Sunday, July 29, 2007

Technology-assisted reading

So I was reading Stalin's Ghost recently. All of Martin Cruz Smith's Arkady Renko novels feature Russian culture and characters. I was curious about the lay of the land in an area called Tver. Well, I have Google Earth, don't I? So I started it up, hoping to just find a map and some satellite images. The image was full of blue dots. Clicking on one, I discovered user-uploaded photos - each dot connected to a unique view within the town - many along the river that played an important role in the novel. The images were served via Panoramio - many from a user nicknamed Rush. So I looked in my own back yard of Fairfield, Ohio, and found lots of photos from our area, including shots of the park we frequent. What an amazing way to connect with others within my own community and the world. And what a great way to read a book!

Still I do love technology!

(If you've watched the film "Napoleon Dynamite" and didn't stay past the credits, you've missed this line in Kip's hilarious wedding song.)

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