Archiving of Audio Files at the Library of Congress

Another excellent article from Snopes.com; this one about the archiving standards at the Library of Congress going very retro:

Another interesting bit about how things last - the Library of Congress completed a study on the best medium for near-permanent archiving of their extensive audio collection.  Their conclusion - 78 RPM platters.

The ensuing article about this item of folklore is very in-depth and  realistic about the perils of transfering data from one medium to another.

A Fairy Tale Ending to Eurovision

The Norwegian (by way of Byelorus) entry to this year's Eurovision Song Contest held in Moscow won the grand prize.  Alexander Rybak - violinist and singer won with the song "Fairytale," which incorporates folkloric imagery from both Norway and Russia.  Surprisingly, this song garnered the highest vote tally of any Eurovision song ever.  Even more than Abba!

Obama and Swine Fly Urban Legend

Interesting urban legend going around asserting that the swine flu is a result of the Obama presidency, in terms of a fulfillment of the 'when pigs fly' prophecy!

Full story here on Snopes.

May Folklore Books

Books!  Books!  Books!

• Samuel Johnson, The Ossian Fraud, and the Celtic Revival in Great Britain and Ireland - Thomas M. Curley.  This reminds me of a special edition of the Journal of American Folklore a few years ago devoted to the topic of Ossian.  
• Draculas, Vampires and Other Undead  Forms: Essays on Gender, Race and Culture - John Edgar Browning & Caroline Joan Kay Picart (eds).
• Demanding Respect: The Evolution of the American Comic Book - Paul Lopes.
• Sango in Africa and the African Diaspora - Joel E. Tishken, Toyin Falola and Akintunde Akinyemi (eds)
• Musica Nortena: Mexican Americans Creating a Nation Between Nations - Catherine Ragland.
• Menschen - Heros - Gott: Weltentwurfe und Lebensmodelle im Mythos der Vormoderne -- Anja Bettenworth & Christien Schmitz.
• Zombie Holocaust: How the Living Dead Devoured Pop Culture - David Flint.
• Dying Words: Endangered Languages and What they Have to tell Us - Nicholas Evans. 
• The Tale of Sinuhe: and Other Ancient Egyptian Poems 1940-1640 BC - RB Parkinson.
• Rromane Paramicha (A Collection of Romany Folktales) - Hedina Sijercic.  A bilingual collection of Romany stories.
• Remembering the Year of the French: Irish Folk History and Social Memory - Guy Beiner.
• Talking About Laughter: And Other Studies in Greek Comedy - Alan H. Sommerstein.
• The Ethics of Cultural Appropriation - James O. Young & Conrad G. Brunk (eds).
• Border Crossing: Transnational Americanist Anthropology - Kathleen S. Fine-Dare & Steven L. Rubinstein (eds).
• eCulture: Cultural Content in the Digital Age - Alfredo M. Ronchi.
• Inventing the Jew: Antisemitic Stereotypes in Romanian and Other Central-East European Cultures - Andrei Oisteanu.
• The War in Words: Reading the Dakota Conflict Through the Captivity Literature - Kathryn Zabelle Derounian-Stodola.
• Kitchens, Smokehouses & Privies: Outbuildings and the Architecture of Daily Life in the Eighteenth Century Mid-Atlantic - Michael Olmert.

Swine Flu Folklore

Fresh from our friends at Snopes!

Beatification of an English Cardinal

I recently read an article Boston Globe (which, incidentally is probably not long for this world) suggesting that the Vatican confirmed a miracle in the case of a local man with back pain.  This is a major step in the sainthood hopes for Cardinal John Henry Newman, a 19th Century British Cardinal.  I was dubious of the report when I read it, but not as dubious as the blogger at Bostonist!

I know this doesn't have much to do with folklore, but I found it interesting nonetheless.  Stay tuned for updates on recent folklore books!