Cool Stuff Found at National Genealogy Conference

I am sitting at my computer staring at a big 'ol pile of literature that we collected at the recent NGS Conference in Salt Lake City. Where have the last two weeks gone? We felt like little kids in a candy shop. Only problem is that we were supposed to be 'working' the event. We felt darn lucky to even be there. Lucky because 'she who shall remain nameless' forgot to sign us up for the event!) Thanks Bev at Fun Stuff for Genealogists for taking us in under your wing. If you came to the event on Wednesday, we were in the booth that had the line of people snaking half way through the conference hall. Bev has it all! Maybe I should say Bev had it all. By day four she had run out of many items. Looking for wall charts, clipart, or specialty rubber stamps? If it's related to Genealogy, Fun Stuff's probably got it!

Branches - Genealogy Software for the 21st Century
Ok, this one has me captivated. This new software is amazingly easy to use (you can zoom all over the map using your mouse's track wheel). You can see ALL of your genealogy on one screen. Want to see the children of your great-great grandparents? Just twirl the mouse wheel to zoom in on a detail. It shows you everything that you've collected on a person; pictures, documents, you name it. If it's connected to a family member, you'll see it here. It really is quite amazing. And you can own it for under $40 bucks. WOW! Branches "Put the Fun Back in Genealogy!"

Artist Valerie Atkisson - Valerie is a visual artist whose career has been profoundly influenced by her family history. Her work has been on display in museums throughout the United States. The picture below shows the senior portraits of three generations of women in one family. If you look carefully, you'll see clues to the lives of these women. Can you guess which one was a seamstress? A secretary? Loved city life?

Valerie also created a three-dimensional map of her ancestry. It's hard to visual the magnitude of the piece, but try imagine a tree that hangs from ceiling to floor. Each generation's vital data has been preserved on triangles of rice paper. 72 generations are preserved in this piece of art. (Anyone know how many people that represents? I can't wrap my mind around those kind of numbers!) I think Valerie said that this piece is currently on display in the Museum of Art at Brigham Young University. Definitely worth the drive to see this in person!
Hi-Lite.org

Here's something that needs to be checked out. Hi-Lite.org provides all of the power of an ordinary highlighter pen (you know...the ones that got you through school reading assignments) but now you can highlight the universe! It's perfect for bookmarking favorite websites, and researching your digital family records. Did I mention that it's FREE?

Well, that's all for today. Still more 'candy' to share, but it'll have to wait for another day!