I downloaded the #SCGS12 Jamboree app today for my iPhone. Below are screenshots from the app. So far, it has syllabi in PDF format loaded for Thursday [pre-conference] through Sunday.

It also has Pre-conference events loaded & I imagine the rest will be loaded soon.

The app has videos from last year's Jamboree & I'm sure during Jamboree it will be added to just as photos will be.

Through the app, I've already connected my Twitter, Facebook, & LinkedIn accounts. I also filled out my profile including my profile pic.

And as soon as the rest of the events are loaded, I'll start adding events I plan to attend into my schedule in the app.

I couldn't be happier. I love apps.

The app is available for the iPhone, iPad, Android, Blackberry, & other smartphones with browsers.

~Caroline

[Note: This post was written using the Weebly app on my iPhone. I plan to do a lot of blogging from Jamboree using it if my cell service works, that is.]

OneNote, where have you been all my life?

If after my last OneNote video tutorial you weren't convinced that you should blow the dust off your OneNote icon that's been sitting patiently on your desktop just waiting for you to notice it and just click it, then this next video tutorial should do the trick.

This video tutorial is  jam packed with more features I've discovered that are great for organizing and simplifying both your online and offline research workflows. It's SO jam packed that I went over the 15 minute limit for YouTube. So I had to edit it, and what exactly hit the cutting room floor?

The BONUS I have for you. That's right. Another freebie. It's like Christmas around here. It's like I'm insane or something. [No comments, please.]

So. The freebie is the NEW & IMPROVED research plan template in OneNote format for those who are using OneNote. If you don't have OneNote but want the new & improved research plan, you can get it to cut & paste.

All you have to do is CONTACT ME [or use the Contact tab above] and give me your email. I'll use the Email-a-Page feature in OneNote to email it to you. [I emailed it to myself, and it worked.] #PreachItLiveIt

Hope you like it. [And I'm sorry for the edit at the end. But? I'd already recorded 3 Xs and kept going over. =) ]

And? HOW are you using OneNote for your genealogy and family history research? Let me know in comments below. OR write a blog post and link back to mine.

~Caroline

Here's how I'm gonna use OneNote to keep track of my wayward and wily ancestors when they're being a pain in my patooty. The background on the story and the actual research for my Gran that I refer to in my video are on my companion blog, Family Stories. [You know. In case you care.*shrugs*]

And the freebie I mention in my video? Download below. [If it doesn't work, let me know in comments & I can send you one.]

[You didn't realize you were getting so much, did you?]

How do you do your research plans? [Let me know in comments.]

~Caroline

Do you know where you'll be Jun 8th thru Jun 10th? I know where I'll be. In SoCal catching up with my genealogy blogger buddies and attending presentations at the Southern California Genealogical Society's 2012 Jamboree in Burbank, California. From Blogger Summits to genealogy to great food to good times, there really isn't any other place I'd rather be.

And? This year's theme is Lights, Camera, Ancestors! When Paula Hinkel told me at FGS last year what their theme was, my first thought was, "Brilliant!" And my second thought was, "I could wear my tiara to the Hollywood Gala on Friday night!"

Indeed. Brilliant.

While early bird registration is over, you can still register online through May 28th 2012. For up-to-the-minute news read & follow the SCGS Jamboree blog. It has links for registration and just about everything else for Jamboree.

Also? Jamboree was the first genealogy conference to debut their own smartphone app last year, and they're doing it again this year. As soon as it's ready, I'll let you know.

So. SoCal, Hollywood, tiaras, genealogy, apps, tiaras, good times, Blogger Summit, tiaras!!!

You in?

Cuz I'm going back to Cali.

SCGS Jamboree Website
SCGS Jamboree Blog
SCGS Jamboree on Twitter @SCGSgenealogy
SCGS Jamboree Event on Facebook
SCGS Jamboree Official Twitter Hashtag: #SCGS12

~Caroline

Here's the promised part 2 of how I use FTM 2012 and my online workflow process. And I'm using my DAR & UEL applications as examples.

One question I've already received from Russ on YouTube comments is if I've used the integrated web search in FTM 2012. I have, but I'm not in love with it. First, I have my fave research sites setup in groups via a Forefox browser addon. [I had to cut that from the video because I have 15 minute limit on YouTube.] Second, the  view within FTM2012 doesn't show Tasks, just minimal facts, media, & notes. I want to see the tasks along with all the other info when I toggle while researching. I'm greedy like that.


Anywho. Here's the video. And more importantly, what's your workflow?


~Caroline

[Note: I'm cross posting to Family Stories.]

Here's a short tutorial that explains how I'm using the 'Tasks' feature in FTM 2012 for my applications to DAR and UEL. It's part 1 of 2. The second video delves into my online workflow process and the 'Tasks' feature. I'm cross posting to my personal family history blog, Family Stories

~Caroline

The clock is ticking. Mother's Day is this Sunday. What can you give to your mother that she'll enjoy? Well, if your mother enjoys reading memoirs or sentimental books, here are my picks:

• The Red Leather Diary by Lily Koppel
• The Wednesday Letters by Jason F. Wright
• The Wedding Letters by Jason F. Wright
• Running Away to Home by Jennifer Wilson
• Kindle Fire
  

Or if you really want to do it up right, get the Kindle Fire and accessories. Then load it up with all the books listed above, or find some others in my Amazon Store, or whatever books you think she might like on Amazon.

After all, she did raise you.

She wiped your snotty nose. [Or maybe she still does. *shrugs*]

She cleaned up after you.

She put up with your teenage antics.

She lets you stay in her basement.

The very least you could do is get her something to read. ;)

So visit my Amazon Store and shop away. For your mom. And you, if you want. Perhaps you could get something to brighten up that basement.

~Caroline

Disclosure: I am an affiliate of Amazon.com. This means that if you click a link and purchase something ~ actually anything ~ at that time, I receive a small referral commission. The above blog post is my opinion and is not influenced by my affiliation with Amazon.com.

Book Review
I dare you to read the first sentence of Chapter 1 in the book In the Territory of Lies by authors Lois Stickell and Peg Robarchek and not buy the book.

Stickell and Robarchek got me on the hook with the first line, reeled me in with the first chapter, and before I even knew what happened, I was a dusty fish story by the end of their book. Seriously.

In the Territory of Lies, two women are ultimately brought together by genealogy, family history, and the internet. And, oh yeah. A family mystery to solve too.

Interestingly, the internet is the main setting for this book, but it's also a character in the book. And I would go so far as to say it's a literary device. [But only because I need to justify all that time and money to have that English degree hanging above me on my wall as I write this review. ;) ] This novel is uniquely written within emails and online message boards, and the 2 main characters are perfectly flawed as all good main characters should be.

When I began to read a sample of this novel sent to me by Peg Robarchek, one of the authors, I went from curious to laughing to oh-my-gosh-that's-not-so-funny-anymore by the end of the first chapter. I promptly emailed Ms. Robarchek back, and eagerly explained that I was going to buy it and review it, and she offered to send me a review copy, which I patiently waited for [Read: checked the mailbox twice daily.] until it arrived. Once I began reading it, I never stopped until I finished it less than 24 hours of receiving it.

Afterwards, I asked myself why I really clicked with their fabulous book and this is what I came up with:

• The book involves genealogy and family history. [No explanation needed on that one.]
• The book has a mystery to solve. And it does it so very well.
  
• The characters are raw and real, and that made me empathize with them oh so much more.
• It made me laugh.
• It took 2 very unlikely characters and brought them together.
• It happened on the internet in exactly the same way I've met people online while doing research. [Okay. Almost the same way.]
  

Speaking of the internet, indeed, it is the main setting in this book. And I mentioned above it's also a character. Although, it's more than both of those, I think. It's a literary device [or could be if more writers used it in this manner]. This book would not be the same written any other way. The use of the internet is an integral part of telling this story. Why? Because times have changed and the internet as a means for communication is becoming more and more prominent. Additionally, this type of communication is done very well, if not in one of the best ways, in the online and genealogy and family history world. Stickell and Robarchek are ingenious for using this device in such a way that many of us could relate to it so well.

There are so many facets of this book that genealogy and family history researchers can relate to that even if you're not really into suspense mystery novels that weave genealogy and family history into their plots with deft finesse, you're going to want to read this 253-paged book of awesomeness.

I'm Forming a Genealogy and Family History Reader's Group
I really cannot say enough good things about In the Territory of Lies. [As if you couldn't already tell.] So. I thought of something cool for us to do.The authors included in the back of their book a reader's guide that contains a list of discussion questions for a reader's group.

And we're [me and the mouse in my pocket] are forming a genealogy and family history reader's group. [Ingenious. I know.] One book per month with a discussion done via my Spreecast channel. This way if you don't want to be on video [or don't have the equipment to do so], then you can participate via the chat room on my Spreecast Channel. This platform affords us ways to handle questions for those in the chat room as well.

As you've already guessed, I've chosen the first book to be In the Territory of Lies by Lois Stickell and Peg Robarchek. It's available from Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle editions at the product links listed below. If you don't have a Kindle, you can also download the free Kindle app for your smartphone, and that link is located on the product page once you click on one of the image links below.

If you are going to participate in the Reader's Group, please contact me, and let me know. This is not a big commitment. If you're there, you're there. If you're not, you're not. This just allows me the courtesy of knowing if I and the mouse in my pocket will be the only ones participating in my Reader's Group Spreecast. The date of which I'll set-up when we get a little closer to the one-month mark. [And don't worry. It won't be Memorial Day weekend. I'm going to be on a beach on an island that weekend. With a book.] Mainly I'm just looking for interest level in this kind of thing. However, the kicker is this: you must purchase the book, check it our from the library, or borrow it from someone AND you must read it before the Spreecast Reader's Group meeting in a little over a month.

So? In case you couldn't tell, I HIGHLY recommend this book to everyone. It's that good. ;)

You game?

~Caroline

Disclaimer: Peg Robarchek contacted me and provided me a copy of her and Lois Stickell's book to read and to review. All opinions of their book are my own and are not influenced by them gifting me their book. Their book is full of all kinds of awesomeness, and if it wasn't, I wouldn't have said it was. Additionally, I am an affiliate of Amazon.com, and if you click on a link or image advertising this book on my site and buy it [or anything else while you're perusing Amazon.com on that link click], I do receive a small commission for referring you.

Riveting. The on-the-edge-of-your-seat-I'm-not-putting-this-book-down-come-hell-or-high-water kind of riveting.

Written by Maria Sutton, The Night Sky: A Journey from Dachau to Denver and Back memoir is the story of a woman's search for her own family story. A story within a story, if you will, and it reads like a suspense novel. In fact, at times, while reading it, the phrase, "No way! That can't be true..." slipped from my lips. Ms. Sutton had me along side her twisting and turning through the time machine maze with magnifying glass in hand looking for clues, racking my brain for ideas to help, feeling my heart ache with the discovery of some of the answers found, and smiling with tears with the uncovering of other answers.

It takes courage for anyone to search for their family history. No, truly it does. It's not all shaking-leaves-oh-look-my-great-grandfather-was-a-private-detective-and-I-guess-I'm-one-too-how-cool-is-that-[silly-giggle] kind of endeavor. No siree. It takes guts to chase those family stories that make us who we are; those stories that are an intrinsic part of us; those stories we yearn to know with every fiber of our being; those stories that make our hearts ache and our bellies burn with the desire to know; those stories that make us weep; those stories that make us lose sleep and don't care; those stories that make us laugh so hard our bellies ache, those stories that make us say, "What the hell?", and those stories that totally leave us speechless.

It also takes extreme courage to not ever, ever give up. And Ms. Sutton never, ever gives up until she has the answers. Goodness, I love this about her. And I'm so thankful she shared it with the rest of the world. If you've ever wondered if you could have the courage to find your family stories; if you've ever wondered if you could set out and track down those family stories; if you've ever wondered if you could [or should] track down those family stories that aren't easy or pretty; or if you've wondered if you could share that courageous journey, then you need to read this book.

Other reasons to read this book?

• Because it's a good read. Plain and simple. This is a good book for ANYONE to read. I promise you won't be disappointed.
• The backdrop is the present and WWII Poland, Germany, and Ukraine. So, if these are research interests of yours, then this is a must-read.
  
• There's a happy ending. [Maybe not the ending you were devising in your head while reading, but there is one.]
• Mentioning WWII again, if you are interested in taking a look at a non-textbook peek into one of the many facets of this war and its impact on Poland, Germany and the Ukraine, then you must read this book.
• She utilizes all sorts of tools to research including hiring professionals as well as a former KGB agent.
  

You know, the more I read memoirs and family stories, the more I think family history should be a requirement for all those who study history at every level in schools. I have a confession. I never really liked history in school. [A shocker, I know.] But now? I can't get enough of it. [And it makes me furious how our educational system transforms our history from fascinating to uninteresting. How do they do that?] Anywho, it doesn't even have to be my family history for me to get excited about history in general anymore. I read other folks' histories and I even buy pieces of other people's histories. I can't get enough of it no matter whose history it is. Why? Because all of family history is interconnected creating a multidimensional web of history that spans not just the world, but time. We're all linked. How would our world be if we all got a little more excited about history? You know, once we learned that we all actually have some skin in this game called history? [Yeah].

Ms. Sutton does an outstanding job telling her story in her memoir, The Night Sky: A Journey from Dachau to Denver and Back, and all I can say is thank you. Oh, and read it!

It's available from Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com at the links below, and I have it in my 4YourFamilyStory.com Amazon Shop [where there are other books listed that I've read, plan to read, or review soon.]

So. What are you waiting for? Go get it and read it. Enjoy!

~Caroline

Disclaimer: Maria Sutton contacted me and provided me a copy of her book to read and to review. All opinions of her book are my own and are not influenced by her gifting me her book. Her memoir is an excellent read, and if it wasn't, I wouldn't have said it was. Additionally, I am an affiliate of both Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble, and if you click on a link or image advertising this book on my site and buy it, I do receive a small commission for referring you.

It's a Holiday! Today is the birthday of footnoteMaven, editor/publisher of the award-winning Shades of the Departed Online Magazine. The Shadettes and Shades-dudes Staff Writers are pleased to present this Special Birthday Edition of the magazine as a tribute to their dear friend. Long may your tiara sparkle, fM!

Visit the blogs linked below following this post to read more and feel free to join the party by posting a tribute on your blog and adding the link in the comments.

I stumbled upon the most fascinating ephemera cache yesterday in the antique mall. It was behind glass, as all the best things are, and her eyes from her photo sparkled at me, but not as much as the jewels in her tiara did. I had to know who she was. Why was she behind glass? What was so special about her?

I asked the vendor if I could please have a look at the ephemera of the beautiful and intriguing woman behind the glass.

“Which one?”




“The one with the tiara, please.”

“Ah, yes. She’s a favorite of mine. footnoteMaven is her name.”

“footnoteMaven? That’s a unique name.”

As he handed me footnoteMaven’s ephemera he replied, ”She’s a unique lady.”

And as I sifted through footnoteMaven’s life, I knew I had to have her. I knew I had to look her up…to find out who she was. I had to own her.

“How much?”

“Thirty dollars.”

“Sold.”

I usually dicker on the price a little, but it didn’t seem right to try to talk down the price of the woman with a tiara in one photo and a crown in another.  To do so seemed, I don’t know, common.

I rushed home, and began to look her up online. Who was footnoteMaven?

I began to dig online with meager success. She was like a whisper of smoke. I could see her, but not catch her. Then, I found it. In a newspaper article I found a bit about her.  She was of royal descent which definitely explained all the sparkly head gear. I mean, who walks around with a tiara or crown without being an actual royal. Right?

According to this online tree and family website I found ~ all of which had been completely sourced ~ the Royal Line of Mavens to which she belongs was long and distinguished. One of her great-uncles, Prince citationMaven, had overseen all the citations for the royalMavens until his passing, and because he passed without issue, all of his responsibilities were handed down to footnoteMaven. While she is responsible for all of the Royal Maven family’s footnotes, her specialty, if you will, is photos and their stories.

In yet another newspaper article, I read how she had once dated Mark Twain, which I thought quite odd considering various quotes on royalty made by him over the years. However, this tantalizing bit I was able to find certainly explained this photo having been in her ephemera stash.

Oh! And look! This photo of a man looking quite dapper from the ephemera cache I bought is identified online as being robberBaron. It seems he was her escort to the iGene Awards ceremony in 2007. Not sure how smart it is to let someone named robber to escort you anywhere, but he sure was a looker.

Anywho, I dug a little deeper and found this Vogue cover of footnoteMaven. Wow. She had been on the cover of Vogue! How absolutely stunning! Then I happened upon a recent article about her, and how her mansion [Who are we kidding? It's a castle.] had been broken into, and many valuable items had been stolen. While they had recovered some pieces, the authorities stated that most of her belongings ~ some of which were only valuable to the owner ~ would never be recovered.

Was it possible that these pieces of ephemera that I had found and bought were those that had been stolen? [And I wonder if robberBaron has been questioned in the case of footnoteMaven’s stolen ephemera? I definitely would have questioned him.] However, one thing was for sure. I had to find where she was today.

It didn’t take me long to find where she was living. [Oh, the joys of the internet.]

I’m conflicted by my finds, though.  I’m saddened by the fact that she lost her precious items, but I’m selfish as well. I’m actually more saddened by the fact that I know that I’m going to have to do the right thing, and try, at the very least, to contact her and return her items.

Perhaps, I’ll gaze a little more at her ephemera. Perhaps I’ll research her a little more. Perhaps I’ll contact her tomorrow.

There is one thing I’ve learned by all of this. No one can ever own footnoteMaven. She owns me. And she owns you. She holds us all in captivity, and we are none the wiser as we are entranced by her youthful beauty and sage advice.

 And her handy dandy footnotes.

And the jewels on her crown and tiara.

I’m definitely enthralled with those.

~Caroline

Credits and Sources:
Please note that these photos were used without footnoteMaven's permission. That's right. I borrowed them without asking. [Perhaps robberBaron is in my family tree. Oooh! Does a family member of a Baron get a bejeweled tiara?] Anywho, while I borrowed the images without asking, I'm not common enough to not cite them for goodness sakes.

1. footonoteMaven. "Earth Day - Birthday Graphic." footnoteMaven, 22 April 2009. www.footnotemaven.com/2009/04/earth-day-birthday.html : 2012.
2. footonoteMaven. "Profile Picture." footnoteMaven, 10 Dec 2010. http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.431072607947.214851.621697947&type=1 : 2012.
3. footonoteMaven. "fM Queen." footnoteMaven, 28 Feb 2008. http://www.footnotemaven.com/2008_02_01_archive.html : 2012
4. footonoteMaven. "Cutarug." footnoteMaven, 15 Feb 2008. http://www.footnotemaven.com/2008/02/all-right-mr-demille-im-ready-for-my.html : 2012.
5. footonoteMaven. "robberBaron." footnoteMaven, 15 Feb 2008. http://www.footnotemaven.com/2008/02/all-right-mr-demille-im-ready-for-my.html : 2012.
6. footonoteMaven. "fM Vogue Cover." footnoteMaven, 24 Feb 2008. http://www.footnotemaven.com/2008_02_01_archive.html : 2012

Please follow the links below for more of this birthday tribute to footnoteMaven:

CreativeGene, by Jasia
The Educated Genealogist, by Sheri Fenley
The Family Curator, by Denise Levinick
Geneablogie, by Craig Manson
Healing Brush, by Janine Smith
A Sense of Face, by Rebecca Fenning
Shades: Birthday Edition -- A Teacup Throne at Moultrie Creek, by Denise Olson
What's Past is Prologue, by Donna Pointkouski