A fun way to share family history with kids
June 7, 2007
Ben, my youngest, turned four last month. One of his birthday presents was the book you see above. (Thanks, cousin Jacob!) I am not exaggerating when I say that Flotsam blew me away.
This jaw-droppingly beautiful book doesn’t have a single word of narrative text. Yet it spins an unforgettable tale of undersea cities with Martians in bubble helmets and clockwork steampunk wind-up fish. Then there’s the kids who discover this fantastic world via a camera that pops in and out of the ocean again and again. You can see the camera reflected in the fish’s eye if you look carefully at the cover.
For copyright reasons I don’t feel comfortable scanning and uploading more images of the book. But trust me…it’s gorgeous from cover to cover. It won the coveted Caldecott award, so you know this is quality material.
My favorite part is the photo-of-a-photo-of-a-photo. The protagonist just happens to have a magnifying glass handy, so he can see back to the very first photo taken with the mysterious camera. BTW, I know this isn’t possible with the resolution of regular Earth cameras. So please don’t email me to tell me that, OK? There was a time when I thought it was do-able, but that was before I learned how to develop my own b/w film. Also, did I mention the wind-up fish? Martians? Yeah. Flotsam takes place in the realm of fantasy, pure and simple.
I can’t say enough good things about this book. I think everyone under the age of fifteen should have a look at it. This is the kind of book that rings an inner bell for future historians. Maybe even a photo archivist or two, you never know.
If you’re a genealogist with grandkids, use this book to talk about the passage of time and family members who came before. Describe what the photo-within-a-photo would look like if every picture was his or her ancestor. Talk about everyday history like what great-great grandma would have worn at the seashore. Share your favorite memories of the beach, too.
And remember, the story is told without any narrative text. That means a four year old like Ben can read the story to you. Four year olds love this, trust me. Especially when they have a big sister who learned how to read in Kindergarten this past year.
Flotsam would make a great Father’s Day gift.
Use this link to read more about Flotsam at Amazon.com.
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Oops! (to the tune of $12 million)
June 4, 2007
After reading the following shocker in Dick Eastman’s email newsletter, I’m tempted to ask:
Does anyone out there know of a complex digital archiving system that has actually improved access to government information?
Anyone?
Anyone at all?
The (London) Times newspaper has reported that hundreds of register offices across the United Kingdom have been ordered to abandon a new online system for recording births, deaths, and marriages in the latest IT fiasco to hit the government. The Times reports that the huge IT project has met with “complete system failure,” and online registration has been suspended in half of the 3,000 offices.
Despite previous assurances that the system would be able to cope with the demand, it appears that the £6 million (roughly $12 million US) computer system has failed miserably. The situation is reminiscent of the problems faced by the National Archives with the 1901 census.
The new system had been phased in over a period of months. When the last offices were added in March, the new system almost ground to a halt. Officers said that its performance was so slow that it was unusable. When IT staff tried to sort it out, they found it could not reliably save data.
You can read more about this fiasco on the Times web site http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article1739313.ece
Subscribe to Dick Eastman’s free newsletter here.
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Tintype Parlor = Faux Vintage Fun
June 1, 2007
Holy beautiful anachronism, Batman! I just learned you can buy a kit and make your own tintype photographs. It’s called “Tintype Parlor” and here’s the description:
An authentic re-creation of the tintype process, a type of “instant” photography that was popular in your great-grandparent’s day. These are authentic dry-plate tintypes, also known as ferrotypes, like those found in antique shops– not modern imitations. Plates are thin enough to cut with scissors to fit inside any camera. The kit contains everything you need to make tintypes (called ambrotypes if coated on glass.)“Tintype Parlor” contains 5 metal plates size 4×5 inches plus emulsion, tintype reversal developer and fixer…….. $30.00
Let’s make a pact to create faux vintage tintypes. We’ll confound future generations with 2007 tintypes of iPods, 8-tracks and steampunk computers. C’mon, it’ll make a great bit on Antiques Roadshow someday.
For definitions of tintypes and ambrotypes, choose a source: SAA Glossary; Wikipedia; Antiques Roadshow.
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