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.