Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Wacky festival time is starting to appear on the horizon! We’re celebrating beer (and, uh, goats) in Cincinnati, dead rats and masquerades in Belgium, and Frozen Dead Guys in Colorado.




Speaking of dead guys frozen in time, the Pompeii exhibit that’s traveling around to museums is staggeringly amazing.



From Bunny: Also frozen in time is the abandoned Jim & Tammy Faye Baker's "Heritage USA" amusement park!



And also from Bunny: Behold, the extraterrestials of 1975.

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Two great things meet to create something even greater, with Air scoring Le Voyage Dans La Lune by George Melies (yes, the 1902 movie).




And with John Carter gearing up for the big screen again, check out this extensive post on the proposed 1935 incarnation.



Bunny to me: “I'm sending you an article showing what people would be wearing in the 20th century, according to someone in 1893 who said he ‘found’ a book from 1993.” Me: “Was he right?” Bunny: “Not even close.”



Also from Bunny: was there a Battle of Los Angeles in 1942? And if not, what the heck was it?



It’s not too late to be a real-life adventurer; look at John Fairfax’s obituary for inspiration. He tried to commit suicide by jaguar! How can you not investigate further?



It’s also never too late to make something, and perhaps demonstrate it to the president (with a great photo, to boot).

Monday, February 27, 2012

Look up! Water tanks are becoming works of art (in New York City, at least).




Listen up! Here’s a record player which plays wood instead of vinyl!



Look and listen – posters with sound!



Finite Films work under self-imposed constraints, with wacky creative results.



Believe it or not, there’s a second wave of video game arcades sweeping the nation, quietly and subversively. Hooray!

Friday, February 24, 2012

Hi there. It’s Friday, yay! Let’s get straight to the links from others.




From Cassandra: the Pope is sending out one Tweet per day for Lent. I’m not sure if that indicates he gave up anything.



From Julie: A Swedish man survived two months trapped in his car. Yikes!



Also from Julie: a very cool interactive look at the depths of the Marianas Trench.



From Bunny: What kind of vagabond are you?



Also from Bunny: a video from a man who lives in a New York storefront.



Have a spiffy weekend, everyone! See you next week.

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Evidently it is time for the annual sinus infection here in SpookyLibrarianLand. Bah. Back tomorrow, hopefully.

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Hello! Today, we start at ground level and go up from there.




From Bunny: what’s the difference between a road and a street? I had no idea. It’s pretty fascinating, actually.



Ruined buildings are fascinating, too, and have been for thousands of years.



Looking up, you might be able to see Mercury this time of year! Thanks to Cassandra for the link.



From Bunny again: a new exoplanet has been sighted.



How big is space? Here it is, in book form. (Spoiler: lots of black pages.)



And lastly, planetary chocolates. Heavenly.

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Today, we are all about media, it seems.




Many thanks to Bunny, who sent in Dr. Grordbort Presents: The Deadliest Game (steampunk hunting in space!) and a link to the “Inspector Spacetime” project’s Kickstarter page.



Arc is a new publication which focuses on the future. The first issue is out!



In other publication news, Penumbra’s March issue will be dedicated to steampunk.



Via Wondermark, here are amazingly complicated book sculptures, created with a surgical knife. Beautiful and spooky, just how we like them!

Monday, February 20, 2012

If you liked Freakangels, artist Paul Duffield has a new project, Firelight Isle, which looks just as beautiful. Support great art!




I had no idea dachshunds were so popular amongst writers.



It’s too late to participate in LA’s Entropy Symphony (of car horns!), but not too late to see Manifest Destiny (a tiny cabin built into a wall!) in San Francisco.



If you ever wondered just how big a certain monster was, wonder no more, for there is now a handy chart!

Friday, February 17, 2012

Happy Friday, everyone! It’s time for Links from Others.




From Julie: a colour-blind artist is able to “hear” colour thanks to an ingenious gadget. (Julie is British and so I am employing the British spelling here!)



From Cassandra: Charles Dickens vents about his marriage. (True story.)



Also from Cassandra: With the recent reboot of comic superheroes, Batgirl, who was paralyzed and then became the super hacker Oracle, is now unparalyzed. Disability groups are irked. (Although I absolutely love Oracle, I agree with the people who point out that everyone is being rebooted and retconned in this latest move, for better or worse.)



From Bunny: a painting of Leonard Cohen consoling Nick Cave. Wow!



If you’ve become bored by Sudoku, try Masyu. (Don’t blame me if you lose a few hours.)



The Bat Segundo Show interviews Stephen Fry! (The show is always interesting; check it out if you can.)



Have a spiffy weekend, everyone. See you Monday.

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Today, we rage against the institutions. Academics boycott Elsevier! Librarians are rising up against the ebook barricades! Bring back the Coconut Clusters! (Wait, that last one is a flashback from an old Pepper Ann episode. Never mind.)




The International Justice Resource Center is an amazing website with a wealth of information.



Women in Libraries now has their newsletter online, viewable to the public.



And, in completely unrelated news, I have joined the curious masses exploring Pinterest. I don’t have much up yet, obviously, but feel free to say hello if you’re there!
Goodbye, Gizmo the Wonder Puppy. We will keep the memories of your antics and your fantastic personality forever.




Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Today, we zip around the world. Here we go!




In Canada, the Victoria Tea Festival gets underway this weekend.



In London, they’re on the hunt for Underground ghost stations.



By using Google Earth, one can create amazing works of abstract art.



Ever wanted to hear the national anthem of other countries without having to wait for the Olympics? The World Factbook now has you covered!



And lastly, imagine bananas ripening…in the Bronx. It’s true, and it’s going on right now!

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Back in 1900, predictions were made about the future, and many of them came true. So why not predict what 2112 will bring?




Ay-leen is compiling all steampunk-related conventions for the year, and it looks as if one might be able to travel for the entire year visiting convention after convention! There’s also a monthly compilation, for those of us with more spontaneous agendas.



The Vandermeers are at it again! They’re looking for submissions to their next anthology, titled Steampunk Revolution.



The consistently amazing NPS site has posted mp3s of Theo Wangemann's 1889-1890 European recordings. How fantastic is that?



And for those of us who like a good drink now and again, there is a (Kindle) tome just for you – SteamDrunks! Enjoy!

Monday, February 13, 2012

Happy Monday!




Can you guess the film from the original book cover? (I can’t; I only got four right.)



Kodak may be fading, but its name will live on. I like the word Kodakery.



A famous portrait of Mary Todd Lincoln is actually a hoax. Wow.



T.S. Eliot worked in a bank for years, and even liked it. Some people throw the whole wacky artist stereotype out of whack. So to speak.



Like video games? Tokyo is now the home of a Capcom restaurant with game-themed items on the menu!

Friday, February 10, 2012

Happy Friday! It’s a disorganized end to a disorganized week here, so here are some bits and pieces:




From Cassandra: a really interesting history of Abraham Maslow and his ideas.



Also from Cassandra: the strange and developing history of drone weapons.



Vermont inmates got creative and hid a small pig on cop cars. Hee.



Bill Lucey asked for opinions on the Dec. 21 doomsday theory. Apparently no one believes anything will happen. Someone should at least plan a party or something.



Airport terminals can be beautiful, as this Flickr gallery shows.



And from disorganization, art! How to reuse books no one wants any more.



Have a spiffy weekend, everyone. Back on Monday!

Thursday, February 09, 2012

Unexpected day away from the interwebs yesterday. Onward!




Bad news for California libraries; all state funding has been slashed. A multimillionaire celebrity needs to step up, I think.



Meanwhile, other public libraries are trying out some interesting campaigns. I really like the Ljubljana City’s “mystery pack” idea.



More intriguing online debuts: Reuters begins its “Social Pulse” concept, EU Screen opens up thousands of archived broadcasts from European vaults, and Quick Screen Share does just what it says – possibly a godsend for anyone trying to do tech support over the phone!

Tuesday, February 07, 2012

It is the 200th birthday of Charles Dickens! I think he would be pleased at the attention this day is getting; Google’s illustration of the day honors the man, the BBC reports on the occasion, the New York Times examines his attitude toward the legal profession, and, perhaps most importantly, a global read-a-thon of his works takes place today.




In other happenings, please regard (and try not to drool near) the EER Patent Solar Powered Turbine Steampunk Fob Watch. In exploring more on the “EER” part of this creation, I was led to Alchemy Gothic’s Empire page, which is mesmerizing.



And finally, take a moment to read the story of Owney, a dog who found a home with the Railway Post Office in the 1880s. I do believe this needs to become a children’s book.

Monday, February 06, 2012

We start Monday with something I forgot last Friday – via Dawnowar, one brave soul is listening to nothing but Chicago for 30 days, and documenting the results (and reviews).




NASA is putting amazing photos on Flickr, including an updated “Blue Marble” shot of our planet.



RIP Dorothea Tanning, considered “the last of the Surrealists.”



Have you heard of F.C. Judd? I hadn’t until now, but he was an electronic music pioneer and deserves some rediscovery.



I hadn’t heard of P183 either, but the “Moscow Banksy” is putting up amazing work.



Boey is running a fan art contest, and you should enter!



And finally, consider these (imaginary) beverages for your enjoyment.

Friday, February 03, 2012

Happy Friday! Many thanks to everyone who sent in links. We’re going through them alphabetically by contributor, just to be librarian-like about it.




From Aaron (via Bunny): Sure, anyone can make a gauntlet. But can you make a Dungeons & Dragons gauntlet, with real dice-shaking action implanted in the gauntlet itself?



From Brendan: The Komen Foundation/Planned Parenthood kerfuffle takes on a whole new level of weirdness when it's pointed out that there's a Komen-sponsored pink handgun. Er….



From Bunny: an amazing new mobility device (Bunny says it looks a little like a Dalek prototype, which is true, but don't let that deter you!) that lets disabled individuals stand, move, and engage with others at eye level.



Also from Bunny: Ants! They’re incredible. See the proof.



From Cassandra: After a person is cremated, the surgical implants can be recycled and used again. Interesting stuff. (Cue some bizarre horror movie script...)



From Julie: The headline she sent, “Shock as blue balls fall from sky,” says it all, really.



From the Sparkle Queen: Celebrate the 200th birthday of Charles Dickens by swinging out at the Revolving Museum this weekend! This looks like a great time all round.



Have a spiffy weekend, everyone! Back next week.

Thursday, February 02, 2012

RIP to poet Wislawa Szymborska, one of my favorites.




Joan of Arc was born 600 years ago, and she’s still known worldwide.



In more modern times, Shelf Check celebrates its 500th comic! Contribute to the sheep party fund! (Really. It’s only a dollar.)



In Buenos Aires, an inspired man has turned a tank into a bookmobile (or maybe it’s the other way around) and is going about spreading the word via this “weapon of mass instruction.” Hee.



For Super Bowl fanatics, check out the official media guide, complete with history and technical details about the cameras and whatnot.

Wednesday, February 01, 2012

Is everyone getting ready for Groundhog Day and the forecast of Punxsutawney Phil tomorrow? Or how about Wiarton Willie, if you’re in Canada? (I had not heard of Willie before.)




Elsewhere, the UK is hosting its National Badminton Championships, and Miami is throwing an international map fair. Whee!



If you’re in a place where it makes more sense to stay inside, consult this amazing Metafilter post about Percy Fawcett. There are literally dozens of links to follow, all of them interesting!