Folderol

2010-03-09T12:39:00.000-05:00

Look, a whole list of steampunk recommendations from Library Journal! This is the perfect Steampunk Librarian link!

Vancouver has been in the news a lot for the Olympics, and some lovely things have turned up, such as this collection of vintage ads and this post on the steam clock (powered via the steam tunnels!) in Gastown.

Atlas Obscura, the source of that last link, is celebrating Obscura Day on March 20. Join the festivities! (There is no Ohio group yet; we need to fix that.)

Some gorgeous behind-the-scenes photos show Fritz Lang at work on his films, including Metropolis. The set design is amazing.

Would you like to go to Crawler Town? It's a traveling eco-punk community! With origins in steampunk! Sadly, it only exists in LEGO format. For now, anyway.

The esteemed Steampunk Scholar discusses the various tribes that could (theoretically) make up the steampunk community. The full article is available in PDF. I believe I fall into the "Browncoat Timelord" category myself, which means I am a generalist, but friendly!

2010-03-08T13:10:00.000-05:00

Happy International Womens Day!

There was a nice tribute to John Hughes by the Brat Pack last night at the Oscars, for you fellow Generation Xers.

Robert T. McCall, NASA artist extraordinaire, has died. His space art lives on, however.

By sheer coincidence, today features two weblogs about drawing monsters. Monsters In Real Places shows you just what it promises, while I Draw Monsters depicts the work of "creating worlds and the curious beings that inhabit them."

The International Center of Photography has a current exhibit on surrealism in photography, which looks fascinating and beautiful. Also fascinating and beautiful: the serpent originally painted around Queen Elizabeth I's wrist in a portrait. It was replaced with flowers, but as the painting has aged, the serpent is coming through. Sounds like the beginning of a great story, doesn't it?

2010-03-05T11:01:00.000-05:00

It is Friday! You know what that means: links sent in by others! Many thanks, everyone.

From Julie: the eBay auction for a Derbyshire nuclear bunker ends on Sunday, so act fast!

Also from Julie: the recent earthquake in Chile may have shortened our day by a few microseconds. Would this screw up time travelers? Or spaceships going at warp speed?

From Cassandra: you can take part in a light pollution study which entails looking up at the stars; a dictionary of Old English is in progress, and shows the "violent but charming" nature of the language; and a photograph gallery of India's Holi festival of colors.

From Susan's Facebook: look, book wallpaper! I think some coffeehouse should use this.

As found on Coilhouse, Tokyo's cat cafes are right up my alley. I would like someone to start this in the U.S., please, preferably somewhere close to me!

We end the week with videos. Swiped from Dawnowar: a hilarious parody ad of furniture stores. Swiped from Glenn at Maniacal Hooting, a video by OK Go which may be the best Rube Goldberg device setup of all time. This is one amazing piece of filmmaking!

Have a spiffy weekend, everyone. See you Monday!

2010-03-04T13:27:00.001-05:00

Okay, I know I was not paying too much attention to a lot of stuff last month, but how did I miss the penny redesign announcement? A permanent redesign! Of the penny! Where is my mind?

The University of Michigan is, at long last, getting rid of its card catalogs. I do miss the old catalogs, especially when the computers go all wonky.

Other stuff I miss: video arcades! But fear not, there's a movement afoot to preserve the old games, at least. Also preserved: Chicago television broadcasting of yesteryear, thanks to the efforts of museum.tv.

Hooray, Shelf Check is back! You can add your own patron-based acronyms to the list in the latest strip. I think law librarians could make up several appropriate names.

Tomorrow: links from others, hooray!

2010-03-03T13:47:00.000-05:00

This weekend brings you Art on Ice (in Switzerland) and Frozen Dead Guy Days (in America)! Spring really is coming some day. Really.

Next weekend brings the illumination of Hadrian's Wall, which looks amazing and commemorates 1600 years since the end of Roman Britain. I can't wait to see photos.

Back in the United States, the Smalls Street Sounds project wants you to contribute to an aural history of your city. Upload the sounds of your town!

MapEnvelope puts a GoogleMaps location as a return address. Good idea for invitations!

2010-03-02T14:12:00.000-05:00

The Smart Set, a website I love, takes a look at steampunk!

It may be somewhat dreary outside, but that makes for good steampunkish weather, apparently, as there's a lot going on this month. The Metropolitan Museum of Art's exhibit on Victorian photocollage is now open, for example. Next weekend brings the 2010 Annual Mutter Ball in Philadelphia ("19th-century inspired garb encouraged!") and the Antique Science & Retro-Tech Swap in Irving, Texas ("World Championship Slide Rule Competition at 2 pm!"). All of these are highly recommended.

And for the futurists: new innovations in hearing aids may mean wearing them on the back teeth, not the ear. (The possibilities for augmented reality are also mentioned. Oooo.)

2010-03-01T12:41:00.000-05:00

The Olympics may be over, but the images remain, especially in the Flickr pool.

Also in Flickr fun: Goofy signs!

The National Archvies now has a Flickr account, but they are not allowing any photographs in the rotunda any longer. This is why we can't have nice things, people.

A new book on Emily Dickinson suggests that perhaps she was not the quiet recluse that her posthumous reputation has suggested. Interesting stuff.

On Friday, the Smithsonian opens an exhibit featuring art made in Japanese internment camps between 1942 and 1944. Powerful and beautiful.

And lastly, here is something completely different: solar panels which look like regular roofing tiles. Woo, it's the future!

2010-02-26T12:30:00.000-05:00

Lots of links from others this Friday. Thanks, everyone!

From Julie: The shortlist for the Diagram Prize has been announced! Yay! I think my vote would go to Crocheting Adventures with Hyperbolic Planes.

Also from Julie: an Austrian monastery is looking for weekend recruits, bald chickens in England are getting knitted clothes, and here in America, we've got an awful lot of old planes. That boneyard looks incredibly tempting.

From Zazoo, a look back at Bingoski!, which has sadly stopped running at the Ukranian restaurant. New and different venues are on the way, though.

From Cassandra: how does one define genius? Also, cannibal stars are eating planets, rape at juvenile detention centers is frighteningly rampant and usually ignored, a Greenwich Village fortune teller gets caught trying to scam someone out of a fortune, female magicians are a vanishing breed, and Eternal-Earthbound Pets offers to take care of your animals after the Rapture. I am really tempted to offer my services to this place, as there is no Ohio chapter yet.

And finally, found on Dawnowar's site: met.al/, the Metal URL shortener! (Also, Dawn turns 42 this weekend, which means she will know the answer to life, the universe and everything by Monday, so be sure to ask her. Or wish her a happy birthday, Or both!)

Have a spiffy weekend, everyone! See you Monday.

2010-02-25T14:23:00.000-05:00

The National Archives is now on Flickr, hooray!

More historical image fun is over at Life - there's a gallery of famous addicts in literature (I don't think I'd ever seen a photo of Baudelaire before) and there's a great gallery of dogs working during WWII (including one wearing a gas mask).

Fun with book arranging, courtesy of the same woman who brought you the SkyMall Kitty song from Monday's post. I am tempted to try this with our books, because I think there could be a lot of macabre expressions on our shelves...

Bad library news: Boston's Public Library may be closing branches.

Bad lawyer news: people in the legal profession are terrible drivers.

However, we finish with something fun: the Webomator weblog discusses e-books and e-readers, with fantastic illustrations.

Links from others are coming up tomorrow!

2010-02-24T13:14:00.001-05:00

One of the many fun uses of Google Earth and Google Maps: comparing photos from then to now. Here are shots of various New York City landmarks in 1924 and 2008, including parts of Central Park (then a reservoir) and Prospect Park's Grand Army Plaza (which looks pretty much the same today!).

This weekend brings you the tenth anniversary of Whisky Live in London, the fourth Father Ted gathering in Ireland (called, logically, TedFest 4), and the belated but no less awesome Magic Hat Mardi Gras parade in Burlington, Vermont, boasting over 40 floats.

I don't know if anyone is watching Caprica these days, but if you are, Religion Dispatches is doing a nice recap of each episode from a spiritual angle.

2010-02-23T13:57:00.001-05:00

If you're near Nashville, the producers of steampunky film Nickel Children are looking for cast and crew members!

I think Jules Verne would have loved this "aero submarine." I might accept this over a jetpack. Maybe.

I am pretty sure most people will not accept the idea of Queen Victoria as a demon-hunter, however, but it sounds like a rollickingly fun time to me!

Fans of Wild Wild West may appreciate this amazing apartment in Manhattan. Sadly, it's going away, as the tenant is moving out in March. Perhaps he'll have the stoop sale of a lifetime?

And finally, the adventures of Monsieur Sandalette are starting to appear in English, which is very nice for the non-Francophone fans. French speakers can read an extra two episodes!

2010-02-22T12:23:00.000-05:00

Today's shirt from Woot! is very nice for readers, librarians, and people of that ilk.

I was watching the Olympics over the weekend and discussing figure skating with Bunny. He compared it to ballet (in terms of how interesting he found it), and behold, here is an article in which dancers talk about their opinions of figure skating. A different article addresses my major complaint, which is that the music tends toward the godawful boring. (In comparison, check this out. That's a Dead or Alive remix! That's freakin' awesome!)

How have Crayola colors changed since their inception in 1903? I'm glad you asked. (I am intrigued by the colors that disappeared over time.)

And finally, for people familiar with the SkyMall catalog and/or animals: SkyMall Kitty, the best song about a catalog ever. So far, anyway.

2010-02-19T11:19:00.000-05:00

Happy Friday, everyone. Many thanks to everyone who sent in links for today's post!

From Josie: Meet the Impossibirds!

From Julie: A pelican, perhaps enraged by the cuteness of the impossibirds, goes berzerk on a weather presenter. Ha!

Also from Julie: more UFO reports are released to the public, including some truly odd sketches, and archaeologists have determined the true site of the Battle of Bosworth Field. (For those of you not up on English history, this is the battle where Richard III was killed and the Wars of the Roses came to an end, essentially.)

From Cassandra: the "steamy" memoirs of Casanova have been given to France's National Library. (Casanova was a librarian, you know, among other things.) Also from Cassandra: the Pembroke Center in Providence, Rhode Island debuts the Feminist Theory Papers, and a Philadelphia school district is in big trouble over using the webcams in school-issued laptops to spy on students at home. George Orwell, you were right.

From Bunny: A local man takes matters into his own hands by bulldozing his foreclosed home. And he might do the same to his business!

Have a spiffy weekend, everyone. See you Monday.

2010-02-18T13:29:00.000-05:00

News! About libraries! And news librarians! And more!

In the uncertain newsroom of today, a lot of errors are getting made (and published); this is just one story among many, many others.

Another reason news librarians are useful: they might help you track down potential Cold War spies! This is a neat story; my favorite part is how a date was pinned down using the paper's sunrise and sunset times.

There is the Biblioburro in Colombia, mentioned here before, and there is also a camel library service in Kenya. I think there could be a lot of variations on this concept.

Librarians can inspire people...even via their obituaries?

My library school alma mater is talking about eliminating their school media (i.e. school librarian) program. Weird. I always thought that was the most popular specialization there.

And finally, a post in Apartment Therapy suggests you make bookshelves out of your ceiling rafters. (Keep in mind that this post originated in Los Angeles and may not be taking leaky ceilings or weight limits into consideration...)

2010-02-17T14:36:00.000-05:00

If you can dig out from under the snow, there's a lot going on this week. There are Carnivals in practically every city, and there are also Chinese New Year celebrations, and it's also the beginning of kite season, and some Roman-X mechanized chariot racing could start up any day, you never know.

And, for something completely different, here's an article on the rise of green funerals (thanks, Cassandra!). We have been dealing with this sort of thing over the past week or so, and I am all about doing as little damage to the environment with as little trauma to the family as possible.

2010-02-16T13:55:00.000-05:00

And I think we are finally back, even with yet another snowstorm. Wow, February has been quite the month.

Have you been following the amazing documentation of the Hawkins Strongbox? If not, you should!

Valentine's Day may have come and gone, but you can still look at the 19th century version of Missed Connections via the fantastic Advertising for Love weblog.

Found via the Steampunk Fashion community: the Emlen Physick Estate Tours in New Jersey feature a focused tour on the life and times of Victorian women. Go, and report back!

Over on the Steampunk Empire, I try to post upcoming events that steam people might find interesting, like the Nova Albion Steampunk Exhibition. Join and post the events in your area!

2010-02-15T11:13:00.002-05:00

Back tomorrow; for now, please follow John Scalzi's initiative and appreciate Grover today.

2010-02-11T14:19:00.000-05:00

Thanks to everyone. I will be gone tomorrow to be with family, but should be back Monday, winter weather permitting! So today we go with some links from others.

From Cassandra: Obituaries are another tradition in transition as newspapers change. (This is timely, as we just discovered the exorbitant cost of running this small obituary for my aunt in the Chicago Tribune.)

Also from the Tribune, incidentally: there was a small earthquake in the Chicago area this week. The world, it has gone mad!

From Cassandra, part 2: On the Issues discusses Wonder Woman.

From Julie: To celebrate International Sword Swallowers Day, a new record is set -- 18 swords at once. Ow! I don't know how people like Charon and Alex do it.

John Scalzi has the same thoughts about Google Buzz as I do at the moment. I am willing to give it a try, though! Feel free to add (follow?) me if you like.

Thanks again to all -- have a safe and spiffy weekend, everyone. See you Monday, or maybe Tuesday.

2010-02-09T23:55:00.000-05:00

Donna Dietrick

1935-2010

Possibly the quirkiest, most eccentric, best aunt ever. I owe a lot to her.

2010-02-09T15:50:00.000-05:00

It's lovely weather for a Snow Lady, isn't it? Get inspired and create your own!

This week's proof that steampunk is now everywhere, for good or ill, comes from an aisle at Michaels craft store. More proof (although, hopefully, with more staying power) comes from Stanford's use of pneumatic tubes as a delivery system. This last link comes to us via io9, which also recommends the recent reissue of K.W. Jeter's Infernal Devices as a way to explore the "original" concepts of steampunk.

Via Warren Ellis: Molly Crabapple's design for the "steampunk spectacular" issue of Weird Tales!

Are you a tinkerer and a maker? If so, the Antiquitarian Guild of Inventors & Engineers may be a perfect fit for you.

And finally, way back in the turbulent early '70s, a children's book explored what living in 2010 would be like. Now that the future is the present, a weblog is going through the book page by page. It's wonderful and a little depressing and a little exhilarating, all at the same time, and a lovely find for anyone interested in futurism and anyone who was a child in the '70s and '80s.

2010-02-08T13:59:00.000-05:00

Hi there. This week looks a little iffy for Folderol updates; posts will happen when they can. For today, I give you...

-- photos of the Snowpocalypse in DC!

-- the new Picture Book Report website!

-- and last but most definitely not least, Hipster Puppies.

2010-02-05T11:37:00.001-05:00

It is Friday, and we are currently observing a lovely rain/snow/sleet/ice mix. Yes, it's February in Cincinnati!

From Zazoo: the awesome Puppet Buzz weblog.

From Julie: A pheasant is terrorizing a small English village, possibly to avenge the death of family members!

Also from Julie: Magnum's photography archive has been sold and will be available for view by the public, hooray.

From Cassandra: "At 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 6, the Central Ohio Ghost Squad will premiere the movie 'Back into Hell at Bobby Mackey's.'" You can meet one of the ghost hunters, too!

Also from Cassandra: Find a notable death via the Death Clock website.

From my mom: a great piece on the late Howard Zinn. Thanks, Mom!

From Nicole: A Gawker piece describes a made-over Snooki (of the now-infamous Jersey Shore TV series) as looking like "the coolest girl at the librarian's convention." Nicole believes that this is wrong, as she, Cassandra and I were the coolest girls at the Internet Librarian convention a few years back. Hee. Thanks, Nicole! (I don't think Snooki has any interest in being a librarian anyway, so we are safe for now.)

Be safe and have a spiffy weekend, everyone. Between the weather and some family stuff going on, we may not be posting on Monday, but who knows?

2010-02-04T13:48:00.000-05:00

One day, I will wise up and remember that Thursdays are almost always insanely busy, and get the Thursday links ready ahead of time. Today is not that day.

For now, however, I can at least point you to a cornucopia of great stuff via two other librarians: Jessamyn's summary of her postings during her week at Boing Boing, and the Librarian in Black's 13 Ways (and 147 Tools) to Help Your Library Save Money on Technology.

Also, for the geeks: The D&D alignments of Doctor Who. Chaotic good has always been my favorite, so I was pleased.

Tomorrow: links from others!

2010-02-03T14:14:00.000-05:00

The Zombible is just what it sounds like. You have been warned.

I could have sworn I'd posted before about the Secret Places of San Francisco, but evidently I haven't. Go and search them out!

Farther north, the Olympics are gearing up, which means it's time for wacky mascot adventures. Those of you who follow MCT can guess what the Rude Marmot thinks of being relegated to sidekick status.

2010-02-02T13:43:00.000-05:00

RIP, Kage Baker. If you haven't read Kage's work, I highly recommend "The Bohemian Astrobleme," just published in Subterranean Magazine and rather steampunky in nature. (I've been meaning to read the Company series and should do that soon...)

The Continentals, a webcomic that mixes Victoriana with The Avengers and more, is coming to the world of print!

Bartitsu, the martial art practiced by Sherlock Holmes, is coming to Seattle. (Well, it may be there already, but the opportunity to learn it is coming to Seattle...)

Beware, the killer robots are on their way. However, there are monster butlers offering up their services as well, so between the killer robots and the monsters, everything balances out, right? (Killer robots are not yet available for sale to plebeians, but monster butlers are!)