September 19, 2004

Hand Shadows To Be Thrown Upon The Wall - by Henry Bursill, 1859. Courtesy of Project Gutenberg. Nicked from Incoming Signals
  • This is an outrage! Why are there no hand-shadow monkeys?
  • Should be in the repetoire of anyone needing to entertain small people, especially during an electrical outage, for a flashlight works quite well as a light source. Desperate times call for desperate measures. I recommend Bird in Flight for those who haven't tried this before.
  • Hmm.. I don't seem to have anything in the house that makes distinct shadows. I wonder if the sun works well.
  • Normal use: a single bare incandescent light bulb, 40 watts or so, as in a desk-lamp, works if you have the lamp set close enough to your hands that the shadows stay crisp and sharp-edged. Could probably use a small floodlight, too. It's important, I think, to use only a single light-source. In a pinch a strong battery operated electric lantern will work, the flourecent ones are good, we have found. An oil lamp will work, too, but these are dangerous to use around small people. Rather like the effect, myself, of flickering, but have to stay on your guard so no one gets hurt.
  • Grandpapa = gnarly. Weiner dog = way cool.
  • Arrr, time to link back.