Friday, August 31, 2012

Happy Blue Moon Friday! I think that means a Smurf will be born, right?




The link above comes to you courtesy of Cassandra, who also sends in a quiz which finds which presidential candidate matches your views. As per usual, my results tell me to follow the Green Party, which is practically invisible in this swing state at the moment. So it goes.



From Chuck via Cassandra: a bonanza in whale vomit!



Swiped from Nicole: Hooray for Maria Montessori!



We end this Friday with a contribution by Satori. This may be the most adorable Depeche Mode cover song of all time. Have a spiffy weekend, everyone! We’ll be back on Tuesday after the holiday weekend.



Thursday, August 30, 2012

If you’re interested in SXSW, and also interested in libraries, archives or museums, check out the SXSWLAM website. (Rolls right off the tongue, doesn’t it? Hee.)




Meanwhile, Wired has a good article on Brewster Kahle and the Internet Archive.



New Hampshire’s Strawbery Banke, a historical experience akin to Williamsburg, offers some apartments for rent. I think this would be fantastic.



I’m always pointing out amazing stuff from the Library of Congress, and this week is no exception. This time it’s a collection of child labor photographs from the early 20th century. Cincinnati is represented by a girl on the corner of 6th and Elm selling baskets in 1908.



And lastly, for all your historical gossip needs, check out Perez Hamilton.



Tomorrow: links from others!

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

As the end of summer approaches (we hope), it’s time to pull out all the stops on the festivals.




In Manchester: Abandon Normal Devices, or AND!



In Finland: The World Championships of Berry Picking (especially lingonberries).



In Tanzania: The annual Goat Races!



In Atlanta: DragonCon!



In Nevada: Burning Man!



In California: Paul Bunyan Days!



And here at home, lots of fireworks on the Ohio River. Woohoo!

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Steampunk Tuesday means another book giveaway -- this time it's The Kingmakers, the third and final book in the Vampire Empire trilogy. Enjoy!

Monday, August 27, 2012

Punch and Judy have been reinvented and are practicing nonviolence. Can you imagine?




Bibliotherapy proffers to help via the power of reading. Maybe Punch and Judy could try that.



Did you know Alphonse Mucha designed money and stamps for the nation of Czechoslovakia? The results are gorgeous.



And finally, because it’s sort of a dreary Monday, here is a video to lighten up things.


Friday, August 24, 2012

Happy Friday, everyone. On to the links!




From Julie: Richard III may be lying under a car park. My kingdom for a bulldozer!



From Bunny: why fruits and vegetables have stickers.



From Cassandra: The Caravan for Peace is traveling this summer.



From my bookmarks: the Seattle Sketcher.



Have a spiffy and safe weekend, everyone. See you next week.

Thursday, August 23, 2012

It's Thursday! And that means that Stuff is Happening. So I'm cheating and posting a link sent in by Julie, about the discovery of the remains of a medieval village. Oooo. Ahhh. More soon!

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Here’s a tip for those of you headed back to school. Despite what Disney may tell you, the world’s boundaries do not match up with those in the “It’s a Small World After All” ride.




However, if you can boundary-hop in real space and time, you can check out the World Air Guitar Championships in Finland (this weekend), La Tomatina in Spain (early next week), and the Little Mermaid statue’s 99th birthday in Denmark (tomorrow).



If you can’t get to Europe, don’t worry – Colorado is holding a Euro Festival this weekend! (I'm not sure if any economical battles are planned.)

Monday, August 20, 2012

The Bulwer-Lytton contest winners for 2012 have been announced!




It’s an international sort of arts links day. The Edinburgh Fringe Festival enters its final week; catch it if you can.



In Reykjavik, street art is surging.



In Stockholm, the battle over Stieg Larsson’s legacy continues.



In Great Britain, there’s a heart-shaped meadow with a bittersweet story.



In America, Native Public Media is bringing back Native American languages via radio.

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Remember the election of 1912? No? Well, the Library of Congress does, and is here to show you the mudslinging of Wilson/Taft/Roosevelt. (Yes, it was a three-party race at one point!)




Words to Shoot By makes art out of photographs with a one-word theme.



The Spooky Librarians will be at GenCon off and on over the weekend, so here are some Friday links from others a day early!



From Julie: The wreckage of Captain Scott’s ship has been discovered off the coast of Greenland. Wow.



From Cassandra: Behold the (obscenely) rich kids of Instagram, and the chronicler who’s pointing them out to the public.



Also from Cassandra: The Naga tribe used to worship skulls, but the modern world is invading fast.

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

GenCon is this week, and Meet Cleaver Theatre is there! Well, we’re just visiting. There may be a recap later featuring puppets. Our friends at Conceptopolis will be there, so check out their stuff, which is very cool. And I’m not just saying that because we know them really well, either.




It’s also Elvis Week, and even if you’re in Europe you can participate.



Meanwhile, in Finland, they’re throwing mobile phones again. Whee!



How do they build a new subway line in New York? Well, it’s a massive project, and even photographing it can be a challenge.

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

The weblog of the Kensington Library has many wonderful entries, and a favorite of mine is the post on 1906 fashions of the street!




Did you know early suffragettes were trained in ju-jitsu? It’s true!



The University of Southern Maine just concluded an online exhibit on ocean liners from the turn of the 20th century, but it’s all still available for the reading and perusing.



And finally, enough of all this fashion and design. How does steampunk physics work, exactly? Wonder no more!

Friday, August 10, 2012

Happy Friday! I’m going to be up late on Sunday watching the Perseids, so Monday’s Folderol may be late/nonexistent. In the meantime, off to the links we go!




From Julie: Doctor Who turns 50 next year, and a special “genesis” show is in the works.



Also from Julie: Scientists discover a human species which lived two million years ago. Have they watched the new Battlestar Galactica?



From Cassandra: Creepy people really can give you chills.



Also from Cassandra: Transgender is in the news more often these days, but everyone’s story is different.



From Bunny: Texas A&M brings you “Research Games.” Also from Bunny: an example of virtual nanoscopy (which is amazing) and an example of using 3D printers to make “magic arms” for a little girl (which is also totally amazing).



Have a spiffy weekend, everyone! See you Monday…or maybe Tuesday.

Thursday, August 09, 2012

Happy Friday eve! Want to see Carl Sagan’s reading list? Of course you do.




The Library of Congress is talking about past and future Olympic games. Did you know roller derby will be on the 2020 list of games?



In Ghent, an outdoor library of sorts was created as part of an art festival. This is lovely.



Going undercover is not just for police and FBI agents; journalists do it, too.



The Wellcome library celebrates the life of Bonte Elgood, a British doctor in Egypt who founded a training college for Egyptian midwives and deserves more recognition worldwide.

Wednesday, August 08, 2012

We Are Dorothy has amazing maps! Maps from songs and movies! And more!




There are not that many insane festivals going on this weekend, surprisingly (everyone must be saving their strength for end-of-summer bashes), but you can watch a tug of war over two states.



In news of the spooky, it turns out that some “bog mummies” found in Scotland are actually composites. (The headline goes for the “Frankenstein” angle.)



It’s never too soon to start planning for Halloween! Inspiration is available by looking at the amazing work of Thomas Kuebler. Wow.

Tuesday, August 07, 2012

Happy news! The latest issue of Gatehouse Gazette is out, and the theme is the 1940s!




Here in our tiny Steampunk Librarian corner, we don’t pay much attention to what’s happening in the larger steampunk community. We’re sort of bad about that. The Steampunk Chronicle, however, is here to help us keep au courant with the gossip and the events.



The always wonderful Recto Verso site has a plethora of dirigible goodness!



And finally, a steampunk kung fu movie? Yes, evidently.

Monday, August 06, 2012

Hooray for Curiosity! I’m looking forward to more photos.




The serendipity of the web at work: I found this fantastic performance of music genres from CDZA Music. When watching it, I thought, “hey, that bluegrass band looks awfully familiar,” and yes, it’s the boys from PigPen Theatre, who also performed in last June’s Labapalooza!



Meanwhile, flying lasers are changing the way archaeologists work. (It also makes archaeology sound even cooler.)



If you’re a writer, Margaret Atwood is offering a poetry prize (called the Atty).



If you’re an artist, why not make a Decahedron Himmeli mobile next time you find yourself at loose ends with a few dozen straws?

Friday, August 03, 2012

Bonus link! If you're watching the Olympics, check out London Underdogs. Pick an athlete and cheer them on!
Happy Friday!




From both Bunny and Satori: What soda goes best with Cool Ranch Doritos? (It’s like they know me or something.)



From Josie, who also knows me well: Tommy the squirrel’s very strange life, in photographs.



From Cassandra: Is the internet making the world smaller? Well, sort of.



From Bunny: Regardless of whether the world seems smaller, first-time visitors to America are often startled by what they find.



From Julie: A literary festival only draws 100 visitors (ouch), and a statue honoring a Pendle Witch is unveiled (yay!).



Have a spiffy weekend, everyone! Thanks for reading and contributing. See you next week.

Thursday, August 02, 2012

Jessamyn has a great "librarian's guide to watching the Olympics." At Spooky Librarians HQ, our method is have me follow the Olympics and tell Bunny any big happenings. (He's not terribly enthused about the Olympics. We did agree that they should bring back the Tug of War competition, though.)

Meanwhile, the Colosseum is finally getting some much-needed repairs.

Here is yet another reason to investigate each nook and cranny in one's house/attic/cave/whatever: You might find some rare books!

Wednesday, August 01, 2012

Twins! If you’re interested in the human variety, Twins Days happens this weekend in Twinsburg, Ohio.




If you’re more into Twin Peaks, the Twin Peaks Fest also happens this weekend (in North Bend, Washington).



If you’re more into mustard (er?), Wisconsin throws a party for National Mustard Day on Saturday.



LEGO fans, meanwhile, are called to the nation’s capital for Brick Fair!



And speaking of LEGOs, have you been following the Guardian’s Brick by Brick recreations of the Olympics?



Back to our spooky roots: here’s a lovely gallery of Fantomas covers, and a spooky story on bodysnatchers. (Spellcheck tells me that "bodysnatchers" is not a word. Sure. That's what they want you to think...)