Wednesday, April 30, 2014

I have friends who practice lucid dreaming, and say it’s amazing. (I am usually too disorganized in my dreams to even get on a plane on time, much less be aware that I am not missing a real plane.)

However, you don’t have to be a lucid dreamer to visit the Viking world in Denmark – just go to Sagnlandet Lejre (Land of Legends) and you can live as if it were 999. Or something like that.

For the spooky among us: Look, you can label your bottles as if they belong in an antique apothecary! It’s never too early to start planning for Halloween.

Also for the spooky: An automaton depicting a mortuary – and it still works! (The automaton, that is, not the mortuary.)

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Also, there are lots of layout changes afoot, obviously. If something doesn't work, or looks awful, let me know!
The Guggenheim is showing the first U.S. exhibit on Italian Futurism! I hope to see it if I get to New York soon!

New York is planning some ultra-modern buildings and environments as well.

Meanwhile, in Norway, there’s a reality show starring birds, and the occasional interloper squirrel.

The Center of Southern Folklore has a wonderful exhibit on Reverend L.O. Taylor – you can see his photos and films of the American South from the 1920s onward, among other materials.

Monday, April 28, 2014

For Bunny: Genesis's The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway is "the Ulysses of concept albums."

For my mom: The Smithsonian horticulturists talk about the plants in the Kogod Courtyard.

For everyone else: Terrible Real Estate Agent Photos are exactly what the title implies!

Friday, April 25, 2014

Happy Friday! Wouldn't today be a great day to get a grilled cheese via parachute? If you live in Melbourne, this is actually possible, thanks to Jafflechutes.

From Cassandra: The world of psychopaths. 

Also from Cassandra: How to give good feedback (not related to psychopaths, although it might help).

Mod Notebooks are paper, but can sync to the cloud. (Tangent: to me, "the cloud" is a really ominous, dystopian-like phrase. Beware of The Cloud.)

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

Thursday, April 24, 2014

Circulating Ideas is a librarian-themed podcast. With interviews of real live librarians, too!

Jessamyn has a really good post about photo misappropriation and why it's good to double-check one's sources.

Chronicling America examines the Ouija Board craze!

Have you encountered the Bookopotamus? It looks like a ton of fun.




Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Shakespeare is 450 years old today! Probably today. More or less. It's a guess. But anyway.

The geologists at Stanford are analyzing the land of Game of Thrones. It's complicated.

NOISE: Error in the Void shows what happens when digital recording goes awry. It's rather pretty.

Some people might fear the Tiki idol from that Hawaii "Brady Bunch" episode. But not Dave Lowe! He's made a replica!

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Consider the idea of transforming abandoned Paris subway stations into nightclubs, or underground terrariums, or any number of things. It's a possibility!

Also from Paris, but from over 100 years ago: you can see parts of the silent films which were on display at the 1900 Paris Exhibition. See Sarah Bernhardt as Hamlet, for example!

First we had an oral history of Heathers; now there's one for MST3K...which might be returning in an online format, evidently.

And finally, this is the sort of story archivists and time travelers love: more than eighty years after a photograph is taken, the two children in it find each other again. (Bonus fact: one of the kids grew up to write The Very Hungry Caterpillar, among other things.)

Monday, April 21, 2014

Greetings!

TL:DR Wikipedia is my new favorite website.

The newest theory about Stonehenge posits that it is a huge, but short, bell tower.

Watch the English language develop throughout the centuries with this handy infographic!

What's better than Tolkien characters? Puppet Tolkien characters!

Friday, April 18, 2014

Happy Friday!

From Julie: Why Librarians Are Awesome. It’s true, you know.

Phenakistoscopes were the forerunners of animated gifs, and might melt your brain. (The one with the rats going over the side? How do they do that?)

In case of zombie outbreak, do not head to New Jersey. Or anywhere in the southern United States, really.

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

Thursday, April 17, 2014

It's that time of year again, when Peeps take center stage...in this contest for the best legal diorama! There are some seriously strange entries this year.

Do you remember your first Tweet? Bill Lucey has tracked down the first posts on Twitter by many well-known individuals.If you're interested in that sort of thing, Social Mention is one of many new tools for digging into the past of social media...which can be frightening.

One issue with being a time traveler would be putting up with the way cities smelled, I think. Now perfumers are recreating those smells, so you don't even need a TARDIS in order to be traumatized by ancient sewer systems (or the lack thereof).

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Today we are inquisitive.

Has anyone played Kentucky Route Zero yet? How is it?

Has anyone tried Habit RPG? I just registered and am considering it, for those "never get around to it" projects at the very least.

How do these baseball coaches learn such great calligraphy skills?

Do you like props? Are you intrigued by how they're made? Would you like to see some videos?

Tuesday, April 15, 2014

Have you heard of the Cliff House? It was an amazing (and short-lived) structure. Go and investigate!

Here's a lovely piece about Retronaut, one of my favorite sites of all time. You can spend hours upon hours delving into the images.

Monday, April 14, 2014

Did you know Google has a “music timeline” page which lets you track what was popular when? It goes into subgenres, too. I was investigating the goth/industrial stream and found bands to try, which is always nice.

The Leica camera turns 100 this year!

Also 100 years ago: the beginning of WWI. Europeana 1914-1918 is your guide to the events.

Accordions are over 100 years old, but are enjoying a renaissance. That’s kind of strange. Good, but strange.(The article cites "retromania" as one possible reason.)

Friday, April 11, 2014

Happy Friday!

From Julie:  Exploring the vaults in the Bank of England. It seems like a Doctor Who episode should address this.

Thanks for bearing with me during this warmup week! I leave you with a video of the song that's been going through my head all week. Have a spiffy weekend, everyone.


Thursday, April 10, 2014

Our warmup week continues its theme of nostalgia with this oral history of Heathers. I still wish they’d gone with the original ending, which is discussed.

Wednesday, April 09, 2014

Only one link today, but it is such a good one! "How the Muppets Created Generation X" speaks to me in a huge way. It also introduced me to the term "lunatic humanism," which is pretty close to my standard operating method, really.

Tuesday, April 08, 2014

Nellie Bly was one of my childhood heroines. There was even a Nellie Bly board game! I didn’t know this! It’s at the New York Historical Society.

If women get the vote, who knows what might happen? They might…go to bars! Or smoke! Egad!

From Brendan: “When mechanical analog computers ruled the waves.” There are some lovely illustrations past the first page, too.

Speaking of lovely, gaze upon these “geek” alphabet blocks, and be amazed. They’re absolutely fantastic.

Monday, April 07, 2014

We're back! Did you miss us! Folderol celebrated its 14th birthday a little early by getting mono, like a proper teenager. (Well, I did, anyway. The weblog went into sympathetic stasis.) However, everything is back at 100% and we are here to post goofy links, as per usual. We are warming up today with a link from Cassandra about the phenomenon of having a certain word on the tip of one's tongue. See you tomorrow!