Thursday, July 31, 2014

Here’s what a librarian looks like! 

Here’s what a water main break in a library looks like! 

A new proposed act in Congress would eliminate the National Technical Information Service (NTIS), which is a very, very bad thing. Tell your representative to say no.

 I think I’m going to join the Letter Writers Alliance. (Josie, if you’re reading this, do not click. I think I found your birthday present on this page.)

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

I forgot to post this article yesterday about “male escorts” (no, seriously, that’s what they did, escort single women around) in 1930s New York City.

Did you know about Burlington, the secret underground bunker city in England? If you like this sort of thing, be sure to check out Nettleden, which has a huge list of abandoned places for the exploring.

Over here in America, we have haunted national parks. Well, of course. Here are eight of them. I’ve been to one so far (Mammoth Cave), but did not meet any ghosts there..as far as I know.

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

If Folderol ever fades away, I will probably look into tinyletter. It could be interesting.

Tom Bailey of the Thompson Twins is back! Singing old classics and maybe some new stuff, too! Yay!

The amazing Because We Can company just finished the Asbury Discovery Center at the Hattiesburg Zoo in Mississippi. I think steampunk works really well in architecture and interior design.

And speaking of steampunk, an exhibit at the Meadowlands Museum in New Jersey is going on all summer, with different events throughout the length of the exhibition.

Monday, July 28, 2014

When I was in Brooklyn last month, I got the chance to see The Dinner Party by Judy Chicago at its permanent installation, and it is incredible. The websites are detailed and informative, but nothing like seeing it in person. Highly recommended, especially if you get a chance to take the guided tour!

The daughter of John Cheever investigates the death of the father of ee cummings. 

You know what the problem is with Shakespeare? All that blood! That’s one critic’s view, at any rate. I tend to disagree.

Friday, July 25, 2014

Happy Friday! Today, my mom is flying to Europe. This has not been a great month for international flights, so let’s all think nice, safe thoughts, okay?

In Canada, there’s a little girl who isn’t aging, and scientists are studying why.

In Sweden, they’re holding an auction based on emotions.

From Cassandra: Time to clean up psychiatry! 

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

Thursday, July 24, 2014

Meet Cooper, a library therapy dog. I keep telling people we need library therapy dogs or cats here, but it never goes over well.

The Library of Congress has added a bunch of search options, and it’s also launched its own Pinterest account. Take that, luddites!

Fact checkers of the world, unite!

Against the Grain works to keep librarians in harmony with publishers and vendors, and they now have a news section.

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Unexpected day off today -- back tomorrow with more links!

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Spooky stuff today. Sort of.

 Behold, a Swedish Spring-Heeled Jack! 

There are now Lovecraft-themed bars on both coasts – the original in Portland, and a new (unrelated) one opening in New York City.

The military now has x-ray weapons. It’s true. Yikes.

Monday, July 21, 2014

Here’s some happy news on a Monday: new (to us) poems by Pablo Neruda have been discovered! 

Louise Bourgeois’s home in New York City is kept the way it was on the day she died, and it’s fascinating. 

I wish I’d had the chance to see “Andy Warhol’s DRELLA“ – it looks pretty amazing.

Happily, I might have the chance to see the Pre-Raphaelite exhibition going on at the Met – the Smart Set goes into some detail on the group and what they wanted to achieve.

Friday, July 18, 2014

Happy Friday!

 From Julie: the first book ever printed in English just sold at Sotheby’s.

From Cassandra: The cultural history of pain is fascinating (and heartbreaking).

From Zazoo: a tearjerker of an interview with Kylie Minogue.

Ending on a brighter note, David Malki is exploring the strange and wonderful world of the Restoration Hardware catalog, with help from readers, and Catalog Living is a weblog entirely devoted to such oddness.

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

Thursday, July 17, 2014

I’m on a mailing list which discusses library technology, and a conversation about drones led to some great links. Look, a delivery drone! And a book bot! And an underground robot library!

(Spoiler: we will not be using drones to deliver books anytime soon. But it would be pretty fun, especially in a law firm.)

One of Buzzfeed’s latest listicles: 17 Bookstores That Will Literally Change Your Life. I have my doubts about the “literally” part of the title. Since I haven’t been to any of the seventeen on the list, I propose that someone fund my trip to all of them in order to determine whether my life literally changes.

The Tour de France is not just about bikes and hills and drugs. It’s also about murder! And sacrifice! And nihilism!

Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Today, I have a wonky back and a new respect for those who live with chronic back issues. How do you do it without resorting to violence?

Anyway. If you’re the athletic sort (as opposed to me, obviously), consider the Bosphorus Cross-Continental Swimming Race, taking place in Istanbul this weekend!

The Pandora Society looks at the life of Mary Todd Lincoln in their “this day in history” series.

Here’s a detailed tutorial on how to make a lovely spooky book!

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

As previously noted (on several occasions), the SpookyLibrarians are not sun worshippers. However, we do think artificial environments can be pretty neat. So we are cautiously favorable toward CoeLux, which promises to provide the sunlight experience from other regions, like Scandinavia and the Caribbean.

We are not so favorable toward the concept of pistols for bicyclists, although we are sympathetic to the bicyclists.

Bunny is a fan of Brutalism (the architectural style, that is), and here’s an article on the increasingly endangered status of many Brutalist buildings.

I am a fan of cats, so I love this story of Tama the train station cat, as seen via Now I Know (and if you haven’t subscribed yet to Now I Know, you really should – it’s fantastic).

Monday, July 14, 2014

Happy Bastille Day! France is also commemorating the 100th anniversary of the start of World War I in the celebrations this year.

Nick Cave (the singer, not the designer) is the subject of a new docu-drama in which he talks to Blixa Bargeld (yay) and Warren Ellis (the musician, not the writer), among others.

Street art in New Orleans says “Love” and people are annoyed by it. Well then.

RIP, Nadine Gordimer.

Friday, July 11, 2014

Song of the Day!


Happy Friday, everyone. Many thanks to those who sent in links while I was gone!

From Julie: The UK will display the U.S. Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Independence next year. Just make sure to send them back, guys. We're on to you.

From Cassandra: The rise of anti-intellectualism.

Also from Cassandra: Those people who climb corporate ladders so well are really from the Dark Side.

And speaking of the Dark Side, also from Cassandra: Here’s Darth Vader on the National Cathedral. He REALLY climbs ladders well!

The era of crowdfunding may be coming to an end soon. It's all the fault of potato salad. (It isn't, really, but I don't like potato salad and am happy to blame it for anything and everything.)

Have a spiffy weekend, everyone. Back to normal posting schedule on Monday!

Thursday, July 10, 2014

Hello! I'm back and catching up on everything. While I get organized, you can check out the photographic record of our adventures. More soon!