Friday, June 26, 2015




I am so amazed and thrilled that same-sex marriage is no longer something that we imagined might maybe happen someday, somewhere, but is instead now recognized in every state in my country. It’s stunning. And wonderful. Happy Friday, everyone!

The Spooky Librarians are taking another week off after this, but we’ll be back after July 4th for the rest of the summer. In the meantime, thanks to everyone for reading and sending in links! Also, we are now on Instagram and you can follow along with our various adventures (well, sometimes we have adventures. Sometimes we’re just working and looking out our window and whatnot.)

From Zazoo: “Call him Ziggy Hedwiggy. Michael C. Hall really gets around!”

Also from Zazoo: “Brooklyn is the city with the largest percentage of women-led startups.

From Cassandra: Oliver Sacks talks about the mystery of time.

Also from Cassandra: White extremists are the most terrifying (literally) in America.

RIP, Patrick Macnee. John Steed will live on in our hearts and minds.

For those of the gothy/punky persuasion: Look, a Wax Trax “monumentary”!

Have a spiffy weekend and week, everyone. See you soon.

Thursday, June 25, 2015

Dr. Livingstone, I presume? Yes, an entire online archive devoted to him, as it happens!

For librarians: A USB drive that looks like a tiny card catalog.

For writers/artists/people who use pencils: Tuomas Markunpoika makes amazing objects from colored pencils.

The Guardian says that library security measures are increasing, in an effort to prevent “tome raiders.” Geez. They make book thieves sound so glamorous.

Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Way out in space, Ceres has…pyramids?!? (Thanks, Zazoo!)

On planet Earth, there are a ridiculous amount of armed conflicts. The Armed Conflicts Database says so. (This is really educational.)

Fortunately for those of us on Earth, there are also a ridiculous amount of sheep, and you can see them via GoogleSheepView.

Also, we have squirrels! And look, here’s a statue of some of them worshipping a giant acorn.

Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Psst. Hey buddy. Wanna buy an airship? No, for reals!

In related steampunkish news, please check out this excellent article on the Barton-Wright/Alfred Hutton Alliance for Historically Accurate Hoplology and Antagonistics, aka BWAHAHAHA.

ThingClash is coming! If you’re interested in the clash (or connection) between culture and technology, you may be interested.

A new product, named Ode, aims to help dementia sufferers by stimulating appetite through time-release fragrances. This is brilliant.

Monday, June 22, 2015

Happy Monday! Here are some arty links.

We are now among the smartphone users (we resisted for a long time), so QromaScan, which promises to scan old photos directly to your phone, is intriguing to me.

Also intriguing, though not something I’m about to get, is the Nivea Doll which shows kids when they’re getting too much sun.

Alice’s adventures in Wonderland were first published 150 years ago. A long article examines the wonders of the story, and the strangeness of the author.

What happened to (part of) Chicago’s Keith Haring mural? No one seems to know.

Friday, June 19, 2015

Today is a sober Juneteenth. We still have a lot of work to do.

It’s also Friday – many thanks to those who sent in links. It's also the birthday of a frequent contributor!

From Julie: A librarian may have discovered an original Star Wars script! 

From Cassandra: The gorgeous painting Flaming June has arrived in New York. 

From Holly: Records as awesome room decorations! 

From Twitter: How does one observe Ramadan in outer space?

Also from Twitter: On Wednesday, I posted about “Prattkeeping,” aka zookeepers posing with animals a la Jurassic World. I am delighted to report that it’s become a real thing, and my local zoo is in on it, too!

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

Thursday, June 18, 2015

Wow, a woman on the $10 bill? Maybe we’re finally making some progress, verrrrrry slowly.

Librarians and the NSA don’t get along well. Here’s a report explaining why. 

On the flip side, librarians are not always that good at staying organized. (Hey, we have a LOT of stuff to organize.)

Linguists are studying how Twitter increases the spread of new words throughout society.

Wednesday, June 17, 2015

Friday, June 05, 2015

It’s Friday, hooray! And it’s the beginning of a short vacation for the Spooky Librarians. We’ll be back in about a week with more links.

Today is also National Doughnut (or Donut) Day. That link goes to Dunkin Donuts, and while we do not exclusively endorse DD for your doughnut needs, they’re pretty good and have the best link I could find this morning.

From Julie: The Large Hadron Collider is up and operating again! 

From Cassandra: What is consciousness, really? (Also, get well soon, Joni Mitchell).

From Cassandra, part 2: A medieval nunnery has been excavated, and some dark secrets have been unearthed as well. This is really fascinating, especially once you get past the sensationalism.

From Holly: Do you need a judgmental tree frog in your life? (The answer: yes, of course you do!) Pet store signs, edited for truthiness. 

Have a spiffy weekend and week, everyone! See you around the 17th.

Thursday, June 04, 2015

Sometimes, you just happen to find a hermetically sealed lead coffin with the corpse of a French woman who died about 350 years ago, clothes and items almost intact. I mean, most of the time, you don’t find this sort of thing, but hey, you never know.

The Internet Archive has tackled record cover art! Well, technically, it’s “audio covers.” 

Yeats 2015 is celebrating the life of the poet all year, and, as part of the festivities, his local church opened up their archives to show their holdings. Here are details (with photographs) on William Butler Yeats and his family.

Wednesday, June 03, 2015

It has been a crazy week, plus Mercury is in retrograde, and I’m thinking that a secret door and staircase behind some bookshelves sound like the way to go.

 If anyone has heard the “Moodus Noises” of Connecticut, let me know! They sound spooky and mysterious, and no one seems to know the actual cause.

Green-Wood Cemetery is hosting a “Dark Wonderland” series of events throughout June. If you’re in the NYC area, it’s worth a look.

Tuesday, June 02, 2015

Proof that we’re living in the future: Brain monitors are coming! 

Proof that people don’t change all that much: Pictures of cats were popular in the 19th century, too. 

Proof that there’s always something to discover: some of Mark Twain’s San Francisco newspaper articles have been found! 

Proof that I’m busy: that’s all the links for today.

Monday, June 01, 2015

Happy Monday!

Here’s your deep thought for the day: what is color, really? 

For this stained glass window, called the Current Window, color (and light) transforms into solar power. This is incredibly cool.

For those of us who aren’t quite up to that level of science on a Monday, here’s a whack-a-mole for cats.