Thursday, December 23, 2021

 Today, a link from Zazoo: The story behind the cult classic "Christmas Wrapping" by The Waitresses!  

Have a safe and spiffy holiday, everyone. See you soon. (We may post next week, but if not, we'll see you in 2022!)

Wednesday, December 22, 2021

Tuesday, December 21, 2021

Happy Winter Solstice, everyone! Here are a few links talking about Yule and/or the solstice, and how it's a good time to appreciate the dark and quiet, then move toward the light. If you're not into woo at all, fear not - there's also a meteor shower going on that you can watch.

Monday, December 20, 2021

 Hello and happy Monday! Here's a grab bag of links.

- What will the next toy fad be? Janelle Shane's AI is here to help predict the future. (Spoiler: the AI is not very good at predicting future toy fads.)

Tilda Swinton as various libraries! Two great things that look great together!

- Various maps, some animated, showing historic events.

Friday, December 17, 2021

 Happy Friday, all! Here are a few catch-up links focused on NYC.

Jonsi of Sigur Ros has an art/sound installation in Manhattan called Obsidian that is super interesting.

Also interesting is the Commandant's House on Vinegar Hill in Brooklyn, overlooking the East River! It's privately owned these days, but you can see what the interior looked like in the early 1900s.

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

Thursday, December 16, 2021

 For those of you worried about Santa and his North Pole friends, fear not: worker safety is being addressed, and NORAD will track his progress next week. (If you don't want to wait that long, Google is featuring a month-long website about all the arctic antics.)

Wednesday, December 15, 2021

 Greetings! It's been a weird year, hasn't it? Why not embrace the oddness by exploring the Weird Walk website and/or podcast? Folk horror, psychogeography, and more, all waiting to be found!

Tuesday, December 14, 2021

 It's time once again for the end-of-year reports, and Bill Lucey has taken a look at the biggest news stories of 2021. Lots of links to explore!

In more local news, a recent question about Sears kit homes led to discovering a wonderful weblog about the homes in Ohio and surrounding states, with a wealth of information about the Sears homes and where to see them.

Monday, December 13, 2021

 Hi there. We are fine and safe up here in the northern part of my state, but the western part has been hit hard. If you'd like to help out, here's a roundup of relief funds and places to donate for the tornado victims. Thanks. Regular posts resume this week!

Tuesday, November 30, 2021

 Hello, and happy Giving Tuesday! We're going to be erratic again for the next week or so, but we'll be back for the holidays and into 2022.  Thanks for reading and bearing with our random 2021 postings!

Friday, November 19, 2021

Happy Friday! Next week, posts will be scattered. If we don't post again before the holiday, happy Thanksgiving / harvest time to all!

From Zazoo: RuPaul may hate it, but this tree ornament is hilarious.

I got up early this morning and saw the partial lunar eclipse. If you didn't, fear not, there are many photos!

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

Thursday, November 18, 2021

 Seen in a New York Times article today: The Manhattan District Attorney's office has an Antiquities Trafficking department, and they're busy!

Wednesday, November 17, 2021

Is that a bird, a plane, a drone, or a UFO in the sky? There’s a handy mapping tool out now which enables you to look up the incidents! Evidently there were a lot of laser lights seen near where I live recently. I suspect cats chasing laser pointers.

The “open office” concept ran into some spectacularly bad timing last year. Here are some new ideas on how to work.  Will they be better? (Who knows?)

Tuesday, November 16, 2021

Hello there!

Today we have a video in lieu of links. One of the bands in regular rotation at SpookyLibrarians HQ is the Innocence Mission, and Bunny just discovered an old video of one of their best songs. Enjoy!



Monday, November 15, 2021

 Happy Monday, everyone!



Music: The 1980s were awesome, and here's the proof.

History: A new book describes some of the leading female criminals of ye olden days.

Culture: Do you know your international cuisine? Apparently I don't, because I failed a bunch of these questions in a row! (Click "start" and don't worry about the error message; the site works fine.)

Friday, November 12, 2021

 Happy Friday, all!

Mateusz Skutnik, who you may remember from my posts about Submachine, is back with a new game, Slice of Sea!

From Zazoo: Wet Leg is an incredibly hot band right now. You may also remember them from an earlier post!

We're still playing games online with friends, and we recently discovered Gartic Phone, which is hilarious. Try it!

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

Thursday, November 11, 2021

 I have quite a few issues with the Vatican in general, but their new art space, opening to the public, looks pretty great so far.

Meanwhile, across America, street lights are turning purple. An homage to Prince? A plea for political unity? Nope, just defective LED lights. I was hoping these would become the new normal, actually.

Wednesday, November 10, 2021

 Hello! Believe it or not, we're still here! And we're getting back into the swing of things with this link, sent earlier by Cassandra, about The Spiritualist. Settle in and read all about the spooky happenings!

Tuesday, October 19, 2021

 Hi there. Still alive and doing well, just busy! Links should be back soon, promise.

Friday, October 01, 2021

 It's Friday! It's October! And, from goats to zebras, the animals are rising up against the humans. It's about time, really. (Many thanks to Holly for both of these!)

We're going to be offline for the next few days, so have a safe and spiffy time, all. Back soon!

Thursday, September 30, 2021

 Greetings! It's almost October, which means it's also almost time for the Halloween "OMG your child might be poisoned" scare stories. Joel Best has an incredibly helpful website debunking the paranoia.  (In a related note, the '80s were a weird time to grow up, between the Halloween panic and the Satanic Panic and the PMRC and all that. Our town was full of the panic, but disappointingly short on actual occult happenings.)

Tuesday, September 28, 2021

Greetings! Not only does the busy schedule continue over here, but we're also taking some days off to celebrate October properly. Posts will continue their erratic pattern through the next month, and maybe through the year. Then, finally, in 2022, things may settle down. Maybe. Hopefully.


Anyway! On to some links!


Flickr and LEGO are teaming up for a photo contest. There will be brilliance, I'm sure of it.

The Getty Museum has a new exhibit called "Transcending Time" about medieval books of hours. Looks fascinating.

Also always fascinating: the moon!

Tuesday, September 21, 2021

Hi there! Today's fun link: An interpretive dancer demonstrates the power of the hydraulic press. (You may remember the Hydraulic Press Channel from a while back!) Extra points for the coordinated fashion!

Monday, September 20, 2021

 Happy Monday! Here are a few fun links.

Which singers have the biggest vocabularies? Patti Smith is way up there, as is Jim Morrison.

Want to see something useless? Behold the Useless Web generator!

From Bunny: a night in 1992 at Disney's Pleasure Island, where every night was New Year's Eve (seriously, that was the concept). Ah, that hair and music. Good memories.

Tuesday, September 14, 2021

 Today I give you Sir Indiana Bones, the working cat at the Museum of Osteology! I propose a road trip to visit him.

Monday, September 13, 2021

 Happy Monday and happy Met Gala day. I'm still sad they had to cancel last year's, as the theme for 2020 was all about time and I was really looking forward to seeing the weird ways that was expressed via fashion. This year's theme is America, which...eh. But anyway! This is much more fun than the Oscars, I think.

Wednesday, September 08, 2021

Hello there! I'm surfacing briefly!

Google's Doodle today honors Tim Bergling, better known as Avicii, with a lovely short song.

Zazoo and Satori were in Philadelphia recently and visited Mount Moriah Cemetery, which looks like a painting in an art museum. And speaking of art, did you know Maxfield Parrish once collaborated with Tiffany to create The Dream Garden, a jaw-dropping mosaic piece also in Philly? Tiffany's mosaics don't get much attention, but they should. 

Friday, September 03, 2021

Hello and happy Friday/long weekend, everyone! This has been a crazy summer. I'm hoping for a less crazy autumn.


Have a safe and spiffy weekend, all. See you soon.

Wednesday, September 01, 2021

 

Still here, still working, and wow, I wish I was here instead! Many thanks for Jack for sending this on to me. Stay safe, all.

Friday, August 27, 2021

Happy Friday!

From Bunny: Apparently we live in the kindest state in America. (Also, stay away from Maryland.) Stay safe and have a spiffy weekend. See you next week.

Monday, August 23, 2021

Hello and happy Monday. The Summer of Extreme Busy-ness continues, but here's a fun link about a British council worker who decided to see how far he could travel by bus in 24 hours. As someone whose local bus route has been discontinued, I am extremely envious.

Friday, August 20, 2021

 Happy Friday!

Theater in Quarantine is an amazing channel showing just how creative performers can get in a (very!) small space. Check it out!

If you ever wanted to know how to pronounce Cincinnati-area places, or wondered how to say "goetta," or any other local lingo, this Reddit thread is perfect.

Have a safe and spiffy weekend, everyone. Back soon with more links.

Tuesday, August 17, 2021

Greetings!

If it seems like I've been neglecting Folderol, it's true. Life has gotten really busy lately. I'm still posting links when I can; it's just something that's on the back burner these days.

With that being said, here are some newsletters I'm subscribed to (which I'm also way behind on reading). Folderol will not become a newsletter, because ha, that would be ridiculous, but many other weblogs have transmogrified into subscription sites, and many of those are free (or super cheap) and really interesting!

In no particular order:

Walk It Off  (about walking, oddly enough, but also deeper topics)

Garbage Day (what's new on the internet)

Twirling Through It (by Tom and Lorenzo)

Everything is Amazing (finding joy in the everyday)

Today in Tabs (all about media and the brave new online world, especially in NYC)

Cup of Coffee (baseball and much more)

Money Stuff (mostly read for work, but also to learn about finance)

The Gossip Reading Club (what it says on the tin)

Dearest (historical jewelry and whatnot)

Friday, August 13, 2021

 Happy Friday the 13th!

It has been a WEEK here. Very busy and not much time to post. 

However, consider this goose, which has drawn comparisons to Jonathan Livingston Seagull. May your weekend be safe, spiffy, and full of new discoveries!

Tuesday, August 10, 2021

Here at Spooky Librarians HQ, we are big fans of Hearts of Space. "Slow music for fast times," as they say.  I also recommend Echoes, and I just checked and saw that Thistle and Shamrock is still around, putting out new shows! It's good to know there's still some serenity out there on the airwaves.


Monday, August 09, 2021

Thursday, August 05, 2021

Today's link is for the history lovers. Skipped History is a great look at stories most of us never heard about. I started with the Wall Street Scandal of 1905, which then led to learning about the U.S. occupation of the Philippines during the 1890s and 1900s. Hopefully more seasons are on the way!

Monday, August 02, 2021

 Hello and happy August! Right now, the forecast is...well...not so great.

In slightly related news, the Chinese youth have a new resistance movement called tang ping, or lying flat, which I find fascinating. 

In totally unrelated news, Restaurant-ing Through History is a delightful site full of tasty goodness. I especially like the hash house lingo post!

Thursday, July 29, 2021

 Hi there! Here's a quick link of interest: Did you know tuberculosis patients were once quarantined in Kentucky's Mammoth Cave? It's true! (Spoiler: it didn't work very well.) Maybe we could revive this practice for the non-vaccinated among us.

Wednesday, July 28, 2021

 Hello!

We've been to NYC in the past week! It was a little different than the NYC of the past, but just as fascinating and fun. A few places we visited:


The Museum of the City of New York, to see the NYC early '80s music exhibit!

The Neue Galerie, which is dedicated to early 20th century Austrian and German art, and is absolutely amazing. The exhibit on the Wiener Werskstatte collective sent me down a rabbit hole of early 20th century design goodness, with information from the MAK museum in Vienna and the history of the Vienna Secession. So much gorgeous design came out of those years. Also, check out the Neue Galerie's bookstore, which is packed full of amazing reading material!

Wednesday, July 21, 2021

Hello and happy Wednesday. We're taking a few days off for traveling (travel? what's that? this is a foreign concept!), but we leave you with two links:

Anti-Waste takes discarded umbrellas and refashions them into desk lamps!

UAV Geography pinpoints unmanned aircraft sightings (mostly drones, but a few "mysterious objects") around the U.S. 

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

Tuesday, July 20, 2021

 Today, a quick fly-by post. Did you know Edward Gorey made his own stuffed toys? It's true!

Monday, July 19, 2021

Greetings! Earlier this year, MAKE Magazine held a "May the Fourth" contest for makers. The winners have been announced! Creativity abounds. 

On the other end of the spectrum, here's a candid take on job burnout that makes a lot of sense.

Friday, July 16, 2021

Hello and happy Friday!

As you may have been able to tell, we've been stupidly busy this summer. Posts until the end of the month are going to be very hit and miss; I'll try to put up some links occasionally, but it's been hectic here! Look for a return to more regularity at the beginning of August.  Have a safe and spiffy weekend/month!

Wednesday, July 14, 2021

 This just in: What do Edgar Allan Poe, John Cleves Symmes, and the Mountains of Madness have in common? Come along and explore the strange tale of Arthur Gordon Pym!

Tuesday, July 13, 2021

Hello! Today's task, should you choose to accept it, is to make some delicious cuneiform cookies. There's a recipe, an instructional sheet, and a blog post about it, all courtesy of the Getty Institute!

Monday, July 12, 2021

Happy Monday. Would you rather be in a different reality? Apparently "shifting" is a thing among the youth of today. It sounds like lucid dreaming, but with an added layer of weirdness.

The Society for Gentlemen Explorers is a bit less weird (and also open to females, despite the name), but seeks adventure and intrigue around the world. If you like this sort of thing, you'll probably also love Oddball University!

And, lastly, we have a collection of illegible autographs. You can, perhaps, map your own reality onto these, if you like.

Friday, July 09, 2021

 Greetings! No links today, just a wish for a safe and spiffy weekend. More soon.

Wednesday, July 07, 2021

Just one link today, but it's one that leads to various rabbit holes on the internet: Parrot astrology. Yes! It's a thing!

Tuesday, July 06, 2021

 Hello there! Let's jump right in with some weird links.

Once upon a time, it was thought that Mars was crisscrossed with canals, created by another civilization. This turned out to be untrue, but it's still fascinating. (Also, check out the odd life of Percival Lowell, brother of poet Amy Lowell.)

The uncanny valley has many components. Where do zombies fit in, for instance?

If ventriloquist dummies give you the heebie jeebies, you will probably not be interested in the Vent Haven convention, happening soon near me. For those of us who love puppets and ventriloquism, however, check it out!

And now, for something less uncanny and more tangible: The Radical Gardeners of Brooklyn and how they seed bombed the neighborhoods back in the day.

Wednesday, June 30, 2021

Hello! This has been a busy month. And it looks like it will be a busy summer. Folderol may be a bit more haphazard than usual in updating!

That being said…Jacob’s Pillow is dancing again, but outside! This sounds lovely. (I may be biased; I have a cousin there.)

The Sparks movie sounds like a hoot. Sparks, in general, are a hoot.

The reason why NYC police officers darkened their uniforms from powder blue to navy has to do with, believe it or not, doughnuts.

Tuesday, June 29, 2021

 Today is a day of meeting, so links will be scarce. More soon, I hope!

Monday, June 28, 2021

Happy Monday! Today is about nuns and bourbon, courtesy of my mom, who lives near both. 



Friday, June 25, 2021

Happy Friday!


Vampira's niece has written a book about her aunt, and wow, what a life Maila Nurmi had.

Vivienne Westwood's pirate designs walked down a runway forty years ago, and inspired Adam Ant to start a new wave revolution.

A bit later, the Stock Aitken Waterman sound began! There's a podcast about the producers now, going through all the artists and songs from that era.

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

Thursday, June 24, 2021

 Hello and happy Thursday. Here's some past, present and future links!

Past: Two 17th century paintings were found in a rest stop dumpster. How did they get there? And why? 

Present: Maya Lin has installed a "ghost forest" in Manhattan, to show what has been lost and what we may lose if we don't recognize climate change.

Future: After the pandemic changed the way we think about going to the office, there are new plans afoot for skyscraper architecture .

Wednesday, June 23, 2021

Greetings! 

Johns Hopkins puts out a daily one-minute video about the pandemic, showing the latest figures and any trends. It's low-key and gives you just the info you need, I think.

Sleep does a body good - and a mind, too! From Cassandra: The benefits of rest.

Tuesday, June 22, 2021

 Two stories of witches today, although no one in these stories is really a witch.

First off, a modern day story about "witches" in Namibia, and one man's attempt to give them sanctuary. This is a pretty amazing story all round.

Monday, June 21, 2021

Happy Summer Solstice! It was grey and raining at Stonehenge, but that didn't stop people from making the most of it.

Speaking of weather, I'm taking a course in how to predict the weather from observations. We'll see if I succeed!

For something even more tangible than weather, Flashbak celebrates the world of buttons and knobs. See also the comment thread on Metafilter!

Friday, June 18, 2021

 Happy Friday and happy Juneteenth weekend, everyone! Sorry for the recent lack of substance. It's been busy in work and in life around here! Back next week with, hopefully, a bit more links. Have a safe and spiffy weekend.

Wednesday, June 16, 2021

Are you ready for hurricane season? Various AI programs are taking a crack at how to pronounce the names. I like their version of Christopher!


The Secret Mausoleum Music Club is back at Green-Wood Cemetery, if you're so inclined.

If doughnuts are more your thing, then guess what - there are citywide doughnut tours! Here's Athena Scalzi's review of one of the Chicago offerings.

Tuesday, June 15, 2021

 Greetings!

Since I have so much free time these days (HAHAHAHA), here are some newsletters I've been reading. Or planning to read, anyway.

- Everything Is Amazing, which challenges you to look at the world a little differently. 

- The Red Hand Files, where Nick Cave answers questions from anyone. (Today he talks about how much he dislikes Charles Bukowski!)

- Histories, which looks at history through the viewpoint of a specific individual. This is totally my jam, of course, being into genealogy and all.

Not a newsletter, but a continuing program, is the Google Doodle contest. This year's winner is a Kentuckian with a beautiful drawing and a lot of inner strength.

Monday, June 14, 2021

 It is Monday, and the workload is still a little bonkers here. (Shouldn't everyone be on vacation? Even just a staycation?) Back soon.

Friday, June 11, 2021

Happy Friday! Many thanks to Cassandra and Bunny for today's links. 

From Cassandra: Fifteen great small towns to visit in the United States. I don't think I've been to any of these. Road trip!


From Bunny: How to become a Buddhist monk. (This whole channel is really interesting and informative.)

Also from Bunny: Behold, the euthanasia coaster! I can't see this ever becoming reality, somehow.

And finally, a video from Bunny to send you out (safely) into the weekend. Have a safe and spiffy time, everyone. See you next week.


Thursday, June 10, 2021

Thursdays. We are deep in the weeds at work right now, but may post some links later on in the day. If not, look for us tomorrow!

Tuesday, June 08, 2021

Just one link today, but it's a really good one which gives you lots to consider - all about the tyranny of time.

Monday, June 07, 2021

 Happy Monday! Posts will be a bit spotty this week due to extreme busy-ness, but links will appear sooner or later.

Friday, June 04, 2021

Happy Friday!

From Cassandra: Learning to love cicadas. For a little while, at least.

A heads-up for those of you with Alexa: Amazon may share your internet with your neighbors if you don't opt out.

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

Thursday, June 03, 2021

 A few random links for you this Thursday:


The Artifact Artist, making art out of found New York City history.

Blaseball - a variation on baseball, with some D&D and absurdist Calvinball-like flavors. I'm currently supporting the Ohio Worms. It was a tossup between them and the Hades Tigers.

Wednesday, June 02, 2021

 Hello! Looking for something to do this weekend? If you're in Spain, you can see men dressed like devils jump over babies. Seriously. El Colacho, aka "the baby jumping festival," takes place this Sunday.


If you're not in Spain, however, perhaps you can (safely) road trip. See The Woman and The Car for details! (Details may not be current.)

Tuesday, June 01, 2021

 Hello and happy June!

Dante Alighieri died 700 years ago, and daily readings at his tomb are among the many commemorative events taking place.

I had no idea Getty had a history weblog. There are great posts on mythology in modern film and television, royal propaganda in Mesopotamia, and more!

The poems of Emily Dickinson have had a rough journey on their way to publishers, and a great deal of it has to do with family feuds and possessiveness. (Everyone in this article, including Emily, comes off as rather horrid and/or wounded.)

Lastly: New York or New-York? This was a matter of great importance for a short while during anti-immigrant fervor.

Friday, May 28, 2021

 Hello and happy Friday! Here are a few links to send you off for the holiday weekend, courtesy of Cassandra:

Cats like to sit in squares. Even squares that are just made of corners! Decca, the current cat at Spooky Librarians HQ, is indifferent to squares, but I may try this to see what happens.

Vox is taking a look back at the stories of the late 1990s-early 2000s - particularly the way young women were treated. It was, as they say, a different time.

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

Thursday, May 27, 2021

Happy Thursday! It's busy as usual, but this article about diaries during the smallpox inoculation of the 1700s led me to the Congregational Library website, which has all sorts of fascinating information. You can also transcribe documents if you'd like to help.

Wednesday, May 26, 2021

 As things begin to return to something resembling the Before Times, here are two examples: 

Baseball Theater is up and running, for all your baseball statistics needs! 

The Coney Island Mermaid Parade will not be happening on the scheduled date, but may occur later in the summer. Flexibility is going to be one of the keywords for 2021, I think.

Tuesday, May 25, 2021

Greetings! I've been going through my RSS feeds (I still wholeheartedly believe in RSS feeds, even if much of the world has moved on) and here are a few history-related sites to share. Enjoy!






Not history related: Metabunk, working on debunking (when necessary) and illuminating (when possible). 

Monday, May 24, 2021

 When life gives you lemons (or quarantine), why not make...banana art?


The list of words Shakespeare invented is always contentious, but here's a list which tries to be as accurate as possible. (He invented the word anchovy?!?)

Many of us know Switched-On Bach and the followup albums. But did you know there are many, many other "Switched-On" releases out there?  Like, for instance, Switched-On Country? The mind reels!

Thursday, May 20, 2021

Thursdays continue to be ridiculously busy. More soon! 

Wednesday, May 19, 2021

Hello! It looks like many summer staples are set to return this year, even if in a modified format. (My beloved Northside 4th of July parade is switching up format to feature "house floats" and mini-block parties.) Can state fairs be far behind? And, if so, will the haunted state fair of Minnesota welcome back the ghosts of its past?

Tuesday, May 18, 2021

 Hello! Today's rabbit hole is this Aesthetics Wiki. I've been having fun looking through the "Punk Suffix"  category. Although I love Decopunk, I think my real aesthetic may be "Darkest Academia."

While the centennial observations of World War I are mostly over, remnants from the war echoed for several years after the armistice. The return of the Wheaton, carrying U.S. dead, reached American shores in 1921, and a website honors the fallen.

Monday, May 17, 2021

 Monday! Here are some sights to see:

- Amazing daily "doodles" (more like detailed sketches) by an 88-year-old during lockdown.

- Trick photography in the early days of the craft!

- Yayoi Kusama's exhibition in the New York Botanical Garden!

- Mama Rabbit's amazing decor!

- Secrets of alchemy revealed! (Well, sort of.)

Friday, May 14, 2021

 Hello and happy Friday!

Here in the U.S., fully vaccinated people may be starting to get back to "normal" living? Maybe?

Also in the U.S., the baby names list for 2020 is out! It looks like the 1700s is back, with Oliver and Emma and Henry all being near the top. You can also track a name's popularity from 1900 on.  Apparently my name hasn't been in the top 1000 since 1990. The most popular year for my name was 1946. If you are a name nerd like me, this stuff is great.

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

Thursday, May 13, 2021

 Thursday has once again struck with a vengeance. Back soon with links!

Wednesday, May 12, 2021

Tuesday, May 11, 2021

Psst! Wanna get vaccinated at Dracula's castle? Sounds like an excellent opportunity for vampires!

Ghost signs are the faded remnants you see in cities (usually on brick walls). You can read about a whole slew of British ghost signs, and there's also a San Francisco-based website.

Victor Vasarely was a great op-art artist, and did you know he made some jewelry as well?

What did the pioneering astronauts eat? Well, most of it came from "Bea's Diner."

Monday, May 10, 2021

 Hello and happy Monday!

Photography, once considered beneath museums, is now a recognized art form. A collection of photos from 1970s NYC, taken by a taxi driver, is now a book and it looks fantastic.


Have you ever wanted to explore the Bayeux Tapestry in detail? Now you can do so online!

Friday, May 07, 2021

Good news, everyone! We have new windows, we're being vaccinated, everything is getting back in order (albeit slowly). Regular posts with actual links should resume next week! Thanks for your patience.

Wednesday, May 05, 2021

 Hello! Our windows adventures are continuing, but here are a few quick links.

Janelle Shane asked some neural networks to come up with new Disney villains, and they obliged. I really want to know what "second-hand telepathy" entails.

At Green-Wood Cemetery, they're having "A Night of Victorian Tragedy" next week, and I so wish I could be there.

If you're looking for a crowdsourcing project, the Library of Congress is digitizing a slew of reports and needs some help.

Tuesday, May 04, 2021

 Greetings! It's a bit of a hectic week here, as we are getting new windows (very exciting). Updates soon.

Tuesday, April 27, 2021

 Programming note! We're taking a few days off, so Folderol will be erratic until next week. 

Now that we have that out of the way, on to the links!

A terrifying animal lurking in the trees of Krakow turns out to be...a croissant. Gotta watch out for those baked goods.


From Cassandra: Creepy places in northern Kentucky! A few of these are new to me. We're planning a local roadtrip.

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

Monday, April 26, 2021

 Happy Monday!

Here's one pandemic-related story that's fun and positive: a joke post a year ago resulted in hundreds of people named Josh meeting up over the weekend to fight with pool noodles. The "ultimate Josh" is a four-year-old, who was absolutely delighted with the win.  (Points to the bystander who made a "Go Josh!" sign.)

Coming soon to the Cincinnati Art Museum: an exhibit dedicated to the Monuments Men and the art they saved! 


Many of us remember "Goodbye Horses" by Q Lazzarus. But who was the singer? Finding the answer results in some unexpected places, like the Hasidic community of New Square, New York.

Friday, April 23, 2021

 Hello and happy Friday! Many thanks to Zazoo and Cassandra, who bring you this week's Links from Others.

From Zazoo: The Mermaid Parade will be held in person this year. Slowly, NYC is coming back to life!

Also from Zazoo: Mulder and Scully reunited, for a photo at least.

From Cassandra: A gorgeous poem in honor of National Poetry Month.

Also from Cassandra: Wonderlust Travel! Check out the places to visit in 2021, provided all goes well.

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

Thursday, April 22, 2021

 Today we have a few links from others, just for fun, and an update on an old link!

From Zazoo: Ezra Furman comes out as a transgender woman and mom. All love and strength to her! This Body Was Made, indeed.

From Cassandra: Spiders and their cognitive abilities still confound and fascinate.

GeoGuessr, which we linked to long ago, has been updated and now has features like a Battle Royale (you need a pro account, but I'm eager to see some people try this) and a "guess the country" streak game, which you can play free once a day. I tried it and failed right off the bat, guessing Slovenia instead of Slovakia. (I am shaky on eastern European countries post-USSR breakup.)

Wednesday, April 21, 2021

Accountability for police and for European football leagues? It's a banner day. Let's all take a deep breath and relax for a few moments, before getting back to work! More soon.

Tuesday, April 20, 2021

 Today, we have questions!

Via Laughing Squid: How did silent movies handle special effects?

Who was Harriet Cole

Who are all the baseball players (and everyone else) in this photo?

Monday, April 19, 2021

 Welcome to another week!

I have a weakness for art referencing night and trees. So Hasui Kawase's woodcuts are right in my wheelhouse, so to speak.

Remember Dubai's planned world islands? One person went to see them. After that, they went to visit an abandoned village made up of Disneyesque castles. It's true!

And lastly, for everything else, there's the Museum of Everything Else.

Friday, April 16, 2021

 Happy Friday!

From Satori: Scientists turned spider web designs into music. It's very cool and spooky.

Also from Satori: Check out this amazing secret society in Brooklyn, which has Underground Railroad origins.


From various places: Lofi.cafe has great soundtracks for working/sleeping/studying. I'm listening to one right now!

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

Thursday, April 15, 2021

This just in: getting back into the groove after March Mammal Madness is hard! However, on a slightly related note, Folderol turns 21 sometime this month, and can now legally drink and do whatever else it feels like. Yikes. Thanks for going along on this blogging trip extraordinaire with me! 

Wednesday, April 14, 2021

 Today’s burning question: Why is Kermit the Frog called Gustavo in Spain? It looks like he’s called some variant of Kermit nearly everywhere else. 

The UFO researchers known as MUFON have set up shop in my hometown! 

Some ghostly sightings are fascinating and unexplainable. Others…not so much. Here are the “worst ghosts” of previous years!

Tuesday, April 13, 2021

 Today's Google Doodle honors the Metropolitan Museum of Art! This place is amazing and everyone should try to visit it at least once. And the next Met Gala will be a two-part event!


The Public Domain Review has been a wonderful resource, especially during the last year, and now they're releasing a book! 

Monday, April 12, 2021

Happy Monday. Would you like to hear about state birds for over 20 minutes? Then you're in luck! This video also goes into some detail about how even birds can get politicized in Florida. (You also get to see the Florida scrub jay in the wild. It's pretty!)

Friday, April 09, 2021

Happy Friday!

Some somber news out of England, where Prince Philip has died.

Some lighthearted news to follow up yesterday's local monkeys post: they're now on Twitter. 

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

Thursday, April 08, 2021

 Some quick Thursday links:

- Come for the local news report on monkey sightings, stay for the reference to Odysseus!  (Many thanks to Holly for sending this!)

- I sent this to my fellow Gen Xers yesterday and we've been having a lot of fun comparing the two: Brood X or Gen X? The similarities are...rather striking.

Wednesday, April 07, 2021

 Still getting caught up, but here are two fun links:


1. The cicada invasion is coming, and you can help document the chaos via Cicada Safari if you're in the area!


2. Want to see a jazz musician cook old recipes on TikTok (very quickly and loudly)? You're in luck! (This is my only TikTok follow so far. I'm easing into this newfangled technology, get off my lawn, etc etc.)

Tuesday, April 06, 2021

 Hola! Still getting caught up with everything. Back soon.

Monday, April 05, 2021

Hello and happy Monday! Here are some links from the backlog.

Behold, Arabic coins in Rhode Island, possibly solving a pirate mystery!

Behold, an ancient spider god, possibly striking fear in the hearts of arachnophobes!

From Satori: Old Ireland in Color, a new book and photo project with colorized photographs. I am usually sort of meh on colorization, but these are fantastic.

Via Bill Lucey: Ken Burns is working on another documentary - this one on Ernest Hemingway.

Thursday, April 01, 2021

 Happy April, all! Here's the recap of last night's championship.




We are now off to get caught up on sleep! See you next week for more regular posting.

Wednesday, March 31, 2021

 Greetings! Tonight is the championship bout of March Mammal Madness, and we'll have our recap up tomorrow.


In the meantime, why not read this delightful technological history of They Might Be Giants?

Tuesday, March 30, 2021

 Happy...Tuesday? We've lost all track of time. Here's the Final Roar recap of March Mammal Madness; the championship bout is tomorrow night! Regular posting should resume next week, once we get a chance to catch up on sleep.


Friday, March 26, 2021

 Happy Friday, everyone! Here's our latest:




Have a safe and spiffy weekend. See you next week, when the madness ends and we'll be back to somewhat regular posting the week after that!

Thursday, March 25, 2021

Hello! We can see the light at the end of the March Mammal Madness tunnel. Here's our recap of last night's Sweet 16!



Tuesday, March 23, 2021

 Greetings! We now have a Sweet 16 for March Mammal Madness, and there were several upsets along the way!



Monday, March 22, 2021

Happy Monday! March Mammal Madness continues here, but I have a link today via Bill Lucey: The New York Times Book Review turns 125 years old in 2021, and their review of The Diary of Anne Frank brought the book to a worldwide audience.

Friday, March 19, 2021

 Happy Friday! Here's a Rodent Recap to get you through the weekend. Have a safe and spiffy time, everyone. See you next week.

 

Thursday, March 18, 2021

 Hello! In the mood for some good old fashioned carnage? Well, here you go!


Wednesday, March 17, 2021

 Happy St. Patrick's Day, everyone!


Nothing too spooky today, but in the course of March Mammal Madness, we discovered this amazing site which takes you below the sea - really, really deep below the sea. I had no oiea emperor penguins could dive so deep. Keep scrolling!

Tuesday, March 16, 2021

 Hello! Here's our latest Rodent Recap of March Mammal Madness. Come for the terrifying image of the dragonfish, stay for me not remembering the phrase "we hardly knew ye." 


Monday, March 15, 2021

 Hello and happy Monday! Here are a few links not related to mammal madness!


A look at several Surrealist artists (including the amazing Leonora Carrington) explores the differing experiences of mental illness.

Were John Keats and F. Scott Fitzgerald similar in work and in life? A new book thinks so. (I have to admit, I never really thought of comparing the two.)

Friday, March 12, 2021

 Happy Friday, everyone! Here's our latest MMM recap. Have a safe and spiffy weekend!




Thursday, March 11, 2021

Thursday! But we have entertainment for you. Here's our recap of last night's March Mammal Madness matchups!


Wednesday, March 10, 2021

 Hello! Here are a few links from others this Wednesday.


From Bill Lucey: The newest Congress, by the numbers.


From various sources: It sounds like the beginning of a movie or a book, but it's true - a woman found an apartment behind her bathroom mirror in NYC.


From Cassandra: What happens in near-death experiences? One man has spent most of his life trying to find out.

Tuesday, March 09, 2021

 

And so it begins! Here's the Wild Card matchup for 2021's March Mammal Madness.


 

Friday, March 05, 2021

Hello and happy Friday! We're still here, just buried in March Mammal Madness preparation. Look for some videos (and hopefully some interesting links as well) next week. Have a safe and spiffy weekend, everyone!

Wednesday, March 03, 2021

Greetings! Why not unplug for a day this weekend? Behold the National Day of Unplugging, featuring scavenger hunts and more!

Tuesday, March 02, 2021

Hello and happy Tuesday.


To the future: Meow Wolf's latest creation, Omega Mart, is now open in Las Vegas. I can't wait to visit it someday.

Monday, March 01, 2021

Hello and happy March! You know what that means around here - sporadic updates, due to March Mammal Madness (and look, even the Washington Post is reporting on it). We'll do our best to post links, but it will be crazy around here until April.

From Zazoo: Check out the Van Gogh installation coming to NYC!

Also from Zazoo: Jim Henson's early commercials for Wilkins Coffee are going viral. (I love that first commercial. It's one of my all time favorites.)

Friday, February 26, 2021

 Happy Friday! Here's a link to take you into the weekend: The 2021 March Mammal Madness bracket, announced today. Have fun! And also, have a safe and spiffy weekend. See you next week.

Wednesday, February 24, 2021

 No news today; library unpacking is going on! See you soon.

Tuesday, February 23, 2021

 If, like many of us, you are sad to hear about Daft Punk breaking up, might I recommend Jeph Jacques's tribute to them, featuring dancing robots?

In other sound and music news, the sound engineering for the movie Mank recreated the sounds of cinema from that time period, which is a lot more difficult than it might seem.

The Library Time Machine ground to a halt recently, due to the new variant of COVID. Fortunately, it's back up and running!

Carbon Ruins is an installation that envisions a future without fossil fuels - and what our current era would look like to people living in that future. Lots of food for thought here.

Monday, February 22, 2021

Hello and happy Monday!  

The creators of March Mammal Madness have written a paper, and there's an article about it (and MMM) in Scientific American today! The article is here and the paper is here. The humble roving rodent reporters are extremely proud to be a part of all this, and suggest we all celebrate with some cheese and the beverage of our choice.

Friday, February 19, 2021

 Hi all! It's library moving day, so here's hoping everyone has a safe and spiffy weekend.  See you next week.

Thursday, February 18, 2021

Hello! Two links today:


From Cassandra: A map of epidemics and their names (or what people called them, at any rate).

Minnesota is holding a contest to name their snowplows. "Plow Bunyan" is a contender.  Hee.

Wednesday, February 17, 2021

 Greetings! 

I've fallen down a rabbit hole of linguistics lately (see Monday's post for the beginning) and I just found someone who does videos in Lang Belta. Lang Belta is a (fictional) Creole from The Expanse book and TV series. It's sort of a mishmash of European languages with some others mixed in. I've read the books and it's a fun language. Anyway! Here is an explanation of Gritty, originally done in French, now in Lang Belta. Enjoy!


  

Tuesday, February 16, 2021

 Pssst! Want some nostalgic J.C. Penney items? They're up for auction today!

If you'd rather think about the future, in a manner of speaking, consider the current take on Alvin Toffler's Future Shock.

Monday, February 15, 2021

Hello, and welcome to a chaotic week here at Spooky Librarians HQ! We'll be featuring severe weather and moving a library behind the scenes. For today, however, here are some links.

Did you know that Frankie Goes to Hollywood had their own computer game in 1985? It's true! It looks like quite the experience.

The languages of the Star Wars galaxy are numerous, detailed, and exceedingly fun to read about.

Friday, February 12, 2021

Happy Friday! And happy Lunar New Year, the Year of the Ox.

Speaking of cattle, you can have a Valentine's Day Zoom date with a cow. Seriously.

Next week may be a little crazy at Folderol, as we are trying to do the library move in the middle of some wacky winter weather, not to mention COVID and everything else going on. Wish us luck! Have a safe and spiffy weekend, everyone. See you (at some point) next week.

Thursday, February 11, 2021

Greetings! Thursday, once again, is busy. Why not take a look at this wonderful Turkish library, shaped like a shelf of books, and follow the links in the post for "duck architecture," which is just perfect. We need more duck architecture in general, I believe.

Wednesday, February 10, 2021

Today, be glad you are not this Texas lawyer, who got his Zoom profile stuck on a kitten filter. (This is sweeping the web and you've probably seen it already, but it's so worth it.)

In more local news, we talked about the Big Pig Gig during the earliest days of Folderol, way back in the summer of 2000. How many giant flying pigs are still winging around the city (and elsewhere)?  One man is tracking them down and posting the results to Instagram!

Monday, February 08, 2021

Happy Monday!

A link from Cassandra to start you off:  Theodosia Goodman, the Cincinnati-born girl who became Theda Bara, the exotic vamp. Don't underestimate the Midwest!

It's hard to find much on Li Tobler, the muse of H.R. Giger who died far too young. Most articles on her have the same information as her Wikipedia page, which isn't much. 

There's a brand new shade of blue in the world. Songwriters, get to work!

A retro look at the wonderful Skedoodle toy, which I had and loved as a kid.

And finally, for no reason at all: Cats on Synthesizers in Space. Just what it says.

Friday, February 05, 2021

 Happy Friday!


Also from Zazoo: Mark Hamill talks about the late and much-missed Richard Hunt, the voice of Scooter, Janice, and several other Muppets.

Meanwhile, the Rodent Roundtable is setting up for this year's March Mammal Madness. Check out the calendar of events to see just how busy they (and their human associates) will be!

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

Thursday, February 04, 2021

I missed National Shelfie Day last week, as we were busy moving shelves! But you can see the fun on Twitter.

I read a recommendation of Dashlane for password management, but don't know anyone personally who's using it. If you have experience, let me know!

From a library colleague: people are worried about camels spreading the next pandemic.Yikes.

On a brighter note, however, here are scores of places to visit virtually! I am currently exploring The Secret Door, because of course I am. I'll probably link to a lot of these in the future!

Wednesday, February 03, 2021

Hello and welcome to another random day here at Folderol. The library move should be over in a few weeks, just in time for March Mammal Madness to start...so get used to randomness for a while, I guess!

I finally signed up for a free National Geographic account, just so I could find out what really happened at the Dyatlov Pass in 1959. It's only a theory, but it does make a lot of sense.


The Egyptian pharaoh Ramses and his retinue will be traveling this year, although not by zeppelin (how cool would that be, though?), as a worldwide archaeological exhibit.

And finally, marionettes of everyone from Alice Cooper to Bernie Sanders! I especially like the one of Peter Gabriel from his Genesis days.

Tuesday, February 02, 2021

Happy Imbolc! And happy Groundhog Day. And if it's Groundhog Day, you know what's coming up awfully soon...


Monday, February 01, 2021

 Happy Monday and happy February! A quick link today, but an intricate one: How to create geometric patterns. I am on the second lesson and am already confused, so this might need a little patience. 

Friday, January 29, 2021

 We've made it to Friday!

I absolutely love this video of museum curators watching and critiquing museums in video games. I could watch stuff like this all day.

Speaking of museums and history and whatnot: Consider what it was like to be a Neanderthal woman, won't you?

From Zazoo, after I sent a different link: The barge cleaning up the Gowanus Canal has now fallen into the Gowanus Canal. Maybe this is how the Doom Factory begins...

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

Thursday, January 28, 2021

 Thursdays. Enough said! But, if you're in the Ohio area, there's an auction going on next week that must be seen to be believed. The beloved Mendelsons is finally going out of business, and the auction promises to be amazing. Everything from the tiniest circuits to Segways are going. I will miss that place.

Wednesday, January 27, 2021

 Good morning! Some more assorted links today. It's sort of a random week here.

Modicut was a Yiddish puppet theater - the very first Yiddish puppet theater, in fact - and wowed audiences in the 1920s and early 1930s. 

I read The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins this week (called the first detective novel by some), and am now fascinated by Collins and his weird life.

Another Brit who led a weird life was David Bowie, and you can now play David Bowie Monopoly! (It costs a bundle, though, be warned.)

Tuesday, January 26, 2021

 Hi there. Here are a bunch of random links!


The KLF is back...or, at least, their music archive is. (Bonus appearance in this article by Alannah Currie's instagram!)

If you find yourself cooped up with not much to do, you could always create a desktop wind tunnel.

Monday, January 25, 2021

Today's rabbit hole began with a New Yorker article about all the Nazi art that's kept in a military museum in Virginia. Part of the collection is kept for "combat artists," which was new to me, so I went exploring and found the U.S. has had a combat artist program for ages - and still does!

Meanwhile, in architecture, let's take a look at fairy tales, shall we?

Wormwoodiana tells of the supernatural, the literary, and the fantastic (in all senses of the word).