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).

Friday, January 22, 2021

 Happy Friday, everyone!


Also from Zazoo: Muppets, part 2! "And what is this??? I had no idea..."

From Cassandra: Can positivity become toxic? (Spoiler: yes, it can!)

And lastly, a bit of positivity which is not toxic at all: Fiona, our beloved local hippo, turns four years old this weekend! Here's what she'll be eating at the celebration.

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

Thursday, January 21, 2021

 Greetings!

My father and aunt were voracious mystery readers, and I've been reading a lot of them myself lately. Crime Reads has been a gateway to many wonderful reads, including one I just finished about the Detection Club of (mostly) British authors. It's written by Martin Edwards, who has a blog of his own. Fellow mystery lovers, unite.

If, however, detective novels are of no interest to you...how about sea shanties? They're all the rage now, somewhat inexplicably.

Wednesday, January 20, 2021

 It's Inauguration Day here in the U.S., and let's hope it's the start of better times. Without getting too much into the politics of it all, I'm glad to see some symbolic art on the mall and at the reflecting pool in Washington. Stay safe, everyone.

Tuesday, January 19, 2021

 Hello! Just one link today to challenge your brain: Quant Fund or Metal Band? See how much of a streak you can maintain!

Friday, January 15, 2021

 Happy Friday! We'll be off next Monday, and hopefully back on Tuesday. Library moving preparations are ongoing and likely to disrupt pretty much everything for the next few weeks.

From Cassandra, part 1: The ancient roots of Wonder Woman!

From Cassandra, part 2: The new moon marks the "true" beginning of 2021, so maybe we can attribute last week's insanity to 2020 overextending its reach a bit.


From Zazoo: Here's an article on Elizebeth Friedman. "She was one of the greatest decoders of all time, and is just starting to get the recognition she deserves." There's also a PBS special about her.

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

Thursday, January 14, 2021

 "Librarians with Lives" sounds like a great podcast. (Full disclosure, I have not listened to it yet, as I don't really have a life at the moment; trying to move a library during a pandemic is turning out to be quite an experience!)

In other library-related news, the Library of Congress has new, updated guides to state laws.

The Smithsonian's grand expansion plan has fallen victim to 2020, it seems.

Janelle Shane is back with the drawings of DALL-E! Some are surprisingly accurate. Others, well..

Wednesday, January 13, 2021

 Hi there. No links today, but check back tomorrow, when, despite it being Thursday, I should have some more time!

Tuesday, January 12, 2021

Monday, January 11, 2021

 Hello and happy Monday! Are we all ready for another week of breaking news?

In non-breaking news, some Italian futurists declared war on pasta about 90 years ago. The surrealist cookbooks were amazing creations.

The William Morris Gallery has been posting arts and crafts activities for kids (and adults) through the pandemic. 

The American Museum of Natural History is opening a renovated hall of minerals and gems this year, and it looks completely amazing.

Finance, meet art! Art, meet finance! They combine in Stoxart, paintings created from stock charts. I really like a lot of these.

Friday, January 08, 2021

It is Friday, hooray!

From Bunny: Wildsville Mosaic (Facebook page), is an inspiration, showing off some great retro designs.

From Cassandra: The Liberal Redneck's take on this week's events. (Also, for you wrestling fans, this previous episode about the Georgia elections is pretty great!)

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

Thursday, January 07, 2021

 Well. Our nation has become a place where The Onion's news page makes as much sense as the actual news. Yay, us. Stay safe, everyone.


I had gotten the next two links before everything went down in DC, but here they are, in case you'd like to escape a bit.

First off: Was Albert Camus killed by the KGB? (Okay, maybe that's not much of an escapist read...)

Secondly: The letters from T.S. Eliot to Emily Hale are now open to the public, and what I'm getting from this is that Eliot, while an incredibly talented poet, was pretty much a jerk. Your opinion may vary.

Wednesday, January 06, 2021

Happy Epiphany! In Eastern Europe, people are defying the temperatures (and pandemic restrictions) by diving into the water. It’s a holiday tradition, but possibly an unwise one this year. 

In spooky news, the Dearest newsletter pointed me to Casa Codognato, a Venetian jewelry house with a beautiful eye for the macabre. Take a look!

Tuesday, January 05, 2021

 If you've resolved to learn a new language this year, why not try a fictional language? I was all about learning Cityspeak, but it doesn't look like there's an established dictionary, sad to say.

If you'd rather explore the intricacies of English, there's a virtual fridge magnet website that gives you points for originality! Check out Frij.io for all the goodness.

And if you'd rather do than talk, Vintage Machinery has oodles of information on, well, vintage machinery. Fun for hours, if not more!

Monday, January 04, 2021

 Hello and happy 2021!

Music/film: I discovered Ludovico Einaudi last year, and highly recommend him to everyone.

Art: I'm hoping to do more mosaics this year, and this is a lovely way to look at the world around you and apply it to art of any kind,

Dance/technology: They dance now? They dance now! And they're pretty good at it, too.