Thursday, February 28, 2019

Today, I found two projects that are close to my dream jobs!

In one, names are analyzed by decade and then compared to names in cinema. (My name, by the way, skews to the "Drama" side. Probably French dramas, I bet.)

In the other, a man has tracked down the stories (and families, in many cases) of the people in old photographs. The Library of Congress wrote about him, and he has his own website as well with more on the project. (Bonus to any of my mom's family reading this - he lives in the Berkshires!)

I also found something Bunny would love: the power of using D&D in classrooms.

Wednesday, February 27, 2019

Carnival season continues (outside of politics! Haha…sob), and here’s a look at Fasching, a darker version which takes place in southern Germany and looks incredible.

Have you ever heard of Dau, a sort of film/art/artificial city/immersion piece which went on for years and years and recreated the USSR between 1938 and 1968? The first film has just come out (I think) and it sounds absolutely bizarre.

 A man in Indiana has been “acquiring” artifacts for decades, and the FBI went after him…and now there are human bones involved? Yikes.

In 1959, the lovely city of Burbank, California interred a time capsule, which included some predictions on what the future would be like. In 2009, the capsule was unearthed, and, well, we haven’t come quite as far as those 1959 Californians hoped.

Tuesday, February 26, 2019

We're back! But super busy. Please look at Billy Porter's amazing Oscars garb, a tribute to the House of Xtravaganza, and we'll be back soon.

Friday, February 22, 2019

Happy Friday! Thanks to everyone for sending links!

From Holly: Superconductivity, as demonstrated by swing dancers. Educational and entertaining, the perfect combination!

From Cassandra: Write or Die, the app which motivates you to keep writing!

Also from Cassandra: Your moon sign and your diet. (Apparently I have a “heavy relationship” with food. Yikes.)

From Satori: Siobhan Fahey (of Bananarama) and Marco Pirroni (of Adam & the Ants) talk about how they met and how they relate to each other. 

From the interwebs: Obvious Plant is having an exhibition of toys that never were! It’s in Los Angeles next month. Go see Useless Man and Casey the Bad News Messengerbot!

For the politically minded among us, a website that asks: Has Roger Stone Violated His Gag Order Yet? (I will be checking this periodically…)

And finally: Mick Cave and the Good Seeds, your friendly Australian gardening service. How brilliant is this?

Have a safe and spiffy weekend, everyone. We’ll be off adventuring on Monday, but will be back on Tuesday!

Thursday, February 21, 2019

So I was going through my lists of library weblogs (and related sites) and realizing that I’m veering more toward spooky history folklore and away from librarianism proper. Just an observation. (Spooky Miscellany, maybe?)

Anyway! Jessamyn has posted How to Help Someone Use a Computer, which is old but still probably the best advice on how to teach someone about computer usage.

I just got Emily Wilson’s translation of The Odyssey from the library, and can’t wait to dive in.

What was the deal with Elizabeth I’s makeup? It’s a long story!

Wednesday, February 20, 2019

Hello! Today has been filled with March Mammal Madness prep (check out ASU’s LibGuide for all the details on this year’s competition, which is coming up crazy fast), so links are few, but impressive. Check out this interactive map of the sounds we use to communicate – humanity has a sort of common language!

Tuesday, February 19, 2019

Today is…a bit random.

Via Flaskbak: Pop stars posing with their younger selves! Most are fantastic, some are bittersweet.

Via Paleofuture: Why not have a drive-thru grocery store? People have been trying since the 1920s, but it never works very well.

Via Public Domain Review: The Cleveland Museum of Arts has released over 30,000 images into the public domain! Huzzah!

Via a few different sources: The Victoria and Albert Museum led to Curtis Moffat’s work, which then led to more on Curtis Moffat (some photos nsfw in an artistic sort of way?) to Nancy Cunard, to more on Nancy Cunard and this photo, in particular, which reminds me of nothing so much as Siouxsie Sioux. Websurfing, old school style!

Monday, February 18, 2019

Friday, February 15, 2019

Friday once more!

From Cassandra: What’s in a love potion? Well, possibly poison… 

Via Digg: See what your (United States) city’s climate will be like in 2080. (New Englanders, it’s time to get air conditioners.)

In hopefully unrelated news, a popup restaurant offers glow-in-the-dark ramen for a meal!

AI Weirdness is back with more bizarre tales from neural nets. The recipes are, as always, amazing. 

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

Thursday, February 14, 2019

Happy Valentine’s Day! You can observe it demurely through Victorian acquaintance cards, or wildly through the 2019 March Mammal Madness Valentine set (featuring some contenders in the 2019 competition, no less)! Or you can wait until tomorrow and celebrate Lupercalia, which just might be a good tradition to revive. 

Via my cousin Jeff: There’s a combination bookstore and wine bar in his town, and I didn’t know about it until this morning. What madness is this?

I fell down a rabbit hole yesterday of Ben’s state-by-state reviews of sites on the National Register of Historical Places. Hilarious and educational, especially if you're interested in architecture! But beware if you are a fan of round barns and/or covered bridges (he isn’t. A fan, that is, not a barn or bridge).

Wednesday, February 13, 2019

Carnival season is upon us! You can get an early start in Quebec or in Venice, depending on what side of the Atlantic you find yourself.

If you need some costuming inspiration (whether for Carnival, conventions, or other occasions), check out these fantastic Cthulhu creations.

Princeton’s exhibit on life and death masks is extensive and amazing. Highly recommended!

Strange Maps always has great posts. Here’s one about a possible border change in Kosovo, and what this might mean militarily and diplomatically.

This may be the only time I link to the Daily Mail: For the 40th anniversary of “The Warriors” film, here are scenes of NYC from then and now.

Tuesday, February 12, 2019

It’s been raining for days here and everyone is slightly gloomy. So let’s have some links about ruins and mausoleums!

After World War I, postcards showing ruins were…well, not popular, exactly, but often-purchased souvenirs of what had happened.

A mausoleum design from the 1800s inspired Britain’s iconic telephone box! (No word on whether it had any influence on the TARDIS.)

Stelios Faitakis is an artist using Greek Byzantine imagery in very modern ways. The Instagram account has some absolutely incredible work.

Monday, February 11, 2019

Here we are again, facing another Monday…

What would the Empire State Building look like if it was a Brutalist building? Or Art Nouveau? Wonder no longer, here are nine alternate versions to see! 

Rome Reborn is a VR project which looks very cool. Check it out, especially if you have access to an Oculus Rift.

I have found some excellent news, courtesy of Zap Actionsdower’s website on former chain restaurants: There are new GD Ritzy restaurants opening up! I’ve been telling people about their peanut butter & jelly sandwiches for years. Huzzah! (The whole website is great, particularly if you grew up in the Midwest. Burger Chef, Roy Rogers, Rax…they’re all here.)

Friday, February 08, 2019

Happy Friday!

From Bunny: Letter Locking, something neither of us had heard of before. It’s intricate and amazing! 

Very sad news from Ireland, where Bodacious the Shepherd Cat has left us. (This is a beautiful post, but you will end up in tears, be warned.)

As some escapism, may we suggest Sporcle quizzes? There’s an especially difficult one on baseball at the moment, but there’s something for everyone here.

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

Thursday, February 07, 2019

This week, you should really drop everything and get over to the Color Our Collections website, in which over 100 institutions from all over the world are participating. Free coloring sheets and coloring books, this week only! Everything is in here, from architecture to zoology.

Unrelated but very cool: LA County libraries have a program in which you can “read away” your library fines. Brilliant idea.

Wednesday, February 06, 2019

The (magnetic) North Pole is on the move, and now that the shutdown is over, we have the science to show where it is! (Much more detailed science can be found on the National Centers for Environmental Information website.)

Meanwhile, if you’re waiting for the stars to be right, you can go to Czocha Castle in March and celebrate CarcosaCon. What could possibly go wrong?

The Monster Librarian is here for all your horror needs.

Atlas Obscura asked people about fairy tales that scarred them as children, and wow, there are some weird ones out there. (For me, it was The Snow Queen. You get something in your eye – through no fault of your own – and become an entirely different person? GAH.)

Tuesday, February 05, 2019

Happy Lunar New Year! If you’re into AI, you can make your own shadow puppets with Google and a webcamera.

The OED is looking for examples of work slang (library “weeding” is mentioned), and you can contribute directly! 

The wondrous mind behind Webomator could use some financial help these days. If you’ve got a bit to spare, please consider it.

Staying fit was a concern for businessmen even over a hundred years ago. Behold, physical exercises, with time lapse photographs to illustrate them!

Monday, February 04, 2019

Happy Monday! And Happy February. You know what that means…March Mammal Madness is just around the corner! The Roving Rodent Reporters will be back to cover all the 2019 shenanigans. Stay tuned.

Dreyer’s English is newly published, and if you enjoy wordsmithery and grammar, this is your jam. 

Meanwhile, it turns out that a bestselling novelist has…some…issues, I think? People are extremely weird.

Speaking of weird, how about a list of creepy nuns in cinema? 

Via Warren Ellis: Venkatesh Rao suggests that old blogs can become elder blogs or late-style blogs. I have no idea what Folderol is (or is becoming?), as it creeps up on its nineteenth (!!!) birthday. It never went through the virality phase, so perhaps it is still growing and learning!

Friday, February 01, 2019

Happy Friday!

From Julie: What does your body language say? OK, well, see, it might mean… 

From Zazoo, quoted directly from his email: “Patrick Stewart is coming back to Star Wars!” (He says he meant to type Star Trek, honest.)

A few places I visited on my quick trip to NYC:

House of Wax (combining the Morbid Anatomy Museum with dark décor and delicious drinks) 

Twenty Sided Store (heads up, February is DM Appreciation Month!)

Enchantments (beautiful, spooky, and with bonus cats)

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