Jim Neal
@jimneal.bsky.social
University Librarian Emeritus at Columbia University. All things: libraries, technology, copyright, intellectual freedom, leadership, music, theater, museums, nature. Citizen of the world.
Do you remember the Easy-Bake Oven? It is a working toy oven introduced in 1963 and manufactured by Kenner and later by Hasbro. The original toy used a pair of ordinary incandescent light bulbs as a heat source; current versions use a true heating element. My sister had one of the originals.
February 26, 2025 at 4:55 PM
Do you remember the Easy-Bake Oven? It is a working toy oven introduced in 1963 and manufactured by Kenner and later by Hasbro. The original toy used a pair of ordinary incandescent light bulbs as a heat source; current versions use a true heating element. My sister had one of the originals.
Bill would strip state funds from public libraries based on association membership - Iowa Capital Dispatch
February 25, 2025 at 8:49 PM
Bill would strip state funds from public libraries based on association membership - Iowa Capital Dispatch
Roberta Flack, singer of “Killing Me Softly,” has died at 88 - NPR One of favorites of all time.
February 24, 2025 at 7:20 PM
Roberta Flack, singer of “Killing Me Softly,” has died at 88 - NPR One of favorites of all time.
I have a profound weakness for dessert. It is all my mother’s fault as she baked every day. I especially love a rich multi multi multi layer chocolate cake. After you indulge, you want to scream out, You can take me now!!
February 24, 2025 at 2:19 PM
I have a profound weakness for dessert. It is all my mother’s fault as she baked every day. I especially love a rich multi multi multi layer chocolate cake. After you indulge, you want to scream out, You can take me now!!
This really made me laugh. A bag of grated Romano cheese hanging in the car as an air freshener. I remember when I first went to Fran’s house for dinner, and grated cheese was on everything and as important as salt and pepper. Always a big bag in our fridge.
February 23, 2025 at 2:54 PM
This really made me laugh. A bag of grated Romano cheese hanging in the car as an air freshener. I remember when I first went to Fran’s house for dinner, and grated cheese was on everything and as important as salt and pepper. Always a big bag in our fridge.
This cartoon from The New Yorker screams New York City. There are thousands of buttons like this at street crossings all over the city. None of them work! That is why we usually treat crossing signals as suggestions.
February 21, 2025 at 6:46 PM
This cartoon from The New Yorker screams New York City. There are thousands of buttons like this at street crossings all over the city. None of them work! That is why we usually treat crossing signals as suggestions.
Trump administration rescinds approval of congestion pricing in Manhattan - THE CITY
February 19, 2025 at 8:04 PM
Trump administration rescinds approval of congestion pricing in Manhattan - THE CITY
New book from the Supreme Court Justice, SOTOMAYOR'S LATEST BOOK GEARED TOWARD YOUNG READERS IS INSPIRED BY HER LATE MOTHER, CELINA BÁEZ, AND AIMS TO SHOW "HOW HELPING OTHERS SHINE MAKES THE WORLD BRIGHTER". Would be so cool to get her for an ALA speaker.
February 14, 2025 at 3:23 PM
New book from the Supreme Court Justice, SOTOMAYOR'S LATEST BOOK GEARED TOWARD YOUNG READERS IS INSPIRED BY HER LATE MOTHER, CELINA BÁEZ, AND AIMS TO SHOW "HOW HELPING OTHERS SHINE MAKES THE WORLD BRIGHTER". Would be so cool to get her for an ALA speaker.
Let’s not forget this. This is challenging for the library community. Quote attributed to Dante.
February 13, 2025 at 3:47 PM
Let’s not forget this. This is challenging for the library community. Quote attributed to Dante.
bookriot.com/department-o... Some Department of Defense schools and libraries now ordered to purge the curriculums and libraries.
Department of Defense Education Activity Demands Book Bans, Curriculum Censorship in Its Schools
The Department of Defense Education Activity demands its schools remove curriculum and books related to race, gender, and more.
bookriot.com
February 11, 2025 at 4:00 PM
bookriot.com/department-o... Some Department of Defense schools and libraries now ordered to purge the curriculums and libraries.
arstechnica.com/tech-policy/... Now they are attacking wifi hotspots for schoolchildren.
Senator Ted Cruz is trying to block Wi-Fi hotspots for schoolchildren
Cruz: Hotspot lending could “censor kids’ exposure to conservative viewpoints.”…
arstechnica.com
February 5, 2025 at 7:01 PM
arstechnica.com/tech-policy/... Now they are attacking wifi hotspots for schoolchildren.
This sounds like really good advice.
February 4, 2025 at 9:22 PM
This sounds like really good advice.
This is getting harder and harder to do! I get in trouble all the time.
February 2, 2025 at 4:23 PM
This is getting harder and harder to do! I get in trouble all the time.
I took typing In junior high school in the early 60s. On manual typewriters. The teacher made the class very competitive. It was a skill that was useful as computers took over.
February 2, 2025 at 1:54 PM
I took typing In junior high school in the early 60s. On manual typewriters. The teacher made the class very competitive. It was a skill that was useful as computers took over.
The Blue Man Group is closing in NYC at the Astor Place Theater. After 17,800 shows and 82,150 gallons of paint since 1991. The trio of hairless, earless, silent, blue-and-black clad performers, who spit paint and sculpt marshmallows, gobble Twinkies, toss toilet paper, and drum in primary colors.
February 1, 2025 at 2:58 PM
The Blue Man Group is closing in NYC at the Astor Place Theater. After 17,800 shows and 82,150 gallons of paint since 1991. The trio of hairless, earless, silent, blue-and-black clad performers, who spit paint and sculpt marshmallows, gobble Twinkies, toss toilet paper, and drum in primary colors.
This is really important advice.
January 31, 2025 at 10:05 PM
This is really important advice.
Bill to add Trump to Mount Rushmore introduced in House.
January 30, 2025 at 2:03 PM
Bill to add Trump to Mount Rushmore introduced in House.
President Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday that aims to find ways to cut federal funding to schools that teach certain topics related to race, sex, gender or politics. Will libraries be next?
January 30, 2025 at 3:08 AM
President Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday that aims to find ways to cut federal funding to schools that teach certain topics related to race, sex, gender or politics. Will libraries be next?
I rarely eat bacon, though I really like it. Usually only when we go out for breakfast or while we are traveling. When I do, I like it on the crispy side. My mother undercooked when I was a kid, and I remember the can where she poured in the grease.
January 29, 2025 at 4:45 PM
I rarely eat bacon, though I really like it. Usually only when we go out for breakfast or while we are traveling. When I do, I like it on the crispy side. My mother undercooked when I was a kid, and I remember the can where she poured in the grease.
The iconic Brooklyn Bridge spanning the East River between the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn. Opened in 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge was the first fixed crossing of the East River. Crossing the bridge and avoiding the bicycles is one of the tourist must-do attractions in NYC.
January 29, 2025 at 4:33 PM
The iconic Brooklyn Bridge spanning the East River between the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn. Opened in 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge was the first fixed crossing of the East River. Crossing the bridge and avoiding the bicycles is one of the tourist must-do attractions in NYC.
I am not sure why, but this shirt made me laugh. Made me think at first of Simon and Garfunkel. But then about the importance of having guidance and direction to make music in this world.
January 27, 2025 at 2:53 PM
I am not sure why, but this shirt made me laugh. Made me think at first of Simon and Garfunkel. But then about the importance of having guidance and direction to make music in this world.
When I was a kid, pork and beans from the can with cut up hot dogs was a dinner staple. I guess it was an inexpensive dinner. I really liked it and would add mustard on the side.
January 26, 2025 at 4:59 PM
When I was a kid, pork and beans from the can with cut up hot dogs was a dinner staple. I guess it was an inexpensive dinner. I really liked it and would add mustard on the side.
