Wayback Wednesday (Flashback Friday Edition): Back to the Past

Your friendly neighborhood archivist was loath to harken back to the past on Future Day, but couldn't let the week go by without investigating what life was like "back then" that made for such a creative interpretation of the future. 

Of course, SOME of us remember. SOME of us actually saw the Back to the Future movies on their original release dates. But for those who weren't around, those of us who have forgotten, or those of us who have consciously chosen to delete that time from our memories (because shoulder pads and big hair are the stuff of nightmares), here's a little taste of 1985-style technology from the Wednesday, October 23, 1985, edition of keyboard chatter, a semi-regular feature in Prospectus at the time. 

Wayback Wednesday Extra: The holographic shark in Back to the Future II reminded me of a fun weekend craft project: make your own hologram!

This information was found in Record Groups 4-4/4 (Student Services-Student Life/Prospectus)

Wayback Wednesday is a feature of the Parkland College Archives. If you have ideas you'd like to see in future posts, email us at archives@parkland.edu. The Archives is open to faculty, staff, students, and the public by appointment. 

Today is Future Day!

Happy Future Day!  In the popular film Back to the Future II Marty McFly travels briefly to 2015 only to discover that he must travel back to 1955 again to prevent disastrous changes to 1985.

This Robert Zemeckis film was released in 1989, but has gained a lot of attention the past few weeks leading up to today.  In the movie, October 21, 2015 is the date Marty arrives in the future.  We get a glimpse into the future that moviemakers of 1989 envisioned.  As it turns out, they weren't so far off!  Some of the things we see in the film, while not exact, actually exist in the present.

One of the most popular things to note is that in Back to the Future II the Cubs have won the World Series.  This likely made it into the movie because in reality the Cubs haven't won a World Series since 1908, and is still true today.  In a twist of fate nobody expected, the Cubs are currently playing in the championships and still have a shot at winning this year's World Series!

Hoverboard available at Amazon.com

While hoverboards don't exist quite like the ones you see in the movie (heavily branded by Mattel, yes that Mattel, mass producer of Barbie and friends) plenty of companies are feverishly working to perfect and market a real hoverboard.  There is a product on the market called a "hoverboard" but the model you see now is more like a segway without the handlebars.

Virtual reality goggles are actually here!  But not in the frequency predicted by Back to the Future II.  Google glass debuted earlier this year, and virtual reality glasses are available through various retailers.  Unfortunately neither have been met with much success.  Developers are still working to get this technology into our everyday lives, but they've still got a ways to go.

http://www.independent.co.uk/

The pizza hydrator was a revolutionary idea, a machine similar to a microwave that could rehydrate and reheat dehydrated foods in seconds.  While this does not exist, and nobody has been able to create the technology to do so there is another machine being developed that is remarkably similar in terms of quick, convenient food production.  Foodini and ChefJet are just two of the 3D printers being developed that will print fully edible foods in the comfort of your own home!


Three local theaters have special viewings of Back to the Future II tonight.
The Art Theatre has a 10pm showing, $5.
The Virginia Theatre has a 7pm showing, $4 or free if you wear Cubs gear.
Carmike Cinemas has a 7pm double feature showing Back to the Future and Back to the Future II.


If you're still itching for 80's nostalgia and/or futuristic themes, check out some of these titles available in the Library!

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
How to Build a Time Machine by P.C.W. Davies
Back to Our Future: How the 1980s Explain the World We Live in Now--Our Culture, Our Politics, Our Everything by David Sirota
Running Man part of The Bachman Books by Stephen King
Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson

Happy Birthday, SPARK!

On this day, in 2010, SPARK went live! Parkland College Library was one of the first community college libraries in the country to recognize the possibilities of an institutional repository with the mission of highlighting examples of excellence in Parkland students, faculty and staff scholarly and creative works.

The collection now holds nearly 1400 entries from over 450 student, faculty, and staff authors, and has seen over 100,000 downloads from around the globe. Take a look at this readership activity map to see how far SPARK reaches:

Every year, SPARK continues to grow with the addition of papers and projects by students participating in the A with Honors Program, selected posters from Natural Sciences Poster Sessions, podcasts from Anthropology 103’s Ethnographies of Parkland Student Life project, and prints, product designs, and digital media from the Graphic Design Student Exhibition.

As we look toward the next five years and beyond, we are always on the lookout for exciting new class projects and are actively encouraging faculty to submit open educational resources to the collection. SPARK's ability to accommodate and share your innovative ideas and creativity is limitless!  To find out more about how you can contribute to SPARK, and become part of a global collection of work, email us at spark@parkland.edu.