Hey everyone! I’m starting this blog in an attempt to keep in touch with a broad spectrum of family and friends, and to make it easier to let everyone know what I’m up to. I’ll try to write about the projects, events, and activities that fill my days. You’ll have an opportunity to give me some feedback, and to establish some links that might facilitate the whole process. Alrighty now, let’s have at it!
Oh–a few words about the title of this blog. In my years of collecting data about the early history and culture of Charleston, South Carolina, I’ve spend quite a bit of time sitting (and even standing) in front of a variety of microfilm readers. These machines represent a wide range of technological eras, and they all require a good bit of manual coaxing in order to get the best results. The oldest models I’ve used–those in the basement of the Charleston Library Society–look like World War I era tanks, and handle about as well. Those machines have arm-like appendages that move in many (often useless) directions, as well as a number of mysterious knobs and dials, that together form something that resembles a sort of primitive droid squatting on set of stubby metal legs. The high degree of finessing required by this artifact outstrips that for any other model, and, as I recently described to a friend, borders on dancing! So, here I sit in Charleston, dancing with R2-D2 in an effort to learn more about the early history of this old town!
