This series of AT&T ads from 1993 "predicts the future," of technologies, most of which have come to pass. I actually remember these ads, specifically the video-telephone booths, and the Movies on Demand-type feature. I thought that was going to be awesome--but impossible!
Busting out one of my favorite videos: I roamed the New York streets one St Patty's to find the true meaning of the occasion.
I watched the final episode of Conan Obrien last night (tear) and he replayed this amazing segment of his visit to Beth Page Village and an 1864 baseball team. He said it was his favorite segment ever produced.
Dressing like the best decades, from comedian Patton Oswalt (via Zachariah).
...Which is rather fitting for this duo that I saw in Brooklyn over the summer.
I live near Roosevelt Island, a strip of land in the middle of the East River, between Manhattan and Queens. The Island has a rather rich an sordid history: at one time, built upon its grounds was a prison, a workhouse, an almshouse, a small-pox hospital, and an insane asylum. The latter was made famous by New York World reporter Nellie Bly. In an 1887 article, she went undercover as an insane woman to expose ill-treatment of the asylum's inmates. Today, the asylum building is a luxury condo.
You can see Roosevelt Island's various institutions in this 1903 Edison film. Also note that you can see the Queensborough Bridge in the process of being built--neat!
The Smallpox Hospital, on the south end of the island, still exists. After the smallpox epidemic was over, the building opened as a Nurse's School which closed its doors in the 1950s. The building has been abandoned since, and it's ruins are dramatically lit by the same lighting designer that illuminated the Statue of Liberty. You can get a good view of it from the Manhattan shoreline on the FDR.
I was fortunate enough to see the ruins up close. In 2008, Open House New York opened up South Point, the overgrown swath of land surrounding the ruins that has tentative plans to be turned into a park. Currently, it's locked up for all but special events. What's wonderful about South Point is that it feels wild--and it is. Unlike Olmstead's carefully constructed vision for Central Park, South Point is nature built from neglect. Walking through its center on a warm October evening, I could neither hear nor see the city. Woods open up to a grassy lawn, with breathtaking views of Manhattan and Queens on either side.
The space is ripe for an Urban Camping expedition.
I first went Urban Camping in Cleveland, on an empty lot on the city's west side that was once a teeming Civil War hospital. I wanted to draw attention to the neglected patch of land and increase the neighborhood's awareness of the history that took place on that unassuming lot. Myself and six friends camped out overnight: we built a campfire, cooked dinner and breakfast, told stories, played music. It felt positively rural--but all we had to do was look up to see Cleveland's gleaming skyline. Late in the night we were treated to a sky full of fireworks over Jacob's Field.
Southpoint is just right for the second installment of Urban Camping. The combination of the rural and urban is intoxicating. And the area has a rich history--in fact, in the Southpoint area quarantined smallpox victims were cared for in what Resident Physician William Kelly described as "a pile of poor wooden out houses on the banks of the river."
So would anyone be interested in joining me this summer? Additionally, is their anyone in the know who can recommend someone I can talk to about getting permissions for such an event? I'm going to put together a proposal this Spring.
Camp Out at Camp Cleveland (Urban Camping)- Tremont paper Article
Urban Camping Video
The Roosevelt Island Historical Society
Doris Kearns Goodwin, author of one of Obama's favorite books Team of Rivals, on the Daily show discussing Barack Obama, Presidential jingles and the race between Jefferson and Adams.
And yes, I am completely thrilled by the results of the election last night. Not only with the election of an African American, but with the turning of states like Virginia, do I finally believe that last scars of the Civil War have begun to fade.
Why is George Washington our most beloved president?
One of my favorite essayists, Sarah Vowell, has a new book out, The Wordy Shipmates, on the puritanical founders of America. Vowell's history writing is the best: she focuses on the personal and the emotional, which I believe allows the reader a better understanding of historical events.
She's also hilarious. Here's her interview on the Daily Show.
UPDATE: she's also in Time Out New York this week:
Sarah Vowell: Puritans were so Punk Rock.
I'm on vacation for a week, but while I'm gone I'm going to be visiting Gettysburg! So to get you ready for the delights I will return with, here's some nice footage of the reenactment there:
But the real story is in the comments for this video.
Mint8Mn I am only 11 and i am going to be a drummer boy what side should I choose?
TrevBenson The right side. The Confederate side.
xboxlive1000 wish they won what would it be like if they did
procommenter Ape Lincoln: President of the "United" States? The states weren't united during his term: 1861-5. He didn't receive a single electoral vote from the Confederacy.
macflinn The south is solely responsible for every life that was extinguished due to the civil war. Period full stop! You confederacy loving bastards need to grow up and realise your culture is filthy and sucks. FUCK YOU.
Joseph565112 WTF? Lincoln had NO right to wage his unjust war. He made the Constitution worth no more than toilet paper. He therefore opened the door for other presidents to do the same. He allowed the Executive Branch to totally trumph the other two. Sometimes you'll get the courts and the Executive working together. Well then you can forget about real democratic process. He waged war unilaterally,suspended Habeas Corpus,did away with Free Speech and Free Press. ALL were Un-Constitutional.
BackInYonkers Fuck tha south
And on and on and on: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDxrB9-7tHY
I've been convinced for a while that the wound The Civil War left has not yet healed. Maybe this comment war is a little silly, but if an event that happened 150 years ago is still discussed this hotly on You Tube, what does that say about our day to day relations as a country?
It's Jerry Time is an incredibly funny web-animation series. You should check it out! Here's my favorite episode, about a trip to Gettysburg gone wrong.
Also, a link via Bryan from the Washington post: Ford's Theater is being renovated, and is slated to re-open in February for the bicentennial of Lincoln's birthday. The re-opening will feature a new play about Lincoln's life.
The interior of the theater is actually not original: it collapsed in 1893 and was rebuilt in the 1960s.
The History Will Linger at Remade Ford's Theater (Washington Post)
Le Cochon Danseur a silent film from 1907. It's important to watch it all the way to the end. Link courtesy of Zachariah.
This one is much less horrifying: Coney Island at Night, and Edison short. Not necessary to watch all the way to the end, but pretty cool.
