Category Archives: PopCulture

Pace Owen in "Tippy Toeing" by Loretta Lynn

(Thanks to Grandma Joanie for suggesting the song!)

Notessimo Flash Music Creator

Notessimo is a quick and easy music creator that's kind of fun if you want to just fool around but you're not musically trained (or even if you are?)  Of course, there are more advanced programs out there as well – David, you out there?  What do you use?  (via MetaFilter)

How To Make A Secret Hollow Book

How To Make a Secret Hollow Book(via MetaFilter)One other library/book/publishing anecdote for the day…I was working on our patron requests this afternoon and someone had requested a book with a French title and which Bowker Global Books in Print showed as being only available in French.  But everything else I saw about the book indicated […]

Around the Horn: Highlights From Other Blogs I Read

Similar to my FFL last week, Michelle L. links to another article slamming the impact of the Potter books. If you're going to buy her book, don't buy it for half price at a supermarket. As an example of a world gone mad, you couldn't do much better than this: a writer whose sales have […]

"The Mysterious Science of Bestselling Books"

Received this link from Chris G. with a request for any thoughts I might have on what makes a bestselling book.  Coincidentally, this weekend I also happened to read a column by Stephen King in an issue of Entertainment Weekly exploring the same issue.  And it also makes a nice follow-up to my last FFL […]

Popular Book Spoiled

I just came across this image of one of the world's most popular (and longest) books where the main character's fate is being hotly debated today.  Does he die? Or does he live? Don't say I didn't warn you!   

Reconstruction Site – The Weakerthans

This song's been going through my head a lot since Pace was born: And I'm broke, like a bad joke Somebody's uncle told at a wedding reception in 1972 Where a little boy under a table with cake in his hair Stared at the grown-up feet as they danced and swayed And his father laughed […]

Friday Fun Link – Harry Potter and the Death of Reading (July 20, 2007)

“In 1994, over 70 percent of total fiction sales were accounted for by a mere five authors.” Just in time for the biggest book release in the history of the universe, a contrarian view from the Washington Post. It’s out tonight at midnight but rumours of leaks have been happening for the past few days. […]

Friday Fun Link – If Public Libraries Didn't Exist, Could You Start One Today? (July 13, 2007)

The author of the popular Freakonomics book looks at the question, “If public libraries didn’t exist, could you start one today?” “But here’s the point I’m (finally) getting to: if there was no such thing today as the public library and someone like Bill Gates proposed to establish them in cities and towns across the […]

Jason As A Simpsons Character

As opposed to the last time I did this, this avatar is officially sanctioned.  (Oh, and the Simpsons movie better not suck – even though I have an inordinate amount of fear that it will!)Inspired by Kristina O, Michelle L and various others who changed their Facebook profile photos to 2-D form (which I'm told […]