Friday, January 14, 2005
Also, there are new kitten pix that will go up soon. ADOPT A KITTEN.
And now, the links from others. Thanks, everyone!
From Danny: "The New Scientist has some odd proposals for new weaponry. What to think of a gas that would be a gay aphrodisiac for the enemy forces, thereby bringing the morale down (nothing about them not fighting because they re otherwise engaged', so to speak...)"
From Bunny: "Personal Rapid Transports (just like those in Logan's Run, etc.). They were originally planned for Chicago but haven't quite gotten off the ground yet."
Also from Bunny: Send a Retro-Gram!
From Zazoo: Check out photos from the set of the Muppets' take on The Wizard of Oz. Gonzo makes a spiffy Tin Man! Also, the whole muppets.com site has been redesigned and is very cool.
From my mom: Aluna, the first tidal-powered moon clock. So cool.
Also, the good folks at Make Cincinnati Weird have officially declared Meet Cleaver Theatre (and, by extension, us) as weird! Look for some more news and updates on this very soon.
Have a great weekend, everyone. See you Tuesday!
Thursday, January 13, 2005
Today we go around the country in the name of librarianship. First off, New York Changing is a retrospective of comparison photos from the 1930s and modern times. What's odd about this collection is that, to me anyway, the places don't look all that different. New Yorkers may disagree. (Jimmylegs? Any thoughts?)
The Library of Congress has several hours of recorded interviews with former slaves. This is amazing. Also, in Arkansas, someone has found a treasure trove of prison photos from the 1910s through the 1930s. The women are especially fascinating.
Home movies: the new frontier in archives. If anyone wants to hire me to go find old home movies and research them, I would jump at the chance!
The latest argument among librarians concerns Wikipedia and its ilk. Some librarians love them for their currency and breadth of knowledge; some hate them for their lack of quality control. Here's a summary of the battleground. (Tangential comment: someone really needs to start a wiki named Twiki. The Twikiwiki! Beedee beedee beedee!)
Over in Britain, the BBC not only keeps you informed, it also teaches you languages. I had no idea. I will now try to relearn all the French I've forgotten over the years. Ancient Egyptian is not included on the list, but now that Peter Rabbit has been translated into hieroglyphics, maybe you could use that as a primer.
Tomorrow: lots of links from others. Stay tuned.
Wednesday, January 12, 2005
Also going on this weekend: the Phantom Limb Phenomena Conference in England. Perhaps they could check out the Guillotine Heaquarters as a field trip. Or they could study up on remote viewing, which seems like a fairly reasonable thing to do if you're already suffering from phantom limb complications.
Incidentally, the forums at Fortean Times are a hoot. Check out the 23-page thread on Doctor Who. I am still boggled by what seems to be a universal dread of Daleks among British kids (including the Graveworm). People. They're little trash cans on wheels!
Tuesday, January 11, 2005
Survival Research Labs and Stelarc are both futuristic, robotic, cyberpunky sorts of places to visit, although many people would not want to live there. I'm still deciding.
Meanwhile, there's always the wacky world of roadside architecture, which often consists of Very Big Things. And there are theme parks, oodles of theme parks, with historical maps to take you down memory lane. (Big Things may be included here as well.)
Kid O provides neato shiny things for kids and those of us who still like acting like kids. The Bilibo cracks me up, though. Look! A piece of plastic! This will keep kids entertained for hours! (The fact that it's true is even better.)
Monday, January 10, 2005
Kathryn sends in the ten worst album covers of all time. There's even a sequel, which is more or less the ten most disturbing album covers of all time. Have fun!
The sixth annual Anarchist Bookfair is gearing up in Montreal. (Is it truly anarchist if it happens at the same time every year?)
Interesting art links: the art of the Turks, circa 600-1600, and the art of Stephen Wiltshire, circa 2004.
Alice in Oxford takes you down the rabbit hole, through the looking glass, and everywhere in between.
Poetry International celebrates the art of language, with translations for those of us who are not polyglots. Poland isn't included yet, but hopefully it will be soon (I have a thing for Polish poets, evidently).
