I was combing through our home videos from the mid-1980s and came across this game that the children played at one of our birthday parties. Musical chairs started as the game concept but with a twist–while still taking away a chair, all children stay in the game as they “share” the remaining chairs when the music stops. Rather than being excluded one by one, all the children can enjoy the entire game and no losers! Did the kids like this new version? Video tells the story.
The freedom, innovation, and economic opportunity that the Internet enables is in jeopardy. Congress is considering legislation that will dramatically change your Internet experience and put an end to reddit and many other sites you use everyday. Internet experts, organizations, companies, entrepreneurs, legal experts, journalists, and individuals have repeatedly expressed how dangerous this bill is. If we do nothing, Congress will likely pass the Protect IP Act (in the Senate) or the Stop Online Piracy Act (in the House), and then the President will probably sign it into law. There are powerful forces trying to censor the Internet, and a few months ago many people thought this legislation would surely pass. However, there’s a new hope that we can defeat this dangerous legislation.
Recently this video, Joy of Books, went viral on the Internet. The store, Type, in Toronto (883 Queen Street West) recently underwent a renovation; the owners, with some help from their friends, animated the shelves in this enchanting video.
Type reminded me of the time, seven years ago, when I helped to renovate and startup a bookstore in West Philadelphia, Bindlestiff Books, along with Walt, Christine, John, Bill and Alexis.
This video shows the IWW National Headquarters’ transformation into the bookstore.
Christine and I assisted Jonny Buss, local artist, with the mural on the outside of the door. The mural combines images of books with look of the neighborhood houses. Jonny has completed other murals around Philadelphia including the mosaic project at Cedar park.
Jonny puts finishing touches on entrance mural
Besides working as a seller, I also decorated the window using a variety of themes.
Inspecting the store front
Christmas display
Womens’ History Month
Sports’ Theme
Bindlestiff Books is still thriving today. If you are on the 45th block of Baltimore Avenue in West Philly, please stop in or visit their Facebook.page. They have a wonderful selection of children’s and graphic books. I always pick up a box of their notecards and wrapping paper when I’m in the area. Communities benefit from local businesses, as big box stores are not able to capture the charm and ambiance of these establishments. Bindlestiff Books remains a bright spot on the Baltimore corridor.
Several years ago the College began a staff development program for several days in January. As part of that program, staff members were asked to participate in an “Employee Showcase.” I thought this would be a good opportunity to share with the community my collection of materials on the labor history at the College since 1991. A total of nine volumes hold everything from Phoenix articles, flyers, letters, documents, photographs, surveys and petitions. Part of this collection is on Swarthmore College Living Wage and Democracy web page.
Slide show features some of the participants in the talent showcase and folks who stopped by our displays. Many thanks to Pam and Mary Ann for planning the event and appreciate the help from Mike and Dave for setting up the technology.
After twenty-five years, we have finally started to digitalized our home movies. Watching one of these videos of our children playing with their cousins on a vacation at Cape May Point, New Jersey, has left me reflecting on unconscious imprinting on our children.
Our children saw us with our cameras almost everyplace we went. As the video shows, we even took pictures of us taking pictures! I didn’t realize the impact all that photography might have had on the children until I viewed these home movies. In the last clip in the video above our daughter says, “I want to do what you’re doing, Daddy.” At six she knew that her parents liked their cameras. Is it just a coincidence she became a professional photographer?
What about her cousin, James who became cinematographer by profession? The videos on the beach show that his Daddy had a telephoto lens for his camera.
Now as adults all the children use photography in one way or another.
Parents model many things, but what seems to stay with kids are those activities which they see as bringing their parents the most joy.
Psalmboxkey's Blog 