days, everyone! Back soon!

Wednesday, December 01, 2010

Today is World AIDS Day.  (Even more information available here.) While I'm not really on board with the Digital Life Sacrifice idea (because it seems sort of...tacky?), the rest of this slideshow is really interesting. And if you're in the Boston area, Medicine Wheel Productions is holding its annual vigil today.

In unrelated news, a huge fossil has been discovered in a church (note the H.P. Lovecraft mention!) and an essay from Lapham's Quarterly has shown me Wilson’s Metropolitan Sepulcher, which would have been amazing if it had been built.