Mailifest Destiny: U.S. expansion visualized as post offices

http://boingboing.net/2011/08/10/mailifest-destiny-u-s-expansion-visualized-by-post-offices.html

NYPL at 100 Exhibition

"Our Centennial exhibition, which opens May 14, celebrates the depth and breadth of The New York Public Library’s collections, which now contain more than 50 million items. Library curators have always been guided by the philosophy that all knowledge is worth preserving, and over the past century, NYPL has radically expanded its holdings.

The exhibition includes highlights from the Library’s diverse collections, including a Gutenberg Bible, a Tale of Genji scroll, a handwritten manuscript by Jorge Luis Borges, one of Malcolm X’s journals, costume designs for the Ballets Russes — even Virginia Woolf’s walking stick. Many of the items on display are of obvious historical value, while others — dance cards, a board game, and a dime novel — may confound. Still others, such as a copy of Mein Kampf, may disturb. As Edwin Hatfield Anderson, director of the Library from 1913 to 1934, boldly stated, “If the devil himself wrote a book, we’d want it in the Library.”"

http://exhibitions.nypl.org/100/exhibition

ALSO

http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/?num=3

National Jukebox - The Library of Congress

"

The Library of Congress presents the National Jukebox, which makes historical sound recordings available to the public free of charge. The Jukebox includes recordings from the extraordinary collections of the Library of Congress Packard Campus for Audio Visual Conservation and other contributing libraries and archives. Recordings in the Jukebox were issued on record labels now owned by Sony Music Entertainment, which has granted the Library of Congress a gratis license to stream acoustical recordings.

At launch, the Jukebox includes more than 10,000 recordings made by the Victor Talking Machine Company between 1901 and 1925. Jukebox content will be increased regularly, with additional Victor recordings and acoustically recorded titles made by other Sony-owned U.S. labels, including Columbia, OKeh, and others."

http://www.loc.gov/jukebox/about

Fight of the Century Video

"According to the National Bureau of Economic Research, the Great Recession ended almost two years ago, in the summer of 2009. Yet we’re all uneasy. Job growth has been disappointing. The recovery seems fragile. Where should we head from here? Is that question even meaningful? Can the government steer the economy or have past attempts helped create the mess we’re still in?

In “Fight of the Century”, Keynes and Hayek weigh in on these central questions. Do we need more government spending or less? What’s the evidence that government spending promotes prosperity in troubled times? Can war or natural disasters paradoxically be good for an economy in a slump? Should more spending come from the top down or from the bottom up? What are the ultimate sources of prosperity?

Keynes and Hayek never agreed on the answers to these questions and they still don’t. Let’s listen to the greats. See Keynes and Hayek throwing down in “Fight of the Century”."

http://econstories.tv/2011/04/28/fight-of-the-century-music-video/

Early Watercolors of Native Americans

http://marinni.livejournal.com/723577.html

Civil War Injuries

http://www.flickr.com/photos/medicalmuseum/sets/72157614294677868/with/5280245645/

Child Labor 1908-1912

http://acidcow.com/pics/14837-child-labor-in-america-1908-1912-69-pics.html

5000 years of religion in 90 seconds

"How has the geography of religion evolved over the centuries, and where has it sparked wars? Our map gives us a brief history of the world's most well-known religions: Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Judaism. Selected periods of inter-religious bloodshed are also highlighted. Want to see 5,000 years of religion in 90 seconds? Ready, Set, Go!"

Thanks to Nicolette Whitten for this link

http://mapsofwar.com/ind/history-of-religion.html

RSA Animate - Sir Ken Robinson on changing paradigms

More food for thought from RSA Animate

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U&feature=player_embedded#!

Historypin

"Historypin is a online tool that acts as a digital time machine, allowing people to view and share history in a totally new way. Using Google Maps and Street View technology, Historypin aims to become the largest user-generated archive of the world's historical images and stories.

The site invites the public to dig out, upload and pin their own old photos, as well as the stories behind them, onto the Historypin map. Uniquely, Historypin allows users to layer their old images onto modern Street View scenes, revealing a series of windows into the past."

http://www.historypin.com/

Ultra High-Resolution Images of Famous Paintings

"Their more recent image of Botticelli’s La Primivera consists of 28 billion pixels, about 3,000 times the resolution of a consumer digital camera. The pixel density (pixels per inch, or ppi) has also increased, from 580 to 1,500ppi (magazine and book printing are typically 300ppi).

In contrast to the “gallery view” afforded by the online Monet exhibit (in which you can see individual brushstrokes wonderfully), these images are more like a “conservator’s view”, allowing you to zoom in to a level as if observed under a magnifying lens.

You need to be patient with the image as it loads, but once loaded, the interface is remarkably responsive as you zoom. The images are watermarked, but that’s a small quibble considering what they are offering, and you can work around the watermarks by altering the magnification level and scrolling a bit."

http://www.linesandcolors.com/category/gallery-and-museum-art/

L.A. Latino Book & Family Festival at Cal State L.A. Oct. 10-11

"Los Angeles, CA – With 70 Latino authors, a children’s stage, poetry jams, folklorico, dance, panels and workshops in English and Spanish, and other activities, the Los Angeles Latino Book and Family Festival will be held at its new home – California State University, Los Angeles – Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 10 and 11. The events will be from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. both days on Greenlee Plaza and in Salazar Hall, near the southwest corner of the campus. The festival is free and open to the public.

The festival’s “stories” sessions will explore literature emanating from borders, barrios and families. Various workshops will focus on writing screenplays, illustrating books and magazines, working with editors and agents, andwriting novels. Panel sessions will include “The Best of Latino Mystery,” “Latino L.A.: The City of Angels through Poetry, Journalism and Fiction,”and “The Positive Effects of Mariachi on the Education of Hispanic Youth.”

http://www.calstatela.edu/univ/ppa/newsrel/LBFF2009-medadv.htm

Inside Lascaux: Rare, Unpublished

"September 12, 1940. A warm afternoon in southwestern France. As two schoolboys hunt rabbits on a ridge covered with pine, oak, and blackberry brambles, their dog chases a hare down a hole beside a downed tree. Widening the hole, removing rocks, the boys follow -- and enter not merely another world, but another time. Underground, they discover "a Versailles of prehistory" -- a series of caves, today collectively known as Lascaux, boasting wall paintings up to 18,000 years old. In 1947, LIFE's Ralph Morse went to Lascaux, and became the first photographer to ever document the astonishing, vibrant paintings. Here, on the 70th anniversary of the discovery of the cave and its treasures, in a gallery featuring rare and never-published photographs, Morse -- still vibrant himself at 93 -- shares with LIFE.com his memories of what it was like to encounter the long-hidden, strikingly lifelike handiwork of a vanished people: the Cro-Magnon."

http://www.life.com/image/first/in-gallery/48231/inside-lascaux-rare-unpublished

Downloadable Constitution Day Lessons from We the People

"The Center also offers fifteen free, downloadable K-12 lesson plans for Constitution Day. Lessons include the Constitution Day Rap, the Preamble to the Constitution, the role of the president, and more. Two new lessons examine the constitutional amendment process. These free lesson plans are offered in collaboration with the American Association of School Administrators."

http://new.civiced.org/resources/curriculum/constitution-day-and-citizenship-day

My Vote Student Mock Election

"Young people have the potential to be a force in elections, but only if they get involved and make voting a habit.

Secretary of State Debra Bowen and Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell are holding the 2010 MyVote California Student Mock Election to help high school and middle school students discover the importance of elections and the power of their votes in our democracy.

Working with the California Campaign for the Civic Mission of Schools, the MyVote California Student Mock Election gives students a chance to make their voices heard on the candidates and issues that affect them and their families, while an exciting election season is in full-swing. Once the votes are counted, students can compare their choices to those of their peers around the state, and then to the decisions made by adult voters in the statewide election held only a few days later.

The 2010 Student Mock Election will be held on Tuesday, October 26, 2010. High school and middle school students will have their say on who they think should be our next Governor and U.S. Senator, and on the ballot measures that will come before California voters in the November 2, 2010, General Election.

In 2008, more than 275,000 students from over 644 schools cast ballots in the MyVote California Student Mock Presidential Election. They joined millions of young mock election voters in other states in an impressive display of student opinion on the candidates and issues affecting the future of our state and nation. This year, Secretary of State Debra Bowen and Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell are inviting students, teachers, parents, school administrators and other education stakeholders to build on that historic groundswell of interest in voting.

With your involvement and support, many more students will take their first steps on the path to becoming lifelong voters as participants in the 2010 MyVote California Student Mock Election."

http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/studentmockelection.htm

Constitution Game

Online game from Scholastic on the Constitution

http://teacher.scholastic.com/scholasticnews/indepth/constitution_day/constitution.asp?eml=TNL/e/20100831/68_NEW

September is Hispanic Heritage Month

Resources from Scholastic about Hispanic Heritage Month

http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/hispanic/?eml=TNL/e/20100831/68_NEW

Last Supper

Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper, now available as a 16 billion pixel online image!

http://www.haltadefinizione.com/magnifier.jsp?idopera=1

Sistine Chapel Virtual Tour

"The Sistine Chapel in Vatican City is famous for its architecture and its decoration which has been frescoed throughout by the greatest Renaissance artists including Michelangelo, Raphael, Bernini, and Sandro Botticelli.

Under the patronage of Pope Julius II, Michelangelo painted 12,000 square feet of the chapel ceiling between 1508 and 1512. Today the ceiling, and especially The Last Judgement, are widely believed to be Michelangelo's crowning achievements in painting.

Take an incredible Virtual Tour of the Sistine Chapel."

http://www.vatican.va/various/cappelle/sistina_vr/index.html

Presidential Documentaries

"If you’re into presidential history then you’re in luck: there are a great variety of online documentaries about the lives of presidents and beyond. Check out these documentaries to learn more about the events and lives of our commanders-in-chief."

http://www.onlineuniversities.com/blog/2010/03/100-excellent-online-documentaries-for-presidential-history-buffs/