At the ref desk today...

...and in need of entertainment, people!*

And I offer to you a link I've been holding on to for a while: the most excellent Shorpy: The 100-Year-Old Photo Blog. Shorpy posts vintage photograhs from whenever through the 1950s, with a bit of commentary on each one when anything is known about it, and has high-res versions of each photo. Fascinating! (ETA: And don't miss the comments people leave - they often spot neat elements in the photo or add information not present. ETA2: Or you get gems like this entry, where three generations of descendants of the people in the photo showed up to comment. :D)



* Nothing NSFW, as I'm in the middle of the computer lab and study area and my screen is visible to everyone, and nothing with Flash or any other plugin, as the Ref computer is (a) slow and (b) locked down tight against installing anything.

(no subject)

Still lookin through Shorpy.com. This is an awesome photo, from the New York-Paris Auto Race of 1908. The race was 19K+ miles, from NY to San Francisco, by ship to Alaska, then to Siberia, and through Russia to Moscow. In 1908. As one of the commentors says: "I love this photo, the look on their faces and most of all, those awesome coats."

The Awesometastic Manga of Awesomeness!

rachelmanija has received and reported on the awesometastic manga of awesomeness that I mailed her!

She says "It is the geekiest and most specialized and most awesome thing ever. It is a manga about ..." Go read her report. I'll wait. (especially because I'm not going to summarize it, as she's done that nicely.)

( Read more... )

(P.S. I have purchased volume 2 of Hikkatsu! Strike a Blow to Vivify. Report on it when I've finished reading it.)

Hikkatsu! Strike a Blow to Vivify vol. 2

At lunch today I ran by the bookstore and: yes! Hikkatsu! Strike a Blow to Vivify vol. 2 was out!

I read most of it sitting in Subway trying not to giggle too loudly, and the rest of it just now at my desk. :) Shota, Momoka, and Kanji head out of the city into the wasteland populated by bandits and Enthusiast Clans, so that Shota can find what he's seeking.

We learn The Truth [TM] about Shota's former sensei, as well as the reasons why Shota always wears a Band-Aid on his cheek and won't take it off, and what Shota's higher purpose is. The group confronts the Pitfall Enthusiasts Clan, the Bean Gun Enthusiasts Clan, and the Inside-Inspection Enthusiasts Clan.

Momoko even gets a bit of character development - remember, she was RAISED BY PIGEONS. And what is a pigeon's greatest enemy? A person wielding a bean gun! Presumably in Japan, much like the US has potato guns, kids shoot bean guns, and one of the favorite targets in pigeons. Momoko is, naturally, Not Amused by the existence of this clan, and is determined to smash every bean gun they have to bits. Kanji wants Shota to fix the guns so he can charge the clan for the repairs. And Shota wants to confront the challenge of the broken Fully Automated Bean Blaster Defense Turret. WILL THIS BE THE END OF OUR HAPPY TRIO?

(Sorry, no scans!)

( SECRET FIST OF THE PIGEON! FLYING PIGEON KILLER LEG! PIGEON BEAK CHAIN ATTACK! )

I feel I ought to have a RAISED BY PIGEONS! icon.

Oi, rachelmanija!

Directory of 800 Train Station Bentos.

I so want one.