The American Museum of Natural History has posted an online exhibit called Picturing the Museum. Included are a series of archival photos showing old exhibits at their museum, the most interesting (to me, anyway) being a bunch of behind-the-scenes photos showing the staff putting together exhibits. The photos are all over the map, but in general are a fascinating look at the making of great exhibits. Some of the photos are picturesque, like this shot of "Sister and Sammy Keith collecting tadpoles for... READ ON

The Telegraph has posted a series of letters and telegrams from Stanley Kubrick's archive. They are at turns bizarre, amusing, and revealing -- often showing his frank interactions with actors and studio representatives. Here's a sample of the correspondence related to 2001: A Space Odyssey: 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY, 1968 The process of collaboration between Kubrick and Arthur C Clarke begins. March 31, 1964 Dear Mr Clarke, It's a very interesting coincidence that our mutual friend Caras... READ ON

Paul Otlet's work first caught my attention last May due to a 2003 Boxes and Arrows article. Otlet's work was a sort of conceptual precursor to the World Wide Web, and was in effect an extremely well-organized and mechanized library -- but I'd never heard of him, despite having been through a pretty thorough Library Science Bachelor's program. Now the New York Times has a detailed article, complete with new graphics and a video, on Otlet's efforts. Here's a taste: In 1934, Otlet sketched out plans... READ ON

The Red Phone, also known as the Red Telephone, the Moscow-Washington hotline and the Hot Line, is a "confidence building measure" and communications system designed to decrease tensions and prevent accidental nuclear war by providing direct contact between the leaders of the United States and Russia. It links the White House (via the National Military Command Center) with the Kremlin.... READ ON