Off The Shelves: Fun Stuff

Fri, 16 May 2003 18:23:28 GMT

Plan to Potter Around Oak Park Next Month

"But you don't have to be a wizard, and you don't have to be in London to pay a visit to that fabled alley.

Just go to Oak Park Avenue and Lake Street in west suburban Oak Park on Friday, June 20. For that one night, a stretch of shops will be transformed into Diagon Alley to mark the first sale of the new Harry Potter book.

Starting about 9 p.m., the Magic Tree children's bookstore will become Flourish & Blott's bookstore, Cafe Winberie morphs into the Leaky Cauldron, and C. Foster Toys will take on the appearance of Quality Quidditch Supplies.
In fact, most of the businesses on the street will shed the mundane for the magical and start selling Harry Potter-inspired merchandise or refreshments.
Even US Bank will become Gringott's Wizarding Bank, with goblin-led tours to its basement vault.
Many characters from the book will be strolling about, as well....

The idea originated with a couple of her employees who noticed the success the nearby Oberweis Dairy had when it stayed open late for the release of the last Harry Potter book, which went on sale at midnight." [Chicago Sun-Times]

[The Shifted Librarian]

Fri, 16 May 2003 18:23:02 GMT

Why did the librarian cross the road?.

The Multnomah Public Library has a library joke of the month. Fun!! (via LII)

[Library Stuff]

Thu, 15 May 2003 21:35:59 GMT

Lunar Eclipse

There will be a lunar eclipse tonight. If the clouds go away, you should be able to watch it beginning around 10:05 p.m. You can find out more about the eclispe at Space.com

Sun, 06 Apr 2003 18:10:19 GMT

From Bigchalk.com Create your own kaleidoscope online. http://www.zefrank.com/dtoy_vs_byokal From USA Today http://www.stonepages.com Stone monuments, (and you thought Stonhenge was the only one) from around the world. The Italian monuments are especially interesting.

Sat, 08 Feb 2003 16:23:28 GMT

Signs of Spring

The Field Museum opened a new exhibit today - Baseball As America.

     “Shoeless” Joe’s shoes. Babe’s bat. Jackie’s jersey.

     See the stuff of legends and discover how baseball embodies the American spirit.

     Baseball As America is the first time that cherished treasures from our national pastime have left
    The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York

The Library owns the companion book Baseball as America published by National Geographic.

Fri, 13 Dec 2002 18:48:12 GMT

Paraskevidekatriaphobia

Why Friday the 13th is Unlucky from About.com

Why is it considered unlucky when the thirteenth day in a month falls on a Friday from How Stuff Works

Mon, 02 Dec 2002 23:00:56 GMT

Help Barbie become a Librarian

Make sure you've let your voice be heard about Bar .... Make sure you've let your voice be heard about Barbie's next career! Kids poll at Barbie.com where Librarian is still in the lead, but Architect is gaining fast. Librarian still leads the parents poll (bottom right of page). [LibraryNotes - News and Interesting Stuff from the World of Library and Information Science Contact Sandy Wilton Weblog LibraryNotes Current]

Mon, 18 Nov 2002 19:03:22 GMT

Stargazers -

Did you know the Leonid Meteor Shower will be at its peak tonight? The best viewing time is said to be about 4:00 a.m. Monday night/Tuesday morning. Space.com has a special report on the meteor shower.

Tue, 12 Nov 2002 15:23:25 GMT

Random Yahoo! Link.

This is still one of my favorite Yahoo! features:

Random Yahoo! Link

Warning: it's addictive!

[tins ::: Rick Klau's weblog]

Fri, 11 Oct 2002 15:34:25 GMT

Good Luck to all our local runners in Sunday's Chicago Marathon. You'll be able to follow their progress on the marathon's web site:

http://www.chicagomarathon.com/2002/tier2/result/racedayresults.html

If you're going down to watch, the site also has a spectator's guide

http://www.chicagomarathon.com/2002/tier2/curbcrew/guide.html

Sun, 06 Oct 2002 21:53:12 GMT

Autumn Leaves

The fall season brings the chilly weather, but also the beautiful changing of the leaves. Here is a list of sites where you can find the latest information about the changing colors in our area.

Bloom and Color from The Morton Arboretum

Fall Color Report from Travelwisconsin

Fall Getaway Guide from Indiana

Fall Color From Michigan.org

Here's an explanation of why the leaves change from the Morton Arboretum:

What Makes Fall Color

Sat, 05 Oct 2002 15:19:52 GMT

Calling All TV Trivia Fans - You have to see this website

TV Acres - The Web's Ultimate Guide to Television Program Facts. A subject guide to "Characters, Places, and Things that appeared on television programs broadcast in the USA from the 1940s to the present." Want the address and phone number of Clark Kent's Daily Planet? The name of the shy handsome biology teacher Our Miss Brooks was pursuing? The name of the character who said "Danger Is My Business?" Find answers by searching or by browsing through categories like "Artists & Artwork," "Beginnings and Endings of TV Shows," "Frogs," "Furniture," "License Plates, "Mottos and Slogans," "Songs," "Tattoos," etc. [Marylaine Block's Neat New Sites]

Wed, 02 Oct 2002 16:20:11 GMT

Warning: You'll Lose The Rest Of Your Day!!!.

BookWorm

"Link letters together to make words.
Then click submit!
Don't let the red tiles reach the bottom, or your library will catch fire!" [via MetaFilter]

This would be an excellent game for cell phones. Every librarian in the country would play it!

[The Shifted Librarian]

Thu, 19 Sep 2002 21:06:41 GMT

Happy Birthday!

Online smiley face :-) turns 20 [USA Today : Front Page]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) — It was 20 years ago Thursday that Scott Fahlman taught the Net how to smile.

The IBM researcher has devoted his professional life to artificial intelligence, the practice of teaching computers how to think like humans.

On Sept. 19, 1982, Fahlman typed :-) in an online message.

Sat, 14 Sep 2002 20:02:49 GMT

This is kind of late in the season, but it might give you some ideas for next year.

Duh, Plants: Getting Started with Gardening for the Black Thumbed

"I know you think you can't grow anything, that plants and people do not mix, and that any plant entrusted to you has been given a death sentence. Many people feel this way. I am here to help....We won't mention any plants by name, or assume you know much of anything. This is for the botanically-challenged."

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