Happy Friday!

From Cassandra: The TED Radio Hour.

From Julie: Life on Earth may have started on Mars! We are all really Martians, we just don't realize it yet.

From Bunny: A crash test between a 1959 Chevy and a 2009 Chevy, with somewhat surprising results.

From Zazoo: Pete Burns is back in the studio with Pete Waterman! This can only lead to good things. Er. Right?

From Metafilter: Streamer! Or, Pooh Sticks gone hi-tech. Or, Paddle-to-the-Sea gone hi-tech. Or...

From Cinemassacre: The evolution of game consoles, in one high-def infographic.

Have a spiffy weekend, everyone! We're not going to Burning Man, but I'm going to be watching the live webstream over the long weekend. Back on Tuesday!

Did you know there's a radio show devoted to librarians? It's true! Lost in the Stacks features not only cool librarians, but spiffy music as well.

Here's a brilliant development: an abandoned Wal-Mart in Texas is now America's largest library. Let's start a trend.


Al-Jazeera America is, so far, pretty excellent.

And with all the government intrigue of late, the FOIA Machine seems like a better and better idea.

The NecronomiCon Providence event went off last weekend, Eldritch Ball and all, and the world is still in one piece! Let's hope they try it again next year, so we can attend!

Speaking of Lovecraftian horrors, here are some lovely, detailed maps of Arkham in colonial days.

Even ghosts suffer from inflation, as the people in Hong Kong have discovered.

Have clowns always been terrifying? Signs point to yes.

When discovering ancient civilizations, archaeologists still have to contend with tomb raiders.

The Bradley is a watch designed for the blind, but works for everyone, and is futuristic in a streamlined sort of way. Very cool. (The video is inspiring, too.)

Simplicity has sewing patterns for steampunk clothes. I did not know this!

Surrealist etiquette is a must. Dessert knives at dawn!

English Russia has been posting some wonderful entries lately. Look at the 1900s public transportation options in St. Petersburg.

Lance Oscarson makes incredibly intricate steampunk paper sculptures. Look and be amazed!

If you happen to be on the route for the Station to Station art tour next month, do try to see it -- it looks amazing. Plus, trains and art seem like a fascinating combination!

When strangers pose for photographs together, some amazing results occur.

Outsider art is the best source of art these days, I think.

Good news for outsider artists: Getty has made thousands of images available for public use!

Did you know James Joyce wrote a children's book about a cat and a devil? It's true!

Happy happy Friday! Many thanks to everyone who's been sending in links during the hiatus.

From Cassandra: Maria Mitchell, comet discoverer.

From Julie: the "halls of the dead" are uncovered in Herefordshire, and a ten-year-old discovers a mummy in his grandmother's attic. Both stories sound like the beginning of horror movies, don't they?

From Tony via Holly: all the Pixar movies are connected. See the evidence!

From Zazoo: behold the new coaster at Kings Island, which looks terrifyingly amazing (and amazingly terrifying).

And lastly, from Bunny, a gallery of photos which is safe for work, regardless of the title: adult movie stars show what they look like before and after makeup. Some makeup jobs are incredible.

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

So much for the idea that no one uses libraries: a recent Pew study shows that young people use libraries and librarians much more often than you might think.

Granted, the libraries serve different roles these days...such as a gaming center.

And while it's still summer, check out Seattle's books-on-bikes program!

Want to find a library or museum near you? Fortunately, some enterprising people have mapped all of them out in America.

Meanwhile, across the sea, a badger has discovered a tomb from medieval times. Go badgers!

David Lynch hates "It's a Small World After All" so much that he gave an entire interview about it...and the interviewer couldn't even mention the title of the song. Ha!

What was it that brought ghosts to western New York in the 1800s? The Smart Set has a fascinating piece about the spirituality of the times.

Meanwhile, today's spiritual seekers of the Buddhist monk variety can shop in a huge supply store which caters just to them.

Google has a lovely surprise for those of us who follow the Doctor through time and space. Step into the phone booth and see what happens.

British archaeologists are exploring a graveyard of WWI submarines....but the clock is ticking.

In more steampunk-era transportation, English Russia has a wonderful post (the second in a series) on WWI-era motorcycles.

Attention, Chicago citizens! Have you met the time-traveling Jean-Paul Brunier, recently arrived from Victorian-era Paris?

One of steampunk's prevailing description is that it's a time which never was. In that vein, we direct you to the Never Built Los Angeles exhibition, which is awe-inspiring.

Kickstarter raises more money for artists than the NEA these days. It's a weird world in which we live.

It's a futuristic world, too: they're using lasers to clean the frescoes at Pompeii.

Wall Therapy is a fantastic annual art project in Rochester.

Shakespeare meets heavy metal, and it's all kinds of fun.

Hi there. This has been an eventful summer, with family stuff going on and Blogger refusing to cooperate with the old normal, thus forcing us to go on a  brief hiatus and create a new normal. It’s also going to be an eventful fall, with some traveling. However! We’re going to give Folderol another go, and Steampunk Librarian will be back as well. Onward to the links!