BiblioTech Web

The growth of the internet has really increased the popularity and effectiveness of April Fool’s Day. Now ALL KINDS of pranks can be played online in the guise of “new technologies” or “new services.” Even reputable media companies like CNN or the BBC are getting in on the act.

A big concern for librarians and academics early on was that the internet was going to lead to a loss of credibility. With the possibility of anyone posting anything online and making it sound authoritative, people were afraid that America (and the world) would continue “dumbing down.” Instead, librarians and teachers have stepped up and begun teaching Information Literacy and the need for evaluating information sources.

And creative individuals and companies have become better equipped to play April Fool’s Day jokes on the less-than-critically thinking public. Here are some links to sites that have “celebrated” April Fool’s Day this year. Most of these are pretty clever and funny.

• http://www.google.com/googlecalendar/new_wakeup.html
• http://www.infoworld.com/article/08/04/01/14FE-april-fool-google-facebook_1.html
• http://www.infoworld.com/article/08/04/01/14FE-april-fool-google-us-gov_1.html
• http://www.thinkgeek.com/stuff/41/personalsoundtrack.html?cpg=70H
• http://www.thinkgeek.com/stuff/41/superpiipii.html?cpg=70H
• http://www.thinkgeek.com/stuff/41/spazztroids.html?cpg=70H
• http://www.thinkgeek.com/stuff/41/titaniumlabyrinth.html?cpg=70H
• http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article983556.ece
• http://youtube.com/watch?v=YU_18r_WtkA (from the BBC)
• http://www.realtechnews.com/posts/5556
• http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/business/articles/0331biz-buzz0401.html
• http://www.theonion.com/content/news_briefs/fearmongers_warmongers

(Okay, that last one was from The Onion, so it’s bound to be funny, even if it’s not April Fool’s Day.)

Feel free to share these with your friends. And even to disguise them like this: Google to Acquire U.S. Government

I just came across this Flickr photo thanks to Library Stuff. What a great marketing tool for libraries! Makes you want to go to your local library and check out one of the “starring roles,” doesn’t it?

I love that! “They are smarter! They are stronger! They are HUNGRY!”

Sure made me laugh. What a fun thing to encounter on a Monday morning. (Click the picture for the original size.)

I found out about another online cartoon series today that I’ve really enjoyed. It’s called bLaugh and it’s a comic strip that is specifically for bloggers. In fact, the cartoon’s subtitle is “The (Un)Official Comic of the Blogosphere!”

Here are a couple samples. If you like them, here’s a link to their RSS feed. (Thanks to Stephen Abram for recommending bLaugh.)

I was recently told about a study reported in ScienceDaily (taken from a news release by the American Academy of Neurology) that showed that the damage to parts of the brain that results from exposure to lead (whether through occupational exposure, etc.) was significantly lower in people who read more. Reading helps build synapses and connections within the brain that help offset the effects of some kinds of brain damage.

As I was talking to my fellow librarians, we came to the humorous conclusion that reading books can help prevent damaged brain cells resulting from excessive drinking. Or at least you know you’re safer if you read. We envisioned a “Beer for Books” program to help promote reading!

So… want to justify those beers/martinis/orange spiced meads? Read more books!

You’ve probably heard that the Simpsons Movie is coming out this summer. Specifically, this Friday. The website has lots of fun things, including making your own Simpsons-style avatar and, of course, games. Seems like every movie has a website where you can play games related to the movie.

Anyway, there’s also a related website where you can upload a photo and “simpsonize” it. The website is pretty busy and often slow. I had to try several times just to get the page to load. Also, I haven’t been successful in saving the image I created or even emailing it to myself. I had to to a PrintScreen and paste the image into MS Paint and cut out just the image. Anyway, that’s what’s displayed here. I had to work hard to find a picture that would work. It has to be a closeup of the head and shoulders, with decent contrast and a big enough size. They tell you all that on the site, though.

If you Simpsonize a photo of yourself, please comment on my post here with a link to your new picture.

Here’s an interesting comic from xkcd, an online comic series that often has insightful perspectives on technology today. The caption was “Wikipedian Protester” and the alt-text when you mouse over it was “Semi-Protect the Constitution.” Food for thought.