“I read about it free in a fifty-cent illustrated guide…”

A few spiffy links for your Thursday:

At the pop-culture blog “A List of Things Thrown Five Minutes Ago,” my friend Heather is watching the National Spelling Bee. Heather, one smart cookie, did the Bee 25 years ago; her first post is here.

Who was that girl on the cover of “The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan”? Steven Hart is reading her memoir.

Ephemeral New York wants you to meet the 19th-Century Hipster Queen.

Books, Inq., points out an outdoor Latin language club for Oxford suburbanites.

Unlocked Wordhoard notes the death of Robert Asprin, whose fantasy novels were omnipresent in the days when bookstores (and bookstores’ genre sections) were much, much smaller.

Withywindle ponders the lyricism of Roger Miller.

Speaking of Roger Miller, I’ve declared him the official country singer of “Quid Plura?” Here’s a good video for a languid day: Miller doing a live version of “Whistle Stop.”