Who Wants To Keep Their Public Library Today?

I've been paying a fair amount of attention to the idiotic moves to close libraries overseas - mostly in the UK at the moment, but elsewhere as well. This is a round-up of some of the more memorable articles I've read lately.

 "Google can bring back a hundred thousand answers. A librarian can bring you back the right one." 
@genrelibrarian

This blog post gives a nice little overview of how Public libraries got started and developed.

Twitter did its usual crazy trending hastag thing, with #savelibraries which is covered in this Guardian article, and produced some awesome quotes.

There have been a few awesome community turnouts, with local communities checking out as many books as possible to increase circulation stats and send a message - this library in Stony Stratford actually emptied its shelves completely.

The blog Public Libraries News is currently dedicated to rounding up details of closures and cuts in the UK. That one's kind of depressing.

Banned Books Week is nearly over...

So I thought I'd throw you some reading...

A Facebook page and the main website

Some pretty good news coverage and blogging

10 banned books you might not expect

10 Most Banned Graphic Novels

Q&A on how books get banned

On Banned Children’s Books

And a fun little video with sinister undertones (the robot! it's ALIVE!)

It ran from September 25th to October the 2nd this year, so there's a couple of days left. My contribution was to put together a A List of the Best Gay and Lesbian Themed Children's Picture Books. Come buy one - I bet you don't own any!

On Losing An Eyeball, Women's Suffrage and Other Links

Here's a quick lists of dos and don'ts for when you lose an eye, tooth, or finger. Or an eyetooth.

Plus a bit of promotion for an Auckland friend who's trying to take over local politics from the inside. Specifically, he's running for the 'Albert-Eden-Roskill Maungawhau subdivision Local Board election'

He's a good guy; educated, very into the environment (and lives it), more transport, that sort of thing. A bit idealistic (my disagreements with his Grand Plots usually centre around "yeah, but people are idiots and won't let you") and despite his education has still been attacked by the dread Alot. Once. And I don't think I'll tell him where *cackles*

And he seriously lucked out on his last name - I mean, imagine the puns and slogans! Goode Enough, Goode For Auckland, Goode for You, The Goode Guy, ... they just weren't Goode enough *zing* His blog covers general Auckland issues and analyses the actual campaign (which is a relief - now I don't have to do it!)

...also, he made me find an excuse to buy a Lego cannon today.

(and going to find his links, I found he'd posted about Women's Suffrage Day - today in 1893 women got the right to vote in New Zealand, so I better do it too!)

Sarcozy's kicking all the gypsies out of France, Frollo-style.

This image is hilarious!

And weirdly, my unicorn painting from a couple of posts back is ranking quite highly in Google images for "unicorn shark". I have no idea why!

Library Pirate Hat Day: Wednesday 15th September

Turns out that Pirate Hat Day has been declared for your library next Wednesday!

Post the news on Twitter using #piratehatsWednesday and join the Flickr group if you dare!

How to make a pirate hat

More info and other participants:

http://restructuregirl.wordpress.com/2010/09/09/and-now-for-some-fun-with-pirate-hats/

http://frommelbin.blogspot.com/2010/09/wear-pirates-hat-in-your-library-on.html?spref=tw

Awesome Linkage: Lesbian Unicorns, Shark Cancer and Digital Comics

Patrick Rothfuss is the guy who wrote the very brilliant fantasy book, The Name of the Wind (that utterly horrified me when it suddenly stopped - turns out he's writing a sequel, so I'm happy again!). The main character's a guy called Kvothe. Apparently he was once a lesbian unicorn. Or more honestly (and less amusingly!) the author made a joke about him being one, and Kvothe is now permanently a lesbian unicorn in the eyes of the internet (and I am so very much not helping with this).

This really makes me want to draw a lesbian unicorn. And wish that my fingers didn't keep writing 'unicron'. I did paint a unicorn last week though... and it's purple. The colour of being bisexual. I've decided that retroactively counts. Zazzle appears to have gone down, so I can't make amusing captions. Pity. I seem to compulsively consider unicorns a fit target for mocking captions. We could have had such fun...

Hat tip : ArchMage



Also, those stories and that big industry about the Magic of Cancer-Curing (s)Chark Cartilage? Debunked, as in kicked off the top bunk in the night as they rolled over on their pile of money. Sharks certainly do, probably, get cancer, and there's no reliable science to say otherwise.


An interesting read about the recalcitrance of publishing companies to seriously embrace digital media for its own sake: Please, Just Kiss Digital Comics On The Mouth Already ...and while we're on that topic, I've been sorting out my top webcomics page, so I've got pages for each update day (Monday, Tuesday... you can probably predict the rest!)

Minor Zazzle Features and a Sale

Two blogs which featured something of mine today:

FastGear Poster Showcase: Symbolic Flows - Colours of the Imagination
Sharing the Roses: September 1st

A postcard I sold today:

Mermaid postcard by Flynn_the_Cat
View other Mermaid Postcards

And this is a lovely poster, of a car taking a midnight drive in the blue night that I found in the forums, randomly, as I was posting this post.

Night Ride by RemusCB
See more ""Digital Posters

Currently watching season three of Buffy.

How Not To Not Hire An Artist

A fantastic take down of a short-sighted article about hiring artists. I should write my own thoughts up some time...


Eh. Or now, so I don't forget completely.
In brief? Art takes ages, selling too cheap destroys art as a career, and if anyone has any question about my prices for any particular piece (not that I do many commissions, but hey) I can explain in great detail how I got to that result. And I know I usually under-charge. And artists can get very very attached to their artworks.