We didn't start the fire...

Summer Reading...

2011-07-18T11:42:00.000-04:00

I've read some really great books so far this summer (maybe that's why I haven't been posting, like, at all). It's hard to stay on top of all of the books I want to read when I keep finding new ones or friends make recommendations that I simply can't ignore. Here is a list of some of the books I've read this summer that I can't seem to get out of my head.*

* The Hunger Games trilogy is by far my favourite. It rivals, for me, the Harry Potter series in its excitement, addictive nature, ability to deal with complex themes, and its excellent story.

I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series. It's about the four girls now in their adult lives. My mom and I have always enjoyed Ann Brashares writing and story-telling ability. I hope one day my daughters will read this series.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2...

2011-07-18T11:23:00.000-04:00

I saw the movie on the weekend and it was well worth getting to bed at 3am as a result. It was amazing, a really great way to end the movie franchise. I thought it provided closure for the books, too; up until now, I hadn't fully believed that J.K. Rowling was not actually going to write anymore Harry Potter books (and the rumours surrounding her pottermore.com announcement didn't help that). A glimmer of hope remained in my silly, imaginative, wanting-more mind. I suppose that's the sign of a great writer and an even better story.

David Thompson and the Fur Trade: Then and Now...

2011-03-28T13:19:00.001-04:00

Canada's fur trade history is rich with stories of exploration, survival, greed, adventure, and even death. David Thompson was born in 1770 in Westminster, England to Welsh immigrants. In 1784, he began a 7 year apprenticeship with the Hudson's Bay Company. He stayed with the HBC for 13 years and learned a lot about surveying and astronomical observation. In 1797, Thompson left the HBC for a position with its fur trade rivals, the North West Company.

Thompson was responsible for expanding trade networks for the North West Company and he surveyed and mapped a large portion of what is now western Canada, including the Rocky Mountains and the Columbia River. He also completed a 67500 km survey from Grand Portage to the heads of the Assiniboine and Mississippi Rivers.


Map of the North-West Territory of the Province of Canada, 1814 by David Thompson.

In 1804, Thompson retired from the fur trade and undertook a project to plot the North West Company's forts on a map of western Canada. The map is 213 cm high by 328 cm long and its replica hangs in the Archives of Ontario Reading Room.

More recently, an archaeologist believes he discovered one of Thompson's first trading posts at Sipiwesk Lake near the Nelson River. The discovery includes the remnants of chimneys from the post and storehouse and was found using Thompson's coordinates in his journals. He apparently spent at year at Sipiwesk in 1792.

If you are interested in learning more about Thompson, check out this online exhibit created by the Archives of Ontario. The Trade, a novel by Fred Stenson, is set in the early 19th century and follows a series of historical people as they work for the HBC. It's a looong book but it's definitely worth reading if you want to learn more about the life of a fur trader.

Documenting a shady past...

2011-03-07T12:21:00.003-05:00

I've been following this story in the news since February. The Hungarian government is in the process of creating legislation that will allow for the destruction of archival records relating to its Communist history. Along with other documents, anyone who was spied upon by the Hungarian secret police would have the right to dispose of the records in which they are named. The Hungarian government sees the act as a way to remove Hungary's association with Communism, stating that these are 'immoral documents of an immoral regime'.

If the piece of legislation becomes law, the Hungarian archives could possibly lose 12 miles of archival documents that cover a period from 1948-1990. I don't think that the Hungarian government is directly trying to cover up its less than perfect past. I get the impression, rather, that they are trying to separate themselves from Communism and the grip it had on the war-torn country. By giving its citizens the right to destroy records containing their personal information, they are allowing the people to take control of their past. If Hungary really wanted to destroy its records and break from its Communist past, they could easily and secretly dispose of the documents in question.

That being said, however, I hope that the Hungarian government rethinks this legislation. The archival records document a period in Hungary's history that was turbulent but not dissimilar to many European countries behind the Iron Curtain. I think the Hungarian Archives needs to be the guardian of this information so the tumultuous period can be remembered and considered and so that Hungarians, and other Communist-turned-democratic countries, can truly understand how far they have come.

If you're interested in learning more about this, check out this website created by Canadian, Christopher Adam.

Friday Fantasies on Monday...

2011-02-28T09:59:00.000-05:00

I haven't done a Friday Fantasies in a while (or any other posts for that matter). I am in love with these Clarks Originals. The Desert Boot brings me back. I had a purple suede pair when I was in elementary school and I remember my mom having a pair, too. If I purchase these ones I'll make sure to pick a more neutral, demure colour.

No more pennies from heaven...

2010-12-23T11:27:00.000-05:00

One-cent piece, 1858

Earlier this month, a Senate committee issued a report calling for the elimination of the one-cent coin from Canadian currency. The report cited many reasons, the most prevalent being that it costs 1.5 cents to make our smallest coin. It also doesn't buy what it once did.

Australia and New Zealand have removed the coin from circulation and merchants and consumers in both countries have noticed little difference. Indeed, when I lived in New Zealand I hardly noticed when the prices of products were rounded up or down to the nearest number ending in 5 or 0. Whatever happens to the one-cent piece, it's had a good run.

First one-cent piece struck by Dominsion of Canada, 1876

In honour of our cute little penny, here's a brief history of how the one cent coin came to be in Canada: In 1853, parliament passed the Currency Act which stated that both British pounds, shillings, and pence AND dollars and cents (based on the American system) would be recognized as Canadian currency (Canada refers to the Province of Canada). This meant that coins from the US, Britain, and even Spain were circulating in Canada. The Act was revised in 1857 (I wonder why) and now required that all provincial financial accounts be kept in dollars and cents only. Along with the revision, in 1858 the first coins with 'Canada' on them were minted in silver, bronze, and copper, including the first one-cent piece. After Confederation in 1867, the penny was used in the provinces of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, while Prince Edward Island and the colonies of British Columbia and Newfoundland continued to issue their own versions. It wasn't until 1876 when the Dominion of Canada issued its own one-cent coin. The Canadian penny has been in production for over 130 years now and whether or not it is removed from circulation, I'm sure most of us have a piggy bank full of the copper-coloured coins that we should deposit at the bank!

Less than two weeks...

2010-12-13T12:01:00.000-05:00

Are you in the mood for Christmas yet? With less than two weeks to go I'm starting to feel more Christmas-y. I wrapped some presents on the weekend and I'm off to mail my Christmas parcels to friends in New Zealand at lunch today. I read this article on the Star's website today and now I want to go visit these crazily decorated homes in Pickering. For the past 5 years, the Williams family has won the Battle of Bulbs on the Mayor's Light Tour while the Wright family, just a couple of doors down, has always come in second. These two ~~women~~ families are obviously in the mood for Christmas and a bit of competition, too!

A Victorian Farm Christmas...

2010-12-07T14:53:00.000-05:00

I am a big fan of all things British - history, Jamie Oliver, Hugh Fearnly-Whittingstall, Top Gear, BBC, football, Quality Street chocolates, etc. Mostly the history though. Last night, I was excited to see that Victorian Farm Christmas was finally airing here in Canada (we should really watch more TVO).

Victorian Farm Christmas is a follow-up to Victorian Farm, a documentary where a historian and two archaeologists live and work on a Victorian farm for a year. In the Christmas version, Ruth, Alex, and Peter return to the Shropshire farm to get ready for a full Victorian Christmas. The show is filmed at the approximately 900 year old Acton Scott Estate, which has preserved its 19th century working farm.

It was, in one word, fantastic. It was educational, interesting, and visually, very pretty. Last night, Alex and Peter harvested the hay using a wide range of Victorian farm equipment and selected a ram for breeding, while Ruth prepared the mince meat, and made bread, butter, and soap. The show was a wonderful example of public history. Ruth, Alex, and Peter were great presenters who are excited about what they are doing.

Victorian Farm Christmas airs on TVO at 7 on Mondays. I look forward to the next episodes!

Camp X artifacts to a better home...

2010-12-01T16:43:00.001-05:00

The Star and Oshawa This Week recently published an article detailing the fate of several Camp X artifacts belonging to the Robert Stuart Aeronautical Collection housed at the Oshawa Airport. It was a follow-up to an article written in March, when it was expected that the private collection would be sold to the highest bidder, likely someone in the US. As of this week, 15 artifacts, including a suitcase radio, some clothing, trench art, and a helmet, from the Second World War spy training school near the Whitby-Oshawa border, have been purchased by the Canadian War Museum.

I think the history of Camp X, and certainly the artifacts, will be better served at the War Museum in Ottawa than they ever were in Oshawa. Lynn Phillip Hodgson, author of many *interesting* books about Camp X wrote to Oshawa This Week saying that the collection belongs to Oshawa. He goes on to say that, 'Tens of thousands of GTA school children have visited the museum over the past 33 years and now must journey to Ottawa to do so.' I was a GTA student, in fact I attended school in Oshawa, in the 1990s and I never once saw these artifacts. Even as an adult and someone who is interested in history and local history, I didn't find the Camp X artifacts to be terribly accessible, although I have seen the collection.

I don't think that the artifacts belong to Oshawa. Camp X and its history belong to all Canadians. In Ottawa, some of the artifacts will be publicly displayed and enjoyed by all Canadians and tourists and Oshawa's role in the Second World War will be featured. Similarly, the objects will receive proper care and storage at the Canadian War Museum. Isn't that better than the objects languishing in an old building that nobody knows about?

Arkells...

2010-11-29T10:28:00.000-05:00

The Arkells played to a sold out crowd at the Red Dog Tavern in Peterborough on Saturday. It was such a good show! The music was loud and clear and the band performed with great stage presence. Their album, Jackson Square, sounds great but you know a band is good when they sound even better live. We had homemade chili at our friend's house and that kept us warm on the walk to the bar. Thanks, Meghan!

Love is in the air...

2010-11-29T10:21:00.001-05:00

Last weekend, we took a trip to London to visit our friends Mike and Meghan and their little Cohen. It was so much fun getting to hang out with them and we just loved Cohen. We had a delicious smoked salmon pasta dish and later, the boys braved the lines at Starbucks for 2 for 1 Christmas lattes!

I imagine their first Christmas as a new family will be the best yet. Congratulations guys!

Getting colder...

2010-11-29T10:15:00.004-05:00

I wore my winter coat for the first time this morning. When the weather starts to get colder and with the limited daylight we now have, it's nice to be reminded of summer adventures. We went to Prince Edward Island for a week this summer - it must have been the hottest week - and had a memorable time. It was so much fun.

Green Porno...

2010-11-26T12:33:00.000-05:00

I saw Isabella Rossellini on a rerun of The Graham Norton Show last night (hillarious). She was promoting her series of acclaimed online shorts called Green Porno. She told Graham that she has always been interested in animals and that they've always made her laugh so she created Green Porno, a series of 2 minute videos in which she acts out the mating habits of insects and sea creatures. They are highly entertaining and, according to the Sundance Channel website on which the shorts are featured, 'scientifically accurate'. Huh.

There are so many videos to watch - she's been creating them since 2008. I really liked the bee one (damn those drones, they don't do anything!), but others include barnacles, spiders, whales, dolphins, earthworms, fireflies, and the list goes on! Rossellini has since followed up Green Porno with Seduce Me, a series on the seduction rituals of animals. She is such a glamourous woman and I think that adds to the hilarity of the shorts!

Mulling it over...

2010-11-25T09:55:00.001-05:00

With Christmas exactly one month away, I've been feeling the holiday spirit at little more lately. One thing that I really like about Christmas is how so many of its traditions are brought forward and celebrated in modern homes. For example, it is thought that the idea of the Christmas Tree originated in Germany, where families decorated a tree to symbolize redemption and salvation. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, both with familial ties to Germany (Albert was German), first had a tree in Windsor Palace in 1841 and decorated it with fruit, tinsel, candles, and ornaments. In Canada, the first recorded presence of a Christmas Tree was in 1781 at a party held for British and German well-to-dos at Sorel, Quebec.

Another interesting Christmas tradition involves food! Much of what we eat during the holiday season dates to Medieval and Victorian Britain, including mincemeat pies, puddings, and mulled beverages, or Wassail. According to Wikipedia (!), wassail is actually ale mulled with sugar, nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and topped with bread, however, through the years the ale has been replaced with wine or fruit juice. Germany, Poland, Romania and a host of other eastern European nations call mulled wine Gluhwein and the Nordic countries, Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Iceland call it Glogg.

I recently purchased Epicure's Mulling Spices and tried it the other night with fresh, unpasteurized apple cider from Archibald Orchards (100 mile diet qualifier!).Almost instantly, the house filled with the fragrant aroma of the past (and cloves, nutmeg, and cinnamon). It was delicious!

Friday Fantasies

2010-11-19T12:51:00.001-05:00

This isn't so much a fantasy as it is a reality. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I. Tonight. Enjoy!

Reading...Canadian Themes

2010-11-19T12:42:00.002-05:00

This country has a plethora of outstanding authors that have written award-winning fiction and non-fiction titles. Alice Munro, Margaret Atwood, and Yann Martel are some of our more recognizable authors but there are many accomplished writers that haven't quite reached the same level of fame and well deserve reading. I recently attended two lectures by UBC's Sherrill Grace at Trent University and have thoroughly enjoyed her examination of Canadian landscape and memory through literature, film, and art. I left both lectures with a long list of new reading material that I am anxious to start reading. I am currently reading Canoe Lake by Roy MacGregor, author of a number of books on Canadian artist, Tom Thomson and the Canadian wilderness.

Here are some of the other books that I've added to my reading queue. Have you read any of them?

Art Deco Style

2010-11-18T15:26:00.002-05:00

I've always loved the Art Deco style. When I worked at Parkwood Estate, my favourite rooms on the tour were those that were remodeled in the 1930s and influenced by the clean and geometric lines that characterize Art Deco.

Broadly speaking, Art Deco covers a period from 1909 to 1939 and was influenced by art movements like Cubism and Modernism. The introduction of the Ballet Russes, created by a Sergei Diaghilev in an attempt to revitalize classical ballet, to an accepting Parisian social elite in 1909 is largely considered the catalyst of the Art Deco movement. The costumes were designed by Paul Poiret, the first fashion designer to materialize the colourful elements of Art Deco. According to Suzanne Lussier, curator at the Victoria and Albert Museum, Poiret's influence and fashions would last well into the 1920s. Art Deco went on to inspire art, architecture, fashion, movies, and the general style of appliances and home decor.

Check out the V&A's website and browse their Art Deco Collections. Lussier's book, Art Deco Fashion, is a great source for Art Deco fashion images and a quick history of the emerging fashion houses of Paris and England.


Poster, 1927 by Adolphe Mouron Cassandre; Victoria and Albert Museum

Cigarette Lighter, c.1925 by Ronson; Victoria and Albert Museum

Evening dress and slip by Jean-Charles Worth, c.1927; Victoria and Albert Museum

Friday Fantasies

2010-11-12T17:50:00.001-05:00

This Friday Fantasies post is a bit rushed as we're off to Grant Lawrence's book launch at the Drake Hotel. I thought I'd post some really fun fashion blogs that I've been following, some for about a year and some more recently. These girls are funny and I appreciate their different senses of style. Enjoy!

jenloveskev.com - Jen and her hubby just had a little girl and this blog chronicles her life as a new mother while she maintains her fashionable style.

whatiwore.tumblr.com - Jessica and her husband just moved to Indiana from Brooklyn, NY. For me, Jessica is the most daring and dynamic with her fashion choices.

whatwouldanerdwear.blogspot.com - Tania's blog is about dressing for a grad student lifestyle, including the budget. I always love her outfits.

Remembering

2010-11-11T10:10:00.003-05:00

Today, Remembrance Day, I'm thinking of all the men and women who have served or are currently serving, in any capacity, for Canada's Armed Forces. I think it's important to commemorate their sacrifices. More specifically, I'm remembering my grandpa Colman and my great-uncle Don. I wrote about their experiences during the Second World War last week here and here. I'm wearing my poppy with pride today and will take some time at 11:00 to bow my head in remembrance.

Colman Ferencz in Vancouver, c.1943.

McCrea family at the family farm, c.1940.

Calling all outdoorsy people!

2010-11-10T09:44:00.001-05:00

If you're interested in outdoorsy things and you live in Durham Region then you should really check out the Central Lake Ontario Conservation Authority (CLOCA). Last Friday, I attended a winter birds workshop at Enniskillen Conservation Area. We spent the night learning about all the birds you can attract to your feeder during the colder months and the different kinds of food they like. They had different bird samples, mostly roadkill from the Lynde Shores Conservation Area, so that we could get a closer look at the feather colours and designs. We made a suet feeder, too!

I've attended other events hosted by CLOCA and would really recommend joining their mailing list so that you can be notified of upcoming events. My boyfriend and I took our moms on a mother's day flower walk at Long Sault Conservation Area and were treated to a lovely tea afterwards. The events are free and the staff is great! They also do a lot of work with schools and they are responsible for flood forecasting and land and water conservation. Make sure you check out this untapped resource!

Friday Fantasies

2010-11-05T14:38:00.001-04:00

Friday posts will consist of fun, trivial things. From cool dresses, to jewellery, or places I want to visit. Today, some very pretty dresses that I'm currently coveting from Modcloth. Sigh...

Dream a Little Gleam Dress

Peruvian Beauty Dress

Red-y or Not Dress

Cascading Bows Dress

The Forgotten Battle

2010-11-03T16:21:00.001-04:00

Yesterday's post got me interested in my grandfather's participation in the Second World War. He served in Alaska, part of the Aleutian Islands Campaign fought primarily between the United States and Japan. Sometimes known as the Forgotten Battle, the events that took place in the Aleutian Islands pale in comparison to other Pacific campaigns like Pearl Harbour, Japan, and Hong Kong.

My grandfather, Colman, was a member of the 6th Canadian Infantry Division and participated in Operation Cottage in August 1943. The goal of Operation Cottage was to invade Kiska and reclaim the island from the Japanese who had occupied it since 1942. Allied troops, consisting mostly of Americans, landed unopposed on the island only to discover that the Japanese had abandoned the island two days prior.

While it isn't the most exciting story, I never had the chance to talk to my grandfather about his war experience. He died when I wasn't yet interested in history and family history and, being a Canadian-Hungarian, he wasn't confident in his English language skills to communicate what I can only imagine would be complicated feelings.

As a young girl (I was about 12 or 13 when he died), I couldn't have imagined him as a soldier carrying a Bren gun. To me he was my silent grandpa who just nodded when I asked him to play baseball, push me on the swing, or watch me do magic tricks. Now that I know more about his war experiences, I am more proud than ever.

Check back next week for Remembrance Day photos of my grandpa and great-uncle!

Helping Us Remember

2010-11-02T14:44:00.002-04:00

With Remembrance Day in the very near future, the Historica-Dominion Institute's The Memory Project is particularly relevant. The Memory Project is a digital archive of the stories and experiences of Second World War veterans. It's a nationwide bilingual initiative that provides the opportunity for veterans to share their memories through oral histories and artefacts.

I spent some time on the site yesterday and thoroughly enjoyed reading the transcripts and listening to the interviews. You can search for stories by battle, name, theatre, operation, etc. My great-uncle, Don, served in Caen-Falaise and was killed in action in August 1944. While I will never be able to hear about his experiences from him, I was grateful for all of the other servicemen and women who have shared their stories about Caen-Falaise. My family has always been proud of Don but the stories at The Memory Project help us to realize even more the courage and the bravery within him.

A resolution

2010-10-30T01:19:00.000-04:00

So I am going to make an honest effort to get back into blogging. I have the time and the desire so there is no reason not to. In keeping with the original feel of the blog, I think it will remain related to history and public history in some ways but I also want to write about interesting things, people, or places that I run across in daily life.

First things first: I was sent a very interesting link to a newish Jane Austen site called Jane Austen's Fiction Manuscripts. A team of professionals from various UK universities got together and digitized a large portion of Austen's works. It's a really great site and easy to get lost in. I can just imagine Jane writing each and every word!

Week 10, Thing 24: 25 Things: A Conclusion

2009-12-17T11:08:00.001-05:00

Well, I've completed my 25 Things exercises. This is the final post related to the Web 2.0 program. I've really enjoyed going through the 'things' and even though I was familiar with many of them, I learned a lot of new things.

Some of the highlights of this exercise were image generators, YouTube, Flickr, and podcasts and I use them in my professional and personal life. In the new year I will be updating the Our Ontario/Whitby Archives Flickr account and I am using Bloglines to stay current with the programs of other libraries and archives.

What I'm taking away from all the things I've learned is that it is important to stay on top of popular technological trends, especially when you work in a public institution like a library, museum, or archives. In order to remain relevant in a world that is constantly advancing and moving ahead, these institutions need to be able to provide services that make sense to patrons. We need to be able to reach out to patrons and offer them 'things' that are current and relate to their dynamic lifestyles. Otherwise, you'll wake up and realize you're still using a TYPEWRITER!

Thanks to everyone who helped to create and promote the Whitby Public Library 25 Things. It was well worth it!

Week 10, Thing 23: NetLibrary

2009-12-17T10:48:00.001-05:00

I've never used NetLibrary before. I had a play around with it this morning and I think it's kinda neat. It was nice to see some classics on the list of available eAudiobooks, Little Women, Lord of the Flies, A Wrinkle in Time, to name a few. There's also a good collection of language books which I would like to try out sometime.

I've never been into audio books but I think if I could download them onto my iPod, as NetLibrary allows you to do, I'd try them out. Sometimes the book you're reading is just too big for your purse but with NetLibrary and eAudiobooks I could always have a book with me since my iPod can fit into any purse and even my pocket.

Week 10, Thing 22: Discovering New Podcasts

2009-12-17T10:21:00.003-05:00

I only recently got into podcasts but I really like them. Before this exercise I really only downloaded CBC podcasts from iTunes. I especially like Vinyl Cafe, CBC Radio 3 podcasts, and the classic Quirks and Quarks. I didn't even know that there were other podcast directories.

But there ARE! I looked at two, Odeo and PodcastAlley. I liked PodcastAlley better because of the layout and I think it has a better search engine. I also liked the fact that, after searching for a term, it generated a list of relevant podcasts that you can click on and see brief description about the podcast.

I found some pretty neat library podcasts. My favourite being the Library Survival Guide produced by Woodruff Library at Emory University. It offers listeners tips and shortcuts for library research. The 4 December edition was about the top ten most fun/unusual things to do in a library.

Then I searched for history related podcasts and found one that I subscribed to. It's called History Podcast (creative, I know) and recent podcats have been about everything from Vikings to the history of the internet. I'm looking forward to the one about Henry VIII and his crazy wives (or was he the crazy one?).

Anyway, another good task in the 25 Things exercise. Podcasts are just another way to get the word out about any subject at all. I like the way libraries and museums are making use of this technology.

Week 10, Thing 21: YouTube

2009-12-15T17:02:00.001-05:00

First of all, I can't believe it's already week ten. Insanity.

YouTube offers viewers a lot of funny, silly, and entertaining videos. Sometimes, if I have a song in my head I look it up on YouTube and listen to it that way instead of downloading the song from iTunes. YouTube also served as the birthplace of the phenomena that are viral videos, short, usually funny videos that become extremely popular. Here's an example of one.

But YouTube hosts many tutorials and informational videos too. Many of them are clear and straight forward but others are done in tongue-and-cheek. I found this one on the Dewey Decimal System:

and this one on the importance of digital preservation:

I think YouTube is a good way for libraries, museums, and archives to advertise their collections to a wider audience. Many of these institutions already have channels on YouTube devoted to highlighting certain items from their collections. YouTube and other photo sharing websites are really great resources.

Week 9, Thing 20: WPL Fun with 2.0 Wiki

2009-12-14T15:02:00.000-05:00

I enjoyed looking at the Whitby Public Library fun wiki hosted by PB Wiki. I made some posts to the favourite vacation spots section and the favourite restaurants section. It was fun to see where my coworkers like to eat and vacation and I saw that many of us share a love for Quebec City.

I've also used wikis to collaborate with colleagues during my MA at Western. We were creating a curriculum-based, interactive educational tool for Museum London that focussed on local history, specifically the Rebellion of 1837 in and around London. We used the wiki during the research and design stages so that each member of the group could keep up to date with new information, resources, and the direction of the project. I found it very helpful.

Week 9, Thing 19: Wikis and Libraries

2009-12-14T13:07:00.002-05:00

Disclaimer: I love wikis. I would use them all the time if I could. I understand and am aware of their drawbacks and inerhant problems as far as being a credible and/or academic source, but I love them anyway. In just seconds you can learn about anything from how to care for a house plant to a brief or complete history of the French Revolution. Taken with a grain of salt, wikis can be a great learning tool.

They are also great for libraries. I like the idea of a library posting a book review and patrons being able to make their own comments. Part of the idea of a folksonomy (which I discussed in a previous post), wikis can provide library patrons with both a professional and a more common review of a new book. I also like the idea of a library using a wiki to promote their local history collections. A wiki offers a great outlet for the discussion of history and certain photographs or newspaper articles or events could be posted to the wiki for patrons to read and/or comment on.

Wikis are a great way for people to become more involved with their library, history, and their reading experiences.

Week 7, Thing 17: Library 2.0

2009-12-04T12:12:00.002-05:00

I really like how libraries have gotten on board with Web 2.0. Libraries are one public institution that can really benefit from all that Web 2.0 has to offer. They are being really vocal about the importance of and need for collaborative, intuitive, and fun web services.

One of the main facets of Library 2.0 is the idea that libraries should offer services to users in their preferred workspaces - libraries need to go to their users. The Whitby Public Library, for example, does this by maintaining Facebook and Twitter accounts. They also have an extremely user-friendly website.

Wendy Schultz says in her brief article about the infinite futures of libraries, that people have to be at the centre of any library's concerns. The transient and dynamic nature of Library and Web 2.0 means that libraries have to be ready to adapt but it is important to remember that users come first and this might mean adopting strange (at first) and different techniques to serve the public.

Week 7, Thing 16: Technocrati Reconsidered and Tagging Part II

2009-12-04T11:01:00.004-05:00

Well, I'm taking back most of what I said about Technocrati in a previous post. This week's task was to take a closer look at the blog directory site. I hadn't noticed the Tag Index in my last visit to the website and I enjoyed having a look at some of the post popular tags used on the website in the last month (I even found that my favourite soccer team was top tag - Arsenal!!).

The Tag Index is a neat way to get an overview of some of the more popular subjects of the time. For example, under the letter C I saw that Copenhagen and China are the top two tags. Copenhagen because of the upcoming UN Climate Conference in that city; and China because, well, probably because Obama and Harper have visited the country in the last couple of weeks. The top three tags under the letter F are Facebook, Fort Hood, and, big surprise here, flu.

The Technocrati Tag Index is a great way to monitor popular social and political trends. In 1000 years tags might be important factors for historians, anthropologists, sociologists, and other researchers to understand today's social climates. By quickly glancing at an alphabatized list of commonly used words, we get insight into what is going on in ths blogosphere and the popular conscience.

Week 7: Thing 15: Tagging is Delicious!

2009-11-30T17:12:00.001-05:00

What I like most about Delicious is the idea of a folksonomy vs. a taxonomy. Taxonomies are official, rigid, and not very user-friendly. Unlike taxonomies, folksonomies are designed to be broad or specialized, they are always changing or being added to, and they are created from the bottom up. I think it's neat to see how people tag the same photograph or website with different words. Everyone interprets something differently. Delicious and tagging, to me, are at the core of Web 2.0. I even added some tags to my blog today!

Week 6, Thing 14: Movie Poster!

2009-11-20T15:44:00.001-05:00

Thing 14 was the best yet! Image generators can be a lot of fun, you're limited only by your imagination. I went to Big Huge Labs where the tagline is 'Helping you do cool stuff with your digital photos since 2005'. You can create vintage photos, magazine covers, jigsaws, movie posters, and more with your own photos. I used a photograph from the Whitby Online Historic Photographs Collection to make a funny movie poster! In a way this is kind of like public history. Cultural institutions could use image generators to make historic photos more relevant and even a little funny.

Week 6, Thing 12: It's a Library Thing

2009-11-20T15:07:00.005-05:00

Like many people I know, I have a large queue of books that I want to read, buy, and/or borrow (working at a library doesn't help...). And also like many people, I have about a dozen places where I've written down the names of titles or authors of said books and I keep losing them!

I started using the virtual bookshelf application on Facebook because I could keep track of all the books I've read and want to read. It also suggests other books I might be interested in based on the books in my collection. I have also tried Library Thing, a similar site for organizing and cataloging your book collection. I don't think Library Thing is as intuitive as the Facebook application - once I added a book from a series (Harry Potter) to my collection, I had to go back to the search page and search again rather than it automatically generating other books in the series or by the author, for example.

Like the Facebook app, Library Thing produces a list of other books you might be interested in based on your collection. It also shows a list of other users who have similar libraries to you. That's how I found the glorious blog that is AustenBlog (which I have added to my Bloglines account)! I probably won't use Library Thing in the future but I am thankful for the fact that I now know where to go for all my Jane Austen related news!

Week 6, Thing 12: Twitter Mania Right Now

2009-11-17T15:09:00.004-05:00

I've had a Twitter account for about a year now. At first, I found that I rarely checked it because not many of my friends had accounts. Now, however, I log in almost every day read the comments posted by the people I follow.

For me, Twitter is kind of a guilty pleasure. I mostly follow famous people like Lauren Conrad (and all her reality TV buddies!!), Shaq, the Fug Girls, and Jimmy Fallon. Of course, my list of followers also consists of the requisite professional and academic Tweeters like CBC, professors, colleagues, The Canoe Dossier, the Whitby Public Library etc., but I think that Twitter is meant to be fun and it offers a quirky view at the lives of the rich and famous. I like reading their short, often funny quips and sometimes they post backstage photos from whatever event or show on which they're appearing.

Overall, I think Twitter is a great tool that offers users a website that combines social networking, celebrity gossip, and current affairs. Here's the link to my page.

Week 5, Thing 11: Finding Feeds a Disappointment

2009-11-13T14:47:00.001-05:00

So I've had a play around with some of the search tools for finding news feeds/blogs and I haven't really been all that impressed. I found sites like Technocrati, Syndic8.com, and Topix.net a little cumbersome and not very user friendly. Typically, they seemed geared toward political affairs and current events. I tried searching by subjects I'm interested in (archives, heritage, history) and ended up with disappointing results.

In the end, I think I prefer trolling the web to find sites or blogs that I'm interested in. If I like them enough I'll add them to my Bloglines account or choose to follow them via RSS. It seems unlikely that I'd come across something that doesn't have an RSS icon!

Week 5, Thing 10: RSS and Newsfeeds

2009-11-11T17:13:00.001-05:00

This week we've been asked to explore the world that is Real Simple Syndication! It's also really handy. I created a Bloglines account so that I could easily keep track of all the different websites and blogs that I follow. Now, instead of checking each site individually, I log into Bloglines and all the updates are in one place.

I didn't add any library related sites to my account (I'm not a librarian!) but I did add the Canadian Heritage Information Network and a really interesting history blog called Cafe Historia, both are great resources for a budding Public Historian!

I can see, though, how libraries might use RSS and Newsfeeds to keep up to date with other libraries around the world. Web 2.0 has really hit the library world and having all the different blogs and websites in one place is very efficient!

Week 3, Thing 8: You can view them online!

2009-11-02T10:03:00.005-05:00

Access is currently a buzz word in the museum, library, and archives world. The feeling that records should be available online is one that has encouraged many institutions to undertake massive digitization projects to create electronic copies of archival documents, photographs, and other items so that they may be added to the internet for all the world to see (or at least anyone who is interested).

The Whitby Public Library and Archives is one of those institutions and they are in the process of making their photograph collection available online. On a daily basis, photographs are scanned and uploaded to a host website called Our Ontario. Having the photographs online means that more people have access to them and can view them from the comfort of their homes. The website also contains some Web 2.0 features like the ability to comment on the photographs and even to send images as electronic postcards to friends!

Week 3, Thing 7: Flickr Mashups and Open Source

2009-10-26T09:31:00.011-04:00

One of the many great features of Flickr is the fact that it was designed as open source software. A software program that is considered open source means that its code is accessible to developers so that they may use it to design and create other online programs and software.

Flickr is a wonderful example of open source software and so many people have used its code to create third party sites and tools. I found a neat one called PicMark r which allows you to upload your photos directly from Flickr (or another photo hosting site) and apply a watermark to your photographs. PicMarkr markets itself as a tool that allows you to feel safe about putting your photos online because the watermark serves as a way to protect your ownership of your images.

I used it to add a watermark to one of the photographs I took this summer at a cottage near Haliburton. It was a beautiful day!

Week 3, Thing 6: Flickr, Photos, and Fun!

2009-10-21T11:27:00.005-04:00

As is mentioned in my profile, I recently returned from New Zealand after spending about 8 months there. While I was in the Land of Eternal Spring, I created a Flickr account so that I could share my photos with friends and family back home. I found that Flickr was extremely user-friendly and the easiest way to keep loved ones up to date with my activities. It was nice for them to get a feel for where I was living.

I also joined the Flickr group for the region of New Zealand in which I lived, Taranaki. I found this photo of the region's namesake, pride, and protector, Mount Taranaki, in the Taranaki group. I have many photos like this one but I thought Bruce McKinlay's version is quite stunning with the green grass, aqua-blue sky, and snow capped mountain top.

Another good thing about Flickr groups is that photos are added to them on a daily basis which means I can log in to see recent images of my old home!

Week 2, Thing 5: Web Two Point What?

2009-10-16T15:50:00.011-04:00

The Whitby Public Library will be launching its new Web 2.0 website shortly. As part of the Web 2.0 initiative, staff members have volunteered to participate in the '25 Th ings' campaign. 25 Things is a series of activities that, upon completion, will increase awareness of and familiarize library staff with the facets of Web 2.0. , which includes the ideas of information sharing and user-centred design. The activities and exercises include things like creatinga blog (!) and a Twitter account, familiarizing yourself with RSS, newsfeeders, and photo sharing websites like Flickr and del.icio.us, and embracing terms like tagging and mash-ups.

I know I've been away from my blog for a while...but it's good to be blogging again!

Celebrating Paritutu

2009-01-03T18:25:00.006-05:00

Since being in New Zealand I have had a few opportunities to put into practise some of the theories I learned at school last year. As a newly graduated public historian, I am very aware of instances where the introduction of some kind of public history could greatly benefit an institution or natural setting.

I am thinking particularly of Paritutu rock in New Plymouth. Paritutu is what remains of the rim of an ancient volcano. It is 153m tall and its steep surface can be climbed in about 30 minutes (there and back). At the summit, climbers can experience vast and breathtaking views of New Plymouth and Mount Taranaki, and the Taranaki Region.

Paritutu and the land surrounding it was once occupied by Maori who used it as a source for food, water and shelter. Other similar mounds of rock in the same area, called the Sugar Loaf Islands, were used in a similar manner and as a result, villages formed around Paritutu and the Islands.

Paritutu was discovered by Europeans in 1770 and just over 100 years later, the leading men of New Plymouth proposed to blow up Paritutu and use its rock for a breakwater at the port. The breakwater would encourage trade in New Plymouth as ships could easily sail into and dock at the harbour. Despite protests, workers went ahead with plans to make quick use of the ancient landmark. Only a small amount of stone was quarried from Paritutu as the explosion was largely unsuccessful. It was decided that Paritutu would not provide the necessary amount of stone needed for the project and the breakwater was made with the rock of one of the Sugar Loaf Islands.

Paritutu remains today, only slightly marred by the human interference of the 1870s. An even bigger travesty, however, is that Paritutu's story, an important part of New Plymouth and Taranaki history, remains relatively unknown. Neither the summit nor the base showcase any sort of information regarding Paritutu and its surrounding Sugar Loaf Islands. New Plymouth's museum, Puke Ariki, has a brief history online as part of its Taranaki Stories initiative but considering Paritutu stands so proud and tall at the city's port, it deserves a little more public history.

Kiwi Courage

2008-09-09T23:36:00.004-04:00

As you can see, I updated the 'about me' section of my blog this evening. I'll be travelling to New Plymouth, New Zealand on Thursday to work at a museum and I am, to say the least, nervous and scared. It's a big deal flying 20 hours to a destination where I won't know a soul and will be 16 hours ahead of the people who I regularly rely on keeping me calm and happy.

Tonight, however, my mom gave me my graduation present (NZ dollars!) and a card with an appropriate quote by Vincent van Gogh: "What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything?" My mom and Vincent are right (leave it to moms to give just the right amount of encouragement). My New Zealand excursion will be a wonderful, educational experience. I will discover different cultures and histories while observing and practicing Public History at a local museum.

Life will always require us to be courageous. In fact, it wasn't that long ago that I was entering into a similarly scary and new period of life: this time last year I was a timid grad student, wide-eyed and bushy-tailed, ready to learn the ropes of Public History. Now, a year older, I am ready to put into practice all the knowledge and experience I gained during my MA. I am confident in my skills and abilities and look forward to an international foray before settling down. Of course, despite my upcoming independence and sense of adventure, it still helps to have that little push from mom. : )

LAC uncovers document more precious than gold!

2008-08-14T22:52:00.005-04:00

I'm glad the Olympics are over. I was sick of hearing about how poorly Canadian athletes were fairing and I was/am sick of hearing how the Canadian government should give more money to sports and Olympic aspiring athletes.

Don't get me wrong, I like sports and I like the way Canadians rally behind our athletes during the Olympics. The games definitely inspire a sense of togetherness and Canadiana. But I'm not so sure that athletes, people who eat, sleep, train, and breathe their respective sports, deserve more money than other culturally inspiring or important jobs or activities. I would venture to say that waste collectors, city gardeners, librarians, and clinics are more deserving of funding than athletes.

Just before the Olympics occupied every waking moment of CBC's news coverage, Library and Archives Canada was briefly in the news too (really briefly, the story won't take you more than 20 seconds to read). Sometime last year, a LAC employee, who has unnecessarily remained anonymous, accidentally discovered an Australian playbill among Canadian documents. The playbill, possibly the earliest printed document in Australia, dates to 1796 and has been an important item in strengthening the relationship between LAC and the National Archives of Australia.

The lack of coverage this story received is really unfortunate. The story was passed over by the Canadian media in favour of Michael Phelps's eating routine, a report that is hardly worth your time.

While the playbill is ultimately Australian, it is interesting to follow the document's path to Canada where it was safely stored for almost 100 years. If nothing else, the LAC-NAA playbill situation serves to connect Canadian-Australian cultural relations and it should have received more coverage than it did. Archives and museums can encourage a sense of Canadiana and togetherness just as sports can, and probably even more so.

The Olympics come every two years, but archives are forever!

What the sky taught me

2008-04-18T12:10:00.004-04:00

The digital history Sky exhibit has long since ended but a summary post is definitely necessary! Overall, I think the exhibit was a success. We had quite a few visitors throughout the day including faculty, library staff, and some students and from what I could tell, they all seemed to enjoy our digital creations!

As a member of the Stonehenge team, I am not embarrassed to say that our design was a little bit disappointing. We had far too much information on display with three monitors displaying facts and tidbits of information. By observing visitors interacting with our model, it was obvious that people simply wanted to press the buttons and watch the lights, the corresponding facts seemed less important. One other problem with our design was the length of time the buttons were disabled after one was pushed. Nobody wanted to wait for the slides to cycle through before being able to push another button!

Despite the issues, the day was very rewarding. I had a great time talking to and explaining our model to visitors. I was happy that people complimented our scale model, arts and crafty as it was. I was proud of our design and it was great being able to practice public history on campus. While Stonehenge wasn't as successful as we had hoped, it certainly wasn't a failure. Visitors asked us questions about the technology/digital aspects of the model, they were interacting with our model and the information, and they were interacting with us not as students, but as public historians!

Stonehenge and the Sky taught me some very valuable lessons with regards to digital and public history.
#1: The less information the better!
#2: Talk and interact with visitors. Many of them told interesting stories about their own trips to Stonehenge.
#3: Sometimes, the simplest things are the most effective. Visitors REALLY seemed to like our model, without the digital components and the lights.
#4: The sky really is the limit! As public historians we need to know the different types of technology available to us. Digital history has taught me to think digitally when trying to promote history. There are no limits to the ways in which we can display history.

So there you go. The exhibit was a great success with lots to be learned by all. My biggest complaint? Our model didn't ever end up with neolithic sheep on it!

Geocaching and history: an adventure in waiting

2008-04-04T23:52:00.012-04:00

My aunt is really into Geocaching - a hobby that combines adventure, caches, and a Global Positioning System. A cache is usually a logbook that contains the records of all those people who have visited the cache and can also include things like contact information, information about the city or town in which the cache is located, and even jokes. Some caches contain things like maps, books, and even jewelery. People who 'Geocache' (I think I just made up a new word) look up coordinates online and then use their GPS to find the cache. Once they've found the cache site there are a few rules that Geocachers must follow: 1) Take something from the cache, 2) Leave something in the cache, and 3) Write about it in the logbook.

I think Geocaching is an awesome tool for public historians. Museums, for example, could create walking tours that make use of a GPS and historical artifacts (replicas, of course). Similarly, historical societies could create country-wide historical adventures that lead Geocachers on a hunt for a series of artifacts that are relevant to Canadian history. With each discovery, hunters learn tidbits of history relating to the artifacst. It might look a little something like this:

In Charlottetown, a picture of the members who attended the Charlottetown Conference is located on the grounds of Government House. On the boardwalk in Halifax, hunters might discover the hasty telegram sent by dispatcher Vince Coleman that stopped a train with 700 passengers from barreling into the city at the time of the Halifax Explosion. In Quebec, Geocachers are directed to the Plains of Abraham to find a French Infantry Musket used during the fateful battle. The next stop is Toronto where the goal is to find a miniature version of William Lyon Mackenzie's printing press that was thrown into Lake Ontario. In Regina, a buried stethoscope represents Tommy Douglas and the development of Medicare. In the Nass River valley of British Columbia, hunters are guided toward an indigenous artifact belonging to the Nisga'a people. Finally, the search ends with the discovery of gold in the Klondike near Dawson City, Yukon.

Of course, searches like these can, and probably should, be limited to provinces, regions, and even cities. Geocaching has a lot of potential for public history and historians and is a great way to combine new digital technologies with traditional histories.

In Other Group Project News

2008-03-15T21:17:00.004-04:00

Along with the sky exhibit, there is another group project that Public History students are working on. This time, in co-operation with Museum London, we are creating three different modules for Eldon House using SMARTBoard Technology. SMARTBoards are sort of like interactive white boards or PowerPoint presentations. Each module will be used for the museum's educational programming and will be presented to elementary school children of the Thames Valley District School Board.

My group has been working on the Rebellion of 1837 module for about seven months now and we are getting closer to the final project each week. I am responsible for the Rebellion in the London District and as a result, I learned a great deal of local history. The Duncombe Rising to the east of London is a topic of which most elementary students and the general public might not be aware. Similarly, the meeting that took place in London's Flannagan's Tavern on 11 December, 1837 yielded the rebel's resolution to protect the city from further Loyalist influence is a wonderful piece of local history that needs more attention.

Thankfully, Museum London has invested a large chunk of money into SMARTBoards and is bringing these histories to children and the public in an interesting and digital manner. For example, the technology has allowed me to turn an archived painting into a sliding puzzle. London's Barracks (1842) by Henry Francis Ainslie has been transformed into an interactive puzzle that teaches children about the consequences of the Rebellion (London received the barracks after the rebels were put down).

I look forward to working with things like SMARTBoard in the future as they are great tools that can increase interest in local and Canadian history. I encourage you to check out the sliding puzzle I made and you can learn a little bit about the way London looked in the mid - 19th century during the construction of the barracks at what is now Victoria Park.

Here's the link! It's available for one month.

Digitizing Stonehenge Part I

2008-02-22T23:49:00.007-05:00

I spent this inaugural Family Day with my archeo-astronomy kin.

In preparation for the digital history sky exhibit, my group met last Monday to construct Stonehenge - on a scale of 1:50. We spent about three hours molding the clay into the stones that made up the original design. Our model is in the beginning stages. We plan to cut the board into a circle, decorate it with moss, green felt, druids, and sheep (of course, they will be authentic Neolithic sheep).

Our goal is to develop an interface that viewers can use to learn more about Stonehenge while using our model as a starting point. I'm talking buttons, lights, animation, and FACTS! Viewers will be able to push a button and a corresponding light on the model will light up and the laptops will display a cleverly designed animation and/or an interesting fact that relates to the light on the model. The button/light topics will include the summer solstice sunrise, the winter solstice sunset, the stones themselves, Neolithic culture/people, and Neolithic religion.

I will keep you updated on the progress of our exhibit!

Looking to the sky

2008-02-11T11:55:00.000-05:00

My digital history class has been working to develop an interactive exhibit for display at UWO in April. We've decided on the "sky" as the overall theme for the project and there will be four displays that correspond to the sky in some way or another. Our goal is to show how history/a topic can be combined with facets of the digital world to create an interesting and interactive display.

My group is looking at Archeo-astronomy and more specifically, Stonehenge. We are hoping to create both a digital and actual model that will show viewers how the sun reacts to the ancient creation.

Other topics include comets, constellations, and flying machines and satellites.

I'm really looking forward to seeing it come together as an overall exhibit. Stay tuned to the website and my blog for more information!

Fabregas is related to Puss in Boots? Well, they're both Spanish.

2008-01-28T23:55:00.000-05:00

In digital history last week, we learned about Mash-ups and APIs. Mash-ups work together with APIs to create wonderfully interesting web applications like a Google Maps map that displays the addresses of all the places in London, ON that sell Arsenal FC merchandise. Just, you know, for example.

The other day, I was looking around YouTube and came across YouTube's new application called "Warp". And, while I'm not sure if it's the same thing as a Mash-up, it's really kind of fun. In fact, it might be more of a visualization.

Warp visualizes the connections between videos. It can only be used in full screen mode and its icon is in the bottom left corner of the screen - it looks kind of like a web map. So, I searched for Cesc Fabregas, Arsenal's up-and-coming Spanish midfielder. I watched the video in full screen mode and then clicked on the icon. Immediately, a bunch of different bubbles splurted out all over the screen. From there I was connected to a number of other bubbles that were related to the first video. I found my way, somehow, to a Puss in Boots video clip from Shrek.

By clicking on a bubble, you can watch the clip. Once the clip is finished, a line appears and connects you back to the original video. It was really a lot of fun to see the wacky connections between videos.

This sort of visualization or application, or whatever it is, would be really cool if it could somehow be used on old, historical (ahhhh...the real connection) photos. If this visualization could somehow be applied to family photos you could roll your mouse over a person in a photo and all of a sudden bubbles would display his/her family and friends and even other photos of the same person. This tool would be great for genealogists.

I'm not sure that it's even feasible to use Warp in such a way that I described above but it's interesting to imagine the possibilities. So, go try it and think of some other neat ways to use Warp!

Public what?

2008-01-04T16:17:00.000-05:00

Over the holidays I usually make appointments with my doctor, hair dresser, dentist, and optometrist. It's a time to get healthy, regenerate, and share conversation with the health professionals who have been seeing me since I was a kid.

This year, however, the conversation was not about family, holiday plans, and life in general; rather, appointments consisted of me explaining public history, my MA program, and my future career options. When I described public history to my dentist and the kinds of jobs that I could possibly have once I graduate, he responded, "I didn't even know those kinds of jobs existed." Similarly, while answering the same questions from my doctor, he said, "You're speaking Greek to me."

I recognized early on that most people didn't or wouldn't know much about public history but a simple explanation seemed to yield an understanding nod and smile. I was quite surprised, however, to hear the responses of so many supposedly well-educated, socially aware Canadians.

This got me thinking. What is the point of public history if the 'public', this kind of history's namesake, doesn't even realize its significance. There is, indeed, public interest in history - historical novels, movies, and television shows are more popular than ever before. Perhaps, as public historians, we need to be more concerned with the public rather than the history. My digital history course is obviously helping to foster this attitude.

How cool would it be if museums had temporary exhibitions for which the subjects were based entirely on public interest? Museum administrators could poll their communities to find out what topics would draw the most amount of visitors. This would probably lead to a type of history less interesting to most museum administrators and historians. A less 'academic' type of history. Does public support automatically tarnish historic validity?

I wonder if it is possible to bridge the gap between what the public wants and what historians want. I'm not entirely sure. I do know, however, that as I continue to find my way as a public historian, I am leaning more toward the attitude that supports and favours a public friendly history.

How Spiders (and Blogger) Saved My Blog

2007-12-26T21:12:00.001-05:00

I deleted my blog about a week ago. I'd like to say it was an experiment, but it wasn't. The incident occurred in an attempt to delete a group blog that had fallen into disuse. After a day of panicking and then emailing Blogger and my digital history professor, I calmed down. I discovered (with help and advice from a special someone) that I could recover my deleted posts by searching their titles on Google.

Instead of clicking on the title of my blog post, I clicked on Cached. This turned up Google's cache, or archive, of my blog. I then copied and pasted the text and pictures into my new/old blog (After deleting my blog, I immediately reserved the same domain name and title by re-registering for a blog on Blogger). I was delighted, and even more so when I realized my links remained active.

I couldn't help but think of how my experience tied into my previous blogs about Internet archiving and Facebook. If I delete my blog again, by accident or otherwise, my posts and ideas have been archived by Google's life-saving spiders and are available for anyone to access. I can't help but think of the amount of resources this might provide future researchers or historians.

But I don't need to repeat my previous posts, you can read them for yourself now that I have successfully restored them. I am thankful I was able to recover my blog and I have Google's creepy, crawly spiders to thank for taking snapshots of my blog and archiving it before it was deleted.

P.S. After posting this entry I promptly received an email from a helpful Blogger employee informing me that they had restored my old blog. Moral of the story? There is a lot of archiving and caching going on and, as a result, no blog need ever be lost again!

The Tudor's Brangelina

2007-11-13T23:19:00.000-05:00

Whether we admit it or not, most of us like to read about the divorces and break-ups of Hollywood’s stars. It’s a guilty pleasure. It’s also part of our star-crazed culture, this fascination with movie, rock/pop, and sports celebrities. But we shouldn’t think of their divorces and relationship failures as products of our contemporary society. The famous, it seems, have always been like this.

Take Katherine of Aragon, the first wife of the infamous King Henry VIII of England. Her story resembles that of modern castaway, Jennifer Aniston, replaced by Angelina Jolie as Brad Pitt’s lover. A daughter of the king and queen of Spain, Katherine was used as a pawn for Anglo-Spanish relations. She was married to Arthur, heir to the English crown, for just one year before his death caused chaos in the court. Katherine was driven into poverty and neglected by both Spain and England. She lived that way for 8 years before catching the eye of the young Henry, Arthur’s brother. After receiving an official annulment for her first marriage, they were married. The royal marriage was rife with affairs and miscarriages, producing only one daughter. After 24 years, Henry divorced poor, innocent Katherine on the grounds that the Bible warns of never marrying a brother’s widow. For Henry, however, the break-up occurred because Katherine did not produce a male heir and because another woman, Anne Boleyn, was waiting in the wing.

A Medieval Angelina Jolie, Boleyn became known for her own affairs and love of witchcraft; the punishment for which was decapitation. One can only hope that Jolie’s fate is less bloody.

An unexpected part II

2007-11-11T12:28:00.000-05:00

I'd like to take some time to respond to a comment I received pertaining to my previous post. I love reading the few comments that I receive but this one, written by French Panic, particularly irked me because I felt the writer did not fully understand my point of view. Alas, the rebuttal.

The beauty of Facebook is that all of the information stored on individual profiles can be accessed via the Internet which, barring all unforeseen circumstances, has a lifespan of many years to come. I recognize that digital sources are fallible. So do archivists and computer engineers - they are adapting to this realization. Google and Facebook are working to figure out where and how to store their massive caches. My point wasn't that Facebook should be hiring archivists to store profile information on software/hardware that will be obsolete in 2 years, but rather that Facebook accounts can be accessed easily over the Internet and that this could benefit researchers, historians, and other archivists in the years to come if the Internet is still available and Facebook allows this sort of access (perhaps in the same way the National Library and Archives allows access to its restricted materials upon the death of a donor or other stipulation). As it is, Facebook has amended their policy regarding deceased users. The previous policy was that an account was deleted after a 30 day "memorialization period", but after pressure from families and friends, the "memorialization period" is now indefinite.

And yes, Facebook is a massive repository. The term repository refers to anything from a permanent archive collection to a garbage can that is emptied every week. The National Library and Archives, another massive repository, is constantly changing - accessioning and deaccessioning records all the time. Although Facebook users can add, change, or delete their profiles whenever they log in, the information they provide is similar to that which a historian would find in a diary written by an upper-class white woman of the 19th century. In fact, I think Facebook could provide historians with a broader view of the population with accounts created by people all over the world and of many different income brackets. Anyone that has access to the Internet (accessed via personal computers, library computers, friends' computers), can post pictures, a blog, or create a Facebook profile.

The difference between Facebook and the 19th century diary, however, is that the diary provides historians with a more personal perspective. As opposed to a diary, blogs and social networking websites are written and created with the knowledge that other people will read them. This does not take away from their value. These kinds of digital sources can shed light on a particular person's interests as well as society as a whole - popular forms of entertainment, social and political debates, and how we interact with each other (Marshall McLuhan's "medium is the message" comes to mind). The information on Facebook, and more generally the Internet, can help historians and researchers to build a framework of our society.

The Internet has given us a way to learn about each other. French Panic was able to connect to my blog and paste his/her response to my previous post. It has opened up an avenue of debate that would not have previously existed. If the Internet, and thus this debate, lasts for future generations to read, I wonder if they will look up my Facebook profile.

How Facebook changed the world...

2007-10-26T13:04:00.001-04:00

I was listening to CBC Radio's Here and Now yesterday afternoon when I was struck by a story concerning the new computer fad, Facebook. Apparently, Microsoft bought a piece (1.6% to be exact) of the the social networking mogul for $240 million. Along with with this not-so-large chunk of the Facebook pie (the website is worth around $15 billion and its creator, Mark Zuckerburg is worth almost $5 billion), Microsoft now has a role in Facebook's advertising and future claims to more of the company as it continues to grow and gain popularity - and it will, said Here and Now's technology-minded Jesse Hirsh.

What is even more interesting was the discussion that followed. Hirsh and the Here and Now host, Matt Galloway, talked about this Facebook-Microsoft pairing as the way of the future in terms of operating systems. Indeed, both Google and Microsoft are tending toward programs and applications that allow the user to connect to people, hotels, restaurants, and other services throughout the world (I am thinking here of the ideas expressed in the clever video clip Epic 2015). Hirsh mentioned that Facebook, with its ever growing application options, is used more and more instead of email and as a form of entertainment with games and other interesting features. Why not, Hirsh mused, create spreadsheets and word documents on Facebook too?

Why not indeed! Part of Facebook's allure to major computer companies like Microsoft, is its seemingly indefinite access to marketing information. Users of Facebook can post their activities, interests, favourite books and television shows, and even products they prefer; and now, Microsoft is right there, watching, making note that one of Sarah's (and many others, to be sure) favourite television shows is The Hills. The next time I sign in I might be prodded with ads offering me deals on Hills memorabilia or cautioned not to miss the next episode or informed of Hills related events in my area.

In addition to operating systems and marketing, Facebook is also a massive archive and digital repository. Everytime users add to their profile it is recorded and whoever has access to this added information, particularly photos, can copy it (read: archive it). If the Facebook fad lasts long enough and profiles are accessible 100 years from now, historians, archivists, and researchers of the future will have interesting, detailed, and almost complete accounts of the lives of millions of people (the Toronto, ON network itself contains 900 000 people!). What this speaks of in terms of privacy is probably the subject for another blog.

Today's society, it seems, is very concerned with this idea of documenting and recording everything, especially our daily lives. There's Gordon Bell who undertook a project to digitally archive every photo, piece of paper, and action of his life. Even weirder is Johnny Lechner, a guy who has been in college since 1994 and who is recording every minute of his final (one can only hope) college year and broadcasting it online (you should definitely watch it for a bit).

Obviously people are interested in this kind of archiving - we are posting information on Facebook and other social networking sites, newspapers and magazines are writing about people like Gordon Bell, we are watching (voyeurism?) Johnny go to school, and we are blogging! In 100 years historians are going to use this information to build a framework of and learn about our society. Some people, pessimists, I'm sure, believe that all of this archiving and information collecting will cast a negative light on our time. But they way I see it is that these sorts of websites, Facebook and even Johnny Lechner, connect all of us. If we have the ability to document our daily lives so that others in different countries and cultures can read about it and maybe learn something they otherwise wouldn't have, then why not?

Web Review: Going for Gold

2007-10-16T08:29:00.000-04:00

Klondike - The Rush for the Gold!
<http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/Exhibitions/Klondike/English/main.html>.
Created and maintained by the Dawson City Museum for the Virtual Museum of Canada, 2006. Reviewed October 2007.

Taking a trip to the Klondike is next to impossible for most elementary and high school classrooms in Canada; not to mention the fact the late nineteenth century gold fever, or Klondicitus, that once typified the Yukon and its bonanza cities has since been silenced. Imagine, however, a website that takes students and other interested viewers on a historical “journey to the harsh north country” in the search for gold.

Klondike - The Rush for the Gold! does just that. The website was created by Dawson City Museum in association with the Department of Canadian Heritage for the Virtual Museum of Canada. It is separated into six different sections which include an interactive part, maps, Klondike genealogy resources, information for teachers, and acknowledgments. These pages replicate a Klondike newspaper from the late nineteenth century. Icons on the left side of the page direct users to appropriate sections within the website.

The heart of the website can be reached by clicking “Start” which redirects the user to a “Start Your Adventure” section that is presented in HTML or Flash versions. Offering an HTML version ensures that those viewers who do not have the necessary Flash software are able to view and access the website. The Flash version, however, offers audio, movies, fading graphics, games, and other effects; an overall better experience.

The adventure begins in 1897 Seattle where news spread of the gold discovered in Canada’s north by Skookum Jim and George Carmack. Viewers hear the sounds of people rushing about, sea gulls, and ocean steamers. Ideally, students and users select the links from the “Read More About” section which includes ‘nuggets’ of information pertaining to the Klondike, women’s roles in gold rush, Klondicitus, and syndicates/business opportunities. The four nuggets provide a basic, superficial knowledge of Klondike history.

There is a ‘choose your own adventure’ web game that links from the main page. Here students are prompted to “Go to the Klondike!” by selecting their own steamship ticket, buying an outfit, choosing the right horse and guide, and many other options like which speculator to trust and which dance hall to enter. If students make the wrong decision - they decide to join a local gang or buy a bicycle for navigating the northern terrain - they are told “Your Adventure is Over” and asked to start again. The most interesting part of the web game is choosing those options that ‘end’ your adventure; joining Soapy Smith’s gang, playing the local games, or starting a business provide a glimpse at everyday life in a gold rush town.

Throughout the game there are information prompts which encourage students and users to learn more about the cities of the Klondike, the steamships that brought gold hunters to the Yukon and Alaska, and the treacherous mountain passes that reached the Klondike. The website makes use of many primary sources too. Movies show original footage of ship boarding and gold discoveries and processing. There are many opportunities to read the diary of one prospector, Otto Steiner, who kept notes of his Klondike experiences. The “Seattle Photo Album”, although it focuses on the city of Seattle, offers a first hand look at the necessary preparation before embarking to the Klondike.

The web game, while an interactive way of learning, is very time consuming and somewhat confusing. The game seems to continue for longer than necessary and it was often difficult to return to the start or homepage. The result is largely unsatisfying and leaves students and viewers without a solid grasp of gold rush knowledge.

The section devoted to teachers outlines the application of the website to grades three and five of the British Columbia elementary school curriculum. It offers suggestions on how teachers can incorporate the website into classroom learning; the fragmented presentation and amount of information on the website, however, would be overwhelming for third and fifth graders. Contradictions arise with the Dawson City Museum’s suggestion that student users be at an eighth grade reading level due to the heavy text-based presentation of information on the website. Along with these inconsistencies, some of the historical content - prostitution, gangs, violence - is perhaps too advanced for younger students.

Overall the website delivers what is promised: a fun, interactive way to learn about the Klondike. The graphics, design, visuals, and sound are great additions to the website but they are relied on too heavily and distract from the information, especially in the web game. Similarly, the website would benefit from more age appropriate facts and fewer links to more information. While the website does not present any new, groundbreaking facts relating to the Klondike, it is a good way to involve younger children in their own education and it brings to life one of the most interesting and forgotten events in Canadian history.

The Secret Lives Of....

2007-09-27T14:34:00.000-04:00

I love historical fiction novels. I think the genre is great. I also think they are a form of public history. A great historical fiction novel can transport the reader to the time and place created by the author - giving readers a glimpse at what life may have been like for the Tudors, Helen of Troy, or Mary Magdalene. The wonderful thing about historical fiction is that it appeals to many different interests: students/lovers of history are drawn to the historical basis of the novels while other readers are interested in plot and the imaginative/fantastical aspects of the genre. Historical fiction is also pure entertainment.

Authors of historical fiction provide readers with a disclaimer that acknowledges that the storylines and facts may not be completely true, that they are the author's interpretation of certain factual events, people, and eras. Isn't this idea of interpreting the facts similar to the job of an academic historian? I think certainly Keith Jenkins would agree with me. He says that the past is gone and there is "no fundamentally correct 'text' of which other interpretations are just variations; variations are all there are."1 Couldn't historical fiction be another one of Jenkins's variations?

I think so. Books like Philippa Gregory's The Constant Princess and Margaret George's The Autobiog raphy of Henry VIII and Carolly Erickson's The Hidden Diary of Marie Antoinette beautifully describe their respective periods with details of clothing, landscape, leisure time, housing, social conditions and much more. Gregory's Katherine of Aragon often describes her home in Grenada, the Alhambra, with such detail that the reader cannot help but imagine the palace in all its glory with painted murals and beautifully dressed women and men. In George's novel she writes of a banquet for Henry VII and family that consisted of "venison, crayfish, prawns, oysters, mutton, braw, conger-eel, carp, lamprey, swan, crane, quail, dove, partridge, goose, duck, rabbit, fruit custard, lamb, manchet, and so on...."2

These authors have inspired me to learn more about the actual historical events that surround the places and people described in the books. After reading about the Alhambra I took steps to learn of its Muslim origins and eventual transfer to Spanish control. George's description of a banquet feast provided me with insight as to Tudor eating habits and festivities. Countless other works of historical fiction have had the same effect.

Historical fiction affects its readers in another way: it teaches them to read with a critical mind. It is important to remember that this genre is indeed fiction. But I would argue that you need to read academic articles and historical non-fiction in the same way. Students and readers must be aware of author bias, contradictory evidence, and fact manipulation.

As a new student of public history it only recently occurred to me that historical fiction novels are a great way to promote history to the public. They are written in such a way that encourages the reader to learn more about the subject at hand. The only thing more that I could ask for is for someone to write Canadian historical fiction. Perhaps a novel based on a band of brave rebels fighting in Lower Canada during the rebellion of 1837 or one that tells of a wild romance between a beautiful native and her coureur des bois on the snowy, cold Canadian frontier.

Either way, any book of historical fiction will continue to be my genre of choice and I can't wait until February 28 when Philippa Gregory's The Other Boleyn Girl will premier as a major motion picture! YES!

1 Keith Jenkins, Re-thinking History (London: Routledge, 2003), 14.
2 Margaret George, The Autobiography of Henry VIII (New York: St. Martin’s Griffin, 1987), 32-33.

The View from Here

2007-09-21T13:47:00.000-04:00

I was born and raised in Oshawa, Ontario. I'm sure some of you have heard of it, sometimes it's referred to as "the dirty shwa" or "the armpit of Ontario". Anyway, if you have heard of my lovely, relatively safe, blue collared hometown it's probably because of General Motors. The national headquarters is located there, not to mention two car plants, a truck plant, a paint shop, the Canadian Regional Engineering Centre (where most of the designing is done) and countless other affiliated automotive industries. You also may have read/heard about GM's latest announcement to cut 1200 jobs by eliminating the third shift at the truck plant. Not surprisingly, this decision is going to effect many people who live in Oshawa and the surrounding area as well as the economy of the region.

While GM boardroom decisions can have a negative effect on Oshawa, there are also many reasons to praise the big business. Oshawa's OHL team, the Oshawa Generals, is well known for kick-starting the careers of hockey legends like Bobby Orr and Eric Lindros. General Motors Centre, built just last year and partly funded by GM, has brought new life to the downtown. But what is more interesting to me, and more to the point of public history, is that Oshawa would not be the city it is today without Colonel R. S. McLaughlin.

In 1867 the McLaughlin Carriage Company was the largest in the British Empire. It moved its factory to Oshawa in 1876 from a small town north of the city. Toward the turn of the century, R.S. McLaughlin (affectionately known as Sam) encouraged his father (then owner) to switch to the manufacturing of automobiles. The McLaughlin Motor Car Company was created in 1907. A year later, the McLaughlins teamed with Buick and in 1915 with Chevrolet. McLaughlin cars were known for their reliabilty and quality but in 1918 Sam realized the best way to ensure success was to join forces with the booming company, General Motors. Sam became president of General Motors Canada and the headquarters remained in Oshawa. The McLaughlins were known throughout Oshawa and the surrounding areas.

I was fortunate enough to work at Parkwood, the R.S. McLaughlin Estate, National Historic Site for four summers. The estate dates to 1917 and was the home of Sam, his wife, and their five daughters. It now serves as a community museum which displays the original furnishings and anything else you can think of that belonged to the family. While I worked there I gained a lot of experience in archiving, tours, and museum management - something I don't think I would have gotten at a provincial or national museum. For one summer, I was responsible for cataloging, conserving, and preserving family archives.

Every summer, visitors come from around the world and are amazed at Parkwood and its grounds. But for the most part, Parkwood is still very unknown; citizens of Oshawa will often come in for a tour admitting they've lived in Oshawa their entire lives and not known about Parkwood (they know about Sam though). What's even more interesting, to me anyway, is that Parkwood has been the site for the filming of many movies: Billy Madison, Hollywoodland, X-Men, Chicago, The State Within (a wicked BBC production, by the way), to name a few. It was even featured on the TV show Rich Bride, Poor Bride (it's a wedding hotspot ladies!!!!). A lot of the times, visitors come just to see the staircase where Adam Sandler walked down, or the Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters.

My point is this: there are a lot of museums just like Parkwood all throughout Canada and sometimes they are the best ones. A tour of Parkwood is filled with anecdotes and family stories; tours are limited to 15 people so visitors and tour guides form a rapport that, I think, leads to a better museum experience. I know for certain that the reason I am in public history is because of Parkwood. The community size of the museum meant that I could be responsible for things like grants, archiving, and sometimes security (not to mention the lack of funding...errr).

So go out and explore the lesser known museums in Canada (like Nana's beloved Spadina House or London's Eldon House). While an internship at the Canadian War Museum or History Television or the ROM might look better on a resume, I think you'll get more experience and have more fun at a smaller community museum. Next time you meet anyone from Oshawa you can think of more than GM. Heck, you might even surprise them with your knowledge of the McLaughlins and the history behind the city.

P.S. If anyone is ever in the Oshawa area and wants a tour of Parkwood, let me know! :D Ghost stories included.
P.P.S. I have to mention that Adam and I had a similar conversation in the Grad Club last night. ; )

Chapter One: Going Public

2007-09-12T17:22:00.000-04:00

I wouldn't call myself a Billy Joel fan. I enjoy a late night rendition of Piano Man and I know most of the words to For the Longest Time, but that's about it. A few years ago, I came across Joel's 1989 song, We Didn't Start the Fire. Admittedly, I didn't think much of it. I mean, if you've heard it, you'll know it's just a rambling list of names and historical events that are in some way linked to American history and/or culture. I'm not particularly interested in American history, I am a Canadian"ist" through and through.

It wasn't until I was trying to think of a catchy name for my public history blog that I actually reconsidered Joel's song - particularly the chorus: "We didn't start the fire/it was always burning since the world's been turning/We didn't start the fire/no we didn't light it/but we tried to fight it..." (ok, it sounds kind of lame without the music). For me, the "fire" Joel is referring to is history as a whole - the people/places/events of our past that continue to affect us today. We, the collective we, did not make the decisions of the past but it is necessary for us to interpret them and to study them (if only for interest's sake). As public historians, it is our job to present the various "fires" to the public so they are aware of our history as a nation, as a people. After all, it was the philosopher George Santayana who said, "A country without a memory is a country of madmen." Anyone can rattle off a list of names of significant people and events but it takes more to actually understand what happened and why these things are significant.