More movie magic!

I still have a few more pictures to share from my recent trip to the Museum of the Moving Image- I hope you don't mind!

To me, one of the coolest parts of the museum was the area devoted to the history/science of movies.

The exhibit started with examples of the beginning of movie history.

And the displays were all tactile, so you could play with them and really appreciate how far movies have come.

For example, these Charlie Chaplain "films" were operated with a hand crank.

As you cranked the handle, lots of little pictures flipped by and Charlie got into a barroom fight... the technology was so simple, yet I can imagine it was pretty revolutionary when it was first developed.

Another cool area of the exhibit was the stop motion station. Housed around a large table, there were 8 interactive computers that allowed you to record stop-motion videos...

Using paper shapes in various colors and sizes.

As if that wasn't cool enough, when you were done playing you could even email your video to yourself! Of course, I had to try the technology, so here's my 13 second video in case you want to check out my handy work. (Don't worry, I won't quit my day job!)

Fun, right? Further into the exhibit there were all sorts of other items and artifacts used to create movies. For example, there was an entire room of movie and television cameras...

And each one was developed or used for a special purpose. This particular camera was created in order video motion, like this scene from Judy Garland's Meet Me in St. Louis.

There was also a display of audio recorders, which was pretty interesting!

Another cool (and interactive) part of the museum was the sound effect display. It included an area where you could select a movie from a list, and insert different sound effects.

I chose to play around with Home Alone II, and had all sorts of fun replacing the movie's actual sound effects with crazy alternatives.

I had similar fun in the soundtrack area. There I decided to take a scene from Independence Day...

And played the scene with a different score. (In my opinion, nothing beats Holst's Mars, although the original soundtrack is still pretty good!)

As you can tell, I had a great time at the Museum of the Moving Image, and I highly recommend it if you're ever in Astoria.

Oh, and if you're in town, there's a Jim Henson exhibit showing until next month. I wasn't allowed to take pictures, but it was amazing- I actually teared up when I saw the Bert and Ernie puppets that were used on Sesame Street when I was a kid. The exhibit had so much to see: in addition to an incredibly interesting display of Jim's art work and puppets, there was Ms. Piggy from Muppets Take Manhattan and items from the Dark Crystal, which I loved to watch when I was a kid (event though I was slightly terrified the whole time).

Thanks for stopping by- I hope you had a great weekend!

Trains, trains, and... TRAINS!

Yesterday I showed you the first floor of the NY Transit Museum.

(Which, you may remember, is located in an old Subway station in Brooklyn.)

And while the first level of the museum is pretty amazing, the second level blew my mind.

You see, the second level is a subway platform full of antique and vintage subway cars.

It's incredible!

The subway cars are lined up, end-to-end, and museum guests can walk through each car...

Guests can try the seats and grab the hanger-straps...

Or check out the vintage (and "period" to each car) advertisements.

In addition to looking cool, some of the cars were pretty noteworthy. This one, for example, was the first subway in NYC to receive air conditioning... and it broke 2 weeks into service!

So interesting, right?

From beautiful, antique cars with a warm glow of light...

To blue, more industrial designs...

There were so many awesome cars to explore!

In case you haven't guessed yet, the moral of this story is: visit the NY Transit Museum the next time you're in town... you won't regret it!

Thanks for stopping by- I hope you have a great day!

McGulpin's Point and Mill Creek

The other day when we were at the Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse, the keeper asked if I had been over to McGulpin's yet. Having no idea what he was talking about, he gave us directions to McGulpin's Point Lighthouse, which is located just a few miles west of Mackinaw City.
Boy, am I glad we decided to stop. This little light went into service in 1869, with the express purpose of lighting the treacherous Straits of Mackinac. However, when the Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse was built in 1892 just two miles away, it rendered this light obsolete. The light was retired in 1906 after just 37 years of service. The lighthouse was then sold into private ownership and was closed to the public for over 100 years. Just a few years ago the lighthouse was sold to Emmett County and was officially opened to the public last summer (May 2009)!
The historical commission has been hard at work de-modernizing the structure, as they hope someday to have the building reflect life as it was when the light was in use. We toured through several rooms that have already undergone some restoration, and things were already starting to look beautiful!
And to top it all off, the tower was open to the public as well. I couldn't get over the spiral staircase, which had been in use since the creation of the building over 140 years ago.
And once we got to the top, talk about an interesting view! I'm so used to lighthouses being on the shore, that this light's placement was a bit of a surprise. (But if you look really hard, you can see the Straits of Mackinac in the distance.)
After we had checked out the view, it was time to appreciate the lantern. This octagonal iron structure was an exact replica of the original lantern, complete with a fixed 3 and a half order Fresnel lens.
(And yes, I know my brother's pose with the lens is way more entertaining than mine!)
I was so pleased that we got to visit such a beautiful feature that's been unavailable for so long- what a wonderful opportunity!
But our fun didn't end there- our next stop was Mill Creek.
I hadn't been to Mill Creek since I was a kid. Back then it was a reconstructed sawmill built to replicate the mill that supplied lumber for Mackinac Island between 1790 and 1830. And while those attractions were still there, a Discovery Center had been added which included a zip line, canopy bridge and climbing tower. And while my brother and I didn't partake in the "discovery" aspect of the park, we were able to take the stairs to the top of the tower.
Of course, I couldn't help but look down from the top...
What a beautiful day, right? We spent some time hiking some of the trails around the site, including one we hiked when we were kids!
But no trip to Mill Creek would be complete without a sawmill demonstration.
We took time to view the sawmill from every angle...
Because while it's a functional mechanism...
It's also quite pretty!
I hope you're having a great day- thanks for stopping by!!

The big 2-8!

Tomorrow is a big day. Do you know why?
Because it will be 28 years since this momentous day:

(Yes, that's me on the day I was born. Please feel free to sympathize with my mom- look at how big I was!)

In honor of my big day, my parents sent me some photos from the past.
As I looked through the photos, I realized something...
Even though these pictures are really old, not much has changed in my life.
I still like to bake (and tend to get pretty messy in the process)...
I like all sorts of arts and crafts...
And I still love music!
Oh, and I still crave attention... but that's sort of a give-in!
Isn't it nice to know that no matter how old I get, I'm still the same little girl inside?
Even if I did leave the house looking like this in high school...
Thank goodness rhinestone-studded sunglasses never go out of style... right?
Thank you for visiting my blog- I hope you have a wonderful weekend!