Friday, June 28, 2019

Happy Friday!

From Zazoo: The Dark Crystal prequel is on its way! All the characters (and puppets!) look amazing, and the actor list is pretty incredible, too.

In somewhat related Muppet news, Paul Williams talked about how he wrote “The Rainbow Connection.” (Bonus fact: Paul Williams’s favorite Muppet is Gonzo!)

From Julie: Microsleep is more prevalent (and more dangerous) than you might suspect. 

From Cassandra: Lucid dreaming can be learned! 

One man has set out to fix all the bird logos in US sports. Here are his ideas! 

Have a safe and spiffy weekend, everyone. We’ll have a short week next week and the week after, as we are taking off for some July 4th festivities, but we’ll be around!

Thursday, June 27, 2019

Libraries are not only community centers, they’re also the new “second responders.” Eesh.

Meanwhile, Europol is tracking library thefts throughout Europe. People really have a thing for old maps, evidently.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation has listed America’s 11 most endangered historic places for 2019. 

The Library of Congress has a new Mystery Photo contest! These are always great. (Note to Bunny: Joe Bob Briggs helped solve one of the previous mysteries!)

AI Weirdness is back, with AIs naming AIs. I am partial to “Just As Bad As Your Florist” and “What Exactly Is It With You?”

Wednesday, June 26, 2019

Now it’s time for answers to important questions, such as: How many squirrels ARE there in Central Park, anyway? They took a census!

Las Vegas’s downtown has been involved in a seven-year cleanup project. How’s it going? 

A cleaner in Tokyo creates tiny dioramas of rooms where people died alone. It’s…pretty grim, I have to say.

Tuesday, June 25, 2019

Today is unexpectedly hectic. Therefore, we give you…

- Mazes! 

- Monsters! (more specifically, the Beast of Gevaudan)

- Movies, costumes, toys, and much more from Adam Savage’s Tested.com.

Monday, June 24, 2019

Happy Monday! We press on, and explore some arty links, as per usual.

Dance/theater: Today I learned there are ballet dramaturgs, which sounds like an excellent occupation (as does nearly everything dramaturgy-related).

Language: There are hundreds of different words for a hundred different kind of winds. (I read a book last week that talked about the tramontana, oddly enough.) 

Art/History #1: Vegas motels are their own form of art. 

Art/History #2: You may have seen images of the brutalist-like concrete spomenik monuments, but not known the context of their creation in what was Yugoslavia. 

History/Culture: What does it look like when a civilization collapses? Each one is different, and ours is…not looking too promising.

Friday, June 21, 2019

Happy Friday, and happy summer solstice! 

From Zazoo: “Not a Siberian or a Maine Coon. Behold the French Island fox cat!” 

Also from Zazoo: More briefings on UFOs indicate that maybe Mulder was really on to something…

From Cassandra: Why don’t we leave Freud in the dust? 

Endangered Alphabets celebrates the rare scripts in our midst.

If you’d like a pick-me-up, consider Lionel and Lilo the hedgehogs, tiny Instagram stars.

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

Thursday, June 20, 2019

Thursdays, as usual, are stupidly busy. So! Take some time and have a look at Bruce Osborn’s photography. I absolutely love the Teen Tokyo series, where he catches up with teenagers twenty years later, and also his Oyako series of parents and children.

Wednesday, June 19, 2019

Happy Juneteenth!

And now, to London, currently home to an exhibition on secret rivers. 

Also in London, the Temple of Mithras at the London Mithraeum. All that history under one's feet.

Tuesday, June 18, 2019

Today, we bring you a miscellany.

- There’s an entire metropolis of sorts underneath Paris, and Robert Macfarlane explored it. I was reading along, thinking it would be fun until I got to the most claustrophobic section; I think that would have broken me.

- If you liked Edward Gorey’s Gashlycrumb Tinies alphabet, you will probably love this version featuring Game of Thrones characters.

- The posters on Reddit’s TOTALLY NOT ROBOTS page are…totally not robots. Seriously. Honest!

- Roger Strunk’s website is a thing of beauty (and also some robots!). I sent his library page to B. as proof that he has kindred spirits out there; many of his books look quite familiar.

Monday, June 17, 2019

Happy Monday!

Are pretty cities better cities? A study aims to find out! 

Sesame Street is turning 50 this year, and Considerable has some behind-the-scenes photos to share. (I miss Roosevelt Franklin.)

Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre has delayed Project Prospero. As Prospero himself once said: “this swift business / I must uneasy make, lest too light winning / Make the prize light.”

You may remember some of these vintage TV test patterns, but did you know how to actually use them to test your set?

Friday, June 14, 2019

Happy Friday!

From Cassandra: Embrace leisure! 

Also from Cassandra: Look up at the skies this weekend; you might see Jupiter! 

From Zazoo: Does your cat actually like you? Here’s how you can tell. 

Also from Zazoo: Look at how one Cincinnati company is celebrating Pride Month! (Way to go, Courtney!)

From Metafilter: the Africa Vernacular Architecture database is so, so cool.

Via various spots on the interweb: I never saw or heard of Golden Girl and the Guardians of the Gemstone, but I LOVE the villain’s side, especially the Dragon Queen!

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

Thursday, June 13, 2019

The University of Pittsburgh’s library has acquired George Romero’s materials! The website is already up, although the materials aren’t digitized yet. Get ready for zombie fun!

The Library of Congress has a wonderful interactive “story map” series, and the newest chapter takes a look at D-Day. 

We now observe anniversaries and centennials and the like (see the D-Day page above), but who first came up with this measurement of time?

Wednesday, June 12, 2019

Hello! After an unexpected day off, we’re back, mostly. A few links:

- A toast to Dolly Shepherd, adventuress of the Edwardian era! (Seriously, read her story, it’s great.)

- Is a new EPCOT possible? Let’s hope!

- Sent by Satori, and special to all Ohio University alums: the headquarters of our salad days have been razed to the ground. Sniff.

Monday, June 10, 2019

Some Mondays are less motivating than others. Here's some art to help:

- Mavis Pusey, who recently passed away, made abstract paintings inspired by architecture.

- Jacob Bendien lived a hundred years ago and his work is hard to find, but it's surreal and lovely, especially Amsterdam Canal.

Friday, June 07, 2019

Happy Friday!

From Cassandra: The farewell to blogs continues, with Feminist Philosophers ending its run.

From Satori: How Iceland recreated a Viking-age religion. It sounds pretty great, as does most of Iceland these days.

From Bill Lucey: Book sales are dangerous places for librarians and researchers! 

Via Springwise: An architect’s suggesting that Notre Dame’s roof become an eco-farm. 

Thanks for reading, everyone! Have a safe and spiffy weekend. See you next week. We close out with new music from Jarvis Cocker and friends!


 

Thursday, June 06, 2019

It’s 75 years since D-Day. The Library of Congress has several images online, including a draft of Eisenhower’s message in case of failure. Wow.

I’ve been reading about ancient Egypt lately, so the Digital Giza Project is relevant to my interests!

A new consortium in the UK aims to create “The Audience of the Future” by means of immersive storytelling, and it has  several TV creators on board.

Continuing with the “farewell to blogs” theme, the Librarian in Black has officially gone dark.

Wednesday, June 05, 2019

Spooky and/or spiritual stuff today:

- Fortean Ireland details a few of the strange goings-on in the Emerald Isle.

- David Palladini recently died; he was known for his Aquarian Tarot Deck , and also his zodiac designs. 

- Here’s a list of terrifying haunted dolls! 

- While on vacation, we visited Thorncrown Chapel, which is gorgeous and makes one think of Tolkien’s Rivendell.

Tuesday, June 04, 2019

What was life like a hundred years ago? The Atlantic looks back via photographs. 

Exactly one hundred years ago, the 19th Amendment gave American women the right to vote! The Library of Congress and the Smithsonian are celebrating, and have links to many more resources. 

Sadly, How We Get to Next has stopped for the time being, although it sounds like a podcast is in the works.

In the meantime, Paleofuture points the way to another sort of visionary; there’s a new documentary on the artists who worked with NASA to create space colony art.

Monday, June 03, 2019

Happy Monday! It’s time for some arty links!

Architecture: Norman Bel Geddes built Toledo’s train station as a beacon for the city. Toledo had high hopes in those days…

Fine art: I found out about Photo Secession and also found there was a “secret gallery” in New York City which showed Picasso, Rodin, and other avant-garde art way before the rest of America.

Writing: Vulture did a neat article about the terminology used in writer rooms on television shows. Specialized lingo is fascinating!