Throughout history, humans have been ingenious builders, working against many kinds of odds to realize their architectural dreams on an often uncooperative planet. One of the most ingenious projects of recent years, to my mind, is the one immodestly called The World, a series of 300 artificial islands off the coast of Dubai, in the […]

» Read more of Catacombs, Libraries, Islands, and Summits: Heard ‘Round the Web

English will mutate into something we cannot recognize in about a thousand years. Computer-generated data that is only 25 years old, on the other hand, is largely unreadable today. The problem of storing data for the future is a problem with which technologists must constantly wrestle.

» Read more of Permanence: The Problem of Data Storage

It’s an unintentional irony that rich economies—well, rich before the month began—should be awash in unwanted stuff, and that there are now well-paid consultants whose job it is to go help people get stuff out of their lives, to say nothing of neatnik web pages such as Unclutterer and Apartment Therapy.

Read on …

» Read more of Of Clutter, Christmas Island, and Timbuktu: Heard ‘Round the Web

In the fall, a journalist’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of ghosts. Newspapers and magazines that haughtily refrain from printing news of the paranormal for 11 months of the year eagerly jump on the Halloween coach in October to regale their audiences with tales of the preternatural. Here with the complete list of my many posts on haunted libraries…

» Read more of Haunted Libraries Around the World: The Complete List

This is the final segment of a fairly comprehensive list of allegedly haunted libraries, or at least ones where patrons, staff, or local folklorists have associated with paranormal happenings. If I’ve missed anything, or my lists need correction and even updating, please send along your comments and suggestions. The paranormal demands precision!

» Read more of Haunted Libraries Around the World: Europe, Asia, Australia, Mexico

Like other public buildings that have seen long years of human activity, some libraries are allegedly haunted by the ghosts of former staff, patrons, or other residents. This is the sixth segment of a fairly comprehensive list of allegedly haunted libraries, or at least ones where patrons, staff, or local folklorists have associated with paranormal happenings. If I’ve missed anything, or my lists need correction and even updating, please send along your comments and suggestions. The paranormal demands precision!

» Read more of Haunted Libraries in the U.S.: Utah - Wyoming (and Canada)

This is the fifth segment of a fairly comprehensive list of allegedly haunted libraries, or at least ones where patrons, staff, or local folklorists have associated with paranormal happenings. If I’ve missed anything, or my lists need correction and even updating, please send along your comments and suggestions…

» Read more of Haunted Libraries in the U.S.: Pennsylvania - Texas

This is the fourth segment of a fairly comprehensive list of allegedly haunted libraries, or at least ones that patrons, staff, or local folklorists have associated with paranormal happenings. Read on for details …

» Read more of Haunted Libraries in the U.S.: Nebraska - Oregon

This is the third segment of a fairly comprehensive list of allegedly haunted libraries, or at least ones where patrons, staff, or local folklorists have associated with paranormal happenings. Bleak mansions and somber castles usually spring to mind when we think of haunted places, but ghostly phenomena—whatever the cause—can manifest in well-lit, modern offices as […]

» Read more of Haunted Libraries in the U.S.: Massachusetts - Missouri

This is the second segment of a fairly comprehensive list of allegedly haunted libraries, or at least ones where patrons, staff, or local folklorists have associated with paranormal happenings. Most often the manifestations involve odd noises, cold spots, or objects moved; other times a visual apparition is reported . . .

» Read more of Haunted Libraries in the U.S.: Florida - Maryland