Yoda vs. Britney Spears

Just watch this video...

Dungeons & Dragons Made Simple

Here's a review of the book Dungeons & Dragons Made Simple. The best line is "If only this had come out a little sooner -- like in 1975."

My hovercraft is full of eels!

Translations of this phrase in many languages. (Travelin' Librarian, supplying you with useful links since... oh, nevermind.)

Which Dead German Composer Are You?

Gustav Mahler definitely lived by the statement, "Music is life. The rest is just details." Mahler was a composer in the summer and a conductor during the main orchestra season, and he was so obsessed with musical perfection that he earned a reputation as a harsh and terrifying tyrant. In fact, he was a tiny little fellow who tied so much of his vulnerable inner self to his music that he felt completely compelled to draw the best performance out of his players. He was so very attached, in fact, that he feared that elements of his own musicÑ-such as three hammer blows in the 6th Symphony, or the concept of sure death after writing a 9th--would kill him. He tried to steer around these things through editing and creative numbering, but that gesture only further proves how close Mahler was to his own music. A few key works: Kindertotenleider, Das Lied von der Erde, Symphony No. 6, Symphony No. 9
Take the Dead German Composer Test!

My birthday is coming up...

A Batman Shakespeare Bust which actually works. (Secret entrance to batcave not included.)

White House response

The Huffington Post has posted an excerpt from a White House briefing regarding the "finger of hostility" incident.

Here's a headline I never thought I'd read...

"God bless Denver." It's from Bookslut's mention of DPL's recent "Privacy Line - Do Not Cross - Stop Secret Searches - ACLU - ReformthePatriotAct.org." banner. Unfortunately, the Denver Post article they link to is from someone complaining about it in which they say "If it's OK to string an ACLU sign attacking the Patriot Act on the library, it ought to be OK to string a sign that says something like, 'Close the book on terror. Support the Patriot Act.'"

For the guy on the go

It seems that Wolfgang Puck has expanded from self-heating soups to self-heating lattes. For how it works, check out this Trehugger article.
Thanks dad

Kerouac

Looks like my folks have been out to Lowell, MA recently...

A new solution for cable clutter?

These new devices look like they'll do some good on the desktop (i.e. small cables) but aren't big enough to solve the behind/under the desk problem (i.e. power cords).

Bush Flips Out

Just in case you didn't catch this one yet, it seems that W decided to give the finger to the press, while they were recording!

LII Preview

Karen has finally allowed the publis to see a preview of the new LII (now Librarian's Internet Index) and it's been well worth the wait.

Microsoft vs. Google

Here's a site that will allow you to look at the same spot on both Virtual Earth and Google Maps at the same time. What's really cool is the fact that the zoom and other controls on the Google image cause the same thing to happen on the Microsoft image.

SeatGuru.com

Need help picking a good seat on a flight? TrySeatGuru.com - Your Enlightened Guide to Airplane Seating. (There's even a version specifically set up for mobile-device access.)

(Used vs. New) and (illegal vs. legal)

Two interesting and somewhat related articles:

This one from the New York Times which says that used book sales online doesn't decrease the sale of new books.

And this one from the BBC which says that those who illegally download music actually spend more on legal downloads.

E-mail is for adults

The Pew Internet & American Life Project has released a new report on Teens and Technology.

"To them, email is increasingly seen as a tool for communicating with “adults” such as teachers, institutions like schools, and as a way to convey lengthy and detailed information to large groups. Meanwhile, IM is used for everyday conversations with multiple friends that range from casual to more serious and private exchanges."

"Bad Barista"

Starbucks Gossip has a great idea: "each Starbucks store needs a "Bad Barista" -- a tough guy who wears a black apron and deals with the kind of Starbucks customers I don't like." The list of scenarios for this employee to deal with is wonderful. Feel free to add you own if you've got one not on the list.

Fourth Amendment Messenger Bag

For all your friends in NYC.

Snow Storm

No, not in Denver. This online game lets you be a snow plow driver who needs to clear a parking lot. Plan your moves carefully because there are rules and obstacles.

New Who

The official Doctor Who site has photos of David Tennant as The Doctor! And, for those waiting for the new series, there's a countdown screensaver avaiable on the downloads page.

First views of Windows Vista

CNET News.com has five screenshots of Windows Vista. (It's looking pretty slick.)

There are more avialable from Microsoft and ActiveWin.com.

Virtual dress-up

Here's your chance to go through Steve Job's closet.

stopcox.org

Check out this funny video from a group that doesn't want Chris Cox to head the Securities and Exchange Commission. (Stars Greg Germann from Ally McBeal.)

House Vote 419

From the "Because Congress has nothing better to do" department:
On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Agree, as Amended: H RES 376 Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the Federal Trade Commission should investigate the publication of the video game “Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas” to determine if the publisher intentionally deceived the Entertainment Software Ratings Board to avoid an “Adults -Only” rating -- Passedz

From the "That Sucks!" department...

Buffalo News - Library board likely will close more than 19 branches

Witty

the Wit (65% dark, 34% spontaneous, 16% vulgar)

your humor style: CLEAN | COMPLEX | DARK You like things edgy, subtle, and smart. I guess that means you're probably an intellectual, but don't take that to mean you're pretentious. You realize 'dumb' can be witty--after all isn't that the Simpsons' philosophy?--but rudeness for its own sake, 'gross-out' humor and most other things found in a fraternity leave you totally flat. I guess you just have a more cerebral approach than most. You have the perfect mindset for a joke writer or staff writer. Your sense of humor takes the most effort to appreciate, but it's also the best, in my opinion. Also, you probably loved the Office. If you don't know what I'm talking about, check it out here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/theoffice/. PEOPLE LIKE YOU: Jon Stewart - Woody Allen - Ricky Gervais

My test tracked 3 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 72% on dark You scored higher than 0% on spontaneous You scored higher than 0% on vulgar

Link: The 3 Variable Funny Test written by jason_bateman on OkCupid Free Online Dating

Transparent Screen

Transparent Screen
Originally uploaded by travelinlibrarian.

I've gone an done it. Took a few tries but I think it turned out o.k. Be sure to check out the other photos in the Transparent Screens Flickr pool.

Grammar

Here's a grammar IQ challenge quiz just for Laura. (And any other interested parties.) I did better than I thought with eleven correct. (I missed 3,4,5,7,8,9,14,16 & 19.) Honestly, everything from question 15 through 20 were complete guesses on may part.

When is a Door not a Door?

When you leave the drummer out and he takes you to court.

Transparent Screens

Creating a transparent screen looks like fun. I'm going to give it a try. I'll post if i get anything vaguely worth showing.

Military Humor

What if WWII had been held in a chat room?

Top 10 Web fads

The folks at C|Net have created a list of the top 10 Web fads so far. How many of them do you remember? Better yet, how many of them did you participate in?

Avoider

As the folks at Fark.com say, avoider may just be the end of productivity as we know it.

ALA wackiness

I own a total of one bracelet and it says "Libraries Matter!" (We're going to start selling them at the FAPL store shortly.) Well, it seems that IFLA now sells Banned Books Bracelets which on first hearing of them I thought were cool. But then I saw the price! $18 for an "adult" bracelet and $12 for a "kids" bracelet. Ask any eleven year old. These bracelets sell for no more than $3 in any store. I realize that this is a fund-raising effort, but, seriously, ALA's getting these things for about $1.00 each (they get cheaper the more you buy). Selling them at a 1800% profit is just rediculous.

Dust to Dust

Here's a short documentary about what it's like to be an "embedded journalist" in the Iraqi war. (Quicktime)

My Top Ten Warm Fuzzies

The Free Range Librarian has posted the list of her Top Ten Warm Fuzzies when it comes to being a trainer in a location she's not in control of. I can completely relate to all of these. I'd just add "11. When the local contact has a plan for lunch figured out ahead of time."

Tech term awareness

According to the new report from the Pew Internet & American Life Project, Public Awareness of Internet Terms, the majority of Americans don't know what phishing, podcasting, and RSS feeds are. Maybe their local public library would be a good place to learn about these technologies.

Christian Anatomy

From a library in Montana:

A patron has requested a book on anatomy from a Christian perspective. Any suggestions? She has looked at Anatomy Demystified and would like the "truth".

An explanation...

...as to why people like Starbucks so much, from a Brit's perspective. (Use the icons at the bottom of the page to make the article readable.)
Thanks Amy

Weekend travel

I just spent the weekend visiting South Dakota (Mammoth Site, the Crazy Horse Memorial, and Mount Rushmore) and Wyoming (Devil's Tower). A slideshow of my photos is now available.

More bunnies!

Pulp Fiction in 30 seconds with bunnies.
Thanks L

The Little Apple

I'm in Manhattan, KS through today, sans laptop. (Insert screams of e-mail withdrawl here.) Photos to be posted later as I have no way to get them off my camera.

Long URL

I'm not kidding, this is the actual URL for a flash-based advert found in a online newspaper article I was reading this morning...
http://adserver.trb.com/ads/Network/lanceArm/dyn_pullback_300_250 _25.swf?clickTag=http%3A//adserver.trb.com/event.ng/Type%3Dclick %26FlightID%3D490179%26AdID%3D171555%26Custom%3Dlancearm %26TargetID%3D1309%26Segments%3D254%2C685%2C851%2C109 3%2C1268%2C1309%2C1350%2C1952%2C2168%2C2776%2C4102% 2C4133%2C4709%2C5041%2C5777%2C7457%2C7846%2C50124%2C 50222%2C50822%2C52641%2C52838%2C53216%2C53235%2C53247 %2C53248%2C53249%2C53327%2C53558%2C53593%26Targets%3D 54856%2C55397%2C2423%2C12355%2C1309%2C55345%2C2811%2 C55180%2C55075%2C55507%26Values%3D30%2C46%2C50%2C60 %2C72%2C81%2C90%2C100%2C110%2C150%2C287%2C289%2C3 01%2C311%2C328%2C391%2C583%2C591%2C593%2C833%2C90 3%2C998%2C1016%2C1051%2C1065%2C1066%2C1089%2C1093% 2C1105%2C1136%2C1212%2C1309%2C1438%2C1604%2C1606%2C 1617%2C1648%2C1653%2C1654%2C1664%2C1681%2C1745%2C17 48%2C1754%2C1786%2C1787%2C1788%2C1837%2C1839%2C1863 %2C1871%2C1887%2C1890%2C1939%2C1940%2C1956%2C1957% 2C1978%2C1985%2C1987%2C2017%2C2035%2C2044%2C2106%2 C2161%2C2281%2C2283%2C2297%2C2353%2C2380%2C2548%2C 2625%2C2765%2C2782%2C2804%2C2805%2C2806%2C2861%2C2 863%2C2901%2C2915%2C2938%26RawValues%3DUSERAGENTID% 252CMozilla/5.0%252520%28Windows%25253B%252520U%25253B %252520Windows%252520NT%2525205.1%25253B%252520en-US %25253B%252520rv%3A1.7.8%29%252520Gecko/20050511%2525 20Firefox/1.0.4%26Redirect%3Dhttp%3A//www.livestrong.org/shar eyourstory%3Fmsource%3DSYSLA1

The Dalek Song

The Dalek Song is especially funny if you've seen all of the new season of Dr. Who. (If you're not a Dr. Who fan, don't bother, you'll just find is anoying.)

When All Is Lost, Call the Airport

Here's an interesting story from the LA Times about things that are left behind at airport security.

Threads of Conversation at ALA

Michael Stevens' post Libraries and Technology: Threads of Conversation at ALA is both entertaining and enlightning. My favorite part is:

'Stephen Abram touched on this as we had breakfast and made a brilliant point about cataloging: "Who else in the WORLD cares that a book a user wants is 17cm in size? Not the user...they just want the book!"'

No there's one to tiwst the collective knickers of catalogers all over the world.

Is Google Print is the PATRIOT ACT... on Steroids?

This article: Google Print is the PATRIOT ACT on Steroids from the MobyLives blog, does help to show that both the PATRIOT ACT and Google Print are getting some press (granted, not good press) outside of the more traditional LIS-related media.

The Google Song

As if a song about Daleks wasn't enough for one day, here's a song about Google. (Not nearly as annoying as the Dalek song, Google fan or not.)

Optical Illusions and Mind Tricks

This directory of optical illusions and mind tricks was fun to play with. Some of them are classics while other I'd never seen before.

How to finish library books on time : Lifehacker

Lifehacker usually offers some good advice on how to accomplish/complete things in your life. Here's yesterday's advice on how to finish library books on time. The "method" involves taking the number of pages in the book, dividing by the number of days you have the book for, and then placing tabs in the book to tell you how much you have to read each day in order to return the book on time. Wouldn't a better use of your time be to actually start reading the book instead?

New Tori Amos video

FANLIST EXCLUSIVE:
WATCH TORI'S NEW VIDEO FOR "SWEET THE STING" 
FULL-LENGTH AND ON DEMAND!
Check it out in QuickTime, Real or Windows Media: lo, med, hi, superhi

Just tell me when...

...since the day of a marathon passing just a few blocks from my house, will be a day to stay in, or be out of town.

When News Breaks, We Bust It.

Newsbreakers looks like a fun group. They infiltrate local on-the-scene reports and generally make fools of themselves on camera to make some sort of political statement. (The one at the bottom of the homepage is from my hometown of Rochester, NY.)

Lyrics and digital reference

Have you ever scanned and delivered song lyrics in response to an online reference question? If so, you might be interested in this analysis on the copyright implications from LibraryLaw Blog.

Latest article avaiable

My latest article "A Library Policy for Public Wireless Internet Access" is now available on WebJunction.

Blues on the Rocks

Last night I was at Red Rocks to participate in the annual appearance of Blues Traveler. Opening acts were The Wallflowers and Boulder-based The Motet. (I ordered their latest CD this morning.) I wish I'd brought my camera as I was in row nine just to stage right from the sound boards. Here's the best I could do with my Treo in the way of a picture. (Effect generated with the Polaroid-o-nizer.)

RE: Starbucks & Dylan

In response to my question about whether people will go into Starbucks just to buy the new Bob Dylan CD, my brother said:

FYI, I will be going to Starbucks for the Dylan CD. It will be the first time in a Starbucks, and probably the last.

One problem fixed

Well, the folks at Blogger never responded to my query about the odd bit of CSS that was automatically being inserted into posts which broke my layout. So, I finally changed the layout to overcome the problem. You may not notice much of a difference but now the posts do not wrap underneath the menu on the right. Oh well...

NYS Loves Libraries

New York is offering a "Love Your Library" license plate. The most amusing part of this online press release is the complete lack of an image of the plate. "To have a JPG of the Love Your Library emailed to you, please contact the DMV Communications office at 518-473-7000."

Disappearing liberties

Here's a mug that when you add hot liquid, some of your liberties disappear.
via the Unemployed Philosophers Guild

LISWiki

I'm not the first person to blog the new LISWiki, and I do think it's a great idea. I do wonder about some of the initial entries however. Specifically "Festschrift" and "Marxist Literature ". Is there a point to these entries that I'm missing?

Are You a Science-Fiction Scholar?

According to the Are You a Science-Fiction Scholar? quiz, I guess I am. I got a 10 out of 10 and the bonus question.
Thanks L