One of the most impressive presentations at a museum that strives to impress (that would be the Lincoln Museum in Springfield, IL – a multimedia spectacular that puts Disneyland’s robotronic Lincoln to shame) is a brief four minute movie -- an animated timeline, actually -- that plots the progress of the Civil War from the point of Lincoln’s election, through secession, his inauguration, and on to battle.
The Union and Confederacy are represented in blue and red (ya think they could have used blue and grey, but oh no -- had to be blue and red), and as the clock ticks -- with one second equal to one week -- the battlefront oscillates and morphs and serpentines, punctuated with the brief explosions of battles (Shilo, Antietam, Gettysburg), as the body count tallies in the corner (over 1 million before the war is done). Then Sherman marches to the sea and cuts the final gash that seals the surrender of the South.
The movie closes with Lincoln’s assassination.
Edward Tufte would be proud – it’s brilliant information design.
I, frankly, was a wreck.
[Image Credit: The flag graphic above is by Rolyn Barthelman of NYC who created it after the last presidential election.]
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Hello from Jargon Chicago Magazine,
We are a new online culture and style magazine focused on Chicago. We like to think that we successfully mix content with wit in our effort to explore all the unique characteristics of our city. However, we need help. We need people with more interests, in more neighborhoods, and with more perspectives on the City.
Having read your posted writing, we think you would be a good fit at the magazine. We can't offer any kind of compensation at this time (because we aren't making a profit at the moment). But we are in the middle of a PR/marketing campaign that should change that, and paying our writers will be one of our first priorities. However, we think that writing for us will be a fun experience despite the lack of compensation, and it's one more way to get your voice out to people on the Internet. We are also interested in photo-editorials, whether they are new work or chosen from a body of completed work.
Take a look at our website and let us know if you are interested in working with us. We hope that either way you will enjoy and continue to read the magazine,
The Editors
Jargon Chicago Magazine
www.jargonchicago.com
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