Life's Attic is Now Available!

I am very pleased to announce that Life’s Attic has now been released. Yay! Please visit the Life’s Attic page of this site for full details, including how to get an autographed copy. Gee, that sounds so immodest and weird to say, but it is a request I received from… Continue reading

‘My Space’ Cardboard Playhouse & Cardboard Memories

Remember when a giant cardboard box was a magical playhouse? When folding box tops became windows or doors, and sheets over furniture extended your own little cardboard domain? In this electronic gadget and computer world, one may wonder how much this manual form of play and imagination still goes on.… Continue reading

Ten Year Old Opera Sensation Jackie Evancho

I don’t watch the plethora of TV talent shows that seem to pop up more and more every television season. But I’m very glad someone sent me this clip from one. Jackie Evancho sang Puccini’s “O Mio Babbino Caro” (“Oh My Dear Papa”) on Tuesday’s episode of American’s Got Talent… Continue reading

Still More Info on Tobacco Testing on Animals

The power of the internet never ceases to amaze me. The worldwide instant communication with people you’d never otherwise come into contact with truly makes our world feel as small as we know it is. This was brought home to me again when I received an email just a few… Continue reading

The Happiness Barometer Shocker – Real Trumps Virtual

There’s a new report out, The Happiness Barometer, which like so many studies, presents some earth-shattering and shocking discoveries. Did you know that face-to-face socializing makes us happier than online socializing? Who would have thought? I don’t mean to be so overtly facetious; it just strikes me as funny when… Continue reading

WePad to Compete with iPad

Choice is good. Both in terms of the act of choosing and as a range of options from which to choose. That’s why I’m so glad to see more and more different tablet computers entering the market. Many owe their success and greater notoriety to Apple. Just as they did… Continue reading

The Indestructible Roll-Up Computer Keyboard

As computers advance, it seems we just keep moving smaller. Desktops to laptops to netbooks to tablets. And that’s not even counting the countless phones and PDAs that have teeny keyboards best suited to a newborn size finger or thumb. Greater portability and that ever important cuteness factor are all… Continue reading

Interactive Shirts from Guitar to Wi-Fi

c498_electronic_rock_guitar_shirt_animYears of toting a pedal harp around, I always wished it were easier to move. Smaller, more portable somehow. Why did I have to choose the largest instrument in the orchestra? Why not a flute or violin? Even a string bass would have been easier to cart around. So I couldn’t help but smile, and be a little envious there’s not a harp version…yet…when I came across the most portable ‘instrument’ around, short of the human voice that is. I’m sure the technology will only improve, but for about $30 there’s a t-shirt, an actual cloth t-shirt that is also a functioning electronic guitar. Continue reading

Start Your Own Website Today

I’ve had a few people ask me recently about starting their own websites. Become their own dots on the internet map. When I created my first website about 12 years ago, Elizabeth Ely’s Harp Page, I was a complete novice, but enjoyed the new challenges. I even enjoyed learning a… Continue reading

Replica Star Trek Gadgets Redux

In light of the futuristic nature of yesterday’s post, I thought it might be fun to look at a few crazy gadgets that while inspired by the future, are actually available today. More specifically, Star Trek coming to us now in a new way. Memorabilia attached to movies and television… Continue reading