Ayiti: The Cost of Life

While reading an article on the current trend of “Serious Games,” I came across a game called Ayiti: The Cost of Life (www.costoflife.org) where a player is given the task of trying to create a better life for an impoverished family in Haiti. Here is the introduction to the game:
The Guinard family of five is [...]

Mascot Mania

What’s a modern-day Olympics without mascots?
Well, definitely still exciting but perhaps a little less fun.  If you were able to watch any of the opening ceremony for the Vancouver Winter Olympics, the emphasis on the traditional “First Nations” was obvious.  The media and marketing moguls have carried it a bit further by designing some cute, [...]

Liberace Likes It.

Hey, if its the kind of swill this rugged devil slugs back after a hard day at the ol’ salt mine, it must be good enough brew for a roughneck like myself.  Just discovered this neat link, Vintage Ad Browser.  Naturally I gravitated to an old favorite.
However, if you’d like to peer into the marketing [...]

How to be a Geek Goddess

“Could someone just tell me what I need to know without trying to convince me that I need the latest gadget, assuming I have all the time in the world to trudge through geek speak, and wasting my time with a lengthy explanation of how it all works?” Christina Tynan-Wood, a female geek, could hear [...]

Season’s Greeting Cards

Need some ideas for your Christmas Cards this year? May I suggest checking out the Archives of American Art’s current exhibits on Holiday Cards by Artists–Don’t worry, you don’t need to go to New York or Washington, D.C. to see the magic! You can view highlights from the exhibits at both the Archives of American [...]

Flying Feast

If you spend a little time in the regional news, you might know the spread of the Asian Carp has reached epidemic levels.  It has the discriminating diet of a billygoat and the reproductive powers of a bunny rabbit.    It is a hearty old beast, reaching up to 40 pounds apiece by eating nearly half [...]

The Night Bookmobile by Audrey Niffenegger

You may have noticed that many librarians have a love affair with Audrey Niffenegger’s The Time Traveler’s Wife (case in point, Lynn just blogged about it and here I am blogging about it again). This is mostly due to the book’s bookiness–it is swelling with libraries, librarians, book artists and historical typefaces. Lucky for us, [...]

A Flux Capacitor for your Ears

I always feel a little like Marty McFly when I listen to old-time radio shows on my iPod or computer. Here are several websites that give free downloads and/or streaming of a variety of programs:
Wizzard Radio hosts about 85 different podcasts relating to old Radio Broadcasts including:

Adventures in Radio
Science Fiction Theater
Words at War

Radio Lovers allows [...]

Harry, A History by Melissa Anelli

Since Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the final installment in the seven-part Harry Potter series, was released two years ago this summer, I have been receiving the same question over and over again by those who know I am a Potterhead: “Sooo what will you do now that Harry Potter is over?” And my [...]

Frugal Librarian #7: Online Shopping

Let’s get stingy with it… The frugal librarian is also too lazy to leave the house to find value.
Become a regular checker of, or subscribe to the RSS feed of slickdeals and dealhack.  These sites have user-submitted deals that are RED hot on hundreds of merchants.  We’re not talking “save 10%” kinds of stuff.  Ridiculously [...]

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