Steampunk Gypsy

It's all about Halloween, baby!! I worked today. You think that stopped me from dressing up? It did not. (DH says it's a good thing I have the hat - otherwise, no one would know I was in costume. C'mon, I don't dress like this every  day. Maybe every other ...) Google's in on it, of course, with a frightfully cute set of Doodles  My favorite? I took the kids trick-or-treating tonight, of course. They ran into a little trouble. They had a lot of fun, and brought home a lot of candy! Then we had dinner - hot dog octopuses, asparagus spears, and grapes - with a Halloween cookie cake for dessert. Fun times! Halloween Links! Libraries, Books, & Authors - Halloween Special! The top 10 vampire books   These Comics Remind Us Why Halloween is the Best Holiday Ever   I'm Not Scary, I'm Just Drawn That Way: Great Comics For Halloween  I would definitely add  Sweet Tooth  and  Chew  to the list, as well as  The Sandm...

Sorry, all, I just get really, really excited about Halloween. I've set up my Halloween playlist, too, and put it on repeat! Here's the list: Hotel California Sympathy for the Devil Paint It Black Creep Don't Fear the Reaper People Are Strange Cry Little Sister Beauty Has Her Way Big Empty Dead Souls  Color Me Once I Still Believe To the Shock of Miss Louise The Devil Went Down to Georgia Bad Things  Hal It's a short list - what are some songs I need to add, guys? Links! Libraries, Books, & Authors Essential Tools for the Today’s Cybrarians   20 Quotes From Children’s Books Every Adult Should Know  #14 is my favorite! Oct 30, 1811: Sense and Sensibility is published   Net & Tech Somebody’s Already Using Verizon’s ID to Track Users  "Twitter is using a newly discovered hidden code that the telecom carriers are adding to every page you visit – and it’s very hard to opt out." Other AMC Nabs Hugh Laurie, Tom Hiddle...

Cats and librarians go together like...cats and crazy cat ladies? Close enough. Here's my pretty Ranga! You should check out these Literary Cats . And here's a fun quiz! Links! Libraries, Books, & Authors ALA opposes e-book accessibility waiver petition   How Andrew Carnegie Built the Architecture of American Literacy   R.L. Stine Writes An Entire Short Story On Twitter Called 'What's In My Sandwich?'   9 Novels So Scary You'll Be Tricked And Treated  Horror not your cup of tea? Try this, instead:  7 Fairy Tales Adults Will Love   Story21  Very awesome - go check it out! 1,000 Years of Scientific Texts From The Islamic World Are Now Online   The Supreme Court Succumbs To Truthiness, Leading Librarians And Stephen Colbert To Bicker   Net & Tech FBI cut hotel Internet access, sent agents to “fix” it without warrants   AT&T Sued By Feds For Throttling “Unlimited” Wireless Customers Verizon ...

So, happy 100th birthday, Jonas Salk - and you get your very own Google Doodle!  Learn more about the doctor and the vaccine he gave to the people of the world . Today is also the Feast Day of St. Jude ! He's the saint of lost causes, desperate situations, and the impossible. You can probably understand why I like him. In other news, I finished building my latest D&D character, a Changeling elementalist named Jinx, with a cat called Trouble. I'm hoping they last longer than two weeks. Links! Libraries, Books, & Authors What Book Should You Read Next? Putting Librarians And Algorithms To The Test  "The real difference, then, between the library’s BookMatch service and a site like Amazon or Netflix may be less about the method and more about the motive. One is commercial, the other is not. Both want to recommend books people will like--but the commercial interest is to sell more books and the calculations behind that are not transparent to the user....

Yet another D&D character dead... Time to build again. Links! Libraries, Books, & Authors Fictional Books Within Books We Wish Were Real   10 Scary Stories You Can Listen to Right Now   Three Novels for Comics Lovers (Other Than Kavalier & Clay)   Dyslexia and Comics   LeVar Burton Reading Go The F**k To Sleep   How copyright law gives Amazon too much power over the book industry   Science The windowless plane set for take-off in a decade  I want a ticket, please. Anywhere is fine. Other Jim Crow persists: How Ferguson case leaks revive a shameful tradition   The Official Michael Brown Autopsy Report Doesn't Say What the St. Louis Post-Dispatch Says It Does   Worse Than Those Boy Scouts That Tipped Over a Rock   The 1% are more likely to vote than the poor or the middle class, and it matters — a lot   1861: The Secret in Abraham Lincoln's Pocket Watch   Rare Silent Film With Black Cast Make...

My library held their second annual Trunk or Treat tonight! The crowds were impressive - we got there a good five minutes early, and there was a line all the way down the parking lot, curving around the side of the building, and down the street. I'm not sure how many people there were, but there were a lot . And this was just the waiting line! I dress up any chance I get, so here are our pics! Swicky Red Riding Hood, Sergeant Coconut, Witchy Me, and DH in his traditional Grad School Student costume.  After Trunk or Treat, we hit Pho Sunrise , a family favorite!  So much fun! Now I have to start getting everything together for Halloween itself.  Links! (Just a few today - I've been busy!) Libraries, Books, & Authors 50 of the Scariest Short Stories of All Time   San Antonio airport installs digital library kiosks for travelers   J.K. Rowling's Pottermore to Publish Dolores Umbridge Story on Halloween   Science Sci...

Happy National Friends of Libraries Week! We have great Friends at my library, and we're glad to have them. More links on Friends of Libraries Week: Friend Your Library   Celebrate National Friends of Libraries Week!   National Friends of Libraries week celebrated across county Links! Libraries, Books, & Authors Mayor's Office proposes letting police check out library patron information Librarians Are Dedicated to User Privacy. The Tech They Have to Use Is Not.    Bronx to go book-less as borough's last bookstore closes   ALA and ACRL encouraged by “fair use” decision in Georgia State case  Related:  Ga. State’s Loss in ‘E-Reserves’ Case Might Actually Be a Win for Librarians   ALA News : Official 2014 Teens’ Top Ten titles announced   NLM Launches Web Collecting Initiative to Capture and Preserve Selected Ebola-Related Content   Net & Tech Italian Parliament Publishes Draft Internet Bill Of Rights ...

Happy Open Access Week ! Open Access Week, a global event now entering its eighth year, is an opportunity for the academic and research community to continue to learn about the potential benefits of Open Access, to share what they’ve learned with colleagues, and to help inspire wider participation in helping to make Open Access a new norm in scholarship and research.  “Open Access” to information – the free, immediate, online access to the results of scholarly research, and the right to use and re-use those results as you need – has the power to transform the way research and scientific inquiry are conducted. It has direct and widespread implications for academia, medicine, science, industry, and for society as a whole.  Open Access (OA) has the potential to maximize research investments, increase the exposure and use of published research, facilitate the ability to conduct research across available literature, and enhance the overall advancement of scholarship. Rese...

Links! Libraries, Books, & Authors My hero: Mary Shelley by Neil Gaiman   Appeals Court Overturns Important Fair Use Win Concerning University 'E-Reserves' -- But Potentially For Good Reasons   50 of the Greatest Debut Novels Since 1950   A World of Beloved Books (According to Facebook)   Look Homeward, Reader : A Not-So-Young Audience for Young Adult Books   Five Cozy Hotel Libraries in Exotic Places   Toni Morrison Papers Will Go To Princeton  "Among the documents are manuscripts, lyrics, a play, diaries, photographs, early proofs of books, lectures and correspondence. More materials are to be added over time, including the manuscript of Ms. Morrison’s upcoming novel, due out in the spring." Wait, she's got a new book coming out?? Net & Tech When Women Stopped Coding  Interesting...and sad. What we give away when we log on to a public Wi-Fi network    Science Ebola-linked cruise ship passenger cleared; hospit...

I'm a big fan of Halloween! What's not to love? You get to dress up in costume and eat lots of candy! (And, no, you're never too old.) The kids had their first Halloween party of the year tonight, so I get to show off their costumes. The party itself was pretty cool. The kids played Make a Mummy: See the little girl in the pink dress? That's Swicky's new friend. See the kid with her, completely wrapped up? That's Swicky. See Coconut? No. That's because he wasn't interested in playing Make a Mummy. He was too busy playing football with the big boys. After that, they all went in and watched  Hotel Transylvania  and ate popcorn. They also got treat bags full of stickers, pencils, and candy to bring home. All in all, a good night. Next up: Trunk or Treat ! Links! Libraries, Books, & Authors The future of tech: Your local library   Keynote, Libraries as a Bridge: The Role of Libraries in Closing the Digital Skills Gap   U...

In addition to everything else, I got certified in CPR/AED again. Hooray! But now I'm tired, so this will be short. Links! Libraries, Books, & Authors Challenges of a Rural Library   The world's most beautiful libraries   Banned Books Week in review: a Google Hangout - 10/22  Looks neat! An A to Z of Noah Webster's Finest Forgotten Words   6 Things You Might Not Know About Paddington Bear!   Net & Tech Latest TPP Leak Shows US Still Pushing Terrible DRM and Copyright Term Proposals—and New Threats Arise  It's pretty terrible.  Gamergate Is Running Out of Heroes  I'm shocked that they're shocked... FBI director to citizens: Let us spy on you  That's funny - a peeping Tom said that to me once, and I wasn't fond of the idea then, either. Science Anthropocene: We might be about to move from the Holocene to a new epoch   Ebola UN: We Botched Response to the Ebola Outbreak   Belize Confirms Patient With ...

Kids get plenty of candy for Halloween! Why not give them something they'll love, that they can enjoy for a long time, and that won't rot their teeth? (Okay, okay - give them some candy, too.) This Halloween, join in the fun with  All Hallows' Read ! Links! Libraries, Books, & Authors Library worker dusts off Louisiana folklore in new web series  This sounds amazing! Happy 160th birthday, Oscar Wilde!  Related:  How Oscar Wilde Invented Celebrity Culture In America   The Literary United States: A Map of the Best Book for Every State  That's a cool book club idea... Highland Park, Texas censoring books based on ALA’s Most Frequently Challenged List  That is not the intended use of the list! Net & Tech Laura Poitras on the Crypto Tools That Made Her Snowden Film Possible   #GamerGate. The battle on the internet you haven't heard of.   Science Obama OKs reservists for Africa Ebola fight   The Survivors: Li...

Links! Libraries, Books, & Authors Happy birthday,  P.G. Wodehouse ! In honor of All Hallows Read, we’ve matched books that are sure to set the tone this season for you AND your young reader.  Awesome! 2014 National Book Awards   Free Wi-fi in the Allegheny Mountains    Book Ban Rumors Boost Authors in China  "Having a book banned in China is often a marketing coup for publishers selling copies abroad. In the age of social media, this dynamic appears to be playing out on the mainland as well." University of Michigan Illustration Sparks Backlash  "In decrying an illustration for being “violent & wrong” on Twitter — and tagging local authorities on the tweet — a University of Michigan adjunct professor has both endorsed censorship and overshadowed a bigger issue: the debate about the safety of college football players."  Educators grapple with Internet censorship   Carolyn Kizer Dead At 89, Pulitzer Prize-Winning Poet Honored...

Happy Ada Lovelace Day!   Who Was Ada Lovelace? The woman most often known as ‘Ada Lovelace’ was born Ada Gordon in 1815, sole child of the brief and tempestuous marriage of the erratic poet George Gordon, Lord Byron, and his mathematics-loving wife Annabella Milbanke. Fearing that Ada would inherit her father’s volatile ‘poetic’ temperament, her mother raised her under a strict regimen of science, logic, and mathematics. Ada herself from childhood had a fascination with machines– designing fanciful boats and steam flying machines, and poring over the diagrams of the new inventions of the Industrial Revolution that filled the scientific magazines of the time. At the age of 19 she was married to an aristocrat, William King; when King was made Earl of Lovelace in 1838 his wife became Lady Ada King, Countess of Lovelace. She is generally called Ada Lovelace, which is a little incorrect but saves confusion! She had three children. In 1833, Lovelace’s mentor, t...

I'm playing D&D. Enjoy the links, though! Links! Libraries, Books, & Authors New Los Angeles poet laureate Luis J. Rodriguez: ‘My refuge was the public library'   Harvard University says it can't afford journal publishers' prices   E-books and Privacy …. Again.   Collections Are for Collisions   Cornel West Arrested In Ferguson   The secret stars of the San Francisco Public Library   Net & Tech Two Steps Forward for Quantum Computing   Science First Images of HIV Protein Spikes Could Lead To New Drugs or Vaccines   A Ride In Monrovia Means Wrestling With Ebola   Other Elizabeth Warren on Barack Obama: “They protected Wall Street. Not families who were losing their homes. Not people who lost their jobs. And it happened over and over and over”   Startling Adult Friendships  I want to go to this camp!  So, I know several people have asked me what it means to be a communitarian. Here it is, i...

Links! Libraries, Books, & Authors Point of view: The power of Oklahoma public libraries   Can the Monograph Survive?   Weird and wonderful bookshops worldwide – in pictures   Net & Tech NSA May Have Undercover Operatives in Foreign Companies   Snowden: I'd 'love' to have a fair trial   Game developer Brianna Wu flees home after death threats, Mass. police investigating   Science Frozen Poop Pills Fight Life-Threatening Infections  Ew. I mean, I know this is medically awesome, but.... Ew. Texas nurse who had worn protective gear tests positive for Ebola   Other Information You Need to Make Up Your Own Mind   It's 2014. All Children Are Supposed To Be Proficient. What Happened?   Los Angeles Just Opened an Apartment Complex for the Homeless  I would love to see something like this in Jeff Parish....

“ Empowerment of and investment in girls are key in breaking the cycle of discrimination and violence and in promoting and protecting the full and effective enjoyment of their human rights” -United Nations Resolution 66/170 Learn more about Day of the Girl , and how you can help girls worldwide conquer problems with school dropout, illiteracy, sexual harassment at school, violence, forced marriage, and more. Links! Libraries, Books, & Authors 14 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Margaret Atwood   New Clinton documents shed light on Monica Lewinsky fallout  "The National Archives has released documents showing how the White House sought to defend President Bill Clinton against the political fallout from his affair with intern Monica Lewinsky." Authority Issues If You Thought Police Brutality Didn’t Affect You Personally, You Were Wrong   Why does the St. Louis PD keep changing their story about the killing of VonDerrit Myers?   Cop’s knoc...

I've just spent all day lazing around on the couch reading, with a lapful of kitten. So, yeah, not much to talk about. Links! Libraries, Books, & Authors To Lure Young Readers, Nonfiction Writers Sanitize and Simplify  I believe it does a great disservice to our kids to teach them "sanitized" and "safe" versions of history. How can they be ready to face and, hopefully, change the evils in the world if they aren't learning about them?  Questions to Help Kids Think About Fiction Books   Four centuries and 2 million pages of Dutch cultural heritage added to WorldCat   Carnegie Free Library opens 1901 time capsule   NCAC Members Warn Waukesha Board Against “Red-Flagging” Books   Kings Canyon Parents Want Black Swan Green Out of Class   CBLDF Joins Coalition to Fight Ban of The Fault in Our Stars   Writers join fight to save Liverpool’s libraries   Homeless Outreach in Volumes: Books by Bike for ‘Outside’ People in Oregon ...